High District
Inside a luxurious villa, within a spacious room dominated by a massive portrait of a family of four hanging on the wall, two young men sat opposite each other. Between them rested a pristine glass table, polished to clarity, with a board game neatly arranged on top.
Arthur sat calmly, his hands resting on the armrests, his head supported by his right palm. His posture bordered on indifference, yet his gaze carried a playful glint unknown to the young man in front of him.
He moved his light-squared bishop diagonally, deliberately aiming for a scholar's mate.
The young man across from him frowned, his eyes shifting from the bishop to Arthur, exasperation plainly written on his face.
"Really?…" he said, disbelief seeping into his tone. "Trying the same thing again?"
As he spoke, he pushed the pawn in front of his king one square forward. "I won't fall for that again."
Arthur's expression shifted slightly. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he replied, his voice calm and unhurried, "Why not? It's worked quite a few times, after all."
With that, he moved his queen, persisting with the scholar's mate even though his intention had already been seen through.
The young man's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, his ears flushing faintly red, but he said nothing. Instead, he moved his knight.
"You're learning fast," Arthur praised, the same smile lingering as he carefully studied the young man seated before him.
He had black hair and blue eyes, and a face that would have been undeniably handsome if not for the small scar running along his right temple and the faint freckles scattered across his cheeks.
Time passed as they continued their game. Arthur placed his pieces with calm precision, occasionally making casual remarks that added pressure rather than easing it.
Then Arthur sacrificed his queen, placing it before the rook to deliver check.
The young man froze, staring at the board in disbelief, his eyes locked onto the piece as though expecting it to reveal some hidden meaning.
'What's going on?' he thought, frowning as he leaned back slightly. Seeing the faint, knowing smile on Arthur's face only deepened his frown. 'Is he planning something?'
'Although his queen is protected by his rook, leaving me with only two choices—move my king or capture it with my rook,' the young man thought, his mind turning over the options. Yet even as he considered them, a faint unease crept in.
He lifted his hand, but it trembled slightly as he hesitated over his choice.
His thoughts were interrupted by Arthur's voice.
"Zenith, do you know what chess teaches us?"
The young man named Zenith lifted his head and looked at Arthur, noticing that his smile had vanished, replaced by a trace of seriousness.
Curiosity eventually got the better of him. "What?"
Arthur didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his pocket and took something out—a pawn piece made of pure silver. He remained silent, idly twirling it between his fingers.
Zenith's brows furrowed, but he didn't think Arthur was merely trying to distract him. After five months of living in his villa, he was painfully aware that he couldn't beat Arthur at this game.
In the end, he shook his head and captured Arthur's black queen with his rook, deciding it was the safer move.
He then looked up at Arthur, waiting for his response.
Arthur briefly glanced at the board before bringing his other rook down, delivering another check.
Zenith studied the position and saw that his king had only one safe square forward, as the square to the forward-left was controlled by Arthur's bishop.
He hesitated for a moment and glanced at Arthur, noticing that he wasn't even looking at the board. Still, he resisted the urge to resign and moved his king forward.
Without looking, Arthur captured Zenith's rook with his own, delivering yet another check.
At that moment, the faint unease in Zenith's chest deepened. Taking a breath to steady himself, he captured the bishop, as the forward-left square was occupied by his own pawn.
Arthur responded by moving his rook from the back rank, repositioning it to deliver another check.
Zenith was once again forced to move his king one square diagonally forward to the left.
'…Not good.' Although he still couldn't grasp the full purpose behind Arthur's moves, his instincts were already warning him—he had lost.
Arthur did not move a piece immediately. Instead, he answered his earlier question.
"A game of chess teaches us that every action, every decision, carries consequence. There is no move without cost—only choices whose price has yet to be revealed."
After saying that, he advanced a pawn one square forward, delivering another check.
A thin layer of sweat formed at Zenith's temple. For the first time, Arthur felt… unfamiliar.
