Chapter 190

Episode 190

‘How could this happen…?’

The cards in my hand trembled. My heart pounded, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at them.

Ophelia’s face was filled with despair.

The reason was simple.

The mountain of gold coins that had been piled up in front of her was almost gone. It wasn’t just gold; it was her living expenses.

‘I shouldn’t have used it all as the stake!’

Originally, she had planned to use only one pouch of gold coins as the stake. But as she kept saying “a little more, a little more,” she ended up taking out all three pouches.

‘What am I going to do if I lose this too? I can’t go back to the Magic Tower right now…’

When she first learned the game “Texas Hold’em,” she found it fascinating and fun.

The way you combined cards and competed against your opponent was similar to magic.

This was probably the only game in the world that could make people so excited and frustrated with just 52 cards.

But it wasn’t always fun and games.

There was a stake involved.

Instead of betting a fixed amount per round, you kept betting every time you received cards, so it was difficult to recover once you lost big.

Unfortunately, the 200 gold coins Ophelia had prepared as a stake were all gone.

‘I lost 70 gold coins in one go in the last round…’

Her despair deepened.

But Ophelia rekindled her fighting spirit. She still had a chance.

‘First, I need to check my cards.’

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she carefully revealed her two cards.

The cards in her hand were K♠ and 10♠.

Ophelia felt a shiver run down her spine. With these cards, she had a chance.

“I’m folding.”

“Me too. Torum, you didn’t do anything weird to the cards, did you? How come I keep getting bad cards for five rounds in a row?”

Hassale and Freya folded their cards.

Freya, the Margrave’s daughter, was rich from the start, and Hassale had excellent self-control, so he didn’t bet excessively.

But Ophelia, who had learned about the world from the Magic Tower, couldn’t control the thrill she felt for the first time.

“Check.”

O’Brien lightly tapped the table.

Check meant he wouldn’t bet and would proceed to the next card.

Ophelia wanted to win big in this round.

‘If I bet too much, it’ll be obvious, right? Besides, the community cards might not be good.’

Greed fueled greed.

Ophelia decided to hold back for now.

“Call!”

Master Torum, who was watching, grinned.

“Our cute little mage is on fire! Did you get good cards? Don’t be too greedy, or you’ll lose everything.”

“Shut up and deal the cards!”

“Oh my! How scary.”

The dealer was supposed to remain silent while dealing cards.

But Torum often cracked jokes to lighten the mood. Sometimes, he even encouraged betting from the sidelines.

“Alright, here we go!”

Master Torum placed three cards face down on the table. He paused for a moment and then flipped them over one by one.

2◆, J♠, A♠.

High cards appeared in succession. Ophelia, a beginner, was nervous but calmly thought about her hand.

When she first memorized the hand rankings, she didn’t understand anything, but now that her gold was running low, she had finally memorized them completely.

‘Five cards of the same suit is a Flush! It’s a high hand, right? That’s right! If I get just one more spade out of the remaining two cards, it’ll be complete, so it’s good, right?’

Her heart pounded.

Ophelia’s face turned as red as a heated frying pan. O’Brien, who glanced at her, started betting.

“Check.”

He declared once again that he wouldn’t bet. But Ophelia, consumed by greed, didn’t miss this opportunity.

“10 gold!”

*Clink!*

With a loud cry, ten gold coins poured onto the table. Torum raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“Call.”

O’Brien accepted the bet. He carefully pushed ten gold coins towards the table.

The next card was dealt.

7♥.

‘7 is my lucky number. And I like hearts…’

*Gulp.*

Ophelia swallowed unconsciously. People who were new to gambling tended to mistake every natural phenomenon as a sign from God.

‘The next card is definitely a spade. I can feel it!’

Ophelia checked her remaining money. A little over 30 gold coins.

She looked at O’Brien’s side and saw a mountain of gold coins. Freya and Hassale had attacked fiercely, but they had all lost to him in the end.

The young mage from the Magic Tower wanted to topple that mountain of gold coins.

“Check.”

O’Brien played cautiously again. Ophelia pondered.

‘If I bet recklessly here, he might not follow. Let’s pretend to accept and then trap him!’

With that plan in mind, Ophelia checked.

“Last card. It seems like everyone has good hands. Let’s see who wins.”

Torum revealed the last card. Ophelia’s eyes widened.

‘N-No way!’

Something unbelievable had happened.

At first, she had only hoped for a spade. Since there was an A on the community cards and she had a K, she could win even with the same Flush.

But the card on the table was something she hadn’t expected at all.

Ophelia rubbed her eyes and checked the card again.

The last community card was Q♠, and it didn’t change no matter how much she rubbed her eyes.

‘This isn’t just a Flush… What was it called again…? That’s right! Royal Straight Flush! The highest hand in poker!’

She remembered it because it was explained that the probability of getting it was lower than being struck by lightning.

Ophelia’s face turned as red as a tomato. She felt a stronger sense of exhilaration than when she had mastered the intermediate-level magic ‘Fireball.’

