"I want… I want to be with you… for a lifetime!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Rossweise buried her face in Leon's neck, hiding from the world. She tightly curled her toes, her tail tip lifting, finally understanding the intense embarrassment Leon had felt during her speech.
It was not until she heard Leon's low laughter that Rossweise lifted her head and gave his chest a playful jab. "Are you satisfied now?"
"I am."
"You had better enjoy this while it lasts, Leon. Because tomorrow, I will not admit to any of it."
Leon leisurely brushed her flushed, hot cheek, then slowly moved to her neck, gently gripping it to pull her closer. He gazed into her seductive, dreamy silver eyes and whispered, "Then let tomorrow come a little later, Melkvey."
.
.
.
The vast hall of the sacred temple echoed with soft, ambiguous whispers. A bottle of red wine lay tipped over on the steps, its contents trickling down one step at a time. On the throne, two figures were entwined, inseparable.
Leon finally understood why Rossweise had designed the throne to be so spacious. It was not just wide enough for two; it was sturdy enough to withstand all sorts of… positions. She had not been slacking off. She had been planning.
"So, is this what you had in mind when you asked me to wait for you here tonight? Hmm?"
Rossweise, her eyes half-closed, wore a satisfied smile on her blushing face. She rested her head on the throne's armrest, feeling Leon's force and rhythm.
"I told you… earlier… hmm~~ we… would eventually do this here—"
The alcohol had heightened her sensitivity, making it difficult to form a complete sentence. Rossweise slowly opened her eyes. With her head on the armrest, the entire temple hall was reflected upside down in her vision.
The temple was vast, luxurious, and empty. Yet her entanglement with Leon seemed to fill the entire space. Her own reflection stared back from the polished wall tiles—silver hair disheveled, gaze rippling. The image of the high-and-mighty queen intertwined with a human on her throne was utterly shameless.
And Rossweise greatly enjoyed this self-loathing.
She, who claimed to be a germaphobe, allowed Leon to kiss every inch of her body. She, the workaholic, had meticulously crafted the throne just to better spend nights with her husband on it. She, who prided herself on being cold-hearted, had fallen deeply in love.
In public, she was a cold and distant queen. In private, she was a wife indulging in pleasure. She was immersed in the shame and contrast of it all.
Once again, the man's rough hand gripped her neck. Rossweise smiled. "Try squeezing me harder, Leon."
As soon as she spoke, she felt the pressure increase. "I tried. How does it feel?" Leon's voice was low and deep.
Rossweise held his wrist, her lips brushing softly over his fingers. "You are rebelling against your queen, prisoner."
"Am I? Your Majesty, I have got more ways to rebel if you are up for it."
"Go ahead… ah~ hmm… show me your skills."
Rossweise had a bit of a masochistic streak. Just a little. And Leon knew how to handle that "little bit" with precision. He could satisfy her peculiar desire without ever truly hurting or humiliating her. Between lovers, such games were normal, but they were always rooted in mutual respect. First and foremost, she was his wife.
.
.
.
Under Leon's aggressive moves, the couple finished their first round of the night on the newly refurbished throne. Rossweise's delicate arm hung weakly from the armrest. She smiled, exhausted, eyes closed, savoring the fading echoes of pleasure.
Her hand unintentionally brushed against the cold tile floor, the sensation sobering her slightly. She glanced at Leon resting beside her. Rossweise picked up her dress from the floor and casually slipped it on. Then, barefoot, she slowly walked down the steps.
Her neck was covered with kiss marks, and her tender back bore scattered red prints. Her silver hair was loose, cascading down to her waist. Seeing her dress, Leon silently pulled his pants back on, leaving his upper body exposed.
In the cold, empty hall, the Silver Dragon Queen stood on the steps, her back to the half-naked man on the throne.
"Leon."
"Hmm?"
"Just promoting live births will not truly make the Silver Dragons stronger." Rossweise's voice was calm and clear now, the drunken haze mostly gone. "As queen, I too must become stronger to better protect my people. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I understand. So, what is your plan?"
"Remember a few days ago, when you came back, and I told you that you needed to store more magic power?"
Leon nodded. "I remember. But you said your body had not fully recovered, so we could not use that method yet."
Rossweise turned around, spreading her arms. "I have recovered now. It is ready. Want to hear about it?"
"Alright, tell me."
"This method is not complicated, and actually, you were my inspiration."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "I was your inspiration?"
"Yes. When you realized your body could not store magic, you used the dragon marks as external storage organs, injecting magic into them."
Rossweise explained, "But the storage capacity of the dragon marks is limited. They only allow you to go all out for about ten minutes, right?"
"Yeah. Taking down those six Dragon Kings was already my limit, and that was with the Gate of the Nine Hells boosting me." Leon said, "Without the Gates, we would have been in real danger that day."
"Do not sell yourself short. What you have learned is your skill. A victory is a victory."
She took a step closer, her silver eyes gleaming with intellectual curiosity. "Your method is brilliant, but it has a fatal flaw: the dragon marks are not part of your body. They are like external batteries. The transfer of power is never one hundred percent efficient, and there is always a delay when drawing the energy out."
Leon crossed his arms, intrigued. "Go on."
"What if," Rossweise said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "instead of storing magic in external tattoos, we stored it inside the body? Not in the mana pathways, which are already damaged in your case, but in the very cells of the body? In the flesh and bone themselves."
Leon's eyes widened slightly. The concept was radical. "Is that even possible? Mana is energy. Trying to store it directly in physical matter… it would be like trying to store lightning in a waterskin. The container would rupture."
"Ordinarily, yes." A proud smile touched Rossweise's lips. "But you forget what I am, Leon. I am a Dragon Queen. My physical body is far more resilient than any human's. My scales, my muscles, my very skeleton are natural conductors and vessels for immense power. What if I could use my own body as the ultimate magic storage organ?"
She placed a hand on her own abdomen. "I have been experimenting. I believe I can refine and compress my magic, then sequester it directly into my body's tissues. It would be like forging my own flesh into living dragon marks."
The implications dawned on Leon. The storage capacity would be astronomical compared to the surface-area-limited tattoos. The power draw would be instantaneous, with no transfer loss.
"The risk…" Leon said slowly, his voice filled with concern. "Rossweise, if you lose control, if the stored magic destabilizes…"
"I know," she said softly, meeting his gaze. "The resulting backlash could tear me apart from the inside. It is dangerous. But necessary."
She looked toward the distant temple entrance, as if seeing the future itself. "The enemies we face will not wait for us to be ready. I must be stronger. For our children. For our clan. For you."
She turned back to him, her expression resolute. "And you are going to help me, Leon. Your experience with the dragon marks is the key. You will be my anchor, my regulator. You will help me monitor the energy flows and pull me back if I go too far."
Leon looked at his wife—the queen, the mother of his children, the woman who was willing to reinvent herself and her very biology for the sake of those she loved. He stood up from the throne and walked down the steps to stand before her.
He cupped her face in his hands. "You are incredible, you know that?" He kissed her forehead. "And completely reckless." He sighed, a mix of admiration and fear in his eyes. "Alright, Melkvey. I am in. We will do this together. But we do it slowly. And carefully."
Rossweise's smile was brilliant, filled with love and fierce determination. "Together, then."