The chess competition was a traditional event where three schools, including Serendia Academy, would each submit five players who would then participate in matches against one another.
Lillian, chosen as one of the players and thus saddled with the pride of a famous school, was completely flustered. It should have been an honor to be chosen as a representative for anything, but Lillian only had memories of such events.
She thought back to when she'd been part of Professor Gideon Rutherford's research lab at Minerva's Mage Training Institution. Professor Rutherford was a sharp-eyed old man with clipped white hair. Though he'd been stubborn and narrow-minded, he'd generally allowed Lillian to do her own research. And so, she'd cooped herself up in the laboratory, working on various magecraft projects.
Then, one day, Professor Rutherford, smoking a pipe, had said to her, after staying up for the last couple of days, "Hey, Islar. How about you go swing by the Seven Sages' qualifiers for a bit?"
The Seven Sages stood at the pinnacle of magecraft in the Castina Empire. The qualifying competition for such an important group was hardly something a person could just 'swing by for a bit.' Lillian had figured the man was only making a mere joke and went back to her work, but then he told her he'd already submitted a letter of recommendation and that she'd passed the documentation screening, right before using a strong sleeping spell to knock her out.
After that, despite committing the grave blunder of sleeping through the interview, she'd been chosen as one of the Sages. At the time, she found everything so strange she thought that she was either dreaming or that this was a practical joke. Even so, there were two people in the world she actually wanted to inform about her selection.
The first was her foster father, and the second her school friend. It was thanks to that friend that Lillian had been able to learn enchanted magecraft and put her best foot forward at Minerva's. At the time, she had thought it was her duty to tell him. She'd been distant from him for a little while, but she knew if she told him she'd become a Sage, he'd praise her. And then...
"Hey, Lady Lillian. You're about to run into a wall..."
Hearing a voice from above her, Lillian gave a start. This was Serendia Academy, not Minerva's.... And now that Lillian had been selected as a representative for the chess competition and she and Elliott had finished the paperwork in the staff room, they were on their way to give their report to the student council.
"Sorry..." she mumbled in apology, looking up at Elliott, who was walking next to her.
Elliott looked back at her, exasperated. She was clearly depressed. "You've been chosen as one of our players, but you don't seem the least bit happy about it."
Lillian didn't say anything in response, and eventually, Elliott stopped in front of the student council room. "Well, however you feel about it, we're still reporting it to the prince."
"...Okay."
Reporting the matter to Felix was another thing Lillian was feeling gloomy about. She and Elliott would be receiving special training for the competition every chance they had, including break time and after school. Naturally, that meant their work as student council members would come to a standstill.
I'm going to cause more trouble for Lord Cyril... She'd just been reflecting on how everyone else was always helping her and wondering if she could do something for them in return, but now this. She hung her head, the situation weighing heavily on her mind.
In the meantime, Elliott had opened the door. Felix and Cyril were inside going over some paperwork, but Bridget and Neil were absent, probably handling other tasks.
Felix looked up from the documents, moving his gaze back and forth between Lillian and Elliott. He smiled.
"I heard about the chess competition. I couldn't be happier that we have two student council members participating again this year. I'll be expecting your best efforts as representatives of the academy. And until then, we'll reduce your council work."
Lillian stole a glance at Cyril. He had his arms folded and his eyes narrowed in his usual stiff stare as he looked at the two newcomers.
"...Your Highness, I can just bring my work to the infirmary during night shifts so..." she insisted.
"That's ridiculous," interrupted Cyril, cutting her down instantly. "Our very own Serendia Academy hosts the chess competition. The rest of the student council will be present at the event as well, seeing to other matters. You need to focus on chess, lest you rub dirt in the prince's face."
Elliott nodded in agreement. "That's right," he said. "Besides, if you decide to take on all that extra work, I'd have to do the same, idiot."
"Lady Lillian," said Felix in a soft voice, "I was in the chess competition last year myself."
"You were?"
"I was. And the rest of the student council helped me with my work. So will you allow me to help you both this year?"
