Leon chuckled, "Yeah, that's true. Go on."
"My thought is, since one dragon mark stores enough magic for about ten minutes of output, what if we had two dragon marks… wouldn't that double the combat time and intensity?"
At those words, Leon's eyes lit up, a hint of excitement crossing his face.
"Two… two dragon marks? I thought you could only have one."
"Who said that? Dragon marks are essentially a kind of magic circle. You can have as many as you want on your body."
Rossweise paused, biting her lip, a bit hesitant.
"But…"
"But?"
"But if you have too many, the sensations brought by the dragon marks will also double. Remember a long time ago, when I planted a dragon mark on your Black Gold Armor and forced you to wear it while we… did that? Do you remember?"
Leon thought back.
That was indeed a long time ago.
Rossweise had taken him to her private treasure vault in the mountains, and that's where he had put on the Black Gold Armor again after two years.
But he hadn't expected that the tough, iron shell had already been thoroughly "marked" by the dragoness.
Leon had spent over an hour in ecstasy under the influence of two dragon marks.
That experience had nearly cost him his life.
Just thinking about it now made him shudder.
"Yeah… I remember."
"That level of intensity was just from dragon marks on the outside. If you engrave a second dragon mark on your body, the sensations will be even stronger."
Rossweise said, "But theoretically, this way, the magic you can store will also double."
"True… but that's just a method for me to get stronger, right? Didn't you say you wanted to get stronger too?" Leon asked.
Rossweise nodded, "Exactly. So… I'm also going to engrave a second dragon mark on my body, just like you, using the marks to accumulate more magic power."
Leon scratched his forehead, "This method does sound simple, but if the dragon marks are this versatile, won't others be able to do the same? Won't we lose our advantage then?"
Rossweise smiled faintly, her hands clasped behind her as she slowly stepped forward.
She leaned slightly, and the neckline of her dress dipped, revealing her fair skin and the dragon mark on her chest.
She took Leon's hand and gently placed his palm over her chest.
"For most dragons, dragon marks are shackles, restraints, symbols of pure love, the shackles of loyalty."
"Because over a lifespan of hundreds or thousands of years, who can guarantee they'll only ever love one person?"
"But we…"
"You and I, Leon, we will be together for a lifetime, won't we?"
…
"We'll be together forever, won't we?"
The queen's words fell into the silent sanctuary, where only the sound of their breaths could be heard.
Rossweise stood on the lower steps, looking up at the half-naked man on the throne. Their silver and black eyes locked, as if invisible sparks were flying in the air.
Seeing Leon's somewhat strange expression, Rossweise quickly added,
"When I say together… I mean living together in a practical sense, not… not in that way."
Her voice grew smaller as she spoke, and in the end, she averted her gaze, staring at the polished floor, and softly asked, "Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand."
"Mm, as long as you—"
"You mean you want to grow old with me."
Rossweise: "?"
"You understand nothing!"
Rossweise stomped up the steps angrily, standing before Leon with hands on her hips, huffing, "Who wants to grow old with you? I won't let you see what I look like when I'm old."
Leon was taken aback, "So, the reason you don't want to grow old with me is that you don't want me to see you as an old woman…?"
"That's none of your business! Anyway, 'growing old together' is… inappropriate."
Rossweise thought for a moment and quickly came up with another explanation,
"You're my captive, bound to my side for life, and together we'll develop the functions of the Dragon Mark. Isn't that only natural?"
Clap—clap—clap—
Leon couldn't help but applaud. "Brilliant, Your Majesty. Whenever you can't find a suitable excuse, you always bring up me being your captive. This trick works every time!"
Rossweise couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore.
The more she explained, the worse it sounded.
She was just repeating what he'd made her say earlier: We'll be together for life.
What's wrong with that? Is it so ambiguous? So cheesy? Does it imply we're deeply in love?
Honestly, it doesn't mean anything!
This annoying man just keeps going on and on about it. I've been way too nice.
Rossweise took a step forward and sat back down on Leon's lap.
In this position, her gaze was slightly higher than Leon's, so she lowered her eyes to look at him, her arms wrapping around his bare shoulders.
"Stop talking nonsense, idiot. If you're okay with the method I mentioned, then we can imprint the second Dragon Mark right now."
The existing Dragon Mark only allowed Leon to fight at full power for ten minutes.
In those ten minutes, he could take down six dragon kings, but that was Leon's limit.
After a battle, he would fall into extreme weakness, barely able to walk without Rossweise's support.
And the battlefield is full of unexpected dangers. The enemy won't always let him walk away unscathed.
So… increasing his magic reserves is necessary.
Leon nodded. "No problem, I'm in."
"Oh? Accepting it that easily?"
Rossweise gently scratched the back of Leon's neck with her finger, tilting her head slightly as silver hair fell forward. "I have to remind you, though, that the desires brought by two Dragon Marks are doubled. Don't go clinging to me all day, or you'll ruin your image as the mighty dragon-slayer."
Leon chuckled, raised his hand to grip Rossweise's wrist, leaned in close, and whispered against her ear, his nose brushing her earlobe.
