Niveus walked silently, following the Queen.
The guards were giving him stares, still cautious because he had been hurled to the deepest layer.
His mind raced as he tried to comprehend the situation.
Niveus had expected he would get released soon. What he didn't expect was the Queen coming down there herself.
Talking about the Queen, she was as beautiful as she appeared in the game's illustration. But witnessing it for himself, it seemed the word 'beautiful' was an understatement.
'Is this what they called a mature woman's charm?'
For starters, Niveus had already passed the ideal marriage age in his previous life. It was understandable if a woman like the Queen was seen as more appealing to him than Eliana, who had hinted at a liking for Niveus.
'Well, I'm glad it's not a romantic feeling. I don't want to end up becoming her subject of excessive obsession,' Niveus sighed. 'Should I just make Alphonso the target instead?'
Shaking his head, Niveus discarded the idea. 'No. It's too late to make that happen. Her impression of him was already bad in the first place.'
The Queen noticed the gestures from Niveus when she glanced behind, thinking he might be upset about the ordeal.
"I truly apologize for treating you crudely," the Queen said, making the guards flinch, feeling ashamed.
Surprised by her sudden apology, Niveus waved his hands.
"No, Your Majesty. You don't need to apologize to me."
"No, I should," shaking her head, the Queen muttered. "Or else Starling will gnaw at me...'
'What?' Niveus was dumbfounded.
"I don't want the relationship between Albus and the royal family to become strained because of this incident. That's why, I should apologize as the side who has wronged you."
"I'm really alright, Your Majesty.
The Queen suddenly stopped. She turned around and smiled, looking at Niveus sincerely.
"I insist."
"W-well then..."
"We'll compensate you for this incident," the Queen stated firmly.
At her word, Niveus couldn't help but celebrate internally. It was according to his plan.
Deliberately sighing, Niveus slumped his shoulder.
"If you insist, Your Majesty. It's not like I can refuse you any more than this."
Niveus could feel the guards become tense after he spoke like that. They gave him death glances because of the rudeness in his way of speaking.
What did they expect, though?
Niveus did not grow up as a nobleman. He never had received an education in ethics or anything related to nobility.
Even if he were an enthusiast of old nobility in his previous life, he would undoubtedly distrust his own ability to replicate what he read in books, articles, and other sources.
Rather than deliberately acting in a way he was unfamiliar with, wouldn't it be better if he just kept being himself instead? But it was not like he didn't try to be respectful, at all.
It was just that was his limit.
Surely, the Queen was aware that Niveus was a child who Starling had adopted as her brother.
Noticing the smile on the Queen's face, unbothered by his 'rudeness,' Niveus sighed.
'Why are these guards so sensitive when their Queen herself doesn't mind it? Geez...'
...
Niveus was sitting on the chair under the pavilion located in the royal garden.
Sitting across from him was the Queen herself, flanked by two maids, who seemed to have been trained as assassins.
One of the maids held a chessboard in her hand.
After her partner cleaned the table, she set up the board. As she did that, the maid's dark eyes made contact with Niveus's.
"???"
The maid closed her eyes, slightly bowing her head when she noticed Niveus's puzzled look.
'Does she know me?'
She did look like she knew him, especially after making a respectful gesture like that.
After the table was set up for a round of chess, the Queen said, "Pick your side, child."
It was kind of weird getting called a child by the Queen, but Niveus tried to push the thoughts away.
He stared at the board, spotting the white chess that was already placed on his side, so he decided to just go with it.
"I'll play white, I guess."
The Queen smiled and nodded, "Go ahead, then."
Why are they suddenly playing chess you ask?
Well...
Niveus was planning to leave immediately after he received the compensation from the Queen. However, the Queen suddenly invited him to a game of chess.
He had thought to refuse the invitation until the Queen dropped a bait he couldn't afford to let go.
A Wish Upon The Star, or the Star Fragment.
The Queen offered Niveus a chance to use the Star Fragment once if he won. However, if the Queen won, she may request anything from him.
To Niveus, those conditions sounded like a win-win situation, so he had no reason to refuse her. In the beginning, he had been thinking about requesting one use of the Star Fragment as compensation but changed his mind, thinking that was too stretched.
'No one but the King and Queen is supposed to know of its existence. If I suddenly said I wanted to use one chance to grant my wish, I would get apprehended and questioned again. Moreover, it only has three uses left before it shatters...'
Niveus put his hand under his chin.
'But I never thought the Queen would be so kind as to tell me about the artifact and even offered a chance to use it if I won this.'
With the confidence surging within, Niveus grabbed the first pawn, ready to make a move.
'Nono, come out and help me.'
["Wow, what a cheater."]
'S-shuush. Just help me win this game so I can prevent the world's destruction.'
["What could a game of chess do to prevent it?"]
Nono sighed.
["Fine. Let's get this over with."]
Niveus made his first move, pushing the pawn to E4.
He glanced at the Queen, who simply smiled and responded with a symmetrical move, pushing her own pawn to E5.
Niveus played carefully, following Nono's suggestion. He knew from experience that the Queen was an intelligent character.
But with Nono's help, he felt he could defeat the Queen whose skill was at Grandmaster level, at least.
'No matter how good you are. You will still lose to the all-knowing system that can predict your move.'
["Move your knight to F3."]
Niveus followed Nono's suggestions.
The Queen mirrored him, quickly moving her pieces confidently.
After a few turns, Niveus began to feel nervous.
Every time he thought had an advantage, the Queen, as if could read his mind, quickly turned the tide.
Niveus's pieces started crumbling by the midgame.
The Queen strategically used her bishops and rooks to corner his pieces, leaving him little room to make a move.
Nono was unusually quiet and Niveus could feel the sentient Beacon's frustration.
["The way she moves her pieces... it's predicting no more! She's seeing the future! I can't believe I'm losing to her."]
["This won't do. I'm switching to serious mode now!"]
After a lengthy game of predicting and countering each other's moves, the game finally ended without a victor.
"Three hours have passed and yet both of our kings are still on the board. Should we call it a draw?"
Niveus leaned back slumply. That was the longest and most intense chess game of his life.
"What about the term? Does that mean we don't get anything from each other, Your Majesty?"
The Queen smiled as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her palms.
"That will make this a meaningless game," she said. "So, I suggest a change."
"We both are the winners. I'll give you one use of the Star Fragment, and you'll have to comply with my request."