Chapter 79

In the world, Gypsy fortune-tellers were usually considered no more than a pastime, like peanuts to pass the time. At best, they were a pastime for women who used Tarot cards to predict their love fortunes. However, when the city was hit by a plague or the country by floods, fires, and other natural disasters, and a scapegoat was needed, the story was different. The public, who had previously mocked Gypsies as useless, suddenly changed their attitude, singling out Gypsies as the cause of all the misfortunes that were happening. Those who were considered incompetent yesterday were transformed into powerful agents of the devil today. The Inquisitors chasing after the Gypsies, accusing them of being witches who had made pacts with the devil, were like harbingers of troubled times. Therefore, those who had much to lose were especially careful not to get involved with fortune-tellers and other heretical types. This was true not only for the nobility but also for the clergy and their families. However, this fortune-teller had been renowned for over twenty years in the San Carlo region. His reputation was earned as a confidant of Lady Rubina, the mother of Count Cezare. This Gypsy woman had accurately predicted that Rubina, when she was a fiery young woman, would become the king's woman. Her clairvoyance did not stop there. She had also predicted, before Cezare was even born, that "It will surely be a boy." She claimed to have discovered who the child in Rubina's womb was by searching the paths of the heavens. She continued to be a valuable advisor to Lady Rubina whenever she faced a crossroads. Lucrezia thought to herself, "If Lady Rubina hadn't been taken by the Inquisitors in the past twenty years, I might be fine too." Recently, Lucrezia felt a heavy weight in her heart. Nothing was going well, and there was no guarantee that things would improve in the future. Her precious Isabella was under house arrest by Cardinal de Mare and could not step out of her room, and she herself was being monitored by a young child her husband had brought in from outside. Lucrezia sighed deeply without realizing it. "Is your heart heavy?" The Gypsy woman's question made Lucrezia's eyes widen. "Yes!" "Do you have trouble sleeping at night and suffer from headaches?" "Yes!" "There are worries in your home. Something new has come in, something that wasn't there before." "Oh, oh, yes!" Lucrezia sat down on the round embroidered cushion in front of the Gypsy woman, as if under a spell. "Let's see." The Gypsy woman, sitting across the table, shuffled the Tarot cards and handed seven to Lucrezia, who had slumped into her seat. "Pick three." Lucrezia chose the first card with trembling hands. It was a 'Swords' card, with a design in silver and red ink on thick paper, and eight yellow flowers drawn behind the main figure. It was the Eight of Swords. The Gypsy woman clicked her tongue. "This represents your current situation. Defeat, difficulty, loss, separation. Fortunately, it's not yet set in stone. What is your star sign, madam?" "June 23rd! I'm a Gemini." "When the 'Swords' card meets Gemini, the explosive power is such that no one can reverse it. You narrowly avoided it by a day. You're lucky, very lucky." The Gypsy woman urged Lucrezia to pick the second card, extending the deck. Lucrezia flipped the second card with trembling hands. It was the 'Fool' card, which appeared upside down and looked like the 'Hanged Man' card at first glance. "This is the cause of the current situation. Someone acted without knowing anything and messed things up." In fact, the reversed 'Fool' card meant 'recklessness' and 'foolishness.' The card indicated that Lucrezia's actions had created her current situation. However, the Gypsy woman was a skilled fortune-teller and did not say anything that would drive away a fish already in her net. Instead, she subtly suggested that the cause of the problem was outside Lucrezia. "Yes! It's accurate! How do you know!" Lucrezia nodded vigorously, almost to the point of tears. It had been a long time since she had met someone who understood her. Indeed, no one in the de Mare household listened to her. The Cardinal now came to the bedroom at night and coldly blew out the candle without a word before going to bed. Isabella, who had always understood her mother, could not be seen because she was afraid of her husband. The youngest, the annoying Arabella, seemed to have betrayed her only mother by sticking closely to the scoundrel who had come from outside. Giada, the housekeeper, was ultimately just a servant, and her beloved eldest son, Ipolito, did not even reply to her letters properly. As for her family, they alternated between pleading and threatening letters asking for money. When Lucrezia replied that the situation was not good and asked them to wait, they only repeated their curses and anger. There were no warm words like "You've worked hard" or "If it's difficult, take care of yourself first" from anyone. Recently, Lucrezia had nowhere to turn. In response to Lucrezia's enthusiastic reaction, the Gypsy woman did not draw the last Tarot card but gathered the entire deck and put it into a silk bag. "There's no need to see more, madam. A new worry has entered your home. Only by removing this worry can everything return to normal and peace be restored." Lucrezia's eyes widened. This... Was she talking about getting rid of Ariadne? When Lucrezia did not answer, the Gypsy woman became restless. She had other plans and could not let Lucrezia leave like this. "But how... to do such a thing..." Seeing Lucrezia hesitate, the Gypsy woman deliberately took out a crystal ball. The Tarot cards were just a