Taming Her Highness the Princess

5 – For You, Not You (4)

This is really dangerous! It’s not that Irea couldn’t play chess, but her opponent was Jenny Earl Malaig, the eldest son of the Malaig family.

Befitting the eldest son of a family called a master of magic, he not only had a natural talent for magic from a young age, but also had a good head, so he submitted a thesis to the Imperial University at the age of 14.

Thanks to that, it was Jenial Malaig who entered the Imperial College early and graduated at the top of his class. To him, chess was no different from child’s play.

However, Ireah, who had been cut off from outside news because she had lived in the imperial palace all her life, had no way to know about it. She is a tragedy created by ignorance.

“Your Highness…… !”

Ruinel tried to talk her out of it, but Irea only winked at her one eye, as if telling her not to worry.

Wrong. As long as Irea is confident, she will not be able to defeat the confrontation. Louis Nel, who was worried about her, looked around at her maids around her, thinking that she should take at least some measures.

“Your Highness needs to concentrate, so all the ladies-in-waiting, please step back.”

Rumors about Irea losing badly to Jeniel should be stopped in advance. Fortunately, her ladies-in-waiting nodded her head without much complaint and stormed out of her private room.

The lady-in-waiting, who was holding her silver tray, also put a chessboard on her table and left, leaving only Irea, Jenial, and Louisel in her private room.

“Then… ….”

It was a situation she wanted to avoid if possible, but she couldn’t be bitten because Irea had caused it herself. Ruinel, who secretly resented Irea, walked to her table and stopped.

“I will see the referee.”

Neither of them had any objections. They were just looking into each other’s eyes and smiling confidently.

“Your Highness chooses the horse first.”

“Okay. Then I’ll take the hundred.”

“Okay. What are your criteria for deciding the winner?”

“Since it is so pitiful to lose in a single game, shall we go with 5 out of 3 wins?”

“I agree.”

Once the coordination of opinions was over, it was time to start the confrontation. Ruinel, who played the role of referee, finally opened her mouth to explain the significance of the confrontation.

“The losing side of the chess match must accept the conditions set by the opponent. In the case of Her Highness Irea, you must offer a sincere apology to Prince Jenial, and Prince Jenial must ask His Majesty to resign from His Highness’ position as educator. Did you notice?”

“Yes. I know.”

“Yes. If I lose, I will follow Your Highness’ words.”

How did things turn out this way? Ruinel sighed inwardly and announced the start of the confrontation with a displeased expression.

“Then, I want Her Highness Irea, who grabbed the bag, to start first.”

As soon as Ruinel finished speaking, Irea grabbed her phone and moved two squares in front of her. Xeniel also moved the opposite pawn two squares forward and the game started.

After that, the two exchanged light battles and naturally entered the middle game. Surprisingly, Irea made a good save and a fierce battle took place, but Jenial, who had more pieces, finally won.

“…… Ugh!”

Irea’s pupils tremble slightly after being checkedmate. I didn’t want to admit it, but there was no way to save King from Jeniel’s attack.

Ireah, biting her lower lip, raised her head and looked at Jenny Earl. Unlike Irea, who had been defeated, Jeniel had a relaxed attitude.

“Why is that? Could it be that there is no next move?”

I was angry, but this time I had no choice but to admit defeat. Ireah, who brushed her bangs behind her ears while concentrating on her chess game, swallowed her anger and smiled.

“It must have been luck because it was the first edition. Great. I lost this time.”

“It’s nice to see you admit it.”

“Ha? In the end, I will be the one who wins, so can you stop bragging about winning one round?”

“We’ll see if that’s the case.”

After a war of nerves, the second edition began. However, contrary to Irea’s expectations, this time, Jeniel took the win and made a checkmate.

Obviously, the momentum in the beginning was good, but when I came to my senses after entering the middle game, all the pieces were eaten in turn, and Jenial was dominating the chessboard.

‘Impossible…… !’

Thanks to this, Irea fell into confusion. She just couldn’t accept that she had been defeated twice in a row.

‘Why are you better than me?’

Irea’s suggestion of chess to Jenial was not groundless confidence. Ireah, who spent an overwhelming amount of time in the imperial palace, chose chess as her hobby.

Ireah, who enjoyed playing her chess from a young age, used to play chess with her ladies-in-waiting from her household.

At first, it was not easy for her to win chess against her adult ladies-in-waiting, but over the years, her skill improved to the point where she could easily beat her ladies-in-waiting.

Afterwards, she invited those who were good at chess in Jedo to Yeonhwa Palace and competed. Among them, it was Irea who boasted a win rate of 60%.

‘By the way… ….’

She just couldn’t win against Jenny Earl. As they ate the props thrown by Jenial and moved forward, at some point they were surrounded on all sides.

Jenny Earl was dealing with Irea like a snake wagging its tail to lure her prey. Thinking of that, Ireah lifted her head and involuntarily took a deep breath.

