The tables have turned

Sisli jumps on my shoulder.

"Aria, do you really know what you do?" she asks anxiously.

Without saying a word, I just smile confidently at Sisli. I know exactly what I do.

I've noticed three things. Number one, Mora may have a poker face, but her left eye twitches slightly when she lies. One reason I let her win was to distinguish how her facial expression changes when she's lying and how it changes when she's telling the truth.

The second thing I've noticed is that her dice themselves are rigged. Based on the sound of her dice hitting the table, I can hear that the impact is louder than it should be with wooden dice. This means that the dice must contain lead weights. By placing a weight inside a dice, the weight distribution changes, making it more likely that the dice will land on the weighted side. This can increase the probability of rolling certain numbers. She also glances over when I look at my dice numbers. She can better estimate her chances based on the dice she sees me roll.

And my third realization is that Mora is very confident in herself and her abilities. I deliberately let her win the first round so that she would gain confidence and become less attentive.

Now we'll turn the tables and see how big her ego will be in the end.

"Let's start the second round if you don't want to give up instantly," Mora says smugly.

"No need to give up. Let's start," I say confidently.

Caspian becomes more and more nervous. I hear him whispering to Lionel.

"Lionel If Aria loses, you must kidnap me. And if you don't want that, then please have enough mercy to kill me," whispers Caspian.

Lionel nods at him resolutely. I am confident that he doesn't need to use his emergency plan with Lionel. But this idiot can still fidget a bit for his mistake.

First I will let her catch a glimpse of my dice like before to let her think that everything goes the way she wants it. But then...

We both roll the dice. As I check my dice, she squints across unobtrusively, just like on the first move I lift my cup a bit higher, that she can see them a little. For her it looks like I am a bad player. But I want it that way.

I have three dice with two and two dice with three. A relatively poor result.

Perfect! Because, as soon as the cup covers the dice, I move them with my magic. Now there are five dice with six under the cup. Mora will think that my score is impossible, as she saw my dice. Also, the possibility for five dice alone in my cup is so unlikely that she will have no choice but to check my result.

"It's your turn, Mora!" I say without changing my expression.

"Let's start low. Two dice with a two!“ she says.

"I go higher. Three dice with a two,” I say. And that's not even a lie. At least, that's what she thinks.

“I raise up to five dice with a two,” she says, smiling.

"Two dice of a three!“ I say. She will probably doubt any bid I will give after that. But that is what I want.

She starts to grin smugly and looks at me arrogantly. Then she starts speaking.

"Five dice with a five!“

That's quite a high score. But what will she say to this?

"Five dice with a six!" I say and look at her with a confident smile.

"Aria, what are you doing? There is no possibility that you have such a score!” Caspian tries to whisper in desperation but is then pulled back by Mora's men.

"Shut up, Caspian. Let's see what Mora will do!” I say.

Mora seems obviously a little bit insecure because of my confident attitude. But she doesn't seem to be bothered that much by my behavior.

"Little girl. You are really naive. Come on, show me your score,“ she says smugly.

"If you insist!“

We both lift our cups. I look at her confidently. As she sees the dice, her smug smile disappears within seconds. The shock and resulting uncertainty are written all over her face.

"How is that..." she says, visibly irritated.

"Luck, what else? Are you ready for the last round?” I say, smirking at her.

"How exciting!" Sisli shouts.

"Yes!" Knox shouts while he is observing the game.

"Stay silent!" Lionel admonishes them.

"The last round is decisive! I can't look! But I have to...” Caspian shouts nervously.

"Let's start the last round,“ I say to Mora a little arrogantly.

"Fine..." Mora says. She tries to stay calm and confident like before, but I see that she slowly becomes a little nervous.

We both roll the dice!

One dice with a two, three dice with a three, and one dice with a four. The score is ok, but not that good. But I won't change anything this time, because there will be no need for that.

"You can start." Mora says to me, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Three dice with a three!" I say.

"You start quite high. I will raise up to four dice with a four!” Mora says, a little irritated.

"Not higher? I will go up to four dice of five!” I say confidently.

It's a lie, but she is too unsettled by the fact that I could have manipulated my dice that she will not question it.

"Five dice with a five!" she says, unsettled.

She is trying to unsettle me with a high bid. But she won't succeed. Because everything went in the direction I wanted. To others, she may be composed, but upon closer inspection, it's clear that she's nervous. Her left eye twitches slightly, and her posture is visibly tense. She is clearly lying. It's time to end this.

"I don't believe you. Show me your dice!" I say with a superior grin.

We lift the cups and puts it next to the dice on the table. She has four dice with a five and one with a four. I thought she was better at manipulating her dices.

"Thank God," cries Caspian.

"Good play!" Knox says and hits me on the back of my shoulder, while Sisli is jumping happily up and down. 

Ouch... Knox has a powerful punch as always...

"You saved us!" says Lionel, who is visibly staggered that I won. Everyone's emotions went up and down during the game. But after the relief, reality returns. And in reality, everything always has to be complicated.

"I must have underestimated you. But I'm the only one who can end a game!" Mora says arrogantly as she and her people pull knives from under the table.