Chapter 148
“We’ll take a short break! In 20 minutes, we’ll begin simple fortune-telling, so anyone interested, please come back then!”
The people who had been waiting for the witch’s fortune-telling dispersed with regret. Watching them leave, Becky and Chris finally let out a sigh of relief and stepped inside the tent.
“Selina, great work.”
“You can switch with Asta now, senior.”
“Ugh, time really flew by.”
Two hours had passed since the fortune-telling began, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime. Selina stretched her stiff body, quickly changed back into her school uniform, and stepped outside.
Immediately, a large hat appeared right in front of her.
“Wah! S-sorry, Selina.”
The owner of the hat was Asta. Blinking, Selina slowly scanned her from head to toe. Asta was wearing an absurdly oversized witch’s hat and a matching robe.
She had said she prepared a secret weapon while getting ready for the academic festival.
‘Is this it?’
She clearly tried hard to look like a witch, but…
“Pfft—s-senior.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Selina barely managed to cover her twitching mouth as she looked at Asta. Asta seemed to be waiting for praise. Her eyes were so bright that Selina finally burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Senior, you’re so cute!”
“W-what?”
Unlike Selina, who was laughing uncontrollably, Asta froze in shock.
“How can you be this cute? You look like a little witch.”
“L-little?! I’m older than you!”
Asta complained that she was being treated unfairly, but it only made her look even cuter.
“Tsk, you shouldn’t tease your senior like that.”
Just then, Zenon appeared and lightly flicked Selina on the forehead.
“But you’re smiling too, senior.”
“I’m fine! I’m Asta’s boyfriend!”
“How is that fine?! I prepared all this because I wanted to look like a cool witch like you, Selina… and this is what happens…”
It seemed Asta had imagined herself as a charismatic witch like Selina. Unfortunately, her current appearance was closer to a cartoonish little witch.
“Senior, aren’t you nervous?”
Asta puffed out her cheeks sulkily, but at Selina’s question, sweat began to trickle down her face. Soon, she started trembling as the tension overwhelmed her.
“W-what do I do? There’s only 15 minutes left! I-I feel like my heart’s going to jump out of my chest!”
“Calm down, Asta. You’ll do great. You practiced little by little all the way until this morning!”
Even with Zenon cheering her on, Asta was still in full panic.
Watching her flustered 모습, Selina chuckled softly. Somehow, she saw her own past self—the first time she had done fortune-telling.
Selina loosened the necklace around her neck. It was a magical tool that changed hair color, but because she was also wearing earrings, removing the necklace alone didn’t change her own hair.
When Selina placed the necklace around Asta’s neck, Asta’s pink hair instantly turned red. The eyes of people nearby widened in shock.
“T-this is…”
“It’s something I treat like a charm.”
Asta touched her changed hair absentmindedly, then froze and looked at Selina.
“It’s the first thing my mother ever gave me.”
Although the main reason Selina wore the necklace was to hide her hair color, she cherished it more because it was the first item she had received from Stella. The very first magical tool Stella gave her had been a bracelet, but Selina considered this necklace and earrings—its replacements—to be extensions of that bracelet.
“Whenever I wear this, I don’t get nervous no matter what happens. How about you, senior?”
Asta stared blankly into Selina’s purple eyes, then suddenly looked down at her own hands. At some point, the trembling had stopped.
It was as if magic had been cast on her—she wasn’t shaking anymore. Instead, confidence filled her. With her hair color changed by Selina’s necklace, she felt like a real witch, just like the one who had once saved Selina and herself.
“Yeah. I can do this now.”
Asta didn’t stutter anymore. Her pale blue eyes were now filled with resolve. Selina smiled brightly.
“Good. Keep that momentum. I’ll lend you this necklace until the academic festival ends.”
“But you said it’s precious. Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s fine for a little while.”
“Senior, you should head inside and get ready now.”
Of the 20-minute break, less than 10 minutes remained. At Chris’s words, Asta went back into the tent.
“You know you have to wear the necklace again within a week, right?”
Becky, who had quietly come up beside her, whispered to Selina so no one else could hear.
Although the earrings alone could maintain the red hair for a while, the main spell was engraved in the necklace, so she couldn’t take it off for more than a week.
Understanding Becky’s meaning, Selina nodded.
“Don’t worry. I’ll put it back on in time.”
“Alright then. If anything goes wrong later, come to me immediately. Got it?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“No need to thank me. You must be hungry. While senior’s doing fortune-telling, go eat and enjoy the festival.”
