Chapter 501: Genesis · Darkness
"Mr. Hamilton!"
Tifa's voice came from outside the door. She had actually returned, and her tone was somewhat anxious
"Queen Diana wishes to see you, but you couldn't be found anywhere. Her Ladyship asked me to bring you back immediately."
Shade looked at Lecia's expression again; her face was tense as she took deep breaths.
Angelina held her cup, sipping the somewhat hot black tea in small gulps, looking back and forth between the two of them with great interest
"Mr. Hamilton, you had better wipe off the lipstick before you set off."
She kindly reminded Shade, and seeing him look at her, she even produced her own handkerchief. It was a silk handkerchief embroidered with a butterfly pattern
"You may borrow this."
Thanks to Princess Angelina's reminder, there were no unsightly traces on Shade's face when he met Queen Diana. The meeting took place in the same waiting room where Shade had waited to see Larus III after being shot in the street last time.
Queen Diana did not meet Shade alone; therefore, besides Miss Galina, there were several noblewomen by her side whom Shade did not recognize. Since they were the ones who had accompanied the Queen down from the third floor, Shade guessed they were likely people associated with the royal family.
When Shade was led into the room by an attendant, Queen Diana was holding a round pearl nearly the size of half a fist, showing it off to the others under the light of the gas lamps.
Such a piece of jewelry, which neither man nor woman could refuse, was something even the Queen had never seen. After all, even if a naturally formed pearl were larger than this, it would absolutely never be this perfectly round.
"Your Majesty, good evening. Ladies, good evening."
Shade greeted everyone. Since he did not know most of them, the address "Ladies" was appropriate.
"Look, who has arrived?"
Queen Diana's enthusiasm seemed a bit excessive. She smiled and beckoned Shade over, handing the pearl to others to examine.
Half of the people here were looking at the pearl, while the other half were looking at Shade.
The noblewomen occupied the sofa; fortunately, a servant promptly brought a chair so that Shade had a place to sit.
"Detective, I heard about the incident at the opera house a few days ago. Thanks to you for saving little Angelina, otherwise, I truly do not know what would have happened."
In truth, looking at the situation that day, Princess Angelina likely would have been fine even without Shade.
"It was my duty," Shade said. He looked toward Miss Galina beside the Queen, who nodded to him.
*So, it means there is nothing I need to be cautious about in the following conversation,* Shade thought.
The Queen spoke again
"Today is my birthday, and I didn't expect you to send such a precious gift. Very impressive; this is probably the most valuable gift I have received this year."
Lecia had told him how to respond before he came, so Shade began to recite directly
"Such a beautiful piece of jewelry is only worthy of a lady of your noble status."
"Look, the knight speaks as if he is performing in an opera. However, I know you are not the wealthy type, so I will not take this gift for nothing. The last time we spoke here, I promised to give you a rare Rhode card."
She nodded to the maid standing behind Shade, who placed a metal box on the coffee table in front of him.
It was made of brass but topped with a glass plate. Through the glass, one could see a soft velvet lining inside, upon which lay a card.
The card was placed face down; Shade could only see the pattern on the back.
"You are far too kind," he said with a smile.
"Yes, I am indeed very kind."
Queen Diana's response was unexpected. She unfolded a white bone folding fan adorned with glitter, covering her mouth, tilting her head slightly with her eyes curving into a smile
"Take a look at this card; it was truly not easy to obtain."
Miss Galina raised an eyebrow at Shade, and Shade nodded in surprise
"Very well, Your Majesty."
He picked up the box and discovered that among the four side metal plates, the top of the left and right plates had small grooves holding the glass plate in place. He carefully slid the glass plate out. Just as he was about to reach in, he shook his head and took out the prepared white gloves from his pocket to put them on.
This action made the noblewomen laugh. Shade did not look up; instead, he flipped the card over to examine the face.
The relaxed smile on his face was replaced by an expression of shock in the next instant
"What?"
The front of the card contained only white, black, and cold tones near those two colors. White occupied most of the card. A black humanoid creature was in the center, half-exposed, facing sideways away from the viewer. It was bald, with wings extending from its back ending in curved spikes, and its visible eye was clearly that of a snake, looking slantedly at the person outside the card. Its face bore strange, continuous scale patterns of an unknown creature.
