Westheid didn't care that he might have unwittingly tempted fate. Yolanda's firm refusal was within his expectations. Since she wouldn't lend him the money, so be it.
'If Yolanda won't lend me the money, could it be that I, the esteemed Duke Qinghui, can't even raise such a modest sum?'
Early the next morning, Westheid left his residence after breakfast. However, he had no plans to see Reiya today. He knew she was surely awaiting him with great anticipation, but delayed gratification was also a useful technique.
To put it a bit darkly, Westheid believed that "courting" was, in reality, nothing more than exploiting human weaknesses to intentionally create attachment, desire, and trust.
In Westheid's view, a true powerhouse was someone of solitary pride and resilience who never relied on others... just like the future Withered and Flourishing Dragon Emperor, with veins flowing with silver and iron.
That powerhouse's attitude of looking down on everything was something Westheid truly admired.
But if he wasn't going to see Reiya, what else was there to do?
The answer was to play chess.
In this unimaginably vast palace complex, apart from the sleeping quarters and a few solemn halls, most other areas were essentially public spaces, like parks, free for the believers and children of the Holy Tree to use as they pleased.
And among them, of course, were a good number of recreation rooms.
Inside a warm, comfortable, and spacious room, Westheid leaned back relaxedly on a soft long sofa, watching the Red-clothed Noble playing against him.
In the open space between them, a lifelike magical projection displayed a spectacular battle. Models, some of Knights, some of Monsters, were fighting each other according to the will of the two players.
"I use Arcane Storm Missile to attack your on-field Sighing Shield Guard! Rolling the dice... Yes! Critical success! Your Shield Guard loses its combat ability. Then... I move my Wind Knight forward two spaces."
The Red-clothed Noble's luck with the dice was quite good. His Spell Card was a huge success, and the surging Magic Missiles cleared away the Sighing Shield Guard that had been pressuring his base, relieving the urgent crisis.
Westheid took a sip of tea and casually flipped over a card.
"In that case, I activate the Mystery Card, Light Surge, to clear out your Wind Knight. No need to roll dice; the power gap is too large, it's an instant kill. Then, the Azure Statue Guardian pushes forward and uses its skill, Power of Nature, to begin elementalizing the field."
Seeing his base besieged once again, the Red-clothed Noble flew into a rage and played his final trump card:
"Activate Time of the End! I sacrifice three units of my on-field Crowned Warriors to summon a Lesser Chaos Demon!"
The chessboard projection trembled violently. Amidst waves of wailing, a nearly indescribable monster emerged from a bloody Technique, becoming the largest monster piece on the field.
Westheid raised an eyebrow and said unhurriedly:
"Frost Breath freezes your Chaos Demon. Rolling... a six. Your save fails. Done. Then, I'll use two units of Battlefield Artificers to construct the City Defense, Pale Barrier, at your number two position. It takes three turns... just enough time for it to be built by the time your Chaos Demon unfreezes."
Effortlessly neutralizing his opponent's trump card, Westheid once again established a dominant position.
"Pale Barrier is a rather obscure card, you might not have seen it before. Let me give you a heads-up: once it's built, even a Greater Chaos Demon would need five turns to break it. And during that time, I have ten more City Defense Cards I can build."
After that series of moves, the Red-clothed Noble was instantly stunned. He looked at the cards in his hand again and again as large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
'Sweating buckets, aren't we, pal?'
"I... I concede..."
His options exhausted, the Red-clothed Noble's voice trembled as he pulled out a wad of banknotes, placed them on the table, and left in a daze.
Westheid, on the other hand, collected the Imperial currency, which was embroidered with intricate patterns. These banknotes, called "Silverleaves," could be exchanged for their equivalent value in precious metals at any central bank within the Empire.
Tossing the money onto the sofa beside him, Westheid took out his thick deck of cards and began to organize it.
Endless War Chess, a tabletop game that was extremely popular both inside and outside the Empire.
The rules were simple. Both players assembled decks of cards with equal point values and fought a simulated battle on the board. Whoever destroyed the opponent's base first was the winner.
