Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: A Game of Chess
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"Do you happen to know the name of my palace?"
Tilt.
"It's Esthas. It means summer."
Nod, nod.
Nihil nodded repeatedly, as if committing it to memory.
Of course, Lawrence couldn't be certain that communication was happening properly, but he was thrilled just to have brought Nihil to his own palace.
Even if it was only for a brief visit, what mattered was that Nihil was now separated from Lianus and here with him.
Aidan was sure to pester noisily if kept nearby, so he'd simply sent him away.
The servant from the 2nd Prince's Palace who hadn't followed was a slight concern, but Nihil was already here. Even if Lianus found out, it wouldn't matter.
"If Lianus comes visiting, tell him I'm not receiving anyone."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"...And don't tell Mother. I'll speak to her myself."
"Understood."
After giving those instructions to the servants, Lawrence led Nihil onward. The palace was busy at the moment, so fewer servants were paying attention than usual.
"The palace is a bit disordered, isn't it?"
Nod.
"It's because my birthday is coming up soon."
"...?"
Nihil tilted his head to the side. Lawrence's birthday was Lianus's as well, yet the 2nd Prince's Palace had been unusually quiet.
"The 2nd Prince's Palace is quiet, isn't it?"
Nod, nod, nod.
"That figures. Our birthday is also the death anniversary of the previous lady of the 2nd Prince's Palace, Natura Consort."
"..."
Death anniversaries were none of his concern. He had no interest in the dead. Nor any desire to commemorate a death.
'Come to think of it, she said the kid turns eight in summer... I completely forgot. That was a close call.'
He should have looked into it ahead of time, but his rotten memory had nearly left him without a birthday gift prepared.
Nihil grabbed Lawrence's hand and shook it up and down, meaning thanks for letting him know.
"...You mustn't touch a royal so freely... No, never mind. Do as you please."
Nihil nodded without hesitation. He would've done so anyway, even if told not to.
"Is there anything you'd like as a gift?"
Nihil tilted his head at the question, then pointed at Lawrence's earring.
"...That's not an option. I'll give you other jewels."
Shake, shake.
"Then... I'll have one made like this. This one's special to me..."
"..."
As Nihil deliberately pouted his lips and peered up at him, Lawrence panicked and changed tack.
"L-Let's go to my playroom. If there's anything you want there, feel free to take it."
The 1st Prince gave him a tour of the playroom like that. But it was filled with achromatic tones and strategic board games fit for adults, making a mockery of being a seven-year-old's space.
'Lianus didn't have a ton of toys either, but at least they were varied...'
"...Do you know how to play any of these?"
Seeming embarrassed himself at how difficult they all looked, Lawrence added,
"If there's something you want to play with, I'll have it fetched."
Shake, shake.
He looked ready to hound the servants into getting anything needed, so Nihil simply shook his head and pointed to the chessboard.
"You know how to play chess?"
Nod.
"Perfect."
Lawrence hurriedly gathered the chessboard. Nihil had probably only recently learned, so he wouldn't be much of an opponent—but it was still better than standing around blankly now that they were in the playroom.
To keep from boring him by winning nonstop, he figured he'd throw the first game. With that in mind, Lawrence personally set up the board.
"Pick your color. I'll even yield first move if you take black."
Nihil pointed to the white pieces nearby. Lawrence promptly arrayed the white pieces before him.
Once everything was in place, Nihil moved a pawn right away. It was just the opening, so Lawrence moved without much deliberation.
Click, click, click.
The chess pieces advanced without pause. Around the third turn, Lawrence hesitated for the first time—but only briefly.
Click, click.
"..."
Nihil moved without a moment's delay. As the game wore on, Lawrence's pace slowed more and more, while Nihil's hands never wavered.
Lawrence did wonder if he truly grasped the rules and was playing properly, but every move was legal, so he said nothing.
"..."
Lawrence's pieces fell one by one. Any thought of throwing the first game had long since vanished.
Right before he could move to snag the queen, Nihil blocked his hand.
"Why?"
Nihil pointed at Lawrence's king. Now that he looked—it was check.
"..."
He had no intention of resenting Nihil for not calling it aloud. It was customary, sure, but Nihil couldn't speak anyway, and Lawrence hadn't expected it.
Still, failing to notice he was in check came as quite the shock. Losing like that would've been mortifying.
Lawrence quickly scanned the board. His own pieces blocked the king's paths; no good moves.
'Knight to capture his piece, but the queen's waiting... Better sacrifice the bishop? No, he'd check again next turn...'
A few more lines of calculation yielded no escape. Lawrence grew flustered. Had it actually been checkmate?
Then Nihil spun the board around. And moved one of his black pieces.
"...?"
Perplexed, Lawrence still followed the chin gesture urging him on and hesitantly moved a white piece. By his calculations, white should win from here.
But contrary to expectation, the game dragged on neck-and-neck until only the black king remained.
"...Stalemate."
Nod.
"..."
Lawrence was at a loss for words. He'd honestly wondered at first if a proper game would even happen, but this was a total defeat for him.
"I lost."
Shake, shake.
"You want it called a draw?"
Nod.
"But we traded pieces midway."
Without those trades, it'd have been his clear loss. Even with the advantage, it ended in stalemate.
Lianus went around boasting that his dear friend was smart, and apparently, it wasn't wrong.
"...Another game?"
Nod.
Lawrence smiled, pleased despite the loss.
"I'll win this time."
Nod.
