The Whispering Verses Chapter 473: 【King’s Secret Order】

Today, Miss Servit finally stopped wearing that maid dress. When Shade opened the door downstairs and saw the girl outside, he was stunned for a moment, and then he dared to confirm that the person in front of him was the maid.

The long black hair was tied into a complicated style with a wide purple hairband, **** and hanging behind her back. There was only a silver-white four-leaf clover hairpin in her hair as a decoration. The thick black hair is parted in front of the right forehead. The right side is drooped and the broken hair is tucked behind the ear. The left side is combed diagonally to the left, and the tail of the hair almost covers the eyebrows.

The dress is made of high-quality blue women's fabric. Except for some silvery white slender lines on the sleeves, it has no other color. There is an inconspicuous black belt tied around the waist, and a pair of black flat leather shoes on the feet.

Seeing that Shad was a little surprised, Miss Servit lowered her head to look at her outfit, then raised her head to look at Shad with her beautiful brown eyes:

"Sorry, is there something wrong with my outfit?"

"Nothing wrong, I just haven't seen you wearing it like this before...it's very beautiful."

Shade nodded and made way for her to enter. The whole day's detective work officially began.

After sorting out the information obtained so far at home, and then leaving Mia to look after the house, Shade took Miss Servitt in a carriage to the Anthem Square in the lower city, and then entered the Three Cats Hotel located around the square.

The last time Shade investigated the merchants selling spices, he had a chat with the doctor and the doctor's friends here. Today's Three Cats Hotel is no different from that day. Guests from far and wide stay here, while idlers sit drinking and chatting on the first and second floors.

The female poet who played the lute sat on a high stool on the small stage on the east side of the hotel and sang softly. This song was a bit sad and seemed to be praising the love stories of ancient legendary heroes.

If it weren't for the very bright gas lamp above her head, Shade would probably have thought that she had suddenly arrived in the ancient medieval adventure era.

Prostitutes, drunkards, and gamblers will not appear in the Three Cats Hotel during the day. Now it is a serious business.

After Shade and Miss Servit walked into the hotel, they each ordered some drinks and sat down at the table near the counter on the first floor. Shade introduced the features of this place to the maid who rarely came here. After a while, the two stood up and came to the counter. Shade stopped the aggressive female shopkeeper who was about to go to the back kitchen to scold the noisy chefs.

This is a woman in her forties, wearing a reddish-brown cloth headscarf, with dull skin and small dots all over her face. She was slightly shorter than Shade, but seemed to have a large frame and a wide frame. Being able to open such a large hotel in the lively Anthem Square is definitely not an easy thing for this woman.

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

As Shade asked, he put down a one-shilling coin on the counter. The female shopkeeper accepted the coin naturally:

"That blind man who lives nearby?"

She spoke very rudely, observed Shade's expression, and then said without sincerity:

"Sorry, this wording may be a little wrong, after all, his eyes are healed now."

Xia De signaled his assistant to start recording, and then he asked:

"Have you known that musician for many years?"

"Yes, he used to come to our place to drink often, and every time he would only order Coldwater Harbor Light Rum made from sugarcane bagasse. He is obviously a blind man, but he still finds some cheap girls here every week. But the bachelor There were no expenses, so he was quite generous. After his eyes were cured for some reason a few months ago, he started to enjoy playing Rhodes with the guests at my place again, but the stakes were very small, so he didn't. Owe... ”

Her eyes suddenly widened, as if she understood something:

"Did Bundy play Rhodes at your place, default on the bill and then run away? Tell me, why haven't you seen him for so long?"

The female shopkeeper thought she had found the truth, but Shade shook her head:

"I don't run a casino, and Mr. Bundy didn't run away. He committed suicide in the middle of last month."

Hearing the news, the female shopkeeper who was speaking very rudely just now twitched her mouth, with a strange expression on her face. She seemed to want to show sadness for a moment, but in the end she simply said:

"It's really unlucky that we've lost another regular customer who has been a regular customer for decades."

