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"Aaaaand checkmate. I win again" Philza said, moving the rook across the board and winning yet another chess match, making the king groan.

"How is it possible that an old man like you is so good at a game like this?" he pouted, resetting the board, causing Phil to giggle.

"I'm wiser than you, it's obvious i'm better" he teased, making Techno roll his eyes "Whatever, you're just lucky" he mumbled, slumping back in his seat.

"Why don't you make a match with Angela? I'm sure she would like this game" he suggested, catching his attention "I'm not sure if she would be able to understand such a complex game Phil"

"Well, i've seen her go an awful lot to the library recently" he commented, earning a surprised look from Techno "She can read?"

"It appears so, she had been reading books to Sam and other servants who pass by, they say she's quite good at it" he explained, standing up "So, do you want me to go call her?" he suggested, giving him a knowing look.

"Fine, call her" he said in the end, trying to act annoyed, but Phil knew he always liked when she was around him. He left, returning shortly after with Sam and Angela, closing the door behind him.

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"Did you call for me your majesty?" she politely asked, bowing down.

"Yes, take a seat" he said gesturing to the one in front of the chessboard, Angela obliged, sitting down.

"Uhm... did you need something from me?" she asked, not liking the awkward silence that was rising between them.

"I was told that you've started spending a lot of time in the library, is that true?" he asked, receiving a nod from her "I-i enjoy reading stories your highness"

"Where did you learn to read? Who taught you?"

"I..." she tried to remember, focusing hard, but all she could see was blurry and faded "Can't remember... my apologies" she said in the end.

"It's alright, i wasn't expecting an answer anyway" he shifted a bit in his seat "Do you know how to play chess Angela?" he finally asked.

"Uhm... i've read about it but never played so... not really, no" Techno smiled "Let me teach you then" he leaned forward, picking up the pieces one by one and explaining their characteristics and the rules of the game.

"So all i have to do is trap the king and i win?" she asked in the end, receiving a nod from Techno "Yes, it's called checkmate" he said, placing the king piece back down "Ready to play?"

"I-i'll try my best but i'm sure i won't be a match for you your majesty" she said with a small laugh, making him smile.

"What color do you want to be?"

"I'd like to be white" he had guessed the wanted that color, so he turned the board "Go on then, white starts first" he said, Angela nodded, thinking on what to move, setting down on the pawn directly in front of the rook.

"Freeing the rook already? Interesting move" the king commented, moving the piece in front of the horse. The match kept going for several minutes, Angela kept taking down several of the king's pieces but she didn't notice he was aiming for the most precious ones, soon managing to take her queen.

"What?! No! Where did that horse come from?!" she shouted, clearly having not seen his complicated strategy, which made the king laugh.

"You lowered you guard and now your queen is gone" he said triumphantly, making her pout a bit.

"Sam give me a hand here, i need help" she called, turning around "I'm sorry Angela i'm not very good when it comes to complex games" he said, leaning over a bit.

"It doesn't matter, two heads are better than one, come on" she pulled him down, whispering something to his ear, her action causing a pang of jealousy to hit the king, making him frown a bit.

"Yeah? I think so?" Sam answered a bit unsure, Angela in the end moved the rook all the way across the board, putting Techno's king on check.

"Check!" she said triumphantly, feeling proud of herself. Techno moved his king away, freeing it from the check, Angela leaned back to whisper again, this time loud enough for him to hear.

"He fell for it" Techno lifted a confused eyebrow, looking back down at the board, noticing that she was trying to trap his king with his own pieces, a smart move, shame that he noticed it.

The game went on for several more minutes but in the end Techno managed to win, defeating Angela.

"Oh noooo! I didn't see it" she groaned, laughing a bit "I guess i'll need more practice before i'll be able to put on a real challenge for his majesty" she said jokingly, making him smile.

"You're allowed to challenge me as many times as you want, you'll always lose" he teased a bit, earning a glare from her "Oh really? Let's go again then!"

They kept playing chess for several hours, Angela would always end up losing but she didn't care, it was fun to play with the king, he always tried to warn her before putting her on check and she would still miss it sometimes, which made them both laugh.

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After dinner the king decided he was in the mood for a walk and brought her along, the two entering the garden.

"It's a bit chilly" she pointed out, shivering a bit, she forgot to bring a jacket and now was paying the consequences. Needless to say she was shocked when the king lend her his gown, placing it on her shoulders.

"Here, you can have it, i'm not cold anyway" he said with a smile.

"I-i can't take his majesty's gown!" she stuttered out, a bit panicked "If someone saw me with it on they would get angry" she nervously looked around, luckily no one was around the garden at this hour, so it was highly improbable, but still not impossible.

