After Meari and Hanatemari left, Miharu Taki Sakura's gaze fell upon Yagyu Ine, who had served as the Dealer in this gamble, and she said nothing.
Feeling a little unnerved by the gaze, Yagyu Ine couldn't help but speak, "Miharu Taki, we won this gamble, didn't we?"
Miharu Taki Sakura's face was cold, and she said softly, "...Yagyu Ine, I trusted you a lot, which is why I let you be the Dealer. But I'm very disappointed that you cheated in the gamble."
Yagyu Ine's hands awkwardly hooked together, and she laughed nervously: "Miharu Taki, I don't understand what you mean…"
Miharu Taki Sakura interrupted her.
"Don't lie to me, you secretly hid that missing piece, didn't you?"
The manufacturer of these Go pieces is very famous in the industry, claiming that each piece is carefully polished and that the number of pieces strictly conforms to standards; otherwise, they would not be used as exclusive Go equipment.
And this particular Go set here, belonging to Miharu Taki Sakura, was specially supplied by the manufacturer to Private Hyakkaou Academy, making it a masterpiece among masterpieces.
Miharu Taki Sakura believed she couldn't be so unlucky as to encounter a defective product with only 180 black pieces.
She had no intention of cheating, yet a piece inexplicably disappeared, and it was to her advantage… it was already very clear who was behind it.
Meari must have also noticed this, but she definitely thought it was at Miharu Taki Sakura's instruction, which is why she vented her anger on her.
Miharu Taki Sakura also didn't shirk responsibility; she proactively suggested changing the one-game decider to a best-of-three, giving Meari a chance.
It was just a pity that Meari didn't appreciate it…
Facing Miharu Taki Sakura's interrogation, Yagyu Ine no longer concealed it, lowering her head and admitting softly, "…It was me."
That piece was indeed secretly hidden by her; no one had wronged her.
"Yagyu Ine, why did you do this? Do you not believe I will win?"
Miharu Taki Sakura's face quickly turned cold, her voice low, suppressing her anger.
"Even if I lose, it's because my skills are inferior; how dare you interfere with our gamble without permission!?"
Even if she won eighty million, if she bore the stigma of "cheating in gambling," she would rather have lost!
Miharu Taki Sakura also had her own pride; she wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose. Although eighty million was a huge sum, she could afford it.
She didn't care about the gossip of others; however, she especially didn't want Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to misunderstand.
She worried that Meari, after losing, would add fuel to the fire and slander her in front of Ayanokoji, which is why she made such a significant concession—she could have completely ignored Meari.
In fact, she had never given such a big concession to anyone else.
Yagyu Ine seemed to know she had done something wrong. She lowered her head, looking wronged: "Miharu Taki Senior, I just wanted to help you…"
Miharu Taki Sakura originally wanted to scold her more severely and give her some punishment, but thinking that she had done something bad out of good intentions, she softened.
"Forget it, what's done is done, I won't say anything more to you…"
"Although I won this time, I actually lost. According to the normal course of the game, the winner of this gamble should have been Meari. However, Meari didn't notice you cheating, which is also a fact."
Miharu Taki Sakura sighed softly.
"Let's temporarily consider this game a draw. If Meari or Ayanokoji still want to gamble with me, we'll decide the winner then. For now, this money will be temporarily held by me."
Miharu Taki Sakura turned to Yagyu Ine and earnestly instructed her, "Yagyu Ine, regarding the result of this gamble, you must help me keep it a secret. Don't tell anyone, not even if Mibuomi Aoi asks you."
"When I truly win against them and gain ownership of this money, I will personally inform him of the gambling result."
"Yes, Miharu Taki Senior, I will definitely help you keep it a secret, and I won't tell anyone!" The girl named Yagyu Ine nodded assertively, swearing her loyalty to Miharu Taki Sakura.
Half an hour later, Yagyu Ine stood in front of Mibuomi Aoi's desk and reported the details of the gamble to him.
From Ayanokoji refusing to gamble and mentioning their meeting last night, to Meari catching up to gamble, and then to her secretly tampering during the gamble, allowing Miharu Taki Sakura to win…
She informed Mibuomi Aoi of every single detail.
"Yagyu Ine, you did very well. It was indeed the right choice to send you there."
Mibuomi Aoi praised her gently with a kind smile on his face.
"It is my honor to work for Mibuomi-sama…!" The girl looked up at Mibuomi Aoi with excited and adoring eyes.
More than half a month ago, Kurume Laiwei, who had spent some time in Zenshoukai, had complained to Ayanokoji that most of the girls in the entire Zenshoukai were loyal followers of Mibuomi Aoi, attracted by his charisma, and willing to work for him.
Who doesn't like a handsome, wealthy, high-ranking noble who can treat every "cinderella" gently and equally?
Although he had a fiancée by his side, these girls all hoped that Mibuomi Aoi would take notice of them, and that one day they could rise to prominence.
Yagyu Ine, who was by Miharu Taki Sakura's side, was no exception; she had always been an admirer of Mibuomi Aoi.
She was the hidden hand Mibuomi Aoi left in the Beautification Committee.
Previously, Miharu Taki Sakura had complained to Mibuomi Aoi that the members he introduced only listened to him and didn't complete the work of the Beautification Committee, and she even said she would fire all of them.
These people were all collecting information for Mibuomi Aoi, so they certainly couldn't be allowed to lose their status as Beautification Committee members now.
Mibuomi Aoi had finally managed to persuade Miharu Taki to abandon that idea.
To stabilize Miharu Taki Sakura, he specifically left Yagyu Ine, instructing her to wholeheartedly help Miharu Taki Sakura and no longer need to complete the work for Zenshoukai.
Of course, Mibuomi Aoi didn't just send Miharu Taki Sakura an assistant; Yagyu Ine reported Miharu Taki Sakura's whereabouts at school to him every day.
When faced with the choice between Mibuomi Aoi and Miharu Taki Sakura, Yagyu Ine abandoned Miharu Taki Sakura without hesitation.
However, she still held a trace of past affection and did not tell Mibuomi Aoi that Miharu Taki Sakura had intended for her to keep it a secret.
Mibuomi Aoi didn't pay much attention to the outcome of this gamble. He just thought Miharu Taki Sakura couldn't bear to lose face and didn't want to win by cheating, which is why she held onto the eighty million.
He was more concerned about another point.
"So, Ayanokoji had dinner with Sakura last night…" Mibuomi Aoi mused.
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