The old duke said this, and after testing the detective's hand strength and finding that it was not inferior to his, he let go of his hand with satisfaction:
"I heard about the game at Lakeview Manor last Sunday. It was really exciting. It's a pity that I was not there. But just by listening to their description, I knew that Tobesk finally had another good Rhodes player."
Although he was old, he spoke with full energy. Shade could clearly feel the military temperament in him, which was even more obvious than that of Captain Rades.
"Good, very good! Playing Rhodes is only fun when played with young people like you."
The genuine smile on the Duke's face could not be faked, just like a fake smile and a genuine smile when reading a knight novel in class, the two can be distinguished at a glance. Shade already understood what kind of person the other person was. This was another hopeless Rhodes fan.
There was not much nonsense. Salons, cocktail parties and social events were held after the game was over. Now that both parties had appeared, they could start right away.
Most of the people here come for the Rhodes cards, and few of them know that the significance of the game lies in the personnel transfer of the navy, so the atmosphere is very lively.
The old duke sat on the chair on the left side of the long table, and the servant pulled out the chair for him. Shade sat on the chair on the right side, and the black-haired maid pulled out the chair for him.
The guests who had come to watch the game gathered around, but not directly around the table like impolite gamblers, but in groups of two or three, standing a little away from the table but still able to see the cards clearly.
The room fell silent. Vice President Mark of the Prophet Association walked to the table and coughed. His role as the host of the game between the two dukes was just right:
"I won't say any more. The participant in this game is Duke Lucas—"
Vice President Mark nodded to the old duke, and then nodded to Shade:
"And Detective Hamilton, who is here on behalf of Miss Carina."
Xia De also nodded slightly to Mr. Mark.
Miss Carina did not intend to show up in front of everyone, but according to the young black-haired maid behind her, Miss Carina was on this floor, waiting for the result of the game.
"Is this considered social phobia? No, is it 'hating men' to this extent?"
Xia De thought to himself, but suddenly he was worried that the high-level warlocks could read minds through several walls, so he didn't dare to think about it anymore.
"This game is played in a best-of-three format. In each round, the side that first wins three times wins the round. If both sides keep busting their cards, the side that first runs out of cards loses the round."
Xia De noticed that a plump lady standing not far from his side was looking at him. He glanced at the lady and found that she was probably over 40 years old.
"Before the game begins, we first invite the three gentlemen to jointly check the Duke and the detective's decks for final confirmation."
This is the rule of the informal competition, to prevent the Prophet Association from being bribed. Of course, only the nobles' card games would be so troublesome. The time Vice President Mark spent speaking was enough to complete half of the game.
Those who were invited to inspect the deck were Baron Skaven with a beautiful mustache, Baron Hull who wore a pair of boots that looked like they had horseshoes on them, and Viscount Ford who had gray hair and looked to be almost sixty years old. All three wore black suits of similar style.
The three of them first picked up Duke Lucas's deck, nodded as they checked it, and exclaimed from time to time, which made Shad's opponent particularly proud.
It took him several minutes to check it, which was just a formality. After greeting the detective, he picked up his deck of cards from his left hand.
The main part of Xia De's deck was the one he picked up from the rooftop of the pet boarding center when he picked up Mia. Although it was a little old, an old deck showed that it was often played with.
He sandwiched the five cards with special rules in the center, and the gentlemen who opened the deck soon saw the first card, the Ancient Fairy Tale - Match Girl.
Shade heard Baron Hull mutter the name "Baron Lavender", and it was obvious that they were all acquaintances. Then came the second card, the Original Steam Engine, Mark IX, and the third card, the Eastern Landscape of the Old World, Lake Tees. The three of them smiled as they looked at it, which was also a rare card. When they saw the Northern City, Coldwater Harbor, they couldn't help but exchange some ideas. This card seemed to be very famous, and they didn't know where Professor Manning got it from.
Then, Baron Hull, holding a deck of cards, was the first to see Genesis Silver Moon.
He blinked at the card in his hand, then shrunk his neck and stretched his head to take a closer look at the item in his hand:
"Uh~"
A strange sound came out of his throat, and his whole body seemed to be hit by a bullet. His hands began to tremble at a frequency visible to the naked eye. His eyes were wide open, as if they were about to pop out, and his mouth was slightly open, looking like a demented patient.
"What's wrong? What other precious cards does the detective have in his deck?"
The other two gentlemen beside him asked in a low voice, as if to blame him for the startling effect. Because they were standing on both sides of Baron Hull, they all leaned over to look at the card.
"Uh~"
Baron Skaven also made a strange sound. He stretched out his broad hand with a jewel ring to cover his mouth, but his eyes bulged out, and he looked very similar to Baron Hull.
Viscount Ford, who was older, was more mature. He turned his head and looked at Vice President Mark of the Prophet Association, and asked tremblingly:
“Is this the real thing?”
"Yes."
The latter nodded, and then there was a commotion in the room, because people saw the elderly Viscount Ford suddenly covering his heart with a grim look on his face.
The panicked servants wanted to come to help, but the Viscount waved them away:
"No need~"
He squeezed out these words from between his teeth:
"I can't bear to pass out until I finish watching this game."
Then he forcibly took his hand away from his chest, and his originally red face gradually returned to normal:
"I must watch this game to the end."
He very roughly snatched Shade's deck from Baron Hull, who had not yet recovered from the shock. He stared at Founder Silver Moon for a few seconds before returning the deck to the detective.
This made Baron Skaven extremely upset, as he reacted but found that he no longer had the chance to touch the card himself.
"What did you see? A rare card? From which series? Why are you acting so exaggerated? If I hadn't known you for a long time, I might have thought that you were hired by Carina to act out a show to disturb my mood before the game."
Old Duke Lucas, who was sitting on the other side of the table, raised his head and asked curiously, but the three gentlemen shook their heads in unison:
"I saw nothing. I wish you victory."
Their voices overlapped and sounded somewhat comical.