Chapter 54: Paying Respects to the Deceased

“I’m in a good mood today,” declared the queen.
“And so?”
“I’ll allow you to join me on the border patrol.”
“Dragon lady, if you want a date with me just say so directly, no need to be so roundabout.”
Today Rosvitha had changed into a relatively sharp and simple pants outfit. Her long legs, usually hidden under dresses, were now accentuated by the tight pants, showing off alluring curves.
Of course, she certainly hadn’t intended to dress so provocatively – it was just that with her figure being so good, everything she wore looked that way.
Hearing the man’s bold claims, Rosvitha rolled her eyes at him.
“What date? Keep dreaming. Anna and some maids and guards will be coming along too.”
Oh, so it seemed this border patrol wasn’t just an excuse for a secret rendezvous.
Leon shrugged, “Then you all can go. Why bring me along?”
“As the Silver Dragons’ Prince Consort, shouldn’t you at least make your presence known sometimes?”
“No, I want to stay home with the children.”
“How can a great man living between heaven and earth spend all day caring for children?” Rosvitha continued trying to persuade him.
But as they say, once bitten twice shy – Leon had basically become immune to Rosvitha’s provocations.
He maintained his lazy attitude, “Well today I’m staying home with the kids anyway.”
Leon thought that after saying this much, Rosvitha would give up on trying to bring him along.
But unexpectedly, this dragon lady was showing unusual patience this time.
“But you’ve been cooped up at home for so long. You should go out for a walk, get some fresh air,”
Rosvitha said, “Last time’s cold might have been because you stayed inside too long without exercise.”
Not mentioning the cold would have been fine, but bringing it up just made General Leon annoyed.
“Last time’s cold was because you locked me out on the balcony until late at night.”
“That’s what you get for running your mouth. I don’t care, you have to go out today.”
Oh my, now she was being unreasonable.
If this dragon lady had asked nicely, Leon might have given her face and gone along.
But hearing her tone and seeing her attitude, she was clearly trying to order him around.
Such a small evil dragon, trying to turn the tables completely.
Leon sat down firmly on the living room sofa, rooted in place. “Not going.”
The couple was at odds again.
Rosvitha opened her mouth, about to continue “threatening” Leon.
But as the words reached her lips, her mind turned, and she suddenly changed course:
“Just go, consider it keeping me company.”
Hearing this, Leon was taken aback.
‘Consider it keeping me company.’
Oh~~~
So all that earlier stuff about “making his presence known as Silver Dragon Prince Consort” and “getting sick from staying home too much” was just cover for this one line of ‘keeping me company.’
Very good, very much in line with his stereotype of the Silver Dragon Queen –
Never saying things directly, awkward and tsundere.
Leon smugly hummed twice,
“Since you put it that way, I’ll go along then. But don’t misunderstand – I just suddenly realized I should indeed make my presence known to your people.”
Ah yes, very much in line with her stereotype of Casmode as well –
Yields to gentleness but not force, stubborn as iron.
But it didn’t matter, Rosvitha couldn’t be bothered to expose his true thoughts now.
Exposing him would only be satisfying for a moment;
Not exposing him and watching him continue to act stubborn – that would be satisfying for a lifetime.
After the couple finished preparing, they headed to the territory’s border accompanied by Anna and several maid attendants.
Border patrol was Rosvitha’s fixed monthly work.
Logically speaking, with a tribe’s territory being so vast, as the tribal leader she didn’t need to come down every month.
It could be completely handled by giving it to trusted subordinates.
Just like how a company’s chairman wouldn’t possibly go to the security booth every month to chat with the old guards about how many delivery boys they’d chased away or how many improperly parked shared bikes they’d removed.
That wasn’t realistic.
But Rosvitha was after all a top-level workaholic, wanting to handle everything personally.
Of course, Leon was already very familiar with her being a workaholic, so he didn’t find this surprising.
What really impressed him about Rosvitha was that while working intensely every day, she could still take good care of the family.
