In the Hogwarts tent, Asterion and Rose sat facing each other, an awkward silence hanging between them.
Both wore thick, wide boots, black pants, and tight long-sleeved shirts, each piece of clothing bearing the crest of their respective houses. In Asterion's case, a green serpent, and in Rose's, a golden lion.
At that moment, they were the only ones in the tent. Cedric and Luna had gone out to check on something and were not present. To be more precise, Cedric went to check on something, while Luna was probably off looking for strange magical creatures again.
"I heard from my fiancée that you were a bit... too enthusiastic around her," Asterion broke the silence between them, his red eyes casually gazing at the white-haired girl in front of him.
Rose struck a rather unladylike pose in her chair, almost lying down in the seat while staring upward with a sleepy look, apparently not used to waking up as early as today.
With his words, Rose's blue eyes met the ruby red, she lifted her lips in a smile and spoke lazily. "Maybe I want to steal Daphne from you, little star~"
"You'll need something better than shortening your skirt, snowflake," Asterion crossed his legs and said sarcastically, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Honestly, even if Daphne felt physical attraction to Rose, Asterion didn't consider it betrayal on her part. The reason was very simple: besides not minding two women kissing, he didn't even see Rose as a man. If this could be used to spice up their married life in the future, he wouldn't mind Daphne inviting another woman to their bed. Especially given that he himself had cheated on Daphne twice with Bellatrix.
Other men might not agree with his opinion, but as he said, it all came down to opinion, and this was his. If other men had a different opinion, that wasn't his concern. Asterion didn't pay anyone's bills to have a say in their personal life.
But if it were another man trying to seduce Daphne, it would be a completely different story. Baskerville would probably have a midnight snack to satisfy his hunger.
"Humph." Rose huffed at his sarcastic words and crossed her arms under her chest. "I expected something more radical from you."
"Please, I'm not a barbarian." Asterion rolled his eyes and spoke calmly. He brought the wine glass given by Baskerville to his lips and took a sip. Looking at her, he spoke in a slightly serious tone. "But avoid getting too close to my fiancée, she is mine, dear cousin."
Having said that, he might not mind some occasional flirting from Rose, but that was it. If it continued frequently, he would have to have a private conversation with his cousin about personal space.
However, looking at Rose's incomparably beautiful face, Asterion thought about Daphne's words. As she had said earlier, if he married Rose, all his plans would be much easier to accomplish in the future, not to mention that marrying Rose would come with the bonus of irritating Dumbledore to an unprecedented level.
Just imagining Dumbledore full of rage at his wedding made Asterion feel that the idea of marrying Rose didn't seem so unbearable given the girl's sarcastic and arrogant personality.
"Rose, if you wanted so badly to climb into my bed, all you had to do was ask. I would have accepted you~" Lifting his face with arrogance, Asterion joked in a playful tone.
Rose's cheeks turned a rosy hue almost immediately; she hadn't expected Asterion to be so direct with his words.
Seeing Rose acting all shy, something very rare, Asterion's lips curved into a teasing smile. He got up from his chair and moved dangerously close to her.
Their noses touched while Asterion's lips were slightly apart from Rose's, just a centimeter away from touching. Their eyes met, and they stared at each other.
The blush on Rose's cheeks disappeared as she realized she was being teased. Then, with a mix of anger, embarrassment, and a sense of revenge, and with classic teenage impulsivity, she closed the distance between their lips.
Asterion didn't react until he felt a soft and obviously very inexperienced touch on his lips.
"You!" Quickly separating his lips, he looked at Rose in surprise. He hadn't expected Rose to actually kiss him; he expected anything but such an abrupt kiss.
Licking her lips, remembering the previous sensation, Rose smiled arrogantly, showing her teeth.
Calming down, Asterion huffed coldly and said sarcastically, "That was the worst kiss I've ever felt."
Rose felt as if an invisible arrow pierced her heart.
"Someone who's never kissed before would probably kiss better than you."
Again, an imaginary arrow struck Rose.
The smile on Rose's face stiffened at his words. She clenched her teeth and looked dangerously at Asterion. Her fist opened and closed constantly.
Just as Rose was about to teach her dear cousin a lesson in humility, the tent curtain opened, and Luna entered. There were some leaves in her hair, and her clothes were slightly rumpled, showing that she had been in a forest just moments before.
Biting into an apple, Luna's eyes wandered between Rose and Asterion, a touch of curiosity shining as she asked.
"What are you two doing?" Swallowing the apple, she looked curiously at Rose's flushed cheeks. "Am I interrupting something...?" she asked in her naturally slow and serene tone.
"No, we were just discussing a few things." Sitting back down in the chair, Asterion looked seriously at Rose as if warning her not to speak and responded calmly.
Seeing him act so calmly, Rose felt her fists itch to punch that smug face. She regretted giving her first kiss to Asterion; she was sure he would tease her for eternity, if he didn't tell Daphne, who would consequently tease her too.
Cursing her momentary impulsiveness, she took a deep breath and sat back down in the chair, waiting patiently for the start of the King's Game. Though her expression was somewhat cruel as she looked at Asterion.
Luna blinked a few times and sat next to Asterion, looking not so discreetly at his shadow. The hundreds of eyes in Asterion's shadow retreated almost instantly under Luna's gaze.
Seeing this, Luna opened her small carrot-shaped bag and took out a piece of raw meat. She extended her hand and tossed it toward Asterion's shadow.
Baskerville, smelling the fresh blood, reluctantly emerged from the shadow and ate the meat mid-air.
Taking another piece of meat from the bag, Luna waved it around as if calling the demonic dog.
"Come get it, sweetie," she said softly, looking at the hundred-eyed dog.
Hesitating for a moment, Baskerville blinked his hundreds of eyes and jumped onto Luna's lap, where she offered the piece of meat she was holding without hesitation.
Watching the entire operation orchestrated to kidnap his companion, Asterion was speechless.
Just as he was about to speak, Cedric entered the tent and spoke hurriedly.
"It's starting!"
Everyone stood up and left the tent, and as they stepped outside, they were bombarded by an explosion of deafening applause.
Looking at the packed Quidditch stadium, Asterion took a deep breath.
---
**Author's Thoughts:** Please don't be offended by my thoughts written in this chapter. This is my opinion, and you have your own. I won't judge your opinions, just as you shouldn't judge mine. Thank you for understanding in advance – Prince.
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Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 133 - King's Game (1), Chapter 134 - King's Game (2), Chapter 135 - King's Game (3), Chapter 136 - King's Game (4), Chapter 137 - King's Game (5), Chapter 138 - King's Game (6), 139 - King's Game (7), 140 - King's Game (8), 141 - King's Game (9), 142 - King's Game (10), 143 - King's Game (11), 144 - King's Game (12), 145 - King's Game (13), Chapter 146 - Second Phase of the King's Game (1), Chapter 147 - Second Phase of the King's Game (2), Chapter 148 - Second Phase of the King's Game (3), Chapter 149 - Second Phase of the King's Game (4), Chapter 150 - Second Phase of the King's Game (5).