Chapter 155: Wishing you victory

The old Duke spoke, and only after testing that the detective's hand strength was not inferior to his own did he let go with satisfaction:

"I heard about the match at Lake View Manor last Sunday; it was truly brilliant. It's a pity I wasn't there. But just from their descriptions, I knew that Tobesk finally has another Gwent master."

Although he was elderly, his voice was full of vigor. Xia De could clearly feel the military bearing about him, which was even more pronounced than that of Captain Lades.

"Good, very good! Playing Gwent is only interesting when playing with a young man like you."

The heartfelt smile on the Duke's face could not be faked; it was just like how a fake smile and the genuine smile one reveals when reading a knight novel in class during a thrilling part can be distinguished at a glance. Xia De already understood roughly what kind of person the other was—this was yet another hopeless Gwent enthusiast.

Without too much idle talk, the salon, the banquet, and the socializing would only take place after the match concluded. Since both parties of the match had already appeared, they would begin directly.

Most people here had come for Gwent, and there were likely few who knew the match's significance lay in naval personnel transfers, so the atmosphere was very lively.

The old Duke sat in the chair on the left side of the long table, and a servant pulled the seat out for him. Xia De sat in the chair on the right, and it was the black-haired Miss Maid who pulled the chair out for him.

The guests who had come to watch the match gathered around, but they did not crowd directly around the table like rude gamblers; instead, they stood in groups of two or three, slightly away from the table but in positions where they could clearly see the cards.

The room quieted down, and Vice President Mark of the Divination Society walked to the table and coughed. As the match was convened by two Dukes, his status was perfectly suited to be the host:

"I won't say any more than necessary. The participants of this match are Duke Lu Kasi—"

Vice President Mark nodded to the old Duke, then nodded to Xia De:

"And Detective Hamilton, representing Miss Galina."

Xia De also nodded slightly to Mr. Mark.

Miss Galina did not intend to show herself before the crowd, but according to the young black-haired maid behind him, Miss Galina was on this floor, waiting for the match's result.

"Is this considered social anxiety? No, could it be that she 'loathes men' to this extent?"

Xia De thought to himself, but then suddenly worried that the high-ring Shushi could read minds through several layers of walls, so he dared not let his thoughts run wild.

"This match will follow the best-of-three rule. In each game, the first side to achieve three victories wins the game. If both sides keep busting, the first side to finish drawing their deck loses the victory for that game."

Xia De noticed a plump noblewoman standing not far to his side sizing him up. He swept his peripheral vision toward the noblewoman and found that she was likely over forty.

"Before the match begins, we first invite three gentlemen to jointly inspect the Duke's and the detective's decks for a final confirmation."

This was the rule for unofficial tournaments to prevent the Divination Society from being bribed. Of course, only a Gwent match among nobles would be made so troublesome; the time Vice President Mark spent talking was enough to finish half a game.

Invited to inspect the decks were Baron Scavin, who had a handsome small mustache; Baron Hull, who wore boots that looked like they were shod with horseshoes; and Viscount Fu De, who had graying hair and looked nearly sixty. All three were wearing similar black formal suits.

The three first picked up Duke Lu Kasi's deck, nodding as they inspected it and occasionally letting out exclamations, which made Xia De's opponent exceptionally proud.

It took a few minutes to finish the inspection, which was really just a formality. Afterward, after greeting the detective, they picked up his deck from his left hand.

The main body of Xia De's deck was the set he had picked up from the roof of the pet boarding center when he went to pick up Little Mia. Although it was a bit old, only an old deck showed it was frequently played with.

He had tucked those five cards with special rules in the center. The gentlemen flipping through the deck soon saw the first card, 【Ancient Fairy Tale · Match Girl】.

Xia De heard Baron Hull mutter the name "Baron Lavender," clearly they were all acquaintances. Then came the second card, 【Primitive Steam Engine · Mark IX】, and the third, 【Old Continent Eastern Scenery · Tisi Lake】. The three wore smiles as they looked; these were also very rare cards. When they saw 【Northern City · Cold Water Port City】, they couldn't help but exchange a few words; this card seemed very famous, and he didn't know where Professor Manning had gotten it from.

Afterward, Baron Hull, who was holding the deck, was the first to see 【Founding · Silver Moon】.

He blinked at the card in his hand, then hunched his neck and stretched his head to look more closely at the object in his hand:

"Uh~"

A strange sound came from his throat. His whole body looked as if it had been struck by a bullet, and his hands shook at a frequency visible to the naked eye. His eyes widened as if his eyeballs were about to pop out, his mouth slightly agape—he looked like a dementia patient.

"What's wrong? Does the detective's deck have other rare cards?"

The other two gentlemen beside him asked in low voices, as if to blame him for making a fuss. Because they were standing on either side of Baron Hull, they stretched their heads over to look at that card together.

"Uh~"

Baron Scavin also made a strange sound. He reached out his thick hand, which wore a gemstone ring, to cover his mouth, but the way his eyes bulged was really similar to Baron Hull's.

It was the older Viscount Fu De who was more mature. He turned his head to look at Vice President Mark of the Divination Society and asked tremblingly:

"Is this genuine?"

"Yes."

The latter nodded, and then a commotion erupted in the room, as people saw the elderly Viscount Fu De suddenly cover his heart area with a ferocious expression.

Panicked servants wanted to come and support him, but were waved away by the Viscount:

"No need~"

He squeezed this sound out through his teeth:

"I can't bear to faint before finishing this match."

Then he forcibly took his hand away from his chest, and his originally crimson face actually returned to normal bit by bit:

"I must finish watching this match."

He very roughly snatched Xia De's deck from Baron Hull, who had not yet recovered from the shock. He stared fixedly at 【Founding · Silver Moon】 for a few seconds before returning the deck to the detective.

This made Baron Scavin, who had realized what happened but found he no longer had the chance to touch the card himself, exceptionally annoyed.

"What did you see? A rare card? Which series? Why are you acting so exaggerated? If I hadn't known you for so long, I might have thought you were hired by Galina to act, just to disturb my mood before the match."

Old Duke Lu Kasi sat on the other side of the table, looking up and asking curiously, but the three gentlemen shook their heads at a very unified frequency:

"We saw nothing. Wishing you victory."

Their voices overlapped, which sounded somewhat comedic. ===== CHAPTER 156 =====