First Move, Checkmate: How Will You Respond?

Chapter 28: Do I Look Like the Kind of Jerk Who Knocks on a Girl's Door Late at Night?

Victor!!! Are you asking to be scolded?!

An enraged yell echoed throughout the manor.

The servants outside the door shrank back at the sound.

They whispered among themselves, Master Victor is arguing with the young miss again.

Its been a while since they had a fight

The two shook their heads, long used to such scenes.

Whenever Master Victor was home, Miss Lia was sure to get into an argument with him.

Lia furiously jabbed her finger at Victors nose as she berated him, I waited so long for you, yet the first thing you say when you get home is asking if Im hiding someone in the house?

Just how narrow-minded can you be to even think of something like that!

Victor stood at the door, his expression unchanged as he listened to Lias tirade without retorting.

After venting her frustration for a while, Lia sighed and grudgingly added an explanation.

It was a subordinate from the territory who came to report some matters. They had already left by the time you came back.

Victor nodded.

I see.

When he had entered the house, he caught a faint floral scent in the air.

Clearly not a mans fragrance.

He had wanted to append a sentence or two after asking Are you hiding someone? to prevent any unnecessary misunderstanding on Lias part.

But Lia had started her barrage too quickly, her reaction instinctual. He didnt even have time to react before being subjected to her wrath.

So he simply let her berate him.

If yelling at him helped relieve her stress, Victor didnt mind being scolded a few times.

It was part and parcel of their interactions, something he was long accustomed to.

Victor sat back down at his desk without asking Lia if she had encountered any difficulties recently.

He trusted her to handle everything capably.

If there were problems she couldnt solve, Lia would take the initiative to tell him.

Sure enough, though Victor didnt ask, Lia brought up the matter of the shop herself, a little embarrassed.

The props shop isnt doing so well.

It hasnt had the explosive popularity you imagined.

Oh? What happened?

Victor rapped his knuckles on the desk, surprised by this unexpected turn.

He was interested to hear Lias explanation for it.

Lia reported on the shops finances.

Other than selling some items on the first day, there have been no customers the past few days.

Victors gaze sharpened slightly at this.

By his marketing strategies, there should not have been such an outcome theoretically.

There would always be connoisseurs who came to purchase the wares.

Moreover, Lia said they had sold potions on the first day.

Word-of-mouth from potion users should have triggered explosive growth.

Could there be issues with the player-made potions?

Highly unlikely.

Problems with the shops management?

Also improbable. If Lia couldnt even operate a small shop, she couldnt have developed her territory so well either.

That left only one possibility an unexpected situation had occurred.

So what happened?

Lia began her explanation:

On the first day the shop opened, the dukes daughter bought some potions.

Hearing that title, Victors gaze flickered.

Erica Duquois?

Lia shot Victor a look and mocked, Oh, still thinking about your dear little lover?

You even remember her name so clearly.

That joke is in poor taste. Continue.

Victor promptly curtailed Lias taunting.

Lia folded her arms and twisted her lips.

I thought that with Ericas fame, news about the potions effects would quickly spread, and hordes of mages would be drawn to the name.

But on the second day, Mount Vesuvius erupted.

At this, Lia noticed Victors drumming fingers still.

It seemed he had grasped something of what she suspected.

But she patiently continued her explanation for Victors sake.

Many mages left for the volcano, leaving only some novice first-circle mages in the capital.

Forget about whether they could afford the wares, these items would be wasted on them.

To put it simply, first circle mages dont deserve such things.

After a few more days, the mages all returned. But then they started banding together to impeach the Duke.

They even appealed directly to the Emperor, who personally summoned the Duke and noble mages to deliver a final judgment.

At this point, Lia sighed in resignation.

The main customers for the potions were mages, but with the chaos in the capital recently, they were all too busy to patronize the shop.

Victor listened to it all expressionlessly.

He had been fighting Gudon deep inside the volcano all this time, so naturally he didnt know what had transpired recently.

No wonder when he reappeared at the crater after defeating Gudon, the first thing he saw was Erica.

He thought it was a hallucination, given he had no memories after that.

It was Veega who later told him why he had lost consciousness.

Veegas powers should be used as little as possible from now on, Victor thought.

After this battle, he had been unconscious for a full four days.

