CHAPTER 05
Everett quickly reached up and touched the black cloth draped over her shoulder.
Unlike Kyle’s comment about it being a doormat, it was a very soft and luxurious velvet.
“Why? Are you checking it because you’re grossed out after I called it a doormat? Still, it’s better than walking around with your clothes all torn. Just wear it.”
Kyle spoke quietly as he looked at Everett, now draped in the cloth.
“It suits your eyes quite well.”
But his barely audible voice was drowned out by the sound of the bells and never reached her.
Everett gave a small nod, gripped the cloth, and started down the stairs.
Only after she disappeared into the alley did Yankeller appear.
“Oh? Is the young lady gone?”
“Yeah, seemed like she had something urgent. She ran off in a hurry.”
“But her clothes were torn…”
Yankeller was holding Kyle’s clerical robe in his hands.
“Wait, did you really bring that for her to wear?”
“Well… I guess it’s not ideal, but it’s the only coat I have right now.”
As Kyle and Yankeller walked back into the temple, Kyle asked,
“Yann, do you know who that young lady was earlier?”
“No, today was the first time I saw her at the temple. Why?”
“Oh, I need to get something back from her, but we didn’t make any arrangements to meet again.”
“Get something back? What is it?”
“A doormat.”
“What? A doormat? What are you talking about…?”
Without answering, Kyle walked ahead with long strides.
He remembered the way Everett had stared at him with wide, black eyes like a startled cat.
A short laugh escaped him.
‘Should I ask Alph to look into her?’
Kyle looked down at the left hand that had briefly held Everett’s arm and thought.
Sunlight shimmered faintly across the black cloth Kyle had given her.
‘Using something like this as a doormat… Royals really are something else.’
Everett had no idea that it was actually a lap blanket that had never been used.
‘It looks practically new even if it was a doormat… but he didn’t say he wanted it back, did he? So can I keep it?’
Fingering the soft velvet, Everett walked back to the mansion.
In the distance, she could see Daisy running toward her.
“My lady, you said you’d be back early! Why are you so late?”
“It’s not even night yet. You think this is late?”
“It was your first time going to the plaza alone. I was worried you might’ve gotten lost!”
“Oh, I see. Sorry. I meant I’d be back before dark.”
Everett gave an awkward smile.
“But my lady, what’s that cloth? You didn’t have it when you left. Did you buy it?”
“Nope. It’s a doormat.”
“What? That’s gross! Why are you wearing a doormat? Take it off immediately!”
As they stepped into the mansion courtyard, Everett took off the cloth and handed it over.
“Oh my! What happened to your clothes? Why are they torn like that?”
“I got caught on a tree. Luckily, someone passing by gave me that, so I wore it home.”
“What a kind person! It’s really nice of them to help, but… why a doormat? But my lady?”
“What?”
Daisy, still holding the cloth, asked,
“Are you sure this is really a doormat?”
“That’s what he said.”
The black velvet shimmered as if sprinkled with silver dust and even had a pleasant fragrance.
Daisy brought it closer to her nose and sniffed.
“I mean, I don’t really know much about these things, but this doesn’t feel like something you’d use as a doormat.”
“Right? I thought so too. He must be pretty rich.”
At that moment, an idea popped into her head.
‘Oh, I could use this as a tarot spread cloth!’
For tarot readings, you needed a soft cloth of moderate thickness—neither too thin nor too thick.
‘A dark color is even better, so the cards stand out.’
By that standard, the cloth Kyle had given her was perfect for tarot spreads.
“My lady, I’m heading out.”
“Okay, see you later.”
“I’ll be back before dinner at the latest!”
“No rush. Have fun.”
The next day, after cleaning up from lunch, Daisy went out.
Her parents had passed away early, and her remaining relatives lived far away.
Because of that, she rarely left the mansion, but about twice a month she would visit her aunt who ran a tavern near the plaza.
With Daisy out, Everett also prepared to go to the plaza.
The night before, Daisy had asked her to bring her along next time she went.
Everett appreciated her concern—especially now that Baron Gronji was gone—but she preferred going alone.
‘Since Daisy’s out today, I’ll make a quick trip.’
The fortune-tellers were gathered in the farthest corner of the plaza.
There were large and small tents decorated like sales stalls.
Some had long lines of people waiting, while others peeked out of their tents longingly at the crowd.
‘It’s not much different from the tarot street in Korea.’
Everett slowly walked past the tents, examining them.
Fortunately, most places made it clear what kind of fortune-telling they offered without needing to go inside.
‘A lot of crystal balls or animal bones… One even draws pictures to read fortunes—that’s interesting.’
She hadn’t yet seen anything resembling tarot cards.
When she reached the end of the row of tents, Everett spotted one tucked away at the edge of a side alley.
It was old and worn, barely noticeable.
The tent looked like it had been there forever—tattered and full of holes, with no decorations or signs listing prices or services.
‘Looks like an old place.’
It felt like the owner had been in the fortune-teller district for a long time.
“This place.”
She lifted the sagging flap and stepped inside.
Just like the outside, the interior was bare of decorations.
At a small table sat an old crone, her skin shriveled like a mummy, unmoving with her head bowed.
Everett froze.
The old woman didn’t stir, as if she were dead.
Just as Everett was wondering if she should leave—
“Oh, come in, dear customer.”
The old woman lifted her head, wiping her mouth as if she had just been napping.
Seeing her face up close, she looked even older and more withered, but a peculiar light glinted between her sagging eyelids.
‘Looks like I came to the right place.’
Everett sat across from her.
It seemed she used animal bones for fortune-telling as well.
They were so old and polished they looked almost eerie.
“What is it you wish to know?”
“Well, I didn’t come for a fortune exactly, but to ask about something else.”
“Something else?”
Everett placed the payment on the table first, and the old woman quickly pocketed the coins.
“Ask away. I’ve been working here longer than anyone else.”
“I see. Then… have you heard of something called Arcana?”
“Arcana? Of course. What Bartment citizen hasn’t heard of it? The goddess Anish used them…”
“Right. So… is there any fortune-teller who uses Arcana or something similar?”
The old woman tilted her stiff neck, seemingly not quite understanding.
“Let me rephrase. Is there anyone here—or elsewhere—who uses square cards to tell fortunes?”
“Square cards? I’ve never heard of such a person.”
Everett’s lips curled into a small smile at the response.
“That was all I wanted to ask. You can consider it a fortune, I suppose. Thank you.”
She stood and reached for the tent flap.
“Everett… Gronji.”
The voice calling her name was deeper and more hoarse than before.
Everett turned her head. The old woman’s small, droopy eyes were wide open—and entirely white, with no pupils.
‘Is she… some kind of shaman? How does she know my name…?’
Her spine tingled as the eerie voice rang out again:
“Everett Gronji, Outsider.”
At that last word, Everett flinched.
‘…Outsider.’
The crone slowly rose and stepped closer to her.
“What is your purpose in coming to this world?”
It wasn’t a question that expected an answer.
The black pupils returned to her eyes momentarily before vanishing again.
As the old woman shuffled closer, Everett instinctively backed away.
‘She’s not going to lunge at me and bite, is she?’
She wasn’t exactly scared, but the woman’s behavior felt very zombie-like.
“Twisted jealousy and desperate desires have shaken the order of this world.”
Everett wanted to leave immediately.
But the old woman’s cryptic words made her pause and listen.
“Everett Gronji, outsider who is not an outsider. Woman who stands at the center of chaos. Will you give everything you have… for this world?”
Even with nothing but those white eyes, it felt as though the woman was staring straight into her soul.
Words that sounded like prophecy—or perhaps a warning.
