A fortune-telling princess Chapter 160

Even though the dog you abandoned has died, it’s still waiting at that house. But it’s not like someone can go and tell you to come see for yourself.

[Woof! Pant, pant!]

Nana, who had already finished eating at some point, sat firmly on the ground, gazing at Camilla with a quiet look while wagging her tail non-stop.

She was like a child who had emptied their bowl and was now looking to their mother for praise.

“…….”

Camilla slowly reached out and stroked Nana’s head. As the dog closed her eyes and enjoyed the touch, a sigh unconsciously escaped Camilla’s lips.

“Do you still like people?”

Even though you were abandoned by one and died like this?

Seeing the dog still willingly accept a human’s touch, without even a hint of resentment, made her feel bitter.

‘This is why I hate it.’

The young and the innocent.

They’re so foolish that I can’t just leave them alone.

“I’ll come again.”

After one last stroke of Nana’s head, Camilla turned back toward her house.

  *

“King.”

[Kyuu!]

“That dog doesn’t want to come.”

[Kyuu?]

King tilted his head, as if asking what she meant.

“I mean, it doesn’t want to come to our house.”

A week had passed since then.

Every chance she got, Camilla went to take care of Nana. Eventually, she decided to bring the dog home—because being there alone was far worse than coming with her.

She even got King’s permission. At first, he growled in disapproval, but in the end, he begrudgingly nodded, clearly annoyed. However…

‘Do you want to come to my house?’

The moment she said those words, Nana immediately bolted into the house and hid.

[I tried talking to her too, but she says no. She seems to like it here.]

Laura, too, had apparently asked Nana to come with her but shook her head regretfully, as if disappointed.

‘Why would she like it here? There’s no one around.’

[Some people who saw Nana before said they tried giving her food and even wanted to take her in out of pity. But every time, she ran away. Then, once those people left, she would somehow always return to this spot.]

“…She really is an idiot.”

[Kyuu?]

“Not you.”

King licked Camilla’s hand as if trying to comfort her sigh.

“Where is that dog? Want me to bring it over for you?”

“……!”

A voice suddenly interrupted them.

“Could you at least make your presence known before barging in?”

It was Duke Escra. When had he arrived? Standing with his arms crossed, he was staring down at Camilla indifferently.

“If you come to my house, I’ll let you keep dozens of dogs.”

…Am I a child? Are you trying to bribe me with dogs right now?

Camilla gave Duke Escra an exasperated look before standing up. Before heading to the marketplace, she planned to feed Nana first.

“I’ll let you keep a hundred dogs.”

No, thank you. Do you plan to turn the house into a kennel?

Ignoring his nonsensical words, Camilla walked straight to the kitchen.

“Miss! That’s for tonight’s dinner!”

“So?”

“…Please enjoy it.”

“I’m not the one eating it.”

“Are you making dog food again?”

“Yeah.”

Behind her, the head chef silently shed tears as he watched yet another top-quality fish turn into dog food. Meanwhile, Camilla packed a meal and headed toward where Nana was.

****

“Nana.”

[Woof!]

As always, Nana sat alone in front of the house. The moment she saw Camilla, she ran up excitedly, circling around her nonstop.

“I brought you something tasty again today.”

[Pant, pant!]

Seeing Nana’s tail wag even faster, Camilla let out a faint smile and quickly laid out the food.

[…]

But unlike usual, Nana didn’t immediately pounce on the meal. Her gaze was fixed elsewhere.

Following her eyes, Camilla’s expression stiffened slightly.

A woman who looked to be in her mid-50s was standing there.

[Nana.]

[Woof! Woof!]

At the woman’s quiet call, Nana didn’t hesitate. Without even looking back, she sprinted toward her. Overcome with emotion, she kept running in circles around the woman.

She jumped up to lick her face, then rubbed her head against the woman’s legs, expressing her joy with her entire body.

[Yes… I missed you so much too.]

Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she embraced Nana.

[You waited a long time, didn’t you?]

[Pant, pant!]

Nana licked away her tears, as if saying it was okay, as if thanking her for coming back.

A faint smile finally returned to the woman’s lips. Holding Nana tightly in her arms, her body gradually became translucent. And just like that, Nana’s body began to fade away as well.

“…….”

Camilla silently watched as the woman and Nana disappeared together. Only after Nana had completely vanished did she let out a small sigh.

“You could’ve at least eaten first.”

The meal containers remained on the ground.

Feeling an inexplicable emptiness, Camilla let out another long sigh.

