Chapter 52: Meeting Tyler & Taylor (Part 4)
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Tyler and Taylor's POV:
Tyler put his hand on Taylor's shoulder with a big smile on his face.
"Taylor, I'm glad you have a chance to really work as a military strategist assistant. I'll made sure to take good care of you, Sis."
"Thanks Brother, I have been around military strategy my whole life, so I'm confident in my ability, even if I was never tested on my knowledge. I don't need the wages, but it will feel nice to make a purchase with my own hard earned money for the first time."
"The Duke is very different than the rumors about him, right? I was expecting him to be arrogant and not even greet you, but he said we could call him Nicolas and he greeted you with no hesitation. He was also very kind to give you a chance. Even though the talks were withdrawn, do you think he is acting this way because the political marriage between you two still has a chance?"
"I don't know…from the look in his eyes when he was talking to me, it felt more like he was doing what he was doing because he personally felt like it was the right thing to do instead of because he was interested in me specifically. Countless men have given me lustful stares, so it is easy for me to distinguish. He looked at me more like a Lord concerned for a servant."
"Okay, we will just gauge his opinion of you as we get to know him. A marriage to the Duke would be a great thing for our family."
As Tyler was talking, he turned his head and noticed that Nicolas and his wife were coming back in the distance.
"Oh look, they are starting to walk back. Listen, you can't tell the Duke that you always beat me in chess. It's just a child's game anyways. I don't want him to not trust my ability just because of that."
"Well, Father used to tell us that chess was a good test of your real time decision making. However, I understand, I want you to get off to a good foot with your new job, so I won't say anything. Just make sure to beat him in your first game."
"Thanks Sis. I might not be as good as you at chess, but I can easily beat an average player."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to Nick's POV
I walked up to the twins with my hand around Becca's waist to try to be as lovey dovey as possible.
"Hello guys, I want to introduce you to my wife Rebecca. She was a little jealous because of my interactions with Taylor, so I want to set things straight."
After I said this, Becca pushed my chest slightly and exclaimed softly, "Nick! It's embarrassing if you say it so straightforward like that!"
I leaned over so that the side of my head was laying on the top of her head. "C'mon Becca, I want everyone to know my beautiful wife is possessive of me and that I like her that way."
Tyler and Taylor were both stunned at our sudden show of affection. Tyler made a loud cough to try to get us out of our own world.
The loud noise helped to snap me back to reality.
"Oh, sorry you two. What I was trying to get at is that I have fallen in love with my wife Rebecca and plan to never take another wife in my life. Taylor, I hope you do not misunderstand my actions earlier. I only was doing what I would do for any worker under me. Respectfully, I have no interest in you romantically, but we can still be friends just like your brother. If you have an lingering feelings for me, I'm sorry, but I suggest you get rid of them immediately because it will 100% never happen between us."
Taylor responded respectfully without a hint of emotions. "Do not worry Nicolas, I have never had feelings for you. My role as the daughter of a viscount is to use my marriage to strengthen my family. If I ever married you, it would be purely because my Father has told me it will be in the best interests of my family."
It seems like she is logically to her core. That is actually good for me in this situation since she is willing to move past this with no awkwardness. However, I hope our efforts in the future makes it so the next generation of noble women grow up without having to think of marriage as purely a way to increase their families power and instead as a way to find happiness.
"Great, then we can just be friends from now on."
"I don't think that is a great idea. Your wife wants you to be faithful to her. Men and women can never be just friends. There will always be an ulterior motive."
I smiled back at her, "you will get to know me more as we see each other around. You will understand eventually that I sincerely want to befriend as many people as I can. Even though I only have room in my heart for one woman."
Tyler decided to speak up, "I don't know Nicolas…why did you treat her so well when she has no qualifications?"
I waved my hand at him. "It's because she is working under you. Even if she struggles to get the hang of things, you will support her, right? She is your twin sister after all. I can tell you care about her to let her follow you around for so many years."
Tyler was shocked by my answer and his eyed opened wide. "Yes, of course! Even if she doesn't understand anything, I will spend every night teaching her the basics so she can be the best military strategist that she can be!"
"Good, now let's start our game of chess."
While Becca and I were talking in private, James went and grabbed a chess board for us. We all walked to a table right outside of the training grounds and started to set up the board.
I am not particularly good at chess. I just know the rules and played it with friends a couple of times, so I have no really strategy when playing. As the game went on, we were trading taking pieces pretty evenly. I went for whatever play looked best for me in the moment and I once saw Tyler accidentally leave his queen in a position that I could take, so I excitedly took the opportunity. However, it turned out to be all apart of his plan because right after, I was put in a bad position and ended up in checkmate.
It was a smart plan to get the win, but if we were thinking about how this chess game was meant to represent your ability as a real life strategist, it made me a little sad. In real life, there is no way I would willingly sacrifice Becca to win a battle. Chess makes it so only the King is untouchable, but if this was reality, every piece is valuable to me. If one of the bishops was James, I wouldn't be so inclined to trade it to take a rook. But I threw all these thoughts aside after the game was over. Like Tyler said, this is only a child's game and shouldn't be taken too seriously. I only wanted to play to have an excuse to accept Tyler as the new military strategist.
After the game, I shook Tyler's hand. "Good match. You definitely look like you know what you are doing. I would be happy to have you as my military strategist. Please work hard."
Tyler shook my hand back with excitement. "Thanks so much! I will make sure to win any battle I am put into!"
After we were finished, I sent them both to get the work details from James.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to Tyler and Taylor's POV
Tyler and Taylor were leaving the mansion after the orientation. They were told that they would start officially tomorrow. After they left the mansion grounds, Tyler threw his hands up in the air and cheered, "alright! Now I can show my skills and someday surpass Father!"
Taylor however was not happy with his laid back attitude. "Tyler, in the chess match you played with Nicolas, you could have won while losing a lot less pieces. Why did you play so sloppy?"
Tyler replied with a nonchalant answer, "who cares? As long as I win in the end, it's all the same. I just wanted to set up something flashy like the queen trap, so that the match would be done quicker. The real test of a strategist is speed of victory."
"But Father always said to keep losses to a minimum."
"Taylor! It's just a game! Relax, I know what I'm doing."
Taylor put her hand on her head in annoyance. "Whatever, let's just go home."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone