By Zephyria 
Suddenly, it felt as if his blood had turned cold. No way, how?
The man giving instructions to Chrissy had once been called a chess prodigy. Though, as is the case with many such stories, that extraordinary talent faded as he grew, and after repeated failures, he had ended up doing this kind of work.
Anyone who plays chess seriously memorizes the records of games where a decisive victory was achieved. Rather than memorizing every single game, they analyze the flow, and in doing so, the records are naturally committed to memory. Because of this, trying to win by mimicking a previous match carried a high risk of being caught—and worse, it might reveal that Chrissy was pulling a ridiculous stunt. Therefore, their plan was to follow the opening of an obscure match and then make new moves based on Nathaniel’s reactions…
But why did it turn out like this?
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. Was this simply a minor, natural consequence of the man’s talent for chess? He was confused, but now was the time to focus on the game. Ultimately, Chrissy had no choice but to move the rook back to its original position.
“Oh, what a shame.”
Nathaniel spoke in a tone that sounded not at least a little bit sorry as he moved his bishop. Chrissy felt irritated, but there was nothing he could do. More importantly, if that man knew the trick he was using right now…
It’s okay, Chrissy steadied himself. The switch was in his jacket pocket along with ‘that thing.’ As long as he didn’t move too far from the jacket, its performance was guaranteed. Even if Chrissy lost and had to strip everything off, they wouldn’t find anything suspicious.
After reaffirming his confidence, Chrissy moved the next piece. After placing the pawn and removing his hand, he straightened his back and looked directly at Nathaniel.
“It’s your turn.”
At Chrissy’s words, Nathaniel gave a thin smile and soon moved a piece. The game resumed. Chrissy focused on the game more cautiously, his ears strained. As he mentally recited the rules he had memorized and scanned the chessboard, he suddenly felt a strange sensation.
If he moves that piece and then moves it here twice more, isn’t that checkmate…?
Of course, it would be enough to move the king or defend with a rook. But it could serve as a warning. Having thought that far, he made his decision and moved the knight.
“Huh? What is this? I told you to move the bishop, not the knight!”
The man shouted in his ear, sounding flustered. However, Chrissy took his hand off the piece and leaned his upper body back, as if his job was done. He heard the man let out a sigh of disbelief, but he ignored it.
“Checkmate.”
Fortunately, there was no interference. Just as he had calculated, as the knight stood before the king, the corners of Nathaniel’s mouth curved upward softly.
“I wondered if you really would place it like this.”
Speaking in a voice that seemed to hold a hint of amusement, Nathaniel easily moved his king to escape the threat.
“Occasionally, I encounter people who do things where the result is blindingly obvious, and every time, I wonder. Are they unable to predict such an obvious outcome? Or are they attempting some form of self-harm? Or perhaps their intelligence is lower than that of a monkey?”
Having said that, Nathaniel turned his face, still wearing a faint smile, toward Chrissy.
“I assume the prosecutor isn’t the third case, so is self-harm a hobby of yours? If you enjoy suffering, there are far sexier ways to go about it.”
Chrissy kept his mouth shut, picked up a pawn, moved it, and then looked at the man opposite him.
“It’s your turn, counselor.”
Nathaniel chuckled, glanced over the chessboard, and moved a piece again. In his ear, the man gave a dissatisfied retort.
“Don’t move on your own from now on. I won’t be responsible if you lose.”
Then, he relayed exactly what the computer instructed. The pieces moved back and forth several times. Amidst the tense silence, Chrissy suddenly felt something strange. He glanced at Nathaniel, but his demeanor remained unchanged. Then was it the chess? He looked down at the board again, but he remained bewildered. It was only natural. He had been staring at the board this whole time; why would it suddenly become strange?
There must be a reason.
Lost in thought with his brow deeply furrowed, he suddenly realized. It was after Nathaniel Miller moved the rook that he felt this way. There was something on the chessboard. No matter how he looked, he couldn’t tell what it was.
“Knight to D6.”
Following the instruction, Chrissy moved the piece and leaned back against the backrest. It might have looked as if he were resting his exhausted body, but he had another motive. The moment Nathaniel picked up the bishop to move it, Chrissy deliberately lifted one leg high and crossed it over the other. In doing so, the hem of his trousers pulled up, abruptly revealing the bare skin hidden between his socks and the trouser cuff.
“Damn, this…”
At that moment, Nathaniel let out a curse. He ended up placing the bishop in the opposite direction of the intended spot. For Nathaniel Miller to make such a mistake was unthinkable. But whether he was a Dominant Alpha, the most successful lawyer in the world, or the son of the next president, he was still just a man. One who could crumble helplessly before the desire in front of his eyes.
As expected, he likes my ankles.
When he confirmed this unpleasant fact, the man in his ear suddenly let out an exclamation.
“Wow, what incredible luck. If that man had moved the bishop correctly, it would have ended in checkmate in three moves.”
As if he had run a virtual simulation on the computer, the man let out a great sigh of relief. Following his baseless intuition had helped Chrissy. And a great deal, at that. Chrissy returned his leg to its original position and asked brazenly, pretending nothing had happened.
“Are you done? It’s my turn, right?”
Nathaniel looked at him with disbelief as he leisurely moved the next piece. Soon, a short, airy laugh escaped his lips, and he shook his head.
“I suppose I am but a human with weaknesses as well.”
The self-deprecating remark was something one could hardly believe came from Nathaniel Miller. Chrissy answered based on fact.
“You’re just human.”
He might have lived believing himself to be something similar to a god, or perhaps something even superior.
Though he thought it sarcastically in his mind, unexpectedly, Nathaniel burst into a short laugh. As Chrissy blinked, bewildered by the unexpected reaction, Nathaniel spoke in his usual leisurely tone.
“Of course, I am well aware of the fact that I am human. I’m not so mad as to mistake myself for a god or something else.”
Having said that, he added meaningfully,
“Though I don’t know what would happen if pheromones were to build up.”
At those words, the memory of the pheromone party, which he had momentarily forgotten, rushed back. A place where all sorts of decadence and corruption overflowed. Along with a momentary wave of dizziness, he recalled what happened that day.
I almost got raped by this man there, and this man lost the use of his legs because of me.
Glancing at the cane leaning diagonally beside him, Chrissy inadvertently spoke.
“How long are you going to use that?”
Surely not for life…
Just as a bad feeling washed over him, Nathaniel glanced down at the cane and said, “I wonder.”
“The doctor hasn’t said anything specific yet.”
An ominous silence fell between the two. A strange tension lingered, but neither spoke first. After staring at Chrissy for a while, Nathaniel slowly parted his lips.
“It’s your turn, prosecutor.”
At those words, Chrissy snapped out of it and turned his gaze back to the chessboard. The man watching recited the next move, and he moved the piece as told. In exchange for escaping the crisis, a sacrifice followed. The bishop, which had moved in the opposite direction from where it was originally intended, knocked down Chrissy’s knight. With a sigh of resignation, Chrissy looked up, as if asking what was next.
Nathaniel, who had been slowly stroking his lower lip with his index finger, tilted his long eyes slightly. With a thin smile, he spoke.
“This time, let’s undo the belt, prosecutor.”