Despite Lillian's selection, Felix and Cyril were acting the same as always. They didn't seem to find it annoying or envy her for it.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," replied Felix, giving her a slightly mischievous grin. "But try not to go overboard. You're liable to stop sleeping."
In truth, ever since the day she'd first learned the rules, Lillian had been borrowing chess books from the library and eating into her sleep time to read them. Especially recently...she'd been having bouts of insomnia after the incident with Casey, and she'd been holding herself away in her room, using chess to distract herself.
As Lillian averted her eyes, Elliott looked over at Cyril, seeming to remember something. His lips formed a dark grin.
"Come to think of it, I seem to recall someone getting so mad over losing to me in chess that he lost sleep studying, then fainted during our game. Does that ring a bell, Cyril?"
"...I have a meeting with the department head, so I'll be leaving early," said the vice president, his face scrunching up as he turned away and quickly left the room.
"Elliott, you shouldn't tease Cyril too much," chided Felix. "He takes things very seriously."
Elliott gave a little shrug. A pained grin formed on Felix's face; the other boy clearly had no intention of fixing his behavior.
"Anyway, from your point of view, how skilled is our little squirrel?"
"She's a total beast," he replied. "We've only played a few times, but she's already driven me to a stalemate once."
"Really?" responded Felix, looking a little surprised. He got up from his chair and took a chessboard and some pieces off a shelf. Then he moved to the reception table, placed everything down, and looked at Lillian. "Want to try playing against me, then? If you're going to be in a competition, there's no harm in seeing how you match up with a variety of opponents."
"...I don't want to get in the way of your work..." she said, wanting to keep her distance from Felix.
"At the moment, I'm waiting for a response from the department head, so there's nothing I need to be doing," he explained. "Let's see...if you beat me, I'll grant you one wish."
Lillian's eyes went wide at the proposal. "...Can it be anything?"
"Of course."
Lillian actually did have something she wanted to request from Felix. It had been too difficult for her to tell him before, but this was the perfect chance.
"Thank you." She took a seat across from him.
Meanwhile, Felix watched her with a look of faint amusement. As he faced Lillian, Felix's heart was positively leaping. In general, Lillian never asked for anything. But now she wanted something from him. Felix was extremely interested in what the little squirrel wanted to ask of him. She'd been putting in the work in regard to both her classes and the council, so if she wanted something, he would be glad to give it to her as a reward.
The sight of her and Cyril talking casually while drinking coffee flashed through his mind. Felix had the feeling his favorite squirrel had gotten awfully attached to Cyril recently. In fact, she was now calling him 'Lord Cyril' instead of 'Lord Ashley.' And yet she still called him 'Your Imperial Highness' or 'Sir.'
Basically, he was sulking because his favorite pet had grown close to someone else.
What could a girl like her want? A math book...no, she is a doctor, so maybe something related to biology or medicine, perhaps? In that case, presenting her with the rarest one he could find and witnessing her astonishment sounded like great fun.
As he schemed, he moved his pieces. Skillfully, he aimed to lose without being obvious. With Lillian's stoic offensive, the game ended easily in less than an hour. Partly because Felix was holding back but mostly because the way she'd attacked him had been absolutely merciless. He found himself agreeing with Elliott's evaluation of her as 'a beast.'
"That's checkmate, sir," declared Lillian. The impassive expression she'd worn during the game dissolved into her usual calm and innocent look.
Perhaps I held back too much... thought Felix. Well, whatever. I was planning to lose anyway.
As he mused, Elliott—who had been watching the overwhelmingly one-sided game—took a sharp look and glared at Lillian.
"I finally figured it out," he said. "Lady Lillian, you were holding back in your game against me this afternoon, weren't you?"
Lillian looked at him in confusion and shook her head. "No. I didn't hold back. I did my absolute best to get to a stalemate."
"I knew it!" groaned Elliott in a low voice pricked with anger. "You were aiming for a draw right from the start! You know that's usually called 'holding back,' don't you?" He pinched Lillian's right cheek. For someone without much meat on her bones, her skin was unusually stretchy.
