"Your Highness. We have to resume the matter at hand. Certainly, you'll manage both," the old man smirked, letting out a chuckle, believing the girl to not be a threat in any possible way.

"Teacher Mark. A commoner stands before us," the cautious tongue of Ryu the head of the blue rose whipped at the old man.

"She won't say or understand a thing," he shielded himself by undermining Aurora.

"The consolidation of the army enacts the will of my father yet its management is lacking," the Prince complained moving the bishop to an open space, behind a pawn, avoiding it being an easy target to take down.

"His health has been worsening ever since the saintess revelation. An omen of passage."

Had it been anyone else than the teacher saying such words, their mouth would be forced open and tongues pulled by steel and cut with a sharp knife, for human words never to leave again.

"I'm the next in line."

"This humble serf believes that the path to kingship is never simple," the trio stared at Aurora for stating her opinion. 

"You should focus on the board, check," a warning came straight as the hidden bishop turned relevant enough to hinder Aurora's plans, or so the Prince thought with a faint smile across his face.

However to that, without a hint of fear, her finger trampled the bishop with the sharp L-movement of a darkened horse, ruthlessly taking its place. "Check."

"A strike of luck!" His Highness complained, knowing he hadn't given his best attention to the match but also filled with the knowledge that there was no such thing as fortune in chess. Still, the words came out with power and dignity, none dared to oppose them.

It was a fast-tempo match, Aurora had proved a speed that was not something a child should have. At least not unless she spent her entire life playing chess, with skilled opponents at that.

It made the trio wonder if they had seen right. For the thought of the crown Prince losing... that couldn't possibly be correct.

If that was something a kid could do then... it should have happened a long time ago.

But it hadn't.

Not a single time.

The Prince gulped once, then pushed the papers to the side. Clearly, he felt something rushing through his blood. No noble was supposed to beat a royal, much less someone insignificant and lower like a commoner.

Julius felt his honor damaged, and pride hurt, and as a being blessed by the goddess, he couldn't possibly leave this be. "Again," his order came calmly, impeding anyone to defy him. He pushed his white king down, surrendering.

The two men from his sides removed any paperwork that had to be looked at. They knew he could no longer be stopped. They too, didn't want him to remain at a loss, for their eyes looked fiercely up to their liege, adoring him.

The laying around board pieces returned to life: to a more elaborated vertical position, full of meaning. Each placed in their proper position, from left wing to right, rock, horse, bishop, king, queen, the rest followed like a reflection—a solid formation, a blunt line-up ready to wage war with the other side.

"Let's start," the rough sound of the first white piece moving forward, leading the others into the battlefield.

Nonchalantly, Aurora's pawn piece quietly fell on a black square almost as if it hadn't moved at all. The girl with both hands pushed her hair back, getting it stuck on her ears. The figures went on, forth and back, some diagonal, and others disappearing from the board. The two men held their breath no longer being able to exhale, their obnoxious, surprised expressions couldn't help themselves but feel like any sound they would make, would just get into the crown Prince's way.

The way Aurora pieces paved her way, the one-sided destruction she brought, the conqueror of nobility. This girl, a peasant, breached through the last defenses of the royal member, slaying the king piece at last, effortlessly so as the trio would have never expected.

An overwhelming victory brought no doubts to them that she was something else. If the crown Prince was considered a prodigy then, this young girl, at the mere age of fifteen... was clearly out of the standard scale.

"How could this be," the old man's tattered words awoke the prince whose eyes seemed hazy.

From the three of them, only the one who lost could potentially have a true grasp of the young lady's abilities. Yet, he was taking his sweet time to recover from what felt like a sour loss.

"You're a strong opponent," Aurora's words chopped the atmosphere between them like a sharp axe.

"Thank you," he added bitter but grateful, deciding to accept that someone better had finally appeared.

"I'm the grateful one, being provided with this chance. It was one of my dreams, to be able to play with your Highness," her back curved slightly, showing that she didn't forget her place, and above all, her gratitude seemed real.

Playing in a dimension for a thousand years inside your mind possibly allows one to appreciate little things like having someone to play with even if they were not good enough to spice her mind.

"Right," a brief answer, followed by a short smile. He did his best not to sound like a sore loser, much less to let this result dictate the future. Thus, he made an irrevocable decision. "Ink, paper."

The two around left their chairs to procure the requested materials.

"As the crown prince and future king, I'll reward today's accomplishment with a written statement for the entire kingdom to know," the men returned, his Highness's fingers waltzing left and right, almost like dictating a death sentence. On the paper, characters took shape, an elegant writing style, and words beautifully painted started filling the blank page.

