CH 9

“Checkmate.”

The queen happily smiled as Olivia nervously took her king.

“Ara Ara, I lost. You are quite strong aren’t you.”

“Your Majesty as well……”

That was her honest thought. The queen was terrifyingly strong in chess. She was cornered so many times that she was forced to come up with new strategies. At first, Olivia intended to hold back and intentionally lose to the queen but before she realized it, she was so absorbed by the match that she got serious.

(…….this is the first time I couldn’t control the match at all.)

Olivia learned to play chess because Alan forced her to play with him. Since Alan can’t handle losing well, she had to learn how to play it so well that she could fake a defeat without him noticing. As a result, Olivia was obsessed with chess for a while. Thanks to that, she became so skilled that she can lose so naturally without Alan noticing that she was holding back.—–However, the queen was too strong.

That being said, why did the queen suddenly invite Olivia to a chess match? Rather, why is she so happy to lose to her?

Olivia hid her puzzlement inside while putting away her white pieces.

Then, as the queen was putting away her black pieces, she raised a new topic.

“What kind of person does the Crown Prince look like to you?”

Once again, the queen suddenly dropped a hard-to-answer question. It appears that she dislikes beating around the bush.

The conversation shifted all of a sudden since her question came out of nowhere. However, Olivia can’t help but feel that each move the queen made is leading her somewhere.

(…..it might be better if I don’t give her a simple answer here.)

Olivia still doesn’t know why the queen has called for her today. However, there is one thing that she learned from the development so far. The queen is trying to test Olivia for [something]. She still doesn’t know what that something is so she doesn’t know whether she should pass or fail this test either.

But first, the queen’s question. What kind of person does the Crown Prince look like to her? Should she be honest here, or perhaps she sho–

“I want to hear your honest opinion of him.”

As though she read Olivia’s thoughts, the queen continued.

After she said that, the queen picked up a scone and split it in two before applying clotted cream on it. Olivia tries to discern what the queen’s intention is from her action but all she can see is how casual she is. It is as if this is really just small talk at a tea party. Until the end, the queen’s casual attitude never breaks.

Thus, Olivia gave up.

“……..I think he is a very prideful person.”

“Is that so. Continue.”

“…..Umm, if he takes his pride in the right direction then I think that it will be quite beneficial for him but if he takes it in the wrong direction, Umm….., things might turn troublesome because of his position as the crown prince. I think that His Highness does not have that many people who can cautious him in the unlikely case where His Highness did something wrong.”

“Can you elaborate more about this wrong direction?”

Olivia let out a deep sigh as she had no choice but to continue.

“At times, His Highness might mistake his pride for selfishness. Also, it will be a problem if His Highness can not recognize his fault or the limit of his ability.”

While Olivia was nervously peeking to see if the queen was angry at her for her answer or not, she found that the queen was still happily smiling.

When the queen finished eating her scone, she wiped her mouth and hands with a napkin.

“But be it the King or the Crown Prince, they are still human beings right. We all have our shortcomings. To make up for those shortcomings, what do you think they should do?”

“Perhaps, they need someone at their side to compensate for those shortcomings?”

“Right. What they need is [Someone that can compensate for their shortcomings].”

The queen said that with her biggest smile so far.

Seeing that smile, cold sweat ran down Olivia’s spine.

(……I made a [mistake].)

That is what her intuition is saying.

The answer she gave the queen was a [mistake]. If she doesn’t change the topic and immediately leaves this place, it will be very bad for her. However, the queen is someone that can [make Olivia commit a mistake]. Will she easily let Olivia run away even if she tries?

(This is bad….)

‘Think’ Olivia tells herself.

However, the more she tries to find a way out, the more she feels like a butterfly caught in a spider web. Perhaps from the beginning——that’s right, since she won against the queen in the chess match, she has been dancing on top of her palm. This person is [Dangerous].

At that moment——

“Your Majesty!”

Along with the voice of the guard standing outside the room and a loud bang, the door was suddenly opened and Olivia’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

Looking at the door, Miss Tiana Lemone is standing there with a flushed face. Behind her, two guards who were standing in front of the queen’s room were looking inside with an extremely pale expression. Their hands extended to the empty air as though they were trying to stop Tiana but they couldn’t make it in time.

As expected, even the queen herself was also taken aback by her sudden appearance. She erased the joyful smile she was wearing until now and her eyes went round in surprise.

“What is going on?”

However, as expected of the queen, she immediately replaced her astonished expression with a faint smile and addressed her sudden visitor with a calm voice.

On the other hand, Tiana screamed back with a bright red face.

“Why did you invite Olivia-sama to a tea party, Your Majesty! Olivia-sama is no longer His Highness’s fiancee! His current fiancee is me!”

Olivia was at a loss for words. What was Tiana thinking? Instead of apologizing for intruding on the queen’s room, she suddenly started complaining.

Although the queen slightly narrowed her eyes at Tiana, her reply was calm and polite.

“……I see. I understand what you are trying to say. It can’t be helped. Olivia, let’s leave it at this for today…….an uninvited butterfly has just flown into the room after all.”

Olivia nodded to the queen’s words. She doesn’t really understand what is going on but it seems that she is safe for the time being. While stroking her chest, she left the queen’s room.