RURO Chapter 30

Russian Roulette /̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

CHAPTER 30

 

 

 

This kind of situation could happen not just in the casino, but anywhere in Saint Leroi. The important thing was that Tessa was dressed like a civilian—and in the eyes of these men, she likely appeared to be a powerless woman.

Maybe I should’ve just come out in my usual clothes.

She had changed outfits because she didn’t think she could clear her mind in formal wear. But now she wasn’t so sure it had been the right decision. Still, Tessa didn’t regret it. She was tired of regret.

“I’m not interested, so I suggest you back off.”

“Doesn’t seem like you’re actually waiting for anyone, though. Am I right?”

“This is a warning.”

The whiskey glass shattered in Tessa’s hand. Seeing her crush it barehanded, the man’s expression changed. Blood dripped steadily from her right palm. That alone was more than enough to intimidate him.

“Alright, alright—got it.”

He raised both hands like in surrender and backed away cautiously. But just as Tessa thought she’d shaken him off, she picked up on murmured voices behind her. They were quiet enough that a regular person wouldn’t have caught them.

“What’s that idiot doing?”

“Can’t even pick up one woman. What a damn joke.”

She had expected as much, but still sighed inwardly. Maybe this was a bit too much to handle after all.

Just as she was about to stand and leave, one of the man’s friends stepped closer to her.

“Hey, miss, don’t be like that. Come hang out with us. We’ve got a really fun game you’ll like.”

“This isn’t really a place for a woman to be sitting alone, you know? We’re just worried.”

Now there were three or four men crowding around her. Even for Tessa, that made things more difficult. She made a rule never to use violence against civilians—and especially not in Vicente’s territory.

Then one of them grabbed her wrist.

“Hey.”

A voice called out. A man who had been sitting with his back to them turned slightly, resting one arm on the back of his chair. He was handsome, with warm brown eyes. But more than that…

He looked familiar—like someone she’d seen before.

“The lady says she doesn’t want to play with ugly guys.”

“What?”

“You do know the rules here, don’t you? Causing trouble’s not allowed. That’s an old one.”

The man didn’t look like a fighter at all. Well-groomed, with a smooth, pale face, he resembled one of those young heirs from noble families who occasionally came to Saint Leroi’s casino.

Then he smiled with his eyes.

“Or maybe you only respond to money, like a prostitute?”

“What the hell did you just say—?”

Before the man could finish, the stranger pulled out a few bills from his coat and scattered them at their feet. It wasn’t many, but the amount was clearly not small.

“I hate noise. So if you’d take this and leave, I’d be very grateful. Good deal for both sides, right? You get to pad your thin wallets, and I get my peace back.”

The insulted men glared at him with cold eyes. It wouldn’t have been surprising if a fight broke out right then. But as he said—fighting in the casino was forbidden.

Breaking that rule meant going against Vicente himself.
Which was basically asking for death.

“What about you, miss? Feel the same?”

“…Pardon?”

“Whether you trust me or not is your choice. But I do know a place where flies won’t gather. And this music isn’t really to my taste anyway.”

He ignored the other men completely and flashed a polite smile.

“If you’d like… we could leave together.”

Tessa had no intention of going with him. But if she used this as an excuse to escape the situation—

It didn’t seem like such a bad choice.

When she stood up, he gave a knowing, satisfied smile, as if he’d expected it.

Frustrated at being ignored, one of the men reached out and grabbed the stranger’s shoulder.

It happened in an instant.

A gun was pressed to the thug’s forehead. It had all happened so fast, no one had seen it coming.

The man who had reached out to Tessa no longer looked like some well-mannered noble’s son. Staring coldly at the other man, he pulled the trigger before anyone could stop him.

Bang! With a popping sound, the man screamed.

“Aaagh!”

The thug’s friends recoiled in panic, thinking the shot had been real. Cries and gasps erupted from the nearby patrons.

But what had burst from the pitch-black muzzle was nothing but a cheap firework. Glittering confetti sparkled through the air like a twisted celebration.

The man, who had pulled off the deadly prank with a toy gun, quickly broke into laughter.

“Ha! Scared you, didn’t I?”

From a step away, Tessa watched the scene unfold. She thought, He’s crazy too.
But… why did he look so familiar?

Wearing a mischievous smirk, the man tucked the toy gun back into his coat.

“Better than any card game, right?”

Crazy bastard. That’s what the others’ faces clearly said, but the man didn’t seem to care at all.

“Let’s go, miss. If we stand around here too long, your face might start wearing out.”

He guided Tessa toward a quieter hallway, as if escorting her. With a snap of his fingers, he called over a nearby staff member.

“She’s hurt her hand.”

The employee, seeing Tessa’s bloodied left hand, looked stricken.

“I’ll take care of the treatment—just bring me a first-aid kit. Even a casino should have one of those, right?”

“O-of course! I’ll bring one right away.”

It didn’t take long for the employee to return with a kit. The man waved him off and gently sat Tessa down in a nearby chair.

“You’ve got quite a few glass shards in here. It must hurt.”

“Hey.”

Tessa called for his attention. The man, carefully examining her hand, looked up and met her gaze.

“I know how to treat it myself. Thanks for helping me, but I can take it from here.”

“Frederick.”

“Sorry?”

“My name. It’s Frederick.”

Frederick. A common enough name. If someone shouted it on the street, two or three men would probably turn around.
But in that name, Tessa felt a flicker of something undeniable.

And in that split second, she caught the glint of intent in Frederick’s eyes.
He wanted her to recognize him.

There was no need to think any longer. From the depths of her memory, she recalled the name of a man she had barely interacted with: Frederick… Frederick Rize!

They hadn’t had much contact, so she hadn’t even considered that he might be an Intelligence agent. Her heart thumped.
He had approached her first—Alex must have sent him to watch over her.

With that, Tessa was certain: the Agency hadn’t abandoned her.
Frederick standing before her was the proof.

“And your name, miss?”

They continued the exchange as if meeting for the first time.
Just because there seemed to be no one around didn’t mean they could let their guard down.
Especially not in Saint Leroi.

“…Tessa. Tessa Ambrose.”

“Tessa. Right. You realize you nearly got into a very nasty situation, don’t you?”

Tessa nodded. Now that she knew he was a fellow agent, there was no reason not to trust Frederick. She offered her injured hand, letting him continue the treatment.

“What were you thinking, coming to a place like this alone?”

“I just… wanted to feel like I was breaking the rules for once.”

“Something must’ve happened to make you feel that way.”

“Yeah.”

Tessa wanted Frederick to listen to her story. If he did, maybe Alex would finally understand what an impossible situation she was in.

All of the agents who had been dispatched with Tessa had already been exposed—and killed. That was why simply meeting another agent from the Agency felt like a miracle.

But she couldn’t show any of that in her expression or her words.

She didn’t want to give even that much away.
She had already seen enough death among her comrades to make her stomach turn.

Meeting Frederick was a relief… and at the same time, it made her nervous.

Tessa focused her hearing, scanning for any signs of people nearby.

Surely Vicente didn’t have ears in the walls too… right?

But the worst part was—she couldn’t even be sure of that.