“She’s the girl Duke Icardes brought into his family?”

“Yes, but there are many strange things about her.”

At the racetrack, everyone noticed the duke, Evan, and Laria. The duke’s appearance surprised the crowd. Sure, he had been climbing the social ranks, but he had never bothered with events like these before. Many of his noble peers considered him to be politically gifted, but a few keen men were growing suspicious of him. They saw his activity as ominous and believed he was scheming to steal the empire.

Regardless of the duke’s rise, Sven Vestian, master of the Vestian Intelligence Guild, suspected the man’s plans were even bigger than anyone expected. Several intelligence guilds had concluded that the royal family was the only party powerful enough to keep Duke Klaudin at bay. No one would ever be able to challenge him if he married his only heir to the princess.

“Strange...” Sven tilted his head. “Why did he take in that child?”

To him—and probably anyone else—Laria was the worst possible marriage prospect for the Icardes family. The Losstrees had perished in a freak accident, leaving Laria without a penny to her name. And when Laria had nowhere else to go, Duke Icardes took her in to marry his son under an altruistic pretense. But she wasn’t welcomed into the family with a grand marriage. The only proof of her marital status was a single parchment submitted to the royal court. What was more interesting was that Duke Icardes had even cleared the girl’s debts, both big and small. Of course, the sum was a trifle compared to the duke’s great fortune.

“I don’t buy a bit of it. A man like him seldom performs such generous acts.”

Those keen on politics had already predicted that the duke’s real target was Princess Elani. She was the same age as his heir, Evan, and was first in line for the throne. The emperor was still full of vigor and youth, but the princess would eventually become his successor. But the duke defied everyone’s expectations when he married his son to the Losstree girl.

“There’s got to be a good reason behind this move.”

The duke’s enemies had no reason to be suspicious of him now, but still... It was bewildering for Sven, who felt Duke Icardes had wasted an opportunity when he married his son to Laria. And on top of everything, even Evan himself didn’t know why he was forced into the marriage.

“Moreover, the three of them have come to parade side by side...” Sven clicked his tongue, disappointed and perplexed at not having any insight into this. The spymaster and other intelligence masters knew Evan had been raised by a neglectful father, so it was strange seeing the Icardes trio put on their little show, attempting to sell their family image.

“There’s something... There has to be.”

Sven, with a curious look on his face, walked toward the rose-haired girl. He saw a charming girl with a spirited walk and a face full of life, like a sparrow: tiny but interesting. She was a typical fourteen-year-old girl from an ordinary family with no talent or striking features.

“I’ll have to keep tabs on her.” Sven’s silvery hair fluttered in the wind. “She’s the key to his hidden play. I must find out more about her if I am to unveil it.”

The spymaster was rather ambitious and had grand plans of his own. He was also curious and had a rabid appetite for information. Any plans or motives he could not decipher, well, they drove him absolutely mad. Whether he would sell the information or not wasn’t the issue. He simply wanted to know why Laria was the one; why was she preferred over the more obvious choice?

He slowed his steps, then quietly blended into the crowd surrounding Duke Icardes.

* * *

The seats Olav Sadvar reserved for us were indeed fit for lords. I could see the entire length of the tracks from the elevated chairs.

Evan looked at the parchment that had the betting odds in silence, seemingly lost in thought. While he was busy planning his betting approach, I had but a single point of concern.

“I beg your pardon...” With a heavy sigh, I asked Evan, “Could you loan me some money?”

“Excuse me?” he questioned me as if I had said something forbidden.

“I want to bet. You know... for fun. But I’ve no money to do so,” I said, completely smothering my ego and donning my most pitiful expression.

I thought Duke Klaudin would have been in a better mood and given me money to spend here. To my utter dismay, he hadn’t, so I had no choice but to rely on Evan’s charity.

“Please? I’ll pay you back once I win.”

Oh, woe is me! How pitiful am I? My sad, bitter reality was that I had no money to spend. I promised myself that I would never forget this moment and decided I would be as frugal as possible from then on.

