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

The furrow between Karl’s brows deepened as the mocking laughter rang around the room.

He glanced at Adelyn’s cards, then shifted his gaze toward the man’s.

Only the King of Diamonds had been revealed on the other side —yet that alone was enough to tilt the odds unfavorably.

Karl’s expression darkened.

Leaning closer, he lowered his voice. "You’re still sure you’ll win?"

He waited for her to respond...

But when she didn’t, he exhaled and added, almost as if consoling her, "It’s okay. These men are pros. They tricked me... they must have tricked you too."

Tricked her?

Adelyn almost laughed.

"It’s fine," Karl continued, sighing as though he had already accepted defeat. "It was just a car. Even if you lost it, I don’t blame you." He paused briefly before adding, "Besides... didn’t you say if you lose, I’d still be winning? You’d leave my brother, after all."

Adelyn slowly turned to look at him.

Karl paused under that gaze.

"Who said I lost?" she asked, one brow lifting slightly, her tone laced with quiet confusion.

Karl blinked, then pointed at her cards. "You ... didn’t?"

She didn’t answer.

Instead, her lips curved into a faint smirk, and her eyes sharpened —turning calculating.

"Watch it closely."

She shifted her gaze back to the table, eyes resting briefly on the pile of cards before narrowing ever so slightly.

And though her face remained calm—

Her mind began moving at a terrifying pace.

The dealer showed King ... which means the hidden card probability skewed toward a 10-value.

Total probability of dealer reaching 20 ... roughly 30.77%.

If I stand at 16... I lose almost certainly.

If I hit—

Chance of drawing 10 / J / Q / K / A... 38.46% → bust.

Chance of drawing 2–9... 61.54% → survive.

Among those—

4, 5 ... push total to 20 or 21 range.

Probability ... approximately 17.3%.

Low ... but still the highest viable path.

Her gaze glinted with a decision and her fingers tapped lightly against the table.

Once.

Twice.

And then—

"Hit," she said, her word falling calmly.

Yet it was enough to freeze the entire room.

"You ... you still think you can win?" someone scoffed, though there was now a hint of uncertainty beneath it.

Adelyn looked up, her smile faint but unwavering.

"Why don’t we check and see... whether I can or not?"

"You—"

"Enough!" the leading man snapped, his patience thinning. He gestured sharply. "Give her the card."

The card slid across the table.

Adelyn picked it up with unhurried ease ... and flipped it.

A 4 of Diamonds.

A brief silence followed.

"Now that makes it 20."

This time —no one laughed.

The air shifted.

Eyes turned toward the dealer, only to notice him hesitating.

Then, with a stiff motion, he flipped his second card.

... 5 of Diamonds.

Karl leaned forward, pausing for a second, clearly stunned.

"This—"

"You’re at 15," Pier cut in quickly, pointing at the table. Then, noticing everyone staring at him, he awkwardly shrugged. "I ... just calculated it for you. You still need to draw."

The man’s jaw tightened.

His fingers curled slightly before tapping the table again.

Another card.

The room grew tense.

The men behind him —earlier so confident —now watched in silence.

The card was pushed toward him.

For the first time, he hesitated.

Not once.

Not twice.

Then, finally—

He flipped it.

... 10 of Spades.

The sound of the card hitting the table echoed louder than it should have.

"That’s 25," Karl said instantly, his voice lifting as realization struck. "You bust. And we—" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"—won," Pier finished, unable to contain himself. "Damn... that was reckless —but not stupid!"

The tension snapped.

The dealer’s expression hardened, his brows pulling together.

But Pier didn’t care.

He was far too thrilled.

"Sister-in-law, that was incredible!" he exclaimed, practically glowing. "I knew you’d beat them at their own game. Haha—"

Adelyn merely glanced at him and smiled faintly.

Then she turned to Karl. "Don’t you have something to say?"

Karl looked at her, his gaze no longer the same as before.

But when he didn’t respond, she didn’t press him.

Instead, she turned back to the men and waited.

"So..."

Before she could finish, one of them snapped, losing his composure. "Don’t act smug. You just got lucky."

Adelyn leaned forward slightly, resting her chin against her hand. "Really? Was it luck?"

The man frowned. "If not, then what? Someone who barely knows card games wins on their first try? What are we supposed to believe?"

She tilted her head, as though the idea didn’t seem unreasonable at all.

"Is it that hard to believe?"

"You—"

Her gaze dropped briefly to the cards before returning to him, calm and composed.

"The game isn’t that complicated," she said thoughtfully. "And my win wasn’t luck."

Her eyes shifted to the man sitting across from her.

"Your bust probability was around sixty per cent," she added with a casual shrug. "Even if we played a hundred times ... you’d still lose more often than not."

Silence.

Complete silence.

The men exchanged looks.

Even Karl and Pier were stunned.

"You ... can count cards?" Karl finally asked.

The men instinctively looked at the scattered deck.

"Count cards? Is that even possible?"

"With so many cards in play... how could she—"

"Is that even human?" someone muttered.

Pier slowly shook his head, his gaze fixed on Adelyn as though he had just witnessed something divine.

"She’s not human."

Everyone turned toward him.

Only to hear him say, in complete seriousness—

"She’s ... a goddess. One who descended straight from the heavens."

Adelyn paused, slightly taken aback.

She turned to look at him —only to find him staring at her as though she truly was something otherworldly.

For a brief second, she didn’t know whether to laugh or ignore him.

In the end, she chose the latter.

Turning back, she looked at the men again.

Then, straightening, she placed her hand on the table and stood up.

"Now ..." she said calmly, "it’s time for you to keep your word and let us leave."

The men frowned.

But unconcerned by their expressions, Adelyn turned toward the little girl who had been sitting quietly all this while.

"Baby ..." she called gently, gesturing to her. "Mama is done here. Let’s go home."

Eira immediately brightened, ready to get down—

"Who said you could leave??"

The voice cut through the air like a blade —sharp, cold ... and threatening.