22. Taming the Noble Lady(?)
In this world, I had no idea how chess had evolved over time.
But there was an old story that had been floating around the chess community for ages.
"If humanity had to rebuild its knowledge of chess from scratch, would it converge on the same theories we have today?"
The answer was generally yes.
As long as the movement rules for each piece and the size of the board were fixed, the optimal play humans eventually reached would be roughly the same.
After all, we would eventually develop AI.
This world seemed no different.
Isabella's first move was not a pawn, but a knight.
— Tap.
Chess had many opening concepts, but the most common was pushing pawns to seize the center.
Moving the knight instead meant delaying control of the center in favor of observation.
It also implied placing bishops like snipers to slowly pressure the center later.
People who played this move usually fell into one of two categories.
Either they wanted to stay flexible and respond to my moves, or…
"They're just weird."
Hypermodernism.
And I happened to love dismantling this kind of defensive style.
The time limit was fifteen minutes — a rapid game.
Chess had two main formats: rapid and blitz.
Rapid gave fifteen to thirty minutes per game, allowing relatively comfortable calculation.
Blitz ranged from one to five minutes, sometimes even down to seconds per move.
My rapid rating was 2500.
My blitz rating was 3200.
The gap was fairly large, and there was a reason for it.
Blitz left almost no room for AI interference.
Even if a machine calculated the best move, it still took time to see it, move the piece, and execute.
Blitz didn't allow that luxury. Wins and losses were decided in fractions of a second.
It was a realm where human faced human, and that was where I felt comfortable.
"Your turn."
Isabella called out to me after watching me stare blankly into the empty space on my right.
Lady, did she think I didn't know that?
"I was thinking."
"From the very first move?"
This woman had no manners. Who started a game by pressuring the opponent like that?
I had been thinking, though.
Not about what opening move to play, but how I was going to crush her.
— Tap.
I began with a standard response.
The game progressed.
— Tap.
— Tap.
— …Tap.
— Tap.
— ……Tap, tap.
I answered every single one of Isabella's moves within 0.1 seconds.
The moment her hand left the piece, mine followed immediately.
That was my style.
It created pressure on the opponent.
"……"
Even as the pieces moved faster and faster, Isabella began to hesitate.
Her prepared opening had run its course. We were entering the middlegame.
It was an opening I had never seen before, but it wasn't impossible to handle, so I responded appropriately.
Isabella thought for a long time before making her next move.
— Tap.
I didn't hesitate for even a moment.
The key point here was to never look at the board.
I simply turned my head and stared into the empty space on my right, visualizing the position in my mind.
The moment Isabella moved, I responded intuitively.
I had already considered most of her possible replies.
— ………Tap.
— Tap.
— …………………Tap.
— Tap.
When I had first glanced at the board, I thought she was a complete amateur.
She wasn't quite that bad.
She seemed like a solid intermediate player.
Her style, however, was hilarious.
Extremely orthodox and defensive.
Exactly what you'd expect from a noble young lady playing chess.
This was going to be fun to dismantle.
My specialty was dragging opponents down to the very bottom.
"……?"
I played messy, uncertain-looking moves to harass her.
The more I clouded the position, the more useless her preparation became.
Perhaps this was the first time she had encountered this kind of chess as a noble lady.
Since I kept my head turned, I couldn't see her face.
But the time she took to think had doubled.
— ……………………………………Tap.
— Tap.
After repeating this several times, my remaining time was fourteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds.
Isabella's remaining time had dropped to two minutes and seventeen seconds.
The advantage ratio was roughly seven to three in my favor.
She was diligent, but far too defensive.
It felt like stabbing at a stone.
She had tried attacking a few times at the start, but after getting beaten badly, she seemed to sense danger and began retreating.
She wasn't even trying to counterattack anymore — just running away.
"Time to end this."
Just as I thought that—
— …Tap.
Isabella finally moved after a long think, and I was about to respond.
[Um… Oppa?]
What?
Yuna suddenly stopped me.
[Look at this.]
Yuna opened a camera window in my field of view.
"……?"
Hold on.
The screen Yuna showed me displayed Isabella holding a chess piece.
But—
"Is this person… crying right now?"
Tears were welling up in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks.
Her hand holding the piece was trembling violently.
Why… tears…?
I was completely bewildered.
Her lips were tightly pressed together as she cried.
One of my few weaknesses was tears.
Especially tears shed by someone who had tried their best and played sincerely.
"Ah…"
I needed to change my perspective.
Imagine a random elementary school kid suddenly appearing and beating me in a rhythm game.
Not a joke — I might actually cry too.
How humiliating would that be? Getting completely destroyed while playing White.
I wasn't that heartless…
Losing on purpose felt wrong, though.
I would give her a chance. If she found the mistake, she would win. If not—
"Just lose, will you."
In the end, I played a move that looked decent at first glance but was actually terrible.