Sobbing with her mouth half open, Lillian tried to make excuses. "I wanted to test out patterns that would result in stalemates..." she whined.
"So you used me as a guinea pig," replied Elliott. "I don't like that one bit. I'm going to tell on you and have him switch your position with mine."
Elliott pinched her right cheek as well, reminding the prince of a certain rascal from his childhood. The boy was very intent on acting as noble as possible, but Felix knew that he'd been a total brat long ago.
What an energetic pair, he thought, cracking a wry grin at the way Elliott was enjoying himself despite his anger.
"Alright, that's enough. Let her off the hook," he chided. "Otherwise, the little squirrel's cheeks are going to stay like that."
Sulking, Elliott removed his hand from Lillian's face. She rubbed at the red spot left behind.
"Anyway," continued the prince, "what was it you wanted to ask me for?"
"...Please stop calling me little squirrel."
Matianing his calm, gentle smile, Felix silently reached out and pinched Lillian's left cheek.
"Wha..." she wailed.
"Wow, they are stretchy," he remarked. "Mm. I can see myself getting used to this."
"Stop it!"
"Oh. My apologies, Lillian," Felix yanked his hand away from her.
Sobbing internally, she rubbed both cheeks and looked at Felix in a confused gaze.
"Yes? What is it, Lillian?" asked Felix, smiling.
Lillian couldn't help but frown at Felix calling her by her first name without any title. She had expected him to call her Lady Lillian or Officer Lillian like everyone else done but she knew if she pointed it out now, Felix would simply answer nonchalantly that her request didn't spefifyed what she wanted to be called instead.
As such, Lillian turned her gaze to the chessboard and asked, "There is something else I would like for your to clerify, Your Imperial HIghness."
"Yes, of course," Felix nodded generously, though he understood from her tone that she was not pleased with his trick just now.
"Why did you purposely let me win?" she explained, "As I said before, I was testing out all possible moves that would result in stalemate. But Your Highness purposely made moves that would have ensured my victory."
"Oh...Did I?" Felix asked with a chuckle. It was evident to both Lillian and Elliott that asking Felix questions any further would be useless. As such, Lillian decided to give up on getting an answer out of him.
.............
Benjamin Mording, the second player on Serendia Academy's chess team, was a third-year in the advanced course and the son of a court musician. He'd studied music from a very young age, performing, composing and doing everything in between. Apparently, he'd already earned some high-society fans. Benjamin had flax-colored hair nearly cut at his jaw and his appearance was delicate and fragile.
Yes, fragile. He was a fragile young man.
"Chess is music! The record sheets of chess games are musical scores! Look at a person's records, play but a single match with them and you will see the music of their game! While some will come at you with ferocious attacks, forte, forte, sforzando! Others play with the dignity of a classic, formidable and unpreturbed! Elliott's chess is like a march! A melody like a parade of well-trained soldiers, possessing beauty and strength in its regular form! Ricardo's chess is like a tempest, each move a gust of icy wind, circling, tightening, swallowing the board whole. Beauty born not from order, but from the wild rhythm of the storm. Yes, simply listen and you will hear it! The high horns signaling the commencement of hostilities! Th valiant clapping of the cavalry's hooves across the ground!"
Lillian wondered when Benjamine had time to breathe as he delivered this over-the-top, red-faced, spittle-firing speech. Seeing Lucas's dumbfounded face, Lillian could tell that he was thinking of the same thing as her. Elliott stood next to her, a tired look on his face.
"He's...something of an artist," her fellow council member explained. "Once he get started, he gones one and one."
"Oh..."
"Best to just ignore him."
It was unclear whether Benjamine had heard them or not. His thin, delicate finger danced through the air like a conductor's baton as he gazed upon the chessboard in ecstasy. The pieces on it showed the conclusion of the game he'd just played with Lillian.
"Lady Lillian, your chess is like a suite performed by an orchestra! A score with no fluff, its every note from prelude to finale carefully constructed using precise calculations! A grand and sublime melody, each harmony played by every instrument to perfection, a compilation of the souls of the musicians! I would go so far as to say this miraculous score was granted to us by the god of music! What I mean to say is this..."
