“The Marquis is quite late.”

In the reception room of the Marquis’ mansion. Thirty minutes had passed since the butler guided us in and left, but there was no sign of the Marquis.

“I wonder when he’ll come.”

Sitting still made me feel restless.

“It seems he doesn’t want to meet us.”

I had my suspicions, but it turns out he was indeed blatantly ignoring us. The talk about not getting along wasn’t a joke after all.

“Let’s wait another 30 minutes.”

Will he come even if we do?

If the Marquis doesn’t want to meet, how can we change his mind? I should think of this as karma.

After quietly watching the clock tick, I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and stood up.

“Um, I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.”

The saying ‘a leaky bucket leaks both inside and out’ proved to be true.

I said I was going to the restroom but ended up getting lost. I’m doing here what I usually do in Ilion’s mansion.

Why do they build these mansions like mazes?

I was about to stop anyone passing by to ask for directions when I heard boisterous laughter and stopped in my tracks.

“Hahaha. As expected, you have no talent for gambling.”

As I approached the source of the sound, I saw several young men gathered in a wide-open room playing cards.

Young men in the Marquis’ mansion, could they be the Marquis’ sons?

“Who are you?”

One of the men noticed me and asked.

“Oh, that face looks familiar.”

In an instant, the gazes of all three men were fixed on me. Then, the red-haired man among them let out an exclamation as if he had just remembered something he had forgotten.

“Ah, that’s right, the Duke of Celestine was supposed to come today, wasn’t he?”

“The Duke?”

“Hey, is it okay for you to be here like this?”

The others worriedly asked the red-haired man. But he just shrugged as if he didn’t care.

Then he approached me with a bright smile.

“Hello, Lady. I’m Fiord Sternran.”

Using the Sternran surname, he must be the Marquis’ son. I quickly bowed my head and greeted him.

“Hello. I’m Ravenne Rischefeld.”

“More importantly, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, that… I got lost. Could you possibly tell me which way the reception room is?”

“The reception room is that way.”

“Thank you.”

As I was about to head in the direction he pointed after thanking him, he stopped me.

“Excuse me, Lady.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you here to see the Marquis?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

“Um, have you met the Marquis yet?”

“Actually, I haven’t yet.”

“…What?”

“He seems to be very busy.”

The man nodded as if he understood my expression.

“Ah… right. The Marquis is very busy. But why did you come to meet him?”

“To discuss the material transportation route.”

“I thought that was already rejected.”

That’s what I’m saying. People should know when to give up.

“We wanted to propose it again.”

“With the Marquis’ personality, once he says no, it’s unlikely to change.”

That’s quite an appealing personality.

“I see. Thank you for the advice.”

I nodded with a bright smile. Fiord looked at me and then grinned.

“Since you’re already here, would you like to play for a while?”

“Pardon?”

“There’s nothing to do if you go back to the reception room anyway, right?”

“But we don’t know when the Marquis will come.”

“Don’t worry about that. The Marquis will be very late.”

He was right that there was nothing to do if I went back to the reception room, but that didn’t mean I had a reason to play here.

Should I make an excuse about Ilion and leave? As I was contemplating with a troubled expression, he made a proposal.

“Then how about this? If you win against me in a game, I’ll grant the request you came here for today.”

“What? Can you just decide something like that on your own?”

“The Marquis dotes on me a lot. He’ll do anything I ask.”

Fiord’s expression was confident.

So he’s the apple of his eye. Even so, it wasn’t a particularly appealing proposal.

I didn’t have any intention of persuading the Marquis in the first place.

“What if I lose?”

Out of courtesy, I asked about the risk if I were to lose.

“You promise not to come to me… no, to the Marquis about this matter anymore.”

As I was contemplating which would be more beneficial, Fior urged me again.

“It’s not a bad proposal, is it? It’s better than waiting for the Marquis who might not come anytime soon, right?”

He had a point. It would be better than waiting for the Marquis who might never come, as I could more certainly make Ilion angry.

“You’re right. It’s not a bad proposal.”

***

Accepting the proposal was fine, but the problem was that my opponent was so unskilled at gambling that his friends tried to stop him.

It was suspicious how he could be so confident about winning against me in a game.

“You always lose, what game are you suddenly talking about?”

“Don’t worry. Would I lose to a beginner?”

“How are you going to deal with the consequences?”

His friend asked worriedly.

However, even if he had bad luck, logically speaking, the chances of me winning when I didn’t even know the rules of the game were low.

The only thing that bothered me was that my luck had been strangely good lately.

Thanks to that, nothing was going according to my plans.

And in times like these, it’s better to be cautious and test the waters.

“I think so too.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t know the rules of the game you’re talking about. So I think it’s unfair.”

At my point, Fiord shrugged.

“Then shall we not play?”

“No. We should play the game.”

I said, holding the trump cards.

“Instead, how about we play a game I suggest, rather than the card game you’re playing?”

The three looked at me, tilting their heads.

“Old Maid. It’s an easy game that even children can play.”

Saying that, I pulled out the joker from the cards.

“It’s a game where you exchange cards with the person next to you and collect cards of the same number. The person holding the joker at the end loses.”

“Sounds simple.”

“Right? Shall we play this then?”

Fiord nodded readily at my suggestion.

The game was intense in a different sense.

There was no sign of it ending as we kept passing the single joker card back and forth.

