Chapter 156: The Card Game

Precisely because of the three gentlemen's strange attitude, not only Old Duke Lu Kasi himself but even the other guests invited this time were impatient to know what exactly they had just seen.

"Alright then, the match begins."

Mr. Mark adjusted the bow tie of his white shirt and black formal suit and announced loudly.

Two middle-aged men from the Divination Society acted as dealers beside Mr. Mark. Superstition existed in this era, and people believed that women brought bad luck to Gwent, so one could not see sexy ladies dealing cards on-site here.

Xia De received his first card and felt slightly nervous. He actually didn't know how to play Gwent at all. In the gaps between reading books and teasing the cat over the past few days, he had learned some Gwent techniques, but he definitely couldn't compare to those old hands.

Therefore, the claim mentioned by Miss Annette about "the luck brought by the Founding series cards" was likely Xia De's hope for winning.

Although he had said before that he didn't care about the win or loss of this match, sitting here now, watched by so many people—especially Miss Beiyasi, who was dressed as a maid for reasons unknown, also watching him—made him feel pressure inexplicably.

"Just play casually, try to take fewer cards; after all, this is a competition where luck plays a major role."

He comforted himself in his heart. This time, the opponent's deck was no longer stained with blood; this was a very fair match.

"If I lose, it's actually nothing... I'll go apologize to Miss Galina. It's impossible to win every time I help her."

His mood returned to a normal state, so he looked down at his first hole card: Flower 13.

"Hmm..."

He signaled to continue giving him the next card, and the second card was given face up: Sun 8.

"Hmm..."

He rubbed his hands, pondered for a moment, and asked in his heart:

"Is there some inexplicable person interfering with my luck again?"

【I have not discovered any.】

"Then why... exactly 21 points?"

【Why can't this be considered your luck?】

The whispering voice asked. Xia De nodded, signaling that there was no need to take another card.

"Are young people so cautious?"

The old Duke opposite smiled, but he also didn't take a third card. Afterward, the two revealed their cards: Xia De had 13+8=21, while the Duke had 8+8=16. The latter was not disappointed but continued to say with a smile:

"So young people's caution has its reasons."

The guests watching the match whispered and discussed. Xia De saw Miss Beiyasi taking advantage of everyone's attention being on the match to quietly slip out the door; he didn't know where she went.

"No chance to tell her that there is a high-ring Ringed Shushi on this floor... However, Miss Galina knew about Miss Beiyasi last time, so it should be fine."

Xia De won the first round of the first game. In the second round, he naturally didn't continue his luck from just now; the sum of the numbers on the first two cards was 17. The cautious detective chose not to continue, while the Duke took two 2s in a row and didn't stop until the fourth card:

"Truly terrible."

Duke Lu Kasi regretfully flipped over his hole card: 6+2+2+12=22. Xia De's luck didn't actually need to be particularly good; it just needed to be better than his opponent's.

In the third round of the first game, after Xia De got his hole card, he absent-mindedly discovered that Miss Beiyasi had returned. She was still in that maid outfit, and seeing Xia De's gaze "peering" at her from behind the Gwent cards, she even made a greeting gesture.

And by the time Xia De reacted, he had already received three cards; he hurriedly called a stop. Currently, the sum of the three cards was 18.

People erupted in a small exclamation at this moment; it turned out that as the match progressed to now, someone had finally drawn the first special rule card. Even though Old Duke Lu Kasi was still behind, he still wore a proud expression as if he had already won.

"Detective, it seems my luck is better."

【Firearm · Luger Revolver】, suit Sun 10. After drawing this card, if the current cards in hand, including this card, are an odd number, and all cards in hand have different suits, the card value can be adjusted from 10 to 11.

Duke Lu Kasi didn't continue to call for cards; his other face-up card was Flower 1. He very solemnly used his finger to flip over the hole card, then slammed it onto the table: Moon 3, meeting the special rule's usage.

"Oh! My God~ What luck!"

Exclamations erupted again in the crowd, and enthusiastic discussions and congratulations were endless. This was not deliberately catering to the old Duke; the people present truly thought this was quite an amazing thing.

"It seems no matter what, the Duke's points are smaller than mine... I won the third round of the first game, winning the victory for the first game, right?"

Xia De asked the dealer near his side in a low voice. No matter how that Gwent card's number was adjusted, his 18 points should have won. But the reaction of the people now made him doubt if there were any other special rules that caused him to lose.

"First game over, Mr. Xia De Hamilton wins!"

Amidst the excited discussions of the people, Mr. Mark announced loudly. Xia De didn't show any proud expression, while Duke Lu Kasi, wearing a red army uniform opposite, was full of color, as if he had just won a battle:

"Look, Detective, this match is truly interesting. You won the first game, and I encountered a rule card; this is truly interesting!"

"I really am out of place with this group of people."

Xia De thought to himself, while the old Duke continued to praise:

"Galina seems to have found an amazing Gwent player. Detective, it won't be so easy next."