taste. The crystal ball was the real proof of her connection to the spiritual world. She rarely used it because it required a spiritual price each time, but the material reward she was to receive this time was too great. Even if she had to use the crystal ball, she had to seduce Lucrezia today. "Look into this crystal ball, madam." Smoke rose from the ball, and a faint silhouette of a beautiful girl appeared. Lucrezia gasped in shock. "Isabella!" "Your daughter." As the Gypsy woman moved her hands, the smoke swirled and the girl's silhouette danced. She was now peeking into the celestial secrets. The Gypsy woman narrowed her eyes. "I see a noble man." "What?" "Your daughter will become the king's companion." Lucrezia's eyes widened. This was exactly what she wanted to hear. "And then?!" The Gypsy woman continued to move her fingers. The silhouette of the man that had appeared before Isabella dispersed, and a whirlpool of smoke formed in the crystal ball. Then, the silhouette of a man reappeared, growing larger. He bowed politely and lifted the trembling Isabella to sit beside him. "There will be obstacles, but she will eventually become the king's companion. The royal bloodline will always desire her." The Gypsy woman continued her movements. The smoke that had gathered suddenly split, and the silhouette of a young girl appeared. The Gypsy woman frowned. When truly peeking into the celestial secrets, she could not control the images that appeared. "The second one?" "The second one!" The silhouette in the crystal ball was Arabella. Since Lucrezia did not consider Ariadne her child, she immediately confirmed it was the second one. The Gypsy woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously and stared into the smoke. "Is there a health issue?" "No? She's just a child. She's almost eleven." "I see a dark aura. Plague? Discord? Conflict? You must be careful. Take care of her for a while." The Gypsy woman felt the strain of revealing the celestial secrets one after another. She tried to turn off the crystal ball, but it seemed Lucrezia wanted to see more. "Teacher, what about Ipolito...!" Lucrezia bit her tongue. She loved her eldest son, Ipolito, more than her own life. She was very curious about his future, but a feeling of dread told her not to ask. When the smoke rose in the crystal ball, even the clueless Lucrezia could sense that the Tarot card game was over and they were now entering the realm of real black magic. She was worried that her curiosity might leave a trace of black magic on Ipolito's future. This was a rare display of caution from the usually impulsive Lucrezia. In contrast to her lack of worry about Isabella's future, which she had seen through the fortune-teller, her love for her eldest son was a deeper, more intense maternal affection. While the Gypsy woman was trying to turn off the crystal ball, a new figure suddenly appeared without asking anyone's permission. It was Ariadne. "?! " "!" As the two women were startled, Ariadne's shadow began to gather the smoke forcefully. The Gypsy woman, startled by the sudden influx of smoke, tried to turn off the crystal ball with gestures and movements. However, the crystal ball, as if overloaded, did not budge. At the same time, it began to vibrate at a short frequency, as if it could not handle the excessive smoke. - Crack, crack! The Gypsy woman felt as if lofty eyes were watching her from the air. "Ah, no...!" She tried to break the connection, but the crystal ball did not respond. A sinister aura gathered. - Bang! The crystal ball finally shattered into three pieces. "Ah!" "Oh, my!" Lucrezia was very shocked and her face turned pale, but the Gypsy woman also seemed to be greatly startled. 'I shouldn't have peeked into the celestial secrets...!' Lucrezia hurriedly packed her things and stood up, intending to leave the room. The Gypsy woman urgently stopped her. A tingling sensation ran up her right arm. She had used a lot of karmic energy to look into the crystal ball today, and she couldn't let her target leave like this. "Madam, wait!" Lucrezia turned to the Gypsy woman with a pale face. "Madam, did you see the crystal ball shatter? That is your future. If you don't deal with it now, it will be a disaster!" Lucrezia's expression twisted. She had actually tried to run away because she didn't want to hear this. Once she heard it, she had to respond. She didn't know what was wrong, but she had to deal with it, which was the most difficult thing for Lucrezia in the world. But since she had heard it, she couldn't ignore it. "What... What do I need to do to prevent the future?" Lucrezia was afraid the Gypsy woman would tell her to kill Ariadne. She was not afraid of blood; she had killed more than a dozen servants by whipping them to death. It wasn't that she had developed affection for Ariadne as her own flesh and blood. Lucrezia simply did not have the confidence to defeat Ariadne. She was afraid of her young, illegitimate daughter. Fortunately, the Gypsy woman spoke about an object, not a person. "There should be a new precious gem in your home recently." "A precious gem...?" Of course, there was a new precious gem in her home. It was the 'Heart of the Deep Blue Sea.' "This gem is very incompatible with you and your eldest daughter. Moreover, it is perfectly supporting the newcomer. That's why the newcomer is winning one after another." Flames shot from Lucrezia's purple eyes, which were identical to Isabella's. "If you bring this to me, I will perform a purification ritual. If you can't suppress the evil aura in the precious gem, you will be finished...!" Just a moment, if I get rid of that, will that troublesome young girl not defy me?