A fortune-telling princess

Damn it.

I’ve been fainting way too often lately.

At this rate, it might just become a habit.

Camilla tried to recall her last memory before losing consciousness. The battle had ended, and Zeno’s spirit had departed her body, leaving behind a single casual remark as though he were feeling much lighter.

[“Good job.”]

The surroundings had fallen eerily silent. Everyone had been staring at her, slack-jawed. Understandable, considering how she had fought.

The infamous “Miss Sorpel,” now with a sword in hand, wreaking havoc.

That was her final memory. She couldn’t remember anything after that—just like last time, her consciousness had simply cut out.

“You’re awake?”

Camilla blinked several times, slowly registering her surroundings. It took her a moment to realize she was resting her head on someone’s lap—Arsion’s lap.

“How’s your body feeling?”

Still piecing things together, she noted something surprising as she tried to answer.

“Huh?”

There was almost no pain. Previously, even breathing had been excruciating, with her muscles screaming in agony. Now, the discomfort was tolerable.

No, that didn’t make sense.

“You’re not fully healed,” Arsion explained. “For now, I’ve only been able to dull the pain using magic.”

“Ah…”

Camilla understood immediately. He must have used healing magic on her.

Embarrassed by the intimate position, especially with so many onlookers around, she tried to sit up.

“Stay down for a bit longer,” Arsion instructed, gently pressing her head back onto his lap. “The healing isn’t complete yet.”

“But I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Right now, I’ve only suppressed the pain. If I stop casting the spell, you’ll collapse from the pain again.”

“But still…”

Camilla glanced around uneasily.

The area was clean. They seemed to have left the battlefield, as there were no corpses or signs of the previous skirmish. But she could still sense the occasional glance from people nearby.

At this point, did it matter? Being called the crazy princess who waved a sword around was already her lot in life. One more gossip topic wouldn’t change much.

“We should head down,” Crown Prince Edsen suggested, stepping forward. The lack of attention from the lower area was concerning. Despite the commotion caused by the battle, no one had come looking for them.

“Could the people below have been attacked as well?”

“It’s best to check as soon as possible,” he added.

Everyone, though weary, nodded in agreement and began to move. Camilla, too, tried to rise.

“!?”

Before she could, Arsion swept her into his arms.

“What are you doing? I can walk!”

“I already told you,” he replied. “I need to keep casting the spell.”

“Does it have to be like this?”

“Is there a problem?”

Camilla sighed inwardly.

As an actress once hailed as the queen of romantic comedies, she had filmed countless scenes where men carried her or knelt before her. And yet, this situation—being held for “treatment”—was unbearably mortifying.

“Can’t you just cast the spell while I walk?” she argued. “If it works like this, surely you could just support me and do it at the same time.”

“This is easier. Stop nitpicking when you’re the one receiving help.”

Camilla decided to stay quiet. Anything more would just make the atmosphere even more awkward.

Arsion carried her swiftly out of the hunting grounds, with Ludville and Ravi following behind in silence. Camilla couldn’t help but notice how grim their expressions were.

Since Zeno had handled most of the fighting, Camilla barely remembered what had happened during the battle. Had she interfered and caused them harm? She shot a glance at Zeno, who had been floating nearby.

[“Are you seriously doubting my skills right now?”]

Seeing her uneasy expression, Zeno sounded offended.

[“Those two aren’t upset because of you.”]

Zeno’s translucent finger pointed at Arsion.

[It’s him. Your brother lost to him.]

Zeno elaborated, clearly amused.

[Arsion told them, ‘If you can heal her better than I can, I’ll step aside.’ That was it.]

Camilla sighed heavily. No wonder Ravi seemed ready to explode. Arsion’s overconfidence must have driven him mad. She could even understand why Ravi disliked him so much—it must be infuriating to deal with someone so insufferably full of themselves.

Ravi wasn’t the type to back down. Normally, he would have argued until he got his way. Why had he let it go?

And Ludville—why did he look so downtrodden? Even Zeno seemed clueless about his sour mood.

