Transmigrated as Baron, Married with my Lovely Maid-Chapter 86

"125,000 Chips...?! Are you crazy, Atreus Vermillion?!"

This was the first time I’d seen Ulrich pound the table while standing up from his chair.

His sharp, angry gaze was fixed on me.

But beneath his anger, I could feel his body sweating profusely, as if he were trying to control his nerves.

"Why, Ulrich? Is this the first time you’ve lost? You said you’ve trapped the mafia and corrupt officials in my world without losing, right? But I’m not a lowly person like them. My victory is proof, and mark my words, I will definitely take all your Chips...!" I exclaimed firmly.

Ulrich pounded the table again in anger.

He knew my challenge was serious and he couldn’t refuse.

I saw Ela immediately approach Ulrich, who looked nervous, a mixture of annoyance and anger at my provocation.

"Dear...don’t listen to that lunatic...! He only has 90,000 chips, yet he’s asking for 125,000? Crazy! Even you only have 100,000 chips, darling..." Ela defended Ulrich, glaring at me angrily.

Ela was right about our chip count, but Ulrich had a different view.

He gently pushed Ela away, asking for space so he could refocus on fighting me.

"...if you want to raise the bet that much, of course I have to agree. But you also have to raise your chips, Atreus. It’s a rule of the Curse of Zeraxion that limits each person to a maximum of 100,000 chips for their soul. If you want to raise to 125,000, you’ll have to add another person or things to the bet."

Ulrich’s explanation made sense.

I saw his gaze shift to Leysha, who was next to me.

"I can gauge it... Leysha is worth 88,000 chips... and you can use them to raise the stakes...!" Ulrich challenged.

I understood that this was the consequence of the increased stakes.

At first, I stared at Leysha, who looked tense and hesitant.

But when she realized I was watching, Leysha slowly calmed down.

Her once-hesitant eyes now sharpened and firm.

She took my right palm with a smile. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Do what is best for you, Baron Atreus. I have confidence in all your decisions," Leysha said, bowing respectfully.

I could feel the sincerity in Leysha’s words.

And I really needed that from Leysha in this rather complicated situation.

Without waiting any longer, I saw a new stack of chips form, valued at 88,000, a whitish blue.

From the magical flow I felt in the new chips, I could sense Leysha’s magic.

These new chips are portraying Leysha’s souls.

"Hah...! I never imagined you’d dare to sacrifice your beloved wife just for your bigger bet...! If you lose... it won’t just be you, Atreus... but your wife too...!" Ulrich exclaimed, laughing contemptuously at me.

"Enough talking. How about you, Ulrich? What additional things do you want to bet? Oh, I know. How about your wife? I know she’s a cheap woman with no soul, but at least she has value in the treasures she stole from me...!" I exclaimed firmly.

"B-bastard...! What did you say?!" Ela immediately shouted in annoyance.

But Ulrich nodded, feeling that my suggestion was a good idea.

Without hesitation, Ulrich pointed at Ela, then pointed his finger at the cashier table.

A whitish-yellow chip appeared, but only worth 25,000.

I detected a magical flow from Ela’s body that linked to the new chips, indicating that they were indeed Ela’s.

"As I thought... only 25,000. Honestly, I’m surprised your filthy, evil-filled soul has a value of 25,000, even though I thought you had no value at all. Oh, wait a minute, maybe those chips actually just contain the value of my possessions and assets that you stole from me! No wonder they still have value!" I said calmly.

"Darling...! This useless man is completely insane...! I hope you can destroy him and his wife who always interferes with my life...!" Ela sounded hysterical as she pleaded with Ulrich.

Ulrich didn’t really care what I said.

He only cared about the total chips, which were 125,000 compared to my 178,000.

"This exciting and thrilling game is about to begin, Atreus. I hope you prepare to say goodbye to your beloved wife." Ulrich said.

"I’m not worried about my wife because I know that damn curse won’t take her....instead, I’m worried about getting Ela after I win. Why would I get that piece of trash again?"

"Watch your mouth, Atreus...!" Ela snapped impatiently, but Ulrich immediately restrained her.

Ulrich began drawing cards and dealing them out.

I was dealt the King of Diamonds and the Queen of Clubs, while Ulrich was dealt the Ten of Clubs and one card that was still face down.

