That evening, Leon sat at his desk, lost in thought. The Mother Dragon had been gone all day.
When he hadn't seen her all morning, he couldn't help but feel a thrill. He thought she might have gone to patrol the borders or meet with other Dragon Kings.
In the past, she would be gone for two or three days at a time. During such periods, the entire Silver Dragon Temple belonged to him, the Dragon Slayer Cosmodeous.
He could come and go as he pleased without reporting his whereabouts or activities to the Mother Dragon. He could even instruct the kitchen to prepare more of the grilled steaks Muen loved, and he didn't have to do his "homework."
But it wasn't until lunch, when he saw Anna and the other dragon maids, that he realized Rossweise had left alone this time. She had gone by herself.
As the afternoon sun began to set, Leon's initial excitement gradually faded. By evening, an inexplicable anxiety and restlessness settled over him.
It was an emptiness, like finally reaching summer vacation, planning to go wild for two months, but after just two days of excitement, feeling bored and listless.
So, after dinner, he casually approached Anna and asked, "Anna, is Noah coming home in a few days?"
As Anna tidied the dining table, she replied, "Yes, Your Highness will see Princess Noah again soon."
"Oh… um, did Rossweise mention making something Noah likes to eat?"
"No, Princess Noah isn't picky, which puts Her Majesty's mind at ease."
"Is that so…"
Leon scratched his forehead and asked again, "Speaking of which, Noah seems quite similar to Rossweise in not being picky about food, right?"
Anna blinked, thinking for a moment. "Not entirely. Her Majesty doesn't seem to like cilantro very much."
"Oh, I see. I didn't expect Rossweise to be picky too. That's unlike her."
The dragon maid suddenly stopped tidying and stood up straight, looking at Leon. "Your Highness, is there something you wish to ask me?"
Leon was startled. Had his little scheme been exposed so quickly?
"Oh, no, it's nothing. Just making conversation."
Leon pretended to be nonchalant, then quickly changed his tone to serious. "But since you mentioned it, I do want to ask: do you know where Rossweise went?"
Cosmodeous, you're really at your wit's end now!
Hearing this, Anna covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, then shook her head. "I don't know either, Your Highness."
"But you're her head maid. How could you not know?"
Oh dear, Your Highness, why so anxious? The Queen is a grown woman. It's not like she'll get lost, will she?
Anna: "Even as the head maid, there are some matters I am not permitted to inquire about. Her Majesty might be inspecting the tribes or attending a secret meeting. But if Your Highness truly wishes to know, you can wait for Her Majesty to return and ask her directly."
Ask her directly?…
But they hadn't spoken for many days. What if she misunderstood his intentions?
Leon scratched his head. "Well, you may continue with your tasks."
"Very well, Your Highness. Please rest early. Her Majesty might return quite late tonight."
Leon waved his hand and left the dining room. He returned to his nursery, continuing to wait in silence. Yet, even by ten o'clock, there was no sign of the Mother Dragon.
As time ticked by, Leon hugged himself, rubbing his eyes. He kept pondering matters he hadn't been able to resolve for hours.
During dinner, Anna mentioned Rossweise might have gone to inspect the tribes. Leon knew this. It was normal for Rossweise, as the Silver Dragon leader, to regularly inspect her subjects and tribes.
But in the past, she would always bring her maidens or trusted aides on these inspections. This time, however, she had left alone.
Could it be that even the Silver Dragon Queen enjoyed incognito inspections and undercover checks? There was a certain charm to the imperial family inspecting the grassroots in secret.
Or perhaps, as Anna suggested, she had gone to attend a secret dragon clan meeting? But what could this meeting be about?…
Leon's thoughts drifted to the newlywed couple he had met by chance in Flowing Cloud Valley a few days ago, Yuna and Zay.
From their conversation, Leon had unexpectedly learned that a Dragon King named Constantine had recently been annexing weaker, smaller dragon clans, sparking numerous small-scale wars and conflicts to expand his territory.
Yet, in the "Dragon's Tales of Wisdom" Leon had previously explained to Muen, Constantine was portrayed as a hero who expanded territory for the dragon race.
In other words, this Crimson Flame Dragon King's achievements might not be for the greater good of the dragon race but to satisfy his own thirst for power.
Now that he had caused such a stir, it wasn't entirely impossible for Rossweise, as the Silver Dragon Queen, to secretly attend a clan leaders' meeting to discuss Constantine's recent actions.
But even if it were a secret meeting, wouldn't she bring at least one guard?…
So, either there was no secret meeting, or the meeting's secrecy level was so high that only Dragon Kings could participate.
