Bastian

issen, whose face was painfully contorted, lowered his head, unable to bear his excuses.
It was the cowardice he often showed when he did something he couldn’t handle.
(*Duke Dissen is nicknamed beggar Duke in the gambling house because he always beg for more turns.
No one knows his real name.)

 

Odette surveyed the crowd that surrounded her with  frightened eyes.
They were all in uniform, and even Odette, who didn’t know much about soldiers, could tell that they were officers in the Admiralty.
Most of the soldiers serving at the capital’s headquarters were from the upper classes.
It meant that they had the power to rectify any accident committed in the back alley gambling house.

 

A mocking whistle someone started blowing quickly spread throughout the card room.
Jokes and giggles with risqué hints soon followed.

 

But all Odette could hear was her own erratic heartbeats.
The blood in her entire body seemed to grow cold and chilled, but the breath that flowed from her quivering lips grew hotter and hotter.
The man standing by the window started to move when the terrible dizziness made it difficult for her to even support herself.

 

Knowing that it would be futile to strategize a plan right at this moment, Odette turned her head to look at the closed door.
Even if she were lucky enough to escape this place, there would be guards standing on the other side of the door.

 

Wouldn’t it be better to jump out the window instead?

 

At the moment of an absurd impulse, the shadow of a large man fell over her head.
Odette slowly raised her head in the shade.
The victor of the betting game was standing right in front of her before she knew it.

 

“Aren’t you ashamed?”

 

The woman’s first words were quite unconventional.

 

Bastian looked at the woman who was being sold to him with his eyes slowly lowered.
Through her black veil, the outline of her looming face was reflected.

 

“To think that an officer of the Empire would participate in such a low-level gamble.
I bet you don’t know that a contract to buy and sell people can’t be established in the first place.”

 

Her voice began to tremble slightly, but the woman persevered in admonishing.
Bastian laughed a little, feeling pitiful for such an insignificant bluff.

 

“Looking for law and morals in a place like this doesn’t sound like a very good solution.”

 

“Since when did the honor and dignity of a soldier become obscured by time and place?”

 

The brave woman unexpectedly threw a provocative counter-question.
It wasn’t a very wise move, but at least one thing that she didn’t cry like her father was worthy of high praise.

 

 

“Please forgive my father for his mistake.
In return, I will pay off his debt.”

 

The woman who was already well-adjusted made a brazen request.
Her attitude was incongruous with her predicament.

 

“What? Nope.”

 

Bastian tilted his head, giving a plaintive answer.
The formal smile that still lingered on his lips made his cold eyes stand out even more.

 

The woman was trembling.
The fear she could no longer hide ran through her body.
It was a sight that gave him sadistic pleasure, though this kind of oppression was not to Bastian’s liking.

 

“I am the one who gives orders.
I won the bet.”

 

Ready to put a stop to this ruse, Bastian declared.
 He was tired of ridiculing this woman. Bastian did not have the intention to exercise any more patience.

 

But if he let the woman go like this, more problems would happen.

 

After examining the faces of the party full of anticipation, Bastian’s gaze returned to the gambler’s daughter.
The veil hiding her face suddenly bothered him.
It would have been quite satisfying to tear it off in a moment of insult. Of course, it wasn’t just that he didn’t have a cheap curiosity to check out the woman’s appearance.

 

“Take that veil off.”

 

Bastian’s brief command broke the silence.

 

“I’m not interested in your money, and the men don’t want money either.
But since a one-sided defeat would be unacceptable, so I’ll end it with a look at your face.”

 

Staring at the sharp-edged, wary woman, Bastian continued his dry explanation without any enthusiasm.

 

“Uh, let’s do whatever they want and leave here.”

 

The gambler, who had been watching, began to urge his daughter.
He was just happy to get out of his predicament, but nowhere on his face was the guilt of the father who had sold his daughter for a game of cards.

 

Swallowing the anger that rose to the top of her throat, Odette raised her wet eyes and faced the man.
It was a very humiliating request, but she couldn’t refuse it.
It was because she knew very well that this was the best solution.
For now, that man was Odette’s only hope.

 

“Can you keep your promise?”

 

The woman holding the end of the veil asked a question.
Her hands in her faded gloves trembled, but her voice was surprisingly cold.

 

Following honor, dignity and trust.

 

It was ridiculous to find such a noble value in a gambling house, but Bastian nodded his head kindly.
It had been a long day.
He was tired, and most of all, the show was boring.

 

“Honey, come on.”

 

After the woman’s hesitation lengthened, her father urged her once more.
Even if it meant unveiling his daughter himself, he was ready to do it.

 

Resolutely refusing to be touched, the woman lifted the veil herself.
Her long, slender neck, tightly pursed lips, and a pert nose.
As the woman’s face hidden beneath her black lace was gradually revealed, the excitement of the onlookers grew.

 

Bastian silently watched the woman with sunken eyes.
The minute his bored face was slightly frowned, she took off her veil.

 

In the moment of silence in the card room, the woman slowly raised her head.
Bastian gladly met her eyes as they looked right at him.

 

The woman had eyes that were an exquisite mixture of blue and green.
There was a strangely clear light in her large eyes, which looked both like a frightened young animal and like a weary old woman.

 

The officers who had been holding their breath started to stir, but Bastian watched the woman in front of him with unwavering eyes.
It was probably because the woman was too white that the shadows of her reddened eyes and long eyelashes stood out so much.
The contrast between her dark hair like night and pale skin made the woman’s impression more distinct.

 

An empty smile crossed the corner of Bastian’s tilted mouth.

 

The beggar Duke was a lousy cheater, but it was clear he didn’t lie about the stakes.
His daughter was beautiful.

 

At least that one thing was perfectly true.