Chapter Title: A Gamble Worth Taking
"But Miss Adelaide. This is Nobili's own space. Be honest. Do you truly believe that you should sacrifice yourself for the common people, even if it means financial loss?"
Adele replied with a smile.
"Of course, I'm not going to help them by cutting into my own flesh. But at least I'm going to try to make sure everyone has a fair chance. Even if it reduces my gains a little."
"Easier said than done!"
Palmina let out a mocking laugh and slammed her hand down on the armrest. The thick rings clashed against each other, making an unpleasant sound.
"Can you prove it? It's the same with those who don't take action! After all, it's just empty words!"
Adele was silent for a moment.
"But I don't have anything of my own. It's all my brother's property. What I have..."
"No! You do have something worth boasting about!"
Palmina's eyes gleamed, and she leaned forward.
"The galleon!"
"..."
Adele's eyes widened at the unexpected words. After a moment, she wanted to laugh. She had wondered how she could be lured in, but this was too perfect.
"One of the galleons will be finished this month, so we should name it the *Adelaide*. I can give you as much as you want."
*Come to think of it, did Lucrezia hear about that?*
Lucrezia had nothing to lose in this arrangement. With any luck, Cesare might discard the shoeshine girl who had handed over the latest galleons to a rival. And if Palmina was fortunate, she would acquire a state-of-the-art galleon.
*How grateful I am.*
Palmina Genoble, who loved money and gambling. She was so weak to taunts that she had gotten into a war of words at the Berissimus Club. At the Balladür Club, she probably assumed Adelaide Buonaparte was foolish enough to raise the stakes.
Finally, Palmina whispered.
"How about this? Make a bet with me."
Adele asked, feigning ignorance.
"A bet?"
"Yes. If you bet with me and win, I'll give you the funds for Kimora's development."
"But I don't have anything to wager."
"Isn't there the latest galleon you just mentioned?"
Palmina let out a satisfied laugh.
"Isn't it worth trying? If you win, you help others. If you lose, you'll lose the galleon, but you'll prove that your heart is pure. Either way, you have nothing to lose."
"But I'm not accustomed to games like Lady Palmina is."
"If you can't sacrifice yourself for the citizens because you're inexperienced, Miss Adelaide, that's called hypocrisy."
Adele furrowed her brow, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"You're going too far."
"Then prove it! As I said, it's a win-win for you. I'll even let you choose the game."
"..."
Adele took a deep breath and surveyed her surroundings. Everyone was watching with curiosity.
*I'll get through this soon enough.*
She spoke as if she had lost face.
"Well, if it's Hold'em..."
"Hold'em! Excellent!"
Palmina slammed the armrest and shouted to those around her.
"Bring the cards!"
One of the attendants quickly brought out a sealed deck of cards. Adele glanced at it, and Palmina noticed her gaze, holding up the deck for all to see.
"As you can see, it's a new deck. There's no room for doubt."
"That's right."
"It's a match between you and me, it's a house game, and I'm the dealer. Sounds fair, doesn't we? We'll need to fill the table."
"That's fine."
"It's no fun to wager a galleon right away, so let's start small. The stakes begin at fifty gold and work their way up. What do you think?"
"Agreed."
Palmina laughed heartily.
"I'm looking forward to a fair game. You there! Bring Miss Adelaide a glass of sherry."
Adele took the sherry glass handed to her by the attendant and watched Palmina shuffle the cards through narrowed eyes. It looked like a normal overhand shuffle, but upon closer inspection, there were suspicious elements. For example, the top card wasn't being shuffled.
Doubt became certainty.
Adele lowered her eyes and took a sip of sherry. Meanwhile, seven ladies sat around to fill the table. Lucrezia declined to gamble, sitting at a distance and drinking tea. But when her eyes met Adele's, she sneered with contempt. She didn't seem to doubt Palmina's victory at all.
*How fortunate.*
"Let's begin."
A stack of chips was placed in front of Adele. She looked down at the two cards before her, feeling a faint sense of nostalgia. She could hear Clarice's voice in her memory.
*"Ugh! It's so hard to deal from the bottom!"*
Kimora's shack. There, Adele and Clarice had played cards every night.
*"But you're better than before."*
*"Adele, how on earth do you learn faster than me?"*
*"I practice more than you, Clarice."*
*"I'm not going to work in a gambling house with you!"*
*"There's nothing wrong with learning. Let's keep going. I'll deal."*
*"Hey... take it easy. When am I supposed to learn all this and even master stacking the deck? I think I'm done for..."*
Clarice Donati—Adele's only friend and housemate. She had worked as a dealer's assistant in a gambling house in Kimora. It might seem like she was just there to distract the customers, but that wasn't the case at all. The gambling house tried to fleece its patrons by any means necessary. Therefore, Clarice had to hone her cheating skills to a certain level.
*"Adele! I got paid today! Let's buy some meat with this!"*
*"What payment?"*
*"I fleeced a mark today! He looked like a nobleman, but he was so naive he didn't know any of these tricks! How was it? Today I robbed him using marked cards..."*
There was a time like that.
Adele smiled and accepted her cards.
*Cheating in front of a Kimora girl? A hundred years too early.*
---
Geneviève bit her nails nervously.
"Call."
*No! Don't call there!*
"Fold."
*If you fold there, your opponent will take the pot!*
Geneviève screamed inwardly. She couldn't keep her composure watching a high-stakes bet with a state-of-the-art galleon on the line. Card games were a common sight at Salon Genoble, but never before had the stakes been this high. At minimum, it was worth a billion. Considering that it was Buonaparte's proprietary technology, billions was a ridiculous figure.
*Somehow she asked me about how Palmina plays cards...*
Geneviève wanted to cry.
*But did she ask just so she could lose?*
Currently, Hold'em was in its eighth round. Shockingly, Adelaide truly couldn't play the game. When she held a good hand, she came out too confident and her opponents folded quickly. When she had a bad hand, she was timid. Geneviève was the only one stunned by the sight.
"I'm going all in."
*How can someone spend money so recklessly...*
When Adelaide finally laid down her cards, she lost to a full house.
"Oh..."
"What a shame. I have four of a kind."
Palmina chuckled as she revealed four aces.
"Let's see. If we value your galleon at about two hundred million gold..."
As Palmina spoke, Adelaide's complexion turned pale. She didn't even seem to have calculated the losses that had been piling up.
"I've won about four hundred eighty million gold."
"..."
"You don't look like you have anything else to wager."
Adelaide's golden eyes trembled as she realized the money she had lost.
*Yes! Just get up and leave now!*
Geneviève clenched her fists and cried out to herself. But in the next moment, Adelaide looked up, as if she had realized something.
"No, wait. There's still more I can bet."
"Oh?"
"I'll wager my share of the pension from Buonaparte."
"...!"
Palmina's eyes widened. She didn't answer immediately, sitting back in her chair. This was beyond what she had expected.
"If it's a pension... how much?"
"I receive a pension of one hundred million gold every year. I'll use thirty years' worth as my stake."
"...!"
Panic spread through the room. Geneviève's jaw dropped. Adelaide, on the other hand, seemed possessed, staring at Palmina with unnervingly calm eyes.
"That's three billion gold if I win."