"Thank you for the hard work," Rossweise's voice was soft and gentle.
"It's nothing, not hard at all."
"I wasn't talking to you," Rossweise poked her husband's waist, "I was talking to it."
Leon was about to retort, but suddenly seemed to think of an even better move, "Since you've already thanked it, then shouldn't you thank this one too?"
Rossweise blinked blankly, "What?"
As he said that, Leon was about to pull off his pants, "Eh eh eh stop that!"
Rossweise hurriedly pressed down his wrist, then pouted coquettishly and thumped his chest, "I thank your whole body, Leon, is that good enough?"
General Leon smiled in satisfaction, smugly crossing one leg over the other.
'See that? Even though the Dragonslayer unit is gone, brother's dragonslayer talent is still alive and well.'
'Easily handling the silly little dragon.'
After fooling around for a bit, the couple leaned together on the sofa, patiently waiting for their stamina to recover a little before tidying the room.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Leon unintentionally spotted an old piece of paper under the coffee table.
The coffee table drawer was half open, probably bumped loose during their wild fun last night.
Leon curiously picked up the slip of paper.
"What is it?", Rossweise leaned over too, and saw that many names were written on the note.
They were all names of Dragon Kings.
The couple exchanged glances, and old memories resurfaced in their minds.
It was a long time ago. To investigate which Dragon Kings were secretly working with the Empire, the two had infiltrated the Crimson Flame Dragon clan's territory, and obtained this list from the fellow who was about to succeed Constantine as the next Crimson Flame Dragon King.
It recorded all the Dragon Kings who had colluded with the Empire in secret.
Rossweise scanned it over and said, "The Dragon Kings listed here were either killed by you, or were judged in the recent Dragon King council."
"Hmm...", Leon pondered for a moment, then his gaze fell on the last name.
"But, whether killed by me, or already punished, this guy isn't among them."
Following where Leon pointed, Rossweise softly read the name of that Dragon King aloud, "Warhammer Dragon King... Adam."
———
Rossweise patted her forehead, clicked her tongue lightly, and said in regret,."How could I forget about him. Compared to other Dragon Kings with their own territory and people, Adam as a lone wanderer is really hard to punish."
Leon nodded, "Our successive victories and the unexpected turns of events indeed made us overlook this more troublesome Dragon King."
The lifestyle and social structure of dragons is the Dragon King clan system.
Each Dragon King rules over a specific clan. Normally, they don't invade each other, sometimes they even establish relations.
Put simply, everyone minds their own business.
But among all Dragon Kings, only the Warhammer Dragon King Adam was an exception.
He had no land, no clan, no followers.
As Rossweise said, he was a true lone wanderer, one dragon was a clan unto itself.
So Adam cared nothing for the punishments the Dragon King council placed on traitorous Dragon Kings.
What meaning did ceding land or paying reparations have for him?
"I've got nothing, just one rotten life. If you've got the guts, kill me," He was the kind that, barefoot, fears not those with shoes.
"But he never showed up from beginning to end. After the Empire fell, maybe he just went back to his old mercenary trade?", The "mercenary" Rossweise mentioned referred to Adam's past occupation.
Since he had nothing to lose, no ties, no concerns, he never feared enemies or threats.
For that reason, as long as an employer paid enough, Adam was willing to do anything.
Most of it was shady, unspeakable work. Like killing, arson, espionage, infiltration.
Leon mused for a bit, then shook his head slightly, "Remember when I came back from the talks with Nacho and the others, I told you about that 'Lord Shadow'?"
"Mm," Rossweise followed Leon's train of thought, "You're suggesting Adam might be connected to this Shadow?"
"Exactly. Nacho and his people still haven't found Queen Elizabeth who escaped that time. I'm guessing that woman must have gone to seek out this so-called 'Lord Shadow.'"
Leon said, "For a fallen empire's queen, at her most desperate moment, to cast aside everything and run to someone, that person's power and means must far surpass that puppet king, Kant."
"So we have reason to suspect that the one who secretly tied the Empire and Dragon Kings together, manipulating the war between man and dragon, was not Kant at all, but this Shadow."
"And after the war ended, in order to achieve some goal of his own, Shadow would still continue scheming in the dark. And Adam, who has never once appeared before... very likely is Shadow's trump card."