Two moves later, my rook would be hanging for free.
If Isabella stayed calm, she would spot it…
"… Sniff."
Isabella sniffled quietly and examined the board.
Sigh.
Using her sniffles as background music, I gave her a little more time.
And then—
"!"
She had found it.
Good job. That must have been tough.
We played a few more moves, and I casually dropped another rook.
Then a bishop as well.
The expression was a bit funny, but…
I had somehow succeeded in making my position worse.
The moment calculations showed Isabella had a clear advantage, her shoulders relaxed slightly.
The sniffles gradually faded.
She was so transparent.
Sigh. My mood was ruined.
It was like playing a boxing match only for the opponent to suddenly start crying.
I just wanted to laugh, honestly.
"I lost."
I turned away from the empty space I had been staring at and lowered my head.
Remaining time: fourteen minutes and one second versus twenty-three seconds.
Of course, the result was my defeat.
"Huh? Oh… yeah."
Isabella nodded with a dazed expression.
She looked like she couldn't believe she had won.
I offered both hands for a formal handshake, then stood up.
Crying women were the most exhausting.
I didn't want to say anything at all. It was draining.
Still, for the sake of courtesy, I figured I should say something.
"Your opening was interesting. I've never seen it before."
It looked like she had modified the Reti Opening to her own taste.
But at that moment—
— Whoosh!
Isabella suddenly turned her head, eyes sparkling.
"Right?! How did you know?"
"……?"
"I made that opening myself. I worked really hard on it for a whole year."
Ah, so she had created it.
In that case, it was an Isabella System or something like that.
My evaluation of her changed slightly.
If she had researched and developed it herself, that deserved a higher rating.
She must have studied hard to beat Doloris.
"Leaving the center empty and controlling it indirectly with your pieces…"
"Yes. I could feel the philosophy behind it."
"Really? Doloris would have definitely called it a waste of time and said chess is about the center."
"Yes. It looks fine to me. Keep going. Good luck."
Trailblazers always had it rough. It was the same in our world.
Stay strong, Isabella.
After soothing her with sweet words, I slowly backed away.
I didn't want to get involved any further.
"I'll be going now…"
"What did you say your name was? Which family are you from?"
I was stopped in my tracks.
"……Lionel. I don't have a family."
"Huh? Are you a knight?"
"Not even that."
It was awkward to explain the relationship.
Doloris hadn't told me to say anything or keep quiet, so I decided to stay silent.
"Oh, right. Do you have any suggestions for improving the opening?"
"I lost. What would I have to say?"
"True. I won, didn't I? Do you have any questions?"
"……"
This person was strange.
I quietly closed my mouth and tried to resume my workout.
Her first impression had been quite sharp, but…
She talked way too much.
She seemed used to people not answering her, because she just kept chattering beside me.
"Haa…"
"So what you're saying is, it's better to wait and see the situation before developing the bishop, right?"
"Yes… So delaying it a bit would be good…"
"No, then… what about this instead?"
She kept talking to me throughout my entire workout.
She seemed genuinely interested, so I couldn't just brush her off.
Answering while thinking and trying to give proper replies was exhausting.
"Haa…"
"Sorry for talking so much? But why are you doing this crude exercise?"
She pointed at my jump rope.
"Huff… I need to work out…"
"Judging from how you play chess and think, you'd make a perfect mage."
"I have no talent for magic."
After finishing about three sets and collapsing on the floor, Isabella squatted beside me and asked,
"If I refine the opening more, can I come ask you again? I want to ask about things I don't understand."
"I'm just a beginner. Why do you keep asking me?"
"Yeah, I did win… Hmm…"
— Clap.
She clapped her hands and added,
"It's an exchange of information. Chess information exchange. As you know, nobles need chess, right? You'll need it when you debut in high society later. Also, I can teach you magic. How about that?"
"……"
First, I wasn't a noble.
Second, it was tempting, but…
Sorry, but I was a blacksmith.
There was a reason I was working out so desperately right now.
Magic really wasn't for me.
"I don't have any interest in magic. Aren't you leaving?"
Just go already.
"Doloris hasn't come back, so I can't leave. She hid the gloves… Ah! That's not something you need to know."
"……"
Mom, help me.
But Mom was probably too busy gathering ores to come save me.
So I had no choice but to listen to her chatter for another two hours.
After finishing the intense training, I lay sprawled on the floor, saving even the energy to breathe.
"Good work. Are you done?"
"……"
"But talking with you is fun. Everyone else disappears so quickly."
For a moment, I almost got angry just hearing the first part, but the second part made me feel sorry for her.
This person was weird. Really weird.
For three hours, I had been forced to explain every single opening I used.
It was incredibly rude and annoying, but there was no malice behind it.
"If you're done, let's play another game…"
"……"
I finally understood why Ruby had run away and disappeared.
Just as I closed my eyes and let out a sigh—
— Bang.
