Chapter 82
"But the butler allowed Lady Rose to go out without waiting for His Grace to return?"
"She asked for permission directly."
After Barry returned from running his errand, Rose, Barry, and Anne left the escort knights trailing behind them and walked about the plaza.
Barry and Anne, standing on each side of Rose, were deep in conversation.
Rose quietly walked along and listened to the two, who conversed as though she weren’t standing between them.
"Lady Rose asked by herself? Hmm, but... she hasn’t been out often."
"Is this the first time she has pleaded to leave the manor?"
"Haa... Oh, how I envy the butler and Barry."
Rose's ears were tinted a lovely red as she quietly listened to their conversation.
It was clear to her that Anne was speaking in a slightly joking tone on purpose, knowing that she was listening.
Pretending to look around, Rose tried to act as though she was engrossed in her surroundings rather than their conversation.
The air of the plaza, full of the people living there, carried the faint fragrance and vitality of flowers just short of full bloom.
As they chatted, Rose felt the two unknowingly drift away from her side.
Calling out to them, she caught sight of something in the plaza square from the corner of her eye.
"What’s that?"
Eventually coming to a standstill, she pointed in a certain direction. Following the motion of her finger, Anne and Barry turned in unison to see what had captured their mistress’ attention.
A tent had been erected at the location Rose pointed to. Though it may not have been big, it seemed like it could fit ten people.
There was a line of people at the entrance to the tent. The line was so long that it stretched past three buildings.
Barry covers her mouth with one hand.
"Oh! Has Master K already arrived in the capital?!"
At the surprised exclamation, Anne nodded.
"That's right. I was also surprised to see it earlier. Master K came early this year, right?"
"Ah… Master K usually comes around the beginning of the founding festival every year."
Anne and Barry seem to know the reason for the tent.
Rose did not hide her curiosity as she looked at the two of them alternately. Anne noticed her growing curiosity and elaborated.
"That's Master K's fortune-teller tent."
"Master K?"
Rose's eyebrows drew together in a frown.
If the line was that long and if Anne and Barry knew it well, this Master K should be quite famous.
But to Rose, it was a name she had never heard of.
Barry was surprised by her ambiguous reaction.
"Lady Rose, have you heard of Master K?"
"Huh? I don't know... a fortune teller in the plaza? Is this Master really famous?"
"Yes! Let me explain! She is a woman who comes to the capital around the time of the founding festival every year, but her divination skills are not ordinary."
Barry leaned closer to Rose and put her hand to her mouth in a secretive manner.
Out of curiosity, Rose gave Barry her ear.
Barry whispered what she knew.
"They say she is so good at it that she can even tell you the location of an emergency fund that you hid and forgot about."
"Is that truly possible?"
She's not a god who knows everything, yet she could tell you even the smallest things that only you know?
Hmm… Then, would you know Elliot's intentions?
Rose glanced once at the two accompanying her and once at the long line.
Making up her mind, Rose carefully tugged at the sleeves of Anne and Barry's clothes.
"Anne. Barry. How about we go over and watch the excitement?"
"Lady Rose, would you like to go over and watch Master K?"
"Yes, I'm curious."
Anne and Barry did not stop Rose.
Before returning to the manor, they informed the escorting knights of their last destination and stood in line.
Anne stuck her head out of the line and counted the number of people standing in front of them before returning to her place.
"I’m so glad we came out today, my lady."
Barry clasped her hands together.
"Actually, I wanted to see Mater K’s divination. Thanks to the Lady Rose, I will be able to see divination like this today. Thank you so much, my lady!"
Barry was ready to get down on her knees and say heartfelt thanks to her Young Lady.
Rose patted the kitchen maid on the shoulder.
"Because I came out with some money when I left the manor, I'll pay the money too."
"Whaa! Our Lady Rose is the best!"
Like a child, Barry expressed her joy.
Anne may not have shown her thanks outwardly, but Rose could see the corners of her mouth go up, showing her interest in the fortune-telling.
One by one, the number of people waiting decreased until there were only six people in front of them.
"Something is surprising today."
At Anne's words, Barry tilted her head as Rose waited for Anne to continue.
"What?"
"The fact that Lady Rose personally persuaded the butler to let her go out. The one who first suggested that we see fortune-telling is also her. It’s different from the usual, don’t you think?"
"Hmm… Yes, yes, you’re right."
At Anne's words, Barry nodded vigorously in agreement.
Rose was a bit embarrassed by their reaction, which tinted her cheeks pink.
Anne smiled brightly.
"But, my lady, I like it. I love that you are so proactive about what you want to do."
"Me too!"
Rose smiled shyly, thanking Anne and Barry for their support.
"From now on, I'll try to be more outgoing."
As they chatted amongst themselves, the line slowly dwindled down, until it was their turn to enter.
Barry opened the flap to the tent and allowed Rose to slip through it.
The inside of the tent was very clean, unlike its outward appearance.
Low shelves are lined on one side, with a large wooden table in the middle. Above, an orb emitted a mysterious light.
"Welcome."
A woman sitting in front of the table greeted them.
The woman with green hair and blue eyes was known as K.
"Haa... It's the first day, so I'm a little tired."
As the previous guest left the tent, Kate stretched her arms up. If that wasn't enough to relax her tired muscles, she rose up from her seat, walked around, and warmed up lightly.
