Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Side Story 8

The gambler assumed the husband thought his wife would win this time too. Hiding his growing smirk, he goaded the woman further.

“Well, if you’re not confident, we can end it here.”

“I’ll try just one round.”

“But hold on a second. Your clothes are a bit out of place.”

The husband stood his wife up, adjusted her shoulders and sleeves, murmuring something as he did so.

It seemed ridiculous—bundling her up in thick clothes that hid any bare skin and fussing over her attire—but the gambler had no choice but to grumble and shuffle the cards.

Eirik was checking the marked tricks on the back of the cards—scratches and slight smudges. Though Miesa might have noticed too, he shared the information quickly while pretending to adjust her clothing.

“[People], [Top to bottom], [Status], [Order] marked. [King] at [Top], [Beggar] at [Bottom], [Plants] and [Animals] by [Size].”

Eirik’s mixture of hand signals and murmurs was incomprehensible to anyone even a step away. Miesa nodded and returned to her seat, though her expression had darkened, despite Eirik’s advice being helpful.

Wakamba, a fast-paced game involving heavy gambling, was disliked by the great madam, which meant it was never played at family gatherings. Publicly, Miesa had only learned it from Eirik a few times.

But to surprise him, she had secretly trained with Siata for many hours, often getting caught by the great madam playing in her room. The great madam, initially horrified and calling it corruption, had eventually relented, asking only that Miesa not skip meals for it. In truth, Miesa was very skilled at Wakamba.

She wished she could play it when she and Eirik were alone.

Receiving the cards, Miesa glanced at the narrow-eyed man across from her, her face growing even more solemn. Even if she showed her true skills now, it would seem as if she had won because of Eirik’s tips. Any future rematch wouldn’t be as exciting.

Still, she couldn’t afford to lose, and as Miesa steeled herself, the cards were dealt. The gambler and Miesa each drew seven cards and laid them out before them. However, the backs of the cards…

Watching from behind, Eirik frowned. He had clearly seen the gambler pull cards from under the table and subtly mix them into his hand. As he moved forward to stop it, Miesa, sensing his intent, quickly turned her head and called out.

“Wait. I can do this.”

Three of the seven cards had been newly swapped in, unmarked. How could she win?

While Eirik hesitated to intervene, Cullen fidgeted anxiously as well. He recalled a few months ago when Miesa played Wakamba with the margrave in front of the great madam, and her poor performance had led to awkward laughter. Of course, Cullen had no idea she was hiding her true skill.

“She might lose.”

Cullen whispered, but Miesa’s confident expression left both men unable to say more. They decided they would step in if the game turned hopeless.

The gambler flipped over the blue Sisana tree card before him. It was the weakest card—clearly just testing the waters. Miesa opened her card depicting a red Kalite berry. Among plants, the larger one had priority, meaning the gambler’s card was superior.

Though there was an opportunity to swap cards, neither did. Despite the gambler secretly having powerful cards, Miesa took none of them, and Eirik’s face grew increasingly tense.

“Did she forget the rules?”

“Miesa?”

“I mean, she might have gotten confused…”

As Cullen murmured an excuse, Miesa boldly played a card with a crimson mace against the gambler’s crow card. Cards became stronger in order from plants, animals, humans, weapons, to natural elements—an excessive defense.

Already familiar with Miesa’s hand, Eirik looked to confirm the gambler’s remaining cards. The gambler had played two cards so far, with three still unknown. Eirik scrutinized the remaining cards for markings and suddenly murmured in realization.

“No, we just need to watch. She’s doing well.”

The gambler flipped the third card, revealing a golden queen. Miesa countered with the most powerful card in her hand—the fire card. Both had one more chance to attack, and with Miesa’s defeat seemingly certain, she abruptly raised the stakes tenfold.

“One Jere.”

“Alright.”

The gambler accepted the bet without hesitation, confident because he had hidden the blue full moon card under the table. If Miesa didn’t have the sun card, his victory was guaranteed, and judging from her remaining cards, she didn’t.