“Ah!”

“Over there!”

“Ugh…”

Sudden gasps and exclamations from the group ahead broke Camilla’s train of thought. Lifting her head, she followed their gazes forward—and found herself utterly speechless.

Countless people lay dead.

Camilla immediately recognized who they were. They were the ones who had descended the hunting grounds earlier, claiming they’d summon help—or perhaps simply fleeing.

All of them were now dead in one place.

‘Just as I thought.’

When the enemies first appeared, their clothes had been soaked red with blood. It was likely the blood of these very people.

But what shocked everyone even more than the deaths was the state of the bodies. Not a single one was intact.

“Ugh!”

Everyone who saw the corpses turned away or covered their mouths, nausea rising at the grisly sight.

But Camilla saw something far worse than the others.

The voices came from the spirits of the dead, who didn’t realize they had died. They writhed and screamed, trapped in the agony of their final moments.

Camilla’s mind went blank at the horrifying sight of the ghosts’ desperate cries and pleas.

“Don’t look.”

Arsion’s low voice cut through her haze.

“Close your eyes.”

Camilla didn’t resist. She felt his arms tighten around her as she obediently shut her eyes.

All she wanted was to leave this place as quickly as possible.

“Lila.”

“Sniff… Yes…?”

“I’m not dead.”

“Waaah!”

Camilla sighed softly.

The day after the hunting competition, the Empire was in an uproar.

News of the attack during the Crown Prince’s hunting competition spread like wildfire—assailants had stormed the event, injuring and killing many. Some of the distinguished guests from foreign nations had also lost their lives, amplifying the fallout.

The celebratory party scheduled for after the hunting competition was, of course, canceled. Edsen’s birthday had ended in disaster.

“Sniff… It’s such a relief that you weren’t seriously hurt!”

When Lila heard the news, she had rushed to the Sorpel estate the very next day, her eyes swollen from crying.

“I heard that you were there, Lady Camilla…”

Laila started crying again, her tears rolling down her cheeks. Camilla let out another sigh.

‘Anyone would think I’d died for real.’

As Arsion had said, Camilla’s injuries weren’t the type that healing magic could fix.

It wasn’t that her body was wounded; it was her muscles and stamina that had taken a toll. As soon as the pain-relief magic wore off, Camilla found herself confined to bed once more.

“It’s so strange. How could no one have heard the explosions?”

“There was magical interference,” said a passing servant.

That explained why the soldiers stationed outside the hunting grounds didn’t respond to the chaos.

Apparently, they hadn’t heard a single explosion. It was speculated that some form of magic had been cast around the hunting grounds to block all sound from escaping.

‘But how could the mages not notice?’

Magic left energy waves in its wake. Any strong spell would naturally create a detectable magical ripple.

Yet none of the mages outside the hunting grounds reported sensing anything unusual.

‘And the corpses disappeared too.’

The strange, zombie-like attackers who didn’t even seem to feel pain—their bodies were gone.

By the time soldiers searched for their remains to identify the attackers, there was nothing left. Even the bloodstains had vanished, as if the attackers had never existed.

‘What is going on?’

None of it made sense.

Not their sudden appearance, nor the disappearance of their corpses. There was no logical explanation for any of it.

One thing was clear, though: their target.

From the moment they appeared, their attacks had focused on one person.

The Crown Prince, Edsen.

Every action of the attackers seemed to confirm their singular objective, ignoring everyone else to relentlessly pursue him.

‘So that’s why.’

That must be the reason why he was rumored to get injured during the hunting competition.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—this time he hadn’t been caught in the explosions or suffered any injuries.

“Why didn’t they just storm the palace if they were after the Crown Prince? Lady Camilla could’ve died too!”

“…”

Sometimes, Laila’s outbursts were surprisingly on point.

Watching her fume in righteous anger at the attackers, Camilla couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Knock, knock.

The door opened, and Dorman entered.

“Miss.”

“What is it?”

“Someone has arrived from the palace.”

“What?”

