There’s generally no answer to this kind of question.
Not to mention the enigmatic nature of so-called “fate,” even the divination that Ileya mentioned was much too vague.
It was difficult to perform an effective reading.
Under normal circumstances, a Fortune Teller would only divine one or two matters… such as, “Will things go smoothly for me next?”
And then receive either a yes or no as an answer.
Simple, but precise.
But… who knows if this Fortune Teller is truly on “the same side” as Ileya, or if it’s because she paid a hundred times the standard fee.
Upon hearing her question… the Fortune Teller didn’t say a word, immediately shuffling the cards once more, and quickly… laying out a new spread.
This time, though, the spread was somewhat different.
Eleven cards formed a circle, like a Wheel of Fate.
“You may only choose either the three cards before you, or the three cards before me…”
Patch-covered fingers pointed at the three cards in front of Ileya, and the three cards in front of itself.
Ileya, as before, carelessly chose one near her left side…
But… the moment she touched that card, she felt as if she had touched a living thing.
It was as though grabbing at a wriggling insect through a tissue; she could even feel its struggle.
Pa! Yet that sensation didn’t stop the young lady from flipping the card over…
But… the instant the Tarot card turned—
Not only Ileya, but even the Fortune Teller sitting across from her seemed to freeze in that moment.
On the card’s face… was a distorted human figure.
A man with two torsos—one side facing up, crowned, holding a long sword, armored and seated upon a throne in majestic authority…
While the other side faced downward, also crowned but utterly bedraggled, clutching a broken sword, his face contorted in fear and his gaze evasive… entirely devoid of a King’s bearing.
To Ileya, it looked like the King in a deck of playing cards.
Only, this depiction was more realistic… and much more twisted.
This was the [Emperor] card.
Of course… it didn’t seem to be an ordinary [Emperor] card.
“This… I can only try, a little… to interpret.” After several minutes of silence, the Fortune Teller finally spoke.
Its voice still carried lingering astonishment.
“The upright Emperor card means your future might hold supreme authority… but with it, perhaps, comes loneliness.”
“But the reversed Emperor card is the exact opposite. It represents cowardice and helplessness, capriciousness and tyranny… a future where you are at the mercy of others.”
Saying this, the Fortune Teller raised its head in confusion.
“How can a person have two fates?”
“Heh~ So are you the Fortune Teller… or am I? If I knew, would I need you to read my fortune?”
Bang!
Ileya let out a light laugh, crossed her legs, and propped them up on the table, utterly nonchalant.
But inside… she was somewhat shaken.
Because… she did indeed have two completely different fates.
One was her present, and the other… was what she saw after touching the Dragon Egg and Reliel.
A future where there was only Ileya, but in which she herself did not exist.
And in that future, she ended up exactly as the Fortune Teller described.
Could it be that this fellow before her really had some skill?
No… maybe this guy knew something already, and was just acting for her benefit now.
“So, this card… you can’t interpret it?”
A hundred thoughts flashed through her mind, but her face remained utterly calm, her gaze cool and faintly contemptuous as she looked at the one before her.
“…Yes, I cannot read this card, nor do I understand it.”
Hmm….
Ileya withdrew her feet from the table, leaning forward, elbows on the surface.
“Heh… then, as compensation for your utter uselessness~ you’ll answer two more of my questions.”
Indeed, she didn’t believe in prophecies and the like.
That was the real purpose of the young lady!
“I… or rather, what’s special about the bloodline of the Seredon Family?”
The tent instantly fell into a long silence.
Just as Ileya thought the other party wouldn’t answer, it finally spoke up, slowly.
“The Seredon Family bloodline is a Great Bloodline.”
The Fortune Teller slowly lifted its head, as if wishing to meet Ileya’s eyes—but that was impossible.
Because Ileya could clearly see, under the hood of that cloak—
That face… had no eyes at all, not even tears.
The skin on its face was pieced together from countless scraps, the color of the forehead and cheeks even different… the whole face was covered with densely stitched seams.
“Humans fear this bloodline… so-called Kings… the so-called Royal Family… all fear the Great Bloodline.”
At this point, the Fortune Teller sounded a little agitated.
Its stitched fingers pressed down hard on the table… even when the seams split and blood splattered over the Tarot cards, it didn’t seem to care at all.
“If they’re so afraid, why not eradicate it completely? Doesn’t the Royal Family have the power to do so?”
Ileya raised a brow…
As far as she knew, the Seredon Family wasn’t particularly powerful.
Otherwise… that cheap cousin of hers wouldn’t have risked everything to become extraordinary.
“No, they dare not… and because of a certain pact, they cannot… They know very well what kind of existence they are facing.”
The Fortune Teller’s voice grew quieter, as if wary of something.
And when Ileya pressed further, it only lowered its head in silence, steadfastly refusing to answer anything else about the matter.
“Hmm… Well, one last question.”
Realizing she’d get nothing more, Ileya simply stopped pressing.
“Do you know… Arthur?”
“Arthur…” The Fortune Teller froze. If it had eyes, they’d be staring blankly now.
“He is a very important person… not just to us, but to the Seredon Family.”
Those words surprised Ileya once again.
A very important person?
As expected… Arthur’s identity was by no means simple.
But who exactly was he? What was his connection to the Golden Sun Circus… and her own maternal family?
And why had he ended up this way?
“Who exactly is he? What’s his connection to the Seredon Family?”
The young lady voiced the question that had always puzzled her.
Perhaps… she could truly get the answers she wanted from the Fortune Teller before her!
“He…”
Crack…
Just as the Fortune Teller began to speak, the wooden posts supporting the tent snapped apart in that instant!
“Hmm?”
Ileya’s brow furrowed slightly, her left foot stomping the ground as she sprang backward!
As she had said, even though she’d come to seek this person out, she’d never placed any trust in them.
And she’d been on guard for a sudden attack…
So, the instant things changed, Ileya had already darted back to the tent’s entrance!
Crash… Whoosh—!
In the next second, the tent collapsed, burying the Fortune Teller underneath.
“Well then~”
Immediately after, a shrill, somewhat comical voice suddenly rang out!
“Next up is~ The Grand Vanishing Act!”
At this moment, Ileya, who had swiftly exited the tent, saw the assailant—
It wasn’t the Fortune Teller, but… the Clown who had just been juggling and interacting with people!
The Clown grabbed a corner of the collapsed tent and, with a flourish, whipped the canvas aside!
Inside… the Fortune Teller had completely vanished!
“Bravo! Bravo!”
“Amazing!”
By now, an unknowable number of people had gathered around.
They cheered loudly, as if they were truly here to watch a show.
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