“Lize.”

“……”

“Lize.”

I was startled by Baron Kito’s voice calling me, and my mind suddenly cleared. Looking ahead, I saw Baron Kito arranging the chessboard and Yurik sitting there, looking at me with worried eyes.

“You don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine. I’m just too nervous……”

I smiled artificially at Baron Kito’s question.

It’s a valuable time learning chess from Baron Kito, whom I haven’t seen in a long time. Surely it’s an important time for me, but my mind is preoccupied with thoughts other than chess.

“There’s no need to be nervous. Would you like to look at the game record while I’m cleaning up? I’ve recorded the moves we made when we first met.”

“Are you referring to bullet chess?”

“Yes.”

I carefully examined the game record I received from Baron Kito. Maybe because it was played quickly, blunders were visible from the opening moves. I knew I had made frequent mistakes, but seeing it in the record, there were moves so ridiculous it made me blush.

To think I was so confident playing such a mess of a chess game. Thanks to this, my distracting thoughts disappeared.

“…I shouldn’t be overconfident in the future.”

“Haha. Don’t think badly of it. It means your skills are gradually improving. So, did you play some chess while I was away?”

“A little. But are you really okay? The finals are coming up soon.”

“I’m studying with you too. I can get energy from you.”

Baron Kito smiled slightly and then turned his chair around. At first, I wondered what he was doing.

“Lize, would you turn your chair around too?”

“Pardon?”

“We’re going to do something different today. Since Yurik is here too.”

Unlike me, Yurik seemed to have guessed something as he stood in front of the chessboard, carefully looking at the pieces. I got up abruptly and turned my chair around like the baron, sitting with my back to the chessboard. Neither Baron Kito nor I could see the chess pieces.

“We’re going to play blind chess. It’s playing chess without looking at the board. For example, e4.”

As Baron Kito spoke, I felt Yurik, who was standing in the middle, move a pawn. Finally understanding the intention of the game, I pictured a chessboard in my mind. Although I was a bit scared of this unusual game, I was interested.

I called out the position of the pawn.

The opening was relatively smooth. I could clearly picture in my mind how the pieces were moving.

Perhaps considering that it was my first time playing blind chess, Baron Kito didn’t lead with an attack from the start. Still, each move was careful. Due to the invisible chessboard, all I had to rely on was my memory. I couldn’t help but concentrate.

“Knight to e3 again.”

“b3.”

“Qd3.”

I heard Baron Kito’s voice from behind saying, “Good.” I gained a bit of confidence.

I was completely immersed in the chess game.

[This is the timeline separator]

The sky is red. I was warming myself drinking the tea Baron Kito had served. In front of me were traces of hours of intense study. Scattered chess pieces, game records, and indecipherable handwriting and doodles.

While I was tired, Yurik seemed tireless as he continued to stay by my side. He just silently watched our heated conversation with Baron Kito. At one point, I suggested that Yurik return to the mansion first, but he flatly refused.

“There really wasn’t anything wrong, was there?”

While Baron Kito was personally preparing desserts for us, Yurik, who was drinking tea with me, asked. He was recalling what had happened earlier in the day. The dark alley in the corner of the marketplace and the suspicious man next to me.

The quick-witted Yurik had realized that the situation wasn’t good.

“Nothing happened. Look, I’m fine.”

As I spread my arms, Yurik’s eyes narrowed. As much as I wanted to be honest, I didn’t want to worry Yurik. That alley wasn’t an ordinary place. Neither was the inexplicable man who was in that alley.

“From now on, let me know in advance when you’re coming here, Lize. Don’t just leave like today.”

“I was going to tell you, but I forgot. But how did you know to come?”

“I heard from Mother.”

Yurik suddenly placed his hand on top of mine.

“Yurik?”

“Lize, from now on, I’ll come to the Marsen mansion. No, that might get you caught by your father, so let’s meet in the winter garden.”

“I’m fine……”

“I’m not fine at all.”

“But it might get boring waiting like this every day.”

“If you’re bothered by me being next to you, I’ll just escort you to the mansion and then leave.”

That’s even more troublesome.

“Sigh, alright. I’ll wait for you in the winter garden from now on.”

Faced with Yurik’s resolute expression and unyielding attitude, I finally agreed. That’s when Yurik’s expression softened.

“Kids, did you wait long?”

Just then, Baron Kito, who had been in the kitchen, came out with freshly made desserts.

There were freshly baked bread, baked cookies, and chocolate muffins. Baron Kito, who even brought out orange juice he said he had squeezed himself, smiled as he watched me and Yurik eating without hesitation.

While having snacks, we talked about the chess tournament. Baron Kito vividly shared his experiences and the pressures he felt there. He also talked about the current champion whom he had been challenging for twenty years but still hadn’t been able to surpass.

“Mont is the wall I need to overcome. He’s the ideal I pursue, and also my goal. Sometimes people compare him and me, but in fact, I’m the one being compared to him.”

“Don’t you hate him?”

When I asked, Baron Kito chuckled.

“Of course I hated him. Mont probably thinks of me as a foolish youngster too. We really didn’t get along. Mont is quiet and blunt, and he rarely shows his emotions even in normal situations. I tend to be like that when playing chess too, but I’m completely different when I’m not playing chess. I like to talk, I’m empathetic, and I tend to express my emotions well.”

“…Um, it seems so.”

“Haha. To put it simply, Mont and I have a relationship built on tough love. Lize, haven’t you ever built tough love with a friend?”

I have. Except the subject wasn’t a friend, but my mother.

As I thought of Isabel, I naturally shifted my gaze to the clock.

It will soon be 6 o’clock. The moon was faintly rising in the sky that had been red, and it was starting to get dark. Normally, the Marsen mansion would be busy preparing dinner now.

