After the fifteenth gong, Vincent gave Res no chance to slip away: “Yo, aren’t you excited? Talking with Antoinette will be even more exciting than the initiation ceremony.”

“Hmmm.”

“Yeah, Antionette and some other girls have already prepared the food. She’s not only gorgeous but also has excellent management skills and she is interested in you”

“Hmmm.”

“Today, gather the courage and tell her you love her too.”

“Hmmm.”

All the way to the royal park, Vincent bombarded Res with chitter-chatter. During the conversation, he let his consciousness float in the black abyss of his mind. Young nobles chattering away covered the entire lawn next to the fountain. In the middle of them all, calm like a rock in the storm, sat Antionette. Res felt some respect when he saw how she handled all the people that wanted to talk to her. Still, he wouldn’t be able to handle social interactions that well, so he tried to slink away.

Vincent saw right through him and shouted: “Antoinette, we are finally here!”

********************

When Antoinette saw Res trying to blend into the crowd and vanish, she inwardly cried out: “You won’t escape from professing your love!” To Res, she shouted in a half-singing voice: “Res, please honor me by taking a seat next to me!”

Res had halted when he heard those words as he would offend her powerful family, one of the high lord family’s, greatly if he ignored her. With visible reluctance, he turned and casually walked up to her as if he had planned to do so. Pointedly, he let Vincent sit down next to Antoinette and took a seat as far from her as possible.

Meanwhile, Antoinette was livid: “He still won’t sit next to me after I gift him one of my smiles and wear the best powders? Fine, I’ll have to force him.” She projected out a jovial expression and asked: “Why don’t we play a game of Karuta, Res? The looser will owe one favor to the victor. There are limits to the favor.”

At that, she faked a blush. The gesture stoked all surrounding male fantasies to new heights, and many sized up Res as serious competition. She let a fond smile stretch across her face to stoke the envy even further. To Antionette’s great shock, an enormous smile stretched out on Res’s face as well and he shouted to the hundreds of nobles: “I hereby start a lottery. If I win the game against Antoinette, I will randomly select one participant who gets a wish from Antoinette van Mayford! This opportunity of a lifetime will only cost 2 silvers! You can even buy multiple tickets to increase your chances!”

Antoinette’s complexion turned paler and paler with every shout of excitement that now filled the air. With the help of Vincent, Res collected hundreds of gold and nobles from all ages and houses were queuing for the chance of obtaining the favor. Antoinette’s outrage turned into anger: “How dare he use one of my favors as an opportunity to make money? He even spits on my honor by only asking for two silvers. Despicable.”

Yet, she had to admit that she had been neatly outplayed and her interest in Res rose even further. After everyone had bought their tickets, Arthur, who had bought tickets worth ten gold, had won the lottery. Arthur proclaimed that if Res were to win, he would go out with Antoinette, his future wife. “First, I am not your future wife. Second, you have just lost money, as the discipline in which I challenge Res will be: ‘Poems and philosophy’ ”

From her information gathering on Res, she had found that he was a good-for-nothing who mostly dreamed his days away. Some might judge her actions as unfair as she was renowned for her talent in philosophy and practiced Karuta with the same deck of cards every day. Karuta was a simple game: The gamemaster reads out loud text describing a topic or idea of philosophy. The players need to be the first to put their hands on the matching picture card of which many lie on the ground face up. Vincent was assigned to the role of reciting the text and both Res and Antoinette took up positions on their knees and facing one another.

By now, over three hundred people were watching or even listening to the game. Vincent read out the first quote: “The greatest glory in living … ”

She already knew after the first five words that the quote belonged to the picture of a tanned peasant in the fields. As her hands were about to grab the card, the card vanished. She could only glimpse the hand that had snatched the card. Res was only looking at her with a quirked eyebrow. “How did he do that? Rather, how dare he mock me?”

Anger threatened to break through her carefully constructed facade, but she quickly shoved it down. “It was luck. Only luck. Calm yourself. I will have to dinner with that brute Arthur … Don’t panic. Breathe in. Breath out.”

Yet, in the next round, she lost again. In the round after that, again and again, and again … After Res had completely wiped the floor with her, she was nearly bursting from rage. Her breathing had quickened to such a degree that it bordered at hyperventilating. All around them, people were yelling with surprise and admiration at the skill on display by Res. With emotionless indifference, Res stood up. Antoinette’s heartbeat quickened: “Now he will rub it in.”

Yet, Res only turned and left. Antoinette stood there dumbfounded while everyone was trying to question or console her about her loss: “I have truly underestimated you, Res van Coventry.”