Chapter 26
Ten billion gold was roughly the cost of maintaining an entire territory for three years.
In other words, twelve billion gold—an amount exceeding ten billion—was no small sum even for nobles.
The price of the “favor” I paid the day I first met Derion, when I calmed him down… it was jaw-dropping.
On top of that, there was the gold I’d squeezed out of Dex under the pretext of a “life allowance.”
“Oh—by any chance, do you not have a Number 15 horse? It looked like there were about twenty or so. Did I see wrong? Hmm—.”
At my words, Duce’s smile deepened.
“That can’t be. We pride ourselves on being larger than any other racetrack. Even if we didn’t have one, we’d make it.”
It was obvious what he was thinking inside—something along the lines of a clueless little girl throwing all her money on an old horse.
Well, it was the reaction I was trying to provoke.
Just how stupid did he think I was, to not even bother hiding it on his face?
“Then I’ll go with Horse Number 15!”
“An excellent choice, my lady.”
I looked down coldly at the back of Duce’s purple head as he exaggeratedly kissed the back of my hand.
You’re screwed, bastard.
Money really was a wonderful thing.
We were led to what was clearly a VIP box.
“If you need anything or feel uncomfortable, please pull this red cord here. One of our staff waiting outside will come in immediately.”
This place was so lavish that you could pluck it out and drop it straight into a grand ducal residence without it feeling out of place. It was perfectly separated from the outside.
“Please, enjoy yourselves.”
With the two big dogs flanking me on either side, I sat in the seat of honor and imperiously crooked my finger at Duce, who was about to leave after bowing.
“Hey, mister.”
Duce, who had been leisurely fanning himself, froze.
There was no response.
He clearly hadn’t expected to be addressed as “mister.”
A question mark practically popped up over his head, and Aches’s low voice spread through the space.
“Lady Esia is calling you.”
Only then, spurred by Aches’s murderous prompting, did Duce snap out of it and paste on a smile.
“Please feel free to call me Duce, my lady.”
“Yes, mister. By the way, it’s my first time at horse racing. If Horse Number 15 comes in first, how much do I get?”
I crafted the gaze of a gambler chasing a long shot, eyes lost in a hopeless future.
I didn’t forget to clasp my hands together and look up at Duce with feigned rapture.
At the sparkle in my eyes, Duce’s perfectly drawn smile grew even deeper.
“You’re asking about the payout. The payout is five times the bet—meaning you’ll receive an amount five times the value of the ticket you’re holding. And please, call me Duce.”
“This thing?”
I stared at the flat ticket, flashing depending on how it caught the light, with wide, round eyes.
“Hmm, it just looks like shiny paper to me. How do you know this is really a betting ticket, mister?”
At my suspicious expression, a vein popped on Duce’s forehead.
Not because he was being doubted.
“It’s a ticket approved by the Dnamis Empire, famed for its absolute authority. Even if a legendary dragon appeared, it couldn’t be forged. So, my lady, you may rest easy and look forward to the day you become the owner of a sixty-billion-gold prize. And if you would call me Duce, this Duce would be very pleased.”
“Yes, mister.”
That was it.
Snap. A vein bulged on the other side of his forehead too.
But I don’t want to.
I knew my behavior was childish.
But just for now, I planned to act as childish as my younger-looking appearance allowed.
“Haha. In that case, please call me whatever makes you comfortable, my lady.”
“?”
But only for a moment.
After regaining control of his expression, Duce spoke as if revealing a great secret.
“Oh, that reminds me—I neglected to mention that at the <Sapros Racetrack>, no winner has emerged for nine consecutive rounds, so the accumulated betting pool is enormous.”
The way Duce rubbed his hands together looked even more suspicious, perhaps because of his half-lidded eyes.
“How about it? If you purchase this <Sapros Token> for a mere three hundred million gold, we’ll also give you an additional token that grants you double the winnings from the ninth round.”
“……”
“For reference, the accumulated prize money from the last nine rounds totals twenty billion gold.”
Oh, really?
There was a reason he’d introduced himself not as a merchant, but as a peddler.
“With this single token, you’d gain an additional forty billion gold.”
But I didn’t have any more money.
“If the Number 15 horse you chose comes in first, you’ll become the owner of a total of one hundred billion gold! Isn’t that intoxicating just to imagine?”
Just as I was about to refuse, Aches pulled a sheet of golden paper from his coat.
“This will do.”
With an elegant gesture, a pen glided across it, lines of numbers flowing over the gold surface.
In an instant, the blank paper transformed into a check.
“As expected of the Blessed Royal Family, favored by the gods!”
Duce handed the check to a staff member and took out the token.
“It seemed like Lady Esia wanted this.”
But the moment Aches received the token pushed toward him, he looked at me.
“Will you take it?”
Just as I was about to refuse the token that had landed in my hands—
Bwooooo—!
The long blare of brass instruments rang out, and I missed my chance.
“May the gods’ fortune be with you.”
