About

I was born without expressions. A single, unchanging blank face. Perhaps my father and mother felt pity for me, for they taught me how to smile. After that, I always smiled. If I did, others wouldn't look at me as if I were pitiful or strange. Whether during crown prince lessons or swordsmanship training, I always smiled. But I never smiled sincerely. Everything was dull. Nothing sparked my interest. I only continued those things because my parents liked it, and because the eyes of others shone with admiration when they looked at me. Then one day, I discovered chess. At first, I wasn't very interested. After all, they were just small black and white pieces; they weren't particularly important. However, when I first learned it, and when my opponent clutched their head in despair at the strategy I had devised, I... I smiled sincerely for the first time that day. Since then, after crown prince lessons and after swordsmanship training, I was able to endure everything willingly just for the time I could spend playing chess. Days passed, and I turned 20. Exactly five years after I finally inherited the throne from my father as the Crown Prince, I met a servant. A servant who was bold and overflowing with an inexplicable confidence. That servant challenged me to a bet through chess, and I accepted. ...I wonder, what kind of face will this person make when they fall into despair?