Chapter 73
After the first match, the student council hosted a simple standing buffet reception that also served as a social gathering.
Only representatives from each school, the teachers, and the student council officers were attending. The students who had come to watch returned to their dorms for lunch.
Monica stood unobtrusively in a corner of the hall, glancing around from time to time. Barney was eating and chatting with the other Minerva students. He showed no sign of approaching Monica, but she couldn't afford to let her guard down. She had to keep her distance as much as possible.
As Monica was thinking this, Elliot and Benjamin approached with plates of light refreshments.
"Hey, Miss Norton. I've looked over the score from your game."
Elliot looked somewhat resentful.
Monica had been the only one to defeat the Institute, while Elliot and Benjamin had both lost. Monica nervously wondered whether her victory had offended Elliot when he leaned in close and ground his index finger into the space between her eyebrows.
"After I went to all that trouble to practice with you... You were holding back against me, weren't you?"
"N-no, n-n-n-no, I-I-I-I wasn't! N-not at all! Not even a little!"
"Anyone who saw this game would think you'd been holding back during practice. What kind of match was that? You kept throwing out new moves that defied established theory, then narrowly escaping the danger they created and turning it into a comeback! It's a game that'll go down in chess history!"
"S-s-s-such p-p-p-praise is too m-m-much..."
As Monica desperately tried to make excuses while Elliot ground his finger into her brow, Benjamin admonished him, saying, "You shouldn't bully your junior so much."
"A concerto cannot succeed if one side overwhelms the other. Only when the two sides are evenly matched can they reach greater heights and produce beautiful music. Her opponent in this match was an exceptionally formidable one. That is precisely why Miss Norton was able to display her full ability... In other words, the reason Miss Norton has been unable to show her true strength until now is our own lack of ability. You mustn't begrudge her... Ah, if only I could have witnessed the birth of that beautiful music with my own eyes instead of through a score! O heavens! Why was I chosen as a representative? I wanted to watch from the audience!"
Benjamin's words were exaggerated, but they had hit the mark.
Roberto Winkel, Monica's opponent, was the strongest adversary she had faced so far. That was precisely why she had been able to search for new moves.
As Monica drifted in the pleasant afterglow, thinking about what an enjoyable game of chess it had been, she saw someone approaching.
With a large, well-toned build that made it hard to believe he was younger than her, short black hair, and a sharp, striking face, it was none other than Monica's opponent, Roberto Winkel—the very person they had just been discussing.
"Miss Monica Norton."
At the sound of her name, Monica flinched and instinctively hid behind Elliot and Benjamin.
Monica was extremely shy around people, but large men like Roberto frightened her most of all. Her uncle, who had once punched her, had been a large man, and the memory of that terror inevitably surfaced.
To be honest, Monica also had trouble dealing with Nero when he took human form, since he was a large man as well.
As Monica trembled, Roberto stood at attention like a soldier and spoke.
"I was deeply impressed by your match just now."
"Th-th-thank you..."
"Which brings me to my point!"
Roberto's eyes flew open as he fixed his gaze on the trembling Monica.
"I would like you to become engaged to me—with chess as the premise!"
His voice rang out from deep in his belly, loud enough to echo throughout the entire hall.
Cyril spat out his drink, Neil let out a strangled cry of "E-engaged!?", and Bridget gave Monica and the others a cold look, as if they were idiots who couldn't read the room.
Felix watched Monica and the others with his usual gentle smile—but there was a faintly ominous air about him.
Elliot, who was standing closest to them, was left speechless, his eyes and mouth wide open. Like most people would have, Monica could only gape.
In that awkward atmosphere, it was Benjamin who finally opened his mouth.
"How lamentable!"
Benjamin shook his flaxen hair wildly and looked up at the heavens.
"Romance should be a more passionate melody that stirs the emotions! This isn't beautiful! That proposal wasn't musically beautiful! It was an utter failure of a composition!"
Benjamin used his entire body to express his lamentation, then began expounding on his personal theory of how romance ought to be.
Just as the situation was about to become completely unmanageable, Elliot, the long-suffering mediator, stepped in to smooth things over.
"Uh, well... Leaving music aside, what exactly was that supposed to be—a proposal? I've heard of getting engaged on the premise of marriage, but never on the premise of chess."
"I apologize for my inadequate explanation! Allow me to explain my thoughts now, and I respectfully request that you give them favorable consideration, Miss Norton!"
Remaining at attention, Roberto began speaking with an earnestness bordering on foolishness.
"I was deeply moved by Miss Norton's chess. She is the first person my age ever to overwhelm me. If possible, I would like to play more chess with her... However, we attend different schools and have no connection whatsoever. But! If we became engaged, we'd have a reason to meet on weekends and during long vacations! Then we could play chess to our heart's content! That is why I would like you to become engaged to me, Miss Norton!"
He had meant it literally: "an engagement on the premise of chess." His explanation was straightforward to the point of absurdity.
"Amazing... He's selfish to a refreshing degree..."
"...Not musical... Oh, how unbeautiful..."
Even as Elliot and Benjamin grimaced, Roberto continued without the slightest concern.
"I am the fifth son of a baronial house in the Kingdom of Landall. I will not inherit the title, but I intend to join the Landall Knights someday. Those with exceptional chess ability can become candidates to command the order. I am confident that my future will be reasonably secure! My family's barony has no debts! Both my parents are sensible people! I get along well with my older brothers! We even have three dogs! Please feel at ease about marrying me!"
This had escalated beyond all reason.
(A-anyway, I have to refuse...!)
Monica Norton was merely an assumed identity.
She was actually one of the Seven Sages, infiltrating the academy as the Second Prince's bodyguard. There was no way she could become engaged.
"U-um, I-I'm sorry, but I-I can't!"
"Why not? Could it be that you already have a fiancé?"
"N-no, I-I don't, but..."
Elliot gave Monica an exasperated look. She was painfully honest.
But Monica was not capable of telling a convenient lie at a time like this.
As Monica fidgeted, Roberto pressed his case further.
"If the prospect of marrying into another country worries you, please rest assured. I will support you with all my strength in every respect—customs, language, high society, everything. I want you to be able to devote yourself to chess without a care."
"N-no, um, I mean... I-I'm s-s-sorry! I'm sorry!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Monica darted out from behind Elliot and ran straight for the corridor. It was a clumsy, heavy-footed run, but it was an all-out sprint by Monica's standards.
"Miss Norton! I haven't finished explaining...!"
A hand landed on Roberto's shoulder with a light pat as he tried to chase after Monica.
Felix's hand rested on his right shoulder, while Cyril's rested on his left.
From a distance, it looked as though they were merely patting his shoulders. But a closer look revealed that they were applying enough pressure to wrinkle his clothes.
"Excuse me, but that girl is one of our student council members. Could you speak to me first?"
"Outrageous behavior at a social gathering. As a student council member, I cannot overlook it."
Felix was smiling, but there was no smile in his eyes.
Cyril, for his part, radiated icy coldness with an utterly expressionless face.
Sensing a disastrous confrontation brewing, Elliot's face tightened.