Ciel ate the food, chewing it resentfully.

Thiago patted his shoulder once and settled back into his position behind the chair.

Neville had watched this exchange with a faint curl at the corner of his mouth. He pushed his glasses up.

"For fun," he said, answering Ciel’s earlier question.

Ciel nearly choked on his second bite.

"For fun?" Sarah pitched high and loud in even more distress than Ciel’s earlier.

She had one hand on her hip and stared at Neville in disbelief.

"For fun, he says. Oh, stars above, please don’t learn from those two."

She jabbed a finger at Bryan, then swung it toward Ciel.

"Those two will have you bankrupt by morning and convinced you enjoyed it."

Bryan’s head tilted.

"Why are you pointing at me? I haven’t done anything yet. And honestly, isn’t it more interesting to raise the stakes a little? We’ve been on a losing streak—might as well make it mean something when the tide turns."

"Don’t!"

Ciel’s voice cracked in a high pitch, sharp enough to make Julius’s eye twitch. He slammed both palms on the table again, chips rattling. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Don’t say that! Don’t say losing streak before a round! You’re jinxing it!"

"Superstitions."

Bryan said as he looked at him indifferently.

"When there’s a dip, there’s a rise. That’s just the nature of things. Basic market theory."

"HEY." Ciel stood up, making the chair scrape back an inch. "DON’T IGNORE ME."

Sarah leaned past her chip stack, narrowing her eyes at Bryan.

"And you—don’t put ideas in my head. You gambler."

"I prefer ’strategic risk enthusiast.’"

"I prefer ’man who should be banned from card tables.’"

Ciel pressed both hands to his temples and lowered his head until his forehead nearly touched the felt.

"My god," he muttered, his voice muffled and mournful. "Why won’t people listen to me? I’m trying to protect us. I’m trying to maintain discipline."

"That’s exactly why you keep losing."

Bryan interrupted lightly.

"You don’t know when to strike. You might hedge, you might hesitate, but don’t overthink every variable until the moment’s gone. Didn’t they teach you risk management at the academy? Or did you skip that module to polish your mecha figurines?"

Ciel’s head lifted, but speechless.

Sarah seized the moment.

"Forget the academy. I’m doing just fine with work. I don’t need unnecessary academic theory to derail my attention away from what actually matters."

She straightened in her chair confidently as if the fight was already over.

Bryan’s smile sharpened.

"And that’s precisely why you don’t get promoted, no matter how long you stay in the company. No initiative."

The temperature at the table dropped three degrees.

Iris, who had been standing behind Bryan’s chair, had her arms folded, weight on one hip, mouth set in a thin line.

She reached out and placed a firm hand on his shoulder and leaned in with a glare.

Stop. Now. Or I will end you when we get home.

Bryan felt the pressure. He turned his head slightly and met her glare. However, instead of obediently heeding her, he just patted the hand that Iris put on his shoulder.

A gesture that clearly said: I understand. I hear you.

But clearly he didn’t.

Because the moment he turned back to Sarah, he said, "Well? Are you going to raise, or are you going to sit there and let the table decide for you?"

Iris closed her eyes; her hand left Bryan’s shoulder.

She turned and saw Chronos and Pete, who were seated on the sofas with drinks in hand, watching the unfolding disaster with amusement.

Chronos caught her expression and, without missing a beat, gestured to the empty space on the sofa beside him.

"There’s room here if you need some space."

Pete simply smiled, silently agreeing.

Iris wavered.

The sofa looked comfortable and wouldn’t be boring with Chronos and Pete.

But she could still hear Bryan’s voice behind her, clearly winding up for another strike.

She shook her head at Chronos with a pained expression that said I want to, believe me, I wanted to, but I can’t and turned back to the table.

"Fine!"

Sarah’s voice rose, and she grabbed her chips aggressively.

"Raise it to ten thousand per round! And if I lose, you’re paying for it!"

She pointed at Bryan, her finger trembled slightly in fury.

Bryan’s eyebrow arched, "Don’t put that on me. You already had a conversation with your sister about covering your losses."

At the mention, Lilianna turned their way and smiled, amused.

"Oh, I did say that," she confirmed, her tone sweet. "But there’s still plenty of chips on her table, isn’t it? Surely my dear sister won’t mind risking a few more? After all, fortune favors the bold."

"How can you say that?!" Sarah said as she turned to her sister with a betrayed expression.

"He’s the one proposing the raise! I can afford it, but it still hurts to lose! I will lose my money! There’s a difference between being able to survive a wound and enjoying getting stabbed!"

Ciel, who had spent the last thirty seconds restraining his frustrations, rolled his eyes.

"Why play if you can’t afford to lose everything you put on the table? That’s rule number one."

Sarah whipped toward him. "I have savings—"

"Savings for what?" Bryan leaned back in his chair, "You don’t even have a partner to plan a future with."

The silence that followed lasted a third of a second before Sarah’s hand shot toward the nearest stack of chips.

She had a clear intention to throw it onto Bryan’s face, trying to make a dent or two in it.

But Julius caught her wrist before she could raise it.

"Calm down," Julius said. "Play peacefully."

Sarah held his gaze for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Fine, I’ll play peacefully," she said sweetly, but hiding a poison underneath. "I’m a very reasonable person. I won’t argue with two zergs in human clothing."

After the insult, Sarah continued, pointing at Bryan. "But I’m remembering this, Bryan Stewart. I’m remembering all of this."

Bryan gave her a thumbs-up.

Iris slapped her forehead.