It was still the Green Rose Hotel, still that lavishly furnished suite.
In the brilliantly lit dining room, a sturdy white tablecloth covered an oak table, and the pure silver cutlery gleamed beneath the lights. Several large candles in the room were made from expensive whale oil; not only did they burn brightly, but they continuously gave off a warm fragrance, shrouding the entire room in a hazy atmosphere.
Several maids in long white robes stood solemnly at the side, waiting upon them. Each wore a small Holy Cross badge on her chest, intricately entwined with rose vines—pale green vines and an ivory-white cross. It was the mark of low-ranking clergy of the Church.
Arthur and Elham sat at opposite ends of the dining table, heartily enjoying a sumptuous dinner. Arthur was wholly focused on dealing with a thick medium-rare steak. Pale blood still occasionally seeped from the light-red meat beneath his knife. Elham, meanwhile, was absentmindedly sampling a serving of aloe mixed with lily tubers sprinkled with white truffle. His tastes were clearly far lighter than Arthur's.
A water sphere over a foot in diameter floated above the table, displaying exactly what was happening at the Golden Rose Lounge.
Watching Ya and the spirit use vast sums of money to force Lin Qi into a position where he had no choice but to gamble everything on one throw, Elham wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and asked curiously, "I truly don't understand. If necessary, I can use the local Church's power to eliminate Blackbeard and all his diehard confidants. Then you could naturally take over everything he has. Why have you kept stopping me from doing so?"
Arthur's hand paused. Then he speared a piece of meat, put it into his mouth, chewed a few times,