But shortly after the new game began, the playroom door burst open. The frantic intruder was none other than his nanny.
"Nanny?"
"Your Highness, Her Highness is coming!"
"...!"
Lawrence's head spun. Why would Mother come suddenly? Had she found out about Nihil? Had the servants reported it after all?
"I told you, Auntie. His Highness the 1st Prince sent me away too and kept that lowly thing..."
Aidan's voice echoed from the hall, filling Lawrence with betrayal. But now wasn't the time for anger.
"Here, come here."
Lawrence tugged the blankly standing Nihil along.
"You can suppress your presence, right?"
Nod.
"Mother will get mad if she sees you. So don't come out, no matter what."
"...So that lowly thing..."
Hurry and get in. Hurry! With Aidan's voice drawing closer, Lawrence's panic peaked. He shoved Nihil into a large toy chest and slammed the lid shut.
In his haste, Nihil's hand got caught in the lid, but Lawrence couldn't ask if he was okay. He shoved the hand in and closed it tight.
Soon after, came a knock.
"Your Highness, I'll buy some time—hurry and tidy up."
Lawrence quickly backed from the chest. He faintly heard the nanny conversing with Mother. He returned Nihil's chair, and rather than fully sorting the chessboard, just piled the captured pieces aside.
"Your Highness, Her Highness has arrived."
The nanny signaled him again. Lawrence swiftly checked his attire, took a deep breath, and called out.
"Mother."
"Louis."
Lawrence subtly lifted the corner of his mouth. Free of worry, yet refined, elegant with dignity.
It was a smile like his mother's.
"What brings you here with such trouble? If you'd called, I'd have come gladly."
"A mother visiting her son can't be called trouble. More importantly..."
Clack. Queen Helia quickly surveyed the playroom. A chess game in progress, but otherwise unchanged.
"Were you alone?"
"Yes."
"Your Highness, where did that Baedong go?"
Aidan jumped in. Lawrence schooled his crumpling expression and replied calmly.
"I sent him back."
"Why?"
"Why...? That's an odd question, Aidan. It almost sounds like I should've kept that lowly thing around."
Aidan averted his eyes at the counter-question. But Lawrence couldn't savor the win in their exchange. He was too anxious Nihil might pop out at "lowly thing."
Fortunately, the chest stayed silent. Suspiciously so.
Lawrence wondered what Nihil was doing in there but didn't stupidly glance over.
Mother picked up the captured black queen beside the board and asked,
"Prince, what were you doing alone after even sending away young master Aidan?"
"...Reviewing a previous game on my own."
"With whom?"
"With Grandfather. It's been so long I don't remember it perfectly, but it suddenly came to mind how easily I lost back then, so I was replaying it to study."
The lies flowed smoothly. He had no choice. Half his life was built on lies.
"You weren't playing chess with that Baedong, were you?"
"...How could someone just learning his letters know strategic games?"
"True enough." Mother chuckled lowly, set down the queen, picked up a black piece on the board, and toppled a white one.
"What a pathetic game."
"..."
'...That was a trap.'
Continuing from there, white was guaranteed to win.
"...I agree."
But Lawrence saw no need to point out what didn't require saying. He quietly agreed to strive harder and cleared the board.
"Why did you bring that vulgar thing here?"
"Ah, there were strange rumors going around, so I brought him to verify. He happened to be alone."
Seemed like a good chance. Lawrence barely restrained his gaze from the chest and smiled brightly again.
He never lied in ways that could be instantly seen through. That was his condition for lying.
"Otherwise, why would I bother bringing something so lowly into my palace?"
The lie kept ballooning. But at some point, Lawrence had started deluding himself that his lies were really truths.
"So, what did you find out?"
"...Nothing major. But the rumors that Baedong had been ill lately seem true."
"And about the Grand Duke?"
"Truth be told... communication wasn't smooth, so I couldn't learn details."
"What a waste of time."
"..."
"Well, as if you could hold a conversation with something so vulgar and dim."
At those words, Lawrence couldn't help glancing toward the chest.
'He's actually smart enough to force a stalemate from a disadvantage...'
"Prince?"
"Yes? ...You're right. I misjudged."
He quickly realized his mistake and looked away.
"Prince, is there something in that chest?"
"No."
Lawrence reflexively denied it, then realized his error.
'I should've asked which chest...!'
But changing his words now would only look more suspicious. He couldn't add anything.
"Helen."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Open that chest."
"It's just a box of blocks, Your Highness."
"How dare you argue?"
"..."
The nanny seemed to be defending him, but it was futile.
"I want to see what my prince has been playing with. Open it."
"..."
"I'll open it, Auntie!"
As the nanny hesitated, Aidan dashed to the chest. Lawrence's face grew stiff, his expression control failing.
Even then, he racked his brain for excuses to avoid punishment.
'Say Baedong snuck in on his own. I sent him back, but he sneaked in again coveting my toys...'
...What was the penalty for sneaking into a palace and touching a prince's belongings?
They wouldn't kill him..., right? He was still young; probably just a beating and banishment.
'Wait, wouldn't that actually work out?'
On second thought, it wasn't bad. Baedong might feel wronged, but give him jewels later...
Really..., would that be okay...?
For some reason, a corner of his heart stung. If those mysterious eyes filled with contempt, then truly...
"Hey, you peasant, you in here?!"
"Ah, no...!"
But before Lawrence could speak,
Creak—!
The chest flew open roughly.