Miss Witch, it's time to clean up the entries

Chapter 156: Shocking Card Skills
As night falls and the lights come on, the Blueberry Manor is brightly lit.

Inside the manor's banquet hall, servants were busy setting up the venue. A thick red carpet stretched from the entrance to the depths of the hall, with long tables and chairs with exquisite carvings placed on both sides.

The table was covered with a fine brocade tablecloth, and a variety of delicious dishes were displayed on gold-rimmed plates. Flowers and candlesticks complemented each other and emitted a faint fragrance.

The blazing fire in the fireplace spreads warm light to every corner, making the entire banquet hall look solemn yet warm.

Nobles from the Rose Territory and Yusofa arrived one after another. Their clothes were complicated and gorgeous. The men wore robes with gold edges, and the women wore Anna skirts that were becoming popular in the empire at that time, and wore exquisite flower crowns and sparkling jewelry.

They greeted each other, toasted each other, and waited for the arrival of an important person.

Until Lee En appeared with his beautiful mistress Nancy Stuart, the whole audience's attention was focused on them.

Whether it is Li En or Nancy Stuart, both of them have the appearance and unique charm that can make 90% of people surrender.

Nancy Stuart also wore an Anna-style long dress, which was gorgeous and solemn, showing her noble status as the hostess of the manor.

Li En's tuxedo also comes from the anonymous designer Anne. The style is still very exaggerated, but paired with his handsome face, it gives people a complementary feeling, making him look more like a nobleman.

"Good evening, Lord Li En."

"Good evening, Mrs. Nancy."

"Good evening, my Lord Baron."

"Baroness, you are as beautiful as ever."

Li En responded to everyone's greetings one by one. Most of these people were his clients, so he naturally gave them 100% enthusiasm.

Just two days ago, Baron Rosa and his family, except for Master, whose skin was skinned by Melinda and made into a hat, were successfully sent to the Green Shade Territory.

Father Simo said that such escort work can be provided more often and the church is willing to provide shelter to the poor people who are about to encounter war.

This also gave other nobles hope.

At the same time, the arrival of the new Secretary of War, Glennan Doyle, also indicates that the war will break out soon.

This increases their sense of urgency.

Just as they surrounded Li En and admired his gorgeous dress, a servant came to announce that Lady Mary and Lord Glennan Doyle had arrived.

So, Li En and the nobles went to the door to greet them. The latter was the protagonist of today's banquet, and the former was the southern overlord that no one wanted to offend.

Mary walked into the banquet hall arm in arm with Glennan Doyle.

Mary looked elegant in a black dress, and Glennan Doyle matched her perfectly in a black tuxedo.

If someone doesn't know the inside story, they might even compliment the man for being talented and the woman for being beautiful.

But in reality, Glennan Doyle only liked men.

The reason why Mary gave Glennan Doyle so much face was entirely because the Doyle family was the richest family in Rose Territory. The magic railway tracks were in the hands of the Doyle family, and Glennan Doyle's father was the owner of the railway company.

Glennan Doyle's appointment as Minister of War for the Rose Territory this time was purely for gilding his reputation and to prepare for becoming an important official of the empire in the future.

Although the Doyle family is not one of the seven creed families, they are as wealthy as the Jackson family once was.

They always maintained a friendly relationship with Mary and were keen on charity. Many relief homes, monasteries and churches in Rose County were built by the Doyle family.

The taxes paid by their family accounted for 90% of the total taxes in Rose Territory and were the main source of Mary's income.

Therefore, even Mary would give face to the Doyle family.

As for the Minister of War, Mary was confident that it would be of no consequence to anyone in the position. It was just a small Blue Moon Territory. The Rose Army was a well-trained war force. Could they possibly lose to that hastily formed mob?
As long as the Simmons family in the south does not participate, the winning rate of this war is as high as 90%. With Li En's surrender, the winning rate reaches 99.99%.

No matter how capable Catherine was, she was just a rookie who had just entered politics and knew nothing about military affairs. How could she compare with Mary?

Glennan Doyle, in his view, was merely a formality, a gilded position for his own war. Did he really need the heir of the Doyle family to risk his life for him? It was just a joke. It was just a small Rose Collar, not worth his attention. He was the man who would one day stand on the highest political stage of the empire.

Mary's face was filled with confidence and composure, and Glennan Doyle's face was filled with the same confidence and composure.

