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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 57
The name of the Dark Demonic House's noble family was the Duke Baren household.
The name of the castle was also Castle Baren.
As expected of the castle governed by the Dark Demonic House, it was incredibly vast.
‘If I want to ruin Marquis Langham’s plan, I’ll need money first.’
Chris crossed his arms.
Not just money—he needed an astronomical amount.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I can just get the money from someone else.’
There were plenty of wealthy people in the world, and he only needed to dig into their pockets.
First, he decided to fully enjoy himself.
Castle Baren also had a well-developed entertainment district.
“Bring me liquor!”
“B-But—?”
“Hah! Do you not know who I am? I am Christian von Baren, blood of the Dark Demonic House! The soon-to-be heir! Are you saying you won’t serve me liquor right now?”
Chris put in effort to act like a true scoundrel.
Surprisingly, it suited him well.
‘If I’m going to play, I may as well do it properly.’
He didn’t sense any eyes tailing him.
But this was the heart of the Dark Demonic House. If he did anything even slightly suspicious, it would be reported to Marquis Langham immediately.
‘If I live it up without restraint, no one will suspect a thing.’
Honestly, that was half an excuse.
He just wanted to have fun.
‘If not now, when would I get to play? I’ve been stuck training every day like it’s my fate! What I wanted was the life of a noble slacker born with a silver spoon! I just want to enjoy myself!’
He partied to his heart’s content.
Except for alcohol.
As expected, the stewards were rigid about liquor.
Even when he flaunted the authority of the Dark Demonic House to threaten them, they still refused to give him alcohol. He had no idea how the previous “Christian” managed to get his hands on it.
In the end, he had no choice but to hold a glass of ginger ale while partying.
‘Damn it, I hate ginger ale! I’m sick of this ginger juice!’
Other than alcohol, he partied like a proper scoundrel.
He had such a blast that people started saying things like:
“As expected, a scoundrel.”
“Didn’t they say he changed? I heard he absorbed an incredible amount of dark energy during the Dark Awakening Ceremony.”
“I don’t know. I thought he’d changed, but he’s the same. Guess you can’t change a scoundrel’s nature.”
Sounds of people clicking their tongues echoed here and there.
Chris faintly raised the corner of his lips and focused even harder on partying.
‘It’s not every day you get a chance to blow money like this!’
His favorite was, of course, card games.
He was completely immersed in the game.
“That young master lost again!”
“Shouldn’t someone stop him?!”
Chris got even more excited and shouted.
“10,000 rupes more!”
The manager of the gaming hall wore a troubled expression.
“Young master, you’re already 100,000 rupes in debt. Perhaps it’s time to stop?”
“Hey! Do you not know who I am? I’m Chris. Chris, the future heir of the Dark Demonic House! And you’re making a fuss over a mere 100,000 rupes?! 10,000 more!”
In no time, he lost another 10,000 rupes.
That repeated a few more times.
Chris’s debt at the gaming hall surpassed 200,000 rupes.
The atmosphere in the hall gradually turned ice-cold.
“Shouldn’t someone stop him now?”
“…Yeah, really.”
“Are those guys completely clueless? Why do they keep winning? Do they want to get themselves hurt?”
No matter how much of a scoundrel he acted, Chris was still of the bloodline of the Dark Demonic House residing in Castle Baren.
And yet they were draining 200,000 rupes from him in one sitting?
That crossed the line.
But the most anxious person there was the manager of the gaming hall.
‘What the hell are they doing? Why do they keep winning?!’
The manager shot the dealer a murderous glare.
When someone from the Dark Demonic House came to play, it was customary to let them lose just enough.
But now they were practically draining the pillar of the household dry—how could he not be horrified?
‘Are you trying to get us all killed?’
The dealer, pale-faced, sent a signal back.
[Th-this is weird. I’m not trying to win, but the hands keep coming out this way.]
Card games are games of probability.
Unless someone was cheating, it was impossible for one side to win repeatedly like this.
But who in their right mind would dare cheat someone from the Dark Demonic House?
Above all, this gaming hall, ‘Rudolph,’ was run directly by the giant trading company Rudolph of the Magus Empire—they would never cheat a customer.
The problem was that more and more people were starting to suspect something.
“What’s going on? Are they seriously cheating?”
“Wow… five matching hands in a row? Is that even possible? The odds of that hand appearing are one in 170,000.”
“Just now it was an eight-match sequence on even-odd? And you’re telling me those rare hands came out back to back? The chance of both those hands appearing in succession is one in 800 million.”
Chris lost another 20,000 rupes.
As his excitement peaked, Chris tilted his head.
“This is strange. Why are the hands coming out like this?”
The moment he spoke, the manager of the hall dropped to his knees in a panic.
“M-my lord, this is a misunderstanding!!”
“We would never cheat!”
Everyone in the gaming hall turned pale and bowed their heads.
“Then what? Are you saying I lost because I’m an idiot?”
“N-no! Absolutely not! We don’t know what’s going on, but we apologize! Please, spare us your wrath!”
The managers begged for forgiveness without even knowing what they had done wrong.
‘Hmm, I kinda feel bad now.’
Chris thought to himself.
There was only one reason such strange results had occurred.
Chris had cheated.
To make himself lose.
Why?
To frame them.
‘Well, the staff didn’t do anything wrong, but the Rudolph Trading Company has plenty of sins to atone for.’
It was a famous trading company.
Just hearing the name was enough to shout "jackpot."
He had a deep connection with them in his previous life.
