Chapter 71 : A loosened necktie

“Oh my, Lady Trea! What a surprise to see you here! Didn’t you say you were entering the Academy?”

“Ah, there’s a bit of a story. It’s been a while.”

Though I used to grumble all the time, the Academy was one of the most prestigious educational institutions on the continent.

It wasn’t a place just anyone could enter, even if they were nobility.

Of course, most nobles had no reason to attend the Academy anyway.

Since their positions were more or less guaranteed, being an Academy graduate was just a fancy title for them.

So unless there was a special reason, most nobles chose to do their duties as adults rather than enroll.

“Is this your first time here? If so, I can guide you…”

“No, I have somewhere to go. Excuse me.”

“Oh, then…!”

The woman in front of me was the same. She was the daughter of a count family near the capital, if I recall.

We were the same age, and I had once considered whether she could be used as the stereotypical villainess’s follower if we went to the

Academy together.

But I was right not to waste my time.

If I had wandered around with a dimwit like her—who’s already running around gambling as soon as she became an adult—I would’ve had a

much harder time.

There’s no hope in someone who stopped learning.

‘It’s really noisy.’

Leenze’s lavish casino was packed with people.

Not just ordinary folks, but also nobles I’d occasionally seen.

Since their main foreign currency income came from pleasure and entertainment, it was a far cry from the cheap gambling dens you see

elsewhere.

“Oh? Miss, are you by any chance…”

“Excuse me, are you from the west…”

I should have worn a mask.

Having people recognize you is such a hassle.

Even if I didn’t care that much, a noble heir being in a casino was definitely a negative—not a positive.

Only after heading deep inside did the people stop recognizing me, and only then could I finally take in the place properly.

Golden walls covered in gilt, the sound of dice rolling from all directions.

Shouts, screams, and cheers filled the air—this was truly the largest casino on the continent.

The amount of money exchanged here in just one night would easily exceed 10 billion rene.

Makes me realize just how much I lost that time.

‘So… what do I do now?’

Making money here wasn’t strictly necessary, but it would be a shame to pass on this opportunity.

I’d need some money soon to buy something at the auction.

I was all fired up, but since it was my first time in a casino, I hesitated to place a bet.

I didn’t come with some grand, detailed plan either.

I’d played a few rounds of poker and go-stop in my previous world, but like with chess, the rules were slightly different here.

With this place crawling with professional gamblers, I’d be lucky just not to lose everything.

More than anything, I wanted to make use of my heightened senses.

‘Let’s look around first.’

Given how big the casino was, there were lots of unfamiliar games besides card and dice gambling.

Roulette wheels with over 20 faces, and even slime races.

Next to me, slimes with numbers etched on them were wobbling slowly along the floor.

Feels more like a village festival than a casino.

Of course, it wasn’t all silly games.

There was someone precariously walking across a plank inside a giant tank, balancing on a pole.

Below them, a baby sea serpent swam.

If they made it across safely, they won.

If not, they lost.

There were bets on the outcome too, but the highest payout was if you were the one walking.

Apparently, people with big debts usually took that gamble.

Unfortunately, when the man twisted his ankle, the sea serpent swallowed him whole.

Despite the scream and his gruesome end, the crowd only laughed or cursed over their lost bets.

I didn’t feel particularly bad.

I wasn’t sad about his pointless death—just curious.

‘Maybe I should try it too?’

Not that I’d die—I was confident I could beat the thing down.

With that payout, I could earn a fortune instantly.

I thought about it briefly but decided against it.

Putting aside whether they’d even pay a mage properly, I wasn’t about to become a clown on stage just for some cash.

After walking around for a while, I saw a lot, but didn’t find any game that suited me.

The closest was the roulette with 20 sides.

Compared to the normal three-sided ones, it was much harder, but if I focused my vision and used cognitive acceleration,

it looked like it was moving as slow as a slime.

The problem was my reaction speed.

Even if it looked slow, it wasn’t actually slow.

I definitely pressed it in time, but my guess was off.

In the end, I settled for the most basic dice game.

Just bet money and guess odd or even. Super simple.

Using magic was risky, so I relied on my dynamic vision.

“Place your bets! Odd or even? Even or odd!”

‘Simple enough.’

It might be cheating a little, but hey, it’s still my ability, right?

Making money’s easy.

“Did you win anything?”

“…Could you mind your own business?”

“I figured as much.”

Amiter didn’t even try to hide her laugh. That…!

I barely held back my irritation and asked her,

“Why are you even here?”

The bite in my voice wasn’t because I lost money.

No way.

It was obviously a low-down trick!

Once I started winning, the dealer’s expression changed, and then even when it should’ve landed on odd, it came up even.

That was cheating.

I wanted to complain, but in a game of chance like odd-even, where you’re not supposed to know the outcome, I had broken the rules first.

“You once said lovers should visit uninvited as a rule.”

“That’s… true, but still, if you hadn’t come, I’d have doubled my money.”

“Be grateful you’re not broke.”

Easy for her to say.

But telling that to someone who hasn’t even earned back their original stake just stings.

Still, if Amiter hadn’t shown up and dragged me away, I probably would’ve lost it all like at the black market.

Come to think of it, she’s actually doing a pretty good job of being my fiancé.

Maybe the one acting out of place is… me.

“You should behave tomorrow.”

“…Got it.”

“Unexpected. I thought you’d throw a tantrum again.”

“Do I really have that kind of image?”

That stings a little.

I thought I’d been playing the noble lady role pretty well.

“To be honest, yes.”

She answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Guess I wasn’t as ladylike as I thought.

While I tried to find something witty to say, her crooked red tie caught my eye.

“You’re not exactly graceful either. What’s with this messy tie?”

Night had nearly passed, and with dawn approaching, the once loud and dazzling streets were suddenly quiet.

All the people had vanished, and only the occasional streetlamp lit the darkness in place of the moonlight.

Under that dim glow, we looked at each other.

“Bend down a little. I’ll fix it.”

The tie sticking out from her shirt was an eyesore.

Despite her many skills, she was surprisingly bad at this sort of thing.

Amiter silently lowered her head and extended her neck.

I untied her tie and redid it.

In things like this, I was definitely better than her.

In the now-silent street, only the sound of our pounding hearts could be heard.

It felt strangely awkward.

After a few minutes, I tucked the tie back into her shirt and gave it a few pats.

She stared down at me the whole time.

“All done. Next time, before you nag me…”

Smooch.

“…What did you just do?”

My forehead suddenly felt warm—then just as quickly returned to normal.

She turned back toward the building we’d come from, acting like nothing happened.

“This is just a thank-you between fiancés. Don’t read too much into it.”

Uh… right.

There are cultures where a kiss on the forehead is a common greeting.

But that’s not what this was.

I’m not stupid.

And I’m definitely not gullible enough to fall for a top-5-ranked student’s clumsy act.

She was going for the lips and changed her mind last minute, right?

“Hey, you…”

“Let’s go in.”

I had a lot to say, but her slightly trembling voice silenced me.

It felt like if I said anything more, I’d ruin the moment.

So I took her outstretched hand without a word and walked with her through the dark street.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t thinking anything—

It was that I couldn’t think of anything at all.