LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Thus Saith the Fortune Teller (3)
『 Translator – Divinity 』
“You… know?”
The princess muttered in a daze.
After the class ended and she returned to her quarters, the princess found the assassination warning.
She felt irritation, anxiety, and… fear.
Even though she was the princess of the Unified Korean Empire, in the face of the fear of death that could strike anytime and anywhere, she was just a human being.
So she endured the side effects and followed Namgung Min, trying to interrogate him somehow, but…
He knows everything?
“Is that… because you are one of the assassins?”
Grit.
Thinking about it, there was no other explanation.
The fact that he brought up her secret from the beginning, the fact that he came as a messenger, everything.
It was a trap to lure me here by being blatantly suspicious.
The princess’s hostile gaze turned towards Namgung Min and then towards the darkness of the alley that enveloped them.
Thinking back to their brief scuffle earlier, Namgung Min wasn’t physically strong, but… he had that unknown skill he used against Lily Whiterose.
Considering that, she couldn’t let her guard down. First, to distract him, she would throw a punch—
“No? I’m not.”
“Lies—”
“If I were, would I be talking this leisurely?”
“……….”
That wasn’t wrong either.
If this Fortune Teller was truly on the assassins’ side,
Logically, there was no way he would miss this opportunity.
‘…No, maybe he’s trying to make me lower my guard to kill me for sure.’
But then, even that action could be intentional, couldn’t it?
The princess was thinking…
“Your Highness.”
“Eek!?”
“You’re suspicious, aren’t you?”
…When suddenly, she let out a small scream at the voice that tickled her ear.
The Fortune Teller, who saw through the princess’s heart as if it were the most natural thing,
Was smiling as always.
“I understand. Suspicion is like a swamp. Once you start, you fall deeper and deeper. Like Miss Liu.”
“………….”
“Don’t my words, my actions, make you suspicious? Don’t you think everything about me is an act and pretense, that I have other intentions?”
“……….”
Words that hit the mark.
That’s why the princess didn’t answer.
She was afraid, as if every thought was being read by Namgung Min.
Even though she was always confident, in front of this Fortune Teller, she felt small.
“It’s perfectly normal. It’s only natural.”
“………….”
“But you have to trust me.”
“…Why?”
“Because I’m on your side, Your Highness.”
Ally. On my side.
The princess glared at Namgung Min, pondering those words.
Really, on my side?
“Then, can you answer my question?”
“Anything.”
“Everything about the assassins, how did you know?”
That was the question the princess had.
How could a mere Fortune Teller know about the assassins who were threatening the princess?
If he wasn’t one of them, how could he possibly know?
But Namgung Min was still smiling.
“You know my job well, don’t you?”
“…Fortune Teller.”
“How would a Fortune Teller obtain information?”
“…Don’t tell me.”
Through fortune-telling?
He found out everything through that?
“Are you mocking me…?”
“What exactly is mockery?”
“How could you possibly know all that through fortune-telling?!”
Even though the princess was shouting in genuine anger,
The Fortune Teller was the same as before. He was smiling, his eyes full of amusement, without a hint of surprise or change in his expression.
“Then, does anything else make sense?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Guessing the contents of Miss Liu’s pouch, predicting the tremors on the day of the entrance ceremony, figuring out the exit of the maze, knowing your secret, Your Highness, knowing the direction to the destination in the mountains.”
Namgung Min spoke.
As if it were nothing special, as if taking something out of his pocket, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
In a voice that almost seemed to be scolding the princess for even asking such a thing.
“Do you think all of that is possible through fortune-telling?”
“……….”
That was.
…That was.
“You must have already investigated me. Even though I was born in the Unified Korean Empire, I have no connection to any strange organizations, the upper class, and of course, the imperial family.”
“……….”
“There’s no way I could know that information in advance, so what is it then?”
Incomprehensible.
That was the feeling the princess had towards Namgung Min.
