Karen Landberht

A gigantic mansion, surrounded by a metallic fence as far as the eye could see. It was a visage so majestic, it was bound to invoke a sense of inferiority in whoever gazed upon it.

It was the Landberht residence, and Cato came here to do battle. The guard welcomed him at the gate without any questions. That was a given, for Cato has been frequenting this mansion from a young age.

[This place is like the extension of my own house.] Cato pretended. [I can walk in and out as I please. One day, this territory will belong to me, like the rest of the world!]

It was a nice dream to have. On his road to world domination, owning a grandiose palace like this was more than acceptable.

As he approached the mansion's entrance, a girl stood there. She was a year younger than him, yet her frowny expression didn't have a lick of respect toward her elder. What a brat.

"Tch. So, you've come." Karen made sure to click her tongue, to show just how much this development displeased her.

"Indeed, I've arrived." Cato drove the point home. It was the same as throwing a jab in a boxing match.

"Tch, I was hoping you'll have an accident on the way or something."

"My, that's a dangerous thing to wish on your guest. A lady shouldn't be acting like that."

"Yeah, yeah." Karen put both hands on her waist, asserting dominance.

She was wearing an expensive dress that was in line with the majesty of the gigantic mansion. And yet, despite layering herself with such elegant clothing, she didn't radiate a lick of ladylike behavior.

From her tone to her expression and all the way to her body language, there wasn't a single refined attribute about her. She was like a country bumpkin dressed up as a princess. And yet, she was a legal resident of his household. Not to mention, she held a high position to boot.

"Well, you had a chance," Karen said.

"My chance?"

"You could've canceled the meeting, missed the bus, or turned around at the gate. But, you chose to show your face here anyway."

"That I did."

"So, you chose death." Karen pulled something out of her pocket. It was thin and silver, flashing for a moment against the sun's rays. It was...

"A knife!?" Cato jumped.

"GAME OVER!" Karen lunged forth with superhuman speed! As expected from a member of the Landberht household, she was no mere mortal!

"W-Wait!" Cato staggered backward. [I-Is she for real!? I thought I was used to her pranks, but this one is something else...!]

The girl moved like a bullet of lightning. The knife cut through the air and lodged itself into Cato's stomach. Even though he saw it coming, there was no chance of dodging.

[Such beautiful technique...] Cato hated himself for thinking these silly things in his last moments.

Contrary to the girl's rowdy appearance, her blade technique was swift and clean. She probably practiced some fencing, just like the princess of the manor.

[I-I thought she'd stop, but she didn't...] Cato couldn't believe his eyes. Just like that, his life came to an end. That was a fatal wound, no doubt about it. It was indeed "Game Over" for him.

Though, strangely, there wasn't much pain. He definitely felt the knife piercing his stomach, but did it reach his insides?

[Is this what they call "painless death"?] Cato wondered. [Mom, dad... I'm sorry, but I'm going on ahead...]

He collapsed on the ground. It was the end.

"Oh wow," Karen said evenly. "I actually ended up killing him. Whoopsie. Well, I'm sure sis won't mind."

"......" There was no response. After all, dead men told no tales. What laid before Karen was a lifeless corpse... of course not.

"Hey." Karen kicked the dead body. "Did you seriously kick the bucket?"

"Yes, I'm dead."

"Yeah, right. I wouldn't have to tolerate you all these years if you were that easy to get rid of."

"Aha, so you understand." Cato slowly rose on his feet, like an overlord reviving from the ashes. "A mere mortal like you cannot defeat the man who is destined to rule this world! Muhaha!"

"Are you, like, five?"

"Jokes aside," Cato said as he rubbed his stomach. "That did hurt."

"Oh, it did? Good." Karen proceeded to stab her own stomach a few times. It looked like a suicide scene, but of course it wasn't. The knife didn't deliver any damage.

It was a retractable knife prop. In other words, a toy. Once it clashed with something, the blade retreated into the handle without dealing much damage.

"Hmm" Karen stabbed herself a few more times and tilted her head. "It doesn't hurt much when I do it like this. But, gotta admit, I never tested it with that kind of momentum."

"Well, it [does] hurt." Cato rubbed his stomach some more to stress the point. Even though the knife wasn't sharp, being stabbed at high speed wasn't exactly fun.

