Casino Wizard

In fact, taking down a single sucker wasn’t that difficult.

It took a lot of effort to get them to sit at the table, but once they were seated, it was over.

For a naive sucker, I’d let them win to boost their mood, and for a clever sucker, I’d purposefully take them down while scratching their pride, and that was enough.

Then, when the timing was right, I’d send them plummeting.

But what if the target was more than one?

And what if those targets were on the same side? Then things were different.

Before losing their minds and getting absorbed in gambling, they’d end up looking at each other’s broken faces. If they still had any sense left, they’d realize they were both wearing the same expression as their friend. Then, there was the possibility of backing out halfway.

Moreover, they all served the same master, the 2nd Prince.

“Hyden, do you have a message for His Highness, the 2nd Prince, who’s currently reflecting on his actions?”

“I would like to avoid any further conflict.”

“Is that all?”

“I’m sorry, but this wasn’t something I started. I hope you can let go of your hatred towards me now.”

“Heh.”

Before the poker game even started, the atmosphere was already quite prickly.

I forced a smile and glanced at the suckers one by one.

The middle-aged nobleman, Count Immobile, who looked dignified.

Then, the knight Enrico, who was a couple of years older than me.

And lastly, Lady Bonucci.

She was the 2nd Prince’s mistress, a sultry beauty with a milfy charm.

She wasn’t just a “lady” but a real wife—Lady Bonucci, married to a baron.

Originally a commoner, she had married the dying old baron to become a baroness, then seduced the 2nd Prince, becoming his lover and gaining his favor.

She had a figure that could rival a melon, so it was easy to see why the 2nd Prince liked her.

“She must be in a very awkward spot by now,” I thought.

This woman’s whole life was tied to the favor of the 2nd Prince.

But now that his reputation had plummeted and he was confined to his residence, she would likely end up just serving him and retiring from the scene.

Lady Bonucci was the core of my current scheme.

Her money?

That wasn’t my goal.

In fact, I was planning to pour money into Lady Bonucci’s pocket.

“I’ll deal the cards. Ah, may I be the first dealer?”

“Poker… Hmm. It’s not bad.”

“Oh, Count, please don’t scold Hyden too much. It seems like he’s just trying to reconcile with us.”

“Alright, let’s begin.”

When dealing with several suckers, the most important thing was to sow discord between them.

I had witnessed this many times while working under a casino owner in a past life.

I had seen people who were bound by the church, golf, and social ties end up grabbing each other’s collars. I had seen veteran actors who had been friends for 20 years fighting until they broke each other’s noses at a Macau junket. I had even witnessed one sucker asking another to kill them.

Gambling was always a seed of discord.

****

The beginning of the scheme was modest.

A friendly poker game with a base bet of 10-20 silvers.

For the nobles, it was a game where winning or losing didn’t matter.

“Call.”

“Call.”

“Fold.”

The suckers, each holding two cards, looked calm as could be.

Occasionally, Count Immobile glanced around, Knight Enrico openly showed hostility towards me for past reasons, and Lady Bonucci smiled while looking at her cards.

I knew exactly what their hands were.

The Count had a high card with no pedigree.

Knight Enrico had a pair of twos.

Lady Bonucci had no hand yet, but depending on how the community cards played out, she could be aiming for a straight.

It wasn’t that I could use some kind of psychic ability like Half-Elf Selena; I knew because I had made the ‘tan’ myself.

I knew what cards had already been dealt, and what cards would be dealt next. Of course, the deck shuffled at the end of every game, but that didn’t break my ‘tan.’

‘I wonder what’ll happen… She’s the key.’

I glanced at Lady Bonucci.

Would she continue to play and hope for the fifth community card to complete her straight? Or would she fold here?

If she played it safe even with a low pot, the game might go on for 5 to 6 more hours.

Fortunately, Lady Bonucci wasn’t a coward.

“Raise, 80 silvers.”

After hesitating, she raised the pot.

This was it. I took a deep breath, pretending to hesitate as if I were deciding whether to call her raise or fold.

Of course, I made sure to glance at Lady Bonucci’s face, trying to read her expression with some expectation.

Poker was half about reading faces after all.

After a moment’s hesitation…

“Fold.”

“Ah…!”

I ended the hand prematurely, leaving Lady Bonucci disappointed.

She sighed, putting down her cards.

“Ah, Lady Bonucci, quite a move there.”

“Hehe, what do you mean? I barely won anything.”

For now, Count Immobile and Knight Enrico were still praising Lady Bonucci.

They had no reason to envy the mistress of their lord winning against the casino owner, since it was still just small change.

But that smile would soon fade.

…

Four hours had passed.

It was already late evening.

Normally, we should’ve wrapped it up by now, but everyone was getting more and more absorbed.

“Lady Bonucci has a pair of nines, Count Immobile also has a pair of nines… But with the kicker difference, Lady Bonucci wins.”

