Transmigrated as Baron, Married with my Lovely Maid-Chapter 85

"You lose, Atreus...!"

Fuck.

Five more losses in a row, even when I’ve been playing cautiously.

Round six, my two-card hand totals 18 while Ulrich’s is 20. Ulirch wins.

Round seven, my three-card hand totals 19, while Ulrich’s is 20. Ulrich wins.

Round eight, my two-card hand totals 16, while Ulrich’s is 17. Ulrich wins.

Round nine, my three-card hand totals 18, while Ulrich’s is 19. Ulrich wins.

Round ten, my three-card hand totals 20, while Ulrich’s is 21 with combination Jack of Spade and Ace of Spades. Ulrich wins.

Fuck.

I lost 25,000 chips in these five rounds, and in total, I lost 30,000 chips.

Even though it was only a third of my total chips, I could feel my strength diminishing, both physical and magical.

"Ahahahaha...! You’ve lost ten times in a row, Atreus...! You’d better surrender and apologize for daring to fight Mr. Dexy! My husband is far richer and kinder than you, a mere pauper...!" Ela exclaimed, mocking me with a satisfied laugh.

"Hehheh...you may hate your ex-wife, but she’s right, Atreus. You’re truly unlucky to be trapped in this death game of Black Jack. You’ll never win, and I’ve proven it. There’s no way out of this game...and you know we’ve already completed five rounds since the last betting change...which means our stakes have increased...! From 5,000 chips to 25,000 chips...!" Ulrich exclaimed.

I felt a sinking feeling in my chest when I heard the size of the bet.

If the bet had to be 25,000 chips, that meant I would lose completely if I lost three times in a row in the next round.

I saw Ela and Ulrich smile with satisfaction at the sight of me, cornered and with no escape route at this point.

I knew they both wanted to see me fall, cry in fear, and beg for forgiveness.

But I’d rather die than give up like a loser like that.

I mustered up courage, straightened my seat, and glared at them both.

Beside me, Leysha gently held my shoulder.

Although she didn’t say a word, Leysha looked at me seriously and nodded.

Leysha realized I was in a tight spot, but she still believed I could win this gamble.

No matter how difficult I was, Leysha always believed in me and was loyal to me, and that’s what made my heart always fall for her.

"Next game...! Here are your cards, Atreus...!"

Ulrich again gave me two cards, one for me and one for him.

But something was odd.

Although it was only a glimpse, I saw Ela as if she were chanting something.

I couldn’t have been mistaken.

Her lips moved rapidly, as if she were chanting something without any sound coming out.

Then after that, she fell silent again, staring at me with a gaze filled with hatred and malice, as usual.

Thinking about it, Ela was actually a normal human being who didn’t possess magical powers like Ulrich or me, but somehow she still seemed calm in this magical dimensional casino.

Perhaps she already knew about Dezy, a.k.a. Ulrich’s abilities.

And if I thought further, it seemed she was already able to cooperate with Ulrich in this magical dimension.

My two cards showed a ten of diamonds and a nine of clubs, which meant a total value of 19. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Ulrich held an ace of clubs and a face-down card.

I didn’t stare at Ulrich’s card for long because I immediately turned my attention to Ela.

And it happened again.

Although only briefly, I saw Ela again as if chanting something very quickly, without any sound at all.

Ela’s expression was blank, clearly hiding something from me.

But I sensed that Ela wasn’t doing it just by chance.

I noticed a clear pattern in Ela’s actions, and it seemed to be related to my consecutive losses like this.

"So, that card of yours, Atreus...? Do you want to hit or stand?" Ulrich asked, amidst my gaze fixed on Ela.

I didn’t answer, and Ulrich sensed I’d given up.

He was about to reveal his face-down card, and then—

"Wait," I said suddenly, making Ulrich pause.

Ela paused in surprise when I said that, and then she slowly averted her gaze when she realized I was staring intently at her.

"Do you want to hit, Atreus?" Ulrich asked.

My cards totaled 19, and if I drew another card, the chances of going over 21 were very high.

But I felt like that wasn’t my main concern.

My gaze remained fixed on Ela, so it didn’t seem like she was chanting anything.

"Hey, Atreus...! Why are you looking at Ela all the time...?! I..."

"I asked you if you wanted to hit or—"

"Hit," I said calmly, immediately stopping Ulrich’s rambling.

"Hit? Are you serious about hitting?" Ulrich asked to confirm.

"Hit. Are you deaf? If I say hit, it’s hit."

Ulrich stopped rambling.

I saw his face tense because I was staring so intently at him.

He slowly took the card and handed it to me.

Ela and Ulrich were immediately shocked to see the card he had just handed them.

The card was the Ace of Diamonds.

I could change the Ace of Diamonds to one, making my total value 20.

"Show me your card, Ulrich."

Ulrich remained silent, tense, looking at my cards, which totaled 20.

But he realized I was observing his expression, so he pretended not to be overly surprised, then immediately revealed his cards: an ace of clubs and an eight of hearts.

For the first time, he lost.

I managed to wrest 25,000 chips back from him, bringing my hand back to 95,000.

Even though it was only his first win, I could sense Ulrich’s distress.

Ela couldn’t contain her anger.

Usually, she would mock or curse me after every round, but now she was silent, not saying a word at all.

Although it was still a bit, I began to uncover the hidden truth behind this Death Game, and the reason Ulrich always wins.

"Next game, Atreus...! You did win this time, but I—"

"Wait. I want to raise the bet. There’s no need to wait five rounds," I interrupted Ulrich.

"W-what did you say? How much do you want to raise the bet?"

"I want to raise fivefold, so the next game will be 125,000 chips!"

"What did you say...?!"