"So, it hurts with that much force." Karen nodded in understanding. "Got it. Thanks for participating in the experiment."

"You rascal..." Cato made a face.

Upon hearing Cato's complaint, the girl merely smiled. It was an innocent pretty smile, yet it sent a chill down Cato's spine. Though, that was charming in its own way.

"So, you're not apologizing, huh."

"Hm? For what?"

"Right..." Cato sighed. This kind of abuse was the norm. He grew up with it, therefore he accepted it for what it was: a childish prank.

This was Karen Landberht in a nutshell, the rascal "younger sister" of the Landberht Princess. She was a noble without a speck of refinement and she had an attitude only a masochist would consider attractive. Truly, this girl was the bane of Cato's existence.

"You really had to come, didn't you?" Karen continued to complain even as they entered the hallway.

"Well, [excuse me]," Cato said. "It's the weekly schedule. I mean, I did skip it for the last few weeks, but still."

"Hmph. I was already counting on you to not come. Like, I had plans with sis and all, you know? But, you just had to come and ruin them."

"Yes, yes, I'm [very] sorry about that." Cato made a face. [This girl, I swear...]

"You must be really busy these days, huh. You never missed matches against sis before."

"Turned out that being the captain of the champion team is a little more demanding than I expected," Cato confessed. "Now that scrims started, there's just so much to do."

"Hmm, sounds rough," Karen said evenly. From the tone alone, it was hard to tell whether she cared at all.

[She doesn't.] Cato was like 90% convinced.

"Well, sis is handling the captain job no problem on her end. She can even allocate some of her precious time to meet up with you even though she's busy with so many other things. You better be grateful."

"I really appreciate it," Cato spoke honestly. "I know her schedule is packed to the brim. Though, I trust her to cancel our meeting when she's overscheduled."

"You know sis wouldn't that. She always finishes her tasks, no matter how small or insignificant they are. Like this pointless weekly meeting, for example."

[Throwing shade, are we now?] Cato smiled wryly. "We'll see how 'insignificant' it is. I had three weeks to review our games and prepare some good lines."

"Wow, amazing!" Karen clapped. "Oh wait, you say that every week and then lose like a scrub."

"Today will be different, okay?" Cato had to urge that or else his fighting spirit will crumble apart.

As frustrating as it was, he understood the odds better than anybody. Based on countless past experiences, he had almost no chance of stealing a single win today.

[Especially, not when I'm this busy with Classmancers.] Cato thought. [On a good day, I can get at least a win or two, but with how busy I've been recently...]

There was little to no hope. The more time Cato invested in Classmancers, the bigger the gap between him and his nemesis grew.

[Then again, she's also supposedly a captain of a Mancers team, just like me.] Cato grumped. [And, she's also into a bunch of other sports, too. How can she handle everything at once as if it's so easy? That girl isn't human, I'm certain of it now.]

While all these thoughts were eating at him, he and Karen reached a big guest room. A chessboard was already prepared, alongside drinks and sweets.

"So," Cato started. "Judging by the fact you're the one who came to greet me, I take it Fiona is still busy with her previous appointment?"

"Yep." Karen dropped on the sofa. "Gotta wait until sis is free to grace a nobody like you with her presence. Just stuff yourself up until then or something." She grabbed a cookie from the table and threw it into her mouth as an example; unladylike to the bone.

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Cato filled up a cup of water instead. This was his statement against the poison lying on the table.

Yes, it was all poison. These expensive sweets looked very attractive, no question about it. They must've had some rich flavors to live up to whatever costly price they had.

But, eating them before the match was no good. Sugar was a great way to gain a temporary boost of energy, but it never lasted long. Half an hour later, the "crash" was bound to happen. Cato's concentration will start slipping away and his eyes will grow heavy.

[I know that all too well from experience.] Cato reminded himself. [I lost one important tournament match thanks to that kind of poison. Never again.]

He absolutely wasn't allowed to lay his hands on any of these fine-looking cookies. Absolutely not. No matter how expensive they were, no matter how tasty, and no matter how rich the wrapping looked - he had to resist!

And so, he filled his mouth with water. Nothing beats good old water.

"Hah. Your loss." Karen shrugged and grabbed a few more cookies. The table was clearly laid out for guests, yet she gobbled the cookies up without any reservations. "So good~" She smiled from ear to ear like a carefree child.

