Leon had thought that after six months, the dragoness might have toned down her antics a little.
But to his surprise, not only had she not toned them down, she seemed to have become even more relentless.
It was like parents who go away for a year and return to see their child, exclaiming, "You've grown so much!"
If they had been with the child the whole time, they wouldn't have noticed the gradual change in height.
In the same way, if Leon had been constantly by Rossweise's side, he wouldn't have felt that her teasing had become even more provocative after six months.
Well… I guess that was just one more reason to never leave her side again.
The sticky trails on her leg gradually cooled, losing their initial warmth, and with it, Rossweise's interest waned.
"Help me wash it off."
"You could just take a bath yourself, couldn't you?"
"Whoever made the mess cleans it up, isn't that right? It's not like I put this here."
There was no point in trying to reason with a woman.
Especially one who had lived over two hundred years.
Leon let out a frustrated sigh, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to fetch a basin of warm water.
Rossweise spread a blanket at the edge of the bed and sat on it, ensuring none of the residue on her thighs would stain the sheets.
Leon placed the basin on the floor beneath the bed, and she dipped her foot in.
The water temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.
After living together for so long, Leon had mastered the perfect water temperature Rossweise preferred.
"How thoughtful," she said with a smile.
"Hmph, I just don't want to hear you nagging."
Leon gently pressed down on her foot and poured water over it.
"If the water's too hot, you'll say I did it on purpose; if it's too cold, you'll say I don't care enough. So I might as well take extra care to get it just right."
Rossweise's smile widened, and she shifted her gaze from his face to the basin, her voice laced with pride and satisfaction.
"Stop pretending. You do care about me. You look after me."
"Dragoness, I feel like splashing this foot-washing water in your face."
"Just half an hour ago, you said you liked everything about me, and now you're already thinking about throwing foot water at me? Hmph, never trust a man's words in bed."
Leon finished washing her feet, then carefully cleaned the traces from her calves and the inside of her thighs.
"As if you should trust what's said off the bed either. I mean, what captive would ever spill all his true feelings to his queen every single day?"
His fingers were rough, a testament to years of battle and relentless magic training. When they brushed against the soft skin of her legs, it created a unique, tingling sensation.
Rossweise didn't mind this at all. She quite liked it.
Being touched by his hands always gave her a profound sense of security.
"Speaking of which, I just remembered something."
"What?"
"Right before you entered the spatial rift, didn't you say something to me?"
Leon's movements suddenly halted. He pursed his lips, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"No, I didn't say anything."
"No, no, no, you did say something."
Rossweise sounded utterly confident. "You turned around, called my name, and then added a few more words. But the noise from the magic currents was too loud at the time, so I didn't catch it. But I saw your mouth move. You definitely said something."
Leon lowered his head, speeding up his task to cover his growing unease.
"You must have seen wrong. It's easy to have illusions when you're stressed."
In the future, Leon had already resolved that once he returned, he would be more proactive with Rossweise.
But saying those three words outright… felt too abrupt.
Especially while washing her feet…
Ugh, that was so lacking in ceremony.
Even though Rossweise often acted like she didn't care about anything (other than sharing "assignments" with Leon), he knew deep down she cherished meaningful moments.
Her last birthday had been proof enough.
At first, she'd only planned to tease him a little.
But when she saw the thoughtful surprises he had prepared, the genuine joy and satisfaction in her eyes were unmistakable.
So, those three words had to be said, but at the right time and place.
"Tch, fine, don't say it. But just so you know—"
Leon slowed his movements, wondering if the dragoness was about to get upset.
Was this going to lead to another round of their classic marital banter?
"Just so you know, sooner or later I'm going to make you say it out loud."
Rossweise's tone was almost sulky. "I'm going to make you admit you care about me, that you miss me when I'm not around, that after a single day without seeing me, you feel the dragon markings crawling on your skin. Cosmodeous, just you wait."
Oh.
Your Majesty, your argument just curved right back on itself.
Leon had a pretty good idea of what was going through her mind.
It was just like that night on the balcony, when she'd made him drink and then, while he was tipsy, forced him to admit he liked her. These were things she wanted to hear him say, not for any profound reason, but for her own peculiar sense of victory.
Understanding this, Leon chuckled. He took the towel beside him and began to gently dry her legs and feet.
"Well, I look forward to seeing which happens first—whether you make me say it, or whether… you surrender first."
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Before Leon could finish drying, Rossweise pressed her foot directly against his chest.
From his half-crouched position, he had a perfect view of her slender, pale leg stretching out from the edge of the bed—what a sight, Your Majesty.
"It will be you who gives in first, Leon."
Leon shrugged, moving her foot off his chest before standing up with the water basin in hand.
He didn't want to continue this conversation; if they kept going, it would spiral into infinity.
He looked down at the water in the basin, then asked,
"Your Majesty, I have a somewhat strange request."
The queen's face instantly darkened. "You are not drinking my foot-washing water."
Leon grinned. "Get dressed. Let's go out for a walk later?"