The chess pieces continued to move. Unlike me, who did not exert force from the beginning and slowly advanced, the pieces moved by the Duke were consistent. Pawn.

It was an aggressive opening strategy.

When he chose a piece other than the pawn, as expected, it was the bishop. He placed his chosen piece in a position to defend the king while also attacking the opponent’s pieces.

‘First, I need to block the bishop’s path.’

I quietly looked down at the chessboard as the game progressed. I carefully examined the movement paths of the pieces. So far, my winning rate seemed higher, but as Yurik said, Duke Penton was a formidable player. Although his moves didn’t have the same impact as Baron Kito’s, each attack was heavy.

‘The price for underestimating me is high, Your Grace.’

The sound of the clock ticking somewhere in the entrance hall was sharp.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

“Hmm… If you do this, this path will be blocked, Lize.”

As time passed, I felt my plan being disrupted. When the Duke moved the rook, I realized that I had been complacent all along.

I unconsciously bit my lip.

The tide had completely turned.

As the advantageous situation reversed, my composure crumbled. The strategies and moves I had planned were swept away like waves, leaving only the original blank slate within me. Contrary to my hopes, from that point on, I made absurd mistakes one after another.

I tried to run away until the end and force a draw, but after creating an opposition (kings facing each other), the Duke checkmate me with the rook that had been oppressing me.

“Checkmate.”

Stunned by the futile defeat, I sat there absentmindedly, forgetting to shake hands. Even after coming to my senses, I carefully examined the chessboard to see where I had made mistakes. As I traced the paths of the pieces with my eyes, I heard the Duke clear his throat.

Looking up, he was looking down at me with an indifferent expression. Only then did I come to my senses and offered a handshake to acknowledge my defeat.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Yes, Lize. Now, where you made the mistake…”

“Ah, no! I think I can find it on my own!”

I hastily interrupted the Duke and shifted my gaze to the chessboard. Apparently, I had not properly utilized the pawns.

If those pawns had been in their proper positions…

“Can you play another match with me?”

“…Another one?”

“Is it not possible?”

In response to my request, Duke Penton arranged the pieces without answering. I thought it was going to end like this, but Duke Penton arranged the pieces he had organized. He was responding to my request.

The match started again. This time, I moved the chess pieces with the opening I was familiar with. Rather than taking risks, I planned to steadily increase my winning rate and then move on to the middle game. Making a mistake once was enough.

I approached the game with a heavier heart than before. Whenever I felt anxious, I reminded myself that I could win.

We moved our hands in silence for a long time.

As a result, I lost all the games.

* * *

“You underestimated me.”

After losing even the last game, the Duke spoke heavily.

“Pardon?”

“…Won’t you shake hands?”

“Ah, thank you for playing the games with me…”

I answered with effort, but my hand was filled with strength. After shaking hands with the Duke one last time, I immediately lowered my head.

I knew the reason why I lost all the games. I also knew what I had to do to win. Even though I knew the future and the situation, what came to me was not victory but defeat.

“Your heart is in a hurry.”

“…”

“You had too much faith in yourself.”

The Duke spoke while organizing the chessboard. It was not wrong.

“Your ambition was too great.”

“Ah.”

“Reflect on your shortcomings. Don’t just think you can do it blindly. Faith is not always a good thing. Sometimes it becomes the cause of failure.”

The cause of failure.

My heart sank at the painful advice. A heavy atmosphere settled on my shoulders. Rather than the bitter taste of defeat, it felt like even the vain hope that I could somehow do it was completely uprooted.

Did I become arrogant at Baron Kito’s words, or did I think I was more outstanding than others in this second life I had luckily obtained?

“Dear.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I spoke too harshly without realizing it.”

At his wife’s pointed remark, the Duke apologized, but I couldn’t hear it.

Strength entered my hand. As I was reflecting on myself for a moment, a hand rested on my shoulder. Surprised, I shrugged my shoulders, and Yurik’s scent came close.

“Father, can I now show Lize my room?”

What? Yurik intervened.

“Lize, let’s go.”

Yurik pulled me without listening to my answer. Taken aback, I blankly looked at Yurik’s back for a moment.

“Wait, wait!”

“We promised to see it, didn’t we?”

When I was troubled by my defeat, Yurik had been waiting for an opportunity to show me his room.

As a result, he succeeded in taking me to his room. The problem was that my mood was not very good.

* * *

“Here it is.”

“I see…”

Yurik pulled me all the way to his room.

I wanted to get angry, but I had no energy. I just planned to look around briefly, respond appropriately, and quickly leave the room.

As Yune said, Yurik’s room was really simple. The only thing that caught my eye was the bookshelf filled with picture books. The books were quite thick, as if the pictures would pop out in 3D when opened. Other than that, everything was so ordinary that it made me more irritated.

However, Yurik pulled my hand as if he wanted to show me something more. He made me sit in a chair and wait, then headed towards the bed.

Sighing deeply in secret, I discovered a bundle of keys on the desk. The decorative keychain I had chosen for him was not there.

“…The decorative keychain is missing.”

I said it to myself, but Yurik must have heard my voice because he straightened his back.

