Laila was staring intently at the checkered board, or more precisely, at the board and the pieces placed on it, with a serious expression. Without blinking even once, it looked as if she was glaring, engaged in a staring contest.

Mel, sitting opposite her, said with a giggle:

“Lady Kristrad, you need to breathe while playing the game.”

At that, Laila let out a loud sigh, and Mel burst into even louder laughter. Even after that, Laila continued to stare at the board for a long time before slumping her shoulders and pouting.

“You’re too good at this, Mel.”

Mel said with a voice mixed with laughter:

“Lady Laila, you just learned this today. You’ll soon be better than me.”

The game the two were playing was called ‘Lambrale’, a game with a long history.

Two players each have brown and blue pieces, placing them on the checkered board while capturing each other’s pieces to expand their own territory, or ‘home’. The game ends when there’s no more space to expand or no more usable pieces, with the player occupying less space losing.

Laila had played two games with Mel after learning the rules, struggling throughout both games.

In the third game, she seemed to start off strongly, but that might have been a mistake, as from the middle, the flow somehow started to get blocked, resulting in her staring at the board without even breathing.

“Take the fifth piece on the right.”

A gentle whisper was heard near Laila’s right ear. As Laila turned her head in surprise, Mel, who had already known about Eustar’s arrival, covered her mouth with the back of her hand and smiled mischievously.

Turning back to Mel, Laila put on a deliberately sulky expression and said:

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Eustar gently wrapped his arm around Laila’s shoulders and said soothingly:

“I told her not to say anything, so don’t be angry with Mel.”

Mel, still with a hint of laughter, stood up from her seat.

“I’ll go prepare some tea.”

As she left, Eustar naturally sat down opposite Laila. Looking down at the board, he smiled softly and moved one piece to the side, magically opening up a path for Laila to move.

“It seems you were struggling quite a bit.”

Leaning back in her chair, Laila raised the corner of her lips slightly and let out a short sigh.

“I just learned the rules a little while ago. I thought I was starting to understand, but then I got stuck again.”

“Shall we play a game together?”

Staring at him, Laila furrowed her brows.

“But I’ll lose.”

Eustar chuckled softly at her unenthusiastic response.

“Why do you think about losing first?”

At that moment, Mel returned with the tea. After clearing the Lambrale board to one side, she placed cups in front of each of them, and in the center, she set down a small plate with soft cookies, cream-filled choux pastry, and pastries brushed with sugar syrup and lightly charred.

The conversation that had been briefly interrupted resumed only after Mel bent her knees and left the living room. Eustar asked again:

“Hm? Laila. Answer me. Why do you think about losing first? It’s not like you.”

Laila retorted:

“I can’t beat you, Eustar.”

Hearing her words, Eustar’s lips twitched imperceptibly. However, he maintained his gentle smile and leaned slightly towards the table.

“Why do you say that?”

Eustar reached out and gently caressed the tips of Laila’s fingers placed next to the saucer.

He wasn’t holding her hand, just softly stroking the smooth surface above her fingernails, but all of Laila’s nerves were focused on that spot. And at the same time, she felt troubled.

Why am I troubled? Laila thought. And before she could even take a breath, she found the answer to her own question.

It’s because his eyes looking at me are so affectionate. She kept her gaze on Eustar’s fingertips, which were tickling the base of her nails, and inwardly murmured. All the while, Eustar was steadily gazing at Laila with a mixture of concern and affection in his eyes.

‘That’s why it’s harder to bring it up. Because he worries about me.’

Laila’s eyes slowly closed.

About Badin, about her birth, about her mother, about the witch’s bloodline… Lately, she had been unable to sleep, thinking about all these things. She hadn’t even thought about looking for the materials left by the previous king in the library.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

When Eustar asked, Laila snapped out of her thoughts. She slightly curled her fingertips that were touching him into a fist. As she withdrew, Eustar smiled enigmatically and naturally withdrew his hand.

Laila said:

“It’s not that I have any worries. It’s just… Eustar, you must have played this game a lot. So I’m saying I can’t win against you. Isn’t that obvious?”

Eustar knew that Laila was subtly changing the subject again, but he didn’t point it out. He wanted to keep the promise he had made to believe whatever she said.

There would come a limit someday, but until then…

As he smiled, his lips formed a perfect arc. It was as graceful as a line drawn cleanly without hesitation by a very skilled painter. Laila found herself captivated by those lips again, then startled herself and averted her gaze.

