The pride of being a Dragon Slayer wouldn’t allow Leon to simply sit and wait for his demise.

He had to do something to avoid becoming a dried-up corpse drained by the mother dragon.

After a brief rest, Leon regained some of his strength.

He got out of bed and glanced out the window.

He could still remember the route he had taken two years ago when leading the charge on Silver Dragon Castle, and in these past two years, Roswitha hadn’t bothered to renovate her lair much.

This meant Leon could still sneak out following his memory of the layout.

Yes, Leon was going to run away.

What else could he do—stay in this dragon’s den and wait for Roswitha to turn him into her sex slave?

As for the Dragon Mark that Roswitha had just left on his chest, it indeed meant he could no longer return to the Empire as "Leon Casmod, Dragon Slayer."

This would be the greatest disgrace of his life as a Dragon Slayer.

Leon would have to abandon everything from his past—his reputation, status, income, and so forth—and start anew under a completely different identity.

For Leon, that wouldn't be too hard.

The key was to escape first.

Before making his escape, Leon began some preparations.

He rummaged through the room.

If Roswitha had kept him in this room for the past two years of his coma, there should be some nutritional potions or similar supplies here.

Leon’s body was still incredibly weak. Without some potions to restore his strength, he couldn’t get far.

After some searching, Leon found a box full of nutritional potions in the compartment of the nightstand.

Then he scoured the room for anything edible.

Lastly, before leaving, Leon considered leaving Roswitha a taunting note to mock her.

But after thinking it through, he decided against it.

If he got caught, Roswitha would surely use the note to humiliate him further in even more excruciating ways.

As for that little dragon girl named Muen…

Let's just treat her like she had been “granted custody in the divorce settlement.”

Leon couldn’t take her with him when escaping.

Even if he wanted to, Muen likely wouldn’t agree and might even rat him out to Roswitha.

After all, the little one bore distinct features of the Dragon Clan.

And since Roswitha had been raising her these past two years, she would undoubtedly side with Roswitha more.

Still, whether he succeeded in escaping or not, what mattered most was attitude.

Leon packed the nutritional potions and food into a satchel, threw on a hoodie, and slipped out of the room.

He had expected guards to be stationed here, but the hallway was strangely empty.

This gave Leon the perfect opportunity to escape.

He kept to the walls as he moved, stopping at every corner to check the path ahead.

His movements were cautious.

Still, unfamiliarity with the Castle’s interior routes caused him to waste quite a bit of time wandering in circles before finally finding the exit.

To his surprise, not even the entrance to the Castle was guarded.

“This Silver Dragon Castle has an oddly 'downsized' aesthetic going on…”

He distinctly remembered, back when he led an attack on Silver Dragon Castle two years ago, the place had been teeming with Dragon Clan soldiers.

Now, it felt eerily desolate.

Leon swallowed nervously. “Forget it—just run for it.”

After scanning his surroundings, he quickly descended the steps of the Castle.

He dashed across the courtyard, heading straight for the side gate.

Approaching the side gate, Leon hid within a patch of bushes, observing the scene outside.

There were four Dragon Clan guards stationed at the side gate; slipping through unnoticed was simply impossible.

Damn.

Was his great escape plan destined to end so quickly?

Think, Leon.

Use that brain of yours.

What would your old master do in this situation?

Leon froze, then dismissed the thought.

Because his old master would undoubtedly resort to the most primitive and humiliating solution:

Crawl through a dog hole.

But Leon’s reluctance wasn’t because the idea was humiliating; it was because this was the fucking territory of the Dragon Clan. Dragons didn’t keep dogs as pets, let alone design gates with dog-sized openings.

At this moment, Leon’s peripheral vision caught sight of a hole nearby.

A… “dog hole.”

No, not a dog hole. It was much larger than a typical dog hole.

Leon straightened slightly and measured himself against the hole. It felt almost as if the opening were tailor-made for him!

He wouldn’t even need to crawl—he could walk through upright.

Leon’s eyes lit up. “Man, when luck hits, it just doesn’t stop!”

Thrilled, he passed through the hole and successfully escaped Silver Dragon Castle.

The process was so smooth it felt like someone must have been helping him secretly.

Once outside, Leon dashed toward the dense forest ahead.

He had to slip into the mountains by nightfall to minimize his chances of being discovered by Roswitha.

Little did he know, his every move had been observed by Roswitha from the Castle’s rooftop.

Little Muen leaned over the railing, pointing at Leon’s retreating figure. “Mother, look! Daddy runs so fast! So amazing!”

“Yes, I see. He is impressive.”

“But doesn’t Daddy suspect anything? It’s so obvious his escape was only this smooth because you allowed it, Mother.”

“He yearns for freedom. What’s wrong with that? He just woke up, so it’s natural his mind isn’t sharp yet.”

