After reminiscing briefly, Leon handed the family portrait back to his master.

His master, who had risked life and limb in Empire’s chaos, always carried this picture with him. It was clear that the old man harbored a deep fondness for his two granddaughters, whom he had never even met.

Unfortunately, Leon’s youngest daughter had only recently been born, and he hadn’t had time to take any photos of her before returning to Empire to aid his master. Otherwise, he would have shown her to him as well.

People, as they grow older, stop thinking about themselves or even their children. Instead, their thoughts turn to the generation after their children.

That’s just how it is with spoiling the grandkids—no logic to it!

Tiger carefully put the photograph away and returned to the main topic. "You just said Constantine invaded the Silver Dragon Clan?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah. I don’t know whether Constantine’s timing—attacking the Silver Dragon Clan when Roswitha was at her weakest—was purely coincidental or something else. I don’t have enough information to make a solid guess. But there’s one thing Roswitha did remind me of."

"And what’s that?"

"Constantine began creating widespread chaos, wars, and conflict within the Dragon Clan roughly a year ago, around the same time, master, you returned to Empire."

Leon’s expression darkened. The hypothesis he was about to share had already crossed his mind when Roswitha pointed it out.

But… he was hesitant to follow this line of reasoning to its conclusion.

Because the final revelation might be something—he could never accept.

Seeing Leon’s expression, Tiger began to guess what his apprentice was about to say. "You’re implying that... there’s a collaboration between Empire and Constantine?"

Rebecca raised her hand. "Wait, wait, hold on! You two are jumping straight from clues to conclusions here. Is there no logical process connecting the dots? I don’t get it! What does Tiger going back to Empire a year ago have to do with Constantine stirring up trouble within the Dragon Clan?"

Leon turned to Rebecca, patiently explaining,

"Constantine didn’t stir up wars and chaos just for the sake of causing trouble. His real objective wasn’t to annex other Dragon Clans. From the start, he was targeting the Silver Dragon Clan. Even before the full assault on the Silver Dragon Clan, he deployed part of his forces to the Silver Dragons’ kin, the Red Dragons, pretending to cause them trouble."

"When everyone thought Constantine was just a rampaging dragon raising havoc wherever he went, he suddenly rallied the elite troops of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan and launched a lightning-fast assault on the Silver Dragons. He was personally deployed to the battlefield to ensure capturing the Silver Dragon Clan at all costs."

"And when I fought him, he recognized my human identity. But in the entire Dragon Clan, only Roswitha knows I’m human. She had no reason to tell Constantine about that—it makes no sense."

"So, if no one in the Dragon Clan other than Roswitha knows this secret, then the only other possibility is… Empire."

"Three years ago, during the Silver Dragon War, I was betrayed by an insider and gravely injured, which left the others no choice but to abandon me there. After the war, everyone likely assumed I didn’t survive. Even you, Master, and Mistress—and I myself—thought so."

"But who could’ve guessed? Not only did I survive, but I reached out to you two years later."

"When you learned I was still alive, you returned to Empire to clear my name of the fabricated ‘traitor’ charges. But Empire insisted that ‘the dead should stay silent and take the blame.’ They even framed you as a murderer to bury the truth."

"So, as you mentioned earlier, over this past year, you’ve constantly pressured Empire, aiming to force them to relent. But the people of the Empire aren’t fools. An old man who had retired to live a quiet, secluded life wouldn’t suddenly develop such a strong obsession with clearing his disciple’s name."

"They must have suspected that the disciple they left for dead in the Silver Dragon Clan three years ago somehow survived. Thus, they dispatched Constantine to discreetly stir up chaos within the Dragon Clan, only to ultimately target the Silver Dragons, wanting to completely eliminate me."

"And after I killed Constantine, Empire grew anxious. They had to eliminate you, Master, as quickly as possible, even going so far as to unleash their Dangerous Beasts. Because they understand that once I return to Empire and find you, their filthy secret might just be unearthed."

"So, to summarize:

"First, there’s a collaborative relationship between Empire and the Dragon Clan, with Constantine being one of their allies—though it’s unclear whether he’s the only one.

"Second, the insider who betrayed me three years ago was most likely working on Empire’s orders. Their motive goes beyond merely framing me posthumously."

Leon pieced together the events of the past three years while Rebecca digested this complex web of connections.

Tiger’s face grew heavy as he stared silently at the fire, lost in thought.

Leon let out a slow breath, thinking that speaking his thoughts aloud would lighten the burden—yet it didn’t.