“You barely won this time. It was a great match.”

From Jenial’s casual conversation, I was instantly reminded of a gigantic snake opening its mouth. Ireah, who had been absent-minded for a while, shook her head hastily.

‘Wake up!’

She hasn’t won her fight yet, but what if she swallows her fear? Ireah, who closed her eyes tightly and then opened them, took her heart and pulled her body back.

“I’m sorry for underestimating you. You are quite talented. Now that I’m done figuring out about you, let’s move on to the next version.”

“You mean? It’s already been an hour since she’s been playing chess, and she’d rather take a break-“

“Okay, let’s start quickly!”

The imperial princess wanted to start right away, but there was no way she could refuse. Jenny Earl nodded his head, and the third edition began under Ruinel’s initiative.

‘I won’t lose this time…… !’

If it is disadvantageous to fight head-on due to the difference in skill, it is enough to outwit the opponent. Concentrating her spirit, Ireah opened a gambit opening with a serious face.

Instead of giving the pawn to the opponent, he used a strategy to take the initiative in attack by occupying the center. Irea’s bold attack seemed to startle Jenny Earl for a moment, but he soon regained his composure.

Flexibly deal with Irea’s attack with the Slavic Defense. As if expected, Irea sneered at him and deployed his equipment.

However, as time passed, it was not Jeniel who was on the defensive, but rather Irea. At some point, the reversed structure was putting Irea at a disadvantage.

‘Why… ….’

Why did I lose again this time? It wasn’t a match yet, but Irea herself knew better than anyone else that she would lose if she continued like this.

The defeat in chess meant that he had to bow his head and apologize to Jennie Earl Malay in front of his eyes. He himself agreed to Jenny Earl’s request, so he had no way out.

At that thought, his breathing quickened and his hands trembled. For Irea, who had never bowed her head to anyone in her life, this was an unbearable insult.

“Why is that, Your Highness?”

He is sure of his victory, but he hates Jenial who asks questions as if he doesn’t understand why. Irea, unable to overcome her momentary anger, pushed the chessboard aside in anger.

“Void!”

Roaring! The pieces on the chess board fall to the floor and roll around.

“This is obviously invalid! There’s no way I’m losing three hands in chess! There must be some trick on you!”

It was forced. That, too, is absurd nonsense. Even Ireah herself knew this, but she did not know how to stop her foolishness once it started.

“Because you are good at magic…… Yes, it’s magic! You used magic to induce me to make the wrong move!”

Jenial didn’t respond. I was just staring down at the objects that had fallen on the table and were rolling around aimlessly.

For some reason, Jenial felt that the sight overlapped with the fall of the empire. Because Irea, who became the emperor, went out recklessly like now, the empire fell into the hands of heretics and could not escape destruction.

In Jeniel’s eyes, the rolling queen falls under the table. Jenny Earl reflexively reached out her hand and caught the falling Quinn.

Next to her, Irea was shouting something, but Jennie Earl couldn’t hear it. Jenny Earl, who was turning the queen in her hand, let out a low laugh.

“I see. Your Majesty, now I understand your will.”

At the same time, silence fell. Not only Ireah, who used her stubbornness, but also Louisel, who was sweating to stop her, stopped her actions and looked at Jennie Earl.

It’s because I didn’t understand the mention of an emperor who was suddenly absent. Irea and Luinel couldn’t figure out that they were referring to an emperor who didn’t exist anymore.

Without even trying to explain, Jenny Earl slammed her queen down in the center of her chessboard. All other pieces were down, so only the queen stood tall on the chessboard.

That strangely creates tension. Ireah, who swallowed her saliva, looked at Jenny Earl, trying to hide her fear. Jennie Earl was conscious of such an irrea and adjusted his clothes.

“I must have told you.”

The process of adjusting the position of the brooch on the neck is very relaxed and calm, rather instills fear. Jenny Earl brushed away even the dust from his sleeve and spoke indifferently.

“I will not forgive any disrespect towards me.”

For a moment, Irea’s shoulders trembled. Like a prey placed before her predator, she instinctively perceives her opponent as having her own advantage.

But her anger at her opponent was faintly pushing out her fear. Reminding herself once again that she is the owner of this lotus palace, Ireah rose from her seat.

“What did that mean? I don’t want to hear any more of your bullsh*t-“

“Sit down.”

The sound of cold words penetrates her brain. Irea’s head was completely white with the first half-words she had ever heard in her life.

Even Ruinel was shocked and at a loss for words. Irea, who had been shaking her lips for a while, mustered up her courage and rebelled against Jenny Earl.

“Ji, what did you say to me?”

“It seems that people’s words don’t sound like words.”

However, rebellion doesn’t bring good results in most cases. Jenny Earl, who swept his bangs to the back, looked up at Ireah with a twinkle and licked his lips quietly.

“Sit down.”

That tone was closer to an order than a request.