"You have already lost twice in a row, Prince Annan. Especially since you have lost the ’7’ from the middle of your five cards, without even achieving a victory. This ans you have completely entered a losing streak."
The rotten husband leisurely said, "To relax your guard like this... are you sure that’s alright?"
"If this round is lost as well—"
With these words, he placed a stone tile face down on the table.
Husky showed no fear whatsoever, not even paying attention to the rotten husband’s words.
Her gaze was unwavering, filled with wisdom and resolve.
She looked forth imposingly, silent as a Husky.
It was a while before she bemusedly turned to the rotten husband.
"... Huh? What did you just say?"
"—Heh. Playing dumb won’t help you."
The rotten husband said in a deep voice.
He tapped on the stone table with his hand, speaking leisurely, "If you want to drag out ti, I can keep you company. But no matter what, you will have to make a final decision... "
Before he could finish speaking, Husky slapped down a card.
"Sorry, I just spaced out for a mont. But the final outco won’t change."
She answered resolutely, "Say what you will, I’ve always been indifferent. I don’t believe there is any way for you to turn the situation around—"
"Because now, I’m definitely going to lose!"
Husky declared with pride and confidence.
She imdiately flipped over her card.
It was a [6].
In Husky’s five cards, it was the second lowest; among the three remaining cards, it was already the smallest.
Playing this card was practically admitting she had no desire to win.
Of course...
If she could have learned about the cards from Thirteen Fragrances before, she would have realized that she had already lost no matter what.
The three cards she had left were 6, 8, and 10.
While in the rotten husband’s hand were 7, 18... and his last card that turned out to be 0 for not having tossed a tile.
Since the rotten husband’s "4" wasn’t counteracted, he had already won two consecutive rounds without using his "18." Therefore, he had already won no matter what.
Because there was no card greater than 18 in Husky’s hand.
"Then, I’m going to... disappoint you."
At that mont, the rotten husband gently pressed down on his own card.
He didn’t flip it over, but instead leisurely declared, "Then I concede."
"...Wait, how can you concede?"
Husky’s eyes widened in shock, "Can I concede too? Then I concede!"
"That’s not possible, I’m afraid, only the dealer can concede... This is to prevent the occurrence of ’plants’ who deliberately lose to the dealer or collaborators who entice another party to lose."
The rotten husband simply explained, "The right to concede or not is always in my hands."
"That’s just shaless!"
Husky complained unwillingly, "So you can lose whenever you want?"
"Exactly, Purifier."
The rotten husband smiled, "If I’m not mistaken... you were hoping to enter the third round to investigate sothing, right?
"But unfortunately—I will be guarding here, I will always stand before you, until the nightmare is purified. Whether it’s two consecutive wins or losses... you will never be able to make it into the third round."
He declared as such.
The next mont, Husky and Thirteen Fragrances, waiting outside, suddenly stiffened.
Their vision went dark, and they abruptly lost consciousness.
"... Huh?"
Just when Annan least expected it, sothing unexpected happened.
As Husky and Thirteen Fragrances’ part ended and turned into darkness, Annan suddenly connected to the nightmare that could not be found in the midst of the nightmare before.
It was as if after being offline for a long ti, he reconnected...
Or rather... as if he had just finished watching one side of a DVD that stored two movies.
"...Is this the B-side of the nightmare?"
Annan murmured softly, opening his eyes to check.
Husky and Thirteen Fragrances had not woken up, and the ritual was still in progress.
This ant the nightmare had not truly ended yet!
So Annan imdiately switched perspectives, transferring to where Husky was.
And at that mont, her part was just beginning, starting with the introduction of the nightmare:
"Cowards will want to apologize before betrayal, while the despicable ones do so afterward."
The introduction on Husky’s side sounded much clearer. Compared to the one on Thirteen Fragrances’ side, it was as if much of the reverberation had been removed.
It was clear to hear that the voice belonged to Young Annan.
The voice was so clear that it made Husky instinctively look back to confirm there was no one behind her.
But soon, Annan realized sothing was off—
Through Husky’s eyes, he clearly saw Dmitry and Annan standing not far away.
The "Bella" Husky was playing stood in the corner of the yard, watching Dmitry train swordsmanship with Annan.
Whenever Young Annan’s gaze swept over, it even made Husky involuntarily shiver.
—That gaze was unlike the "wisdom-filled" one of Husky or the gentle and harmless one of Annan now.
It was gloomy and profound... a gaze that would make one think of the word "abyss."
Soon, Dmitry noticed Husky.
Husky panicked slightly—her first thought was, could this be a stealth mission? Did she need to ensure that she was not discovered as she went inside to steal sothing?
There were no main quests refreshed, nor any opening CG... How was she supposed to know what to do?
And wasn’t it said... that the content of this nightmare was related to the Ga of the Rotting Husband?
Where was the Rotting Husband?
Could it be that she would even get to see Ilya’s storyline in the theater version...
As Husky was lost in her wild thoughts, intending to apologize and leave quickly, she found that she couldn’t control her own actions—
"Hmm... you go back first, Annan."
Dmitry cleared his throat, said to Young Annan as if nothing had happened, "When I co back, I’ll bring you sothing."
"Then bring so sparkling water."
Annan replied coldly.
His sweep over Husky made her suddenly feel an icy chill pouring into her chest.
Following that, Annan picked up his sword and went back into the house.
anwhile, Dmitry straightened his necktie and walked over.
It was only then that Husky finally realized why she felt sothing was amiss from the beginning.
—This Dmitry was dressed way too neatly.
She had seen His Highness Dmitry once before from afar.
The shoulder-length hair that, due to lack of frequent washing, appeared sowhat frizzy and needed constant grooming; he never dressed properly, just draping clothes over himself as good enough. And that strong, lingering sll of alcohol and smoke on him, coupled with the always furrowed brows, made one think of a stern headmaster.
Despite having a handso face, he wasn’t exactly popular with girls.
But the Dmitry of the mont was entirely different.
His black hair was neatly combed back behind his shoulders, and the quality made Husky feel sowhat ashad. Not only was he properly dressed in his coat, but he also wore a shirt underneath, had a bowtie tied, and his face wore a calm, elegant smile.
"How long have you been here?"
He asked in a low voice, deep and magnetic.
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