Chapter 111

How to Tame My Beastly Husband — Chapter 111. Jack (2)

The capital of Deltium was rather strictly divided into separate areas used by different social classes. The Vassetti district was mostly frequented by lower class nobles and bourgeoisie, and while Annette knew there was a casino there, the place had nothing to do with her.

But she could think of one possible connection, when Jack introduced himself. A casino dealer.

“Why are you leaving out the most important thing?” Celestine nudged him lightly. “You need to tell her about your special friendship.”

Celestine seemed quite skilled at this sort of thing. Managing people, particularly one’s inferiors, was an important skill among the nobility. Perhaps she would make a good Crown Princess.

“I worked as a dealer at the casino for twenty-five years,” Jack said quickly, clearly intimidated by Celestine. “Gambling is addictive. Once people get hooked, they can’t stop, no matter how hard they try, so there were always a lot of regulars. Some of them had been gambling for ten or twenty years. One of them was a man named Ben March.”

That was the link she expected. Raphael had mentioned his uncle Ben March before, a man who had gotten into some trouble because of his gambling. But Celestine didn’t know that he was a relation of Raphael, did she?

Right now, no one in noble circles knew anything about his maternal family. When young Raphael had been recognized by the royal family, all his other family history had been completely erased. Rumors about his mother and her family circulated regularly, but no one knew the truth.

But fortunately, Celestine seemed unaware of this, as her questioning went on.

“The Ben March he’s talking about was also known as Ivan. Your coachman,” Celestine said. “He used that pseudonym to get a job with your father. He’s sneaky as a rat.”

But it was a relief that Celestine only knew Ben March as Annette’s former coachman. Annette shifted her attention back to Jack, as he went on to spill every detail he knew.

“Ben March was one of the regulars, but he wasn’t one of the big shots,” he said. “If I had to put him in a class, I would’ve called him cautiously middle-class. Based on the amount of money he spent, I mean.”

“How so?”

“Well, a few years ago, he suddenly had a lot more money to spend gambling,” Jack explained. “He was outspending even some of the petty nobles. A lot of people tried to figure out where the money was coming from, but Ben was always cagy. He’s been gambling a long time, he’s shrewd, and knows how to avoid dangerous subjects.”

Under pressure from Celestine, Jack suddenly became very talkative, volunteering far more information than she had asked.

“But Ben would talk to me, sometimes. Of course two ladies like yourselves wouldn’t hear of such nasty things, but gambling addicts will often try to talk to dealers, trying to find out the secrets, like. As if anyone would be so stupid. Casinos’ rules about confidentiality are strict, and they have no mercy for anyone with a big mouth. They’re likely to end up in alley somewhere, missing half their orga–”

“That’s enough,” said Celestine sharply, her patience wearing thin. “Don’t waste time with silly rambling. Focus on the main point.”

Jack let out a sharp scream as she kicked him in the knee. It was a good performance, but there was no one here who was going to help him.

“Anyway,” he said, sulky as he realized this, “there was a day when Ben March was drunk. He had won quite a bit of money that day and was feeling good, and I stuck close, because there was likely to be a good tip. And that happened to be the day that he changed his mind and told a few secrets of his own. Though he told me to keep it to myself.”

Jack gave a little chuckle, pausing smugly to enjoy the story. He seemed excited to have so important a secret.