Whispering Poems

Whispering Poems Chapter 475

2021-11-18

Chapter 474 [King's Secret Order]

Today's Miss Serveit finally stopped wearing that maid long skirt. When Shade opened the door downstairs and saw the girl outside, he was stunned for a moment, and then he dared to confirm that it was the maid in front of him.

The long black hair was intricately tied with a wide purple headband, tied up behind the back, and adorned with only a silver-white four-leaf clover pin. The thick black hair is parted in front of the right forehead, the right side is drooping and the broken hair is pinned behind the ear, the left side is slanted towards the left, and the end of the hair almost covers the eyebrows.

The body is a very textured blue lady's fabric long dress. Except for some silver-white slender lines on the sleeves, there is no other color on the whole. The waist is tied with an inconspicuous black belt, and on the feet are a pair of black flat shoes.

Seeing Shade a little surprised, Miss Serveit looked down at her attire, then raised her head and looked towards Shade with those beautiful brown eyes:
"Sorry, is there anything wrong with my dress?"

"No problem, I just haven't seen you pass through like this before. It's very beautiful."

Shadep nodded, letting her enter the door all day long and the detective work officially started .

After sorting out the information I got so far at home, and then leaving Mia to watch the house, Shade took Miss Servette on the carriage to the chant square in the lower city, and then entered the three cats located around the square hotel.

Shade had a chat with the doctor and his friends here the last time Shade was investigating the spice peddlers. Today's Three Cats Hotel is no different from that day. Guests from far away stay here, while idlers sit and drink and chat on the first and second floors.

The poetess who played the lute sat on the high stool on the Little Wu platform on the east side of the hotel and sang softly.

If it weren't for the very bright gas lamps above her head, Shade would have thought she had entered a long, medieval age of adventure.

The Three Cats Hotel during the day will not have prostitutes, drunkards, and gamblers, and now it is running a serious business.

After Shade and Miss Serveit entered the hotel, they each asked for some drinks and sat down at the table near the counter on the first floor. Shade introduced the place to the maids who rarely come here. feature. After a while, the two stood up and came to the counter. Shade stopped aggressive and was about to go to the back kitchen to reprimand the female owner of the loud chefs.

This is a woman in her forties, wearing a reddish-brown cloth turban, with dull skin and a face full of dots. She is slightly shorter than Shade, but appears to have a large frame and a broad stature. To be able to open a hotel of this size in the lively Anthem Square, this woman is definitely not simple.

"Sorry to disturb you, do you remember Mr. Frank Bundy?"

Shade asked as he put down a one-shilling coin on the counter, the lady. The owner took the coin naturally:

"The blind who lives nearby?"

She spoke very rudely, observed Shade's expression, and then very insincere Said:
"Sorry, this wording may be a bit wrong, after all his eyes are healed now."

Shade motioned to his assistant to start recording, and then he asked:

"Have you known that musician for many years?"

"Yes, he used to come to us for drinks a lot, and he only ordered cold water port light rum made from bagasse every time. Mingming Blind but still looking for some cheap girls here every week. But the bachelor doesn't have much to spend, so he's pretty generous. A few months ago, after his eyes were somehow healed, he's here again I like playing Rhodes with my guests, but the stakes are small, so I don't owe anything. Oh!"

She stared wide-eyed suddenly, as if she understood something:
"Bundy Did he bet Rhodes with you, owe a debt and run away? I mean, why haven't I seen him for so long."

The female shop owner thought she had found the truth, but Shade shook her head. :
"I don't run a casino, and Mr. Bundy didn't run. He committed suicide in the middle of last month."

Hearing this news, the shopkeeper who was rude just now The corners of his mouth twitched, and the expression on his face was a little weird. He seemed to want to express sadness for a moment, but in the end he simply said:

"It's really unfortunate that I've lost another regular customer of several decades. "

Her voice dropped suddenly, she lowered her head and fiddled with the cups on the counter. Seeing that Shade didn't speak for a while, she asked again:
"Then who are you? What are you going to do?" I don't think you came here looking for girls, the one behind you is prettier than all the girls I know."

Shade looked towards the girl beside her, Miss Serveit smiled, but Instead of speaking, he continued to record, maintaining the habit of being a maid.

