“You’ve lost again.”

“Ugh.”

At the dealer’s words, Steve furrowed his brow and thought.

How did he end up like this?

At first, he only approached it casually to mingle with people.

Everyone around him except himself frequented Curtis Street. Always left behind, he felt left out and followed along.

Initially, he only intended to observe and get familiar by tagging along.

But curiosity arose in Steve, and at others’ urging, he ended up reaching out his hand.

When he reached out, he thought he would do it moderately and stop, but his body couldn’t do that.

The reason that said he would only bet a little completely disappeared.

“Hey, mister. How many times is this now? Haven’t you been completely drained already?”

“I still have money left, so stop worrying needlessly and let’s get started!”

Steve snapped irritably at the seemingly mocking words around him.

Though not very intelligent, even the appearance of valuing honor as he followed Grit had completely vanished.

He had become a complete wreck.

Like his disheveled hair, his clothes were also in disarray, and his eyes were bloodshot red.

His nails were bitten down so much they were almost gone.

If someone who knew him saw him, they would doubt if it was really Steve.

“Then how about betting big this time?”

“Big?”

At those words, Steve was about to say not to talk nonsense.

If he lost after betting big, there would be no money left in his possession.

Then it would really be over, his last remaining reason was crying out.

But at the next words, Steve was left speechless.

“Yeah, if you bet big, you can get back all the money you lost in one go. Right?”

At the mention of the money lost so far, even that last bit of reason completely died.

He imagined it.

The scene of regaining all the money he had lost so far.

He didn’t think at all that he could lose.

‘Then maybe Father will look at me again.’

Everything started after Clea disappeared from home.

Grit, who always encouraged him with words of expectation, suddenly changed his attitude as if he had become a different person.

He ignored, pressured, and even hit him, just as he had done to Clea.

He always heard at every meal when he would show results befitting expectations as an heir.

The more he heard such words, the more Steve wanted to produce results.

Even if it was money earned through unjust means.

He didn’t think Grit would like this method.

“Alright, I’ll bet all the money I have left.”

“Oh? Then I’ll bet all my remaining money too.”

“Can’t miss out on this. Me too.”

At the words of betting everything, those beside him smiled with satisfaction as they pushed in an enormous amount of money.

There was something Steve had failed to consider until now.

That in Curtis Street, rules don’t exist at all.

Unlike places where clear rules existed for everything, there was nothing here.

‘With this, surely.’

He almost shouted in joy at the cards he received from the dealer.

The best hand he had ever gotten was in his hands.

He then looked at the pile of chips.

Steve, dreaming vain dreams as if that money was already his, held out his hand and said.

“Looks like I’ve won this time.”

As he held out his hand, laughter erupted around him.

But focused on the pile of chips, he didn’t even hear that laughter as he reached for the chips.

In his mind, there was only the thought of taking those chips as they were, exchanging them for money, and going back.

But then, someone blocked his hand.

“What’s the rush? We haven’t even checked my hand yet.”

“What are you talking about? With this hand, it’s certain I’ve won…”

Steve couldn’t finish his sentence.

The moment he saw the hand the blocker held out, his expression completely changed to one of despair.

The hand he held out was even better than Steve’s.

“This is cheating!”

Steve shouted as if unable to accept it.

But people rose from their seats as if they had been waiting and surrounded Steve.

“Cheating? Do you have proof of that?”

“You and the dealer conspired to give me good hands until now!”

“Haha. So, I’m asking if you have proof of that.”

Completely surrounded with no way out, Steve was increasingly gripped by fear.

Once clouded, his judgment did not return.

Unable to accept that he had completely lost his money, he resisted, and people enjoyed watching him.

Even when asked for evidence, Steve kept insisting, and people said to him.

“Do you know what happens when you accuse someone of cheating without evidence in this place?”

Steve couldn’t say anything.

His eyes were already frantically searching for an escape route.

But a sturdy man was already blocking his way behind him.

“P-please, just this once.”

