Book 9: Chapter 530: The Rogue Gambling Game that Decides the Future in the Foggy Night Coup

Gabrideck City, now turned into the base camp of the Northern Alliance, was located at the marginal area of the Marz Plain at the lower reaches of the Claudine River. The river flowed by the Gabriels City (Sword Capital), the capital of the Gabriel Empire (Nation of the Sword). In this very city, Bella had just defeated Prince Brad, along with the prince supporting him, Prince Burdis, in the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern. These princes were so busy enjoying themselves that they didn’t even realize that they were attacked until it was too late. 

Currently, Bella was headed to the residence of the second target, Prince Frauer, the younger brother of Alfred the Third, the former Emperor of the Gabriel Empire. After dealing with the elder brother, Prince Brad, Bella had now changed her target to the younger Prince Frauer and Prince Glenard, who he was supporting. 

Prince Frauer was also not a decent politician. According to the information provided by the Johnston family, one of the three major imperial families, Bella was given the exact details of the temporary residences of all the three princes in Gabrideck City. The only normal one belonged to Prince Anders, who had recently turned a former mansion in the Gabrideck City as his temporary residence. The places the other two princes had chosen to reside were not decent venues at all. 

The defeated Prince Brad had chosen to lodge at the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern. From its façade, it was indeed an opera house, but on the inside, it was no different from a dance club. Compared to him, Prince Frauer was more open and brazen in his choice of residency. He had chosen to stay in the largest Royal Casino in Gabrideck City, Las Vegas.

For a prince to use a casino as his temporary residence, he must not have been a decent person of any kind. In order to confront Prince Frauer, who had many previous encounters with Princess Felia, whom she was impersonating, Bella decided to change her disguise. She needed a different method than the one she had used against Prince Brad.

To succeed in her plan of silently attacking Prince Frauer, Bella separated from her main body. She used one of her treasures to store the body of Princess Felia she was impersonating. Afterward, Bella went back to her original form, Sacred Demon God Samantha, who was a beautiful girl with sleek black hair and heterochromatic pupils. Her features were far from the person she was impersonating, Princess Felia, who had blonde hair and blue pupils. Except for Princess Kriss and a few of her intimate girlfriends, no one else would have been able to guess that these two totally different girls were the same person.

Changing into a men’s suit, Bella also put on a top hat similar to the ones a magician would use on Earth. Even after all this time, she was still very familiar with men’s clothing. This men’s suit was actually confiscated from Prince Brad. It so happened to come in handy at the right moment since the equipment and the armor from the Hilikas family could not be used here.

As the guardian of the empire, the Hilikas Family had many strict rules that needed to be obeyed by the family members at all costs; one of these rules was to restrict themselves from visiting vulgar entertainment areas such as a casino or a nightclub. The Royal Opera House of St. Vanern that Prince Brad had used as his temporary residence was an exception. After all, regardless of what was going on inside, the façade of it was still a decent opera house. It wasn’t a long shot for Bella to visit it as a member of the Hilikas Family.

On the contrary, Bella could not sneak into Prince Frauer’s place while disguised as a Hilikas Family member because it was obvious that the residence was a casino. There was no other way around it. If Bella were to wear the armor provided by the Hilikas Family, she would definitely be suspected by the guards at the front door. When she put on the men’s suit, she held a different kind of intriguing charm, like that of a man in a women’s attire.

In order to conceal her pupils of different colors, Bella wore a black eyepatch on the red-colored eye, leaving only her golden eye to be seen by the public. In this continent of the Other World, a being with different color eyes was regarded as a heretical existence. They were ranked at the forefront of various heretical symbols.

When Bella stepped foot into the Las Vegas Casino, it was brightly lit and lively. As it was, the whole of Gabrideck City was blanketed in darkness by the fog. It was the work of Lost Demon King Hailey Layman’s illusions. However, here in the Las Vegas Casino, the brightness of the lights had penetrated through the illusionary darkness. In fact, the visibility in this casino was several times that of the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern.

The compound area of the Las Vegas Casino was quite similar to the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern. However, it was much taller than the opera house since it was built based on the design of a high-rise building. Before the Northern Alliance conquered the Gabrideck City, the Las Vegas Casino was the most prosperous building in this city. Even the branding of it being a Royal Casino was personally issued by one of the previous emperors of this empire.

Since Prince Frauer had chosen to temporarily reside in the Royal Casino, it was only appropriate for the soldiers guarding the entrance of this casino to be from Prince Frauer’s army. As Bella, with her beautiful black hair, was dressed in a men’s suit, she did catch the guards by surprise. However, she presented the token from the house of Prince Frauer. They had to obediently let her enter the casino.

The token in the hands of Bella was obtained from the eldest daughter of Prince Frauer, Doris. With it, Bella had no qualms in deceiving the guards at the gate and smoothly entering the Royal Casino. The excitement and liveliness of this place, with people bustling in and out of the establishment, far exceeded the nightclub scene in the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern. 

The patrons here were the confidants of Prince Frauer. In a way, he too was similar to Prince Brad, as he would also know how to bring his important and trusted aides to some exquisite entertainment venues for enjoyment. At such time, the prince would take advantage of the situation to win over or buy the support of the people around him. A casino like this particular venue was the perfect place for similar activities.

