Chapter 155

Jan 11, 2024

* * *

A dangerous game was underway in one of the many rooms at Yggdrasil castle.

“Agh! Wait, wait. Damn it, I played the wrong card!”

“Wow, what a dumbass. We should get you a new pair of eyes.”

“Seriously! How could you f*ck up like that? Of all the cards in your hand, did you have to play that one?”

A small, flickering light was barely lighting the room they had gathered inside. It was actually one of the castle’s many lounge areas, but upon the Agrece siblings’ arrival, they had claimed it as their own. They had been dying of boredom since before even arriving in Yggdrasil, but due to their younger half-brother and leader’s warning, they had kept their hands to themselves since entering the castle.

With nothing else to do, they put their heads together in hopes of finding answers to questions yet unanswered as they hadn’t easily forgotten how Jeremy had almost killed one of their brothers for saying how much he wished Deon was their clan’s master instead of the young, blue-eyed imp.

In truth, they had been secretly holding out hope that the two would fight each other over the title of Black Master since they were both in Yggdrasil, but nothing of the sort had happened despite the multiple opportunities the two could have come to a head right there in the castle.

They had even seen Jeremy stomping around in a fit of rage looking for Deon some time back, but they each could sense that the older of the two was nowhere to be found. Besides that, they were also curious about the sort of relationship their half-sister Roxana was developing with the Blue Heir. After all, Cassis Pedelian had been her toy three years prior and was rumored to have even killed him. Yet the supposedly deceased man had not only shown up at last winter’s goodwill gathering but even managed to exact his revenge on their father Lante.

What was far more peculiar to them was that Roxana hadn’t appeared to be on his vendetta list from the way he graciously accepted her invitation at the banquet a few nights prior. Although they were certain that some sort of foul play must be afoot behind closed doors, the truth would not likely unveil itself so easily after having spent so much time hidden away. To make matters worse, Agreces were prone to vexation over the most trivial things, so before long they began to ponder why they were so concerned about the affairs of others in the first place.

Thus the Black clan siblings had returned to square one and had no other choice but to pass their days at the castle of Yggdrasil attending dull meetings about inter-clan cooperation and so on. The only “acceptable” method they had come up with for killing time in the evenings was to gamble away their boredom in private.

“Hey, let me go again just this once!”

“Hell no, you already played your card. This isn’t a charity, ya know!”

At the very least, they figured it would be the most acceptable thing they could do in the eyes of their irritable leader. They had been fortunate enough to find playing cards they presumed had been left behind in the lounge they had commandeered as they hadn’t thought to bring any of their own. Their clan also ran a few underground gambling dens within the neutral zone’s entertainment district, so it was a pastime for most of the siblings since birth.

The only issue they had yet to work out was what they should do in the face of inevitable defeat. At that moment, their brother determined that the only solution was... to flip the table and run.

The cornered half-brother carefully eyed his siblings before attempting to overturn the table from underneath by kicking it with his foot.

“Well, well. Get a load of this sore loser.”

His plan, however, failed miserably since his siblings had sensed a disturbance and reacted accordingly. The one sitting opposite him at the table quickly kicked the table from the other side in order to level it back to its original position. Meanwhile, the other two quickly caught the cards that were sent flying and slipping, then returned everything to its original place.

One of them even managed to catch a flower vase that had been shaken by the offender’s shenanigans with their outstretched leg.

“Damn it all!”

Of course, they didn’t forget to grab the sore loser by the scruff of his neck and slam his head into the table once everything was back in order.

“Hey, asshole, have you forgotten that our clan’s running low on funds? If you break anything here, it’ll get billed to Agrece.”

“Let’s just tell Jeremy. I’m sure he’d be delighted to punish this sucker.”

The siblings who had been watching from off to the side began to chuckle and sneer at the thought.

“As of today, your 21st collection is mine.”

“Aw, come on... Anything but that one! You have no idea how hard it was for me to get it together!”

“Ya know, for a loser, you sure do run your mouth a lot. Then how about I take one of your hands and place it on the wall as a trophy instead?”

As if to drive home his sincerity, he yanked a fork off from one of their siblings’ plates of cake and stabbed it into the table just between his brother’s fingers.

“While this isn’t a knife, I’m sure it’ll get the job done just fine since I just need to sever the main artery and bones in your wrist.”

An outsider would undoubtedly fail to realize that such a conversation was merely playful banter among the Agrece siblings. As their game finally neared its end, a new scent flooded the room.

“Say, what are you burning? It smells pretty good.”

“There’s a fresh one on the other table. Need a light?”

“Nah, just pass me yours. I’ll just take one puff.”

They had begun to busy themselves with passing around the mysterious cigarette. As the smoke filled the room, their overcast faces began to flush red slightly with each puff. Since they were traveling to Yggdrasil with Jeremy, they had made sure not to risk smuggling in any illegal items. Thus, they were simply smoking the scented cigarette that had been offered to all the guests at the castle.

In truth, it wasn’t the act but the people who were doing it that made it seem so suspicious.

Without warning, the lounge door flung open and the faces that appeared in its opening were none other than the Fipellions’.

“What’s going on in here?!”

“Yeah, why’s this room so dark—?”

As the group who had first laid claim to that specific lounge, they glared at the Agrece siblings as though they were trespassing. The White clan members gasped and involuntarily retreated slightly upon recognizing who they were looking at through the dim haze. Their bodies were overcome with fear instinctively as if they had just unwittingly opened the door to one of their clan’s many demon-monster hutches.

