Upon hearing this, the smile on Rossweise's face froze, and her silver eyes trembled slightly. "Yes… why?"
"Your grandmother said that after you fell into a coma, she checked and found that while your Heartguard Dragon Scale was present, it was almost ineffective. And that dragon scales usually only start to form after a dragon reaches one hundred years old."
Leon continued, "Can I assume… that this isn't your original Heartguard Dragon Scale, but a newly formed one?"
Rossweise bit her lip gently, didn't deny it, and nodded. "Yes."
"Then where's your original scale?"
Rossweise averted her gaze, "It… it got lost."
General Leon was stunned. "Lost?!"
Uh-huh…
Leon moved in front of Rossweise, cupping her face in his hands so she had to look at him.
"You lost such a big Heartguard Dragon Scale? And isn't it supposed to be part of your body? How could it get lost?"
Such a flimsy excuse couldn't fool Leon.
If she kept fabricating lies like this, it would only make him more suspicious.
After some thought, Rossweise replied,
"I… placed it somewhere very safe."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "A very safe place? What place could be safer than your own body? And why would you even remove it from yourself? That should only have negative consequences for you, shouldn't it?"
[Author Note— My dear Cosmodeous. She did it to save a certain stubborn fool three years ago, when his heart was shattered in a certain war.]
Rossweise lowered her eyes, her silver gaze quietly falling on Leon's chest.
After a long pause, she finally said,
"When I said 'safe,' I didn't mean it would protect my scale. What I meant was… it could protect something even more important."
Though, initially, "protect" wasn't exactly her primary intention.
Leon narrowed his eyes. "Now you're speaking in riddles. I—"
"I'll explain it to you someday. But not now," Rossweise interrupted.
Leon opened his mouth, intending to press further.
But knowing Rossweise' stubbornness, he understood that if she didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't say a word, no matter how hard you pushed.
Even though he was worried about her losing her Heartguard Dragon Scale, he could only wait until she felt the time was right to ask more clearly.
After the conversation abruptly ended, the couple fell silent.
Leon flipped through the camera's preview to pass the time.
Rossweise glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Shall we go to the border?"
Leon didn't refuse. "Alright, let's go."
…
The Silver Dragon Territory Border.
Months of war have left this place barren, with signs of magical clashes everywhere.
It will take some time to restore it to its former state.
The couple strolled through the woods.
Rossweise, sensing that the recent conversation about the Heart Shield Dragon Scale had upset Leon, tentatively tried to hold his hand.
After being together for so long, they've fought and argued, but most of the time, they've been honest with each other. Especially on important matters, Leon and Rossweise never hide anything from each other.
That's why Rossweise's concealment of the Heart Shield Dragon Scale bothered Leon so much.
Of course, Rossweise knew that Leon's upset wasn't just because she hadn't mentioned it earlier.
Another major reason was that without the protection of the dragon scale, it would be very dangerous for her.
He didn't want anything to happen to her.
What's more, after seeing a future where Rossweise fell into a coma due to the absence of the dragon scale, Leon couldn't understand why she would leave such an important item in a so-called "safe" place.
And worse, she gave him cryptic answers instead of explaining clearly.
Leon remained silent as they walked, clearly uninterested in conversation, his head down.
So, Rossweise thought, I should cheer up my fake husband.
Better to do it now than wait until we get home and have our daughters notice something's wrong.
She tried linking arms with Leon.
Seeing that he didn't refuse, she grew bolder and slowly slid her slender fingers into his wide palm.
Finally, their fingers intertwined, the tips lightly resting on each other's hands.
They both enjoyed kissing each other, but they rarely held hands when walking.
Not because holding hands was any less exciting than kissing, but because being physically close while completely sober like this… was a bit unfamiliar to them.
When they kissed, the resonance of their dragon marks would often be triggered, and they'd blissfully lose themselves in the pleasure of entangling with one another.
Even without the dragon mark's resonance, the hormones and dopamine flooding their brains would put them in a sort of intoxicated state.
In short, they weren't thinking clearly, just wanting to indulge in their forbidden closeness.
But holding hands didn't have that effect.
They remained fully conscious, all while maintaining a somewhat ambiguous physical connection.
That felt… strange to them.
So, they rarely held hands.
Even when no one was around, their shoulders would merely brush against each other.
Rossweise's hand was initially cool to the touch, but after holding hands for a while, the warmth from their palms spread back and forth, and her hand soon warmed up.
Leon suddenly thought of something and asked, "Your hands and feet are often cold; does that have to do with losing the dragon scale?"
Rossweise blinked slightly and lowered her gaze, nodding.
Leon opened his mouth, but in the end, he stopped himself from saying anything.
Rossweise wanted to brush it off with a joke, saying, It's no big deal having cold hands and feet; we have heating pads at home. Worst case, I can rub my hands together and summon some dragon fire~
But just as she was about to speak, she felt Leon tighten his grip on her hand slightly.
As if trying to lock in more warmth for her.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Until you get that useless dragon scale back, I'll reluctantly take care of you more."
Tsk
Oh, sure, she thought, how utterly reluctant you are, Leon. Your face is red from the effort.
The queen chuckled softly, a rosy blush spreading across her pale cheeks as well.
"Suit yourself," Rossweise said, gently swinging their clasped hands. "But what if my dragon scale never comes back? What will you do?"
"Then I'll chop off my hand and tie it to your wrist."
