Author: alyalia

Gwendellin didn’t leave the table the entire break, sitting there with her shoulders hunched. As the ten minutes neared their end, the princesses began returning to their seats one by one.

 

Every time someone entered the pavilion, Gwendellin’s eyes met theirs, but everyone looked away in silence and hurried to sit down.

 

Looks like everyone’s decided to ignore me.

 

She tried to attract attention by lowering her head with a pitiful expression, but no one spoke to her.

 

It was too much. Honestly, everyone was benefiting from my actions, so why did they all act so pure?

 

As she bit the soft flesh inside her mouth out of frustration, conversation began at the table among the princesses. It was Nanaen who brought up the topic.

 

“Only two questions left now.”

 

Huh? Why? Why are there only two left?”

 

“Shushu, use that cute little head of yours and think. There are only three pieces left to guess the identity of. You pick one out of three, then one out of two, and that’s it. All the questions are done.”

 

Ah…!”

 

“Nana is right.” The one who responded was Orlette, who had just returned to the pavilion. Dismissing her servants, she pulled out her own chair and continued explaining. “There are only two chances left to qualify for sponsorship. So, anyone who hasn’t won even once yet should be nervous. Sister Vivi doesn’t have to worry since Sir Bellinger is holding onto first place, but as for me, Shumel, and Gwendellin, we have to make it happen within these two turns.”

 

“Two turns…!” Shumel clenched her fists tightly in determination.

 

Lilliana spoke coldly. “Still, since it’s the end, the odds are much better now. There’s a 1 in 3 chance and a 1 in 2 chance.”

 

“Shushu is worried. What if Shushu gets both questions wrong…”

 

“If that happens, this Sister Lette will make good use of Shushu’s chips.”

 

Eek! Sister Lette, why are you talking like Sister Nana? So annoying!”

 

As the conversation went back and forth, Gwendellin, who had been silently listening, had a cold glint in her eyes. They really are all hypocrites. They pretended to exchange information, but they conveniently left out the most crucial fact. And that was… The fact that Rosasia knows whose personal knight in which number.

 

Even without Regen, who had fallen behind after being poisoned, Sasha had answered correctly three times in a row. On top of that, she’d even made a large additional bet last round to pressure Gwendellin. It was clear that her certainty about Sir Heinz being in number 5 had given her the confidence to act so boldly.

 

So all you have to do is follow Rosasia’s bet. To conceal this obvious fact, the sisters were desperately bringing up probabilities and engaging in peripheral conversations.

 

Just then, Sasha returned to the pavilion and sat down quietly. It was exactly when ten minutes were up.

 

“Everyone is seated, I see. Then, let’s begin the fourth game.”

 

The roulette began to spin. The only princesses who could now be chosen were Orlette, Lilliana, and Shumel. According to the game rules, betting proceeds clockwise starting from the person chosen by the roulette’s steel ball. As a result, the princesses anxiously rechecked the seating arrangement at the table, fervently hoping.

 

Please! Let Sasha bet before me!

 

Amid the tense atmosphere, the god of probability finally made its choice.

 

“Princess Amethyst, it’s you. You have one minute.”

 

“Yes!” Shumel let out an involuntary cheer, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

 

Haa.”

 

She had expected glares from all directions, but the only one sending her a reproachful look was Orlette. The reason became clear as soon as she glanced at the seating arrangement.

 

After Orlette placed her bet, the next turn would immediately go to Sasha. In other words, everyone except Orlette would be betting after Sasha.

 

The god of probability was being unusually merciful. Not only Shumel, but everyone realized this and comforted themselves.

 

Winning is more important than gaining chips.

 

It’d be nice if at least Sister Orlette made the wrong choice.

 

As calculations were exchanged, it was time for betting. The numbers left on the betting line were 1, 4, and 6. Orlette, with a resigned expression, pushed her chips forward. “Number 6.”

 

Next was finally Sasha’s turn. With everyone watching her intently, she smiled and picked up her chip rake. “I’ll bet on number 4.”

