During the first game, the sense of dread she felt wasn’t strong. In fact, she was mostly filled with contempt for Arielle. But now, that sensation had intensified to the extent that her heart pounded furiously. Unable to tolerate it any further, she went to the organizer and asked for the videos of every one of Arielle’s games. She wanted to see how good Arielle really was. Before long, she had finished watching all of them.
Although Arielle had won all her games, none of her opponents were really strong. Furthermore, the moves she made looked ordinary, and one couldn’t tell that she was an expert at all. After watching the videos, Kelsea surmised that Arielle was definitely not good enough to defeat her. She was being too careful and had overestimated Arielle. From her perspective, Arielle had gotten lucky and was an ordinary player at best.
After heaving a sigh of relief, the tension on Kelsea’s face eased. After all, she was certain that Arielle wasn’t proficient at chess. Instead, it was her anxiety over the tournament that had fueled her paranoia over something so trivial. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down. Before long, the tournament entered its final stages. By then, only eight competitors were left. Vinson faced a lawyer while Everett played against a professional chess player.
The third pair was also highly skilled. And lastly, Arielle would face Kelsea. Kelsea’s friends cheered enthusiastically for her. “Kelsea, defeat her in twenty moves!” “No, I think you should take your time and torment her instead.” “It’s such a pity I didn’t get to face Arielle. She was really lucky to not have played anyone strong on her way to the finals.” Kelsea’s ego was inflated by the praise her friends showered on her.
Furthermore, she no longer saw Arielle as a threat after watching the videos of her earlier games. When there was no one around, she couldn’t resist patting Arielle on her shoulder. “I didn’t expect you to know how to play chess.” “Thank you,” Arielle replied indifferently, not showing any emotion. “Ah…” Kelsea added, “However, it’s a pity that you have to face me now. After this, you won’t have the opportunity to play against Everett and Mr. Nightshire anymore.”
“Oh?” Thrusting her chin in the air, Arielle met Kelsea’s gaze and held back a smirk. “Are you sure?” Whenever Arielle stared intently at someone, her eyes would sparkle, causing the other person to feel embarrassed. Suddenly, the confidence that Kelsea was brimming with earlier dissipated.
Pressured by Arielle’s intimidating vibe, Kelsea was overwhelmed with frustration. Dropping the act, she asserted, “Do you know who my chess mentor is?” “Who?” Arielle casually asked. Snorting, Kelsea declared haughtily, “The renowned chess player, Mr. Jewell. Have you heard of him before?” “…who?” Arielle’s lips twitched. That old man?
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