After being caught by Leon, the battlefield shifted from the bathroom to his bed.
After a few rounds, "Teacher Leon" seemed to find the bed too small and unsatisfying, so he carried Rossweise to her own room.
During a brief respite, her cheeks still flushed, Rossweise asked, "Do you have to move around everywhere? Can't you stay in one place? Aren't you afraid of being seen by others?"
Leon shrugged off her concerns. "You're the Queen, and I'm the Queen's husband. Isn't everything we do perfectly legitimate?"
Rossweise narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "You are utterly shameless!"
Leon scratched his head. "Rather than calling me shameless, dear Melkvey, when you asked me to stop during your break, but then said to continue once we started again, it seems you're the one being more shameless, don't you think?"
Rossweise was rendered speechless. She hugged a pillow to her chest, wrinkling the fabric with her grip.
Glaring at Leon, she felt a mix of embarrassment and anger. These past two days could be considered the darkest in her life as the Silver Dragon Queen.
Ultimately, it was her own reckless use of the Blood Enchantment that had planted the seed for this disaster. That seed had somehow grown to torment her even now.
The more Rossweise thought about it, the angrier she became. Angry at her own carelessness, and angry at Leon's smug victory. Her chest heaved with the rising tide of her frustration.
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down and think rationally.
Being angry wouldn't help. It might even encourage Leon to take further advantage. In the end, her standing in the family might never recover.
She needed a plan to turn the tables, even in this desperate situation.
After some thought, Rossweise decided to try the method she had used once before, around half past two in the morning.
She planned to exploit Leon's tendency to speak the truth in his sleep at that specific hour, hoping to extract the location of the backup photos.
Once she found and destroyed them, her troubles would be over!
But for this plan to work, Leon had to be asleep before 2:30 AM.
Rossweise glanced at the clock. It was just past 11 PM. Then, she looked at Leon lying beside her.
The man breathed evenly, full of energy. The first half of the night's battle hadn't seemed to tire him at all. In fact, he looked ready to go for several more hours.
Seeing this, Rossweise felt a pang of regret. This man is truly relentless! She vowed to be more vigilant in the future and never let him gain the upper hand so easily again.
However, she wasn't one to be easily subdued. Adjusting her attitude, she changed her tone.
"Are you tired?" she asked softly.
Leon glanced at her, not giving a direct answer. Instead, he countered, "Why? Are you tired?"
Rossweise rubbed her arms, lowered her silver gaze, and shook her head. "I'm just… worried about you."
"Worried about me?"
Since when did this dragon mother start worrying about me?
"Yeah. Humans have a saying, 'Good wine should be savored, not gulped down,'" Rossweise said. "Even the strongest dragon slayer's body can't withstand being pushed to the limit day and night."
As she spoke, she leaned in closer.
Rossweise raised her hand, her soft, warm palm resting on Leon's shoulder. Her chest pressed against his upper arm, her warm breath gently tickling his ear.
"I'm fine with it. You can come as many times as you want. After all, my leverage is in your hands, and I can't resist you anyway," Rossweise said with a hint of pity.
"But you need to take care of your own body. Since I can't escape, you can come anytime. As the saying goes, 'A gentle stream flows long.' There's no need to go so late into the night every time."
If Leon hadn't just caught her sneaking into his room to find the backup photos, he might have actually believed this dragon's act.
There were only two scenarios where Leon would believe Rossweise:
Either Rossweise had gone stupid,
Or he had gone stupid by letting her fool him.
Assuming neither was foolish, Leon wouldn't believe a single word from her, no matter how sweetly she spoke.
After finally securing the dominant position in their family, how could he let himself be swayed by her feigned concern?
However…
For now, he would play along and see what this dragon mother was plotting.
He pretended to hesitate before speaking. "You… make a valid point. Let's call it a night."
Rossweise's eyes lit up, and she secretly sighed in relief. But she knew the principle of "give a little to get a little," so she didn't immediately act as if she'd been pardoned.
Instead, she suggested coyly, "Hmm… but if you haven't had enough, maybe we could… take a bath together?"
Smooth move, Rossweise. Playing hard to get — she knows when to advance and when to retreat.
Too bad it's just an act. Don't kid yourself.
Leon chuckled inwardly, shaking his head as he got off the bed. "Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
He dressed and left Rossweise's bedroom.
Click—
The door closed. Rossweise finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Good. The first step of the plan was successful. Now, all she had to do was wait quietly for 2:30 AM to arrive.
Covering her face with her hands, Rossweise rested for a moment before getting up and heading to the bathroom.
She turned on the faucet, and hot water cascaded over her body.
Standing in front of the mirror, she looked at her reflection.
The skin from her waist up was covered in love bites—
Of course, Leon was in the same state.
Fortunately, the weather had cooled down recently, so she didn't have to wear thin clothes. Otherwise, if Anna or the others saw, the gossip would be endless.
"Damn dog… you could have been gentler," she complained softly, raising a hand to her abdomen. A faint glow shimmered over her skin for a moment.
This was her necessary precaution after absorbing Leon's "foreign cultural essence"; otherwise, that essence might turn into a "crystallization of love" in ten months.
After taking care of everything, Rossweise stepped out of the bathroom, dried off, and lay on the bed, quietly waiting for half past two.
.
.
.
Several hours later, Rossweise tiptoed into Leon's bedroom.
He lay stretched out on the bed, breathing evenly, seemingly fast asleep.
Rossweise quietly approached the bed. In the moonlight streaming through the window, she looked down at his resolute face.
"Hmph, even the mightiest dragon slayer is defenseless when sound asleep."
She glanced at the clock on the wall.
2:29 AM.
She took a slow, deep breath in and then let it out slowly.
Tick… tock… tick… tock…
The second hand moved steadily. Rossweise nervously squeezed her fingers, eagerly awaiting the crucial moment.
Finally!
2:30 AM!
"Leon Cosmodeous," she whispered, "where did you hide the backup copies of my bunny girl photos?"
No response.
She waited quietly.
Last time, it had taken him a few seconds to respond after she asked.
However, after a dozen seconds passed, Leon still didn't utter a word.
Rossweise frowned slightly. "Leon, where did you hide the photos?"
Still, no response.
The flicker of hope in Rossweise's heart was instantly extinguished.
Her master had said that asking him questions at 2:30 AM had a chance of eliciting truthful answers.
But it was only a chance, not a guarantee.
It seemed Rossweise had just been lucky a few days ago, catching him off guard.
But today, on this far more important occasion, luck was not on her side.
Feeling deeply disappointed, Rossweise turned to leave.
But just as she turned, she seemed to realize something.
She quickly looked back at Leon, pursed her lips, and tried a different command. "Leon, take me to where you hid the photos."
Her master had also mentioned that besides direct questions, "commands" occasionally worked too.
With a mindset of trying anything, Rossweise had no choice but to test this method.
After giving the command, she waited nervously.
Hurry up, Leon, move, Leon, come on, Leon, get up!
"Ugh…"
Leon mumbled in his sleep. Then, to her astonishment, he slowly sat up.
Rossweise's heart leaped—there was a chance!
After sitting up, Leon slowly got out of bed. He dragged his feet, swaying slightly as he walked toward the bedroom door.
Rossweise followed closely behind him.
"Hmph, you dog. You've been arrogant for two days, and you've forgotten who's really the captive, haven't you? When you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll find everything has returned to square one!"