Turning-Chapter 908

‘Good. Aton hasn’t realized Gloena already used her ability.’

The entire setup—starting with provoking Aton through Lusan, then feigning a spontaneous and disinterested card game proposal—was orchestrated for this precise moment.

To use Gloena’s power without Aton noticing, two conditions had to be met.

First: Roenev, who had spread his nullification field across the prison, had to lift that suppression over a specific area at precisely the right moment.

Second: When Gloena activated her ability, Aton had to be distracted enough not to notice the faint shift in energy.

Whenever an Awakener uses their power, there is an unavoidable ripple of energy. In cases where the ability manifests visually, it’s obvious even to non-Awakeners. But even subtle powers generate detectable fluctuations to those attuned enough to sense them.

Granted, in this current era, with the concept of Awakeners still so new, there were few capable of such sensitivity—Yuder being the rare exception. Both Roenev and Gloena’s powers were subtle enough that, unless seen directly, most would miss the moment of activation.

But Aton wasn’t “most people.” He was an Awakener, a devout priest of the Black Moon, and a swordsman nearing the level of a Swordmaster.

Yuder assumed that with Aton’s skill and perception, he could very well pick up on the subtle energy shift when someone used a power—particularly the moment Roenev lifted the field.

‘The prison is quiet, and it’s narrow. That kind of environment sharpens the senses even more.’

That’s why Yuder and Lusan had worked together to overload Aton’s perception, scattering his attention. Anyone who truly knew Yuder would never believe he’d impulsively suggest a card game. But Aton had no real knowledge of Yuder’s personality.

‘And he never will.’

Had Yuder come alone, like during the earlier interrogations, this plan wouldn’t have worked. But thanks to Lusan thoroughly rattling Aton’s nerves beforehand, everything had gone smoothly up to this point.

‘If he hadn’t been a man of such unwavering piety, none of this would’ve worked.’

Yuder made a brief mental note of gratitude for Kishiar’s insight in knowing what method would work on a subject like Aton. No doubt Kishiar was watching the entire scene unfold from beyond the door, smiling to himself. In fact, Kishiar had been the one responsible for signaling Roenev when to lift the suppression field over their small space.

In other words, more than five people were involved just to deceive this one man.

‘It’s definitely a cumbersome way to go about it.’

If Aton had been the kind to crack under torture or persuasion, this wouldn’t have been necessary. But Yuder knew a man like that would never bend to pain or sweet talk. If he had used brute force, Aton would’ve only welcomed a swift, honorable death.

‘And why the hell would I grant him that?’

There was no telling if another opportunity like this would come—having such a high-ranking spy alive, intact in both body and mind.

Aton and his faction were secretive, methodical, and disturbingly meticulous. In his past life, Yudrain Aile had died without ever realizing these people had been behind everything.

If Aton hadn’t lingered too long in the South out of some warped sense of debt to the Cavalry, even capturing him might have been impossible.

That’s why Yuder wanted answers—solid ones—while Aton was still whole, without the need for lies or manipulation.

And now, the perfect conditions were in place for Gloena to use her power. It was time to see whether the result he wanted would follow.

“I’m the one-leaf. Gloena’s two. The priest is three. And you’re four.”

In Clover Leaves, the game began with distributing cards based on the number of clover symbols printed in the corners. Yuder had received cards with just one leaf each.

“Then I’ll start.”

Players always began in order based on leaf count. Yuder shuffled his cards and drew one from the central pile. The card he pulled had three clovers on the corner—part of Lusan’s set—and its illustration was ordinary.

A standard card.

The goal of the game was to end with the most cards matching your leaf count, while maximizing total ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ value. It was simple on paper, but involved enough strategy to make it engaging—especially if played fairly.

Yuder glanced around. Gloena had her head lowered, long hair hiding her expression. Lusan, visibly inexperienced, was fidgeting and scanning between his hand and the table in nervous confusion.

Aton, meanwhile, was holding his cards with care, positioned so no one could peek. Even while bound with a control device, he handled them deftly. It was clear he’d played plenty of cards before.

‘He probably thinks beating even one of us is easy enough. He won’t care about the others—he’ll aim straight for me.’

But then...

“...We’ve turned the last card. Let’s tally the scores. I’m first with 25 points, the priest is second with 20, the Deputy Commander is third with 18, and he... is last with 17.”

Gloena exhaled deeply as she placed her cards down. Aton’s pupils trembled violently as he stared at the revealed card piles and final results.

“This... what the hell...”

“Unfortunate. Just one point short.”

“......”

Aton clenched his restrained fists. Disbelieving, he looked from the cards to Yuder.

“...What trick did you pull?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“If I was cheating, would I be in third place? You really going to blame others for your own screw-up?”

Aton’s fists trembled again. Yuder chuckled coldly, shuffled the cards idly, and pushed them toward Aton.

“There’s still time. Why not go again, starting with the loser?”

“......”

“How generous am I, huh? Life doesn’t usually hand out second chances. But here I am, giving you one.”

Of course, that didn’t apply to Yuder Aile himself—but no one else knew that, except the one person outside watching.

Yuder lowered his eyes briefly. Aton, face torn by inner turmoil, began shuffling and dealing again. This time, Yuder got three-leaf cards.

And soon, the second game ended. Yuder placed second. Aton, once again, landed dead last by a hair.

“...Still saying you didn’t cheat?”

“Didn’t you see the card order? If you hadn’t swapped mine with the second-to-last one you drew, you would’ve won.”

“......”

“Well, I guess that kind of rotten luck is what brought you here in the first place.”

Aton’s fingers trembled harder now. Yuder continued, voice still icy.

“With skills like that, how did you even fool Duke Ta-in? Teach me your secrets. Or is it that the capital’s gamblers are just worse than us?”

“...One more.”

“What? Didn’t catch that.”

“In Clover Leaves, you go as many rounds as there are players. Which means we haven’t finished yet. One more round.”

Aton’s eyes had turned faintly red at the edges. He didn’t seem to notice it himself.

Yuder looked at the final card left in Aton’s pile—the image of a grinning fairy with exaggerated lips, laughing atop a flower petal.

‘Truth.’

Yuder’s eyes flicked to Gloena. She gave the faintest nod. Sweat shimmered between the curls of her hair.

With a natural sigh, Yuder let out a soft laugh.

“Didn’t you say no earlier?”

“......”

“Well, whatever. Even if you win, all we’re doing is letting you leave faster. We’ve got nothing to lose. Shall we go again? Everyone else okay with that?”

“Ah, yes... I think I might have... a little talent for this? It’s kind of fun now that I get the hang of it.”

“I’d say you’ve more than a little talent. If you want to try other card games later, ask the others. There are plenty who love these things. Gloena?”

“I’m fine... too.”

“Good. Then let’s play the third round.” freēnovelkiss.com

Yuder ignored Aton’s deteriorating expression and praised Lusan’s awkward pride.

“This time, you deal.”

As soon as Yuder spoke, Aton grabbed the cards and began to shuffle—rough, urgent. No more cautious checks, just desperate motion.

His hands trembled. His eyes glinted with red.

Gloena’s ability was working.