Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Stalemate with the First Imperial Princess
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“...”
The First Imperial Princess, defeat staring her in the face.
She covered her bitten lip with her hand, lost in thought.
Bathed in moonlight, she looked just like an empress deep in contemplation over the fate of her nation.
“Take your time, Your Highness. The night is still young.”
I did my best to reassure her.
After all, I’d lost too many pieces myself to deliver checkmate right away.
If I pushed her to the bitter end, I could win eventually.
But in the process, Lea would suffer a blow to her pride.
She was imperial royalty—intelligent and fiercely proud.
“I’m short on pieces too, so I can’t take Your Highness’s king.”
I let out a deep sigh as I spoke, and Lea glanced up at me.
With a hint of regained composure, she asked,
“What do people usually do in situations like this?”
“Well...”
I tilted my head, feigning embarrassment.
Then, flashing her a sly smile, I said smoothly,
“They usually end it in a draw.”
She eyed my smile suspiciously.
Her instincts were sharp, as expected.
“Are draws common in chess?”
“Oh, yes—they happen all the time, even in tournaments.”
Lea pressed her lips together, clearly displeased.
But in the end, she nodded.
“Fine, a draw it is.”
“Yes, it was a fine match.”
I bowed to the princess in respect.
But she didn’t look particularly pleased.
Chess was, after all, a game of strategy.
It was hard for her to accept that she’d effectively lost a command battle.
“By the way... what wish were you going to ask for if you’d beaten me?”
Lea tilted her king this way and that with her finger.
Then, fixing me with the cool gaze of an empress, she asked,
“Money? Land? No, you’re getting land from the chancellor already...”
I met her eyes steadily.
She would have already been briefed on why I’d come here.
She’d surely guessed I had clues about the arsonist too.
Lea cleared her throat.
Fiddling with the buttons on her dress shirt, she asked,
“Maybe something like a promotion in status?”
“If that were the case, I’d have joined the Radiant Knight Order at the appointment ceremony.”
I replied with a grin.
“Becoming a knight isn’t the ultimate path to success.”
Lea’s lips curved up to match my smile.
She leaned in close and pressed firmly on the loosened bandage.
“There’s a surer way to rise even higher.”
Was it because she was so near?
The faint scent of her body tickled my nose.
Dressed only in her shirt, her body drew closer.
Through the moonlight, the soft line of her collarbone came into view.
But I kept my eyes fixed on her face.
If I let my gaze drop now, she’d notice.
She might even be trying to seize the initiative, baiting me into a mistake.
“Even a clever one like you doesn’t know that method?”
“Yes... nothing comes to mind.”
It felt like I was being tested.
“What’s this surer method, Your Highness?”
Lea tilted her head at my persistent question.
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them with a mischievous glint as she answered.
“Well... it’s probably better if you don’t know.”
Lea picked up her king and queen together and placed them in the storage box.
She carelessly covered the chessboard over the love letters from the archdukes she’d received.
“If you’d suggested that method as your reward, you’d probably be dead.”
“Yes...?”
“No, just kidding. Let’s leave the personal talk there.”
Lea shook her head as if it were nothing.
Then, she brought up the arson at Irina’s mansion first—the very topic I’d been waiting for.
“The real reason you came to see me is the fire at Irina’s estate, right?”
“You knew...”
“Yes. And that one of the culprits was a mage.”
The other princesses had likely been watching from afar too.
She naturally knew the fire at Irina’s had been magic.
“Yes, that’s why I came.”
I pulled the carefully preserved scrap of the dwarf’s cloak from my pocket.
I placed it gently on the table where the chessboard had been.
Lea looked down at the cloak impassively.
Her mana-filled blue eyes gleamed coldly.
“Seems like a high-level one... But it’ll be hard to find the culprit with just this.”
I met her serious gaze and replied.
Recalling the wicked bastard who’d attacked Irina, I laid it all out in detail.
“I’ve learned he’s from the Magic Tower.”
“The Magic Tower...?”
“Yes. Most powerful mages are conscripted to the imperial court, so there aren’t many skilled ones left there.”
I calmly shared my deductions with her.
“Likely one who caused trouble or has some physical issue, stuck lingering at the Tower.”
Lea closed her eyes.
Resting her chin on the back of her hand, she savored my reasoning like a piece of music.
“But his movements were quite swift when we met before, so it’s not a physical disability either.”
I placed my finger on my palm.
Like drawing a line in a notebook with a pen, I finally revealed the culprit I’d pinpointed.
“A skilled expert who’s agile, a troublemaker, and a male mage confined to the Magic Tower.”
I picked up the bishop that had fallen and hidden on the floor.
Showing it to Lea, I said,
“With this much info, I figure even you, who studied abroad at the Magic Tower, would know him.”
The princess finally opened her eyes.
With a lightly chilling expression, she replied,
“Yes, I have a rough idea who it is.”
Lea tried to rise calmly from her chair.
But perhaps from staying up too long into the dawn,
She stumbled, steadying herself on the armrest.
“Are you all right?”
I gently supported her back as I spoke.
She glanced up at me.
Fortunately, Lea’s eyes weren’t decadent like when tormented by the curse.
