After finishing violin practice, I chatted with Roger for a long time. At lunch, I played tag with the twins in the garden.

Time passed fleetingly as we chased and caught each other. The short clock hand pointing downward was about to indicate five o’clock, but Isabel and Lady Bakus were nowhere to be seen.

Worried, Roger went to find Lady Bakus, but came out of the room shaking his head. He said that no matter what he asked, the lady only repeated “It’s fine.”

Isabel wasn’t much different.

I couldn’t go directly to her room like Roger did, and peeked through the cracked door at Isabel. All she did was tend to flowers or tidy up withered leaves. I couldn’t tell at all how she was feeling.

“Do you think they’re angry with each other?”

After hide-and-seek ended, I sat with Roger in the backyard of the mansion. Roger seemed to like the flowers in the yard, touching them several times with his hand.

“I’m sure it’ll work out. They’ve been friends since childhood.”

“I hope so.”

“But why are you so concerned? It’s not your business.”

I looked at Roger as he answered gruffly.

“Roger, aren’t you worried?”

“I am a bit concerned.”

“What are you worried about?”

“What if they fight and cancel our engagement in the heat of the moment? That would be troublesome.”

Roger skillfully made something by plucking a flower.

As Roger finished making a bracelet by tying stems together with a few hand movements, he brought it to my wrist. As I unconsciously extended my arm to wear the flower bracelet Roger made, I saw Isabel’s figure through the mansion window.

“Huh?”

Isabel was on the second floor. The only person who should be on the second floor right now is Lady Bakus.

“Hey, Lize. Don’t move.”

Roger immediately grumbled as I raised my waist. I quickly lifted my head and moved my gaze to see Isabel walking down the second-floor corridor.

I tried to narrow my eyes to see Isabel’s expression, but it was impossible due to the distance.

Isabel passed the fourth window but didn’t pass the fifth. Between them was the room where Lady Bakus was staying.

I stood up in surprise. Ignoring Roger, who was also startled, I silently stared at the window.

Ten minutes passed, then thirty, but Isabel didn’t come out of the room.

“If you’re dying of curiosity, why don’t you go check?”

Roger, who had been fiddling with my wrist, yawned and suggested, unable to bear the boredom.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to intrude on their conversation.”

“Then eavesdrop secretly.”

Was he serious?

“Are you crazy?”

Where did the Roger who couldn’t lie in front of Lady Bakus go, now suggesting eavesdropping first? And he still has that bold face as usual, without a hint of embarrassment.

It’s only been a few weeks since I taught Roger how to lie…. I realize now that I’ve taught a tiger cub how to hunt.

Roger was problematic, but I was also an issue for being tempted by the suggestion to eavesdrop.

Isabel’s anger had barely subsided a few days ago, and here I was losing my mind again. If I get caught eavesdropping this time, Isabel might really kick me out of the mansion.

“Forget it. I’m not doing such a foolish thing.”

As I sat back down, Roger snickered as if exasperated.

“You hesitated though.”

“Still better than you. Let’s go to our rooms now. If we stay here, I feel like I’ll just keep staring at the window.”

We played board games sitting around the sofa, including Felicia and Bernard who had returned from school. Isabel went into Lady Bakus’s room and didn’t come out.

After the board game ended, Roger told us about when he went to the neighboring continent with his father as a child. Still, Isabel didn’t come out of Lady Bakus’s room.

Even after we played for a long time and the siblings went to their rooms, and Roger and I started playing chess, Isabel didn’t come out of Lady Bakus’s room.

Judging by the lack of raised voices, it doesn’t seem like they’re fighting, but what are they talking about? Meanwhile, the sunset faded.

“Ah, let’s do it again.”

Roger overturned the chessboard. My attention, which had been focused on Isabel and Lady Bakus, was divided as I played chess with an opponent after a long time.

After being checkmated in just a few moves, Roger frowned as if his pride was hurt. It was understandable, as we hadn’t even been playing for an hour yet.

“How is it possible that I’ve lost three games already? You’re not hiding a game record under there, are you?”

As the checkmate speed was faster than before, Roger regarded me suspiciously.

“Roger, your problem starts from the opening. It’s good that your pieces move forward first, but you keep moving them just a little when they could go further in one move. So your pieces end up blocking each other.”

When I advised him, Roger ignored me and glared at the chess pieces.

“Will staring give you the answer?”

“Be quiet for a bit.”

Still, Roger’s chess skills weren’t bad.

He played well for his age, and had even troubled me before. Of course, that was in the past; now he couldn’t even scratch me.

‘Now he can’t compete with me.’

It seems what I learned from Duke Penton and my solo chess study these past few days have paid off.

But using pawns was still tricky for me.

