Episode 57
The Dark Maga’s family name was Baron, and their castle was called Baron Castle.

As expected from a castle ruled by the Dark Maga, it was enormous.

‘If I’m going to ruin the plans of the Marquis of Langham, I’ll need money first.’

Christian crossed his arms.

Not just any money—he needed a huge sum.

‘Well, that’s not a problem. I can always borrow from someone else.’

There were plenty of wealthy people in the world; all he had to do was empty their pockets.

First things first, he decided to start having some real fun.

Baron Castle was well known for its indulgences and pleasures.

“Bring the drinks!”

“H-But—”

“Ha! Don’t you know who I am? I am Christian van Baron, the bloodline of the Dark Maga! Soon to be the Duke! Can’t you bring me a drink right now?”

Christian threw himself into playing the part of a reckless noble.

Surprisingly, it suited him well.

‘If I’m going to party, I might as well do it right.’

He didn’t sense any suspicious eyes watching him.

But Baron Castle was the stronghold of the Dark Maga. If he showed even the slightest hint of suspicious behavior, it would be reported to the Marquis of Langham immediately.

‘If I’m going to party hard, no one will suspect a thing.’

Honestly, that was half an excuse.

He just wanted to have fun.

‘If not now, then when? I’m always stuck training, training! All I ever wanted was the life of a lazy noble with a silver spoon! I want to party!’

He let loose and had a blast.

Well, except for the alcohol.

The maids were as strict as ever about that.

Even threatening them with the Dark Maga’s authority didn’t get him a drop of alcohol. Christian had no idea how the previous ‘Christian’ had managed to get any drinks.

So, he was stuck with ginger ale in hand.

‘Damn it, I hate ginger ale! Ginger juice is the worst!’

Aside from the lack of alcohol, he partied like a wild man.

He was having so much fun that voices started drifting in.

“Still a wild one, huh?”

“Didn’t they say he changed? That he absorbed an enormous amount of dark energy during the castle’s dark ritual?”

“Who knows. Thought he changed, but he’s the same. A wild spirit never dies, I guess.”

There were clicks of tongues here and there.

Christian faintly smiled and focused even harder on enjoying himself.

‘Opportunities to party like this don’t come around often!’

His favorite was card games.

He threw himself completely into the game.

“That young master lost again!”

“Shouldn’t someone stop him?!”

Christian shouted excitedly,

“Another 10,000 rupees!”

The game hall manager looked troubled.

“Sir, you’ve already racked up a debt of 100,000 rupees. Maybe it’s time to stop?”

“Do you know who I am? I’m Christian, the heir to the Dark Maga! And you think 100,000 rupees is enough to stop me? Another 10,000 rupees!”

He lost another 10,000 rupees almost immediately.

This repeated several times.

Christian’s debt at the game hall surpassed 200,000 rupees.

The atmosphere in the game hall turned icy.

“Shouldn’t someone really stop him now?”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“Are these guys clueless? Why does he keep winning? What’s going on?”

Even as a wild noble, Christian was the bloodline of the Dark Maga ruling Baron Castle.

Yet he was losing over 200,000 rupees in one sitting?

That crossed a line.

But the most anxious person was the game hall manager.

‘What is he doing? Why does he keep winning?!’

The manager shot a murderous glare at the dealer.

It was customary to let the Dark Maga’s maids lose a little when they came to play.

But this guy was practically draining the family’s fortune. It was maddening.

‘Do you want to get your head chopped off?’

But the dealer, pale-faced, signaled back.

[This is strange. I don’t want to win, but the cards keep coming out weirdly.]

Card games are games of chance.

Unless you cheat, it’s impossible for one side to keep winning like this.

But who would dare cheat against a member of the Dark Maga?

Besides, this ‘Rudolph’ game hall was run directly by the massive Rudolph Trading Company of the Mage Empire, and they never cheat their customers.

The problem was, more and more people were starting to suspect something.

“What’s going on? Is he really cheating?”

“Five consecutive straights? Is that even possible? The odds of that hand are one in 170,000.”

“Just now it was eight consecutive odd-even hands? Those rare hands twice in a row? The odds of that are one in 800 million!”

Christian lost another 20,000 rupees.

He was so excited that he tilted his head in confusion.

“Something’s off. Why are the cards like this?”

At that moment, the game hall manager dropped to his knees in a panic.

“O-Oh, it’s a misunderstanding!!”

“We never cheated!”

Everyone in the game hall turned pale and bowed their heads.

“Then why? Am I just an idiot who lost like this?”

“N-No, absolutely not! We don’t know what happened, but please forgive us! Please calm your anger!”

The managers begged for forgiveness, not even sure what they’d done wrong.

‘Hmm, I kind of feel sorry for them.’

Christian thought to himself.

There was only one reason for these strange results.

He was cheating.

On purpose.

To lose.

Why?

To set up an accusation.

‘Well, the staff didn’t do anything wrong, but Rudolph Trading Company has plenty of sins.’

It was a famous trading company.

Christian had a deep history with them from his past life.

“W-We’ll cancel all the debts the young master has incurred! No, we’ll even give you compensation!”

“Do you think I’m going to just take a few coins and walk away?”