[She'd actually be cute if she smiled like that more often.]

"What?" Karen shot him a look.

"Nothing." Cato cast his gaze aside.

"Hmm." Karen gave him a long dubious stare, then stuffed herself with some more cookies.

"You'll get fat."

"Nah. Exercise gonna burn all these calories."

"Maybe it will." Cato sized the girl from head to toe. Nobody in their right mind would even think of calling this girl "fat", that's for sure. She was slim enough to maintain an attractive form, but she wasn't just skin and bones like many other thin girls. There was a good balance between her slimness and her muscle. [This girl is lifting.]

"Whatcha staring at?" Karen raised her chin. "I'm sorry if I stole your heart, but I'm not available."

"Yes, yes. You belong to your dear sister, I know."

"That's right." Karen's eyes sparkled. "Sis is the most perfect being in this world. You'd have to be at least half as perfect as that to have a chance with me."

["Perfect" to the point of madness, if you ask me.] Cato retorted mentally. Though, it wasn't an attempt at insulting anybody. These were his honest thoughts.

The girl known as Fiona Landberht was... a special kind of person. There was definitely something amiss in that otherwise brilliant brain of hers.

[Heh, as if I'm one to talk.] Cato smiled wryly.

Nobody in this circle could be called "normal" in the truest sense. Each of them was a weirdo in their own way, an exception to the norm. Maybe that's why they meshed together so well.

[And, by "meshing well", I mean we all want to bully each other~] Cato smiled impishly.

And so, they waited for the "perfect" Landberth Princess to grace them with their presence. But, there was no sign of that happening in the upcoming minutes, It was a common occurrence, unfortunately.

"Is it going to take long?"

"I'm not sure," Karen admitted. "Sis got a piano tournament coming up, so her lessons run longer these days. Besides, you arrived too early."

"Fair enough." Cato conceded on that point. He cut club activities short after they had a loaded meeting about Stratus, so he indeed arrived earlier than expected.

"Then, how about we play a few rounds?" Cato pointed at the chessboard.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, you're here to keep the guest entertained, right?"

"Bitch, I'm not a clown."

"Now, now." Cato smiled impishly. "Don't be so scared. I'll go easy on you."

"Who's scared?" Karen shot him a glare.

"It's alright, really. I know we're not on the same level, so I'll use a handicap."

"I don't need any handicaps to beat a loser like you!"

"Bold words, young lady." Cato snickered. [Baited.]

"Fine, let's do it then!" Karen brought down her foot and slid toward the chessboard.

"You can take white."

"I said I don't need any handicaps. You go first."

"Very well." Cato shrugged and accepted the offer. [I actually prefer black because it's better suited for defense, but oh well.]

He opened with d4, moving a pawn toward the center. It was one of the two most common openings for white, therefore he had to go forth with it despite finding it a tad too aggressive to his tastes.

As much as he would have liked to reinvent the entire meta, the opening moves of chess have been researched to death. There was little room for innovation in the first few moves.

Karen instantly responded with pawn to f5, attacking Cato's territory from the other side of the board. Though this response was called the "Dutch Defense", it was anything but a defensive line. On the contrary, it created an asymmetric board state at the very start and invited nothing but chaos.

["If you gonna attack from that file, then I'll attack from here!"] That's the bold declaration Karen Landberth made with this move. This aggressive play fit her bratty personality like a glove.

As the younger sister of the Landberth Princess, it was only natural for Karen to also learn some chess. Therefore, she surely knew how wild and unpredictable the Dutch Defense was. Not to mention, her sister probably warned her against this dangerous line. The Dutch Defense was only strong in the hands of very experienced players who researched that line extensively.

Yet, despite all that, Karen went ahead with this aggressive play. That was very much like her, which made her both a distasteful and an amusing lass all at once.

[Against a high-level opponent, I'd be a little worried if I saw this response.] Cato admitted. [But, Karen isn't at that level. So, let's just kick back and have some fun here~]

Cato confronted the girl's offense with a wall of defense. But, that didn't discourage Karen in the slightest. On the contrary, her attacks only grew fiercer in response.

Every move Karen made was like a fist thrust toward Cato's face. She invaded his territory, sacrificing her pieces to mess up his position, and so forth.

