I Became the Strategist the Monarchs Obsess Over

“Oh, I barely avoided failing.”

I failed in swordsmanship, spear techniques, archery, elemental magic, and divine magic, but managed to avoid failing by scoring high in political science, diplomacy, and mock battles.

However, with an average score of 41.2, I would have failed if it were just 2 points lower.

“That was a close call.”

If an unexpected variable had occurred in the mock battle and I had lost early. If I had gotten two more questions wrong in political science. If the examiners had thought, “This guy is no good,” and given me fewer points. I almost failed for real.

In any case, there was no problem with the promotion exam. Charles Jean Rochefort passed the promotion by a margin of 1.2 points and would be able to advance to the second year next year. It was a relief. If I hadn’t graduated from the Academy soon, I would have had to watch the upcoming era of chaos with my fingers crossed.

However, Charles felt a sense of crisis. He had narrowly avoided failing, but he had come close to it. To pass the next exam safely, he needed to raise his scores a bit more.

“Well… shall I think about this slowly?”

With that thought, Charles decided to lie down and rest. Too much had happened over the past two weeks. Charles needed a break.

But the rest didn’t last long. Someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

When he asked, a voice came from beyond the door.

“It’s me.”

It was a beautiful, soft female voice from beyond the door. But who was “me”? Curious, he opened the door to find Yuria Russell standing there.

“Yuria?”

At that moment, a myriad of emotions crossed his mind. Was she here to seek revenge for losing the mock battle? Such thoughts even crossed his mind. But Yuria’s words were different from what he had expected.

“Her Majesty the Princess wishes to see you.”

“At this hour?”

It was past 10 PM. It was time to start thinking about going to bed.

“Her Majesty is already waiting. I would not recommend making her wait longer.”

As she said this, Yuria glared at me. Her loyalty was still impressive.

Not that I was afraid of Yuria, but I got dressed and followed her. Yuria led me to a teahouse. Even though the teahouse was closed, they opened the door when Yuria knocked.

Inside the teahouse, the Princess was waiting alone, sipping tea. She was still reading the book I had written. [Tactics for a New Era: How to Utilize Firearms?]

I sat across from her and quietly waited for her to finish reading the book. Tea and pastries were served, and I enjoyed the aroma of the tea. After about ten minutes, the Princess suddenly spoke.

“Interesting.”

“Interesting? What do you mean?”

“The idea of such tactics. By placing musketeers in the center and long spear soldiers at four diagonal positions, you’re always ready to protect the musketeers. It’s so simple when explained, yet why has no one thought of this before?”

At her words, I chuckled. Did she not know? Even geniuses don’t know everything.

“Solving a problem with just deduction in a situation where you have nothing, and solving it again after seeing the answer sheet, are of different difficulties. Your Majesty has already seen the answer sheet, so the problem feels easy to you.”

After thinking for a while, the Princess nodded.

“Indeed, a problem feels easy when you already know the answer.”

“Yes. It’s surprisingly simple, isn’t it?”

“You are correct.”

She laughed softly.

“Did you call me here to ask about this?”

“Of course not. I’m not that idle.”

“Then why?”

“Yuria.”

When the Princess called Yuria, she brought something from another table. I wondered what it was for a moment, but after about three seconds, I realized. It was different in shape from modern ones, but it was a chessboard.

“Do you know what this is?”

“In my homeland, we called it chess.”

“It’s called chess here too. Then you know the rules.”

“Yes.”

She sighed in relief.

“I told you before. I wanted to face you with full strength, without spectators or distractions.”

“You did.”

“It’s quite difficult to face each other in real combat, but we can play chess, can’t we?”

Indeed, that was a fair point. I smiled.

“But are you sure about this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m quite good at this.”

“Ha ha ha!”

When I picked up a pawn to show her, Princess Leonia laughed heartily and said,

“Let me show you that there’s always someone better.”

—–

Chess resembles war. You deploy your forces, advance towards the enemy, and reduce each other’s pieces one by one. The side that reduces them more efficiently wins.

Chess resembles war because the side that takes better positions wins. In the limited space of the chessboard, you move your pieces to occupy the space needed for victory, and ultimately, the side that secures better positions and forms a more complete formation wins. That is chess.

War is the same. In the limited space of the battlefield, you move your forces to occupy the desired space and set up a good formation, ensuring victory. That is war.

That’s why Charles likes chess. Because you can compete with an opponent without anyone dying. Because you can see who is the better strategist.

And in Charles’s eyes, the Princess was an excellent strategist. A textbook strategist who pressures the opponent with flawless and highly complete tactics.

On the other hand, Charles’s style was quite different from the Princess’s. While the Princess focused on her pieces and her army’s formation, Charles focused on the opponent.

He constantly posed difficult problems, and every time the opponent made a mistake, he cornered them. Rather than perfecting his own formation, he preferred to shake the opponent. That was Charles’s style.

At first, the Princess seemed taken aback by the unfamiliar style, but as time went on, she became accustomed to Charles’s style. And to counter Charles’s unorthodox style, the Princess used a necessary method.

