Episode 59
The rules of blackjack are simple.
The player and the dealer take turns to reveal one card each, trying to make the sum of all numbers as close to 21 as possible. The person who gets closest to 21 wins. However, if the sum exceeds 21, they lose.
For example, let’s say the cards are 2+7+K(10).
Then the player can choose whether to open the next card or stop here. If they stop here, the player’s sum is 19, so if the dealer’s sum is a total of 20 or 21, the player loses. But if the dealer gets a total of 22 or more, or less than 19, the player wins.
In other words, the closer the current sum is to 21, the more gambling it becomes to open the next card, as the chances of winning are low and the chances of losing increase.
But…
“Oh, 21! Blackjack! I’ve won again.”
Does this make sense? Lillian stared blankly at the chips disappearing in front of her.
Earlier, Lillian stopped at 20 and was confident of her victory.
Honestly, opening a card at 20 is suicidal, as there’s no chance of winning unless a 1 comes out.
Likewise, unless the dealer gets a 20 to tie or doesn’t get a 21, this was a hand Lillian had won. And the dealer’s total was 19.
‘Surely, they can’t beat me there.’
To beat her, they would have to draw a 1 or 2, which is impossible.
But, out of nowhere, the dealer flipped a card and made 21.
Thus, Lillian’s hard-earned winnings were gone again. However, Lillian didn’t care about such things. Leaning in as if taking out money, she whispered softly to Theo.
“…Theo, something’s fishy about that.”
“No, seriously. How many times is this now?”
The pattern of the player seeming to win narrowly, only for the dealer to win.
Even worse, they ask if you want to bet more before making the final decision. In other words, they’re going to scrape every last bit of money from you.
It’s too cunning to be a coincidence.
“They must have done something to the cards. Like arranging them to favor the dealer, or something.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Wait and see.”
After muttering to herself, Lillian lowered her voice and asked as she drank water.
“How long have you been working here?”
“About three months?”
“I’ve been following Sir Philip around for about three months too. What a coincidence. Shall we play another round?”
“Sure. Sir Philip is such a generous gentleman. He even pays for the entertainment for the staff.”
The dealer with glasses laughed and gladly shuffled the cards.
“Indeed, there’s a big difference in skill between this dealer and the one next to him.”
The dealer attached to Count Napière expertly and swiftly shuffled the cards. Their hands were so quick that the cards couldn’t even be seen, and there were obviously no slipped cards. But the dealer in front of them occasionally flipped cards, and sometimes placed them without shuffling. Clearly a novice.
But the game proceeded just like before. It seemed like the player would win, then the dealer would narrowly win. Now Lillian was sure.
“This bastard is cheating us.”
The problem was how the novice was cheating. Surely this dealer wasn’t doing it voluntarily. It must have been ordered by the establishment.
Seeing how experienced the dealer next to them looked, it seemed like they had been assigned the novice dealers because Lillian and Theo looked like inexperienced gamblers.
“In that case…”
Lillian pretended to look around for a moment, then gestured to Theo to take her place.
“You play with Sir Philip.”
“Did you have fun?”
“It’s not much fun when you keep losing.”
“Well, it’s still complaining when it’s my money. Oh, what’s on your face, dealer?”
At Theo’s words, the dealer’s eyes widened.
“My face?”
“Yeah. Come here. Let me get that off for you.”
“That’s embarrassing. Then please.”
As the dealer approached, Theo slapped his cheek, knocking off his glasses.
And as the glasses fell to the ground, Lillian pretended to accidentally step on them.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I was going to get some water and, well…”
“W-What is this?!”
The dealer’s face turned red as he raised his voice. But Theo was quicker.
He swiftly twisted the dealer’s arm back and pressed his throat against the table with his other arm.
Thump! With a sound, the flushed-faced dealer began to wheeze.
“Hey, my lad can make mistakes, you know. How much did I lose to you? And you’re raising your voice over a pair of glasses?”
“Uh, I’m s-sorry—”
“Don’t raise your voice over trivial matters. Let’s play another round, shall we? Just like this.”
Without any joking around.
Theo whispered softly and let go of the dealer. The dealer barely freed himself and rubbed his neck, taking in as much air as possible. He looked much more composed than before.
Only then did the game proceed normally. Theo showed more talent in blackjack than Lillian had expected.
“Blackjack! Nice! Pay up!”
After winning three times in a row, Count Napière, who had been playing blackjack at the neighboring table, approached them.
“Hey, did you say you’re Sir Philip? You were really amazing earlier. How about having a drink with me to celebrate?”
The plan was a success.
* * *
Lillian soon understood why Stephan hated Count Napière so much.
“I’m telling you! I used to be quite the dealmaker! I bought buildings around here like they were nothing!”
He was a typical human who got caught up in past glory and couldn’t see the present, ruining his life with gambling and alcohol. As soon as he got drunk, he began to blurt out stories about Maynard without any provocation. Although Lillian had never encountered such a character before, she knew she had to listen to this story, but she sincerely wanted to go home.
“Do you know who I am? I’m! I’m the one who’s praised as a war hero here! I’m the father of Lady Agnes!”
“If you’re her father, does that mean you’re Lady Agnes’s father-in-law?”
While Lillian’s expression soured in real-time, Theo seemed to be in good spirits.
Was it because of the seven years he spent as a knight before becoming a squire? Theo was calmly dealing with Count Napière’s drunkenness without changing his complexion.
“That’s right! I’m Lady Agnes’s father. Haha! My granddaughter is Lady Maynard!”
“What an interesting story. Could you tell me more about Lady Agnes?”
“Oh, I have a lot to say. Her life is quite amusing!”
The heavily intoxicated Count Napière laughed heartily as if something was very funny, then became irritable again.
“I sold her off because life was tough, who would have thought she would become Lady Agnes? If I had known, I would have kept her!”
“…You said life was tough?”
And Lillian’s ears perked up.
“Yeah! When Agnes was young, I couldn’t solve my problems, so I went to the temple to figure out what the cause was. And you know what? Some woman brought unhappiness to my house. But that girl’s mother died early. They said things would be fine if we just got rid of the woman. So, I got rid of her right away.”
Now that he thought about it, since her mother was half and half, Count Napière regretted his choice once again.
Beauty and misfortune. The combination of these two things aroused Lillian’s curiosity.
“Then, do you happen to know about the Daughters of Moonlight?”
“Oh! That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time! Yeah, that’s it! Moonlight! They say they bring nothing but misfortune, those crazy women.”
Lillian and Theo’s gazes crossed in the air.
Checkmate.
* * *
Was the deceased Lady Maynard truly one of the “Daughters of Moonlight”?
“I’m not sure.”
There was no mention of her having any special abilities.
Above all, the idea of her being one of the “Daughters of Moonlight” could simply be a lie concocted by the temple to justify Count Napière abandoning Agnes.
But at least one thing was certain.
“In all these connections…”
There was a temple.