Left with no choice, he moved his king one square diagonally forward to the right. Capturing the pawn was impossible—it was protected by Arthur's rook—and moving forward wasn't an option either, as that square was controlled by another pawn.
"That is why one must remain awake, alert, and wary of what each step invites…" Arthur continued. He stopped twirling the silver pawn between his fingers and finally looked at Zenith.
"…After all, even a pawn can bring down a king." As he spoke, he moved another pawn—check.
Or rather, checkmate.
Zenith realized both pawns were protected, leaving him with no legal moves.
Though he was already used to losing—having never truly won against Arthur unless the latter allowed it—Zenith still let out an awkward laugh.
Unconsciously, he scratched his cheek as he laughed, his eyes slowly lifting to meet Arthur's calm gaze.
Arthur's voice cut through his laughter.
"Less than a week is left... Are you nervous?"
He did not elaborate on his earlier words, despite knowing Zenith likely hadn't fully understood them. Instead, he shifted the topic.
Zenith's laughter faded as he lowered his head. "Slightly... After all, this is the first time I'll be leaving my sister, especially with her condition…"
He didn't continue—perhaps he couldn't.
"Didn't I already give you my word that I would take care of her while you're at the Elyndor Academy? Are you saying you still don't trust me?"
Hearing that, Zenith immediately shook his head. "N-no, it's not that... It's just—I can't bring myself to leave her."
Arthur sighed at his answer. "I know what you're feeling, but you should also understand—you have no choice but to become stronger if you want to save her."
"And as you can see, I didn't force you to train. I let you stay with her for the past five months."
Zenith fell silent at that, even forgetting about the chess game.
He exhaled slowly. "I know… and thank you for all the help you've given me."
"It's fine. Like I said when we first met, this is merely another form of trade." Arthur shook his head, dismissing the gratitude.
"Still—"
Arthur cut him off with a wave of his free hand—the one not holding the silver pawn—silencing him.
Seeing that, Zenith stood and walked toward the door. But just as he reached it, Arthur's voice rang out again.
"Right. When you go to Elyndor Academy, you might encounter a young man with emerald-green eyes. Try to befriend him… he may prove helpful to you someday."
"Okay…" Though Zenith didn't understand its purpose, he committed the words to memory before leaving and quietly closing the door.
Hearing him leave, Arthur let his gaze drift briefly to the pawn piece in his hand before lowering it to the board.
He stared at it for a long moment, then lifted his head and looked toward the massive portrait on the wall—more precisely, at the child with black hair and blue eyes.
He closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair, muttering, "Almost…"
A few minutes later, the silence was broken by a knock.
"Just enter, Kyle," Arthur said without opening his eyes.
Kyle stepped into the room, his movements halting for a brief moment as he noticed Arthur resting in that manner.
"What is it, Sir Kyle?"
Kyle snapped out of his brief daze. After a short pause, he responded, "It's about one of the hotels you own, Young Master."
"The appointed manager of the Celestine Hotel contacted us," Kyle continued as he approached, returning to his composed butler demeanor. "They asked whether the golden card used by a certain young man is connected to you."
"A certain young man?" Arthur asked, opening his eyes as he turned toward the old butler. "Him?"
Kyle nodded. "Yes, Young Master."
"What about him?"
"…He is currently staying at the Celestine Hotel," Kyle replied after a brief pause.
"Staying, huh? What a coincidence." Arthur straightened slightly. "So, what did he do?"
"That young man inquired about cleansing from one of our AI staff," Kyle explained, handing him a tablet.
Arthur accepted it and watched the recorded footage of Mario speaking with the AI woman.
Looking at Mario's impeccable expression and the way he spoke flawlessly—almost like a country bumpkin—made his eyebrows twitch.
'…What a good performance.'
They had only met once, yet observing him again—and noticing how Mario subtly guided the conversation in a specific direction—brought Arthur back to their first meeting.
If not for what he had seen and heard back then, he might have dismissed Mario as nothing more than a lucky individual.
