During the fourth round of dealing, Baron Cobell could no longer hide his nervousness. He likely believed he had a significant advantage in this game and held great expectations for that Lord card. Now that Shade had won two rounds, he couldn't stop worrying that he would lose.
Under such a mindset, one is actually more likely to lose; even Shade understood this principle.
They both received their hole cards. After a quick glance, the Baron wore a disappointed expression; it seemed it wasn't a King or a Queen.
For the subsequent second card, the two received a Moon 9 and a Moon 1, respectively. Having received the Moon 9, Baron Cobell hesitated for a long while before deciding to hit. This allowed the circle of people surrounding them to more or less guess the range of the points currently in his hand.
As for Shade, after checking his hole card, he chose to hit immediately. The third cards for both sides were even stranger: the Baron got a Sun 1, and Shade got a Flower 1.
Baron Cobell hesitated once again. Even Baron Rwanda, who was dealing for him, couldn't help but remind him
"If you hesitate any longer, I won't even need to look at your cards to know what your hole card value is."
This made the surrounding crowd laugh, and Shade laughed as well
"Baron, do you want to gamble on your luck?"
"Mr. Hamilton, will you continue to hit?"
Baron Cobell asked instead.
"Of course."
The Baron's lips twitched
"Very well, I shall continue to hit as well."
Subsequently, a King was dealt into the Baron's hand. His eyes widened instantly, and his mouth clamped shut as if he were unable to breathe. Unless Shade had 21, it was now a tie.
The people around them whispered in discussion. The Baron suddenly looked up at Shade's cards; it was a Flower 8.
[Scenery of the Eastern Old Continent · Lake Tiss]: After drawing this card, guess the number of one of the opponent's unrevealed cards. If correct, after the opponent reveals their cards, you may choose whether to force the opponent's card value to increase by one. If the opponent reveals their covered card first, [Scenery of the Eastern Old Continent · Lake Tiss] has no effect.
Of course, if the opponent has a King or a Queen, an increase of one point means busting; this was one of the basic rules.
Seeing Shade's card, the Baron froze. He knew the effect of this card. Recalling the rules in his memory, he immediately reached out to flip over his hole card, but his hand was not as fast as Shade's mouth
"I guess it's 9 points."
Shade spoke, his face showing no nervousness at all. There was no penalty for guessing wrong; his current total was 11 points, so he could still continue to hit.
Baron Cobell stopped with his finger gripping the corner of the card.
"I guess it's 10 points!"
Baron Lavender, who was also dealing, immediately said with a laugh.
"No, 9 points is more probable!"
Another dealer, Baron Rwanda, wearing a curled wig, countered.
"Quick, reveal the card! What is it?"
The people urged, everyone looking at Baron Cobell's hand. A grim expression appeared on the Baron's face, then he gave a dry laugh and flipped the card, slamming it onto the table
"I shouldn't have hesitated just now. Fine, Stars 9."
The small pouch containing the blood money was then tossed out, sliding across the table to Shade's side
"I shouldn't have hesitated just now."
He repeated himself.
Shade opened the bag and looked inside, nodding with satisfaction
"Baron, thank you for your generosity."
"Let's play cards together again when there's time."
Baron Cobell stood up with a look of regret
"Although I lost, Mr. Hamilton, I find playing cards with you truly interesting. I will remember this match for 20 years... hesitation leads to failure."
He let out such a lament, and the onlookers laughed once more.
Having won the gamble, the nine o'clock ball was about to begin. The crowd dispersed, leaving only a few people still playing Lord cards. Shade took this opportunity to carry his antique knight's longsword and return to the second-floor lounge to find Miss Bias and Miss Annette waiting for him
"Look at this."
He tossed the tightly tied small pouch onto the coffee table, then returned the banknotes Miss Annette had given him earlier.
Miss Bias curiously opened the bag, marveling at the gold coins that bore no patterns, while Miss Annette found Shade's action strange
"What do you mean by returning the money to me?"
"I didn't spend it; I won it playing Lord cards."
He smiled with a hint of relaxation, feeling happy because he had won
"As you know, my luck with Lord cards has always been quite good."
He was referring to [Genesis · Silver Moon].
Only then did Miss Annette take the banknotes, asking jokingly
"Do you remember what the priest said?"
"Of course I remember—do not become addicted to Lord cards."
Shade repeated, while thinking of the priest's worried expression
"Miss Bias, do I look like a gambler to you?"
He asked the young lady who was playing with the old gold sovereigns, trying to discern any special characteristics. The latter glanced at him
"You don't."
Now Shade felt much more relieved.
Since they had obtained five additional pieces of blood money, Miss Annette immediately decided to perform the so-called "precision divination."