The past, present, and future that the guests wanted were usually informed by her crystal ball.
Normal people can't see what appears in the orb, so Kate had no choice but to see it through her own eyes and repeat it to them.
It was a very important job for her to do.
"I guess I’ll just have to accept that previous guest as the last. Hmm… From what I saw earlier, it seems that the skewer shop has started business..."
Kate's mouth salivated over the snacks that were made and ready to eat after she closed up for the night. She was determined to claim that the previous guest was her final and last guest of the day.
At that moment, a wind blew into the tent as if against her resolve.
Kate's eyes widened at the sound.
"I can’t close the business yet?"
Sometimes God would send her requests from time to time through the wind.
Trying to recall any important news she’d gathered on the current situation and list of demands God had given her, Kate shrugged, unable to recall.
…God is playing a trick on me. Haa… But what can I do? I must follow his will.
The vision of her eating the skewers was moving further away before Kate's eyes. Swallowing back tears, she sat down and called out to her guests.
The guest entered.
It’s the lover!
The usual questions Kate expected were about the future, which she would get knowledge of easily.
Sometimes a customer would come asking to find an unscrupulous person who stole their money. Or she’d get a customer asking for the whereabouts of a lost cat looking for a relationship.
This time, Kate expected as much as she invited the next guest, feeling fatigue weigh on her eyes and body.
"Welcome, guests."
Kate couldn't take her eyes off the guest, who had entered the tent with warm greetings.
Her last guests were a group consisting of three women.
Two of them gave the impression of everyday commoners who you’d see walking about the plaza square, but the woman in the middle was different.
First of all, her overall appearance was different. The woman had sun-kissed blonde hair and ruby-red red eyes. Kate had never seen anyone so beautiful in all her sixteen years of life.
The beauty possessed by the Emperor and the Duke of Honeywell was nothing compared to that of this woman.
But it wasn't the looks that caught Kate's attention. It was the energy that emanated from her very pores.
Divinity that could not be felt even by the high priest.
It was only visible to souls touched by God.
Kate was sure.
…That person. Not the emperor, but this woman has the attention of the gods. She is a woman born under the hand of God. However, what is that?
"Sit."
Kate invited the three of them to sit on opposite chairs.
She narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman who sat in the middle.
The soul of the woman who received the touch of God was clear, pure, and clean.
She possessed a soul so clean that it was admirable, even to Kate, but there was something foreign contained within it.
Kate wanted to figure out what it was, but no matter how hard she focused her eyes, she couldn't see exactly what it was.
"I—We came because we wanted to see Master K’s fortune-telling."
The woman sitting on the right spoke out cautiously.
Kate then realized that she hadn't said anything to the guests after they sat down.
She coughed awkwardly to break the building tension.
"Hmm, yes, my apologies. What did you come to see?"
"I want to know the whereabouts of my ex, who ran away last year!"
The woman sitting on the right screamed out in a rush.
Her words, dripping with resentment, drew the attention of not only the blonde woman but also the woman sitting on the opposite side, to the left.
Kate held the crystal ball in front of the woman who asked the question.
"Can you tell me your name first?"
"It’s Barry."
"Yes, Miss Barry, think of the person you want to find and place your hand on this crystal ball. I need a very detailed description, so think of as many details as you can. That way the crystal ball will be able to easily locate him."
Barry placed her hand on the crystal ball and closed her eyes. Slowly, her face hardened as if she were drawing the image of her ex-lover who had run away in her mind’s eye.
"Yes, great. You can let go now."
Barry released her grip as Kate focused on the story the crystal ball was foretelling.
The man who appeared in the crystal ball was seen laughing with a foreign woman in a nation outside of Tristan.
A drop of cold sweat broke out on Kate's face as she confirmed his whereabouts.
…The man ran away and is living with another woman.
The crystal ball had always been brutal when revealing secrets that others tried to keep hidden.
Many guests had asked the same questions as Barry, and there were times when it was as difficult to tell the truth as it is now.
Kate cleared her face of any emotions and spoke.
"The man is on another continent, another nation. It's a place where you have to travel by boat for several days, so if you're thinking of meeting him now, it's good to pack for a few days."
Leaving aside the image of a man with a woman, Kate shared what she had seen.
…I don't think you'll ever meet them again, so this is better.
Looking at Barry with her shoulders drooping, Kate said that she would meet someone better in the future, then looked at the blonde woman.
"Does the customer have any questions?"
"Me? I do…"
The woman was visibly embarrassed.
It was difficult to tell whether she hesitated because there was nothing she wanted to know or if it was difficult to say out loud.
Kate was curious about the woman's story.
_—No, I just want to know the name of this woman. _
When Kate looked at the crystal ball, she did not ask for the guest's name.
She knew that it was due to the fact that a name was too important, just as a crystal ball was in telling the future.
But she’d pretend that she needed to know the name. She’d already planned ahead and asked for Barry’s name.
"Then, how about dating?"
Kate brought up a topic that could interest anyone.
Wealth and power—this woman seems to have them in abundance, so maybe romance could draw her interest.
Fortunately, the woman was interested.
"Something about love?"
"Yes. If you have someone you care about, I can tell you how your relationship with them develops. Of course, it can change because it is a relationship between people, and knowing the future can change your actions, but if you're curious, let me know your name."
The woman slowly considered her options before her lips opened.
"Rose Honeywell."
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