"Priest, you are really experienced."
Xia De praised sincerely.
"Haha, I'm old, and my physical and mental strength can't compare to you young people, but the life experience I've accumulated over a long period of time is not in vain."
Xia De nodded in understanding and stretched out his hand. The flying red butterflies automatically landed on his fingers and then melted into his skin.
After ringing the bell on the gate, the old butler came to the door a few minutes later, carrying a shiny oil lamp through the misty courtyard. After Shade, who called himself "John Watson," explained his purpose and showed the cards, the bald old butler in a black suit actually let the two in.
"You see, Rhodes cards can be really useful sometimes."
Following the old butler through the courtyard towards the mansion, Shade whispered to priest Augustus. The priest ignored him and stared at the back of the old butler in front of him:
"He won't live much longer."
"What?"
"With current medical technology, heart disease is incurable."
Father Augustus shook his head and signaled Shad not to speak so loudly:
"People die all the time, it's normal."
Earl Darak was a well-known local Rhodes player, and many people had challenged him. When the old butler led Shad and the priest into the house, he confirmed with the two that they wanted to bet with special cards.
"Does the Count always use special cards as stakes when he plays cards with others?"
"In most cases, yes."
The old butler nodded and led the two through the foyer lined with artworks and antiques and up the stairs.
Although Shade didn't know much about antique appreciation, he had seen many houses of great nobles. In his opinion, the Darak family was indeed in decline. The decoration inside the house was old, and some of the vases and paintings on display were obviously modern artworks. For example, the painting at the corner of the stairs looked like the "Brave Man Slaying the Dragon" auction item that Shade saw at the Fire Festival dinner.
The room was very quiet, and it seemed that except for the old housekeeper, the servants were all resting. But at least it was very clean, and it was obvious that the maintainer of the house was still doing his best to keep it decent.
Shade and Father Augustus met Earl Darak in the study on the second floor. Compared with the fancy dress during the Fire Festival, the Earl behind the desk was wearing a normal black coat. If it weren't for the pink flower in his hair, he would look even more normal.
The old butler introduced the purpose of the two guests' visit. Shad felt the red butterfly melting into the skin of his fingers trembling, and Priest Augustus also touched Shad's arm, looked at him sideways and nodded.
Both Shad and the priest understood that the third person who had come back to life they were looking for was the middle-aged nobleman in front of them.
"Mr. John Watson? Oh, I remember you, you are Miss Aurora's..."
The Count looked up in surprise.
"I am Miss Aurora's friend. The lady from the southern country was just joking with you last time."
Shade replied with a smile. At this time, the old butler left temporarily to prepare tea for the three of them, so it didn't matter what Shade said. Now that Count Darak had been found, he must be sent away.
"Ha, I knew you were no ordinary bodyguard. I heard that Miss Aurora is always rude to men. Besides, if an ordinary bodyguard has such good card skills, then my life would be a failure."
The Count, who looked thinner than last time, smiled and put down the pen in his hand. He had just been writing a letter:
"Mr. Watson, with your looks, you can make money doing anything. I guess you are the lover of Miss Aurora..."
“Ahem!”
Xia De coughed quickly to prevent his image as a promising young man in the eyes of Father Augustus from being further damaged:
"Count, let's get down to business. After the last game, I heard from the locals that you are a famous local Rhodes player, so I want to play cards with you again. Last time, neither of us took out our special cards, so it can't be counted as a win or loss."
Lord Darak looked even happier:
"Yes, we didn't use any special cards last time, so it can't be considered that I lost to you."
Then he stood up and said:
"You two, the weather is weird today, and I just happen to have nothing to do during the boring day. Come on, please follow me. I have a special Rhodes card table here."
The Count walked toward the door, and Shad and Abbe Augustus rose from their chairs at the table.
"Let's observe his current condition first. If we can send him away without fighting, then we should try to avoid fighting."
Shad hoped that his eyes could express such complex meanings, and when Priest Augustus saw Shad's eyes, he actually nodded.
Shad was very curious about what Father Augustus thought he wanted to do.
Anyway, under the earl's lead, the three of them returned to the first floor. The earl even took a long detour in the house to introduce the history of the antique collections and the traditions of the Darlak family.
The count spent the longest time in front of one of the rapiers. He had said last time that he was very good at using the rapier.