The games played in this casino were no different than the ones in modern casinos on Earth. In fact, everything was being replicated and played over here. After Bella made some inquiries, she finally realized the reason for this. It turned out that the design of the Las Vegas Casino was first introduced by the Queen of the Manasvir Empire, Manya Felan. As Queen Manya Felan was an interdimensional traveler, she naturally copied the whole design of Las Vegas on Earth into this Other World.

Bella was familiar with all these gambling games. Nonetheless, she could only give up on the idea of showing off her skills since she was here on serious matters instead of playing around. All the other patrons of this casino were the generals of Prince Frauer’s army, which was made up of nearly one and a half million soldiers. As such, it was only befitting that all their spending in this casino was covered by Prince Frauer.

“Excuse me, can I help you?”

“Um, is there all there is to this casino? Is there anything better than this?”

“Come with me. The token you are carrying is the symbol of the most senior members. There is a special place in this casino for your entertainment.”

So far, Bella had not noticed any indecency in the way this casino was operating. The waitresses in this area looked mediocre and decently dressed. Since the token Bella presented held the symbol of the highest status from Prince Frauer’s family, the waitress responsible for attending to Bella quickly escorted her to a special part of the casino. It was where the more sinful activities were taking place.

The hidden casino Bella was being ushered to was located under the Las Vegas Casino; it was technically the underground area of the establishment. However, unlike most underground places that Bella had been to, this one was brightly lit. In fact, it was a little too bright, as the light in here was almost identical to daytime. This was a sharp contrast to all the other dark and humid underground chambers Bella had visited in the past.

Upon entering the specially designated area, Bella was presented with the reason for the brightness in this place. While this underground area was built to the size of roughly three football fields, the walls around this casino were fully embedded with bright white gems. Even the roof of this casino was covered with similar stones, imitating the dazzling stars in the night sky.

There were only a few patrons that had access to this area, and they were considered as the VIP among the rest of the VIPs. Before being forcefully taken over by the Northern Alliance army, this area was used to entertain the Emperor and the rest of the royal families. After the Northern Alliance had turned this city into their base camp, Prince Frauer seized the opportunity to change this place into his private residence.

The scene in this underground casino was far from the decent ongoings upstairs. Technically, this was the actual foundation of the entire Las Vegas Royal Casino. The games on the upper level were purely a façade for the outsiders. Just like the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern, this apparent formal entertainment venue was also operating as the place for various secret, unlawful political transactions.

In this underground area, there were many carefully selected naked and alluring beauties. Their bare porcelain skin was smeared full of gold or pearl powder, making them look like exquisite treasures. These delicate flowers were also the property of the Royal Casino. As proof, an imprint of the Royal Casino’s possession was branded on their chests.

In this area of the casino, the beauties had a special usage: they were being priced as mortgages. These ladies were different from the ones in the Royal Opera House of St. Vanern. The one held here had the poise attitude of a lady from an aristocratic family. In fact, this demeanor was not made up, as they were actually born as a descendant of an aristocratic family that had sadly failed in the political struggles.

Apparently, there was an unwritten rule not only abided in the Gabriel Empire (Nation of the Sword) but also by the other empires in the human continent. The rule had various variations but a similar disposition. The noble ladies and other female relatives of families that were dismissed due to certain crimes would not be sent to the Royal Prison; instead, they would be handed over to establishments like the Royal Casino to be used as special waitresses. The type of services these ladies provided was tacitly known by the nobles visiting the Royal Casino.

All the young ladies of noble lineage imprisoned in this casino had been stripped of their identities as nobles. They were now no different from slaves with a slightly higher ranking. Even from the beginning, the construction of the Royal Casino was not as directed. This additional sinful game was not in the design sent by Queen Manya Felan. They were added in as a new game play that was “automatically understood” by the royal gentlemen.

Until now, only the Manasvir Empire fully controlled by Queen Manya Felan had publicly abolished this unspoken rule. She had explicitly ordered places like the Royal Casino not to accept female relatives from the families of declining nobles. The females of the families of nobles that had committed a crime would be placed in a different resettlement channel. Their punishment should not be enforced in places such as the Royal Prison, the Royal Casino, or even a Royal Ball, where they would be unlawfully used.

Bella retracted her previous praise towards Prince Frauer. Initially, she thought that Prince Frauer was not a lustful person. Now that she had seen it with her own eyes, in her opinion, Prince Frauer seemed to be better in his game than Prince Brad. Prince Frauer wasn’t a decent gentleman; he was just better in hiding the evil part of him. In fact, he was so good that Bella was also nearly deceived by him and thought that he was not a promiscuous man. This was purely her misjudgment.

Prince Frauer, Prince Glenard, who he supported, as well as the heir of the Frauer Family, Young Master Coker, were gathered around a luxurious gaming table for entertainment. As opposed to Prince Brad, who only knew how to enjoy himself and was oblivious to his surroundings, Prince Frauer was more vigilant. Instead of having the gaming table surrounded by beautiful attendants, he had a large circle of people dressed in black guarding them.

