After roughly settling the meal at the restaurant, we went to a nearby coffee house and took our seats.

Yune, who had been grumbling for a while, closed her mouth as soon as she held a chocolate ice cream in her hand.

“Reje, do you want ice cream too? Just tell me anything you want.”

“I’d like a piece of strawberry cake.”

Marquis Kito ordered various desserts, not just cake. Although they all looked delicious, I couldn’t focus on the cake due to Marquis Kito’s words.

Marquis Kito then talked about the events at the champagne party following the Champion’s Club. Around the time the presence of the cake gradually disappeared for this reason, Yurik personally fed me a piece of cake with a fork. His actions were natural and familiar.

“So, how was watching the chess game this time?”

Marquis Kito, who had been talking incessantly, threw a question at me.

“It was really good.”

“…”

“Actually, until then, I didn’t appreciate chess champions.”

“…”

“If I didn’t have talent, I even thought about quitting chess. But… after watching the final game, I wanted to become a chess champion. Someday, for sure.”

My response seemed to satisfy Marquis Kito, and his face brightened.

“I see. Then, how about the moves this time?”

“They were perfect. Especially the move that induced a check to expose the bishop was impressive. The knight’s movements always seemed excellent. Thanks to that, Munt had to give up a pawn. But the most memorable was probably the queen’s move. It changed the entire flow.”

“I was confident of victory at that moment. I thought Munt had no way to escape.”

“Did you induce Munt to move the pieces to place the queen there?”

“Yeah. Actually, it’s more like I forced Munt to move the pieces to that place. Probably from when he moved the pawn to g5.”

Marquis Kito took out a blank piece of paper and recorded the positions of the pieces at that time. I also remembered the positions.

I realized that Marquis Kito was trying to lead to something that could overturn the atmosphere, and Munt probably knew it too.

“So, I moved the rook, and Munt moved the pawn back to this place.”

“Munt couldn’t do anything. I would have done the same.”

Duke Penton, who was listening to the conversation nearby, spoke up. And a few moves later, Marquis Kito made a decisive move with the queen.

“…Actually, I was a little curious.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Marquis Kito either didn’t understand the meaning of my words or raised his eyebrows slightly.

It was a bit difficult to speak. I was worried that if I talked about the positions of the pieces, Marquis Kito might be disappointed in me, so my lips were slightly reluctant.

In the brief conflict, I moved my hand. I picked up the ballpoint pen next to the paper and wrote down the position of one of Munt’s bishops.

“…I wondered why Munt didn’t move the bishop here.”

While speaking, I observed Marquis Kito’s face. My lips, which were preparing to explain, widened a bit more. Judging by his expression, it didn’t seem like he was disappointed in me. But it was strange. Marquis Kito’s subtle facial expression was clearly different from usual.

“Um… we have to close now.”

The owner of the coffee house approached us. Glancing around, I saw that the few people who had been sitting were already gone. We were the only ones in the spacious house.

Following Yune, who had finished her ice cream, Yurik put the last piece of cake into my mouth and stood up. The lady apologized to the owner while packing her bag and coat. Although the owner said it was okay, the two men sitting there showed no signs of getting up.

It was Marquis Kito and Duke Penton.

They were staring at the paper with chess symbols written on it.

“Excuse me, Marquis.”

Lady Penton, who had been watching the conversation, called out to them. Yurik also tapped the Duke’s arm.

“Oh.”

“…We have to get up. Kito.”

They belatedly put on their coats. Their movements were sluggish.

“I’ll throw away the paper if you leave it.”

“No! It’s, it’s okay.”
Marquis Kito intercepted the paper and put it in his pocket. The owner, who had shown kindness but now seemed awkward, took a step back.

“Ah, yes.”

“Hmm! I apologize for occupying the seat until late.”

As Marquis Kito exited the coffee house first, the duke bowed awkwardly.

“Did I make a mistake in my words?”

“No, don’t worry about it. He’s just a bit absent-minded.”

“…”

“By the way, why did you think of moving the bishop?”

The duke asked.

“So that I could block the queen.”

“…You’ve lost, Reje.”

The duke laughed in disappointment. When I seemed puzzled, Yurik came to my side.

“Father means he respects you. It means you’re very strong.”

In a positive sense, Yurik added.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A year has passed.

During that time, there was a change—Stiana had a child.

She didn’t neglect buying clothes or jewelry, even though she received the servants’ allowances generously. Also, she frequently assigned me trivial errands under the pretext of being pregnant.