Upon hearing the fat chef’s request, Shard frowned and looked at the man called “Mr. Nitte,” who was receiving payments. The latter shook his head:
“This is between you two. The club won’t stop him from leaving, but you need to convince Fat Jack.”
“I don’t have any money left.”
Shard pulled out his coat pockets, revealing only a keychain and a notebook inside since his money was in the inner pocket.
“I didn’t expect him to owe so much money.”
Young Franklin had already stood up, hanging his head silently beside Shard. Although he was somewhat of a scoundrel, he realized he had to rely on this person, who appeared not much older than himself, to get out.
“No money?”
The fat chef angrily bent down to pick up the four scattered Rhodes cards on the ground and showed Shard the suits, which were Sun 1, Sun 8, Stars 13, and Emperor.
The Emperor and Empress cards were unique, separate from the four suits, somewhat like the Jokers in Shard’s world. In the Rhodes card game, similar to “21,” they had very interesting roles.
“Draw one from the four. If you draw the Emperor, you can take him away. If not, he’ll leave all his clothes here, and you’ll leave your coat.”
The fat chef spoke in a muffled voice, shuffling the four cards behind his back. Then, with a hand marked by bloody tooth marks, he spread the four cards, backs facing forward, in a fan shape.
“Don’t say I’m a bad guy; he’s the one who bit me.”
The fat chef huffed and signaled Shard to draw a card quickly.
Shard blinked and stopped young Franklin from reaching out.
“If you’re lucky enough, I won’t have to ransom you here.”
He said as the life ring in his soul slowly turned, his spirit activating the element, influencing reality. A trace of red appeared in his right eye, resonating with blood, reflecting in Shard’s eyes.
His perspective shifted, everything adorned with a mystical halo. Though Franklin had barely sprayed blood on the cards earlier, only on the front, the blood resonance sorcery allowed Shard to see faint red traces in the air, observing different red mist glows around the four cards in the chef’s hand.
From the beginning, Shard saw that the “Emperor” card had the most blood spatters. He immediately knew the card he needed to pick was the second one from the left.
“Is this considered bullying? Daring to do this just after becoming a Warlock, this isn’t right.”
He distractedly thought, reflecting on his moral and ethical views.
Then he reached out and touched the rightmost card. Without looking at the card’s back, he fixed his eyes on the chef’s face, who immediately stiffened, trying hard to avoid any expression.
Mr. Nitte and young Franklin were both captivated by this scene.
“This one isn’t it.”
Shard said softly, placing his finger on the second card from the right. He stared at the chef’s face for a few more seconds.
“This one isn’t it either.”
He shook his head and switched to the correct card, slowly drawing it after a few seconds, seeing the unexpected shock on the chef’s face.
“This time, it is.”
Slowly flipping the card revealed it was indeed the “Emperor.”
“This should be considered bullying ordinary people.”
The thought crossed his mind again.
“Damn, I didn’t realize you were an experienced gambler.”
The fat chef was surprised for a moment, then furiously threw the other three cards on the ground.
“Take this damned brat away. If he owes money again, he better not fall into my hands.”
The accountant’s son showed a relieved smile on his pale face, and Shard nodded. He didn’t judge others’ actions, just knowing that the Blood Resonance sorcery proved very helpful in his detective career.
After Shard received a receipt, to prevent him and the dejected young Franklin from wandering around the club, the man guided them outside.
They had just reached the staircase down from the second floor when someone stopped them.
It was a woman dressed as a maid in her thirties, with an average appearance but a refined demeanor.
She descended the stairs from the third floor.
“The lady wants to see you.”
She looked at Shard, nodding slightly.
“Is someone behind me?”
Shard quickly looked back but found no one.
“Me?”
“Yes, sir, please come with me. Your friend can wait for you on the first floor for now.”
The woman said. Shard, puzzled, looked at the guiding man, who shrugged.
“There’s only one distinguished guest on the third floor tonight. If it’s the lady, you better go up. She’s a very noble lady. As for him, I’ll keep an eye on him, making sure he doesn’t get near the gambling tables.”
He said, roughly patting young Franklin’s shoulder twice. The latter almost fell but dared not oppose Shard leaving.
“May I know who the lady is?”
Shard hesitantly asked, suspecting it might be someone like the club owner or possibly Mrs. Lassoia, Mr. Lawrence’s “mistress,” finding him.
But he couldn’t grasp why the other party was looking for him. The former detective’s only connection to this place was retrieving someone last time. Other than that, Shard had no social ties that could link him to this club.
He also worried about the cat he had at home, hoping to return soon and prevent the new feline from messing up his bed or desk.
“The lady is a titled noble and our most distinguished guest tonight. For her reputation, you can’t know her identity for now.”
The maid, speaking standard Delarion common language, made Shard nod slightly, realizing he couldn’t refuse.
“What’s the matter with me? Sorry, I don’t seem to know anyone so noble.”
“Please follow me.”
The guiding woman turned and ascended, Shard hesitated slightly but followed.
Compared to the relatively quiet second floor, the third floor was absolutely silent. From the decor, if not knowing it’s part of the club, Shard might have believed it was a museum floor.
Walking behind the maid, Shard observed the paintings on either side of the walls, moving along the carpeted corridor. Stopping before a golden double door, the maid opened enough of the left door for Shard to slip through.
“The lady is waiting for you inside.”
Shard nodded again, waited for a second, didn’t hear the voice in his mind prompting “element,” and then entered the room.
The maid closed the door from outside, leaving Shard facing an empty reception room.
The room’s layout was very similar to a doctor’s reception and consultation room.
Bookshelves covered an entire wall, and the floor was carpeted entirely. The combination of desk, coffee table, and sofa, and the cupboards were all brown wood, giving a very business-like feel.
Only the brass-colored metal box on the coffee table was conspicuous, looking like a so-called gear mechanism box that required rotating the gears on each of the six sides in a specific order to open.
The steam and gas pipes on the walls blended well with the wall’s paint color. The four walls had two gas lamps each, designed like angels playing trumpets. Their warm yellow light wasn’t as bright as the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Facing the room’s three windows, heavily draped in red-brown embroidered fabric, Shard didn’t consider the possibility of someone hiding behind the curtains.
The silence was eerie, making Shard’s skin crawl. Someone was watching him, but they weren’t in this room.
