Decapitate me and all becomes equal. Then truncate me and I become second. Cut me front and back and I become two less than I started. What am I?

Why this works

This riddle cleverly plays with the word "seven" through a series of transformations. When you "decapitate" it, removing the 's' leaves you with "even," which means equal. Truncating "seven" by cutting off the last letter gives you "eve," referring to the second person in the Bible, often associated with the first woman, thus signifying 'second.' Finally, if you remove both the first and last letters of "seven," you are left with "v," which is the Roman numeral for five—two less than seven. Each step reveals a different layer to the word, showcasing its playful nature!