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Chapter 08
Too Capable Fortune-Teller Is Not Good
“Duke Bordy?”
The voice I least wanted to hear right now—number one on the list—was Emperor Perion.
“I greet Your Majesty.”
“I greet the Emperor.”
“So even the imperial fortune-teller is here.”
We?
It wasn’t only Duke Bordy who frowned at that word. My brows also slightly tightened without me noticing, but I quickly fixed my expression thanks to the Emperor’s sharp gaze.
“But Duke. Are you short on work?”
The temperature around us dropped instantly. I felt a chill run down my back.
“Looking at you having time to loiter here like this…”
I stood between Duke Bordy and Perion, trembling.
It wasn’t even cold weather, but it felt like someone turned on an air conditioner.
‘You crazy guys… fight when I’m not here…’
How long did they glare at each other? In the end, the first to lower his head was Duke Bordy.
“My apologies. I should take my leave now.”
“Wait, Duke.”
Perion suddenly stopped him. Both I and the Duke looked at him in confusion.
“The imperial fortune-teller seems to have something to say to you.”
“…Pardon?”
I blurted it out loud in shock.
That look again. That “I’m testing you” look. That “you know what I want” look.
‘Yes… I guess I have to do it.’
I forgot my earlier cowardly attitude and lifted my eyes to Duke Bordy.
“I recently received a revelation regarding you.”
“…What is it?”
“You must properly manage the first fruit of the Bordy family’s sacred tree. It seems a major incident will occur soon.”
Duke Bordy’s eyebrow twitched. On the other hand, Perion raised one corner of his mouth in satisfaction.
The “sacred tree” represents the Bordy family, and the “two fruits” represent his children.
In other words, I was telling him to control his first son properly.
In reality, Duke Bordy’s eldest son, Gashin Bordy, was infamous in high society. High status, empty head—completely obsessed with women and pleasure.
It wasn’t new for him to cause trouble. So I just guessed something vague.
Duke Bordy smiled coldly, as if amused.
“That is quite helpful. Should I offer you some reward?”
“The imperial fortune-teller serves everyone in the palace. No need to worry about it.”
I already knew what “reward” meant. I’d be lucky if it wasn’t poisoned.
Why is Perion deliberately making me clash with Duke Bordy?
I was irritated but held it in.
Duke Bordy gave a light bow to Perion and left.
‘Ah… surviving noble conflicts is exhausting.’
Three days passed after that cold meeting with Duke Bordy.
During that time, I fell into one concern.
‘What exactly does an imperial fortune-teller even do?’
I had been lying around doing nothing for three days.
My body was comfortable, but my mind wasn’t.
‘It feels like a condemned man enjoying his last meal.’
As I sat there uneasily, Benji entered.
“Lady Rani. His Majesty the Emperor is calling for you.”
The moment I heard that, I felt both relief and disappointment—relief that I hadn’t been forgotten, and disappointment that I still existed in his attention.
I fixed my messy clothes and followed Benji.
Only then did I realize it was my first time in the Emperor’s office. I had been to his bedroom before, but never here.
‘No, that sounds like a dangerous misunderstanding…’
Even thinking it made me feel like I was about to slip up.
Today, I decided: just don’t say anything unnecessary!
I entered the office with Benji.
Inside, Perion was working with Lien. The desk was full of documents.
Lien, working beside him, looked half-dead—clearly not someone to disturb.
“Your Majesty, the sun of the Empire, I greet you.”
At my greeting, Perion, who had been writing, stopped and looked at me.
‘Still ridiculously handsome today.’
As I admired him inwardly, Perion gave that unsettling refreshing smile again.
“You seem to have been doing well.”
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s care.”
I answered without hesitation. Perion tilted his head slightly, intrigued.
“Are you not afraid of me?”
“How could I not fear the glorious sun of the Empire?”
Then Perion put down his pen and stood up.
He casually grabbed the sword at his side and drew it.
Lien didn’t even flinch.
But I instinctively shrank back and watched him cautiously.
“Seeing this reaction, it seems correct. But your words say otherwise.”
Perion tilted his head as if observing an interesting creature.
I tried my best to look harmless.
Perhaps losing interest, he placed the sword down and handed me several documents.
I quickly took them, but I couldn’t ask what they were, so I just stared blankly.
“These are materials for the upcoming imperial council meeting.”
Now I couldn’t hold back my question.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
As soon as I said it, I realized I’d spoken informally and quickly added a polite ending.
Perion looked slightly annoyed for a moment.
“You said yourself that there are many complaints about the position of imperial fortune-teller.”
So instead of just firing me, Perion was making trouble for himself.
I nodded quietly.
“I would prefer to kill them all, but I can’t.”
“R-right…”
“So you will prove your worth at this meeting.”
“How?”
The moment I asked, I realized how stupid that sounded.
Perion’s expression clearly said, “Figure it out yourself.”
I glanced through the documents.
The meeting date was tomorrow.
“Your Majesty… is the council meeting tomorrow?”
He nodded without answering.
I screamed internally.
‘Why are you telling me this now?! I’ve been doing nothing for three days!’
“Can’t you do it?”
“I’m not saying I can’t, it’s just… tomorrow feels like a bad day… my back feels cold and—”
As I kept rambling, Perion silently stared at me.
I smiled brightly.
“Still! It’s my job, isn’t it? Hahaha…”
I had no choice.
“I will do my best!”
I shouted like a new employee given his first project.
In front of Perion, of course.
Back in my room, I fell into despair.
How was I supposed to prove my worth?
The only thing I could think of was vague “prophecies.”
I couldn’t exactly perform a ritual in the middle of the palace.
I started reading the council documents carefully.
As I went through them, my eyes suddenly lit up at the last agenda item.
“This might actually work…”
I grabbed a pen and paper and started writing quickly.
“Lien, what about what I asked?”
“Oh, you mean the investigation on the fortune-teller?”
Perion nodded.
Lien searched through a pile of documents and pulled one out.
“There really wasn’t much to find. They lived very secluded.”
Perion slowly read the report.
[Name: Rani (24)]
[Residence: Kalbahes Duchy, Benidi Village]
[Special notes: Orphan. Raised by a fortune-teller since childhood. Signs of abuse found.]
Perion stopped at one line.
“Kalbahes Duchy, Benidi Village?”
“I also found that part concerning, so I investigated further, but there was nothing related to ‘that person’.”
“…I see.”
Even if Lien thought it was nothing, Perion couldn’t shake a strange feeling.
After a long silence, he spoke.
“Is Gideon still not back?”
“After what happened, it seems so.”
“When he returns, bring him to me.”
We need to look deeper into this.
Lien sighed quietly beside him.
Perion’s harsh treatment of fortune-tellers was nothing new.
He disliked all fortune-tellers regardless of ability.
But recently, Perion’s behavior had changed.
He was clearly becoming interested in that fortune-teller.
Lien had watched him for a long time, but it had been a long time since Perion showed this level of attention to someone—since that fortune-teller.
