Chapter 1235: Chapter 1235: The Tycoon and the Prince
Crash!
As Shard placed the heavy objects he had wrapped in his coat onto the table, everything enveloped by the coat became fully visible. Gold coins, silver coins, rings, earrings, plates, goblets, stone statue gems, and various items sparkled with the colors of wealth under the warm yellow glow of the gas lamp in the lounge. Yet, for some reason, this bundle of priceless items exuded a strong scent of seafood.
It was seven on this Wednesday evening, and the location was the city manor of Earl Granger, which Shard had visited before.
The melodious music drifted in from the distant banquet hall, and outside the curtained windows was the tranquil garden of the manor under the night sky.
"If I remember correctly, you said you were going to explore the story of the Randall Valley today, so this is..."
Miss Benanis, who claimed she wouldn’t attend the party, hesitantly asked, while Margaret, seated on a single sofa to the right of the Witch, curiously examined the pile of items:
"Look, there’s even a piece of gold ore. This is really rare, quite a large piece. I’ve heard some people prefer to collect ores rather than extract the gold from them. But does Randall Valley have any gold mines?"
"I spent two hours at the bottom of the river this afternoon."
Shard complained softly:
"Just to find the rumored creature that resembles an aquatic monkey. In the end, I didn’t find the aquatic monkey, but instead found these."
"The Elon River is originally a commercial riverway, especially in the summer, where ships travel frequently, so it’s not even surprising if you found the remains of a sunken ship on the riverbed."
While speaking, Benanis rummaged through the pile of items Shard found:
"I heard two years ago that a gold mine was discovered locally, but no one has explored the vein’s direction, and now you found such a large piece of ore. I heard rumors before that there are enough gold reserves beneath Randall Valley to buy the entire kingdom, but no one seems to be able to find them."
"Oh, Shard, you should have told me earlier what you were looking for. The rumors and stories about aquatic monkeys dragging people underwater aren’t unique to Randall Valley. Similar stories exist throughout the Southern Realm, invented by adults to warn children not to go into the water. This certainly wasn’t your target."
Her Highness the Princess said, and Shard shook his head:
"But I had to check, just in case this turns out to be the most critical story."
Having spent too long at the bottom of the river, even though he had already taken a bath at home just now, he still felt the damp, fishy smell on him:
"But finding this pile of ’junk’ wasn’t a waste of time. I know a pawnshop owner in Tobesk who deals in second-hand items and would find these interesting."
Miss Benanis raised an eyebrow; this was Shard’s first formal admission of his frequent travel between the two places:
"Are you so short of money? I can... look at this."
Saying so, she picked out a gemstone ring Shard had found, the gem being a rare black color, every facet brilliantly cut, making it one of the more valuable pieces of jewelry Shard found. The rust on the metal band wasn’t too severe, indicating it likely fell into the water recently. The Witch didn’t notice it because she liked the ring, but because she saw letters on the inside:
"Look at what it says inside—’To Haila.’ I thought this ring looked familiar. It belongs to the Osenfort family. If I’m not mistaken, two years ago, the male head of the Osenfort family gifted this ring to the bride Haila Osenfort at their wedding."
"How did it end up in the river?"
Shard asked in confusion, but since he knew the owner, he had no intention of keeping it:
"Miss Benanis, then please return it to the Osenfort family, anonymously or however you prefer."
"Don’t always bother me with such trivial matters, return it yourself."
She handed the ring to Shard:
"Ston Osenfort must also be attending this banquet. You’ll personally hand this to him later and say it was... caught while fishing."
As she spoke, she introduced the family to Shard:
"This is a wealthy merchant family that has only recently emerged in the last few years. Mr. Ston Osenfort has had very good luck, always making a profit from his business investments. Currently, he not only maintains close wine business relations with Huntington City but also has quite frequent trade connections with fleets traveling to the New World."
Of course, she only knew this much. After all, in these times, many newly emerging wealthy merchant families rise and fall quickly, and it’s not worth the Grand Witch’s effort to pay much attention to.
Shard didn’t stay in the lounge for too long. Instead, Margaret decided she would spend the evening with Miss Benanis, rather than attending the social activities in the banquet hall like her brother, Prince William Anjou.
Naturally, for others, taking the initiative to get close to Lady Vanessa Benanis was also considered a fine social activity. Miss Benanis was quite renowned in Carsonrick.
