Persuasion

“Now, Checkmate.”

“….”

“Pathetic.”

I smiled at Stella, who was making a dazed expression.

Of course, while brimming with ridicule.

“A-again! One more time!”

“Alright. Though I’m not sure if you can win.”

“T-this time I’ll definitely…!”

Perhaps greatly provoked by my ridicule.

Stella grabbed her head and moved the chess piece again.

Black and white pieces intermingled, and after an unknown amount of time where pieces captured each other.

Holding the white pieces, I declared to Stella who was staring at the board while sweating cold sweat.

“Checkmate.”

“Ugh, uuugh…!”

“Seems you haven’t improved at all.”

“What did you say?!”

She’s barely changed since our first chess game.

I sighed while reviewing the pieces Stella had moved.

I could see she added slight variations to her strategy to win, but even those were within the variables of her usual gameplay style.

…I’d been satisfied with playing chess twice a week while nagging, believing time would solve things, but now time was running out.

Because Stella needed to demonstrate her abilities to their limits.

No choice then.

Though I prefer letting people realize things themselves, under these circumstances I’ll have to give an intensive lecture.

“Now, shall we review? Here, here, here. What do you think about this?”

“…What’s there to think? Wasn’t that the best move?”

“Hmm. What if instead of moving the Queen here, you moved the Knight?”

“What?! Then the Queen would be taken by a Pawn! Moving the Knight would only let me capture one Bishop at best!”

“Just try moving it first. If I moved the Knight here, what would you do?”

“…Hmm.”

With a displeased expression, Stella reluctantly moved pieces from my side.

Naturally, the optimal move to avoid being attacked by the moved Knight.

I kept moving pieces without pause with each turn.

“…Huh?!”

“See? Understand now?”

“H-how…?!”

A startled Stella reset the pieces to the same situation and began moving them around.

But the result was always the same.

The moment she sacrificed the Queen to capture the opponent’s Bishop while advancing the Knight.

The white pieces’ position rapidly deteriorated.

“Your Highness’s problem is that you cherish the Queen too much.”

“It’s the strongest piece! Isn’t that natural?!”

“That’s true. But the Queen is still just one piece among many.”

This isn’t to say the Queen isn’t important.

It’s literally the core piece combining Bishop and Rook capabilities.

However, no matter how well you handle one Queen, it only gives an advantage – a Queen alone can’t achieve victory.

After all, chess’s essence lies in checkmating the King.

But Stella tends to value the Queen more than the King.

“Don’t forget the game’s objective, always keep it in mind while playing. The ultimate goal is to checkmate the opponent’s King. Whether it’s done by Queen or Pawn doesn’t matter.”

“….”

“Now, shall we try again?”

In-game Stella always evaluated people.

She wouldn’t even consider strengthening those she didn’t acknowledge, treating them as non-existent.

Of course, it’s not strange to treat capable people better than incompetent ones.

But Stella completely treated incompetent people as non-existent, frequently earning resentment.

Due to that personality, she always acted coldly toward those she disliked in the royal family too.

Then being resented by those she discarded caused her to gradually fall in the succession line until ending up here.

“Ahem. Don’t touch the Queen.”

“T-teacher?”

“Your Highness has a tendency to think of the Queen first when in trouble. You should try considering other moves.”

“Other moves….”

Stella, who was naturally about to move the Queen, stared holes through the chessboard before putting down the Queen and picking up a Pawn instead.

She then looked at me with eyes mixing anxiety and pride, as if asking if this was right.

But I didn’t answer. No, couldn’t answer.

Because I’m not good at chess either.

The only chess I can win is Stella’s, whose strategies I’ve memorized like a guidebook.

And as I said, most of Stella’s chess notations tend to use the Queen aggressively.

Though I guided her, this is the first time I’ve seen her notation where she moves a Pawn first instead of the Queen.

“Hmm….”

But even if it’s a new notation, I still have gamer blood flowing through me.

My pride wouldn’t allow me to just accept defeat and let Stella win.

After agonizing as long as Stella had, I carefully moved a piece.

“….”

“….”

“….”

Our silent battle continued like that for quite some time.

In the emptied battlefield where most soldiers had fallen.

A tiny soldier pressed a blade against the King’s neck.

With escape routes blocked by other soldiers and another soldier glaring fiercely behind the one threatening the King.