'Of course. If you were the same as him, you wouldn't be that simple… but the problem is, I already knew about that.'
A faint trace of amusement crossed his eyes as he shook his head and returned the tablet. 'I'm impressed… still, it's amateur.'
Receiving the tablet, Kyle looked at the silent Arthur and asked with slight hesitation, "Are you planning to help him?"
Arthur smiled and shook his head. "No. Let Nathan and Ms. Kim decide for themselves."
Hearing that, Kyle let out a subtle breath of relief. 'Good… the Young Master has finally let go of his curiosity.'
Noticing the relief in his eyes, Arthur shook his head inwardly. 'You still don't understand those people, Kyle… I don't even need to tell them what to do.'
---
Mario leaned back against the headboard, a book resting in his hands. The room was shrouded in darkness, save for the warm glow of the bedside lamp on the small table beside him.
Knock… Knock… Knock…
Suddenly, consecutive yet careful knocking disturbed his peace, but he wasn't surprised and calmly put the book on the table before standing up and walking toward the unit door.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by a middle-aged man with a slightly round belly, dressed in a blue suit with the crest of the Celestine Hotel pinned to his chest, a broad smile plastered across his face. Standing beside him was the same AI woman from earlier.
Mario put on his usual mask and asked softly, "Umm… who might you be, sir?"
The middle-aged man shook his head, smile unchanged. "No… don't call me sir."
"I'm Nathan," he said, "one of those responsible for managing the Celestine Hotel." He paused before asking, somewhat hesitantly, "Young man, do you perhaps know Mr. Arthur Whi—"
Before he could finish, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. A beautiful woman approached briskly, an AI man following closely behind her.
"Wait!" she shouted.
Both Mario and Nathan turned toward her. Mario's eyes shifted slightly, curiosity flickering within them, while displeasure flashed briefly in Nathan's gaze before he masked it.
Nathan spoke quickly, "Oh, Miss Kim, what are you doing here? I was just about to finish speaking with this young man."
The woman named Miss Kim heard him, but she didn't pay him much attention and turned to Mario to ask, "Sir, do you perhaps know Mr. Arthur White?"
Hearing both of them respectfully address Arthur, Mario realized he might have underestimated his influence.
Eventually he set those thoughts aside and answered in the same tone. "I-I don't know Arthur White,"
"but I do know someone named Arthur."
Hearing that, Nathan and Miss Kim's smiles widened slightly before they asked simultaneously, "W-what's your connection with him?"
Their voices softened.
Seeing how eager both people were, even though they were trying to hide it, Mario replied cautiously and intentionally took a half step back. "I don't know him well. We met when I won the lottery in my city, and he gave me my prize."
Disappointment crossed both of their eyes at his answer, but before they could think of an excuse to leave, Mario continued.
"…And he also gave me more than my prize money."
Their disappointment vanished instantly, replaced with enthusiasm.
"Sir, you asked about cleansing earlier, right?" Nathan said eagerly. "I'll cover the cost for first-stage cleansing."
"Only first stage?" Miss Kim glanced at him provocatively before turning back to Mario with a gentle smile. "Sir, I can offer you the second stage."
'...Sir?' Mario's brows furrowed imperceptibly at their form of address before he hurriedly replied. "N-no need,"
"First stage is more than enough."
At Mario's answer, Nathan immediately chuckled, knowing he had already won.
Miss Kim glared at Nathan.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing, really." Nathan waved his hand with an innocent expression. "I just thought of you as a joke—no, I mean I just suddenly thought of a joke."
"You? What did you say?" A faint killing intent appeared on Miss Kim's face as she prepared to retort, but before she could do anything, the AI human beside her opened its mouth.
[Ma'am, please don't make a commotion here.]
Miss Kim turned her head toward the combat AI beside her before turning her back and leaving after letting out a "hmph."
Nathan watched her go before turning back to Mario, lowering himself slightly and gesturing forward. "Sir, please follow me."