Help! I Became A Guy In A BL Novel!
Chapter 205: Horsie

Chapter 205: Horsie

Leon returned to Riven’s room, the weight of his earlier conversation with the Dowager Queen still pressing on his shoulders. He did not even know he was headed towards Riven’s room and not his own.

As he entered, he found Riven seated cross-legged on the floor, the newly acquired chess set meticulously arranged between them.

"Ready for a game?" Riven asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

Leon managed a small smile, appreciating the distraction. "Sure."

They settled into the game, the familiar clink of pieces grounding Leon amidst his swirling thoughts.

After a few moves, Leon glanced up. "Riven, did you show me those people on purpose?"

Riven shrugged, moving a pawn forward. "What if I did?"

Leon leaned back, studying the board. "I don’t understand. If the officials were trying so hard to cover up the poverty, why didn’t they stop me from going out with you? It’s not like I hid it."

Riven moved another piece, placing it in a vulnerable position. "What do I know? Ask them, humph!"

Leon chuckled, the tension easing slightly. He continued the game, deliberately holding back to prolong it.

The board between them was quiet at first. The scent of freshly brewed tea Riven had forgotten to serve lingered in the air.

Leon opened with the king’s pawn, a standard move, calm and precise. Riven countered clumsily, moving his knight in a way that blocked one of his own pawns. Leon raised an eyebrow but said nothing. This was a friendly game, an unspoken truce in a day full of frustrations and emotional revelations.

"So, you’ve been playing long?" Riven asked as he tapped his fingers against the dark wood of the floor, staring intensely at the board.

"Chess?" Leon glanced up, then back down. "Since I was seven. My tutor said it would sharpen my thinking. He wasn’t wrong."

"Right. That explains why you’re already plotting twenty moves ahead like a war general," Riven muttered. "Meanwhile, I just sacrificed a bishop for no reason."

"You didn’t have to do that," Leon said with a smirk, nudging one of his pawns forward. "But I appreciate the donation."

Riven groaned dramatically and clutched his chest. "Your Majesty is ruthless."

Leon chuckled, not used to such theatrics during chess. "Well, this particular monarch has been humbled more than once recently. I take my victories where I can."

Riven moved another piece, a rook this time, trying to appear thoughtful, but Leon could tell he was mostly guessing. The rook went straight into a trap Leon had set two turns ago. With a clean motion, Leon took it with his queen. "Check."

"What?! Already?" Riven looked genuinely surprised. "That fast?"

Leon looked at him with amusement. "That’s not even close to checkmate yet. I’m mostly defending at this point."

Riven narrowed his eyes at the board like it had personally insulted him. "I’m starting to think you came to my room just to humiliate me."

Leon leaned back on his palms, expression soft. "Don’t be dramatic. I’m going easy on you."

"Oh, how generous," Riven drawled, moving his king one square to the side. "There, I live to suffer another turn."

They played in silence for a few moments after that. The rhythm of the game picked up as Leon patiently guided Riven into small traps, then released him before anything disastrous happened. He didn’t want to crush him- not tonight. Not after everything.

Riven’s brow furrowed in intense concentration. "Wait... If I do this-" He moved a pawn diagonally and looked up, hopeful. "Did I just take your horsie?"

"It’s called a knight," Leon said, suppressing a laugh, he did not find it too annoying now. "But yes, you did."

Riven gave a small victory whoop and did a fist pump. "Aha! Behold, the genius of the wolf!"

Leon rolled his eyes. "You realise I let that happen, right?"

"No, you didn’t. I clearly cornered your knight with master-level instincts and tactical genius."

"Sure, Riven. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Their laughter filled the room, light and strangely warm. It had been a long time since Leon had played chess, not for strategy, not for status or display, but simply for friendship. And it was the first time he tried to lose a little so that the game would continue. It was not like him to do this at all.

Riven struggled to plan his next move, Leon found himself watching his expressions: the way Riven’s eyebrows twitched with indecision, the way he stuck his tongue out slightly when thinking too hard.

"You know," Leon said as Riven hesitated over whether to move his queen or a pawn, "You’re not nearly as annoying when you’re quiet like this."

Riven glanced up and gave him a crooked smile. "Ah, but then I wouldn’t be me."

Leon scoffed and moved his bishop, trapping Riven’s queen. "Check."

Riven’s eyes widened. "Oh come on! I just got that piece in position! I could have won!" No, he could not have.

"You left your king completely open. You were too busy protecting that last pawn."

"It was my last hope!" Riven protested, slumping back against the wall. "This is a brutal game."

"It’s a reflection of life," Leon said more quietly. "You win some, you lose some. And sometimes... You don’t even know you’re losing until it’s too late."

There was a sudden heaviness to his words, one that Riven picked up on but didn’t press. Instead, he moved his king again and glanced at Leon.

"You’ve changed," Riven said simply. "You used to snap the moment things didn’t go your way. Now you’re letting me play badly without flipping the board."

Leon gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Maybe I’m still learning that not everything needs to be a war."

"I liked playing with you," Riven said after a pause, softer now. "Even if I lost. And I will beat you someday, just so you know."

"I look forward to it." Leon offered a genuine smile. "You’re not hopeless. Just chaotic."

Riven’s strategy was aggressive but lacked foresight, leading to his eventual defeat.

Riven clicked his tongue in frustration. "I meant what I said! I’ll practice until I beat you."

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