Whether it was their three daughters or him, this fake husband, Rosvitha handled everything with ease.
She wouldn’t even bring the daily work pressure into their family life.
Leon had never seen her return to their room gloomy and ignoring everyone because work pressure was too high.
This kind of thing was easy to say but hard to do.
Who could guarantee they wouldn’t let pressure and emotions cloud their judgment, right?
But Rosvitha somehow managed it.
Ah, such a good woman, and she’s actually my wife.
How troubling indeed (holding back laughter)
“Let’s start from here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The sensation of descent pulled Leon back to reality.
Several silver dragons slowly descended, landing on a lush grassland with a forest visible in the distance – the borderland of the Silver Dragon territory.
He jumped down from Rosvitha’s back, and the dragons transformed into their human forms.
Rosvitha walked to his side, and the couple strode forward together, with Anna leading the maids and guards on both sides.
The group crossed the grassland and entered the forest.
Not far in, Leon keenly detected the sentries hidden in the giant trees of the forest.
There were many sentries – clearly, Rosvitha had increased security after Constantine’s previous attack.
Leon carefully observed the surroundings before lowering his voice, “There are about 27 sentries in this area, right?”
Rosvitha raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, “Mm, correct. I didn’t expect you to find them all. Looks like we’ll need to add more.”
“Simply adding more sentries won’t help much. It would be better to focus on improving their concealment methods.”
Leon had quite some authority speaking on such matters.
It was like a master thief joining the police force and becoming an anti-theft expert.
So Rosvitha took Leon’s suggestions very seriously, “Alright, I understand.”
The couple spoke quietly – Leon wouldn’t point out her minor mistakes in front of her subordinates.
In public, the Queen needed to maintain face after all.
About two hours later, the group was about to leave the forest.
Beyond this point would be outside Silver Dragon territory.
Leon saw Constantine’s dragon head at the forest’s edge.
It was suspended between two giant trees, swaying gently in the cold wind.
Six months had passed, and the dragon head’s scales and keratin had fallen off. The remaining dragon horn was lackluster, looking as if it would break with a gentle touch.
Leon stood before Constantine’s dragon head, expressionlessly examining the massive skull.
After a while, he coldly snorted and muttered, “Allying with the Empire was your biggest mistake, Constantine.”
Rosvitha walked to his side, glancing at the dragon head before looking at him,
“What’s wrong, reminiscing about your great achievement?”
She also lowered her voice, ensuring Anna and the others behind couldn’t hear.
Leon grinned, “An opponent of this level isn’t worth reminiscing about.”
“Oh? Then what kind of opponent would be worth your reminiscence?”
Leon shifted his gaze from Constantine’s head to meet Rosvitha’s eyes.
The couple locked eyes.
Everything was understood without words.
However, what could have been a romantic hint was immediately shot down by the Queen herself.
“Hmph, you little prisoner, thinking you could hang my head at your doorstep?”
Leon rolled his eyes helplessly.
Serve you right that I won’t confess to you.
Just you wait, even until the end of time – until the world ends, I won’t confess to you, stupid dragon.
After paying respects to old Constantine’s remains, the group arrived at the territory’s boundary.
Further ahead, the environment gradually became harsh, with flying sand and stones – a desert wasteland.
“There’s nothing unusual here, let’s check the next location,” Rosvitha said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Everyone turned to leave.
But Leon remained standing in place.
After walking a few steps, Rosvitha noticed Leon hadn’t followed and looked back, “What’s wrong?”
Leon slowly crouched down, staring at the boundary between the grassland at his feet and the desert ahead.
The boundary was distinct, as if cut by a knife.
“This dividing line is too neat……”
Leon pondered as he slowly stood up, facing away from Rosvitha, “We should increase patrol posts recently.”
Rosvitha’s eyes flickered slightly before she nodded, “Alright.”
Leon stood on that knife-sharp dividing line, gazing at the distant dust, slightly narrowing his eyes,
“I sense something dangerous.”