The two walked in together, equally radiant. If Lee En and Nancy Stuart attracted everyone with their looks, then they exuded the scent of power and money and possessed an innate temperament of superiors.

One is the ambitious Creed family Frank, representing the old aristocracy with a long history; the other is the ambitious wealthy family Doyle, representing the hopeful new aristocracy.

Compared to Li En, the upstart of the empire, Glennan Doyle had already won the title of upstart of the empire 10 years ago.

Therefore, Glennan Doyle does not need to take Li En seriously at all.

At first, he entered the banquet hall with an arrogant attitude until he saw Lee En Moriah.

"Lady Mary, Lord Glennan Doyle, welcome."

Li En said with a smile, and Nancy Stuart lifted her skirt and bowed slightly to the two of them to express her welcome.

Mary nodded slightly.

Glennan Doyle was stunned, surprised by Li En's appearance.

He hadn't seen such a handsome man for a long time, and he was young enough.

The only drawback is that this handsome man already has a beautiful woman by his side.

Even Glennan Doyle, a man who didn't like women, admired Nancy Stuart's beauty.

Even so, this still increased Li En's favorability in Glennan Doyle's heart.

He is a visualist.

"Lord Li En Moriah, thank you for hosting this banquet. It allowed me to feel the flavor of home even though I was in a foreign land."

Glennan Doyle said with a smile, he put away his arrogance and became polite.

Mary and Nancy Stuart seemed to realize something. They looked at each other silently and smiled without saying anything.

As the dinner began, the melody of the orchestra slowly sounded, and the dancers stepped onto the dance floor, spinning and jumping to the rhythm of the music.

Amid the clinking of silver wine glasses and laughter, Li En led Glennan Doyle to the exhibition area.

Here is a private collection left by a baron, a set of collectible Empire cards and two special cards.

One is a regional card belonging to the Green Shade Territory, and the other is an item card belonging to the Fire Witch.

This made Glennan Doyle's already good mood even better.

He looked at the two special cards in surprise.

"Lord Moriah, I didn't expect you to like playing Empire cards and be a good collector. How did you get these two cards?"

"Oh, speaking of these two cards, they were indeed an unexpected gain. Baron Rosa gave them to me before leaving Yusofa to thank me for everything I did for them."

Li En was not lying, he was just exaggerating.

In fact, Baron Rosa did not give the cards to him on purpose, but he was forced to leave his property to him.

"So that's how it is. That proves that you and these two cards are connected. Look, the Green Shade Territory card. Aren't you the lord of the Green Shade Territory?"

Glennan Doyle said with a smile.

"I don't deny that. This is a special fate."

Li En responded with a smile. If he didn't know that the other person was gay, Li En's smile would be more natural.

And now, he felt like sitting on pins and needles.

I always feel that the other person is coveting my beauty.

"Want to play a game of Empire, you and me?"

Glennan Doyle suggested, his addiction to cards coming to him at the sight of the special cards.

"That won't do. Are you trying to exclude us?"

Mary smiled and said, "I want to join in too."

"Of course, Lady Mary, you're always welcome. I just didn't know you enjoyed playing Empire."

Glennan Doyle said. "Yes, I'm not very good at Empire. I've only dabbled in it a little, so I rarely play Empire in public."

Mary said modestly.

"But your card skills are still top-notch."

Nancy Stuart praised, while also reminding Li En.

Glennan Doyle suddenly became excited when he heard Nancy Stuart say this.
"What else? Let's play a game."

"Okay, then everyone come together. The final winner can get this special prop card."

Li En said generously.

Many nobles who like playing cards are eager to try it.

Soon, a card game consisting of 12 people began.

Alex Poole also participated in it. He hadn't played Empire Cards for a long time because old Moriah didn't like this gambling game. Therefore, the Green Shade Territory nobles catered to his taste and few people played Empire Cards.

Alex Poole picked up Empire again, feeling like he had rediscovered his hobby.

But he was also worried about his own lord, Lee En Moriah. He was an illegitimate child who was raised in a remote country town since childhood. Had he really come into contact with the Imperial card?
Alex Poole was worried that Lee En would make a fool of himself while playing cards, so he sat next to Lee En and explained some basic rules to him.

This made Glennan Doyle a little disappointed. If Li En was just a beginner, then there would not be much fun to play.

Glennan Doyle felt that no one at the card game was his match.

