Chapter 74
The guy didn’t even check the cards the dealer pushed toward him but kept talking to Sierra.
In the shadows of her hood, Sierra’s eyes slowly rolled towards him.
The man leaned forward, trying to get a better look at her face.
Sierra turned her head away, but he didn’t stop his persistent approach.
“Why don’t you show your face a bit? With a voice like that, I bet you’re pretty cute.”
“Are you going to place a bet?”
The guy glanced at the dealer who spoke up and pushed a row of chips forward.
Even with the murmurs of surprise from those around, he kept his attention on Sierra.
Aden considered stepping in to stop him, but since nothing had gone wrong yet, he decided to observe for the time being.
“I don’t trust women who come to gambling houses. Especially not ones who hide under shady hoods.”
Sierra’s eyes finally locked onto the guy.
In the dark, the red glimmer of her gaze made him smirk with his thin, sneaky lips.
“Ooh… you’ve got quite the cold look.”
“What do you want?”
“Simple. I want to know what dirty things you’re up to under that filthy robe. Did you really win by luck, or was there something else going on?”
The crowd stirred at his words.
Sierra raised an eyebrow as she took in the guy’s smug face and the chaotic atmosphere around them.
“But hey, maybe you really got lucky, so I can understand. How about you play a few rounds with me? If you win, I’ll think you’ve got both skill and luck and back off. But if you lose, you take off that filthy robe and follow the gambling house rules. What do you say?”
“There’s no reason for me to follow that.”
“Well, I think there is.”
He pointed around, indicating the mood had turned cold and unfriendly towards Sierra.
Realizing the situation was getting serious, Aden immediately grabbed Sierra’s shoulder.
“Step back…”
Before Aden could finish his warning, Sierra raised her hand to stop him and coldly replied,
“I accept.”
“Great…”
“But if I win, you’ll follow my rules as payback for doubting me. Deal?”
The guy stared at Sierra, surprised by her unexpected proposal, before smirking again.
Meanwhile, the dealer flipped the guy’s cards since the betting was done.
“Sounds good.”
“Really?”
With a confident answer, Sierra reached out to grab her cards.
Holding the cards she hadn’t flipped over, she slowly turned them one by one, quietly smiling in the darkness.
“Well then, let’s get started.”
This time, Sierra won again.
* * *
“How much has that girl even won?”
“She’s made about 100 gold coins in just over two hours.”
Russell, the owner of the gambling house, scowled even more with the cigarette hanging from his mouth.
As the guy standing behind him flinched at his changing expression, Russell’s fist landed squarely on the guy’s gut.
With a thud! he fell without even being able to scream, scrambling back to his feet and fixing his stance.
After venting his anger on the guy, Russell pinched the cigarette between his fingers and exhaled smoke.
“That’s a pretty impressive speed for my gambling house.”
“The weird thing is, she never checked her cards even once except for the first time.”
“So she won by just relying on luck, huh?”
“Exactly.”
Russell looked at the guy who calmly answered him with a face full of disbelief and nodded.
As the guy leaned closer, Russell’s fist suddenly flew at his cheek.
With a loud smack! the guy fell to the floor, and Russell looked down at him, finished the cigarette and tossing it aside.
“You’re quite capable, but it’s a shame you lack common sense.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Did you just stand by while that suspicious woman kept pulling dirty tricks? While she was cleaning us out? How many people did she take for a ride?”
“Eight… Ugh!”
“Wow, that’s a lot.”
Russell kicked the guy in the gut, letting out a sigh.
White smoke billowed from his mouth and nose, filling the room.
Looking down at the guy, Russell gestured behind him with his finger.
The man who got hit in the gut approached and placed a cigarette between Russell’s fingers.
Russell lit the cigarette and shook his head with a sigh.
Turning his attention from the guy on the ground, he scanned the table where the game had just started.
“I told you repeatedly to kick him out when he shows up. If he gets caught, it won’t just be him in trouble; we’ll be in trouble too. Did you forget?”
“…Still, he has good skills, so he’s suited for this job.”
“Pathetic.”
Russell clicked his tongue but couldn’t help smirking.
