El-Lanti frowned, "What do you mean, you didn't bring the rest back?"
Scott scratched his forehead and then clapped his hands.
Then, two attendants pushed Constantine's head on a cart toward them.
Seeing this, El-Lanti helplessly covered his face, "You really are…"
El-Lanti had the urge to bring Nacho back.
He and Scott had both failed, but at least Nacho wouldn't fail so absurdly.
"What about the Dragon Scales? Did you bring back Bly's Heart-Protecting Dragon Scale?" El-Lanti asked, a bit anxiously.
Scott leaned back slightly, "Ah, well… the Heart-Protecting Dragon Scale was destroyed by Leon."
"Destroyed?"
"Yes… it seems he used some kind of remote magic to blow up Bly's Heart-Protecting Dragon Scale, and then Constantine… was blown into pieces."
Scott paused, then quickly added, "But, but, Lord, I risked my life to get Constantine's head back! As long as we have his head, and the other Heart-Protecting Dragon Scales in the warehouse, we can continue to create stronger fusion beasts, right? Next time, we'll definitely—"
"There is no next time, Scott."
"W-What? Lord, you—Lord! Please spare me!"
Before Scott could finish, El-Lanti grabbed his collar with his massive strength and dragged him into the laboratory.
Once inside, El-Lanti threw Scott to the ground.
"Leon Cosmodeous didn't just destroy that Dragon Scale."
Scott slowly lifted his head, looking at the stone platform where the Heart-Protecting Dragon Scales were stored.
At this moment, it had already turned to ashes.
El-Lanti's voice became colder, and the listeners felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave,
"He destroyed the other five Dragon Scales you brought back last time, and the chain reaction from the explosion also destroyed the other Dragon Scales in the warehouse."
"In just a moment, that bastard ruined years of the Empire's hard work."
"If before, he was stepping out of this game, becoming an uncontrollable variable."
"Now, he has directly flipped the chessboard."
"Leon Cosmodeous will never know what kind of existence he has angered."
"Next, the Empire will stop at nothing to kill him."
"Until… his bones are ground into dust!"
…
"Ah, a-choo—"
"Dad, do you have a cold?"
In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the study, Muwen sat at the desk, holding a book titled The Basics of Magic Theory, raising her little head to look at her father.
Leon rubbed his nose and sighed, "I don't think so…"
"Then why did you sneeze?"
"Maybe… someone's been talking bad about me?"
It wasn't just "talking bad" — the old men from the Empire had been openly declaring that they were going to crush Leon's bones into dust.
Fortunately, General Leon was tough enough that such a venomous "curse" only resulted in a sneeze.
"It's probably because Aunt Isha was secretly complaining while fixing the pavilion you broke."
Little Light, sitting across from her, said.
Leon smiled, walking over to rub his little daughter's head. "Focus, study hard. Tomorrow, I'm going to test you two and see what level you've reached."
The next entrance exam for Saint Heath Academy was in just twenty days.
Looking at his two precious daughters' learning progress, Leon was sure they'd be fine with the test.
The real question was how well they could do.
Noah had passed the entrance exam with the highest scores at the youngest age, so her little sister, Muwen, and Little Light weren't willing to fall behind.
"Got it, Dad."
The little dragon girls went back to burying their heads in their books.
They were now in the consolidation phase, so they didn't really need Leon's help, leaving him somewhat at a loose end.
The old father looked up at the wall clock; it was still early.
"You girls study for a while. I'm going out for a bit."
"Okay, Dad!"
"Remember to come downstairs for dinner later."
"Mm-hmm!"
After giving the instructions, Leon stood up and left the study.
He walked through the hallway, down the stairs, and entered the first-floor hall of the temple.
Rossweise was sitting on the newly renovated oversized throne, handling a mountain of work files.
There was no diplomacy today, no socializing, so she had applied only light makeup, wore a fitting long dress, and the necklace Grandma had given her hung around her neck.
Her silver hair was casually draped behind her, but she still wore the small braid that Leon had mischievously styled for her long ago at the side of her temple.
It had become her signature little detail.
The hall was quiet. Leon had tried to make his footsteps light, but even he could hear the muffled sound of his steps.
The beauty on the throne glanced at him, said nothing, and returned her gaze to her work.
It wasn't until Leon walked up the steps and stood beside the throne that Rossweise finally spoke. "Is there something you need?"
