The Royal Deal

Chapter 260

Chapter 260

“I lost everything we earned today!” Amethyst wailed as Alexcent held her.

“Wait here for a moment,” He said, removing his arm from around her.

“Where are you going?” Amethyst asked.

“Don’t worry, just wait here.”

“All right. Hurry back.” Amethyst watched as he disappeared into the crowd.

Alexcent went back to the booth that was running the card game. He took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

“Welcome! It’s your chance to win twice the amount you bet,” the dealer called.

“Would you like to make the game more interesting?” Alexcent asked the dealer. “Instead of double the winnings, let’s up the bet and make it ten times the winnings.”

The dealer laughed, then realized Alexcent was being serious. “Sure, let’s do it.” He was confident that no one could beat his manipulated game.

The dealer started turning the cards. After a few rounds, where Alexcent won every hand, he started gathering his winning to leave.

The dealer grabbed his arm and pleaded, “Wait! Let’s play one more game!”

“I’ve already won back ten times what I lost before,” Alexcent informed him. “I don’t need to play any more.”

“How can you just leave after taking everything?!”

“What do you mean? Just fool another pushover and steal their money.” Alexcent turned his back on the dealer, who just stood there in shock, and returned to Amethyst who was waiting under the shade of a tree. She still looked sad, so he handed the pouch of winnings over to her.

“What is this?” Amethyst asked.

“It’s the money you lost earlier. Plus, a little extra.”

“Where did you get it? Did you steal it from the dealer?”

“No. I just begged him to give it back.”

“And he gave it to you?”

“Sure. It’s the town festival. It’s for fun. He even threw in a little extra as an apology.”

“Wow!” They headed off to see the rest of the festival.

“You look tired. Would you like a piggy back?” Alexcent joked.

“I’m fine.” Amethyst looked annoyed and picked up her pace.

After browsing a few more shops, they came to the end of the festival grounds. The crowds were sparse here, as there wasn’t anything to see, and it was mainly people heading for home.

“I guess this is the end,” Amethyst stated, halting her steps.

“Yes. Should we head back?”

“Yes. Did you have fun today?” She smiled, “I enjoyed it. We can’t work all of the time; we need to enjoy ourselves when we can.”

“Yes. I had a great time.”

“That’s good!” Amethyst seemed satisfied; her eyes lit up. Such a pleasing sight, Alexcent couldn’t help but brush her cheek with his hand and she blushed in reaction.

“Hey, hey! Looking good!” Five large men, who looked like common thugs, were swaggering over to them making lewd noises. Alexcent quickly stepped in front of Amethyst to shield her.

“What do you want?” He asked the man who had addressed them.

“Oh, nothing. We just thought the two of you looked so cute together,” the thug sneered.

“Thank you. Now if you don’t mind, please be on your way,” Alexcent insisted.

The men laughed. “Look at how polite they are,” the first man joked to his friends. “But we do mind. And I would like you to give back the money you took from me earlier.” Alexcent realized then that this was the man he had gambled with. It looked like the dealer had gathered some goons to get revenge.

“Was it a fair game?” Alexcent asked.

“Listen to this bastard!” the dealer said to his friends. “Fair doesn’t exist in gambling!”

“Just let us go. We don’t want any trouble,” Alexcent said.

“Sure. Give us the money and you can leave.”

Alexcent sighed, pushed Amethyst out of the way, and got ready to fight. He may not be able to use magic anymore, but he was still a trained soldier. As the men began to circle him, Amethyst suddenly shouted.

“It’s the guards! Here! Here! Help us!”

She waved her hands in the air, and the thugs turned around quickly to see where the guards were. Amethyst took her chance, grabbing Alexcent’s hand and running in the opposite direction from the confused thugs. When the men realized what was happening, they gave chase. They were a lot faster than they appeared and slowly gained on the duo. Amethyst, who was tiring quickly, was suddenly lifted into the air by Alexcent, who kept on running while carrying her.

“Gray! You can’t carry me the whole way!” Amethyst exclaimed.

“Just hang on. Otherwise, they are going to catch us.”

Amethyst wrapped her arms around his neck and held tightly. She could see the men behind them slowly tire out and fall behind. As they widened the distance, the men yelled something she couldn’t hear and then they were gone.

“Gray.” Alexcent kept on running, his adrenaline having taken over. “Gray! Stop! They’re not chasing anymore.” Alexcent stopped, panting.

“You can put me down now,” Amethyst said, realizing she was still in midair.

As soon as he regained his breath, Alexcent turned on her. “What were you thinking? Started running without a plan! What if you fell?!”

“Falling wasn’t the problem?! How could we win in a fight where it’s two versus six! Those weren’t exactly small men!”

“I can beat thugs like them, even if I fought sixteen of them alone.”

“Even if you fight that well, how can you be so certain that you’ll win every time?”

“Never mind. Next time, at least give me a signal before you do something like that.” Alexcent started heading back to their booth.

“You lied to me,” Amethyst said to his back.

“Me?”

“Yes! You said you begged for the money back?”

“That’s…. Well….”

“And you got ten times what you bet?”

“I just thought you’d worry….” Alexcent began to turn red in embarrassment.

“You told me you should never gamble! That’s what you said!” Amethyst was furious.

“I’m sorry.” Alexcent’s shoulders slumped.

“So, how much did you win?” Amethyst asked.

“Pardon?”

“How much did you win. Is it enough to buy some meat?”

Alexcent burst out laughing.