"You've morized all the rules, haven't you?"
Cider asked while obediently taking cards out of the drawer.
"I tried playing with Cordelia, but we knew different rules. I wondered if I had morized them wrong."
"Of course Lady Cordelia got them wrong."
Esperanza giggled and sat up straight. She hugged a cushion and watched him spread cards on the table where the ga console had been cleared away.
"But couldn't you put this in that ga console too? Is it difficult?"
"It's not difficult."
Cider, who answered imdiately after the words ended, put down the cards for a mont.
"But what aning would there be in playing card gas without holding cards in your hands?"
"Ah, card gas have philosophy too?"
Cider skillfully shuffled the cards. The conversation paused briefly.
"Of course. I'm the son of soone who lost a mansion in a card ga."
"Really? Oh, on your mother's side? She really lost it?"
"Don't worry. She called
right away to win it back. Glailly House is safe."
She bet Glailly House in a gambling ga? And then lost?
Though he was speaking lightly, it must not have been an ordinary matter. It was a story about how Count Avondale almost ended up sitting outside Avondale without a mansion.
"She really is an amazing person."
"She's a bold person."
"But she couldn't have productive hobbies?"
At those words, Cider laughed quietly.
"Well, when she was lucky, she'd sotis earn two or three tis the stakes. Anyway, seeing you take interest in such complex gas."
Cider, who had flipped over the top row of cards, asked.
"You seem bored these days?"
Esperanza gave no answer. Though she wasn't conscious of it, it was a direct hit.
There had been no dungeons for several months, and her work as shooting instructor for Jack and Cordelia, the prince and princess had found stability. Cider's research was slowly producing results, but not to a degree Esperanza could hear and understand. There would be no magic stones coming from Paolun for a while, so research speed would inevitably slow down.
These were among the most peaceful days in the two years since deciding to stay here. It wasn't bad. But she had co to want to find so new small interests.
"Card gas as a new hobby—I don't really want to recomnd that."
"I don't bet money."
"It doesn't matter how much money you bet, but I'd like you to leave our house alone. Here, look at this."
"Not this one, teach
sothing else."
Cider's hands, which had been setting up cards for two players, stopped.
"Then what would you like to learn, Lady Avondale?"
When she pursed her lips at the title she could never get used to, Cider innocently tilted his head. As if asking back, 'Isn't that right?' Esperanza clicked her tongue.
"The thod you used to win the mansion from gamblers."
"Ah, that. You'll be disappointed."
Even saying this, Cider gathered the cards and shuffled them again.
"Then we'll have to change gas. It's really nothing special. Since it's been a while, let
do one practice ga."
Long fingers smoothly spread the cards. Esperanza fumblingly held cards as Cider led and held them out as instructed.
"Left side, open it."
Esperanza held out her hand as Cider instructed. Cider's turn ca again.
"Center. Open it."
This was repeated several tis. Only Esperanza was scoring as instructed, while Cider was just flipping cards in the sa state as the beginning.
"If you keep opening the deck, when do you score?"
"You're scoring, aren't you?"
Surely he didn't win mansions by playing the ga this half-heartedly?
Cider stubbornly opened the deck to the very end. The cards in front of him were ager. Even though Esperanza had to move a book that was on the table to the side because she ran out of space.
However, the next round showed a completely different picture. Cider only flipped cards about once every three turns, and when he did flip, he always scored.
"Huh? Earlier you were worse than Jack."
"That was a practice ga. If you had bet the mansion on this round, we would have been kicked out."
"Ah, I said I'm not betting. Who do you take
for, a gambler? So what's the secret?"
"Don't you know yet? Then let's play one more round."
Cider gathered the cards and shuffled again. The third round went similarly. And when they reached the fourth round, Esperanza's eyes narrowed.
The shuffling thod was strange.
"What is that?"
It was so subtle you wouldn't notice unless you looked carefully. If it hadn't been Esperanza with good dynamic vision, it would have been hard to notice. Sothing was strange. Sothing... she wasn't certain, but.
"Is it okay to shuffle like that?"
"Of course not."
