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Elise finished dressing and went straight to Paytan's office.
"Paytan!"
"Oh, Elise. I'm busy right now, so wait a bit."
Paytan seemed busy from morning, reviewing various documents with his aide.
Elise glared at Paytan, displeased that he was putting her on the back burner.
'How many days has it been already?'
Since Leticia left home like that, all kinds of documents and work processing fell to Paytan's share.
Since that day, it had become difficult to even have dinner together, let alone meals.
Elise was unhappy about it, but since Leticia was gone, Paytan had to work to maintain the family's wealth.
'That woman did all the work and other things too, so why is it taking Paytan so long?'
Elise grumbled inwardly, but for now, she settled down on the sofa in the office.
On other days, she pretended to be considerate of his busy schedule and stepped back, but today she had to discuss the relationship between Leticia and Idris.
'By the way, a scandal broke out today, isn't there anything more urgent than that?'
With the scandal between Idris and Leticia breaking out today, rumors of Paytan and Leticia's divorce became almost certain.
This would have caused significant problems for the business, but Paytan seemed distracted by other things.
Curious about what was keeping him so busy, Elise eavesdropped on Paytan and his aide's conversation.
"Where did all the funds go that were set aside from disposing of the Southern estate?"
"They were paid for magic stone expenses recently."
"Is there nothing left?"
"There is, but it's far from enough to pay taxes..."
What troubled Paytan more than Leticia's scandal was none other than the tax issue.
Leticia had handled almost all of the business, and taxes as well.
But now that Leticia was gone, he had to handle the matter himself.
'I knew he had set aside some spare money.'
Not knowing that the money was set aside for tax payments, he had bought magic stones to start a new business.
The due date was next week, but there was no way for cash to come in.
'At this rate, I'll have to pay taxes with magic stones...'
While Paytan was biting his lip, Elise, who had been quietly listening to the two of them, approached.
"Paytan, are you racking your brain over taxes right now?"
Paytan's expression hardened reflexively, thinking that Elise was bothering him in an already troubling situation.
However, Paytan's eyes changed at Elise's next words.
"I came up with a good way to handle this at once, while delaying the divorce with the Duchess..."
"A good way?"
At Paytan's intrigued reaction, Elise smiled, pleased, and continued.
"I think you'll like it. Do you want to hear it?"
Late at night.
On a street where most of the shops were starting to close, there was a building shining brightly.
The Casino.
A place where imperial travelers and those seeking to reverse their lives gathered.
Tap, tap.
Two figures stopped at the entrance.
A huge man dressed in a suit and wearing a mask, and a blonde woman armed with a flashy dress and mask.
The blue eyes of the woman behind the mask, Leticia, sparkled as she looked at the casino.
On the other hand, the eyes of the huge man watching her next to her, Wigg, were only filled with anxiety.
"Um, Boss."
Leticia refused the titles of 'wife' and 'miss', saying, 'Since we're getting divorced soon, don't call me your wife. The title of miss also lacks professionalism.'
The title that was settled on was 'Boss'.
Leticia looked up at Wigg with questioning eyes instead of answering.
Wigg hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
"I don't think this is a good idea after all."
"What?"
"Even if you need money urgently, gambling!"
Gambling is a common route that people on the edge of the cliff choose to dive down when their lives are at the end!
But Leticia realized from her conversation with Paytan at the hotel last time.
He would not return the dowry willingly.
And she made a plan to confront him.
"Paytan will probably put the land I took as a dowry up for auction soon."
"How do you know that, Wi... Boss?"
"...Well, I know his financial situation like the back of my hand."
In fact, she remembered that Paytan sold the land he took as a dowry to raise the funds he lacked before regression.
"If it's put up for auction, we'll buy it cheap."
It was annoying to have to give money to the guy who didn't want to hand over a penny for the land that should be returned.
Considering the future value of the land, buying it cheaply was like taking it back.
The problem was how to raise that money...
'There is also a way to purchase works of art or sculptures that will increase in value in the future, but it takes too long for them to increase in value.'
So the method Leticia chose was the casino.
'And above all, I want to test how far I can use this ability.'
The light that sparkled from Idris.
And the sparkling effect that was seen when attacking Paytan with the candlestick.
From those circumstances, she learned that this ability was not only activated to identify monetary value.
If it was an ability that could discern what was advantageous to her in any situation, she was curious to see how far this ability could be used.
'If I can't get the land back anyway, my contract with Idris will be cancelled.'
She didn't like gambling, which required her to bet everything on luck, but if she couldn't escape and had no other way...
'It's now or never.'
Leticia checked her mask with a solemn expression, whether Wigg stopped her or not.
"I won't let you starve no matter what, so come on."
The casino had a rule that masks must be worn upon entry.
The reason was simple.
'To guarantee the safety of the winner and prevent the crime of the loser.'
There were many people who came to the casino to really enjoy it, but there were also many who came with the last hope at the end of their lives.
And those who lost their last hope easily made extreme choices.
Killing themselves or turning their arrows to others.
The guards would stop them inside the casino, but what happened outside the casino was irrelevant to the casino.
Therefore, the rule of wearing masks was created to prevent unfortunate accidents outside the casino.
'Of course, I am at a certain risk just for being a woman...'
That was why she brought Wigg to prepare for the danger.
Leticia entered the casino with Wigg in a dignified manner.
The doorman who was about to say something to her flinched at the sight of Wigg's size and quietly retreated.
Not only that, but the people standing in the way of the two parted like the sea.
'Hmm, I chose the right aide after all.'
But there was a problem.
'Because this guy is so scary, no one is coming to my table!'
The gamblers sitting at each table where Leticia sat were slowly avoiding their seats!
Leticia gave Wigg a hand signal to put his ear close.
Wigg, who recognized the signal, leaned in.
"Go to that bar and have a drink."
"Yes?"
"No one is coming to our table because of you."
But Wigg hesitated without readily leaving his seat.
'Is he worried that I'll spend all my money?'
Leticia, who guessed that, reassured Wigg.
"Don't worry, we'll retreat when all the money is gone."
"N-not that."
Then?
When Leticia looked at him with questioning eyes, Wigg hesitated and answered in a barely audible voice.
"I-I can't drink..."
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