“W-we’ll cancel all the young master’s debt! No, we’ll even offer you compensation!”
“You think I’ll just take a bit of money and walk away?”
“Th-that’s absolutely not what we meant!!”
“Bring me the one in charge.”
“…Excuse me?”
Chris curled his lips into a cold smile.
“After committing such a serious offense, you’re not thinking of sweeping it under the rug, are you? I’ll hold your superior accountable directly.”
* * *
He was guided to the VVIP room on the top floor of the hotel connected to the gaming hall.
“P-please wait here for a moment. The branch manager will be here soon.”
“He’d better not be late. My patience isn’t that deep.”
“Y-yes, of course!”
The gaming hall manager hurried away in a panic.
Chris crossed his legs and sat on the plush, top-grade sofa.
“As expected of the Rudolph Trading Company. Everything here is first-class.”
Chris grinned.
“Even if I bleed them dry, it won’t leave a mark.”
Too much, you think?
Not at all.
Chris had deep ties with the Rudolph Company in his previous life.
Mostly of the unpleasant kind.
‘That bastard of a company head gave me no end of trouble.’
Chris furrowed his brow slightly.
The man was a formidable merchant.
Chris had been backstabbed by him more than a few times.
‘Though I did repay him several times over in the end.’
In truth, “repay” wasn’t enough—Chris had completely turned him into a sucker.
He practically became Chris’s personal wallet.
—How long are you going to bleed me dry, you bastard?!
—Until the world ends?
It was as if he could still hear the trading company head’s voice screaming, echoing like a memory.
He had bled him dry until the world ended, yet Chris still hadn’t let go of the grudge.
He was petty—once betrayed, he never forgot.
‘It must be fate that we’ve crossed paths again. I’ll make him my sucker once more.’
Just in time—Chris had been thinking he needed a personal wallet anyway, so this worked out well.
‘First, a drink.’
He poured the liquor from an old-fashioned glass bottle into a cup.
Everyone had been so uptight that he rushed to get a drink out of thirst,
‘…Damn, it’s ginger ale. These damned bastards.’
Because Chris was a minor, they had brought him ginger ale!
Just as he scowled in frustration, the door opened.
A strikingly handsome young man appeared.
“I greet the famed young master Christian von Barren Khazar of the Dark Demonic House. I am Rubid, head of the Rudolph Trading Company.”
Chris showed a brief flicker of surprise.
Because the company head showed up unexpectedly?
No, that wasn’t it.
‘Now, what’s this?’
The Rudolph Company head he knew was a woman.
But the one standing before him now was a man.
What could this mean?
‘Interesting.’
Already knowing the company head’s “secret,” Christian gave a faint smile.
He took in the features of Rubid, who had introduced himself as the company head.
Dark brown hair, blue eyes.
A pleasant, friendly expression.
With soft, androgynous features, he looked almost like a woman at a glance.
Chris, intrigued, knocked back the ginger ale in his cup.
“So, I assume you’ve been briefed?”
“Yes. Honestly, I don’t understand what happened. A scam card game, involving you, young master… it’s bewildering.”
“So, you’re saying it wasn’t your fault?”
“No, absolutely not. But since someone as distinguished as yourself was offended, we can’t say we bear no responsibility.”
Rubid, the company head, held out an envelope.
“As an apology, all the debts you incurred at the gaming hall will be considered null and void. And though modest, please accept this gift.”
When Chris opened the envelope, he saw the Rudolph Company’s seal stamped on it.
“If there is anything you desire, please let us know. Whatever it may be, we will procure it at cost.”
The Rudolph Company ran an auction house.
So they had easy access to all kinds of rare items.
“Hm, may I tell you what I want now?”
“Please do.”
“Ruina.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Bring me a woman named Ruina.”
For a moment, a fine line crossed the company head’s face.
Then, like a lie, he smiled again.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You know who Ruina is, don’t you?”
“Well… I do. She’s a famous merchant from the Alliance, isn’t she?”
Gypsy Ruina.
She was one of the most prominent merchants of the Alliance, operating the Dear Trading Company.
“No matter how capable our company is, bringing the head of a major Alliance company is…”
“Is it really impossible?”
Chris asked, staring directly.
Staring at the face of the company head—
To be precise, at the delicate, androgynous features that could easily be mistaken for a woman’s.
“I think it’s possible.”
“!!”
Did Rubid sense something in Chris’s tone?
His expression hardened.
He took a step back awkwardly and forced a smile.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“You don’t? Then maybe you’ll understand if I don’t call you Rubid…”
Chris spoke in a deep voice.
“Head of the Dear Company, Ruina.”
“!!”
“You hid it well. Is it the power of a holy relic?”
That’s right.
The one before him was both Rubid and Ruina.
To be exact, a woman disguised as a man, living a double life.
In the Magus world, she was the head of the Rudolph Company.
In the Alliance, she was the head of the Dear Company.
For a moment, Rubid—no, Ruina’s expression changed through a spectrum of emotions.
Realizing Chris knew everything, her face flickered with paleness, shock, and a sense of danger.
And finally—killing intent.
Just as her hand moved toward her inner coat, likely to silence him—
“If you pull that out, you die.”
“!!”
“If you don’t believe me, feel free to gamble.”
In that instant, madness and hesitation flashed across Ruina’s face.
She looked into Chris’s eyes, bit her lip tightly—then finally,
“…How did you find out?”
She surrendered.
Flash!
With a faint static-like distortion, her appearance began to change.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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