Suspicious Fortune Teller (4)
“I… have my fate stolen by someone else?”
Varis blinked several times, his face a picture of bewilderment as he processed the fortune teller’s words. They were difficult to grasp, yet they stirred an inexplicable unease deep within his heart. Deep furrows creased his forehead, and his fingertips trembled faintly.
“Well, I don’t know all the details yet myself.” The fortune teller continued with a cryptic smile, rubbing her wrinkled chin and raising one eyebrow like a detective who’d latched onto a clue. Her eyes gleamed sharply, as if she’d already pierced through to the truth.
“From my experience, you see, I can glimpse a person’s ‘line of fate’. It’s like faint threads of bright color swirling around their body.”
“The harder it is to alter that fate, the brighter and more vivid those threads become. But you… you’re truly something special. It’s so clear I can see it with the naked eye.”
Varis took a step back at her words. Worry flooded his face, cold sweat trickling down his cheeks. An ominous premonition thudded against his heart.
“I-is that so? Then… can you tell me more? What exactly is this line of fate?”
“Of course. Have a seat here.” The fortune teller gestured to the crystal orb.
Varis hesitated for a moment before sinking into the chair with heavy steps. The tension coiled in his body showed in his awkward posture.
“Could you place your hand on the crystal orb and channel your mana into it? That’ll let me see more clearly.”
Following her instructions, Varis slowly laid his hand on the orb. It trembled slightly. He closed his eyes, focusing his mana at his fingertips, and began to pour it in steadily. His breathing grew shallow and ragged, the sound of him swallowing filling the quiet tent.
“Hmm…” The fortune teller peered into the orb, her fingers tracing slow circles over it. The orb glowed with a dreamy lavender light, bathing the tent’s interior in an ethereal haze that evoked an infinite night sky.
“Ohh…” She let out a gasp of admiration, her eyes darting busily within the orb as if searching for something. Awe mingled with tension on her face.
“What do you see?” Varis stared at her, holding his breath. His eyes shone with desperate intensity, hanging on her every word.
“It’s just as I sensed. Someone is stealing your original fate right now.”
“Really?!” Varis half-rose from his seat, his eyes wide with terror and doubt. Resentment and betrayal flickered there too, but the fortune teller raised a hand to calm him.
“Easy now. Having your fate stolen doesn’t necessarily mean something bad.”
“But… how could losing my fate be anything good?”
“It all depends on how you interpret it. Take a deep breath and listen calmly first.”
“Your fate might not have simply been handed over—it could be undergoing a profound change.” The fortune teller rested her chin on steepled hands. Her words were enigmatic, yet they carried a strangely compelling trust.
Varis followed her advice, drawing in a slow breath to steady himself. “Hoo… Alright.” He exhaled long and straightened up. The anxiety in his eyes hardened into resolute determination, a strange resolve rising within him.
“Good. Now let’s talk properly.” The fortune teller trailed her fingertips over the orb and spoke again. The air in the tent grew thick with tension, their gazes locking in a charged standoff.
“First off, you don’t need to hate whoever took your fate as an enemy.” Her voice was steady, infused with the quiet authority of decades of wisdom—persuasive and serene.
“Think of it like… a puppet show.”
Varis tilted his head, still looking puzzled, but he kept his mouth shut, his expression awkward as he resolved to hear her out.
“In a puppet show, threads manipulate the puppets. If a puppet playing a villain follows the script and commits evil acts, do you blame the puppet itself?”
“No…” Varis murmured softly, the answer surfacing in his mind.
“The puppet just moves with the threads. It has no will of its own—just like this situation.” The fortune teller tapped the table lightly with her fingers as she continued.
“Here, those threads represent fate. The fact that something meant for you went to someone else doesn’t mean they did it on purpose.”
“You’re both just caught up in the whims of a greater fate.”
“It might even be the price they paid for resisting their own destiny.”
Varis struggled to wrap his head around it. Complex emotions played across his face, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the table. He scratched his head and spoke haltingly. “So… you’re saying that person didn’t mean to get in my way?”
“Exactly.” The fortune teller nodded with a gentle smile. “They probably didn’t want to meddle in your fate at all.”
“But now that it’s happened, what matters isn’t resenting them—it’s figuring out how to navigate the path ahead.”
As her advice continued, Varis’s expression grew more tangled. Her words rang true, yet they remained vague and abstract, hard to fully grasp.
“Even so… it’s still hard to understand.” He pressed a hand to his forehead with a low groan.
“That’s natural. Fate is like that by its very nature.” The fortune teller sighed deeply and nodded. She gave the table a light slap with her palm to shift the mood.
“By the way, there’s something intriguing about you. Are you hiding some secret from everyone right now?”
Varis jolted as if stabbed in the chest. He straightened up, staring at her in shock, his eyes brimming with surprise and wariness.
“H-how did you…?! Do you know everything?”
“Haha, no way.” She waved it off with a light laugh. “Don’t worry. I don’t know exactly what it is. I just… sense something hidden about you.”
Varis swallowed hard, lost in thought. He fiddled with the ring on his left index finger, then took a deep breath as if steeling himself.
“Actually…” He started to slide the ring off but hesitated. His fingers shook faintly, and he shook his head, giving up.
“No, I can’t say. It’s my secret.”
The fortune teller smiled obligingly. “That’s fine. No need to force it. But… that secret won’t stay hidden forever.”
“When the time comes, it’s better to come clean with courage. Otherwise, you might lose someone precious.”
Varis nodded quietly, letting out a sigh instead of a reply. Complicated feelings clouded his face.
“One last thing.” The fortune teller nodded at his words.
“Who is the one stealing my fate?”
Silence fell. She stared into the orb, deep in thought, then spoke softly. “They’re close to you. Someone who seems reliable but feels somehow… out of place. That’s likely the one.”
Varis rose from his seat. Though the answer was vague, he seemed to find no reason to linger.
“Got it. Thank you so much today.”
“I’ll be rooting for you.” The fortune teller smiled as she saw him out. “Don’t take the stolen fate too hard. It might just open a better path for you.”
Varis stepped out of the tent, his footsteps still heavy. But a spark of resolve glimmered in his eyes.
“Reliable yet out of place, huh…” Varis muttered the fortune teller’s words to himself as he walked.
Ahead of him, several girls clustered around one man.
“Master! How’d it go?”
“Hmm, not sure.”
“What’d the fortune teller say?”
“I’d rather keep it secret…”
“……”
“Hold on, Lady Melina? Why are you suddenly grabbing Master’s arm without permission?!”
All of them showed clear affection toward Arnold. Watching him, a sudden thought flashed through Varis’s mind.
“No way…”
Thinking back, Arnold was always at the center of every major and minor incident, as if drawn there by design. He acted with the confidence of someone who knew what was coming. And he resolved even the impossible feats effortlessly, winning everyone’s hearts.
If that person is Arnold…
Varis sank into thought. If Arnold was the one the fortune teller meant… If it was true, how should he treat him?
“Ugh, I don’t know.” He shook his head to clear it, wanting to shut out the tangled emotions.
“……”
But one thing was certain in his heart. If Arnold was the one who’d stolen his fate—and if, contrary to the old woman’s words, it brought him harm—
“I’ll stop him.”
His quiet words scattered into the roadside air.