Instead, they gazed at me clear and blue.
“Could you walk me to the bed? I’m a bit tired...”
She didn’t look particularly tired at the moment.
But it was an order, so I stayed close and escorted her slowly to the bed.
“We’re here, Your Highness. Please, sit.”
As Lea sat lightly on the bed, I moved to release her hand.
But her slender fingers briefly wrapped around my palm.
A chill ran down my spine at the touch.
“Veil.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The princess gazed at me, her face haloed by moonlight.
Her blue eyes shone like those of a divine being.
“You’re clever, but your instincts are still a bit dull, aren’t they?”
“Yes...?”
‘Did I do something wrong?’
I’d shown proper respect, pinpointed Irina’s attacker, and even escorted her to bed...
“No. If you’d caught that, you’d have known the sure path to promotion earlier too.”
Lea released my hand with a light tap, blaming her own sensitivity.
Lying back on the bed, she said flatly,
“Thanks to you, I can rest easy now... I’ll track down that guy.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He might be tied to the ones after me.”
“I’m truly grateful.”
I bowed deeply in thanks.
But she didn’t acknowledge it.
Instead, she turned her head toward the window, hiding her face from me.
“Irina’s lucky. Getting such undue help from a knight of another order.”
A casual remark tossed out.
Only then did I realize why Lea had suddenly turned cold.
My serious pursuit of the arsonist clues.
Catching the dark sorcerer—it had all been incidental, while working for Irina.
Everything stemming from Irina clearly irked her.
“Enough. Go now.”
‘This won’t do...’
As the imperial chancellor had said, I needed to unite all three princesses under one banner.
But their poor relations made it frustratingly difficult.
I thought for a moment.
Then decided to clarify that I wasn’t solely backing Irina.
The princess kept her head turned, eyes closed.
But her platinum eyelids, firmly shut, soon opened again.
“Understood. But, Your Highness...”
“What?”
Her impassive expression reflected in the window.
Rich emotion bloomed across it once more.
Because I was making a new proposal just for her.
“Would you play another game of chess with me sometime?”
“...”
Lea gave no reply.
Gathering my courage, I ventured softly,
“It’s been ages since I met a worthy opponent. It was fun.”
I had to get closer to Lea somehow.
Only then could I reconcile her with Irina and Lydia, forging unbreakable unity.
“...”
But the First Imperial Princess offered no response to my proposal.
However...
A faint, mocking lilt reached my ears.
“Veil, every time I see you... you’re such a curious one.”
Lea slowly turned her head toward me.
“Everyone else trembles in fear at the sight of me...”
Peeking only her fresh face from the covers, she smiled sweetly.
“But you look at me like an old friend from childhood.”
I laughed easily under her blue gaze.
But this time, my laughter came to an abrupt halt.
“You’re so relaxed, like you’ve known me forever.”
For the first time in this life, someone had appeared who could suspect my regression.
“If I came across that way, I apologize.”
I bowed quickly to hide my expression.
“No, I was bored with all those retainers staring at me the same way forever.”
Fortunately, Lea didn’t press further.
She even seemed pleased, lifting the corner of her mouth.
“Keep that ease from now on.”
I sighed inwardly in relief.
As I cautiously moved to leave,
“Oh, and next time you come to play chess...”
The princess had already accepted my chess invitation.
But she issued a warning beyond that.
“Don’t mention other imperial family members in front of me.”
A chilling remark.
In that instant, I realized.
‘This is an order.’
“I’m not particularly interested in those girls anyway.”
“Yes, understood...”
I finally escaped Lea’s residence.
And breathed in the cool night air at last.
“Haa...”
‘I’ve more or less succeeded in persuading her.’
I hadn’t united the three princesses yet, but if I kept building these connections...
An excuse for alliance would emerge eventually.
Pleased with the results, I nodded to myself.
Before leaving, I patrolled near Lea’s residence one last time.
I reached the princess’s window where the dark magic residue had lingered.
Fortunately, the eerie aura was completely gone.
‘Lea’s hereditary illness shouldn’t worsen now...’
With that thought, I turned away.
Then I caught sight of Lea’s window.
Inside, I could see the princess’s bed where she should be sleeping.
But...
Lea, whom I’d escorted to the bed myself, was nowhere in sight.
Only the rumpled covers remained.
‘What...?’
Finding it odd, I approached the window.
Scanning for the princess’s silhouette,
I spotted Lea standing before the bookshelf.
She was intently examining the ancient tomes.
And her choice was none other than...
‘Chess Fundamentals 1’.
The princess clutched the book to her chest and sat in a chair.
She pulled out the chessboard and replayed our game while reading.
Ever the empire’s commander, she donned a monocle.
Soon, her eyes stopped on a passage, her face paling as she froze.
Alone in the room now,
The princess scowled with a frustrated expression she’d never shown me.
Realizing I’d intentionally allowed the draw, she covered her face with both hands.
But the surprise wasn’t just her expression.
A plaintive voice she’d never let anyone hear.
“Aaaah— so annoying...”
Lea muttered in a groan-tinged whine.
Even she, whom I’d thought an iron-blooded empress, was just a woman in her early twenties.