At that moment, as Ares was fighting alone, he felt a soft sensation on his forearm.
Thinking he should at least glance at the chessboard, he opened his eyes to check the game—only to find himself exclaiming in surprise.
‘…Huh?’
Suddenly, the heat clouding Ares’s mind, brought on by the feminine presence, quickly began to subside.
“How is it?”
Tap. Tap.
What captured his attention was the graceful, fluid movements of the chess pieces.
Karen made the optimal moves without hesitation, choosing the best possible plays each turn.
From a strategic perspective, actions that seemed entirely unrelated started to form a larger picture.
Being somewhat skilled at chess, Ares could recognize it.
“If Your Highness had played like this, I think I would have lost.”
As Karen continued to move farther ahead, Ares found himself clapping, a gesture of genuine admiration.
“Amazing. Truly. Have you really never received formal chess training?”
“It’s just chess! It’s not like my family was wealthy enough to afford lessons… My skills just improved naturally while playing with my younger brother.”
“Though it might sound odd coming from someone who just lost repeatedly, I sincerely think your skills could hold their own anywhere. I mean it.”
“Really? Ehehe. I’m not sure about that, but hearing praise from someone as impressive as Your Highness makes me happy. Thank you!”
She scratched the back of her head as she spoke, her hand lifting just enough for her smooth underarm to be revealed due to the slit in her nun’s robe.
Ares found his gaze drawn again.
‘Get a grip!’
Right. Instead of getting distracted by her femininity, it was better to stick to chess talk.
Ares quickly started replaying her moves in his mind and discussing the game with her.
Karen’s strategy, at first glance, seemed reckless, as though she was abandoning everything.
Yet, she would strike from completely unexpected angles.
The more they repeated the moves, the more Ares realized just how bold and brilliant her tactics were.
“You’re incredible… If I’d only played like this, I could have been much more dominant. But until you explained it, I couldn’t see the move at all. And yet—”
“Watching from the sidelines and analyzing objectively is always different from being the player directly involved in the situation, right?”
“Exactly! That’s what I was trying to say.”
“Really? Ehehe, it seems like I really click with Your Highness!”
“Yes, it does.”
Ares’s voice rose unconsciously, a clear sign of his heightened excitement.
To be honest, this was the first time he had met someone his age with whom he connected so well.
Even though they had just met today, it felt as though they had been old friends for years.
“It was fun! What should we do next?”
Karen’s words made Ares respond with an awkward smile.
“Well… This might sound a little strange coming from me, but hasn’t quite a bit of time passed? Is it okay not to be doing Bible study?”
“As it says in the Bible, we never force religion on anyone! Spending time together like this, getting to know each other, is also part of the teachings of the Lord. By spending time on various things, I believe the right moment to study the Bible will come naturally.”
Though he felt that sending a nun to him was already a form of indirect persuasion, Ares wasn’t so tactless as to voice such a thought.
Instead, he focused on her phrasing, “the right moment to study the Bible.”
‘Does that mean they don’t feel the need to force their doctrine on me urgently? Or perhaps they know that pushing their faith on me wouldn’t affect me anyway. She might look innocent, but I can’t underestimate her.’
***
At that moment, Karen’s expression suddenly grew noticeably sorrowful.
“Oh! How careless of me… Now that I think about it, I’ve been acting completely on my own whims. Your Highness might not even want this.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m sorry… I was having so much fun spending time with you that I got carried away…”
Ares, bothered by how the cheerful Karen had suddenly deflated, instinctively pushed down his rising wariness and waved his hands dismissively.
“No, no… Not at all. I had fun. I… had fun playing with you, Karen.”
As he uttered the word “fun,” Ares’s face flushed slightly.
Noticing this, Karen chuckled in amusement.
“Oh my, Your Highness. Your face is bright red. Hehe.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Did you really enjoy playing with me?”
…Nod. Nod.
“That makes me so happy, Your Highness.”
Karen smiled warmly, leaning into Ares’s personal space without hesitation, her upper body leaning close.
The faint floral perfume she seemed to have worn, mixed with her natural scent, wafted into Ares’s nose, making his head spin again.
‘Why does a woman’s presence affect me so much?’
“Let’s enjoy our time together during the rest of this period, Your Highness!”
“Ah… Yes. Well…”
Karen beamed again as she backed away and began to show interest in the cards scattered around the room.
“Your Highness, do you like playing card games too? Were you playing solitaire?”
