Casino Wizard

I had often seen people whose lives had been ruined by gambling in My past live.

Strangely, Prince Stefano displayed similar behavior to them.

First, he tried to lean on his family.

“Please stop them from speaking such blasphemous words!”

“……”

“Father… Father?”

The second prince begged the King, his veins bulging in his neck.

He screamed at the nobleman revealing his wrongdoings, ordered the guards who had already turned their backs on him to arrest all the traitors, though no one obeyed him.

“Father!”

The King did not respond to his son’s plea.

“Continue with your testimony.”

“F-father!!”

“I will give you a chance to explain later.”

The King gestured lightly, encouraging the continuation of the public execution.

At that moment, the floodgates opened.

All the wrongdoings the second prince had committed throughout his life began to be recounted by his associates.

These were actions that, if not raised as an issue, wouldn’t have been a problem.

But once made public, they became scandals.

“Uh, uh…! Four years ago, Prince Stefano took the concubine of Lord Donnarumma. While it’s true that concubines are not bound by the duty of chastity, taking a woman who shares affection with a noble greatly tarnishes the dignity of the royal family…”

“Stop it!”

“Prince Stefano used to host a weekly poker game, where in the final round, participants would bet an appropriate amount and then fold one by one, giving all the winnings to the prince. If you didn’t participate, you were never invited again. It was, in essence, a tribute.”

“Stop! You bastards!”

“And there’s more.”

Perhaps unable to bear it any longer, the second prince covered the mouth of a servant who was about to reveal more.

He literally covered the servant’s mouth with his own hands.

The revelations stopped, as he wished, but an even more deadly silence descended upon the room.

The second prince let go after a while, his expression filled with defeat.

He still wasn’t ready to give up on survival.

“You… you!”

This time, the second prince pointed his finger at me. It wasn’t surprising.

‘He’ll probably accuse me of being behind this.’

It wasn’t that I read his mind. It was simply the typical behavior of someone trapped in a corner, believing that if they could uncover the mastermind behind their downfall, they might still survive.

Now, it seemed unnecessary to pretend, so I calmly stared at the second prince.

“It’s all the work of Hyden, that man!”

The second prince desperately pointed at me, but no one responded to him.

His face grew more frantic, and he began muttering his own theory.

“This is revenge.”

“…Revenge, you say?”

“Yes! You must remember, father. When he was with the Hero Party… he was humiliated here several times. When he lost to General Bartolomeo of the Six Demons, when they failed to capture a dragon turtle and caused damage to the villagers, and also…!”

“Just get to the point.”

“Could this be the revenge for the humiliation he suffered from the royal family back then? Perhaps he’s conspiring with Beatrice!”

The claim that I had conspired with Beatrice to exact revenge for the past humiliations I suffered from the royal family.

It was a very shallow argument. But better than accusing me of bribing everyone with money.

Nonetheless, the attention that had been on the second prince now shifted toward me.

People weren’t blind or deaf.

‘Everyone knows that the second prince began his downfall after being linked to me.’

The crazy poker game at the royal villa would be known by those who needed to know.

Perhaps everything except for the all-in bet had already been revealed. Information spreads slowly in this world, but the nobles with access to the palace were different.

There might even be people who would sympathize with the second prince’s shallow claims.

This wasn’t something I could let slide.

“Magician Hyden. Step forward for a moment.”

With a solemn expression, King Carlo III gestured for me.

He probably didn’t want any lingering discomfort. If he just ignored the second prince’s explanations, it could lead to further unrest.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to be seen favorably by the King either.

I observed the situation for a while before speaking.

“Your Majesty, how could I even think of such a thing as revenge?”

“Are you saying this is just Prince Stefano’s one-sided claim?”

“Yes. When I was with the Hero Party, Pierrot and I failed to meet the expectations of the royal family. We were summoned to the palace and interrogated due to our poor performance. We were severely criticized… But I have long since forgotten it.”

“Is this true?”

“Yes.”

In truth, I had indeed suffered humiliations here.

I still remembered it vividly.

The image of the middle-aged Hero, bowing and constantly apologizing, the second prince’s command for him to kneel, and my urgent intervention to stop him. The memory of the saint, a member of the Hero Party, criticizing the party members (while also being one herself) and how I had silenced her. All of it was clear in my mind.

