Chapter 75
I smirked at his reaction, and his eyes, fixed on me, flashed with a hint of danger.
He clenched his teeth and flipped over the card I was about to fold, checking my hand.
“You’re saying you’re dead with that hand? There are only three hands higher than this one.”
As the murmuring around us grew louder, the man bit down hard and raised his hand, glaring at me.
Just as his hand was about to come crashing down on my head, Aden, who had been standing off to the side, grabbed his arm.
“Wanna die? Let go… Aaaaargh!!”
“That’s what I should be asking you.”
Aden applied pressure to the man’s arm, causing him to scream in pain.
The man, now kneeling on the floor, clutched his arm and thrashed around, trying to break free.
Noticing the stares from the crowd, I nodded at Aden, signaling that it was enough.
As soon as Aden let go, the man hurriedly backed away, baring his teeth at me with a murderous glare.
He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but after a quick glance at Aden, he sat down in his chair without a word.
“This is why you don’t play cards with a woman. All you’re good for is scamming people and hiding behind a man. Why would I even bother with a pathetic bitch like you…”
“I’m pretty sure I warned you earlier.”
I signaled to the dealer to deal the cards with a flick of my fingers.
The table, which had been momentarily paused, was laid out with cards again.
“If you keep flapping that mouth, you won’t live long.”
I flicked a chip onto the table.
“All in.”
* * *
As the commotion from Sierra’s sudden move spread, Aden, who had been watching from behind, slowly scanned the room.
Among the onlookers, there were several people with strange expressions.
Aden thought these were likely the casino employees Sierra had mentioned.
If things went south, Sierra was planning to overturn the game by force.
Aden shared a similar thought, but something seemed off about the suspicious figures.
It wasn’t just their movements that were odd—everything from the way they walked andto the way they scanned the room was different.
These weren’t the typical mercenaries or thugs that worked in gambling dens.
Their movements resembled those of highly trained knights.
“Ha, ha! So, this is how it’s gonna be, huh? That’s more like it. Now it’s fun!”
The man burst out laughing.
He followed Sierra’s lead and bet all his money as well.
Then, with a wild glint in his eye, he jutted out his chin as if daring her to show her hand.
Even as the showdown between the two continued, the suspicious figures gradually closed in on Sierra.
The dealer flipped over their cards one by one, revealing each hand.
The crowd leaned in, inching closer to get a better look.
The tension was thick, and the space between Sierra and the others shrank.
Finally, when the last card was flipped, a smile spread across Sierra’s face, while a scream erupted from the man.
“This is impossible…!”
“If you’re gonna cheat, do it right. Did you really think you could beat me with a pathetic move like that?”
Sierra smirked at him as she gathered her chips.
The man’s eyes rolled back in frustration, and he lunged at Sierra.
At that moment, the hands of the suspicious figures in the crowd flashed with silver.
“What the hell?!”
“Aaaaah!”
In the chaos that erupted, Aden moved to shield Sierra, standing between her and the attackers.
But their blades weren’t aimed at Sierra—they were going after the man.
“Who the hell are you guys?!”
Panicking, the man forgot all about attacking Sierra and scrambled to his feet, leaping over the table.
As he stumbled and fled, the scene turned chaotic, with people screaming at the sight of the flashing blades and the casino’s mercenaries trying to restore order.
Sierra, watching it all unfold, calmly picked up a cigarette case from the ground.
The cigarettes inside were crushed and scattered across the floor.
“What’s that?”
Aden asked, as Sierra emptied the cigarette case and examined the floor.
On the inside of the case, a familiar emblem was engraved.
“This is the kind of case they use in Bozbourne to give gifts. And the cigarettes inside are a specialty from Bozbourne too.”
As soon as Sierra lowered the case, Aden started moving, chasing after Drwenley.
* * *
“You bastards! Who the hell are you?!”
Dwensley, who had been running from the knights, pressed himself against a wall, panting heavily.
The knights, without a word, exchanged quick glances before approaching him.
With nowhere to run, Drwenley swallowed hard and desperately raised his hands.
“W-wait a second! What the hell did I do? Why are you after me?!”
“You talk too much.”
“Wait, you just talked, didn’t you? I know you can hear me, so let’s talk this out. What do you want? Money? I can give you money. I’ve got loads of it. Here!”
Drwenley pulled out a pouch that jingled with coins and poured them into his palm.
Gold coins from Bozbourne, the only place besides the royal family allowed to mint gold, spilled out onto his hand.
