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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Gemstone Jacks
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The atmosphere at the snack party had gone as quiet as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over it.
Even with music playing, the whispers were so faint that it felt utterly silent.
Diana had stormed out sobbing her heart out, leaving everyone awkwardly picking at their treats.
Of course they were treading carefully—one of the girls in my closest circle had just fled in tears.
'At this rate, I'll only dig myself deeper with Mother-in-Law.'
Social gatherings fell under the lady of the house's domain. The Grand Duchess and I were supposed to be perfectly in sync entertaining the guests, but I'd gone and stirred up chaos.
If word of this reached Elena Hadellus?
She might shoot me a look of utter disdain, thinking, 'No wonder things have been so quiet lately.'
'Can't have that!'
Determined to wrap up this gathering on a high note, I reached into my bag and pulled out my secret weapon.
A few days earlier.
"What's that?"
I tilted my head, watching Hanna, Vivian, and Shuri giggling as they fooled around.
It looked like a die at first glance, but unlike a standard six-sided one, this had thirteen faces.
Each face bore a number, and the board beside it listed actions corresponding to those numbers.
Hanna rolled the die across her palm and explained.
"Oh, it's this dice game that's popular among commoners. Amy told us about it."
Amy was the stable master's daughter.
"You roll it and do whatever action comes up. It's pretty fun."
"The forfeits depend on who sets the rules, so it changes every time. Want to see?"
Shuri held out the number board, adding her own explanation. I scanned the penalties carefully.
Do three forward rolls. Write your name with your butt. Sing a song. Give a snack to whoever jumps the farthest. Assign toilet cleaning duty. And so on.
All of them designed to embarrass or prank whoever drew them.
Come to think of it, in my previous life, there were games where you rolled dice to decide how much to drink.
'Guess it's not so different here.'
No computers or smartphones like back then, but they weren't short on ways to have fun.
"Sounds entertaining."
The moment I showed interest in the dice, Shuri pulled five stones from her pocket.
"If the dice game seems tricky, this stone game is fun too."
"Huh? That's..."
"It's called Petra. You scatter the stones on the floor and pick them up one by one like this."
Right. I knew it. It was the game called jacks—or five stones—in my past life.
I fiddled with the stones in my hand, lost in thought. Noble pastimes were all chess or card games.
In other words, nothing but brain-teasing stuff. No simple hand games like this.
'Chess and cards can be a bit tough for kids to get into.'
Kids grew best by running around and playing. Grown-up games that required sitting still and thinking could wait.
'If I just made them a bit smaller, they'd be perfect to play with the children.'
Even if it was a commoner's game, fun was fun. A more refined design here would definitely get a good reaction.
The flower festival was coming up soon, drawing lots of young ladies and heirs. Perfect chance to play.
And as souvenirs on top of that? The response would be great.
I spoke up as if struck by a brilliant idea.
"Vivian, could you make a bunch of these Petra sets? A little smaller."
"How many?"
"Enough to gift one to every guest at the snack party."
"Pardon?"
Vivian's eyes went wide at the sudden talk of gifting them to guests. And when I continued—
"Best if you make them out of gems."
"Excuse me?!"
Hanna and Shuri couldn't help blurting it out too.
I dumped the jacks onto the table, instantly drawing everyone's eyes.
The neatly faceted gems in a rainbow of colors sparkled brilliantly atop the surface.
I'd deliberately mixed the hues to appeal to children, so they naturally caught attention.
"Are these the gems you bought recently?"
A young lady seated nearby finally mustered the courage to speak. I beamed back at her.
"This is a game tool called Petra. I was thinking about what fun thing we could all do together today, so I had some made."
"Petra?"
The young lady cocked her head, unfamiliar with the name. Just then, a young heir beside her piped up knowingly.
"Petra? Isn't that a commoners' game? I remember seeing the stable hand picking up stones to play it."
The heir's displeasure was obvious at a glance. His tone dripped with, You're seriously suggesting a peasants' game here?
Those eyeing the jacks rolled their eyes at his words. Some even lost interest, murmuring to their neighbors.