Before Camilla could fully process his words, a parade of packages began streaming into her room.

“What is all this?”

Looking at the mountain of gifts piling up in a corner, Camilla turned to Dorman with a bewildered expression. But the answer came from someone else.

“These are gifts from His Highness, Crown Prince Edsen.”

A royal attendant bowed politely as he handed Camilla a sealed letter, bearing the Crown Prince’s insignia.

“Wishing you a swift recovery.”

The attendant gave another courteous bow before leaving promptly.

Camilla stared at the letter in her hand, a foreboding aura seeming to seep from it. Surely, it was just her imagination.

Rip.

She tore open the letter without hesitation.

**”You’re good with a sword.

Your blood-soaked appearance was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen of you.”**

“…”

Rip. Rip, rip!

“Huh?!”

As Camilla shredded the letter into pieces, Dorman anxiously glanced toward the door.

Only after confirming that all the royal attendants had left did he let out a sigh of relief.

Destroying a letter from the Crown Prince could be grounds for a charge of treason.

“Should I open the gifts?”

Dorman tried to shift the mood as he moved toward the pile of packages.

“Don’t open them.”

“Pardon?”

“Open them when you’re alone.”

“Alone?”

“Who knows if they’re filled with explosives or poison?”

Of all people, these gifts came from that man!

“But why should I…?”

“It’s simple math.”

“Math?”

“Better for one person to die than two.”

“…”

What? You got something to say?

Ignoring Dorman’s trembling glare, Camilla calmly dismissed him.

****

“Father’s out again?”

“Yes.”

After a few days of rest, Camilla found herself recovering faster than before. Perhaps she was getting used to it.

“What about Brother Ludville?”

“He’s out with the Duke as well.”

Recently, Duke Sorpel and Ludville had barely been home.

The hunting competition incident had triggered a series of meetings, and they were actively involved in the investigation. Yet, no leads had surfaced about the perpetrators.

‘There’s a prime suspect, though.’

Given that the attackers had targeted Edsen, suspicion naturally fell on the second prince’s faction.

But suspicion wasn’t evidence. Without concrete proof, they couldn’t make any accusations.

“What about Ravi?”

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen her supposed brother in ages.

The Duke and Ludville, busy as they were, still made time to check on her daily. Yet Ravi, her real brother, hadn’t visited her once.

“Well…”

The butler, Rube, hesitated before replying.

“What happened to Ravi?”

“He hasn’t left his lab for over a week.”

“A week?”

“Yes, ever since he returned from the hunting competition.”

Camilla sighed, already guessing the reason.

‘He’s at it again.’

No response.

Ignoring the lack of permission, Camilla opened the door.

“What?”

A sharp voice snapped at her immediately.

“Don’t disturb me—!”

Ravi stopped mid-sentence when he saw Camilla standing at the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?”

Camilla shot him an incredulous look.

‘What’s with that messy hair?’

He hadn’t been out of his lab since returning from the hunting competition, and it seemed he hadn’t bothered to wash either.

“Eat.”

Camilla placed the tray of food she’d brought on a table with a loud clatter. A plate of fresh bread, steaming soup, and vibrant fruit awaited.

“I’m not eating. Take it away.”

Ravi didn’t even glance at the food, turning back to his books. The floor and desk were littered with magical tomes, most of them related to healing magic.

Camilla sighed again, now certain of what was going on.

“Eat.”

“I said I’m not eating.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure.”

“Last chance. Are you really not eating?”

“Stop bothering me and—”

“Ugh!”

Ravi’s head snapped forward.

“Hey!”

“What?!”

Ravi froze as Camilla shouted back louder than he had, glaring fiercely.

Before he could respond, she pressed on.

“Go clean up. Now. Before I smack you again!”

“…”

“Not going?”

“…Damn it!”

Grumbling, Ravi storm

ed out of the lab. In his absence, Camilla summoned servants to clean the mess and requested fresh food from the kitchen.

“Eat.”

Ravi returned, looking more presentable, but still refused to touch the food.