The background of the card consisted of dense ruins of temples and spires.
The top right corner was marked with the number 11, and the top left had a small star symbol. Between the two, in the center of the top of the card, a black vertical line was drawn within a white circle—the symbol of the "Genesis" series.
At the very bottom of the card, in a small blank space, two lines of small text were written
【When drawn, if this card is the first hidden card, win immediately, ignoring all rules and conditions; when drawn, if this card is not the first hidden card, then before the current round ends, the holder has the right to keep all remaining cards unrevealed, and after busting, may continue to draw up to 5 more cards, though only the first two special cards among the subsequent draws will take effect.】
"Genesis · Darkness?!"
Shade could barely control his voice.
Miss Galina had clearly known about this card in advance, and among the other noblewomen, the few who knew about Rhode cards also raised their eyebrows.
Queen Diana, covering the lower half of her face with her feathered folding fan, nodded, the smile in her eyes becoming more pronounced
"Yes, 【Genesis · Darkness】. It was truly not easy to get this card. It was accidentally discovered by the Ice-Harvesting Legion of the far north of the Old Continent, at the very peak of the Sothos Glacier. It was frozen in ice like an altar at the top of the glacier, lying there facing the sunlight for who knows how many years. Seventy years ago, the Legion Commander of that time brought this card to Tobesk and presented it to the royal family. Since then, the card has remained in the royal treasury, appearing only in the warehouse catalog. I thought, Knight, that you would like it."
The "Ice-Harvesting Legion" did not mean the army specialized in harvesting ice, but rather that they were stationed in the north of the Old Continent year-round, hence the nickname. Their official name was the Third Legion of the Delarion Royal Army, Far North Garrison Force.
"I like it, I like it very much, but Your Majesty, the value of this card is simply too great," Shade said, standing up from his chair with a look of trepidation.
The trepidation was, of course, an act. After the reminder from the 【Innocent Creator】, Shade understood the value of the All-Encompassing Impermanence cards, and thus developed the determination to collect all thirteen of them. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to stuff the card into his pocket, run home, and laugh out loud in his dark study while hugging his cat.
However, in this current setting, he still had to put on a show.
"You saved me, helped little Angelina, and gave me this birthday gift."
The Queen moved the fan away from her face and took the pearl back from Miss Galina
"But you are right; the value of this card is a bit too high. How about this: I have heard that Rhode card players like you prefer to win Rhode cards through victory."
Special rule Rhode cards started at 40 pounds. Depending on the year of issue and other historical value, the price of a card had almost no upper limit; trading a house for a single card was not uncommon among nobles. For top-tier nobles like the old Duke Lucas, spending money to acquire a set of 54 special rule cards might take some time, but it was absolutely achievable.
But true Rhode card players, while allowing themselves to buy cards, preferred to acquire them through gambling. Therefore, even though Shade had played cards with many nobles, he had never seen anyone possess more than ten special rule cards.
"Yes, we prefer to win Rhode cards using Rhode cards," Shade nodded, roughly guessing Queen Diana's intention.
"Marquess Glassly is hosting a card game at my birthday banquet. How about this: I will keep this card for now. You must defeat your opponent in the gamble for this card to belong to you. And if you lose, I will put this card up for auction."
She glanced at Miss Galina with a smile
"At that time, you can have others buy the card for you."
"That is a wonderful idea, Your Majesty."
Shade placed the card back into the box.
"Oh, Hamilton of Reged, are you that confident?" the Queen asked with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty. After all, when playing Rhode cards, I have never lost."
As he spoke, the powerful confidence radiating from his face made the man standing under the crystal chandelier seem as if his entire body were glowing.
The news that Queen Diana was bringing out the royal collection's 【Genesis · Darkness】 Rhode card to gamble with Hamilton of Reged at the banquet, with victory as the condition, quickly spread throughout Yodel Palace.
She intended to personally watch the game. Upon hearing the news, Marquess Glassly, who had originally invited Shade, immediately renegotiated the rules with the staff of the Prophet Association. After receiving permission, he had the servants of Yodel Palace bring in a massive circular conference table and place it in the center of the second-floor banquet hall.
Around this round table, other guests could continue to enjoy the banquet without interruption. Meanwhile, guests who loved Rhode cards could gather around to spectate.
(End of Chapter)