Chapter 47: Where The One In My Thoughts Resides

Late at night, Leon leaned against the balcony railing, gazing at the distant forest.
In his hand, he held the list he had obtained from August a few days ago.
On the list were the names of five Dragon Kings who had cooperated with the Human Empire.
Like Constantine at the beginning, Leon had never crossed paths with them during his military career, nor had he even heard their names mentioned.
Even the textbooks contained no records of them.
However, after learning these Dragon Kings were secretly colluding with the Empire, Leon wasn’t surprised anymore—
Who would write about their “partners” in their country’s books for anyone to read?
It seemed the Empire well understood the principle that saying too much leads to mistakes.
After cooperating with these Dragon Kings, they erased them from all literature and textbooks, to the extent that even General Leon, who freely swam in the ocean of knowledge, had never heard their names.
Leon sighed, unconsciously gripping the list tighter in his hand.
Actually, he didn’t care much about which Dragon Kings were cooperating with the Empire.
If that group were all at Constantine’s level, they wouldn’t be worth fearing.
What concerned him more were August’s final words before his suicide:
“They will stop at nothing to kill you, to take everything away from you.”
“You cannot withstand the true retaliation of the dragon race.”
These were August’s final words of curse to Leon, spoken in the last moments of his life as a discarded pawn.
Of all these “last words,” what Leon couldn’t ignore most was ‘taking away everything around you.’
Perhaps the old Leon wouldn’t have cared about such threats from enemies, dismissing them as merely impotent rage before death.
But now… Leon was different.
Because “everything” around him had become much more substantial than before.
In the Empire, he had his master who risked everything to help restore his reputation, and the female gunner who could have retired peacefully in the patrol team but chose to stand by his side again.
And here, he had three beloved daughters.
As well as his wife in name.
A number of people he could count on both hands, yet they supported Leon’s entire world.
He had never thought about what he would become if he lost them one day.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to think about it – he didn’t dare to.
But August’s dying threat forced Leon to start considering this question.
Facing the Empire and those Dragon Kings hiding in the shadows, could he really protect everything he cherished in this decades-long conspiracy?
He had never doubted his abilities before, but now… he desperately wanted to become stronger.
“Ever since returning from the Flame Dragon clan, you’ve been standing here alone for a long time every night.”
The silver-haired beauty walked slowly to his side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him at the balcony railing.
Her footsteps were light, or perhaps Leon was too deep in thought, causing him to completely miss the sound of her approach.
Rosvitha wore a loose spaghetti-strap nightgown, with familiar dragon-wing slippers on her feet. Her breasts were partially visible, and the dragon pattern on her chest rose and fell quietly with her breathing.
Her hair was down and slightly damp, and she emanated a pleasant floral scent – she must have just finished bathing.
“Ah… couldn’t sleep.”
With such beauty beside him, he had no heart to appreciate it.
Rosvitha looked at her captive, noticing how this fool had seemed troubled these past few days.
She had wanted to wait for him to come talk to her on his own, to share his worries and concerns.
But this man was like a sealed bottle – he would never actively share his troubles with others, just keeping everything bottled up inside.
In the past, Rosvitha definitely wouldn’t have been interested in providing psychological counseling for him. As long as he didn’t show this depressed appearance in front of others and played his role well in their fake marriage and maintained this fake family, that would have been fine.
But now… after all, he was the man who had said “Melkvi, I like you.” Rosvitha wanted to hear more such words in the future, so—
She would show him a little~ just a little~ concern.
Her gaze fell on the list in Leon’s hand.
The list was crumpled from his grip, but he hadn’t even noticed.
It seemed the psychological pressure was indeed quite heavy.
Rosvitha’s thoughts moved subtly. Rather than directly asking Leon what was worrying him, she decided to take an indirect approach, chatting with him first before gradually leading into other topics.
“I’ve already told you about those three Dragon Kings who specialize in spatial magic,” Rosvitha said. “Would you like your Queen to educate you about the other two on the list?”
Leon now couldn’t help but smile whenever he heard the words ‘your Queen.’
Not a mocking or sarcastic smile.
He just found it… cute when the dragon mother referred to herself this way.
There was a kind of unexpected charm to it.
And it seemed she only emphasized “your Queen” when she was with him.
When talking with the maids, Rosvitha never referred to herself this way.
He wasn’t sure what kind of competition she thought they were having.
He grinned, “Sure, tell me about them.”
“The Starlight Dragon King, Sta – as far as I know, he’s even more ancient than Constantine. In Muen and the others’ generation, their enlightenment texts described Constantine as a dragon hero; but in my childhood, Sta was the dragon hero in the books. That shows just how old this guy is.”
“But we dragons are quite different from many races, including humans. Most races’ individuals gradually weaken as they age, but dragons don’t.”
