Chapter 159
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159
A few days later.
It was the time of day when the sun had set and the streetlights flickered to life—the hour when the number of people wandering the streets began to dwindle noticeably.
I stepped out of the carriage and scanned my surroundings.
“This place is quite the spectacle. A real city that never sleeps.”
Ramus Jeremiah, dressed just as extravagantly as I was, spoke as he attended to me.
“It is the most famous gambling house in the Imperial Capital. The lights here never go out.”
“The lights never go out?”
“Yes, My Lady.”
That sounds like a tagline for a famous 24-hour soup house.
I stepped inside, escorted by Ramus.
Even though it was a gambling house, it wasn't an illegal one, so there was no need to wear a mask. However, I didn't see many familiar faces.
I was still a young lady, and Tulia had so few friends that her social outings were mostly limited to a few of the Empress’s tea parties. The nobles who enjoyed afternoon tea parties rarely frequented gambling dens at night. They moved in different circles, so to speak.
Contrary to my imagination, which was filled with images of red, decadent decor, the interior was elegantly adorned with sophisticated, attractive black marble.
Though the decor was dark, crystal lamps were hung everywhere, and the space was so vast that it didn't feel cramped at all. Beautiful women carrying silver trays laden with bottles and glasses moved busily through the room, which was packed with gambling tables.
I approached the most handsome man among the staff and requested two glasses of champagne.
“Ah, Lady Tulia. I’m fine,” Ramus interjected.
“Just one, then.”
The handsome attendant gave a polite smile and handed me a glass.
However, seeing him hurry away immediately after, it seemed he was off to report my arrival to his superiors the moment he heard my name.
“They must have the entire nobility registry memorized. Impressive.”
“Perhaps not the whole thing, but they likely memorize the major ducal houses. They would certainly remember you, My Lady. After all, House Frezier is the greatest among the high nobility.”
“You said my name on purpose earlier, didn't you?”
“Of course.”
I walked further inside with Ramus Jeremiah.
A few people recognized my face and looked surprised, but I didn't care. I simply kept walking, feigning an air of leisure and curiosity.
The crowd was dense, surrounded by upbeat melodies and thick clouds of cigar smoke.
One person in particular caught my eye. Or rather, Ramus pointed him out with a tilt of his chin.
“That is the man.”
“So it’s that bastard.”
The bastard who laid hands on my money.
“Recite his profile again.”
“Duke Bairn Hitman. Forty-eight years old. He has a son and a daughter with his wife; both children are married. He’s a gambling addict and a serial philanderer. He has over ten mistresses on the side. He personally killed every single one of his illegitimate children. His children have practically disowned him because of his womanizing.”
“Wow, just wow. And the Duchess?”
“Duchess Magran Hitman. Because her husband constantly blew massive fortunes on gambling, she started her own secret business twenty years ago. She uses that money to cover their monthly living expenses. She has no history of infidelity.”
“Ugh. She must really love him.”
“It’s less about love and more about her conservative nature. Besides, she’s likely enduring it so her son can inherit the title.”
“Poor thing.”
I furrowed my brow as a thought occurred to me.
“Wait a second. Is that woman over there the Duchess?”
“Ah, yes. She followed him. I heard the Duke and Duchess had a massive row this morning.”
“They had a fight, so why did they come to the gambling house together?”
“Whenever the Duchess displeases him, Duke Hitman intentionally comes here to sit at the high-stakes tables. He does it because he knows it eats away at her.”
“Hmm.”
“The Duchess knows this as well, so she follows him and lingers nearby, swallowing her pride to stop him if he tries to join a big game.”
“Good grief...”
I covered my mouth with one hand.
“He really is a pathetic piece of work.”
“As a man, it’s shameful. It might be better to just kill him.”
I nodded at Ramus Jeremiah’s suggestion.
“But the cost of soliciting the murder of a Duke is incredibly high, isn't it? Besides, I don't want to kill anyone. It’s scary.”
“I see. You’re not falling for it.”
“I’m just an ordinary citizen at heart. Keep that in mind.”
I said that and moved my feet.
“But for someone like that, he’s sitting at a surprisingly small table.”
“I heard he blew half of the duchy’s annual budget a week ago.”
“The timing is awkward. Ah, could it be that he was so happy about successfully stealing the White Tulip seeds that he bet a fortune and lost it all?”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“I really want to punch him.”
Duke Hitman was even sitting there with a beautiful woman on his arm, cackling away.
To act like that when he knew his wife was right there... Or perhaps he was only doing it because she was there.
A glance at the Duchess’s face showed an expression of total transcendence. But to anyone looking, it was the face of someone whose heart had rotted away.
Moreover, she looked much older than her actual age. It seemed that no matter how much care she received, the toll of her mental anguish was unavoidable.
‘It’s a relief that a bad guy turned out to be a truly awful guy.’
Since he had struck first, I hadn't felt any guilt to begin with, but now my revenge—which I planned to return a hundredfold—felt even more justified.
“Anyway, how do I get that man to move to a high-stakes table?”
As I muttered to myself, Ramus Jeremiah asked in a voice that, for the first time, betrayed a hint of unease.
“By the way, My Lady.”
“Yes?”
“Are you good at gambling?”
“No? I’ve never done it. Oh, but I learned the rules in a hurry yesterday, so I know them.”
“...Then where on earth does this confidence come from?”
“Because I have the revelation of the stars' protection.”
“Pardon?”
“I have a plan. Just follow my lead.”
May Kim Ddong-byul protect me and the Benefits light my path.
“...This is a gambling house for nobles. If you are caught cheating during a game, it will be difficult to get away with it, even for you, My Lady.”
“...?”
I wrinkled my eyebrows and shot back.
“Why do you naturally assume I’m going to cheat? That’s a bit offensive, don't you think?”
“...”
“And I don't even have that kind of sleight of hand. I’m just a well-bred, kind-hearted noble lady.”
“...Excuse me?”
“Ugh, be quiet. Just come up with a scheme to get that Hitman or whatever Duke over to the biggest table.”
“Then...”
As Ramus Jeremiah said, the opponent was a Duke. A Count might be one thing, but a Duke was a power player, one of only four in the entire Empire.
But I was the head of an information guild here. And more importantly...
“Ramus.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Go over there and flirt with the Duchess.”
“Pardon?”
The point was that Ramus was quite good-looking.
“Ah... I see the strategy. Understood. I will try.”
“You have to seduce her well. You absolutely must. Otherwise, I’ll fail.”
Just as Ramus Jeremiah was staring at the pale-faced Duchess, as if measuring his approach—
“...?”
I felt something as light as a dandelion seed brush against my ear.
“May I be of assistance, My Lady?”
A voice just as low and soft.
My shoulders flinched. Ramus Jeremiah’s expression sharpened instantly, but when I turned around, I couldn't muster any anger.
“...”
Because the face I saw there was one I knew all too well.
Golden, curly hair like the sun.
Golden eyes that shimmered with nobility, as if flecked with pure gold.
A height much taller than mine, with broad shoulders and long limbs.
A dazzling appearance that made one lose their breath the moment they laid eyes on him.
He looked a bit younger than the illustrations I had seen in The Milk Bread, but it was a difference of a year at most.
If anything, the lingering traces of youth only added a sense of vivid reality to the man’s surreal beauty.
In other words, this man—no, this male lead—was...
‘Benjamin Fluers?’
Why are you popping up here?