Chapter 39: I Don’t Want To, But She Calls Me Husband

In the evening, Leon came to Rosvitha’s study.
Unlike usual, she wasn’t working overtime on official business, but writing a letter to her sister Isabella, telling her that Grandmother had returned and would be staying with her for a few days before going to her sister’s place, letting her sister prepare in advance.
Leon stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the study’s doorframe, watching Rosvitha writing her letter, and slowly spoke,
“What did the old Dragon King mean about having a survey mission in the far north? What were they surveying?”
Without looking up, Rosvitha continued writing, “Dragons don’t use a hereditary system like you humans, so my grandmother isn’t some old Dragon King.”
After correcting her dog of a man’s way of addressing her elder, Rosvitha took the finished letter and carefully placed it in an envelope, continuing,
“As for the northern survey Grandmother mentioned, I’m not clear about it either. I just know she seems to have been active in that area for many years.”
The continent’s far north could be called a barren land, covered in snow and ice year-round, rarely visited by people.
Even dragons couldn’t survive there long-term, let alone other races.
It’s said the northern ice layer was so thick that even the Flame Dragon King Constantine, who represented ‘burning’, couldn’t burn through it.
This claim is debatable, since no one knows if Constantine could do it if he tried his absolute hardest—
Though now nobody will ever know (laughs).
So in Leon’s view, there shouldn’t be anything in the far north worth Grandmother and other Dragon Kings spending decades surveying together.
Rosvitha’s thoughts were similar to Leon’s – she felt Grandmother was probably just using the survey as an excuse.
What she was actually doing in the far north, Grandmother wouldn’t explain in detail.
Of course, since the old lady wouldn’t say, the couple didn’t ask further.
After sealing the letter, Rosvitha stood up, walking to the balcony in her dragon wing slippers.
Leon followed behind her.
The messenger dragon had already been waiting on the balcony railing. Rosvitha placed the envelope in the bamboo tube on the messenger dragon’s back, then patted its head.
The messenger dragon made a sound in response, then flapped its wings and flew into the night sky.
“So about those ‘Star Wanderer Dragon King’ and other two Dragon Kings the old lady mentioned earlier, do you have any insights?” Leon asked from behind her.
Rosvitha leaned on the railing, her gaze wandering between the stars and moon, “Those three are very ancient Dragon Kings. Ravi is even senior to Constantine in terms of rank.”
Leon nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed, they were all old monsters.
These three Dragon Kings were also ones he’d never encountered in his military campaign career.
He wondered about their strength.
But if they were all around Constantine’s level… then there wasn’t much to worry about.
Being able to instantly kill Constantine with one bar of mana doesn’t mean the Flame Dragon King actually required Leon to use his full magical power.
A simple example would make this clear.
When an A student and a genius take the same test, the A student scores 100, and the genius also scores 100.
The A student proudly tells the genius, “See? We’re at the same level!”
The genius calmly replies, “No, scoring 100 is your limit, but for me, 100 is the test’s limit.”
Meaning, when I, General Leon, use one bar of mana, I can instantly kill one Constantine, but if a few more Dragon Kings show up, I can try my best to kill them all together too.
However, this was just regarding raw power. What caught Leon’s attention somewhat was this “spatial magic” he hadn’t really heard much about before.
“Grandmother said Ravi suddenly withdrew from their survey mission, and shortly after, the other two Dragon Kings also disappeared. And their common point is that they all can use spatial magic.”
Leon asked quietly, “Can you tell me what this spatial magic is all about?”
Humans have only been researching magic for a few hundred years.
But dragons have been at it for thousands.
No matter how knowledgeable Leon was about ancient and modern matters, he couldn’t possibly have learned about knowledge that had never appeared in human history.
Like this spatial magic, for instance.
“Oh, that… Even for dragons, spatial magic is relatively new stuff. Star Wanderer Dragon King Ravi became his clan’s Dragon King three hundred years ago by creating his own spatial magic.”
Rosvitha said, “Later, some Dragon Kings started following Ravi’s example and researching this field. It’s had some success so far – as you can see, though we don’t know exactly what Grandmother and the others are doing in the far north, they definitely need Ravi’s spatial magic help. Once Ravi left, the mission had to be suspended.”
“Oh~ Is that so…” Leon stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Rosvitha turned around, leaning against the balcony railing, looking at Leon, “You seem to have some thoughts?”
