I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend Chapter 172
The Duke gaped in disbelief and exclaimed, “What…?”
However, the young man in front of him with his eyes wide open continued talking as if he was genuinely embarrassed.
“Are you saying… you haven’t manipulated anything while running the gambling house?”
“What?”
“No, I knew well that Goldman was a family of integrity, but how pure and innocent are you!”
“Wait.”
“Well, gambling involves manipulation. You must have lived such an honest life that you never thought of that…”
“Wait a minute.”
The Duke wiped his brow in confusion as he listened to the young man’s storm of words.
“Manipulation?”
To tell the truth, the Duke had never been much of a gambler in the first place.
In fact, he’d been reluctant until the Emperor suggested it.
It wasn’t a simple matter of conscience; he wasn’t desperate enough to risk money on such an unlikely wager, and he had plenty of money to begin with, so why risk it on something he wasn’t sure of?
‘All high-ranking people were like me…’
But if we manipulate, we’re not just leaving it up to luck, we’re taking control of it?
‘Then… what if I can make sure that they never lose?’
The Duke pondered for a moment, then asked in disbelief, “Still, isn’t… morally wrong?”
“Isn’t gambling itself illegal?”
That’s it again.
“What happens if they… were to find out it was rigged and protest?”
“What good was one middle-class noble who lost money, no matter how much he protested, compared to one high-ranking noble who won money?”
“…”
“Huh, I guess you really haven’t tried this before.”
Seeing the Duke still hesitating, the young man clicked his tongue slightly, then took a step toward him and spoke in a low voice.
“I’m not suggesting that you abuse manipulation to the extreme. I’m suggesting that you only do it once in a while, as a favor to a very important guest.”
The Duke’s body tilted toward the young man of its own accord.
“Only for important guests?”
“Yes. For example, suppose you were watching a horse race, but if you were allowed to do as you did, Duke, would you really enjoy it? You’d keep losing your stakes unless you were lucky?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s why you give him a secret tip.”
The young man lowered his voice as if to tell a secret.
“Horse number three seems to be in good shape today.”
“…”
“And it doesn’t have to be horse racing, either. You could be having a little fun at roulette, or talking to the dealer at blackjack.”
“…In a word.”
The Duke looked at the young man with a look of realization on his face.
“You want to plan ahead, don’t you?”
“Exactly.”
The young man continued, somehow excited, “How fun will it be? If they just play with their hands, the jackpot will often be doubled, and before they know it, the small stake will increase like snow.”
“…”
“And when he was in the midst of all this excitement, someone would say to him, You’re a very lucky man!”
“…”
“Then some people will think, ‘Am I really that lucky?’ And before you know it, they’ll be back at the gambling house again.”
The Duke listened to the young man’s words in silence, shaking his head, then asked, “Then perhaps it would be better to continue to entertain them?”
“For the time being, yes. But wouldn’t it be more impatient if a person lost once or twice? The number of manipulations can be gradually reduced, so…”
The young man said with a wicked grin on his face.
“Until they get addicted.”
“…!”
The Duke murmured in admiration.
“That’s the purpose, isn’t it?”
“Of course. As long as they’re addicted, it’s a done deal, isn’t it?”
“Indeed!”
“Besides, the more money they spend, the more money the gambling house makes, so what’s to lose?”
“There’s nothing to lose…”
The young man was actually right. If they were to gamble away their neutrality, they wouldn’t just win the vote, they wouldn’t be able to change their minds later.
In a way, it was like a drug.
Give them a taste for free, get them hooked, and then cook the addict to his liking.
And, as the young man said, it was a business he had nothing to lose.
He was the owner of a gambling house, after all, and he didn’t have to go to the trouble of doing the underhanded work; he could just say a word to the dealers and change the odds to his liking.
“As long as it doesn’t get caught, right?
The young man agreed, it’s not something you often do, and if done once or twice as entertainment, there’s little risk of getting caught.
“…”
The Duke’s mind was already made up, but he couldn’t answer. If he accepted the young man’s offer here and now, there would be no turning back. He had a strong premonition.
As the Duke hesitated, the young man unexpectedly spoke first, “You don’t have to decide right now. You can think about it slowly and then tell me.”
“And what if I change my mind?”
“Then there’s nothing I can do, I’ll just have to go find someone else…”
The young man smiled his deepest smile.
“Because I know the Duke will give a good answer.”
“That’s arrogant.”
The young man could only laugh wordlessly at the absurdity in the Duke’s voice. He placed his hand on his chest and spoke softly in reverence.
“I hope you make a wise choice.”
✨
Clink, clink—
After that, the young man continued talking with the Duke about other things, and only after a considerable amount of time had passed was he able to leave the Duke’s office.
The young man headed forward without looking back, and River Goldman followed him.
For a while, they walked down the hallway without any conversation.