“And with you as well, Lord Aches.”
So instead of refusing, I accepted it happily.
His character might have been rotten, but Duce seemed quite capable.
Despite all that chaos, the race started right on time.
When the announcer finished speaking, the horses lined up at the starting line one by one.
Some looked a bit uneasy from earlier events, but most seemed to have calmed down.
“That one’s Horse Number 15?”
I muttered in disappointment when I saw a horse—wearing the number 15—that only lazily appeared after even the last horse, Number 30, had taken its place at the line.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“……”
Horse Number 15 looked no different from before.
Old. Patchy hair. A sorry excuse for a horse.
On top of that, its cheeks were stuffed with half-chewed hay from the waiting room.
Munch… munch… muuun—ch…
“It’s slow at chewing too!”
“Oh dear, appearances can be deceiving. You needn’t worry. As I explained earlier, that Number 15 once ran wild on the battlefield. It survived being hit by a fourth-class mage’s attacks fifteen times.”
“So that’s why it’s Number 15?”
“That’s not an entirely wrong deduction.”
“Haaah… If it got hit by magic fifteen times, maybe you should let it rest……”
It was an even more impressive horse than I’d thought.
I sank back into my seat with a heavy sigh.
Regardless—
Beep! The race began.
The horse that took the lead first was the one with the most developed leg muscles.
“Woooo—! Run! Run!”
Once it started, even I began to feel tense from the crowd’s excitement.
Before long, the muscular horse lost the lead to one that ran at a steady pace.
“Go! Overtake it!”
“It’s happening! More, more!”
But only briefly—soon, another horse with strong endurance stole the lead, and now first place was changing every three seconds.
The race required five laps, and only two remained.
I glanced sideways at Horse Number 15.
Munch… muuun—ch…
“Are you still chewing?!”
I shouted, sounding desperate—though of course, it was an act.
And then, the final lap.
The crowd’s excitement reached its peak, and harsh shouts erupted everywhere.
“Yes! Keep going!”
“No! I bet everything on Number 1!”
“Number 3! Number 3!”
“Number 19! Number 19!”
“Number 30! Win!”
People shouted the numbers they’d bet on from all directions.
As expected, no one called out for Number 15.
“Crush them!!”
Whoever that was—excellent taste.
By now, the warm-up was more than enough.
Without even watching the race, I sent a wink toward Derion, who had been watching only me.
Now, my lord duke.
“I like Shasha too!”
“?”
Wink, wink.
Now, I said now, my lord duke!
“I like Shasha the best too!”
“……”
This was bad. Telepathy wasn’t working.
At this rate, I was about to get screwed.
Wink, wink, wink.
I turned my back to Duce and frantically signaled like someone severely lacking magnesium, but still, my feelings didn’t get through.
Seeing that dopey expression, I couldn’t even get mad.
“Come to think of it, there’s a beast here too.”
“Grr?”
“Yes. How about you go up onto the racetrack?”
“Lord Aches?!”
Nice shot! At Aches’s sudden provocation, Derion bared his teeth.
“Oh—perhaps not a beast, but livestock?”
The round pupils slit vertically like a predator’s in an instant.
And then—
“Prrrheee—!”
Crash! Thud—!
Horses that had been running well suddenly veered off, tangled legs, and fell.
Thankfully, none were seriously injured, but once chaos erupted, the race couldn’t easily resume.
“What is this?!”
“Where’s the person in charge? Bring them here now!”
“My money!!”
Munch… munch… muun—ch?
Amid the uproar, everyone’s gaze focused on the one horse that remained calm.
“Number 15……”
Clop… clop… clop……
Rather than avoiding the fallen horse ahead, Number 15 simply crushed it underfoot and passed by unhurriedly.
Plodding along at its steady four-beat gait, it even seemed relaxed.
Only ten meters remained to the finish line.
“Don’t tell me……”
I heard Duce’s stunned muttering beside me.
Five meters.
“No way… that can’t be……”
At his words, Aches leaned close and whispered near my ear.
“There’s a saying in your homeland, isn’t there? That ‘what if’ can kill people.”
Hehe. At Aches’s playful expression, I let out a playful laugh too.
Three meters.
A heavy silence fell over the racetrack.
The only sound was the old, shabby horse chewing hay.
Munch… munch……
One meter.
And finally—
Gulp.
“……”
“……”
Beep! The race ended.
First place was Horse Number 15.
“This can’t be!”
Duce shouted, gripping the railing with a disbelieving expression.
But the result didn’t change.
Looking down at Duce, who had collapsed onto the floor in shock, I spoke brightly.
“The Sapros Racetrack first-place prize is sixty billion gold. Plus forty billion—double the accumulated winnings from the last nine rounds. That’s a total of one hundred billion gold.”
“!”
“Hand it over.”
“L-Lady, wait! There’s something I haven’t told you—!”
I looked down coldly at Duce’s squinting eyes as he sat there.
“Now.”
Clatter. Duce’s ornate fan fell to the ground.
