Chapter – 24
I stared at the owner.
Because of the mask, I couldn’t see his face clearly.
But everything he wore—from his earrings to his rings, belt, and shoes—was all luxury brand items. And the logos were extremely large and obvious.
“Hm, well…”
I slowly stood up and, as if thanking him, firmly grabbed both of his hands.
Then I frowned and said,
“It’s not beginner’s luck or the charm of gambling. I just used my brain a little.”
At that moment, Ppiyak, who had been pretending to be a doll in my arms, suddenly flew up.
And with its beak, it violently pulled off the owner’s mask.
“What, what is this!”
The owner quickly tried to cover his face, but I was still holding his hands, so he missed the timing.
And just like that, his face was revealed to the Club House.
In an instant, the entire place became noisy.
“Wait, isn’t that—?!”
“Arrest him!”
Right away, several guards who had been hiding among the gamblers stood up and restrained him.
“Wanted criminal, Alin Keirip!”
Hidden guards revealed themselves, and the Club House turned into chaos in an instant.
Inside the mask, the owner had an unfamiliar face. He looked completely stunned.
Well, it made sense—his mask had just been ripped off and he was being arrested.
I calmly looked at him and shrugged.
“Oh my, I thought you were my brother… The flashy luxury outfit really looked like Joshua Prelay.”
Then I hugged Ppiyak again and added,
“It’s almost like you did it on purpose. Even your hair…”
I grabbed his blond hair.
“…feels like a wig.”
And just as I said, the perfectly styled blond hair came off, revealing plain brown hair underneath.
“No way!”
“I thought he was Lord Prelay too!”
People shouted in confusion.
Many people here had already assumed the Club House owner was Joshua.
No one had ever clearly denied it, so the rumor spread easily.
“Wow.”
I clicked my tongue.
“So it wasn’t Joshua, but a Joshua stalker…? Dressing exactly like that is crazy.”
In the original story, this was one of Prince Hiten’s traps against Prelay.
“To commit treason, you need a lot of money. So where did Prelay get it? Witnesses say the owner of the Club House was Joshua Prelay.”
But the real owner of this Club House was Alin Keirip, a wanted criminal supported by Hiten.
He avoided prison by pretending to be Joshua Prelay and running this business.
It was a carefully planned trap based on the unclear origin of Joshua’s wealth.
Alin only appeared when major incidents occurred, and that rare appearance made people think he was Joshua.
Long blond hair. Luxury brand outfits.
Even with masks, people assumed it was Joshua.
Joshua himself knew about the rumor but didn’t care.
He thought, “Even if someone imitates me, they gain nothing. Maybe they just admire my fashion.”
In reality, he even felt secretly pleased, thinking people wanted to copy him.
He enjoyed attention in his own strange way.
After the Club House eventually closed, Alin also disappeared.
And that rumor would later become a weapon against Prelay in ways no one expected.
‘In other words, if we reveal his face before the Club House closes, Joshua’s innocence will be proven.’
This was a problem that needed to be solved anyway.
So I used this chance while dealing with Sezare and came here.
To bring Alin Keirip out, I had to create a situation he couldn’t ignore.
If I just attacked directly, he would escape.
Even worse, he already had ties with the upper ranks of the guards.
So reporting him officially would do nothing.
That meant I needed a huge disturbance.
And the best way to create chaos in a gambling house…
was a massive jackpot win.
I dropped the cards from my hand.
Honestly, gambling wasn’t my thing.
Ugh… money games like this are so vulgar and not noble at all…
“Spy.”
I gave a firm order.
“The Club House is about to close. Exchange all these chips into money quickly.”
The place was already chaos.
Guards were arresting Alin, searching everywhere, and staff were running away.
“Quickly. All of it into gold coins before it gets worse.”
“Yes!”
The muscular spy maid disappeared faster than anyone.
Then a blue-haired man stood in front of me.
“Thank you, my lady. Because of you, we were able to catch our family’s enemy.”
“Congratulations.”
I smiled and finally removed my mask.
The man in front of me also removed his lion-shaped mask.
He had blue hair and brown eyes.
His name was Avian Lisinis, captain of the 5th Capital Guard Division.
He had tanned healthy skin, a gentle face, and kind-looking round eyes.
He was also the second son of House Lisinis, one of only three ducal families in the empire.
Before coming here, I had sent him a letter:
“If you secretly infiltrate the Club House immediately, I will help you catch Alin Keirip.”
Normally, the guards and Club House were already connected, so infiltration was impossible.
But if the name Alin Keirip was mentioned, things changed.
Avian would definitely come secretly with an elite unit.
Alin Keirip became a wanted criminal after killing the Duchess of Lisinis and escaping with stolen jewels.
Avian joined the capital guards himself just to catch him.
The guards were the strongest law enforcement in the capital, chosen by skill, not status.
Even nobles who became captains could not marry.
So it was extremely rare for high nobles to join.
Avian becoming a captain showed how strong his hatred was.
He had even lived in the same house as Alin, so he could recognize him instantly.
‘If he finds out the prince is backing Alin, it’ll be chaos. Please let it become chaos.’
I looked at Avian and spoke carefully.
“There must be someone behind a criminal running a business like this in the capital. Please investigate it.”
Then I added firmly,
“Directly from House Lisinis.”
Meaning: don’t leave it to the guards or the imperial palace—do it personally.
That would reduce Hiten’s chances of interference.
“Understood. For now, let’s leave this place. It’s a very unpleasant place.”
Avian, a serious model officer, clearly didn’t fit in here.
“I thought this was just a noble social club, but I didn’t expect it to be this filthy.”
He looked genuinely disgusted.
“This should have been investigated long ago… I don’t understand why the higher-ups ignored it.”
Avian held out his hand, as if to escort me.
I looked at his firm hand for a moment.
