CH 9

9  The Cause of Panic

TN : 9/15

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Hmm, let’s see what we have got currently. There was an auntie who had just trespassed into the parlor while saying something about divine revelation and blablabla – Uh, sorry, it was so unimportant that my mind automatically filtered it as old coot’s blathering -, looking proud and self-important in front of my father.

She was saying something along the line of my father not having other children or his territory experiencing a crisis if he refused to give whatever item it was as an offering to God.

Really? Was she saying that I had a bleak future waiting for me?

Not only that, but she also went so far as saying that if my father refused to offer whatever item it was, God would curse him down to my father’s descendants… Did she really take us as idiots?

And frankly speaking, what she said just now was beyond rude. Not only that, but putting her rudeness aside, did she really expect us to do as she said just because she claimed she was conveying God’s words?

Really? If we did that, then it would be the biggest mistake we could do. After all, from various history lessons, it had been acknowledged that following the words from divination in anything was a bad idea.

The act of involving divination in politics didn’t only happen in my past life’s world, but also in this life’s world. And if we traced back the history, we would find that this act happened even before the founding of this kingdom.

Anyway, the woman finally said something that simply sounded too suspicious for me.

She was saying God this and God that since before, but which one did she mean? After all, there were many faiths in this world, and so many religious people as well. Besides, the trend was currently dwindling. In fact, in this day and age, the religions in this world were treated the same way they were treated in Japan.

People would still hold a memorial service for their ancestors, do a new year greetings, or bury the deceased. And though they still respect and fear the unseen, there were very few people who would hold onto their faith until it became a hindrance for their daily life.

Therefore, as someone who used to live in that kind of society, having someone saying things like God was asking for an offering sounded more like a farce to me.

However, my mother trusted that shady fortune teller.

… No, she might not have wanted to trust that woman, but things developed in such a way that she had no other choice but to trust that woman.

AAH, this might be something similar to THAT!

It was something that happened in my past life. At that time, my sister had just graduated from high school. But then my mother received a prank call that claimed my sister was kidnapped. Hearing that, my mother and I both went into a panic, while saying, “What should we do? Onee-chan got kidnapped!”

All the while, my sister was in front of us, eating the rice cracker and looking at us with amusement. Finally noticing her there, we calmed down right away and wiped out our sweat.

And when we made a report to the police, they only told us that ‘such prank calls happened so many times around this time of the year’. Furthermore, they even told us to ‘make sure that you don’t give them anything even if they demand ransom money.’

Or, like that time my sister went back to our family’s home after she divorced her husband. On that occasion, my nephew was crying while saying things like, ‘the police will come to catch me for embezzling the company’s mone~y’. Though at that time, he added: ‘I’m still too young! But kaa-san, what’s a company anyway~?!’ which neatly diffused the situation.

Recalling that memory, I could vouch once again that yup, no matter which world it was, every mother seemed to be weak against their children. Even my mother in this life went into panic when the shady fortune teller came up with an unrealistic story about my future.

However, at this rate, she might ended up being forced to buy something expensive like some b*ullshi*t amulet or lucky-jar .

Or perhaps the amount of money that my mother expended for that shady fortune teller had reached an amount that troubled my father, and that was why they were quarreling?

Oh, I got sidetracked. Anyway, this case was surely similar to that case. You know, the one in which a priest, fortune teller, and accessory merchant were in cahoot. In other words, this was a case of swindling.

However, if this was truly the case, then the merchants who came into our residence were also suspicious. But we couldn’t bring this case to the court, what with our position as a noble, since we would definitely be put at a disadvantage if we did that.

And if I couldn’t solve this case now, I could already see the future where my family kept being swindled by these kinds of people. Therefore, I must checkmated this old hag right here, right now.

Now, enjoy your last moment, you shi*tty old woman.

First, I took a look at her big necklace, bangles, and rings. With just one glance, I could tell that all those items did not match with one another. Simply speaking, her style was a mess, as if she had just grabbed whatever accessories were available around her to trick my mother.

Seriously, her fashion sense was just that horrible.

Anyway, after checking that, I looked at the maid standing behind the shi*tty old woman. Although she was wearing a uniform that was similar to the one our maids wore, the look of her eyes caught my attention as it looked as if she was ridiculing my flustered mother deep in her heart.

Noticing this oddity, I inwardly grinned.

I see now. Q.E.D.

“Kevin, I need your help.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

After whispering several instructions to Kevin, I directed my attention towards that shady fortune teller and spoke.