“Powerful specimens like Constantine even get stronger over time.”
“The Starlight Dragon King Sta is the same way. Though I’ve only seen brief records about him in dragon books, so I’m not really sure about his current exact strength.”
Leon nodded, “What about this Warhammer Dragon King?”
“Oh, he’s special. He’s the only one left in his entire clan.”
Leon was stunned, “Really? A lone commander?”
“Mm-hmm, you could say that.”
“Then wouldn’t it be easy for other clans to take him down?”
“Not at all,” Rosvitha said. “Because he’s alone and has no attachments, Adam acts without any restraint. Whether hunting or being hunted, seeking revenge or being targeted for revenge – wherever Adam goes, he leaves only corpse-strewn lands and endless hatred. For quite a long time, he was the nightmare of the entire dragon race.”
“But later, it seems he grew tired of that life. Adam started working as a ‘mercenary.'”
Leon frowned, “Mercenary?”
“Yes. Whichever dragon clan offered the highest price, he would help them. Burning, killing, looting, genocide – he would do anything for sufficient payment.”
Rosvitha said, “But there hasn’t been any news about Adam for nearly a hundred years. Perhaps after cooperating with the Empire, he gave up his old profession?”
“Maybe…”
Leon mulled over what Rosvitha had just said. “Alone… without attachments…”
“Yes, one who has nothing to lose is unstoppable – that’s probably the logic.”
As she finished speaking, Rosvitha seemed to realize something.
She glanced sideways at Leon.
The fool who had been listening intently to her explanation was now lost in thought again.
Ah~~
Now she understood.
So that was the issue.
When hearing about how Adam was unrestrained because he was alone, Leon must have connected it to what August had said to him before dying.
Good, now that she had found the root of the problem, she could treat it accordingly.
“Lost in thought again, you fool,” Rosvitha said softly.
“Ah? Oh… sorry.”
“I can guess what you’re thinking,” the Queen gazed into the deep night sky, a mischievous smile on her lips. Though speaking to Leon, she didn’t look at him.
Leon looked at her delicate profile, “What?”
“You’re worried about me.”
“Good night.”
“Hey, wait—”
Rosvitha quickly grabbed him, though General Leon was only saying it – he hadn’t actually intended to leave, which was why she could hold him back so easily.
“Can we talk properly?” Leon said exasperatedly.
Rosvitha let out a light snort, “Then let me rephrase – you’re worried about us. Is that better?”
Leon scratched his nose tip and mumbled, “Mm.”
Rosvitha turned sideways, leaning against the railing with her arms crossed under her chest, looking into his eyes, “Sure enough, my sister was right.”
“What did your sister say?”
“All daughter-doting fathers are family heroes.”
“Huh?”
“It’s just teasing – basically saying you care deeply about your family and loved ones.”
Leon shrugged, essentially accepting Rosvitha’s assessment of him.
Seeing the man’s lack of interest, Rosvitha had no choice but to get to the main point.
“Leon, have you heard that saying? Family is your strongest support.”
“Mm, I’ve heard it.”
“Do you think it makes sense?”
Leon thought for a moment before replying, “I guess… Family is your support, home is your harbor – isn’t that what everyone says?”
He had always viewed his own ‘fake’ family from this perspective.
Regardless of whether the harbor was real or fake, a harbor where you could dock was a good harbor.
“So you fool have been led astray by what ‘everyone’ says,” Rosvitha said.
“What… do you mean?”
“For ordinary families, relatives are indeed islands where you can rest when you have nowhere else to turn. But have you considered that your wife isn’t an ordinary person?”
Rosvitha’s lips curved into a smile as she gazed at his slightly moved eyes, continuing slowly,
“Please, dear husband, your wife is the Silver Dragon Queen. If you think I don’t have the ability to protect myself in these chaotic times, how do you think I reached this position?”
“I’m not criticizing you, Leon. I’m just reminding you – don’t think of me as a woman who can only gain security by relying on others.”
“You’re always thinking about how to protect us in this conspiracy, but have you considered that I could stand beside you like I am now?”
“Why can’t we face these unknown dangers together?”
“Noia, Muen, and Little Light are your daughters – aren’t they my daughters too?”
“Leon, don’t shoulder everything by yourself. You need to understand that you’re not alone anymore.”
“Indeed, those who have nothing to lose are invincible and undefeated.”
“But—”
The Queen stepped forward, gently placing her hand on Leon’s cheek.
Silver and black eyes met, their pupils reflecting each other’s images.
“The place where those who cherish you reside is your final destination.”
She smiled with narrowed eyes – Leon had never seen her smile so tenderly.
That gentleness seemed to seep into his very bones.
“So stop trying to be a hero all by yourself. Your wife… won’t be happy about it, you know.”