Whispered Words and Turtle Shells
Where is he? Arkin glanced around uneasily as well, but the moment he turned back, a slender, high-pitched voice floated from right behind him.
“...Yeah, it’s here.”
A weary yet beautiful voice—lacking in confidence. Not at all the tone of a prince from a kingdom. Arkin almost turned his head, but he held back, remembering how uncomfortable that might make the other person. He kept his eyes fixed only on Titus in front of him instead.
“Yes, Prince Elio of the Fog Kingdom, Baylon. Confirmed. Then the remaining—”“
Titus wrinkled his brow, flipped through the list of names one by one, bit his lip hard, and raised his head.
“Did anyone see Prince of Ivica?”“
Titus’s brows furrowed sharply. At that moment, Arkin remembered the strange carriage shaped like a vine trap they had boarded. The narrow window he had firmly shut, and the soldiers standing in front of it, staring intensely with clearly nervous expressions.
“That weird vine-carriage rider, right?”“
Draconis crossed his arms and asked in a blunt tone. Titus answered immediately.
“I’ll verify it, so please first walk around the room, change into your robes, and come back out. I’ll head straight to the main building, so once you’ve changed clothes, please gather in the dining hall.”
Titus tucked the paper into his sleeve and hurried away. Since he hadn’t greeted the remaining trainees properly yet, they stood awkwardly, aware of each other’s presence. Arkin didn’t pay them any mind and opened the heavy wooden door of the room assigned to him.
Exactly opposite the male dormitory stood a pair of twin buildings. The women were gathered in the courtyard in front of the dorm, listening to the priest’s guidance.
“Check the time here and stay alert, don’t be late.”“
Tilly pointed to the sundial in the courtyard in front of the dormitory. A tall wooden pole stood upright in the center of a long marble flagstone, casting a long shadow. Intricate numbers and symbols representing time were finely carved around the sundial.
“As you can see, the shadow is now reaching near the fourth mark. That means it’s almost time for dinner. First, walk around the dorm, quickly change your clothes, and then gather in the dining hall.”“
Tilly smiled brightly and turned toward the entrance.
Nefetia followed Tilly while glancing with her eyes at the sea visible below the cliff. The deep blue sea glittered like a jewel under the sunlight, with white foam rising, crashing against the cliff with a dull thud, then receding with a roar, and repeating the cycle.
Lost in the beautiful scenery and lost in thought, Nefetia didn’t notice the person squatting in front of her and tripped over her foot.
“Ah...”“
She nearly fell, but barely managed to steady herself by placing a hand on the other’s back. The sleeve of the purple robe draped over her shoulder also swayed and brushed the floor.
“Uh...”“
When Nefetia tried to look at the person she had collided with, the other simply shook herself off without showing any surprise, stood up, and turned to smile at Nefetia.
“You! You’re the one who will collide with me at this very spot.”“
“Collide with me?”“
Nefetia carefully examined the strange princess. Purple eyes with black hair. The hair color looked similar to hers but was even blacker, with the sheen of a starless night sky.
“You knew someone would collide with me?”“
In her hand she held a smooth land turtle shell. Complex symbols and lines were entangled like a net, and large, difficult ones were carved in the center. A fortune-teller?
“Yeah, I knew. A predetermined spot, a point of fate. Isn’t that how it is?”“
The unfamiliar princess pointed at the sky with her finger, then at the ground, picked up the turtle shell, and brushed the dirt off it. Her purple eyes sparkled as she held the shell out to Nefetia.
“I didn’t know it would be you, but I knew someone’s body would collide with mine. I ‘read’ it earlier.”“
“I have no idea what you mean.”“
Nefetia tilted her head, and the turtle princess smiled.
“You’ll understand soon. I’m Stella. From Astraria. We’re very interested in predicting fate and the future.”“
“Predicting fate and the future?”“
“I can see the movements of stars and planets. Of course I’m only at the apprentice level, but I’m pretty good at it.”“
Stella carefully held the turtle shell against her chest and tapped it.
“This is my personal tool for astrology.”“
So using that turtle shell to read fate and the future... Nefetia’s eyes narrowed.
“Can you also read other people’s fates with that?”“
“Of course. Last night when I was observing the stars, I already read your fate? When I accidentally dropped the turtle this morning, I knew you’d trip and bump into someone while lost in other thoughts.”“
Whoa...!
Nefetia’s eyes widened.
“You can know what I’m thinking? I was just looking at the sea.”“
“But you weren’t thinking about the sea. You were immediately...”“
“Immediately?”“
“Thinking about your destined partner.”“
Nefetia’s cheeks flushed with surprise. She had met a friend with an incredibly powerful ability!
“How do you predict so accurately?”“
“It’s a tradition in our kingdom. I’ve been specially trained since childhood. Every royal of Astraria knows how to predict the future.”“
I heard there used to be a royal astrologer in Kepet, but because they predicted the future too accurately and openly revealed secrets, a previous king completely abolished the astrologers and their department.
“And your name is Nefetia, right? The only successor of King Mahati. A great prince destined to be born with a tremendous oracle.”“
“Does your turtle shell tell you that too?”“
“No, Nefetia. I heard it just now.”“
Stella laughed softly. Her pale cheeks, dotted with freckles, flushed with color and her smile bloomed.
As the two chatted, the group in front had already entered the building. From a distance, Priest Tilly beckoned them over with a hand gesture.
“Hurry up, everyone!”
Nefetia and Stella caught up with the distance and followed the group. While heading toward the building, something suddenly occurred to Nefetia. She reached out and gently grabbed Stella’s arm.
“Hey, Stella. What does it feel like when I hold you like this?”“
“...Probably because of the ‘destined partner,’ right?”“
Stella’s answer came back after just a few steps. Nefetia’s eyes widened again in surprise.
“Your turtle shell is really amazing. Or is your skill just that good?”“
“You could say both. And I can also give you advice on what you’re worrying about.”“
“Really? Tell me. What is it?”“
Stella smiled. Her plump cheeks puffed out happily.
“Don’t rush. Just leave it to the flow. He will come into your hands soon.”“
The moment Arkin entered the assigned bedroom, he let out a dry laugh. There wasn’t much to look around. A small window high on the wall of the perfectly white square room, a single hard wooden bed, a thin bookstand, and a small rectangular wooden chest—these were all.
Arkin tossed his bag onto the bed and decided to change clothes first. He stripped off the wool shirt and pants that didn’t match the local climate and thoroughly wiped his body with the water basin prepared indoors, then unfolded the new clothes...
A thin cloth spread out flatly. These were supposed to be clothes? It was absurd. Even if looked at in the best light, they looked more like underwear.
Arkin hesitated for a moment, then put on the sandals given by the priest first. Going barefoot felt awkward, but after tying the long strings in several crosses, it somehow looked decent. Then... he gathered his courage and tried on the tunic.
It was just as burdensome to look at again. Arkin twisted the tunic this way and that in embarrassment and finally turned it inside out. It wasn’t so much wearing clothes as simply putting them on backward.
Since he couldn’t see his own appearance properly, Arkin pulled down the hem of the tunic that exposed his arms and rose only to his knees, adjusting his posture uncomfortably. Stepping outside felt awkward. Especially... if someone saw and laughed... what then...