Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"I’ve been playing cards for years, but this is the first time I’ve encountered an opponent as oppressive as you. You’ve won every round in these 12 rounds, and the 13th round is the final one. As long as you beat any one of us, it’s your win."

"Why don’t we follow the discussion from the fifth round and concede half of the points if we lose?"

Shard then proposed, showcasing two cards from his hand:

"This way, even if I do win, Viscount, at least you’re not the one losing."

Viscount Bell Gra glanced at Shard’s cards:

"You’re at 17 points now, and I don’t believe your hidden card is within 4 points. In the first two rounds, you’ve drawn Sun 1, Moon 3, Star 3, and Star 4; I bet you’ve already had a blowout and are bluffing us."

Shard chuckled and turned to Mr. Herman Wood:

"What do you think?"

The young man wiped his sweat and squinted slightly:

"If I concede, I’ve truly lost, but if you’ve blown out, at least you’ve lost this round. After all, according to this session’s rules, winning earns 2 points, losing earns none, but a blowout deducts 1 point. I also think you’re bluffing, Mr. Watson, isn’t it true you’ve already blown out in this round?"

Shard clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers:

"Are you so sure? Then, how about we raise the stakes for this round? No, not with special cards, we’ll gamble with those later."

Viscount Bell Gra and Mr. Herman Wood exchanged glances:

"We don’t believe you haven’t had a blowout, so let’s raise the stakes. If we lose, we’ll donate 5 Krone more to the church tomorrow."

Shard finally smiled:

"No problem, I accept the bet. Do you both reveal your cards first or should I?"

"I have 18 points."

"I also have 18 points."

"Well, this is indeed unfortunate."

Shard revealed his hidden card Sun 3:

"I have 20 points."

The hand of the Witch lightly rested on Shard’s shoulder, Shard turned to look at her, and the golden eyes of the Countess were filled with amusement.

The card game temporarily ended, as did the negotiations among the three families, everyone took a break before continuing with the evening’s card game activities. Though the card game was just a pretext, these secret meetings always culminated in what became a true Roder card game, and the card players invited by the three families would discuss it in their daily conversations afterward.

After all, no one wants to lose.

"I didn’t expect you to be this good."

In the corridor, Miss Belindel, who used the excuse of going to her club room to touch up her makeup, said to Shard, and Shard didn’t feign modesty this time:

"I’m just lucky, Viscount Bell Gra is indeed deserving of the Big City Player: 1850 Champion, his skill and luck are commendable too. Ever since arriving in this city, I’ve wanted to play a few rounds with him. Watch, I will win his special card in a while."

"Hmm... I hope you remember what needs to be done tonight."

The Witch reminded again.

"Of course, but that’s after winning the cards."

The break soon ended, and Shard, Viscount Bell Gra, and Mr. Herman Wood returned to the table. Bright lights illuminated the green-clothed tabletop, turning it pale white. Earl Martin Edington, Baron Harry Wood, and Miss Belindel did not return to their seats on the couch but instead stood by their respective card players.

The servants brought chairs, making the table into a group of six. Miss Belindel sat beside Shard; the "Witch’s Scent" perfume was unique, recognizable only by a few.

She watched Shard deftly cut and shuffle the cards, placed the deck on the table, and then spread them into a fan shape with a gentle sweep.

"Is playing cards usually your hobby?"

She asked Shard in a low voice, to which Shard gently nodded:

"I enjoy playing cards and keeping cats. However, despite my fondness for cards, I rarely play with others. On one hand, I’m too lucky for fair play, and on the other, I despise gambling... gambling with special cards doesn’t count as gambling."

The smile on the face of the Blonde Countess grew brighter:

"That is indeed a commendable habit. Yes, Vanessa also wouldn’t allow gamblers in the opera troupe. Do you have any other hobbies? Raising cats shouldn’t take up too much of your time, right?"

"I don’t really have other hobbies. At home, I mean when I’m with the opera troupe, if there’s no assignment outside, I usually stay in my room and read books."

Then I thought of my profession:

"Or I help people solve some troublesome matters, like finding cats or investigating missing persons, for example. Of course, I don’t help people for free; I charge a fee."

The Countess nodded, becoming increasingly clear about the man, and her satisfaction grew stronger. From the contact over these days, "John Watson" seemed to have very little material desire, didn’t like smoking or drinking, although he played cards and seemed to regard it merely as an interesting card collection game. Raising cats was quite a good hobby, especially since the cat was really beautiful. As for beautiful young ladies, he only slightly paid attention, often interacted with his maids without showing any impropriety.