After receiving advice from the Duke, I tried to utilize pawns as much as possible, but they still lagged behind. Even when I took ample time to think, I would later get tripped up because of the pawns.

“I need to utilize the pawns well so they don’t fall behind.”

I arranged the pieces for the fourth game.

“How to utilize pawns? That’s easy.”

Roger lifted his head confidently.

“Easy, you say?”

“To keep pawns from falling behind, just put them in front. They only move forward anyway.”

“Roger, you just stated one of the 1000 reasons why you lose to me.”

“What?”

Roger immediately bristled.

Even if it’s a practice game, suggesting to play recklessly to me, who plays carefully, is nonsense. I lightly ignored Roger’s words and looked at the chessboard.

“If you really don’t know, why don’t you look at the game record Baron Kito gave you? The solution might be there.”

“That’s a good idea.”

I took out the game record I had hidden in the desk drawer. Even though I look at the Baron’s game record every day, there were new moves. So as Roger said, there might be a solution in this record.

I carefully examined the game record. I rolled my eyes to find a solution, but in reality, my confidence dropped slightly at the near-perfect moves.

“Looking at the game record, I wonder if Baron Kito might actually be the god of chess?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

When will I be able to play like Baron Kito?

Even though I’m young now, I was essentially an adult. Sometimes I doubted if I could develop further here.

“I wonder why Baron Kito took me as his disciple?”

At my self-deprecating tone, Roger moved a pawn to start the game, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Why? Because you have talent, obviously.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying that. Before, you used to say he took me as a disciple to keep the Marsen family, who weren’t on good terms with the Duke, in check.”

“That’s in the past.”

Roger glared at me as if to say, why bring up old stories?

“I haven’t seen the Baron for a long time. I couldn’t go to the Duke’s mansion. And what if this talent doesn’t last long and breaks later?”

“Baron Kito doesn’t seem particularly worried about that.”

“He’s not worried?”

I perked up my ears at Roger’s words.

“I told you. Baron Kito and the Duke were bragging about you. They praised you so much that I thought you were their child.”

“…They’re such kind people.”

“Think about it the other way. They know your limitless talent. To be honest, I was a bit jealous of you. I once had a trash teacher too, but that bastard never praised me.”

Roger’s expression hardened as if recalling that time.

“He was a real bastard. Well, he still is.”

“…”

“And let me tell you out of concern, I don’t doubt Baron Kito or Duke Penton anymore. While you were gone, I visited the Duke’s mansion and truly felt how those two think of you.”

“…”

“Now it’s your turn, Lize.”

Roger said, tapping the chessboard.

Regretting bringing up unnecessary things to Roger, I turned my gaze to the chessboard.

I needed to stop reflecting and self-blaming, and overcome my limits and doubts. As I stared intently at the pawn, I thought about doing as Roger said, but then hesitated again.

“Lize, someone is…”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

“No, I think someone’s here.”

With my concentration broken, I turned around. There was a presence and a shadow visible through the door crack, but I couldn’t tell who had come. Was it the twins coming to play out of boredom, or Bernard or Felicia coming to get closer to Roger?

“Who is it?”

“…”

“Hey, don’t just stand there creepily, open the do-!”

As soon as I spoke, the door slowly opened. Along with it, my eyes met Isabel’s, who was standing there expressionlessly. She looked down at me holding a chess piece.

“Oh, Mother?”

It really is Isabel.

“…Si- since when.”

I’m done for.

My heart pounded. Since when had Isabel been at the door? Surely she hadn’t heard the entire conversation Roger and I had been having?

“What are you doing?”

At Isabel’s dry voice, I dropped the chess piece with a thud. Roger glanced at my pale face and blocked me.

“Ah, well, ma’am. I suggested we play chess. Lize said no, but I was so bored…”

Roger’s lying had improved since before, but it still seemed unstable somewhere. Not realizing Isabel’s gaze was gradually becoming sharper, Roger stammered several times.

If my skilled lies don’t work on Isabel, there’s no way Roger’s lies would.

“Mother, we were just playing chess. Like other children do.”

“…”

“It’s just a game. We were just playing a ga-”

“Lize.”

Isabel cut off my words by calling my name.

Unlike me who was at a loss for words, Isabel stared at me and moved her lips.

That’s when it happened. There was a commotion at the front door.

Father, who had gone to the company, seemed to have finished work and come home, as the maids’ movements became busy. Father, who had arrived at the mansion, raised his voice and scolded the maids and employees.

“Let’s talk again later.”

With those final words, Isabel turned her back. The chess piece I had dropped on the floor rolled and touched my foot.

“Li- Lize. Are you okay?”

Am I okay?

No, not at all.

“It’s all over.”

I might never be able to play chess again.