The first round ended with Marquis Graselli having 9 gold stars, Count Taran Kang 8 gold stars, Viscount Fodelman 8 gold stars, Mr. Spears 9 gold stars, Xia De 11, and the referee 5.
As the second round began, the Marquis controlled the smile on his lips, and Count Taran Kang took a deep breath to adjust his mindset.
After everyone received their first hole card, perhaps because they already knew the general rules, they all chose to bet two gold stars this time.
But Xia De hesitated for a moment:
"There are 8 on the table now, and Mr. Mark has 5, totaling 13."
He counted out 10 stars from his own and threw them out, leaving only one for emergencies.
The onlookers immediately started discussing excitedly, and Marquis Graselli, who organized this card game, frowned and asked:
"Knight, did you draw a King and Queen?"
"Of course not, I'll take another card."
Xia De shrugged:
"I don't have the Count's luck."
Although this was a compliment, Count Taran Kang, who was mentioned, twitched his mouth, clearly not liking to be brought up.
For the second card, Xia De drew a Star 9 and continued to take cards. Among the other four, Viscount Fodelman and Mr. Spears chose to stand, the former hesitating for a long time before throwing out 1 gold star as an additional bet.
"He's either 17 or 18. If it's higher, he would choose to add two."
Mr. Spears whispered, but the Viscount smiled without speaking.
In the third round, Xia De received a Flower 4 and chose to continue taking cards. Count Taran Kang nervously glanced at his hole card, then sighed deeply:
"My luck has run out."
He threw out a star 13, clearly busting.
"I'll also continue to take cards."
Marquis Graselli said, observing Xia De's expression, wanting to know the reason for his confidence.
In the third round, Xia De received a Moon 4.
"Detective, aren't you going to stand?"
Marquis Graselli asked, and Xia De nodded:
"Yes, I'll continue to take cards."
The Marquis looked at his hand:
"So confident? Alright then, I'll take a card too. If you have the courage, so do I."
So both sides received their fourth card, and by a strange coincidence, it was the exact same card, sun 13.
The Marquis was stunned for a moment:
"Damn it."
He revealed his hole card, totaling 25 points.
"Mr. Hamilton, don't tell me you haven't busted with 13 points."
"No, I busted."
Xia De admitted.
"Then I win!"
Viscount Fodelman, who had increased his bet, exclaimed loudly, revealing his hole card, which truly was 17 points.
"No, no, no."
Xia De quickly said:
"But my hole card is a special rule card."
He flipped over his hole card, holding it between two fingers to show his opponents:
"Flower 7, Founding · Balance. When this card is used, if the points exceed 21, the points become zero, all of your hand cards are discarded, and new cards are drawn. Marquis, I dared to continue drawing because of this card. Why did you follow me and draw a fourth card?"
"What?"
Marquis Graselli no longer cared about being misled by Xia De into drawing a card:
"Isn't it Founding · Silver Moon?"
His eyes widened, and Count Taran Kang, to Xia De's left, was even more exaggerated, almost pressing his face against Xia De's hand.
The crowd around the table fell silent, then erupted in discussion, almost making others in the ballroom think a riot had broken out.
"Please deal me new cards."
Xia De said.
"Wait, Knight, I need to confirm something. Is this Founding · Balance?"
Count Taran Kang asked urgently.
"Yes."
"Founding · Silver Moon is also in your hand?"
Viscount Fodelman's eyes widened.
"Of course, the rumors are true."
Xia De nodded.
"So, if you win against us, you'll have three Founding series cards in your hand?"
Marquis Graselli finally realized this fact.
Xia De shrugged, watching the cards continuously enter his hand.
Moon 7, Northern City · Coldwater Port City, no special rule triggered; star 13, a normal card.
Under the crystal chandelier, the young Outsider had a smile on his face. His body, reshaped by the gods' desire for flesh and the Outsider's soul, was so handsome and extraordinary. He didn't realize the supernatural charm his body was gradually acquiring, nor did he realize how attractive he was at this moment.
Xia De smiled, adjusted his tie, then held a card in each of his left and right hands, holding them up to show his opponents:
"20 points. Sorry, I win again."
The second round ended with Xia De having 21 gold stars in his hand.
(Mia running)
"So, what tricks did you pull?"
At 9:30 PM, the indoor ball on the second floor officially began. Since it had just started, not many people were dancing. The weather was very good today, and most people were currently enjoying the night view in Yodel Palace's courtyard and garden.
"I pulled tricks?"
