Muse and Hefei officially entered the Young Dragons Division of St. Heath's Academy, where they would spend the next two years studying. With their youngest daughter now enrolled, Leon and Rossweise faced an unfamiliar reality: an almost empty nest.
Before the girls started school, Leon's daily routine was simple:
Take care of the kids, eat, sleep, and occasionally hand in some assignments.
Now, with the girls only coming home on weekends, Leon's routine had shifted to:
Eat, sleep, and do even more assignments.
Without their daughters around, the couple indulged in their newfound freedom. When Muse returned home after her bimonthly exams, the head maid Anna noticed something unusual.
"Why has the quality of our Silver Dragon carpentry deteriorated so much lately?" she murmured, her tone laced with concern.
Her sharp gaze fell on the bedframe in the master chamber, inspecting the high-quality wood that showed unusual stress.
"This was supposed to be premium material for furniture!"
While Anna's concerns were well-meaning, Leon gently suggested she stop blaming the carpenters when he overheard her complaints.
The frequent need to replace the bedframes had nothing to do with the Silver Dragon carpenters' skills. If she really wanted to stop the bedframes from breaking, she should consider assigning more work to the queen—or perhaps open a Silver Dragon kindergarten and appoint Leon as its principal.
Ahem. Back to the story.
With their household matters temporarily in order, Leon prepared to investigate Shadow's whereabouts again.
His last encounter with Shadow in the Flaming Valley left a strong impression. Shadow's oppressive power wasn't something Leon could compare to the foes he'd faced in dragon nests or skirmishes before.
Leon could sense it clearly:
Whether the final battle took place in the Dragon Domain or the Dragon Abyss, the fight against the Ultimate Fear would be the hardest of his life.
Shadow also possessed the power to enhance and control dangerous creatures through the Black Dragon Scales. The Flame Valley's molten stags were nearly perfect creations of Shadow's doing.
Undoubtedly, Shadow's next move would involve mass-producing dangerous creatures, intensifying conflicts among dragons, and generating enough negative emotions to feed the Ultimate Fear.
Leon knew he couldn't stop Shadow alone. He still needed the help of the Lionheart Guild.
However, the guild's current capabilities were outdated compared to the scale of the threat.
.
.
.
As Leon returned to the empire, Rossweise landed beside him in her magnificent dragon form, her silver wings shimmering as she descended with six-winged dragonhawks flanking her in perfect formation.
Once on the ground, she didn't immediately shift back into human form. Instead, she crouched slightly, allowing several wooden crates to slide carefully off her wings and back.
After all the crates were unloaded, she transformed in a shimmer of light, letting out a soft sigh of relief as she brushed a strand of silver hair from her face, a gentle smile playing on her lips.
At that moment, a fluffy green blur shot into her arms.
"Sis-in-law~~" Rebecca cried, burying her face in Rossweise's embrace.
Rossweise gently stroked Rebecca's hair, her gaze warm and affectionate.
"It's been a while, Rebecca."
Rebecca peeked out from Rossweise's embrace and looked toward Leon and the panting six-winged dragonhawk.
"Isn't that the dragonhawk that saved the captain in Flaming Valley?"
Rossweise nodded. "Yes. It later became his brother-in-arms—a very skilled and powerful creature."
Rebecca's teal eyes sparkled with curiosity. "How powerful?"
"It can keep up with about sixty percent of my speed," Rossweise said matter-of-factly, as if stating the most obvious thing in the world.
Rebecca: ?
"Sis, I think you've been married to the captain too long. You've picked up his habit of showing off."
Rossweise chuckled and playfully pinched Rebecca's cheek.
"As Silver Dragons, we're naturally known for our speed. That dragonhawk is impressive by any standard."
Rebecca nodded in understanding, though she still looked slightly bewildered.
Meanwhile, behind them, Leon patted the dragonhawk's heaving wing.
The creature let out a soft whimper, its sharp eyes turning into dizzy swirls as it slumped to the ground, completely exhausted.
Leon grinned. "Why are you even competing with her? You'll never win, little brother."
The dragonhawk: 😵💫
"Alright, take a break. I'll handle the rest," Leon said, walking toward Rossweise with an amused shake of his head.
"You could've slowed down a bit, you know," Leon teased. "Look at my little brother—his wings are practically smoking."
Rossweise crossed her arms, her lips curling into a proud, competitive smile.
"I never told you to chase me so hard. Besides, it's not like he can't complain—or you either, for that matter. You could've just told me to slow down."
"I did tell you! My throat's sore from shouting!"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you."
"Typical dragoness."
Rossweise stuck out her tongue playfully, quickly changing the subject as she noticed the gathering Lionheart members.
"Alright, enough teasing. Let's get to business."
Leon turned to the awaiting Lionheart Guild members.
"Nacho, get some people to load these crates onto the wagons."
Nacho nodded, signaling a team to start moving the crates with efficient precision.
"Captain, what's inside the crates?" Rebecca asked curiously, eyeing the mysterious containers.
"Good stuff," Leon replied cryptically. "I'll explain on the way back to headquarters."
As the crates were loaded, Rossweise stepped forward, her expression turning more serious.
"How long will this take?"
"Transporting the contents of these crates and integrating them for the Lionheart Guild will take about two months," Leon estimated.
"Alright," she said, her gaze softening. "With the dragonhawk here, you can always come home quickly if needed. Don't miss me too much."
Rossweise smirked, unable to resist one last tease.
"Who's going to miss you? Just make sure you don't end up dreaming and calling my name hundreds of times again."
"Wait, who told you that?!" Leon demanded, immediately grabbing Rebecca by the collar before she could sneak away.
"Rebecca, care to explain?"
Rebecca laughed nervously, waving her hands in surrender. "Well, captain... women just talk, you know? It's normal to mention dreamtalk occasionally, right? Isn't that right, Martin?"
Martin made the sign of the cross over his chest with solemn dramatics.
"May the gods have mercy on you, Rebecca."
"Martin!!!" Rebecca cried in betrayed outrage.
Leon chuckled and released Rebecca, not pressing the matter further. He turned back to Rossweise, pulling her close in a brief but meaningful embrace.
"You know I'll miss you."
"Of course, you will," Rossweise teased with a warm smile, returning the embrace.
"Always playing hard to get," Leon quipped.
"And you're always stubborn, my dear dragon," she countered affectionately.
Before they could continue their banter, Rebecca interjected loudly, "Alright, captain! Queen! Can you two stop flirting for a second?!"
Leon and Rossweise paused, staring at her in disbelief.
Rebecca crossed her arms smugly, looking quite pleased with herself.
"This is the empire's best sharpshooter's impeccable sense of timing!"
Leon and Rossweise exchanged glances, then looked back at Rebecca with identical unimpressed expressions.
"Great timing," Leon said dryly.
"Don't do it again," Rossweise added with a smirk before giving Leon one final, quick kiss and stepping back toward her dragon form.