TCNS 04

Chapter 4: Intense Initiation (2)

“Well, I suppose so.”

If the woman before him answered correctly one more time, she would win. Gale let out a sly smile.

“But are you already so confident in your victory, Miss Maid?”

Unlike Gale, who wanted to savor the competition, she seemed eager to end the bet quickly. Rushing meant impatience. Impatience meant impaired judgment.

‘That’s not how you gamble.’

With a sly grin, Gale placed the ball under the middle cup this time. Then, he began shuffling the cups once more.

Smack.

His hand stopped again.

“Well then, this time…”

“The right one.”

Again, there was no hesitation. The firmness of her answer brought silence to the surroundings. But Gale was smiling.

He slowly lifted the cup on the right.

“Too bad, Miss Maid.”

Unfortunately, the ball wasn’t under the cup she had chosen. Gale shook his head as if he were disappointed and lifted the cup on the far left. Only then did the ball appear in his grip.

“Pffft—!”

At that moment, everyone except the prince and the maid burst into laughter.

Gale relaxed his eyebrows as he looked at her.

“Sorry, Miss Maid.”

“There’s still one more chance.”

Despite missing an opportunity, Rachel remained unfazed.

‘Trying so hard to stay calm.’

Gale let out a low chuckle as he looked at her. No matter which cup she chose, the result would be the same. A stage where only he could emerge victorious.

‘After all, it’s all rigged from the start.’

Gale exchanged glances with the orange-haired boy standing beside him. He gave a leisurely smile for Rachel, who was soon to be defeated.

“Well, here comes the last round.”

Smack.

Once again, Gale’s hand moved like lightning and stopped in an instant.

“Which one is it?”

“The orange-haired one, left hand.”

It was a strange thing. Just a moment ago, Gale had been brimming with confidence, but now he was frozen, as if someone had poured cold water over him. Rachel stared at him silently.

Reflected in her peculiar, green eyes with a golden hue was Gale’s startled expression.

“What? What does that even mean?”

“Orange hair? The only orange-haired one here is him.”

The boys started murmuring among themselves.

Meanwhile, the boy with orange hair began sweating profusely. Suddenly, he shouted angrily, as if he had something to hide, “W-what are you talking about? I was just standing here!”

“Do I need to confirm what you’re hiding in your hand?”

Rachel’s words made the orange-haired boy flinch.

“I-I don’t know what you’re—!”

The boy started backing away as if he were about to run. But Rachel had no intention of letting him go.

She swiftly grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

“Ow!”

With a short scream, something dropped from his left hand as he lost his grip. It was the ball.

Everyone, including Edwin and the other boys, opened their mouths wide in shock. Only Rachel remained calm, silently picking up the ball from the ground.

She pressed the ball between her fingers. To everyone’s surprise, the squished ball immediately returned to its original shape.

“A rubber ball.”

“G-give it back!”

The orange-haired boy, his face flushed as if his secret had been exposed, lunged at her. Rachel easily dodged and turned to Gale.

“A moment ago, this one was crouching right beside you. When you shuffled the cups, he must have grabbed the ball that you flicked towards him.”

Rachel explained kindly, and both Gale and the orange-haired boy looked flustered.

The same question was written on both of their faces.

‘How on earth did she notice?’

As if answering their silent question, Rachel continued her explanation, “The person opposite wouldn’t be able to see if you flicked it toward yourself. And he must have grabbed it on the sly.”

Rachel, still expressionless, grabbed Gale’s arm. A ball identical to the one in her hand rolled out of his sleeve.

“Of course, you must have prepared multiple balls. You’d need them to secretly place under the cups that weren’t chosen.”

The orange-haired boy bit his lip at her words.

Rachel’s deduction was spot on, much to the embarrassment of the culprits.

“What, what?”

“Hold on, does that mean Gale tricked us too?”

“He rigged it with him? What about my money?”

It seemed Rachel and Edwin weren’t the only ones they had deceived.

Among the murmuring boys, the orange-haired one kept glancing at Gale nervously. Gale, meanwhile, silently glared at Rachel, clicking his tongue.

It seemed he realized that trying to keep up the facade after being exposed wouldn’t do him any good.

“Take it. You won the bet.”