The conclusions drawn from the current clues were likely only the tip of the iceberg.

Countless unanswered questions loomed behind this tangled mess.

Why did Empire collaborate with the Dragon Clan? What were their goals? Why were they so determined to kill Leon?

There were mountains of unanswered questions, weighing heavily on Leon’s heart.

He adjusted his mindset, glanced at Rebecca, then his master, and said,

"So, my next step is to track down the insider who betrayed me back then, to see if I can uncover any clues about Empire’s internal workings through him."

Tiger had no objections. "Alright. No matter what you decide to do, I’ll support you."

"Oh, I thought you were going to say something dramatic, like, ‘From now on, you’re no longer my disciple, and I’m no longer your master. Whatever trouble you cause, don’t pin it on me’——what the hell!?"

With a swift kick, Tiger sent the small stool beneath Leon flying, grinning as he scolded, "Do you think I’m helping you out of kindness? I’m helping myself! If anything happens to you, your Mistress will skin me alive. More importantly—"

Leon, now sitting on the ground, raised a brow. "More importantly, what?"

"If you die, who’s going to shoe the donkey?"

"..." (express silence)

Alright, Leon’s standing in this family hierarchy was clear:

Mistress > Donkey > Master > Leon.

Apparently, these two were bound to the lower ranks of their family’s pecking order—one ruled by a domineering wife, the other stuck in a long-distance relationship. The absurdity of it was almost comical.

After their little spat, Leon turned his gaze to Rebecca.

His master would help him because of their father-son-like bond, making it only natural for the pair to stick together in Empire.

But Rebecca was merely his former teammate.

Although they had ventured through life-and-death situations together, defeating countless monsters and Dragon Clan enemies, this time was different.

What lay ahead was a deeper, darker abyss.

Once they plunged in, there would be no return.

Meeting Leon’s gaze, Rebecca guessed what he was about to say.

Before he could open his mouth, the twin-tailed girl preempted him,

"Captain, I already told you this earlier today: three years ago, I abandoned you. But three years later, I’ll never leave you behind again. So don’t even think about excluding me from this endeavor."

Leon smiled helplessly. "But it’s really dangerous—far more dangerous than any fight we’ve faced before."

He could tell that this crazy girl was still feeling guilty for leaving him behind at Silver Dragon Castle. She had carried this guilt for three long years.

Now that Leon had returned, she wanted to make amends, to the fullest extent possible.

This wasn’t about Leon’s perspective on the matter. Despite her usual eccentricity, once Rebecca set her mind to something, nothing could sway her—not even a team of wild horses.

"No, Captain, I think the real danger would be staying in the patrol squad, wasting away day by day."

Rebecca put on a serious face and declared, "Take me with you. I promise I won’t leave you again."

Tiger shot a glance at the girl, noticing her earnestness. He leaned in close to her ear and lowered his voice,

"Your captain’s married with kids, you know. Don’t go pulling any clichéd lines or drama, okay?"

Rebecca frowned, clicked her tongue, then elbowed the old man in the ribs. "This is about the bond between friends!"

Tiger clutched his chest and awkwardly retreated, muttering, "Fine, fine. Bond, friendship, whatever you call it. Just remember to shout about your ‘bonds’ and ‘friends’ when you go chop down that dog of an emperor. I’ll cheer you on from the sidelines."

"Hmph, childish old geezer," Rebecca remarked, delivering a merciless jab.

After the brief exchange of playful banter, Leon suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right—there’s one more thing."

"What is it?"

"I… I can’t use magic right now."

Tiger and Rebecca froze. "What do you mean you can’t use magic? Did your magic channels burn out?"

Leon shook his head, clutching his chest. "I don’t know the exact reason, but I can’t gather magic power anymore. The best I can do is extract a little magic and store it in… uh, store it in a certain array on my body. But the efficiency is really low, and I’ve already used up all the magic I accumulated recently during tonight’s breakout."

Rebecca’s thoughts stirred. Of all Leon’s words, one phrase stood out to her. "An array on your body… Captain, why did you sound a little embarrassed when you mentioned this?"

"Wha—what!? No way! I’m not embarrassed! It’s just a magic array, what’s there to be embarrassed about?"

Rebecca narrowed her eyes slightly, lifting a hand slowly to point at Leon’s chest.

"Then why is your chest glowing purple right now?"

Leon: Σ( °△°|||) What in the—?!

Momma Dragon! What the hell are you doing?!