If she wore a modest dress that covered her arms during the wedding, she now had a bold dress in dark shades, revealing her shoulders.

On the other hand, I adorned my hair with the pink rose she gave me and wore a red dress. The dress’s skirt was layered with fabric, resembling blooming flowers.

‘It’s strange.’

I scanned the surroundings.

Felicia was immediately found, but oddly, Yurik was nowhere to be seen. He should have changed into different clothes to enjoy the celebration and come here.

‘Is he again surrounded by the ladies?’

Feeling unusually sensitive, I widened my eyes and looked around the hall. He wasn’t here.

Is he on the terrace with a view of the lake? No, he’s not there either.

‘…Could it be.’

Strangely, Swell and Rodney weren’t visible either. Silke was in the hall, engaging in conversations with relatives, and Bernard was following his uncle, interacting with company executives.

But why aren’t those two visible?

“Wow, meeting everyone here!”

“…?”

“Hello, Miss Marzen. It’s been a while.”

With an uneasy mind searching for Rodney and Swell, a man approached and spoke.

He had yellow eyes like mine and looked roughly my age.

I looked around anxiously, but unlike the man who initiated the conversation as if he knew me well, I was meeting him for the first time.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Miss Marzen, right?”

“Yes. My name is Lize Marzen.”

He spoke with a subtly mocking tone. Unlike the man who initiated the conversation as if he knew me well, I was on guard against him.

“Who are you?”

“We’ve met a few times, but have you forgotten since then? Well, you’ll remember when you hear my name.”

The man raised the corner of his mouth. Based on his sharp demeanor and way of speaking, it didn’t seem like a good connection between us.

Even before hearing his name, I felt tense.

“I’m Dumfree, the eldest son of Lord Longaire.”

“…Ah.”

“Now you remember?”

“Yes. I apologize for not recognizing you right away.”

…That was a lie.

I didn’t know anything about Lord Longaire. But looking at Dumfree, who laughed like a child before quickly hiding his expression, I couldn’t honestly say I didn’t know. If I spoke the truth, we would both become uneasy. I chose to state a lie.

“I’m here as an acquaintance of Lord Longaire. So, Miss, how have you been lately?”

“Yes. I’ve been well.”

“Yes? What I meant was, do you still enjoy playing chess?”

“How do you know that I enjoy playing chess?”

“…”

Surprised, I asked. Dumfree’s face turned pale, almost white.
His expression collapsed as if he had suffered almost complete humiliation. Perplexed, I carefully recalled my words, wondering if I had made a mistake, but I hadn’t made any remarks that could be problematic.

“Dumfree?”

“How do you know? Because I lost to you, unfortunately and regrettably, due to my single mistake in chess.”

Dumfree emphasized ‘unfortunately.’

“Did we play against each other?”

“How do you remember, then?”

We asked each other. Dumfree was now looking at me as if he hated me. There had been occasions when I participated in chess competitions at prestigious boarding schools and tournaments during the Benedetti era. Dumfree seemed to be one of those many opponents.

“Oh, I remember now!”

“…”

“Wow, that match was truly impressive. I learned a lot from it too.”

Dumfree’s expression turned even more sinister.

Again, why?

“I got caught in your trap during the opening, and shortly after that, I was checkmated.”

“…I’m sorry.”

It was indeed a terrible game. Was the reason I couldn’t remember him because of this?

Besides that, there were problems with the organization of the chess tournament itself.

It was a mess. With the popularity of chess, there were too many participants, and we had to play an enormous number of games from selecting school representatives through preliminary rounds.

Sometimes, right after one game ended, I would immediately play another match with a different opponent who was waiting.

“I played against you in the last qualifying round that day. The possibilities were a bit complicated. It was a very important game for me because I had to beat you to advance to the finals. And you…”

“If I made any mistakes, I apologize in advance. I was quite tired that day after playing several games.”

“No, you didn’t make any mistakes!”

“What?”

“Unlike me, you were undefeated, so it was certain you would advance to the finals.”

I couldn’t understand this man’s psyche. Dumfree, clenching his fist, recalled that day.

“Why, again.”

“At that time, I had inflated many dreams and made efforts to beat you… but, Miss, you defeated me mercilessly.”

“It’s regrettable that you lost earlier… Ah, please continue.”

“So, I couldn’t advance to the finals that day, and I played chess every day. I played chess until I collapsed. Only to defeat you.”

While people around us enjoyed the party, why did I have to listen to a man’s revenge story here?

“And finally, today has come.”

“Today is a blessed day. I must admit, I have no intention of playing chess today.”

“Hmm, are you afraid you might lose to me?”

Dumfree approached me provocatively.

Then a dark shadow was cast over. Lifting my head, I discovered Rodney and Yurik, who were looking at Dumfree with fierce eyes, standing behind him.

“…Yes. I’m afraid.” A lot, actually.