“Haha… This is such bullshit.”

“Count?”

“Ah, no. I misspoke.”

The Count cursed a little too soon.

It wasn’t because he had a bad temperament.

It was because I had provoked him to the point of frustration for hours.

Of course, I had made sure the hands were evenly distributed.

Lady Bonucci got premium hands like 9-9 or 10-10 at times, and Count Immobile and Knight Enrico had similarly good hands as well.

But just having good cards wasn’t enough to win.

Ultimately, it was about who placed the bet.

I was making sure that the others besides Lady Bonucci didn’t win any money.

“Fold.”

“Ah, Hyden, again?”

“Sorry, Count. I just didn’t like the look in your eyes when you grabbed your cards… No, I just had a bad feeling.”

“What kind of expression did I make?”

It was as though they couldn’t hide their reactions, and I caught them out on it.

Even if they had good cards, they couldn’t win because they couldn’t manage their faces.

This was an insult to poker players. The term “poker face” wasn’t coined for nothing.

On the other hand, I treated Lady Bonucci differently.

“You’re harder to read than I expected. Most ladies can’t hide their emotions.”

“Am I… really that obvious?”

Every now and then, I praised her skills while letting her win.

But I did so without making it too obvious.

My method was to occasionally glance at her bust, pretending to be distracted by her figure, and then awkwardly praise her to cover it up.

The more I did that, the more their faces soured.

‘Even if they can’t say it, they must be pissed off. Of course.’

They knew I could read their reactions perfectly.

So, even when they got good hands, they couldn’t win.

But here was this woman, a mistress disguised as a baroness, a woman with a lowly status, getting praise and winning money. At this point, it wasn’t just about money—it was about their pride.

They were Count Immobile and a proud knight, after all.

“Fold.”

“Wow…”

“Sorry, Enrico. But I can’t let you win on purpose.”

They were gradually sinking deeper.

…

Eight hours in. It was already dawn.

“Raise, 40 silvers.”

“Count Immobile, this is just a friendly game.”

“Heh. Hyden, you’ve got money to burn. Unlike us, you haven’t lost anything.”

Despite losing the whole night, Count Immobile raised the stakes.

Rather than getting angry, his eyes were now calm.

This was the sign that he was about to explode.

…

And then it continued.

By now, morning had arrived.

Lady Bonucci had been winning all night, and I had been feeding her the wins.

“Are you all not hungry? You’ve missed breakfast.”

“Our dear Baroness Bonucci must be feeling hunger now.”

“Count…? Why are you suddenly speaking so formally?”

“I’ve lost so much money, I don’t even feel hunger anymore.”

The Count began mocking Lady Bonucci.

Knight Enrico stood silent, but his expression wasn’t normal either. He kept glaring at Lady Bonucci, making clicking sounds with his fingers.

At this point, Lady Bonucci wasn’t trying to smooth things over with charm.

“Are you gentlemen upset over something so trivial as poker?”

“Trivial poker?”

“Yes. Trivial poker.”

By now, her eyes were filled with venom.

The truth was… it wasn’t about how much Lady Bonucci had won. She hadn’t won a huge amount, and she hadn’t intentionally provoked the two men. But by now, she probably saw the nobles as vile and envious of her.

A long silence followed.

Lady Bonucci gathered up the chips.

The Count and Knight Enrico looked like they were struggling to control their anger.

And I, with minimal loss, had just watched.

I waited for a moment and then spoke.

“If you three are alright with it, I’d like to end the game here.”

“What?”

“After all, poker wasn’t the main purpose of this game, was it? But now that it’s dawn, I think it’s too… Ah, to be honest, I wanted to stop earlier, but Count and Enrico seemed so invested that I couldn’t leave.”

The suckers looked at me with disbelief.

Count Immobile, with veins bulging on his neck. Enrico muttering curses under his breath. They were about ready to kill me.

I wiped my face and appealed again.

“I’ve lost as well. But I think it’s time to stop before things get more heated.”

“Now you want to stop?”

“Yes. After all, you’ve both run out of money…”

Bang! The Count slammed the table, cutting me off.

At the same time, Lady Bonucci flinched.

The Count glared at her fiercely and spat out:

“We can’t end it like this. I’ve been toyed with by that lowly woman all night.”

“Lo-lowly? What are you saying…!”

“Why? Am I wrong? Baroness Bonucci?”

And with that, the crack in the situation finally appeared.

The Count, along with Enrico, who had been constantly taken advantage of, crossed his arms and glared, as though ready to strike if anyone tried to back out now.

I pretended to intervene but quickly gave up.

Then, the Count declared:

“We can just send some servants to fetch more money. Do you think I’m out of money? …Hyden, if you really want to make peace with us, you’d better comply.”

The twelve-hour effort finally came to fruition.

From now on, it would be a no-limit game with no betting restrictions.