It was just an offhanded comment, but it sent seeds of doubt into some people’s minds.

At the sofas by the wall behind Ciel’s side, Helena’s eyes sharpened. The change was subtle and quick.

But Chronos, leaning against the arm of the sofa by the wall opposite Helena’s, caught it.

Before he could even turn away his gaze, Helena’s gaze landed on him.

She smiled.

It was a simple smile, but it sent shivers down Chronos’s spine.

Helena’s gaze didn’t linger for long on him, but Chronos felt like he wanted to vomit.

His arms instinctively crossed over his midsection, hands pressing flat against his stomach.

Pete, next to him, glanced at him, and his brow furrowed.

"You hungry?" he asked mildly. "I saw some level-four cosmic beast jerky in the kitchen. Or there might be leftover baragara from dinner."

"No, I’m— " Chronos lowered his arms, self-conscious. "It’s just cold."

Pete looked at him for a moment, then at the panoramic windows where the night sea stretched into pitch darkness beyond the estate’s warm glow and nodded.

"You’re right. Hold on." He set his glass down and took off his jacket to cover Chronos. "I’ll go grab a blanket from the VIP rooms."

Without waiting for his reply, Pete headed for the staircase.

Chronos watched him go, then glanced warily back at Helena. She was acting as if all that silent interaction was just his imagination.

He pulled Pete’s jacket tighter around himself, feeling unsure as time passed by.

Can we make it alive?

At the blackjack table, the game moved on.

"All right," Lilianna said aloud. "Final bets, please."

Around the table, everyone pushed forward their chips.

Bryan, Sarah, and Julius each slid 10,000 into the betting circle. No side bets.

Ciel pushed 15,000 forward, also forgoing side bets.

Neville placed 20,000 in the main circle and placed 10,000 on the player pair bet, another 10,000 on 21+3.

Lilianna’s gaze landed on Neville’s side bets. Her eyes tightened a little.

’Proceed as planned. You’ve already arranged it in your favor.’

Lilianna calmed down, but she couldn’t help but feel that something was off about this.

Still, she calmly distributed the cards.

The cards fell in sequence, starting from Bryan’s position at first base.

Bryan: Nine.

He looked at it and thought, A nine was a nine. It could go either way.

Sarah: Nine.

"Good!" she chirped.

Julius: Two.

He sighed. Two was generally a bad card; it was too small.

Neville: Seven of hearts.

He picked it up and glanced at it; he already knew he would have it.

Just that, he had to be wary and wondered if he could really get his expected card, given Lilianna’s manipulations.

Ciel: Ten.

Ciel looked at the card and thought, A ten was strong. Boring, but strong.

Then Lilianna placed her own face-up card.

Seven of hearts.

The same suit, the same value.

Lilianna’s face-up card was a mirror of Neville’s first card.

Julius sighed again, more deeply this time.

"A seven," he muttered. "Against a two. Wonderful."

"Dealer seven isn’t the worst," Bryan offered in comfort.

"It is when you’re sitting on a two," Julius replied.

Lilianna dealt the second card.

Bryan: Five.

He stared at it. Nine plus five. Fourteen.

Against a dealer seven, fourteen was something that existed purely to make you suffer.

Hit and risk busting.

Stand and almost certainly lose.

It was the blackjack equivalent of being told to choose between getting punched in the face or getting punched in the stomach.

He set the card down, suppressing a sigh.

Sarah: Ace.

She practically jumped out of her chair.

"Twenty!" she said, slapping the table with both palms. "Nine and an ace, that’s twenty, I’m standing, nobody touch my cards, I am standing."

"You could also count it as ten," Bryan noted dryly.

"Why would I do that when I have twenty?"

Bryan smiled mischievously, "Just testing you." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Julius: Three.

He looked at the card and then at the ceiling. Then back at the card, as if hoping for a miracle.

Two plus three. Five.

He needed to hit, obviously. But even with a face card, it would only give him fifteen against Lilianna’s seven.

"I’ve had better days," he said to no one in particular.

Then Lilianna dealt Neville’s second card.

It landed face-up on the felt.

For one moment, the entire table went silent.

Seven of hearts.

Not a seven of diamonds.

Not a seven of spades.

Nor clubs.

Seven of hearts.

The exact same card as his first.

Which was also the exact same card as Lilianna’s face-up card.

Three sevens of hearts on the table.

Neville looked at his pair of sevens and then at Lilianna’s matching face-up card.

His expression didn’t change, but his eyes smiled.

It meant that Lilianna might’ve done everything in her favor, but it didn’t necessarily mean she remembered everything else.

Ciel received his second card—a Jack, bringing his total to twenty—but he didn’t even look at it.

His eyes were fixed on Neville’s hand, cracked wide open.

"What on—?" Ciel said, his voice climbing half an octave.

Bryan leaned sideways to peer at Neville’s cards, which were a little bit far from him. When he finally got a clear glance at it, his jaw dropped.

Sarah, who just got back on her seat, shot to her feet again so fast her chair rolled backward and bumped into the wall.

"I don’t know if that’s luck or magic," she said, her voice pitching upward. "Nobody gets that. Nobody gets that. That’s a—wait."

She looked at Neville’s betting circle.

At the 10,000 on player pair.

At the 10,000 on 21+3.

Recalling the ratio that Lilianna explained earlier about the side bets.

Her eyes went wide by the second, and so was her mouth dropping at the same time.

"That’s... more or less eighty million in profit."

She said the number like she wasn’t a rich young lady from an aristocratic background who would inherit probably billions worth of assets and cash.

Julius leaned over, looked at the cards, looked at the betting positions, and nodded once.

"Congratulations," he said simply. "Well played."