Having lived together as husband and wife for so long, she could instantly recognize what her dog of a man looked like when he was deep in thought.
Leon gave a faint smile, “It’s not really any particular thought, just… intuition.”
Rosvitha tilted her head, “Intuition?”
“Mm. Constantine was a Dragon King I’d never heard of or fought before, and even among you dragons, he hadn’t been active for many years. Yet as soon as he showed up, he was exposed, proving his secret collusion with the Empire.”
Leon said, “And those three Dragon Kings – Ravi and the others – I’d never heard of them before either. Are they also relatively low-profile among you dragons?”
Leon’s words made Rosvitha’s eyes light up, her thoughts clearing, “Ravi and the others do rarely show themselves within dragon society. Everyone thought they were dedicating themselves to researching spatial magic. But now that you mention it… it really is easy to connect them with Constantine.”
Leon shrugged, “The logic of this guess makes sense, but we need some evidence to prove it.”
Rosvitha knew what he was referring to, “That confidant by Constantine’s side we mentioned before.”
“Mm. We’ve waited four months now, the internal turmoil in the Flame Dragon clan should have mostly settled down by now, right?”
He was getting a bit impatient.
Rosvitha understood his feelings.
After all, it concerned his beliefs. He must really want to understand why the human empire he once served was pursuing him so relentlessly, and why they insisted on cooperating with the dragon race.
“After grandmother leaves, we’ll go to the Flame Dragon clan to find that person,” Rosvitha promised.
Leon raised an eyebrow, his lips curling up involuntarily, “Oh, finally getting a chance to stretch our muscles?”
Rosvitha chuckled. Indeed, the man had been restless from not fighting for so long.
After chatting for a few more sentences, the couple tacitly moved past this topic.
Nerves and thoughts couldn’t stay tense forever; they needed proper rest.
Rosvitha had already prepared a bottle of red wine on the small wooden table on the balcony.
And, two glasses.
Grandmother’s sudden visit and the latest intelligence she brought were indeed helpful.
But it also brought pressure beyond work in invisible ways.
And the Silver Dragon Queen’s methods of relieving pressure were either through her captive or through alcohol.
The captive had now received an enhancement patch, so she couldn’t act against him for now, or she might get killed instead.
So Rosvitha had to turn to wine to drown her sorrows.
She sat at the wooden table, crossing her legs, her silky dress falling along her skin to her thighs, black lace trim faintly visible.
What was this little fire dragon trying to seduce? Leon wasn’t falling for her trap.
He didn’t sit down, just stood across from her, separated by the table, to ensure his gaze wouldn’t ‘accidentally’ see things he shouldn’t.
‘Glug glug glug—’
Rosvitha poured the red wine into the glass, contentedly lifted it, and took a small sip.
The wine flowed into her stomach, leaving a lingering fragrance worth savoring in the beauty’s mouth.
Feeling the cool evening breeze, Rosvitha spoke with hidden meaning,
“I prepared two glasses, Leon.”
The implication being, keep the queen company for a drink.
“What? One glass isn’t enough for you now?” Leon pretended not to understand.
Rosvitha rolled her eyes.
She knew it – with this stubborn man, you had to be direct, otherwise he’d definitely play dumb.
“Keep me company.” The queen’s command was brief, but carried an undeniable authority.
Undeniable?
Well, General Leon was going to deny it today!
Making a point of being rebellious.
“No,” Leon said, “I can’t drink alcohol, you know that.”
Rosvitha leaned forward, resting her forearm on the table, her chin gently cushioned on the back of her hand. The strap of her nightgown slipped from her shoulder as she looked at Leon through the wine glass.
Leon appeared as a “big-headed doll” from her perspective.
She giggled foolishly a couple times, then pouted, using a somewhat spoiled tone to say to Leon, “Have a drink with me, I’m under so much pressure.”
Leon closed his eyes, unmoved.
Fake, obviously fake.
“Leon~”
Can’t hear you, I’m a deaf person.
“Leon”
That’s enough, dragon lady, I’m about to throw up.
“Dear Casmode~~”
Give up, no matter what you call me, I won’t drink with you.
“Husband.”
“Alright fine, let’s have some 95-proof baijiu.”
Hey don’t misunderstand – I just couldn’t stand listening anymore, it’s not because she called me husband!