Chapter 10

Madame Laviecia clicked her tongue.

The woman in the red mask flashed a faint smile.

“It seems the gentleman with the white hair doesn’t know, but our casino is a licensed establishment. We obtained approval from the Minister of Finance of the Empire by submitting the necessary documents.”

“Isn’t that a license for gambling, not for lending? Do you know if the other party has the ability to pay back?”

The dealer and the woman in the red mask exchanged glances.

“It doesn’t seem like something the gentleman should worry about.”

“Not something I should worry about?”

I brought my hand to my mask.

The female employee in the red mask spoke in a cold voice.

“It is prohibited to reveal one’s identity within the casino.”

“Shut your mouth and listen. I’m telling you how to survive.”

I continued speaking in a nonchalant tone.

Madame Laviecia looked at me with a nervous expression.

A glimmer of anxiety flickered in her eyes.

The woman in the red mask looked at me.

“It sounds like you’re implying there’s a problem with our casino.”

Her attitude changed quickly after I mentioned identity.

“Madame Laviecia has borrowed and repaid quite a sum until now, hasn’t she?”

Laviecia jumped to her feet.

I could see her pupils trembling even through the mask.

“That money isn’t Madame’s.”

“Then whose money is it?”

“It’s the money from the management fees for the royal palace. Do you know whose money you’ve been receiving until now?”

The emperor slaughtered his elder siblings like harvesting wheat and ascended the throne.

Although that brutality hadn’t fully reached the civilians yet, it was enough for him to establish a notorious reputation.

If it’s a casino in the red-light district that endlessly tightropes between darkness and light, she should have been wary of my gaze.

“Madame Laviecia, is that true?”

The woman in the red mask asked sharply.

However, Laviecia snorted in leisure.

“Do you believe that? Have you ever seen me default on my principal and interest? I’ll pay it back precisely as before. Just bring the chips quickly.”

“Madame Laviecia’s main source of income is real estate, and that money comes in regularly at the end of each month. Why would I borrow money from you so early in June?”

I took a breath and continued.

“It’s because I need to make up for the palace management fees I siphoned off last month.”

“……!”

“Come with me to the imperial palace. Go and confess. Beg for mercy, saying you didn’t know. Then you’ll survive.”

“…….”

“What do you think will happen if Madame fails to cover the management fees even once?”

The woman in the red mask shuddered.

“Think logically. It’s already been over a year since Madame retired. How long do you think it will be before drawing money with old connections will catch up to her?”

I spat out my words like nails.

“Choose. Die with a woman obsessed with gambling, or let yourselves live.”

Madame Laviecia raised her hand to slap my cheek.

I took a large step back to evade and then grabbed her wrist.

“Madame, don’t do this.”

The woman in the red mask rang a bell.

Large men in black uniforms entered the room and dragged the struggling Madame out.

“Could you give us a moment to report?”

The woman in the red mask asked politely.

“Sure. Go report.”

They needed to inform the boss.

About whose money they had been dealing with until now.

In my previous life, an organization was almost destroyed overnight, and the boss fled to the neighboring kingdom, spilling all the information gathered until then in the empire’s red-light district.

I couldn’t let that happen.

“Please wait in the room while we rest.”

The woman in the red mask said.

A bunny girl dressed woman entered and sat beside me.

“Thank you.”

That woman was smart.

I felt like she would make a wise choice.

If she borrowed first, the emperor would probably settle for just a fine.

Since the management fee probably wouldn’t have inflated too much yet.

Having thought that, I fiddled with the piled-up chips.

I had planned to extort a reward, but… it might not even be necessary.

Let’s rest a bit until we return.

Things were unraveling more easily than expected.

* * *

I chatted with the staff for about an hour.

The door burst open, and the woman in the red mask entered with several large men.

“Thank you for waiting, gentleman with the white hair.”

Madame Laviecia followed behind them.

A chill ran down my nape.

