Chapter 26
It’s coming, it’s coming, this time for real. It has to come, it’s coming.
Count Immobile muttered these words while nodding his head back and forth.
Of course, only to himself.
“Dealing the cards.”
The voice of the wizard Hyden echoed in the Count’s ears—a man who had been cowardly folding repeatedly to play it safe.
Dealing the cards. That’s right. Cards only have meaning when they’re dealt.
The Count’s mind was entirely consumed by the cards.
Even in this tense moment, he couldn’t stop running his mouth.
“Wizard, deal the cards faster. Are you getting nervous or what?”
In truth, he was speaking without thinking.
It was compulsive babbling driven by the need to maintain a facade of bravado and the fear that silence would invite sleep.
His mind and body had been pushed to the limit.
Three days of continuous poker.
Losses calculated down to a single gold coin, instilling an almost primal terror.
And stakes that had grown far too large.
‘I have to win this time. This is my chance to turn it all around.’
Wizard Hyden began to deal the cards.
One to Big Rack.
(TL Note :- Big rack referring to Mrs. Bonucci and her Big tatas )
One to the Count.
One for himself.
And another round in the same order.
With trembling hands, the Count picked up his two cards.
Hearts 2, Spades 2.
‘Not bad, not bad at all.’
A pair of twos. While not an amazing hand, it was strong enough to cautiously grow the pot depending on the five community cards.
The real challenge was, of course, reading the room. The damn wizard never gave away his money, no matter how good the Count’s hand might be.
Forcing a stoic expression, the Count began to observe his opponents.
First, Lady Bonucci. Forced smile, scratching her upper chest.
Then Wizard Hyden. Unchanging poker face.
‘Ah. Is this how it’s going to end again?’
Small, gradual wins or heavy, crushing losses.
The all-too-familiar formula for defeat haunted the Count.
No. Not this time.
The Count suppressed a groan and shook his head.
“Call.”
“Um… call.”
“Call.”
Soon, three community cards were revealed on the table.
At a glance, the Count’s lips involuntarily let out a gasp.
“Whoa?”
Clover 2, Diamond 2, Diamond 6.
Combined with his hand, that made four of a kind with twos.
A Four of a Kind.
Two more cards were still to come, yet the Count already had a Four of a Kind.
Overcome with joy, the Count felt a surge of euphoria.
A Full House might show up once or twice every fifty hands, but a Four of a Kind? That was rare.
‘This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for—oh?!’
The Count’s heart sank.
He suddenly remembered the gasp he had let slip after seeing his hand.
A cardinal sin at the poker table: Whoa? Oh? Ah?
And the Count had committed one of them.
It could be interpreted as a bluff, sure.
But would anyone believe it coming from the same Count who had been cornered and repeatedly lost all night?
‘Is it over? Am I done for, again?’
While the Count desperately fought the urge to sob, faint vibrations and noise were felt beneath the table. Someone was shaking their leg.
It wasn’t the Count. Nor was it Lady Bonucci.
Which left the wizard.
‘That guy’s shaking his leg? Out of nervousness?’
Hyden’s face remained as stoic as ever, unchanged throughout the entire game.
Yet, he was staring intently at his cards and the community cards on the table, his leg nervously bouncing.
Even the meticulous Wizard Hyden.
It seemed he hadn’t noticed the Count’s slip, either. What could this mean?
‘Did Hyden also get a good hand? But even so, there’s no way his hand can be stronger than my Four of a Kind. Unless… he has two sixes? Even then, a Four of a Kind still beats a Full House. I win.’
The wizard, who hadn’t been particularly lucky with cards today, must have finally drawn a decent hand.
But no matter what hand he held, it couldn’t beat the Count’s. Only the last two cards could possibly change that, and the odds of such an outcome were infinitesimally small.
This was the opportunity.
A game with no betting limits meant everyone’s bankroll set the maximum stake.
Despite losing repeatedly over the last 41 hours, the Count now had a chance to turn everything around with one decisive move.
Yes, one move.
He could recover all his losses and take away the wizard’s wealth as well.
The Count decided to go all in.
“I’ll raise by double.”
For him, this wasn’t just a gamble—it was life itself on the line.
****
Was he thrilled by the Four of a Kind, or had he been fooled by a bluff?
The Count boldly began raising the stakes.
And so, the snowball started rolling.
Because I accepted his raise—and even escalated it further.
“Raise, and double again.”
“Call.”
So far, the bets were still manageable for everyone’s bankroll.
But none of us stopped there.
After the turn card appeared, Lady Bonucci became bolder. And she had her reasons—she had just completed a Two Pair.
With only the river left, it made sense for someone holding a Two Pair to ride the wave. Especially for Lady Bonucci, who had been winning repeatedly all night.