The reception room door burst open.
"……Isabella."
The moment I heard the voice, I flinched.
Standing in the doorway was Doloris.
She looked like she had just returned from outside, still holding a sack of ores in her hand.
Her voice was the lowest and coldest I had ever heard from her.
It startled me.
"Elysia, it's been a while…"
"Doloris."
"…Why are you angry again? Fine. Doloris."
Elysia was her first name, and Doloris was her family name.
She was telling her not to call her by her first name.
Why was she so angry?
I stood up carefully, reading the mood.
"Lionel…"
She slowly approached me.
Then she took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Her eyes scanned me from top to bottom.
My sweat-soaked shirt, flushed face, the dumbbells and jump rope scattered beside me.
— Tap.
Doloris's hand moved toward my cheek.
"You worked hard, didn't you?"
— Squish, squish.
She gently pinched and rubbed my cheeks.
Her eyes softened, and her voice grew warmer.
Thankfully, she didn't seem angry at me…
That was when—
"Did you talk a lot with Lionel too?"
Isabella suddenly cut in from the side.
"He's really small but really smart. Which family is he from? I want to keep in touch. He's fun."
Her interest was dripping from every word.
"……"
And Doloris's head—
— Creak…
— slowly turned toward Isabella.
The hand that had been pinching my cheeks dropped.
"Get out."
"Suddenly…? I have something to say…"
"I said get out. I'll follow you out."
"…What?"
Isabella eventually stood up and left.
She glanced back as she walked toward the door, but Doloris didn't even look at her.
Once the door closed, Doloris turned back to me.
And then—
— Squeeze…
She pulled me into a tight hug.
It felt stronger than usual.
"You didn't tell her, did you, Lionel?"
"Yes?"
She whispered while stroking my forehead.
"……Don't follow strangers, okay?"
After leaving those words, she walked in the direction Isabella had gone.
2.
My mood had been great all day.
"He's really small but really smart. Which family is he from? I want to keep in touch. He's fun."
In a single moment, everything had plummeted off a cliff.
If this was a talent, it was an impressive one.
Isabella.
She was one of Doloris's sworn sisters.
She was one of the few people Doloris still talked to.
She occasionally visited to play chess, but after the board broke a year ago, she had stopped coming.
She hated losing more than death.
That was the kind of person she was.
I didn't know why she had come at this particular time.
But—
She had set her sights on something she absolutely shouldn't have.
— Creak.
She opened the door to the office where Isabella was.
Isabella was sitting on the sofa.
Whether because of her bright personality or because she had no sense of the situation, she looked completely relaxed.
Doloris closed the door and spoke briefly.
"Get to the point."
"…Give me the gloves. I'll buy them."
"………"
So that was her goal.
She hadn't read or replied to the messages, but deep down she had been so envious it was tearing her apart?
"Those gloves are research material. Their value—"
"Get out."
If what she wanted was the gloves, the situation became even more complicated.
The gloves had been made by Lionel in the first place.
And Isabella was already showing interest in the boy without even knowing he was the one who made them.
If she found out the gloves had come from Lionel's hands—
"Get out of my house right now."
I couldn't even imagine what would happen.
I didn't know what kind of conversation they had while Doloris was away.
But the look in her eyes right now was exactly the same as when she used to search for ways to conquer the Tower in the past.
Focused, intrigued, and fond.
"Understood. You're in a really bad mood today, aren't you?"
"…Yeah, I am. I'd appreciate it if you left…"
Just when I thought she might actually leave quietly—
"Then at least tell me which family Lionel belongs to. Honestly, that's more important than the gloves now."
I hated this even more.
I really hated this.
This was the worst.
If she knew he was the child Doloris was raising, she would probably come every single day.
But claiming he belonged to another family would make the aftermath far too complicated.
This situation itself was—
Extremely troublesome. And extremely irritating.
I couldn't just beat her up and throw her out of the mansion either… Isabella had continued climbing the Tower even after Doloris stopped.
I couldn't be sure.
"That kid is really good at chess. Did you know? He's close with Ruby, apparently."
"……"
"He seems incredibly smart. Sharp. I've even been thinking about teaching him magic. We could cooperate! I'll teach him magic, and he'll teach me chess… No, wait, I won, didn't I?"
Doloris's eyes widened.
This woman.
What exactly was she saying right now?
"Oh, right. Taking him as a disciple wouldn't be bad either. I don't know which family he's from, but they'll go crazy. I've never taken a disciple before. Yeah! A disciple sounds good! He seems more than qualified to be my first disciple."
Isabella smiled brightly and curled her lips upward.
"So I'll be his magic teacher, and he'll be my chess teacher…"
"That child is…!"
Teacher.
In the end, that single word was something she absolutely could not tolerate.
Feeling as if something precious was being torn away from her, she—
— shouted angrily.
"He's my child."
She had no choice but to tell the truth.