14. Melting Point (31)
14. Melting Point (31)
She had seized the momentum in style, but she still couldn't afford to relax. She had collected only six of the seven Magic Cards required for victory. The game wasn't over yet.
"Your turn. Continue."
"Y-yes... You haven't won yet. Don't get cocky!"
Roughly fifty Performance Cards remained. He composed himself and focused desperately on keeping Anais from gathering the last prop card.
The score was already heavily in his favor anyway. Preventing the opponent's victory condition was the priority.
At the end of a breathless series of calculations, he finally managed to secure one of the seventh magic props. He concluded that Anais would be unable to collect the remaining one.
Having weighed all remaining possibilities, he saw that no matter what choice the opponent made, he could claim it on his turn as long as he played correctly.
"I've won. Haha, I win!"
"I'm afraid I disagree."
"Slow with numbers, are you? You won't get your hands on the Magic Card, and you haven't gathered enough Victory Points. The contest is already decided. There's no need to even tally the score."
At his declaration, Anais smiled confidently and gave a nod.
"Ah, I concur with the last part. There's no need to tally the score."
Anais revealed the first Role Card she would use this turn. Her opponent inspected it with a dubious expression.
She had chosen the 'Jester' card. The Jester possessed the ability to designate one role and force it to rest for the turn.
He let out a scornful snort.
"So what? You know what card I picked, don't you?"
He revealed the Role Card in front of him. It was the 'Court Jester' card. It allowed him to take the first turn next round. Even if targeted by the Jester and forced to rest, the effect that secured the initiative could not be nullified.
"Your spending one turn to block one of mine still leaves the count 'even.' The Magic Card still comes back to me!"
"You are correct, sir. Under that assumption. But what if it could become 'odd'?"
"What?"
He couldn't grasp what Anais was saying. She calmly designated the target for the Jester's interference.
"I use the Jester's ability on the 'Patron.'"
"...The Patron?"
The young man's face twisted. A player could choose two role cards each turn. And the cards he had selected this turn were 'Court Jester' and 'Magician.'
Among them, there was no Patron.
A whiff counted as zero and didn't affect the turn...
The moment he thought that, his eyes caught the back of the second role card Anais had chosen. As Anais reached out to flip it, a shadow fell over it. At the same time, a symbol drawn in radium paint glowed a faint green. He knew which card that symbol denoted.
The card she revealed depicted a wealthy merchant in luxurious clothes, holding a sack of gold coins.
"By the Jester's effect, my next role, the 'Patron,' will also rest."
Normally, this was a pointless action. Skipping a turn in this game was a massive penalty. Yet she had deliberately sacrificed one turn to put her next turn to sleep.
However, given that the opponent held the 'initiative' this round and had taken the 'Court Jester' role, an additional, subsidiary effect came into play. It could reverse the order in which cards were drawn.
He had considered this a purely theoretical play. Without absolute, one-hundred-percent certainty that the opponent had taken the 'Court Jester' card, attempting it on a whim could mean throwing away two turns for nothing.
For this to be a viable strategy, victory and defeat had to hinge on a single card. Under normal circumstances, even if you succeeded in such a play, it would likely end as a pointless stunt with no real gain.
"Guh...!"
It should have been. Common sense dictated it should have been.
But in this game, thanks to the paint marked on the backs of the cards, she had absolute certainty that he had taken the Court Jester. And the card she would acquire was indeed the single card that would decide victory or defeat.
He'd assumed that having his role cards read would not affect the overall situation at this stage...
She had pulled off a play that was never supposed to be possible.
"Th-this is absurd... When did you have this in mind...?"
He stared blankly at the table.
He'd had no choice. To block her in this situation, he had to take the Court Jester. He had calculated this move clearly twelve turns ago.
It was only feasible because the smaller the remaining pool of cards, the faster the calculations became. But how long ago had she seen through it and steered him toward it?
"How long ago, you ask?"
Anais straightened a finger and placed it near the corner of her lips, tilting her head.
"I suppose... about fifty turns ago?"
"Gahk!"
He dropped his head. He'd lost. Thoroughly, on every level.
He was on the verge of throwing his cards down. But Anais stopped him.
"Please, see it through to the end. Resigning before His Highness would damage your honor, sir."
Anais whispered so that only he could hear. It was her own form of consideration for the opponent who had pushed her to the limit.
In the world of knights, clinging to a match when the outcome was already clear was taboo. Conversely, refraining from demanding a declaration of defeat and allowing the match to play out to completion was considered a way of allowing one's opponent to save face.
"Th... thank you...."
A look of slight relief crossed his face as he proceeded with his turn.
One card... two... and including his initiative, he collected a total of three cards.
His score now handily surpassed hers. But there was no joy in it. As soon as she flipped that single card lying face-down, the game would end in her victory.
I've won.
Anais turned back to Wonderstein and made a V-sign with her fingers. He flashed her a thumbs-up. Nika pointedly avoided her gaze, but inwardly felt relieved that Koka hadn't caused a major incident.
She followed the prescribed steps, chose her Role Cards, and reached for the Performance Card. One pick, and the game was over. But the moment she tried to take it, an intense pain seized her chest.
"Nngh... Wh-what is...?"
A shudder racked her body. It was a spasm brought on by temporary respiratory distress.
