A voice mixed with an exclamation burst out.
"Lavender 2, is it?"
"Is it Lavender 2?"
The hand was exactly Lavender 2. It looked so lacking that even a novice wouldn't be convinced of the hooded man's victory.
"I saw it. I clearly saw their sleight of hand!"
The hooded man shouted fiercely. Eve, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, smiled, pulling up the corners of her mouth, unconcerned by the man's fierce protest.
"Didn't you learn things like 'don't bet unless you're sure'?"
"How could this be...! I can't accept this!"
"Why is your tongue so long in the world of competition?"
Eve felt a thrilling sensation welling up from deep within her chest.
'I never thought I would actually say this!'
Overwhelmed with emotion, Eve sneered openly and pulled her wrist free. The shocked man also obediently released his grip.
I wanted to take a good look at his shocked face. Eve shrugged and looked at Paddle.
"Then, shall we continue the game? For me, this is just the beginning."
The players, half-dazed, nodded involuntarily. Eve gathered the cards again and began shuffling them neatly.
'I knew they were constantly watching me.'
Feeling the gaze, Eve immediately changed her strategy. Thanks to that, she was able to escape the situation.
Miya, who was curled up under the table, gave Eve's feet a good kneading. It seemed like she was praising her, saying she was amazing.
Eve dealt the cards again. She did not use any other moves this time either. It was because, with all eyes already focused on her, she felt that if she won, people would look at her suspiciously.
"Gasp! Me. Did I win?"
A middle-aged man covered his mouth as if he couldn't believe it.
"...I'll mix it this time."
The hooded man, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut for a long time, raised his hand again.
A look of annoyance crossed the dealer's face as he shuffled the cards. However, not wanting to make a fuss any further, the dealer obediently passed the cards.
Watching the man's hand movements, Eve thought.
'That guy recognized my hand movements.'
He's not an ordinary guy. Eve watched the man's movements with all her senses on edge.
'That bastard...'
Meanwhile, the man also felt the gaze of the girl in the red cloak. Although her eyes were clearly hidden as she was wearing a hood just like him, he could feel it. The sharp stare.
Was that the reason? The man made a mistake he never usually made. He gave the card he was about to place on his side to the red cloak.
'Shit!'
The man gritted his teeth. Red Riding Hood, having checked her hand, smiled, pulling up one corner of her mouth. She tightened her grip on the cards.
In the end, the winner of the game was Little Red Riding Hood, Eve.
Eve, who took the money while humming, said.
"Shouldn't we raise the stakes a bit now?"
The other players nodded at Eve's words. It seemed they all wanted to share the victory and experience a greater thrill.
The dealer raised the stakes. Just as they were about to start the game again, Eve raised her hand.
The dealer turned the cards over without a word. This time, he didn't even ask why.
The hooded man concentrated all his senses. No mistakes allowed. After all, the hands are faster than the eyes.
"...!"
The man checked his hand and was surprised. His hand was too good.
It felt like it was saying, "I'll help you win."
"It is our victory."
The result was, of course, a victory for the man.
The man gritted his teeth. It was clearly mockery.
He won double the stakes, but he felt four times worse.
The man raised his hand without a word. The dealer had now taken a step back. It meant they should figure it out amongst themselves.
'To think you dared to let me win.'
The man shuffled the cards while suppressing his anger.
'I'll give it back exactly the same way.'
The man dealt the cards, and the game started again.
The result was, of course, a victory for Eve. It was only natural since she was given all the good cards.
'Look at this?'
Eve let out a hollow laugh. This was a clear provocation.
"I-I can't believe we won this fast"
The other players looked at Eve with surprised eyes.
However, Eve shuffled the cards as if victory didn't matter. The players wore blank expressions at her machine-like movements.
The game continued for several rounds like that.
When the man shuffled the cards, Eve won, and when Eve shuffled the cards, the man won.
It was only then that the players came to their senses. While they were mindlessly watching, their money was pouring out and piling up for them one by one.
