Winning the game against Mr. Belson meant that Xia De had entered the final round of the Lakeview Manor rhode cards tournament.
The final round of the game would be held at the round table under the grape arbor. Xia De and Mr. Belson's game was the fastest, so when he, Tifa, and the onlookers arrived at the grape arbor, the other three opponents had not yet arrived.
It was already 10:30 PM. Xia De rubbed his face, feeling that his mental state was still very good. He clasped his hands together on the table and, seeing that the game would take a while to start, turned to Tifa and suggested:
"After we finish playing cards, how about we take a walk in the garden? Before the first snow of this winter, such pleasant nights are rare."
"Okay."
The maid agreed. As for the cat she was holding, it looked at Xia De with a lazy expression, resembling a child who didn't want to get out of bed on a Sunday morning.
Soon, the other three finalists also arrived. Because of the limited viewing space, some people even paid to swap places with those in the front row.
The final referee was Mr. Justin of the Prophet Association, and Xia De's three opponents were his friend Baron Lavende, who had good luck today; Viscount Glenn, a relative of the Lemeir family from the other side of Schluch Lake, who was not from Tobesk but was recently visiting Tobesk and was invited to the banquet; and finally, The Lady mentioned earlier, who introduced herself as Miss Vitter, the daughter of the local Viscount Weite.
She had almost white blonde hair, wore a long black and red dress, and a wide-brimmed hat with pink floral decorations.
Although her appearance was different from when they met at the banquet in Huntington City, this was undoubtedly the Six-Ring Arcanist "Pa Wo" of the Truth Society. Not only because Xia De sensed her Ring術士 level when she sat opposite him, but also because the silver-covered notebook she casually held looked exactly like a "miniature version" of that thick silver book.
"Counting from Saturday night, she actually only took three days to get from Huntington to Tobesk? That speed is really fast."
Xia De thought to himself, and along with the others, he submitted his deck for inspection again.
“Will you report her?”
The voice beside his ear chuckled, but Xia De remained expressionless:
"I'll decide later. The Cultists holding the 【Wrath of the Gods】 might also be here. Besides, Miss Pa Wo appeared at the banquet but didn't contact Princess Margaret, perhaps because of something more important."
“Are they also here for the Keeper?”
"I don't know yet, let's finish this game first."
The four players' decks were quickly inspected. Mr. Justin of the Prophet Association served as the referee, and Mr. Sick, who had presided over Xia De's previous match, served as the dealer. The dealer and the four players were evenly distributed around the round table.
Multiplayer games are decided by points. If a player busts, they get 0 points. Among players who do not bust, the winner gets 4 points, the second highest gets 3 points, and so on. If points are tied, they share the points.
There will be a total of three games. After three games, each person's score will be added up, and the highest score will be the final winner of this game.
The rules were quite simple, and no one had any questions. Amidst the urging of the people, as Mr. Justin loudly announced, "Game Start," everyone's attention focused on the four decks of cards on the table.
The 【Life Ritual · Wedding】 in the picture frame was in the center of the table, and each person had an oil lamp for illumination. Although it was night in the garden, at least the lights here were very bright.
"Miss Vitter, this is my first time playing rhode cards with ladies. Ladies like you are truly rare."
Baron Lavende said with a smile.
Everyone received their first card. Xia De looked at his Flower 3 and indicated to draw another card. Baron Lavende and the long-fingered Viscount Glenn did the same, while "Miss Vitter" drew a card without looking at it. She responded to Baron Lavende:
"My father taught me how to play rhode cards since I was a child. After playing card games, I realized how wonderful mathematics is. Even now that I'm pursuing a degree, I haven't forgotten the game that inspired me."
Her delarion was quite standard. If it weren't for "her" ability to confirm the fluctuations of the Spirit and soul characteristics, Xia De wouldn't have been sure that the other party was indeed "Pa Wo" of the Truth Society.
Mr. Sick's dealing technique was quite professional; the four cards flew across the table almost without interruption, landing on each person's face-down card.
Baron Lavende raised an eyebrow looking at his "Flower 13" and, after some consideration, decided to stand. Viscount Glenn received star 10 and indicated he wanted another card. Xia De had 【Northern City · Coldwater Port City】 Moon 7. Unfortunately, this card required more than half of the deck to be used to trigger its rules, so although people quietly praised Xia De's luck, the card was actually unusable.
Xia De's current score was only ten points, so he also continued to draw cards.
"Miss Vitter" also continued to draw cards, so everyone except Baron Lavende received a third card.
Viscount Glenn also struck up a conversation with The Lady; women who played rhode cards were indeed rare. Besides the fact that ladies were generally not interested in it, most noblewomen would not sit and play cards with strange men:
"The last time I saw your father was this spring. I heard he unfortunately fell off his horse and has been bedridden for the past six months. How is his health now?"