For such a handsome young man, especially at such a high level as a Circle Sorcerer, this could almost be called a moral model, only slightly below the ascetic monks of the Church.

"But isn’t this a problem...could it be that he’s not interested in girls?"

Suddenly a doubt arose, recalling the time he rode back to town with her severely injured on horseback, but that night’s memory was vague, only remembering that although he was embarrassed then, he didn’t act unusually.

Thus, from the sleeve of the Witch’s left arm, a coin slipped and landed in her hand. She tossed it slightly and used her fingertip to confirm the pattern facing up, then slightly moved closer to Shard:

"Are we following the same rules as before?"

Shard thought she wanted him to cooperate with her performance of casually interacting with men, so although somewhat embarrassed, he did not stop the Witch’s face from almost pressing against his cheek:

"Yes, three rounds per game, calculating the total score after each round. The first to win two games wins, so if everyone is lucky, it might take four games to finish."

The Blonde Countess softly murmured in acknowledgment, seemingly curious about his shuffling, thus continued to lean forward, her hair brushing lightly against Shard’s cheek. His face reddened slightly, so he concentrated on the deck being shuffled.

Miss Belindel finally felt reassured.

The game quickly began, and everyone revealed the special cards they were betting with this time. Shard naturally showed his [The Fool’s Tale: Thunderstruck Madman]. Mr. Herman Wood, with two special cards in his deck, showed [Ancient Fairy Tale: Mermaid]. Viscount Gla, with a deck of seven special cards including the Sun 7 [Big City Player: 1850 Lockwood Champion], revealed [Words of the Era: Terrariel River Gazette].

The special rule of [Big City Player: 1850 Lockwood Champion] was the same as Shard’s [Big City Player: 1853 Tobesk Champion], both requiring the opponents to reveal their bottom cards.

The staff from the Prophet’s Society had already arrived to ensure that all three cards were authentic before the night’s most important card session commenced. As steam mist was ejected from below the table, slots slowly lifted the decks of the three players.

Mr. Herman Wood, having lost all night, was the first to draw a card, seemingly determined not to last the night without winning a round. While Viscount Gla, more cautious, only reached out to draw a card after seeing Shard draw first.

Each person received one bottom card and one hand card. The Witch beside Shard also glanced at his cards and then smiled. She took a goblet handed over by Miss Matilda behind her and said to Earl Martin Edington and Baron Harry Wood:

"Well, shall we add extra stakes to each round, like before?"

Shard glanced at her, and the Countess winked, signaling him not to worry:

"Betting money would be too vulgar. I recently acquired a [Master Larian] sculpture of ’Morning Girl.’ Yes, I’ve had it authenticated, and it’s genuine."

"Of course we’ll raise the stakes, Earl Belindel. Thank you for the pearl necklace last time; my daughter was delighted."

Earl Edington checked with Viscount Gla for his opinion before throwing in his wager:

"My fleet has just shipped over some fine horses from the New World. Whoever wins the first game, I’ll personally send two horses over for you."

Baron Harry Wood laughed and said:

"The two Earls are indeed generous, so I can’t be stingy. I haven’t obtained anything good lately, but hasn’t Earl Belindel always wanted to visit my family’s library? If both Earls win, you can browse freely."

The Witch unfolded the fan in her hand, covering the lower half of her face to hide her smile.

The three card players each took a third card. Shard, looking at his Moon 2 and Star 13, confirmed once again that his bottom card was a Flower 3, then lightly asked the Witch beside him:

"Should we continue drawing?"

"It’s you playing the cards."

The fan continued to cover the lower half of her face, her voice audible only to Shard:

"Need me to divine?"

"No need."

He tapped the tabletop, indicating he would stand pat. Mr. Herman Wood, after hesitating, also considering the risk of blowout, chose not to follow with another card. Only Viscount Gla took a fourth card, then smilingly revealed his first card to everyone, it was a special card, also carrying a special rule:

"Seems like luck is on my side. Sun 1[Modern Textile Craft: Flower Weaving], applicable when four cards are drawn without blowing out. If the total points of hand cards are less than or equal to 8, the count adjusts to 21 points."

The design of this card displayed a female worker with a headscarf bending over to operate a massive machine. On the shelf beside her hung intricately patterned tapestries, while in the background, countless women resembling her were operating machines at work.