The woman who took Daniel''s hand introduced herself as Lef.

    She didn''t provide anything other than her name, but Daniel wasn''t particularly curious, so he didn''t pry further.

    Having introduced themselves, the two headed to a nearby general store because Daniel, having heard that Lef was involved in a gambling game of poker, suggested buying a deck of cards.

    Lef, who had followed Daniel somewhat bewilderedly, ended up paying for two decks of cards before they returned to the front of the tavern.

    "...Hey."

    Lef looked up at Daniel, not understanding what was going on.

    "Why did you buy the cards? And two decks at that?"

    "If what the lady says is true, then they are cheating over there, aren''t they? That means we can''t beat them the usual way."

    Daniel opened one of the card boxes, pulled out some cards, selected a few, and put the rest back in the box, which he then handed to Lef.

    "Keep these. Consider it a token of good luck."

    Lef took the cards, puzzled, as Daniel slipped the ones he''d taken out into his sleeve.

    While Lef was still wondering about it, Daniel grabbed the doorknob of the tavern and opened it.

    The bustling interior of the tavern unfolded before them.

    Inhaling the faint scent of alcohol and the savory aroma of various snacks, Daniel walked deeper inside.

    Following him, Lef noticed the tavern patrons turning to look at Daniel one by one.

    They were wary of the stranger who had just entered with a woman recently involved in a commotion.

    Behind his sunglasses, Daniel observed them as the tavern owner approached.

    "What brings you here? If you''re some mercenary that lady hired..."

    "Give me a rum. Ah, if you have tequila, make it that."

    The tavern owner was momentarily speechless at Daniel''s calm order.

    Turning to the tavern owner, Daniel smiled affably.

    "Don''t worry. I''m not here to cause trouble. I just came to drink and gamble a bit."

    Realizing he was hired help, the tavern owner looked around the crowd and shouted.

    "Framkol! This guest here wants to play a round!"

    From a secluded table, Framkol, leaning against the wall and stacking chips, looked up.

    His lean figure gave Daniel a thin smile.

    "Suckers are always welcome. Come on over."

    With permission, Daniel approached and pulled out a chair to sit.

    The tavern owner followed and took a seat at the table.

    "First..."

    The tavern owner said.

    "I''m not sure if you''ve heard, but the gambling in our establishment primarily involves poker. There''s also no limit on betting. Nod if you understand."

    Daniel nodded, and the tavern owner slammed a thick pouch on the table.

    Peeking inside, it was full of old chips.

    "Decide how much you want to gamble. I''ll exchange it for chips."

    "Ah. The lady behind me will cover it."

    Lef flinched when she was pointed out.

    Though she knew this was coming, the reality was still unpleasant.

    "How much do you need?"

    "Bet as much as you trust me."

    How could she trust someone she just met? Lef was incredulous, but having come this far, she decided to settle things and opened her wallet.

    "Fine. I''ll bet it all."

    Lef pulled out all the bills from her leather wallet and handed them to the tavern owner.

    The substantial amount surprised the tavern owner, but he calmly accepted it.

    Then, rummaging through his pouch, he pulled out dozens of chips and placed them on Daniel''s table.

    "Here you are."

    Daniel nodded and reached into his pocket.

    "May I make a request?"

    "What is it?"

    Daniel pulled out a box of playing cards from his pocket and handed it to the tavern owner.

    "The lady wishes for fair gambling. She suspects cheating. I don''t quite believe it, but just in case, could you switch to these cards?"

    With no reason to refuse, the tavern owner took the card box.

    After opening the box and checking the cards, he nodded.

    "Looks like you bought these from the next store over. I''ve confirmed they''re not rigged, so let''s use these. Framkol. Any objections?"

    At the tavern owner''s question, Framkol shrugged playfully.

    Daniel realized from this gesture that the cheating Lef spoke of wasn''t about the cards being tampered with.

    If it had been about tampered cards used in poker, they would have tried to prevent the cards from being switched.

    ''What kind of cheating could it be, then?''

    There was no need to rush. He would find out soon enough.

