Chapter 2134: The Fool’s Tale: Thunderstruck Madman
After nightfall, the sudden heavy snow showed no sign of stopping. As the swirling snowflakes passed through the gas streetlight’s glow, it truly felt like winter had arrived.
Under the Belindel Big Bell at the entrance of the Senate club, the carriage convoy bearing family crests had already stopped. Inside the carriage, the Countess, wearing a white mink scarf due to the weather, handed the card in her hand to Shard:
"There are rumors of three very valuable Roder Cards in this city. I originally intended to find them for you, but unfortunately, only found clues. Tonight, use this first, and may luck be with you."
This statement also reminded Shard of the three cards. The foreign merchant who owned the three Roder Cards was killed by the Black Hand Gang. If he remembered correctly, Mrs. Frei from the Parsifal Club also had clues, but he currently didn’t have time to investigate.
At this moment, Mia had already been sent home in advance by Shard. Aside from Shard and the Witch, there were two maids in the carriage. The gas light on the carriage roof made it not dim, and the card Miss Belindel handed over was, of course, a Special Rule Card. The card face depicted a thunderbolt striking down from the sky, hitting someone on the street who seemed to be dancing.
Shard raised an eyebrow:
"[The Fool’s Tale: Thunderstruck Madman], flower suite of four, roll two 20-sided dice. If the sum is less than 5 points, you can choose to reset the card’s points to zero. How interesting, it turns out to be the [The Fool’s Tale] series."
The Witch smiled:
"Why, are the cards from this series very special? I remember this card series was issued fifty years ago. Although it wasn’t reprinted, its value doesn’t compare to those truly ancient cards."
"The value of cards is not determined solely by time and reprint frequency. Among card series, those special series issued to commemorate occasions are the most valuable. If I recall correctly, the [The Fool’s Tale] series has a total of 54 Special Rule Cards, capturing stories of real madmen and fools, like Thunder Strike, Arson, Retreating into the Mountains, Madman’s Anthology... It is said this is the only series ever issued to commemorate the founding of the Prophet’s Society."
Shard looked at the card in his hand towards the light above:
"Miss Belindel, do you know how important this card is to a true Roder Card player?"
Judging from Shard’s expression, the Witch already knew how important this card was to the playing man. She was extremely pleased with the card she had spent a considerable sum to acquire from abroad, though she feigned disinterest:
"I’m not fond of card games, so you should keep it. Remember, the most important thing tonight isn’t winning or losing, but retrieving that lost memory from Herman Wood. You and your friends have already contacted Freeman Hawthorne and Georgia Black separately. To avoid drawing too much attention, this is your last chance."
"I understand, I will definitely win—uh, I mean, I will definitely retrieve the memory. Thank you very much for your generosity, Miss Belindel."
Shard expressed his sincere thanks, and the Witch continued to feign indifference and said:
"Then show me your skills. Speaking of which, how many special cards are in your own deck?"
"The deck I’m using today has only this one from you for now."
Shard solemnly replaced the [The Fool’s Tale: Thunderstruck Madman] into his backup deck, then smiled at the Witch:
"Although I don’t have the skill to turn 20 pounds into 37 million, even if my deck is halved, no one here is my match."
The woman with a vermillion mark on her forehead blinked. Although she wasn’t quite sure what the man in front of her was saying, his smile was indeed charming.
Tonight’s card game is actually a social event for the Belindel, Edington, and Wood families to discuss matters. Although the card game is just an excuse, no one would voluntarily concede. As for the issues to be discussed, it seems to be about the city council applying for export-import tax reductions on grain with Velindale, but Shard was not very interested. He was more concerned with his opponents.
The club manager had led the servants to greet the Countess at the door ahead of time. When the Countess, along with her maid squad, entered the small gathering suite on the third floor prepared for this meeting, Shard found the setting to look exactly like a Roder Card Casino.
The room was large but not divided into suites. A professional wooden gaming table with deck slots and betting grooves was placed in the center, with liquor cabinets and sofa sets arranged around the room.
They weren’t the first to arrive; Baron Harry Wood’s party was already in the room. Baron Wood appeared to be around forty, wearing glasses with a sharp and cautious demeanor. Shard paid more attention to him, recalling his superior Director Anlos’s comment that the Wood Family had long been in collusion with MI6.
Just as Miss Belindel initially introduced, it was Herman Wood, the Baron’s younger son, attending the card game on behalf of the Wood Family. Shard had seen his photo from Mr. Benhart, but the young man—about 23 or 24 years old—who wasn’t too concerned with what his father was speaking about, was currently arranging his deck by the table.
