Chapter 158

 

* * *

 

Naturally, Ronny’s eyes hardened with resolution.

He did not appreciate Claude intruding and taking over as he had moments ago.

“Hmm.”

Claude studied his younger brother’s expression for a moment before giving a nod.

“In that case, I can rest assured. My brother is an upstanding gentleman, after all.”

Ordinarily, Ronny would have taken Claude’s remark as a great compliment.

But for some reason, he currently felt inclined to resist every word from his brother.

For this meddlesome older brother who tried to entice Melody out late at night to declare him an “upstanding gentleman” – how gratifying.

“Yes, well, I suppose so.”

However, Ronny could not reveal his full feelings in front of Melody, so he responded as lightly as possible.

“Ronny Baldwin.”

Claude then addressed him rather sternly.

No, it also seemed like an attempt to soothe Ronny’s mind, with his strict gaze filled with concern for his younger brother.

“……”

Unable to face him further, Ronny turned his head away.

‘If only Brother was a bad person instead…’

Like Stewart Middleton who had insulted Melody.

Then he could freely hate or resent Claude to his heart’s content. But Ronny could only follow and admire his brother…

Of course, he did not wish to acknowledge that fact right now.

Ronny bit his lip before turning fully and tugging Melody’s arm.

“Let’s go.”

Despite his insistent request, Melody simply stood there, glancing between the two of them as she sensed the odd atmosphere.

“I said let’s go!”

As Ronny tugged Melody’s arm again, Claude gave her a slight nod.

“Then be careful out there with Ronny, Miss Melody.”

“Oh, um…”

“It will be alright. Go on now.”

Though Claude did not specify exactly what would be alright, Melody accepted it nonetheless.

“Alright then.”

Once she released Claude’s hand, Ronny immediately set a brisk pace.

After following a few steps behind him, Melody glanced back briefly.

Claude smiled worriedly and waved at her in response.

 

* * *

 

Around the same time, Stewart Middleton had just arrived at the gentlemen’s club.

After being shown to a seat, he casually tossed the flower bouquet provided by the attendants onto the chair.

“What a damn nuisance.”

Soon, a server responsible for attending to him approached.

“Soda water. And today’s newspaper.”

“Very well, sir.”

Since he couldn’t reek of alcohol when returning, soda was about the only drinkable option he could order.

‘I just need to kill about three hours here before heading back.’

He leisurely flipped through the newspaper. But it didn’t take long before he grew bored.

‘Hmm, isn’t there anything more entertaining?’

Glancing around, he noticed some gentlemen preparing to start a card game in the distance.

He slunk over in that direction gradually.

To be honest, he was itching to participate as well.

However, Stewart had never won a single round in these kinds of games before.

So he had intended to simply observe from the sidelines this time. He really had planned to do just that.

At least until the gentleman seated right in front abruptly stood up with a disappointed “I’m out” before departing.

Stewart gulped as he stared at the now vacant seat in front of the card table.

‘Oh, what should I do?’

Soon, the dealer gestured towards Stewart, inviting him to join the game.

‘Just one round. I’ll only play a single round.’

However, in that first round, he kept getting dealt awful cards without a chance to properly play a full hand before being eliminated early.

‘That round didn’t count.’

Rationalizing it that way, Stewart naturally proceeded to the second round.

This time, he did get somewhat decent cards. But his opponent’s expression looked so bright that he got spooked and folded prematurely out of sheer intimidation.

…That turned out to be the worst possible choice.

His opponent had been holding dreadfully poor cards, and if Stewart had simply called their bluff, he would have won that round easily.

He felt incredibly vexed by the outcome.

‘Since I was practically cheated that round, it’s like it never happened.’

And so he ended up joining the third game as well.

Needless to say, losing the fourth and fifth games too only led him to persist with that same mindset of denying each round’s occurrence.

‘Damn it, nothing’s going right at all.’

While he muttered complaints, the participants had already cycled through several new faces during that time.

Pretending to stretch, Stewart surreptitiously surveyed his latest batch of opponents.

A middle-aged gentleman who seemed intoxicated, and a young mister – they all appeared rather unremarkable overall.

‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’

He steeled himself before checking the next participant.

“Huh?!”

An inadvertent exclamation escaped his lips.

That was because his opponent turned out to be one of the Middleton family’s revered elders.

‘Oh, how could…’

In the midst of their shared shock upon making eye contact, the game had already begun.

Naturally, Stewart could not properly focus on playing at all.

