A fortune-telling princess Chapter 151

 

 

She was certain she had instructed her accomplices to set fires everywhere while she fetched the knights and soldiers. Where were the fires? What was going on?

“What the hell? Wasn’t there supposed to be a fire?”
“Why is it so quiet?”
“Where’s the fire you mentioned?”

“T-that’s…!”

The maid, overwhelmed by the knights’ and soldiers’ questions, grew even more flustered. The fire was supposed to draw more knights and soldiers here.

“Catch that woman.”

“…!”

At that moment, a low voice broke the silence. The maid spun around, her eyes widening in shock. Unconsciously, she stumbled a step back.

“Ugh!”
“Ah!”

The sight that greeted her was of two servants, who had conspired with her, bound in chains and being dragged forward. The one controlling the chains was none other than Camilla.

A little earlier, the two had gleefully watched as the oil they had spilled was set alight. Once the mansion was ablaze, they thought their mission would be a success.

“Huh?”

But the problem started right after. The flames, which had initially caught the oil, flickered out suddenly. Feeling something was amiss, they tried reigniting it.

“What the hell is going on!”

But again, the fire seemed to catch, only to vanish without a trace.

“Quit messing around and do it properly!”

“I’m not messing around!”

They tried several more times, but the result was always the same.

“Is this even real oil?”
“You helped prepare it; what are you saying?”
“Then why isn’t it working?”
“How should I know!”

Unaware of the fire-resistant magical artifacts hidden around the mansion, the two were utterly exasperated.

Whoosh!

“Gah!”
“What the hell?”

Suddenly, something darted toward them. A long, chain-like object, seemingly alive, wrapped itself tightly around the two.

They struggled desperately to escape, but the more they fought, the tighter the chains bound them.

“Keep struggling, and it’ll hurt more.”

“…!”

“No point. That thing won’t break no matter how hard you try.”

The one controlling the chains, now revealing herself, was Camilla. The chains were from a bracelet Ravi had once gifted her.

At her command, the two were suspended in the air, flung to the ground, then hoisted back up repeatedly.

“Argh! Stop!”
“My back!”

“So noisy.”

Did they not think about the havoc they caused? And now, over this? Ridiculous.

With the two in her grasp, Camilla began to move them to a secure location.

“Where is the fire you mentioned?”
“T-that’s…!”

That’s when she noticed the maid entering the house, and Camilla decided to reveal herself.

“Damn it!”

The maid, realizing something had gone wrong, bolted immediately. Being captured meant certain death.

Thud!

“Ahhh!”

But as she tried to escape through the entrance, she collided with something invisible and was thrown backward. A transparent barrier blocked her path.

“Ugh!”

Before she could register the pain, an unseen force lifted her, and she felt a hand gripping her throat.

“What’s this? Is this the one you were talking about?”

It was Arsion, who had used magic to catch the fleeing maid.

“What’s going on here?”

Petro appeared alongside him, surveying the situation.

“What on earth were you trying to—”

As he approached the captured individuals, Petro froze mid-sentence. Arsion also turned his head slowly.

[An enemy.]

Hearing Zeno’s voice nearby, Camilla turned her gaze toward the entrance.

Though she couldn’t sense anything yet, the others’ reactions made it clear something was happening outside.

Bang!

“We’ve got trouble!”

At that moment, a soldier burst in, panting.

“There’s an unidentified group outside…!”

Petro immediately dashed outside, followed closely by the other knights and soldiers.

“Stay here.”

Leaving a warning for Camilla not to step foot outside, Arsion also rushed out.

“Zeno.”

Camilla quietly called Zeno as she watched the others quickly disappear, leaving a few knights behind to guard the mansion.

“Let’s head to the Guardian Sword.”

[Got it.]

Avoiding others’ gazes, Camilla swiftly moved toward the location of the Guardian Sword, certain that someone might be targeting it despite the lack of fire.

****

“Unbelievable!”