I desperately ignored the ominous sensation coursing through my body.

They must be keeping an eye on me to prevent escape, right?

“Gentleman with the white hair, this is the decision our Hope Casino has come to after careful consideration.”

The woman in the red mask smiled slyly.

The bulky men stepped closer to me.

“Why this choice?”

I asked as if I were tumbling down stairs.

“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem likely that His Majesty will save us.”

“Think again, just once.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

I felt the mana flowing from my heart awakening my whole body.

Black… I left it at the entrance.

But I was accustomed to unarmed combat.

I had caused quite a bit of trouble even before my reincarnation.

“Then I’ll have to live for myself. I’ll beat you all down and report to His Majesty.”

“Please don’t resent us.”

Perhaps thinking I was joking, the woman in the red mask laughed.

One of the large men reached out to me.

“That’s what I have to say.”

I swiftly bent my body to evade his hand.

While covering my face with my left hand, I swung my clenched right fist to strike the man’s jaw.

With a thud, he fell as if his knees had snapped.

“Now, grab him!”

The bulky men, armed with daggers and steel clubs, poured into the room.

I gritted my teeth and rushed at them.

The mana wrapping around each muscle acted like steel wires, assisting my movements.

A man directly in front swung a steel club down at me.

I tilted my upper body to evade it and stepped forward to strike the man’s jaw with my elbow.

I needed to escape first.

Then I’d grab Madame and return to the imperial palace.

Could I exchange these chips when I return?

I hoped I could.

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I kicked between one man’s legs.

“Ugh!”

The man struck between the legs knelt down.

I shoved him aside and burst into the narrow corridor outside the door.

“Get out of my way!”

I swung my fist at the solar plexus of the man blocking my path.

The clang of metal echoed in the corridor, and he staggered back three steps.

Even with my body charged with mana, my fists were throbbing.

“Your punches are quite painful. Do you also handle mana?”

The man’s white shirt button popped open, exposing the plated armor underneath.

The armor was dented in the shape of a fist.

Though not as sturdy as knights’ armor, it wasn’t soft enough for me to crush it with my body.

This was troublesome.

“Knowing who I am, are you brandishing such a weapon? Do you all want to stand on the guillotine?”

I tried to assert my status, but the wall of black uniforms remained unyielding.

“Since whether I die or live is already a certainty, I might as well test my limits.”

The man spat on his palm and swung the steel club around.

I sighed quietly.

“The world.”

The authority of the royal family had not only fallen to the ground but had even dug deep into the earth.

It was because he was treated as a potential traitor by the emperor, who stood at the peak of the royal family.

The man charged at me, swinging the steel club down.

Whoosh!

As the club sliced through the air, it smashed against the wall, sending debris flying.

I stepped forward, grabbed the man’s wrist, and swept his legs out from under him.

With a thud, he groaned in pain.

I slammed my heel down onto his face with force.

The unpleasant sound of bones cracking echoed as blood splattered.

“If you want to catch me, be prepared to live with that face for the rest of your life.”

Hearing my words, the wall of black uniforms stirred.

Instead of parting, they charged at me, brandishing their steel clubs and daggers.

Damn it.

From behind the wall of black uniforms, I could see the woman in the red mask and Madame Laviecia getting further away.

I stared at them, plotting.

Normally, if you received money you didn’t earn, it’d be standard practice to apologize.

But they had chosen rebellion and flight, even before my reincarnation and now.

They must have had reasons to judge that an apology wouldn’t suffice.

In my past life, Jeilliris seemed to have swept the red-light district after making a solid capture.

As I thought that, the pieces of the puzzle in my mind clicked together.

The emperor had originally intended to sweep the red-light district, and Laviecia had provided a good pretext.

That woman seemed to know the emperor’s true intentions.

Right. If he intended to wipe everything out from the start, he’d likely turn a blind eye even if I were a bit reckless, right?

Given that this was the case, it was time for some enjoyable use of force.

