episode_0264

A somewhat dim room. Smoke from cigarettes curls up from tables scattered throughout.

“So, your luck’s run out, I see.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not dead yet.”

A dealer stands in the center of a semicircular table. He shuffles the cards expertly and deals two to each player. The players were naturally nobles from the vicinity.

“Hmm…”

“…You were talking about my luck, yet it seems yours is ending first?”

“Twenty gold coins.”

“Wha-”

A flush begins to rise on the man’s gaunt face. He looked at the cards in his hand and thought there was no way he could lose. After the man accepts the bet, the community cards are revealed one by one.

“Alright… I’ll go ten more!”

“Call, and ten more.”

“…Are you sure?”

“Quite.”

The man kept glancing at his opponent. A beautiful young woman. A new face he’d never heard of. He had a lot of questions, but of course, asking personal questions in this place was a breach of etiquette.

That’s not important. If he loses this hand, he won’t be able to sleep for the rest of his life out of resentment. To definitively crush his opponent, the man pushed all his gold coins onto the table.

“…All in.”

“I call.”

“…You’re really taking this. Don’t regret it.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

The all-in came before all the community cards were revealed. They reveal their hands first. The man looked at his opponent’s hand first.

“K, kkkk… I got it! I won too!”

“The community cards aren’t all revealed yet.”

“Surely, the next two cards won’t… magically connect with yours…”

Shuffling sound…

The last two community cards are revealed, and the man’s face contorts in despair.

“Straight flush. Good game.”

“Th-this isn’t right—!!”

The man kicks his chair back, ready to smash the table. Simultaneously, security guards who were standing nearby appear and subdue him. His struggling was quite unsightly.

The woman quietly left. She took a black cloth from her bosom and placed it over her eyes. Her snow-white hair cascaded over her even whiter shoulders.

She slowly walked out of the dimly lit room. Gambling continued at other nearby tables.

“Odd, it has to be odd!”

A tap… a click…

Several light dice fall onto the table with a cheerful sound. A quick glance shows the sum of the dice is eight. Another man who has lost a large sum of money suddenly stands up and bumps into the woman walking nearby.

“What the hell are you, you bitch?!”

“Sorry. Continue your game.”

“This slut—”

As if hitting women was a daily occurrence, the enraged man swings his arm. The white-haired woman catches his hand and easily breaks it.

A cracking sound…

“Aaaaaack!!”

“I apologized politely. Violence is bad.”

“Urgh, let go of my hand and let’s talk—!!”

Security guards quickly approach and surround the man and woman. The woman released his hand, and the man, clutching his broken wrist, rolled onto the floor.

“Please leave.”

“Ah, sorry. I forgot the reason I came here today.”

“Please leave, immediately.”

The security guard’s attitude was as firm as steel. The woman had no choice but to undo the dyeing magic in her hair and remove her blindfold. The color of her dress also began to change from deep black to pure white.

Simultaneously, the security guards’ eyes widened. There was no way they wouldn’t know the person standing before them. A notorious figure recently stirring up the underworld of the nobility. She was on the blacklist they had been strictly warned about that very morning.

“Where’s the boss?”

It was Princess Narita.

* * *

“Hey, come out.”

I barged into the room at the very center of the top floor of the casino building without warning.

Bang-!

The moment the door opened, the man in the room glared at me with a distorted face.

“What the… H-Your Highness!”

But upon seeing me, he became like a docile dog, scurrying towards me. A burly man with long golden hair and a flowing beard was on all fours; he looked like a golden retriever.

“What brings you here…”

“Do I need a reason to visit?”

“Oh, no! Please, rest comfortably!”

I sat down, using the retriever’s back as a chair. A servant rushed over and presented tea. I took only a sip and put it down. It wasn’t very good.

“How did it go?”

“Wh-what do you mean…?”

“Yes, what do you mean?”

I put pressure on my thighs and pressed down hard on the retriever’s back. He trembled and tried to fall, but managed to hold on.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry…! I’ve found all the guys you mentioned!”

