Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Side Story 7

“Must be someone from out of town.”

“Oh dear, she’s going to lose her money if she gets involved recklessly.”

While concerned murmurs spread, the narrow-eyed man, clearly a scammer, smiled broadly and welcomed her.

“Alright then. It won’t take long, so just wait.”

Indeed, the current challenger kept picking the wrong cards, prompting jeers from the crowd nearby.

“Hey, that’s not right. Didn’t he just turn that one over earlier and forget?”

“No coaching from the crowd, please.”

In the middle of this chaos, Eirik called out to Miesa, sending her a signal.

“Honey!”

[Trickery], [Warning], [Caution].

Unfortunately, the Cladnier knight signals, designed for use on the battlefield, lacked an exact way to convey “gambler” or “swindler.” Miesa’s expression remained ambiguous as she interpreted Eirik’s signals.

She even rose on her toes, scanning the area, making Eirik feel anxious. Perhaps she misunderstood, thinking an enemy was hiding nearby. Just as Eirik was about to signal again, Miesa, standing among the women, looked back at him and gestured.

[Enemy], [Several], [Eyes], [Small], [Men], [Exclude].

The six signals came so quickly that to an outsider, it looked like she was shooing away a bug. Understanding her, Eirik checked his surroundings and confirmed the number of accomplices. Besides the narrow-eyed man, two others standing at the back were certainly part of the group, though there could be more hidden.

[Confirmed], [Three], [Others], [Unknown].

Miesa nodded upon interpreting Eirik’s gestures, then sent a new signal.

[Armed?], [Check needed].

It was just like Miesa to put safety first, wanting to ensure whether they were carrying weapons.

[No problem], [Our side], [Sufficient].

The gambler looked rather frail, and the errand boy standing nearby didn’t appear particularly threatening either. Even if they were hiding weapons, protecting Miesa was no issue—especially with Siata and the knights present.

“What’s going on here?”

Cullen, who had returned unnoticed, whispered to Eirik in a low voice. Though he had seen Miesa’s signals, the angle prevented him from catching Eirik’s.

“Cheats.”

“Ah… So should we take care of it while you two look around elsewhere?”

“Miesa already stepped up.”

“What’s the game?”

Cullen craned his neck to check the table, then nodded confidently.

“Not Wakamba, just a matching game? There’s no way she’d lose.”

He quickly whispered the information he had gathered.

“That red-haired fellow earlier was the eldest son of Count Fletty. You know, the one who avoided joining the war by feigning illness.”

“Ah, that explains why I didn’t recognize him.”

“Seems the young ones are out on a trip together.”

Eirik nodded without taking his eyes off Miesa.

Cullen cautiously inquired further, “Shall I investigate more?”

“No, there’s no need.”

Count Fletty had never exhibited particularly suspicious behavior. Back when Miesa was on the throne, a quarter of Flamtia’s fertile land was reclaimed by the national treasury and eventually transferred to Cladis, yet the lord showed no overt resentment or dissatisfaction.

Even if they had recognized Eirik and Miesa’s identities, it wasn’t worth expending further effort on them. Eirik concluded and whispered quietly.

“You and two others stay here; send the rest to gather the guards.”

“Yes, understood.”

Cullen gave instructions to the knights, and after some time, the challenger admitted defeat.

It was now Miesa’s turn. Siata stepped ahead to inspect the table and chair before helping Miesa sit down. Eirik pushed his way through the crowd to stand behind her.

“What’s this, standing around back there and whispering hints?”

Though it was amusing for a cheat to demand fairness, Eirik simply smiled. The narrow-eyed man seemed ready to say more, but when he caught sight of Cullen—his intimidating features—he backed off, muttering as he shuffled the cards.

“You have to bet at least one Parse. Otherwise, we don’t play.”

Miesa nodded without hesitation, and Siata rummaged through her pouch, producing a silver coin.

“It’s one Jere, so that’s enough for ten rounds.”

Miesa nodded confidently. Watching her, the gambler sneered to himself. He had seen plenty of women like her in his twenty years of gambling.

From her rural-sounding accent to her expensive-looking attire, it was obvious she must have seduced some rich man and was now living comfortably.

