Chapter 36

Translator: Happybear13

‘How?’

It can’t be number one.

Kenin looked at Charlize in confusion. Charlize looked fresh and confident.

“I won, right?”

‘The Grandmaster used some tricks.’

Kenin noticed. But can he reveal her strategy? Gripe about it here. It’s like confessing to manipulation.

It was the reason why he remained tight-lipped, only showing the surprise of his defeat.

Charlize took all the chips from Kenin with her legs crossed.

“Do you think it’s because of luck?”

Charlize shrugged as if she knew nothing.

Kenin bit his mouth.

“Naturally… all is luck, substantially, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I was lucky.”

Charlize laughed.

“But it’s too bad to end the bet like this. What do you think about playing another event?”

Kenin nodded, deciding not to manipulate it this time.

The Duke used his brain. He hates to imagine losing twice in a row. His worries continued.

“Okay.”

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“Great.”

“This time again. Can I choose a betting event?”

“Sure.”

Charlize looked relaxed. Confident that her composure would soon disappear, the Duke said.

​”There is a ‘hwagi’ from the East. The rules are just a little different from the chess we play it, but it’s almost the same way to play chess by using pawn. My tactician is very good at ‘hwagi’.”

Kenin raised his chin.

“I bet ‘my tactician wins’ the Grandmaster, of course.”

“I’ll bet on ‘my win’.”

Charlize answered calmly.

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The ‘hwagi’.

It is not well known now, but it is a game that dominates the empire only a century later.

Charlize, as Keira, witnessed numerous of hwagi matches in person. Later, professional competitions such as chess were held to select champions.

Charlize had a keen insight into the winning strategy of previous champions and how to overcome crises.

But Kenin didn’t know this fact.

“It’s good to be vigorous.”

Soon the tactician came in with the ‘hwagi’ board. The tactician was famous. He was considered a strong candidate for the Grandmaster of the Crown Prince.

If the 13th prince did not become the Crown Prince. The position of the Grandmaster of the Crown Prince would have belonged to the tactician, not Charlize.

“It will be an exciting game, isn’t it?”

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The Duke haughtily said as if he was conscious of Charlize’s gaze reaching the tactician.

“A game between the Grandmaster of the Crown Prince and the person who might have become the Grandmaster of the Crown Prince.”

“Is that so?”

Charlize answered as usual. The tactician politely prepared a courtesy to Charlize, who sat in the chair.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation, Grandmaster.”

The ‘hwagi’ board, which she hadn’t ‘t seen in a long time, was quite fancy.

Soon the game began.

“I caught you again.”

‘Hwagi’ as you can think of just by name alone. It was a game that competed with pawn representing flowers, butterflies, and bees.

Once again, Charlize caught the tactician’s flower pawn with the butterfly pawn. The butterfly spread its wings, covering the flowers.

The silver powder of the butterfly wings glistened in the sun.

Charlize put the flower pawn aside and looked at the tactician. As if he was frustrated, the tactician forgot to control his facial expressions and held his chin.

“It’s your turn.”

The tactician couldn’t help being surprised.

A game in which hwagi are not allowed to be manipulated. But it was definitely the first game for Charlize.

The tactician, who improved his skills through numerous games, was at a disadvantage from the starting line. It hasn’t been long since Charlize learned the rules of the game.

However, the scene unfolding before his eyes was amazing. Charlize was overwhelming the game.

All the moves the tactician threw at her were found out and destroyed. No matter what he made such a move, he was stabbed and counterattacked when he was about to laugh.

The Duke, who was watching the game from the side asked out of nervousness.

“Grandmaster, have you ever played the hwagi?”

Charlize shook her head.

“No, this is my first time.”

For Keira, she only watched the game, and this is the first time for Charlize. She just knows the strategy. It wasn’t wrong because she has never played it before.

It was a good enough answer for the tactician to drowning in shame.

“…I lost.”

The tactician admitted defeat. The Duke’s face was horribly distorted.

However, in his view, the outcome was already decided. Even if he struggles, it’ll only make him look ugly and deceitful.

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He completely lost.

Charlize asked gently.

“But you still have a few pawns left, right?”

“You can’t attack with grass and flowers. The Grandmaster doesn’t know that it’s like a game that’s already been over.”

Kenin said from the side.

As the Duke said, the game was as obvious as seeing the fire. But after hearing that. Charlize smiled with her head down.

“That’s right. It looks like that.”

Kenin bit his lips.

Charlize looked at Kenin.

“Then, let’s say it’s my victory. Shall I teach you how to win this situation as the tactician?”

“The must-win method…? Is it possible in this hopeless situation?”

The tactician opened his eyes wide with astonishment. Charlize, whose work is teaching the Crown Prince. She nodded her head without hesitation.

“It’s to make the opponent’s pawns fight each other.”

Charlize whispered. Her fingers clasped the tactician’s grass pawn. And put it in front of Charlize’s bee pawn.

“By separating butterflies and bees, it makes them attack each other and destroy them.”

Charlize’s butterfly pawn, which cannot survive unless it stays next to the grass pawn, moves. Then the king’s loopholes were clearly revealed.

“You don’t have to put blood directly on your hands from here.”

Charlize’s fingers were slender. Freely playing on the wide-board, with precisely. She made the perfect move to penetrate the future.

“It’s about making the opponent fall apart.”

Checkmate.

The situation where the king’s death is certain had happened. Soon the king of Charlize was eaten in vain by the tactician’s flower pawn.

