Chapter 438

Chapter 438

"It's too risky no matter how you think about it!"

In the corridor outside the parlor.

Violet whispered to her colleagues.

"It's strange that a prince, even one known for big spending, would suddenly wager such a large amount!"

"You saw his habit of bluffing. That must be his style of betting his money."

"But... the prince really did break my illusion yesterday! What if this is also a trap..."

"Violet."

Scarlet, the girl in the red cloak, shook her head.

"He's royalty. And a human so rich that he's building a casino in such a remote southern area. Would such a person really bother setting a trap for us, mere flies like us?"

"But..."

"It's true that the conditions are overly favorable for us. Shouldn't we use that to our advantage instead of thinking of running away?"

Scarlet sighed lightly at Violet's hesitation.

"Fine. Let's say we run away now. What then?"

Scarlet looked around at the other colleagues.

"Do you think we'll get a chance like this again?"

"..."

"We need one last big score. That's why we gathered, isn't it?"Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

Gambling always involves risks.

There is no such thing as a 100% safe bet. Sometimes you have to embrace big risks and bet boldly.

Scarlet judged that now was such a time, and the other colleagues agreed.

But Violet...

"..."

She kept thinking about the gaze she had encountered with Ash the day before.

Ash's eyes then were not those of a prey being hunted. Rather...

...they were the eyes of a top predator, preying on them.

"Trust the skills we've honed all our lives."

Scarlet gently folded her little finger.

"Let's win cleanly and leave."

The other gamblers nodded. Scarlet smiled faintly under her red hood.

"Let's go. Time to fleece a sucker."

***

The rules of the game were simple.

A 1-on-1 duel between me and a gambler. Each with 100 chips for poker, the first to exhaust the opponent's chips wins. This is repeated in a 5-round series.

The location and cards would be checked for magical tampering before the game.

If the gamblers win even once, they win. If they don't win a single time, I win.

At first glance, it seems the gamblers - Gambler's Club - have an unfair advantage. But...

'Actually, the one cheating is me.'

I was completely relaxed.

After all... I already knew every trick they had up their sleeves.

It was like playing poker while seeing the opponent's hand.

'Characteristic of con artists. So preoccupied with their own deceit, they rarely consider being deceived in return.'

That's why they remain mere con artists.

If they could think beyond that, they wouldn't be called con artists anymore. They would be in a much high position in life.

Anyway, the game began - the first round.

The location was the parlor. The opponent, an R-grade hero, a middle-aged man, Lime.

Lime, with eyes the color of his name, respectfully bowed before sitting opposite me.

He picked up the pack of cards on the table and began to shuffle.

Snap! Snap!

Just as he finished shuffling and was about to hand me the cards -

Thump!

I grabbed Lime's wrist.

"Stop right there. Are you bottom dealing?"

"What, what?"

"Do I look like a gullible fool to you, bastard?"

I recited a famous line from a movie from Earth-Korea, but Lime just looked baffled, not understanding what I meant.

"I don't understand what you mean, your highness. I was just about to hand you the shuffled cards..."

"Admit it now if you were playing a trick and I might spare you. I'll count to three. Three."

"I can't understand what you're saying at all! The cards were provided by your highness, and this place is your mansion, isn't it!"

"Two."

"I'm innocent, your highness! Where was there even a chance for me to cheat-"

"One."

Crash!

I roughly pulled Lime towards me and slammed him down on the table.

"Lucas! Junior! Come in!"

Amidst the scattering playing cards, I yelled harshly.

Lucas entered immediately with Junior, whom I had called to cast the notarization magic for this duel.

I instructed Junior.

"Check the cards."

I waved my hand and left the dining room.

...How did I know? Well.

There was a small mirror placed behind you.

'It's my house, after all. I did some preparations in advance.'

Why bother using magic to stealthily steal thoughts and then be deceived by it? Try something more primitive. Life might be simpler.

***

Third round.

The location is the courtyard. The opponent, SR-grade hero, a boy, Cobalt.

Cobalt looked like any ordinary boy, but his fingernails were distinctively colored.

They were dyed cobalt blue, just like his name.

"Nice nail color."

"Thank you."

Cobalt replied awkwardly and started shuffling the cards with his small hands.

I watched for a while and then looked around the courtyard.

There weren't many people in the courtyard, but a little further away, beyond the fence, I could see some citizens.

Children playing outside the fence...

"...So peaceful."

As I murmured, Cobalt cautiously handed me the cards. Taking them, I asked.

"How old are you?"

"What?"

"Your age. How old are you now?"

"Oh... twelve."

Cobalt smiled shyly, and I smiled back.

"At your age, you should be playing like those kids outside, not playing cards here. It's a bit sad."

"Hehe. It's okay. I find playing cards the most fun."

"No. Let's pause the game, call those kids over here, and play with them for a while."

As soon as my words fell, the children playing around the fence started running away towards the other side of the city, laughing.

"Ah, they're leaving..."

Cobalt murmured with disappointment, but I laughed menacingly.

"Didn't you hear the lord's command? You shouldn't run away, you little bastards."

Then, I pulled out a wand from my cloak,

"I said to play here, didn't I-!"

and launched blades of magic.

Whoosh! Whack-!

The magical blades struck the children on their backs and necks in an instant.

Thud!

The children fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

I calmly put the wand back into my cloak, while Cobalt looked on in horror.

Squeak- squeak-

A moment later, Lucas dragged the fallen children into the courtyard.

...They weren't human.

They were puppets.

"I've never seen such children in this city. Puppeteer Cobalt."

The children outside were all puppets manipulated by Cobalt.

I growled into Cobalt's ear, looking at his pale face as he gazed down at his puppets.

"In this small city, I know the faces of the citizens around here."

"Uh, ah..."

"Don't underestimate a lord, you little brat!"

Cobalt, an SR-grade puppeteer, manipulated his puppets with threads of magical energy emitted from his fingertips.

The puppets could move like normal people as long as they didn't receive damage exceeding 10,000, revealing their true nature. Conversely, if they didn't take damage, they moved just like ordinary humans.

Optimized for solo raiding gambling houses, his skill specialized in controlling a table full of puppets, ensnaring and fleecing a single mark.

However, in a 1-on-1 situation like this, it was awkward to use, probably intending to place them around to read my hand...

But he picked the wrong opponent.

"Are you wasting such a great skill on gambling, kid?"

After flicking Cobalt's forehead, I stood up.

"Let's call it quits today."

Cobalt, with a dejected face, was dragged away by Lucas. I snorted and stood up.

***

Next, the fourth round.

The location is the guest room. And the opponent.

"..."

Approaching the girl waiting demurely in the room, I called out her name.

"Miss Scarlet."

Then, the girl in the red cloak met my gaze and smiled faintly.

Despite knowing that her colleagues had all been defeated by my arrival, she maintained an incredibly composed demeanor.

N-grade hero, Scarlet.

'...This girl is the toughest opponent.'

And for good reason, this girl doesn't use magic at all-

She's just a traditional con artist with insane sleight of hand skills.