“What is this?”
Yellian’s eyes narrowed. They had expected something like tarot cards from the movies, or perhaps a crystal ball-something typically associated with ‘fortune’ in the West.
However, what she showed were four roughly carved pieces of wood. At a glance, they resembled the sticks used in a traditional game of Yut, which only deepened Yellian’s skepticism.
Surely, she wouldn’t claim to read fortunes with these…….
“I’ll read your fortune with these. Yellian, throw them.”
“……These?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Urged by Larissa, Yellian suppressed a sense of unease and took the four wooden pieces. With a somewhat reluctant expression, they tossed the sticks onto the table.
“Let’s see……. Yellian, do you like traveling?”
“Traveling? Well, not particularly.”
“Really? That’s strange…….”
At Larissa’s puzzled reaction, Yellian’s distrust grew even stronger. As expected, reading fortunes with mere sticks was absurd. They felt foolish for even getting their hopes up and let out a sigh.
“It says Yellian has been on a very long journey. A great distance, in fact.”
“Me……?”
“Doesn’t anything come to mind?”
At her question, Yellian fell silent. They wondered if she might be referring to crossing dimensions, but at the same time, they worried they might be forcing the pieces to fit.
“Let’s move on for now. Throw them again. Focus this time. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Unlike before, Yellian nodded with a slightly more serious demeanor. Picking up the wooden pieces again, Yellian took a deep, discreet breath. After focusing their mind, they tossed the sticks onto the table as before.
But this time, one of the wooden pieces fell off the table with a thud. Seeing this, Larissa’s expression darkened. Though Yellian didn’t understand the meaning, their face grew serious as well, mirroring her reaction.
“I’m sorry to say this, but…… Yellian, you need to be careful.”
“Why……?”
“You’re going to lose your way.”
“Me?”
How could someone like them, confined every day and even shackled, possibly lose their way when there was nowhere to go?
Yellian looked at Larissa, puzzled by her incomprehensible words. In response, she picked up the fallen wooden piece and tossed it onto the table. The stick spun in place before flipping over.
“Still, it says a benefactor will help you, so you don’t need to worry too much. However, whether to follow that benefactor or not will depend on your choice, Yellian.”
Her words were cryptic. Who could this benefactor be, appearing to someone like them who was imprisoned, and what could they say that would make following them a choice Yellian had to make?
The complexity of her words, which they couldn’t quite grasp, stirred a quiet doubt in Yellian’s heart. They felt sorry for Larissa, but it seemed like she was just making vague guesses.
“My lord, would you like to try it too? I’m really good at reading fortunes.”
“…….”
Contrary to Yellian’s expectation of an immediate refusal, Leonard seemed lost in thought. Seeing this, Yellian couldn’t help but wonder why he was acting this way.
Whether he knew Yellian’s thoughts or not, Leonard remained silent for a moment. The longer the silence stretched, the more Yellian’s curiosity grew.
“Go ahead and throw them. Even if my reading turns out to be wrong, you have nothing to lose, right?”
“Indeed.”
Just as Leonard finally picked up the wooden pieces in one hand, he casually tossed them onto the table. Larissa rolled her green eyes around, examining the shape and direction of the fallen sticks.
“My lord, I hesitate to say this, but…… do you have someone you like?”
At Larissa’s question, an untimely silence descended upon the room. Elton swallowed hard, glancing at his superior, Leonard.
Though he hadn’t said it out loud, Elton had felt something odd several times. At first, he thought it might be because Leonard had taken a liking to Yellian, a feline humanoid, but keeping them by his side constantly, even after they became human, gave off a strange vibe.
From Yellian’s perspective, since the person Leonard liked was them, they couldn’t help but feel guilty. Because of that, they couldn’t bring themselves to say anything. They simply waited quietly for Leonard to speak.
“Why do you ask such a thing?”
“It’s nothing major, but it shows that your heart is troubled and complicated. Usually, in cases like this, it’s because there’s someone you like.”
“Sounds like you’re just guessing.”
“By exploring the most likely possibilities one by one, we eventually find the answer. Of course, there’s some guesswork involved, to an extent.”
Larissa shrugged and nodded in agreement with Leonard’s words. Though it could have hurt her pride, her nonchalant reaction suggested she had a fairly laid-back personality. Or perhaps she genuinely didn’t care.
“Anyway, be careful not to lose that person you like. The moment you let them slip away, you’ll never be able to hold onto them again.”
Gulp. Even though Yellian hadn’t even considered running away, they felt inexplicably guilty and swallowed hard. It was because Leonard’s gaze momentarily turned toward them. But Larissa didn’t stop there and continued speaking.
“Who on earth is this person? It says they’re always thinking of running away the moment your eyes are off them. Is there really someone who would dare try to escape from my lord?”
“I suppose the identity of this person doesn’t show up in the reading, does it?”
“If I could predict something like that, I’d be a god, not a fortune-teller! Fortunes have their limits and boundaries, you know.”
Sounding displeased, Larissa pouted as she picked up the wooden pieces and tossed them onto the table with a light tap. With a prim expression, she examined the sticks before speaking again.
“Look, even here, one keeps bouncing off, doesn’t it? This means that person’s heart is different from yours, my lord.”
“I’m not sure. Did it bounce? I don’t think so. Right, Elton!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Yellian interjected abruptly. Desperate to change the subject, they even sought Elton’s help. Elton, with the keen sense he’d developed over years of serving Leonard, quickly grasped the situation and nodded.
“I’m not sure either. It looks like it landed quietly, just like the other sticks.”
“Oh, come on, I’ll show you again. Even if I throw it a hundred times, it’ll be the same every time.”
Frustrated, Larissa tapped her chest as she quickly picked up the wooden pieces and threw them again. As she said, three of the sticks landed on the table without resistance and rolled around, but one stubbornly bounced before falling over. Larissa looked at Elton triumphantly, as if to say, ‘See?’
“Well, bouncing is one thing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the person’s heart is different from my lord’s, does it?”
Elton seemed flustered but quickly regained his composure. However, the problem now erupted from another angle. What he said ended up working against Yellian quite unfavorably.
Yellian wanted to demand what Elton was talking about, but with Leonard watching with a piercing gaze, they couldn’t make a move.
“That person might share the same feelings as my lord, don’t you think I’m wrong?”
“That could be possible, but the reading doesn’t seem to suggest that…….”
“Come on, think about it, Larissa. Who in the empire could possibly reject my lord? Unless they’ve lost their mind, that’s impossible.”
Though Larissa responded with a reluctant nod, Elton didn’t stop there. Yellian couldn’t help but wonder why that guy was acting like this. But soon, they realized that while he might have unintentionally taken their side, he was ultimately Leonard’s man.
“Do you think, Larissa, that there’s anyone who could reject my lord’s feelings?”
“Certainly…… that doesn’t make sense.”
“See? I’m sorry to say this to Larissa, but it seems there’s a slight error in the reading.”
“……Well, that could be. No matter how good I am at reading fortunes, it’s not like I’m always right.”
In the end, Larissa reluctantly agreed. Elton finally looked at Leonard with a brightened expression, as if seeking praise.
Of course, Leonard himself seemed quite pleased with their conversation. He gazed at Yellian with a relaxed expression.
Yellian, wary of what that crazy man might say next, tried to hide their feelings as much as possible while forcing an awkward smile.
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