…Wait a minute. It’s almost six o’clock?

“I need to go home now!”

Baron Kito was surprised by my urgent words.

“Lize?”

“I promised to be home before six o’clock!”

“Then I’ll have a maid prepare a carriage for you to ride.”

“No. The distance is close, so I want to just walk.”

“It’ll be dangerous because it’s dark.”

“Don’t worry. I have Yurik with me.”

Yurik was already wearing his coat, ready to leave. Baron Kito’s eyes met Yurik’s.

“I’ll protect Lize well.”

“…Alright, if it’s Yurik, I can trust you.”

Baron Kito didn’t insist anymore and came out to the entrance with us.

Despite it being summer, the wind was chilly as it got dark. Before going outside, I checked the time. If we leave now, we’ll arrive at the Marsen mansion exactly at six o’clock.

“Lize.”

“Yes?”

Baron Kito called me.

“Next time, you can bring your friend Roger too.”

“…Roger?”

Suddenly? I was surprised by the name that came out without warning. Unlike me, Yurik seemed to have noticed something and frowned.

“That idiot must have asked you to say that, Baron.”

“Ahaha, you’re sharp as ever, Yurik.”

“There’s no need to listen to everything that idiot says. He’s stubborn and doesn’t listen.”

“For someone like that, he seems to like Lize a lot?”

As Yurik’s face hardened, Baron Kito laughed heartily, finding something very amusing. Baron Kito was just as perceptive.

“Let’s end the conversation here and go before it gets darker.”

“I’ll come again next time, Baron.”

After saying goodbye to Baron Kito one last time, we stepped outside the mansion.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was cold outside. My hands were cold, so I tucked them into my sides. Then Yurik, who was beside me, suddenly extended his hand to me.

“I want to hold it.”

Yurik said with a shameless face. Now it’s not even a request, but a plea. After quickly glancing behind to confirm that Baron Kito had gone inside the mansion, I reluctantly took his hand.

“Here.”

When I extended my hand, Yurik grabbed it eagerly.

“It’s warm.”

“Just from holding hands?”

“Your hand is warm, Lize.”

“They say if your hands are warm, your heart is cold.”

“That’s nonsense without basis. Don’t listen to such things.”

We passed through the downtown and past the library. After leaving the marketplace, which was more lively at night, we came to the small hill where the Marsen and Penton mansions were located.

Yurik seemed determined to escort me to the front of the mansion, as he didn’t take the path to the Penton house but climbed the hill with me.

We talked about many things with Yurik as we climbed. Naturally, I ended up mentioning how Roger had recently visited the mansion. After chattering excitedly, I belatedly realized that there was no response from Yurik and stopped talking.

“……”

“…Lize, there’s something I want to ask.”

Yurik asked after a silence. His expression was quite serious.

“What do you think of Roger Bakus?”

I wonder why both Roger and Yurik are curious about that. Is it a competitive psychology between the two that only I don’t know about?

In front of Roger, I casually avoided answering, but that was impossible in front of Yurik. As I was contemplating to choose an appropriate answer, I turned my head at the sound of wheels coming from behind.

That color and pattern belonged to the carriage my father rides.

“Lize?”

“Sorry, Yurik. I think my father has arrived!”

I pushed Yurik’s back and looked at the carriage. Yurik also seemed tense at the mention of my father, as he closed his mouth.

“If I enter the mansion later than my father, he’ll scold me. If I run around in a circle, I might arrive earlier than my father without being caught.”

“……”

“We have to part ways here today. See you later, Yurik!”

[This is the timeline separator]

After finishing dinner, I lay on the bed, staring intently at the ceiling. I thought about the last question Yurik had asked me before we parted.

“Lize.”

“Mother?”

I thought I sensed someone, and Isabel had entered the room. Surprised, I quickly raised my upper body.

“I have something to talk about, so come out.”

Isabel said only that and went downstairs. Thinking it might be an important conversation, I headed towards the stairs with my heart in my throat.

“……”

In the entrance hall sofa, not only Isabel but the whole family was present. Even Father.

“Sit down quickly.”

As Isabel pointed to a seat, I sat down bewildered and looked at my siblings beside me. They also seemed to have been called by Isabel without reason, tilting their heads. What could it be?

“What on earth is this about? At this hour.”

Father asked. There was a bit of irritation mixed in his voice.

“It’s nothing much, I just have something to say.”

“What on earth……”

“I want to leave the mansion for a while. At least a month, at most about three months. Just me alone.”

“…What?”

Everyone was surprised by Isabel’s words.

“I want to start research again. I can’t do research at all in the mansion, so I’m thinking of renting a room. It will take that long because I need to purchase new supplies as well.”

“…Research?”

“Once the preparations are complete in about three months, I’ll commute between the mansion and the research lab.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m serious.”

“Isabel!”

Father shouted, glaring fiercely at Isabel’s face. He seemed angry that Isabel was notifying him without prior consultation.

Father looked at her face, demanding sufficient reasons and circumstances that he could understand.

“I want to do the research I couldn’t finish during my student days.”

“…Isabel, why suddenly? You’re not a student anymore. You’re the lady of the Marsen family. Your children are growing up. Your duty is to guard the mansion. Not to do research. Haven’t you been doing well so far?”

“That’s why I want to do research now.”

“Isabel…!”

Isabel and Father clashed. As their opinions couldn’t be reconciled, Isabel’s eyes sharpened as if she had made up her mind.

“If the Count doesn’t approve of this, I have only one request.”

“……”

“I want to return to the Follong family.”

At her words, silence fell over the entrance hall.

The meaning of those words was only one,

To face a marital breakdown.

She was demanding a divorce.