Death Roulette (Second Update!)

Melodious music echoed through the hall, punctuated by a few sharp, jarring notes. Renee sat in her chair with her cheek propped on her right hand, listening quietly.

"Sir Bonnier composed this piece several hundred years ago," Feilier said from behind her. "I thought it suited the occasion. What do you think?" As she spoke, she sat down opposite Renee. The golden Panacea circled her like a fairy from a storybook. Once settled, Feilier tapped the table, and an Attendant immediately approached with an aluminum tray.

"What would you like to drink?" Feilier asked with a smile. She took a stemmed glass of fortified wine from the tray and sipped it.

Renee said nothing. She merely shook her head.

Feilier raised an eyebrow and set her glass back on the tray. A flush touched her cheeks. "Shall we play cards? First to get two wins?"

Though she phrased it as a question, she had already taken a deck from the tray.

"Your Highness, I must admit, I'm an old hand at this."

Feilier braced her hands on the table and began working the cards like a magician. With a rapid flutter, they surged and shot between her fingers, passing back and forth between her hands so quickly that they formed a bridge.

"Skill and strategy matter enormously in most card games. This may sound like boasting, but there aren't many players in the entire Kingdom better than me. My rise owes a great deal to that."

Feilier kept talking to put pressure on Renee, watching her reaction intently as she spoke.

Observation was the foundation of every strategy.

By observing how an opponent responded to different stimuli and building a psychological profile, one could fathom the depths of the human heart, see through another person, and even make seemingly impossible