chapter_0084

83 – Christmas That Will No Longer Come

83 – Christmas That Will No Longer Come

The woman who held Daniel’s hand introduced herself as Leff.

She didn’t reveal anything other than her name, but Daniel wasn’t particularly curious, so he didn’t press her for more information.

After exchanging names, the two headed to a nearby general store because Daniel, having heard that Leff’s gambling game was a type of poker, suggested they buy some playing cards.

Leff, who had followed Daniel without thinking, ended up paying for two decks of cards and returned to the front of the bar.

“…Hey.”

Leff looked up at Daniel, unable to comprehend what was going on.

“Why did you buy playing cards? Two of them, no less.”

“According to the lady, didn’t she say that they were cheating over there? So, it would be impossible for us to win against them using conventional methods.”

Daniel opened the box of playing cards, took out a few, and selected several of them.

After putting the remaining cards back in the box, he handed it to Leff.

“Please keep this. Consider it a token of good luck.”

As Leff accepted the cards with a puzzled expression, Daniel slipped the cards he had pre-selected into his sleeve.

While Leff was still confused by this, Daniel grasped the doorknob of the bar and opened it.

The raucous interior of the bar unfolded before them.

As Daniel stepped inside, he caught a whiff of the subtly spreading scent of alcohol and the savory aromas of various snacks.

When Leff followed him in, the patrons of the bar began to glance at Daniel one by one.

They were wary of the outsider who had just entered with the woman who had caused a commotion.

As Daniel observed them through his sunglasses, the bar owner approached him.

“What brings you here? If that lady has hired you as a mercenary…”

“Just a glass of rum, please. Oh, if you have tequila, I’ll take that instead.”

Thanks to Daniel’s nonchalant drink order, the bar owner was momentarily speechless.

Turning to the bewildered bar owner, Daniel flashed a friendly smile.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m just here to drink and gamble a bit.”

Did he hire a player? The bar owner finally understood and shouted to the crowd.

“Pramkol! This customer wants to play a hand!”

At that, Pramkol, who had been leaning against the wall at a corner table stacking chips, looked up.

The lanky Pramkol glanced at Daniel once and then broke into a thin smile.

“Fish are always welcome. Come on over.”

Having received permission, Daniel approached and pulled out a chair to sit down.

The bar owner followed suit and took a seat at the table.

“First of all…”

The bar owner spoke.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the gambling in our establishment is primarily poker. Also, there are no limits on betting. If you understand, nod your head.”

Daniel nodded, and the bar owner thumped a hefty pouch hanging from his waist onto the table.

Peeking inside, Daniel saw it was filled with old chips.

“Decide how much you want to gamble. I’ll exchange it for chips.”

“Oh. The lady behind me will cover it for me.”

Leff flinched at being singled out.

She had anticipated this would happen, but now that it was a reality, she felt an unspoken discomfort.

“…How much do you need?”

“Bet as much as you trust me.”

How can I trust someone I’ve just met? Leff thought incredulously, but realizing they had come this far, she decided to settle it and opened her wallet.

“Fine. I’ll bet it all.”

Leff took out all the cash from her leather wallet and handed it to the bar owner.

The bar owner was taken aback by the considerable amount but soon accepted it calmly.

He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out dozens of chips, placing them on Daniel’s table.

“Here you go.”

Nodding, Daniel reached into his pocket.

“Oh, but may I ask for a favor?”

“What is it?”

Daniel took out the box of playing cards and handed it to the bar owner.

“The lady wishes for a fair game. It seems she suspects cheating. I don’t believe it, but just in case, could you please swap the playing cards?”

With no particular reason to refuse, the bar owner accepted the card box.

After opening it and checking the cards, the bar owner nodded.

“Looks like you bought these from the next shop. Since I confirmed they aren’t rigged, we’ll use these. Pramkol, you don’t mind, do you?”

At the bar owner’s question, Pramkol shrugged playfully.

From that, Daniel understood that the cheating Leff mentioned wasn’t about tampering with the cards.

If they had tampered with the cards beforehand, they would have done everything possible to prevent the cards from being swapped.

‘Then what kind of cheating is it?’

There was no need to rush. He could figure it out as they went along.