All these violent exchanges set her a little back on material. However, in exchange, she had a well-developed oppressive formation, with many pieces occupying active spots.

Meanwhile, Cato had mostly utilized his pawns up to this point. Half his pieces remained rooted at their starting positions. They weren't hurrying to make an appearance.

Generally, being stuck with a bunch of inactive prices was considered a disadvantage in chess. The strengths of pieces like knight and bishop didn't matter if the pieces weren't properly utilized.

[That's all true.] Cato agreed with that general assessment. [But, why apply more strength than I have to? My minions are more than enough to control this game.]

His stronger pieces were severely undeveloped, but his pawns formed a beautiful formation all around the center on the board. Almost every open spot was eyed by a pawn who was waiting for a chance to strike down a careless invader.

[Her knight can't move anywhere.] Cato thought. [And, if I do this, then this bishop has to retreat all the way back.]

"Geh." Karen grit her teeth. "Why is it always so..." She bit on her thumb. [The hell am I supposed to do here!?]

The enemy pawns spread throughout the entire board. There were no openings to bust through, no angles to strike from.

[Do I have to sacrifice something to get through? But, what?] Karen didn't have the faintest idea. That pesky Cato literally erected an unbreakable wall. The army of lowly minions was slowly but surely pushing Karen back.

"Why is it always like this." Karen ranted. No matter how aggressively she struck during the early-game, Cato always found a way to establish this obnoxious "Wall of China" sort of defense. It always forced Karen to rack her brain to find a single decent move. And, even when she did find a move, it was usually dubious at best.

[Lemme attack already! C'mon!] Karen pushed and pushed, but none of her attacks went through. The Great Wall of China had no openings. No matter how hard Karen pressed, she was unable to get in. And, after she delivered countless attacks, it finally happened...

"That's a blunder," Cato said matter-of-factly as he captured Karen's bishop with his knight.

"Huh? Blunder? No, it's not. I just have to..." She was about to capture the enemy knight with her pawn, turning the exchange into a fair trade.

"Check."

"Ah, crap!" Karen smacked her forehead. She didn't notice that when Cato moved his knight, it opened a discovery for the bishop chilling in the back.

After the knight moved in for the kill, the bishop was now staring down Karen's king. It was a check, which meant she couldn't immediately recapture the knight.

[Shit, that knight gonna get away scot-free!] Karen grimaced.

"Ready to throw the towel?"

"Hmph, as if." Karen moved her king out of harm's way. "I'll get that material back in no time."

"My, how reassuring." Cato smiled. [But, struggle as you may, this is a wrap.]

At his level, he could already read how this game will end. There were countless ways to reach a swift checkmate from this position.

But, Cato didn't take any of them. Why risk it? He had the upper hand, so he could keep cornering his opponent, slowly and surely.

His army of minions already invaded the enemy territory and pinned down most of Karen's options. If this were a wrestling match, then Cato would be on top of Karen right now, locking all her joints without giving her any room to breathe.

["L-Let go of me! A-Ah!"] She'd cry with a cute moan as she struggles out of his iron hold.

[Delicious. Absolutely delicious.] Cato licked his lips. [She's not a strong player, but taking her apart is always fun~]

Slowly but surely, Cato drove Karen to a corner. He forced trades that favored him and slowly encircled her king. At this point, even Karen understood it was over.

"Shit..." Karen bit even harder on her nails. Despite the desperate situation, she was trying to find something, ANYTHING, she could still do about this.

[Maybe I can at least force a draw somehow...] That was all that remained from her fierce fighting spirit. She already came to terms with the fact she won't win here, but she didn't want to lose either! [I haven't lost, not yet...!]

[Admirable fighting spirit, if nothing else.] Cato smiled meaningfully.

It was delicious. Opponents who refused to give in until the bitter end were the most beautiful of them all. These were the types of opponents who were most worthy of being broken apart~

At this point, Cato could've easily put the girl out of her misery. At a glance, he already spotted a couple of lines for checkmate. All of them needed less than 5 moves.

Nonetheless, instead of advancing on the enemy king, Cato pushed his pawns forward. [Go forth, my minions! Muhaha! I'm going to get my sweet revenge for that stabbing prank!]

And so, Cato continued playing with his food as he awaited the arrival of his true nemesis...