The so-called dedicated Rhodes gambling table was actually a table with squares drawn on the surface to facilitate the placement of card piles, drawing cards and discarding cards. It was a room on the first floor facing the sun, which was arranged by the Earl as a room specifically for playing Rhodes with players.
In addition to the table in the middle, there are many signatures and photos hanging on the walls. They are all players who have come here and played cards with Count Darak. According to the Count, he even played cards with the runner-up of "Big City Player 1850". However, the other party did not want to leave a photo, so he only left a signature.
In addition to the signatures and photos on the walls, there are neatly arranged glass display cabinets at the bottom of the four walls, which contain interesting souvenirs related to Rhodes cards. For example, the copper commemorative coins used to calculate points in the semi-finals of the "Big City Players 1853" that ended more than a month ago and the news reports at the time are all displayed here.
After the exhibits were introduced, the gambling officially began.
The old butler acted as the referee, and priest Augustus dealt the cards to the two players. As for the bet, Shade bet on his "only" special card, the Legend of the Brave, the Bard Fletcher, and said with a smile that if he won this time, he would go to the Red Water Camp on the Windy Trail to challenge Brigadier General Carter who possessed the Legend of the Brave, the Swordsman Cybalon.
"No, no, your information is outdated. Swordsman Sebalon is now in the hands of a captain in the Red Water Camp. He is the captain who solved the serial murder case at the Middleburg Mechanical College."
The Count reminded, then took out and displayed his bet:
"Ancient Fairy Tale: Sleeping Princess Suit: Sun 4. If you roll 10 or 20 twice in a row on the 20-sided die, you can adjust the card number within 4 or 5."
He read out the information on the card and asked the butler to hand the card to Xia De for inspection.
The count took off his gloves with some pride, shook his wrist and said:
"This year's Big City Player Champion, Hamilton from Rejade, also has a special card from the Ancient Fairy Tale series, the Ancient Fairy Tale Match Girl. I even plan to take a steam train to Tobesk City in winter if I have nothing to do, to challenge the big player who has dozens of special cards."
He flexed his fingers, with an expectant smile on his face:
"The trip to Tobesk will be very interesting. I may be able to become friends with that young man."
Xia De had a stern face and showed no expression.
If Count Darak was not the resurrected Nail, he actually wouldn't mind having such a friend, just like Baron Lavender who initially invited the outsider to play cards and led Shad into the world of Rhodes cards.
But sometimes fate doesn't always go as we wish. What should go must go, and no one can defy this.
In order to make the game more interesting, the traditional best-of-three rule is adopted this time. Each game has five rounds, and the first one to win three rounds wins the game.
Both parties shuffled the cards, and after the old butler confirmed that everything was correct, the deck was placed on the left and right hands of Priest Augustus for dealing.
The long table was placed parallel to the window, and the thin sunlight shone through the thick fog, illuminating the table and the profiles of the two people.
Xia De got his first hidden card, but did not open it. Instead, he directly indicated that he wanted the second card.
Then he smiled and said:
"Count, I heard that you were seriously ill earlier this year? I wish you good health."
"Yes, that illness almost cost me my life."
The Count also got his second card. He frowned after taking a look at it, obviously not satisfied.
Shade's second card was the Sun 1. He signaled to continue dealing the cards, then warned:
"I have a doctor friend who always says that exercising more is good for your health."
He does have a doctor friend, but he's a psychiatrist.
"That's a good idea, but lung disease may not have much to do with exercise... I'm suspending trading at 18:00."
Lord Darak showed his two cards.
The third card Shade got was the Moon 10. He looked at his bottom card again and then announced that he would stop playing:
"Sun 1, Moon 10, Star 8, 19 o'clock."
"It's just bad luck."
The Earl shook his head and threw the cards in his hand aside. The two cards swirled together, and it was obvious that he was an expert in Rhodes cards.
"However, my illness may be related to my unhealthy lifestyle. Mr. Watson, you are a foreigner. Do you know the interesting local drink, blood brew?"
Xia De raised his eyebrows in surprise and took the cards handed to him by Father Augustus:
"Of course I know. I even met a salesman selling this drink at a Fire Worship Festival party. But I have always stayed away from blood products. Even steak must be cooked 90% rare before I eat it."
"Then your life will be much less fun."