*** *** *** *** ***
The next day, I headed to Count Almaz’s residence at Leonie’s urgent call.
I wondered what was going on so early in the morning, but after hearing her story, I realized it was no ordinary matter.
“Libe, just before you arrived…”
Leonie bit her lip with a pale face.
“I almost fell down the stairs while going out to see you off.”
“What?”
“As you know, I’m slow on my feet, so I rarely fall. This is the first time I’ve almost slipped on the stairs.”
“……”
“What should I do? This kind of bad luck keeps repeating. I feel like something might eventually happen to me.”
“What are you talking about? No, that will never happen.”
However, contrary to my words, my heart began to beat unpleasantly.
I gulped down the cold tea to moisten my dry lips, and Leonie started speaking again.
“So, Libe.”
“Yes.”
“Louisa suggested that I should try a tarot reading.”
“Tarot reading?”
“Louisa heard from Elome that there’s an astrologer who predicts things with pinpoint accuracy. Both the past and the future.”
I was also aware of tarot readings.
In Mouton, tarot readings predicting the past or future using constellations and cards were in vogue.
I was quite interested at first.
I even sought out astrologers in an attempt to avoid repeated deaths.
I spent all my emergency savings and expensive jewelry.
But none of them could prevent my death.
Even after bringing precious accessories and gold coins, I somehow ended up losing my life.
Since then, I’ve thought that all things like constellations and fortune-telling are just lies.
‘Oh, that tarot reading is not accurate at all. Leonie wouldn’t believe me if I told her now.’
“Libe, you’ll come with me, right?”
“Uh-huh. Yes, of course.”
I’ll go with her, but I need to say something.
It’s actually quite dangerous to seek out an astrologer when you’re feeling vulnerable like now.
“Leonie.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t tell you, but I actually had a tarot reading done not long ago.”
“What? Really?”
Leonie opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Then she asked with a very worried look.
“What happened? Was it something bad?”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, it wasn’t that serious. Hahaha!”
I can’t say that no matter what I did, I was misunderstood and ended up dying.
I try to avoid Leonie’s bright, sparkling gaze.
“But, of course, after hearing various stories and sharing mine, I did feel relieved.”
“Yes.”
“But not everything they said was correct. Some things were completely wrong.”
“Oh.”
“Well, since it’s famous, it might be good to go once, but you don’t have to believe it completely.”
Because I’ve been through too much.
How much money did I spend on things like ‘If you do this, you’ll avoid fate,’ or ‘If you do that, the devil will run away’!
“Libe, you’re such a reliable friend.”
Leonie looked at me with a face that seemed like she might cry at any moment.
Oh, this isn’t what I wanted.
“Re-reliable, what do you mean?”
“Actually, with my father’s situation these days, I’ve been quite lonely. If it weren’t for you, there would be no one to talk to me.”
“Leonie.”
“And with all these things happening to me, it was really tough.”
Leonie’s father had recently been involved in some unpleasant matters.
Count Almaz owned several well-known hotels. But recently, people plotting rebellion were caught at one of the Almaz family’s hotels.
The group had been using the hotel as a hideout for quite some time, which put Count Almaz in a very difficult situation.
Although it was revealed that he had no connection with the rebels, this incident caused people to stop visiting the hotels operated by the Almaz family.
As a result, Leonie also began to be subtly ostracized in social circles.
In the original story, Liberata didn’t miss this opportunity.
It was a good chance to make a move on Leonie, who had become isolated.
‘But in the original story, Leonie didn’t say she was going to get a tarot reading because of continuous accidents.’
“Libe, I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t mention it. Don’t say things like that.”
As I held Leonie’s hand, the tears that had been welling up finally rolled down her cheeks.
“Leonie.”
“I’m sorry, lately I’ve been having a lot of negative thoughts. With my father’s situation and all. And all these big and small accidents happening to me. So I feel like I need to hear something, anything. You’ll come with me, right?”
“Of course!”
A short while later, we were sitting in front of an astrologer on Zeniton Street with very tense faces.
‘I’ve never seen this person before.’
Having died and come back to life nineteen times, I thought I had met all the famous astrologers in the area.
Her hair was graying but seemed to have been originally red.
Her long hair covered more than half of her face, making it difficult to see her expression or eyes clearly.
‘If she tries to extort money from Leonie by saying unnecessarily alarming things, I’ll definitely stop her.’
I knew their methods well.
In fact, the first few times, I was almost fooled into selling my house because of their words.
‘Everything these people say is predictable. I won’t be fooled.’
