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Chapter 296 - Recast The Silver Dragon Glory

So Rossweise was right—whether she got pregnant after their "activities" was entirely up to her.

"But even if that's the case, do you think you can control me with that? Childish!" Leon said.

The queen raised her eyebrow, grinning, "Oh? So, are you saying you'll never touch me again?"

"😐"

"Don't want me to light up your dragon marks anymore?"

"😐"

"Don't want to kiss my ankles and knees again?"

"Enough…"

"Don't want to see me in a bunny suit anymore?"

Smack! —

Leon slapped the table, "Enough, Rossweise ! You don't need to threaten me with… 'activities.' Do you think I, Leon Cosmodeous, am the kind of man who would sell his soul for a moment of physical pleasure and let you have your way?"

Rossweise smiled mischievously, stepping silently toward Leon, She slipped off her shoes, revealing her smooth, fair feet.

Her skin brushed against the wooden floor, her steps light and soundless.

She walked up to Leon, leaned down, her gaze tender, "You… you're not?"

"I… am."

He could endure many things, but not never see her in the bunny suit again. That was too much.

The bunny-suited Rossweise could rival even the great Donkey in Leon's heart!

Rossweise smiled, pinching his cheek, "Alright, I was just joking with you."

Leon sensed that she was genuinely here to discuss business, so he got serious and asked, "So, how exactly can I help with increasing the Silver Dragon Tribe's numbers?"

"Promotion."

"Promotion?"

Rossweise patted his shoulder, "Yes, Cosmodeous. You and I are the best promotion!"

Several days later, at the Silver Dragon Temple, most of the tribe members had already been summoned back. Rossweise stood on the podium, delivering a passionate victory speech. The tribe members below listened with excitement and fervor. Although she disliked making public appearances, as a queen, she was undeniably skilled at stirring the emotions of her followers.

Leon also quietly listened among the crowd. The Silver Dragon tribe members around him were eager to get closer to the prince.

"Hey, you're pushing me!"

"I was here first! You're the one pushing me!"

"What do you mean you were here first? It was me! Prince, wasn't I here first?"

"Prince, I was here first! I even greeted you earlier."

Leon smiled helplessly, "Everyone, please calm down, calm down. Listen to Her Majesty's speech properly."

If you don't pay attention to my wife's speech, I'll hang you all up and give you a good beating, no matter if you're second-class heroes!

After Leon's casual attempt to calm them down, the nearby Silver Dragons quieted down and listened to Rossweise's speech. After summarizing the victory, Rossweise didn't sugarcoat anything.

After all, she was always a leader who acted rather than made empty promises, and this time, the issue indeed required the cooperation of all Silver Dragons.

"Take a look at the companions around you. I wonder if any of you have noticed something," Rossweise said.

The tribe members looked around but remained silent. It was an unwritten rule during speeches: even if the leader asked a question, no one should answer because the leader was just setting up the next point of the speech. Of course, if the leader needed someone to respond, they would have arranged it in advance.

Rossweise glanced at the crowd below and continued, "Perhaps you've noticed, compared to a few years ago, our numbers have dwindled significantly."

"The continuous wars have drastically reduced the Silver Dragon population. If this continues without any change, by the time the next war comes, we might not even have enough left to preserve the last of our kind."

Rossweise laid the problem out directly, and as expected, the crowd began to discuss it among themselves.

"Her Majesty is right. If we want to protect our homeland, we need a certain number of people."

"But given the reproductive nature of our race, it's impossible for us to recover to previous numbers in a short time."

"Should we borrow soldiers from Princess Ishabella?"

"Princess Ishabella's forces are in the same situation as us, having just finished a war and are also in a period of recovery. Borrowing soldiers from her… it's probably out of the question."

"Then… what about cocoon-birth?"

"If we opt for cocoon-birth, the mother will become extremely weak after creating the dragon cocoon. If an enemy attacks during that time, it'll be a disaster. So chanting can't be used as a large-scale population solution."

"This is… a headache."

"…"

Rossweise listened quietly to the discussions. After a moment, she slowly raised her hand. The crowd immediately quieted down.

"I've considered all the thoughts you just mentioned, and indeed, each has its drawbacks."

"While raising the next generation of Silver Dragons, we also need to guard against outsiders taking advantage. Finding a perfect solution… is not easy."

"But everyone, while we've been racking our brains thinking in the traditional way of the dragons, have we perhaps overlooked something that's right in front of us?"

Rossweise smiled, teasingly keeping them in suspense.

"Something right in front of us? What is it?"

"I have no idea. Prince, do you know?"

Leon couldn't help but smile wryly. Your thought processes… no wonder we're an endangered species. But he couldn't entirely blame the second-class heroes; after all, Rossweise had just said they needed to think outside of the traditional dragon mentality.

Once they broke out of that mindset, the answer became obvious. What Rossweise referred to as "right in front of us" was…

"How long are you planning to stay low-key down there, my dear?" Rossweise tilted her head slightly on the stage, her hair falling to one side. She smiled with narrowed eyes, showing a rare gentle side in front of the tribe. Her sweet "my dear" instantly ignited the gossip-loving souls of all the dragons present.

