Chapter 10: Unpopular? More Like Unexpected Profits! (rewrited)

Barron had grand plans. Oh, huge plans. His original idea? Gather a cool £2 million from his family, invest it wisely, and boom—turn it into £35 million within half a year to save the Duke of Devonshire's estate.

The reality? His available funds amounted to a modest, humbling, pitiful £100,000.

Which meant that unless he discovered a hidden treasure chest under Chatsworth House or invented time travel, his financial strategy needed a rethink.

Stock market? Too slow. Real estate? Too expensive. Startup investing? Well, unless he had Google or Facebook knocking on his door with a "buy low, sell high" offer, that wasn't going to cut it either.

So, what was a nobleman with slightly noble ambitions to do?

Bet. On. Football.

Specifically, the 2002 World Cup.

Now, gambling is usually a sign of desperation. But in Barron's case, it was a sign of genius—or so he told himself. Unlike the poor souls blindly betting on their favorite teams, Barron had insider knowledge. Not from match-fixing or underground dealings, no, but from a little thing called reincarnation.

The 2002 World Cup was practically ingrained in his memory. He remembered the upsets, the scandals, and most importantly—the miracle wins.

And the biggest key to easy money? South Korea's "home advantage"—which, in this case, meant referee decisions that made even the most blatant cheating look subtle.

Sports betting was practically a British pastime. William Hill and other bookmaking giants had betting stations all over London. It was as easy as ordering a pint at the pub—except, in Barron's case, he hoped for a much better return on investment.

After arriving in London, Barron headed straight to his apartment, a nice little family-owned property. And by "little," he meant something that could probably house an entire football team.

Being in London reminded him of a certain incident—or rather, a certain someone.

That girl he had accidentally spent a night with after waking up in this timeline? He had figured out who she was. And oh, boy.

Cather.

As in, Princess Cather.

As in, future wife of the Crown Prince.

At first, Barron thought his memory was playing tricks on him. But after seeing the prince at the family funeral, everything clicked.

This wasn't just an awkward one-night stand.

This was historical revisionism.

How did she even end up at a nightclub in London? Shouldn't she have been studying at St. Andrews? And why, of all people, did she end up with him?

A royal scandal in the making? Perhaps. A problem for future Barron? Definitely.

For now, there were bigger things to focus on—like making sure he didn't go broke.

With a fresh batch of newspapers and an internet connection, Barron quickly looked up the latest World Cup betting odds.

The opening match? France vs. Senegal.

Ah-ha!

He knew this one!

France—the reigning champions, the team full of superstars, the undeniable favorites—were about to get absolutely embarrassed.

The odds?

France to win: 1:1.2 (yawn).

Senegal to win: 1:15 (now we're talking!).

Translation: If you bet £100 on France, you'd win a whopping… £20.

If you bet £100 on Senegal, you'd win £1,500.

Now, to the uninformed, betting against France sounded like lunacy. They were the world champions, after all. Senegal, on the other hand… Well, let's be honest, most people probably couldn't even point to it on a map.

But Barron knew better. This World Cup wasn't about logic. It was about chaos.

And chaos favored the prepared.

His first instinct? Go all in. A full £100,000 on Senegal's win. A cool £1.5 million in return.

But then he paused.

Because while everything so far had aligned with his past-life memories, there was still that one little anomaly—his unexpected encounter with Princess Cather.

What if this timeline wasn't exactly the same?

What if he bet everything, only to find out that in this version of reality, France somehow didn't humiliate themselves?

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

So, reluctantly—oh so reluctantly—he decided to be cautious.

Instead of going all in, he would start small. Test the waters. Make sure history still played out the way he remembered.

After all, if he was going to get rich off football, he needed to be absolutely sure that fate was still on his side.

And if the World Cup really did follow history?

Well, then it was time for Barron to bet big.

Because this was just the beginning.