"…I was expecting something a bit more romantic."
Ah, well. I'll let it go.
With no alcohol or external enemies around, it was already pretty good for Leon to say, "I'll reluctantly take care of you more."
Rossweise knew her fake husband well, and she was satisfied.
They continued walking toward the edge of the forest.
About half an hour later, they reached the border of their territory.
Beyond this point, they were no longer in Silver Dragon land.
Leon stood near the boundary line, glancing around.
"Are you looking for something?" Rossweise asked.
"My medal of honor," Leon replied.
Rossweise raised an eyebrow. "What medal?"
"Constantine's head."
Like how murderers return to the scene of the crime to admire their work, General Leon had the habit of revisiting his "medals of honor."
"Oh, that." Rossweise said, "When the Empire and the other dragon clans joined forces to attack a few months ago, they took Constantine's head."
Leon frowned, "What use would a dead dragon's head be to them?"
Rossweise shrugged, "The dragons don't have a habit of collecting heads. I'd guess the Empire took it, maybe using it as a prop for their dragon-slaying army recruitment campaigns?"
Leon snorted, playfully bumping her shoulder, "You've got quite the imagination. But you're not entirely wrong. The Empire has many tricks to recruit for their dragon-slaying army."
"How did you decide to join the dragon-slaying army back then?"
The couple sat down on a large rock at the forest's edge.
"It was my master."
Leon said, "He was a retired dragon slayer. After he adopted me, he raised me by the standards of a dragon slayer. When I was old enough, he naturally sent me to the Dragon Slayer Academy for training. Once I graduated, I enlisted."
Rossweise's eyes flickered slightly. "And if… if your master hadn't sent you to join the dragon-slaying army, what would you have wanted to do?"
Leon leaned back on the rock, one hand supporting himself, the other still holding Rossweise's hand, as he gazed up at the sky.
A few birds fluttered past, and the wind rustled the leaves.
"I'd probably save up some money and move to a remote countryside."
"Open a ranch, raise some cows and sheep."
"Oh, and I'd have to raise a donkey too."
"Then, I'd marry a woman who's neither too pretty nor too plain."
"And we'd have a cute daughter."
"Then I'd wait for time to slowly wither me away. I think, if possible, that's the life I'd want."
When he first woke up from the two-year coma, Leon had imagined living such a life.
This thought had always been buried deep in his heart. He had never told anyone.
Not because it was some shameful secret, but because… it just felt like a pipe dream.
Born into a war-torn era, with talents like his, how could he ever live a peaceful life?
Rossweise propped her chin with one hand, while her other hand traced slow circles on the back of Leon's hand.
After a while, she said, "Then when the next Silver Dragon King ascends the throne, let's live just like that."
Leon froze. "What?"
"Move to the countryside, open a ranch, raise cows and sheep and donkeys, and bring our daughters there to live."
She paused, then added, "But the part about marrying a woman who's neither too pretty nor too plain might not come true."
Leon turned his head and gazed at Rossweise's elegant profile, smiling as he picked up on her hint. "Because the woman playing my wife is far too beautiful."
"Tch, flatterer."
"You led me to say that, so how does that make me a flatterer?"
"I don't care, you're a flatterer. Always complimenting me; who knows what schemes you're cooking up in that head of yours."
Rossweise teased with a laugh.
"Hmm, you're right. I've been plotting all along to seize your throne as the Silver Dragon King."
After some playful banter, Leon changed the subject.
"Speaking of my master… you've seen him and Rebecca recently, right?"
Rossweise nodded. "Yes. When they found out about the space rift, they started searching for ways to bring you back from within the Empire."
She paused, then added, "We agreed to meet again in three months, so there are about… twenty days left? Perfect timing to take you with me, so your master can put his mind at ease."
"Okay."
Leon responded though he seemed a bit distracted.
Rossweise blinked her lovely eyes and leaned in to ask, "What's on your mind?"
"Ah… remember I told you yesterday that in the future, it was Claudia Poseidon of the Sea Dragon Clan who taught our daughters after we were gone?"
"Yes, I remember. But our Silver Dragon Clan has never had any formal ties with the Sea Dragon Clan. There's no reason for Claudia to look after our daughters, let alone train them."
"Right. But the book my master gave me, The Gates of the Nine Hells, was also written by Claudia. She even taught that technique to Little Light."
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly. "Although it sounds a bit far-fetched, do you think my master might have some connection to the Sea Dragon Clan?"
[Author Note— Yes, Leon, indeed, because your master's in-laws are.... 🤫]
Rossweise pondered. "That's not out of the question. But two dragon clans can't just casually interact; it could lead to misunderstandings. So, we'll have to wait and ask your master about it when we meet in twenty days."
Leon nodded. "It's strange… Claudia Poseidon has only appeared twice in our lives, and both times were crucial."
Rossweise chuckled. "Twice is nothing. After all, if fate wants to bring someone into your life, even a single encounter could change everything."
Leon glanced sideways at her, noticing how her mischievous and tender smile seemed as if it could command fate itself.
A moment later, Leon's hand unconsciously tightened around hers.
Rossweise rested her cheek on his shoulder, her long silvery hair cascading down her back, exuding a faint sweet scent of dragon blood.
The couple sat together on the rock, basking in the warmth of the setting sun, neither of them uttering a word.
This time, it was a truly peaceful silence.