Even a fiercely loyal Witch Apprentice could not help but look to her teacher when faced with such temptation.
Miss Winslet had been following their conversation all along. Though she rarely played cards herself, she knew the renowned Founding Series well enough and sympathized with her apprentice:
"Charlotte, then play a round with Shade. If you win, you can keep this card for him temporarily. If you lose, I'll give the Legendary Player some other stakes. I can add another painting to the oil painting I originally promised him."
"No, Miss, how can I let you place the wager for me? Please let me wager my Special Rule Cards!"
Miss Bell spoke at once. Her voice was full of spirit now, utterly lacking her usual gentleness.
Miss Winslet pretended to be angry:
"Are my oil paintings worth less than your cards? Charlotte, I'm in charge here. You won't be using your cards."
Then she looked at Miss Danist:
"Let's treat it as tonight's entertainment. Care to guess who will win?"
The red-haired girl smiled and shook her head, because there was no need to guess at all.
The card game took place by the sofa. Shade and Miss Bell sat on the short sofas at either end of the tea table, while the other two ladies sat on the long sofa as referees.
The game used the classic scoring system: three rounds in total, with 1 point for a win, 0 for a loss, and -1 for busting. This meant they had to avoid going bust whenever possible.
As they exchanged decks and shuffled them, Shade declared in advance:
"My deck currently has thirty-eight Special Rule Cards. If you think that's unfair, I can remove some and keep only the Founding Series."
Ever since the number of Special Rule Cards