Rossweise had mentioned before that Adam, as a lone Dragon King, possessed unfathomable strength.
And besides, in the mercenary trade, without serious skill, he would have long been chopped to pieces by his countless enemies.
So if Shadow really wanted to manipulate the war to achieve some unknown hidden purpose, then after the Empire's collapse and Kant's death, he must bring out the last card in his hand to continue working behind the scenes.
And that card... most likely was the never-before-seen Warhammer Dragon King Adam.
Leon folded up the name list and tucked it away, "During negotiations, Nacho and I agreed that both humans and dragons would separately investigate Shadow. Now that we've got a clue, we can't waste time."
"So urgent?"
Leon smiled, pulled Rossweise into his arms, sniffed the faint fragrance of her hair, and said, "Do you know what kind of enemy is the most terrifying?"
The queen stayed silent, because she knew it wasn't really a question, she just had to wait quietly for him to go on.
"The most terrifying enemy isn't the one with clear goals. It's the one whose purpose you don't know at all, yet you're certain, whatever he's aiming for, it's absolutely nothing good."
Leon's fingertips lightly stroked Rossweise's delicate cheek, then toyed with her hair as he continued, "Against such an enemy, we can't be as passive as before."
Rossweise savored his words.
She understood Leon, and also his urgency to uncover Shadow.
Back during the Empire struggles, so many times because they were too passive, she and her daughters ended up in danger.
Like when old Constantine first attacked the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, or the battle at the space rift.
Even in the end, Leon's master was gravely wounded. If not for Master's wife Charlotte sacrificing her own Heart-Protecting Dragon Scale, the master might not even be alive now.
So Rossweise understood Leon. She truly understood.
"Back then, the Empire colluded with Dragon Kings to deliberately drag out the war, to profit for themselves. On the surface, it did fit the motives of those power-hungry rulers."
Rossweise said, "But... I've always felt something foggy about it. Even after we defeated the Primordial Nightmare, toppled the Empire's rule, punished those traitorous Dragon Kings, I still never got that clear-sky, everything-makes-sense feeling. Do you know what I mean?"
"I do. Of course I do."
Because Leon felt the same.
Yes, they had won the final victory against the Empire.
Leon had lived up to the hopes of his master, the Lionheart Order, and the Empire's people.
But deep down, he still sensed a dangerous undercurrent slipping away from the tide of victory.
Looking back now, it was probably Shadow that gave the couple this feeling.
"So since you've decided to do it, then just go all in and do it right."
Rossweise gently slipped from Leon's embrace, sat up, tucked the hair by her cheek behind her ear, a soft smile on her lips, "No matter what you do, I'll be with you."
What made Leon most captivated by her was that, before making some important decision, others might say, "Okay, I trust you," or "No problem, do as you like."
But the Silver Dragon Queen never did.
She would firmly and decisively tell Leon, "I'll go with you."
Just like their old promise: they would guard this... Family.
So how could she be content to let Leon protect her every time?
She wanted to stand beside him, always, everywhere.
Leon froze for a moment, then smiled warmly, relieved.
"I know you'll always be by my side, Rossweise."
Rossweise shrugged. She wasn't great at being sentimental, because that might make the damn man think she was hopelessly in love with him (which was true, but no way she'd let him see it so plainly).
So after a brief heartfelt exchange, she quickly circled back to the main point.
"Then what do you plan to do next?"
Leon thought for a moment, then said, "Go see Constantine first. After all, this list came from his former lieutenant, so he should still have intel we don't know about."
"Alright. Then—"
"I'll go alone."
The queen frowned, "Did you not hear what I just said?"
"Of course I did. But this time it's just to have a chat with Old Con, not a fight. No need to trouble the Silver Dragon Queen herself."
Leon added, "And besides..."
"Besides?"
Leon swallowed, his tone a bit helpless and worried.
"Besides, if the two of us leave for a few days together, I'm afraid when we come back... we'll have to eat another serving of our own tribute."
Rossweise burst out laughing, gently thumping Leon's shoulder.
"So that's what you're worried about. Fine, I'll wait at home. And in the meantime~"
Leon raised an eyebrow, "In the meantime?"
"Prepare, together with the girls, your glorious funeral!"
"You're impossible, mother dragon!"
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