“Then let’s get started.”

The bar owner announced the start of the poker game, dealing two cards each to Daniel and Pramkol.

After the initial betting, they went through the flop, turn, and arrived at the river.

At the point where all five cards were revealed, Daniel took a moment to check his hand.

‘Two pair.’

The probability of getting two pair in poker is quite low.

It meant he had a hand worth betting on.

Just as he was contemplating, Pramkol, without any intention of psychological warfare, shouted.

“Raise.”

That meant he was increasing the stakes.

After a brief silence, Daniel called and revealed his hand.

Pramkol’s hand was a ‘triple.’

With Daniel’s two pair, he lost, and Pramkol gleefully took the chips.

“I thought you were a player since that lady brought you here. What a disappointment.”

Daniel simply smiled faintly without responding.

They played five more rounds in a row, but Daniel didn’t win a single hand.

It was Leff who began to feel anxious.

‘What is he doing? This idiot…!’

She wasn’t sure if he was spending someone else’s money recklessly, but watching Daniel call even with a one pair instead of folding made her stomach churn.

On the other hand, Daniel’s mind was as calm as a still lake.

He had figured out what kind of trick Pramkol was using.

‘He’s using shallow tactics.’

Pramkol had won every hand by a narrow margin.

It was easy to spot someone cheating at the gambling table, but to win by a narrow margin every time?

That indicated there was an accomplice among the spectators.

‘The accomplice must be signaling my hand to him.’

Pramkol was likely winning by a narrow margin to avoid suspicion.

Now that Daniel understood how his opponent was cheating, he just needed to turn that to his advantage.

“You’re quite skilled.”

Daniel offered a backhanded compliment as he began the sixth round against Pramkol.

Receiving cards from the dealer, the bar owner, Daniel progressed through the poker game and arrived at the final stage, the river.

The five cards in his hand indicated a no pair.

It was a garbage hand that would typically call for a fold.

However, Daniel calmly pushed all his chips into the center.

“All in.”

This surprised not only Pramkol but also the onlookers.

Leff, who was watching from behind, was equally astonished.

‘You crazy fool! What are you doing!?’

Just when she thought he had lost his mind, Pramkol smirked.

‘Looks like he’s planning to bluff. Sorry, but I can see all your cards.’

Pramkol, who had initially thought of letting Daniel win out of pity, now felt regretful.

“Call.”

Pramkol pushed most of his chips into the center.

At that moment, Daniel concentrated mana into his central nervous system, accelerating his nerves.

In the slowed-down time, Daniel quickly slipped his hand into his sleeve to change his hand and then stopped the neural acceleration.

So fast was the action that Pramkol didn’t even suspect Daniel had changed his hand when he revealed his cards.

“Two pair. What do you have?”

He asked out of courtesy, already knowing the answer.

Daniel, fully aware of Pramkol’s intentions, leisurely revealed his hand.

“Royal straight flush.”

Pramkol’s eyes widened at the highest possible hand in poker.

‘What? When did that happen…?’

For Pramkol, who couldn’t even see Daniel’s hand move, it felt as if he had been possessed by a ghost.

After staring blankly at the cards for a while, Pramkol finally looked up, beads of cold sweat forming on his brow.

Daniel was smiling, as if he had intended this from the start.

“Why? Is it your first time seeing a royal straight flush?”

At Daniel’s taunt, Pramkol gritted his teeth.

“You bastard…! Where did you cheat and cause this ruckus!”

“Cheat? Where’s the evidence that I cheated?”

“Don’t play dumb! You definitely…!”

In his excitement, Pramkol almost revealed his original hand but hesitated.

He realized that the hostile gazes of the onlookers were fixed on him.

If he revealed Daniel’s original hand now, it would mean admitting that he had been cheating at poker all along.

In the heavy silence, Daniel lifted the glass of tequila that the bar owner had served him and took a sip.

Even while drinking, his gaze remained fixed on Pramkol.

‘You must have cheated others just like you’re trying to cheat me. Isn’t that right, Pramkol?’

As Daniel had anticipated, there were quite a few people in the bar who had lost money to Pramkol.

Thanks to that, Pramkol’s reputation in the bar had plummeted to nearly that of garbage.