“I haven’t… played it that often either.”

Eustar, who had gently pushed aside his teacup, picked up a brown piece from the board. The piece, made of high-quality wood, was smoothly carved and polished to a shine, moving lightly like a toy between Eustar’s fingers.

“I learned it from my elder brother, but he wasn’t in a position to always sit with me and play games. By that time, he was already managing his role as king well without the help of a regent.”

“You could have played with friends.”

At Laila’s words, Eustar let out a groan and pretended to clutch his chest, then laughed softly.

“You’re mercilessly hitting a sore spot. I was almost always alone. As a result, I became quite adept at entertaining myself.”

A smile was about to form on Laila’s lips, her cheeks that had just regained some life moving slightly.

—Well, I don’t think so.

A voice, as if scraping metal from thin air, mixed with a giggling laughter, was heard. Before the two could react to it, a streak of dark red smoke rose, and Deceptor suddenly appeared.

“What on earth are you…!”

Not only Laila but even Eustar looked at him with astonished expressions. His black hair, moving here and there like a burning flame, was still the same, and his strangely glossy eyes, as if covered with an oil film, still had embers instead of pupils.

Although it was a sight she had seen only once before, Laila was almost frozen, unable to speak. It wasn’t because she was afraid of him. But seeing him naturally reminded her of Badin, and remembering his words “Let’s meet again” made her heart sink.

Deceptor looked at Laila, who had turned to stone, as if finding her amusing, and continued speaking.

“I’ve played with you several times, and yet there’s such an ungrateful human.”

Although his gaze was fixed on Laila, those words were directed at Eustar. Suddenly developing a headache, Eustar frowned deeply and rubbed his forehead.

“Cut out the unfunny nonsense and just disappear, will you? Since when did this palace become a playground for demons? In broad daylight, no less.”

“Ha!”

Deceptor burst into loud laughter. It was so loud that it seemed to make the spacious living room reverberate. Laila quickly turned to look at the door, worried that Mel or other employees might be startled and come in. Then, with a click, the doorknob moved on its own and locked.

Deceptor said:

“Don’t waste your time with unnecessary worries, young witch. Do I look like such a novice that I wouldn’t take such precautions?”

Laila’s lips tightened forcefully. After biting her tongue hard with her molars, she gathered her courage, raised her head, and looked directly at Deceptor.

The first and last time she had seen his appearance, it was night, and she had almost been seduced by him. Because of that, she had been afraid, but not now.

“Why have you appeared?”

As she asked, Deceptor’s eyes glinted brightly, like the surface of a gold coin catching sunlight. At that moment, Laila saw a long shadow flickering on the wall as she met his eyes.

‘A tail…’

It was Deceptor’s tail. It wasn’t long and rope-like with an arrowhead-like scale at the end, as many people imagine. Instead, it looked closer to that of a lizard, with dense, black scale-like protrusions covering its surface.

Deceptor said:

“Something has changed.”

At that moment, both Eustar and Laila simultaneously felt caught off guard and held their breath. But their reasons were different.

Eustar flinched, wondering if Deceptor had noticed their scheme—finding a way to break the seal on their backs and nullify the contract—while Laila was startled, thinking that Deceptor might have noticed her contact with Badin. If he were to tell Eustar about that…

Ignoring the tense atmosphere between the two, Deceptor slowly paced behind Laila’s back, as if he were an elegant nobleman. Every time his tail moved, there was a rustling sound. Laila knew that Deceptor was doing this deliberately and tightly closed her eyes.

Eustar said sharply:

“Get out, Deceptor.”

Deceptor laughed with a strange sound. This time, Laila spoke:

“If you don’t leave, I’ll sprinkle chaff on you.”

Another laugh came in response. Deceptor lightly placed his palm on the nape of Laila’s neck, and it was so cold and smooth that Laila’s spine stiffened.

“Why, to make me sneeze and fly away? That only works on the lowest of the low. It doesn’t work on me.”

Swallowing hard, Laila turned to look at Deceptor with an angry expression.

“We’ll see if it works or not when we try it.”

Their eyes met. One pair was bright red human eyes, the other was demon eyes containing flames. But they seemed to resemble each other, making Laila taste a small despair.

Deceptor said:

“Something has definitely changed… but what exactly has changed?”