"You followed me, the queen, to learn the ways of power, and this… this is what you ended up learning?"
"No, no, look, you are my husband—"
"Fake husband," Leon corrected.
"OK, OK, fake husband, but in Anna and the others' eyes, you are the real prince."
Rossweise coaxed patiently, "So what's wrong with the prince sitting on the throne for a bit? If I really wanted to frame you with a crime of usurpation, even the people wouldn't buy it, right?"
'Hiss~'
'This mother dragon have a point.'
Leon sneaked a glance at her silver dragon throne, it sure looked like a lot of money had been spent on it.
Thinking about it, General Casmodeous had fought on the battlefield for so many years, slain more dragons than pigs, yet he had never once sat on a dragon king's throne.
Well then.
Since Rossweise was so eager to invite him today, Leon figured he might as well experience it and see if this seat was really so desirable that dragons would fight over it.
He gripped the throne's armrests and slowly sat down.
There was still some warmth beneath him—leftover heat from Rossweise sitting there just moments ago.
But honestly, this throne... wasn't that comfortable to sit in.
In fact, it was kind of hard.
Sitting here, facing the grand entrance of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, Leon took in the spacious and luxurious hall in its entirety.
And this was the view the Silver Dragon Queen saw every day.
Majestic, yet carrying an air of monotony.
He withdrew his gaze and turned to the table before him.
The exquisite redwood desk was piled high with various documents and logs, almost forming a small mountain.
This sight triggered Leon's memories.
He remembered the celebration banquet after defeating Constantine, where Rossweise, slightly tipsy, had come over to chat with him.
She had said that the throne was nothing more than a giant cage, and she was the queen trapped within it.
At the time, Leon hadn't quite understood what she meant.
But now, he could more or less grasp the feeling of being king.
Or rather, the cost of being one.
No wonder his mentor had once told him not to dwell too much on the world of those in power and to just focus on being a cog in the machine.
"How does it feel?", Rossweise asked from the side.
"Feels... just so-so," Leon found it difficult to describe how he felt sitting on the throne.
A mix of confusion, oppression—
And maybe even a little… pity?
Yeah, let's just call it "pity."
Even the well-read General Leon couldn't think of a better word.
While he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt something soft pressing against him.
Turning his head, he saw that Rossweise had squeezed in next to him on the throne.
Leon shifted slightly to the side to make room for her.
The two of them sat shoulder to shoulder, legs touching, and even after Leon moved a bit, it was still quite cramped.
With his hands resting on his knees, he pursed his lips, feeling a little awkward, "Kinda… kinda small, huh?"
"Yeah. When they built this throne, they didn't consider that I might have a husband to share it with in the future, so it was made to fit just me," Rossweise replied casually.
She paused for a moment, then smirked mischievously, resting her chin on Leon's shoulder.
"Say, should we get a bigger throne made? Big enough that not only can we sit together, but we could also… do other things on it?"
No.
Absolutely not.
It was common knowledge that whenever Rossweise had a new trick or scheme, she would use this clumsy "honey trap" to lower Leon's guard and achieve her ulterior motives.
The moment she pressed against him, Leon immediately sobered up and inwardly celebrated his narrow escape from the she-devil's ploy.
He pushed Rossweise's shoulder away, his expression serious, "Mother dragon, show some respect. I am pure of heart, untouched by worldly desires. Do not corrupt my righteous path."
'Oh ho, look at this mutt of a man pretending to be all virtuous.'
Pure of heart, untouched by desires? Anyone who didn't know better would think he had taken up a monk's vow.
As he spoke, Leon turned his head away, refusing to look at Rossweise.
Because while the "honey trap" itself was crude, the beauty using it was anything but.
When dealing with Rossweise, Leon not only had to guard against verbal pitfalls but also against visual ones.
That delicate little face, pouting and acting coy. Who could withstand that?
Seeing this, Rossweise didn't push further. Instead, she continued along his train of thought,."If you are truly pure of heart, why don't you dare look at me?"
She didn't lean in again, only lifting a hand and resting it lightly on his shoulder.
"I just casually mentioned making a bigger throne. Not only so we could sit more comfortably but also to do other things, like… taking a nap."
She smiled, her fingertips playfully teasing Leon's earlobe, "What are you thinking of? Surely nothing wicked?"
"I wasn't—", Leon was about to retort but suddenly remembered that he had come to see Rossweise not to discuss the 'uses of a throne' but to ask about their daughters' whereabouts.