But my purpose was never revenge. The real victims were the heroes, after all.

Instead, I was planning to use the second prince’s accusations to my advantage.

“Your Majesty, if I may, I would like to prove my sincerity.”

“Prove your sincerity?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I cast a brief glance at Princess Beatrice, who stood next to the King, and immediately lowered my gaze.

This was a gesture to lower myself while raising her. It was important to show that this purge was driven by her. I was just here to testify, and had been caught in a difficult situation after being pointed at by the second prince, a victim in this case.

The princess naturally responded.

“Father, if you permit, I will step forward.”

“Beatrice?”

“If I clear my brother’s misguided suspicions, he will be able to pay for his crimes accordingly.”

With a nod, the King agreed. The second prince, who had been glancing nervously, now stiffened.

The princess slowly approached me after glancing at both the King and me.

Her beauty resembled a perfectly crafted doll… truly beautiful, but the closer she got, the more I felt an inexplicable aversion, perhaps due to the faint magical presence surrounding her.

“Hyden, are you willing to answer honestly to the questions I ask?”

My answer, of course, was yes.

A mild headache soon followed.

This was the second time I was subjected to the confession magic.

The discomfort and unpleasantness were the same as before. Even though I had willingly agreed, I felt my affection for the princess completely fade.

The difference now was that she and I were working together.

“Magician Hyden, is it because of your revenge against the Emanuele family that you are testifying against my brother?”

A suitably framed question to hide that I was the mastermind.

“Not at all, Your Highness. I simply want to escape this troublesome situation as quickly as possible and return to my work.”

With that, my part was over.

Princess Beatrice didn’t stop there; she turned to her brother, the second prince.

“Now it’s your turn, brother?”

“What?”

“There are many questions I’d like to ask, but my magical power is insufficient. In front of the courtiers, questioning a royal so brutally would damage the royal family’s dignity. So, I will ask just one thing.”

The second prince hesitated, stepping back, and looked pleadingly at the King. The King ignored him again.

“Brother. If you answer, I will petition the King for a lenient punishment.”

“Uh?”

“If you refuse, I will thoroughly investigate all the allegations made against you today.”

The second prince, pale and staggering, tried to retreat, but the space was limited, and the princess calmly pressed on.

“Will you refuse? The Hyden you accused has already been proven innocent. It makes no sense for you to refuse now.”

“Then, if you disgrace me like this, you too…”

“Of course, it will hurt me as well. I know how people view me. But I’m prepared to take all the consequences.”

Finally, the second prince, blocked by the crowd, found no escape. The princess, her expression unreadable, urged him.

“Brother?”

A short, defeated response escaped the second prince’s lips.

“Yes.”

The princess asked only one question.

“If you were to inherit the throne, how would you treat everyone here? Please explain in detail.”

A simple but lethal question.

The second prince tried to resist, shaking his head and even attempting to flee, but he eventually succumbed and spoke.

“I will take revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“Yes… Those who betrayed me, I will erase their names from the nobility’s register… And you, foolishly aiming for the position of royal consort, I will sell you to the city-state Alliance or the empire for a dowry. And the magician… that bastard, I will skin him, tear off his limbs, and scatter his flesh across the main streets of the capital. And Father, you didn’t help me. I begged you. I’ll make you regret this…”

Perhaps due to the faint magic from the princess, the second prince shut his mouth before committing more sacrilege.

He hadn’t officially confessed to his crimes or uttered anything about treason.

But politically, it was a lethal blow.

“What I just said, that was my true intention… I…”

With that, any remaining supporters of his had vanished.

The atmosphere in the room froze.

The second prince, standing motionless, turned to his father, seeking support once again. Even though he had been coldly dismissed multiple times, he didn’t hesitate to seek his father’s help, despite his irreversible actions.

But it seemed the King had already made his decision.

“I’ve heard enough. Arrest the prince immediately.”

“Father?”

“You needn’t worry. I won’t imprison you for long. It’s not like I can revoke your inheritance rights overnight. If I don’t kill you, I need the proper reasoning and procedures to resolve this quietly. So, comply.”

The King gave the order with a grim expression.

“Father.”

“Take him away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The second prince, stumbling towards the throne, eventually collapsed as his legs gave out. The knights slowly approached to take him away.

And so, the matter was settled.