He knew things he shouldn’t know and did things he shouldn’t be able to do.
Looking at Namgung Min’s background, he was just an ordinary person who had experienced some misfortunes. There was nothing special about him.
He didn’t have any frequent contact with anyone, didn’t exchange anything secretive, and didn’t frequent any particular places.
Just an ordinary…
That’s why.
“The answer is only fortune-telling, isn’t it?”
Despite being completely irrational, illogical, and unscientific,
The only conclusion was that.
“What do you think, Your Highness?”
“……….”
“Will you… no, will you believe in my fortune-telling?”
The princess thought, and thought, and finally came to a conclusion.
If Namgung Min was truly an incomprehensible being, someone who could find out all that information through fortune-telling,
If he truly had no ulterior motives and was trying to help the princess,
“…Yes.”
At the very least, she couldn’t make him an enemy.
She concluded that she had to bring him over to her side.
“Very well.”
“Huu… Alright. Since things have turned out like this, let’s hear it all.”
Even though not all her suspicions about Namgung Min were cleared, and he was still a suspicious person,
At least for now, there was no better option for her than to trust Namgung Min.
The princess, regaining her composure, watched Namgung Min with serious eyes.
“Who are the assassins?”
“Hmm, I see.”
If Namgung Min truly knew who the assassins were, knowing that would be the priority.
However, if he knew that through ‘fortune-telling’, it would certainly be less credible… but at least so far, this Fortune Teller had never been wrong.
That’s why the princess was inclined to believe his words—
“But, is it really necessary for Your Highness to know?”
“—What?”
What was he talking about?
Asking if it was necessary to know?
“…You can explain what you mean.”
“What can you do even if you know who the assassins are, Your Highness?”
“Ha! Of course, I’ll…!”
“Catch them? Assassins who haven’t assassinated?”
“……….”
The criminals called assassins were truly strange.
If they haven’t assassinated, they aren’t assassins, so on what grounds could you catch them?
To put it bluntly, you couldn’t call someone an assassin just because they wanted to kill their annoying superiors or bosses in their minds.
“Ah, there was an assassination warning, right? If we use that as an excuse, we can catch them.”
“But if we do that…”
“As you know, we won’t be able to catch the people behind them. They’ll cut off their tails.”
“……….”
“Do you understand now? The reason why it’s unnecessary for Your Highness to know about them.”
The princess didn’t ask how he knew about the assassination warning at this point. He must have learned about it through his fortune-telling.
…As Namgung Min said, the princess wanted to know not only who the assassins were but also who was behind the assassination order.
That was also why she overreacted to the mention of the prince’s bodyguard. If someone could place an assassin among the prince’s bodyguards, they were clearly not to be trifled with.
The princess, organizing her thoughts, looked at Namgung Min, who was still speaking.
“Additionally, the assassination will be in three days. So, if Your Highness knows who the assassins are and becomes wary of them, it might just raise unnecessary suspicion.”
“………….”
Not only does he know who the assassins are, but he also knows the date?
The princess let out a hollow laugh. She couldn’t help it.
What was there that this Fortune Teller didn’t know? Was there anything?
She already knew about his accuracy because she had experienced his fortune-telling, but…
Even so, she felt like she had to confirm it once more in front of her. Only then could she believe his words and spend the next three days in peace.
Suddenly struck by curiosity, the princess picked up a stone near her feet.
“Mr. Namgung Min. Give me more faith in your fortune-telling.”
“…Yes?”
“Which hand is this stone in?”
Fiddle.
The princess hid her hands behind her back, placed the stone in one hand, and held out both fists towards Namgung Min.
He was still smiling.
“You said the assassination is in three days, and if I know the assassin, it might raise suspicion. But that’s just your fortune-telling, isn’t it?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
“So, faith in that fortune-telling. I want to confirm it once more. This simple question is all that comes to mind now, but… give me faith.”
If his fortune-telling could know all sorts of information and see through her thoughts, this much should be incredibly simple.
