I took a small sip from the glass of water I had poured and looked at John.
"Aren't you going to start?"
He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back slightly.
"No, no… I'll bring the cards right now."
I crossed one leg over the other and leaned further back into the armchair.
While John opened a drawer in his desk and stared at something inside it, I watched him quietly. I was about to rise and approach him when he finally withdrew a deck of cards and closed the drawer.
I simply leaned back deeper into the chair.
John sat directly opposite me on another armchair. Between us stood only a low wooden table with a glass top.
John calmly shuffled the cards in his hands—up and down, over and under—when he suddenly placed the deck on the table and slid it toward me.
"Here… please shuffle them."
I raised my head slightly and stared at him.
"Me? I have to shuffle them?"
He looked at me calmly, interlaced the fingers of both hands, and said,
"Yes. You must shuffle them yourself. It makes the divination more accurate and personal."
I nodded slowly and reached for the deck—when John added,
"And one more thing… before you shuffle, please clearly state your question in your mind."
I drew a slow breath and closed my eyes to formulate my question.
"What path am I currently on, and where does its root lie?"
After settling the question in my mind, I opened my eyes and began shuffling the cards.
When I finished, I placed the deck back in the centre of the table, directly in front of John.
He had been drinking from a glass of water. The moment he saw me set the deck down, he lowered the glass and placed it on the table.
He stared at the deck for a moment, then said,
"Please cut the deck, Your Grace."
I looked at him in confusion.
"What should I do?"
He gestured toward my left hand.
"With your left hand, divide the deck into two parts, then place them side by side."
In truth, I vaguely remembered something like this—but not clearly enough to do it on my own. After his instruction, though, it came back to me.
With my left hand, I split the deck roughly in half and set the two stacks beside each other.
John gave a gentle smile, then spread the cards in a semicircle across the table.
"Choose three cards with focus. The first card on the left represents your past. The middle card represents your present. The card on the right represents your future."
Without looking at the faces, I selected three cards with my right hand and placed them in front of me in the order he described.
Then I stared at John.
He still wore that calm smile and watched my movements with quiet attention.
He drew a slow breath.
"Well, Your Grace… which card would you like to see first?"
I gave a small smile.
"In the original order."
He reached for the leftmost card—the one representing my past—and turned it over.
When the card was revealed, his gentle smile slowly faded.
I stared at it and raised an eyebrow.
I had no idea what it meant—but what was clear was that my past was represented by card number 0 of the Crossings deck: The Misty Wanderer.
John coughed once, then turned over the second card—the present.
This time I didn't pay attention to his reaction. I only looked at the card and its number: 11—The Faceless Judge.
My surprise came mostly from the names. They were different. Similar in spirit to the Major Arcana, perhaps—but likely very different in meaning.
I was still lost in thought about the names when I noticed John still staring at The Faceless Judge.
In a normal tone I asked,
"Is something wrong, Professor Smith?"
John suddenly lifted his head and looked at me. He gave a few dry coughs, then said,
"N-no… nothing. I was just… a little surprised, that's all."
I was certain something was wrong—or at the very least, he was hiding something.
But I only smiled and said,
"Shall you turn over the future card yourself, or should I do it?"
He lifted his head higher and stared at me. His smile returned.
"I'll do it."
John reached for the rightmost card—the one representing my future—and turned it over.
When it was revealed, even I felt a moment of confusion.
Number nine of the Crossings deck: The Lost Path.
My lips parted slightly.
John stared at the card for a moment, then—smiling through what sounded like shallow, controlled breaths—said,
"Would you like to hear the interpretation of each card one by one… or a general reading?"
But I rose from the armchair and stood straight.
"No… I only wanted to see the cards themselves. There's no need for interpretation or explanations of their meanings."
John—seeing me stand—rose as well.
But the moment he heard my words, that gentle smile returned to his face.
"However… that would be a mistake. When someone comes this far in a reading, it is better to know the interpretation as well."
Without paying any attention to John Smith's words, I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me.
I headed toward the university staircases to descend and return to the carriage—and from there, back to the manor.
A few minutes later…
After getting back into the carriage, it began moving toward the manor.
Finally, I could return and test another variant of the Sleepiness spell.
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A few minutes had passed since Elias left John Smith's office—but John still stood motionless in the centre of the room, staring at the closed door.
There was no smile on his lips now.
The evening sunlight fell in such a way that half his face and body were cast in shadow.
He tilted his head slightly and whispered under his breath,
"So… the past is The Misty Wanderer and the future is The Lost Path…? How amusing…"
He walked slowly toward his desk. His hands were clenched tightly.
He muttered under his breath,
"The Lost Path… ridiculous… ridiculous!!"
He gritted his teeth and continued,
"That duke… either he's an idiot, or he's never read a divination book in his life…"
He slammed one hand against his forehead.
"Otherwise… how could he not realize that The Faceless Judge refers to me…?"
John let out a controlled shout and swept everything off his desk with one violent motion.
Still grinding his teeth, he said,
"Only two more days until the seal is broken… Then I'll prove to you that…"
He paused. The smile slowly returned to his face.
"…the interpretation of the cards… could have brought you so close to destroying me!!"