* * *

The steel club was swung horizontally towards Valenciaunos’s shoulder.

Instead of dodging, Valenciaunos leaned into the swinging club.

“What?”

The man in the uniform frowned.

Whack! The club struck Valenciaunos’s shoulder.

He shook from the pain that resonated deep within, but he did not scream or fall.

It was because the attack didn’t have its full power yet.

He gritted his teeth and grabbed the collar of the man in the uniform.

Madness glinted in his golden eyes.

“Do you even know who I am to brandish your weapon at me? Kneel! You filthy commoners.”

Holding onto the man’s collar with his left hand, he stomped the ground.

Reaching out his right hand, he snatched the steel club from the man.

At the same time, he pressed himself against the left wall of the corridor, using the man’s body as a shield against incoming attacks from both his left and straight ahead.

The man tried to twist Valenciaunos’s left hand with both his own.

Valenciaunos grinned like a white devil and swung the steel club down onto the man’s forehead.

The attack was strong enough to daze one’s head but weak enough not to knock them out.

It wasn’t because he was merciful but to avoid them completely collapsing and to use them as a standing shield.

A clear sound echoed as the man’s eyes rolled in different directions.

Simultaneously, the attacks from the crowd of men in uniforms descended upon Valenciaunos.

Valenciaunos shoved the man he held in front of him, blocking the daggers and clubs thrusting at him from the front.

“Gah!”

“Oh no.”

“Coward!”

Who is calling whom a coward, muttered the rebellious royal.

He swung the steel club to strike the heads of those men who had attacked.

Their scalps split open, and blood splattered as the uniformed men fell.

A swift man dodged around the captured comrade toward Valenciaunos’s right.

Valenciaunos launched the steel club into the man’s face.

The man staggered, bleeding from his nose, yet he held up his dagger.

At that moment, Valenciaunos seized a torch hanging on the wall and pressed it against the man’s face.

It was a bold action drawn from 40 years of experience.

“Ahhh! You crazy royal bastard!”

“You filthy mouth only spews filthy words. Can’t you express gratitude for the grace bestowed by the progeny of gods?”

“Y-you speak of grace.”

“I purified your filthy face with fire. How is that not grace!”

He kicked the man in the abdomen as he staggered.

As the hall at the end of the corridor came into view, Valenciaunos quickly began calculating.

‘In a large hall, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’

One.

‘I’ve already decided to create a ruckus.’

Two.

‘I need to scatter the uniformed men.’

Three.

Having come to an answer, he unhesitatingly set fire to the carpet with the torch he was holding.

Flames spread in an instant as fresh air rushed in through the ventilation shafts connected to the ground.

“You madman!”

“Are you going to set fire down here?”

“I’ll bring this to court! Do you think such actions can be forgiven, even if you’re a royal?”

Valenciaunos felt satisfied watching their unease.

The corners of his mouth, showing beneath the white mask, curled upward.

“Bring a lawsuit? Do you think you can dare file a suit against the progeny of gods, you vile creatures?”

He stood across from the casino’s walls with the fire and smoke separating them.

Screams of nobles enjoying gambling in the hall echoed.

“FIRE!”

“Sir! Run!”

“Why is it spreading so fast?”

“Somebody show me the way out!”

The men in uniforms exchanged glances.

“Damn it! Go and show them the way out!”

“You madman! Dragging ordinary people into this.”

Some of the uniformed men sighed and turned away.

If they hurt the guests, they could turn not only this rebellious royal into an enemy but also various wealthy and noble figures in the capital.

With the fire igniting enmity among half the people, Valenciaunos charged at those blocking his way once again.

Knowing the fires of the red-light district and the winds of flames at the imperial palace, the gripes of the black uniforms sounded merely like the fullness of their bellies.

“Don’t expect me to be grateful.”

Fueled by the power of mana, his body moved, and men in uniforms began rolling out one by one from the corridor.