Benjamin turned to Lillian, dropping his hands onto her slight shoulders as he continued, "You should be the anchor of our team. Work hard."
"I agree," said Recardo smoothly in response.
As part of the special training program for the competition, Lillian had faced off against Benjamin Mording, their team's second player, for the first time. He was a powerful opponent and she could see why he'd been chosen as one of their school's representatives. Elliott had warned her not to try aiming for a stalemate, so she pulled no punches and won out in the end. The result of her victory had been that impassionate speech.
"I am the weakest of the five of us," said Benjamin, as though he didn't care in the slightest. "It is only natural that I should play first!"
Lillian shook her head and said, "That isn't true!" she inisted. "I'm the newest player, so..."
"It matters not if you're a novice or veteran," he said. "The one with the most skill plays last. And this is no mere flattery or modesty on my part! My family has a motto, lies may work on debt collectors and lovers, but never in music or chess!"
That didn't seem to Lillian like a family motto anyone would want to brag about. She looked at Elliott and Lucas for help, but they just shrugged. Clearly not picking up on Elliott's tired annoyance, Benjamine continued to wave his finger about and proselytize.
"Listen well, Lady Lillian. My chess has the versatility of music itself. At times it is fierce, at others it is heartrending. And yet at others it may be light and happy, grave and serious or grand and majestic! I can reproduce any musical style with my chess at will, but that doesn't make me talented!"
"...I think you're very talented," said Lillian.
"I may be somewhat strong, rather talented, a little better than average. But I know I don't stand head and shoulders above my fellows. Your skill, however, does just that. If you will not be our anchor, then I ask you, who will!?"
Elliott and Ricardo nodded along in firm agreement. Dizzying memories of her past came rushing back. The interview she slept through. The rehersal for the ceremony where she had been called out urgently. She could easily see history repeating itself the moment she was made their anchor.
Understanding his cousin's thoughts, Lucas spoke. "I mean, we've already submitted the order to Mr. Boyd. It would be a pain to get it changed now, so...maybe we should stick with what we gave him and keep Ricardo as the anchor." He then added, "I heard that the University's first player is a very talented player who came from Lindal just for chess."
Elliott looked depressed as he fiddled with his bangs. "Yeah. There's a lot of expectations on us this year, you know. Serendia Academy absolutely crushed the competition last year."
Lillian recalled something Felix had said. He was pleased two people from the student council had been chosen again this time and she knew he'd been on the team the previous year. In other words, someone other than Felix from the student council had participated last year.
"...Who from the student council competed last year?"
"The prince and Officer Maywood," replied Elliott. "The former was our second and the latter was our anchor."
In general, with contests like this, the anchor was the most skilled. She'd thought for sure that would be Felix but apparently it had been Neil, the council member who seemed least cut out for such a role.
"You know how Officer Maywood is so considerate? Like, how he always knows exactly what we want him to do."
"...Yes."
"He can do the exact opposite in chess. He'll mercilessly attack you right where you least want him to...It's frightening."
She had trouble imagining a gentle boy like Neil smashing his opponent's plans like that. As she tried, all she could think of what his warm smile.
Benjamin swung his finger around like a baton again and cut in. "Maywood's chess is like an extremely technical improptu. He predicts his opponent's moves, then comes up with the perfect counterpoint! It's truly wonderful!"
"Then what is His Highness's chess like?" asked Lillian quitely, remembering her match against him. She'd beaten him handily, but she also knew that Felix was holding back.
Elliott's values could be seen in the way he played from time to time, but Felix's style concealed his own. That was why Lillian was interested in how Benjamine felt about it.
Benjamin put a hand to his cheek and closed his eyes. "It's incredibly difficult to derive a musical style for the prince's chess. But if I had to say...it may be similar to your own, Lady Lillian."
Benjamin lifted the finger he was using as a baton above his head, then stopped it there, before swinging it straight down like the blade of guillotine.
"Precise, with nothing wasted...He'll use any means at his disposal to take the king. The only difference in his and yours is that you protect your pieces while he doesn't."