“Look at this. See? There’s plenty. I’ll give it all to you. Just, wait! There’s more where this came from, so…”
The knight, who had been silently watching Drwenley babble on, nodded slightly.
At the simple gesture to “finish it,” the other knights slowly advanced.
Drwenley tried to force his way through them to escape but was quickly caught by their hands.
“Why are you doing this to me? No, please, why are you doing this to me?! Spare me! Please, I’m begging you!”
“Make it quick.”
“D-don’t! Don’t kill me!”
One of the knights stepped on Drwenley’s shoulder as he lay sprawled on the floor and drove a sword into his stomach.
“Gurk…!”
Blood gushed from Drwenley’s mouth as the blade pierced his abdomen.
The knight withdrew his sword and raised it again, this time aiming for Drwenley’s heart.
But before he could strike, Aden, who had arrived just in time, threw a dagger, deflecting the sword. He charged forward immediately.
“Who’s there?!”
The knight turned to retaliate, but Aden was much faster.
In an instant, he closed the distance, landing a blow with his bare hands that sent the knight flying. Then he knocked down the others holding Drwenley with his fists.
Even though they were armed, the knights staggered, struggling to get back up after being hit barehanded.
“…Kill him too.”
Just as the knights were about to charge at Aden again, the casino owner, Russell, stormed in, eyes wide from hearing the commotion.
“Take care of this!”
Russell, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, barked orders at his mercenaries, baring his teeth.
The knights hesitated, glancing at each other nervously as the mercenaries jumped into action. Surrounded, the knights clearly weren’t thrilled about being caught between two groups. They hesitated before nodding at each other and fleeing.
After ordering his men to chase after them, Russell rushed over to Drwenley.
Aden, inspecting the wound in Drwenley’s abdomen, shook his head.
“Is he dead?”
Russell asked, exhaling smoke. His voice was more relieved than concerned, which made Aden stand up and glare at him.
‘Fine clothes, greasy face, smoking those expensive Bozbourne cigarettes.’
“You the owner of this casino?”
“That’s right. Who’s asking? Do you know me?”
Russell stared at Aden with a casual tone, furrowing his brows slightly.
There was something vaguely familiar about Aden’s face, and it wasn’t just because he was strikingly handsome—there was something else. His eyes, his hair color…
Russell’s eyes suddenly widened as realization hit him.
“N-no way… you’re… Ri, Ri…?!”
“Found it.”
Before Russell could finish his sentence, Sierra appeared.
She glanced briefly at the stunned Russell before handing Aden an open ledger.
When Russell turned to see the book in Sierra’s hands, his face turned even paler.
“H-how did you get that?! That should’ve been in the steel vault…!”
Russell, flustered, kept babbling until he clamped his mouth shut, realizing the gravity of the situation. Knowing Aden’s true identity and the significance of that ledger, sweat started pouring down his face.
Sierra, ignoring the panicked, sweating Russell, approached Aden and opened the ledger.
Inside, it detailed how Drwenley had embezzled money from the Rippleton casino.
“This should be enough.”
“But it’ll be hard to pin down who’s really behind all this. The only guy who could’ve testified is, well, like this. Maybe if we’d caught those knights earlier, but by now they’re long gone.”
“It’s fine. Whoever’s behind this wouldn’t have left any easy trails to follow. Let’s just be grateful we found this. Besides…”
Sierra trailed off, glancing back at Russell.
Russell, still frozen, flinched and took a step back when her red eyes locked onto him.
Sierra pulled down her hood, revealing her face as she approached Russell.
“With an embezzlement of this scale, you probably haven’t gotten rid of all the money yet, have you?”
“W-what are you talking about…?”
“If you tried to pin all the blame on Rippleton, it would’ve been a death sentence at the very least. Instead of wasting time playing dumb, why not cooperate and at least beg for your life? Don’t you think that’s the smarter option?”
Sierra gave a cold smile as she waved the ledger in front of him.
Once-confident and arrogant, Russell swallowed hard, nodding without thinking.
Sierra gestured with her chin for him to lead the way.
Like a puppet, Russell turned around and obediently led them forward.
Aden leaned in closer to Sierra as they followed him.
“So, how did you open the vault? Did you have a key?”
“Nope.”
“Then?”
Sierra gave him a mischievous smile and twirled her fingers in the air.
“Like this.”
“…”
Aden knew exactly what that gesture meant, but decided not to ask further.
“That’s how it was, huh?”
“…No need to explain, Sierra.”