A lethargic voice sounded from the table. “Who the hell is that?”

“A Fipellion.”

“Oh...”

The intruders seemed to snap back to their senses upon hearing the siblings talk about them as if they were lost children. As their eyes began to adjust to the dim light, they set to correcting their stunned expressions.

“Ugh, what are Agreces doing in here?”

“Well, who else would be making such a ruckus?”

The White clan members then proceeded to enter the lounge without invitation. The siblings had sincerely been on their best behavior and merely spending quality time with one another, but now found themselves the target of their rival clan’s snide remarks.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you all to leave since we intend to use this room again.”

“And why should we? We’ve been using it all this time.”

“Well, the Fipellions were here before you lot set your dirty feet in here.”

“The room was empty when we got here.”

“We only left for a moment to finish up some errands, but you guys saw fit to barge in here and wanna act like you own the place? Ugh! Guess that’s what we should all expect of the despicable, conniving Agreces.”

The siblings looked around at one another as if sharing the collective thought, “There’s only three of these scumbags.”

Although Jeremy’s orders forbade them from acting violently, perhaps...

“Hmm... Why don’t you three just join us instead? We were playing a simple game of cards.”

Maybe we can have a bit of fun with these blue-haired clowns. The siblings’ eyes seemed to be collectively concealing their deadly intent.

“There’s plenty of room for all of us to play. Besides, how else would just three of you kill time? Hm? How about it?”

“What sort of bullsh—? Wait a minute... Those are our cards! You all just need to get the hell out of here!”

None of the Black clan members were surprised by the Fipellions’ repulsion at the suggestion of spending time together. Just then, condescending smirks spread across the faces inside the room.

“Typical Fipellions... Yet again making pathetic excuses to hide their obvious fear of losing. It’s always all show and no go with you lot.”

“What?”

“I mean, I figured as much. There’s a reason people say empty vessels tend to make the most noise.”

“What did you just say? Why don’t you run that by us again?!”

As soon as the Fipellions had taken the bait, the Agreces merely had to reel them in.

“It’s almost comical how they always act so tough. Just look at them with their glaring eyes and flaring nostrils. Oh no! I might actually piss myself.”

“Aw, that’s enough, you guys. Just leave them be. They’d become the laughingstocks of the gathering if people found out they lost to us in a silly game of cards.”

“Damn, you’re right! What if they ran back to their old master and told on us? ‘Waaah, Master Hiakin, those Agreces beat us, waaah!’ Good grief, we sure don’t want that!”

“Right? This is exactly why lions should never play with bunnies.”

Indeed, immature provocations had proven time and time again to be the most effective at getting under their enemies’ skins. And as proud as Fipellions were, the three men who had arrived were not about to take the insults in silence.

“You bastards! Just who the hell do you think you’re talking to?!”

“There they go again with the tough act.”

The Agrece siblings continued to jeer and goad the newcomers as they resentfully approached the playing table.

“Hey, all you’ve gotta do to prove you guys aren’t helpless, little bunnies is play a hand with us.”

“Yeah, make some room, you guys. Give these three some space. Looks like things are about to get a little more interesting.”

The Fipellions hadn’t intended to join in their card game, but they soon found themselves seated at the same table as the Agreces.

“We don’t play without making wagers though. You still in? It wouldn’t be very sportsmanlike to bet actual money, so how about we let the winners make one demand of the losers?”

The White clan members were hesitant as they realized things weren’t going their way at all, but Duran Fipellion was not simply hot-headed. Since he had already clashed with the Black clan twice, he had almost immediately fallen prey to the siblings’ trap before his companions could chime in.

“Ha! I’ll make sure you lot regret every insolent word you just said! If we win, I’ll make you all kneel and apologize for your wretched behavior before our entire clan!”

“Will you now? Is that really what you want?”

“It is! What’s wrong? Are you too scared now?”

“No, not at all.”

As soon as the siblings heard Duran’s wager, they grinned in unison. Their chilling smiles sent shivers down the White clan members’ spines, but what the Black clan members suggested next was far more horrific.

“Then we’ll take your nails.”

“Y-You’ll what?”

“If we win, we get to take one fingernail from each of you.”

For emphasis, one of the Agrece siblings sank a knife into the table between the two groups.

“We’d prefer to take your fingers, but that would be too conspicuous, so nails should be more manageable, don’t you think?”

“It’s a shame we don’t have the proper tools with us though, but this knife should do. And don’t you worry. I have the steadiest hands here, so I’ll be the one to perform the... operations. In fact, I’ll make sure to pull them out extra slowly so you three will have enough time to really savor the pain.”

The knife that was wedged into the table was actually a letter opener, but to the Fipellions, it glistened like a blade that was sharper than any of their actual swords.

“‘Fingernails’? What sort of preposterous joke is th—?!”

“‘Joke’? Does it look like we’re joking to you?”

The siblings scoffed at the absurdity of having their earnest wager called into question. The demons were in fact beginning to flash their fangs at their now-helpless prey.

“As I recall one of you was rather confident in calling us ‘despicable, conniving Agreces,’ were you not?”

“Hey, enough chatter. Let’s just play.”

And so, the bunnies began their dangerous game against the hungry lions without realizing that the winners had been decided from the start.