A fortune-telling princess Chapter 196

“What?”

“I’m saying, take that and go crush him with it.”

Camilla gave the debt documents a little shake.

From what she’d seen before, Juella’s brother was awfully comfortable with using his fists. No way that was a one-time thing—he clearly had experience.

‘Even our clumsy little Ravi has never raised his hand.’

Even though Ravi had dragged Camilla to the brink of death countless times and snapped at her at the drop of a hat, not once had he gotten physically violent.

The same went for the Duke of Sorpel and Ludeville. No matter what trouble she caused, no matter how much of a headache she was, they had never lifted a hand.

“You think that guy goes around hitting other people like that? Of course not. He knows you’re stuck. He’s drunk on his own power, barking like he’s invincible.”

Even Arison, often called a total menace, never threw punches without reason.

‘He just growls and bites a lot, so people think he’s feral.’

But if you look at the people who got punched by Arison, it was always one of two cases: they either ran their mouths to his face or behind his back.

People like Bellach, who had no filter whatsoever.

“Your brother’s rotten to the core. Raising a hand like that… absolutely disgraceful.”

Gambling, violence, stupidity—he had all the worst traits wrapped up into one person. A man with no hope of redemption.

‘Should’ve hit him with the stiletto, not the flat heel.’

Sometimes pain really was the best medicine.

But it wasn’t too late.

“You know what the most painful weapon in the world is?”

Camilla glanced at the dazed Juella, chuckled softly, and wiggled the debt papers in the air.

“Money.”

“…Money?”

Juella repeated it blankly. Her eyes widened as she finally understood what Camilla meant.

Facing her, Camilla added one final line.

“Go beat him to hell and back.”

***

“Mantitz!!”

Papers flew through the air as Count Bakes hurled the documents across the room.

“What the hell is all this?!”

“Dear, calm down—”

“How do you expect me to calm down?! Look at this pile! Creditors came after me! The amounts are outrageous!”

“Mantitz probably had his reasons. You don’t have to lash out so harshly. He’s too scared to say anything properly.”

“Grghh…”

The Count swallowed his rage at his wife’s plea.

But Mantitz didn’t look scared at all—in fact, he looked annoyed.

He glared at the Count, visibly irritated.

“Why are you getting so worked up over something like this?”

“What did you just say?”

“It’s not a big deal. I can make that money back easily.”

To him, the Count’s anger was completely baffling.

“Those filthy leeches! It’s not even that much money!”

How dare they hound his father for money?!

He was dumbfounded. Worse, he was disappointed in his father for overreacting.

So what if he gambled? Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. He’d win big next time and pay it all back. Simple.

“Yes, dear. It’s normal for a man to gamble now and then.”

“Look at the amount! We might have to liquidate a business just to cover this! What did you do with the inheritance and companies I gave you?!”

“T-that’s…”

Even Mantitz couldn’t talk his way out of that one. He kept dodging his father’s gaze.

“What, we don’t have money anymore?”

Up until now, Kailin had been sitting idly, looking bored—but now she finally piped up.

“I told you I want a custom dress from JL Boutique! Their stuff is super expensive! You’re not canceling, right? I barely got the appointment!”

Her voice trembled on the verge of tears. Both parents hurried to her side.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. You can go ahead and order whatever you want.”

“Of course! Our precious daughter wants something—there’s no problem at all.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Fawning over their daughter, they scrambled to reassure her.

“What kind of mess is Brother making outside, seriously? Just don’t mess with my life!”

“Shut up!”

“Mantitz! Don’t yell at your sister!”

“Yes, son. She’s your only sister—be kind to her.”

The Countess shot the Count a pointed look, blaming him for starting all this fuss over something so trivial.

Gambling debt? Whatever. It’ll sort itself out eventually.

Knock knock.

Just then, the door opened and Juella walked in.

The mood immediately went cold.

Everyone’s expressions turned sour, and Kailin sneered openly.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“I’ve been busy with work.”

“Work? What work?”

The Count clicked his tongue and scowled.

“Why aren’t you off cozying up to Lady Camilla?!”

“I was just with her.”

“Kh-hmph!”

Caught off guard, the Count gave a few awkward coughs.

Juella calmly looked down at the scattered papers on the floor.

They looked just like the ones Camilla had shown her. Probably some of the other debts Camilla had mentioned.

“How much gambling debt is there, exactly?”

As soon as she mentioned the debts, everyone’s faces twisted.

Mantitz, in particular, didn’t bother hiding his fury. He stormed up to her and poked her forehead with his finger.

“Who do you think you are, sticking your nose in this?”

“I’m worried. That debt—it’s not all, is it?”

“Hah.”

He let out a scoff, then his poking turned aggressive enough to make Juella stagger.

“Who the hell do you think you are, huh? You’re nothing.”

No one in the room stopped him. Instead, they just watched, silently agreeing with him—how dare she lecture her brother again?

“How long are you all going to live like this?”

“What?!”

“Juella! How dare you talk like that? Apologize to Mantitz right now!”

Juella looked at her mother quietly.

She was used to this. Whenever things flared up, her mother always took the others’ side.

But… why did it feel so stifling today?

Not anger. Just… a deep bitterness.

“Just kick her out. Why’s she even here? This is a family matter. No sense of boundaries.”

Kailin’s mockery was nothing new.

Juella had always brushed it off. She’s young. She’s still shaken by the truth that we’re not real sisters.

She made excuses for her.

“The nerve of you people—!”

Smack!

Silence.

Even Kailin, who had just been slapped, stood frozen, face turned, unable to process what just happened.

“You… you…!”

Finally, she turned to Juella, tears brimming in her eyes.

‘In the past, I would’ve panicked, begged, said it was a mistake, apologized over and over…’

But not now.

“You’re the rude one.”

Juella returned her mother’s exact words, her gaze colder than ever.

Kailin flinched. She finally realized—this wasn’t the Juella who always yielded to her.

“Juella!”

The Countess rushed forward in outrage, shoving Juella away from her daughter.

“Waaah!”

Kailin burst into tears. It wasn’t just the pain—it was the humiliation that her first-ever slap came from Juella.

“What is wrong with you?! You hit Kailin?! How dare you?!”

“Brother hits me all the time.”

“T-that’s…”

“Remember when I had a split lip from one of his punches? You said I was being disrespectful to my elder. That it was my fault. So I’m doing the same now. Kailin was rude to her elder. Me.”

“You… you…!”

“Watch your mouth!”

The Count finally stepped forward, roaring at Juella.

“You’re hopeless! Apologize to Kailin at once!”

“Waaah!”

“She’s totally lost it.”

“Did you not hear your father?! Apologize!”

Juella looked around at the four people surrounding her, then chuckled.

‘So this… this is what I’ve been protecting all this time?’

All the years she endured—for this?

What had she expected?

Why had she held on?

Still chuckling, she pulled something from her pocket. A communication orb—already connected and glowing.

“Camilla.”

—“…Speak.”

The entire room froze.

Everyone’s face filled with panic.

Even Count Bakes looked lost—what was going on? Why was she already connected to Lady Camilla?

Had she… heard everything?

“No, wait… Did she hear all of that just now…?!”

She had heard everything.

The Count’s face went pale.

This was bad. Very, very bad.

He had been groveling for a trade deal with the Sorpel House recently. This could ruin everything.

“Camilla, I think I did the right thing listening to you.”

—“……”

“You heard it all, right?”

—“Yeah.”