Chapter 113
Chris grinned slyly.
There was a simple way to make Ruina rush to find him without contacting her directly.
It was straightforward.
He’d clean out the gambling hall.
“Go!”
“Queen of Spades, Cross!”
“All in!”
Like a fish in water, Chris swept through the gambling hall, and the onlookers watched with a mix of shock and disbelief.
“Prince Christian is surprisingly good at gambling?”
“Guess the skills from his wild youth haven’t faded.”
“Look at that look in his eyes—he’s completely blinded by gambling! It’s like he’s trying to bankrupt this whole place!”
Chris shuffled the cards with a gleeful expression.
What started as a ploy to summon Ruina had quickly become genuine fun.
‘When was the last time I actually enjoyed myself?’
He realized he hadn’t taken a proper break in ages.
With more hardships ahead, he decided to make the most of this chance to truly unwind.
In other words, he was on a mission to utterly drain the gambling hall dry.
‘Well, Ruina and I are practically partners in fate—her money is as good as mine. So it’s fine if I clean her out a bit.’
Just as Chris was fully engrossed in the game, calmly entertaining the thought that would make Ruina furious, a pale voice cut through the air.
“Enough already.”
Ruina had arrived.
She’d heard the urgent news that her gambling hall was on the brink of bankruptcy.
As usual, the two of them went up to the hotel room attached to the gambling hall.
Once alone, Ruina shed her male disguise and returned to her original appearance.
“How much have you taken?! Have I done something to make you my enemy?!”
“Ah, well, I had no other way to get your attention. I figured if I kept playing, you’d come. I might’ve gone a little overboard, but you’re not upset, right?”
“‘A little overboard’?!”
Ruina’s vein throbbed visibly on her forehead at that infuriating phrase.
“Eek! How long do you think you can treat me like a pushover?!”
“Really? Sorry if I upset you. I thought we were close enough for me to come find you like this. Maybe I was wrong. Guess I’ll have to call off the plan to get exclusive rights to certain goods from the Bursen Duchy for your guild.”
“…”
Exclusive rights.
Ruina flinched.
Chris continued, teasingly.
“I thought we were close, but maybe it was just me.”
“Ah, no! We are close! I’m your eternal loyal subject!”
“Then why did you say I was treating you like a pushover?”
“Who said that?! Why does your mouth always say such nonsense? Ugh, slap, slap! You need a good scolding!”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“…Yes.”
Ruina asked cautiously.
“Are you really planning to grant exclusive rights to our guild from the Bursen Duchy?”
“Yeah. You helped with the kidnapping of Viscount Roy, so you deserve some reward.”
Thanks to Ruina’s help, they’d managed to abduct Viscount Roy.
‘I’m pretty calculating.’
Though his calculations were heavily skewed in his favor, Chris wasn’t the type to take without giving anything back.
“Thank you! Please call me your eternal pushover!”
Ruina bowed deeply, beaming with unexpected joy at the reward.
It was oddly charming to see her so demure and pretty, but she’d always been like this in her past life.
With a sly voice like a schemer rubbing its paws together, Ruina flattered him.
“Chris, you have no idea how lucky I am to have met you. I’m so grateful to the heavens for the bond we share.”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
“Oh ho ho, I’m serious. Things are progressing exactly as you said in the Duchy. Thanks to your grace, I’m so excited about how much money we’ll make from this that I can hardly sleep.”
Chris fell silent for a moment, watching the gleam of dreams in Ruina’s eyes.
‘…Not exactly the kind of jackpot you’re hoping for.’
In the end, Ruina wasn’t wrong to expect a huge payday.
But what she didn’t know was the hellish ordeal he’d have to endure along the way.
‘Well, nothing in this world comes free. To reap sweet fruit, you have to endure the hardship.’
Chris thought shamelessly and spoke up.
“You’re grateful to me, right?”
“Huh? Of course! I, Ruina, will always be loyal to you!”
“Then get the items I’m going to ask for.”
“…….”
Ruina’s face stiffened for a moment.
“Oh ho ho, what kind of items?”
“Nothing special. A few magic stones, some artifacts, and one relic.”
“…….”
He listed the details, and as expected, they were outrageously expensive.
“You… you thief… no, master thief…”
“What? You don’t want to?”
“No, no! Of course not! Oh ho ho!”
Ruina shook her head in surprise.
‘This devil! Once this is over, I swear I’m done with you! That’s it, the end!!’
Chris chuckled at how transparent Ruina’s thoughts were.
“I’m not asking for it for free. I have a conscience. You’ll get a fair price.”
He planned to bring back valuable byproducts from hunting the Gehanna demons.
They’d be worth far more than the usual ground-level demon parts, so it would be a decent trade.
“Really?”
“Yeah. When have I ever taken something from you for free?”
“…Well, I guess.”
Ruina answered awkwardly.