“I keep the decorative keychain separately. It’s too precious to use.”

“…”

“There’s something else I want to do with you.”

What Yurik handed to me in front of me was a box. I didn’t know what he wanted to do, but I had no interest at all, so I just nodded.

When Yurik opened the box, I focused on the unexpected item inside. It was a bundle of money.

“Why are you showing me this?”

“It’s all yours.”

…What’s wrong with you?

“Yurik.”

“Come on, take it quickly.”

“…Did you eat something wrong?”

Even though I was in need of money, receiving it out of sympathy didn’t feel entirely pleasant. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stared at the bills, but something seemed strange.

“It’s fake money.”

Upon closer inspection, one of the pictures drawn on the bills was different from real currency.

“It’s toy money. If you look below, it says ‘Hosha Village Toy Store’ in small letters.”

It was true. Realizing that what was in front of me was fake money, I felt strangely deflated.

“Do you want to tear it?”

“Huh? Tear it?”

“This, the money.”

“…?”

“Shall I show you?”

What?

He took a bundle of money in his hand and started tearing it, as if to demonstrate it himself first. Rip, rip. The sharp sound echoed in the quiet room. The torn bills filled Yurik’s hand, and he tossed the wad into the air.

Amidst the pieces falling slowly to the floor, Yurik smiled brightly. Then he grabbed another bundle of money and held it out to me.

“We can’t tear real bills, right? Instead, when I feel gloomy, angry, or struggling, I tear this money. And I let it fly away.”

It was a novel way to relieve stress.

He urged me to tear the money quickly. As the pieces were about to settle on the floor, I timidly tore a bill. Rip, a pleasant sound was heard.

“Tear it harder, Lize.”

At Yurik’s words, I tore the money more forcefully. Along with the bills ripping without hesitation, I felt a sense of exhilaration. Strangely, it felt good. While feeling like I was doing something bad, I felt that there was nothing to be afraid of anymore when I saw myself not fearing it.

Yurik and I started tearing the money in earnest. We filled our hands with pieces and blew them into the air with our mouths. The pieces stuck to Yurik’s hair and face.

It was a bit silly, so I laughed, and Yurik threw pieces toward me in retaliation. We were busy tearing money and busy laughing.

“This is how you let it fly, higher! Even higher!”

“Like this? Ah!”

As I tried to throw the bill pieces higher, I slipped and fell. Fortunately, it was a soft bed, so there was no pain.

“Lize! Are you okay?”

“…No. I feel like my head is turning white.”

“Let’s go to the hospital, hurry!”

“More importantly, is there any money left?”

At my question, Yurik looked at the empty box and shook his head. Only then did I realize how strange my behavior had been.

Yurik tearing fake money!

I found his way of relieving stress, which never appeared in the original work, interesting, and then I laughed. I felt a gaze from behind. When I turned my head, I met Yurik’s blue eyes. My reflection was captured in them, so I stared blankly.

Yurik’s face gradually turned red. He hurriedly laid down on the bed.

“…How do you feel?”

“Huh?”

“You were feeling down, weren’t you?”

He was being considerate of me.

“It was the best.”

“I’m glad… I was worried about what to do if you kept feeling troubled.”

“Why money of all things?”

“I hate money. You’ll understand if you see my grandfather.”

Yurik’s voice dropped slightly. Had I ever imagined such a voice from the character “Yurik Penton” that I had only seen in the book?

When I first saw Yurik, I thought he was a different person from the original protagonist, and it was the same now. He was unfamiliar and always new.

“Lize, what do you dislike and what do you like?”

At Yurik’s question, I pondered. There were so many things I disliked that I didn’t know where to start, and there wasn’t anything in particular that I liked, so it was difficult to say. However, not wanting to end the conversation like this, I wracked my brain as much as possible.

“Ah, do you know how to play the violin?”

“Violin?”

I wanted to boast about the musical instrument I had learned for the first time.

“Yes, I happened to learn it and found it fascinating. I can only play two notes so far, but still. I want to learn other notes as soon as possible.”

My heart raced as I chattered on and on without realizing it. Only after telling Yurik everything did I realize, oops. I acted like a know-it-all.

Yurik might be able to play the violin skillfully. Then I would end up showing off to an expert.

“Ah, sorry. Did I act like a know-it-all?”

“No. Not at all. I don’t know anything about the violin.”

“Then my story must have been boring.”

“Why do you think that? I was listening with interest.”

I was relieved by Yurik’s words. Since I had already started talking, I tried to say more, but the door opened again.

“Young Master, Young Lady. Dinner is ready, so please come down to the dining room.”

It was a maid of the Penton family.

Dinner… Should I even be present? Moreover, I didn’t have the confidence to face the Duke.

“Lize.”

Yurik tapped the back of my hand.

“Let’s go together.”

Yurik smiled slightly. Feeling a bit reassured by that smile, I got off the bed. The room was filled with scattered pieces of bills. I made a mental note to clean it up after dinner, but then an object caught my eye.

It was a violin case. The corners of the old case were frayed, with the fabric worn out. Yurik’s name was faintly engraved on the worn fabric.