"Checkmate."

Grandma moved her rook forward, toppling my queen and cornering my king. She left me with no moves out.

I leaned back and sighed.

"That's five times you've beaten me," I said.

Technically, I hadn't played chess in years, and now was getting a grilling of a lifetime.

Grandma waved over a servant. They quickly cleaned up the board and put the pieces back in place. Then, another servant arrived with more tea and another slice of cake for Leona.

"Peep!"

Is this one made with raspberries?

She fluttered to the plate and happily picked at the sugary dessert.

"Now, tell me, Luca. What did you do wrong on this round? Where could you have moved differently?"

I picked up the peppermint tea and sipped the hot beverage. I stared at the checkered wooden board, trying to remember the series of moves. Honestly, the game was a blur.

"Peep!"

At least you didn't start by moving the pawn on the far left, like you did the last game.

Leona seemed to grasp chess better than me and had a lot of opinions and commentary throughout the game.

Then again, she was a phoenix. She had her ancestors' memories, who had likely seen other games relying on strategy. But that was an assumption; I didn't comprehend how her possession of such an incredible amount of knowledge worked.

She was right, though; I lost in record time the previous game. Grandma made me analyze the twenty-two moves individually and identify how I could have played differently on every turn.

Even on my very last turn, apparently, there was a better move than the one I had taken.

Now it was time to see where I screwed up my fifth game.

I moved the white and black pieces for the first seven moves of the fifth round until my two bishops and queen were out, and Grandma's black knight, pawn, and queen stood near the center. The wooden pieces tapped softly against the board.

"Move seven," I replied. "I tried to take your queen and missed the bishop and pawn on the board. That was the beginning of my loss."

"That's right." Grandma nodded. "Never underestimate the positions of the pawns."

She let out a giant yawn.

"Madame Ruth, your final dose of the day." Ben, her butler, provided another pink potion to her.

I bit my lip, watching her swing back the Red Poppy Potion. I had been so busy focusing on the game that I had forgotten how she was dying.

"Tomorrow, I plan to show you your birth mother's favorite move." She winked at me. Then, with Ben's assistance, she rose up from her chair. I watched her walk out and refocused my attention on the board.

I wasn't sure what time it was, but it was undoubtedly very late. I gazed out the giant windows towards the town. Oddly enough, there were still many lights on.

What is everyone else busy with at this late hour?

"Peep."

She went easy on you.

Leona hopped around the board, perching on one of the rooks.

"I know." I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "How am I supposed to fulfill her dying wish of beating her at this game when I'm so bad?"

I could play you. I've been itching to try. And it was so frustrating watching you move the wrong pieces.

I stifled a yawn.

"Maybe tomorrow," I suggested. I was tired and looking forward to a restful night of sleep. I couldn't handle having to concentrate so hard any longer.

"I'll take care of the board." A servant entered and took the pieces and board away.

"Young master Luca," Remlend appeared as the servant left. "It is late, but if you wish to bathe, I have the tub prepared for you."

I let out another yawn. A bath after a long day of travel was probably a good idea, but I was honestly far too tired to even consider it.

With my luck, I'll probably fall asleep inside the water, drown and start Round 8 prematurely.

"No, it's quite alright; I'll wash up tomorrow morning instead," I said and got up from the round table.

Leona fluttered up and perched atop my head.

"Very well." Remlend gave his ordinary smile and led me to my room. "The staff informed me that you will stay on the western side of the villa, so you should be able to sleep in better. As for tomorrow morning, do you prefer one of the staff here to attend to you or have Denise come by as usual?"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Denise is fine," I said. But I grimaced, remembering her atrocious tea each morning.

Would there be a plant in the room to toss her tea into? Should I have someone else come about instead?

It felt a little rude, but then again, perhaps it wasn't poor manners since Remlend had brought it up himself. And besides, wasn't she exhausted taking care of Jasper this whole trip?

"Actually, have one of the staff here to attend to me. Denise should get some rest," I said.

Remlend nodded his head. "I'll let the staff know."

He led me into the bedroom. The lights were dimmed, so I couldn't fully appreciate the space, but it was equal parts luxurious and well-lived in.

I walked to the expansive windows and moved the green velvet curtain aside to look out. I was greeted with a dramatic view over the still-lit town and endless farmland.

I stifled another yawn and stumbled over onto the bed. I fell into what felt like a giant soft pillow.

Leona fluttered off my head and settled herself somewhere else. I didn't see; I had allowed my eyes to close.

"Young master Luca, I have drained the bath. Do you need assistance getting undressed?" Remlend's voice pulled my heavy eyelids back open.

"No," I said and pushed myself up. "I'm alright."

I fumbled with the buttons and tossed my jacket to the side.

"You can go," I said. Pointing to the jacket by the bed as proof that I didn't need assistance.

"Very well, have a good night then." Remlend bowed and placed a folded bundle of white silk on the bed beside me. "Here are some pajamas for you to change into."

He stepped out and closed the doors right after himself.

I gazed around the room and saw that Leona had flopped over and fallen asleep under a sizeable woven blanket atop one of the lounge chairs by the fireplace.

I guess she was just as exhausted as me.

* * *

Knock. Knock.

"Young master Luca," a deep voice sounded.

I groggily opened my eyes and gazed about the room that was not my own bedroom I had awoken in the last few times.

