“What? Where did you say Vivi is right now?”
“The Duke has requested Lady Vivian to be escorted to his study.”
“Unbelievable!”
The elegant Duchess furrowed her brows and shot up from her seat.
When she had heard that Vivian had returned to the estate, she naturally assumed the girl had come to see her. But after waiting and waiting with no sign of her, the Duchess finally questioned the butler—only to receive an infuriating answer.
“Why must he always meddle at the worst possible time? Can’t he have a little patience for once?!”
She grumbled as she threw open the door, exasperation already giving her a headache.
She still remembered all too well the disaster of her own courtship—when the former Duke had insisted on personally meeting the young lady his son was interested in. It had been utterly mortifying! The thought of Vivian enduring the same experience made her stomach churn with worry.
‘If I can’t help my only son’s love life, the least I can do is not sabotage it!’
Vivian Roha. She was the first person to ever truly catch Armin’s interest. The Duchess understood why her husband was eager to meet the girl, but that didn’t make this any less frustrating.
She had repeatedly told the Duke to wait just a little longer before acting on his curiosity. But that had clearly been a mistake. Her husband’s interest had only grown, fueled by the unusual bond she herself shared with Vivian.
‘Still, he should have waited! I told him to hold off!’
She had warned him just days ago—Be patient, no matter how curious you are.
But Duke Grey had one significant flaw, despite his lofty status in noble society: he lacked patience.
It wasn’t his fault, really. Life had rarely required him to wait for anything, so he had never learned the necessity of restraint.
‘I thought he had matured with age, but clearly not!’ The Duchess clicked her tongue.
She had plans—she hadn’t even met Baroness Roha yet! She had intended to subtly introduce the idea of an engagement within the next few months.
Now, thanks to her husband’s impatience, a bright, quirky, adorable, yet terribly anxious girl was about to be thrown into an intimidating conversation with an overbearing and authoritative Duke.
If only Armin were here! She could have pushed the two of them out for a stroll or something. But, of course, her son had gone out early that morning.
‘I swear, I’m going to lose my mind!’
Her frustration surged again. As she neared the study, her strides became increasingly forceful.
Finally, she reached the heavy mahogany doors and threw them open with a bang.
“Taylor! You had better not—!”
The Duke visibly flinched at his wife’s thunderous voice. A guilty reaction if she had ever seen one.
But what truly caught the Duchess’s attention was the girl seated across from him—Vivian, wide-eyed like a startled rabbit, clutching a deck of playing cards in her hands.
* * *
At first, I had the right mindset. As someone from a country known for its etiquette, how could I possibly refuse the kind invitation of my friend’s father?
The plan was simple: kill time playing a few light rounds, let the Duke win some, and then gracefully lose in the end before my brother returned to the mansion.
That was the plan.
But then—the Duchess stormed into the Duke’s study, and everything changed.
“A grown man, really! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“N-no, it’s not like that! I was just—”
“Just what? No! Stop talking. Playing cards with such a young lady—have you completely lost your senses?!”
Just like that, a full-blown marital dispute unfolded before my very eyes in crystal-clear 4K resolution.
The Duke, who had been exuding charisma with his dashing smile mere moments ago, instantly deflated under his wife’s scolding. I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward—after all, I was the indirect cause of this situation.
“It’s not what you think… Alessandro said his sister was incredibly skilled at cards, so I simply wanted to see for myself, my dear.”
The most shocking part? The Duke was speaking formally to his wife.
I had never seen him like this before. So this was how he acted when he was in trouble. Honestly, I was tempted to grab some popcorn and just enjoy the show, but I couldn’t.
Because deep inside me, my Korean sense of propriety flared up. I couldn’t just stand by and watch.
“The Duke is right.”
I spoke up before the Duchess could raise her voice again. Her stern expression wavered as she turned to me with an apologetic look.
“Oh, Vivian… I’m sorry, dear. The Duke meant no harm, so don’t feel uncomfortable—”
“Duke.”
“Y-yes?”
“Card games are only fun when there’s money involved. Are you up for it?”
Screw it.
I abandoned my initial plan of playing the clueless beginner. Instead, I split the deck in half, one in each hand.
Drururururuk!
The crisp, interlocking shuffle of the cards against the table sent a thrilling sound through the room.
Then, I performed a flawless bridge shuffle, letting the cards snap into place with a whish-shh-shh as they smoothly settled.
“Oh my!”
The Duchess gasped, eyes widening in amazement.
Her reaction gave me a wicked sense of satisfaction.
