My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 97

Vincent loved drinking and entertainment as much as his boisterous personality suggested. On his days off, he had a habit of gathering with his colleagues to enjoy card games.

One day, while Vincent was playing cards at a club as usual, a man approached him. His name was Frank, and he had a pleasant and cheerful personality, so Vincent quickly became friendly with him.

Frank seemed to have no talent for card games, as he kept losing every time he played. Despite that, he never missed a game when one was happening.

Then, one day, Frank suggested raising the stakes, saying he needed to win back what he had lost so far.

Vincent originally only bet small amounts, just enough to cover his drinks for the night. His purpose was simply to enjoy the game, not to gamble seriously.

However, even when Vincent refused, Frank did not give up. Vincent laughed and said, “What confidence do you have when you keep losing every time? If you lose again, I won’t take responsibility.” But Frank remained stubborn.

Since Vincent had already won quite a bit, he felt bad about rejecting Frank outright. Even if he happened to lose a little this time, overall, he wouldn’t be at a loss. So, reluctantly, Vincent accepted Frank’s proposal.

But once again, Frank lost. Just like that, the stakes gradually increased, bit by bit. Frank must have been quite wealthy, as no matter how much he lost, he never ran out of funds. Regardless, as the amount Frank lost grew larger, it became harder for Vincent to refuse his offers.

‘And then, eventually, disaster struck.’

That day, Vincent was dealt an unbeatable hand. The only way he could lose was if his opponent had the absolute best hand in the game—a hand so rare that it might not appear even once in several months of playing.

At that moment, Frank made an exceptionally large bet, exceeding the usual limit. The stakes had already risen considerably, but this was an astonishing amount—equivalent to several years’ worth of a knight’s salary.

“…Are you serious?”

At Vincent’s words, Frank replied with a serious expression.

“Of course.”

To be honest, Vincent was somewhat worried about Frank, but he had already placed a significant amount of money in this game, making it difficult to back out now. Moreover, the hand he held was too good to fold.

That night, Vincent was more intoxicated than usual. He decided to win first and think later. If Frank lost this time, even a wealthy man like him would surely realize the stakes were too high.

Vincent planned to return the money he won and tell Frank that they should stop playing with such large bets from now on. Instead, he would buy Frank drinks for the next few months as compensation. He intended to resolve the matter amicably that way.

However, when the cards were revealed, Vincent suddenly felt completely sober.

Frank had the one hand that could beat him—the best hand in the entire game.

“…Surely, you’re not seriously thinking of taking all this money, are you?”

At Vincent’s words, Frank looked at him with a cold expression he had never shown before.

“Of course I am. After all, you took all my money without hesitation, didn’t you? I expect to be paid in full, in cash, without a single penny missing.”

Vincent, being someone who loved to enjoy life, had little in the way of savings. To pay off this debt, he would have to sell his house immediately.

The other option was to ask his older brother for help, but he didn’t want to do that. Though he was the second son and did not inherit the title, Vincent took pride in being a respected knight. He couldn’t bring himself to ask his brother for money to pay off gambling debts.

As Vincent was agonizing over his situation, Frank casually mentioned that he knew of a gambling den.

“At that place, the amount we bet today is nothing more than pocket change. Normally, it’s not open to just anyone, but I can introduce you. With your skills, one night would be enough. You only lost this time due to bad luck, didn’t you? Otherwise, you would have won ninety-nine times out of a hundred.”

“But… I don’t have any money to bet right now.”

“I’ll lend it to you. I won’t even ask for interest. Just pay me back exactly what you borrow, including the money you lost in this game.”

Later, Vincent regretted it more than anything.

He should never have accepted that offer.

The money he lost that night was certainly a large sum, but it wasn’t an amount he couldn’t have repaid. He could have taken out a loan from the bank and paid it back slowly, including interest, over time.

But at that time, he couldn’t think that way. Was it because he was drunk, or because he was in shock from suddenly losing such a large sum? In the end, Vincent borrowed money from Frank and went to the gambling den he introduced.

And by the time dawn broke that day, the debt he owed to Frank seemed laughably small. Now, even the entire fortune of House Frenet could not cover the amount he owed.

Naturally, it was all a trap set by Girard. Frank was an agent of Girard’s intelligence unit, and that gambling den was also owned by Girard.

‘That’s how Vincent became Girard’s puppet and ended up participating in the plot to kill Mael. Well, in the end, he couldn’t overcome his guilt and self-loathing, and he let Mael go…’

With the timely arrival of Ethan and the knights, Mael successfully fought off the assassins. However, in the process, Vincent also lost his life.

Apologizing for putting Mael in danger, Vincent took his last breath in Mael’s arms.

‘And now, Ethan is going to spar with that very Vincent…’

Of course, there were still about two months left until the original story’s starting point, but there had never been any mention of such an event taking place.

‘Could it have happened but simply not been mentioned? …No, in the episode where Vincent dies, Ethan only vaguely recalled hearing his name before. If they had actually sparred together, he wouldn’t have said that.’

In other words, this was another event that had changed due to my intervention, something that hadn’t existed in the original timeline.

‘But the most important thing is whether Vincent has already fallen into Girard’s trap or not.’

In the original story, the incident where Mael was captured happened two years from now.

However, Vincent falling into Girard’s trap and accumulating gambling debt happened much earlier than that. Though the exact time was never specified, it was described as a scheme that had been meticulously set up over several years.

‘Which means it wouldn’t be strange if Vincent is already under Girard’s control.’

It was also possible that Marlon was planning something through this sparring match. Having Ethan cross swords directly with Vincent could be too dangerous.

‘Would Marlon suddenly try to target Ethan? That kind of drastic move doesn’t seem like his style… but since the timeline has already changed, I can’t be optimistic.’

At that moment, Ethan looked at me and asked, “So? Have you met Sir Vincent before?”

“…No. I haven’t met him. I just feel like I’ve heard his name a few times before. Like you said, he’s quite a skilled knight.”

“Yes. That’s why I’m looking forward to it.”

I moved my utensils, desperately trying to think. This unexpected problem was giving me a headache.

‘Even if I tell him to cancel the sparring match, he wouldn’t listen. And there’s no way I can explain how I know about Vincent’s situation…’

After thinking for a while, I spoke again.

“When exactly is the sparring match scheduled?”

“Next Saturday. Are you planning to watch?”

“Yes. Of course, I have to go. It’s you, after all.”

When I said that, Ethan’s expression became peculiar. He turned his gaze to the side and cleared his throat lightly.

“…Since you’re coming to watch, I suppose I’ll have to prepare properly so as not to disappoint.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I won’t.”

But despite his words, Ethan looked completely motivated.

I furrowed my brows and fell deep into thought.

***

The next afternoon, I went to the knights’ headquarters. This was the first time I had visited since watching Ethan’s sparring session last time.

“Duchess.”

Mael was waiting for me in his office. I had sent a message ahead of time, so he had been informed in advance.

“This must be sudden for you, so thank you for making time.”

Mael shook his head and said, “The Duchess called for me, so of course, I made time. But rather than coming all this way, if you had just sent a message, I would have come to you…”

“I know how busy you are, so I couldn’t ask that of you. Anyway, I came because I wanted to ask about the sparring match Ethan is having next week.”

“Ah, you mean that.”

“He said he’s going up against a knight named Sir Vincent. According to Ethan, you were the one who recommended him. Is that true?”

At my words, Mael flinched slightly for some reason.