They were the private guards secretly trained by Prince Frauer. Bella could roughly guess that the combat power of these black-clothed men was higher than the Sword Sage. In fact, a few of them were close to the level of a Quasi-Sword God. If Bella wasn’t as careful, she would have been caught off guard by Prince Frauer. The guards surrounding him were enough to take down most assassins.

Unless they dispatched the Sword God masters, even the swordsmen from the guardian of the empire, the Hilikas family, would find it difficult to take down Prince Frauer’s personal guards. Since Bella was confident of her strength, she didn’t bother to hide herself. She boldly walked to the luxurious gambling table.

“Who are you? Why do you have Doris’s identity token?”

“My identity is not important here. I am merely a passing gambler who came to gamble with Prince Frauer.”

“Presumptuous. This is not a place for someone like you with unknown origins to casually walk in. Get out of here.”

The guards around Prince Frauer immediately drew their swords out as they tried to stop the uninvited guest who had suddenly barged in to join the gambling table. However, since Bella was in her original form, her combat power was several times more terrifying than when she used her demon form while impersonating Princess Felia. She didn’t even need to make any obvious movement. As she casually walked to the table, the black air current that had formed beside her instantly blew the attacking guards away.

When these guards of the Quasi-Sword God level collided with the black air current by Bella’s side, they were instantly blown to the nearest gem-studded wall. As a result of the collision, these guards didn’t even have the chance to scream. They turned into a pool of blood and were imprinted into the walls. All that was left of them was some strange blood-colored human silhouettes.

Under the suppression of the Demon God’s aura, no one could move. Even Prince Frauer, a veteran in the political arena, had turned pale in fright. The feeling of terrifying horror brought by a Demon God should not even be compared to that of a menial Demon King. Prince Glenard and the heir of the Frauer Family, Master Coker, slumped down while in a standing position. They fainted to the ground in terror. 

“Demon… Demon King, if you have something to say, we can talk about it. Whatever request you have, I will try my best to satisfy you!”

Seeing Bella easily kill the dozens of Quasi-Sword God level guards that had been guarding him for years, Prince Frauer’s face not only turned pale, but he was also sweating profusely. Her crushing strength had taken away whatever will to resist he had left, leaving him in a helpless state. He had been simply relaxing in his underground casino. Out of nowhere, Demon God Bella had come for him. Could his bad luck be due to his carelessness of not reading his almanac in the morning?

“Prince Frauer, I’m not a Demon King. You can call me God. I know you want the throne. How about I give you a chance to make a bet with God? If you win, I’ll hand the Imperial Throne to you.”

“That’s the Emperor’s seal. How did you get it?”

“I’m a God. Obviously, I am capable of anything. Let me ask you again. Would you take the bet or not?”

Looking at the Emperor’s seal in Bella’s hand, Prince Frauer felt a tinge of desire. Regardless of whether Bella was truly a god or not, as long as he could get his hands on the seal, it would make his plan go much smoother. Even though Bella’s impersonation of a God was not flawless, the Emperor’s seal in her hand was genuine.

“God, I am willing to bet with you. Tell me the price that I have to pay to play this game?”

“Prince Frauer, I see that you are still quite calm. Don’t worry; it won’t cost you your life. If you lose, you only need to pass your position as a Prince to a descendant that is of the same sex as this God.”

“This… alright, I will bet.”

Prince Frauer hesitated for a moment before giving his answer. As much as he cared for his daughter, Doris, he had no intention to pass his position as a prince to her. But now, if he were to lose, he would be forced to hand it over to her. In his current state, he had no other choice. If he did not take the bet, no one could guess what Bella would do next.

From the very start, Bella was simply pulling his leg and had no intention of letting him win. There was a reason why she did not attack him directly with her army of mutant humanoid slime demons like she did with Prince Brad. During the initial stages of Sarnia Duchy, Prince Frauer had helped her block the progress of Princess Kriss’s political marriage. Even though he did do it out of his own political interest, eventually, his action did help out Bella. She wanted to persuade him to give up his position in a less offensive manner.

“It isn’t difficult. We just need to see who is more accurate in predicting the life span left for the owner of this gift. As a God, I have the ability to control time and could absolutely predict the result in advance.”

“Isn’t this… how could it?”

Prince Frauer had a troubled expression. Looking at the necklace on Bella’s hand, he kept silent for some time. To his recollection, that was the exact necklace he had presented to Duchess Bella as a political gift. Without the need to know how the necklace had fallen into the hand of this God, Prince Frauer already knew that he could never win this bet. After all, he was betting on his very own life span.

Technically, the life span of Prince Frauer was in the hands of Bella, who was controlling the game. It seemed that the rogue God had never intended for the prince to win from the beginning. Prince Frauer felt that he should give up, but at the same time, he felt unjust. He had been preparing for so long. Why must he give up simply because a random God decided to appear before him?

“God, I understand the meaning behind the bet, but I hope that you could provide me with a reason to give up.”

“The reason? You would know just by looking at this.”

In the scene that Bella showed him, Prince Fauer saw countless demons from the Darkness Sacred Region ready to rush into Gabrideck City. He finally understood the answer.

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