Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Only Gamble on What I Can Win (2)
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With a noble's keen eye, one could infer an opponent's identity from the hair peeking above the mask, their build, or the clothes they wore.
"Well, even if they figure it out, they won't say anything."
For the sake of each other's amusement, pretending not to know was the etiquette here, if it could be called that. And to avoid any potential backlash, they refrained from the most underhanded tactics.
"Where can I play pinball?"
"This way, madam."
"I'm feeling a bit tired. Could you show me to the balcony?"
"Right this way. Please follow me."
In the vast hall, staff bustled about attending to the guests. They handled the nobles' varied demands with unflappable skill and poise.
"The staff here are generally top-notch."
All the employees wore crisp white shirts topped with red vests, and they observed etiquette refined enough not to offend the nobles. This naturally included their neat appearances.
A tray was always balanced in one hand, ensuring the nobles could indulge in champagne as they pleased.
"They manage to move so quickly without dropping those trays."
I chuckled lightly and approached one of the tray-bearing staff.
"Give me one."
Champagne gleamed golden in the clear glass, gently sloshing. I took a sip, rolling it around my mouth, and a refreshing yet subtle aroma lingered.
"This is pretty high-end stuff."
I chuckled lightly and approached one of the tray-bearing staff.
"Give me one."
Champagne gleamed golden in the clear glass, gently sloshing. I took a sip, rolling it around my mouth, and a refreshing yet subtle aroma lingered.
Satisfied, I smiled and strolled slowly through the hall. I peeked into each room, surveying the types of games available.
"Rooms one through fifteen are table games, and sixteen through thirty are card games, I suppose."
There were far more varieties here than in Cader Territory. With thirty rooms, that was no surprise.
They had placed plenty of simple rule-based games like roulette, clearly aiming to draw in noblewomen unfamiliar with gambling.
"As expected of the empire's premier casino. Smart move."
Pretending to tour the interior, I quietly extended my senses.
"Did you hear what agenda items are coming up at this conference?"
"His Majesty the Emperor is supposedly quite worked up..."
"Have you heard the rumors about the Barnes Family...?"
A flood of information poured into my senses all at once.
I meticulously noted the conversations, the speakers' appearances, and their voices.
They whispered under the guise of propriety, but they couldn't evade my hearing.
This place offered more diverse, high-quality intel than anywhere else.
How much time passed like that?
I'd leisurely downed about three glasses of champagne.
"Not even a buzz."
Abel's body seemed exceptionally tolerant to alcohol. Or perhaps it was thanks to acquiring Requiem.
Either way, I could now enjoy liquor I'd never dared touch in my past life.
"One more."
By then, I noticed a server carrying a tray eyeing me closely. He seemed worried I might get drunk and cause a scene.
*Not likely.*
Tonight's troublemaking would probably come from someone else.
For instance,
"Here she comes."
That woman who had just appeared.
In an instant, everyone's attention subtly converged on one spot. The staff, in particular, tensed up the moment she arrived.
With so many people around, her figure flickered in and out of view through the crowd.
Finally, she vanished into one of the rooms, her back to the crowd.
"Room twenty-one."
I confirmed the room number with my eyes, then turned.
"Time to get started."
My first stop was the exchange counter in the center of the hall.
"Good evening. Would you like to exchange?"
"One hundred thousand gold. All chips in thousands."
"Yes, sir."
The exchange clerk showed no surprise at the large sum, offering a mechanical yet polite smile as he swiftly counted and handed over the chips.
Clink.
With that, I left the counter holding a hundred chips.
"No need to play small-time here."
Back in Cader Territory, winning just a few thousand gold had turned a dealer's face pale.
But this was different.
Every bet started at a thousand—no less. Some hands even saw tens of thousands change hands.
The nobles here thought nothing of such sums. This was a gathering of those who wouldn't deign to touch anything smaller.
"Most of them have probably never even seen silver."
I headed to the room I'd scouted earlier.
"Nineteen... twenty... room twenty-one."
As expected, it featured a game I loved and excelled at.
Blackjack.
A game where skill and quick thinking trumped luck and cheats. The very one that had always brought me victory.
"She chose this game, huh."
It fit what I knew of her.
I smirked and stepped inside, sensing a different atmosphere from the other rooms.
Most rooms buzzed with laughter, chatter, cheers, and groans.
"Bust. You lose."
"Blackjack."
But this room was oddly subdued. An inexplicable tension hung in the air.