She wanted to scream out loud.

‘I won! I won! I beat that smug, arrogant O’Brien!’

She checked her remaining gold coins again. There were less than 30 left.

She was ready to bet it all.

Ophelia glanced at O’Brien.

‘…He’s smiling?’

She suddenly felt uneasy.

But even if she thought about it again, there was no hand that could beat a Royal Straight Flush.

Ophelia recalled something.

‘They said poker isn’t a game you win with your hand, but a battle of bluffing. Cunning! Does he think I’ll fall for that expression? Never!’

At that moment, something unbelievable happened.

O’Brien tossed his two cards onto the table.

“Fold.”

“…What? Why?”

Fold meant he was giving up.

Ophelia, who had defied the odds and obtained the strongest hand, couldn’t accept this situation.

“He’s folding because he has a bad hand. What’s there to question?”

“We don’t know the outcome yet! Bet something! Who knows? You might win by a hair!”

O’Brien chuckled.

“Ophelia, do you know why you lost almost all your stake? Because your face shows what kind of hand you have. It must be at least a Flush or a Straight Flush.”

Ophelia flinched.

She turned to look at the mirror behind her. Her reflection was as red as a beet.

“Why would I follow when it’s so obvious? It’s better to fold.”

“Ugh!”

“Freya and Hassale, you’re the same. Freya, you have a habit of touching your hair when you have a good hand. And Hassale, you tend to hesitate when betting with a good hand.”

“You were watching all that?”

“I told you, poker is a game of deception. To do that, you have to be able to read expressions. Did you forget that my main job is an Inspector?”

The two vassals felt a sense of emptiness for the first time in a while. Meanwhile, Hassale’s expression changed as if he had a good idea.

“Now that I think about it, this Hold’em game is quite interesting. How about we make money with this in our trading company? It’s difficult to get a license for gambling, so we could at least start by making cards.”

“I like your positive attitude. I approve.”

O’Brien distributed some of the gold coins he had won to Freya and Hassale. He also gave some to Master Torum.

But he didn’t give anything to Ophelia.

Of course, she wouldn’t stay silent.

“Hey, wait! Why aren’t you giving me any?”

“It’s a master’s duty to take care of their vassals. But you’re not my subordinate, are you? You’re a great mage from the Magic Tower.”

“…Ugh!”

Freya and Hassale, who were watching, burst into laughter.

The plan to create an opportunity for the new comrade to get along with the vassals was a success. Although there were some raised voices as gold coins changed hands.

The journey to Walker territory went smoothly.

* * *

“My lord, we’ll be landing at our destination soon.”

Selendis brought the good news. I had just finished the manuscript for the report.

This manuscript wasn’t just a record of the past.

It was an important document containing the future plans of me, the Inspection Unit, and House Walker.

I handed her two bundles of manuscripts.

“This one is for Duke Kalisto, and this one is for Prince Karma. Send messengers as soon as we arrive. Be careful not to mix them up.”

“Understood.”

A while later, the airship landed with a hiss of steam. There was a slight impact, but it was bearable.

When the door opened, I saw familiar faces. Administrator Balzac and the knights of the Knight Order were there to greet me.

It had been a long time since I felt like I had returned home.

“It’s been a while, Master.”

“Everything alright?”

“It’s been peaceful.”

Balzac’s words put my mind at ease. He was not only competent but also honest.

“Master, what is this thing? At first, I thought it was a monster.”

This time, Vice-Captain Paris asked. After leaving the northern climate zone, I had summoned Thunder to inform my vassals so they wouldn’t be surprised.

But it seemed like they were still surprised to see it in person.

“Think of it as a flying fortress. It’s a wonderful creation handcrafted by the artisans of Plantier.”

“Oh, as expected of the dwarves!”

“You can go inside and take a look. There’s a master dwarf named Torum. Go find him. It wouldn’t be bad to build relationships with the dwarves at this opportunity.”

“Understood, Master.”

Paris led a few knights into the airship. Meanwhile, Ophelia, Freya, and Heinkel stood beside me.

“This is the main castle of House Walker. It’s nothing compared to Whitefield, but it’s a very important place to me.”

“It really is nothing.”

Ophelia was still holding a grudge. On the other hand, Freya and Heinkel looked around curiously.

“The south is so warm. And there are so many flowers.”

“Indeed. It seems like a pleasant place to live.”

“There are also many monsters and bandits. The north is better in that regard. Let’s go inside. We need to greet Lady Lucia first.”

I led the three of them to the Lady’s residence. But there was no need to go inside.

“Aubrey!”

It was the first time I had heard the Lady raise her voice like that. And she was even running. Was she that happy to see me?

“Is that Lady Lucia?”

“She can be quite scary, despite her appearance. Don’t be disrespectful.”

“She doesn’t look scary at all.”

The Lady surprised me once again. She grabbed both my arms as if she were a lover reunited after a long time.

Lucia’s hands were still warm.