Because Miss Galina had not yet left, Shade worried that the Great Witch, whose senses were extremely keen, would see through Miss Annette's secret, so he gave a slight warning. However, Miss Annette didn't care
"My secret can probably only be guessed by a god."
Shade opened his mouth but didn't press further, and Miss Bias beside him did the same.
When Miss Annette performed the divination, she did not avoid Shade and Miss Bias. According to her, even if they witnessed the entire process, they wouldn't be able to spot any clues.
In reality, the process was very simple. First, Miss Annette held the piece of blood money she had already used, tossed it twice, and then set the coin down
"As expected, the secret of a Chosen One cannot be divined easily. One piece of blood money is not enough."
Thus, using the method of "trading with herself," she activated a piece of blood money Shade had won from gambling, but two pieces were still not enough.
"After all, they are a Chosen One; this is the beginning of a Legend of the Sixth Epoch. If the result could be divined so easily, it would actually make me suspicious," Shade said, handing Miss Annette another one. But before Miss Annette could use the coin, Miss Bias reached out and snatched it. She shook her head and said
"Even if the blood money is consumed quickly and the curse disappears, bearing so many curses in a short period of time probably isn't an easy thing."
She placed the antique gold coin in her own palm. Seeing that both Shade and Miss Annette were looking at her, she said shyly
"You are helping me. Although I cannot divine, I also want to contribute my part."
Saying this, she followed Miss Annette's method, trading with herself to activate the blood money. Only after the patterns on the heads and tails of the coin appeared did she hand the blood money to the female diviner.
"No, still not enough..."
With three gold coins stacked in her palm, Miss Annette looked somewhat uneasily at the [Relic] under the gaslight
"It's alright. Even if six aren't enough, I have other ways to pay the price... other ways."
Looking at her expression, it was clear that the "other ways" were certainly not simple and might even cause her harm.
"I'll go next."
Shade also took a coin from the small cloth bag on the table. After activating it, he thought he would feel something like "a chilly aura drilling into the body," but in reality, he felt nothing.
His luck was decent; four pieces of blood money were finally enough.
Miss Annette took a deep breath, and then, in front of Shade and Miss Bias, she tossed the coins containing the curse of the ocean undead one by one.
At this moment, it felt as if time had stopped. Shade looked up at them; under the indoor light, his eyes clearly saw every detail of the rotating coins in the air.
The air became viscous, and some rustling sounds appeared in his ears.
As the blood money rotated and rose in the air, it decayed rapidly and finally rusted completely at the highest point. Upon falling, it scattered into fly ash, and before the ash hit the ground, it vanished entirely.
Shade did not know what Miss Bias could observe, but he saw several grey streaks of light flash through the air amidst the ashen blood money, gathering at the back of Miss Annette's head.
He tilted his head and looked at the purple-eyed female diviner. In a daze, he actually saw a transparent and illusory figure of a woman, leaning over and gently resting behind Miss Annette. The power of the blood money was completely absorbed by her; she wrapped her arms around Miss Annette's neck, whispering something in her ear.
Miss Bias seemed unable to see this scene, and even Miss Annette couldn't see the person leaning on her back, but Shade saw it
"This is..."
That transparent, illusory woman was clearly an image of Miss Annette, but she looked more mature. Her expression was somewhat sorrowful, and her transparent body seemed incomplete, with some areas so illusory that they had virtually no form.
She also noticed Shade gazing at her, a look of surprise appearing on her face before she vanished.
[This is her "Other Me".]
"But why... Miss Annette's so-called divination by paying a price seems to truly be a special ability of her Other Me, rather than some powerful Relic. But that figure just now... this doesn't seem like a normal 'Other Me'."
Miss Bias was reaching out, trying to capture the fly ash of the blood money, while Miss Annette tilted her head, listening to words that no one else could hear. The two of them truly had not seen the figure that appeared for that instant.
"Did you see it just now?"
[I saw it, but I cannot give you an answer. I can only tell you that her "Other Me" seems to be injured, and is incomplete.]
"How severe is the injury?"
[Unable to judge, unless you make contact from a closer distance.]
"The Doctor's Other Me is related to demons, and Miss Annette's Other Me can actually utilize the power of Relics..."
Shade was still pondering when Miss Annette revealed a satisfied smile; it seemed she had a result
"The answer obtained from four pieces of blood money—to become a Chosen One of [Balance], the first condition is an object containing the power of an Ancient God, the second condition is a certain understanding of [Balance] itself, and the third condition is a ritual, a special ritual—"
She looked at Miss Bias, who sat up straight
"Please speak."
"Pray to the Ancient God, voluntarily offer one of your eyes to obtain the wisdom to measure balance. In an inverted state, witnessed by people possessing special fates, justly judge the enemy of your destiny. By doing so, calibrate your own scale of balance, master the power of the Inquisitor, and become a true Chosen One."