Cider smiled broadly and put down the card deck, spreading it in a fan shape. He drew three cards and flipped them to reveal 1, 2, 3 in order.
"Cheater."
Esperanza quietly complained.
"I was young. It's not good for adults to nitpick that a child's card shuffling thod is a bit strange. It's not real gambling either, this is entertainnt after all."
"Then what about when you don't shuffle?"
"I morized the backs, so it doesn't matter. This is just insurance."
"What kind of ga is played this way?"
"That's why I never showed you. What other thod would I have to get the mansion back from idlers who've played only with cards their whole lives?"
That was true though. Esperanza muttered while looking down at the cards. Knowing it was cheating killed her interest. She thought there was so great winning strategy.
"Is this also what you ant when you said cards should be played by hand? To use such tricks on ?"
Even though you were already winning!
"Of course not. I was already winning."
"You shouldn't say that with your own mouth."
"It's the truth."
"Ah, shut up."
Esperanza roughly put down the cards and curled her legs up on the sofa. Cider lightly clicked his tongue while organizing the cards.
"Miss, tell
about your trip to the black market."
"Ah. Ah. Right. I almost forgot. Um, so."
Esperanza, who had received custody of Luke Havenly from Duke Galliston, was putting him to good use in various ways.
When she obtained information that the first evacuation from Paolun would make magic stone supply within Osdern difficult, she imdiately used him to buy up rare magic stones already on the market. Most of them were confird to be unrelated to their research and resold, and Havenly's help was received in that process too.
This was the first ti she had personally gone to the black market.
"They said there was nothing they wouldn't sell, and it really was like that. I didn't go deep inside, but it seed like assassination deals were also made there. I found several rare magic stones, but they were ones we had already resold."
"Ah, oh no."
"According to Havenly, most rare magic stones currently in circulation would be items that had passed through our hands. He says now we really have to search collectors or wait for newly erging magic stones."
"Looking at how there are still no results even though we've contacted all the magic stone mines nationwide, we'll have to wait longer."
"Probably so. Well, we expected it wouldn't be easy."
And despite expecting this, she had stayed here. Even thinking she might never be able to return.
It was the result of intense consideration, and she didn't regret it.
"You have the face of soone thinking thoughts I'd like."
Cider, resting his chin on his hand, smiled obliquely. Esperanza rolled her eyes. It was right, but she didn't want to admit it was right.
"You don't need to know."
"I think I know."
When she glared, Cider laughed low and conceded.
"Fine. You're completely right."
"That's right. Because you're an idiot."
"...Why ?"
Cider, who had been nodding as if he would listen to whatever Esperanza said, hesitated. Having never been called an idiot in his life, he was surprisingly weak to such words.
If it were completely groundless, he would dismiss it as an inferiority complex and move on, but today Esperanza had grounds.
"Do you know what I heard at the black market? Rare magic stones ca out of the mines in Riton, and there are people secretly siphoning them off to sell."
Heavy silence descended in the study. Cider frowned briefly before asking.
"Don't tell
it's my mine?"
"Why wouldn't it be? Who managed their mine so poorly that rare magic stones were leaking out continuously from behind without even noticing?"
"Lady Avondale, it's your mine too."
Just as Cider was weak to being called an idiot, Esperanza, who was weak to that title, tapped the sofa with her toes in dissatisfaction.
"So, I think it would be good to check things out while we're at it."
"You're saying we should go down to Avondale?"
"How about it?"
"I always follow your opinion."
How ridiculous. Esperanza, who snorted, got up from her seat.
"I should go pack."
"Aren't you forgetting sothing?"
Esperanza, who had gripped the doorknob, slowly dragged her feet back to the sofa. Then she slowly bent down and kissed Cider's cheek. While watching with both eyes as his golden eyelashes trembled lightly.
Her steps were slow but the kiss was long. Large hands lightly gripped and pulled her face. The lips that had touched her cheek slipped.
"Sit down."
However, when she briefly caught her breath, Esperanza's vision was filled with the high ceiling. Her hair hung down below the sofa. She burst into helpless laughter at the absurdity.
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