Chapter 95 - The Outcome of the Bet
"Hey, Julian. Let’s play a card game."
"A card game? With you?"
"Yes."
Julian snorted at Opal’s invitation. She had never once managed to beat him.
"Oh my, are you afraid of losing?"
"Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way I would lose to you."
"Then you won’t mind a wager. If I win, you have to extend your stay by one more day."
"…Fine. And if I win, you’ll shut that noisy mouth of yours."
It seemed Julian had decided to take Opal’s bait. Claude watched their exchange with a smile.
Opal and the others were currently on their first trip back to her family home since Lyud was born. They had bypassed the Royal Capital and gone straight to Count Holloway’s fief three days ago.
Both Opal and Claude were quite surprised to find Julian there when they received a fervent welcome from Marcia and the others. Julian hadn't been home in over ten years, and it seemed he had received a proper scolding from both Trevor and Marcia. Because of that, Opal also swallowed the many things she had wanted to say.
Since then, they had been spending a busy but enjoyable time with visits from Claude’s parents and his brother’s family. However, at lunch just a short while ago, Julian had suddenly announced that he would be leaving the next day. The reason was undoubtedly that Count Holloway was due to return the day after.
Opal was disappointed that the family, which was supposed to be reunited after so long, would be incomplete. So now, while Lyud was taking his afternoon nap, she proposed a wager on a card game. But it seemed Julian had no intention of accepting, even if he understood her motives.
"You’ve gotten quite good at this."
"I was playing cards quite a lot until recently."
"Oh?"
Julian sounded surprised as Opal skillfully shuffled and dealt the cards. She hadn’t been able to do it well as a child, but she had improved significantly while playing against Omar. She had even become able to read her opponent’s hand to some extent, so she thought she wouldn’t lose to Julian anymore. But she had been too naive.
"That makes five wins for me. I win the bet, Opal."
Julian’s face was smug as he tossed his hand onto the table, and Opal pouted in frustration. Claude saw this and, with a smile, asked to switch places with her.
"Julian, now you’ll face me."
"What’s the wager?"
"If I win, Opal will continue to say whatever she pleases, as always. If I lose, I’ll help you sabotage His Majesty Alessandro’s plans for a while."
"…Deal."
King Alessandro had been using various means to try to make Julian stay in his country. The match between Claude and Julian began, and Claude won, three games to two.
"Thank you, Claude. Now I can say whatever I want to Julian again."
Wanting the family to gather was Opal’s own selfish wish, so she decided to be content with the fact that Julian had returned to the estate at all. It seemed Julian wanted to ruin even that sentiment for her.
"I guess cheating doesn’t work on you, Claude."
"Of course not."
"Wait a minute. Julian, were you cheating when you played against me, too?"
"It’s the fault of the one who doesn’t notice."
"I can’t believe you! Claude, why didn’t you tell me?!"
"…I can’t interfere in a serious match."
"It wasn’t a serious match! He was cheating!"
From there, Opal’s complaints about ‘camaraderie between men’ exploded. In the end, the three childhood friends, gathered at the estate for the first time in twenty years, spent their final day together fighting happily, just as they always had.