The noise could no longer be suppressed. Even though this was a noble banquet and Prince William of Anjou was present, people could not hide their excitement.
"The first three cards are three 7s, and the fourth is a queen? If John Watson hadn't met Mr. Oxenfurt, how would he have lost this round? How could someone have such luck?"
Shade took a deep breath, looked at Mr. Osenfurt who was also in doubt, and then asked Margaret's brother:
"Prince William, according to the rules of Rhodes, you cannot draw cards after you draw the queen. But I am drawing cards this time because of the special rules, and the rules require drawing two cards. There is no order for these two cards, so can I continue to draw cards?"
"this... ... "
His Royal Highness hesitated for a moment, then asked someone to find the staff of the Prophet Association. Tonight's banquet only invited local nobles. Merchants like Mr. Ossenfort came with their friends and were not considered invitees. Therefore, there were no Rhodes arbitrators from the Prophet Association at the banquet.
The game was forced to pause for twenty minutes. At the urging of everyone, the servant rushed to the Prophet's Association to find someone. When the elderly man, who was wearing the association's uniform and had an Ouroboros brooch on his chest, arrived, he listened to the situation of the game, reviewed what had just happened, and said after thinking for a moment:
"Special rules outweigh basic rules. About 45 years ago, a similar thing happened. Yes, Mr. John Watson had already drawn the queen, but he could still draw the last card."
The curiosity that had been suppressed for twenty minutes had reached its peak at this moment. Everyone was looking forward to what Shad's last card would be. It was not that he had no chance of winning, but the possibility was too slim and incredible.
The old man from the Prophet's Association took out his notebook and prepared to record the result as a rare case and add it to the "Examples" at the back of the rule book.
Shade put his hand on the last card. People did not dare to urge him. Even Prince William looked at his hand with his mouth shut. But Earl Granger, who was familiar with Shade, could speak what was in their minds:
"Mr. Watson, I just told you that you can take a sneak peek at what the cards are, but you have to wait until someone from the Prophecy Association arrives. Open the cards now, is it... is it... "
His eyes widened, while Shade frowned slightly. He had a strange inspiration, and it seemed that he shouldn't win this game. If he won, something bad would happen.
So, do you want to win
"Whether we win or not is not up to me."
Xia De said in his heart, and under the gaze of countless eyes, he turned over the fifth card -
king.
A single queen and king have less than 21 points, but the king and queen appear at the same time, which directly wins the game.
Although Mr. Oxenfurt's "special rule combination combo" was excellent, fortunately, Shad had better luck.
Mr. Osenfurt's eyes were serious, and he raised his hand to press his temple. The exclamations around him almost pierced Shade's eardrums. He did not show any joy, because he heard "her" voice again:
Outsider, you feel the curse of doom.
Shade put his hand in his pocket and frowned at the man opposite him. The other party just sighed regretfully, then looked at the cards in front of Shade again, without showing any characteristics of a ring wizard:
"I won against him and I'm cursed. Is this related?"
Unable to determine the source of bad luck. Fight back with the twenty-sided dice of fate? The effect of the curse is very weak and has almost no effect on you.
After hesitating for a while, Xia De did not use his dice. If possible, he tried not to use the power of fate.
"It's really interesting, Mr. Stone Oxenfurt..."
"Mr. Watson, this card belongs to you."
The card slid along the coffee table towards Xia De, and with precise control of force, the card stopped right next to Xia De's hand.
Southern City, Randall Valley, Suit: Sun 7. When this card is drawn, if there are cards with the same value of 7 in your hand, you can adjust all the remaining cards in your hand to 7.
"We don't seem to be betting on any special cards?"
Shade reminded him, but Mr. Osenfurt shook his head slightly:
"I can't remember the last time I lost. If you beat me, it belongs to you. I won't touch this kind of bad luck cards again. If you have time, you can come to my manor. I look forward to the next game with you."
Then the business card was slid over.
Mr. Oxenfurt stood up and said goodbye to Prince William, then left without even giving Shade a chance to talk and return the ring. Prince William didn't care about Mr. Oxenfurt, and still looked at Shade's five cards on the coffee table in disbelief:
"What kind of luck is this that actually happened?"
Shade picked up the South City Randall Valley and stared at Mr. Ossenfurt's back. He still felt that this man was definitely not as simple as he looked.