‘These?’
Only then did the players realize the situation and jump up from their seats.
“You two!”
A man wearing glasses shouted in a sharp voice on behalf of the players.
Eve's movements as she shuffled the cards came to a sudden halt.
“Did you dig it?”
"What?"
“What do you mean?”
"Otherwise, why are you two the only ones who keep winning?"
"I heard kids were manipulating the game to funnel money to each other! So that's you!"
It was only then that the man and Eve came to their senses. Forgetting that there were other players, they were busy trying to give the victory to each other.
"Hey, that's nonsense."
"How could you do such a thing? Games are supposed to be honest."
They tried to salvage the situation belatedly, but the two men could not hear what they had to say as they had lost their money.
The dealer, wondering what the spark was, quickly stepped away from his seat.
“Give us our money!”
The players rushed in.
Oh no! The man stepped back to prevent his hood from coming off. If it came off, the casino would turn into chaos.
"No! I'm not at fault! It's not!"
Unlike the man, Eve clung on desperately, regardless of whether her hood came off or not. Her single-minded determination to protect the money had built up her resilience.
The players gasped for breath as they watched Eve, who never left the money.
"What the hell, a guy like that..."
"Hey, never mind! Let's just go."
"I just ruined my mood for no reason!"
In fact, the money they lost was enough to be fully covered by the money taken from the man.
The players who shared the man's coins left fuming.
The man, who had suddenly lost all his money, stood there with a dejected look on his face and cast a sharp glare at Eve.
"What are you going to do about this? I lost all my money because of you! Why don't you say something?"
At the sound of a rough shout, Little Red Riding Hood slowly raised her head. For the first time, the man had seen Little Red Riding Hood's face completely.
The man, who had straightened up ready to spit in her face, stopped abruptly.
Seeing the long hair revealed when the cloak was removed, he thought it might be a woman, but...
The woman in the red cloak was a woman with silver hair and blue eyes. A woman as white as snow was glaring at him warily.
The man stared blankly at the woman, forgetting that he was supposed to snap at her.
His face slowly started to heat up.
‘Why are you still?'
Eve racked her brain as she looked at the man standing there stupidly.
Anyway, it seemed like a good idea to take this opportunity to take the money and leave.
Eve started to move stealthily.
Just then, the man approached Eve's side as if he had regained his senses.
"What are you going to do?"
"... What?"
"What? Are you asking because you don't know? I'm asking what you're going to do about my money."
"Why are you looking for your money from me? Why didn't you try to stop it desperately like I did? Look at me. I held out and held out, and they eventually gave up on their own."
"That..."
The man could not continue speaking. How could he bring up the fact that he had done it out of fear that his cloak would come off?
"Life is about enduring no matter what happens. The spirit of silently holding on. Then, someday, you are bound to win."
From the woman who spoke like that, he could see the seasoned wisdom of someone who had weathered the storms of time.
'To think you have such tenacity...'
The man who had been admiring it shook his head vigorously, realizing his mistake.
He felt like he was getting strangely swept up in it.
The man let out a hollow laugh and hardened his expression.
Hw didn't want to go this far because he thought the casino would turn into chaos...
The man slowly raised his hand. The woman's wary gaze liked the man's action.
As the man took off his hood, his hidden appearance was revealed.
Golden hair that looked like it stole the sunlight, and clear purple eyes.
The eyes of everyone in the casino were fixed on the man.
The man was beautiful enough to deserve adjectives such as brilliant, splendid, dazzling, and overwhelming.
The man was fed up. As soon as he showed his face, everyone acted as if they would give him their liver and gallbladder. It was a real hassle to acquire gold and treasures before he could even loosen his grip.
So he often played games while hiding his face... but... He felt like he had to reveal himself in front of this woman.
The man, who had been puffing up with pride under the dazed stares of the people, lowered his gaze.
And it hardened.
"What's going on? Are they out watching? Why is everyone staring?"
The woman looking around had no interest in the man's face.
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