Casino Wizard

There were moments when you had to go all in, even if you weren’t entirely sure.

Moments when a decisive move was necessary, minimizing the impact of variance.

Personally, I didn’t enjoy such situations. That was part of why I set up my own casino—to live comfortably off commissions.

“All in. I’m betting that Dragon Ear’s hand is higher than mine.”

But this all-in bet wasn’t a wild move—it was made with confidence.

I had a pair of Kings.

Lucy held an Ace high.

The half-elf, Selena, had already folded.

Only two of Dragon Ear’s cards remained face down on the table.

Even without flipping them, I knew they were higher than my hand.

Selena had told me after using her clairvoyance.

‘Technically, the signal was meant for Dragon Ear.’

The problem was, I had seen Selena’s signal too.

I had been the one to teach her those signals in the first place.

If she looked at the empty vase on the side table, it meant a high card. Turning her head toward the portrait of the king hanging on the left wall meant a pair of Aces or Kings or better. And staring at the seat number on the tablecloth for more than a second? That meant the player in that seat had the highest hand.

The last one was the most important.

Technically, you could say Selena wasn’t signaling Dragon Ear at all. She was signaling me.

In the end, Dragon Ear had no idea what was going on.

Actually, scratch that. He was sharp. He must have figured it out quickly. I’d just acted before he could respond.

Of course, my betting had its own vulnerabilities.

There was always the chance Selena made a mistake—or betrayed me.

I’d known since she caused trouble in my casino that she wasn’t the brightest tool in the shed.

And I didn’t trust her completely.

But I had confidence for another reason.

I wasn’t relying solely on Selena.

I’d also seen Dragon Ear marking cards on the spot and using shuffle tricks.

I had witnessed all his tricks firsthand. Yet I still used Selena’s signals to create a dramatic scene.

“Not calling? You’ll just raise more suspicion.”

Ending Dragon Ear’s games for good required this kind of public spectacle.

He had put his right arm on the line of his own accord. To truly satisfy him, I had to win that too.

The rule was “lie and lose a limb,” but Dragon Ear had upped the stakes, playing with a “caught first, lose a limb” mentality.

Now it was his move.

Would he match my all-in and taste his inevitable defeat? Or would he try to find a way out even when backed into a corner?

While he deliberated, the court of public opinion had already passed judgment.

“Do we… really need to cut it?”

“Don’t say such grisly things!”

“But, Baron Bovet. You’re close to him, aren’t you? You were following him around like a servant earlier. Aren’t you two friends?”

“We’re absolutely not friends!”

The nobles had already branded Dragon Ear a cheater.

“Think he cheated at the poker table too? I lost a fortune there!”

Even some were now accusing him of past misdeeds.

Dragon Ear wasn’t really in a position to feel unjustly accused—he had been using those tricks.

His options were narrowing fast.

Yet he stayed silent, wearing a blank expression. Surely he knew staying quiet would only make things worse.

‘Then again, a guy who worried about odds wouldn’t have picked a fight with me.’

What was going through Dragon Ear’s mind now?

Was he regretting not stopping sooner?

Or lamenting that he didn’t just wander off and live a peaceful life?

Or maybe he was already thinking about how to gamble even after losing his right arm. That seemed the most likely.

“Wizard.”

Dragon Ear finally spoke to me.

I nodded slightly without lowering my guard. With him, anything could happen.

“If I don’t call this, I’ll still be branded a cheater, won’t I?”

“…”

“Fine. I’ll call.”

With a clatter, Dragon Ear pushed his stack of chips to the center.

I watched closely, but he didn’t try any sleight-of-hand tricks.

It seemed too easy.

“Wizard. Should I flip my cards now?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Still doubting me, huh? Fine. But… let’s add one more game to spice things up.”

Another game?

I looked at him, bewildered. Dragon Ear gave me a sly grin.

His left hand twitched every so often—was it pain or nerves?

“You’re suggesting another gamble?”

“Yes. If you want to see my hand, you should wager something too.”

Even those who had been muttering about Dragon Ear’s cheating stopped, stunned.

Lucy, who had been catching her breath, widened her eyes. The shield knight, who had been fingering the handle of his warhammer, also looked shocked.

I was momentarily surprised too.

But I quickly realized what was going on.

“You can’t stop yourself, can you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t walk away from a gambling opportunity. You can’t ignore it or cut your losses. You’ve completely lost control. I don’t know when it started, but it’s plain to see.”

“Every word of that is true. Got a problem?”

Even as I basically accused him of being a pathological gambler, Dragon Ear nodded nonchalantly.