Leon scratched his head, utterly clueless. Everything was just wild speculation and baseless conjecture.
As the night deepened and drowsiness washed over him, Leon yawned.
His gaze fell on the small bear on the table. It was the one Rossweise had won for him from the claw machine in Flowing Cloud Valley, calling it a return gift. Though its size was much smaller than the large bear he had given her initially, Leon dared not refuse her "kind" gesture.
When he returned, Leon had considered placing the bear on his bed. But upon second thought, he felt it might be too girlish for a grown man to have a bear on his bed. So, he ended up placing it on his desk.
Leon reached out and picked up the small bear, looking into its two black eyes. Unconsciously, he chuckled softly.
"Gone for so long without a word," he muttered, then set the bear down and moved to the recliner on the balcony, gazing at the deep night sky and the Milky Way suspended in the heavens.
After a while, he slowly closed his eyes. It was precisely at that moment, as his eyes shut, that a faint purple light flashed across his chest, fleeting as a glimpse.
At this moment, the Silver Dragon Queen was still on her way back. As she flew, Rossweise suddenly felt a strange sensation and abruptly slowed her speed.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Shirley asked hurriedly.
"It's nothing."
Indeed… nothing was wrong. That strange sensation had come and gone so quickly that Rossweise didn't even have time to identify it before it vanished.
Well, it was probably just fatigue from flying too long.
Calculating the time, she and Shirley still had several hours of flight before returning to the Silver Dragon Temple. By then, they would have been away for one days and one nights.
Muen would be fine. Rossweise had been away on business before, often returning after two or three days. But that fellow Leon—he couldn't go a day without stirring up trouble.
Thinking of this, Rossweise flapped her wings, accelerating toward the temple. Shirley hesitated for a moment, then quickly flapped her wings to keep up.
"Your Majesty… Your Majesty, wait for me! I can't keep up!"
.
.
.
The next morning, Leon was awakened by Muen shaking him.
"Daddy, Daddy, why are you sleeping on the balcony? You'll catch a cold."
Leon groggily opened his eyes, felt a chill, and sneezed.
"Oh! Daddy, are you really catching a cold?" Muen asked worriedly.
Leon wrapped his coat tighter around himself. "It's okay, I'm fine. I'll be better in a moment."
Muen scratched her head. "Daddy, why were you sleeping on the balcony last night?"
Leon took a moment to collect his thoughts, then remembered. Last night, he had lain on the recliner, counting stars while waiting for the lights on the neighboring balcony to turn on—
Their room was adjacent to Rossweise's, so as soon as she returned and turned on the lights, he could see from his balcony.
Anna had mentioned Rossweise might return quite late. Unfortunately, even until the early hours, the lights next door remained off.
Leon had unknowingly fallen asleep.
"Oh, Daddy was too tired last night and forgot to go back to the room to sleep."
Leon hugged Muen. "Mommy was gone all day yesterday. Do you know where she went?"
"Daddy."
"Yeah?"
"You've asked me this three times already yesterday. Muen really doesn't know."
"…Did I ask that many times?"
Muen nodded earnestly, counting on her fingers. "Once after lunch, once when we went running together, and once before dinner."
"Daddy, you don't need to worry so much about Mommy. She used to go out on business often and always came back after a day or two."
Leon cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ahem, okay. Daddy will listen to you."
As he spoke, the voices of guards came from the temple's front courtyard.
"Your Majesty, you've returned."
"Mm."
Hearing this, Leon stood up with Muen in his arms and looked down from the balcony. Rossweise had indeed returned, accompanied by a silver dragon maiden Leon hadn't seen before.
"Look, Mommy's back," Muen pointed below.
Leon's thoughts stirred slightly. "Muen, Mommy was gone for two days. Did you miss her?"
"Of course! I missed her a lot!"
"Then let Daddy teach you a phrase. Once you learn it, you can say it to Mommy to make her happy."
Muen's eyes lit up. "Okay, okay!"
A moment later, Muen ran out of the temple and dashed toward Rossweise.
"Mommy~"
"Good morning, Muen."
Rossweise crouched down and hugged her daughter. "Were you well-behaved? Did you eat on time at home?"
"Um, well, uh—"
Muen took a step back, stood up straight, and with her tail slightly raised, said, "Mommy, where did you go all day yesterday? Why were you gone so long? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
There was a hint of a rehearsed tone in Muen's voice. And this classic "interrogation trio" didn't seem like something she would ask, did it?
Rossweise thought for a moment, then looked up. She caught a glimpse of a familiar face on the nursery balcony—
It disappeared very quickly!