After a strange but delicious dinner, we made our way to the lounge car where a number of passengers were gathered together. There were a few familiar faces around, such as the unrequited lover, Nikita, and the Widow, Mrs. Hubbert. I had the impression that Mrs. Hubbert was keeping to herself, but she appeared to be having an amicable conversation with Nikita as they sat at the bar counter with their drinks.

Some of the passengers who didn’t appear in the dining car earlier were present too. I recognised the Governess, Mauricia Debnam, and the Missionary, Godiva Olson, discussing what to order from the bar menu as they were served by the bartender. The well-built and broad-shouldered man quietly smoking his cigar by an open window was probably the Colonel, Robert Atkinson, while the tall and lean man borrowing his lighter must be Myrtil, the Novelist.

“I didn’t expect the lounge car to be this crowded,” Rapunzel remarked.

‘Well, that’s true, it’s rare to see so many NPCs gathered in one place…’

As I scanned the lounge car, I quickly revised my mental note of the passenger list:

『Room No. 1』

【Upper】Dr. Konstantine, the Doctor

【Lower】M. Myrtil, the Novelist

『Room No. 2』

【Upper】Prof. Sternberg, the Professor

【Lower】Hr. Weinstein, the Merchant

『Room No. 3』

【Upper】-

【Lower】Nikita Dolvaskinov, the Lover

『Room No. 4』

【Upper】Mlle. Mauricia Debnam, the Governess

【Lower】Mlle. Godiva Olson, the Missionary

『Room No. 5』

【Single】Col. Robert Atkinson, the Colonel

『Room No. 6』

【Single】Mlle. Violet Guinevere, the (fake) Detective

【Extra】Ms. Rapunzel Persinette, the (extra) Assistant

『Room No. 7』

【Single】M. Reinald Beaufore, the Connoisseur

『Room No. 8』

【Single】Lady Faina Obolenskaya, the Count’s Granddaughter

『Room No. 9』

【Single】Graf Viktor Obolenskaya, the Count

『Room No. 10』

【Single】Mrs. Karen Hubbert, the Widow

『Room No. 11』

【Single】Mrs. Luna R. Hui, the Heiress

『Room No. 12』

【Single】Ms. Hiladegawa Tudor, the Maid

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

‘As of now, only M. Beaufore, Mrs. Hui and her maid, Ms. Tudor, haven’t made their appearance yet…oh?’

I paused my train of thought as I eyed two gentlemen, seated in plush velvet armchairs with a table between them, in the corner diagonally across from the bar.

Realising that he had been caught secretly staring at me, Weinstein acknowledged us with a smile and stood up from his chair.

“Evening, Herr Weinstein, Herr Sternberg,” I said my greeting first.

“A pleasure to meet with you again, Mademoiselle Guinevere,” Weinstein replied smoothly, and proceeded to kiss the back of my hand just like before.

‘Wha—seriously, what is up with this guy??’

Biting down a grimace, I smiled and gestured at Rapunzel. “Please allow me to introduce you to my…companion, Rapunzel Persinette. She is travelling with me to Constantinople.”

“It’s okay if you call me by my first name,” she added.

The Austrian professor gave a perfunctory nod of his head. “Grüß Gott.”

“It’s my honour to make your acquaintance, Mademoiselle Rapunzel.” He also kissed Rapunzel’s hand in greeting and gestured at their table, where a deck of playing cards sat untouched.

“We were just looking for players to start a card game. Will you ladies care to join us for a round?”

‘Oh? Is that the reason he was looking at me just now?’

“Ooh, sounds interesting!”

Rapunzel pulled over an armchair from the adjacent table and motioned for me to do the same. “Come on, Violet, let’s entertain these two gentlemen for a while.”

“Sure…” I pulled over an armchair too and sat down beside her.

“This is a game that was taught to me by a friend I met in Hong Kong,” Weinstein said. “It’s called「Big Two」, I don’t suppose you have heard of it before?”

I stifled a chuckle. ‘Well, actually, I have played this game a lot in my past life…’

“No, I haven’t,” Rapunzel replied with an excited look in her eyes. “How do you play this game?”

“Allow me to briefly explain. In this game, each card is assigned a ranking according to a combination of its face value and the suit it belongs to. The lowest-ranked face value is three, and the highest-ranked value is two. As for the suits, they are ranked in the order of diamonds being the lowest, followed by clubs, hearts and lastly spades. This means that the lowest-ranked card is the three of diamonds, while the highest-ranked card is the two of spades.”

“At the start of the game, each player is dealt a hand of 13 cards. The objective is to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. The player holding the three of diamonds begins the game by placing their card down, and each subsequent player must play a higher-ranked card. If they are unable to or choose not to play a valid card, then they have to pass their turn.”

“Does this game allow poker hands to be played too?”

“Indeed, Mademoiselle. Similar to poker, a straight flush is the highest-ranked hand in this game, followed by a four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, and a two pair. However, you cannot play a different number of cards than what is being played in a particular round. For example, if the first player plays a pair, you can only play a higher-ranked pair since any other hands will consist of more than two cards.”

“Hmm…” Rapunzel nodded her head in understanding. “I think I get the gist of it. What about you, Violet?”

“No worries, I’m good to go.”

“Then, I shall start the round. Sternberg?”

Picking up the deck of cards, Sternberg shuffled the cards with practised ease and straightened the pile against the table before dealing them out.

“Oh my,” Rapunzel remarked. “Herr Sternberg, do you perhaps play cards regularly?”

He gave her a look which I could not decipher and smiled. “I frequented the casino in the past, but not anymore.”

“I see…oh, I have the three of diamonds!” She took the card from her hand and flipped it open. “Then, the next player should be…”

“We go clockwise, so it’s Sternberg’s turn, followed by mine,” Weinstein chimed in.

I glanced down at my own hand of cards; the highest card was an ace of clubs, and I had no special hands that could be played beside a pair of Jacks.

‘This is going to be a difficult game…’

“Three of hearts,” Sternberg said as he placed his card down.

“Four of diamonds.”

I revealed my chosen card and placed it on top of the pile. “Four of clubs.”

Rapunzel hesitated before picking out a card. “Ace of diamonds.”

“Pass.”

“My, that’s quite a huge jump,” Weinstein remarked with a laugh. “I guess I have no choice but to play my ace of spades. Mademoiselle Guinevere, are you going to counter my card with a two?”

I laughed. “Sorry, pass.”

“Pass.”

“Pass.”

“Interesting…” Weinstein scratched his chin and tossed five cards onto the pile. “Straight.”

‘Come on, a King-high straight? Please have mercy on me…’

“Pass,” I sighed.

Rapunzel made a show of looking through her hand before placing down five cards too. “Full house, sevens over tens.”

“Pass.”

“Full house, Queens over fours.” Weinstein folded his arms across his chest and smirked.

“Pass…”

“I’ll have to pass too.”

Sternberg shrugged his shoulders. “Your win, Weinstein.”

“I’ll gladly take it.” He tossed his last card onto the pile, and we all followed suit. “Much obliged for joining us tonight, Mesdemoiselles.”

“Please don’t say that, it’s our pleasure.”

I stood up and motioned towards Rapunzel. “Shall we go?”

Nodding her head, she stood up from her armchair. “Thank you for inviting us, gentlemen. We should play another round together next time.”

“By the way, we are staying in Room No. 2, Second Class,” Sternberg spoke suddenly and gave her a sideways look. “Please feel free to drop by anytime you wish, Miss Rapunzel.”

For some unknown reason, I noticed that she had stiffened in her manner.

“I will be delighted to, Herr Sternberg” Rapunzel replied with a forced smile.