Shade then handed over the prepared business card:

“I am a detective. Currently entrusted by the North Mountain Opera Troupe, to investigate the cause of suicide of Mr. Frank Bundy, a blind musician. "

The shop owner, who is clearly literate, raised her eyebrows at the address on the business card:
"Plaza de la Sainteland? tsk tsk, his friends are really rich. All right then." , what do you want to ask?"

"How was Mr. Frank Bundy's mental state the last few times he appeared?"

The female shopkeeper picked up the Rag:
"I remember, when his eyes were just healed, he was very keen to chat and play cards with my guests. But the last few times he appeared, it was like when he was blind, alone. Sitting in the corner drinking stuffy drinks."

She pointed to the table in the corner on the first floor, because there were not many guests in the morning, so the corner is now empty.

"Then Mr. Bundy, have you ever been manic or something?"

Shade asked again.

"That's not true."

The female shopkeeper wiped the glass and shook her head:
"He doesn't talk to others, and of course others won't disturb a drunk person."

This makes sense, but it also means that the Three Cats Inn doesn't have any valuable clues here.

"But."

The female shop owner hesitantly looked towards Shade:

"Bundy is here with a very good girl, most of the time She would be looking for her for spending money. Since I was staying with her a lot, I thought that our girls not only knew about Bundy's recent mental state, but maybe even had his relics."

"I I need the address of the lady."

"This can't be told to you directly, after all, we are in a sensitive business."

Shade knew this was an excuse, the other party just wanted to make He only pays an information fee. So he took out another one-shilling coin, but the female shopkeeper shook her head:
"Not enough, I want this number."

She stretched out her right hand index finger, which was somewhat thick and had old scars. Shake it.

"10 shillings?"

"No, £1."

"Oh, ma'am, I can't make that much from this business. ."

Shade shook his head immediately, the female shopkeeper said with a smile:

"I heard Bundy say that the Nuoshan Opera Troupe is very rich, your business is sure Makes a lot of money."

The problem is, Shade didn't get a commission from the opera company at all.

Miss Servette behind her wanted to speak, but was stopped by Shade shaking her head. It's not that he can't afford a pound, but he just doesn't want to be taken advantage of:
"It's better."

Under the surprised eyes of the female shopkeeper, he took out his Rhodes deck from his pocket. , take out the【Carsenrick Southern Folklore·Moondance Festival】blessed by two ghosts and display it:
"One bet, I win, you tell me the lady's address, I lose, I give You two pounds, you tell me the address of the lady. I heard that you are also an expert in Lords, and like to play with players with special cards, how about you, are you interested in playing a game with me?"

The owner of the shop is an expert from Lord's, a friend of the doctor, said Mr. Madison, who sold special spices. (Chapter 362)
The woman behind the counter smiled in surprise:
"No, since I want to play cards, I naturally have to bet bigger, I like to play cards with players with special cards. Why not? In this way, you bet on this card of yours, I bet on this card of mine, and the loser will hand over his special card. Whether you win or lose, I will give you information for free.”

She stretched her head forward slightly:
"Detective, do you have the guts?"

Shade looked down towards the bet offered by the female shopkeeper——

【The King's Secret Order ·Substitute], flower of suit 2: When this card is drawn, you can exchange this card with your opponent's unshown dark card, but you cannot suspend the card in this round. If the opponent has no hidden cards, this card has no effect. (Note)
On the card, a man in a gorgeous robe and a crown is sitting on the throne, and a person is hidden in the shadow.

Seeing this card, Shade raised an eyebrow. [King's Secret Order] series of Rhodes cards, released about 120 years ago when Kasenrick and Delarion signed the first edition of the "continent peace treaty", this set of cards commemorates the hard-won peace.

There are 15 special cards in the whole series, one for each of the numbers 1 to 13, one for the king and one for the queen. Five of these were sent to the Delarion Royal Family, five were sent to the Carson Rick Royal Family, and five were issued as normal. More than a century has passed since the first edition of the [King's Secret Order] was released. Most of these fifteen special cards are treasured in the hands of nobles of the two countries. In addition to their own value, they also have historical commemorative value.

