PART 2
As I walked along the candlelit hallway, I heard the laughter of several people.
“This is the place.”
The woman politely opened the door.
“It’s a face I’ve never seen before.”
“Are you a newcomer?”
“It seems like we know each other somehow.”
There were five or six masked customers in the room, the dealer, and Madame Lavecia.
I looked at Madame Lavecia.
She was wearing a dress with rippling pleats.
The reddish-brown hair and purple mask went well together.
Although she was over thirty and approaching forty, there was not a single wrinkle on her forehead or neck.
The wife of the previous emperor and his mistress.
Even time could not take away her beauty.
“… … .”
She looked at my hair and the corners of her mouth exposed under the mask tightened.
Crisp, shiny white hair.
First of all, you must have realized that they are half-relatives.
“Please sit near that table.”
The dealer motioned to me.
I took my chips from the red masked woman and sat down.
“It’s an easy game.”
The dealer held up a card and explained.
“You will receive two cards. All you have to do is hold one sheet in front of you for yourself to look at and the other sheet in front of you without looking at it.”
“The person with the greater sum of the two cards wins.”
“Yes. you’re right. And if two cards are the same, they become a pair. In this case, pairs are preferred over larger numbers.”
“If both people are a pair, is it true that the pair with the larger number wins?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“It’s easy.”
I listened to the dealer’s explanation with one ear and let it go with the other.
I was going to lose anyway.
Then, they will encourage me, who has lost everything, to offer illegal usury.
Then, you should threaten the emperor on the spot.
In the Empire, illegal usury is serious enough to be used as a serious crime or blackmail.
At the same time, it is necessary to naturally tell Madame Lavecia where the loan she is repaying is coming from.
If they find out that they were eating the embezzled money, they will take care of it.
Then, Madame Lavecia won’t have to steal money unreasonably, and she won’t get caught.
In the end, the cost of maintaining our dignity will be protected, and I will also be able to receive some hush money from the casino.
If I were a commoner, I would have to worry about killing insects.
But I was a member of the royal family.
“Then let’s begin.”
okay.
Let’s get started.
I’m willing to lose it.
I put down a bunch of black chips in front of me.
* * *
“Four pairs! The winner is the white-haired gentleman.”
“The total is 24. The winner is the white-haired gentleman.”
“The total is 17. The winner is the white-haired gentleman.”
“Six pairs. The winner is the white-haired gentleman.”
The dealer’s voice announcing my victory rang endlessly throughout the room.
The middle-aged man wearing fur frowned.
“I guess today is not my day.”
A young woman wearing a tight dress sighed.
“It was a 5 pair.”
The fat young man broke into a cold sweat.
“I lost everything.”
A woman with light gray hair, probably a member of the royal family, gave me a look of resentment.
“It wasn’t manipulated, was it?”
Madame Lavecia let out a sigh.
“You’re lucky.”
“That’s right.”
I looked at the colorful chips piled up in front of me with a dazed feeling.
This isn’t it.
I have to lose it.
Only then can you obtain physical evidence by soliciting illegal usury.
You shouldn’t make money like this.
“I think that’s it for me.”
The man wearing fur stood up, picking up his fedora.
“I’ll just give up.”
A young woman in a tight dress packed her bag.
The fat man and the light gray-haired royal family were also in a mood to wake up.
“It looks like everyone is leaving. Would you like to play a few more games with me alone?”
Madame Lavecia said to me.
I couldn’t tell her expression because she was wearing a mask.
“I like it. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
I didn’t come here to make money.
I couldn’t back out of here.
“oh. Are you worried?”
Madame Lavecia rang the bell in the room.
After a while, a female employee with a red mask walked in.
“Please bring me 490 more black chips.”
She spat out calmly.
“Then this game… … .”
The dealer explained the game.
I bet my chips with a sigh.
It only took a few hours for Madame Lavecia to eat up all 490 chips.
Now that I think about it, the reason this person had a hand in paying for the management fees of the villa was because she lost a lot from gambling.
Lavecia was really, really, really bad at gambling.
“Please bring me 350 more chips.”
I almost slapped her on the spot.
“The white-haired gentleman. You don’t look good.”
“No. I’m nervous because I’ve never won like this before.”
“That’s the beauty of gambling. People who can’t study, swords, or learn magic have nothing else to do but these, right?”
She said as if she was looking at me.
The dealer noticed the mention of the identity behind the mask.
“Madame.”
“Yes. That is correct. As long as you have enough money.”
The corners of Lavecia’s mouth were strangely twisted.
“That was a long story. Please continue.”
The deck went around again and again.
I don’t know what time it is.
I was very sleepy, so it seemed like I was well past my usual sleeping time.
I set aside the chips piled in front of me.
It was piled so high that Lavecia’s face could not be seen.
How much is this?
It was scary.
“Please bring me 490 more chips.”
“Madame. I’m sorry, but the money you kept in the safe is all gone.”
The red-masked female employee politely declined.
“Shall I lend you a loan?”
Lavecia clicked her tongue.
“Okay. lend me a loan I’ll pay you back right away next month.”
I opened my eyes, which were on the verge of closing.
When I thought about it, she didn’t really need to borrow money.
“How much can I loan you?”
“Lend me three hundred silver coins.”
“All right. You can pay me back with three hundred and ninety silver pieces on July 1st.”
Probably compound interest.
With compound interest, 30% per month is over 2,200% per year.
I had no idea that even if it was usury, it would be this much.
It was worth noting that even the maids’ salaries were delayed.
In his previous life, the emperor had a reason for wiping her out, not a fine or annulment of the contract.
“Excuse me.”
I was so lucky.
The woman with the red mask and Madame Lavecia looked at me.
“Under imperial law, aren’t loans with annual compound interest of more than 40% illegal?”
