New Calendar 2545, August, He Palace.
A cool breeze on a summer afternoon swept through the garden of the governor's residence. In an exquisite and elegant pavilion, Rayne and Roger sat across from each other at the table, each holding a handful of cards. Their expressions were focused as they took turns playing one card after another.
As the game progressed, Roger's expression grew increasingly solemn.
Zoltan sat nearby, watching.
One moment he turned to look at Rayne's cards, and the next he looked at Roger, his face filled with words he wanted to say but could not, appearing utterly anxious.
"Sorry."
Rayne played a card and said with a smile, "I won again, Master Roger."
"All right, you won." The Legendary Demon Hunter, whose hair was completely white but whose face remained youthful, admitted it with an exasperated expression.
"Aw!"
Zoltan cried out regretfully. Now that he could finally speak, he said, "Roger, you really shouldn't have played that card earlier. You might still have had a chance to win..."
Roger threw the cards remaining in his hand onto the table, looking rather dispirited. "It wouldn't have mattered. Not playing it would still have meant losing."
His greatest hobby in life was playing cards.
Ever since he accepted Her Highness Viola's invitation two years ago to enter He Palace and serve as the swordsmanship teacher of Rayne's son, Octavius, he had often had opportunities to compete with Rayne in card games.
At first, the two had been evenly matched. Gradually, however, Roger began losing more often than he won.
By this year, he could no longer win even a single game against Rayne. After hearing about the situation, Zoltan had traveled all the way from Molten Keep to Northril to devise strategies for him. They reviewed each game afterward,