“I have one chance to swap, right? I’ll swap now.”

Even with Miesa’s request, the gambler nodded generously. Even if she took the strongest card, it would only be the white knight.

But Miesa chose a strange card—the red lover card. Just as the gambler was about to sneer, his face twisted.

“Play your card quickly.”

Something felt wrong. The gambler felt as if he were under a spell. Despite his reluctance, he finally played the last card.

“A moon card!”

“The lady lost!”

As the crowd murmured in confusion, Miesa triumphantly flipped over her lover card, explaining unnecessarily.

“I lost twice and won twice, right? You have the moon card, so you get an extra ten points, but I matched all four cards in red. That means I get twenty points. Now, give me my money.”

What rotten luck. The gambler swallowed his curses and gestured to his assistant in the back, who handed the woman the money with a disbelieving look.

A new round immediately started, with the stakes rising even higher.

But the gambler couldn’t win a single round against the woman. It felt like he was haunted. He was supposed to have the advantage, yet she kept narrowly pulling ahead.

He was hunched over, staring at her cards and his own, calculating intensely.

“Ah, have they arrived?”

The man’s voice made the gambler look up. At some point, while he had been engrossed in the cards, the guards had arrived, surrounding them.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, the gambler looked back at the young couple. The man tapped the back of his own hand, and the woman frowned at the gesture.

“No, I’m having too much fun!”

“There’s more fun to be had elsewhere. I understand their tricks now, so let’s end it.”

The man’s voice, now quiet enough for only the gambler to hear, had completely changed. Even the woman’s previously childish whining now lacked its country accent.

“Then give me that card.”

“No. It’s evidence and must be handed over to the guards.”

“They can verify it and give it back later.”

The gambler was dumbfounded. What is going on? As different as their tones were, as sharp as the guards’ eyes were, the situation felt surreal.

“It’s not even hygienic. Look at all the dirt and grime.”

“I’m going to use it to rob Hagail’s vault.”

“There will be records. The details of how his treasure ended up in Cladis will be passed down for generations.”

The gambler shivered at the name that had just slipped past. Even a backwater gambler knew the real name of Hagailt I.

He wanted to believe it was someone else with a similar name, but it was legally required for anyone born into royalty to rename themselves if even a similar name was chosen. So then…

No, this can’t be happening. While the gambler stood slack-jawed, the man turned to the guards and explained.

“The back of the cards is marked—with smudges, bent corners, and nail marks.”

“Is that so?”

The guards hadn’t noticed. The card trick, which had made the gambler a lot of money, was subtle enough to pass unnoticed.

“No, this is ridiculous—”

As the gambler protested, the man pointed at him with his chin, adding more.

“He’s also hiding cards in his sleeves. One in the left, two in the right. He likely has some tucked in his front pocket too. And there’s one he’s sitting on.”

The guards swiftly grabbed the gambler by the arm, pulling him up forcefully. As he awkwardly stood, cards fell from his body. Forgetting his excuses, the gambler stared blankly at the young couple even as he was being restrained.

“Did you see me do that? What did you think?”

The woman called out in a loud voice, mixing in a rural accent, while the man, pretending to be stern, soon burst into laughter and whispered something in her ear.

They were incredibly affectionate, having ruined someone’s life in an instant, but all the gambler could do was groan. Perhaps getting caught and taken away quickly was better than getting more entangled with this mysterious couple.

Meanwhile, Miesa had completely given up on the idea of making a big score through the card game.

“It can’t be helped. Our family’s name shouldn’t be passed down in that way.”

However, the enjoyment of her small victory wasn’t over yet.

“Siata, how much money did I win?”

“You won so much in the last round that I don’t know the exact amount. Would you like me to check?”

Miesa rarely had the chance to handle money directly. Even in the palace, no matter how much wealth she had at her disposal, managing money was the job of the butler, attendants, or maids. Therefore, she was very excited now.