Ace

"Tch, damn it...!" Jonathan growled in annoyance when he realized Lucien had nearly beaten him.

He is stuck and whatever strategy he adopts will ultimately result in the same result, which is defeat. He glanced at Lucien who was still playing calmly as if he was carefree and that made him feel even more irritated.

Victor, who seemed to be starting to realize that he would lose tens of millions of dollars tonight, threw a vicious look at Jonathan. He couldn't calm down now and all of this was not a matter of how much money he would lose, but his pride.

Victor really hates to lose, even in the slightest thing. He is a terrible gambler, he knows that gambling is not his forte therefore he is willing to spend millions of dollars to pay great jockeys like Jonathan. But no matter how great Jonathan is, Victor knows that no one will be able to surpass Lucien's record.

"He's exactly the same as Lucien. Tch, this makes me even more suspicious. Who is he? There's no way Lucien is still alive. I saw with my own eyes his rotting body and leaving bones in the ground. But, who is he?" Victor thought. For some reason, he felt very uneasy about something he couldn't understand.

Beside him, Ruby could feel Victor's anxiety. But she could do nothing to prove her curiosity.

"Oh yeah..."

Mr. Brown laughed with joy when the game was over. Lucien managed to make him win 100 million dollars. It was his first win from Victor, who has always had the best jockeys in Las Vegas.

"Bastard...!"

Braaakkk...

Victor, who was annoyed, immediately kicked the table containing bottles of beer and champagne until they fell scattered on the floor. Everyone was shocked, but for those who knew him, they knew that Victor had a bad temper.

Right after the game ended, Lucien immediately got up from his place and walked away, followed by Mr. Brown who didn't seem to want to lose him.

"Levi, thank you! Hahaha...I'm glad you played with me. From now on just keep playing for me, ok? I'll pay you whatever amount you want-"

"Forty percent"

"What?"

"If you want me to play with you, I want you to give me 40 percent of the amount of money I won,"

"F-forty percent? I guess that's too much to-"

"Accept or not? I don't care, if you want, please contact me again. But if not, you can use someone else."

"What if you lose? Do I still have to pay you?"

"I won't charge a dime if I lose!"

Mr. Brown smiled broadly, 40 percent was indeed a very large sum for him to give to a jockey who played for him. But considering the victory he got, it was worth the price.

"All right, we agreed!" Mr. Brown said while patting Lucien's shoulder.

Lucien stepped away and as he walked past Victor and his hierarchy, he was satisfied with one thing. They had played a cruel game on a resurrected devil like himself and even this devil wouldn't waste an opportunity to join the game.

"Wait...!" Victor shouted, forcing him to stop his steps even though he was reluctant to turn his head back.

"You talking to me?"

"Do you think anyone else passed in front of me besides you?"

"Victor, what the-"

"It's okay, Ruby! I know you are still curious about this guy. Not only you and me, but everyone in this room who also knows Lucien Sanders or Lucky the ace, must feel the same feeling. Lucien disappeared exactly one year ago and now suddenly someone who looks so much like him has suddenly appeared. How can we believe that they are not related to each other?”

Victor's statement made the atmosphere in the room suddenly become tense. Most of them knew Lucien, both as friends and colleagues. Ever since Lucien suddenly appeared in this room and surprised them all by claiming to be Levi Mayr, they didn't necessarily believe his confession.

Lucien who stood at the door seemed to have to discourage for a moment to leave this room. Victor challenged him and it was obvious. One thing that Victor and Ruby will never realize is that this is the moment he has been waiting for.

"Lucien, huh? I often hear about his prowess at the gambling table. Until now no one has been able to surpass his winning record. So in a way, he is my role model. Maybe I'm the one who wants to look like him or take his place as the undefeated."

"So, you admit it?"

"Please think of me as Lucien, if that makes you feel better. Because I don't care how you look at me right now!" He said as he walked away from the room which was filled with silence.

Victor's hands clenched and trembled, he felt anger that he could not express. He knew best what had happened to Lucien, because he was the one who had hired an assassin to kill Lucien.

"Lucien is dead, he can't possibly rise from his grave and live again. He must be someone else who happens to have a face that looks a lot like Lucien. Damn, I don't want this to affect Ruby." He thought. He glanced at Ruby who was still silent with a confused and disappointed face.

Meanwhile, Jonathan, who had suffered defeat, still couldn't accept that he had lost to Lucien. During this one year he set the highest record and almost never lost. But in just one game, Lucien made him a loser and he couldn't take it for granted.

"Damn you, Lucien! Just watch, I will definitely repay you and humiliate you. Even Claude will get rid of you."

***

Lucien stopped his steps even though the expression on his face didn't change at all, remaining cold and calm as usual. But Sofia could guess that something had happened to him.

"Are you done with your assignment, Levi?" She said with a seductive smile. Sofia walked over to him and stood right in front of Lucien in a black mini dress that made her look very sexy.

"Just finished with your spy assignment?"

"Hahahaha...you guessed it? But I think we should be more careful talking about our jobs in a place like this."

"What are you doing here? Got an appointment to service the rich guy who places bets in the casino?"

"Definitely not some poor guy playing low class for little money. I just wrecked my car so I want a ride in yours."

"You can go home with Jonathan and his men, they'll be out in a minute!" Lucien said as he opened his car door and sat in the driver's seat. Without further ado, Sofia got into Lucien's car and sat in the passenger seat right beside him.

Sofia threw a teasing smile at Lucien who looked at her for just getting into his car.

"I want to go home with you!" Sofia said. Lucien chuckled while shaking his head slowly, then drove his car into the streets of the sparkling city of Las Vegas.

"Did something good happen?" She asked. She knew something was up and she was quite curious about it.

"Not anything great, but quite interesting!"

"Really?"

"I met Victor and my wife,"

"Wow...what a surprise reunion! Let me guess, they must be surprised to see you. Especially Victor!"

"He knows that I'm dead, that's why he doesn't believe that I'm Lucien. He thinks that I'm a twin or someone who has a relationship with Lucien."

"Naturally he couldn't believe that Lucien was still alive and suddenly appeared before him like a ghost. Then, what about your wife? I'm sure she wouldn't have believed it if you weren't Lucien."

Hearing Sofia's question, Lucien paused for a moment. He remembered how Ruby looked at him with a face that seemed to say that she couldn't believe what she was seeing. When he saw Ruby's eyes, even if only briefly, he almost melted and hugged Ruby. He loves Ruby, even though it can't be denied that he feels very angry at her, especially in the part where Ruby kisses Victor as if she really enjoyed the kiss.

"She looks very different, not like the Ruby I know."

"What?"

"She looked like a stranger, so strange that it really disappointed me."

***