The voice suddenly became lower. She lowered her head and fiddled with the cups on the counter. Seeing that Xia De was silent for a while, she asked again:

"Then who are you? What are you going to do? I don't think you came to my place to find a girl. The girl behind you is more beautiful than all the girls I know."

Shad looked at the girl next to him. Miss Servit smiled, but did not speak. Instead, she continued to record, maintaining the habit she had when she was a maid.

Xia De then handed over the prepared business card:

"I am a detective. I am currently commissioned by North Mountain Opera Company to investigate the cause of suicide of the blind musician Mr. Frank Bundy."

The female shopkeeper was obviously literate and raised her eyebrows when she saw the address on the business card:

"Saint Teresa Square? Tsk tsk, his friends are really rich. Well, what do you want to ask?"

"What was Mr. Frank Bundy's mental state like during his last few appearances?"

The female shopkeeper picked up the rag on the table again:

"I remember this. When his eyes were first healed, he was very keen to talk and play cards with my guests. But the last few times he appeared, he was sitting alone as if he was blind. Drinking in the corner."

She pointed to the table in the corner on the first floor. Because there were not many customers in the morning, there was no one in the corner.

"So Mr. Bundy, has he ever been manic or anything like that?"

Xia De asked again.

"Not this one."

The female shopkeeper shook her head while wiping the cup:

"He doesn't talk to others, and others certainly won't disturb a drunken person."

This makes sense, but it also means that there are no valuable clues here at the Three Cats Hotel.

"But..."

The female shopkeeper looked at Shade hesitantly:

"Bundy has a very good girl here, and most of the time he spends money and entertainment with her. Because he often stays overnight at her place, I think our girl not only knows Bundy's recent mental state, There may even be relics of him left."

"I need the lady's address."

"I can't tell you this directly, after all, we are doing sensitive business."

Xia De knew that this was an excuse, and the other party just wanted him to pay another information fee. So he took out another one-shilling coin, but the female shopkeeper shook her head:

"Not enough, I need this amount."

Stretched out the index finger of his right hand, which was a bit thick and still had an old scar, and shook it.

"10 shillings?"

"No, 1 pound."

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

Xia De immediately shook his head, and the female shopkeeper smiled and said:

"I heard Bundy say that the North Mountain Opera Company is very rich, and you will definitely make more money from this business."

But the problem is that Shade never received a commission from the opera troupe.

Miss Servit behind her wanted to speak, but Shade shook her head and stopped her. It’s not that he can’t afford one pound, he just doesn’t want to be taken advantage of:

"It's better than this."

Under the surprised look of the female shopkeeper, he took out his Rhodes deck from his pocket, pulled out the [Carsonrick Southern Folklore Moon Dance Festival] blessed by two ghosts and displayed it:

"Bet, I win, you tell me the lady's address, I lose, I give you two pounds, you tell me the lady's address. I heard you are also a master of Rhodes, like How about playing cards with players with special cards? Are you interested in playing a round with me? ”

The story about the female shopkeeper being a Rhodes master was told by the doctor's friend, Mr. Madison, who was selling special spices. (Chapter 362)

The woman behind the counter smiled in surprise:

"No, since you want to bet on cards, you have to bet bigger. I like to play cards with players who have special cards. How about this, you use your card as a bet, and I use mine as a bet. For the bet, the loser hands over his special card, whether you win or lose, I will give you the information for free."

She stretched her head forward slightly:

"Detective, do you have the courage?"

Xia De lowered his head and looked at the bet that the female shopkeeper took out——

【King's Secret ・Substitute】, Suit Flower 2: When you draw this card, you can exchange this card with the opponent's undisplayed hidden card, but you cannot suspend the card in this round. If your opponent has no hidden cards revealed, this card has no effect. (Note)

On the card, a man wearing a gorgeous robe and a crown is sitting on a throne, and there seems to be a person hidden in the shadow.

Seeing this card, Shade raised his eyebrows. The [King's Message] series of Rhodes cards were released about 120 years ago when Carsonric and Delarion signed the first version of the "Continental Peace Treaty." This set of cards is to commemorate the hard-won peace.