“Ugh… it’s the joker again.”

Fiord drew the joker card from me again and made a sad face. How bad could his luck be?

Thanks to that, I had to put on my best act to take the joker card back from his hand.

Acting gets tiring after a while. I’m nervous about getting caught.

After retrieving the joker card again, I put on a sad face.

“Lady, your luck is quite bad too.”

You’re one to talk. If you did this properly, I wouldn’t have to keep up this pathetic act. Right?

“I know. I keep drawing the losing card.”

I smiled awkwardly and mixed two cards before handing them to Fiord.

It was simple to keep drawing the joker every time. Before shuffling the cards earlier, I had slightly marked the corner of the card with my fingernail.

It wouldn’t be visible from the outside, but you could feel the slightly pressed corner when touched.

With this much, I should have been suspected at least once for always drawing the joker, but the people around didn’t seem to dream that I was desperately trying to lose.

They just thought I had bad luck.

“……”

Fiord drew a card again. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he had drawn the joker.

“It’s the battle of the century.”

“Winning here doesn’t seem like it would be satisfying.”

The two people watching our battle chimed in with a comment each.

Truly, it was a fight between the world’s weakest shield and the bluntest spear.

“By the way, Lady. What kind of person is the Duke of Celestine?”

Fiord asked while mixing two cards well and handing them to me. He seemed bored with the endless back and forth.

“He’s just an ordinary person.”

“Ordinary?”

Fiord burst into laughter at my answer.

“That doesn’t seem to suit the Duke.”

“Why?”

“Well, everyone says he’s a person without blood or tears.”

Why does everyone say that about Ilion? If they actually experienced him, they would know he’s quite different from the rumors.

I had no obligation to defend Ilion, but my mouth automatically denied Fiord’s words.

“He’s just not good at expressing emotions, but he hurts and bleeds just the same when pricked.”

“Isn’t that because you’re the Duke’s lover that you feel that way?”

Unfortunately, I’ve never been Ilion’s lover.

I drew the joker from his hand once again, and Fior let out a sigh of relief.

“Come to think of it, prejudice is really scary. It makes us easily define someone and assume we know everything about that person.”

I shuffled the cards and handed them to Fior.

“Which do you think is more accurate? The words of those people who might see the Duke once or twice a year, or my words, who is with him 24 hours a day?”

At my question, Fiord seemed to realize his mistake.

“I didn’t mean to offend you. Of course, your words would be more accurate.”

Fiord nodded in agreement with my words and drew a card.

“No. Actually, experiencing it directly is the most accurate.”

I smiled brightly as I looked at the joker remaining in my hand.

And Fiord looked at the two matching cards with a dumbfounded expression.

No matter how much the goddess of misfortune flies or crawls, she can’t beat match-fixing.

Finally drawing a proper card, Fiord raised his hands in joy as if he was about to jump.

I didn’t expect him to be this happy over winning a simple game of Old Maid.

I put down my cards, showing a lot of disappointment.

“That’s too bad. I could have won.”

“Don’t be too disappointed, Lady. It was really close.”

“……”

He seemed to be trying to comfort me in his own way, but the person who really needed comfort was Fiord.

I hope you only enjoy gambling as a game. I’ve never seen someone so unsuited for gambling before.

“Oh, how long have you been there? Duke Celestine.”

Fiord, who had been savoring his victory for a while, greeted Ilion who had appeared behind me at some point. It seemed he had come looking for me when I didn’t return.

“It’s been a while, Marquis Sternran.”

Wait, Marquis Sternran? Who? Fior?

“What? Marquis?”

I stood up, shouting without realizing it.

“Yes. I am Marquis Sternran.”

Fiord brazenly introduced himself as the Marquis. Not the Marquis’ son, but the Marquis himself?

“I, I thought you would be someone a bit older…”

“Ah, the previous Marquis passed away two years ago, and now I have inherited the title of Marquis.”

I never imagined the Marquis would be playing cards with his friends in broad daylight. I naturally thought he was just a rich kid living an easy life thanks to his father!

“Well then, please leave as promised.”

“…Promise?”

“You made a promise with me, Lady. You agreed to leave if you lost the bet.”

I rolled my eyes, avoiding Ilion’s gaze.

“Haha, I tried to help the Duke, but it didn’t work out well.”

Ilion’s expression hardened as he looked at me.

“Oh, and you don’t need to make any more wasted trips in the future. My answer won’t change.”

It seems his words about the Marquis not changing his decision were his true feelings.

“If you’re asking to raise the toll…”

“No. It has nothing to do with the toll.”

“Is it because of the relationship with the previous Marquis?”

“That’s irrelevant too. My father’s affairs have nothing to do with me. If I have to give a reason, let’s just say I don’t feel like it.”

Saying that, the Marquis called the butler to guide us out.

The Marquis’ will was firm, and with the fiancée who had recklessly made and lost a bet joining in, there was nothing more that could be said.

After receiving treatment close to being turned away at the door, Ilion remained silent for a while.

It was a different reaction from the scolding I had expected.

“The Marquis is really too much, isn’t he?”

When I cautiously asked Ilion while checking his mood, Ilion sighed.

“You cause trouble every time I take my eyes off you.”

“That’s too harsh. I did it for your sake.”

Ilion looked at me with incredulous eyes and let out an even deeper sigh. Yeah, who can I blame? It was none other than you who brought me along.