"Father is still resting in bed, but he can walk with the help of servants."
"Miss Vitter" said without changing her expression.
After receiving the third card, all three players, including Xia De, stood.
The four people looked at each other, and Baron Lavende, who only had two cards, opened first:
"Flower 13 and Moon 4, 17 points. I don't want to bust, busting means 0 points."
"How cautious."
Xia De praised him. Behind Baron Lavende, the Baron's "arch-rival" Baron Rwanda snorted, which made Baron Lavende feel even better:
"Mr. Hamilton, what is your score?"
Xia De revealed his face-down card;
"Flower 3, Moon 7, Moon 10, 20 points."
"Oh, as expected of Hamilton of Thunder Jeed."
People were discussing animatedly. Xia De smiled and reached back to touch the cat held by Tifa:
"Miss Vitter, what's your score?"
"What a coincidence, mine is also 20 points."
Saying that, The Lady picked up her first face-down card and the third card with her left and right hands, which were Sun 2 and Moon 11, while the card on the table was Sun 7.
People applauded in congratulation, and the three players at the table looked at the last one, Viscount Glenn. This slender, tall gentleman with long fingers shook his head slightly:
"It seems my luck is the best tonight, Mr. Hamilton, I apologize."
He turned over his face-down card and placed it with the last two: sun 5, star 10, and Flower 6.
"Oh, 21 points!"
Lively discussions pushed the atmosphere to a new climax, followed by congratulations to the Viscount for winning against Xia De in the first mini-game.
Although Xia De had quite good luck, he couldn't win every game, so he also congratulated the Viscount in a very gentlemanly manner.
However, as the referee, Mr. Justin, recorded the result of this game on the paper and prepared to start the second game, a laugh came from Xia De's ear:
“He cheated.”
"Hmm?"
Xia De raised an eyebrow. To hide his current expression, he turned to Tifa and then reached out his hands to "fiercely" pet Mia, which made people laugh. Traditionally, people believed that cats brought good luck, so Xia De's actions could be interpreted as praying for good fortune.
“Who cheated?”
“Viscount Glenn with 21 points. While you were talking to the Six-Ring Arcanist, he used a card from his sleeve to replace his face-down card.”
The scowling cat looked at Xia De, seemingly unwilling to respond to his boring actions. Xia De turned back to continue the game, not doubting "her" words in the slightest.
The other party used a common person's card cheating method, and it was used so brazenly under the watchful eyes of so many people, which clearly indicated it wasn't the first time. Xia De hadn't expected the other party to be so bold, and it was indeed his oversight not to notice earlier, but he always detested people who cheated at cards.
At this moment, he was already brewing a plan to make the other party suffer, but he glanced at "Miss Vitter" again and found that she was also looking at Viscount Glenn:
"She also noticed."
Xia De thought to himself, looked at the first card that had already been dealt, and already had a plan in mind.
In the first game, the lively discussion caused by 21 points beating two 20 points did not subside until the second game began. Among the four players present, Baron Lavende, the only one who didn't know the truth, picked up his card and discussed with Xia De who would draw the first special rule card.
"Miss Vitter" looked at her face-down card with a normal expression, and Viscount Glenn also joined the conversation with Xia De. Just like that, when everyone had received three cards for the second round, Miss Vitter and Baron Lavende both indicated that they wanted to stand.
In the starry sky above, the light of march was so bright and clear, and the warm gas lamps by the grape arbor were equally luminous. The atmosphere was just right. At this moment, Xia De's two face-up cards totaled 16 points, while Viscount Glenn had 13 points. The tense and exciting game once again reached a crucial moment.
"Continue to draw cards."
Xia De raised his hand to indicate.
"Knight, won't this be too risky? Baron Lavende was right just now, busting is 0 points, a smaller score at least still gets points."
Viscount Glenn asked with a slight frown, but Xia De shook his head very seriously:
"If you don't even dare to take such a risk, what kind of rhode cards player are you?"
"Yes, as expected of the champion of Great City Player 1853!"
Someone in the crowd echoed, and Xia De nodded:
"Viscount, do you want to continue to draw cards?"
Viscount Glenn looked at the table illuminated by the lamps:
"Then I will also continue to draw cards."
The next cards for both were dealt one by one, face down when dealt, but according to the rules, they had to be turned over immediately after receiving them.
Xia De was quick-handed and smiled after turning over his card:
"Look, Viscount Glenn, Sun 6."
A burst of exclamations suddenly erupted, then spread in ripples to the outer edge of the grape arbor. Although Sun 6 meant Xia De busted, Sun 6 also meant it was 【Founding·Death】.
