"Flush!" Elsera screamed, leaping out of her chair and tossing her cards onto the table, her voice filled with unrestrained joy.
"Finally! My luck is coming back!" Elsera beamed, her grin wide with excitement.
"I lost again…" Rowan sighed in disbelief, his hands pressed against his head. "How did I go from having the highest hand to losing everything?"
"Not so fast, Lady Elsera," Tessa said, her voice dripping with confidence.
"What, Tessa? You want to tell me you have higher cards?" Elsera replied with a mischievous smile.
Tessa let out a quiet, knowing laugh. "You should never celebrate too soon, Lady Elsera."
With that, Tessa slammed her cards down onto the table, her laughter rising to a maniacal pitch. "Straight flush!" she declared, her tone almost diabolical as she reveled in her apparent victory.
Elsera's smile faltered, her eyes widening in disbelief. "No… that was my last money…"
Tessa's excitement only seemed to grow, her grin growing even more wicked as she continued listing her plans. "Tomorrow, I'm buying new clothes, some potions, and…" She went on, detailing everything she would spend her winnings on, all the while reveling in her apparent triumph.
But Vani, whose expression had remained neutral, spoke in his usual indifferent tone. "I haven't shown my cards yet. Should you really be celebrating so early?"
Tessa turned her gaze to him, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. "You might have been lucky earlier, but this is the end of your newbie luck."
I've won every round from the moment I joined, though…
Vani locked eyes with Tessa, unphased. "Are you so confident in your hand?"
Tessa ignored his challenge, but Vani pressed on. "How about we make things more interesting?"
Tessa paused, her laughter dying down as she eyed him with curiosity. "More interesting?"
"Yes," Vani said coolly, his voice steady. "You have around twenty gold coins left, and I have fifty. How about we bet all that's left before I reveal my cards, if you're so confident in yours?"
Tessa's face grew serious, her eyes narrowing.
"Why are you so confident?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion. "Do you have a better hand? No, even if you were lucky, you wouldn't be that lucky. Are you bluffing?"
Vani's tone remained calm and confident. "Why would I bluff in this situation? I didn't say you'd lose if you didn't accept."
Tessa frowned. "Then why would I accept?"
Vani gave a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Because you're betting everything you have left, and I'll do the same. That's about thirty extra gold coins."
Tessa's brow furrowed in thought.
You have a good hand, and it's an offer that could bring you more money. Besides, I can tell how greedy she is for money—same goes for Darius and Rowan.
"But if you refuse the deal," Vani added, his voice steady, firm, "you'll have to admit you were scared to take the deal against someone you called a newbie. Admit that you were too afraid to risk losing."
The room fell silent, all eyes on Tessa, waiting for her response.
"Fine, I accept," Tessa said, tossing her remaining coins onto the pile, her tone defiant. "But don't start crying after you lose."
"Are you sure, Tessa? This feels like a trap to me," Darius interjected, his voice filled with concern.
Vani shot him a cold, calculating look. "It's just me and Tessa on this round. The rest of you should just watch."
Darius didn't look pleased by Vani's words, but he fell silent.
Why does he care about her?
Tessa waved off Darius's concern. "It's fine. He's probably bluffing. He probably just wants us to apologize because we thought he had no money. But I won't lose with such a good hand."
Vani gave her a final glance. "Does that mean you accept my offer?" he asked, placing all his remaining coins onto the table.
"Obviously," Tessa said with an exaggerated, confident smirk. "Now show your cards so I can claim my victory."
Vani hesitated for a brief moment, then slowly tossed his cards onto the pile of gold coins.
Tessa paused, her hand frozen mid-reach the pile of gold. She looked at the pile of money, then back at Vani, confusion spreading across her face. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.
Vani placed his left elbow on the table, leaning slightly forward. His hand was clenched into a fist, his face resting on his fist, his eyes watching her intently.
"Why are you trying to take my money?" he asked, his voice cool.
The others in the room exchanged confused glances, unsure of what was happening. Even though Vani's words sounded like a trap, they all assumed he had been bluffing.
"Take a look at the cards," Vani said, his voice casual as he pointed to where his cards lay on top of the pile of gold.
Everyone stood up, drawn by his words, even the butler and the maids edging closer to get a look. As they peered at the cards, they froze in disbelief. On top of the pile of money was the best hand possible in poker—a royal flush.
Silence fell over the room. They couldn't believe it. No one could believe Vani wasn't bluffing.
Rowan was the first to break the silence. "It's my first time seeing a royal flush. I've never seen a hand like this in an actual game."
"Neither have I," Elsera added, her voice filled with awe.
Tessa opened and closed her mouth, as if trying to find the words, but nothing came out. Her expression was one of shock and disbelief.
Vani smiled faintly. "Looks like I won."
It was the first time Vani actually had fun since the tragedy at his house, a small, fleeting smile that seemed to have more weight than it should. He stood up, collecting the gold coins and pulling them close.
Tessa, finally finding her voice, spoke with a tone of accusation. "You… You cheated, didn't you?" she said, her face contorted in disbelief.
Wow. That's the same reaction I had when the old man beat me like this. What was he saying in this kind of situation? Oh, that's right…
Vani met her gaze, his expression still calm. "You can say I cheated, but without proof, it's just talk."
Actually, I didn't cheat. It was just luck that I got a royal flush.
No one spoke of cheating again, as there was no proof to back it up.
"Oh, let's see how much I've won," Vani murmured, his voice light as he began counting the coins. "One gold coin, two gold coins, three gold coins…"
He continued counting, completely unfazed, while the rest of the room watched him in stunned silence, unable to speak. Even the maids were left speechless by the spectacle they had just witnessed.