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Arthur quickly handed her the chips, restraining himself from teasing her, ‘You said you weren’t going to do it, milady?’
As expected, it was fun to watch others spend money.
Arthur: “I’ll explain to you how to do it. Do you see the number plate here? Place your chips on the number you want. You can choose just one number to bet on, but the maximum is four.”
Keira: “Okay.”
Arthur: “Then the dealer over there will roll the ball. If the ball stops and lands on the number you chose, you win money. If it doesn’t, you lose.”
It was a game won purely by luck. There were no rules… but why did it look so fun?
Zeke: “Noonim, are you really going to do it?”
Keira: “We’ve come all the way here. It would be fine to play at least once.”
She felt Zeke’s gaze full of shock and betrayal, but she pretended not to see it. She already had her eyes on the roulette.
It looked fun.
Really, really fun.
Several other guests placed their bets – others placing their chips on one number, others on more than one.
‘Let’s play it safe.’
She was a complete beginner.
Keira put her chips on four numbers. As soon as she placed her bets, the ball rolled from the dealer’s hand.
Arthur: “If it goes well, you’ll win nine times the stakes.”
Keira: “I don’t expect much because the probability is low, but…”
But it’s fun, wasn’t it?
She couldn’t continue her words.
“Huh?”
“H-huh?”
The rolling ball stopped and landed on one of the numbers she chose.
“…!”
(Dealer): “Congratulations. It’s beginner’s luck.”
The dealer pushed her winnings in front of her.
(Dealer): “You can exchange it for money over there.”
There was a big grin on Keira’s face. She returned the chips that Arthur had given her before.
Keira: “Sir Arthur, this is the chips you gave me earlier.”
She then handed some to her younger brother.
Keira: “Zeke, would you like to try it?”
She now understood why Raul and Arthur couldn’t stop recommending the game. She couldn’t do it alone!
Zeke: “B-but, noonim…”
Keira: “Take it for now. You can exchange it for money if you don’t want to play.”
She gave the chips to Zeke and turned around.
Keira: “I’ll try something else.”
The three knights looked at each other and grinned. It was fun to teach the innocent lamb the joys of entertainment. First, heavy drinking, and now, gambling.
Until now, the only game Keira played was chess. It was nice to cultivate one’s talent over tea. The chess club even had social gatherings, so it was considered a noble entertainment.
But the games at the casino were different.
Rather than a complicated battle of the brains, gambling relied on nothing but luck. Of course, the pros would calculate this and that, but it wasn’t relevant to Keira who was a beginner.
It was exciting!
Reina: “Wow, so there really is such a thing as beginner’s luck?”
Reina, who was watching from the side, murmured.
The party agreed. Before they even knew it, there was a stack of chips in front of their lady.
Arthur grumbled.
Arthur: “Beginner’s luck? That can’t be true. If you knew how much I lost when I first came here, you wouldn’t say that.”
Raul burst into laughter. It looked like Arthur was robbed.
Zeke: “…interesting.”
Eventually, Zeke exchanged the chips his sister gave him and bought a non-alcoholic drink befitting a young master of the Parvis family.
Raul: “Milady, once you exchange the chips for money, what will you spend it on?”
Reina: “Don’t be fooled by him. It just means he wants you to buy him a meal.”
Raul: “No, I won’t!”
Keira’s ears perked up, They’ve already had dinner before going to the casino, so they would have to make plans to go out again together.
‘I want to come again with everyone…’
She was looking for an opening to invite them out again but didn’t have the courage to do it. She couldn’t just overlook the chance sir Raul gave her.
Trying to sound nonchalant, Keira spoke.
Keira: “Okay. It’s too late today, so let’s come back next time.”
Raul: “Oh, really??”
Keira: “Yes. How much will we need for a meal?”
Raul: “Can I eat something expensive?”
Reina: “Raul Kirix[1]!”
Reina scolded Raul, and Zeke looked like he wanted to join her.
While everyone was buzzing, Arthur had a serious look on his face.
Everyone looked at him, curious as to why the usually rambunctious man was quiet.
“Why do you look so serious?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Arthur: “Um, that… I just think it’s a little weird.”
Reina: “What is?”
Arthur: “Isn’t milady too lucky?”
He faced Keira.
Arthur: “If it’s once or twice, we can write it off as beginner’s luck. But this…”
He pointed to the pile of chips.
Keira tilted her head.
Keira: “Is this a lot of money?”
Arthur: “…it would be a small amount for milady, but for anyone, when your money grows ten times the original amount in a night, it’s a jackpot.”
Keira: “You think there’s a reason why I won this much?”
Arthur: “Well, I think–”
It was in that moment when Arthur was cut off.
Waiter: “Dear guest, Count Xavier sent you a message. Would you like to read it?”
A waiter handed her a note, and Keira opened it.
“What is it about?”
Keira: “They’re asking if I’m interested in playing in a VIP room with higher stakes.”
‘I thought something was weird, so this is it,’ Arthur thought.
Arthur: “Milady, I think that–.”
He tried to speak, but he couldn’t finish.
Keira’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were sparkling.
A small exclamation came out of her mouth.
“Cool… It’s like a duel between knights.”
Which part? Arthur wanted to ask but held it in. This innocent lady seemed to have interpreted a note meaning ‘I want to eat you alive’’ as a duel request.
‘Oh, my head.’
It was a common tactic at casinos.
Count Xavier.
Arthur would bet his sword that such a family didn’t exist.
‘Because milady, who looks well-off, was looking around as if it was her first time going to a casino, they must have thought she’d be a good target.’
The first roulette might have been really lucky. But the next game would have been fixed by the goons and the dealers.
Winning money in the first few rounds would build their confidence and encourage them to play even further. It was common sense.
Excited beginners would bet more and raise the stakes, and would inevitably get robbed.
It was a technique often used on wealthy-looking first-timers.
It would be best to leave immediately if they wanted to avoid obvious damage, but…
‘She looks so happy. What do I do?’
How could anyone say to a person whose eyes were sparkling in delight that everything they enjoyed tonight was a trick by the gods?
His heart ached at the image of their lady losing the color on her cheeks and the twinkle in her eyes. However, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
Just when he was about to speak. Keira beat him to it.
Keira: “Please send my apologies to the Count, but I’m not going to the VIP room. I have no plans on betting a huge amount of money. I’m free to play small games though, so if he’s alright with that, he’s welcome to join us.”
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