The princess chuckled for a moment, testing him with such a simple question while asking for faith.
Namgung Min pondered for a moment, then raised his hand with a smile.
The princess watched his choice, and then—
“No, I was being childish. If I’ve decided to trust you, it’s only right to trust you until the end.”
“……Is that so? That’s very fortunate.”
—threw away the stone she was holding in her right hand, reflecting on herself.
Somehow, it felt like Namgung Min’s hand was pointing to the left, but it must have been her imagination.
“Alright. If I don’t need to know about the assassins, what will you do?”
“Ahem, ahem. I have an appointment with the prince tomorrow. I will resolve everything then.”
“…In one day?”
“Of course. It’s not as difficult as choosing a stone.”
“…That’s not a funny joke.”
Did I really give such a simple question to someone like him?
At Namgung Min’s confident declaration, the princess found herself gradually trusting him.
Perhaps it was because he was in the realm of the illogical that she felt more faith. Because the source of his endless confidence was his unchanging fortune-telling.
The princess, who ruled the imperial family with her own strength and wit rather than her intellect, nodded.
“I’m still uneasy, but I’ll trust and leave it to you, Mr. Namgung Min.”
“I will certainly succeed.”
That’s why the princess didn’t notice.
…That the Fortune Teller’s back was drenched in cold sweat.
***
“I see. Can I get along better with her?”
[So you had that conversation with Eun-ha.]
“Of course. It’s just a fortune-telling, but I’m confident it’s better than nothing.”
[Indeed.]
The next day, in a classroom somewhere in the academy.
As instructed in the letter sent by the prince, I arrived and was having a secret written conversation with the prince after dismissing his guards, just like yesterday.
Outwardly, it was about love fortune-telling, disguised as writing on paper as part of the fortune-telling process.
“Then I’d like to know about our compatibility.”
[Do you really know about the assassins?]
“Alright. Then first, please write down any number you like on the paper.”
[Their names, affiliations, and even the mastermind.]
“Any number will do?”
[Did you find that out through fortune-telling?]
“Any number between 1 and 10 is fine.”
[Of course.]
He seems to be in a good mood, but he’s probably a bit uncomfortable inwardly.
The prince must have also investigated me for a day and found out that I had no connection to the imperial family or any strange organizations.
He must also know about my accurate (?) fortune-telling and be wondering whether to believe it or not.
Normally, he wouldn’t use something like fortune-telling to identify assassins, but…
‘The princess is backing me up now.’
He’s only considering it because Princess Kim Eun-ha trusted and entrusted me with this.
No matter how busy the royal family was, as siblings, they would probably see each other at least once a day. The princess must have told him to trust me then.
‘Actually, if he had conveyed the code then, there would have been no need to go through me like this.’
Unfortunately, that was impossible. How many people would be watching when the prince and princess met? It was safer to use someone else rather than risk the code being exposed by conveying it then.
Actually, seeing the princess’s strange reaction to the code ‘my bodyguard’, the prince’s response was the right one.
“Then… let’s do this.”
[Then the question you asked me was a bluff.]
“Oh, that’s a good number. It seems like the other person also sees you favorably, Your Highness.”
[That is correct. It was to get Your Highness’s attention.]
“Really? That’s a relief.”
[It’s quite a nasty hobby to ask who the assassin is when you already know.]
The prince smiled gently and nodded. If you just looked at him like this, he seemed like a young man relieved by the love fortune-telling, but looking at the written conversation, you could see him calmly grasping the situation.
He continued acting, but he didn’t put down his pen.
“It’s a good start that we have good compatibility. Just how good is it exactly?”
[Then can I hear who the assassin is?]
“Perfect.”
“…What?”
But I put down the pen.
There was no need to write anymore.
“What… do you mean?”
“Everyone.”
“………!”
“I said everyone.”
The assassins trying to assassinate the princess were the 6 people who were the prince’s aides and bodyguards.
All of them.