Perhaps because she felt too uncertain inside, Milan actually stood stiffly in place for over ten seconds without making a sound.
In the end, it was Rossweise who spoke first, "Do you need something, Milan?"
Only then did the little maid come back to her senses.
Her Majesty was still staring intently at that pair of documents.
Milan scratched her cheek, stammering, "Your Majesty... it's almost dinner time—"
"Mm, I'll go."
Rossweise assumed Milan was there to remind her to go have dinner in the dining hall.
But in fact, Milan wanted to say, "It's almost dinner time, Your Majesty, please take a break first."
Then she could take the chance to hand the tickets to Her Majesty.
But since Her Majesty was still soloing with her work, Milan couldn't find a gap to squeeze in at all.
The anxious little maid nearly stomped on the spot.
Seeing Milan hadn't left yet, Rossweise finally put down the pen in her hand and turned her head to look at her.
"Do you have something else to say to me?"
"Ah... yes... I do."
"Mm, speak."
"It's just... it's just..."
Seeing Milan was a bit hesitant to speak, Rossweise tilted her head and asked, "Love advice?"
"Ah, no, no, I already broke up a while ago..."
"Oh~ then... heartbreak advice?"
Milan silently covered her face.
'Your Majesty, we haven't even treated you like a counselor, and you've already slipped into the role yourself.'
"Also, also not that."
"Milan, I'm very busy."
"Ah, it's just, just that, Your Majesty, I have two outdoor adventure tickets here. They were originally for me and my ex to use, but now we've broken up, so they're useless. I was thinking... to give them to you and His Highness the Prince."
She came up with a very reliable excuse.
No one gets mad at someone coming to give them a gift, right?
Sure enough, Rossweise didn't show any displeasure at Milan disturbing her work.
"Outdoor adventure? That's something twenty-something kids like," As soon as she said this, Rossweise paused slightly.
'Tch, that dog man is exactly in his twenties, isn't he?'
'Alright then, seems like in the future when trying to say "This Queen is already very mature," I shouldn't use twenty-something as a benchmark anymore,' Rossweise thought to herself.
"Your Majesty, this isn't ordinary outdoor adventure," Milan said seriously.
"Hmm? Then what is it?"
"It's extreme northern survival outdoor adventure! Super thrilling~"
Upon hearing this, Rossweise raised an eyebrow slightly, "Extreme northern lands..."
"Mm-hmm!"
Rossweise was not unfamiliar with this place. Veronica's grandmother and the headmaster of the academy, Oullette, had once worked on a project together there.
But the results of that project were stolen by a mole planted by the Empire.
And this mysterious project was immediately put on hold.
When Rossweise first learned that her grandmother was in the extreme north, she had thought of going there to see, to find out if her grandmother was doing something dangerous.
But with the project halted and cancelled, there was no longer a need to go to the extreme north.
Besides, that place was nothing but snow and ice as far as the eye could see.
It's said that even Constantine's flames couldn't burn through the thickness of the ice layers. Although this rumor can no longer be verified now (one of that dog man's favorite old Constantine hell jokes)—
'So, to go adventuring there... isn't that just asking for suffering?'
Rossweise shook her head, "You keep them for yourself. What if you get back together with your ex? Might still come in handy then."
"Your Majesty..."
"If there's nothing else, go wait in the dining hall for dinner. Once I finish this work, I'll—"
"Actually!", Milan suddenly raised her voice, straightened up and held her head high.
Rossweise was stunned, "Actually?"
Milan lowered her little head, biting her lip.
"Actually... everyone thinks that Your Majesty and His Highness the Prince... have entered a cold period lately, so they thought of using outdoor adventure as a way to help you two find that original feeling again."
Rossweise blinked, feeling a bit muddled as she listened, "Who? Cold period? Me and Leon?"
"Mm..."
Rossweise's eyes shifted slightly as she recalled her recent interactions with Leon.
Work proceeded step by step during the day, and "homework" was turned in step by step at night. Life was harmonious, X life was also harmonious, so where's the cold?
'Oh, if you have to say cold... huh, the variety in "homework" did cool down a bit.'
'But as for so-called post-marriage cold period... there really isn't one.'
Rossweise was about to explain, but then thought again, 'Is it possible I am too deep in it to see clearly, while outsiders have sharper eyes?'