“Raise, double.”
“Call… all right.”
Raise, re-raise—the pot ballooned without restraint.
The butler of the royal villa, who had inadvertently ended up as our housekeeper, began trembling as he moved the chips for us.
This was no ordinary game; the stakes were on an entirely different scale.
The atmosphere in the lounge grew unbearably heavy.
“Ugh?”
Even Sir Enrico, the royal guard who had already retired from the game and was busy banging his head against the wall, turned to look at us, letting out a dumbfounded sound.
It was proof that everyone felt it—the inevitability of this game’s conclusion.
When this round ended, there would be no more cards dealt. And everyone except for one victor would face ruin.
It was too late to turn back.
“I’ll reveal the river card now.”
“Huff…”
“Are you ready, Count?”
“Y-yes.”
The end drew nearer.
I placed the final community card on the table and studied their faces.
Not with glances—openly, blatantly staring.
After all, they were looking at me with indescribable expressions as well, as though we had all silently agreed to this strange dance.
“I… I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
“Be quiet… Lady Bonucci.”
“Oh…”
“We can’t back out now, can we, Wizard?”
Indeed. As the last bet loomed, I alternated my gaze between the two marks.
First, Lady Bonucci.
The mistress of the Second Prince and a key figure in tonight’s setup.
She wasn’t even attempting to flirt with me anymore. It wasn’t that she realized her charm wouldn’t work on me—it was that the pot had grown too overwhelming.
If she had agreed to take only thirty percent as I suggested, she wouldn’t be in this mess.
Not that her future would’ve been any brighter with that choice. In that scenario, I planned to isolate her and orchestrate a separate scheme to remove the Second Prince.
Next, Count Immobile.
The man who had lost the most money tonight.
And the man banking on this one game to turn it all around.
Judging by his dazed expression despite holding a Four of a Kind, it was clear he had poured everything into this gamble.
The exchange of glances lasted only a moment.
The final betting round began—and ended almost immediately. The pot was too large for any normal raise to matter.
“All in.”
“All in, Count? But with the remaining amounts—”
“Then a side pot, depending on the winner… No. Are you in or not?”
“I’m all in as well.”
One by one, the two declared their all-ins.
The massive sum piled on a separate table represented the entire pot.
Winner takes all. Losers leave with nothing.
“All in.”
Of course, I declared all in as well.
Sir Enrico, who wasn’t even in the game, started hiccuping, and the butler’s legs visibly wobbled.
To say I wasn’t nervous would be a lie. Even though I had rigged this game, I couldn’t predict what would happen after the result was revealed.
“Let’s open our cards.”
All participants revealed their hands simultaneously.
Lady Bonucci: Two Pair, Six and King.
Count Immobile: Four of a Kind, Twos.
And finally, me.
In my hand: Diamond 4, Diamond 5.
On the table: Diamond 2, Diamond 3, Diamond 6.
Together: A Straight Flush.
The second-highest hand in Texas Hold’em, just below a Royal Flush. Higher than the Count’s Four of a Kind, of course.
I deliberately let the moment linger before speaking.
“I win, Count. Lady Bonucci.”
The game was decided.
But instead of cheers, silence blanketed the lounge.
Everyone understood what this result meant.
In this kind of high-stakes gamble, rarely did anyone walk away graciously.
People clung desperately, begged for mercy, fled with stolen money, or, worst of all, snapped and tried to kill.
I waited.
It was the Count who finally broke the tension.
Thud!
Count Immobile suddenly stood up and bolted for the door.
“Sir Enrico! From now on, no one leaves! I’ll bring reinforcements and erase all of this! Understand? And Bonucci, if you value your life, stay put… No one leaves!!”
His plan was clear: have the guard hold us here while he fetched people to undo the night’s events.
It wasn’t a bad idea, considering his desperate position.
His quick action was impressive too. Before Sir Enrico could even grab his sword, the Count had already dashed out of the lounge.
But I didn’t chase him or cast a spell.
There was someone else for that job.
Someone waiting outside on my orders, awkward and self-conscious but obedient, one of the few I could trust.
“Hero! Grab the bastard who just ran!”
A middle-aged hero, no less.
…
Scuffling sounds came from outside.
Who do you think you’re dealing with? Let’s go, you wretched serf—! Thud! Argh…!
It ended quickly.
“I got him, Hyden.”
The middle-aged hero entered the lounge, dragging the Count by the scruff of his neck. The Count wheezed, pinned and defeated.
Lady Bonucci burst into sobs.
Even Sir Enrico dropped his sword in despair.
“Uaaaahhh!!”
“No… this can’t be…”
For a while, the lounge was filled only with the sound of anguished cries.