    "Let''s get started, then."

    The tavern owner, signaling the start of the poker game, dealt two cards each to Daniel and Framkol.

    After the initial betting and the flop and turn rounds, it was time for the river.

    At this point, all five cards were on the table, and Daniel checked his hand.

    ''Two pair.''

    In poker, getting two pairs is relatively rare.

    "Oh, Framkol."

    Daniel looked at him with a feigned concern.

    "If I were you, I''d gracefully accept the outcome. Otherwise..."

    Leaning forward, his arms resting on the table, Daniel continued with a smirk.

    "You might end up half a cripple here today."

    At that chilling statement, Framkol, swallowing his pride, could only nod.

    ***

    Meanwhile, Lucy was busy at the staff headquarters, enduring long hours of overtime.

    After finishing all her work, Lucy gathered her documents.

    "Lieutenant Colonel. It''s time to..."

    She almost reflexively looked at the desk and her words trailed off.

    Daniel was not there.

    He had been dispatched as a diplomatic envoy to Vellanos.

    "..."

    The absence of Daniel, who usually made pointless remarks at closing time, left her feeling oddly empty.

    Blinking slowly, Lucy shook her head and got up.

    There was no need to get sentimental over someone who would soon return.

    As Lucy was about to leave the office with her briefcase, she paused.

    Footsteps were coming from the corridor.

    Just as she wondered who it could be, the door opened and Ernst entered.

    "Chief of Staff."

    Lucy saluted, and Ernst, somewhat strained, returned the gesture.

    Feeling the unusual somber mood, Lucy lowered her hand and asked.

    "Chief of Staff, is something wrong?"

    At Lucy''s question, Ernst clenched his teeth and nodded.

    After taking a moment to breathe, Ernst looked at Lucy.

    "Lieutenant Lucy, listen carefully, I''ll only say this once. The diplomatic vessel your superior, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel, was on..."

    Unable to meet Lucy''s eyes, Ernst looked down.

    "...was sunk by a terrorist attack."

    Sunk.

    The weight of that word froze Lucy''s thoughts.

    "Is that... confirmed?"

    It was unlike Ernst, the Chief of Staff, to lie about such matters.

    Lucy''s rational mind knew this very well.

    Yet, her query was like a defense mechanism against the harsh reality.

    With a shaky breath, Ernst nodded, and Lucy''s lips parted slightly.

    In a heavy silence, Lucy finally bowed to Ernst.

    "...I''ll be leaving now."

    Understanding her feelings, Ernst did not hold her back.

    Thus, Lucy left the office, her footsteps echoing in the hallway.

    Her mind was a whirl of memories, merging and scattering.

    In the flow of ever-changing thoughts, Lucy''s breathing became shaky.

    ''Why...''

    Why was the ship Daniel Steiner was on sunk?

    Why was I unaware of it?

    Why am I only finding out now?

    Unable to find answers, Lucy descended the stairs.

    ''I need to ask...''

    She planned to contact an agent in the system to uncover the full story.

    Rushing down the stairs, Lucy stumbled.

    Her ankle twisted, causing her to wobble.

    Quickly grabbing the railing, Lucy crouched to maintain her balance.

    Although she didn''t fall, her breath was even shorter than before.

    Her haste had led to a mistake she wouldn''t usually make.

    With her eyes half-closed and breathing heavily, Lucy slowly closed her eyes.

    In her confused mind, Daniel''s words in front of the staff headquarters surfaced.

    ─ If you''re free this Christmas, we could go together. If you want.

    Daniel''s face, joking about sharing a stollen, was vividly in her mind.

    But Lucy knew.

    With Daniel dead, that Christmas of sharing stollen would never come.

    Biting her lower lip unknowingly, Lucy slowly opened her eyes.

    The emotion in her reddened, teary eyes was closer to anger than sorrow.

    She had a hunch who had ordered the attack on the diplomatic vessel.

    ''If it''s true that the Allied Nations attacked the vessel Daniel was on...''

    Then she could no longer trust Count Kalendra.