Chapter 39
“Huh? What… do you mean?”
“Why are your hands holding dice instead of Goat Beard’s arm?”
The muscular man who was now curiously looking at the dice wasn’t anyone else—it was just a buff guy.
“Well… they just looked interesting…”
“Then who’s holding Goat Beard now?”
Everyone turned their eyes to where Goat Beard was earlier. He was now sneaking away, scooping up his chips while everyone was distracted.
“Catch that Goat Beard guy!!”
At Reina’s shout, Goat Beard quickly grabbed his chips and started running through the crowd.
“Don’t let him escape!!”
Reina chased after him, followed by the muscular man. But Goat Beard’s path was soon blocked. Realizing he was trapped, Goat Beard bit his lip, pulled out a handful of chips from his bucket, and threw them into the air.
“Chips! Chips!!”
As the expensive chips rained down, people bent down to grab them. Taking advantage of the chaos, Goat Beard started running again.
“Damn it!! What are you doing?!”
Some people realized what happened and tried to look for him, but he was already far away.
“Are we going to lose him?”
Just when Reina was about to give up, they heard a loud crash and Goat Beard suddenly disappeared from view.
“…?!”
Reina ran toward the sound and found him rolling on the ground.
“Who tripped him…?!”
He was holding his ankle and rolling around, so it looked like someone had stuck out a foot and tripped him. He started sweeping the spilled chips on the ground with his hands.
“My money! My money!!”
Even while running away, he couldn’t let go of his precious chips.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The muscular man who had lost a lot of money came over and grabbed Goat Beard by the collar. His jacket, which looked way too big for him, was yanked off, and a bunch of stuff fell out—cards, dice, and even a knife.
“A knife?”
They quickly found out what it was for. Goat Beard grabbed it and swung it through the air. His first target was the muscular man.
“Argh!!”
Blood burst from his arm—he had been cut. Women screamed like dolphins and ran away.
“Eeeek!”
“Everyone, get back!”
Goat Beard kept swinging the knife wildly. The once bright and flashy casino quickly turned into chaos. He picked up as many chips as he could and ran again.
Standing a bit away, Reina frowned.
‘Why is he running that way? Is he avoiding the guards outside?’
He wasn’t heading for the entrance but instead running deeper into the casino.
‘That’s weird…’
Reina followed him carefully, keeping a safe distance. Suddenly, he turned left and disappeared from sight.
She walked carefully down the hallway, then stopped.
“Where did he go?”
She had only lost sight of him for a few seconds, but he was gone—as if he’d vanished into thin air.
“He was just here…”
While Reina was confused and looking around, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
“Ahhh!!”
She screamed in shock, but when she turned around, she saw firm chest muscles.
“…Who?”
When she looked up, she saw a sharp jawline and smelled fresh mint.
“…You really can’t stay still, can you, Lady Reina?”
A tired voice with a mix of scolding and resignation. It was Kalheil.
“Prince Kalheil?!”
He stood with his arms crossed, staring at her as if asking what kind of mess she got into this time.
“How did you get here…?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking that? Weren’t you supposed to be busy preparing for the wedding? How did you end up here causing a scene?”
Reina protested.
“It’s not a scene—it’s justice! That scammer was cheating people out of their money. Didn’t you see?”
“Those people getting cheated weren’t innocent either. Coming here to get rich quick is already foolish.”
“Oh really? Then why are you here? Trying to get rich quick too?”
Reina’s sarcasm made Kalheil move his lips like he wanted to say something but gave up.
“…So? Why did you follow someone with a knife? Are you not scared?”
He was clearly trying to hold in his frustration, but Reina snapped back.
“Of course I was scared! That’s why I kept a safe distance. But the guards were just standing around, so I, a weak noble lady, had to follow him!”
“Didn’t you see that scammer fall?”
“So?”
“That was thanks to my long legs. I stuck my leg out at the perfect time.”
Kalheil stretched his leg toward her. Reina looked at it, then reluctantly nodded.
“Fine, nice try. I’ll give you some credit.”
Though her tone didn’t sound very sincere.
Kalheil squinted at her suspiciously and asked:
“So where is that scammer now? I thought you were following him at a safe distance?”
He looked around. But Reina was standing all alone in the empty hallway.
“Maybe I kept too safe a distance?”
“No! I definitely saw him come in here! But he vanished right after!”
“He vanished?”
Kalheil frowned and looked around more carefully. It was a quiet gallery with just a few paintings—nothing special.
“Hmm…”
As he was thinking, a group of armed guards arrived behind them.
“Your Highness! There you are! Oh? Miss Reina is here too?”
Reina recognized the man leading the group.
“Sir Bayan?”
“Miss Reina?”
He looked surprised and walked over seriously.
“How did you come here alone, without any guards? This place is dangerous!”
Only then did Reina remember—she had been so focused on chasing the scammer that she forgot to look for Amy’s knight.
‘Is Amy still looking for her knight?’
She was a little worried.
‘…With this chaos, I’m sure Amy’s knight went into hiding too.’
While Reina was thinking about Amy, Bayan’s serious face suddenly turned sly.
“Don’t tell me… you followed Prince Kalheil here because you missed him?”
Reina gave him a deadpan look.
“Do I look like a noble lady chasing love right now, Sir Bayan?”
He looked at her sweaty forehead and wide, fierce eyes.
“…Definitely not the eyes of a girl in love.”
He shook his head.
“Well, I brought the guards as you ordered, Your Highness, but… why are you two just standing here in an empty hallway?”
Reina glanced behind him and saw a familiar face among the soldiers—it was Randerson, who had once searched for the Saintess in Filonga. He still seemed to be patrolling the city.
“Long time no see, Prince Kalheil, Lady Reina.”
Reina quickly greeted him.
“…Nice to see you again, Sir Randerson.”
She remembered he once almost searched her. But now that she was Kalheil’s fiancée, she was off the suspect list.
“I followed Sir Bayan here, but… what’s going on?”
“It’s an imperial order. We’re looking for a criminal, and I think your help would be useful.”
“An imperial order?”
Randerson looked serious. Reina was shocked too.
“From the Emperor himself?”
“I thought you said you were busy,” she whispered.
Kalheil whispered back, “I was.”
So that’s why he hadn’t been visiting or asking for kisses lately.
“But wait… did the Emperor really send you to catch a scammer in a casino?”
“Something like that.”
Kalheil gave a vague answer and turned to Bayan.
“According to Lady Reina, the scammer disappeared somewhere around here.”
“Here?”
Bayan looked around curiously.
“Well… nothing seems strange.”
“Yeah, nothing unusual here.”
“There must be something,” Reina said.
“There is something,” Kalheil agreed.
Reina interrupted their weird back-and-forth.
“What are you two talking about?”
They both looked at her. Bayan smiled kindly.
“Well, in these kinds of cases, there’s usually a secret passage nearby.”
‘Ahh, secret passages? I know those. I even snuck into the palace with one.’
“…Of course, it could be magic too. But I doubt a small-time crook like him could use that. Probably… right around here?”
He knocked on the wall. A hollow sound echoed from one spot.
“…Here it is.”
Bayan smiled at Reina..