He truly was twisted in a unique way.

I’d seen plenty of gamblers ruin their lives in past lives, but at least they made a show of regret.

They suffered when they lost.

Dragon Ear didn’t.

What was going on in his head?

No. It didn’t matter.

“What’s the wager, then?”

Dragon Ear’s grin widened.

He pointed to the trembling half-elf Selena, whose face had turned pale.

“Wizard. You bet everything that my hand was higher than yours. Fair suspicion, but one thing bothers me. Why are you so confident? How can you be sure I cheated?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I’m betting my right eye that she tipped you off about my cards.”

“I don’t need your eye. What would I do with it?”

Dragon Ear changed his bet immediately.

“Then how about this? If I lose, I’ll never gamble with you again. If you lose, we’ll have a rematch.”

It wasn’t the worst wager. Better than a vague promise to stay out of my casino.

“Fine. I accept.”

Another gamble had begun.

The wager: whether Selena had helped me or not.

Dragon Ear stared at her with a twisted grin.

Was he trying to force a confession out of her? Or had he come up with a way to get her to talk during the game?

But I pointed to Dragon Ear’s cards instead.

“I don’t know your hand because Selena told me.”

“You want me to believe…”

“It’s not a claim.”

I cut him off and pointed to a specific spot on his cards.

Standard 63×88 playing cards.

At first glance, they looked normal.

But there was a faint mark on the checkered design on the back. Dragon Ear had made it with his nail.

Scratch marks, more than dents.

An ordinary person wouldn’t notice. The cards had some wear from casino use, after all.

Spectators reacted with confusion, but Dragon Ear’s face hardened.

“You noticed?”

“You marked premium cards with tiny scratches two checkered squares down from the top-right corner.”

“…”

“I know why you suspected Selena. You thought I’d only caught you through circumstantial evidence. But that’s not the case.”

Had I seen his tricks without suspicion, I might not have noticed. His vision was better than mine, after all.

But once suspicion was planted, the marks were clear.

If I hadn’t been sharp enough, I wouldn’t have sat across from him. Given a few more rounds, I could’ve used his own marks against him.

Dragon Ear’s gaze grew more intense. Was he wondering why I’d used Selena when I could’ve fought fair?

The answer was simple.

It was a difference in approach.

Dragon Ear was satisfied with a 50/50 shot. I wasn’t, even with 80% odds in my favor.

“Our goals are different.”

“If you’d fought without a partner—”

“I still would’ve won. I’d have had better than even odds.”

Maybe he was finally at peace, or maybe he thought all bets were off.

His nod and sudden relaxed expression suggested relief.

Even after losing his money, his right arm, and his ability to gamble—he looked strangely satisfied. Most would be angrier over losing a bar bet.

“Revealing the cards.”

I flipped Dragon Ear’s hand.

◆A, ♠A.

He’d chosen an Ace pair, likely to mock me.

But it was still my victory.

The money on the table? All mine.

And I had won more than just money.

Now it was time for his right arm.

…

As promised, we would use the guillotine for the task.

An enchanted blade of ice.

To ensure a clean cut, I cast a spell.

Lady Bonucci and two other women exited with pale faces.

But most stayed, eager to see the spectacle. Some, especially those who had lost money to Dragon Ear, demanded quick action.

“You can keep it and try reattaching it. I won’t stop you.”

Dragon Ear frowned.

He seemed to see keeping the severed arm as shameful.

He wasn’t hiding discomfort with my sentence—he was showing it through his actions.

“Elbow level. Correct?”

“Yes. Just above the joint.”

“Caught cheating, so I’ll pay the price.”

Even as he looked at the frosty blade, he nodded with eerie calm.

“I’m ready. Do it now.”

I would. But I couldn’t shake a fleeting thought.

‘This can’t be the end.’

Would Hilde, the magician of the Dragonic Kingdom’s hero party, intervene? What if today’s events spread far and wide?

But I had no intention of showing mercy.

“If I don’t, it breaks the rules. And I won’t be obligated to keep any promises.”

Dragon Ear looked at me with a bright, almost grateful expression.

His right arm was about to be cut off, yet there wasn’t a trace of resentment in his gaze.

I had no desire to ever face him at a gambling table again.

“I’ll follow the rules.”

With my command, the shield knight raised the guillotine’s heavy blade.

Dragon Ear placed his arm on the block without hesitation.

Though maybe it was just my imagination, his expression seemed to carry a faint smile.

Even in his defeat, I thought, he was relentless.

I sighed and gave the final command.

“Do it.”

The blade crashed down on Dragon Ear’s arm.

He didn’t blink.