Rossweise knew he was about to snap back with some bold words like, "Worry about yourself first," or "I can control myself."
She knew this man's personality all too well.
So, she braced herself for their banter.
However, what she heard was, "Then you'd better be careful, Melkvey. I'll make you faint, just like when you woke up from the Blood Charm Enchantment."
"..."
Misjudged.
And even countered.
Rossweise shoved his shoulder, pressing him back against the throne. "Stop boasting. I'm the noble Dragon King. Do you think your frail human body can conquer me? You're two hundred years too early!"
"I~ am~ the~ noble Dragon~ King~"
Leon mocked her words in a sing-song tone before adding, "Sorry, Your Majesty, but your noble Dragon King body is already shaped by this human of yours—"
"Ah, shut up!"
Rossweise couldn't take it anymore. She punched Leon's arm, both embarrassed and furious.
Leon stopped teasing her and, with a serious expression, said, "Let's start then. Do I need to do anything to cooperate?"
Rossweise shook her head. "No, just like when I first imprinted the Dragon Mark on you. You just lie down, do nothing."
"Okay."
Lying down to get an enhancement patch, this version was destined to be dominated by Leon Cosmodeous.
Although there might be some debuffs afterward, overall, it was still a buff.
Leon obediently leaned back on the throne.
Rossweise slowly raised her right hand, silver magical light swirling in her palm.
"Where do you want the mark?" Rossweise asked.
"Oh, I get to choose the location?"
"Of course, our dragon magic is very user-friendly."
"Hmm…" Leon pretended to think, then grinned, "How about on my butt? That way, it won't be easily seen."
Rossweise rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Be serious, idiot! Where do you want it? Hurry up."
"Just below the current one."
"You mean… on your lower abdomen?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm."
Rossweise clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disbelief, her expression reading, I can't believe you're that kind of guy, as she looked at Leon with a hint of disdain.
Leon blinked, confused. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're such a closeted perv," Rossweise muttered with a sigh.
Leon was even more baffled. "What? How does that make me a perv?"
"You just are! Now be quiet, I'm going to mark it. The lower abdomen, right? Confirmed?"
Leon opened his mouth, then shut it, deciding not to argue further. "Yeah, confirmed."
"Alright, here it comes. It might feel a bit hot."
"Mm."
Rossweise gently pressed her glowing palm against Leon's lower abdomen.
Immediately, a faint burning sensation spread across his belly, but it wasn't painful.
Silver light flashed, and when Rossweise lifted her hand, both of them froze.
There was no Dragon Mark on Leon's abdomen.
"W-Where's the mark? Did the magic fail?" Leon asked.
Rossweise had never encountered this situation before—
Actually, no, most dragons probably wouldn't encounter this. After all, no normal couple would be as bizarre as them, abstract enough to imprint two Dragon Marks on each other.
Rossweise' eyes flicked to Leon's bare right arm.
There, the Dragon Mark had appeared!
"It's… it's there…" she pointed to Leon's arm.
Leon turned his head.
Sure enough, a silver Dragon Mark coiled around his arm.
Given Leon's solid muscular build, the mark looked well-proportioned, powerful, and a bit flashy.
"Looks cool, but why is it here? Didn't you mark my stomach?"
Rossweise was equally puzzled. "According to the books, you should be able to choose the location. Why is it off target…?"
Leon thought for a moment and guessed, "Maybe the first mark is free to place, but the second is… random?"
The queen nodded in realization. "That makes sense."
Leon snorted, "Just now, you were bragging about how user-friendly dragon magic is. Now it's all random."
Rossweise poked him in the chest, retorting, "Being user-friendly also includes the 'anticipation and excitement of the unknown,' understand?"
"Tch…" Leon scoffed. Then he asked, "Now it's your turn to mark. I'm curious where your second mark will show up."
He paused before grinning wickedly, "If it ends up on your tail, you'll have to keep it hidden when you go out."
"Hmph, what's so embarrassing about that? The Dragon Mark is proof of our love as husband and wife. Why hide it?"
"Who's your husband?" Leon asked smugly.
"You!—"
Rossweise cut herself off, no longer indulging his teasing. "Alright, enough. I need to focus on summoning my magic."
Leon shrugged and made a zipping gesture over his mouth.
Rossweise once again gathered magical energy in her hand.
After a moment, she pressed her palm to her abdomen, silently praying: Please don't appear in some weird place!
Although she'd confidently said there was nothing shameful about showing off the Dragon Mark, and she truly believed that if it appeared in a strange spot…
It would be so embarrassing during their intimate moments!
The burning sensation returned, then gradually faded.
Once the imprinting was complete, Rossweise let out a sigh of relief.
She tugged at her collar and looked down at her abdomen—
"Is it done?" Leon asked.
Rossweise blushed and turned away, "N-no…"
"Huh? Not done?"
"Not that, it's just… my chest is too big, I can't see my belly."
"…That's a reason I didn't anticipate." Leon was a little surprised.
Rossweise sighed and stood up, clutching the hem of her skirt a bit nervously. "Could you help me take a look?"