As I was glancing at the old woman with a face burning with a sense of mission, it happened.
The old woman, who had been examining Leonie and me in turn, raised her finger.
“The young lady is the problem.”
Then she turned her head to look at Leonie.
At the old woman’s words, Leonie’s face froze as if she had stopped breathing.
“That’s right, I feel like something is happening to me, but I don’t know what it is.”
It looked like tears might fall from her large eyes at any moment.
I felt sorry and guilty for her, so I held her hand tightly.
“No, actually, something has been happening for a while now. As if someone is controlling my life. It’s as if they’re waiting for me to die.”
I was shocked and tightened my grip on her hand.
“Leonie, what are you saying?”
“I heard that you can see both the past and the future very well. And that you give clear answers.”
But Leonie didn’t take her eyes off the old woman.
Though trembling, she asked the old woman, pressing each word firmly.
“Can you tell me what kind of situation I’m in?”
When Leonie asked in a trembling voice, the old woman smiled slightly.
It seemed like she was trying to lighten the mood, but somehow it only looked eerie to me.
“Of course. I’ll solve your worries.”
Then the old woman pointed to the cards on the table.
“Pick two from these.”
There were quite a few cards neatly stacked on the table.
I looked closely at the cards while holding Leonie’s hand.
‘Aren’t these too new for an old woman to be using?’
Paper inevitably gets worn at the corners after being used multiple times, but these looked as clean as new.
“The first card will show the problem you’re facing, and the second card will suggest a solution.”
At the old woman’s words, Leonie picked the cards with a very tense face.
Then the old woman slowly laid out the two cards Leonie had picked.
After a moment of silence-
“Oh, my.”
The heavy silence was broken by the old woman’s low exclamation.
“Is it not good?”
Leonie, who had become tense along with her, clasped her hands together and waited for the woman’s lips to part.
But the old woman didn’t open her mouth easily.
Ha, do these fortune-tellers receive group training somewhere?
The pattern is exactly the same, exactly the same.
‘But this voice, I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.’
As I was tilting my head at this strange sense of déjà vu, the old woman continued speaking.
“Your fate is changing, young lady.”
“My fate?”
“Oh my, but it’s not good.”
The first words are similar to what she said to me.
Only the person has changed, but everything else is the same.
It’s obvious that she’ll make her anxious like this and then demand money.
The first card Leonie drew was completely black with no picture on it.
Even without knowing the exact meaning, it was clear that it wasn’t a good sign.
‘What’s this, are all these cards ominous if you flip them over? Is this how they’re trying to do business with people’s psychology?’
―I was grumbling to myself with these thoughts.
Until the old woman spoke her next words.
“Someone has stolen your fate. You won’t be able to find peace until it returns.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
I was more surprised than Leonie and suddenly stood up from my seat.
My heart was beating unpleasantly and terribly fast.
Stealing Leonie’s fate.
That was possibly, no, definitely referring to me.
At that moment, the old woman raised her head and looked straight at me.
From the moment I first saw her, I had an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, but when I met her blood-red eyes hidden in her hair, everything became clear.
‘It’s that old woman.’
She was definitely the old woman I saw at the main gate on the morning I returned from Duke Cygnus’s castle.
As I stared at the old woman in bewilderment, Leonie gently took my hand.
“Libe, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Leonie examined my face and then calmly asked the old woman.
“Can you tell who stole my fate?”
Oh my goodness.
My heart, which had been beating terribly fast, suddenly stopped.
I guess this is how I’m going to die in this life.
Goodbye, everyone.
“No, young lady. Unfortunately, I can’t tell that much.”
My stopped heart cautiously began to beat again.
“…But it’s someone very close to you.”
Wow, she’s really playing with our emotions!
“I see.”
Meanwhile, Leonie’s face became thoughtful.
“So, because someone stole my fate, bad things keep happening to me, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then what should I do now?”
I felt like I was about to faint and collapse.
What if she mentions me here?
No, wait a minute.
I don’t like this situation either, and I don’t know what to do!
I’m terrified of Gerlach, and I’m planning to repackage and return it to Leonie!
“There’s also something bad happening to your father. I see a very dangerous shadow.”
When the old woman said that, Leonie took a sharp breath.
“That’s right. My goodness, how did you…”
“It won’t be easy to solve. Since he’s involved in something everyone fears, the aftermath will last a long time.”
I slowly took Leonie’s hand.
Her cold, dry hand was trembling.
“There is a way, but it’s not an easy one.”
“Please tell me. I’ll do anything.”
“Well, there’s something we need.”
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