The poor version of Devin is so rude

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The walk of shame from the restaurant to the casino was humiliating enough, but the last thing she wanted to see in the gambling hall was Devin, standing right next to the pocker table, laughing at her stained clown uniform so hard that he had to hold his stomach.

"How do you all even know that I'm working here?" She's not a celebrity, how did the word spread out so quickly?

"I'm not -pffff- sorry, I just can't hahaah."

"Yeah, very mature." 

Cecilia waited for the twentieth year-old man to hold his laughter so long that she wondered if he had never seen something laughable all his life to make him get it all out now.

Fortunately, after a few more seconds, he got to the point where he could hold himself together.

"If you didn't know I was working at the casino, what are you doing here?"

He, more successfully holding his laugh, responded with a smile: "what does Her Highness think people are doing in casinos? Playing chess?"

Cecilia realized that a serious conversation wouldn't happen with Devin until she changed clothes. She was planning to go back to her room when Devin stopped her, actually turning serious for a moment.

"Cecilia, could you do me a favor? I'm at a continuous loss here, unlucky run I suppose, and it seems to me that you are the official 'lucky charm' of this place..." He gave her a pleasing glance with his hazel-brown eyes.

"So you do know that I'm working here!"

"Well, I didn't know you were working here in—what is it again? Dirty clown uniform? But I may have heard a rumor about your streak of good luck yesterday, and I might need this good luck of yours now."

"After you've made fun of me? Forget it" She was already upset because of the lunch she couldn't eat before; all she wanted was to go back to the staff dormitory and sleep in her new king-size bed until doomsday arrived.

"Please!" To her shock, Devin kneeled in front of her, holding so tight to her clown pants she was afraid he would flash her by accident. "I bet on the wrong horse a little too many times, and I have to cut my losses; it was all my money for the school year. Please, Your Highness, won't you give your loyal subject a little shot? I'm begging you."

Cecilia didn't think Devin, of all people, would fall for the gambling trap. He always looks gentlemanly and in full control, as he would throw diamonds at you the next minute.

Who would have believed that the mess kneeling in front of her is the same elegant guy from before? 

"I don't think what they say about me is true," Cecilia said, trying to lower his expectations, "but I can pray for your success if you would like-"

"I would, I would! Thank you, Your Highness."

There is a real issue with cutting into other's sentences in the wizarding world.

Devin sat down with renewed energy at the poker table. "Shall we gamble?"

"Took you long enough, I've been waiting for half an hour!" The only man sitting beside the dealer burst out.

Half an hour? 'Didn't know you worked here', my ass.

However, Cecilia didn't agree to help Devin just to argue with him. She sat and gagged, clutching her rumbling stomach.

"Initial bets," the dealer, who did not respond to any of the things that were said, said in a robotic tone.

Devin threw a gold coin at the table, yet the other person remained still.

"Why didn't the other bet too?" Cecilia whispered in Devin's ear, curious.

"Your Highness, I'm forever grateful for your kindness, but please shut your mouth and constraint on the praying stuff." He didn't even spare a look at her while saying so, just worryingly staring at the dealer as he handed out the cards. Only then did the other party add a coin to the pot.

Cecilia leaned back, not bothered with interfering anymore. 

For someone who was on his knees not more than a minute ago, begging her and keeping calling her 'Your Highness', Devin acted pretty cheeky.

After a minute or two of staring into space, a sudden hug snapped her out of her thoughts.

"It appears to be that Her Highness is truly is a luck charm." His muscular arms suffocated her, and his tall stature completely blocked her field of vision, all she could see was Devin's chest, clearly visible under his tight shirt.

"Again." This time, it was the other gambler's turn to throw a coin at the table.

 Luckily, the impatient man didn't seem to know about her exploits yesterday, so Devin could continue to extort money from him over and over again.

"You truly deserve your title, Your Highness." Devin looked with satisfaction at the stack of gold and silver coins that returned to him, shiny and squinty as if it had been cleaned a minute ago.

Cecilia didn't really know the value of money in the wizarding world, but considering her hourly wages, it looks like the cost of living is going to hit her hard from now on.

Because the cost of lodging, according to Gerald, was only 20 copper coins, a salary of 5 silver coins an hour seemed astronomical to her at first (Vlad explained to her that one silver coin was worth fifty copper coins), but with the prices of the meals and the grandeur at every step that the group accompanying her experienced, Cecilia wondered if she could really survive with such a salary for a full year at the academia.

"Here," Devin gave her two gold coins, "as a token of appreciation for everything you have done for me."

Cecilia looked at the huge stack of gold coins on the table she had helped Devin earn and then at the two incredibly small looking coins in his hand. "Aren't you a little too stingy?"

"You little brat, do you know how much they are worth?"

"Not enough for my highness; give me twenty."

Cecilia was glad to find that Devin returned his majestic aura after having his gold back, he looked more like himself when he stinks of money.

They walked and laughed as they did on the island on their way to see Devin's room from the inside for the first time.

The situation that repeated itself within a few days gave Cecilia hope that things like this would happen much more in the future. She loved the warm feeling she felt in her heart when she spoke openly with a friend.

"Are you feeling well, Your Highness? You look worse than usual." Devin was the first to notice that something was off.

Cecilia grinned at him faintly. "What do you mean by usual? You ungrateful little..."

Before she could finish the curse she passed out, her collision with the ground only being prevented by Devin's quick instincts.