Chapter 90

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"Let me teach you a secret to make Lady Mary fall head over heels for you!"

With a smug look, Alicia announced this to Adi, who was sitting across from her. Adi, however, remained extremely calm and replied, "That's very kind of you," as he moved one of his pieces to take out an enemy on the board. Seeing this, Alicia let out a cry of "Ah!"

It was a rather undignified and uncomposed cry for a princess, but given that she was a beginner and had received a significant handicap, it was understandable that she would start to see her defeat and then lose another piece.

"That's it, my knight... Run, bishop, run! Adi, it's a secret to make Lady Mary fall head over heels for you! It's amazing!"

"No matter how you try to rattle me, it won't work. Here, another one."

"Kyaa, the pawn! Ugh, even with all the handicaps, I can't beat Adi..."

"Alicia, you're making the handicap effects too biased towards the king and queen. What's with this style where the king and queen, with their boosted mobility, rampage on the front lines?"

"Our royal family fights with our own swords! Ah, another knight!"

Again, Alicia let out a pitiful cry. The board was in such a state that the outcome was already decided. If this were a real battlefield, white flags would be waving all over Alicia's army. Despite the dire situation, Alicia still had a fighting spirit in her eyes. She slowly took her queen and slid it to the center of the board.

"Adi, let's have a one-on-one duel with the queens."

"That's not chess anymore."

"If you can beat me in a one-on-one duel, I'll teach you the secret to make Lady Mary fall head over heels for you."

"Unfortunately, I plan to end this in three moves."

"This secret made Lord Patrick fall head over heels, and he finished his day's work in an instant and spent the whole day hugging me."

"......Hmm."

Adi's hand, which was about to move a piece, stopped. The finger that was aimed at a knight trembled slightly and then changed course to the queen. He then removed other pieces from the board and offered his queen to the center.

"What's the content of the one-on-one duel?"

"Let's push and collide at the same time, and the one who knocks down the other's queen wins."

"It's not chess at all anymore."

After this conversation, a light, crisp sound echoed in the early morning guest room of the Albert family, which was still dim.

"Really! Being woken up early in the morning by talk of picnics and such is just unbearable!"

Adi tried to calm down Mary, who was showing her anger. It was already late, and they were in Adi's room, having their usual pre-sleep time. They chatted about trivial matters, reflected on the day, and confirmed the next day's plans. During this, Mary started to get angry at Alicia. No matter how much Mary raged and complained, to Adi, it was a regular occurrence. He calmed her with a chuckle and poured tea into her teacup.

"But Lord Patrick brought you back before dinner, didn't he?"

He added this as a small compliment. However, considering that until dinner, she had been thoroughly toyed with by Alicia, and her farewell words were "This isn't a daycare center!" it was uncertain whether this compliment was effective.

"Patrick is just as bad! He says he should scold immediately if something happens, but he goes soft when it comes to that child!"

"Miss, if you keep getting so angry, your hair will start to curl."

"Don't pour oil on the fire so casually!"

Adi calmed the shouting Mary with a chuckle and then slowly moved to sit next to her, even going so far as to put his arm around her. This bold move made Mary's eyes widen, but she tried to resist, glaring at Adi and saying, "I won't be fooled."

"Miss, you're off tomorrow, right? Why don't you stay over tonight?"

"Even after pouring oil on the fire, you can still try to seduce me. Unfortunately, I'm going back to my room to read the book 'Dog Training: From Large to Small Breeds' that I started."

Mary turned her head away, her anger reaching its peak. She had to finish that book tonight! And then make Patrick read it! Just as Mary made this resolve, Adi pulled her in forcefully. Mary let out a small cry, but the words whispered in her ear made her swallow all her angry words and reprimands.

"Don't say that... Mary."

The sweetness of those words made her heart tingle. It was different from the usual "Miss" and the public "Lady Mary." It was a gentle, sweet way of calling her...

This made Mary's heart race and her cheeks turn red. Looking up, she saw his rust-colored eyes gazing at her tenderly and invitingly, and she couldn't resist the strong arms that held her.

"Fine... I can't help it..."

Even as she settled into his arms, Mary tried to put up a brave front, but Adi chuckled and kissed her forehead.

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Mary woke up groggily in the middle of the night after their conversation. She drowsily sat up and, realizing she was naked, quickly put on the shirt nearby. Is this Adi's shirt? she thought, looking at the cuffs. It was quite large, but it might be just right as a nightgown. As she thought this, Adi, who was sleeping next to her, started to move.

He was also bare-chested, and he probably felt the cold when the blanket was pulled away by Mary's movement.

"Hmm... Miss...? What's wrong?"

Adi's voice was very drowsy. His tone, as he rubbed his eyes, was extremely sleepy, and Mary smiled slightly and replied, "Nothing," as she leaned back into his chest.

A large hand gently stroked her silver hair. The comfort of it made her look up at Adi, whose rust-colored eyes were closed, and his slightly open lips let out a faint breath. He was almost completely in a dream. Still, the way he stroked her head made her feel loved, and she stretched a little and whispered,

"Goodnight, my dear."

At the same time, she kissed Adi's cheek.

At that moment, his rust-colored eyes snapped open.

"Miss, did you say something!?"

"Maybe. Goodnight, Adi."

"You did say something! You called me! One more time!"

"Such things only work when they're unexpected. Come on, I'm dragging Patrick to the dog training class tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep."

"Miss!"

Adi, who was pulling her close, stroking her head, and pleading with kisses, made Mary smile as she drifted off to sleep in the comfort of it all.