 

What followed from the princesses’ actions was like a comedic farce.

 

Hmm, I’m drawn to number 4 too.”

 

“I’ll try number 4 as well.”

 

“Me too…”

 

“Number 4! Shushu was thinking of number 4 from the start!”

 

“It’s not like I’m copying Sister Sasha or anything…”

 

One person on number 6, and five on number 4. Orlette, the only one who went against the crowd, let out a blatant sigh as the second turn began.

 

“Raise. 40.”

 

Sasha added most of her chips to the bet. She left just enough to participate in the next game, making it an extremely aggressive move, but the other sisters welcomed it.

 

Yeah, that’s it. Gotta reduce the competition.

 

Alright, if you’re scared, just give up now.

 

Starting with Sasha, the betting resumed in a clockwise direction.

 

“I’ll call.”

 

“I only have 13, so all-in.”

 

“Here’s 40.”

 

“Everyone else is betting 40, but Sister Lilli is only betting a little and still participating. That’s not fair.”

 

“You’ll get the bonus anyway.”

 

“Still…”

 

“If you really don’t like it, Shushu, just fold.”

 

“…Fine, Shushu adds 40 too.”

 

“40.”

 

Finally, it was Orlette’s turn. Everyone expected her to fold.

 

“40.”

 

Huh?”

 

“W-What?”

 

“Sister Orlette…?”

 

The unexpected participation from Orlette sent a wave of confusion across the table.

 

What the? Why is she joining?

 

Where’s that confidence coming from? It feels ominous…

 

Now that I think about it, something has felt off since earlier…

 

There was no time to dwell on it.

 

“All turns have ended. The correct answer will now be revealed.” Marquis Osbond had a more delighted expression than ever before. “The result is quite interesting. The correct answer is number 6. All chips go to the sole winner, Princess Silver Bird.”

 

“W-What?”

 

“What do you mean?!”

 

Lilliana shouted in agitation, and Gwendellin slammed her hand on the table. The other princesses, though less intense, were equally bewildered.

 

“Number 6 is the answer?”

 

“Then why did you say Sasha got it right?”

 

“Didn’t Sister Sasha bet on number 4 with the rest of us? Then how could she win alone?”

 

Marquis Osbond calmly calculated the number of reward chips without responding to their outbursts. “Acquired chips: 323. Bonus chips: 200. A total of 523 chips were earned in this game. Congratulations, Princess Silver Bird.”

 

The next moment, the princesses’ jaws dropped. The chips had been moved not in front of Sasha, but in front of Orlette. It was then that the princesses realized.

 

“Sister Sasha and Sister Lette switched seats…!”

 

“Oh my god!”

 

Chips cannot be transferred. Therefore, even if Orlette placed the bet, as long as the chips belonged to Sasha from Sasha’s seat, the result would still count as Sasha’s. Using this loophole, Sasha and Orlette had swapped seats, confusing the other princesses.

 

Ha… So that’s what happened?” Lilliana sighed, feeling a stinging sensation at the back of her head. No matter how wide the table’s spacing was, failing to notice the change in seating was a mistake. She had been too preoccupied with following Sasha’s bets and playing along with her sisters’ charades, completely missing an important detail.

 

Meanwhile, there was someone who believed they bore no responsibility for the current situation.

 

“How cowardly! Deceiving others like that!”

 

“Go ahead, indulge in your victim complex. That childishness of yours is too tiresome to even bother with.”

 

“…!”

 

Sasha’s tone as she responded to Gwendellin’s criticism was dripping with irritation and weariness. Gwendellin trembled uncontrollably for a while, overwhelmed by humiliation. Meanwhile, Sasha and Orlette had switched back to their original seats.

 

“Sasha, keep your promise.”

 

“Marquis Osbond. I will sponsor Sir Noah, the knight number 6, with a potion and a sword.”

 

“As you command, Princess Silver Bird.”

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