Though it always felt like she was being extorted, looking back, Chris had always paid his dues.
Her face brightened at the thought of getting paid, and she spoke in an overly friendly tone.
“Oh ho ho. Then I’ll trust you completely and get everything ready. Is there anything else you need besides what you mentioned?”
“Nope. Oh, how’s the situation with the Gold Cross?”
“As you said, ‘anomaly’ phenomena are appearing. We’ve even confirmed some suspicious moves from the Duchy.”
Chris nodded.
The Gold Cross disaster was truly imminent.
‘It’s probably right after the judgment duel.’
This would be a crucial turning point for what lay ahead.
How they handled this disaster would drastically change the future.
‘This incident will also have a huge impact on the Mage Empire.’
Ultimately, it would lead to the rise of the Four Kings’ Star.
In other words, it was the starting point of an era of destruction.
And that wasn’t all.
The Gold Cross—and more precisely, the Duchy’s future—would be greatly altered.
‘…I don’t care what happens to the Duchy.’
Chris’s eyes darkened coldly for a moment.
Ruina was startled by the sudden change.
It couldn’t be helped.
The Duchy of Arjen’s royal family was Chris’s original lineage.
The source of the hellish pain he’d endured in his childhood.
Honestly, Chris hoped the Duchy would fall.
There was only one exception.
Olivia.
His sister, who had been a warm light in the midst of that hell.
If not for her, he wouldn’t care about the Duchy’s future at all.
‘…I wonder if she’s doing well.’
Chris almost asked Ruina about Olivia’s well-being but stopped himself.
‘She’s probably fine. Without me around.’
Olivia, the little duchess and revered saint, had only one flaw: Chris’s existence.
The Duchy’s most important role was to unite the Gold Cross against the evil Mage Empire.
But shielding Chris, who was branded the devil’s seed, was a huge political burden.
Now that Chris was dead and gone, the obstacle blocking Olivia’s path was removed.
‘If this disaster is handled well, things will go smoothly.’
Chris vowed to resolve this disaster perfectly, if only to repay the kindness Olivia had shown him in his past life.
‘To do that, I have to get as strong as possible in the next month.’
With firm resolve, he returned to his family estate.
Simon was waiting.
“The head of the family requests your presence.”
“Is this about using the spot?”
“Yes.”
But Simon’s expression was strange.
Troubled, yet expectant.
Chris caught on immediately.
“Did the head refuse?”
“Yes. The spot isn’t just for training, and it’s too dangerous. However, there’s a condition.”
“A condition?”
“They said they’ll allow it if you prove your worth by passing a test.”
“A test? What kind of test?”
“A duel.”
“…What?”
Simon grinned.
He looked like he was having too much fun with the situation.
“It’s a one-on-one duel with the head of the family. You have to prove your qualifications in combat.”
They headed to the secret training ground.
Merian and Count Kazar were already there, their faces set and serious.
In the center of the training hall sat the avatar of Nordian—a young boy’s body in a chair.
As Chris arrived, the boy’s eyes snapped open.
Nordian’s consciousness had descended.
“I greet the head of the family.”
[Have you heard what Simon told you?]
Chris nodded, and Nordian spoke coldly.
[Why do you think I set such a condition?]
“To verify your qualifications because the spot is too dangerous to allow otherwise.”
[Wrong.]
Nordian’s gaze exploded with intensity.
At the same time, an overwhelming pressure crashed down.
[It’s to correct your reckless, thunderous foolishness.]
“!!”
[You dare ask to use the spot? Without knowing your place?]
In truth, despite the furious tone, Nordian wasn’t truly angry.
Christian’s bold audacity was something none of the other pathetic members of the family possessed.
To be honest, it even earned a certain grudging respect.
But even respect has its limits.
“Requesting to open a spot? Just to use it as a training ground?”
The Forbidden Zone of Dark Magic.
The Territory.
It was literally a no-man’s land between Gehenna and the surface world.
As long as you didn’t cross into Gehenna’s domain, demons and fiends wouldn’t appear—but in their place, all manner of dangerous magical beasts roamed.
Only a Master Class of at least rank 6 could hope to survive safely in the Territory.
“This kid doesn’t know his limits. He’s reckless to the extreme.”
It was probably due to his genius-level talent.
He treated this gamble like a casual game, taking risks far too easily.
So far, luck had kept him from failing—but fortune wouldn’t always be on his side.
As the head of the family, Nordian decided to instill some caution in Christian.
“I’ll only use magic equivalent to a rank 2—half your capacity. If you can manage to touch even the hem of my robe once, I’ll acknowledge your victory and lift the ban.”
It was an unprecedented challenge.
But no one would mistake this condition for an easy one.
Nordian was an 8-star Absolute Realm, an ‘Almighty’ class.
And he was already approaching the pinnacle of the 9-star rank.