CHAPTER 09
Reading tarot cards literally as they appear was the mark of a novice master.
A true tarot reader needed to explain why the boy wasn’t interested in Daisy, and what he was focused on instead.
It wasn’t about denying the possibility of love, but about helping the client understand the situation and offering a better outlook for the future. That was the master’s role.
Everett cleared away the rest of the cards, leaving only the three on the table.
“Daisy, for now, it seems it’s a one-sided love.”
Tears immediately welled up in Daisy’s eyes.
“But it’s not because he dislikes you.”
“Huh?”
“Right now, he’s more focused on his career than love. He can’t stay a gardener’s assistant forever, right? He needs to learn quickly and become a full-fledged gardener.”
Daisy listened closely and nodded along.
“You’re right. He said something like that over lunch once. That he wants to learn everything and eventually manage a garden on his own.”
It was an unrequited love, but Daisy didn’t seem too down about it.
“Miss, you’re amazing. How do you get all that from these weird cards?”
“These are called tarot cards. Daisy, I’m going to earn money with them—while wearing a mask so no one finds out I’m a baron’s daughter, of course.”
Though Daisy had stopped overreacting, her eyes were still full of concern.
“But, miss, I really don’t want you working in a tent on the street. It’s too dangerous. There are people who extort money under the guise of protection in the plaza.”
Everett listened as she tidied up the cards and placed them back in their box.
“That’s why I’d like to meet your aunt who runs a business in the plaza.”
“Huh? Aunt Marsha?”
“Aunt Marsha once said…”
That was something Daisy often said.
She always mentioned how easy it was to talk to her aunt, and how well they got along.
Marsha ran a tavern in the plaza that she had inherited from her father.
When Everett heard about that, she decided to adjust her plans.
Rather than start a tarot booth alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous place, she would try collaborating.
A few days later, Everett and Daisy went to meet her.
“Daisy, did you talk to the gardener’s assistant last night?”
He had stopped by the mansion briefly, having forgotten his tools.
The old Daisy would have just blushed and stood awkwardly.
But maybe the tarot reading had given her confidence—she had invited him to stay for tea.
Daisy, as if waiting to be asked, launched into the full story.
“Just like you said, he’s focusing on becoming a gardener right now. He said once he’s settled into the job, then he’ll think about marriage…”
And with that, her first love had ended in the blink of an eye.
But instead of tears, a new sense of hope seemed to blossom on her face.
“If a better guy shows up, she’ll forget the gardener’s assistant in no time.”
“So, miss, what exactly are you going to say to Aunt Marsha?”
“You said you don’t want me reading tarot in the streets, right?”
“Right. I really don’t. It’s too dangerous.”
“That’s why I want to talk to your aunt.”
Daisy tilted her head in confusion.
“I need a place to read tarot, and your aunt’s tavern hasn’t been doing well lately, has it?”
That had been one of Daisy’s worries lately.
Marsha’s tavern, a long-standing establishment in the plaza, was struggling as new, trendier bars opened nearby.
“So I thought of doing a little event with your aunt.”
“An event?”
“You know how shops sometimes have cool girls dancing outside to attract customers when they open?”
Daisy frowned.
“Why would anyone dance outside a tavern? It’s not a ballroom.”
“It’s just one way to draw people in.”
“Wait… Are you saying you plan to dance outside her tavern?”
Everett burst out laughing at Daisy’s shocked reaction.
Just then—
“Make way! The Grand Duke, Kyle Sovartman, is passing through!”
A booming voice rang out. The crowd in the plaza quickly parted to make way.
“Miss, over here!”
Daisy hurriedly grabbed Everett’s arm to keep her safe.
Tall men were blocking the view, so they couldn’t see Kyle’s procession clearly.
“Where’s he headed this time?”
“I heard somewhere in the north…”
Nearby onlookers speculated aloud.
“Somewhere in the north? Just say the north. He’s being banished again—to the cursed northern lands overrun with monsters.”
“Wherever they send him, he always comes back alive. The only place left to exile him is the far north. Kyle’s what—24 this year? And still wandering without a territory of his own.”