It was to ‘maintain her own pace.’ Usually, young nobles who learned orthodox chess would panic and collapse when facing an unorthodox style like Charles’s. But the Princess was different. Whether Charles played unorthodoxly or not, she kept her center and gradually pressured Charles.

This was similar to their ways of life. Charles always thought about how to adapt to the situation and the opponent, but the Princess always maintained her own pace. Charles thought that perhaps chess resembled life.

The match was even. There were times when Charles won and times when the Princess won. As time passed, the wins and losses accumulated, and by dawn, their wins and losses had reached double digits.

But there was no need to keep score or ask someone to judge. That’s because neither the Princess nor Charles were so dim-witted as to forget how many wins and losses they had.

“You are the opposite of me.”

It was a sudden remark from the Princess, but I understood what she meant. If the Princess’s strategy was orthodox, mine was unorthodox. Our ways of fighting and living were completely different.

“Your Majesty is someone who shines on her own.”

She uses her talents to take the most effective approach. That’s why she shines. But I can’t live the same way as her.

“But I am someone who must live in the shadows of others. Because I lack the strength and background to stand alone. That’s why I forfeited in the mock battle too. To avoid shining too brightly.”

I want to live. I want to return home. So, I take careful steps without choosing means or methods. It’s far from being proud, but that’s who I am.

“You said it before. Not everyone is born into royalty.”

I said that. The Princess was born into royalty. She grew up without any lack. With immense talent and a good background. What could have been difficult for her? She must have lived freely, shining with all the light she had.

“However, not all royalty is the same. As a woman and the third daughter, I had no choice but to shine desperately to catch my parents’ eyes. I had to work harder and be more capable than anyone else. Otherwise, I would have been further from the succession.”

Upon hearing those words, I couldn’t help but be surprised. Perhaps I had misjudged the Princess. I had cleared the game playing as Princess Leonia more than five times, but it was through those words that I learned this for the first time.

“Your Majesty, could it be…”

“Don’t say any more. I am aware that I said something embarrassing.”

Indeed, the Princess’s exceptional strength, knowledge, and political and diplomatic senses were not just due to her natural disposition.

She had said that when the Crown Prince becomes Emperor, there would be a purge of other royals, so to survive, she had to defeat the Crown Prince by any means necessary, and for that, she had to work harder than anyone else.

I revised my evaluation of Leonia. She was not just a carefree golden spoon. Rather, she was a person struggling to live, just like me!

‘Though our methods were different, our goals were the same…’

She desperately shone to live, and I hid in the shadows to live. We ran towards the same goal with different methods.

Meanwhile, the game continued during their conversation, and Yuria Russell watched their game in amazement. She had never seen anyone match the Princess’s chess skills before.

Even Yuria Russell, and even Isabel de Poitiers, were a step below the Princess in chess. She had visited the chess club out of curiosity, but there was no one who could match the Princess.

Yet, unexpectedly, Charles Jean Rochefort was the Princess’s match. Isabel couldn’t close her mouth as she watched their game.

And when morning came.

“Your Majesty, it’s time.”

Yuria Russell said. The time was already 5:30 AM. Soon, the students would start coming out.

“What a pity.”

“Indeed.”

Charles and the Princess sighed simultaneously. It wasn’t surprising. They were tied at 13 wins each.

“Let’s play one more game before we part.”

“Very well.”

Charles and the Princess played their final game. The last game took particularly long. But even this time, the winner was not determined. After a long battle, it ended in a draw.

With a sense of regret, Charles and the Princess returned to their respective dormitories. When Charles returned to his room and looked in the mirror, he saw dark circles under his eyes and laughed. It felt like the first time he had stayed up all night since the Era of Gunpowder and Magic.

Charles replayed the game with the Princess in his mind, recalling the good and bad moves. Having met a worthy opponent for the first time in a while, Charles couldn’t shake off the lingering feeling of the chess game he had played all night.

—–

Meanwhile, Princess Leonia, back in her room, called Isabel de Poitiers to her room.

The reason the Princess called Isabel to her room, rather than anyone else, was because among the people she knew, Isabel was the second best at chess. The first was Charles.

The Princess played chess with Isabel, but the result was a complete victory for the Princess at 5-0. Isabel was amazed at the Princess’s moves, which were even sharper and more flawless than usual.

“Your Majesty seems to have improved your skills again.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You are much stronger than when we played before, to a different level.”

The Princess could guess the reason for this. The 27 games against Charles. Each game felt like walking on thin ice. Having gone through such matches, her heightened senses would not allow her to lose.

“Isabel. Chess is similar to war.”

“Is it?”

Isabel respected the Princess, but she did not quite agree with that statement. Chess was, after all, a game played on a chessboard. How could one compare it to real war, which had so many variables? But she kept her thoughts to herself.

“If I were to meet him on the battlefield, it would not be easy.”

Although the Princess said this, Isabel could not tell who she was referring to. All she could do was continue playing chess until the Princess was satisfied.