I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 88 - The Bronte Family (3/4)

In the afternoon, Aphro sat at a small stall in the academy’s commercial district.

For once, she wasn’t shadowing Elsa but had decided to run a small side activity on her own.

Although working for Elsa meant she didn’t have to worry about money, Aphro sometimes felt the urge to do something independently.

Today, she had set up a fortune-telling booth, offering readings to passersby.

Of course, since astrological divination was costly and most students didn’t have Elsa’s wealth, Aphro used simpler tarot card readings instead.

Though less precise than astrology, the tarot was something she had studied and could use to provide decent insights.

After finishing her lunch, Aphro returned to her stall to wait for customers.

Meanwhile, Orson and Olivia wandered into the commercial district. Spotting the fortune-telling booth, Olivia tugged on Orson’s sleeve.

“Orson, Orson, let’s try some fortune-telling! Let’s check it out together!” Olivia said excitedly.

“Alright,” Orson agreed.

Hearing footsteps outside, Aphro looked up as the curtain was pulled aside. She froze when she saw who had entered.

She knew both of them—and they were heavyweights.

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“I’m sorry, but only one reading can be done at a time. I’d ask the other to wait outside,” Aphro said.

“Can’t you make an exception?” Olivia asked.

“I’m sorry, but fortune-telling is a private matter and can only be shared with the person involved.”

“It’s fine,” Orson said, stepping back. “I’ll wait outside for you, Olivia.”

“Alright then,” Olivia reluctantly agreed, pouting slightly as Orson left.

Once he was gone, Olivia took a seat across from Aphro.

“You look familiar... have we met before?”

“Ah, I’m usually by Her Highness the Princess’s side. Olivia, you’ve probably seen me before.”

“Oh, right, you’re Elsa’s attendant, aren’t you?”

“Something like that,” Aphro said. “So, what would you like to know, Olivia?”

“Hmm...” Olivia thought for a moment. “Can you tell me about my love life?”

“I can,” Aphro replied. “I offer two options: a tarot reading for one silver coin or a full astrological divination, which requires a gemstone for materials and one gold coin for my effort.”

“What’s the difference?” Olivia asked.

“Mm, the difference is that the latter is more precise,” Aphro said. “The former, the tarot card reading, might have greater uncertainty since it’s just a personal hobby of mine—I only interpret the information from the cards.”

“But for the latter, I’ll use my astrology to calculate the result you want. However, the cost is significantly higher.”

“Alright.” Olivia nodded, taking out a gemstone and a gold coin from her storage ring and handing them to Aphro. “Will this do?”

“Yes.” Aphro nodded, then took out the crystal ball to begin the divination.

Watching Aphro’s expression, Olivia couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

Although she didn’t entirely believe in fate or fortune-telling, she wouldn’t mind if the reading revealed Orson to be her destined partner.

“The result is in,” Aphro finally said.

“What is it? What is it?” Olivia asked eagerly.

“Well...” Aphro didn’t know how to respond. Although her expression remained calm, a storm was already raging within her.

The star chart revealed through this divination was almost identical to the one Aphro had previously calculated for Elsa. Once again, it ultimately pointed to a shroud of black mist.

That black mist, based on her initial judgment, seemed to represent either Orson or Litte. At the moment, it appeared more likely to be Orson.

“Mm...” Aphro organized her thoughts before speaking. “The star chart indicates that your destined one is connected to Antica and possesses a noble status.”

After saying this, Aphro fell silent.

“Is that so? Then, how will our relationship turn out in the future?”

“The relationship is shrouded in black mist, making it unclear. However, what I can see is that your stars align, and you two will eventually end up together,” Aphro said.

The latter part was something she fabricated on the spot, but she knew Olivia would be delighted to hear such words, so she said it anyway.

“Hmm.” Olivia nodded, seemingly satisfied with the result. Although Aphro hadn’t explained the process in detail, Olivia felt that knowing too much about the path could ruin the anticipation of their future romance.

As long as she believed they would end up together, that was enough.

Thinking this, Olivia smiled and stood up.

“Well then, I’ll look forward to the day this prediction comes true.”

With that, she left the booth.

Standing outside, Orson noticed Olivia’s cheerful expression as she exited and couldn’t help but feel curious.

