Chapter 150
Arthur was chatting with Freiman, laughing heartily, when his body suddenly swayed. When he turned his head, he saw Asta clinging to him.
“Let’s go quickly! At this rate, customers will turn back before even coming in!”
“Alright, alright. Don’t push so hard.”
Asta, who had been glaring fiercely and pressing against Arthur’s back, finally noticed Freiman. When Freiman smiled at her with gentle eyes, Asta froze in embarrassment.
Freiman’s gaze dropped to the necklace around Asta’s neck.
“O-Oh, hello! Were you perhaps talking with my father?”
“We just finished. I have somewhere to be, so I’ll be going now.”
“Yes. I hope to see you again later, Your Excellency.”
After Freiman walked away, Asta glanced back and forth between him and Arthur before whispering to her father.
“Father… did he just say ‘Your Excellency’?”
“He’s Freiman, His Excellency of the Moon Temple. Is this your first time seeing him?”
“F-Freiman, His Excellency?! Then… Selina’s father?!”
Asta gasped in shock, her face turning pale.
“Oh no. I didn’t even greet him properly! I should go back right now—”
“Not now. You’ll meet him again.”
“Huh? But—”
“Come on. It’s been a while since I’ve had a date with my daughter, hasn’t it?”
Arthur placed a hand on Asta’s shoulder and started walking. The rest of the Pauline family and Zenon followed behind them.
Zenon was wedged between Asta’s two older brothers.
Only after the few members of the marquis family disappeared did the people lingering nearby finally relax. Soon, one by one, they began showing interest in the fortune-telling booth and lined up to have their fortunes read.
Meanwhile, Theodore and Chris—who had switched shifts with Becky and Zenon—handled the customers.
Selina, having returned to her original work, went back into the tent.
That afternoon, the first customer was Freiman himself.
“This is quite serious. It reminds me of the old days.”
Recalling the fortune-telling shop Stella used to run, Freiman looked around carefully, lost in nostalgia.
“I need to work now, so I can’t talk for long.”
“I didn’t come to chat. I came as a customer.”
Freiman sat across from Selina, who looked genuinely surprised.
“You getting your fortune told is unexpected, Dad. I don’t remember you being interested in this kind of thing.”
“When I was younger, I often kept Stella company. It’s just that I never had anything I truly wanted to ask.”
“Then… is there something you’re curious about now?”
“No.”
Freiman smiled playfully.
“I thought I’d buy a little of my daughter’s time.”
“Oh, come on.”
Selina laughed softly—it didn’t seem so bad.
“Still, since you came all this way, shall we read your fortune? Hmm… I’ll look at what lies ahead for you.”
“If you often watched Mom do readings, you should know what kind of question to ask.”
Selina shot Freiman a brief glare, then shuffled the cards on her own.
“Why? Is that question not enough?”
“Hmph, of course it is. For me, it’s more than enough.”
Seeing Stella’s confidence reflected in Selina, Freiman burst into laughter. Then, to help Selina focus, he picked up Luna, who had climbed onto the table, and held her in his arms.
“Alright. I’ll look at your fortune one month, three months, and six months from now. Please draw three cards.”
Freiman drew three cards. Selina flipped them over immediately.
The smile on Selina’s face vanished. The same was true for Freiman.
“………”
“Haha… if I remember correctly, that’s not a very good card…”
The card representing one month later was particularly bad.
A card symbolizing everything painstakingly built collapsing all at once. Every card had dual meanings, so it couldn’t be labeled purely good or bad—but this one was unmistakably ominous.
“I’ll take a closer look.”
Selina grew serious and drew several additional cards.
But none of them were easy to interpret positively.
“Relax. It’s just fortune-telling.”
“……….”
“There are customers waiting behind me. Won’t you explain?”
Seeing Selina remain tense, Freiman prompted gently. Selina sighed and finally spoke.
“Alright. As you know, Dad, the fortune one month from now isn’t good. And… neither is the one six months from now.”
Although things seemed to improve slightly around six months, the cards carried a strong sense of loneliness.
“I looked more closely at what might happen within a month. It seems you’ll clash with some kind of organization or group of people soon. I think you’ll have a hard time because of it.”
“…I see.”
“No matter how hard I try to draw better cards, they won’t appear. It suggests falling into a trap, or enduring something so difficult you won’t be able to sleep. …Does anything come to mind?”
Freiman thought carefully. Gregory, His Holiness, and Silvia Hailers—the girl designated as the next saint—came to mind. Freiman slowly nodded.
Selina bit her lip. If it were someone else’s problem, she might not care—but Freiman was her father. She couldn’t let things continue like this.
‘I need to see the future.’
As Selina opened her inner sight, she looked into the future hanging over Freiman.
The first scene she saw was roughly six months later. Freiman stood somewhere, gazing bitterly out a window. He looked just as lonely as the cards had suggested.
Selina decided to look at a nearer future.
After countless scenes flashed by, she finally found one about a month ahead.
Freiman was furious—angrily shouting in a crowded place.
Judging by the surroundings and attire, the people around him appeared to be nobles or high-ranking figures. Just as she tried to focus more closely—
Beeeeee—!
A chilling noise suddenly rang in her head, and the visions pouring through her sight twisted and distorted.