There are only three cards in the set whereabouts unknown , Shade didn't expect to see it here:
"Authentic?"

"Of course, the certificate of identification is in my hand. "

"This card is worth more than my Moon Dance Festival."

Shade pointed out, but the shopkeeper smiled:
"It's okay, I like to be with other people." Betting on special cards, this card itself is also won, in my eyes, all special cards are of equal value."

"No, I won't take advantage of you. I will bet with you with this."

Shade pulled out Moon Nine's【Demon · Soul Stealer Bishop】(Note), this time it was the female shopkeeper's turn to be surprised:

"The legendary demon series? The real one ."

"Of course, but the identification certificate is in my house, I think you It shouldn't be suspicious that the detectives at Place Saint-de-Land would lie at a time like this, but I want a reputation."

"Your card is worth more than a stand-in."

"For me, special cards are worth the same."

Shade smiled replied , shuffling the two cards back into the deck.

Actually because he thinks his probability of losing is very small.

"What an interesting opponent detective, next month's Ayutthaya players have entered the formal registration stage, have you signed up?"

The woman behind the counter seems to be provoked interested.

"Of course, and it was the Prophet's Association who gave me an invitation. I'm a special player."

Shade said.

"Okay, then we'll treat it as a warm-up game for the big city players before the game, which is really fun, didn't expect such a fun thing to happen early in the morning. Detective, wait a minute, Since I'm playing with a senior Rhodes player like you, of course it has to be more formal. Also, you can call me Mrs. Sammy."

He left the counter and asked the waiters in the hotel for help. Empty the central table on the first floor of the hotel, and use two other large tables to form a Rhodes table.

Shade and Miss Servette stood by and waited, and the idlers drinking in the Three Cats Inn early in the morning were excited to hear that someone was going to challenge the innkeeper, and they still used their special cards as bets. came together.

The maid asked softly beside Shade with her notebook in hand:
"Mr. Hamilton, the conversation just now was wonderful, it was exactly like the description in a detective novel. However, you often play cards. Get information?"

"Not very often, because not everyone plays Lord's cards. Also, the average detective doesn't play cards for clues."

Shade Said, then turned his head and looked towards the black-haired girl beside him. Although her eyes are a very ordinary brown like black, they are still very beautiful. It's not just the shape that makes her eyes slightly charming, Shade thinks more importantly, there's a rare light in Miss Serveit's eyes, clear and pure.

“And I don’t actually play poker very often, at least I never take the initiative to find someone to play poker.”

Shade explained his habit, and the black-haired girl lightly said with a smile :

"I also thought you were some kind of gambler who played cards everywhere and collected special cards."

Probably because she was able to joke with Shade without the maid dress .

"No no, although I like special cards, I don't want to play cards everywhere. For example, I went to Coldwater Harbor some time ago. During those two weeks, I only played cards with one person. This That's where the Demon series was won."

"So that's what it is, and it also seems to be a very Legendary story."

Miss Serveit said, as the table was set After putting it down, Shade walked over and sat on the chair on the west side, taking off his coat and putting it on the back of the chair behind him. Miss Serveit stood behind him, as before, with her hands on the back of the chair.

The female shop owner, Mrs. Sang Mei, sat on the chair on the east side, and people gathered around, but as a courtesy, they could not touch the table or stand directly behind the players.

"This is a fair bet between [King's Order Double] and [Demon Soulstealer Bishop]."

She announced loudly that the voice would not even The guests who stayed in the hotel above the third floor were also attracted.

Skylight shines from the second floor patio, through the east side windows, on the table top in the center of the first floor. Shade touched his nose, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. He still liked this kind of matchup.

PS1: The inspiration for this card was provided by reader @風殮情氣 in the Rhodes card collection building.

PS2: Shade is not afraid of being discovered by the demon scholar with this card, because he can totally say that he was on a business trip to Coldwater Harbor. And to the Tobesques, Shade just says it's an occasional win. Therefore, the secret that he can go to Coldwater Harbor at any time will not be revealed.

PS3: Thanks to reader @North Wind for reaching the second Alliance Leader, this chapter is the Alliance Leader Plus update.