“Monsters, huh… Think he’ll survive again? Hope he makes it back…”
“Shh! Watch your mouth. You never know who might be listening.”
The man glanced around anxiously, covering his mouth.
Poor Kyle.
To the people of the empire, he was the unfortunate royal who had lost the throne and now wandered the continent.
His uncle, now emperor, had banished him to the frontiers when he was just 14.
Kyle had roamed the continent’s edges for a decade.
The emperor’s first order of business after his coronation had been to remove Kyle.
But he had no justification or power to do so—after all, the nobles had put him on the throne.
To them, Kyle was a valuable card to keep in play—one that could threaten the emperor if needed.
Kyle’s red hair, the symbol of House Bartman, had once been brown, but as he aged, it deepened to crimson.
To the emperor, Kyle began to resemble the first Emperor Bartman—the lion king.
He became afraid and decided to send Kyle somewhere from which he could never return.
“You must grow stronger, nephew. Royals must be unyielding.”
And so Kyle was sent to the cursed northern mountains to subdue the monsters no one else dared to face.
“Poor Kyle.”
The spectators clucked their tongues and began to disperse.
It wasn’t their first time seeing Kyle’s departure. Their interest quickly faded.
Despite being called a “procession,” Kyle had fewer than a hundred soldiers behind him.
Once the crowd cleared, Everett could finally see him at the front of the line.
“The grand duke’s pitiful expedition.”
Though Kyle sat tall and proud on his horse, Everett found him rather pitiful.
“Miss, let’s head this way.”
Daisy led Everett down an alley toward her aunt’s tavern.
At that moment, Kyle noticed Everett and suddenly leapt off his horse.
“Lord Kyle! Where are you going?!”
His escort’s horses abruptly halted, causing a stir.
Alfred, his aide, grabbed Kyle’s reins and asked urgently, but Kyle didn’t reply—he just strode forward.
“Milady, where are you off to?”
Startled, Daisy quickly bowed low.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
“Why don’t you just keep riding? Why go out of your way to talk to me now, Your Grace?”
Everett bent her knees slightly, wearing a mildly annoyed expression.
When their eyes met, the stiffness in Kyle’s expression softened into a smile.
“Milady, we left something unresolved, didn’t we?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Everett looked up at him, wide-eyed.
“The foot towel I gave you. When are you planning to return it?”
“Foot towel? You never said anything about returning it. I thought it was a gift…”
Everett’s crescent-shaped eyebrows twitched.
“It’s very dear to me. But you ran off in such a hurry that we never set a time for its return.”
Hearing this, Daisy’s eyes widened as she realized the black cloth Everett used had come from Kyle.
Everett grimaced.
She had already been using Kyle’s “foot towel” as her tarot spread cloth—and had even matched a mask to it.
Now he wanted it back?
“Well… He never actually said it was a gift. I just assumed. It looked expensive, maybe that’s why he wants it back so badly.”
Her sulky expression quickly turned into a pout.
“What’s going on in her head now? She looked mad, and now she’s sulking.”
Kyle chuckled at her shifting expressions.
“Milady, don’t tell me you threw away a gift from royalty? Is that why you’re hesitating?”
“N-no, Your Grace! It’s… it’s safe in the lady’s room!”
Panicked, Daisy blurted out a quick answer.
“Good. I was just about to get very upset. As you can see, it’s quite valuable. If there’s even a scratch on it, I’ll be expecting compensation—several times its worth.”
“Y-yes, Your Grace. Understood.”
Sweat rolled down Daisy’s back. She couldn’t understand Everett at all.
Why wasn’t she saying anything? Why just stare at him with narrowed eyes?
This was Grand Duke Kyle.
If he so much as nodded at a waiting knight, she could be dragged to prison instantly.
Fortunately, Kyle didn’t seem angry. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
“Lord Kyle, we must go.”
Alfred had returned and was now urging him forward.
“We have to depart now to reach the first territory before sunset.”
“Understood.”
A fleeting look of regret passed over Kyle’s face as he glanced at Everett.
“It seems I didn’t get a return date again. I suppose we’ll have to talk when I return.”
He turned away—then stopped and looked back.
“Oh, and milady… Do you remember what I said that day in the plaza?”
