Chapter 169: It’s a Flank

The rules of Imperial Chess, as she observed the board layout, were identical to standard Earth chess. The only difference was that the pieces were shiny and animated.

’He wants to play chess with me,’ Seraphina thought, an arrogant, incredibly competitive thrill shooting down her spine. ’He is a warlord. He is probably a Grandmaster in this world. He expects me to move the horsey randomly and lose in four turns. But Papa doesn’t know that I am a shark in sheep’s clothing! I am going to bully this man till he cries today!’

But outwardly, she had to play the part.

She couldn’t just unleash a Grandmaster opening on turn one without raising serious suspicions of demonic possession.

"It looks complicated, Papa," Seraphina murmured, widening her eyes, acting slightly intimidated. "How do the horsies move?"

Kaelus spent the next ten minutes patiently, meticulously explaining the rules of movement for each piece.

He demonstrated how the Vanguard knights (pawns) marched forward, how the Mages (bishops) sliced across the diagonals, and how the Spy (Queen) possessed ultimate, terrifying mobility across the board.

"Do you understand the parameters, Mushroom?" Kaelus asked gently, convinced he was nurturing a fragile, blooming intellect. "We will play a practice round. I will guide you. I will not strike your pieces harshly."

"I understand, Papa," Seraphina nodded, her dark eyes glittering with a hidden, lethal light. "I go first because I am white!"

Kaelus nodded benevolently, leaning back in his leather chair, steepling his fingers, completely relaxed, thoroughly enjoying the role of the wise mentor.

Seraphina reached out her small hand.

She did not move her King’s pawn forward two spaces to claim the center, the standard, logical opening for a beginner.

She moved her King’s Knight (the warhorse) forward to F3.

It was the Reti Opening. A flexible, modern opening that didn’t immediately commit pawns to the center, aiming to control the board from the flanks. It was a sophisticated, subtle move that beginners never, ever played.

Kaelus’s violet eyes widened by a fraction of a millimeter. He stared at the tiny warhorse that had just trotted forward on the board.

’A knight deployment on turn one?’ Kaelus analyzed, slightly confused. ’Fascinating. She is ignoring the central vanguard push entirely. She is acting on intuition, seeking mobility over structural defense. A beginner’s mistake, but a creative one.’

"A bold choice, Seraphina," Kaelus murmured patronizingly. He reached out and moved his King’s pawn forward two spaces to E5, a strong, traditional, and dominating central claim. "But you must not neglect the center of the battlefield. The center is where the war is won."

Seraphina offered a small, shy smile.

She moved her Queen’s pawn forward two spaces to C4.

She was immediately and aggressively challenging his central pawn, offering a gambit.

Kaelus blinked.

The patronizing smile on his face faltered slightly.

’Wait,’ Kaelus’s tactical engine kicked in. ’If I take that pawn, her knight will immediately recapture, positioning her piece in the center of my territory. She didn’t just move randomly. She set a trap on turn two.’

The Archduke of the North leaned forward, resting his elbows on the mahogany desk. The casual, relaxed posture vanished.

He looked at his six-year-old daughter.

She was swinging her legs under the chair, humming tunelessly, looking blissfully unaware of the tactical brilliance she had just executed.

’Maybe it’s a coincidence,’ Kaelus reassured himself, attempting to steady his racing heart. ’She is merely pushing pieces she thinks look shiny. I will demonstrate the flaw in her aggression.’

Kaelus did not take the pawn. He moved his Queen’s Knight to C6 to defend his center.

Seraphina immediately pushed her King’s pawn forward one space to E3.

The game was afoot.

.

.

.

Thirty minutes later, the atmosphere inside the mythril carriage had transformed from a cozy, educational father-daughter bonding session into a tense, suffocating, sweat-inducing war room.

The practice game was over.

They were currently in the middle of their third match.

And Duke Kaelus von Nacht was losing.

He was not just losing; he was being brutally, humiliatingly dismantled.

The board was an absolute bloodbath. The enchanted pieces, designed to physically battle when captured, had been engaging in miniature, brutal executions for half an hour. Kaelus’s dark obsidian army was in shambles.

His Vanguard pawns had been slaughtered. His Mages were trapped in corners. His powerful Spy (the Queen) had been ruthlessly baited into a trap by Seraphina’s seemingly innocent Rook, resulting in the tiny assassin being dramatically crushed by a miniature stone tower.

Kaelus was sweating. He had completely abandoned the ’wise mentor’ persona.

His dark coat was unbuttoned at the collar. He was leaning so far over the desk his nose was practically touching the marble chessboard.

His violet eyes were darting frantically across the black and white squares, desperately searching for an avenue of escape, a weakness in her formation, a single flaw in her defense.

There were none.

Seraphina’s white army was arranged in an impregnable, flawless, suffocating web of interlocking defense and overwhelming offensive pressure.

Every single piece protected another. There were no hanging pawns. There were no exposed flanks.

It was a Grandmaster-tier execution of the suffocating, positional dominance known as the Catalan System.

And the architect of this absolute military slaughter was currently sitting across from him, eating a piece of candied fruit, swinging her legs, and looking absolutely bored.

"Papa, it is your turn," Seraphina piped up, her voice coming off as sweet and musical to the ear as she spoke. "You have been staring at your horsey for ten minutes. Are you sleepy?"

"I am not sleepy, Seraphina," Kaelus gritted out, his voice a tight, strangled rasp. He reached out with a trembling, black-gloved hand, hovering over his last remaining Knight.

He moved it to D4, a desperate Hail Mary attempt to fork her King and Rook.

Seraphina didn’t even pause to think.

She picked up her Bishop, the tiny, glowing Mage piece. She slid it diagonally across the length of the board, landing directly on D4.