Xia De, dancing with Miss Jialinna, asked in surprise. The first dance song was played by violin and piano, and the rhythm was exceptionally slow. Xia De couldn't dance to this rhythm, so the Witch let Xia De hold her, and he could just sway slowly.
"Founding · Darkness went into your pocket, and you didn't pull any tricks?"
Miss Jialinna said with a smile, and looking at her smile up close, Xia De was momentarily dazed. Even after witnessing the gods in the pool, the Witch's charm was still not to be underestimated.
"I won fairly and squarely, getting exactly 25 gold stars in three rounds."
Xia De bet 4 gold stars in the third round. Even though Viscount Fodelman and Mr. Spears both drew special cards in this round, the First Permanent Secretary of the Council, due to the special rule of the special card Ancient Fairy Tale · Song of the Mermaid, even adjusted his points to 21 after rolling a 20-sided die and hitting 20 twice in a row by sheer luck.
But Xia De still won, because before Mr. Spears revealed his hole card and announced his 21 points, Xia De revealed King's Edict · Substitute.
When this card is drawn, it can be swapped with an opponent's unrevealed face-down card, but you cannot stand in this round.
Swapping his 2 points with the opponent's hole card 7 points turned 21 points into 16 points. And with the subsequent card draws, Xia De stood at 20 points with four cards, while all four other people busted.
The Permanent Secretary, who was rumored to be graceful and possess astonishing political skill, covered his face for a long time after the card game before his face regained that gentle yet polite smile:
"I will remember this card game for many years. First a special card, then two 20s rolled, and I still lost..."
In short, Xia De won in just three rounds. Although the fact that all three Founding series cards were in his hand was exposed, getting Founding · Darkness made it all worthwhile.
"All of this is the luck brought by the all things are impermanent card."
Xia De whispered.
"No, no, Xia De, I need to correct your mistake. It's not like no one has ever owned Founding series cards before, but I specifically inquired, and the luck they bring is definitely not as obvious as yours, otherwise the cards' special nature would have been discovered long ago."
The Witch said softly, her perfume smelling very pleasant. As she spoke to Xia De, she glanced sideways at a sofa on one side of the ballroom. Several princesses were sitting there, chatting and laughing with friends, or demurely waiting for invitations from young gentlemen. Leia would occasionally look over, clearly quite interested in the two people dancing.
"Don't you feel your winning method just now was too exaggerated? How should I describe your state just now?"
Miss Jialinna, in high heels, was actually about the same height as Xia De, and Miss Hivi Aurora was also similar.
She subtly tightened her arm, which was covered by a long glove, indicating that Xia De should hold her and start spinning:
"It was like being favored by the God of Luck or the God of Gambling. But I was there, and the 'Steel Right Hand' was also there, and no one found anything unusual about you."
"Is that so?"
Xia De was a little surprised:
"Perhaps this kind of luck is just more obvious with me..."
But fortunately, he really did know the "God of Gambling"; perhaps when he uses 1784 for the last time, he could try to communicate with that deity. The information provided by Priest Augustus indicates that this deity is not an evil god.
"It's good that you know about your own abnormality, but it's just good luck in cards, it's not a big deal."
The Witch said, her hand on Xia De's shoulder subtly tightening. Xia De immediately understood that she was reminding him to slow down.
The Witch's golden eyes looked at him:
"Speaking of which, since I became an adult, I really never thought I'd have the chance to dance with a man again."
"How does it feel? I must admit, my dancing skills aren't great."
"Oh, Detective, do you think I care about dancing skills?"
She smiled, leaning close to Xia De's cheek:
"I care about the act itself. It's truly interesting, fate sent you to me. Thinking carefully, it seems the rhode cards sent you to me. That night I went to the Lucky Southern Cross Club to find two special cards, and you went there to find a Boy to play cards with. I even found you because you used a Miracle to look at the cards."
"It seems so."
Xia De nodded, controlling his feet to move with the rhythm.
"So, did you use your Miracle tonight? The story Tifa brought a few days ago was very good, I know your eyes have changed from before. I didn't detect any traces of your Miracle tonight, is it because the Miracle is no longer within my detection range, or did you really draw faint marks with blood on the back of every card?"
"No, I don't cheat when I play cards."
Xia De immediately emphasized, and the red-haired Witch immediately laughed. At this moment, she was truly laughing happily:
"Alright then, let's just say you were really lucky tonight. The darkness box you wanted, I'll have Tifa deliver it to you tomorrow or the day after. But for now, Detective, let's enjoy this dance."