"You busy today…?"
Rossweise pointed her chin toward the pile of files and reports on the desk. "What do you think? I went to my sister's for two days, and this much work has piled up. I'll probably have to work overtime tonight."
"Oh… Anything I can help with?"
Rossweise's writing paused for a moment. She didn't say anything but shifted to the side, making some space. "Sit here."
"Huh?"
"You said you wanted to help. Sit down."
"Oh."
Leon obediently sat down next to her.
As soon as his bottom touched the throne, the familiar feeling brought back a wonderful memory for General Leon.
He remembered not long ago when the throne had just been renovated. He and Rossweise had performed a little "cannonball" play.
They had really pushed the limits of 'rebellion' then.
However, since that time, the couple hadn't done any work together here.
Partly because they were afraid of being caught by their kin — and just one phrase like "social death" wouldn't even begin to cover it. They'd probably have to live on a different planet.
Partly because the throne symbolized rule and power, and although doing work here satisfied their rebellious and forbidden psychology, it still deserved some respect for tradition.
So, something like "cannonball" was fine once or twice, but too much would be… less elegant.
Snapping back to reality, Leon leaned forward a little to see the files on the desk clearly. "Which one needs my help?"
"Hm? None of them really need your help." Rossweise said.
Leon froze. "Then why did you let me sit here?"
"By sitting here, you're already helping me."
Rossweise said, "I need someone to keep me company while I face all this tedious work. That person must be good-tempered, emotionally intelligent, and have a sense of humor. It would be even better if he's handsome."
"…Mother dragon, you're so shallow."
"I handle all the tribe's affairs with the depth and thoughtfulness of a queen while enjoying the emotional value brought by the man I admire sitting next to me. How is that shallow?"
Rossweise turned her head slowly, a faint smile on her lips, her eyes filled with charm as she looked at Leon. "Oh, by the way, aside from emotional value, you're also easy on the eyes."
Look, how wonderful it is to be admired by a queen.
On the small scale, it can buy you some extra time to talk if you're captured, which helps when using the Blood Charm on the queen.
On a larger scale, you don't need to do anything. Just sit there, and the queen will smile and tell you how handsome you are.
Leon suppressed the urge to smile and silently accepted Rossweise's compliment.
Seeing that Leon accepted her praise, Rossweise smiled faintly and didn't say anything more, continuing to work.
After a while, Rossweise spoke again,
"Why did you ask if I'm busy?"
"Emmm… I was thinking of asking you out for a walk."
Rossweise blinked, "Are you… asking me out on a date?"
Leon pursed his lips, his gaze half-avoiding, "I guess… maybe."
Since he didn't need to worry about his daughters' study progress for now, and his physical recovery was passive, Leon had really been feeling a bit restless and unable to sit still these past few days.
After thinking for a while, he finally went to find Rossweise.
Going out for a walk and relaxing seemed like a good idea, right?
But the queen's response was:
"I don't want to."
Leon: ?
"We're not dating, so why would I go on a date with you?"
Leon looked at her smiling profile, stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that the mother dragon was playing dumb on purpose.
"How are we not dating?" Leon asked bluntly.
Since he knew Rossweise was teasing him with flirtatious back-and-forth, he no longer hesitated and just asked straight out.
After all, a direct approach cuts through all methods.
"You've never made a formal confession, so of course, we're not dating."
Oh, a straight ball hit an even straighter ball.
Leon quickly conceded, a bit embarrassed, rubbing the tip of his nose, "Okay…"
He didn't make another invitation, choosing instead to silently provide Rossweise with emotional value… and… admire her beauty.
Rossweise didn't say anything else and continued working.
The afternoon passed quickly.
The couple sat shoulder to shoulder on the throne. Rossweise kept handling the tedious documents and reports, occasionally resting her head on Leon's shoulder for a short break when she got tired.
After the topic of "not confessing means not being in a relationship" ended, they didn't chat much.
As dinner time approached, Rossweise put down her pen, stretched lazily, and her graceful curve was fully revealed.
Leon couldn't help but glance at her.
The queen let out a relieved sigh and looked at Leon.
He seemed… a bit moody?
In short, he wasn't very active.
She probably understood that he was still dwelling on the rejection of his date invitation.
Rossweise smiled, stood up, "After dinner, meet me in the cherry blossom grove behind the mountain."
