When he woke up, the first thing Leon did was to settle his affairs.

He looked at his two daughters by his side and spoke in a sincere tone,

"Noa, after I leave, you need to take good care of Muen. She’s still young and doesn’t understand much. You’re her elder sister, so guide her more often."

"Muen, listen to your sister and don’t make her angry. Your sister will come back every weekend to spend time with you. Be good while she’s away."

He sighed heavily. "Ah, as I leave, the thing I worry about most is you two sisters. Such young children... How could your mother possibly—"

Noa interrupted, "You’re just going to Mom’s place for one night. Why are you acting like you’re heading to the gallows?"

"Actually, in a sense, going to the gallows might be happier than going to your mom’s room. At least in the gallows, execution is over in an instant."

Beside him, little Muen listened intently to her dad’s dramatic description. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Oh, I get it! Mom’s going to eat Dad, right?"

"…Huh?"

"I saw it in a book! After a female mantis marries a male mantis, she eats him!"

"My precious daughter, it’s true your mom is going to ‘consume’ me, but not in the way you think. Also… even if she really were going to eat me, why are you so happy about it?!"

Ah, what a filial little girl. How could I sleep soundly at night without such filial piety?

A lazy voice drifted from behind him. "Alright, stop scaring the children. You’re making me sound so terrifying."

Leon’s back instantly went cold. He turned his head awkwardly.

By the door stood the silver-haired beauty, Roswitha, leaning casually with her arms crossed.

She wore a loose, spaghetti-strap nightgown and white slippers adorned with little dragon wings.

"I was just in the mood to… discuss some interesting matters with you tonight," she said lazily.

Leon’s eye twitched slightly. "Interesting… matters?"

"Yes, like… the origins of the universe."

Leon: "You mean the origins of life, right?"

Roswitha: "Or the mysteries of the world."

Leon: "You mean the mysteries of the human body, don’t you?"

Roswitha smiled mischievously. "In any case, you have five minutes to say goodbye to the girls."

"Say… goodbye? What a unique choice of words."

Roswitha chuckled, gave a little wave, and turned to enter her room.

Leon let out a long sigh. He turned back to Muen, gently patted her head, wanting to say something, but hesitated.

Ah, words are wasted when the heart is weary.

Under the confused gazes of the two little ones, their dad walked toward their mom’s room.

That departing figure—resolute, steadfast, with a hint of a martyr marching bravely to meet his fate.

Muen blinked her bright eyes. "What are Dad and Mom going to do?"

Noa took Muen’s hand. "I don’t understand either. Let’s just leave them be. Silly adults."

...

Leon stepped into Roswitha’s room.

It was early evening, and the room was dimly lit. The blood-red light of the setting sun filtered through the curtains, casting a surreal glow across the living room.

From the doorway of the kitchen, Roswitha poked her head out. The sound of running water could be heard as if she were washing something. "Oh, you’re quick. Sit down. Let me just rinse a couple of glasses."

Leon didn’t reply. He silently walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

On the coffee table in front of him lay the answer sheets they had used to play some compatibility test game a while ago.

Roswitha had never put them away.

It didn’t seem like she’d forgotten; more like she occasionally took them out to look at.

Leon had just reached out to pick up one of the sheets to review when he heard approaching footsteps from the kitchen.

He quickly withdrew his hand and sat up straight.

Roswitha appeared, bare-legged, wearing her dragon-winged slippers. She held a bottle of wine in one hand and two goblets in the other, sauntering over.

She sat down next to Leon, poured wine into the two glasses, and handed one to him. "Care for a drink?"

Leon shook his head.

"What’s this? I recall you promising to fulfill my wishes after losing to me. Now you won’t even share a drink with me?"

Leon bit his lip. After a moment’s hesitation, he still took the glass.

Roswitha smiled, content. "That’s more like it. A true gentleman honors his losses."

She sipped her wine elegantly and murmured, "To be honest, I was really hoping you’d win."

Leon paused, looking at her, puzzled. "Why?"

"Because if you’d won, I wouldn’t have had a choice but to give you a one-month vacation. During that time, you could properly recover your strength. And once you’re all healed… well, you’d be even more fun to play with."

She sighed as if lamenting misfortune. "Ah, alas, the ‘greatest Dragon Slayer’ in history has still fallen to my hands—"

As she spoke, she raised her fingers in a playful ‘V’ gesture. "Not once, but twice."

Leon tried to defend himself. "The first time, I was ambushed. Yesterday was… I wasn’t in my best condition."

"That’s alright. Plenty more chances in the future. You know, my favorite look is the one on your face after getting defeated yet unwilling to give up."

Not wanting to argue further, Leon set his glass on the table. "Alright, just get on with whatever you want to do."

"My, impatient, are we?"

Roswitha smiled coolly and glanced at the untouched glass on the coffee table. "Not thirsty?"

"No."

"But I want you to drink it, Leon."

Leon glanced at Roswitha. He knew her tone was a final warning. If he continued to disobey, she wouldn’t hold back.

After some thought, and for the sake of making this night marginally easier, Leon reluctantly reached for the glass.

"Wait," Roswitha said suddenly. "Too late. I’ve changed my mind."

"Then what do you—"

Splash!

Roswitha tipped her wine glass, pouring the scarlet liquid down the curve of her chest.

The wine trickled down the valleys of her figure, soaking her nightgown and covering the Dragon Mark etched upon her skin.

She grinned as she straddled Leon’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Drink up. Every. Last. Drop."

Her intoxicating scent, mingling with the rich aroma of the wine, filled Leon’s senses.

The faintly shimmering Dragon Mark seemed to pulse with a mysterious glow.

Roswitha leaned closer to his lips. "Drink it clean, Leon."

Once again, Leon found himself with no way out. Slowly, he leaned closer.

Roswitha tilted her head back, eyes closed, fully savoring the moment.

Suddenly, she grabbed Leon by the chin and forced him to look at her.

Traces of wine lingered at the corners of his mouth. Roswitha chuckled softly, "Open your mouth."

"What—why—"

"Open."

Unable to resist, Leon reluctantly obeyed, parting his lips slightly.

Roswitha bit down on her own lip with just enough force to draw a bead of blood. The bright crimson droplet slowly slid downward, falling directly into Leon’s mouth.

Leon gasped. "This—this is—"

Roswitha casually wiped away the blood at her lip. "Remember that trick you used on me two years ago?"

"Blood Enchantment?!"

"Ah, so you *do* remember. Yes, precisely. Blood Enchantment. I’ve been studying it intensely for a while now, and though it can only ever be used once in a lifetime… I’ve been so eager to taste my revenge and turn your weapon against you."

Leon swallowed hard and stared seriously. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Dragon Queen. Blood Enchantment doesn’t just have the limitation of being single-use. Its caster also suffers immense weakness afterward. You’d better think carefully."

Roswitha smiled serenely. "Oh, I’m well aware. But the degree of weakness depends largely on the caster’s physical condition."

She traced a slow finger along the corner of Leon’s mouth, wiping away the remnants of wine. "You, in your broken state back then, couldn’t withstand the backlash from Blood Enchantment. But me? I’m the Dragon King. Its effects on me will be negligible. Now, my dearest Dragon Slayer…"

Straightening up, Roswitha gently cradled his face, forcing him to meet her gaze.

In her silver eyes, ripples spread outward like waves of hearts, mesmerizing and inescapable.

"Let the game begin, my delicious captive—Mr. Leon Casmod."