"I am ready, Your Highness."
Ignis was a bit surprised by the daunting gaze of this insolent maid. She turned into someone different whenever they were talking about money. "Heh, your greediness is showing, you insolent maid. Do you love money that much?" Ignis mocked.
"Yes, Your Highness, I was born without your privilege. As a young girl in dire need of money, I will try my best to get more and save more. I'm just being realistic," Anna said boldly.
Ignis gazed back at Anna's daunting gaze. He found it amusing that a girl didn't try to act cute and gentle like a white lotus in front of him. Anna's determination to collect small pocket money was quite strange yet fascinating for Ignis.
He was born with wealth, after all, so he wouldn't mind giving Anna a prize… if she won, of course.
"Mind you, I am undefeatable in chess. Even the Generals in the military cannot beat me," Ignis boasted. Anna nodded, just to make sure that Prince Ignis stopped talking and get to the game. Because she couldn't wait to get that prize.
'A thousand Eyrs equals 300 dollars! That is a lot!' Anna's eyes were lit. She had her eyes on the chessboard. "Your Highness, you are the white player. Please open the game."
"Oh, so you know that the white chess piece always moves first. It is quite commendable." Ignis said. He picked a the pawn in front of his bishop and took double steps forward without much thought.
Anna saw Prince Ignis' chess pawn and decided to take the pawn in front of her king for double steps. Ignis grinned and advance the pawn in front of his knight for another double steps to intimidate Anna. He was not playing seriously because he just wanted to see how hard this girl tried to win against him.
"You know this match is futile, right? But I can teach you how to play chess later." Prince Ignis said.
"Uh-huh…" Anna ignored the prince and seemed to think for a moment and suddenly took her queen out and nodded in satisfaction. "Checkmate."
"Huh?!" Ignis gawked at the sudden check from Anna. "You are kidding, right?"
"No, Your Highness," Anna pointed at her bishop, who had directly checkmated Ignis' king. "You have no way out now."
Ignis was jaw-dropped when he saw his king couldn't move anywhere to save himself, this uneducated maid really defeat him, and it only took her three steps to checkmate the Crown Prince.
Ignis couldn't fathom how he could lose against an uneducated maid like Anna. Of course, he knew about this move, it was the three steps checkmate, and he was not stupid enough to be defeated with such a simple trick… in normal circumstance.
He just didn't expect that Anna knew about this, and he foolishly fell into her trap.
Unable to accept his defeat, Ignis slammed the chess table and messed up the chess pieces. "T—That is just trial! I know that you are going to make that move. I just want to test your knowledge!"
Ignis put his chess piece in order again to restart the match. Anna sighed and rearranged her chess piece. 'So petty, like a brash kid.'
Prince Ignis was on full focus right now. His brain calculated every move that Anna made. Meanwhile, Anna was staring at the competitive Crown Prince and starting to count the money that she would get today. After a long chess match, Anna moved her queen and replayed the same word. "Checkmate."
Ignis paused for a moment. He rearranged his chess piece again while saying nothing to Anna. "Again," Ignis said.
…
"Checkmate," Anna said after she cornered Ignis' King with her rook.
"Arrgh!" Ignis was frustrated. He ruffled his fiery red hair and slammed the chess table. "How could I lose to a maid?! This is illogical!"
Anna yawned after a long chess match. She had to admit that Prince Ignis was a good player, but he was not the grandmaster of chess or anything.
'Should I tell him that I played online chess whenever I have free time in real life?' Anna pondered, she was not also a fantastic player, but she liked playing online chess in her free time because the game used the smallest amount of internet data for her phone. 'Hm… Probably not.' Looking at Prince Ignis, who was frustrated, she dismissed the idea and glanced at the clock.
"Your Highness, it is already past midnight. May I get your permission to leave?" Anna asked.
"Who allowed you to leave? By the order of Crown Prince, you shall not leave until I'm satisfied with the outcome!" Prince Ignis persisted.
"Your Highness, I also have to do maid duty tomorrow morning. Today has been very exhausting. I don't want to get sick," Anna said. As hours passed, she got more and more uncaring about formality for the Prince.
Because Crown Prince Ignis didn't act like a majestic Crown Prince, he looked like a boy throwing a tantrum.
"Ah, I also don't want you to get sick either," Ignis said. Then, he suddenly realized what he just said. Feeling ridiculous, Ignis shook his head. "I--I don't care whether you are sick or not, but I don't want to hear your complain tomorrow. You can go now."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Anna got up from the chair and stood in front of Prince Ignis. She bowed respectfully and stretched her palm towards the Crown Prince.
Prince Ignis frowned. "What?"
Anna took a deep breath. She pointed at the chess table. "Your Highness, you lost to me five times. Since Your Highness said that I will get a prize after beating you in chess, I am asking my prize here, five thousand Eyrs. Pay up, Your Highness."