“Hmm… So, Mother, when are you going to fish Daddy out?” Muen blinked her wide, sparkling eyes.

Leon might think Muen had obvious Dragon Clan traits, and he’d be right.

But those soulful eyes of hers were more humanlike—warm and gentle, unlike Roswitha’s dragon pupils which exuded overwhelming pressure and aggression.

Roswitha crouched down slowly, placing a finger over Muen’s lips to shush her. “We don’t say things like ‘fish Daddy out’—it’s rude.”

Muen tilted her head. “Then what should we say?”

Roswitha chuckled softly, then, with a serious face, replied:

“We say… ‘capture him.’”

---

Late at night, Leon, exhausted, stopped by a riverside to recover his strength.

He downed a bottle of nutritional potion and wolfed down a few small biscuits.

Then he knelt by the river, scooping handfuls of water into his mouth to quench his thirst.

After eating and drinking his fill, Leon sat still, waiting quietly for his strength to return.

He gazed across the river. Beyond it lay two more mountains to traverse, and then he’d be near the border of human territory.

Once there, his escape plan would be halfway successful.

But as he relaxed slightly, a sense of doubt crept in. Why had his escape been so smooth?

From the moment he left his room, he had encountered virtually no resistance.

If Dragon Clan guards had always been this lax, his Dragon Slayer team wouldn’t have struggled so much two years ago.

What was going on—

“Rustle—”

Amid his thoughts, faint footsteps sounded from behind him.

Leon snapped to his feet, turning defensively toward the source.

A tall and slender shadow slowly emerged from the darkness.

“Well, you sure can run, Leon.”

The derisive and faintly mocking tone, coupled with that familiar voice, made Leon’s heart sink.

“Roswitha…”

“My daughter misses you. I’ve come to take you back.”

“I’m not going back with you!”

Roswitha gave a faint smile, stepping fully into the moonlight, where she stood in front of Leon.

Her posture was graceful, her demeanor laid-back—a stark contrast to Leon’s tense vigilance.

Looking into Leon’s dark eyes, she drawled, “Then where do you plan to go? Back to the Empire?”

As she spoke, Roswitha extended a finger and lightly tapped Leon’s chest. “Don’t forget, Dragon Slayer, you bear my mark now. Returning to the Empire is no longer an option for you. Understand?”

Leon swatted her hand away with a sharp “smack” and stepped back, blurting out, “Then I’ll start over. I’ll live as an ordinary man. Anything’s better than staying here and enduring your torment.”

“Tch, ungrateful little thing. Fine. If you’re so desperate to go home, I’ll grant your wish.”

“Wha… What?”

As the words left her lips, massive silver wings unfurled from Roswitha’s back.

The wings stretched over twenty meters, sending dust swirling with the gentlest of movements.

Leon shielded his eyes instinctively, bracing himself.

He watched as Roswitha pulled her wings in close, wrapping herself in their embrace.

Then, after a brief, eerie silence, a resounding dragon’s roar tore through the night.

In the next moment, a massive silver dragon stood before Leon.

The dragon’s entire body was covered in shimmering scales; its breath was heavy, its gaze regal, its imposing form as tall as a multi-story building.

This was Roswitha in her dragon form—the revered Silver Dragon Queen.

Majestic. Sacred. Awe-inspiring.

Simply standing in her presence, Leon could feel her overwhelming power pressing down on him, suffocatingly intense.

Roswitha lowered her head, bringing her snout closer to Leon.

Her vertical dragon pupils, gleaming coldly, were like full-length mirrors, reflecting Leon’s stunned figure.

Leon swallowed nervously and, against his better judgment, muttered, “Roswitha… you’re not planning to ride on me like this, are you? Let me warn you, I can’t transform into a dragon. If you try something like that, I’ll be squashed into a paste on the spot.”

Roswitha said nothing, merely parting her sharp fangs ever so slightly, inching closer toward Leon.

It was then that Leon realized what was coming. Forcing himself to calm down, he stopped retreating—and dropped his sarcastic banter.

He faced Roswitha directly.

"Finally going to kill me, Your Majesty? I've been expecting this for some time."

Roswitha drew closer and closer.

Leon slowly spread his arms, then closed his eyes.

But to his surprise, Roswitha neither intended to kill him nor devour him.

She simply grabbed Leon's collar with her jaws, tilted her head back, and tossed him onto her back.

Then, Roswitha spread her wings, stirring up a fierce gust of wind in the nearby surroundings.

Her massive body rose slowly off the ground and soared into the boundless night sky.

Leon clung tightly to Roswitha's back, cautiously poking his head out to peer ahead.

He patted the scales on Roswitha's back. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

"To the place you’ve longed for—the Empire."