“I-Isabella...”
“What a simpleton. You lured them to your side with profit, so wouldn’t they betray you if the profits for doing so outweighed the losses?”
“No, don’t tell me...? You were the one who—”
“You can rest easy. I’ll have your friends join you soon enough.”
“Isabellaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Thus, by Isabella’s influence had King Joseph been executed. He’d committed enough crimes to be sentenced to death many times over, so the verdict had been expected. Isabella had then succeeded her husband as queen of the Fourth Kingdom. A year later, she’d had all of Joseph’s collaborators, the four archdukes included, sentenced to death in a proper manner that everyone could agree to. An additional year after that, she’d placated or eliminated those who’d opposed her for claiming the throne despite having no royal blood.
There hadn’t been a single person who could outwit Isabella.
Within five years of Isabella involving herself in politics, there had been no one left in the kingdom who could stand against her. In the end, the Villainess had become queen and made the entire kingdom her own.
✦ ✦ ✦
Adek: 59 Points
Isabella: 20 Points
There was still a gap in their points, but it was within a reasonable range for a game of rummy; a comeback for Isabella was now possible.
He’s lost the unbeatable lead he had until earlier, Alicia thought as she looked at Adek.
If Adek had started with 100 points like in a regular game of rummy, he’d have already lost. And thanks to the rule about direct hits being worth triple the points, he might lose in the very next round.
It would be ideal if this makes him shrink back and play it safe.
With a deep release of breath, Adek recovered from the pain he’d experienced when the monster had chomped down on a huge chunk of his body, then straightened himself.
“Very well. It seems you’re not just a toy for me to play with and break. I’ve officially recognized you as an enemy.” His carefree air reversed as decisively as a flipped card, revealing his true nature. There was a sharp, murderous glint in his eyes. “I swear, I will kill you.”
A shiver ran down Alicia’s spine and every hair on her body stood on end. Such intimidation and malice!
“Let’s continue the game,” Isabella said, prompting the four of them to draw their cards and start the next round.
Oh! This is a great chance! Alicia’s eyes widened as she silently exchanged information with Isabella about their cards. If Alicia let Isabella have the card she needed from Alicia’s hand, her mistress would immediately be one card away from going out. Even better, since we’ve reduced the point gap this much, we don’t necessarily need a rummy. A simple direct hit—no, with a little luck, even going out normally might deliver the finishing blow, if he has many cards left.
Adek’s troll ally went first and discarded a card, followed by Adek doing the same. Alicia was next. She waited for instructions from Isabella before taking her turn, drawing a card, and discarding an unnecessary one. Isabella didn’t pick that card up; it wasn’t one she needed in the first place.
If I let Mistress Isabella have that other card, she’ll be one step from going out.
However, that was no reason for them to rush. While having many cards in one’s hand carried a risk, it also widened their options for cards they could use to go out. Though Adek had his luck-boosting skill, it was fine to pass a few turns and observe the situation. True enough, two more turns passed without Adek making any significant moves.
Is it time, Mistress Isabella? Alicia made eye contact to gain confirmation, and Isabella nodded in approval. Alicia then discarded the six of hearts.
“I’m taking that.” Isabella then placed down the four, five, seven, and eight of hearts from her hand. With Alicia providing the missing six in the middle, the meld was complete. After discarding a card, Isabella was left with only two cards: the nine and ten of diamonds.
Great, now she only needs one more card. She could go out on her own, or Adek might discard the eight or jack of diamonds. He does still have a full hand, Alicia thought.
Since a direct hit tripled the point loss, Adek would almost certainly die if he received one while he still had seven cards. Isabella had played this game with a knife at her throat since the very beginning, but this was the first time the same applied to Adek. Alicia couldn’t help but wonder, how would he act in a situation like this?
“Oh, I’ll have that card,” Adek said before picking up the card his teammate had discarded.
“I take that.” Next, the troll picked up Adek’s discarded card. As a result, it was left with four cards in hand.
“I’ll also be taking that card.” Adek picked up the troll’s discarded card yet again and combined it with another two of his to place a meld on the table. He now only had two cards left and discarded the ten of spades from that, leaving one in his hand.
“With that card go out.” The troll revealed its hand, the eight, nine, jack, and queen of spades. The card it needed was right in the middle, similar to what Isabella and Alicia had done with the six of hearts.
“Oh dear, looks like I just took a direct hit,” Adek said before revealing his final card: a three. This was only a flesh wound for him.
Alicia shuddered as she looked at Adek’s last card and the ones he’d placed on the table. He gave up on going out himself halfway through the round and had his teammate go out instead!
Adek must have sensed that Isabella had quite a good hand this round. Moreover, since his hand was mediocre—which could happen, even with his great luck—he decided to have his teammate deliver a direct hit for a minor point loss and end this round. Since direct hits were worth triple the points only between Isabella and Adek, he could keep his losses to a minimum by intentionally getting hit by his ally. Also, the three he had left at the end was clearly a card he didn’t need. By keeping a card that would decrease his chances of going out in his hand, he’d signaled that this round was about cutting his losses.
That decision sounds much easier to make on paper than in practice, Alicia thought.
Even though it was only 3 points, Adek was already down to 59—now 56—in a game with his life on the line. Any loss further increased the possibility of his defeat. It took a strong will to make such a terrifying decision. Furthermore, he needed great insight to discern who had the upper hand between himself and his opponent.
“Ouch!” The monster took a small bite out of Adek. He quickly shook it off. “Phew. All right, on to the next round.”
The game continued at a fast pace. Next round, Adek went first. Isabella built a hand aiming for a direct hit, but Adek kept discarding safe card after safe card, so the round ended without anyone going out. In the round after that, Isabella was the first to assemble a winning hand and go out. However, Adek had already discarded all the cards worth many points, going as far as to give up his chances of going out, so he only lost 12 points.
Adek: 44 Points
Isabella: 20 Points
Adek’s defense had been thorough. Even though luck had been on Isabella’s side these past few rounds, she’d failed to finish him off. And in the end, Adek’s skill meant he would be the luckiest on average.
“Oh, how fortunate!” In the next round, Adek immediately dropped two melds of three cards each on the table and was left with only one card.
“Tsk!” Alicia tried to pass useful cards on to Isabella and help her reduce her hand size, but three turns later, Adek flashed a wide grin as he drew his new card.
“I’m going out,” he said.
Come to think of it, even though he’s always fought with an overwhelming advantage, he’s been winning all his games for the past ten thousand years, Alicia thought. She’d arrived at that conclusion given Adek’s luck, optimal play, accurate reading of the board, and his sense of knowing when to push and when to pull. He’s proved once again that he’s an excellent player, plain and simple.
“Let’s see your cards, Queen. Oh, another stroke of luck for me. A seven, three, and a two, for a total of 12 points.”
The monster bit away one of the remaining pieces of Isabella’s mostly faded body, accompanied by another surge of intense pain. Even though the point loss wasn’t particularly high, Isabella’s composure couldn’t completely stop her from groaning in pain.
“Your remaining points are now in the single digits. Just a tiny push more.”