Empress of the Sea|✔️

Chapter 32

***

Sehyun did not expect Aeryn to hold her own in a game of poker without any of her companions peeking over and providing help. Then again, she mentioned something about being a sailing master, a master of mathematics and cartography, during the game.

The sun had already gone down, both of them had gone to the bathroom multiple times after downing mugs and glasses of various drinks. The drinks were its own game of roulette. Neither Sehyun nor Aeryn knew which drink they had picked up or if it was alcoholic or not.

All nine people seated at the table had reached a different level of tiredness. Aeryn's side of the table showed much more exhaustion than Sehyun's side.

"Captain," Suzy whispered. "We should not waste time on her. She would never bet her ship. When I went for a walk, I noticed their ship needed repairs."

Sehyun threw her a drunk smile. "Waste? I'm having fun, so why use the word waste?"

Giving up, Suzy exited the casino entirely, aware of Iona's gaze upon her. She wanted to speak with her, but Suzy would rather keep silent to help her captain. He had a tendency to not be able to count or calculate numbers when there was noise near him. The background noise of the casino was fine, though.

The captain was an interesting person to study. An odd specimen if compared to the rest of humanity.

"I call your bluff," Aeryn slurred, a bit louder than necessary. "You are lying!"

Sehyun smacked a hand on the table in a way that seemed comedic to Aeryn. Instead of forming words, he simply grunted and rolled another poker chip to the centre of the table.

"Stop with your lies!"

Juele and Reyna seemed genuinely troubled by Aeryn's loud voice, so they discreetly left the casino, Iona following them. The quartermaster had nothing else to do, but joining Juele and Reyna seemed a much more intriguing thing than sitting at a poker table.

Noticing all the teenagers leave, Illorin sat in his seat with a certain distaste of the situation.

The situation had turned so grim that Sehyun had taken off his mask and gloves.

"Do you want to leave?" asked Maya.

Illorin nodded as he stood, his chair squeaking and rumbling with an awkward sound that earned Aeryn and Sehyun's glare. They didn't realize they were practically the same person when drunk.

Which begged another question. How did they manage to play poker under influence? Was the game simply engraved into their minds?

Maya politely excused herself to follow Illorin out of the casino. She wanted to speak with Juele. They had been separated during the attack on the engagement function without closure.

They needed to figure out what they were going to do with the royal wedding and war at stake.

The hint of war was a variable that Sehyun had taken to luxury to explain to her. It wasn't her father, King Djord who had told her so.

Erel's calm demeanour stuck out like a sore thumb, so she followed them out of the casino as well.

Now, Aeryn and Sehyun shifted until they were comfortable again.

"Finally," Aeryn said with a belch. "I was waiting for those cowards to filter out."

Sehyun tilted his head to agree. "I know. None of them truly understand the essence of poker."

Both of them picked up their mugs--which were full of beer this time--and chugged the contents as fast as they could. It seemed Aeryn was the better drinker.