Upon hearing Miss Belindel introduce Shard’s identity, Little Wood looked up at him, and Shard politely nodded back, quite curious about what cards the opponent intended to wager.
The local nobility mostly knew that the Countess Belindel seemed to prefer the company of women and did not socialize much with men, so Shard’s appearance was a bit surprising to the strangers present. But even more surprising was the choice of participant brought by Earl Martin Edington, who arrived shortly after:
"Viscount Bell Gra is no stranger to everyone, and I am honored to invite him to tonight’s card game."
"Good evening, Earl Belindel."
The champion of the Big City Player 1850, a middle-aged man with a beard in a brown coat, reached out to the Blonde Countess with bright eyes. But this time, even without the maid’s intervention, Shard, who was just discussing card deck formations with Herman Wood, leaped forward:
"You are the champion of the Big City Player 1850? Oh, I never expected to meet you here."
"May I ask who you are..."
The confused Viscount asked, so Miss Matilda introduced:
"This is the Earl’s distant cousin, recently staying at the Belindel Estate. It just so happens there is a card game tonight, so the Earl brought him out to see the world."
Earl Martin Edington, over 50 years old, also looked at Shard in surprise, recalling where the Belindel Family found a ’cousin’ with the appearance of a Draleon Person.
The lights in the club’s third-floor room were quite interesting. The chandelier above the central round table could illuminate the card table and its surroundings, but not the sofa set against the wall. The important figures sat on the sofas, and the dim floor lamp provided them with lighting. The three card players sat around the table, as if the important matter tonight was the card game here, rather than the tariff discussion in the shadows behind.
The grain tariff was secretly discussed by the Belindel, Edington, and Wood families. On one hand, because Belindel was most familiar with the Nobles of the Royal Capital, the Edington Family had numerous dock businesses, and the Wood Family controlled local farms and lumberyards. On the other hand, because the three families were already relatively close allies in some sense.
Because the tariff issue was very intricate, Miss Belindel initially did not pay much attention to the situation at the card table, focusing entirely on the matter at hand. By almost eight o’clock, the snowflakes fluttering outside the window were still the same as before, but the two Earls and one Baron had temporarily received somewhat satisfactory answers. Maid Miss Matilda handed the notes of the discussion just now to the Countess, who looked it over carefully, nodded to Edington and Wood across the table, and then finally turned her attention to the man currently with his back to her.
There were quite a few people in the room. Besides the six involved in playing cards or discussing matters, there were personal servants, club attendants, and guards. However, most people were by the card table, so there was no worry of revealing the nobility’s meeting information. When Bella Belindel turned her attention to the card table, she realized the atmosphere tonight was completely different from before.
In past meetings under the guise of playing cards, conversations on the sofa were very low, and the sounds of card playing at the table under the light were also not loud. The maids and attendants were also busy with their own tasks. But this time, not only were the maids and manservants, but even the guards standing by the window and door were focused on the card table’s direction.
"What happened?"
Miss Belindel thought to herself, waving to Miss Matilda, and the Blonde Maid went to the card table, quickly returning with the result:
"Miss, your cousin suggested that starting with gambling special cards is too dull. Why not gamble a few rounds on something else first? Each round consists of three hands, and whoever loses in a round should donate 3 Ores to the city’s church tomorrow. Now..."
She glanced at her master’s expression:
"Mr. Herman Wood has already lost 9 rounds, Viscount Bell Gra has lost 3 rounds."
"And him?"
"He hasn’t lost yet."
"Really sorry, young people always get carried away with card games."
The Countess smiled and said this to her old friends, and Earl Edington and Baron Wood both said it was no problem. Since their main discussion was complete and only some minor details needed confirmation, the three of them stood up and went over to the card table, standing behind their respective ’card player’.
Shard, of course, noticed Miss Belindel standing behind him, but he did not turn back; he focused on his cards:
"Sun 9 and Flower 8."
His lips curled slightly as he looked up at the other two around the card table. Herman Wood was already sweating on his forehead, wiping it with a handkerchief from his chest pocket, then placing two cards face-down next to the bottom card:
"Viscount, what do you think?"
Viscount Bell Gra, worthy of being a Big City Player 1850 champion, had an extremely strong mentality. He placed his cards face-down on the table with trembling hands, then forced a calm look towards Shard.