Intense Initiation (2)
The woman before me only needed to get one more answer right for her to win.
Gail let out a snort of laughter.
“But are you really calling your victory already, nanny?”
Unlike Gail, who wanted to savor the game, she seemed eager to end the bet as quickly as possible.
Hurrying meant she was anxious. And anxiety meant her judgment was clouded.
That’s not how you gamble.
Gail let a vile smile creep across his face as he dropped the ball into the center cup this time. Then he began swirling his hands again.
Tap.
His hands stopped once more.
“So this time…”
“Right.”
Again, there was no hesitation.
Her utterly decisive answer brought silence over the onlookers.
But Gail was smiling.
He slowly lifted the cup on the right.
“What a shame, nanny.”
Unfortunately, the ball was not in the cup Rachel had chosen.
Gail shook his head with feigned regret and flipped over the far-left cup. Only then did the ball appear in his grasp.
“Puhahaha—!”
At that moment, everyone except the prince and his nanny burst into laughter.
Gail looked at her and softened his brows.
“My condolences, nanny.”
“You still have one more chance, after all.”
Even after wasting one opportunity, Rachel spoke as if it didn’t bother her at all.
She’s trying so hard to look calm.
Gail chuckled lowly as he watched her.
No matter which cup that woman chose, the result would be the same.
This was a stage where no one but himself could be the winner.
Because the game was designed that way from the start.
Gail exchanged a glance with the orange-haired boy standing beside him. Then he offered a relaxed smile, as if in consideration for Rachel, who would soon lose.
“This is the last round.”
Tap.
Once again, Gail’s lightning-fast hands came to an abrupt stop.
“Which one?”
“Orange hair. Left hand.”
It was strange.
The ever-confident Gail froze on the spot as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.
Rachel stared at him steadily.
In her green eyes, shimmering with an odd gleam, Gail’s flustered face was clearly reflected.
“What? What the hell is she talking about?”
“Orange hair? The only one with orange hair here is that guy.”
The gang began to murmur among themselves.
Meanwhile, the only orange-haired boy in the group broke out in a cold sweat. As if he had something to hide, he suddenly shouted.
“W-what are you saying?! I’ve been standing right here the whole time!”
“Shall I check what you’re holding in your hand myself?”
At Rachel’s words, the orange-haired boy flinched.
“I-I don’t know what you’re—!”
He stumbled backward as if ready to bolt.
But Rachel had no intention of letting him go.
In an instant, she grabbed his left wrist and twisted it.
“Ack!”
With a short scream, the strength left his left hand, and something inside it dropped to the ground with a dull thud.
It was the ball.
Edwin, along with all the other boys, stood with their mouths agape.
The only one who remained composed was Rachel. Without a word, she picked up the ball that had fallen to the floor.
She squeezed it between two fingers.
Remarkably, the crushed ball immediately sprang back to its original shape.
“It’s a rubber ball.”
“G-give that back!”
The orange-haired boy, face flushed with shame as if his secret had been exposed, lunged at her.
But Rachel lightly spun away to dodge him, then continued speaking while looking at Gail.
“Earlier, this boy was squatting right next to you. When you spun the cups, you deliberately bounced the ball out, and he must have caught and hidden it.”
At her polite explanation, both Gail and the orange-haired boy grimaced.
The same question flashed across both their faces at once.
How the hell did she notice?
As if answering their silent question, Rachel added more detail.
“You bounced it toward your own side so the person sitting across couldn’t see, and he snatched it from beside you.”
With an expressionless face, Rachel grabbed one of Gail’s arms.
A ball of the exact same shape rolled out from his sleeve.
“Of course you prepared multiple balls. You needed to secretly slip one into the cup your opponent didn’t choose.”
At her words, the orange-haired boy bit his lip.
Rachel’s guess had been perfectly accurate—painfully so for the two involved.
“W-what the…?”
“Wait, so Gail tricked all of us too?”
“You were in on it with him? What about my money?”
It seemed the two hadn’t only deceived Rachel and Edwin.
Amid the murmuring boys, the orange-haired one glanced nervously at Gail.
Gail silently glared at Rachel for a moment, then clicked his tongue.
Now that his trick had been exposed, there was no point in trying to hold out.
“Take it. We’ll say you won the bet.”
Gail tossed the bracelet onto the box like he was giving alms.