There are 15 special cards in the entire series, one for each of the numbers 1 to 13, and one for the king and queen. Five of them were given to the royal family of Delarion, five were given to the royal family of Carsonric, and five were issued normally. More than a century has passed since the original version of [King's Secret Order] was released. Most of these fifteen special cards are treasured in the hands of nobles from the two countries. In addition to their own value, they also have historical commemorative value.

Only three cards in the series are missing, and Shade didn’t expect to see them here:

"Authentic?"

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

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

Xia De pointed out, but the female shopkeeper smiled:

"It doesn't matter, I like to bet on special cards with others. The card itself is also won. In my eyes, all special cards are of equal value."

"No, I won't take advantage of you. I'll bet you on this."

Shad pulled out Moon Nine’s [Devil Soul Stealer Bishop] (note), and this time it was the female shopkeeper’s turn to be surprised:

"Legendary Demon Series? Authentic."

"Of course, but the identification certificate is in my house. I don't think you will doubt that the detective of Saint Teresa Square will speak at such a time. I want a reputation."

"Your card is more valuable than a substitute."

"To me, special cards have the same value."

Shad replied with a smile, shuffling the two cards back into the deck.

In fact, it is because he thinks that the possibility of losing is very small.

"What an interesting opponent... Detective, next month's big city players have entered the official registration stage. Have you signed up?"

The woman behind the counter seemed to be aroused.

"Of course, and it was the invitation letter given to me by the Prophet Association. I am a special player."

Xia De said.

"Okay, let's just treat this as a warm-up match before the big city players start the game. This is really interesting. I didn't expect such an interesting thing to happen so early in the morning. Detective, wait a moment, since it's someone like you A senior Rhodes player, of course, should be more formal. In addition, you can call me Mrs. Sangmei."

As he spoke, he left the counter and asked the waiters in the hotel to help clear the table in the center of the first floor of the hotel, and used two other large tables to form a Rhodes gambling table.

Shadow and Miss Servit stood aside and waited. The idlers who were drinking in the Three Cats Inn early in the morning heard that someone was going to challenge the innkeeper, and they were using their own special cards as bets, and they all joined in excitedly. Come up.

The maid held a notebook and asked softly beside Shade:

"Mr. Hamilton, the conversation just now is really exciting, and it is exactly the same as the description in the detective novel. However, do you often obtain information by playing cards?"

"Not often, because not everyone plays Rhodes. Also, ordinary detectives don't use cards to get clues."

Xia De said, then turned to look at the black-haired girl beside him. Although her eyes were very ordinary black-brown, they were still very beautiful. This is not only because the eye shape makes her eyes slightly more charming, Shade thinks that more importantly, there is a rarely seen light in Miss Servit's eyes, which is clear and pure.

“And I don’t actually play cards often, at least I’ve never taken the initiative to find someone to play cards with.”

As Shade explained his habits, the black-haired girl chuckled and said:

"I also thought you were the kind of gambler who plays cards everywhere and collects special cards."

Maybe it was because she was able to joke with Shade without wearing the maid dress.

"No, no, although I like special cards, I don't play cards everywhere. For example, when I went to Coldwater Port some time ago, I only played cards with one person during those two weeks. This Demon series is Won it there."

"So that's it, this seems to be a very legendary story."

Miss Servit said that after the table was placed, Shade walked over and sat on the chair on the west side, taking off his coat and placing it on the back of the chair behind him. Miss Servit stood behind him as before, with her hands on the back of the chair.

The female shopkeeper, Mrs. Sangmei, sat on a chair on the east side, and people gathered around her. However, according to politeness, they were not allowed to touch the card table or stand directly behind the card players.

"This is a fair bet between [King's Quest, Substitute] and [Demon, Soul Stealer Bishop]."

She announced loudly, and the sound even attracted many guests staying above the third floor of the hotel.

Skylight shines on the tabletop in the center of the first floor from the patio on the second floor through the windows on the east side. Shade touched his nose and smiled. He still liked this kind of matchup.