"No..." You whispered, "He's lost."

"And do you really believe a patron's only job is to bankroll a gambler? If so, you're sadly mistaken. No sane patron would do nothing when it's her money at stake. Particularly if she put everything on the line. At this moment, Itsuki is standing here as a gambler!"

"Take a look at my hand. Take it as Itsuki's letter of divorce to you."

Three of a kind. Jacks.

"What?" He was in shock. "How? Three of a kind?"

"Kaede, you certainly seem obsessed with the words 'high road'. Then what was the high road in the case of this gamble?" Yumeko asked. "That's obvious! To fold! To step away from risk and to play when you have a good hand. If you'd adhered to such tactics, it would've drained me, as I had no funds. Whether or not I could make my opponent take a risk... in a sense, for me, that was a bigger issue than winning or losing."

"Yumeko discarded a pair of queens, pretending to go for a high card hand. But that alone wouldn't have been enough. If you'd folded, it would've been over. A hand so weak, I'd bet my life on it since I'm in over my head!" Itsuki added in as Kaede sweated. "I couldn't drag you into this wager until I made you believe that!"

"If I were your only opponent, I'm sure you would've stuck to the high road. But you helped us with this ten billion yen wager because of Itsuki. Because you had something special to prove involving her. It was the sheer temptation of her presence that you left the high road and went astray. It wouldn't be the first time, now would it?"

Kirari,as well as the rest of the council, laughed at this and Kaede gritted his teeth in humiliation as he looked at Itsuki.

"What are you saying?" He asked. "It was a set of three jacks. Betting your life on an iffy hand.... there's no way you could do such a thing!"

"Apparently you still don't get it, Kaede. There's only one reason why you lost. It's because you underestimated me! Screw you!"

He stood up and backed away, realizing the next steps.

"You put up a good fight." Kirari spoke calmly. "I never dreamed you of all people would be the one to lose in such a way. Thanks to this gamble, I've finally discovered everything that was alluring about you. That's why... you're fired."

You frowned. He would have a scene, of course, but you hoped after perhaps some theatrics, he would go home.

But instead, he passed out and his hair turned as white as snow.

"KAE!" You screamed, causing every person to look at you.

"Did the Princess of Japan just call out for him?"

"Look, she's standing up!"

"How can she move so quickly in her giant kimono!?"

"She's so beautiful... Wait... Were those two..."

You ran down the stairs, stumbling and tripping on your long kimono, desperately trying to get to Kaede as Sayaka called for an ambulance.

"Kae! Kae! Please!" You cried. "Please be okay."

"Princess." Kirari stood next to you. "I'm happy that you care so deeply for all your subjects. Will you be writing his life plan soon then?"

You nodded as you pulled his head into your lap and removed his broken glasses.

"Such a caring princess."

"She had to leave when Itsuki got hurt too, remember?"

"She'll be a great Empress one day too."

But it was much more than that.