A fortune-telling princess

“The Count of Hevely’s businesses have officially shut down as of today.”

“I see.”

“It also seems Count Hevely has sold all his homes in the capital and is planning to move to the countryside soon.”

“Tsk. So, he managed to scrape together enough for a house in the countryside, did he?”

Duke Sorpel frowned, clearly displeased, as he listened to his aide, Jackter, report.

“He should’ve taken responsibility for raising his son to be such a disgrace.”

“Young Master Jude certainly caused a lot of trouble,” Jackter replied with a nod, though inwardly he was puzzled.

Jude, the son of Count Hevely, was notorious for his misconduct.

Though the count had managed to hush things up with money, rumors still spread among the nobles, and Duke Sorpel had heard them often.

Out of the blue, the duke had ordered an investigation into Jude, followed by a request for all available information on the Hevely family.

And within days, he had utterly destroyed their household, destabilizing all of their business ventures with just a few well-placed moves.

The damage had been swift and overwhelming. Within a week, the Hevely family was forced to liquidate everything and flee to the countryside.

“Honestly…”

“Sir?”

“Nothing,” Duke Sorpel said with a curt shake of his head before changing the subject.

“What about the academy?”

“They responded promptly. They’ve assured us that campus security will be tightened after classes, and they expressed their gratitude for the funding you sent. The principal also mentioned he would visit you soon to express his thanks personally…”

“Tell him not to bother. He should use that time to root out anyone else like Jude at the academy! Honestly…”

“Sir?”

“Nothing.”

Jackter was growing increasingly confused. Duke Sorpel was clearly holding back something, but what it was, he couldn’t fathom.

“By the way, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“The Sephra family is planning to release a new mana stone soon.”

Duke Sorpel raised an eyebrow.

“Have they discovered a new vein?”

Most of the empire’s mana stones were monopolized by Marquis Gabiel’s family.

If anyone other than Sephra had tried to introduce new mana stones, the Gabiel family would have intervened to shut them down, using their influence to seize supply chains or halt sales.

Duke Sorpel chuckled at the thought.

“Marquis Gabiel must be livid. A new supplier will throw his little monopoly into disarray.”

Marquis Gabiel was known for his vindictive nature. If anyone crossed him, he’d ensure they could never buy mana stones again. His tactics were infamous, and even the Magic Tower and black magicians tread carefully around him.

“However, there’s an interesting twist to this story…”

“What is it?”

“Word has it that the mana stones aren’t actually owned by the Sephra family.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“They’re handling the refinement and sales, but the stones belong to someone else.”

“To someone else?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

Was Duke Sephra, of all people, really selling mana stones on behalf of someone else?

“Ridiculous…”

Duke Sorpel couldn’t imagine Duke Sephra bothering with something so tedious.

“Should I look into it further?”

“As quickly as possible.”

“Understood.”

This was definitely worth investigating thoroughly.

***

The door to the study burst open with more force than ever before.

Only one person in the world would dare enter Duke Sephra’s space so brazenly.

Without looking up from his documents, the duke already knew who it was.

“What do you want?”

The intruder didn’t answer, prompting Duke Sephra to raise his head.

Arsion stood before him, his expression calmer than ever. As their eyes met, Arsion stepped closer.

“Listen carefully.”

When Arsion finally spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically composed.

Had this child ever spoken to him with such ease before?

“I’m not going to kill you.”

“…”

“I don’t care why you did what you did to me and Sier. I still despise you. I still find you disgusting.”

Arsion slammed his fist on the desk, the sound echoing through the room.

“So don’t you dare die.”

“What?”

“Don’t think you can just die so easily.”

“…”

“Live your life knowing how pointless and meaningless your actions were.”

A bitter smile spread across Arsion’s face.

“As for the divine beast’s egg? It will never again exist in our family. I won’t retrieve it.”

He didn’t need it.

“I’ll prove it.”

Arsion’s voice grew even lower.

“That I can become stronger than anyone without it.”

“I’ll show you I can be the strongest without relying on that divine beast.”

So don’t die. Stay alive and watch closely. See for yourself how foolish your choices were.

As he looked at his father, who seemed too stunned to respond, Arsion’s smile grew wider.

He had said everything he needed to. He felt liberated.

The conclusion had been so simple.

What was so special about a divine beast?

What was so sacred about the patriarch’s title?

Listening to Camilla had made him realize he could live however he wanted. There was no need to stay chained to this family or his father.

Without waiting for a response, Arsion turned and left the room.

As the door closed, Duke Sephra finally set down the documents and pen he had been holding.

“Sigh…”

A long sigh escaped him as a ripple of emotion broke through his usually stoic demeanor.

Fine. I’ll continue this wretched life.

“Please, do as you said.”

Let me live long enough to regret my choices. Let me feel the weight of my foolishness until the day I die.

“Please.”

Another long sigh escaped him.