The white King raised the white flag.

“Aah, I lost….”

“I-I won! Ahahaha!”

As tension released, Stella jumped around happily like a child while I irritably poked at the Pawn.

Even without memorized notations, to lose in one go like this…

My pride’s wounded… I’m really terrible at chess….

“Now you can’t call me pathetic anymore, Teacher Ophelia!”

“…You were still hung up on that?”

“Of course! How dare you call royalty pathetic! It was shocking!”

No wonder she was so focused without talking.

Did she hate being called pathetic that much?

My provocation meant to mildly taunt her apparently became the driving force behind her quick thinking.

“Hmm, I apologize for that. It was meant as slight provocation, but perhaps it hurt you.”

“Doesn’t matter, since I won! Doesn’t this prove Teacher Ophelia is pathetic! Ahaha!”

“….”

So this is how it feels.

Being called pathetic is surprisingly irritating.

I think I understand why Stella was so desperate to win.

Need to be more careful next time….

“Quite fortunate, Stella. …Long time no see, Teacher Ophelia.”

“Gahk, Grandma….”

“I told you not to call me Grandma. Principal-nim, Principal-nim.”

“Oh, Teacher Veronica. Hello. It’s been a while.”

“…Yes. Good to see you. It has been.”

Perhaps because we were completely absorbed in chess.

Both Stella and I were startled by Principal Veronica-nim who suddenly appeared behind us.

When did she arrive without making a sound?

“What brings you here?”

“…Though I dislike it, I came to deliver a message from the royal family. The date is three days later, location… You know where we held the friendly match? They said to go there.”

“Grandma delivering messages? Couldn’t they send someone else?”

Clink, clink.

Without responding to Stella, Principal Veronica-nim naturally opened a teacup in the counseling room corner and retrieved a bottle she’d hidden for truly difficult times.

It was alcohol she’d secretly stashed away saying she’d drink it when extremely stressed.

“If I sent others, they couldn’t deliver my message.”

Pop.

With a cheerful sound, the opened bottle was lifted and Principal-nim plugged it directly into her mouth without using a cup.

“Gulp, fuck….”

“Even for a grandma, shouldn’t you be blowing that bottle like a criminal in the academy? Others might misunderstand.”

“I’m an adult! Listen carefully – I’m not in the mood for jokes. Today’s your only chance to escape.”

“What?”

Principal-nim roughly set down the bottle now half-empty and sighed as if troubled.

“Though I hate to admit it, the academy can’t function without the royal family’s financial support.”

“Well obviously. You provide education with substantial tuition waivers that commoners couldn’t afford in a lifetime. The shortfall comes from financial support and donations…”

“Just listen! …Anyway, no matter how strong I am, I’m just a principal. It’s not easy to oppose the royal family who controls the academy’s purse strings.”

Principal Veronica-nim had spent her entire life nurturing students at the academy.

Though known as a capable and wealthy person who even spent personal funds to hire teachers, she was ultimately just an individual.

She couldn’t strongly oppose the royal family – the major financial backer filling the academy’s black hole-like expenses.

If she rebelled and they withdrew support, the academy would literally have to close.

While they wouldn’t completely cut off support given the academy’s symbolic importance and talent development role…

Any budget reduction would directly hit the students.

As someone who’d devoted her life to the academy and prided herself on caring for students above all, she couldn’t risk that situation.

But she also didn’t want to abandon the bratty princess she’d watched since her crying toddler days.

“So?”

“The only time I can help you is now, when people’s attention is least focused.”

Thus she thought:

Make it as if it never happened.

“I contacted an acquaintance. Someone highly skilled who can permanently alter bone structure and body shape with magic alone.”

“…Hide my appearance and flee?”

“Yes. I know it’s not what you want, but this is all I can prepare. At least with your abilities, you won’t starve anywhere. If needed, enter as a freshman next year. I’ll arrange it.”

“Not going.”

“What?”

“Said I’m not going, damn grandma. Don’t make me repeat.”

“It’s dangerous! You know the current situation…”

“I know what I’m saying. …Sorry, but there are people willing to fall into the trap with me. Can’t just abandon them.”

“….”

Veronica blankly stared at the princess before her.

It seemed the always arrogant brat had made friends.

Friends willing to follow her even into life-threatening danger.

Veronica silently downed the remaining half bottle in one go.