"It's ok, i'll just tell them you were cold, besides" he clicked the edges of it, securing it in place "What king of gentleman would i be if i let a lady shiver in the cold?" he said in a soft voice, making her blush, hiding her face in the white fur of the gown.

"T-thank you your m-majesty.... m-may i ask you s-something?" she hesitantly said.

"What is it?"

"Why are you so nice with me? I'm just a commoner like many others, why are you being... so caring and vocal with me?" she asked, feeling her cheeks burn at the thought that he might actually say that he liked her, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Well-uhm.... what kind of king would i be if i didn't care about my subjects? Besides" he leaned over a bit, caressing her cheek "I can't just leave a lady in distress alone now, can i?" by the time he had finished speaking Angela's face was as red as a tomato. Techno loved how easily he could make her blush, of course, he was jealous when he saw her come close to Sam but he wasn't able to make her blush like him, and that made feel more special.

"Y-y-your m-majesty?" she called, snapping him out of his thoughts, only to notice that their faces were very close to each other, their nose almost touching. He immediately stepped back, awkwardly coughing.

"S-sorry" he mumbled, his face going a bit red, luckily it wasn't too visible in the dark, so he hoped she didn't notice "L-let's keep walking" he said a bit more confidently, trying to calm down, Angela followed close behind, never standing by his side, only other noble or Philza were allowed to walk by the king's side and she new that, so she kept her distance respectfully.

Techno was very tempted to call her by his side, but he knew this way he would only stress her more, so he decided against it.

"Oh!" she suddenly said after a while, catching Techno's attention "Is there something wrong?" he asked, noticing that she had stopped walking.

"N-nothing, i just heard some music in the distance" she answered, now that he payed attention to it, he could hear some faint music coming from inside the castle.

"The musicians are probably practicing, they tend to do it around this hour" he said offhandedly, it was quite a nice melody. His heart warmed up a bit when he saw Angela hum alongside the notes, swaying a bit.

"You like music Angela?" he asked, causing her to flinch a bit "Y-yes, i really like it. I don't know why but even though i can't remember, i'm sure it was an important part of my past, i can feel it" she explained, smiling. An idea came in Techno's mind and he decided to carry it out, bowing down a bit and offering his hand to her.

"Would you allow me a dance milady?" he asked with a smile, making her blush "Y-your highness i s-still don't know how to d-dance" she reminded, he tilted his head to the side "So?"

"S-someone might see us"

"Does it bother you?" he asked, seeing her reluctance "N-no, it's just that... i'm not a noble... if they see us then..." her voice dropped down to a whisper, making him snicker a bit. He stepped closer to her, stopping less then a foot apart.

"I don't care, i'll just tell them i was in the mood for a dance" he made up an excuse, he really didn't care what the other thought about him, whoever would try to take her away from him would pay their mistake gravely.

"A-alright then... i-if his majesty is o-ok with it" she mumbled, shyly placing a hand on his shoulder like she did during the ball, Techno took her other hand, sliding his around her waist and pulling her closer, slowly starting to dance.

She had gotten better since their last dance, managing to step on his feet only twice, which was pretty impressive, she either was a really fast learner or was indeed a noble of some kind.

"You dance very well Angela" he said in a soft voice "I-it's just because his majesty is a very g-good teacher" she stuttered out, not daring to meet his eyes, she felt her heart speed up a bit when he chuckled, a small smile forming on her lips.

They kept dancing for several minutes, even after the music stopped playing, they kept dancing for a little longer, neither of them wanting to break apart from the other. But after a while Angela tripped again, this time falling forward into Techno's arms, her head resting on his chest, she heard his heart start to beat faster, so she lifted her gaze, only to see his deep blue eyes stare at her.

"I-i'm sorry i..." he gently placed a hand under her chin, not saying a word for several seconds, before starting to slowly edge closer, his eyes never breaking apart from her's "I..."

Crack.

They both jumped at the sound of some twigs breaking, followed by footsteps getting closer. Angela quickly hid behind a nearby bush, just as one of the council members turned the corner, seeing him.

"Ah, your majesty, i thought i heard someone talk to you but it appears i was wrong" he walked up to him "Were is your gown?" he asked, noticing it missing.

"Oh i-uhm... left it in my chambers" he quickly made up an excuse, nervously eyeing the bush where she hid. The councilman noticed and went to inspect it, not finding anything.

"Is there something wrong your majesty? You're looking really nervous" he asked, noticing that he was sweating.

"It's nothing, i'm just uhh... deciding which one of the ladies from the ball i should summon first" he lied, the councilman immediately piped up.

"That's wonderful your highness, i'll leave you to it then, we hope to hear your choice soon" the man left, and once Techno was sure he was far enough he went to look for Angela, only finding his gown, nicely folded and hidden behind a bush nearby. He clenched his fists in anger, he had missed his chance and would probably have to explain himself to her tomorrow.

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