Chapter 59

."I'll need someone to stand by, just so you don't wriggle out of this later," said Emilia, her voice sharp as she fixed Sebastian with a cold stare.

A stab of unease shot through Sebastian, but pride got the better of him. "Why would I back out? I'm not as shady as you are," he snapped.

"Let's hope you're better than me, then," Emilia replied,her tone biting.

Deep down, Emilia knew his nature. If anyone was likely to run from paying the wager, it was him.

With Wilbur acting as their witness, the two of them settled on a bench beneath the shade of a broad tree.

"So what are we playing? Tell me quick," Wilbur asked,his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Sebastian held up his phone, the glow of the screen reflecting in his eyes. "This one. We'll both use the same hero. Pick whoever you want."

"I'll mirror your choice," said Emilia evenly. She borrowed Sloane's phone and account since hers didn't even have the game downloaded.

"Don't accuse me of picking on you. We'll go with the simplest mage. All her attacks lock on. No need for fancy predictions," Sebastian sneered.

"Works for me," Emilia replied without a pause,setting up a private 1v1 room.

Wilbur's excitement fizzled out once he saw the hero choice. Watching such plain characters battle felt boring, though he reminded himself it was typical for women to pick the easier options.

"Who's your money on?" he asked Elias, not caring that Emilia and Sebastian could hear every word.

All attention shifted toward Elias, waiting for his answer. "Emilia," Elias said in a low, certain voice.

"Of course. Knew you'd say that," Sloane added with pride, her grin daring anyone to disagree.

."You really think she'll win?" Wilbur raised his brows."Fine. Then I'll take Sebastian's side. Loser buys lunch."

Sebastian gave a proud look and smirked as he said,"Mr. Collins, you really don't miss a thing."

"Don't flatter yourself. I just can't have everyone betting on Emilia," Wilbur interjected, shattering Sebastian's moment of pride in an instant.

Even if Emilia stumbled, Wilbur had no intention of siding with Sebastian. A bet needed balance, nothing more.

Sebastian's expression darkened, and for a moment,he wished he could vanish. The sting of humiliation burned, though Wilbur wasn't someone he could lash out at.

"Begin," Elias commanded, his voice steady but carrying a cold weight that settled over the group.

Sebastian couldn't stop the chill that ran through him as he met Elias's cold, piercing sare.

Sebastian entered the room Emilia had set up and quickly locked in his choice of hero.

Once the match started, Wilbur gave it a lazy glance before leaning back with his coffee,more interested in the drink than the screen.

Sebastian charged in brimming with confidence,certain he would demolish Emilia.

Minutes slipped away, and his smug grin slowly faltered. A sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead as he realized he was fighting tooth and nail just to keep up.

For all the simmplicity of the mage they were using, he was being pushed to the edge by someone he thought had no clue how to play.

A deep frown settled on Sebastian's face. Emilia wasn't supposed to know a thing about games-so how was she beating himso easily?

He had always prided himself on his skills, certain a win like this would be effortless. But instead of cruising to victory, he was being outmatched at every turn.

Then the triumphant victory jingle cut through the air.

Wilbur sputtered into his coffee, nearly spilling it.Wait a second. Did that really happen so quickly?

Wilbur snatched a look at the timer and shook his head in disbelief. "Under ten minutes? You've got to be kidding me."

What no one realized was that Emilia had been pulling her punches. She could have wrapped the game up in just a couple of minutes, but she deliberately stretched it out. Sebastian wasn't a weak player, and crushing him too quickly would risk exposing her secret-that she was none other than the legendary gamer everyone knew as Cloudstrider.