Added to the three days of fighting Gudon, it totaled exactly one week.

Still, he hadnt anticipated that the battle with Gudon would affect the real volcano.

Although there was no eruption, the incidents impact had reached the capital.

At this point, Lia interjected mockingly, Others are saying Duke Rivierre stopped channeling the war magic array because his daughter went missing.

How laughable. Not to mention whether the war magic would have torn his precious daughter apart, if the volcano erupted, wouldnt Erica still die if she was on the mountain?

Victor said nothing, but agreed with Lias words in his heart.

At that time, Erica going up the mountain was undoubtedly courting death.

The difference was, under the war magic, only Erica at the summit would die.

If the volcano erupted, all the mages and residents below would be buried along with Erica.

He didnt believe the Duke was unaware of this logic.

Having said her piece, Lia shrugged.

Oh right, one more thing.

The imperial edict has been delivered to our door. You have to go to the palace on the summoned day too.

You returned at just the right time. Come back a day later and you wouldve missed it.

Why? Victor was a little curious, though he already had a guess.

You want a reason? Fine.

Who was the only accompanying mage that went missing before the volcanic eruption?

Just as he thought.

Victors expression remained unchanged despite having the answer.

Seeing his reaction, Lia didnt probe further. Stifling a yawn, she went to the door.

Looks like you already have a way out. Im going to bed.

Ill shut my door tight, so dont come sneaking into my room just because we havent seen each other in a while!

She slammed the door loudly.

Victor:

Do I look like the kind of jerk who knocks on a girls door late at night?

On second thought, he had done that before.

Gwen must have said something to Lia.

Victor didnt dwell on it. More pressingly, he wondered why the Duke had acted that way.

Suddenly, Veegas voice rang out unprompted.

If the volcano erupted, everyone there would die, including Duke Rivierre himself.

Only that girl could have survived.

But she would definitely die if the war magic activated.

Victor narrowed his eyes and asked lightly:

If I had failed and the volcano erupted, Gudon would also have been unleashed.

Do you think a wounded second-circle little girl could survive the natural disasters brought by the Calamity?

Veega looked up at Victor, gaze profound.

She can converse with the Calamity.

Hearing Veegas words, Victor was slightly taken aback. Now it was his turn to be puzzled.

Veega quickly latched onto Victors reaction, delighted.

This is the first time Ive seen you so surprised.

Veega clearly knew something, since it stated definitively that Erica wouldnt die.

Im actually very curious what kind of being the Duke sired her with.

Oh right, have you ever seen the girls mother?

Victor grew even more silent.

In the games lore, this dukes daughter was also an astounding genius.

Barring accidents, at nineteen two years from now

she would step into third-circle magehood after Victors death, breaking his record as the empires youngest third-circle mage.

Precisely because of her talent, during the change in imperial power and ascension of the new emperor,

Erica Duquois backing allowed her father Duke Rivierres faction, which supported the Crown Prince, to survive.

For now, these were the extent of the plot points Victor could recall.

But hearing Veegas words made him realize for the first time

this fairly well-known NPCs mother had never been seen by any players.

Not even a hint in the lore.

Was she dead? Or

The information Victor could gather was far too little for him to guess.

Seeing his reaction, Veega looked somewhat satisfied that there were things even Victor didnt know.

It opened its beak and chirped:

So, what do you plan to do?

Not only the Duke, but youve been summoned to the audience tomorrow too. You should think about how to overcome this trial first.

No one can aid you this time.

Victor gazed out the window, moonlight spilling over his cold, handsome features and a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

The Way has many to help when flourishing, few when declining. This is only natural.

All in all, Duke Rivierre is quite admirable as a father.

Indeed, he had stopped the magic array, willing to perish with his mages in the natural disasters, even abandoning the innocent citizens.

All so his daughter could live.

At the same time, the Dukes actions were also rage-inducing.

The Emperor wont let his long-serving vassals feel spurned, but he has to provide an explanation for everyone.

The worst case scenario is simply stripping him of his title and sending him back to his fief.

That is, if I dont step in.

Hearing Victors last line, Veega let out an intrigued Oh?

You want to help him?

Its called warming charcoal in snow.

A cunning, merchant-like gleam flashed through Victors eyes.