Perhaps that's why other nobles hesitated to enter. Some would peek in to join, only to gasp,
"...Hic!"
And back away.
This happened especially after glimpsing the woman seated at the table's center.
"Just like in the original story."
I approached the table at a leisurely pace.
"Stay."
"Hng."
Amid the players' declarations,
"I'm done here."
A man in a flashy blue mask set down his cards.
"Hmm, calling it quits?"
The woman at the table's center asked. Beneath her pitch-black mask, red lips curved into a smile.
"Why not keep going a bit? We just started."
"Ah, I'm tapped out. Think I need a break."
The man's lips quivered. The chips before him were nearly gone.
In contrast, hers formed a veritable mountain—all thousand-unit chips, easily worth several hundred thousand gold.
"No helping it, then."
She flicked her hand dismissively, and the man rose, sweating profusely as if granted permission.
The now-vacant seat drew mixed gazes. Everyone eyed it warily, waiting for someone else to take it.
"No one else joining? It's no fun with an empty spot."
At her remark,
"I'll do it this time!"
"No, me!"
"I'll take it!"
They scrambled for the seat.
The first to shout loudest claimed it.
"Alright, let's begin."
She nodded, and the dealer finally dealt the cards.
My eyes narrowed behind my mask.
*Ruling like a queen.*
Hiding identities meant treating everyone as equals here, regardless of status.
Yet these people fawned over one woman excessively.
Everything revolved around her lead. Few in this casino wielded such authority.
*If my guess is right, then...*
I examined her appearance closely.
Her dress plunged daringly low, yet the transparent diamond necklace atop it only amplified her allure, never cheapening it.
"I'm at seven."
Rings adorned nearly every finger that set down the card. Her posture exuded impeccable etiquette ingrained in her bones.
Smooth bare shoulders gleamed with a violet sheen. Undoubtedly, she'd invested a fortune in her upkeep.
"Stay."
Her gestures were bold, her voice laced with the arrogance of one born to command.
Though masked, her violet eyes sparkled with spirit, unhidden. The exact gaze described endlessly in the original work.
*Violet Magiore Impero.*
Daughter of Emperor Theodore—and the First Imperial Princess at that.
*Her hair color's different from what I remember.*
I'd known her to have jet-black hair like her father's.
Yet the princess's hair, pinned up densely with jeweled clasps, shone a vivid gold.
*A wig?*
Black hair symbolized the imperial line, so she'd concealed it. Pointless, like covering one's eyes to hide.
*Those eyes give it away anyway.*
A rare hue across the empire. Violet, not fully inheriting her father's crimson.
Yet Violet Princess monopolized the emperor's favor. No other child resembled him so closely.
*And she's not a son, to begin with.*
The current imperial family had no princes. Normally, lacking an heir was a grave flaw—but not here.
The emperor killed any sons born.
Emperor Theodore was that kind of man. He'd never relinquish his power.
Or rather, he intended to wield it forever.
*He won't age or die, after all.*
As long as he held Serenade's master, Saintess Rachel.
Thus, he needed no sons. They were mere threats.
Few knew this ugly truth about Emperor Theodore—at least not yet. Only Saintess Rachel and me.
*Anyway... so the rumors were true. Violet Princess treats this casino like her home.*
My hunch that lingering here would let me encounter her proved spot-on.
In the original, Kain meets Violet Princess here first. After clashing over cards, they fall in love.
*She was quite the popular character.*
Near-perfect beauty, sharp intellect and social savvy, absolute power.
Her personality wasn't great, but that only added charm. She'd grumble usually, yet step up for Kain at key moments.
*What they call a tsundere.*
Kain seizes the empire with her backing as the lovestruck princess—a fatal force.
And I planned to thwart their romance thoroughly.
I drew nearer the table, watching the game unfold.
Violet Princess racked up win after win smoothly.
"Ah, this won't do. I fold."
"Tch. Me too. Bad cards this round."
The surrounding nobles had already sussed out her identity.
They played earnestly but avoided pushing to win, without blatantly throwing either.
*True masters of navigating situations.*
They'd found the perfect way to join without irking her.
Occasionally, an oblivious noble would challenge her—usually newcomers to the capital unaware of her status.
Eyes on her chip pile, he'd charge in recklessly, reason lost to greed.
"Pair bet! I'm in!"
As he boasted, a smile flitted across Violet Princess's lips.