“Hey, Aunty, you keep saying that some sort of disaster will fall on me. However, you’ve never mentioned what it is. Can you tell me about said disaster?”

“Theodore! You don’t need to worry about such things! Just let mama bear that burden for you!”

“It’s okay, don’t worry, mom.”

My mother had embraced me tightly in her arms, as if she was not willing to part with me. However, at this time, it was detrimental to my plan, so I desperately pushed her back with my arms. At that time 一

“Theodore.”

“It’s okay, dad. Please hold mom for a minute.”

My father finally nodded in agreement after he looked at my face for a while. He then retreated some distance away while bringing mother with him. At this time, Martha and Kevin who were waiting behind me gave me a nod, so I readied myself. Meanwhile, although Sebas looked anxious since he didn’t know what I was planning, he kept watching the event that was about to unfold. Ready to act at a moment’s notice.

When I looked back at that old woman, I spotted her eyes twitching for a moment, but it was only for an instant as it was soon replaced with a wretched smile.

“Well, well, you must be Theodore-sama, right. I’m Tara, the fortune teller. You may call me Tara.”

“Kay’, aunty. Then, tell me about my destiny.”

“It’s Tara, Theodore-sama. This Tara can change your fate and improve your luck. And this Tara will show you how she can drive away the disaster that is about to befall upon you. However, to accomplish that, you need to offer me the ‘Saint’s Tiara’ in the earl’s possession. That’s why Theodore-sama, you need to persuade Earl-sama, so he will offer the tiara to me. This is for your own safety.”

“I said to tell me more about that disaster, right? Are you deaf, aunty?”

Uwaah, that must be the most amazing and most cramped smile she made until now. Interesting.

“T-The disaster is a disaster. I can’t tell you more about it. But- But I knew that Theodore-sama is going to be hit by a disaster a few years into the future. Right now, the disaster is being impeded by the good deeds Selina-sama did. However, it is only a matter of time before the disaster befall upon you. Thus, unless you offer the ‘Saint’s Tiara’ to God, you won’t be able to avoid it. In fact, as long as you offer the ‘Saint’s Tiara’, everything would disappear all at once. This Tara guarantees it. Teodore-sama’s future should be safe as long as you offer the tiara.”

“I can’t understand since you talked too much, but I do know one thing. I know that you actually know nothing about this so-called disaster, am I right, aunty? In short, you have no idea about my future, right? All this talk about disaster is just your way to swindle money from my mother, right?”

“Are you mocking me, this Tara?”

“I’m not. I just want to know about the disaster in my future that you’re talking about.”

After glaring at me for a while, the aunty suddenly burst into a laugh.

“I see. You want a proof, right? Well, you shall see with your own eyes. The act of cursing me, the God’s proxy itself, is the evidence that Theodore-sama is possessed by an evil spirit. I, this Tara, will expose your true nature right now!!”

Whoah, look at her going. Even though I was just asking her to show the proof, she directly went on and placed the blame onto the non-existent evil spirit in me. You really have to admire her dedication to swindle people, really.

“O, SPIRIT IN HEAVEN AND EARTH, CLEANSE THE EVIL SPIRIT THAT IS POSSESSING THIS BOY’S SOUL…”

After the aunty said that, she started mumbling. Then, a gust of wind suddenly blew into the room out of nowhere.

“AAH, THEO! THEODORE! LET IT BE ME! PLEASE, PUNISH ME INSTEAD OF MY SON! PLEASE FORGIVE THEO!!”

“Theodore!”

At this time, both father and mother were starting to lose their calm. However, I only smiled at them, silently telling them that: It’s okay, I’m safe and sound.

Meanwhile, the gust of wind was blowing more and more violently by each passing moment. It even managed to blow away some of the furniture in the room.

“KEVIN!”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“KYAAA!”

Kevin immediately made his move as soon as I signaled him, and pinned down the maid that was standing behind the aunty. As soon as he pinned that maid down, the gale stopped.

After that, Sebas picked up the board-like thing that rolled down from the maid’s hand and looked over it before saying, “… Wind magic tool!”

Ooh, as expected. It’s a paltry trick, huh. While musing over that, I gave a thumb-up to Kevin to indicate ‘job well done’. However, at that time, I was suddenly embraced tightly from behind.

“AAH, THEO! THEODORE! THANK GOD YOU’RE SAFE!”

It was my mother.

“Theodore-kun is… good grief…”

Father also came up and embraced both Mother and I, looking as if he was about to break into a cry. But despite the fact that my parents were looking distressed, I was feeling happy instead. After all, from this embrace, I could tell that their problem would be solved soon.