"I don't mind keeping this a secret. Fame is not what I seek," her lips closed, unwilling to add any other word, knowing she might be able to cook their interest.

"You've been practicing chess since the day you were born. What you've achieved today is no measly accomplishment," the teacher spoke, a little rough on his tone, potentially from being forced to recognize the peasant talent, but also as a consequence of his age.

Silent befell till his highness finished, putting some wax on the bottom of the paper, and stamping his royal ring on it. He then turned the page around, "write your wish. Can be anything but becoming part of the royal family neither anything that I find unreasonable."

"I wish..." the tip of her finger reached out for the queen piece, caressing it for a moment as if showing them that she wanted to be a queen, or even that it was a childish way of playing with an object to help the thinking process.

Despite how busy the trio had been with paperwork they added nothing, not even a complaint. They had gained a certain amount of respect for the girl.

"I've not been fully honest with your highness." His eyes widened as if insulted. "Playing chess with the best player was not the only thing I wanted."

He tapped his finger on the table, "what was the other thing?"

"To become the general of your army and lead humanity to conquer the world," an innocent smile formed on her face, her posture turning fully vertical, her hair forcefully pushed back, and her eyes too icy which didn't match the whole expression. A terrifying gaze that made the trio understand how serious her words were.

"A peasant ascending to nobility..." the prince muttered such words, ignoring the gaze of the blue rose head next to him, knowing he wouldn't approve of such action. But it didn't matter, for he was the next in line to be king.

Her intellect in chess, a tactical game, the potential was no joke.

"If this young girl is properly instructed by a good teacher... in a few years..." the Prince's eyes gazed at the old man, Mark, his favorite consultant and instructor. Even if nobles like him didn't like peasants, he also knew the elder would still do his job, properly at that.

"I don't mind," he added without a hint of prejudice. "If she proves herself worthy to one day surpass humanity's greatest strategy... then, my time would have been worthwhile." The old man's gaze fell on Ryu, the head of the blue rose family, the most proficient of the three in war.

Without as much as asking for anyone's opinion on the matter, the crown Prince's hand began once again filling the page with important details.

"Your father has once refused to ascend to nobility, I assume he won't dare refuse a second time," sharp words flew to Aurora almost cutting her skin. Nonetheless, there was no issue for her, she had conversed plenty with Luke during their trip here. Despite him not wanting to become a noble, there was also a chance one from the nobility would want to take one of his daughters by force from him. Such was quite common when beauty existed, even more so when the greedy eyes of men, sparkling with lust befell such ladies. If it came to it, then as a noble from the bottom hierarchy, he'd still be able to marry them into a higher family. That way, the potential husbands would be forced to acknowledge Luke's daughters and not just force them to become their playthings. Especially so while having the backing of the crown Prince. Therefore, becoming part of the nobility, if the chance was once again provided, Luke as the father and head of his family, permitted Aurora to take the offer.

"He won't refuse a second time," her head leaned forward. "Your Highness can rest assured."

"Good," he slid the paper to the old man, knowing what would pass by.

The elder fingers passed through his beard, first between its many hairs, and then grabbing it as a whole to make a little ponytail. "We could put this young lady in the military academia. She could prove her worth then."

"What does it consist of? If I may know," her tone came soft like the blossoming of spring, flourishing her curiosity and hoping for the rain to nurture it.

Ryu, who stood mostly quiet, decided to sprinkle some knowledge her way, "a place for nobles to reach a higher standing on military affairs. One could aspire to become a knight or a lieutenant. Very few reach the rank you seek."

"A peasant ascending, is it a common occurrence?" Her question was misleading, for she knew such was not something that happened. Being a noble was just not fame and power, their blood carried the blessing of the goddess, and the closer a human was to the royal family, the more divine and powerful they were perceived. The Lumen kingdom was thoroughly a place for those who sought meaning in religion.

"It certainly isn't. Some factions would refute my proposal. That is if it had no backing," his right-handed index finger aimed mercilessly and true at her. "Your talent has no boundary."

Such wasn't true and he knew it. There would surely be a limit to hit for she was human. However, while such was rightful in its way, some limits were meant to be surpassed, even by humanity.

But of course, she wasn't one of them, just looked very much like one. Something hiding in human skin.

"I'll do my best."

Suddenly, a scream, then another, and a clear feminine one followed, filled with what sounded like agony. Aurora's eyes remained on the melancholic ones of the crown Prince, their dark tone wavered. A weakness was shown in them, the lady memorized it.