"And checkmate."
"Your teacher has lost. Your highness, your wisdom truly knows no bounds."
"Thank you teacher… it was only possible due to your guidance."
After standing up from the chess table, Ray thanked his old chess teacher named Berthold, and slowly walked back into the palace not minding the shocked crowd.
The crowd consisted of chess enthusiasts who had gathered when the crown prince Ray had issued an official challenge to his teacher and the empire's number one chess grandmaster, Berthold Greyman.
Watching the crown prince defeat the undefeated Berthold in only a few moves, everyone was dumbfounded.
The crown prince who was known to only train all day had suddenly gained a legendary system as well as defeated a number one chess grandmaster in just two days.
What was a blessed? This was blessed. Hard working, lucky and wise. To the people who listened to news regarding the crown prince, his impression kept getting better and better.
"Cleared the mission, gained fame and improved my impression on people. A morning well spent."
Right at this moment a golden window appeared in front of Ray who was walking in the palace whistling a melodious tune.
[Quest: The Beginning of Pride
Status: Completed
Clear method: Custom (both 1 and 2)
Remark: Cleared both condition 1 and 2 in one go. Hidden condition has been met, rewards have been amplified.
Rewards: Choose any 3 skills from the available ones, 300 points.]
'Oh! An unexpected development! My eighteen years of this life have not been spent in vain!'
Without any hesitation Ray choose the skills Strong Body-(B), Reverence-(B), and Pride Aura-(A+).
He didn't really want intimidation. He would rather use the 'Ring of Killing Intent' from the shop to control the fear of his enemies.
After all, killing intent had a lot of uses.
'And now I have another important choice…'
He had to choose whom to have sex with.
'I have two primary targets but in my mind but…'
The first target was head maid Adrianna. He knew she was in love with him because she had confessed to him during his second life before she died due to the conspiracy ensuing, and was one of his lovers during his third life.
He already knew her soft spots and fetishes, and therefore could easily subdue her completely and make her depended on him.
The other target was Rachel, a girl who like him just turned eighteen. She was his personal maid, and was in training in the maid quarters for the last three years, and only returned a few months earlier.
She and Ray had spent their childhoods together, and even though she was his maid, he could without any shame call her his only childhood friend and someone who was completely loyal to him.
Rachel underwent combat training in the morning and did most of the work when Ray was not in his room, so they could barely meet.
But when they did meet, her face would light up with visible happiness as she would rush to talk with Ray with a charming smile on her face.
Rachel was not his lover in his past life because if he did nothing, even in this life she would die the next year due to a certain incident. That had also ushered me to my madness slowly. In both my second and third lives I couldn't prevent her death.
The reason for this dilemma was even though Rachel was infatuated with Ray, she was still just eighteen… and he did not want to waste the whole day explaining and consoling her just to have sex.
He would undoubtedly have Rachel in his harem, but only before he made her completely explore her feelings for him.
And thus, he selected Adrianna as her target.
'Time to check out my Reverence passive.'
*********************
Adrianna was walking towards Ray's room on the second floor.
This was the first time he had called her personally and to say she was nervous would be an understatement.
Even though she was regularly called upon by the Empress for various matters, and was rather used to pressure and difficult scenarios, for her the crown prince was like a sun, shining brightly and standing tall without falter.
For the longest time she had worked in the palace, she had met a lot of corrupt officials in the court, some who would do a lot of awful things to some of the maids in training, but since they were not official maids yet, she couldn't do anything.
Even when she reported things to the previous emperor, he dismissed her and said to write it off as part of their training.
As she started her work as a maid, she slowly got accustomed to a lot of sights. Ruthlessness against people who failed to pay the empire what they owed, conspiracy and schemes among officials in the court, evil ploys to obtain land and money from the powerless or naïve people of the empire and even outright murders happening right in front of her just because a subordinate thought the upper echelon was corrupt and voiced out his concern.
It was then that she understood the world of those who were rich and powerful was not bright at all. It was dark and twisted, filled with schemes, ploys, betrayals and lies.
Slowly she became cold and calm, ignoring everything happening around her. As long as she focused on her work and encouraged the other maids to do the same, they would be safe.
She thought she would stay disgusted towards the world forever but that all changed when the previous emperor died and the crown prince was born.
The officials were thrown into huge workloads and everyone was too busy to care about their own profits, as the slightest misstep could mark them as traitors.
As the crown prince grew up, he started training and delving into matters of the kingdom from a very young age.
Even though he was the future emperor, he would talk to everyone, be it maids or butlers or servants without being too overbearing or too friendly.
And then finally one day when she saw him gather evidence and arrest almost every corrupt noble and palace official, his stoic face teeming with coldness and his elegant pose as he sentenced them to imprisonment, it lit a small spark in her heart.
As the years went by, the prince grew into a handsome man, too handsome to be contained by mere words, his fame kept growing, but his nature did not change.
Neither did he partake in any evil schemes, nor did he use his authority to commit any illicit act. To Adrianna, he was the epitome of justice, the only person who made her world bright, and the only person she cared about.
The small spark in her heart slowly grew into a dazzling fire, melting away the darkness and filling her heart with warmth.
And one day when he was fifteen and she visited him on orders of the empress, he had given her the most charming smile she had ever seen, and asked her if everything in the palace was alright.
At that moment she had understood her feelings were not just reverence.
When realization finally hit her, she felt complicated, guilty and extremely troubled. She was having lustful towards the only person she revered and respected. She lusted after someone whom she had seen grow up from a kid and she was lusting after someone who was far younger than him.
Even though she was beautiful, she knew the one she had these thoughts for would be filled with women far more beautiful than her. She didn't even have the qualifications to be with the prince.
Thinking this way she tried to control herself, but the more she did the emptier she felt.
Finally when she saw the prince obtaining a legendary ranked system, along with hundreds of young beautiful noble women giving him bashful smiles during the banquet, she knew the fire she had looked up to had long since ascended and become the sun.
A sun far out of her reach.
She decided to be just another person under the impressive glow of the sun, watching the prince's success from the sides, without aiming at it at the cost of burning herself.
But just as she was trying to subdue her feelings, the prince had called for her.
With a thumping heart and a stoic face that betrayed her heart, she reached the door she was aiming for.
"Your highness, head maid Adrianna at your command."
"Come in."
'For some reason his voice seems even more charming than usual.'
As she opened the door, she could see the figure she wanted to only observe but never go close.
The prince was sitting at his desk on the other side of the room, facing the doorway. As the sunlight from the window shined upon his face and his silver hair ruffled in the slight wind, she felt he wasn't the sun anymore, but a star, a star far brighter than any sun ever discovered.
Standing in front of a burning star, all Adrianna could feel and say was…
"Hot."
"…"
"…"
'I'm done for.'