“Good. List them by category, neatly organize it, and bring it to me by tomorrow. Personally.”

I emphasized the word “personally.” The retriever’s bright eyes fluttered as he raised his head.

“Y-you mean… you want me to deliver it to the royal palace personally?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean.”

“I-if I do that, it’ll be like announcing that I betrayed the whole faction! I will be secretly purged-!!”

“Oh? Then you want to be purged now?”

A flinch-

When I raised my right hand slightly, he trembled like a frightened puppy. He bowed his head, shrinking back into a crouching position.

There’s no room for refusal. The reason I pulled this man in as an informant was because all sorts of gossip flowed through his casino.

This casino has been actively used as a communication network for the First Prince’s faction. He can’t claim innocence now.

“Wouldn’t it be better to give him a day? At least he’ll have a chance to escape.”

Of course, if he provides all the relevant information as instructed, the charges related to his role in the communication network will be dropped. I’m lenient, so I can forgive him.

But I don’t know about our older brother, the First Prince.

I spun around and waved to the golden retriever. The loyal dog must wait patiently for his master’s return.

“Oh, right. Bring me the money I won today, converted, by tomorrow~”

A screech… a thud…

I think I heard some curses from inside as I closed the door and left.

…

…

…

Everything is proceeding smoothly.

Like the wind, nothing twists or bends. It doesn’t leak out to the sides, nor does it stop due to obstacles. It boldly moves forward without hesitation.

But I haven’t let my guard down. There’s a saying, “the calm before the storm.” Variables can arise anytime, anywhere. There’s no harm in being cautious.

In one corner of my room—it’s a bit too large compared to the Academy dormitory to call it a corner, but anyway—Nix is waving papers, sorting through information.

“How’s it going?”

“Nothing… It’s not here either…!!”

What she’s looking for is data on nobles related to Moriarty. The last category, which had been classified into three levels according to the severity of the issue, and the variable that needs to be guarded against the most.

Sooner or later, Moriarty will conquer the empire and wage war against the kingdom. Immediately after, once the Mage is resurrected from that disaster, the world’s bad ending will come to an end.

From the moment I learned of that future, my goal has been only one thing. Protecting the peace of the people I love, and I want nothing more. To protect this world, to protect lives, to protect love.

That’s why I’ve always kept an eye on Moriarty’s actions. Among the reasons I swept through the kingdom’s noble underworld this time was to track down his tail.

Intelligence activities are carried out regardless of time and place. While seemingly ensuring security between countries, they implicitly send spies. It is impossible to completely block them. Of course, if discovered, it’s immediate execution.

The kingdom has also placed people in the empire, so the empire can’t claim to be above that. Besides, some situations have already been detected. Naturally, the connection with the kingdom’s nobles should have been revealed in this investigation.

However, this time there was nothing.

“Did they pull the strings beforehand?”

“Ugh… No, even If they did, there should be records from before they pulled out… Ugh, this is so frustrating!!”

Rarely, Nix got angry. This was almost the first time I saw her like this. While I was momentarily excited at discovering a new side to her, the fact that Nix was struggling with information analysis itself was abnormal.

“Is there a possibility that that guy from the casino took some of the information?”

“No… it doesn’t seem like something’s been cut off… it’s just… it’s just ambiguous. I’m sorry, Nari.”

This time She was completely deflated. Seeing Nix like this made me want to kill the casino owner, but unfortunately that guy became minced meat some days ago, becoming a beast’s meal. It wasn’t me.

Knock, knock-

At that moment, Yuri knocked and entered the room.

“Your Highness, a visitor has arrived.”

“I’m rather busy…”

Given the circumstances, I tried to politely turn them away. I wanted to find any trace of Moriarty immediately.

But Yuri’s expression wasn’t very good. Furthermore, I sensed a certain stiffness from the way she addressed me. It meant that the visitor could not be led into a private conversation.

“…Who is it?”

“His Highness, the First Prince… Fruin Velasquez Nifrantz-nim.”