"Am I hearing things because I've been away from home too long? Did Her Majesty just call the prince 'my dear'?"

"Hey, hey! This is a public occasion! How can they be so improper? Hmm, I want more of this. I love watching it."

"I thought at most she'd call him 'husband' or something since they've been married for three years. But this 'my dear'… tsk tsk, I have no words!"

"…."

"Step aside! If anyone's going to fangirl over this ship, let the professionals handle it!"

As the voice fell, Shirley and Milan raised two flags high in the middle of the crowd. Each flag had a slogan on it. Shirley's flag was simple:

"Revive the glory of the Silver Dragons, and it is our duty!"

As for Milan's flag, the slogan was unfamiliar to the dragons present:

"Life continues through love… and dreams shine because of children"

"What does that mean?"

"I understand every word, but when they're put together, I don't get it…"

"Oh look, the prince is getting on stage!"

A single reminder drew all the dragons' attention back to the stage. Leon and Rossweise stood side by side, and Leon whispered under his breath, "I told you, empire slogans about encouraging childbearing aren't something dragons can easily understand."

"It's fine if they don't get it now; I'll explain it," Rossweise said with a shrug. Leon didn't say more.

"I'm sure you all recognize the man standing beside me," Rossweise said, slipping her arm around Leon's.

"We met and fell in love three years ago, building the family we have today. Over these three years, we've also had three lovely and well-behaved children."

"What do you think of them?"

Shirley shouted from below, "Princess Noah is the best!"

A chorus of agreement followed immediately.

"Princess Muwen is the cutest dragon baby, no argument!"

"In that case, I'm taking Princess Aurora. Sorry, everyone."

"…."

Ah, this was the 'supportive banter' that leaders would arrange beforehand. The effect was remarkable!

"It seems everyone loves the princesses," Rossweise continued.

"So you should all know that since I've been married to Leon, all our children have been born via live birth."

"In the past, cocoon-birth was the norm in dragon society. Compared to live births, dragons born from cocoons inherit the mother's power more easily. Plus, cocoon-birth can be completed without needing a partner, which reduces the risk of betrayal by one's mate."

Dragons value "pure love" highly. However, this doesn't mean there are no scoundrels who abandon their mates after intimacy. While rare, when it happens, it leaves deep scars on those who value "pure love" so much. This is another reason most dragons prefer cocoon-birth.

The Silver Dragons below listened attentively, waiting for Rossweise's next words.

"I'm not forcing anyone to fall in love because love is a free choice. It can cross ages and statuses—" Rossweise glanced at Leon, speaking softly enough only for him to hear, "or even species."

Leon was briefly stunned, and then the corners of his mouth curled slightly upwards. He grasped her hand a little tighter.

"But trust is the hardest thing for love to cross."

"Indeed, I cannot guarantee the one you fall in love with will respond with the same love. Long-standing doubts have caused many of us dragons to close off the love deep within our hearts."

"Before I met Leon, I was the same."

"I even wondered if I had lost the ability to love."

"But then I met him, the man who changed my life forever."

Leon sucked in a sharp breath. In a way… ahem… he did influence her life quite a lot.

"I used to not understand what 'love' was."

"Some say love is at first sight."

"Others say love is enduring the trials of life together."

"But my husband taught me what real 'love' is."

Leon quietly glanced sideways at the silver-haired beauty beside him. Her tone had softened, no longer as impassioned as at the start, and certainly not with the brainwashing fervor of a motivational speaker. She smiled, her silver eyes shimmering slightly as if telling a beautiful fairy tale.

"Love is knowing all of a person's flaws, yet still choosing to stay by their side with unwavering determination."

"Love is the freedom to spend today with them, even if tomorrow is the end of the world."

"And love… has allowed me to witness the most beautiful aspects of this world."

"So, what I want to say is… I've never thought Leon would betray me."

"Because the moment we fell in love, our eyes had only each other."

Evening..

Leon leaned against the balcony railing, gazing out at the courtyard behind the temple.

Under Her Majesty the Queen's impassioned speech, the Silver Dragon clan's enthusiasm for "having children" reached unprecedented heights.

And now, they were throwing a party in the courtyard.

Of course, "wanting to have kids" and "throwing a party" weren't causally related — because that would turn into a silver rager.

They were simply celebrating the Silver Dragons' successful weathering of the recent crisis and looking forward to a bright future under the Queen's leadership.

Leon cast his gaze toward the silver-haired beauty in the crowd.

She stood out like a shining star, the light from the bonfire illuminating her delicate face. She was laughing, linking arms with the maids as they danced around the fire in a traditional dragon celebratory dance.

Her promotional plan was progressing smoothly, and it had already met with early success. The majority of the people had started to try, bit by bit, to bravely fall in love with someone.

A few days ago, when Rossweise first proposed this idea to Leon, he had asked her, "Is this really for the revival of the tribe, or do you truly feel this way?"

Rossweise thought for a moment and said, "Both."

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