I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

 

‘Horse number 2 won.’

 

It was all according to my plan.

 “Hahaha!”

I let out a roaring laugh.

 “That sucks, doesn’t it!” 

Jeron, sitting in front of me, shook his head in disgust.

 “You’re a real devil…” “Who told him to be so manipulative? It’s his own karma.” “Who suggested that?” “Are you on my side or the Duke’s side? If you have the decency to run a gambling house, don’t accept my suggestion~” “Yes, you’re right…” 

Jeron shuddered as he said that, but I didn’t care how he reacted right now. I felt better than I had in a long time.

 

‘I’ve never been so excited.’

 

After boldly declaring to Lord River that I was going to give him a taste of his own medicine, 

 

I… No, more precisely, O’Neill and I set to work on a plan.

 

Well, I’d already told O’Neill the plan. Although her face seemed strangely different when I saw her just a few days later, I chalked it up to the fact that she was treating me as usual.

 

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little creeped out, so I asked her about the last time we spoke…

 

‘You said you had a headache and wanted to rest for a while, and then you fell asleep. You must have been exhausted.’

 

Me? In the middle of a conversation?

 

Never in my life have I ever done that, and I shook my head, but then I accepted it. If O’Neill said so, then so be it, and that wasn’t the point right now.

 

‘Okay, I see. Anyway, the reason I’m in a rush today was…’

 

I explained my plan to O’Neill, line by line.

 

Originally, I was going to take it slow, starting with gambling in casinos, not racetracks. I hadn’t been able to buy off the players yet, and I had more people planted on the casino side.

 

But the reason I sought her out in such a hurry was no different.

 

‘The Marquis of Crawford was coming?’

 

As soon as I heard the news, I had a sudden realization.

 

Now was the time.

 

This was the most opportune time to unleash the groundwork that had been laid, and the Duke’s downfall would begin with the Marquis of Crawford.

 

With such a strong premonition, I decided to go straight to the racetrack, extending my hand to my secretary, O’Neill, and she nodded eagerly at my request. 

 

With an oddly pleased look on her face.

 

She even said,

“That’s easy.”  

It may seem arrogant, but knowing her skills, I immediately took O’Neill to the racetrack and…

 “Hahaha!” 

She had pulled off the maneuver brilliantly.

 

Of course, Lord River helped a lot as well, as I had heard from him beforehand how many times the horses were rigged to win, so it was easy to write the numbers. 

 

I only needed to manipulate the horse that the Duke had picked to win, which was horse number five.

 “Wow, I never thought you’d be so accurate from that distance. Your jousting skills are improving.” “Oh, you don’t have to do that, it was no big deal.” “No big deal? O’Neill, what kind of potential do you have…” “Nice try.” 

Jeron stared at us in disbelief as we burst out laughing, complimenting each other. Then he turned to O’Neill and asked.

 “But are you sure we’re not going to get caught? If we leave any trace of this…” “Don’t worry. My magic doesn’t stay in place for long unless I’m working a huge spell.” “Right, and what if we get caught?” 

I grinned wickedly, stepping in between them.

 “By the time they find out, it’ll be too late.” 

And I was right. The Duke would be furious, but he didn’t suspect I’d used magic.

 

No, on the contrary, he would not even suspect that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. After all, no matter how many players they beat, nothing came out of it, so they concluded that it was an accident.

 

Of course, it’s tempting not to admit a failure the first time around. But that complacency served me well.

 “Horse 3, make a pit in front!”  Horse 1, go faster!” “Horse 4, surprise him and make him drop!” “Number 5, maul!” 

From then on, O’Neill and I had a blast.

 

At first, of course, we fiddled around to avoid suspicion, but then we started wreaking havoc on the racetrack.

 

The Duke, sensing something was amiss, increased security at the racetrack and began to investigate, though we used magic to sneak around just fine.

 

‘And it’s not just the racetrack.’

 

By that time, the people I’d set loose had begun to move.

 

The situation at the racetrack was getting worse, instead of improving, so the Duke quickly tried to divert people’s attention to the casino.

 

But the casino was no better.

 

It was a lawless place. The facilities were already tampered with, from the dealers to the guests who deliberately cheated, regardless of how much they were paid.

 

The number of people losing money grew exponentially, and there were quite a few high-ranking nobles in the mix that the Duke had brought in with difficulty, not to mention their dissatisfaction with the Duke was growing by the day.

 

Soon, more and more nobles were turning their backs on the Duke.

 “Good, very good.” 

And behind all of that, I was enjoying tea time and fooling around at the manor house.

 

The most fun in the world was watching someone else’s house burn down, which was beyond fun, it was delightful, refreshing, and exhilarating.

 “So, was that the end of the plan?” 

O’Neill and I sneak out before things get out of hand. If we made any more of a scene, we’d alert the Duke, and now things were going to take care of themselves without us doing anything.

