Casino Wizard

The moment Prince Stefano returned to the royal palace, he was met with harsh, devastating insults.

“So, there are two fools in the royal family. Took me long enough to figure that out.”

Two fools?

Prince Stefano felt a chill sweep over him as his vision darkened. A surge of anger welled up inside, but he couldn’t retort. Not against the person who’d uttered such words.

King Carlo III.

The current monarch of the Kingdom of Alvinia. And father to the two royals he had so bluntly referred to as fools.

“Your Majesty, you just called someone a fool…”

Holding on to a faint hope, Stefano hesitated, trailing off.

“I meant you and your pitiful brother.”

The king’s somber expression made it unmistakably clear who he meant.

Oh.

Stefano immediately regretted asking. He lowered his gaze, a heavy weight settling on his chest.

A fool? Really?

How could a father utter such words to a son who was physically whole?

The shock was indescribable, but he could only swallow it down. After all, he had caused a massive incident only hours earlier—one so disastrous that the full extent of the damage was still unfathomable.

All Stefano could do was grovel and hope for some shred of sympathy from the king.

But King Carlo didn’t even spare him a glance. His face void of emotion, he began reminiscing in a bitter tone.

“Seven years and three months ago, I attended the Holy Nation’s grand ceremonial feast. It was also a celebration to commemorate the selection of the owners of the Four Sacred Swords. I brought the Hero Pierrot with me, and there I met the king of the Dragon Kingdom, the emperor of the Empire, and the chairman of the City-State Union. Along with their respective heroes.”

“Your Majesty?”

“For me, it was a moment of utter humiliation.”

Why was he saying all this?

Stefano’s unease grew as he carefully observed his father’s expression.

“The heroes of the three other nations exuded an undeniable aura of greatness. It was clear why they had been chosen by the Goddess. But the hero I brought was nothing more than a peasant—a former pig farmer from some backwater village. He couldn’t even write his own name, nor meet the gaze of a mere servant.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Even now, I still think it was—”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“My apologies.”

“While everyone was murmuring about Pierrot, the conversation suddenly shifted to your brother’s disability. That conniving chairman of the City-State Union subtly brought it up, pretending to console me.”

An international meeting where the heads of four nations had gathered, each accompanied by a hero.

For the Kingdom of Alvinia, it had been a catastrophic blow to its dignity.

Their hero was an aging peasant, and the heir to the throne was a disabled man. The three other nations mocked them under the guise of sympathy.

The fallout from that incident even sparked conspiracy theories, claiming the Goddess held a grudge against Alvinia.

Stefano blinked, uncertain why the king was dredging up such a painful memory.

The aging king regarded him with a mixture of contempt and pity before biting his lip.

“You don’t get it, do you?”

“Father…”

“Let me spell it out for you. Do you know why your brother has yet to be named crown prince, despite being 30 years old? It’s not because he lacks intelligence, nor because he’s cruel, nor because he and I don’t get along.”

“Ah.”

“It’s because a ruler cannot be a laughingstock.”

The realization struck Prince Stefano like a thunderbolt. This wasn’t mere reminiscing. It was a warning. Perhaps even more than that—a decree.

“Ah, Father…!”

“Leave. Reflect on your actions for the time being.”

At least it wasn’t a final judgment. Relieved, Stefano exhaled.

But the king, noticing his son’s visible relief, waved dismissively and added gravely, “Just so you know, don’t even think about doing anything foolish.”

“Pardon?”

“Starting now, abandon any lingering attachment to casinos.”

The second prince’s attempt to protest died in his throat. Having just been ordered to reflect, he understood it was a command to stay silent for the time being.

It was no time to argue that the wizard Hyden had entrapped him or that he had fallen victim to a carefully laid snare. Doing so would only further anger his father—a sentiment echoed by his entourage throughout the journey back.

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

“Leave,” the king repeated, motioning impatiently.

Stefano bowed deeply before exiting the king’s study.

The waiting attendants and knights immediately swarmed him.

“Your Highness, what did the king say?”

“Just an order to reflect. He seems willing to help.”

“Ah!”

“Withdraw all our people stationed around the casino. Also… cancel all the plans we had in place for now.”

His close aides all showed signs of relief.

They showered him with praises, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind, complimenting his restraint.

“Don’t stoop to that lowly person’s level. Cultivate your manners and take more interest in politics in the future. How about a period of self-reflection and then being sent as a special envoy to either the City Alliance or the Empire? Or just stay quietly in your residence?”

“Good suggestion.”

The second prince nodded with a smile.

But in his heart, he kept repeating the word “for now.”

Yes, for now.

Once he regained his composure, he planned to tear that devious mage apart. By any means necessary. The casino was no longer his concern.

****

The casino, after the second prince’s self-destruction and departure.

At first, it was cold, but as time passed, the atmosphere gradually started to lift.

“Joker!! I won!”

“Wow, 40x payout!”

“If I had known, I would have gone to room 20 instead of room 2. What’s 80 silver? 80 silver!”