In my current position, if I chose to hold, it would be more than enough.

However, what I noticed was Ela’s lips, which seemed busy chanting something that I knew was related to Ulrich’s hidden trick.

I saw that Ela was no longer trying to hide it because she knew her life was at stake.

A strong magical current flowed rapidly from every side of the casino room, and as I looked around, I felt like I was entering an increasingly narrow corridor.

The initially large casino room seemed to become a corridor that was increasingly cornering me.

Although I knew this was just perception manipulation, this form of manipulation could only be formed through the intervention of powerful trickster magic.

My chest felt increasingly tight against the pressure of the manipulative aura that was increasingly hitting me, but I didn’t give up.

I sharpened my gaze and stared at the face-down card Ulrich was holding.

I saw the torrent of magic flowing around the face-down card, trying to change it, which meant Ulrich’s magic was trying to break through Zeraxion’s cursed spell.

Damn it.

I knew he was going to cheat.

And his cheating wasn’t detected by Zeraxion’s cursed spell.

"Heh... heheheh... HAHAHAHAH! I ADMIT YOU SCARED ME, ATREUS VERMILLION! BUT I’M NOT THAT EASILY DEFEATED! YOU WERE WRONG FOR BETING YOUR BELOVED WIFE!" Ulrich exclaimed loudly as he revealed his face-down card.

It turned out to be the Ace of Diamonds, which meant his total score was 21, an absolute win for him.

’WOOOOOSH...!’

Suddenly, a purplish-black aura surged out, pulling all of Leysha’s chips.

Leysha felt her body floating.

At first, her body moved, trying to shake off the invisible force that gripped her body and soul, but gradually, she lost the strength to struggle.

Even her voice, calling out to me, was difficult to muster because her soul was completely chained and drained.

She tried to reach for my hand, but her body grew weaker and weaker.

"LEYSHA!"

"Baron-"

SWAP...!

Leysha’s figure disappeared, swallowed by a purplish-black aura, along with Leysha’s chips.

I no longer sensed Leysha’s aura or magical flow.

She truly seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth, her soul devoured by Zeraxion’s cursed spell.

Not only that, I could even feel half of my power draining from the bet, to the point where the Black Star power in my right palm was no longer at its full potential.

My defeat instantly caused Leysha’s soul to vanish, as if swallowed by the earth.

"AHAHAHA! HOHOHOHOHO! ELA, YOU’RE RIGHT! ATREUS VERMILLION IS A USELESS MAN WHO CAN’T EVEN PROTECT HIS OWN WIFE! LOOK AT HIM! HE CAN’T EVEN HELP HIS WIFE WHOSE SOUL HAS BEEN TAKEN BY A LOST BET!" Ulrich exclaimed with a contemptuous laugh.

"Hahahaha! Darling! You’re the best! I’ve told you countless times that he’s just a useless man who’s unworthy of a husband! Only a fool and a madman would believe him!" Ela chimed in with an equally arrogant laugh.

I lost 120,000 chips, which meant I only had 53,000 chips left.

I can’t lie, my heart felt half broken seeing Leysha suddenly disappear like that.

Especially amidst the laughter of two people who belittled me like that, my heart felt even more torn and painful.

Well, fuck that.

I’ve stood in this ring to fight Ulrich Aurelius, and Leysha has put herself on the line because she believes in me.

Yes, Leysha has believed in me, and I won’t let that go to waste.

This fight isn’t over yet, and I won’t abandon the trust Leysha has placed in me completely!

I stood up from my chair and looked at Ulrich, who had just stopped laughing in triumph.

"Ulrich, the game isn’t over yet. Next round, I want a bigger bet! 250,000 chips...!"

Instead of being shocked, Ulrich now seemed calm, accepting my rather wild and crazy wishes.

"Heheh... look at you, Atreus... you only have 53,000 chips left. What else are you going to bet? Oh, yes. I know... you still have your territory... how about we bet your territory under the Vermilion flag. It’s worth more than 197,000 chips...!"

I didn’t immediately respond to Ulrich’s crazy offer.

It felt like risking too much of my kingdom for this one, too simple gamble.

But, Leysha had become a prisoner of Zeraxion’s cursed spell, and I would certainly do anything to free her, including risking my territory.

There was no turning back!

I would press on until I won!

"Bring it on, Ulrich...!"