Shut Up, Malevolent Dragon! I Don’t Want to Have Any More Children With You

After hearing the startling news from Konstantin, Leon couldn’t shake the feeling that the end of this conspiracy was approaching, piece by piece.
So when he said that his mentor’s findings were the final piece of the puzzle, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

The next meeting with his mentor was set for about a month away. Even if the mentor’s progress wasn’t swift, Leon now had a strong lead to offer.
Following that lead to gather evidence was far better than stumbling around like a headless fly.
“No matter what, we can’t let those imperial tyrants continue their unchecked ambitions,” Leon muttered to himself.

As the night wore on, he leaned over the balcony railing, gazing at the endless night sky.
His mind was a whirl of thoughts. Though the day to overthrow that despicable emperor’s scheme was close, this felt like the darkest hour before dawn — the most dangerous time. 
Every step from here on had to be more cautious than ever. Leon had no intention of failing.

The sudden sound of heels clicking behind him pulled Leon out of his thoughts.
He turned around to see the silver-haired beauty approaching him. Rosvisser moved to his side and leaned against the railing, her profile radiant even in weariness.
“Another busy day, Rosvisser?” Leon broke the silence.

The queen gave him a faint, tired smile. “Not too bad. I’m used to it. How are Noa and the others?”
“They’re already asleep.”
“Oh… I should try to finish early tomorrow so I don’t miss saying goodnight to them again.”

“Moon mentioned before bed that it’s been three days since you last said goodnight.”
Rosvisser shook her head with a sigh, rubbing her sore neck. “With the recent shift in the dragons’ external affairs, everyone’s been scrambling to form alliances. So now, on top of our internal matters, I’ve got an endless stream of diplomatic tasks.”
“A new shift?”

She sat down on the bench by the balcony, wincing slightly from the ache in her neck, shoulders, and lower back. Standing for too long was becoming a challenge.
Noticing this, Leon quietly moved behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and beginning to massage them.
His strong fingers pressed into her shoulder muscles with just the right amount of force, and Rosvisser could feel each precise touch.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back slightly, relishing the massage from the former empire’s mightiest dragon slayer.
“So, what’s this new shift?” Leon asked as he continued massaging.
“Remember the team the empire formed that you encountered in the future?”
A team of three?

Leon’s hands paused briefly before he realized what Rosvisser was referring to.
“The Blade Trio, right?”
“Yes. The empire’s already deployed them to the borderlands, where they’ve clashed with our dragon forces a few times.”

Border skirmishes between territories weren’t unusual, but not to the extent that all the Dragon Clans were scrambling for alliances.
Unless, of course, the dragons had yet to win a single one of these clashes.
“That trio… they’re just as you described: seamlessly coordinated and frighteningly strong.”

Rosvisser continued, “The dragons had initially expanded their frontlines significantly, but ever since the Blade Trio joined the fray, they’ve been steadily forced back. We’ve even lost some territory. Their strength… it’s really something else.”
Though Leon hadn’t witnessed the Blade Trio on the battlefield in the dragon-human war twenty years from now, he’d had a brief encounter with them.
He had to admit, each one of them possessed at least the strength of a Dragon King, and their powers were vastly different from the empire’s traditional magic system.

Through several twists of fate, he learned that they, too, wielded the power of Primordial Magic.
From Rosvisser’s description, it seemed they’d mastered the Primordial Magic — enough to make the proud dragons scramble to form alliances.
“Come to think of it, the last time the dragons were this united… was five years ago,” Rosvisser murmured.

“Five years ago?”
She tilted her head back, looking up at him with those mesmerizing silver eyes.
Even upside down, the sight of his strong, rugged features was unmistakable.

“That man in black armor fought his way onto my Silver Dragon Clan’s lands and nearly had me.”
Leon rolled his eyes, moving his hands from her shoulders to her cheek, giving a playful pinch.
“And yet, didn’t I end up winning you over?”

“Let go!”
“Nope.”
“You—!”

Stubborn as ever, Rosvisser retaliated by pinching his cheek in return.
Who would’ve thought? Here they were, a couple with a combined age well over a century, playfully pinching each other’s cheeks like schoolkids.
After a brief scuffle, Leon finally released her.

Rubbing her slightly red cheek, Rosvisser shot him a glare. “You’re so immature, Cosmod.”
Leon patted his own cheek, which was still warm from her pinch. “Yet it was this immature man who left your dragons in shambles five years ago.”
“And then you were honorably captured as my prisoner.”

“…”
Seeing his speechless reaction, Rosvisser gave a satisfied smile.
Teasing her silly captive had a way of wiping away the day’s fatigue.

With the massage session over, Rosvisser stood and stretched, looking truly rejuvenated, even down to the tip of her tail, which lifted with a little flick.
Free from her exhaustion, she turned to Leon, returning to the earlier topic.
“So anyway, as of late, the Dragon Clans living along the borders seem to remember the terror of the black armor.”

Leon blinked. “If everyone’s recalling the terror of the black armor, why do you seem so at ease?”
Rosvisser (honestly): “Because the man in black armor is my husband.”
“…?”

Fair point, he supposed, though it did catch him off guard.
“Kidding. The Silver Dragons are situated closer to the heart of the dragon territories. Even you needed several years to reach us back then, remember?”
Leon nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true…”

“Besides, the day you clear your name and overthrow the empire draws nearer. When that day comes, it won’t matter if they’re a trio or even a squad of ten. The ambitions behind this war will unravel, and the conflict will ease — for a time.”
Rosvisser exhaled, stretching her slender arms as she gazed up at the moonlit sky.
Looking at the brilliant moon, Rosvisser spoke again.

“Leon.”
“Mm?”
“When it’s all over, will you leave this family?”

Their family had come into existence by pure chance, and their bond had grown out of a mutual commitment: to give their daughters a complete childhood.
As the days passed, their daughters would eventually grow up, and the empire was set to meet its downfall. So, would Leon stay?
Rosvisser knew he loved this family, loved their daughters, and loved… her, his wife in name.

But she didn’t know if he would stay.
Or maybe… she just wanted to hear him say it.
The two gazed at each other under the night sky, their dark and silver eyes reflecting the starlight.

After a long silence, Leon looked into her enchanting eyes and, with a smile, replied,
“Did you forget, Your Majesty? I told you, I’m going to keep you forever.”