Just look at them now.

Even though some of the spectators had belatedly noticed that Daniel had changed his hand, they remained silent.

They were all hoping to see Pramkol lose.

In such a hostile atmosphere, revealing Daniel’s original hand would likely lead to him getting beaten up.

Realizing he had trapped himself, Pramkol’s pupils trembled slightly.

“Oh dear, Pramkol.”

Daniel looked at him with a concerned expression.

“If I were you, I would quietly accept the outcome. If you don’t…”

Leaning forward with his arms resting on the table, Daniel continued with a smile.

“You’ll end up half a cripple here today.”

At those chilling words, Pramkol, who had swallowed his emotions, could only nod.

–

While Daniel was enjoying himself at the gambling table, Lucy was busy with work at the headquarters.

After a long night shift, Lucy finished all her tasks and organized the documents.

“Major, it’s time to clock out…”

As Lucy spoke almost reflexively while looking at her desk, her words trailed off.

Daniel was not there.

He had been dispatched as a diplomatic ambassador to Bellanos.

“…”

It felt empty not having Daniel around, who always exchanged trivial words at quitting time.

As she blinked quietly, Lucy shook her head and stood up.

After all, he would be back soon, so there was no need to get lost in sentimentality.

Just as she was about to grab her briefcase and leave the office, she paused.

She could hear footsteps coming from the hallway.

Just as she wondered who it was, the office door opened, and Ernst walked in.

“Chief of Operations.”

As Lucy saluted, Ernst returned the gesture with difficulty.

Noticing the unusual low atmosphere surrounding Ernst, Lucy lowered her hand in confusion.

“Chief, is something wrong?”

At Lucy’s question, Ernst bit his lip and nodded.

He took a moment to catch his breath before looking at Lucy.

“Lieutenant Lucy. I’ll say this only once, so listen carefully. Your superior, Major Daniel Steiner, was on a diplomatic vessel that…”

Unable to bring himself to look at Lucy, Ernst lowered his gaze.

“…was sunk by a terrorist attack.”

Sunk.

The weight of that word halted Lucy’s thoughts.

For a moment, she stood still, unable to comprehend, before she finally asked.

“Is it… true?”

Ernst, the Chief of Operations, would not lie about something like this.

Lucy’s rational mind was well aware of that premise.

Yet, asking was a defense mechanism to deny reality.

When Ernst exhaled shakily and nodded, Lucy’s lips parted slightly.

In the heavy silence, Lucy bowed her head as she chose her words.

“…I will take my leave now.”

Understanding her feelings perfectly, Ernst did not try to stop her.

Thanks to that, Lucy left the office, her footsteps echoing in the hallway.

Her mind was a jumble of memories, sometimes merging and sometimes scattering.

Amid the ever-flowing stream of thoughts, Lucy’s breath grew increasingly shaky.

‘Why…’

Why was the ship that Daniel Steiner was on sunk?

Why had I not known about it?

Why did I only find out about this now?

As she descended the stairs, Lucy threw questions into her heart that she could not find answers to.

‘I need to ask…’

She wanted to contact the agents operating in the Imperial City to find out the details of the incident.

In her thoughts, as she hurried down the stairs, Lucy’s foot slipped.

Her ankle twisted sideways, and her body swayed.

Quickly grabbing the handrail of the stairs, Lucy lowered her body to maintain her balance.

She didn’t fall, but her breath was even more labored than before.

In her haste, she had made a mistake she would never normally make.

With her eyes half-closed and panting, Lucy slowly closed her eyes.

In her chaotic mind, she recalled the words Daniel had said in front of the headquarters.

─ If you have time on Christmas, we can go together. If you want to, that is.

She vividly remembered Daniel jokingly suggesting they eat Stollen together.

But Lucy knew.

Now that Daniel was dead, there would never be a Christmas to eat Stollen together.

Unconsciously biting her lower lip, Lucy slowly opened her eyes.

The emotions reflected in her watery red eyes were closer to anger than sadness.

She felt she knew who had ordered the sinking of the diplomatic vessel.

‘If the Allied Nations did indeed attack the diplomatic vessel that Daniel was on…’

She could no longer trust Count Caledra.