“You don’t have any money?” Evan asked.

“I... don’t.”

The duke crossed his arms and joined our conversation after he heard my gloomy mumble. “It seems the steward didn’t set aside a budget for you because you’re still underage.”

“Yes.” Blinking, I craned my neck up to look at him. Then I continued with a tone I hoped would inspire pity. “There have been no inconveniences, of course, but I’m still without a coin in my pocket...”

“Here,” he said, taking out a gold coin from his coat.

A gold coin! I was taken aback for a second but then seized it.

“Compensation for the drawing,” he said.

The drawing? I thought he was put off by my little doodle.

“Thank you, Father.”

Oh, sweet blessings. This is great.

Evan, who had observed my lips curling up, commented rather solemnly. “It would seem that the steward ought to be notified to set aside a regular stipend for her. She may not be of age, but she is an Icardes. She must be granted an allowance to avoid shaming our family’s name.”

But his father remained silent. After a short time had passed, he broke the silence. “My compensation for her single picture was generous. Is that not enough?”

“Sir?” Evan asked.

“If it’s an allowance she wants, Laria can earn it by drawing more pictures.”

Does that mean... He’ll pay me for my artwork from now on? That mess of a scribble took me no more than ten minutes to draw... and I’m getting a gold coin for it? I’m liking this pay rate. Though, it did mean he wasn’t warming up about giving me an allowance. But it didn’t matter. After today I won’t ever be short of cash—ever!

I approached one of the officials at the venue and presented my gold coin. Yes, it was a single coin, but it was the most valuable one here.

“I’d like to bet all of this.”

Without any hesitation, I took a pen from an official and marked the betting sheet. What I wrote surprised the man and the duke, who had mostly been disinterested until then.

“Laria? Are you sure about this?” Evan asked, turning his head to look at me.

“Yes, this shall be my bet.”

“Perhaps she’s so thoughtlessly parting with the money because it was never hers to begin with,” the duke grumbled with a slightly disdainful grin. “Well, it is a little play bet for children.”

A whole gold coin is little to you?

After a few minutes, the bell rang, and the horses bolted from the starting line.

* * *

Seymour “Gold” Ritshua, the original novel’s male protagonist, also attended the race. Seymour, a commoner, had long been yearning to become a nobleman by purchasing a title for himself.

I guess you could say he’s the typical monster born out of capitalism. Also, as the protagonist, he was blessed and protected with plot armor and seemingly endless fortunes.

One of the unusual things about the original The Grand Deal of the Empire was its detailed descriptions of Seymour’s actions. Watching him boost his fortune was all the more interesting since he belonged to a romance. Seymour would earn riches beyond imagination by managing his lands well and making brilliant and varied investments; he would even track down one of three ancient magical items. But this race would be his big break.

And now he shall be my role model.

This was where his story arc about his nobility title began in earnest.

You’ll have to forgive me, Seymour. Looks like we’ll have to share the wealth, my friend... I’m sort of in a rush too.

Today he would make a pricey bet on the horse with the highest return—a real long shot of a bet. And that very horse would win today’s race, something no one at the venue would expect. So I had confidently checked off the betting sheet because I knew this part of his arc.

—First place prediction: Black Horse

The dark horse that no gambler noticed. The steed that would win it all, and with it, the great prize.

Black Horse’s record wasn’t anything to talk about. It had barely participated in any races and thus was an inexperienced racing horse.

Nevertheless, it will take first place today.

By chance, Seymour stumbled on the animal before the race and, for unknown reasons, boldly bet on the stallion. This also meant that Evan, despite his new knowledge of the game, could have never won against Seymour.

As for me, everyone looked at me as if they weren’t the least bit impressed with my reckless spending. But I didn’t care. I remained calm and spirited.

The bang of a gun kicked off the race, and when the dust had settled at the finish line, the racetrack was in pure chaos.

Black Horse, a racehorse no one in their right mind would have bet on, had taken first place. The betting odds were 34,012-to-1.