True, now that he got a good look at her—the black hair, pale skin—the woman was quite beautiful. Despite her carefree demeanor, something about her was imposing. She probably had a hidden sharpness, a fiery temper, he thought.

“Honey, how much can I spend?”

“It’s your money, do as you please.”

The gambler assumed the woman had asked her husband for permission to bet, and the man nodded in agreement. Well, the woman had probably charmed such a man easily enough. Despite his imposing build and intimidating presence, he seemed unable to defy his wife.

If he were up against that man, he would flee instantly, no matter how tempting the wealth. But seeing how easily the man was controlled by his wife, perhaps he wasn’t as formidable as he seemed.

“No holding back when it comes to entertaining your wife. Such a lovely couple.”

The gambler, as seasoned as the money he had raked in, expertly handled them. He had always excelled at charming and deceiving such pairs, ever since his early days as an assistant.

“Alright, may luck be on the madam’s side. Let’s get started.”

The gambler laid the cards on the table one by one.

They were old, battered cards, but they were his treasures, meticulously marked for easy identification. Folds and stains on the edges made it possible to guess the image on the other side.

“I’ll go first.”

“Please do.”

Miesa flipped a card. It depicted a mountain and a sun. Now it was the gambler’s turn. With a bored expression, he turned over a card. At the start, he deliberately picked mismatched cards, so it wasn’t very exciting.

“……”

He revealed a Sisana tree and a sun. Miesa, in turn, picked out the sun card and took it, smiling brightly at her “sponsor”—in other words, her husband.

Sure, enjoy it while you can. Soon your sponsor will be mine, the gambler thought as he flipped another card, revealing a crow and a polar bear.

“Creepy.”

Miesa stared at the crow card, muttering, and when her turn came, she reluctantly took the matching crow card.

What’s the point of choosing pictures? The gambler glanced at her pretty face, thinking she’d soon be in tears. He kept his tongue in check, not wanting to upset her imposing “sponsor” behind her.

It was a revolting couple, really. The gambler’s stomach churned at the sight of a pretty woman and a rich man. Ever since the village girl he had once fancied ran off with a wealthy merchant, such pairs always made him sick. The prettier the woman, the richer the man—the worse he felt.

Five or six turns passed. It was time to start reaping his harvest. The gambler effortlessly matched pairs and brought them to his side. The problem was that Miesa was doing the same.

After ten turns, the gambler’s face grew tense. Had he been too confident at the start? Since she hadn’t made a single mistake, catching up was getting difficult.

“At least the lover cards are nicely drawn, don’t you think?”

All the while, Miesa was commenting on the illustrations. Irritated, the gambler misread a stain and turned over the bear and the Hirais flower. Miesa promptly snatched the bear card to make a pair.

It was during the fifteenth turn that he realized something was wrong. Miesa, neatly picking up two yellow Hirais flower cards, had quite a stack of cards beside her.

The gambler ground his teeth silently. Losing the first round wasn’t a big deal—it might even have worked out better overall. But it irked him to lose to a pretty woman, not to mention failing to fleece her.

And now luck was favoring her too. How else could she have matched the golden queen card on her first try?

“Matched it on the first try! Wow, the crown is quite something!”

The flustered gambler moved his hands quickly, but the outcome had long been decided. The woman triumphantly extended her hand, and the gambler, with a hardened face, handed over the hard-earned money.

The next round began. The crowd grew even larger, to the point where those beyond the first few rows could only guess what was happening based on the sounds, as the matching game continued.

“Is that lady some kind of magician? How is she getting everything right like that?”

“I can’t see anything, move over.”

As people clamored to see, the gambler realized he had lost. From the start, the woman had swept up cards with terrifying precision.

He couldn’t just be made a fool of like this. The conman’s mind, dividing the world simply into the clever and the gullible, raced for a way out.

“Winning every time must be boring, no?”

“I’m having fun.”

“How about a game of Wakamba? Matching cards takes too long and can get dull.”

“Wakamba? I don’t know about that…”

The woman looked to her husband for approval, and the gambler grew nervous. He needed to spur her into action, but her hesitation dragged on. Unexpectedly, her husband gave her the encouragement she needed.

“Go ahead. I’d like to see it.”