Although the first game only lasted a brief fifteen minutes in total, everyone still rested for five minutes before continuing the second game.

During this period, Xia De made an excuse that he didn't drink and wanted some grape juice, and struck up a conversation with Miss Beiyasi, who was dressed as a maid. But the latter blinked and didn't say anything extra; it seemed she didn't want to involve Xia De in her own affairs.

This made Xia De breathe a sigh of relief, which exactly matched his thoughts.

Duke Lu Kasi's luck finally returned at the beginning of the second game. In the third card of the first round of the second game, he actually drew a Wang Hou directly. And Xia De, holding 15 points, tried to continue taking cards, but his points directly exceeded 21, and then the old Duke smiled and said that luck was indeed conserved.

In the second round, it was Xia De who drew the Wang Hou from his own deck. The Duke naturally continued to take cards like Xia De just did, hoping for 21 points or drawing a King. But unfortunately, he drew the card with a special pattern, Star 13, and very unfortunately busted directly.

This kind of match where one person wins one round was much more exciting than the first game just now. The Duke's interest was piqued, and he arranged for servants to find a poet who could play the lute to sing and entertain them while the two played cards.

And in the third round of the second game, Xia De, who was slightly relaxed because he had won one game, gambled on his luck. Although he still didn't draw a special card, he managed to get 20 points when he stopped taking cards. The old Duke drew a special rule Gwent card again; this time it was 【Ancient Hero · Knight Tim】, which was also a card that required rolling dice to take effect.

But this time the Duke didn't have that luck; he neither successfully used the special rule nor beat the detective's 20 points.

"It seems my luck is not bad today."

Xia De, who had won the first game and two rounds of the second game, let out a long breath while thinking in his heart; he would win if he won one more time.

【Maybe you can make money by gambling on cards; that sounds pretty good.】

"Unless I'm truly at the end of my rope, I won't gamble; this is a matter of principle."

Xia De emphasized again, then heard the woman's pleasant light laughter. After accepting that the other party coexisted with him and stopped thinking about whether the other party was truly himself, Xia De became increasingly accustomed to the woman's voice whispering in his ears and heart. It was just like how he didn't like cats much originally, but gradually got used to Little Mia becoming a member of the family.

One of the costs of contacting the mystical and becoming a Ring Ringed Shushi was that one's ears would be followed by whispers for the rest of one's life. Sleeping, eating, socializing, and even in private occasions... this was the cost; no power came without a price. But every time he heard the soft laughter in his ears, Xia De would think this was not a cost; this was a gift for himself.

At this time, the fourth round of the second game officially began. Xia De's first hole card was Flower 8, and the Duke, after looking down at his cards, directly revealed his hole card:

"King."

The robust old man, like a lion, couldn't help but laugh, his thick voice almost vibrating the glass:

"I haven't been this happy in a long time. Galina really found a good player this time, and I'm not bad either, actually being able to draw a King and a Wang Hou in one game. The last time I had this luck, my son was about the same age as you. Detective, my hole card is a King; unless you draw 21 points, I'm going to win both rounds of the second game too."

The onlookers excitedly discussed the situation of the match; almost every round could have some rare things happen, which greatly increased the watchability of the card game.

People were already guessing whether the young detective had this luck, and Xia De was also curious about this point.

"Continue dealing."

He signaled, but he wasn't nervous. Even if he lost this round, the second game would only be two to two, so he wasn't in a hurry.

He turned his head slightly to look at the black-haired maid who had been standing behind him since the match began. Miss Maid met his gaze, and her beautiful eyes directly expressed the meaning of "Is something the matter?" Xia De shook his head, but discovered that the angle of looking up allowed him to see some physical features that made him blush. Miss Maid Tifa was probably the one with the best figure among all the women he knew in this world.

Looking back at the card table, he saw his second card was actually Sun 12, which, combined with the 8 points just now, totaled 20.

"Oh~"

Even he couldn't help but exclaim, while Duke Lu Kasi opposite already had a smile on his face:

"Detective, lose this round, or take another card and try?"

"Continue dealing."

Xia De said.

The Duke tapped the table with his fingers:

"Young people are just like this; they should have some spirit of gambling on luck."

But Xia De felt this wasn't praising him; it was purely that the old Duke wanted to win more thoroughly.

The third card was dealt. People near Xia De's side couldn't help but stretch their heads slightly to look at the card face, expecting to see the young detective get a card with a value of 1 in any of the four suits, using a stunning reversal to win this card game.

Xia De glanced at the card face and raised his eyebrows:

"Perhaps the claim that Founding series cards increase luck is not just superstition."

He didn't have the luck to draw a card with a value of 1 in any of the four suits, but drew a card with a value of 3.

The third card was Sun 3, card face 【Founding · Silver Moon】, which could adjust the number from 1 to 5.

Thump~

Turning his head to look, the gray-haired Viscount Fu De finally collapsed with a smile while clutching his heart. ===== CHAPTER 157 =====