A woman in her late thirties stomped forward, grinding her teeth in frustration.

“What the hell went wrong?”

The plan had been simple: set the mansion ablaze, create chaos, and then sneak away with the Guardian Sword.

But no signal came. The attackers seemed ready, but the mansion remained untouched.

“Idiots! Can’t even start a proper fire!”

Muttering angrily, she quickened her pace toward her goal. She knew exactly where the Guardian Sword was stored.

The mansion’s security had loosened somewhat since the soldiers were distracted by the commotion outside.

“Finally!”

The sword was stored in a display case near the head of the family’s room. Though enchanted with protective magic, she didn’t care.

Whoosh!

With a burst of bright light from her hands, she unleashed a spell at the case.

Crash!

The enchanted case shattered instantly. Years of preparation had paid off.

“Finally, it’s over.”

She had spent years uncovering the incantation to break the case’s protections. Satisfied, she reached for the Guardian Sword.

Thud!

“Ahh!”

But a powerful kick sent her sprawling to the side.

“What the—? Isn’t that the head maid?”

The familiar face writhing in pain left Camilla—or rather, Zeno, within her body—speechless.

“Our family has truly fallen if even the head maid is in on this.”

“Ugh…!”

The head maid staggered up and began casting a spell.

Crackle!

“What’s going on!”

But her spell dissipated harmlessly, neutralized by the magical artifacts hanging off Camilla’s body.

“Nothing is going right!”

She turned to flee, realizing the plan had failed. She needed to report this quickly.

Thud!

“Urk!”

But Zeno struck her down before she could escape, rendering her unconscious.

“A mage pretending to be a maid?”

How had she avoided detection for so long? A magic-concealing artifact, perhaps? Zeno shook his head.

“…”

His gaze shifted to the Guardian Sword. His eyes reflected a torrent of emotions.

Even after wandering as a soul for so long, he had avoided this place, unable to face the sword. It had taken so much from him.

It cost him his life and his brother’s life. Just looking at it felt suffocating.

“Not as bad as I thought.”

After all, he had lived daily with a sword embedded in his chest. What could feel worse?

If he hadn’t sought this sword back then, would his life have been different?

No. Even if he could return to that time, he would have made the same choice. The desperation to find the sword had been overwhelming.

“I need to move it somewhere safe.”

More attackers could come for it. Camilla had asked him to protect the sword until the threat was gone.

“But it’s strange.”

How did Camilla always anticipate events like this so accurately? It amazed him every time.

Swish.

Zeno reached for the sword. Or at least, he tried to.

Voom—

“…What?”

Suddenly, the sword embedded in his chest began to resonate.

Voom— Voom—

“It hasn’t moved all this time, and now this?”

The sword, long dormant in his soul, began to vibrate intensely, startling him.

Slide.

Then, to his astonishment, the sword embedded in his chest slipped out on its own and merged with the physical sword in front of him.

Voom—

The Guardian Sword hummed loudly.

Just like that day. When he first discovered the sword on a cliff’s edge, it had called out to him repeatedly, as if begging to be wielded.

“…”

After a long silence, Zeno slowly reached out.

Flash!

The moment he grasped the sword, a brilliant light erupted from it, as though the long-slumbering Guardian Sword had finally awakened.

****

“Those bastards…”
“Yeah. It’s them.”

Arsion and Petro’s faces darkened as they recognized the attackers.

They were the same ones who had ambushed them at the hunting grounds.

Unfazed even when struck, these enemies mirrored those undead-like figures from before.

“Troublesome.”

Knights and soldiers who had never faced them before were panicking, just as they had at the hunting grounds. No matter how hard they struck, the enemies wouldn’t fall—instead, they grew fiercer.

“So many of them?”

Arsion joined the fray, cutting down enemies as he moved.

But their numbers seemed endless. Even Arsion found himself overwhelmed by the sheer volume.

“This is going to be a long fight.”

Petro sighed, fending off the attackers to keep them from reaching the mansion.