Chapter 73
“…What did you just say?”
Rudwin frowned, wondering if he had misheard.
Gilard straightened up, wearing an arrogant expression, as if to confirm that Rudwin had heard correctly.
Rudwin let out a breath, annoyed by his haughty demeanor.
‘…Not just an invitation, but a command to not come.’
Such a thing was rare in noble society.
It wasn’t uncommon for invitations to be intentionally withheld, but openly refusing someone’s participation was extremely unusual.
Especially coming from a high-ranking noble.
It was even rarer for the Duke of Bozbourne to come in person to deliver such a message.
Rudwin felt his mood sour and anger well up inside him, but only for a moment.
‘What is he thinking, this Duke?’
He suspected Gilard’s motives for coming all this way to say something that could have easily been conveyed through a letter.
Bozbourne and Briloxen weren’t that close.
The Gray Mountains ownership dispute that Bozbourne had raised was only four years ago.
That incident had caused Briloxen to suffer damages that would take a decade to recover from.
Did the Duke come in person just to show some politeness after such a relationship?
Rudwin already knew that Gilard was not the kind of person to be so kind and considerate.
“May I ask why?”
“It’s simple. When rumors of the engagement between Bellieta and the Duke of Rippleton started spreading, your daughter got caught up in it, and there were whispers that she stole Bellieta’s fiancé. It’s calmed down now, but if Sierra shows up, it’ll stir up trouble again. That’s why I’m telling you not to send her.”
“I understand your point. But I don’t think sending Sierra will rekindle those rumors.”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
Gilard stood up, as if he had said all he needed to say.
Rudwin also rose from his seat, following the Duke’s lead.
“I don’t want any noise surrounding my daughter’s engagement. I believe you can understand that as a father too.”
“I agree with your sentiment, Your Grace. But I can’t force my daughter to act or make decisions when I can’t fully understand the intention behind your words.”
“Intention? What do you mean?”
Gilard frowned, unable to hide his displeasure, and glared at Rudwin.
Even facing the fierce anger of the Duke, Rudwin maintained his composure and replied in a calm voice.
“While you express concern that my daughter could ruin the engagement, I can’t help but think you might have other motives for saying that. For example, if those rumors are true, and the Duke of Rippleton is actually interested in Sierra instead of the princess.”
“Watch your mouth! Do you forget who you’re speaking to?!”
Rudwin smoothly slipped past the furious Gilard, who had reddened with anger.
After opening the firmly shut door, he turned to stare wide-eyed at Gilard.
“I have no idea what your intentions are coming here and saying such things. With all due respect, I will forget everything I heard today. Even without your words, I probably won’t send my daughter there.”,
Knowing that Rudwin typically spoke little, Gilard seemed dazed and didn’t react.
In the meantime, Rudwin called the knight waiting outside to give instructions for escorting Gilard back, then turned back to face him.
“No father would send their child where they believe she would be a burden. I, too, consider my daughter someone to be proud of, wherever she goes, so that’s my answer. It would be best if you left now.”
Rudwin looked at Gilard with a gaze that clearly said it was time for him to go.
Gilard glared at Rudwin, slowly approaching.
He paused briefly before stepping through the door Rudwin had opened.
With a chilling look, Gilard’s lips twisted into a smirk as he glared at Rudwin.
“Your love for your daughter is rather peculiar.”
“Is that so surprising?”
“I’ll remember this. Today’s event.”
Gilard left with the knights, leaving a lingering sense of tension behind.
Instead of escorting Gilard, Rudwin sat back down in the room and quietly ran his hand through his hair.
In the silence, his calm, unwavering gaze gleamed sharply.
“Gilard Bozbourne is still acting like a child.”
The softness and composure vanished from Rudwin’s face, replaced only by deep anger.
* * *
“We’re doomed.”
Aden fidgeted with his empty pocket, which held nothing but dust and air, scanning his surroundings.
Two hours had passed, and Sierra still hadn’t shown up.
He had waited patiently, thinking she might be a bit late, but she still hadn’t appeared.
With each passing moment, ominous thoughts crept into his mind.
What if something had happened?
Feeling his lips dry out, Aden started moving to look for Sierra.
“Did you hear? They said the biggest bet of the month just happened over there!”
“Oh, that woman who bankrupted fifteen people all by herself?”
