A fortune-telling princess

Thud, thud, thud-thud-thud!

“Ah-choo!”

“……”

Camilla watched the child rub his nose.

She had returned to the orphanage run by Hermann today, intending to remind the director to be more cautious about the adoption process.

She explained her concerns vaguely, citing the recent surge in child abduction cases. While the conversation with Director Hermann went smoothly, something unexpected happened.

She had picked up a tail.

“What are you doing?”

The little boy trailing behind her beamed at her with a wide grin.

“Hehe.”

It was the same child who had burst into tears when Petro gave him a candy last time.

His name was Rio. After Camilla handed him a handful of candies on Petro’s behalf, the boy had taken an unusual liking to her ever since.

The way the boy followed her around reminded her of a baby bird eagerly chasing its mother for food.

“Wow!”

Camilla reached into her pocket and handed him a large lollipop.

The boy’s face lit up with joy, his radiant smile catching her off guard. Watching him beam over a simple piece of candy left her feeling oddly sentimental.

“This!”

“Hm?”

The boy, who had been hopping in excitement, rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out to give her.

“Luri-noona taught me this!”

It was a bracelet made of thread.

“You made this?”

“Yes!”

The bracelet, braided like a hair plait, was as crude as it was endearing. Its uneven and jagged design showed the work of small, inexperienced hands.

“Here, this is for you, Sister!”

Camilla stared at the child’s delighted face as he handed her a bracelet. She took it and slipped it onto her wrist.

“How does it look?”

“It’s pretty!”

“Of course. Everything looks good on me.”

She ruffled the boy’s hair lightly. Just then, soft laughter came from behind her. When she turned around, Arison and Petro were standing there.

“Don’t you feel embarrassed saying that about yourself?”

“Why would I? It’s true.”

Ignoring Petro’s laughter and Arison’s exasperated expression, she ruffled the child’s hair again.

“Hehe.”

“……”

Huh?

Camilla absentmindedly poked the boy’s cheek as he smiled radiantly at her touch. Her eyes widened slightly.

She poked again, tugging gently at his cheeks this time.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m finding peace of mind.”

“What?”

“So this is why kids carry squishy toys around.”

“What are you even talking about?”

What kind of cheek is this soft? It feels like touching a giant marshmallow.

The child beamed at her touch.

‘I really don’t like kids.’

She hated crying, whining, and tantrums. If a child acted up, it made her want to smack them.

“Hehe.”

But this one… This one was strangely adorable.

“Oh… oh no!”

My squishy!

Suddenly, the boy was lifted into the air.

“What are you doing?”

It was Arison. He had grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck and pulled him as far away from Camilla as possible.

“Why are you being so clingy with a kid?”

“Clingy? Me? Do you even know what that word means?”

When had she ever been clingy to a kid? All she did was poke his cheeks—maybe a lot.

“……”

…Okay, maybe I was being clingy.

“I like it when Sister pats me.”

When the boy squirmed to get closer to Camilla, Arison lifted him higher, keeping him out of reach.

Petro chuckled at the sight of Arison glaring at the boy. Naturally, Arison’s sharp gaze turned to him.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just find it amusing that someone is jealous of a child.”

“Shut up.”

“Do you want one too, Brother?”

“What?”

“I’ll give you one!”

The boy proudly handed Arison a bracelet identical to the one he’d given Camilla.

“……”

The boy pressed the bracelet into Arison’s hand with a beaming smile.

Arison stood there silently for a moment, visibly flustered. It was a rare expression for him.

Watching this, Camilla and Petro exchanged faint smiles.

****

“Hey, isn’t that Lady Camilla over there?”

“I think so.”

A few male students walking past the garden stopped when they spotted Camilla sitting under the shade of a tree.

“Is she asleep?”

“Looks like it.”

Noticing that her eyes were closed as she leaned against the tree, the students’ gazes sparkled with interest.

“Should we go over and talk to her?”

“Why not?”

These days, it was nearly impossible to have a proper conversation with her.

Camilla, who seemed to constantly be in the spotlight, rarely found herself in a secluded area like this.

“But isn’t it rude to wake someone who’s sleeping?”

“Come on. My father keeps telling me to get closer to Lady Sorpel.”

“Same with my parents.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the students started walking toward her. However, they stopped abruptly as a chilling sensation washed over them.

“Ugh!”

Startled, they turned their heads and froze. Someone was staring at them with an icy gaze.

It was Arison.

None of them could hold his gaze for long. His indifferent yet piercing stare was enough to make them scatter like startled rabbits.

Once the boys were gone, Arison approached the spot where Camilla was sleeping.

“Tch.”