“Okay. But where’s Mie? Did she already switch shifts?”
“She stepped out for the exhibition.”
“Exhibition?”
Chris answered instead of Becky.
“Yeah, Mie’s displaying her artwork this time.”
It seemed Chris and Theodore had already changed back into their uniforms as well.
“We’re going to see Mie’s paintings. Want to come?”
Selina happily accepted their invitation.
“Wow…”
After barely managing to eat amid the crowds, they arrived at the art exhibition where Mie was. Selina couldn’t help but gape.
Chris explained that only selected art students were allowed to participate in this exhibition.
“It’s definitely quieter here than other places.”
“And if you look closely, it’s all nobles or people working in the arts.”
As Chris and Theodore whispered, Selina observed her surroundings. Compared to the lively areas elsewhere, this place had a solemn atmosphere. Since nobles tended to enjoy art more than commoners—and they were also the main patrons—such an environment naturally formed.
“Ah, there she is.”
While quietly admiring the artworks, Chris spotted Mie. The three hurried over to her.
Several people who looked like nobles or sponsors were gathered around her, apparently discussing her paintings with interest. They decided to wait until Mie finished talking.
In the meantime, Selina examined Mie’s artwork—and her mouth fell open.
[That’s incredible skill, nya.]
“…It’s beautiful.”
Title: The Woman of the Veil.
In the painting, Selina—with pale lavender hair—sat wistfully by a window frame, gazing outside. Just as Mie had said before, her face wasn’t visible. Even her side profile was hidden by her hair, making it hard to identify who she was.
In fact, even Selina herself, the model, wasn’t entirely sure the woman in the painting was really her.
That was how ethereal the Selina in the painting looked—so fragile it felt like she might disappear at any moment, making one want to reach out and hold her, yet at the same time so sacred it felt wrong to touch her.
The mysterious atmosphere captivated viewers, and many visitors stood frozen in front of Mie’s painting.
Strangely, looking at the painting gave Selina a sense of déjà vu.
“Guys, thanks for waiting.”
Mie approached, having finished her conversation. Selina and the others stared at her in awe.
“What? Is there something on my face?”
“No… I just realized again how amazing your talent is.”
“Did you really paint that? I’d believe it even if you said a famous artist did.”
“You’re incredible, Mie.”
At their praise, Mie blushed and lightly smacked Selina’s shoulder.
“Oh, stop it. Flattery won’t get you anything.”
“Ow! That hurts!”
Selina squirmed and slipped away from Mie.
“Who were the people you were talking to earlier?”
“Hm? Oh, Count Chase and someone from the Jane Foundation. They suggested working together if I wasn’t affiliated anywhere…”
“Oooo—”
Everyone exclaimed in admiration. Mie scratched her head shyly.
“So what did you decide? Did you accept?”
“No. I’m already sponsored by the Ceravi Trading Company, so I declined. But I told them I’d gladly accept commissions anytime.”
Mie smiled proudly and fanned out the contact cards she had received. Clearly, many people had reached out to her.
[The painting is amazing, but somehow it doesn’t really look like you, nya.]
Selina quietly agreed with Luna. Then she suddenly noticed the title again.
“But why is the title ‘The Woman of the Veil’?”
“Hehe. It looks mysterious, like it’s wrapped in a veil, right? I wanted to spark people’s curiosity. No one would ever guess it’s you.”
“What? You were the model?”
Chris, who hadn’t known, turned to Selina in shock, then looked at the painting again and nodded.
“Yeah… now that I look closely, it really is you.”
“Right? If you look carefully, you can tell it’s Selina. Sometimes when I look at you, I feel something I can’t quite put into words.”
“Yeah, I get that sometimes.”
“Sometimes I even think you’re from another world.”
Chris and Theodore agreed with Mie, but Selina had no idea what they were talking about.
[When you put it like that… maybe.]
Even Luna, who had said the woman in the painting didn’t look like Selina, now agreed.
“When do I ever look that delicate and mysterious? I look like I’m about to leave somewhere.”
“You are like that sometimes,”
Mie said flatly.
“Sometimes you look like you’ll just leave everything behind and disappear one day.”
“Ugh… The painting is pretty, but I can’t agree with that.”
“What do you mean you can’t agree?”
As Selina crossed her arms and sulked, a voice suddenly spoke between her and Theodore. Startled, the two instinctively tightened their grip on each other’s hands.
Clutching her pounding chest, Selina widened her eyes when she saw who it was.
“Dad!”
The man was none other than Freiman.