So in the end, she had stayed because she was waiting for her owner. Even though she had been abandoned, she still loved her so much.

At least the owner had some shred of conscience, huh?

At least she came back for Nana, even if it was after death.

“Why did Mother have to ask for her ashes to be scattered here of all places?”

“What can we do? It was her dying wish.”

Just then, voices came from somewhere nearby. Turning her head, Camilla saw a man and a woman carefully carrying something.

‘That’s…’

An urn.

Cremation existed in this world as well. Those who couldn’t afford a burial or didn’t have space for a grave often cremated the deceased and scattered their ashes where they wished.

“It must be because of that dog. Mother wanted to take it with her until the very end.”

“How were we supposed to care for both a bedridden mother and a dog at the same time?”

“She really missed it a lot before she passed…”

“Enough. Let’s just scatter the ashes and go. If anyone sees us doing this near the house, they might say something—”

The man holding the urn abruptly stopped.

He had finally noticed Camilla standing in the yard.

“Who are you?”

He subtly moved the urn behind his back as he asked. Camilla quietly picked up the food containers from the ground.

“I used to see a dog around here. I came back after a long time, but it’s not here anymore.”

“Ah…”

Without saying anything else, Camilla turned and walked away.

She had no intention of blaming them. Everyone had their own circumstances.

She just felt sorry for Nana and her owner.

‘But maybe this is for the best?’

At least the person Nana had been waiting for wasn’t the one who had abandoned her in the first place.

Leaving behind those bitter feelings, Camilla headed home.

***

Next Morning

“Ugh… What’s that noise?”

Half-asleep, Camilla groggily got up and stepped outside. The sight before her made her wonder if she was still dreaming.

…What the hell?

Woof! Woof! Bark! Bark!

Dozens of dogs were running wild in the front yard.

“Daughter, you’re awake?”

A familiar voice greeted her. It was Duke Escra.

“What do you think? My gift.”

“…Gift?”

“I figured you wanted a dog, so I went to the market early this morning and brought them.”

“…….”

“Should I have gotten more?”

“…Duke.”

“What?”

“Return them. Immediately.”

Here is the continuation of the translation while maintaining the speech brackets:

Chapter: Realization

“Come in.”

As always, Duke Sorpel was already seated in the dining room. After exchanging a brief greeting, Camilla’s gaze immediately turned to one person.

“What did you do with all the dogs?”

“How heartless. You’re treating the first gift your father ever gave you so coldly.”

“Are dogs objects? To be given as gifts?”

And dozens of them at that!

Her sharp glare bore into Duke Escra, making him finally raise his hands in surrender.

“I returned them. Didn’t ask for a refund, though.”

His expression was clearly displeased, as if he wasn’t happy about returning them. Camilla shot him another glare before silently taking her seat.

“See? I told you he was more normal in the past.”

Ravi and the other family members looked at Duke Escra with disbelief. Of course, the duke completely ignored them.

Instead, he clicked his tongue in disappointment as he turned to Camilla.

“Did you have a specific puppy in mind? If so, you should’ve told me earlier.”

Duke Sorpel also clicked his tongue lightly. If he had known earlier, he could have handled the situation before this chaos unfolded.

“It was a dog that already had an owner.”

“If you want it, I’ll meet the owner and negotiate.”

“It’s fine.”

Camilla gently shook her head.

“It’s already dead.”

“…Dead?”

“Yeah.”

At Camilla’s indifferent response, everyone at the table froze for a moment.

So that’s why… Her expression had looked particularly bad when she returned yesterday. She must have seen the dog die.

“What breed was it?”

“We can find one just like it.”

“Should we bring those dogs back?”

Camilla quickly shook her head. She had only made an offhand comment, but their intense reactions caught her off guard.

“It was just that the owner wasn’t in good health, so I was helping take care of the dog for a bit. I… I don’t even like animals.”

[Kyuuu?]

…Okay, except for you.

She flinched slightly as King stared at her intently, making her smile faintly before shaking her head again.

“Here, take this.”

A short while later, Duke Sorpel handed her an elegant envelope. Camilla’s brows twitched the moment she saw it.

The seal on the envelope was all too familiar.

“It’s from the imperial family.”

“It’s from Empress Javiela.”

Why the hell do these damn royals keep taking turns bothering me?

‘Since when were they so eager to see me?’

One of the people Camilla had always found most annoying among the nobility was Empress Javiela.

To others, she seemed like a kind and benevolent woman. But from what Camilla had observed over the years, she found her utterly insufferable.