“What did you have her predict that’s made you so happy?”

“If I told you I asked her to predict how many children we’d have, would you believe me?” Olivia teased, turning to look up at Orson with a playful smile.

“Alright, then how many? Did she give you a number?” Orson, now accustomed to Olivia’s flirtatious ways, responded without any embarrassment and even played along.

“Pfft, just kidding.” Olivia laughed, playfully poking Orson’s chest with her finger. “Orson, if you’re so curious about it, why don’t we start working on that tonight?”

“No, no, no! I already told you, I’m not planning on anything like that before graduation.”

“Oh~” Olivia nodded with exaggerated seriousness. “It’s funny how you always use that promise as a shield whenever you can’t handle me. Why didn’t you think about that when you asked earlier?”

“Ahem, alright, let’s drop it.” Orson, clearly flustered, looked away awkwardly. “Since you’re so happy, I’ll go in and give it a try too.”

With that, he lifted the curtain and stepped inside.

“Oh? Orson, you want a reading too?”

“Yes,” Orson nodded. “Olivia seemed so happy when she came out, so I thought I’d give it a go too.”

“Alright.” Hearing this, Aphro explained the two fortune-telling options to Orson.

“I’ll choose the second one,” Orson said, handing Aphro a sapphire.

“Alright, then what would you like me to predict for you?”

“Help me predict my love life,” Orson said.

“Understood.” Aphro nodded.

And then, she froze.

Through the crystal ball, Aphro could see nothing but a vast void.

When reading other people’s star charts in the past, Aphro had occasionally noticed traces of void lingering at the edges of the stars.

Initially, Aphro hadn’t paid it much attention.

It wasn’t until Elsa had previously asked her to conduct a reading about her own love life that Aphro began to take notice. At that time, the star chart related to Antica had been shrouded in black mist.

And then, just now, with Olivia’s reading...

Now, Aphro understood that what shrouded the star charts was, in fact, a complete void.

Was it a matter of her own lack of skill?

Orson’s star chart was nothing but an expanse of void; she couldn’t see anything at all.

Could it be that Orson’s star chart simply didn’t exist?

No, that couldn’t be it. It must be that she hadn’t invested enough resources.

Thinking this, Aphro pulled out the gemstones Elsa had rewarded her with—essentially her entire savings.

One gemstone, two gemstones...

She poured almost all of them into the reading. Slowly, the void began to peel away from the edges.

So, I can still see Orson’s star chart, after all...

Encouraged by this progress, Aphro channeled even more magic into the crystal ball.

As more of the void peeled away, a few stars began to emerge. However, as the uncovered portion of the star chart grew, Aphro felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the arrangement of the stars.

Just as the black mist continued to retreat, a crack suddenly appeared in the crystal ball. Before Aphro could react, the ball shattered into pieces.

Aphro stared in disbelief at what had just happened.

In all her years of astrology, this crystal ball had been her trusted tool and had never failed her. What had just occurred was unprecedented.

Orson, too, had noticed the unusual occurrence. Glancing at Aphro, he asked, “Aphro, what happened here?”

“I... I don’t know.” Aphro shook her head. She looked at Orson, trying to discern something from his expression.

In her view, either Orson himself was an exceptionally skilled astrologer who used magic to conceal his star chart, making it undetectable to others.

However, judging by his expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.

So what was the cause?

“Um... if it’s really not possible to read it, we can just leave it at that,” Orson said, shrugging it off. “You don’t need to refund me; use the money to buy yourself a better crystal ball.”

With that, and as if worried Aphro might try to pin the blame on him, Orson quickly stood up.

“Oh, by the way,” he added, as if remembering something, “I don’t know why you’ve been hiding your elven features, but I can see your pointed ears quite clearly right now. If that concerns you, you might want to fix it.”

After saying this, Orson lifted the curtain and walked out.

Aphro was left stunned. She touched her ears and then checked her reflection in a mirror. Sure enough, her elven ears were visible, exactly as Orson had said. Panicked, she quickly began reapplying the magic that disguised her features.

She quickly realized what had happened. The immense amount of magic she had used for Orson’s reading had depleted her reserves, causing the spell concealing her ears to fail.

But, judging by Orson’s words... had he already known she was an elf?

Damn it. When did I slip up?