After connecting all the dots, it was obvious to Adrian that the girl in the rumor was Count Florivell's daughter. But he noticed something strange about the information.
'Reached Phase One at the age of five?'
That was the first information that he noticed. He himself had reached it when he was three, and after Sir Joran's explanation, he understood why that happened.
The key to climbing the Phase ladder is to strengthen your intent enough to force your body into a higher phase. Intent also grows stronger the longer one lives, so as a reincarnate, Adrian had the intent of a thirty-year-old instead of a five-year-old. This was most likely why he had reached Phase One at such a young age.
'Considering that, she might be a reincarnate—just like me.'
She had also reached it a few years earlier than most noble children.
But after thinking a bit more, he simply shook his head.
'No, it's too far-fetched. I shouldn't jump to conclusions when I barely know anything.'
Still, he decided to at least keep the possibility in mind, just in case. More than that, he gained another interesting piece of information.
'So, you can have more than one affinity, huh? Well, I did have my doubts.'
The information his sister had told him was enough for him to piece together how it was all connected.
But that still answered nothing.
Adrian used his three turns to add three more pieces around his commander, shielding the piece from all directions, all while maintaining a gap between his commander piece and his other pieces.
"So, the girl from the rumors, Evangeline Florivelle, right? How is she relevant? Setting aside the rumors, she is just one individual, isn't she? Even if she possesses abnormal abilities, she can't be more valuable than an alliance with a powerful noble house, right?"
His sister used all three of her moves to place one soldier on the left corner of the board on Adrian's side. She observed the pieces Adrian had moved to form a shield around his commander, and briefly, a flicker of disappointment flashed in her eyes, only to vanish the next moment.
"You seem not to understand the scale of things happening. Right now, almost every power is moving, trying to bring that girl to their side. There were even talks that the Emperor wants her as the crown princess. Mother must be equally desperate to secure the girl. That girl has a terrifying potential."
She paused briefly, as if she was reluctant, but then she simply sighed.
"...Her potential is more terrifying than even your own absurd potential."
Adrian paused as he heard the last part, but it lasted only briefly before he reached out, adding three more soldiers to the shield covering his commander.
"But why is everyone so desperate then? No matter how terrifying her potential is, she is still only one person, right? Can she be more valuable than a strong noble family?"
She frowned, looking at him with a doubtful gaze. But soon, her expression returned to normal. She used her three turns to place a soldier one terrain block before the right corner of the board on Adrian's side.
"Huh, the way you speak makes one forget that they're talking to a child. And to answer your question… hmm… You must know that our house, House Ravenshade, possesses the greatest influence within the empire, correct? Tell me, why do you think that is?
Adrian simply shrugged, then added three more pieces over the shield protecting his commander, thickening it.
"Isn't that because we have the most land and control over most of the ships that are used for trade? At least, that is what I know. And our father is the strongest man in the empire, which gives a bit more weight to our influence."
She scoffed at his reply, moving the last soldier to the corner. Now, all four corners were occupied by her soldiers. Adrian briefly stared at those soldiers before shifting his gaze. She used her remaining turns to move two pieces towards Adrian's pieces, which were all clustered in one place.
"No, you're wrong there. The part that you quietly dismissed, about our father being the strongest person in the empire, that is the most prominent reason for our influence."
Adrian's eyes briefly flickered with doubt. She seemed to have noticed that as well.
"But that's only half the reason. The other half is that our mother, the lady of the house, is also among the strongest and most capable people within the empire."
She leaned back.
"In this world, strength is everything. If you are strong, then everything will gravitate towards you. You mentioned alliances? They will flock to you, begging for an alliance instead, if you are strong enough. And if you are weak, then why would anyone want an alliance with you? What would they gain?"
He sensed a slight vulnerability in her tone.
"I had learned this at a young age—I would say. The sooner you learn, the better it will be for you. Being weak is like asking others to exploit you."
'No, I understand, I understand it all too well.'
Adrian looked back at his past life, remembering the experiences and struggles he had endured alone. There was no way he wouldn't understand; he understood it all too well.
'It was the same back on Earth; people would exploit even the smallest of weaknesses. The moment you show your back, they'll all bleed you dry.'
But things were slightly different here. Back on Earth, power was measured by the size and influence of a group, since individual power was limited. But here, an individual could become stronger than a group due to the presence of mana. This logic was slightly hard for Adrian to get used to.
He moved the last of the three pieces into the shield around the commander. He was just about to speak, but she spoke first. There was pity mixed in her voice.
"In that sense, I find the Florivelles a bit pitiful. They are merely a county, and a regional nobility at that. They wouldn't be able to protect their daughter from the power struggle between the nobles. They have no means to shield her from the great powers within the empire."
Then she added in a slightly low tone.
"Besides, Mother would be the most desperate. After all, she is alive to this day because of a similar situation."
'What does that mean?'
He was curious. His mother had indeed seemed desperate at first, but by the end… he was not too sure.
'Well, that at least answered my questions.'
Evangeline Florivelle… He was going to remember that name.
Having gained what he came for, Adrian stood up to leave.
"Hey! Where are you going? The match isn't over yet."
He looked at her, then glanced briefly at the board before turning to her once again.
'I would rather not waste my time, but it doesn't seem like she will let me go… Well, let's finish it quickly.'
***
Aristeia stared at the little boy sitting in front of her. His deep, jet black hair covering his forehead and piercing grey eyes focused on the board, all of it would have given him a mysterious yet cute appearance.
If it weren't for the boy's expression. His face was blank, without a hint of anything in his expression. And his eyes—it was as if they held nothing, only reflecting what was in front of them.
Looking into the boy's eyes was like looking at yourself.
This wasn't an expression a child should have on their face, yet from the first time she had laid eyes on him, her little brother always had that expression.
'And then there is his attitude.'
Always calm and collected, always laid back. Despite the large age gap between them, Aristeia felt as though she was the more immature of the two.
She hated that. She didn't want to feel like this; she didn't want to feel as though she was inferior to a little boy who had learned to walk only a few years ago.
'That's why I want to see your expression when you lose miserably after so calmly agreeing to play.'
She knew that she was being childish, but she didn't care. So what if she was being childish?
Aristeia took a deep breath, calming her thoughts. Then she observed the game board that her little brother was looking at.
'I have to admit, he did better than I expected.'
It was shocking enough that the boy knew the rules of the game, but even more shocking was the fact that he knew what he was doing.
She observed the way he had arranged his pieces. More specifically, she observed the one-block gap between his commander piece and the pieces protecting it.
The commander piece was the most important. Killing it didn't mean immediate victory, but it was as good as a victory. So it made sense that one would protect it by assigning other pieces as guards.
But that had a significant risk. Because of the existence of a traitor piece. Each player could assign any one piece present on the board–including their opponent's pieces–as the traitor. You could command it once for one move.
This meant that a player couldn't properly trust their own pieces, since one of those pieces may have been assigned as the traitor by the opponent. It usually resulted in doubt, paranoia, and mind games between the two players.
'But he simply skipped all risks related to the traitor.'
By maintaining a one-block gap between other pieces and the commander, he ensured that Aristeia wouldn't be able to kill his commander, even with the traitor. He had created a great defence.
'But of course, that's as far as he'll go.'
She used her turn to put three of her pieces around his defensive formation. It was as if she were encircling the formation of soldiers protecting his commander.
A wide smile stretched across Aristeia's face as she looked at the board.
'His defeat was guaranteed from the start.'