Leon's eyes lit up, "Are you inviting me for a date, Your Majesty?"
Rossweise hummed lightly, "It's just a routine inspection of the back mountain, not a date."
She almost wrote "I'm being tsundere" on her face.
Leon understood her.
The couple laughed at each other, their eyes filled with unspoken affection.
After a brief exchange of glances, Rossweise turned away, arms crossed, and walked down the stairs, "Let's go have dinner."
Leon followed her.
At the dinner table, the daughters reported what they had learned that afternoon.
Leon and Rossweise listened attentively, offering words of encouragement.
After dinner, the couple exchanged a glance, and Rossweise subtly nodded toward the back mountain. Leon immediately understood.
While the maids cleaned up the dining table, Leon left first and went to the back mountain.
Being married for a long time, they had this kind of unspoken understanding.
Sometimes, a look was enough for a secret rendezvous.
He arrived at the cherry blossom grove in the back mountain.
Soon, he heard footsteps approaching.
Leon looked toward the sound and frowned slightly.
Because Rossweise wasn't alone.
She was accompanied by the maid Milan.
In Leon's astonished gaze, Rossweise walked up to him with Milan.
She smiled faintly, enjoying the expression on Leon's face.
"Milan… you came too?" Leon said.
"Yes, Prince Leon. I'm here to accompany Her Majesty for the back mountain inspection," Milan respectfully said.
Damn.
Where's the date we talked about?
It really was an inspection!
"Well… it's… fine."
He couldn't very well tell the maid to leave so he could have a romantic date with the queen.
Although Milan wouldn't be upset—she might even be excited to see her favorite couple together—saying that would give the impression that Rossweise had him completely wrapped around her finger.
Rossweise, watching her husband's face, felt deeply satisfied.
Yes, yes, this was exactly the expression she wanted.
"Why is she bringing someone? I wanted to be alone with her! Ugh, my wife, my dear wife! I want to hold your hand, but I can't!"
Ah, men. Not long ago, he could go toe-to-toe with her, but now?~
You've fallen, fallen in love~
"Milan, go check that side. I'll walk with the prince on the other side," Rossweise instructed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Milan, understanding the situation, immediately ran off.
Rossweise turned her gaze back to Leon, grinning. "For a second there, did you think our alone time tonight was ruined?"
"Tch, stop being ridiculous."
Leon waved dismissively, turning away, not wanting to engage with the playful dragon queen.
But Rossweise took his hand, teasing him further. "Aw, are you sulking, my little lion?"
"Cut it out, mother dragon... enough already."
If this continued, it would turn into some over-the-top romantic drama, and General Leon had a reputation to maintain.
Rossweise giggled and let it go. "Alright, alright. I'll stop."
She tilted her head toward the grove. "Shall we take a walk?"
"Yeah."
The couple strolled hand in hand through the cherry blossom grove.
They first discussed their daughters' progress, then moved on to the recent events surrounding Constantine's resurrection.
"The Empire has already mastered that twisted fusion magic... looks like future battles won't be easy," Rossweise remarked.
"Well, it's not that bad," Leon said. "My detonation spell can't just target one dragon scale. When it's used, the other five scales explode too. And from what I saw in the future, the heart scales were all stored together. So... by now, the Empire's probably cursing me to death."
Rossweise chuckled. "Why didn't you just use the detonation spell earlier? That way, Constantine wouldn't have been able to resurrect as a fusion beast."
"You mean, I should wake up one morning, randomly snap my fingers, and then—boom!—the Empire's dragon scale storage room explodes?"
Leon turned to look at the silver-haired beauty beside him. "That would completely lack a sense of ritual."
Rossweise lightly punched his arm. "You and your 'sense of ritual.' Because of your theatrics, my sister's lawn and pavilion had to be completely renovated."
Leon laughed. "Well, let it be renovated. It's not like I'm the one paying for it."
The couple bantered back and forth, and the conversation naturally shifted from Isha to Rossweise's grandmother.
"Oh, right. My grandmother sent a letter this morning. She's going to visit my sister next week," Rossweise said. "I was thinking of taking the girls with me. It'll be a good opportunity to take a family photo. What do you think?"
Leon nodded. "Sounds good."
"Mhm. And... maybe I can try asking Grandma about... the far northern lands again."