“I watched her a bit while passing by. She’s completely insane! Betting on a bad hand and even winning! No one with a sane heart would do that. She must be nuts.”
As Aden tried to move, he overheard people chatting nearby.
Although the term “crazy woman” didn’t have a good connotation, it strangely piqued his interest. Aden found his legs moving.
He spotted a table in the distance surrounded by several people watching intently.
Amidst the crowd, he noticed a familiar robe.
Narrowing his eyes, he pushed through the crowd, reaching out to touch the robe, causing a slender shoulder to flinch as its owner turned her head quickly.
“Did you come already?”
“…”
With a bright face and a lively voice, it was Sierra looking up at Aden with a slightly flushed face.
Instead of answering her, Aden’s gaze fixed on the enormous pile of chips stacked in front of her.
There wasn’t a single cheap chip; most of them were gold chips.
‘How much is that even worth?’
Just by eyeballing, there seemed to be six rows of twenty chips each.
If that was all gold, it would be worth around 120 coins.
Did she really win all that in just two hours?
Aden couldn’t believe the stark contrast between Sierra’s success and his own loss of ten gold coins in less than two hours.
“Is this all…?”
“Just a moment.”
With that, Sierra raised her palm, signaling him to wait, and then tossed a row of chips she had piled beside her onto the table.
With a swoosh, the chips scattered across the table, and the excited voices of onlookers filled the air.
People couldn’t stop praising Sierra’s actions.
It was rare to see someone watching someone else gamble.
After all, it wasn’t exactly fun to watch if you weren’t participating.
But Sierra’s gambling style was bold and fiery, drawing everyone in.
“I’m going to reveal my hand now.”
The dealer began flipping over the cards of those who had followed along from the left, one by one.
“High hand!”
The woman who revealed a strong hand stood up, beaming with pride, as if urging Sierra to reveal her cards too.
She reached out casually to collect her chips.
“I’ll take this one, kiddo. Got it?”
With a bright smile, the woman looked eager to snatch up the money.
“Wait a minute.”
“Whoa…!”
But before the woman’s hand could touch the chips, Sierra reached out and blocked her wrist.
It was like a scene from a play, and gasps of admiration erupted from the crowd around them.
The flustered woman and Sierra, who was smiling slightly from underneath her hood.
“My cards haven’t even been revealed yet.”
Holding the woman’s hand, Sierra flipped her cards one by one instead of letting the dealer do it.
As people focused on Sierra’s hand and cards, finally, when the last card was shown…
“Wow! She pulled that?!”
“Did you see that?! She really pulled it! What did I say?!”
“Whoa, that’s amazing!”
A higher card than the woman’s appeared from Sierra’s hand.
Gasps of amazement echoed around, and the woman’s face twisted in disbelief.
“Looks like it’s mine.”
Sierra completely shoved the woman’s hand away and collected her chips.
In that moment, a new row of chips appeared alongside the one she had tossed aside.
‘…What am I even watching?’
Aden, who was watching from behind, was frozen, unable to speak.
Sierra had always presented herself as diligent, upright, and studious, like a model student who knew nothing but studying.
When he asked her if she knew how to gamble, she brushed it off as a joke, saying she was good with anything related to money.
But seeing Sierra’s actual skills was beyond his imagination.
It felt unfamiliar to him.
“Whoa, that’s incredible. She’s something else, really.”
“Not everyone can have such a strong heart.”
“If she’s dating someone, that guy must be amazing too. There’s no way a normal guy could keep up with someone as bold as her.”
Aden, standing awkwardly like a straw bag behind Sierra, heard the crowd showering her with compliments.
Each person praised her exceptional judgment and decisiveness.
At first, he felt indifferent to the compliments, but as time went on, he realized he didn’t feel too bad about the praise, even though it was for her gambling.
As he listened to the praise, Aden nodded along, muttering to himself, “Exactly,” “Right,” “That’s spot on,” “He knows what’s up,” when he suddenly remembered that this wasn’t the time for that.
“Sierra, it’s time to stop…”
Before Aden could call out to Sierra, someone else took a seat next to her.
A man slid past him and sat down, looking at Sierra with a smirk.
“You’re doing well.”
The man, who seemed to be joining in from this round, turned his body slightly towards Sierra, nodding at the dealer who was asking if he wanted to join.
With a cocky grin, he raised his eyebrows and spoke.
“You seem pretty lucky. Is this your first time here?”