She herself hadn't noticed any so-called cold period, but actually, outsiders could already tell that the dog man had started to grow cold toward her?
That's a theory worth verifying.
"Thank you, Milan. I'm not eating dinner. No need to wait for me."
With that, Rossweise put away her pen, stood up, and had only taken two steps when she suddenly seemed to think of something and turned around to say, "Oh, and His Highness the Prince won't be eating either."
"Eh?"
Before Milan could even ask, Her Majesty had already lifted her skirts and rushed upstairs.
"Your—Your Majesty? Do you still want the tickets or not? Your Majesty!"
———
Leon was still corpse-lying on the bed.
The daughters were studying hard at the academy, the mother dragon's original power was becoming more and more proficient, and his own Nine Hells Gate divine art had reached mastery—
The "how lonely is invincibility" feeling he hadn't experienced during his years leading dragon-slaying armies all over the empire, he was now feeling after five years of marriage.
'Tch, could marriage really change a man?'
Bang!
A loud door slam interrupted Leon's messy thoughts.
Judging by the force of that door slam and the decibel level, it could only be the mother dragon.
After all, in the entire Silver Dragon Sanctuary, up and down, only she dared to slam "the Queen's bedroom door" like that.
And Leon had a feeling, the mother dragon might have gone off the rails again. Otherwise there's no way she'd use that much force to open the door.
Before Rossweise barged into the bedroom, Leon briefly reviewed what he'd done over the past couple days that could send her into a rage if discovered.
'Emmm... braiding her hair into bunny ears while she slept?'
'Or hiding all her flats so she had no choice but to wear my favorite lace-up high heels?'
'Or recording her singing "I love taking baths, tail's wagging~" in the bathroom with a memory crystal?'
Feels like any of those would be enough to earn a beating from Rossweise.
But, General Leon not only showed no panic, he even had a slight sense of anticipation.
As the saying goes, no house rule can truly restrain a married man.
If one does, then that married man is still a rookie. Not as seasoned and mature as General Leon.
'Hmph hmph, mother dragon, come at me with all you've got!'
With that thought, the sound of high heels clacking urgently across the floor echoed.
Before long, the silver-haired beauty strode into the bedroom.
Leon unhurriedly sat up from the bed, and then picked up the pillow next to him, calmly placing it in front of his forehead.
Almost at the same time, Rossweise grabbed the teddy bear on the bed and hurled it at Leon's head.
Unfortunately, Leon had predicted her move and already had the pillow guarding his head.
The teddy bear and pillow had a close encounter.
Of course, that wasn't enough for Her Majesty. She swung her tail toward Leon's chest.
But Leon once again predicted it. He simply laid flat, and that long silver tail grazed right past his nose.
Two moves missed entirely. The dragon lady was fuming, and she jumped onto the bed, ready to pin the dog down and give him a proper lesson.
Naturally, this move was also in Leon's calculations.
While lying on the bed, he pushed off with his feet, and his whole body slipped like a nimble eel under Rossweise's skirt, 'Hmm, black lace panties, the mother dragon sure has good taste.' then dashed toward the foot of the bed, leapt off, and landed steadily.
The whole sequence flowed smoothly without a single wasted motion, a textbook-level "anti-domestic violence" demonstration.
Rossweise pounced into empty air, landed on the bed, turned her head and gritted her teeth, saying,
"You get—"
Leon & Rossweise, "Back here."
Pause one second.
Leon & Rossweise, "Don't mimic me!"
Pause one second.
Leon & Rossweise, "Still mimicking! Do it again and I'll smack you!"
Pause one second.
Leon & Rossweise, "Aaaargh, dog bastard I'm gonna kill you!"
As soon as the words landed, Rossweise grabbed the pillow by the bed and threw it at Leon.
But it was also caught securely by Leon.
Leon mentally tallied things up, 'Yep, sequence pretty much complete.'
He patted the pillow in his hands, then gently set it aside, and greeted Rossweise as if nothing had happened, "Good afternoon, Your Majesty."
"Good, Good your head!", Rossweise straightened her clothes, then huffed and puffed as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"I wonder what madness has seized Your Majesty this time. Might you share it with me?", Rossweise crossed her arms and said nothing.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/ZenonTL
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.