“N-No, of course not!!”

“Bring me the person in charge.”

“…Yes?”

Christian curled his lips coldly.

“You’re not going to let this slide just because it’s a big mistake, are you? I want to hold your manager personally accountable.”

---

He was led to the top-floor VVIP room of the hotel connected to the game hall.

“Please wait a moment. The branch manager will be here shortly.”

“You’d better not be late. My patience isn’t endless.”

“Y-Yes, I understand!”

The game hall manager hurried away.

Christian sat cross-legged on the plush, high-end sofa.

“Just like Rudolph Trading Company. Everything here is top-notch.”

He smiled slyly.

“Even if I drain them dry, it won’t show.”

Too harsh?

Not at all.

Christian had a deep history with Rudolph Trading Company from his past life.

Mostly bad.

‘I got played by the trading company’s owner more times than I can count.’

Christian frowned deeply.

He was a formidable merchant.

Christian had been stabbed in the back several times.

‘Of course, I paid them back many times over later.’

Actually, it wasn’t just payback—he turned them into his personal cash cow.

Almost like their wallet.

• How long are you going to keep milking me, you bastard?!

• Until the world ends?

The trading company owner’s voice echoed like a distant memory.

He really did keep milking them until the world’s end, but Christian never let go of the grudge.

He was a stingy man. Once stabbed in the back, he never forgot.

‘Since fate has brought us together again, I’ll have to make him my cash cow once more.’

Coincidentally, he was just thinking he needed a personal source of funds. Perfect timing.

‘First, a drink.’

He poured some liquor from an antique glass bottle into a cup.

Everyone was so strict about alcohol that he hurriedly took a sip.

‘…Damn it, it’s ginger ale. These damn fools.’

They’d brought ginger ale because Christian was underage!

He scowled just as the door opened.

A strikingly handsome young man appeared.

“I greet Christian van Baron Kazaar, the renowned heir of the Dark Maga. I am Rubid, the head of Rudolph Trading Company.”

Christian’s face showed a flicker of surprise.

The head of the trading company himself?

No, that wasn’t the reason.

‘Look at this.’

The Rudolph Trading Company’s owner he knew was a woman.

But this person was a man.

What was going on?

‘Interesting.’

Christian, already aware of the trading company owner’s ‘secret,’ smiled quietly.

Rubid, who introduced himself as the head, had striking features.

Dark brown hair, blue eyes.

A bright, likable face.

His soft facial lines gave him a strong androgynous look—he could almost be mistaken for a woman at first glance.

With an intrigued expression, Christian downed the ginger ale in his glass.

“So, you’ve heard the story, I assume?”

“Yes. Honestly, I don’t understand what happened. A card game scam involving the young master—it’s baffling.”

“So, you’re saying it wasn’t your fault?”

“No, absolutely not. But since a noble of such stature was upset, we can’t say we bear no responsibility.”

Rubid handed over an envelope.

“As a token of apology, all debts the young master incurred at the game hall will be nullified. Also, please accept this small gift.”

Christian opened the envelope to find the Rudolph Trading Company’s emblem stamped on it.

“If there’s anything you desire, please tell us. We can procure any item at cost.”

Rudolph Trading Company ran an auction house.

They could easily obtain all sorts of rare and precious items.

“Hmm, can I ask for something now?”

“Please do.”

“Bring me Ruina.”

“…Excuse me?”

For a moment, a crease appeared on Rubid’s face.

Then, as if lying, he smiled again.

“What do you mean?”

“You know who Ruina is, don’t you?”

“Of course… She’s a famous merchant on the Union side, isn’t she?”

Gypsy Ruina.

One of the Union’s top merchants who ran the ‘Dear Trading Company.’

“No matter how much we’re Rudolph, we can’t just bring the Union’s trading company head here…”

“Is it really impossible?”

Christian stared intently at Rubid’s face.

Staring at the delicate, androgynous features—so soft they could easily be mistaken for a woman’s face—

“I think it’s possible,” Chris said.

“!!”

Did Ruby sense something in Chris’s tone?

Her expression stiffened instantly.

Taking a hesitant step back, Ruby forced an awkward smile.

“I-I don’t know what you mean…”

“You don’t? Then maybe if I call you by this name, you’ll understand?”

Chris’s voice deepened, low and steady.

“Ruina, leader of the guild.”

“!!”

“Well played, hiding behind that disguise. Is it the power of the sacred artifact?”

That’s right.

The person before him was both Ruby and Ruina.

More precisely, a woman disguised as a man, living a double life.

In the magical world, she was the leader of the Rudolf Guild.

Among the Alliance, she was the head of the Deer Guild.

For a moment, Ruina’s face shifted through a spectrum of emotions.

Realizing Chris knew everything, her complexion drained, shock and panic flashing across her features, followed by a flicker of murderous intent.

Just as Ruina’s hand moved toward her chest—

“If you pull that out, you’re dead.”

“!!”

“Don’t believe me? Then go ahead and gamble on it.”

In an instant, a wild storm of doubt crossed Ruina’s face.

She bit her lip hard as she looked at Chris, and finally—

“…How did you find out?”

She surrendered.

Snap!

With a flicker like static on a screen, her appearance shifted.