Should I do another trick? Sure, a proper noble lady probably wouldn’t be showing off card flourishes in front of a Duke, but who cared? Everyone here already knew I wasn’t exactly a typical lady.
I executed another move. The spring shuffle.
Gripping the deck tightly, I let the cards cascade from one hand to the other in a smooth, hypnotic motion. The cards zipped through the air like a well-oiled machine.
A trick I had learned in a one-day magic class—never thought it would come in handy like this.
“Now, shall we begin?”
I fanned out the deck in a perfect arc across the table, a move every skilled dealer would use to signal the start of the game.
The Duke, who had been momentarily mesmerized, burst into laughter.
“Ha! Hahaha! My, my! You are just as amusing as I’ve heard.”
The tense atmosphere from earlier? Gone.
The couple’s quarrel had been completely overshadowed by my dazzling performance.
“Card games are always more exciting with an audience. Duchess, please take a seat. You wouldn’t want to miss watching me clean out the Duke’s pockets, would you?”
“Oh-ho! Your card skills are impressive, but winning isn’t about fancy tricks, my dear.”
“Then let’s set the stakes.”
“A single bronze coin to start?”
“One bronze?”
The Duke frowned, clearly unimpressed by the small wager.
I flashed a bright, innocent smile.
Perfect. I needed money anyway, and this was an opportunity too good to pass up. Even if I took him for everything he had, it wouldn’t put a dent in the Duke’s fortune.
And now that the Duchess was here, I had insurance. If the Duke lost too much, she’d be my safety net.
With her on my side, my original intention of humoring the Duke had completely vanished.
Now, I had only one thought:
How to thoroughly fleece my friend’s father.
* * *
“I guess I have no choice but to fold.”
Flinch.
No matter how much he tried to maintain a poker face, I could see right through him.
Like father, like son—Armin and the Duke shared the same habits. Whenever they got a strong hand, the right corner of their lips would twitch just slightly upward.
Of course, the Duke wasn’t bluffing when he claimed to be skilled at poker. Most of the time, he was unreadable, and there were rounds where I lost.
But when he got a full house or another excellent hand, the slightest changes in his expression gave him away, allowing me to avoid getting caught up in his aggressive raises. Ironically, I lost more money when I had weak hands like one pair or two pairs and he successfully bluffed me into folding.
As a result, while our win-loss ratio was fairly even, I had been winning big and losing small, whereas the Duke was doing the opposite.
Still, as expected of a wealthy noble, the Duke didn’t seem too concerned about the money. The back-and-forth nature of our games seemed to excite him, and though he was getting frustrated, he was having fun.
“Hah! You never call when I have a strong hand.”
“That’s because it’s written all over your face, Your Grace.”
“Me? Now that’s a first.”
Looking genuinely puzzled, the Duke ran a finger over his face as if trying to feel where the giveaway was. It was almost endearing—so much so that I found it hard to believe this was the same man who, just moments ago, had been exuding cool authority while receiving reports from Sasha.
“Whenever you have a good hand, the corner of your mouth lifts—just a tiny bit.”
“So all those people who told me I was hard to read were lying? Ha! One more round.”
“Alright.”
Seeing my nod, the Duchess chuckled. To any outsider, this would look like nothing more than a family gathering over a friendly holiday game.
“Enough already. How many rounds has it been?”
“Last one! Just one more, dear.”
“Ugh, you really are impossible.”
“I’ll win just one more round, too.”
“Now, that’s a bold claim. The last round, and you’re still planning to win?”
“I’m just a little short on cash.”
I needed around 200 gold.
While we started with one bronze per round, the nature of poker meant that repeated raises caused the pot to skyrocket exponentially.
I had already won close to the amount I needed, so I planned to win just one more game before stopping.
“Good.”
The Duke laughed heartily.
“Since it’s the last round, let’s test our luck. How about it?”
“Luck?”
“No folding. We keep calling until the end.”
“Hmm… Alright, let’s do that.”
I pretended to consider it for a moment before agreeing. Since the winner from the previous round placed the first bet, I figured I could just keep checking and calling until the end.
‘Wait… what?’
But the moment I looked at my cards, I realized there was no way I could simply play passively.
‘This has to be a sign from the heavens to take him for everything he’s worth!’
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to keep a neutral expression.
The five cards in my hand were all black Spades.
10, J, Q, K, A.
A hand so rare that even professional gamblers might only see it a few times in their lifetime.
The legendary, unbeatable, cheat-code of poker.
Royal Straight Flush.