Even with someone so close, she remained fast asleep. Arison clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.

What made her so confident she could sleep so peacefully in such a place?

Letting out a sigh, he sat down beside her, keeping watch to ensure no one else would bother her.

“…Huh?”

After some time had passed, Camilla finally woke up.

“Arison?”

She blinked in surprise at the sight of him sitting beside her. He hadn’t been there when she’d fallen asleep.

“You’re really comfortable sleeping anywhere, aren’t you?”

“I’ve always been like that.”

Try living as a busy celebrity for years. Anywhere you can rest your head becomes a bed, and every spot feels like a warm blanket.

Stretching, Camilla moved her stiff body to shake off the lingering drowsiness.

‘Feels like I slept for quite a while. How long was I out?’

She’d only meant to rest briefly in the cool shade, but it seemed she had fallen into a deep sleep.

“I’m thirsty.”

Maybe she’d sweated while sleeping; her throat felt parched.

“…Where are you going?”

As Arison stood up, Camilla reached out to stop him.

“You said you were thirsty.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll get you a drink. Wait here.”

As she blinked at him, her lips curved into a smile.

“It’s fine.”

Pulling him back gently, she shook her head.

“You don’t even like juice.”

“……”

A faint smile crossed Arison’s lips at her words. The fake Camilla, who had offered him fruit juice without hesitation, came to mind.

“Camilla.”

Just then, someone approached from a distance. It was Laila.

“Something wrong?”

As Laila drew closer, her expression made it clear she was upset. Her slightly red eyes suggested she had been crying.

“It’s… about Rio…”

“Rio?”

“What about him?”

Hearing the name of the child they had met just a few days ago, both Camilla and Arison turned serious.

“The headmaster just called. He was adopted yesterday morning.”

“What?”

“It’s good news, but it happened so suddenly…”

Just as she said, the news came out of nowhere. While it wasn’t unheard of for adoptions to happen abruptly, it still felt strange.

‘I know that, but…’

For some reason, the thought of Rio being the one adopted made her feel uneasy.

“It’s good news, right?”

Watching Laila struggle to hold back her tears, Camilla nodded silently.

An orphan meeting new parents and forming a family was undoubtedly a good thing.

As someone who had grown up in an orphanage herself, she knew how stifling it could be to stay there too long.

‘It can’t be… right?’

Even though it was a joyous occasion, she couldn’t shake the unease. She couldn’t forget the story of Beth’s son being adopted and what had happened to him afterward.

But Camilla quickly shook her head. She had already warned Headmaster Herman to thoroughly verify the backgrounds of prospective adoptive parents.

“This is for you.”

As Camilla wrestled with her unease, Laila handed her a crumpled piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“Rio asked me to give it to you.”

On the paper, written in clumsy letters, were the words:

The messy handwriting made it almost illegible.

“……”

That little boy, who couldn’t even write his own name yet, had written her name carefully, letter by letter, in a note for her.

Camilla abruptly stood up.

“Camilla?”

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

If there was time to feel anxious, she might as well find out who had taken him and ensure they were trustworthy herself.

“Why all of a sudden? Classes aren’t even over yet…”

Ignoring Laila’s bewildered question, Camilla hurried away.

“What did you say?”

“We can’t locate the child.”

Why is it that bad forebodings are never wrong?

As soon as Camilla heard about Rio’s adoption, she had asked Luve—the butler and head of the Black Shadow—to find him.

Without asking too many questions, Luve had set out immediately, seeing the severity in her expression.

It only took a day for him to complete the investigation and return with a report.

“Their identities were fake. When we went to the address they provided, someone else was living there.”

There wasn’t much else to be done. Apart from checking the imperial seal on identity papers, there wasn’t a reliable way to verify someone’s background.

If the adoptive parents had forged their documents, there wasn’t much Headmaster Herman could have done, no matter how thorough he was.

“Then Rio…”

“We’re tracking the people who took him. The headmaster remembers their faces, so we’ll find them soon.”

The full network of Black Shadow operatives was already in motion.

But Luve’s reassurances didn’t comfort her. If someone had deliberately taken Rio, they wouldn’t be leaving obvious traces.

“Even the Duke is involved in the search.”

“I know.”

Hearing that a child Camilla was close to had disappeared, Duke Sorpel had mobilized all the house’s resources to help find Rio.

“So please, get some rest. You didn’t sleep last night, did you?”

Luve was right. She hadn’t slept at all. Even someone like her, who could sleep anywhere, found it impossible to rest in this situation.

“My Lady.”

The door opened, and Dorman stepped inside, smiling foolishly as always.

“What is it?”

“Lord Arison is here.”