What the—troublemakers showing up right out of the gate.
Griping inwardly, I plastered on a smile and replied.
"You're right. It's a game commoners came up with. They usually pick up stones to play."
"So why bring something like that? We've got chessboards and cards right here."
"Exactly. No need for us to play peasants' games."
The heir took the lead, and others chimed in one by one.
I wasn't surprised by the vibe—I just shrugged lightly.
Hook one person, and the rest would follow. Besides, I hadn't brought this just for kicks.
"Hmm, is that so? Too bad. I had them specially made."
With a look like Someone please bite, I put on a crestfallen expression. The first young lady spoke up.
"I'll give it a try. Looks fun."
And sure enough, she grabbed the jacks and started rolling them clumsily.
She clearly had no clue about the rules. I was about to explain when—
"I'll join too. I think I've played before."
Akied jumped in.
"Oh! That'll make it easier to explain."
Three was just right for a demo. Once we started, the onlookers would get hooked—I was sure of it.
"Great. Normally it's best with four, split into teams of two, but with three, individual matches work...
I was just about to outline the Petra rules simply when—
"I wondered what bizarre game the Young Grand Duchess was playing, but of course—Grand Duke Heir taught you."
The same heir who'd griped about it being a commoners' game earlier narrowed his eyes, oozing disdain.
He'd introduced himself as Max of the Donald Count family during roll call.
Max or Donald Duck, whatever—I couldn't tolerate him openly insulting Akied's background.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
I shot a glare at the heir who'd lobbed the sniper shot.
He clearly knew Akied had lived like a commoner for thirteen years and was picking at it.
Max feigned nonchalance as I bristled.
"Oh, I just meant it's a shame to waste such fine gems on a game like that."
Who're you fooling?
Max spoke leisurely, as if I was overreacting. But his eyes plainly looked down on both me and Akied.
'Ugh, I was hoping to weed out the hellmouths, but why do so many people mess with my Akied?'
I could stomach jabs at me, but not at Akied. Arms crossed, chin raised, I tore into Max.
"Young Master Donald, are you implying the Hadellus family is so strapped for cash that we can't spare a few gems?"
"P-Pardon? N-No!"
Max startled, shaking his head vigorously.
He clearly hadn't expected me to invoke Hadellus. He added an excuse.
"I-I didn't mean that. It's just... the Grand Duke Heir seemed so familiar with Petra..."
"And that sounds an awful lot like mocking my husband's origins."
I called him out directly, and Max's face drained white.
He seemed thrown by my blunt style—nobles preferred veiled barbs.
He must not have known Roena's rep as the hellmouth.
This was mild for me, yet he was already spooked.
"Hadellus Castle has more gems than we know what to do with, Young Master Donald—no need for your concern. And my husband is the Hadellus Grand Duke family's heir, worth far more than any gem."
"S-Sor-Sorry! I absolutely didn't mean..."
"Don't say you didn't mean it. Unless you want to claim I'm the one bullying you over nothing."
My icy tone had the heir stammering apologies.
As the mood chilled again, I sighed heavily and added by way of explanation.
"Besides, I didn't bring this for some trivial commoners' game. Hanna, bring it over."
"Yes, Little Madam."
Hanna, waiting at my side, bowed politely and hurried out.
Moments later, she wheeled in a cart stacked with small boxes.
Each bore the Hadellus crest. Max looked baffled, so I opened one.
Inside lay a full Petra set crafted from gems, nestled like fine jewelry—complete with the Hadellus crest engraved.
Each jack featured a laurel leaf cradling a snowflake like wings, inlaid with gold.
The craftsmanship screamed luxury at first glance.
I adjusted the angle for a better view and flashed a sweet smile.
"As you can see, these are my gifts to today's honored guests."
"Th-These gems... for everyone here?"
"Naturally."
Max stuttered, and I snorted in reply.
"Though Young Master Donald, who looks down on commoners' games, probably has no use for one."
It was only a matter of time before Max's face turned to stone.
