You’re My Flame

Chapter 2

With a heavy thud, the chip-filled sack hit the floor.

Carrying it all the way to the counter had nearly dislocated her shoulder, but it somehow hadn’t felt heavy at all. After all, each of those chips would turn into a little bit of cash.

Anticipation sparkled in Chersinia’s eyes. “I would like to cash in my chips,” she said.

“Whoa.” The cashier’s eyes widened in surprise.

Yeah, I bet you’ve never seen this many chips before. Holding her head up proudly, Chersinia shrugged. Inside, a rush overtook her as she imagined what she could do with the money.

“Um…” But the cashier’s reaction was all wrong. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he avoided her eyes.

From the way he was acting, it seemed like there wasn’t enough money to make the exchange. Chersinia’s expression quickly stiffened. “I said… I would like to exchange my chips.”

“Well, the thing is…”

Her eye twitched at the cashier’s suspicious behavior. This was not the smooth transaction she expected. Something wasn’t right.

“I-I’m so sorry!” The cashier suddenly shot up and bowed apologetically. He’d jumped up so abruptly that his chair clattered backward.

“Sorry about what?”

“The viscount will arrange your money soon, so please just give us a little time to—”

“What the hell? I want to exchange my chips now.”

She had taken a great risk to earn these winnings, and this was their response? Chersinia gritted her teeth. She needed enough money to last her comfortably for the rest of her life, so she had put the entirety of her assets on the line. Things couldn’t go awry just as she was about to take her new life in a different direction.

She wouldn’t forgive anyone or anything that stood in her way. She clenched her fists, veins bulging.

“Just a few days… No, a week, please—”

Before the cashier could finish, Chersinia lifted her foot and brought it violently down on the man’s desk. There was a splintering sound as the wooden desk split in two, accompanied by the click of the cashier’s jaw falling open at the sight.

“If you don’t want to be next, get my money.”

Despite splitting the heavy desk with one powerful kick, Chersinia’s expression remained utterly calm. She felt a slight tingle in her heel, but it was not at all painful. After all, she was strong enough to easily overpower several adult men. How else would she have accomplished all those wicked deeds in the novel? The only one who could take her down would be the crown prince, according to that cursed writer.

On her first day as Chersinia, she had forgotten this small detail about the witch’s strength. She had effortlessly split a table down the middle just by setting a cup down on its surface. Since that day, she had learned to get a better handle on her power—though at this moment, she didn’t feel the need to hold back.

“Please! It’s a lot of money. They said they need a bit of time!” Terrified of her wrath, the cashier quickly kneeled on the floor. He begged earnestly, his hands clasped together.

As Chersinia gazed down at the man, a lazy glint of menace flickered in her eyes. A casino that can’t handle large transactions? It made no sense.

She could set fire to everything in her way in a fit of rage, but for the sake of a peaceful life, she suppressed her instinct to use magic.

A little taste wouldn’t hurt, though, she thought. Just a little magic was enough to scare them. If they knew the kind of power she possessed, they wouldn’t dare think of cheating her out of her money.

Chersinia took a deep breath. Heat gathered at her fingertips, and the warmth spread quickly through her body. As the heat coursed through her, her long, red hair fluttered as if caught in a breeze, despite the fact they were indoors. The cashier’s face paled.

I’m sure this is a first for you. It’s a first for me, too. Using her power wasn’t as pleasant as she expected it to be. It was different from lighting a stove to cook.

Intending only to intimidate the man, Chersinia stretched out her right hand.

“C-collateral! I’ll give you collateral!” the panicked cashier shouted suddenly, so loudly that it was ear-splitting.

“Collateral?” With an irritated look, Chersinia lowered her hand, resolving to double the lesson if this turned out to be more nonsense. The heat at her fingertips began to dissipate.

“Yes! I’ve got something in the back.”

Chersinia’s eyes followed the cashier’s finger to the corner, where a boy was curled against the wall. His hands and feet were tightly bound with rope.

She glared fiercely at the cashier, deeply annoyed. “Insanity. Are you joking? Since when is a person ‘collateral?’”

