Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Leasis’ learning ability had become faster. Not only did she enter his daily routine accurately in her head, but she also clearly recognized what he wanted and disliked. In particular, she was excellent at seeking opportunities.

Just like now.

“Count-nim, would you like to play a game with me?”

Do you think the Commander of the Imperial Elite Knights is so free? His golden eyebrows rose sharply at the sudden suggestion.

She smiled softly at the beautiful curves.

“You’re free. Count-nim, you’re done with your work today.”

“…”

The feeling of losing. She was correct, but he did not want to affirm it. Hizen snorted. He said coldly, looking at a bunch of documents on his desk.

“Preparations for tomorrow’s training…”

“You’ve already done it. I saw you finish it earlier.”

Somehow he felt ominous. Sneaking a peek, he saw her taking something out of her large apron pocket.

It was a popular card game. Each player received 7 random cards with a red side, and 6 cards were placed on the table. Then, the rest of the cards were piled up in the middle and taken out one by one. It was a game called “Go-Stop” in which a person with a score of more than three points would win.[1]

Hizen was familiar with it. The gambling got worse, and some knights had turned to crackdowns.

But to suggest gambling to him, who was supposed to set an example. He was about to refuse.

However, he stopped at the words that followed.

“You’re the one who has to set an example, so you need to know about this game so that you can thoroughly calculate the score and the amount of money if some troubles were to happened between the Imperial Elite Knights, right?”

It was not wrong, but he just stayed still. Go-Stop did not always catch players, but it was based on certain amounts and scores.

“Just play one round.”

“…”

She got him! Leasis smiled inwardly with a bit of remorse. If Hizen was silent for more than five seconds, he was either positive or worried. She finished convincing him.

“Isn’t there any part that even Count-nim is missing? You have to play the game yourself to know the exceptional rules.”

Actually, he was curious. Hizen nodded roughly.

“Let’s give it a try.”

“Yes.”

Hizen was overwhelmed by her low short answer. Contrary to his expectations, Leasis did not seem to like it very much.

He was struggling. His prediction had often been wrong these days. He was an experienced man who could easily catch criminals with a sense of superiority and beast-like instincts.

His blue eyes glared at Leasis with discontent. She was really sly. She had changed too quickly.

Before, she used to like talking to him so much, but now she was just nodding slightly. She was a strange, strange woman. Hizen came to a quick conclusion.

Meanwhile, she sat on the sofa, keeping a poker face. She began to shuffle the cards with outstanding skills.

“By the way, Count-nim.”

What else? When asked with his eyes, she smirked as she mixed the cards. She divided the cards and mixed them with both hands very skillfully.

He had an ominous feeling once again. Hizen jumped out of the chair with a constant sense of defeat. Running away in front of a strong opponent was not a knightly act.

He sat on the sofa straight away. He crossed his legs pretending to be relaxed.

“It’s still a game, though. It’s not fun if we don’t bet anything.”

“And again, a gambling game…”

“Not money.”

Why did she keep cutting off his words? Hizen opened his eyes. But she asked in an innocent voice.

“Why don’t you grant me a wish?”

“A wish?”

“Yes.”

Hizen was a man who was thorough in everything. Even during the investigation to find the place where a criminal was hiding, his ability was exercised without fail. Just by looking at the location of the cup in the house, he had found out where the killer was living. He was not easily caught in this dangerous trap.

“Tell me what it is.”

“Hey. If I tell you now, it’s not fun.”

Tack tack.

The sound of shuffling the cards was unusually loud. Leasis smiled differently from before.

He felt like he was losing again. He got emotional. Hizen’s mouth trembled slightly. Leasis, as sharp as him, did not miss it.

“Are you not confident?”

“…Go.”

Even if he did not win, it was fine. Hizen made a gesture with his chin that he had seen in a book. Leasis replied ‘All right, then the first to score seven points wins.’

According to the rules, the two received 10 cards each, and 8 colorful cards were laid on the table.

The game had begun in earnest. It was so serious for a game that they could only hear breathing and clashing.

Hizen’s long fingers were full of cards. He narrowed his eyes as he guessed his opponent’s hand with only the red side visible.

‘Bright? No. She can’t be that lucky. I have two brights in hand. It’s a set. Let’s wait a little longer.’

The table was full of colorful cards. Leasis scored four points and Hizen three points.

Tack tack tack!

“I like this hand.”

Leasis hummed pleasantly. He could not understand what kind of maid could be a gambler. Hizen thought this, and looked at the cards with anxious eyes. Now she had no cards to play, but she already had two brights.

He was not willing to do it. Then Leasis tilted her head.

“You don’t know how to do it, right?”

“You’re noisy.”

Bam!

Hizen, who was hesitating, played a bright. Leasis smiled as if she had waited.

