Chapter 705: Masks on All Sides

Once Henwell is gone, Solomon's smile disappears. "Investigate this Adolf thoroughly, especially any connection he may have to Peace Haven."

The captain of the guard looks startled. "You think Peace Haven sent him?"

Solomon shakes his head. "It doesn't seem likely, but he has definitely seen a steam engine before, and it interests him greatly."

"We went to enormous lengths to obtain this machine precisely to attract Peace Haven's attention."

"Anyone who takes an interest in it must be investigated carefully."

Meanwhile, Henwell's expression darkens as the attendant leads him to his new room.

As steam engines come into widespread use, some will inevitably slip beyond Peace Haven's control.

Even so, Henwell has no intention of sparing the first person who secretly sold one.

The King's Shield also gives Henwell a strange feeling.

They went to great lengths to acquire a steam engine, yet all they do with it is power a lift. That is clearly unreasonable.

More importantly, they seem to have installed it in the lift precisely to put it on display.

It feels like an act of provocation directed at Peace Haven.

Peace Haven may be unable to challenge a giant like Ika, but crushing a single hotel operator would be easy enough.

Henwell taps a finger against the armrest, frowning. He has the distinct impression that the people behind the King's Shield are trying to contact him personally.

The King's Shield has worked with Peace Haven before, so establishing contact through normal channels should not be difficult.

Such a conspicuous method can only draw more attention until the matter eventually reaches Henwell himself.

Henwell finally begins treating the matter seriously and turns his full attention toward the King's Shield.

But why do they want to find him, and why use such a roundabout method?

Henwell sets the question aside for now. He must first meet the Lady of Calamity.

After dinner, Henwell goes to the hotel's casino.

He heads straight for the highest-stakes table, where the guests are playing a card game.

Games of this kind are common throughout the continent.

Much like Texas Hold'em, the game tests luck and skill with the cards, but above all, it is a contest of nerve and psychology.

Joining the central table requires a stake of one thousand gold coins.

That is no small sum. Even at the King's Shield, one thousand gold coins is hardly loose change.

The fifth-floor room Henwell originally reserved costs only twenty gold coins a day.

That price includes five meals a day, including afternoon tea and a late-night supper, as well as free admission to the nightly theatrical performance.

After all, twenty gold coins carry the purchasing power of tens of thousands in a modern economy.

A stake of one thousand gold coins is therefore enough to exclude the vast majority of guests.

The gold notes Henwell carries were jointly issued by the Ikan royal family and fifteen of Ika's largest merchant houses.

The bearer of a gold note may withdraw coins from a gold depository in any Ikan city.

The service fee is slightly less than ten percent. In a feudal age, both deposits and withdrawals cost money. No one pays interest, and some institutions even charge a storage fee.

Peace Haven issues gold notes of its own, protected by an intricate and sophisticated set of anti-counterfeiting measures.

Henwell originally planned to waive all fees, but the Trade Alliances of the various countries fiercely opposed the idea.

In the end, he had to impose a token five-percent fee. Even then, few people deposit money with Peace Haven except for commercial purposes.

The main reason is that most people do not consider Peace Haven a stable and enduring regime.

Otherwise, Henwell would have started waging financial war on the surrounding countries long ago.

For this trip, Henwell withdrew fifty thousand gold coins from the Qili Guild's accounts.

He converted the entire sum into Ikan gold notes, which are much easier to carry.

Henwell uses no extraordinary power at the gaming table.

Even though the table is fitted with an extraordinary detection rune stone, it cannot possibly detect the subtle tricks of someone at the peak of the Iron Rank.

With his formidable mental arithmetic and a careful eye on the other players, Henwell wins more often than he loses.

Before long, only seven players remain at the table.

By then, Henwell has accumulated a pile of chips worth more than three thousand gold coins.

Over the next several hands, Henwell goes all-in three times in a row and frightens two players into withdrawing.

Another player eliminates two more, leaving only three people at the table.

Henwell's remaining opponents are a wealthy woman in her fifties and a middle-aged man in his forties.

The wealthy woman continues betting with perfect composure, while Henwell periodically bluffs the man across from him.

Before long, the middle-aged man is sweating profusely. Several thousand gold coins' worth of chips still sit before him.

Yet he is on pins and needles. As a house player employed by the casino, he is an excellent gambler.

The two opponents before him, however, are simply too difficult to handle.

The wealthy woman wins every time. He has tried challenging her, but every attempt has failed.

Whenever she raises, she wins, whether her hand is strong or weak.

Whenever she folds, she does so without hesitation, no matter how promising her hand may look.

It is as if she knows the outcome of every hand in advance.

The casino's guests have grown afraid of her. The moment she raises, they fold.

Henwell, meanwhile, goes all-in at unpredictable moments. Sometimes the man knows Henwell is bluffing, yet still does not dare take the risk.

The money is not his. If he loses it all, he will be a dead man.

He is no longer gambling with money, but with his life.

This cannot continue. The spectators are already beginning to wonder why he is so reluctant to play his hands.

If this goes on much longer, the guests will realize that he is a skilled gambler hired by the hotel.

Just as he finds himself trapped with no good move, someone approaches from behind and pats him on the shoulder.

"I will take over."

When the man sees Solomon, he hesitates before rising. "Forgive me, sir. I truly..."

Solomon waves him off. "You did well."

After taking the seat, Solomon smiles at Henwell. "Mr. Adolf, we meet again."

He then turns to the wealthy woman. "Lady Thatcher, allow me to keep you company today."

Lady Thatcher comes from Ogiro and is the widow of a count.

During the King of Justice's rebellion, his forces stormed the count's castle and slaughtered the count's entire family.

Lady Thatcher initially expected the authorities in Diversion Bay to seek justice for her. Instead, its dignitaries arranged for people with the faintest blood connection to the count to seize the estate.

Lady Thatcher then sold all her property and traveled to Peace Haven with a large quantity of gold.

After investing tens of thousands of gold coins there, the political situation shifted and Peace Haven came under attack from three countries.

She sold her holdings once again and took more than one hundred thousand gold coins to Ika.

Within a few years, Lady Thatcher built another fortune and became a renowned magnate in Namwon City.

Henwell knows that the Lady Thatcher before him is the Grand Princess, or rather, the Lady of Calamity.

The Lady of Calamity must have used fate weaving to claim this identity after Lady Thatcher arrived in Ika.

Lady Thatcher had been one of the few foreign investors in Peace Haven, and Henwell met her there in person.

He is certain that, at the time, she was merely an ordinary wealthy old woman.

If someone could deceive Henwell so completely on his own territory, he would have been dead long enough for grass to grow over his grave.