In the end, Steve was the first to lower his tail.

He, who had never knelt before, immediately knelt and begged out of fear.

“You know this is a place where no one cares even if someone dies, right?”

“Please spare me. Please spare me!”

“Why don’t you shout that it’s cheating like before? This makes me feel a bit sorry.”

An area like the empire’s extraterritoriality.

As they said, Curtis Street was a place where they didn’t care even if anything happened.

Here, revealing one’s family name didn’t work at all.

People slowly approached Steve.

Steve, not knowing what to do, began to shed tears.

That’s when it happened.

“I’m sorry, but could you hand over that person? I need him right now.”

With the sound of the door opening, people’s attention turned to one side at the words.

“Who are you to take him? What, did you lend money to this guy?”

People snickered openly.

But the one who entered didn’t flinch at all and approached, saying.

“If I lent money, would it be okay to take him?”

Thinking he was arrogant for not backing down, those with furrowed expressions said.

“Unfortunately, this guy lost all his money. So why don’t you leave while I’m asking nicely? Don’t make things big.”

“I don’t care about that petty money. Rather, let me give you one last warning. If you don’t want to get hurt, hand that guy over to me.”

“This guy, where do you… Argh!”

“Hey! Damn it! What are you doing, catch that guy quickly!”

The gambling den was completely thrown into chaos due to the suddenly appeared person.

A large man with a fierce look had already fallen, stabbed by a knife.

In an instant when the atmosphere changed, those present drew weapons.

Then they rushed at the one who suddenly appeared and made a mess of the place.

It was expected to be suppressed quickly given it was one against many, but no one could even scratch him as they fell one after another.

“Please, at least spare my life, please!”

The last one left approached him and desperately begged.

To at least spare his life.

“Didn’t you say earlier? That in this Curtis Street, no one cares even if someone dies. But it seems you don’t know the exact reason.”

He looked like he might be spared as he begged with his face to the ground, but he showed no mercy and immediately stabbed him with the knife.

“The reason no one cares if someone dies here is because there’s no reason to look after trash like you.”

As he pulled out the stabbed knife, the man fell. In the man’s hand behind his back was a dagger.

Ignoring the fallen corpse, he adjusted his mask and walked leisurely.

Steve trembled as he approached, curled up in the corner.

“I’ll give you anything you want. So please, just spare my life.”

Holding back a laugh at the pathetic sight of begging for life, he finally took off his mask and threw it away.

Seeing Bawin’s revealed face, Steve muttered with a bewildered expression.

“Senior, how are you here?”

“After lending you money, you were in a place like this?”

Since he already knew where Steve’s destination would be when he lent him money, it wasn’t difficult to find him.

Moreover, he had expected Steve would end up in this situation.

‘Though I didn’t expect I’d come to save him.’

The news he had expected was that the heir of a duke’s family met his death in broad daylight in the middle of Curtis Street, but now the situation was different.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Steve expressed gratitude with relief as a familiar person appeared before him.

“Why do you think I saved you?”

But at Bawin’s following words, his expression hardened again.

“You’re joking, right, Senior?”

Steve’s back was drenched in sweat at the atmosphere that seemed clearly like a joke but not at all like a joke.

Bawin smiled at Steve, who was asking almost pleadingly.

Steve’s expression brightened as he gained a glimmer of hope seeing that smile, but.

“Come along quietly. Then you won’t get hurt.”

As Bawin’s blood-stained knife came to his neck, that faint hope was completely extinguished.

Bawin tied Steve’s hands with rope so he couldn’t escape.

Steve tried to resist for a moment seeing the rope, but soon gave up at one glance from Bawin.

He had just taken care of everyone inside here alone until a moment ago.

He didn’t think he could escape from Bawin even if he resisted.

Meanwhile, Bawin smiled kindly while holding the knife he had just been wielding and said.

“Don’t worry. The person who wants to meet you isn’t such a vicious person.”

It was a word thrown to reassure the visibly tense Steve, but it didn’t reach his ears.