Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 502 - Ball

The first round ended with Marquis Grassley with 9 Golden Stars, Earl Talankon with 8 Golden Stars, Viscount Forderman with 8 Golden Stars, Mr. Spears with 9 Golden Stars, Shard with 11, and the judge with 5.

The second round began, and the Marquis controlled his smile while Earl Talankon took a deep breath to adjust his mood.

After everyone received their first hole card, perhaps because they had already grasped the general rules, this time they all chose to bet two Golden Stars.

But Shard hesitated:

"Now, there are 8 on the table, Mr. Mark has 5 in his hand, making a total of 13..."

He counted out 10 stars from his own and threw them out, leaving only one to prevent any accidents.

The onlookers immediately began to discuss eagerly. Marquis Grassley, who had organized this card game, furrowed his brows and asked:

"Knight, did you draw the King and Queen?"

"Of course not, I'll continue to draw cards."

Shard shrugged:

"I don't have the Earl's luck."

Although this was a compliment, Earl Talankon, who was mentioned, twitched his mouth, clearly not pleased to be brought up.

For the second card, Shard drew a Stars Nine and continued to draw cards. Among the other four, Viscount Forderman and Mr. Spears chose to stop drawing cards, with the former hesitating for a long time before throwing out 1 Golden Star to raise the stakes.

"He's either 17 or 18. If it was higher, he would've added two stars."

Mr. Spears whispered, but the Viscount merely smiled and remained silent.

In the third round, Shard drew a Flower Four and chose to continue drawing cards. Earl Talankon nervously glanced at his hole card and then sighed deeply:

"My luck has run out."

He flipped a Stars 13, clearly he had busted.

"I'll continue to draw cards too."

Marquis Grassley said, gauging Shard's expression, trying to discern the reason for his confidence.

In the third round, Shard drew a Moon Four.

"Detective, aren't you stopping yet?"

Marquis Grassley asked, and Shard nodded:

"Yes, I'll continue to draw."

The Marquis looked at his own hand:

"You're that confident… Alright then, I'll draw too. If you have the courage, I do too."

So, both received their fourth card, and coincidentally, it was the same card, Sun 13.

The Marquis was stunned:

"Damn it."

He flipped over the hole card, totaling 25 points.

"Mr. Hamilton, you better not tell me, with 13 points, you haven't busted."

"No, I've busted."

Shard admitted.

"Then I win!"

Viscount Forderman, who had raised the bet, said loudly, flipping over the hole card, revealing indeed 17 points.

"No, no, no."

Shard quickly said:

"But my hole card is a Special Rule Card."

He flipped over the hole card, pinching it between two fingers to show his opponents:

"Flower 7, Genesis: Balance. With this card, if the score exceeds 21, the score resets to zero, all own hand cards are discarded, and a new draw occurs. Marquis, the reason I dared to continue drawing cards is because of this card. What made you follow me to the fourth draw?"

"What?"

Marquis Grassley was no longer concerned about being led by Shard to draw cards:

"Isn't it Genesis: Silver Moon?"

His eyes widened, while Earl Talankon on Shard's left side exaggerated, almost sticking his face onto Shard's hand.

The crowd at the table went quiet, then burst into discussions that almost made others in the banquet hall think a riot had occurred.

"Please deal me a new hand."

Shard said.

"Wait, Knight, I need to confirm one thing, is this [Genesis: Balance]?"

Earl Talankon quickly asked.

"Yes."

"Is Genesis: Silver Moon also in your hand?"

Viscount Forderman's eyes widened.

"Of course, the rumors are true."

Shard nodded.

"So, if you win against us, you will have three of the Genesis Series in your hand?"

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

Marquis Grassley finally realized this fact.

Shard shrugged and looked at the cards continuously entering his hand.

Moon 7, Northern City: Coldwater Harbor, no special rules triggered; Star 13, a regular card.

Under the crystal light overhead, the young Outlander's face wore a smile. His body, reshaped through Divinity, Flesh of Desire, and the spirit of an Outlander, was so handsome and extraordinary. He was not aware of the transcendent charm his body gradually had acquired, nor did he realize how attractive he was at that moment.

Shard smiled, adjusted his tie, then held up a card in each hand, displaying them to his opponents:

"20 points, sorry, I win again."

The second game was over, and Shard had 21 Golden Stars in his hand.

(Mia running...)

"So, what trick did you exactly play?"

At nine-thirty in the evening, the dance inside the second-floor room officially began. Since it was just the beginning, there were not many people dancing. The weather was fine today, and most people were viewing the night scenery in the courtyard and garden of Yordle Palace.

