Chapter 1871: But Little Amy’s Capability Would Not Allow Me To Do So
“What is the fluster about?” Andre looked at Richard.
“My apologies for alarming Your Majesty.” Richard quickly stood up. He hesitated for a while before deciding to come clean. “The 10th elder said that previously, Duke Abraham placed 20,000,000 copper coins on Amy becoming the champion with 100 folds on the winning bet. Now, the Magus Tower casino has to pay him two billion copper coins. I have overreacted.”
“Two billion!”
“Duke Abraham plays really big…”
“Now, not only have we of the Magus Tower lost our face, we’ve also lost our money.”
The courtiers all had a strange expression. Duke Abraham did not appear at the elevated platform today, but he was somehow watching the matches somewhere, and actually placed such a heavy bet. That caused the president of the Magus Tower to panic.
Meanwhile, the Magus Tower’s elders were slightly flustered. Two billion. Would they have to give up their bonus as well?
This Abraham is rather interesting. He was even more confident about Amy winning than I was. Krassu raised his brow.
This Abraham… Andre did not know whether to laugh or to cry upon hearing that. He also knew that two billion copper coins was not a small sum to the Magus Tower. The preparation, building, and setup for this Magic Caster Tournament took up almost half a year of effort, and all the profit would end up going to Abraham.
The triennial Magic Caster Tournament funded the Magus Tower for years so that it would not require support from the national treasury, and in some years, they might even have a surplus.
This year, they were totally wrecked.
“Go, find Duke Abraham for me,” Andre instructed.
“Yes.” Two guards followed the 10th elder to the casino quickly.
“Say, don’t tell me the casino is not going to pay up?” Abraham frowned as he questioned the lackey, who was stopping him from entering, with his betting ticket in his hand.
“My Lord, you must be joking. How would we dare to not pay you? It’s really because our elders aren’t around, and we can’t possibly come up with two billion to pay you. Please wait for a while for the elders to return and settle your large reward,” the lackey said with a smile as his calves shook with fear.
Who was this person?
He was the king’s younger brother. He had been the king’s right-hand man when the monarch had just ascended the throne. He was one of the four dukes in the Roth Empire.
Although he did not have any role in court anymore, that did not mean that he had fallen out of favor. It was because he had resigned from his duties to relax at home.
Everyone knew that he was the king’s most trusted duke. Even if he might appear kind and friendly, he was still one of the most powerful people in the Roth Empire, or even on the entire Norland Continent.
On top of that, right now, he was here to collect his winnings, a 20,000,000 bet with a two-billion winning. There was not enough to pay him even if the casino emptied its treasury.
They did not dare to trifle with this lord, but the 10th elder had gone to look for the president, and so they could only hold him back for a while.
“Is the Magus Tower so poor?” Abraham frowned. It was just two billion. He thought that the Magus Tower was rather well-to-do, but why was it so stingy now?
However, Abraham did not make things difficult for these lackeys. In any case, he had the betting ticket with him, and no one had ever dared not to pay him. Not even the Magus Tower.
“Lord Abraham, His Majesty invites you over.” Two guards came up to Abraham and bowed deeply to him.
“His Majesty invites me?” Abraham was a little shocked. He glanced at the 10th elder, who was behind the guards, and said disdainfully, “Don’t tell me the Magus Tower is trying to use His Majesty to get off the payment.”
“My Lord, please do not misunderstand. We would not dare to do such things. It’s just because the sum is too huge, and according to our rules, we would have to report it to the president, and His Majesty happened to overhear, and asked about it. His Majesty invites you over to discuss the matter of the winnings.” The 10th elder quickly pushed the responsibility off himself.
“Sure. Let’s go get my money.” Abraham nodded, and followed the two guards to the elevated platform.
“Well done, Abraham. You bet so heavily on the competition. I want to know how long your family fortune could last with your gambling habits,” Andre rebuked the moment Abraham stepped on the platform.
Abraham looked at the stern-sounding Andre, who had a smile on his face, and said innocently, “Your Majesty, I was just betting a little for fun. I’ve only taken out a million copper coins and placed all my bets on Little Amy. I didn’t think that she would continue her victory streak and end up as the champion. That was how one million became two billion.
“I wanted to keep a low profile about it, but Little Amy’s capabilities would not allow me to do so.”
The corners of all the courters’ lips twitched. That was just… asking for a beating.
The Magus Tower elders could not really control their expressions. Who knew that Amy would clinch the championship? No one would even expect that somebody would bet on Amy to win right from the start.
Upon hearing that, Andre could not help but laugh, and he teased, “In that case, you earned that two billion out of pure luck?”
“You also know that I have always been quite lucky.” Abraham nodded with a smile. He glanced at Richard at the side, and said, “Is it because the Magus Tower is not intending to hand out my winnings, so they came all the way to Your Majesty for help? That’s being a bully.”
Richard, who was just about to speak, was stumped for words. A victim who could stump the bully wasn’t a victim at all.
“Nonsense. Since the Magus Tower was able to put that multiplier out there, we will naturally not go back on our words and refuse to pay.” Andre had a solemn expression as he looked at Richard. “Am I right, President Richard?”
Richard’s eyelid twitched. But in this situation, he had no choice but to nod in agreement. “Your Majesty is absolutely right. The Magus Tower must of course pay Duke Abraham whatever he has won. Please allow us three days to prepare the sum, and the Magus Tower will send someone over with the winnings to your residence.”
“Since I have President Richard’s word in front of His Majesty, I guess there’s no more issue.” Abraham nodded with a smile.
The people at the elevated platform finally understood. That was what brothers were. The king was not trying to help the Magus Tower escape the payment at all. Instead, he was supporting his brother to ensure that the Magus Tower would arrange the payment.
“Since you’re up here, come and take a seat here. Follow me back to the palace after the award ceremony,” Andre told Abraham.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Abraham nodded. Andre arranged an extra chair for Abraham to sit, and even Josh had to shift to the side to make space for Abraham.
Amy was moving to the elevated platform with the guidance of a staff member. The audience quieted down as they awaited the moment the king would hand the award to Amy.
“Master, I’ve won first place!” Amy told Krassu happily the moment she reached the elevated platform.
“Mm-hm, not bad, not bad.” Krassu stroked his beard and nodded meaningfully, as though everything was within his expectations.
The emcee guided Amy to stand at the center of the elevated platform, and Jasper could only wait at the side.
“May we invite His Majesty to present the award to the champion,” the emcee said respectfully.