Chapter 172
Monica stared expressionlessly down at the black-and-white board and moved her black knight with a soft click.
Seated across the board from her was a black-haired young man with a sharp-featured face: Roberto Winkel.
Just as Roberto moved his white queen, Monica moved her black bishop without missing a beat.
"Checkmate."
"I've lost."
The moment Roberto lowered his head, Monica's blank expression softened; she was back to her usual uncertain-looking self.
Chess was a good way to temporarily forget her worries and anxieties. Roberto was the only person in the classroom whose skill matched Monica's, so she could immerse herself in the game all the more.
The whole engagement business was troublesome, but Monica didn't dislike playing chess with Roberto, either.
Roberto gazed intently at the pieces on the board, reviewing the game they had just played.
"I was too careless in the endgame this time. I thought of a new move and wanted to try it, but... I overdid the forte, and it was nowhere near cantabile."
"...Huh?"
"It should have been a gentler crescendo."
"...Um...?"
Why had musical terminology suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
Perhaps sensing Monica's confusion, Roberto spoke with an oddly proud expression.
"Moulding-senpai told me that my words lacked musical elegance. So I decided to follow Moulding-senpai's example and put it into practice."
Monica awkwardly turned her head and looked at Elliott and Benjamin, who had been watching the match.
Beside Elliott, who wore a distant look in his eyes, Benjamin stood with his arms folded, nodding along enthusiastically.
"Winkel-kun's phrasing is far too stiff for courting women. When courting a woman, you must be more musical and elegant. Do you understand?"
"S-sorry, I don't quite understand..."
As Monica apologized sheepishly, Elliott propped his chin on his hand and spoke with half-lidded eyes.
"Don't worry, Miss Norton. I don't really understand it either."
"What matters in love is flamboyance and elegance! In other words, brillante! Grazioso! To play a melody that makes a lady's heart tremble, you need sensitivity!"
As Benjamin passionately held forth, his flaxen hair flying, Roberto produced a notebook from somewhere and wrote down Benjamin's words exactly as spoken. He was nothing if not serious.
To be honest, Monica didn't understand a single thing Benjamin was saying, but the word love made her think of Bridget.
Bridget had said that she loved Felix when he was a child.
She had said she only wanted to see him... her face pained.
The fact that Bridget, always such a dignified and noble lady, had shown such an expression had come as quite a shock to Monica.
Monica could not forget Bridget's sad profile from that moment.
"...Love doesn't look like much fun."
The instant Monica murmured those words, Elliott and Benjamin both looked up and stared at her. It must have been extraordinarily unusual for Monica to say the word love.
"Aha, I see..."
Elliott grinned knowingly for some reason, while Benjamin brushed back his hair and spoke.
"Of course, it is my belief that love must be enjoyed with flamboyance, elegance, and musicality! But sometimes there is the aching longing that makes one's heart burn, the jealousy that makes one view others with envy, and the tragic love of those parted by fate! Ah, even the inner conflict over the lust one feels for the person one loves! All of it is ugly yet beautiful, do you understand, Miss Norton?"
"...Um, so is love ugly or beautiful?"
"Ugly yet beautiful! The two are perfectly compatible!"
"P-please, I really don't understand... Could you put it in an equation?"
There was a deep divide between Benjamin, who tried to compare every little thing to music, and Monica, who tried to understand everything through equations. It would probably—no, certainly—never be bridged.
As Monica clutched her head, her eyes spinning with confusion, Elliott drooped his already drooping eyes even further and gave her a malicious look.
"Miss Norton, have you finally started thinking about that sort of thing...? Well, I've suspected as much since the school festival."
"...Huh? No, um, this isn't about me..."
"I think love between people of different social status is nothing but trouble. A noble should marry a wife befitting his status."
"Y-yes."
What did love between people of different social status have to do with anything? Monica tilted her head in confusion.
Elliott kept mentioning the school festival, but Monica had no memory of encountering anything resembling that sort of incident there.
As Monica stood bewildered, Elliott spoke with that knowing look once more.
"Anyone who recklessly crosses the barriers of status usually ends up in trouble. Even stories in this world are mostly tragedies, aren't they?"
"Elliott! That hardheaded way of thinking is what creates the tragedy of love across social classes! Ah, but it is also true that this barrier of status is what makes tragedy beautiful! Since tragedy creates beautiful music even when the people involved do not want it to, what a terrible sin it is!"
Benjamin passionately expounded to Elliott, spraying spit as he spoke, then finally gazed up at the ceiling with an anguished expression over his own words.
Elliott shrugged and gave Monica a cynical smile.
"Well, Miss Norton is technically the adopted daughter of the former Countess of House Kelbeck, isn't she? If she acquires an education befitting her status, then it wouldn't be entirely impossible... That fellow is adopted too, after all."
Who could that fellow be? Monica grew even more confused, while Benjamin opened his eyes wide and stared at Elliott.
"I'm amazed. You've become quite open-minded, Elliott. You used to cling so stubbornly to social status."
"It's nothing. I just thought two former commoners would make a good match."
Monica wondered whose story they were talking about.
"I'm sorry... I still don't really understand love..."
When Monica muttered those words, Roberto looked up from his notebook, where he had been diligently writing down Benjamin's words.
"It's all right, Miss Monica. I'm a beginner at romance, too. That's precisely why I believe I have plenty of room to grow."
"Uh, yes."
"I have learned that romance is a sophisticated game of strategy, just like chess. Strategy in chess is my specialty. Therefore, I believe I can master the strategies of romance in the same way. As fellow beginners in romance, let us improve together."
It sounded logical in a way, and yet somehow it didn't, so Monica clutched her head.
Benjamin thought of everything in terms of music, Monica in terms of mathematics, and Roberto in terms of chess.
There was, indeed, a deep divide between the three of them, but Monica had not realized it.
(What is love, anyway...? Maybe it's enough to think of it as one stage in the reproductive process... Ah, but living things can reproduce even without love... Wait, does that mean love isn't necessary for the continuation of a species...?)
As Monica groaned and pondered, a low voice rang out from above.
...No talking during class.
When she looked up, Instructor Void was staring down at them, his rugged face as intimidating as that of a veteran mercenary.
The four of them apologized in unison and hurriedly reset the chess pieces.