As she reached for the cards, Ares’s face turned pale.
“W-wait, Karen! Those cards are—”
“Huh? These aren’t playing cards?”
‘Damn it!’
Ares sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead.
The cards weren’t ordinary playing cards—they were a result of his imagination and creativity.
Board games had become his sole hobby, one that allowed him to avoid deep interactions with others.
Not only did he enjoy playing them, but he had also been creating his own games for over a year now.
‘It was ironic, really, that Ares’s favorite pastime was board games—games almost impossible to enjoy without others.’
‘Considering his general distrust of people and distaste for rule by philosopher-kings, it wasn’t so surprising that a structured, rule-governed activity like board games felt like a trusted friend to him.’
“That’s… well…”
Showing others a novel he had written wasn’t difficult for him.
He wasn’t particularly attached to storytelling.
His focus wasn’t on presenting a piece patched together with clichés to make it easily readable.
Instead, his goal was to convey a hidden message—a critique of the flaws in a philosopher-king system and the viability of ancient political systems like a republic.
But board games were different.
As his sole hobby, they carried a level of affection that couldn’t be ignored.
The more love poured into a creation, the harder it became to show it to others.
‘I should’ve put those away earlier.’
No one his age entered his room except his sister.
And no one had ever rummaged through the Crown Prince’s quarters as freely as Karen did, so he had never given much thought to such possibilities.
Ares let out a short sigh.
He could feel the heat rising to his face.
It felt as though someone was staring directly at his vulnerabilities, prying into the corners of his heart.
***
Several minutes passed.
“This… Did Your Highness make this?”
“…Yes.”
Karen turned to look at Ares.
And at that moment—
***
[Let’s summarize this simply.]
What I wanted to convey to him this time was a sense of recognition.
Fulfilling his desire for acknowledgment was the key to my role as the “Temporary Neutral Witness.”
It’s something easily found in those who wish to achieve greatness on their own terms:
They crave recognition.
Sure, they talk about grand ideals, and their noble intentions aren’t lies.
But few warriors walk a lonely path, ignored by all, without breaking.
Ares wasn’t one of those rare warriors.
His subtle disdain for solutions he didn’t initiate showed that he desired acknowledgment.
How much must he have resented the Church to say things like “Erin must be watched” or “God is essentially Erin”?
That’s why I made this request to the author:
“Pair Ares with a nun who is exceptionally skilled at board games and affirms his hobby and preferences.”
She didn’t need stunning beauty, just a cute face, solid divine power, and enough charm to ensnare a few men with ease.
Of course, as a nun, she couldn’t actually have a boyfriend.
But so what? She was, after all, a “Temporary Neutral Witness.”
Even so, I didn’t think Ares was someone who could be easily swayed by mere beauty.
Sure, he might lose himself for a while if a beautiful woman clung to him, but he’d figure it out when alone.
He’d deduce why the nun was sent to him and become more cautious.
Ares was positioned as one of the smarter characters in this world.
That’s why mere physical attraction wasn’t enough.
Acknowledging what he held dearest, validating it, and filling the emptiness in his heart—that was the way to make him thirst for the “Neutral Witness.”
A pretty woman smiling at him wasn’t enough.
‘But if she also affirmed something he deeply valued?’
That would be irresistible.
Still, the nun couldn’t validate Ares’s true intentions—his revolutionary ideals.
Something else had to be affirmed.
And I happened to know from a short comic featuring Ares that he had an intense interest in board games.
He had even designed his own card game.
Though his character seemed better suited for a modern setting than a fantasy world, it wasn’t surprising. The author, after all, lived in modern times.
***
“Wow… Can this be played like chess, as a two-player game?”
“Ah… well, yes… Technically, it can.”
“How interesting! Is there a rulebook?”
“I didn’t make one yet…”
“Then could you explain it to me? The illustrations are adorable, and it looks really fun!”
“Wait a minute… That… that…”
“Hm?”
“Isn’t… isn’t it strange? I mean… a Crown Prince making something like this…”
“Not at all! Why would it be strange? I think it’s amazing!”
“Amazing…?”
“Yes! You made this all by yourself. Speaking of which, why don’t we play this together next?”
Karen was looking at the cards Ares had created, cards he had never shown anyone, with a smile so radiant that no one could resist.
At that moment—
For the first time, Ares’s heart resonated not with Karen’s alluring body, but with the soul living within her.