In reality, however, the vast array of effects on each card made the combinations highly strategic and entertaining.
Every card was inscribed with a magical Technique to provide light and shadow effects. This both enhanced the game's visuals and served as a form of anti-counterfeit authentication.
In the martial-minded Empire, this wasn't considered a frivolous pastime that eroded one's ambition. On the contrary, its nature as a war simulation allowed it to be dignified with the name of "character cultivation."
The onlookers cast gazes of awe and admiration at him:
"Even Hunterro lost... He's already the best among us."
"Holy crap! He's a god-tier wargamer!"
"I've played against Duke Qinghui before. Back then, he had no strategy at all, just charging in recklessly. But now... why is he so ridiculously good?"
"He's had an epiphany, that's what it is."
"Duke Qinghui! Duke Qinghui, are you still taking apprentices?"
Endless War Chess was actually a card and board game built into "Poem of Destiny." Westheid himself had been addicted to it for a long time. While it wasn't as thrilling as actual combat, it was still an excellent way to pass the time.
The previous Duke Qinghui had acquired quite a few rare cards during his extravagant spending sprees. Coincidentally, Westheid possessed a deck-building vision far ahead of his time. The combination of the two brought a little strategic shock to the modern-day players.
'Not a challenge at all,' Westheid thought, shaking his head.
"Does anyone else want to play a round with me? Same old rules, five hundred Silverleaves on the line."
Westheid said, looking around. The enthusiasts in the crowd all took a step back under his gaze.
While five hundred Silverleaves wasn't a fortune, it was by no means a small sum. At least for the young nobles who had yet to inherit their family estates, it was difficult to squander so casually.
With no challengers, Westheid also refused everyone who wanted to become his apprentice, and so the enthusiasts departed in disappointment.
Just as Westheid was about to get up and leave as well, a voice as clear and confident as a lark's song called out.
"Then allow me to play a game with you, Duke Qinghui."
A young woman, who appeared to be the same age as Westheid, sat down across from him.
She wore a pure white dress with lace trim and gold thread, embroidered with a Zither Bird pattern. A slit on the side of the dress revealed a pair of straight, slender calves, so dazzling it was hard to look at them directly.
A small hand emerged from a wide, flared sleeve to prop up her beautiful face. Her golden eyes, full of mirth, seemed to flow like molten gold.
Dazzling, to the point it was hard to look directly at her.
Her shoulder-length hair couldn't completely hide her pointed ear tips, indicating she had Elven blood...
"It's not Elven blood, you know."
As if she knew what Westheid was thinking, the graceful young woman spoke.
"I'll get angry if you call me a Half-Elf... Ah, Rozana, I don't have a problem with you, please don't mind me."
The girl in the white dress directed the second half of her sentence to the maid standing behind her, who was indeed a Half-Elf.
"You need not explain yourself to me, Yuanxi Palace. Your will is what matters most."
The Half-Elf Maid with long, emerald-green hair lowered her head and spoke, while discreetly glancing at Westheid.
This gave Westheid an inkling.
"And you are?"
"Oh my, how rude of me. I struck up a conversation without even introducing myself."
The young woman stood up. Her soft, silky hair—brown mixed with a slightly dark yellow—cascaded down her back like a waterfall. After a slight bow, she placed a hand on her chest and said, "I am Luyetan, the Branch of Prosperity of the Yuanshi Territory. This is our first meeting, is it not, Duke Qinghui?"
'Luyetan... so it really is her.'
Westheid didn't remember many of the Imperial families, but he was aware of the few others who also held the title "Branch of Prosperity."
Westheid nodded. "I have heard much of Yuanxi Palace's renowned name. I didn't expect to meet you in the Imperial Capital."
"The Holy Tree Festival is approaching, so I thought I would attend the celebration since I had nothing better to do."
Luyetan twirled a strand of hair by her ear with her slender, pale fingers and smiled.
"So then, Duke Qinghui, are you willing to accept my challenge to a game?"