Chapter 93

I reviewed my two goals of going to the masquerade today.

…First, deliver the music box to Elanie.

I also received an advance payment, so of course, it was right to give it. Obviously, the ancient magic item hidden inside the doll had already been disassembled and left in my room.

‘It’s an ancient magic item, so I can never give it away no matter how useless the resistance magic is to me.’

It would be foolish to just hand it over to someone else just because it was useless right now.

‘It’s a huge profit just to bring it to the Magic Tower and sell it…’

I was not in a situation where I had a lot of money right now, so I decided that it would be better to have as much money as possible.

…And second, check if the business I planned with Seymour goes well today.

As the scale of the masquerade hosted by the Imperial Palace grew too large, food and beverages were also outsourced. Among them, the proposal that Seymour and I had put forward was immediately adopted, and now, a large tent was set up in this garden and was selling off with great success.

‘By the way…’

I smirked under the mask.

‘I think I can do both at the same time.’

Because Elanie, wearing a white butterfly mask, was just lining up in front of the tent. I was excited and moved my steps towards her.

[ Cookies that will predict your fate today. ]

It was a bit lengthy to write everything on the signboard, though I couldn’t help it because there were no fortune cookies here.

In the original story, Seymour came up with the idea of ​​selling ‘fortune-telling.’

At a masquerade where you didn’t know who’s who, you never know what was going to happen. Everyone was hiding under a mask and dreaming of a romantic situation. Accidentally dancing with the person you could about, or talking freely to someone you didn’t have the courage to talk to usually…

‘But, everyone thinks the same.’

Unless it was a villainess with strange hobbies like Lady Olivia, everyone was bound to have a dark heart. So, it was Seymour’s idea to sell cheap fortune telling for fun.

I came up with one more idea there.

[ “We hide the fortune-telling in sweets that are very cheap and promote it as if the fortune telling comes for free when they get the sweets. People who are not interested in fortune-telling will still be hungry.” ]

Because of that, even those who did not like to spend money on a piece of paper could be interested in fortune-telling in sweets. Since there was no such thing as a fortune cookie here, everyone seemed to be very surprised.

As expected, people were curious and were checking the fortune-telling by breaking the cookies.

“I brought the music box.”

I sneakily stood next to Elanie, who was standing in line.

“Would you like me to check the fortune-telling in the cookie and then give it to you?”

Elanie recognized me immediately when I mentioned the music box and nodded her head greatly.

“Alright.”

She wore a white bow mask as well as a white wig and a white dress.

It was only after we were quite a while in line that it was my turn with her. Elanie picked up the sweets very carefully. There was fortune-telling written on a thin paper sticking out of the crunchy, broken cookie.

[ It will be an opportunity to deepen your relationship with the person you wanted to get closer to. ]

Elanie let out a small cry under the mask as if she liked the fortune-telling.

“There was someone I wanted to get close to! This is good…!”

She seemed quite happy as she muttered with excitement.

‘As expected… As in the original story, she got closer to Seymour here.’

I was once again grateful for the power of the original story, and it completely cleared out the slightest guilt I felt for taking Seymour’s role a couple of times. Then, the waitress noticed and quickly spoke to her.

“For an additional fee, you can purchase chocolate cookies with fortune-telling advice.”

It was a chocolate cookie, slightly coated in chocolate, and the price was doubled.

“Please.”

However, Elanie paid the price without hesitation. Usually, when a fortune-telling came up that you liked, you would be excited and wanted to receive additional advice.

‘Originally, looking at everything, if you tell them what they want, they will want to pay more for it.’

My guess was that not only Elanie, though a lot of people were buying the advice cookies.

‘The absolute price of one cookie is cheap, but in the end, you end up paying about three.’

Elanie was excited to open the advice note.

[ Tell the hesitation in your heart. You will definitely receive understanding and support. ]

She read the note again and again. Even in my memory, the two of them talked a lot today, hiding under a mask.

The waitress quickly noticed her and led her to the table beside.

“Did you come up with a fortune-telling or advice that you like…? The paper is thin and difficult to preserve.”

The table was stocked with mini frames that fit the size of the note.

“However, when you put it in this special frame, it never gets damaged. The memories of the masquerade last one night, but this note that symbolizes those memories will last forever.”

The mini frame was not very expensive. It was small. Of course, it didn’t cost that much either.

If you spent such a small amount of money and purchased all the fortune-telling, advice, and even a picture frame, the price had become quite reasonable. Nevertheless, the nobles here were not without money, so once they were interested, they would buy it unconditionally.

Although it was difficult for the nobles to open the wallet once, it was not difficult to keep the money flowing out of the wallet once opened. It was the same with the Royal Family, Elanie. She bought two of the picture frames and put them in her purse as if they were precious.

‘It’s a success.’

Watching Elanie’s purchase process, I burst into laughter inside the mask. Every time she collected the fortune-telling papers, it felt like my money was accumulating so I was very proud.

‘…I made quite a bit of money.’

Even though I didn’t know why I was thinking like this, Elanie gazed at me and gently suggested.

“Why don’t you buy one? I think it’s pretty good to fill the night with expectations.”

“Is that so…?”

I knew better that the note inside the cookie was just a scribble of almost anything, so it didn’t mean much. After all, it was just a vaguely written word that was good to amplify expectations. Still, seeing the lines lining up behind my back, I thought for some reason that it would be a loss if I didn’t do it.

“Give me one, too.”

The cookies kindly provided by the waiter were really tasteless.

[ You are not the only one who has been hiding your true heart. Keep your mind open to the possibility of defeat. ]

“….”

After checking the note, I was at a loss for words.

As far as I know, almost all of the fortune-telling was prepared to be good so as not to feel bad. Because if it said something bad for nothing, it wouldn’t be worth the money spent. Nonetheless, maybe, ‘Was it all good anyway? Then, I don’t have to.’

I was afraid that the same words would come out, so I occasionally mixed up warning messages like a needle in a haystack.

…But, I picked it right away?

“Oh, Laria. I don’t know what it is, but you have to be careful. I don’t think that’s a good word?”

Elanie glanced from the side and tilted her head before interrupting.

“So, you shouldn’t meet a stern person. Do you want me to stay by your side? I will protect you.”

“It’s okay. It’s a cheap fortune-telling, right?”

I answered kindly and cleared my mind. I knew best that this meant nothing anyway so there was no need to be uncomfortable.

The next moment, I calmly spoke to the waiter.

“I’ll buy another cookie with advice written on it.”

‘It’s grossly uncomfortable…!’

The waiter was excited, accepted the money I had given him, and held out a can of chocolate cookies. Who would believe the advice that I prepared? So, this was just for fun.

‘…What is fun? I came up with an unfortunate fortune telling, so I have to do my best to pick it.’

So, with all my heart and soul, I picked up an advice cookie with great care.

[ Even if today passes, you must not take this night lightly. Be careful with your words and actions. ]

“….”

In the end, I couldn’t pick out any good words and pulled out all the warning words.

“Oh, my gosh… Laria.”

Elanie stared at the fortune-telling in my hand once more and continued, “You have to be careful with your words and actions tonight, so you can’t move around here and there.”

“Hey, what…”

“So, would you like to stay by my side? I’ll protect you.”

“It’s okay. It’s cheap fortune-telling. Who seriously believes this?”

Elanie sighed in reply.

“…Me—”

“Well, that’s right.”

After answering with a puzzled expression, I stared at the fortune-telling again.

‘Well, it could be like this or that. Let’s not get annoyed when I get the warning fortune telling that I prepared.’

After that, I got so annoyed that I didn’t buy a frame and shoved all the fortune-telling into my bag.