“Did you see that?”

“How…”

Charlize said it was definitely her first time playing. But Charlize has already gone beyond fully understanding the rules. She even came up with a must-win method that no one would have thought of.

“The genius of the century…”

The tactician muttered to himself carelessly. He shut his mouth right after receiving the Duke’s murderous look.

But as the tactician, he was just dumbfounded. Charlize was outstanding. The tactician was embarrassed at the moment when he recalled what the Duke had said before the game began.

‘Did he just introduce me as a person who might become the Grandmaster of the Crown Prince?’

Don’t you dare. He can’t even compare himself to her. How impolite it must be.

The Duke was unable to control his facial expressions. This resulted in losing the bet twice in a row.

Even though he first manipulated it, and secondly he put up the tactician. Besides, it was the bet that was advantageous to the Duke.

“It’s amazing…”

Kenin bit his lips out of strange shame. Charlize didn’t say that she won by luck this time.

“But, isn’t the reason you’re here because of the bet?”

Kenin was provoking, and now he recognized Charlize as a competitor.

Normally, he wouldn’t feel such a strong sense of victory over the young noble lady. But he wanted to win the Grandmaster to death.

“Well, you’re right. Because of the bet.”

“…”

“Instead, we’re going to make the large-scale bet this time.”

“The large-scale…?”

“I heard that there’s a family heirloom that has been descended like a legend from generation to generation.”

At Charlize’s words, the atmosphere of Kenin quickly became dangerous.

Charlize sipped the tea calmly as if it was an expected reaction.

“I heard you’re looking for the lost heirloom. Fortunately, I found a map of the heirloom and I knew the location.”

Charlize looked up at Kenin.

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“It must have been in the middle of the Lion Mountains, where the monster started to infest a few years ago.”

“…How do you know that?”

“I’m the Grandmaster.”

Charlize answered with a dazzling smile. This means that the intelligence of the Grandmaster of the Crown Prince should not be ignored.

The Duke gets pricked, so he shut his mouth.

“I’m going to find the heirloom. That’s the last bet I’m offering.”

“How far… do you know?”

“I know what I need to know. I don’t know what I should not know.”

Charlize respected Kenin’s secret.

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Kenin spoke dubiously.

“I secretly sent hundreds of knights to the Lion Mountains. And I’ve also hired some of the best mercenaries represent like an outstanding diamond. But they all failed. Because the monsters are so powerful. But, the Grandmaster is willing to come through it?”

“Yes, all by myself is enough.”

The Duke was at a loss for words.

Charlize was still a young noble lady. Her fragile body. He was wondering if she can hold the sword properly.

Of course, he knew Charlize can hold the sword because he did the research.

However, it was a land that no strong person could conquer. She didn’t say it with a fresh face.

“Didn’t you see that? I won two bets in a row.”

Charlize looked at the Duke.

“You know that there’s never a bet that will damage the Duke. If I lose the bet, I’ll give it to you. The guarantee is this.”

Charlize took out the letter of delegation from the Crown Prince Dylan in her arms.

“If I lose, I’ll give it to you right away. I’ll hand over my leash and become a flower that follows whatever the Duke orders.”

“…”

A flower?

At the moment, Kenin’s expression became strange.

Because he knows how destructive power is in Charlize’s words. The boldness of handing out the letter of delegation as a guarantee, even Kenin was stunned.

‘You’re betting on yourself?’

What confidence do you have to make such a statement? It wasn’t a sexual feeling. The value of Charlize’s ability and her power of influence was much greater.

Even though it was obvious that she would lose the bet, Charlize was too calm.

“But if I win the bet.”

There was tension in the air.

“The Duke will also have to prepare for the Duke’s fate.”

“You want me to sacrifice my life for this ridiculous bet?”

“Aren’t you afraid of anything? If you think it’s obvious I’m going to lose?”

If he wins, he will become the next powerful man by getting the Grandmaster.

If he loses, he gets his family heirloom back.

For Kenin, it was a bet with nothing to lose. The Duke looked at the tactician for a moment.

When he was just about to ask if he could accept it, the tactician nodded first.

“The deadline is fifteen days. That’s enough.”

The Duke looked at Charlize.

“…Okay.”

‘The Grandmaster is taking a ridiculous adventure.’

Winning two bets. It certainly deserves admiration. But this was different.

Kenin accepted the bet and looked at Charlize. What the hell is her intention?

‘It’s as I planned.’

But Charlize. She finally smiled like a butterfly as if she was satisfied.

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Charlize was confident that she would never lose this bet.

After making simple preparations, Charlize went straight to the mountain range.

[The white cave is on the 30th peak. By the way, Grandmaster. Are you really going to go? Just reconsider it again…]

The tactician who was guiding her carefully stopped Charlize as if he was worried.

[I couldn’t actively stop you in front of the Duke. It’s a dangerous thing to risk your life. If you look at the traces found in it, you’re probably….]

Of course, Charlize didn’t listen. The tactician’s serious dissuasion soon became understandable.

As soon as she reached the entrance of the mountain range, she saw the highest level of the monster she had ever seen.

It was the monster dragon, the mighty king of the monster. The black scales were barely pierced by several masters. And the mouth was full of poison that brought destruction.

Krrrrrrrrrr.

The dragon cried out in a shrill voice.

Charlize was facing the giant dragon. Humans are not enemies to deal with alone.

“Hi.”

But.

A refreshing smile hanging in her mouth.

Charlize lifted her sword.