“The viscount just bought him as a slave!”

Her face crumpled in dismay at the word “slave.” They were treating her like a fool. This was just more fuel for her fury.

Chersinia focused again, heat building at her fingertips.

“It’s true! He’s incredibly expensive!”

Her concentration was short-lived as her hold on levelheadedness snapped. “So you’re saying your viscount has money to buy a slave, but not to cash my chips?!”

The cashier’s fearful gulp was audible. Realizing his blunder, he clamped his mouth shut.

Chersinia was boiling with anger. If she didn’t cool her head, she might just turn the whole casino into a sea of flame.

Struggling to contain the tremors in her fingers, she felt compelled to express her anger in another way.

Crash!

A porcelain vase flew across the room, shattering against the wall and breaking into countless pieces.

“Ugh!” The cashier comically rolled backward.

Unsatisfied, the mage grabbed a nearby chair and hurled that as well. Its legs fractured as it landed on the floor.

But even that wasn’t enough. The unreleased heat within her almost blew like steam from her ears. As she fumed, her shoulders heaved like she was an enraged bull.

“Please! If you take the slave as collateral, the viscount will find a way to arrange your money,” the terrified man whimpered.

A hot sigh escaped Chersinia. She harshly swept back some hairs that had fallen into her eyes.

Getting angry at this cashier wasn’t going to produce her money. She calmed herself and thought rationally. Do I really need to accept collateral?

She glanced at the boy. His frail body shook, perhaps from fear. “Help… me…” he said in a trembling, pitiful voice.

Her eyes naturally lingered on him. The cloth covering his body was more like rags than something that could be called “clothing.” Moreover, his arms and legs were covered in long, dark red scars. Some were old and discolored, but others were fresh enough to still be scabbed.

How awful. Her brow furrowed involuntarily. He looked so emaciated that there was hardly anything left of him to be harmed further.

As things quieted, the boy cautiously lifted his head. Chersinia stared intently at his face. Under his unkempt hair, his dark violet eyes fleetingly caught her attention.

How starved must he be to end up looking like that? As she studied him, she chewed her lip. His appearance was heartbreaking. His cheeks were deeply sunken, and traces of blood could still be seen in the cracks of his lips. His body was nothing but skin stretched over a frame of bone.

Ignoring him would weigh on her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if she left him here. It would have been one thing if she had never seen him, but erasing him from her memory now would be difficult.

Come on… Fine… Chersinia reluctantly approached the boy. It bothered her that he was being offered as collateral, but she desperately needed the money and had to figure out any way possible to get it.

As she approached him, he recoiled in fear. With nowhere else to go, he pressed himself against the wall, as if trying to melt into it. Chersinia didn’t appreciate being seen as a monster, but she also understood that he was probably hurt inside as well as out, and so she decided to be patient.

“What are you doing? Untie him,” she ordered the dazed cashier, who stood by in shock.

The man scurried over and untied the ropes binding the boy’s hands and feet. The ropes fell to the floor.

“Let’s go.” Chersinia extended her hand.

The boy stared at it for a moment and slowly lifted his head to look at her. His eyes hesitantly studied her.

It was clear he was deliberating over whether he should stay or follow. Chersinia waited silently. She wanted him to make his own decision.

The boy’s eyes slowly flicked back and forth between her face and her hand. Normally, Chersinia would have lost her temper by now, but for this, she could be patient. Of course, the original Chersinia wouldn’t have bothered with such a thing at all.

The boy, looking into her fiery red eyes, gulped. His whole body, frozen with tension, felt like it was melting under her intense gaze.

He couldn’t reject such eyes. Captivated by the intensity that seemed to warm his very heart, he slowly lifted his hand. The moment his ice-cold hand came into contact with the woman’s burning one, a connection was forged.

“Since he’s the collateral, I’m taking him with me. Tell the viscount that if he doesn’t get me my money within the week, I’ll turn his life inside out.”

The cashier bobbed his head.

Yeah, that should be clear enough. Chersinia took the boy’s hand, grabbed her sack of chips, and left the casino. That was her very first encounter with Ben.