Shard first refrained from returning the ring, as he remembered that the most important task for the evening was to find out more about Mr. Thomas Granger, who had disappeared seventy years ago, from the Earl.
As the host of the banquet, the Earl remained in the banquet hall, conversing with the guests. Of course, the most significant duty was to accompany Prince William Anjou.
Shard easily spotted them in the banquet hall. Earl Granger appeared much the same as before, and this was Shard’s second time seeing the Prince with the same hair color as Margaret, outside of the train station.
Through generations of bloodline enhancement, the Royal Family’s offspring were all quite good-looking. This generation of the Anjou Royal Family had three princes and two princesses, with Margaret being the youngest daughter. William Anjou was the second prince, younger than the Elder Princess and the Great Prince.
At this moment, His Highness the Prince was in a corner of the banquet hall where soothing music was playing, engaged in conversation with a few noble gentlemen who appeared quite prestigious. The group seemed to have hit upon a fascinating topic, as the Prince displayed a look of surprise.
He said something to his servant, who quickly hurried off and soon returned with a man slightly taller than Shard, of medium build but appearing quite robust. His hairstyle was distinctive, with thick black hair, close-shaved sides, and the hair on top slightly permed up.
This attendee was not traditional nobility, and his attire immediately revealed him to be an ordinary person with no title. Moreover, he appeared more like a vibrant leader of a social group within the city, rather than a banquet guest.
This did not imply he appeared villainous; rather, his aura was quite sharp, unlike the military demeanor of Shard’s friend Captain Lades. Coupled with his tall, well-proportioned build, large hands, and seemingly solid muscles... noble ladies would probably be quite taken with him.
This attire and appearance seemed just like the "Mr. Damon Osenfort" Miss Benanis had mentioned not long ago. He was led by the servant to Prince William Anjou’s presence, where he placed his right hand on his left shoulder, bowing respectfully to the Prince.
Subsequently, he was invited to sit down and took out his Roder Card Deck.
Shard naturally came closer and observed Prince William checking Mr. Damon Osenfort’s deck, and then suggesting they play a game.
It was then that Shard understood why the Prince was interested in this gentleman. Surprisingly, Mr. Osenfort’s deck contained twelve Special Rule Cards. From the surrounding enthusiastic discussions, Shard learned all twelve special cards were won locally by Mr. Osenfort in just two years through card games.
Understand this: Shard also relied on incredible luck and various card encounters across the Old Continent, even participating in major events like the "Big City Player" where players from around the world gathered, and only thus managed to acquire 21 special cards.
"Quite remarkable."
Unmoved, he stood amongst the crowd, watching His Highness the Prince and Mr. Osenfort play cards. Both used one of their special cards as a wager, employing a moderately traditional "best of three, 3 points per game to win" rule. For fun, they also added the rule "roll a die at the start of each round, the number of cards drawn cannot exceed the die roll," which was quite popular locally.
If Shard Hamilton is known worldwide as a "Legendary Player," then Mr. Osenfort is the legendary player of the Randall Valley. Perhaps Margaret’s brother was also skilled in Roder, but he was still easily overwhelmed by this opponent, who possessed both luck and skill.
The best of three did not even reach the third round, and during the match, Mr. Osenfort astonishingly drew five special cards, including the one used as a wager: [Southern City: Randall Valley], which played a decisive role.
Thus, Mr. Osenfort easily secured the Prince’s wager. William Anjou did not seem disheartened, and instead praised the local card players’ competence to those around him. This made the atmosphere even more lively, and everyone felt the Prince was very approachable.
And since they had begun with the Roder game, it naturally could not end with just one round. Prince William Anjou enthusiastically invited nearby people to play a few more rounds with Mr. Osenfort, offering 5 Krone as a prize for anyone who could defeat Mr. Osenfort.
This strategy was primarily to make the banquet atmosphere more vibrant. Thus, Earl Granger, as the banquet host, also announced he would contribute 5 Krone. The nobles originally surrounding the Prince generously contributed, eventually amassing the small prize to 20 Krone, roughly equivalent to 240 to 260 pounds.
In games against Mr. Osenfort, with a single round to determine the winner, a total of ten people could challenge him. If none won, Mr. Osenfort would take the money. To a wealthy businessman like Mr. Osenfort, this amount was of course trivial, but he valued maintaining his relationship with the Prince, and thus confidently accepted the guests’ challenges.