 “Well, we’re almost there…” 

But I’m not one to rest on that accomplishment. My aim was not merely to wound the Duke, but to break him beyond repair.

  I still have one more shot.” 

One last mental blow to the Duke.

 “Well… Should be done by now.” “What?” 

I smirked at O’Neill, who shook her head.  

 

Then, looking all peachy, I said.

“Because I have one more thing to retrieve.”  

Bang!

 “What the hell was going on here!” 

The Duke shouted angrily as he slammed his fist down on the desk, but the bastard son in front of him was silent, his head bowed, and the servant who had relayed the news was fidgeting.

 

The Duke grunted and ruffled his hair.

 

‘I should have suspected it.’

 

The first day the tide turned.

 

He thought it was a mere coincidence, and it had to be. 

 

No amount of investigation would turn up anything, and even the players he’d paid off seemed clueless.

 

Threatening to take their families hostage yielded no results, and the Duke finally gave up.

 

‘It’s probably due to mismanagement.’

 

But it was inevitable that he wouldn’t be relieved, because that one mistake had cost him a chance he would never have again.

 

In the end, he followed the Duke’s advice and bet on the 5th horse and lost all his money. 

 

He glanced at the Duke incredulously and chided him,

“Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”

 

 

Then, as if he had lost interest, he left the gambling house.

 

The Duke would never forget the humiliation he felt at that moment.

 

‘I’ll make you regret it.’

 

Perhaps it was a bad idea to catch the Marquis in this, but the odds were still in his favor.

 

There were already quite a few high-ranking nobles who had gambled away, and a single Marquis wouldn’t derail the plan, and he had the Emperor’s full support.

 

‘Okay, now I just have to make sure I don’t make a mistake.’

 

But that thought was his mistake.

 “I never thought there would be a sneaky rat…!” 

After that, every time the race changed hands, every time the same thing happened twice, three times, he had to realize that something was not right.

 

There was no point in trying to find the mole after the fact, and no matter how much he increased security, the situation would only repeat itself. 

 

Eventually, he gave up on horse racing and turned his attention to the casino, but the situation was similar there.

 “Damn it!” 

The Duke slammed his desk in a fit of rage. Several letters stacked on top of it fell to the floor in shock. They were all from nobles he had recruited.

 

They all said the same thing. Likewise, they demanded to know how this had happened, and they wanted him to take responsibility. And they weren’t just letters. Some nobles came to him in person.

 “Your Grace!” 

…Yes, Just like now.

 “Didn’t I tell you not to come in!” “I, I’m sorry, but Count Moses came in person, begging to see you…” “Count Moses?” 

It wasn’t the servant who answered the Duke’s irritated question, but the urgent-looking secretary who followed him in.

 “It’s not just Count Moses, the Baileys, the Richards, the Sheldon, the Blingers, all of them are looking for you.” “What, just wait, and we’ll sort it out so you can keep your mouth shut!” “You’re being a prick, and if you don’t do something about it right now, I’m going to start filing charges, whether it’s legalization or something…” “…Haha!” 

Now, Who’s reporting who?

 

It was ridiculous. They’ve been enjoying themselves at the gambling house all this time, and now they’re threatening to report it?

 

Even if they did, their report wouldn’t work. The Emperor, who would hear the report, would be on his side. But he couldn’t just let them continue like this.

 

The Duke wrapped his head in his hands and pondered the options, thinking that there was at least one way out.

 “…Investments.” 

The Duke’s head snapped up.

 “Don’t I have an investment from the ghost top?” “What?” “Well, I suppose I should use it for now. I can pay it back later or whatever, but for now, I’m going to use it to build the…” “What do you mean, Your Grace, what do you mean, an investment?” “Why?” 

The Duke looked at him with a furrowed brow, and his secretary, looking somewhat puzzled, stammered.

 “Hasn’t the top already collected your remaining investment and left?” 

The Duke was momentarily dazed.

 “…What?” “Didn’t you hear? I’m sure the Duke has been told he’s been paid off.” “When did I… No, who…?” “That, that….” 

The trembling secretary nudged beside him.

 “Lord Goldman said…” “…” “…” 

A deathly silence fell over the room.

 

The Duke followed the secretary’s hand and slowly looked back at River Goldman.

 

His son, whom he believed had finally come to his senses, whose betrothal to a Princess would give him a chance to rise to power, was now looking at him with his head held high and proud.

 

The Duke’s mouth grew wide, his eyes already bulging, and he was speechless for a moment before he finally mustered the words.

 “Yes, it was you.” “…” “You were the rat, you were the one weaving and playing with them…!” “…” “River Goldman-!” 

Soon, several footsteps could be heard outside the office, and the door burst open and uniformed knights burst into the room.

 

Imperial knights. The Duke’s face contorted in horror as one of them pulled out a formal summons bearing the Emperor’s seal.

 

River Goldman, who had watched it all unfold, muttered gloomily.

 “You’ve been too greedy, father.”