As he said, the guy was a reliable player.
Russell stared at the broke nobleman, Dwyenley, sitting at the table, exhaling smoke.
“Why did you come back here when I told you to stay away for a while, you idiot?”
As soon as the round ended, Russell began to think of ways to kick Dwyenley out, putting the cigarette back in his mouth.
* * *
Leaning on my chin, I rolled my eyes.
Five people were playing cards.
Besides me and the guy sitting next to me, the other three had changed.
They weren’t talking much, just quietly checking their cards.
Aside from the guy next to me who kept stealing glances at me, it was uncomfortable but not too bad.
“Are you going to place a bet?”
When the dealer asked, I tossed a chip, and as if waiting for it, five more chips piled on top of it.
I stared at the quickly growing pile in the center of the table before turning my head, only to see the guy grinning at me.
“Why can’t you win? You’re already on your third round losing after throwing your chips around like earlier. Huh?”
The guy seemed to find it amusing, laughing as he opened the cards for the round that had just ended.
Then, as if the other three didn’t need to open theirs, he scooped up the money.
Again, he won easily, taking the cash.
As he loosened his bow tie and raised his eyebrows, he said, “Wow, I thought you’d be a fun opponent, but you’re just a joke.”
His taunts echoed over and over as he kept provoking me.
The table was cleared, and the cards were dealt again.
Three cards were laid out in front of me, followed by two more behind them.
I tapped my fingers on the cards as I scanned the surroundings.
After taking a look at the guys checking their hands in silence, I tossed in a chip.
“Have you gotten a little too timid?”
As if waiting for that, chips piled up on top of the one I threw in.
The guy leaned back, crossing his arms, not even bothering to check his hand.
With his arrogant expression, he smirked, his lips thin and sneaky.
“Why don’t you take a bigger risk? Just like before, huh? Oh, I guess you’re too small to have the guts to go all in, huh? Or maybe you just can’t cheat?”
“…”
“Whatever it is, why not just bet big? You’re going to lose all that money anyway, so why drag it out with one round after another? Just go all in. How about it?”
I flicked my chip while listening to the guy ramble on with a face that showed no interest in gambling.
“Why don’t you just shut up for a bit? It’s getting loud enough to hurt my ears.”
“Well, then do something good. Like this.”
The moment he bet half of his chips, the crowd stirred.
As if enjoying the commotion, he looked down at me with a smug grin.
As I revealed my cards, he twisted his lips.
“Not very fun.”
In the end, he won again, and the fourth round went to him.
The cards were dealt again, and chips piled up on the table.
Bored, the guy rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small box, placing it on the table.
With a dull look on his face, he opened the box and pulled out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth.
“Not even worth my time.”
His mumbling made me smirk as I lifted my gaze to meet his.
“Can I give you a piece of advice? If you keep flapping your mouth like that, you won’t last long.”
“What?”
“I know you’ve been watching me for a while. Judging by how you got here listening to others, I guess you’re the fixer for this gambling house.”
I stopped tapping my fingers and pushed all my cards forward.
The dealer looked at the cards pushed toward him in confusion.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Who knows?”
I smiled and signaled the dealer that I was folding.
The dealer collected my cards, and the fifth round ended without any excitement.
Ignoring the guy’s puzzled stare, I pushed my cards forward as soon as they came back to me.
“What are you doing?”
“I folded.”
“Like I didn’t know that…”
“If you know, then shut up. Is there a rule saying you can’t fold?”
“…”
Finally, he was quiet.
With his mouth shut, silence filled the air.
The round started again, and the cards were dealt.
When my cards arrived, I pushed them forward and folded again.
After folding three times in a row, I caught the attention of the dealer and the murmurs from around the table.
“Fold.”
“I’m out.”
“Take it away.”
After that, I gave up on about ten more rounds in a row.
The atmosphere grew tense as the murmurs intensified.
When the cards were laid out again and I pushed all my cards forward to the dealer, the guy suddenly shot up and slapped my cards with his palm.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Is it right to fold more than ten times without even looking at your cards?”
“Why not?”