He tossed the bracelet onto the box as if he were giving out alms.

“Bad luck, I guess. Hmph.”

Gale spat in Rachel’s direction and turned away. Rachel’s brow furrowed deeply at his rude gesture, but he didn’t notice.

“What are you looking at?”

Instead, he shot a threatening glare at the boys watching him. Intimidated by his glare, none of them dared step forward. They didn’t have the guts to challenge the youngest son of a count and an apprentice to the Emperor’s cherished artisan.

Gale looked at the boys with disdain and turned away. But there was one person who wouldn’t let him off easily.

“Did you pull the same trick on the prince?”

It was Rachel, the prince’s nanny.

“Impressive, tricking a clueless child. You really are like a common thug.”

“What did you say?”

Gale’s mouth twisted at her biting ridicule.

“If you dared scam the imperial family, you must have known the consequences.”

Fuming, Gale rushed at her, grabbing her collar.

“If I showed you mercy, you should have just left. Don’t push it,” he growled into her ear.

“Show me mercy? With such a pathetic trick, who do you think you’re fooling?”

Her sudden informal tone and unchanging confident demeanor made Gale’s expression darken.

Rachel, who had until now looked like an angel, was grinning, baring her teeth.

“Idiot.”

It wasn’t the smile of an angel; it was the wicked grin of a devil.

She brought her face close to his and whispered, “Scamming the imperial family is punishable by death for insulting the Imperial family. You should’ve chosen your target more wisely.”

At her clear mockery, Gale’s face quivered.

“The prince you scorned just happens to be a member of the imperial family. Surely, you weren’t ignorant of that, were you?”

It was a clear truth. But Gale forced a nonchalant attitude and retorted, “Who cares? He’s just the Shabby Prince. You think people don’t know that the Third Prince is treated worse than the Emperor’s servants?”

Hearing his words, Rachel clicked her tongue in disbelief. “Do you really believe that? An imperial family will always be an imperial family, even if they die and come back to life. Surely you know that those who insult the imperial family are punished the same as traitors?”

No matter how noble Gale’s status, he was still below the Emperor’s bloodline.

That was an unchangeable fact, even if the sky were to fall.

“A mere noble’s child and a prince of the Empire.”

Watching Gale’s face turn pale, Rachel lifted the corners of her lips in a sneer.

“Which one do you think they’d choose?”

Grit—

Gale ground his teeth.

If someone were to take this matter to the authorities, he’d be as good as dead.

“Damn it!”

Gale released his grip on Rachel’s collar. He had thrown her with considerable force, but she stood tall, brushing off her neckline.

Seeing her composed demeanor only angered him more, and Gale fumed.

“Just you wait. I’ll remember your face.”

With that, he turned and left with the boys who had been standing behind him.

Rachel made no move to stop them. Now that their trust in their leader was shattered, it was clear that the group wouldn’t last long.

At that moment, the orange-haired boy, who had lingered until the end, approached her hesitantly.

“Um, I’m sorry.”

Rachel raised her eyebrows at the unexpected apology.

“I only did it because Gale told me to…”

It wasn’t a proper apology but more of an excuse. Rachel spoke to the orange-haired boy in a firm voice.

“You shouldn’t apologize to me but to His Highness.”

“Ah.”

The orange-haired boy quickly bowed his head to Edwin, who was standing beside her.

“I’m really sorry, Your Highness. I’ll never be rude to you again.”

Edwin looked visibly bewildered, as if it was his first time receiving an apology. But it only lasted a moment.

The young prince straightened his back and spoke loudly, “I’ll forgive you this once. But if you do it again, I won’t let it slide. Do you understand?”

Edwin puffed out his chest, his voice full of authority. With the apology accepted so easily, the orange-haired boy bowed repeatedly before disappearing into the distance.

Finally, Rachel had a proper look at the prince she was to care for. Golden hair that shone brightly, blue eyes like sapphires, and smooth, pale skin. Up close, the prince was strikingly handsome. However, his gaunt frame and pale complexion, visible even beneath his clothes, made her feel pity.

Then, the prince’s gaze turned to her.

“Who are you?”

His voice was sharp, and his eyes were filled with suspicion.

For a moment, Rachel was taken aback