The sun, which had been at the center of the sky until they arrived at the ducal residence, was now tilting over the dusky hills.
As they stared at the scenery, someone suddenly spoke up.
“Are you sure… you’re okay with that?”
It was River Goldman.
Gone was the expressionless face that had stood in front of the Duke only moments before, replaced by a faint look of concern on his face.
The young man glanced over at him and replied nonchalantly.
“Was there anything wrong?”
“That was…”
“Or are you afraid now? That you cheated on your father.”
“That’s not it.”
He replied firmly, then stammered, “Manipulation… I’m just wondering if this was right…”
“What the hell, it’s not like you’re screwing over a good man.”
“I’ve never done that before…”
“And it looked okay, didn’t it?”
“What?”
The young man looked back at him and asked with a shameless grin.
“Duke, didn’t you think we were almost there?”
“…”
River Goldman smirked at the rather confident tone.
“If you know, why do you ask?”
“Because you want to hear it from someone else’s mouth?”
“From what you said, he seemed eager, but I don’t know… because my father was somehow suspicious…”
The young man took the words lightly.
“But he’s also greedy.”
“…”
“It’s an amount that can never be ignored. Plus, it’s an opportunity to control the nobles as you please.”
“But…”
“Sure, they might do a background check on me, but that doesn’t matter. How are they going to dig up a mysterious ghost top who doesn’t even belong anywhere?”
At the mention of ghost tops, River Goldman’s expression changed strangely. He stared sideways at the young man for a moment, then spoke up in disbelief.
“What the hell are you…?”
But he couldn’t bear to speak.
Before they knew it, they were out of the Duke’s residence.
A carriage stood at the gate, as if it had been waiting for them for a long time, and the young man slid into it as if it were familiar.
After a moment’s hesitation at the sight of the young man, River Goldman approached the carriage, leaned down, and peered inside.
“…!”
There was a man sitting there whose appearance had suddenly changed.
A woman with wavy brown hair down to her waist, tied up in a bun, and sparkling red eyes twinkling mischievously.
A woman he knew well.
‘Dahlia Averine.’
“What are you thinking, Princess?”
✨
When Lord River, O’Neill, and Jeron were gathered together to discuss how to stop the legalization of gambling.
I suddenly thought of a way.
“Why don’t we let them see firsthand how harmful it was?”
In other words.
‘I’ll humiliate him with gambling.’
I wanted them to experience firsthand what it’s like to gamble badly and lose all your money in one fell swoop.
When Jeron heard my plan, he scratched his head and asked, “How are you going to do that?”
“Of course…”
I added with a chuckle, ““Rigging the game, you know, upon manipulation.”
Even then, I thought the Duke was already manipulating and running the gambling house.
Because in the world where I lived before, illegal gambling was rampant.
But the Duke wasn’t quite that savvy, apparently, and hadn’t yet touched the odds, so I pushed him to manipulate the game.
“That way, when something goes wrong, it’s all the Duke’s fault.”
And the key was when the Duke listened to me and started to get involved in the game.
“When the Duke attracted other high-ranking nobles and the popularity of the gambling house reached its peak.”
“Yes.”
“Then I will do the same and slightly manipulate the results.”
“What?”
“To make sure the outcome was the opposite of what the nobles were betting on.”
Turning to Jeron, who looked dumbfounded, I explained, holding up a finger.
“It’s easy to say. For example, if horse number one was supposed to win, we’d intentionally trip over a stone, or cause the rider to have a physical ailment, or change the numbers so that horse number three would win…”
“No, wait, wait a minute”
Jeron interrupted, puzzled, “That won’t be easy, won’t the Duke have already done it?”
“That’s why I’m going to use Lord River’s help to get inside first, and then I’ll do the same, or if that doesn’t work…”
I glanced to the side and smirked.
“There’s O’Neill.”
The next Master of Magic Tower, the one who could do anything.
“A few maneuvers to overturn the outcome the Duke has set in stone, and the nobles he’s woven in will lose all their stakes.”
“…”
“What happens to the nobles who become poor in an instant?”
Jeron muttered through clouded eyes as he saw me grinning broadly.
“They’ll turn to demons.”
With Jeron’s affirmative response, I sprang into action.
It was O’Neill’s idea to change my appearance and go directly to see the Duke.
While I was thinking about how to find someone to move for me, O’Neill suggested that I go myself.
— ‘Why don’t you just use magic to change your appearance?’
— ‘But what if they find out I’m using magic?’
— ‘They won’t notice unless they have their own personal wizard with them, and even then…’
She smiled smugly and stated, “They won’t recognize my magic.”
O’Neill’s words convinced me to take matters into my own hands.
And she was right. No one realized that I was Princess Averine, and I had been successful in my conversation with the Duke.
“It’s only a matter of time before we sign a contract.”
A few days later.
I received word that the Duke wanted to see me again.
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