I sighed in relief, recalling bits and pieces of my nightmare. In it, I was reliving the same day repeatedly, over and over again.

But I had managed to live to see Day 3 in my real life.

"You can enter," I called out.

Ben, my grandmother's personal butler, entered the room with a golden trolley in hand. The trolley looked kid-like compared to Ben's intimidatingly large build. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and had a somewhat solemn expression.

Perhaps he knows better than anyone else that Grandma is dying? Or it might just be his face, like how Blake looks perpetually like he hasn't slept in days.

"Your servant—Remlend, was it?—said that you had not been able to wash up yesterday. So I brought a light bite and refreshment to enjoy while I set up your bath."

He rolled in the golden trolley. Atop it was a round white pot of tea, a small bowl filled with freshly picked raspberries, and a basket of miniature pastries.

"Thank you." I tossed a raspberry into my mouth and watched Ben walk into the bathing room.

I smiled, noting how lightly his feet moved across the oak floor. There wasn't even so much as a tap. His knees were slightly bent, allowing him to control his steps' weight and impact on the floor.

I bit into a tiny croissant and instantly spat it out into a napkin.

Did the pastry cook add salt instead of sugar?

I quickly poured myself some tea to drown out the awful taste.

At least the tea is drinkable.

I downed the hot black tea. Hints of black currants filled my nose.

As a youth, I had simply thought that all the servants at grandma's villa were awful at their jobs. The food was barely edible half the time. I had even caught one of them tossing out the laundry on two occasions instead of actually washing it.

However, it wasn't that they were terrible at their jobs; their actual jobs were different from the ones I initially thought they had.

My family employed an incredible number of guards to ensure the family's protection. However, Grandmother had taken it a step further. There were no guards that one could see. There were servants, but they were selected more for their skills to protect and kill than their day-to-day roles.

"Your bath is ready," Ben said. "After you are done, I'll have someone come and help you dress so you can have a proper breakfast with Madame Ruth on the villa's patio."

"Thank you," I said. "And no need to help with dressing."

Ben nodded his head. "In that case, I'll leave you be. Call if you need anything. I left a communication mana stone on the trolley that connects directly to me."

I picked up a golden ring with a red stone reminiscent of a small ruby. It was easy to tell it was actually a mana stone by the way the light hit it at certain angles, allowing a glimpse into a rainbow-like reflection.

"Thank you." I pulled the ring onto my right middle finger.

I ought to get one for myself.

I rocked my hand in the air, watching the red and rainbow color shift.

Then again, who would I communicate with?

I frowned.

It dawned on me that I didn't have all too many friends at this point in time. Sure there was Jasper and my siblings, but those were different. Jasper was employed by the Frey Manor, and the others were family.

I rubbed my temples, feeling a slight headache.

"Peep!"

Breakfast?

Leona fluttered over, having finally awakened.

"I don't think you'll like the pastries all too much," I warned her. "They're not very good."

"Peep!"

I'll be the judge of that.

She gobbled up a small round pastry with a yellow cream top in one go. And just as quickly released the yellow pastry out of her beak.

What is this?? This is the worst thing I've ever eaten.

I chuckled.

Anything Leona could have had today, after the royal buffet, Ashford Bakery's food, and other delicacies, would have constituted to be inferior. But I had to agree; Grandma's morning pastry chef was merely incompetent.

I wonder what his or her actual occupation around the villa is?

"I'm afraid only the evening pastry chef is any good," I said, recalling the cakes that Leona had gobbled up the night before.

Leona hopped to my teacup and took in heaves of the tea, likely to get rid of the awful taste, as I had.

"You can eat the raspberries," I told her and stood up from my bed. "I'm going to go wash up."

I hovered my hand over the hot water in the copper bathtub to ensure that Ben's incompetence wasn't in relation to his bath-making skills. I had no plans of boiling myself alive today.

Good. The water's temperature is acceptable.

I slid into the large tub and gazed out a window overlooking the town. The white stucco buildings with red clay roofs, shrouded in bougainvillea, looked picturesque with the green fields in their background. I felt like I was on vacation more than anything else.

Still, the fact that I was here for my grandmother's final days was an ever-present cloud.

My vision blurred. I rubbed my eyes, realizing they had watered.

In the future that I lived through, I had fallen to the deepest of lows, but I met people and made friends along the way that I cared about.

Aside from Henry, most of the people I cherished were still alive right now. Mother, Father, Micah, Elda, Jarvis, Jasper, and everyone I had known in my original life, were all still alive and well at this point in time.

But I had seen each and every one of them die. I had mourned their deaths once before. And while Fin and Grandov were alive and well, at this point in the timeline, it wasn't all that long ago that I had seen Fin's head cut off and Grandov's final moments.

I could still remember the battle against the Kobar Empire if I closed my eyes. I remembered the smell and grime.

Running around trying to save Micah these past couple of rounds had been a welcome distraction from all I had undergone in the battle. I calculated that it was probably only four or five days ago that I had seen Fin and Grandov die.

I doused my face with hot water, forcing the tears and memory to wash away.

"Young master Luca?" Ben's voice sounded from the bedroom.

"Yes?" I called out through the bathroom doors.

"A message has arrived for you," he called out. "It's from Natalia Ashford."