“Thank you for the food.”

Bam!

When the white bright card came out, Hizen shouted ‘No!’ inside. His fingertips trembled slightly.

As Hizen had predicted, Leasis took the card and scored seven points. She laughed with all her heart’s content.

“I don’t have to tell you my decision, do I? Stop.”

That was a good stop. She had such a cheeky smile that he wanted to squeeze her.

*

Hizen, who had lost to the bet, became Leasis’ personal swordsmanship teacher for the rest of the day. The place where they arrived was the large training ground. There was no one, perhaps because of the late hour.

Leasis quickly disappeared, saying she was going to change into her training suit. Hizen tapped on the floor with a sword. He felt like he had dug his own grave. He was not offended, though.

“Count Dratius-nim!”

Turning his head, he saw a red-haired girl in a training suit. She’s going to fall there. Hizen snorted at her as she ran with all her might.

One, two, three, four…

“I’m here!”

As expected, Leasis came in front of him in less than five seconds. Then she circled around in front of him like crazy. She was like a dog. He could not help smiling after a little while.

“Hehe. Did something good happen?”

“…What?”

“You were smiling.”

He felt like the truth he wanted to hide was exposed. Hizen experienced for the first time the psychology of a criminal arrested by him. In a panic, he grabbed her.

“When did I.”

“Just now.”

Large red eyes stared at him. They were so clear they made him feel weird. He gulped down his dry saliva. It was no big deal. He had lost the game for the first time, so it became weird. He brought up a lie unexpectedly.

“I never did that.”

“Lie. Count-nim, are you lying right now?”

She was persistent. Her red eyes followed him to the end. He only made eye contact, but his face got feverish.

He could not stand it and pushed her face with his hand.

“Ack. It hurts!”

She screamed at the sudden attack. Hizen took a few steps back and said crookedly.

“It smells. Get away.”

“Smells? I washed up this morning.”

“It’s been a long time.”

“Does it really smell?”

Leasis sniffed and smelled her arms. She lowered her eyes, saying that she was only smelling like soap.

Hizen listened to her and held out a wooden sword prepared in advance. Leasis’ mouth opened wide. Her eyes sparkled like stars.

“Count-nim, Count Dratius-nim. Did you bring it for me?”

It was dangerous. It was dangerous to let her come close. A red light flashed before his eyes. It was a sign used only in emergency situations. In a panic, Hizen quickly thought hard. He just put together anything that came to his mind.

“It’s… it’s a coincidence. By chance, I picked it up by chance. Twenty minutes ago, I happened to find a wooden sword on the floor of the training ground, as i was inspecting it as the Commander of the Imperial Elite Knights. It was exactly fifteen steps away from here. The culprit is probably one of the new knights, Farger, Lectos or Kerian, and I’ll personally check their three alibis tomorrow. The culprit will be fairly punished for throwing away a wooden sword for practice.”

“…What? Excuse me?”

When Leasis asked back, Hizen had a temper for no reason. He said she was noisy and held out the wooden sword again. She was embarrassed but took it.

Her mouth opened wide. She did not know how long it had been since she had last practiced swordmanship. Leasis really liked it like a child. No matter how hard the laundry bat was, it was not comparable to a sword.

Moreover, a wooden sword of the Imperial Elite Knights was better than ordinary wooden swords. It was well maintained, light, easy to grab, and was made of the finest wood.

“Wow…”

It was amazing that she could like so much just a small wooden sword. Hizen glanced at her, thinking she was a strange woman.

Then he suddenly rubbed his eyes. Was it the magic of the moonlight? She looked like the main character of the beautiful Imperial Palace. He rubbed his eyes several times again, but the feeling did not go away.

“Count-nim, look at this. This is the correct posture, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Hehe.”

He thought it was a silly laugh. Nevertheless, he wanted to keep looking at her. She only laughed like a fool for a short moment while wielding the sword, but it was exceptionally clear.

“…Count-nim?”

“…”

“Count Dratius-nim?”

“…What?”

Hizen, staring blankly at her, came to his senses. She grumbled with her hands on her waist.

“No matter how many games you play, you have to keep your words. Why are you thinking about something different in front of someone?”

He was not even climbing a mountain with all his might, but his throat was dry and his heart pounded. He learned one thing. He became weird when he was standing in front of her, and as time went by, it happened more frequently. He was sick.

“…Strange.”

“Are you talking about that again?”

Leasis lowered her eyes. He was always referring to her as a ‘strange woman’, and he did it again today.

Leasis grumbled in disappointment, and Hizen turned his head helplessly. His face was completely red, from his ears to his long neck.

TL notes

[1] It’s a popular Korean card game. You can see the cards and read the rules here: How to play Go-Stop.