It was truly neck and neck.
It feels a bit dizzy when you use your brain after a long while.

"Not bad, Ciel."
"You too, thief."
"...You really don't know a thing about me, do you?"

The thief left a cryptic remark.
While I was still bewildered, the thief made the first move.
"Could you stop calling me 'thief', and just call me Ruby instead?"

The thief—well, Ruby—said.
It probably wasn't her real name.
The infamous thief would not give it to anyone that easily.

An alias, then.
I felt like I was being lured into her pace, but there was nothing I could do.
This was her home turf, after all.

Nevertheless, I had to win and reclaim the pendant.
Only then could I return the item to the banquet host and collect the bounty.
I couldn't let such a happy story go up in flames just because I lost a single game.

“Alright, Ruby. Let's end this tedious history between us once and for all.”
Yes. If only this could end that easily...
Somehow, I had an ominous feeling that there was something else I didn't know about.