“Damn bad luck. Tsk.”
He spat in Rachel’s direction and turned away.
His extremely rude behavior made Rachel’s brows furrow deeply, but he didn’t see it.
“What are you looking at?”
Instead, Gail shot a menacing glare at the boys staring at him.
Intimidated by that look, none of them dared step forward.
After all, they had no courage to defy the youngest son of a count and the apprentice of the emperor’s cherished craftsman.
Gail looked down on the boys with contempt before turning to leave.
But there was one person who dared disturb his mood.
“Did you use the same trick against His Highness?”
It was Rachel, the prince’s nanny.
“Truly impressive, deceiving a child who knows nothing. How very fitting for a vulgar street thug.”
“What did you just say?”
At the biting mockery, Gail’s mouth twisted.
“If you’re bold enough to commit fraud against a member of the imperial family, I assume you’re prepared for the consequences?”
With a face full of fury, he rushed at Rachel and grabbed her by the collar.
“I went easy on you because you’re a bitch. Just shut up and get lost.”
Gail growled the words into her ear.
“Went easy? On what? Who do you think you’re fooling with such a pathetic trick?”
The sudden drop into casual speech and her unwavering confidence made Gail’s expression change.
The woman with an angelic face was now baring her teeth in a smile.
It was a wicked grin, more like a demon than an angel.
She leaned in until her face was inches from his and whispered.
“Anyone who commits fraud against a member of the imperial family is guilty of insulting the royal house and faces beheading. You should have known who you were messing with.”
At the clear ridicule, Gail’s face trembled.
“The prince you so casually looked down on happens to be a member of the imperial family. Surely you didn’t fail to consider that much?”
It was an undeniable fact.
But Gail tried to keep his composure and shot back.
“S-so what? He’s just the Shabby Prince. Everyone knows the Third Prince is treated worse than the servants in the emperor’s palace.”
Rachel listened, then clicked her tongue in disbelief.
“Do you actually believe that? A member of the imperial family remains one even in death. You can’t possibly be ignorant of the fact that insulting a royal is punished the same as treason?”
No matter how noble Gail’s status, it was still beneath that of a prince who carried the emperor’s blood.
That truth would not change even if the sky fell.
“A mere noble’s son and an imperial prince.”
Seeing Gail’s face turn deathly pale, she curled her lips into a wide smile.
“If it were you, which one would you choose?”
Grind.
Gail clenched his teeth.
If anyone decided to make an issue of this, he was as good as dead.
“Tch!”
With a frustrated click of his tongue, Gail shoved Rachel away by her collar.
He had put quite a bit of strength into it, yet she stood firm and simply brushed off her collar.
Her relaxed demeanor seemed to infuriate him even more, and he huffed angrily.
“Just you wait. I’ve memorized your face.”
He turned and fled the scene with the boys behind him.
Rachel didn’t bother to stop them.
Now that their trust in their leader had been shattered, that group wouldn’t last long.
At that moment, the orange-haired boy, who had stayed until the very end, approached her hesitantly.
“Um… I’m sorry.”
The unexpected apology made Rachel raise an eyebrow.
“I was just doing what Gail told me to…”
It was more of an excuse than a proper apology, but still.
Rachel spoke to the orange-haired boy in a firm voice.
“You should be apologizing to His Highness, not to me.”
“Ah.”
The orange-haired boy quickly bowed his head to Edwin, who stood beside her.
“I am truly sorry, Your Highness. I will never be rude to you again.”
Edwin looked visibly flustered.
It was as if he had never received an apology before.
But that only lasted a moment.
The young prince straightened his back and declared in a loud voice.
“I’ll forgive you just this once. If you do it again, I really won’t let it slide. Got it?”
Edwin puffed out his chest as if he had never been intimidated at all.
Having received forgiveness more easily than expected, the orange-haired boy kept bowing repeatedly before disappearing into the distance.
Only then could Rachel truly take in the appearance of the prince she was meant to care for.
Brilliantly shining golden hair. Blue eyes that sparkled like embedded sapphires. Smooth, snow-white skin.
Up close, the prince was strikingly beautiful.
Despite his radiant looks, the sight of his painfully thin frame and pale complexion visible beneath his clothes was quite pitiful.
Then the prince’s gaze turned toward her.
“Who the hell are you?”
His unfriendly stare and sharp tone caught Rachel off guard for a moment.