A fortune-telling princess Chapter 142

“Hngh!”

“Ugh…!”

The two female students froze as soon as their eyes met Arsion’s. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably before they collapsed to the ground.

It felt as though an icy blade was tearing through their entire being, making it impossible to stay standing.

“…”

Arsion bit his lip. He had thought the academy would be empty at this hour.

He knew exactly why they were reacting this way. It was the aura currently emanating from his body—it was terrifying them.

Recently, a series of murders committed by black mages had come to light. Duke Sephra intended to handle the matter personally, but the family elders had insisted on seeing what Arsion could do.

Under their firm orders, Arsion had taken on the mission and had just finished resolving the issue.

“Damn it.”

Though he had dealt with all the black mages responsible for the crimes, the process had been anything but smooth.

The mages had used innocent people as tools for their dark magic, forcing Arsion to stain his hands with the blood of many victims.

“Hah…”

He hadn’t been able to save a single person.

The dark magic had been deeply imprinted on their souls, leaving no way to erase it. All he could do was lessen their suffering through death.

Even after eliminating the black mages behind the atrocities, he couldn’t shake the filthy feeling that clung to him.

The mixture of killing intent and aura within him wouldn’t subside easily. It was the first time he had been so out of control.

He had avoided going home because of this. He couldn’t risk Rio seeing him like this and becoming afraid.

“Aaaah!”
“It hurts… it hurts!”
“Aaaargh!”
“S-save… please!”

The victims’ screams still echoed in his ears.

The mages had puppeteered the victims’ bodies while leaving their consciousness intact. The people, unable to control their own movements, had been overcome with terror, repeatedly begging Arsion to save them.

“Damned bastards.”

Habitually, Arsion began walking, his feet carrying him toward a familiar destination.

The Spirit Forest—his frequent retreat.

Reaching a secluded lake, he settled down under the shade of a tree and lay down.

Another rough curse slipped from his lips.

The memories of the children who had died by his hand weighed on him, worsening the black aura that seeped from his body and rapidly consumed the surrounding area.

He tried to calm his mind and fall asleep, but it was no use.

Rustle.

Time passed. Arsion, still restless, suddenly sensed movement nearby. Reflexively, he unleashed his killing intent.

Annoyed, he sat up, but his eyes widened when he saw who was standing in front of him.

“Camilla.”

She stared at him with a startled expression.

“Cam…”

He instinctively took a step toward her but froze. He could see the dangerous energy radiating from himself and stepped back, fearing she might get hurt.

What now?

Camilla sighed quietly as she took in his retreating form.

The oppressive chill that had settled over her was hard to shake off, but she steadied herself and bit her lip.

After arriving at the academy, she had gone straight to Arsion’s classroom, eager to let him know she was back.

No one had been more attentive to her during her time in the Gracia Empire. Naturally, she wanted to tell him first.

But he wasn’t there.

Suspecting he might be in the Spirit Forest, she had made her way here—and thankfully, she found him.

But approaching him wasn’t easy. The suffocating sensation that enveloped her was unmistakable—it was killing intent.

“Arsion.”

Camilla called out to him as he hesitated and stepped back.

“Where are you going?”

A smile had appeared on her lips.

Even though his energy still prickled at her skin like needles, she took a step closer to him. After a few deep breaths, her trembling stopped entirely.

Because now I understand.

She knew Arsion would never hurt her.

“I’m back.”

Instead of being afraid, she was curious. What had happened to make him so sharp and guarded? What had he gone through while she was away?

Arsion’s eyes wavered as he met her gaze. Seeing her draw closer, he let out a long sigh.

Sliding closer, he wrapped her in his arms, resting his face on her shoulder.

The fact that she hadn’t run from him brought an inexplicable sense of relief.

Her warmth, her familiar scent—it was enough to dispel the filth clinging to his soul.

Camilla froze for a moment at the sudden embrace but quickly relaxed, gently patting his back as he exhaled raggedly.

She didn’t ask him any questions, simply holding him quietly.

The ominous energy that had surrounded him began to dissipate rapidly.

But Camilla didn’t stop soothing him, continuing long after his aura had faded.

***

“Wow… this is just too much.”
“Seriously.”
“Morning sales are ruined again, huh?”
“Unbelievable!”

The employees’ voices were filled with frustration as they surveyed the mess in front of the café.

“How many days has it been?”

Trash was strewn everywhere, making it look like the local dump.

The walls and windows weren’t spared either, covered in vulgar graffiti scrawled in red paint.

“Manager…”

The first to arrive, Laila, was already scrubbing away at the paint with a wet cloth.

Seeing her efforts, the other employees stopped complaining and quickly grabbed cleaning supplies to start tidying up.

“Those bastards!”
“Exactly!”

But the grumbling and resentment didn’t stop.

“What annoys me even more are the guards!”
“Same here!”
“They keep saying there’s no evidence to punish anyone!”
“We all know it’s that other shop!”

It was obvious to everyone that the nearby dessert shop, Doralde, was behind the harassment.

Doralde’s denial of responsibility left the guards unable to take action.

Once, the café employees had tried staking out the area, hoping to catch the culprits red-handed. But, almost as if the vandals knew, nothing happened on those nights.

“Why don’t we retaliate?”
“Let’s do it!”
“We’ll throw all this trash right back at them tonight!”

Angry murmurs grew among the staff. Cleaning up this mess every morning was driving them to their limits. Revenge seemed like the only way to ease their frustration.

“We can’t resort to crime.”

Laila, who had remained silent until now, spoke up to calm them.

But even as she scrubbed the glass with ferocity, it was clear she was just as upset.

“What is all this?”

A familiar voice cut through the air.

“Ah!”
“M-madam!”

All heads turned to see Camilla, who stood looking at the defaced wall with an incredulous expression.

“Our store got a sudden makeover, I see?”

Laila’s eyes widened as she saw Camilla, and before she could stop herself, tears began to well up.

“Ca-Camilla!”

The strong, determined woman who had been furiously cleaning moments ago now ran to Camilla, sobbing.

Poor thing.

As Laila clung to her, Camilla clicked her tongue softly. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but it was clear Laila had been through a lot.

No wonder she hasn’t been coming to the academy.

Hearing that Laila had been skipping classes, Camilla had immediately guessed something was wrong and come to the café to check.

“I’m here now.”

“Hngh!”

At those words, Laila burst into full-blown sobs.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Waaah!”

The comforting words seemed to open the floodgates as Laila cried even louder.

As she stroked Laila’s head, Camilla’s gaze turned cold as it swept over the ruined storefront.

Time to figure out who did this.

Her expression hardened. Whoever had turned her café into this mess wouldn’t be getting away with it.