Since he already knew where they had gone, there was no need to waste time with the mother dragon any longer.
If he stayed, he might just end up being her stress-relief toy again.
Better to focus on coaxing Little Light into calling him "Dad."
With that in mind, Leon broke free from her grasp and stood up, "I wasn't thinking anything. You keep busy. I'm going to find our daughters."
'Hiss—'
'After all this, the mutt of a man is still set on "brainwashing" Little Light.'
No, she had to stall him.
For as long as possible.
"Sit back down," Rossweise commanded.
Leon shrugged, "I'd just be disturbing your work here."
"It's fine, you won't."
Rossweise glanced at the reports and documents on the table and got an idea, "In fact, I need to teach you something."
Leon raised an eyebrow, "Teach me what?"
Rossweise nodded toward the documents, "Here, I'll teach you how to handle these."
Leon stared, a giant question mark forming above his head, "Why would a human like me handle Silver Dragon affairs? It's not like you're paying me a salary."
"In my eyes, you're a human; but in Anna and the others' eyes, you're a prince. Remember our 'prison break' plan from when I was pregnant with Little Light?"
Leon thought for a moment and quickly recalled what she was talking about.
At the time, Rossweise was pregnant, and for her safety, Anna refused to let her leave the sanctum.
So, she had teamed up with Leon to execute a prison break plan.
The plan was thorough and flawless—yet it had still failed.
The reason?
Anna had noticed that the normally uninvolved Prince Leon had suddenly shown interest in inspecting her work. It was suspicious as hell, so she backtracked and caught the queen mid-escape.
Leon nodded, "I remember. What about it?"
"It failed because you were too unconvincing. The moment you showed interest in state affairs, Anna got suspicious and caught us."
"Wasn't that your idea? I just went along with it. And how is that 'slacking off'? This wasn't my job in the first place!"
"You—"
Leon's reasoning was so solid that the queen momentarily had no way to refute it.
Watching as he was about to leave, Rossweise bit her lip, her mind racing for a way to keep him.
If logic didn't work, then… she'd play the emotional card.
"Ahh!", The queen sighed, sounding utterly exhausted.
Hearing her heavy sigh, Leon paused and turned back, "What's wrong?"
She rubbed her forehead with one hand while flipping through documents with the other, looking utterly drained, "It's nothing. My husband has his own matters to tend to. How could I, as his wife, be so selfish? It's fine, I'll handle everything myself. I'll just… be a little exhausted."
Then she looked up, smiling faintly, "Go spend time with our daughters. I'll cook lunch for you all when I'm done."
"…"
'You sly dragon!'
'Fine, fine, coaxing Little Light can wait.'
'Even though I really don't want to care about you, if you collapse from exhaustion, the daughters will worry too.'
Leon, just like before, found an excuse in his heart to justify caring about Rossweise. Then, he sat back down beside her, "Alright. Teach me."
Rossweise smiled in satisfaction, casually picking up a few reports. These didn't involve any of the Silver Dragon Clan's secrets; they were just routine documents, so it was fine for Leon to look at them.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Leon or was afraid to reveal internal clan matters to him. It was just that those affairs weren't very... 'sunny.' Even if Leon read them, it would only add to his troubles.
Besides, when it came to power struggles, Leon was a complete novice. Rossweise couldn't rush things. She had to guide him step by step.
Honestly, aside from wanting to keep him from going after Little Light, Rossweise herself didn't know why she wanted to teach Leon these things.
He was a human. He was once her sworn enemy…
There's an old saying: "Teaching a student too well may lead to the master's downfall."
Teaching an enemy… wouldn't that be like raising a tiger that will come back to bite her?
So what exactly was the reason that made her decide to teach Leon the principles of power?
Was it… because she hoped that in the face of future schemes and undercurrents, he could protect himself and navigate them with ease?
Or was it something else?
She couldn't figure it out.
Anyway… she'd just teach him for now.
'After all, this idiot can't possibly grasp all this in a short time.'
Rossweise shook off her scattered thoughts and began seriously teaching Leon how to handle daily affairs.
Even though Leon had just said that this wasn't something he should be doing, when he actually started learning, he was unexpectedly diligent.
Learning, no matter what it was, was something he always gave his all to.
That was the self-discipline of a top student.
The couple engaged in a back-and-forth, their voices low, occasionally interspersed with a few jokes.
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