If he returned to the family after this, punishment would be inevitable. In the worst case, he might even be sent to a monastery.

“Will you be exchanging any cards?”

When the dealer suddenly posed that question, Stewart shook his head. Exchanging cards was the least of his concerns right now.

‘I really should have just played that one round!’

‘No, I should have stuck to reading the newspaper obediently!’

Even as he wallowed in regret, the game continued progressing.

“…Are you alright, sir?”

At one point, the dealer quietly expressed concern over Stewart’s state.

By then, the gentleman and young mister had already placed their bets.

However, the Middleton family elder immediately folded, likely judging he needed to swiftly extract Stewart from this situation.

Now it was Stewart’s turn to bet.

‘What should I do?’

Stewart fidgeted with the chips, debating. Should he quit the game here to avoid further reprimand, or…?

Soon, the dealer began quietly counting down the time limit.

As the narrow window rapidly closed, Stewart lowered his head defeatedly.

‘…I’ll fold.’

After all, he hadn’t even checked his cards properly.

Persisting for a few more seconds wouldn’t change anything either.

In response to the dealer’s confirming “Will you be folding, sir?”, Stewart gave a small nod.

“No, I’ll bet! All the chips I have left!”

However, those inexplicable words were accompanied by his hand moving of its own accord, shoving all his remaining chips forward.

“…Huh?!”

He whipped his head around frantically.

There stood Melody, gripping his wrist tightly after forcibly pushing the chips out for him.

“Wh-What are you…?!”

Before he could properly question her, the dealer politely interjected first.

“Pardon me, but only the participant can decide whether to bet or not.”

“I believe this person will follow my opinion.”

Melody flashed Stewart a slight smile.

“It’s just a casual request from his date after all. Go ahead and play this hand, Mr. Middleton.”

At her mention of being his “date”, the dealer gave a small nod, likely judging there was no major issue.

However, Stewart strongly disagreed. This was a huge problem.

He didn’t even know what cards he currently held himself.

“It’s fine.”

Then Melody leaned in to whisper, tightening her grip on his wrist.

She was signaling for him to release the chips, leaving the bet as is.

‘But if I let go of the chips, there’s no taking it back after that.’

“Trust me. You’re definitely going to win this round, Mr. Middleton.”

He shook his head vigorously.

There was no way he could win with these unknown cards. Going by his overwhelming losing streak up to this point, it was obvious.

Moreover, if this game ended, he might be immediately sent straight to a monastery…

‘Oh… I won’t be dragged away like that?’

Come to think of it, Melody had referred to herself as his “date” just now, bless her!

“Mr. Middleton.”

At Melody’s call, he turned to face her again.

Who was the fool that called Melody Higgins an impudent woman? Right now, she looked like the radiant goddess of fortune itself.

“You’ll play this hand, won’t you?”

With a resolute expression, he nodded and released the chips from his grip.

The intoxicated gentleman and young mister also called the large bet amount.

‘With them calling such a huge bet, could I actually have incredibly good cards…?’

But Stewart immediately regretted that thought.

Soon, following the dealer’s prompts, his two opponents revealed their hands.

The gentleman had two pairs of matching rank cards.

The young mister had three-of-a-kind matching cards.

As those powerful combinations were unveiled one after the other at the same table, the spectators erupted in excited exclamations of delight.

Now it was Stewart’s turn to show his cards.

“…Phew.”

He let out a small sigh, sensing the pitying gazes about to rain down on him momentarily.

“Well…”

With a resigned expression, he flipped over one card – the Spade Ace.

Then without much expectation, he quickly turned over the next one too – the Spade Ten.

While the suits matched, the ranks were not sequential, so it couldn’t be considered a viable hand combination.

Stewart hastily gathered and flipped the remaining cards as well.

“I suppose that’s enough for me.”

After a perfunctory nod, he stood up from his seat and turned around, surveying if anyone else would take his place to continue the game.

But perhaps because it had been such an unlucky table consistently draining money, no one seemed eager to immediately claim the vacant seat.

No, there was something else odd about the atmosphere too.

All the spectators simply stood gaping, staring blankly at the game table in silence.

‘Why…?’

Puzzled by the strange mood, Stewart turned back as well. His gaze naturally fell upon the cards he had left on the table.

Following the Ace and Ten of Spades he had initially revealed, the rest of the cards were all Spades too.

‘Huh?’

On a whim, Stewart’s trembling hands rearranged the sprawled cards in their proper sequence.