He had hoped that Li En was a master, but now it seemed that his hopes would be dashed.

Maybe the prop cards will easily fall into your hands.

Although the ending is good, the process lacks challenge and is boring.

Nancy Stuart did not play cards, she acted as a beautiful dealer and was responsible for dealing the cards.

"Beautiful Miss Nancy, you can't favor Master Li En just because you are his mistress."

A noble quipped.

Nancy Stuart smiled. "Will the adults blame me for this?"

"Of course not. Miss Nancy's beauty is enough to make everyone forgive any of your actions."

This greasy aristocratic man expressed what most people were thinking.

"Don't worry, my lords. I will be absolutely fair. After all, I'm not good at playing Empire cards either."

Nancy Stuart said, "Besides, Lady Mary is still here. Who dares to play tricks in front of Lady Mary?"

The nobles agreed with Nancy Stuart and couldn't wait to start the first card game.

Soon, one-third of the nobles were eliminated.

Alex Poole comforts Li En,
"Master Li En, it's okay. Newbies always have good luck, and sometimes you might even make it to the end. You just need to stay calm and steady, and don't rush."

Li En looked at Alex Poole with complicated eyes.

"Thank you, Alex, you gave me some good advice. I think I will stick to it."

Nancy Stuart recalled the famous scene where the maids in the manor were killed by Lee En and were left with nothing but their underwear, and silently glanced at Alex Poole.

He knew nothing about his lord.

Another five minutes passed, and half of the players were eliminated, including Alex Poole.

Alex Poole looked at Li En apologetically.

"Master Li En, I'm sorry, I may not be able to protect your witch card for you."

"It's okay, it's just a game, no need to blame yourself so much."

Li En patted Alex Poole on the shoulder.

The other nobles also believed that Li En was able to hold on until now entirely due to the luck of a newcomer playing cards.

Glennan Doyle felt a little bored. The only interesting thing was probably Mary. She was not as bad at playing cards as rumored. Judging from her skills, she looked more like a veteran.

Sure enough, outstanding people can show excellent qualities in all aspects.

Glennan Doyle looked at Mary with even greater admiration.

Ten minutes later, nine more people were eliminated, and among the 9 people, only Mary, Glennan Doyle and Li En were left.

"Things suddenly got interesting."

Glennan Doyle smiled and said, "Lord Li En, you are very lucky."

Li En smiled. He felt that the one who was really lucky should be Mary.

Mary probably has a good trump card, which is why she can be so comfortable with it.

Glennan Doyle's card skills are indeed very good, and it is impossible to tell what cards he is holding.

Now Li En faces a problem.

Do you want to beat Mary?

This is like an eternal dilemma: whether to play business mahjong.

Mary is now equivalent to a "partner" with leadership characteristics and is someone who needs to be "pleased" temporarily.

But the most important thing for Li En in this banquet and organizing the card game was not to "please" Mary, but Glennan Doyle.

If you lose the game now, everyone will think that you just relied on beginner's luck to get here and have no real ability.

This would greatly reduce Glennan Doyle's points and would not be conducive to making friends.

But if he wins, it might leave a bad impression on Mary.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lee En decided to win over Glennan Doyle, but lose to Mary.

This is a great test of the player's skills. Fortunately, he has become a "natural poker player" in the shortest time.

After the first round of cards, Mary became the winner, and Glennan Doyle lost to Li En, which shocked all the nobles.

Lee En's trump card is not only not good enough, it is also very bad.

So the fact that he persisted to the end was not luck at all, but real strength.

"Lord Moriah, I didn't expect your card skills to be so good. Your cards are obviously worse than mine."

Glennan Doyle said incredulously.

He didn't care about losing to Mary, after all, he also needed to play business mahjong.

But he never expected to lose to Li En.

"Oh my god, Lord Li En is so good at playing the Empire card."

"Lord Li En played this game beautifully. Although Lady Mary won in the end, Lady Mary's cards were very good to begin with. A truly great poker player is like Lord Li En, who can turn a bad hand into something special."

"Lord Li En always brings us surprises."

Amid the nobles' admiration, Li En gave the Witch Card to Mary and said to Glennan Doyle,
"It's okay, Lord Glennan. You still have a chance to win this Green Shade Territory card from me."

"Things are getting interesting."

Glennan Doyle's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he felt the pleasure of having met his match.

Mary also considerately stated that she would not participate in the next round of competition.

(End of this chapter)