A fortune-telling princess

‘What’s changed?’

Before, everyone was in such an uproar. Could it be that the torment Camilla inflicted on Laila in the past had only fueled their obsession with her?

‘The only difference this time is that I haven’t antagonized or bullied Laila.’

That was the sole change.

“Ugh, I don’t know.”

Camilla let out another short sigh.

“But Camilla,”

Laila hesitated before cautiously addressing her.

“Will this be okay?”

“What will?”

“Helping me.”

Unlike the carefree Camilla, Laila’s expression was tinged with unease.

“Won’t this cause trouble for you because of me…?”

Laila now fully understood what the student council represented. She worried that Camilla’s assistance might have put her in the council members’ crosshairs.

“What should I do?”

Laila shot to her feet suddenly.

“I should go back and apologize… beg for their forgiveness—”

Her anxiety surged with each word, making it seem as if she might march straight back to the council.

“Laila.”

Clicking her tongue briefly, Camilla grabbed her arm and made her sit down again.

“Drink your tea.”

“But—”

“Before it gets cold.”

“Ah… yes.”

Like an obedient child, Laila clasped the teacup tightly in both hands and began sipping again. But her eyes still reflected unease.

“Don’t worry,” Camilla said lightly, attempting to reassure her.

“I’ve got more than you think.”

“Huh?”

“Just drink your tea.”

“……?”

****

“What did you just say?!”

“I said, as of today, the Mage Tower is officially cutting off all business dealings with the marquis.”

“What nonsense is this all of a sudden?!”

“Shall I repeat it for you? We’re cutting off ties.”

Marquess Gabviel glared at the man seated across from him with an icy stare.

But he couldn’t do much more. The man before him was Kador, one of the Mage Tower’s upper leaders.

Despite being just over thirty, Kador already held a position second only to the Tower Master. He was also the most likely candidate to succeed the current leader.

“There’s no longer any need for the Mage Tower to source mana stones from your family.”

Ignoring Gaviel’s glare, Kador spoke as calmly as when he had first entered the room.

“Do you have any idea how long our family has supplied mana stones to the Mage Tower?!”

“I’m fully aware.”

“And yet you still—!”

“Yes, we’ve decided to end it.”

“This is outrageous!”

“Isn’t it? It’s astonishing how long this deal has lasted. Even saying it out loud feels unbelievable. Let’s part ways now.”

While Gaviel’s face contorted in rage, Kador nonchalantly picked up his tea and sipped it.

“This shouldn’t be surprising. Haven’t you always supplied mana stones to us at absurdly inflated prices?”

“That’s because—!”

“Because you were the only distributor, so no one dared to argue the price.”

For decades, the Mage Tower had no choice but to pay whatever the marquis demanded, even acquiescing to outrageous requests.

It wasn’t as if the Mage Tower hadn’t tried to find alternatives. Over the years, they attempted to secure new suppliers multiple times but always failed—because Gaviel constantly interfered.

Whenever a new supplier appeared, Gaviel would immediately buy out their distribution rights, ensuring his monopoly remained unchallenged.

“We had no choice but to maintain this unfair deal. Until now, that is. Mana stones are no longer exclusively yours.”

A new supplier had emerged—one selling top-quality mana stones that were far superior to anything seen before.

And Gaviel couldn’t touch them.

The supplier was the Duke of Sephra.

Even the most powerful marquessate couldn’t easily go against the empire’s protectorate family.

Recently, Gaviel had reluctantly slashed his prices to keep the Mage Tower’s business, even canceling several restrictive conditions. He had done everything he could to preserve the deal.

But now, the Mage Tower was rejecting even those terms and cutting ties entirely.

“This is going too far!”

“It’s simple economics.”

“Economics?”

“The Sephra family made it clear: if we didn’t cut ties with you, they would stop supplying us.”

“……!”

“So, what choice did we have? We need high-quality mana stones, not cheap ones.”

The Mage Tower, which had long harbored grievances against Gaviel, wasted no time in siding with the Sephra family.

“Why would the Duke of Sephra do this?!”

Gaviel’s expression darkened further.

He had known about the Duke’s foray into the mana stone business but had not interfered.

He had wanted to sabotage it, but he lacked the financial or political leverage to challenge the Duke of Sephra.

Whether intentional or not, Gaviel had caused no harm to the Duke’s business.

“Then why?!”

Why had the Duke turned against him so suddenly?

“That, I couldn’t say.”

“Y-you—!”

Kador stood, as if he had nothing more to discuss. Gaviel quickly moved to block him. He couldn’t let him leave.

The mana stone business was the cornerstone of his marquis’s wealth. If it faltered, he couldn’t bear to imagine the consequences.

“Ah.”

Kador, halfway to the door, paused and added as if he had just remembered something.

“My apprentice mentioned something curious.”

Gaviel knew Kador’s apprentice—none other than Ravi, the Sorpel Duke’s stepson.

“He said there’s a strange video circulating.”

“A video?”

Gaviel’s face twisted in confusion. What video could possibly matter in this situation?

“It supposedly involves your daughter.”

“My… daughter?”

As Gaviel frowned deeply, Kador left without another word. Gaviel didn’t stop him.

“The Mage Tower, those bastards!”

He ground his teeth in frustration.

“When did they stop groveling like obedient dogs?”

But his anger soon gave way to dread. The potential collapse of his mana stone business was no laughing matter.

“Marquis!”

The door burst open, and his aide rushed in, holding something in his hands, his face pale.

“You need to see this!”

“What is it?”

The aide wordlessly activated the magic recording orb.

─ What are you doing? Kneel.

─ Merize, I’m sorry!

The video showed several people. It was clear someone was being bullied. However, their faces were blurred, as though shrouded in mist, and their voices were distorted.

Only one face and voice were clear.

“Me… Merize?”

It was his daughter.

“What is this?!”

“This… is the video spreading among the nobility.”

“What?!”

Gaviel flung the orb against the wall, shattering it.

Was this the video Kador had mentioned?

For the Mage Tower to be aware of it, it must have spread far and wide across the empire.

“Arrest them immediately!”

“What?”

“The person who spread this video—arrest them now!”

He didn’t care what Merize had done at school. The weak suffering under the strong was natural.

What he couldn’t allow was for this to become public knowledge, especially among the nobility.

“Fools!”

How had they let this leak?!

First, he had to apprehend the culprit and force them to confess the video was fake, their own fabrication.

“Well…”

“What now?!”

“The one who spread the video… is Lady Camilla.”

“Who?”

“Lady Camilla of the Sorpel family.”

Gaviel froze. The name was so unexpected that he couldn’t process it.

“Why would she do such a thing?!”

Though her reputation had improved recently, Camilla had long been one of the empire’s most notorious noblewomen.

‘Does she have a grudge against Merize?’

Was she trying to ruin his daughter’s reputation? Gaviel couldn’t fathom why Camilla had done this.

“It seems the person your daughter targeted is close to Lady Camilla.”

Gaviel struggled to form a response. Could this sudden entanglement with the Dukes of Sorpel and Sephra really be mere coincidence?

The bigger issue was clear: Camilla couldn’t be touched.

“…Damn it.”

He could feel it. Everything was spiraling out of control.

“Bring Merize here immediately!”

***

“You know what people are saying about this?”

“What are they saying?”