“Next time, I’m going all in on Joker with a full bet!”

I saw customers cheering after winning 40x payouts on the Big Wheel.

In fact, I had set up roulette and the Big Wheel for moments like these.

The payout rate is even lower than card games, but occasionally, a jackpot of 36x or 40x comes through, and the cheers erupt.

That’s when the customers, who were feeling down from their losses, would become energized, fueled by the hope that they could win too.

It’s always a pleasant sight.

“Hey!! Hyden!! Your money’s well spent!!”

A customer who had hit the 40x jackpot tried to give me a “tea bagging” gesture from the second floor, but I just laughed it off. What money of mine? It had ultimately come from the customers’ pockets.

Of course, if I had only cared about the money, it might have been better to sell the casino to some noble for a high price and just tour the country doing construction work. Or maybe even set up a completely different scam.

But I wanted to protect the casino.

With a 95% payout rate, safely. While making money and entertaining customers who didn’t express any disgust.

To do that, the construction had to be finished first.

…

In fact, I was still working on the designs.

The card I held in my hand was the key.

Until two years ago, I had been directly training dealers, but I had gotten a little rusty lately, so I was practicing with it to get back in shape.

Shlick.

Holding the deck in one hand, I spread it out in a fan on the table. Then, I quickly folded it and began performing basic flourishes one after another.

It was to loosen up my hand and regain my feel.

“Hyden.”

When the hero approached, I still had the cards in my hand.

He looked a year older, likely due to the stress of the recent events.

Next to him stood Selena, the half-elf who had lived as a corpse for ten days. She seemed cleaned up, likely taken care of by the kids.

“Hero?”

“What should we do with this woman, Selena?”

“We have to decide on her treatment.”

Selena had already fulfilled her role.

Because of the few words she had shouted in the end, the second prince’s reputation had fallen to the ground.

Even now, the scandal of the second prince at the casino was likely spreading.

If you just went to the lounge, you’d hear nobles gossiping about him while playing poker with no stakes… It would probably spread throughout the capital in a few days.

‘In the end, it’ll spread across the kingdom. At least among the nobles.’

An achievement done by a mere adventurer of the same rank.

With such an accomplishment, I could even forgive the tricks used in my casino.

In fact, I wasn’t just forgiving. I was planning to offer a reward.

“Selena. Here.”

“Yes?”

“4 gold. Think of it as completing a ten-day quest.”

“Ah.”

“You should leave the capital immediately. It’s not a demand, but it’s better this way.”

4 gold. Enough for Selena to secure her food and lodging for a while and enjoy gambling.

If we only considered her performance, I’d have given her ten times that, but,

It wasn’t that I was stingy. I wasn’t giving her this much because I was being cheap.

“When your money runs out, you can come back to the casino. Of course, I’m not telling you to come back to play games.”

“Eh? Oh.”

“I’m saying, if you need a job, you can come back.”

Selena had an amazing unique magic… she could pierce through the thickness of a single sheet of paper with her vision, but she had been living at the bottom of society.

Now, staying in the capital was horrifying enough that she’d probably run away, but there was a high chance she’d end up penniless one day.

Then, she’d remember my casino. A place that saved her life and gave her money, even if it was a bit intimidating.

I planned to use that opportunity. But not right now. Not while I was still being cautious.

“Really… can I go?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you won’t send an assassin?”

“I’m not going to waste money on an assassin just for you. If you’re worried about the second prince, he won’t be able to act recklessly for a while. You were there, so you know.”

As I spoke, I tossed some money her way. Selena hesitated for a moment, but then,

“Thank you!”

She tightly held onto the 4 gold and dashed out of the casino.

It wouldn’t be long before she’d be back, probably getting into trouble at some tavern unless she got caught by a high-level mage.

When that time came, I’d educate her properly and hire her as a casino employee.

Just as I was about to return to my preparations…

“Hero?”

The hero looked especially weary.

It wasn’t physical exhaustion, but mental fatigue. He had participated in fighting the royal family, worked with me on the play, and still had to handle his regular tasks.

Since money alone couldn’t express my appreciation, I decided to give him some time off.

“Hero, go home and rest. You can take the next two days off.”

“But the work isn’t finished yet…”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of sending the second prince. You should go back home, have some warm food, and enjoy a drink with that widow you’ve been meeting lately. …Just to clear up any misunderstandings, I won’t be asking for Lucy or  Jerome’s help either.”

So, go rest.

When I urged him again, the tension in his face loosened, and he sighed.

Then, with a grateful nod, he turned and walked away.

Unlike the smiling female archer dealer or the shield-bearer playing at the roulette table, he looked utterly exhausted. He was probably getting on in years.

‘I need to wrap this up quickly. For the sake of my party members too.’

I packed up the cards I had been playing with into a box.

These cards were the most important part of the preparations for my plan.

If things went according to plan, I could ruin everything the second prince had. At most, he’d be left with his life.

It would require some help, but I already had someone in mind.

That would be the princess, who was probably busy managing her expression by now.