Love Across the Light Years -The Devil CEO Indulges My Lies.

Not long after —

The door of the private room opened again, and Karl looked up, only to see a group of men entering the room.

Karl frowned at the sight of them. He stood up at once, instinctively shifting a step to the side so that Eira was shielded behind him.

"This private room is reserved. Did you come the wrong way?"

Even Pier scrambled to his feet, his brows furrowed in displeasure. "Yes, you must have come the wrong way. Leave immediately."

However, the men merely exchanged glances among themselves before looking back at them.

They were tall — broad-shouldered, thick-armed — and though their smiles were polite, there was something off about them. Something that didn’t quite sit right.

Karl suddenly didn’t like the place anymore.

"Pier, we’re leaving," he said softly.

Pier looked at him. Before he could respond —

One of the men stepped forward, his lips curving into a practiced smile.

"Relax, young masters. We haven’t come to the wrong room, nor are we here to cause any trouble."

Karl didn’t relax.

The man continued smoothly. "We came here for you." He gestured lightly towards them. "We heard you’re here looking for a way to... grow your money. So, we came to assist you in that."

Pier’s eyes lit up almost immediately. He leaned closer toward Karl and whispered, "See? I told you this place had something like that."

Karl shot him a look that clearly said you cannot possibly be this stupid.

Pier instantly read it and straightened, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I just ... got a little excited. Ignore me."

Meanwhile, the men had already moved with practiced ease. Chairs were pulled out. Cards were shuffled. Chips were stacked into neat, tempting towers.

"We can start playing a few rounds," the leading man said casually. "Friendly game. Small stakes. No pressure."

Karl’s brows furrowed deeper.

Everything looked normal.

Too normal.

But still, every instinct in him told him to walk away.

"Small hands first," the man added, almost as if he had read his thoughts. "You can stop anytime you like."

Pier heard it and leaned closer again, lowering his voice.

"Brother Karl ... I genuinely think starting small isn’t a bad idea. We can test it first."

Karl glanced at him.

Pier quickly added, more seriously this time, "I’m not forcing you, but... weren’t you ready to try anything to get money? Since we’re already here, backing out like this won’t help either."

Karl hesitated.

What Pier said ... wasn’t wrong.

Just a few rounds.

Small bets.

No harm in checking.

But —

The presence of Eira crossed his mind. And that changed everything.

This place wasn’t right for her.

His gaze shifted to her.

But he paused the next second when he saw her.

She sat there quietly, her small hands resting in her lap, her expression calm and almost... detached.

He blinked, slightly surprised. He thought the unfamiliar presence would have her bothered. But —

She wasn’t scared at all.

Not even uneasy.

In that small moment, she resembled the Old Demon more than she ever had before — calm, composed, unbothered.

Was he worrying for nothing?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he shook it off.

What was he even thinking?

She was still a little kid. Even if she resembled his Old Demon brother, it wasn’t the same.

"Don’t think too much about her," Pier said softly. When Karl looked at him, he gave a reassuring nod. "She’s fine. And with us around, she’ll be fine. We’ll play a few rounds, and if it doesn’t feel right, we’ll leave."

Karl’s brows furrowed. But he didn’t respond to Pier’s words.

Instead, looking at the girl, he muttered softly,

"... Stay close."

Eira looked at her uncle and nodded obediently.

Karl exhaled and finally stepped forward.

"Fine. A few rounds."

The men smiled — not openly, but enough.

They took their seats.

Karl and Pier grabbed theirs as well.

"If poker is fine, we can start with it," one of the men said, dealing the cards smoothly.

Karl nodded.

He wasn’t the best at poker, but he wasn’t the worst either.

Since they were playing small hands, he could test his skills.

"Brother Karl ... don’t worry," Pier chimed from the side, sounding both nervous and excited. "You’ve beaten Kim several times in poker before. You definitely have great skills."

Karl didn’t say anything.

He just watched the men dealing the cards, trying to catch any tricks they might have up their sleeves.

However, there was nothing.

The game began.

Low stakes.

Small bets.

Karl played cautiously at first — watching, observing.

Then —

He won.

Pier clapped, cheering him.

Karl didn’t react.

He simply started another round.

And won again.

Pier leaned in again, barely containing his excitement. "See, I told you. You’ve got the talent."

Karl didn’t want to let his guard down; however, at Pier’s praise, he couldn’t help but smirk faintly.

"Looks like your brother’s luck finally decided to be useful."

Another round.

Win.

And another.

Win again.

The stack of chips in front of him began to grow — steadily. Comfortably.

The earlier unease faded, replaced by a quiet confidence.

And suddenly, Karl was too engrossed to notice anything else.

"What’s the point of playing so small?" he said after a few rounds, leaning back slightly. "Let’s raise it a little."

The men exchanged quick glances.

"Of course," the leader said with an easy smile. "As you wish."

The bets increased slightly.

Karl played —

And lost.

His brows twitched, but he didn’t find anything odd.

He tapped the table. "Another round."

And lost again.

The rhythm shifted — subtly, but unmistakably.

Karl leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Another round," he said, pushing the chips to the middle. "Higher bet."

Lost again.

The chips began disappearing — faster this time.

Pier noticed it, and his excitement died instantly.

"Brother Karl... maybe we should—"

Before he could finish, Karl snapped, "Quiet."

Then he pushed the chips forward again, raising the stakes.

Lost again.

The air in the room grew heavy.

What had felt like luck before now felt like a net tightening around him.

Every move he made was countered.

Every read he made was wrong.

Within minutes, his entire stack was gone. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

By the time Karl realized —

It was already too late.