As Selina staggered, clutching her head, Freiman leapt to his feet.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Ugh…!”
Selina tried desperately to steady herself amid the deafening sound and spinning vision, but it wouldn’t obey her.
“Ahhh!”
The pain intensified, and Selina screamed. Hearing it, Theodore and Mie rushed into the tent, while Freiman rolled up his sleeves to release his divine power.
But Luna moved faster than anyone.
Flash—!
A brilliant white light flooded the tent, forcing everyone to squint.
As the light faded, Luna was seen with her paw pressed against Selina’s face.
“Haah… haah… haah…”
[Are you okay now, nya?]
Selina nodded weakly, still panting.
[You tried to see too much, nya. You should be careful for a while.]
“Haah… yeah. You’re right.”
With trembling hands, Selina wiped the cold sweat from her face.
“Selina, are you okay?”
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
Only then did Selina notice the worried faces staring at her. She smiled awkwardly.
“Yes, I’m fi—”
Drip—
Before she could finish, dark red blood streamed from her nose.
“How is that okay?!”
“Quick, call a priest—!”
As Mie and Theodore panicked, white light poured out once more.
Freiman was granting Selina divine power. The throbbing headache stopped, the nosebleed ceased, and her body felt light.
Freiman withdrew his hand, his expression stiff.
“Do you feel better now?”
“…Thank you, Dad.”
“You look exhausted. You should rest for a bit.”
“Yeah, Selina! You even got a nosebleed—let’s rest!”
“I think I should take it easy today.”
At Freiman’s words, Mie and Theodore agreed. Selina wiped her nose, looking dumbfounded.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What about the festival if I’m gone? More customers will come.”
“Is that really what matters right now? Asta is here—she’ll manage somehow.”
Theodore stood firm, with Mie nodding vigorously beside him.
“No. Then Asta will suffer alone. I’m fine now—my body feels much better.”
“Selina!”
“You saw it just now, didn’t you? Dad healed me. Thanks to that, I’m perfectly healthy. Right, Dad?”
Selina waited for Freiman to back her up, doing everything she could to avoid leaving.
For a moment, Freiman saw Stella in her—just as stubborn, no matter what anyone said.
Knowing he couldn’t easily break that stubbornness, Freiman let out a soft sigh.
“…Alright. You’re not wrong.”
As Freiman took Selina’s side, Mie and Theodore hesitated.
“I’m really fine. So hurry and go. The customers outside are getting restless.”
After hearing a scream from inside the tent, people outside had begun to stir. Remembering that Chris was handling them alone, the two reluctantly turned back.
Just before leaving, Theodore looked back at Selina.
“If it gets hard, tell us immediately. Okay?”
Selina waved with a smile. Once Theodore left, she finally let out a breath of relief.
“Phew… thanks for playing along, Dad.”
“…I’d like to stop you like those kids did, but you’re not the type to listen easily anyway.”
Selina smiled sheepishly.
“Before I go, let me heal you once more. With a body this weak, how can I leave in peace?”
Grumbling lightly, Freiman took Selina’s hand and let divine power flow through every part of her body.
Selina could only grin, overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Oh my, it’s almost over already…”
“Don’t be so disappointed. There’s tomorrow too.”
“But I wanted to spend more time with the kids.”
On the second night of the academic festival, as it was nearing its end, Marquis and Marchioness Hailers arrived.
Their carriage had broken down along the way, delaying them past the expected arrival time.
“Father! Mother!”
As they walked with disappointed expressions, a familiar voice called out.
“Silvia!”
Anais opened her arms, and Silvia rushed into her embrace as if she’d been waiting. Arnold smiled faintly at the sound of their laughter.
“Why are you so late? I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I’m sorry. The carriage broke down on the way.”
“Oh my. Were you hurt?”
“It wasn’t a serious accident. It looks like the festival is almost over, isn’t it?”
Arnold asked, patting Silvia’s head.
“Yes. It’s about to close. There were so many fun things—I wanted to do more with you…”
“Don’t be too disappointed. There’s tomorrow.”
“But I don’t have much time. Even today, I was exhausted from committee work.”
Silvia complained softly, acting spoiled toward them.
“Still, I’ll make time tomorrow! And I really want to introduce my friends to you!”
“The friends you mentioned during vacation?”
“Yes!”
“I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
“You’ll definitely like them! And our club is really popular at the academy—even professors come for fortune-telling sometimes. If you’re okay with it, would you like to try a reading?”
“Well, that’s a bit…”
Arnold hesitated, viewing astrology as a dubious religion. Anais quickly covered his mouth and answered instead.
“Hearing it like that, we must try it tomorrow.”
“Promise? I’ll tell everyone in advance!”
[Attention, visitors to the academy. The closing ceremony will begin shortly. Please check that you haven’t left any belongings behind and return home promptly. Once again…]
The announcement echoed overhead.
Silvia’s shoulders slumped, and Arnold pulled her into his arms.
“We’ll head back now. See you tomorrow, my daughter.”
“Be sure to give us a proper tour of the academy tomorrow, alright?”
Only then did Silvia’s pout fade. She smiled brightly and nodded.
The second day of the academic festival slowly came to an end.