The wonderful Rhodes game between Shad and Mr. Osenfurt made all other aspects of the banquet pale in comparison. Even after the game was over, people were still enthusiastically discussing the details of the game. Shad believed that even Tobesk might hear about the game soon.
Of course, he did not forget what he came for. After accepting the considerable prize and taking over the southern city of Randall Valley, Shad had a private talk with Earl Granger when Prince William of Anjou was invited to dance by Earl Granger's niece, the daughter of the Marquis of Carragher.
"Yes, it is still about Mr. Thomas Granger."
The two stood outside the ballroom holding their wine glasses, and Xia De said softly:
"You didn't seem to be telling me the truth last time."
He swirled his glass:
"I know this is related to your family's past and I shouldn't bother you again. But please forgive my curiosity. What happened to your great-uncle?"
Lord Granger glanced at him, shook his head slightly, and took a sip of his wine.
"Yes, I did hide something about my great-uncle last time. You sent back such a precious relic, and I shouldn't have hidden it, but...it doesn't matter. I just hope that, Mr. Watson, this is enough for you to know."
"Yes, I can swear to Mr. Dawn."
As he spoke, he drew the holy emblem on his chest and nodded:
"Regarding the great-uncle Thomas Granger who ran away from home, the family did find any clues during the long search afterwards. It's just that this involves something that no one likes to talk about, so we keep silent about it. Mr. Watson, you also know that noble families always have many inexplicable relatives. If you really want to trace it back, we even have blood ties with the Anjou royal family hundreds of years ago."
He laughed at himself:
"The family really didn't find the whereabouts of great-uncle Thomas Granger after he disappeared. But my grandfather once found out that before he disappeared, great-uncle had frequent contact with our distant relatives, the eccentric Farmer family, and they had a lot of correspondence."
"Is the Farmer family also a local noble family?"
"No, no, he is just a distant relative of ours, a poor country noble in the north of the kingdom. But now he has no descendants. Yes, not a single descendant."
"what happened?"
Xia De asked with some surprise. It was not a common situation for nobles to have no descendants. But unexpectedly, the earl asked a more bizarre question:
“Do you know the Pantanal?”
"... Of course. I heard that Delarion and we are planning to open up new trade routes in the outer areas of the swamp. By then, we will be able to strengthen transportation in the southern part of the Old World and form new commercial cities in the western part of the Old World."
This is what Xia De saw in the newspaper.
"Yes, yes, but the nearest trade route is outside the swamp. What I want to say is that there is an island in the middle of the swamp. You probably haven't heard of it."
The piano sound could not cover the two people's voices, but Shade believed that no third person could hear them at this moment. His fingers tapped the glass unconsciously:
"... ... I haven't heard of it. It's too remote. I don't know anything about that swamp."
"Yes, in the center of the Pantanal Swamp there is a huge lake that is not inferior to Lake Eldron, and in the center of the lake there is an island. Although the island is deserted, it actually has an owner. Although for some reason, Delarion and Carsenrick are unwilling to develop that barren land, about 70 or 80 years ago, Carsenrick sent soldiers to garrison on the island as a declaration of sovereignty. And according to the title deed dating back hundreds of years, the island actually belongs to the Farmer family, a distant relative of the Granger family."
Xia De nodded. Although the island in the middle of the lake was extremely remote, both countries were indeed thinking about it. After all, it was the nominal border. It was not cost-effective to station troops there for a long time, but the Five Gods Church would not stop sending people to plant flags or maintain facilities such as lighthouses and barracks every few decades.
What's more, seventy or eighty years ago, the power of the Pantanal Voodoo Society was far less powerful than it was last year, and the sealed evil creatures at that time also showed no signs of breaking the seal.
"The extinction of the Farmer family is related to the island in the middle of the lake?"
Shade asked again, and Earl Granger nodded solemnly:
"About seventy or eighty years ago, when the kingdom sent soldiers to the island again, the Farmer family also went with them, wanting to vacation in the deserted manor on the island and then return with the soldiers... They were always weird, and it was rumored that this family had a hereditary mental illness. But in short, they didn't come back, and the soldiers didn't come back either. The subsequent investigation was inconclusive, and there is no result until now. People are very reluctant to talk about it, and... It is said that the Farmer family insisted on going to the island for vacation because of the correspondence between my great-uncle and them. Baron Farmer was obsessed with the occult back then, and my great-uncle... was the same."
This kind of family scandal is indeed not suitable to be told to strangers.