"I played a trick?"

Shard, who was dancing with Miss Galina, asked in surprise, the first dance performed with the slow tempo of a violin and piano. Shard could not dance to this rhythm, so the Witch just let him hold her and sway slowly.

"Genesis: Darkness went into your pocket, and you've played no tricks?"

Miss Galina said with a smile, gazing at her smile up close, Shard looked slightly dazed. Even though he had seen Desire at the pool, the charm of the Witch was still not to be underestimated.

"I won fair and square, ending up with 25 Golden Stars after three rounds."

In the third game, Shard bet 4 Golden Stars, and even though Viscount Forderman and Mr. Spears each drew a Special Card, the Council's Permanent Secretary, due to the Special Card "Ancient Fairy Tale: The Mermaid's Song," succeeded in rolling two consecutive 20s with a twenty-sided die for his special rule, adjusting his score to 21.

But Shard still won, because before Mr. Spears revealed his hole card, announcing his score of 21, he turned over King's Secret Order: Substitute.

Upon drawing this card, it could be swapped with an opponent's unrevealed hole card, but stopping the game in that round was not allowed.

Swapping a 2 for an opponent's hole card of 7 changed his 21 into 16. In the following draws, Shard stopped at 20 points with four cards, and the other four players all busted.

The renowned and politically adept Permanent Secretary, after the card games, covered his face for quite some time before managing to bring back his usual gentle, polite smile:

"This card game, I'll remember for many years; first a special card, then losing two 20s... Still, I managed to lose..."

In short, Shard won the victory in just three games of cards. Although it exposed that he now possessed all three Genesis Series cards in his hand, obtaining Genesis: Darkness made it all worthwhile.

"All this was brought about by the luck from the Impermanence Card."

Shard whispered.

"No, no, Shard, I need to correct you. While it's not the first time someone has had a Genesis Series card, I have enquired specifically—the luck they bring could never be as obvious as yours; otherwise, the card's special would have been discovered long ago."

The Witch said softly, her perfume smelling very pleasant. While talking to Shard, she glanced sideways at the sofas on one side of the banquet hall. Several Princesses sat there, chatting with friends or demurely waiting for some young gentlemen's invitations. Lecia occasionally looked this way, clearly concerned about the dancing pair.

"Don't you think your winning was too exaggerated just now? How should I describe that state of yours?"

Miss Galina, in her high-heeled state, stood almost as tall as Shard. Miss Hevy Aurora was about the same height.

She lightly tightened her arm, sheathed like a long glove, meaning for Shard to hold her and start spinning:

"It was as if favored by the God of Luck or the God of Gambling. But I was there at the time, as was the 'Iron Right Hand', and nobody noticed anything unusual about you."

"Is that so?"

Shard asked, somewhat surprised:

"Perhaps this kind of luck is just more obvious with me..."

Fortunately, he truly knew the 'God of Gambling', and when the last time he utilized 1784 came, he might try to communicate with that deity. According to information provided by Priest Augustus, this deity was not an Evil God.

"It's good that you know your own anomaly. But a little better luck in card games isn't a big deal."

The Witch said, applying a slight pressure on the shoulder where her hand rested, immediately alerting Shard to slow down his movements.

The Witch's golden eyes looked at him:

"Speaking of which, since becoming an adult, I really never thought I'd have a chance to dance with a man again."

"How does it feel? I must admit, my dancing skills are not very good."

"Oh, Detective, do you think I care about dancing skills?"

She smiled, moving closer to Shard's cheek:

"What matters to me is the event itself. It's interesting that fate brought you before me; if I think about it, it seems it was the Roder Card that brought you into my sights. That night when I went to the Lucky Southern Cross Club, it was to find two special cards. You went there looking for boys to play cards. Even my discovering you was because you used Arcane Technique to look at the cards."

"It seems that way."

Shard nodded, keeping his feet moving in time with the rhythm.

"So tonight, did you use your Arcane Technique? The story Tifa brought a few days ago was very good, I know your eyes have changed from before. I didn't notice any traces of your Arcane Technique tonight; does that mean it is no longer detectable by my recon, and you really marked the back of each card with faint traces of blood?"

"No, I wouldn't cheat when playing cards."

Shard immediately emphasized, and the red-haired Witch burst out laughing. She truly looked very happy at that moment:

"Alright then, let's assume you were just lucky tonight. That Box of Darkness you want, I'll have Tifa deliver it to you tomorrow or the day after. But for now, Detective, let's really enjoy this dance."