Rossweise led Leon along a winding path on the mountain behind the temple. They walked on smooth stone steps, going deeper and deeper into the forest.
"Where are we going?" Leon asked, following behind her.
"You'll know when we get there."
Leon's steps slowed. The mountain forest, the mood, just the two of them alone… it brought back some very unpleasant memories. He stopped walking, swallowed hard, and said,"Let me tell you, Mother Dragon, if you're thinking of making me do that thing again like last time, with your temple in view, it won't work at all. I have zero feelings for your territory."
Rossweise, walking ahead of him, let out a light laugh. Without turning her head, she said,"Relax, I'm not that unreasonable or cruel. There's a time to relax, and a time to think about home—"
She stopped walking. A tall, imposing iron gate stood in front of them.
"—and a time to think about home."
Leon finally noticed the building in front of them. There was no sign, no guards, just a stern and cold iron gate.
"What is this?" Leon asked.
"Oh, I haven't given it a name. You can call it a warehouse, a storage room, or the Queen's treasury. Whatever you like," Rossweise replied.
As she spoke, she raised her hand. Silver magical energy danced at her fingertips. She pushed the energy into the keyhole of the iron gate, and it slowly swung inward.
"Come in."
Leon hesitated for a moment, but then followed silently. After passing through the iron gate and going down a few steps, several rows of neatly organized display shelves appeared before him.
Leon excitedly ran to one of the shelves, looking at a beautifully crafted bracelet. He was a knowledgeable dragon slayer. He could tell instantly that the bracelet was incredibly luxurious and rare.
"If this were in the empire, it could sell for at least several hundred thousand gold coins."
"That was the bracelet my grandmother gave me for my coming-of-age ceremony," Rossweise explained.
Leon nodded. Then he turned his gaze to the other collectibles. His attention was completely captured by these precious items. He didn't even notice that Rossweise had quietly closed and locked the iron door of the treasury.
After a while, Leon managed to collect his excitement. He asked, "Why did you bring me here?"
"Ah, found it. Right here."
Before Leon could voice his confusion, Rossweise stood on her tiptoes and took a box from the top shelf. She placed the box on the ground and gently blew the dust off it.
"I told you I had something that could temporarily make you forget your troubles."
With that, Rossweise turned the open side of the box toward Leon and lifted the lid.
Leon looked inside, curious. But when he saw what was inside, he was so shocked he couldn't speak.
His eyes widened, his mouth slightly open. His black pupils reflected the image of a"companion"he hadn't seen in two years—the Black Gold War Chariot Armor.
Crafted by the finest artisans of the empire, this armor had followed Leon into battle from the north to the south. It had saved him from deadly harm countless times.
Leon slowly reached out, his fingertips gently brushing the surface of the armor. The familiar texture showed no signs of damage or age. It was clear that Rossweise had taken very good care of it over the past two years.
"How about trying it on?" Rossweise suggested.
"Huh?"
"What's with the 'huh'? Try it on."
"Oh…"
Leon took the various pieces of the black and gold war machine out of the box and skillfully put them on, one by one.
After he was fully dressed, Rossweise clasped her hands together, squinted her eyes, and said with clear anticipation,"It looks very handsome. Just as handsome as when you were swinging your sword to cut my head off back then."
"The way you dragons interpret positive and negative words is really unpredictable," Leon commented.
He happily admired the armor on his body. It was true, his old friend was just as majestic as he remembered!
But—
Leon suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a small notch on the chest plate.
"How did this happen? The Black Gold War Machine can repair itself. It should have fully recovered in two years," Leon asked.
Rossweise shook her head."Not sure. Maybe it got bumped or scratched by accident."
"Is that so…"
He wiped the notch. Luckily, it wasn't very big. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.
He grinned like a child who had just gotten a new toy. "Thanks, Rossweise. I didn't expect you to have a human side."
"Thanks?"
"Yeah, th—"
Leon lifted his head, but his smile instantly froze on his face.
The feeling coming from the dragoness in front of him had completely changed.
Gentle, elegant, dignified—all of it was gone the moment Leon met her eyes.
Now, pink hearts danced in her silver dragon eyes, and dragon patterns glowed beneath the fabric on her chest. The Queen grinned, showing a slightly unhealthy smile, and started walking toward Leon, step by step.
"Dragoness, before you go crazy, let me remind you that the Black Gold War Machine is enchanted. It boosts all the wearer's abilities. So, I might not be afraid of you now."
Having the power to fight back, Leon stood up straight!
However, Rossweise just smirked with contempt and kept walking toward him.
"I've been meticulously maintaining this set of armor for two years. Do you really think I wouldn't have done something to it?"
Leon was shocked."Wh-what—"
Rossweise raised her hand and snapped her fingers gracefully.
Suddenly, Leon's Black Gold War Chariot Armor became incredibly heavy, pulling him down to the ground with a crash. At the same time, dragon patterns slowly appeared on the chest plate…
The reaction of the dragon patterns was more intense than ever before.
Rossweise flipped the immobile Leon onto his back. Then, she straddled his armored body with her long legs.
"Do you think I forgot about what happened three days ago? I've been acting like a good girl all day, and you fell for it."
The Queen smiled."How was my acting? Pretty good, huh?"
Leon's pupils trembled."You never meeting your parents… letting Muen and Noah call you Mom… holding hands… was all of that a lie?"
Being a "Dragon Knight" wasn't the first time for Leon. He could endure it, even if he didn't want to. But he couldn't stand the thought of Rossweise tricking him like this.
"No, those things were all true. But it doesn't change what I'm going to do to you now, Leon."
She opened her collar, unleashing the dragon patterns that had been waiting for so long.
"How did you describe it three days ago?"
"Oh, that's right. You said I like to conquer."
"Well, I'm going to conquer you now!"
"Are you ready, my dear husband~?"