Earlier, Wonderstein had sorted out her disrupted internal condition, but that was only a temporary measure. Her breathing wasn't normal, and focusing on the game to the point of forgetting to breathe had finally taken its toll. For an ordinary person, the symptoms would amount to nothing more than a hiccup or a sneeze, but her weak respiratory system triggered a seizure.
"Are you all right?"
Wonderstein caught her as she staggered. The moment he appeared—as though he'd been waiting for exactly this—she threw him a questioning look.
"H... how?"
Wonderstein smiled at her.
"Since you dropped the card in the water earlier. Anais, there's no way you'd be so nervous as to tremble over something like this."
While everyone else was focused only on who would win, he had been watching her physical condition. She felt a pang in her chest, but she didn't let it show.
Ever since they'd reunited, she'd shown him nothing but pitiful sides of herself, and she was sick of it. In front of him, she wanted to be nothing but the confident, accomplished woman she knew herself to be.
She refused his support and returned to the game. She set the card her hand had batted away back in its place and moved to take the card she originally intended.
At that moment, a young nobleman seated among the spectators called out.
"Wait! No-Take-Back Rule! Doesn't the No-Take-Back Rule apply?"
People about to chide him for the nonsensical interruption paused, as if considering something, then turned to look at the table.
"Hold on. Now that he mentions it...?"
"He's right. Whether she knocked it with her hand or not, she already flipped that face-down card over."
"Ah, does it work that way?"
In this game, a face-up Performance Card could be claimed by paying its cost and taking it in front of you. A face-down Performance Card had to be flipped and revealed, then paid for and taken in front of you. The moment a face-down card was flipped to confirm its face, you were locked out of choosing any other card.
Of course, in this particular game, the marks on the backs had rendered that rule moot, but a rule was still a rule.
"Th-this was an accident.... W-we already knew what all the cards were anyway...."
Anais tried to protest, but the Crown Prince slammed his fist on the water's surface, silencing her counterargument.
"The No-Take-Back Rule stands! You flipped the card and confirmed its face, didn't you? You claim you already knew what they all were? Even if that were true, how do we know you wouldn't accidentally pick the wrong one and then make excuses?"
Anais's face went stark white. The Crown Prince had a point. She could argue, of course, but she didn't have the power to overcome his authority.
"Now, now. It's your turn. Go on."
At the Crown Prince's command, the young gambler wore an uncomfortable expression. He'd only been allowed to continue a settled match thanks to his opponent's consideration. He had no desire to find a petty fault and drag her down like this. But it was the solemn command of His Highness. He had no way to refuse.
He drew the last Magic Card into his hand. Only a few cards remained on the table now.
The game wrapped up quickly. No opening remained for any new variable to emerge. The match ended with his score lead intact.
"I... I've lost...."
Anais bowed her head deeply.
She'd lost. Defeated. When she had been so certain of victory...
"Then I suppose I simply need to choose what to demand of you."
The Crown Prince crept toward her with a lecherous smile. His gaze roamed over her face and body with open appraisal.
Anais's shoulders trembled. She feared what he might ask for.
She took care not to glance toward Wonderstein. That foolish man would stand against even the Crown Prince if she asked for help.
That couldn't happen. It would mean ruin for everyone. Even if he demanded her body, she must not seek his help.
Seeing that she was sufficiently terrified, Koka gave a sneer. If it were up to him, he'd demand her body, but that wasn't permissible. The Crown Prince sleeping with a lowly prostitute would clearly cross the line His Highness had set.
He had other, excellent ways to toy with her, however.
"Fine. Let's do this. Your abysmal game skills have sullied the eyes of the noble personages gathered here today. Apologize for it."
"Apologize... how do you mean?"
"Strip naked, kneel, and prostrate yourself."
At his pronouncement, Anais bit her lower lip hard. It hadn't reached the worst-case scenario she'd imagined, but it was still a humiliating demand that thoroughly trampled her pride.
"H... here?"
"Keh heh heh, of course. Right now, right here! Ah, you can get up on this table to do it."
Jeers and mockery poured in from all sides. Even the imperial guards standing watch seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.
If she were still her true self, such an insult would never have been tolerated...
But no matter how many times she repeated that to herself, the situation didn't change.
Just close my eyes, once... just once. Then everyone will be safe.
Right. It's just nudity. I'm already wearing a swimsuit. I'll just cast off this scrap of cloth, bare some flesh for a moment.
Whatever I do right now doesn't harm my real self anyway, right?
Because... the me right now... is not Anais Bergson....
She gave a slow nod at the heartless conclusion her reason had reached.
"Very well.... If that is what you wish of me...."
She rose from her seat and began to remove her swimsuit. But in that instant, someone pressed firmly down on her shoulder, forcing her back into her chair.
She didn't need to look to know whose hand it was. Anais choked back the tears that threatened to spill over.
She was a coward. How dare she claim she'd failed to foresee a single move, when she could see dozens ahead?
Even as her reason insisted he should not step forward, her heart wished he would. And against all logic, she had expected it. That he, somehow, would resolve the situation.
She looked up at the man standing confidently beside her. Even with the Crown Prince as his opponent, not a trace of fear showed in him. She knew she shouldn't, but a smile kept tugging at her lips.
'That's not fair. Just this once, I wanted to show you my best without leaning on you.'
Wonderstein looked straight at the Crown Prince and spoke.
"I shall offer you something of greater value, Your Highness."