In the evening, after settling Aurora down in the nursery, Leon returned to Roswitha's room.

The bedroom lights were off, but those in the study were still on, indicating that Roswitha was working late.

Leon walked to the study door and peered in.

The scene inside the study resembled a tranquil painting. The silver-haired beauty sat gracefully at the mahogany desk, her back straight and shoulders rising and falling slightly in rhythm with the movements of her pen on paper.

Her long, snow-white legs rested on the high chair, her childish dragon-wing slippers dangling precariously from her toes, presenting an adorable contrast to her elegance and focus.

She was wrapped in a soft nightgown, its simple contours exuding an unintentional sensuality. On her chest, the Dragon Mark seemed to come alive with each breath she took, dancing atop the soft curves there.

Her figure had returned to its pre-pregnancy state—she was lean where needed, and full where it mattered.

Of course, Leon wasn’t in the study to ogle his pretend wife's figure.

If he did want to look, one word was all it would take—Roswitha had a thousand ways to tease him into lighting up the Dragon Mark.

Leon silently observed Roswitha for a long time. He was opening his mouth as if to speak but said nothing.

Roswitha was always serious about her work. Leon understood how irritating it could be to be interrupted when one was deeply focused.

Besides, the favor he wanted to ask Roswitha was... somewhat hard to bring up.

*Maybe I can find another way to open the First Gate...* Leon thought to himself, preparing to leave.

“Do you need something?”

Just as he turned to leave, Roswitha's familiar flat voice sounded behind him.

Leon stood in the doorway, turning his head to look at her but still saying nothing.

Noticing his gaze, Roswitha paused, put down her pen, and looked up at him.

“Well, if you have something to say, out with it. I’m done here.”

Leon lowered his gaze toward the stack of documents on her desk.

He had spent some time studying this kind of work with her before, so he could roughly understand what she was dealing with.

There was still a lot to work on, yet she insisted on claiming she was done.

*Well, whatever.*

Since Her Majesty had purposely made time for him, it would only be rude for him to hesitate further.

“I need a favor from you,” Leon said.

“Yes? What kind of favor?”

“Help me open the Gate.”

The queen froze, blinking in slight confusion. “Open... what gate? Don’t you already have a key to my room?”

The general’s face flushed red as he shyly pulled out the book *Nine Hells Gate* from behind his back.

Roswitha’s eyes fell on the book.

She remembered this was the ancient text that Tiger had handed Leon during their time in the cave a few days ago. It documented a powerful martial art technique.

Leaning forward slightly, she rested her chin in her hand and asked leisurely, “So, this ‘Gate’ is a term from the book, and you want my help to train?”

Leon nodded. “In simple terms, yes.”

Roswitha had also studied a fair amount of magic and ancient texts, so she could roughly guess the gist when Leon brought up the book and asked for help opening a Gate.

What puzzled her, though, was why such a seemingly straightforward request made the usually thick-skinned Leon blush like this.

Setting aside her confusion for now, the queen nodded in agreement. “No problem. Which Gate are we opening, and what do I need to do? Just tell me directly.”

"The... um, Steel—Steel Gate."

...

...

If a crow could have flown into the room to caw loudly, it would have, though Roswitha’s study wasn’t a place where just any stray creature could enter.

Even so, the study was steeped in awkward silence for a moment after Leon uttered that abstract and astonishing name.

Roswitha's face turned bright red in an instant.

Now she understood why this dog of a man had been so hesitant earlier—so this was what he wanted?

After taking a moment to compose herself, Roswitha spoke as normally as she could.

“Leon, as you know, members of the Dragon Clan pursue pure love. I am no exception. Even though we’re merely a fake couple, I would never do anything to betray you.”

She added, “But this request of yours... Even the purest love might struggle to accept that. Personally, I can’t accept it.”

Muttering under her breath, she added, “Tsk, who knew you were into this kind of thing...”

“It’s not like that, Roswitha! Let me explain—” The general tried desperately to salvage his image.

“If you want to persuade me to embrace your new... preferences, you can save your breath.”

For the first time, Roswitha looked at him with mild disdain.

Unfortunately, Leon was no masochist and couldn’t enjoy the rare sight of this beautiful disdain.

He quickly strode to Roswitha's desk, laid the *Nine Hells Gate* book open, and pointed at the relevant passage.

“You’ve got it all wrong! This is a concept from the book. Just read it yourself!”

Roswitha, still skeptical, looked down and gave the text a cursory glance.

Then she rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Why is your mentor’s writing so cryptic?”

Leon shrugged, helpless. “You know how it is—being cryptic is kind of our family tradition. It’s just that my unparalleled excellence adds a certain glory to that crypticism.”

Roswitha extended one of her long legs under the table and kicked Leon’s knee.

“Spare me your glory, prisoner of war.”

With that, she stood up, smoothed out the creases in her nightgown from sitting too long, and walked out of the study.

“Fine, let’s go. I’ll help you—open the Steel Gate.”

*Sssssss...*

Even knowing that this was just a step in his training—that this Steel Gate wasn’t the “gang” gate his mind was panicking about—Leon couldn’t help the chill that ran down his spine.

Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath to adjust his mindset, then grabbed the book and followed Roswitha into the bedroom.

The couple turned on the bedside lamp. Leon removed his shirt and lay flat on the soft bed, while Roswitha knelt beside him, one hand holding the *Nine Hells Gate* book and the other gently resting on Leon’s abdomen.

“The first Gate of the *Nine Hells Gate* technique is an essential part of mastering this martial art. Once opened, it remains permanently ‘unlocked’ and can be used in future training and battle without reactivating it.”

Roswitha read aloud from the book.

“Oh, so basically, the first Gate is like laying the foundation when building a house. You have to set up a solid base before constructing anything else.”

“As much as I admire your metaphors, could we get started already?” Leon said.

“With your hand on my stomach, I’m feeling seriously vulnerable.”

Being bare-chested while making physical contact with Roswitha was like a lamb washed cleanly and handed over to a wolf, begging, *Please don’t eat me, Mr. Wolf.*

*Slap!*

Roswitha smacked his abdomen lightly.

“Shut up. Let me figure out what to do... According to this, the core of one’s power lies in the waist and abdomen. Hmm... That, I can definitely attest to.”

*Very much attest to.*

“At the same time, it functions as some sort of toggle switch for the body’s strength. Only by channeling both internal and external forces to spark that switch can the first Gate be unlocked.”

“And only someone with manipulation skills at a Dragon King’s level can assist in this process.”

“It’s not about possessing Dragon King-level power, but rather having the precision to control one’s force... Oh—so basically, a single mistake could end up blowing the practitioner apart.”

Having understood the mechanics of opening the first Gate, Roswitha glanced at Leon. Her delicate fingertips traced lazy circles over his abs, and she smirked mischievously.

“My dear husband~ You must really trust me. What if I make a mistake and blow you up?”

“Then you’d end up with two husbands,” Leon replied.

“What do you mean?”

“My front half and back half. You can take your pick about which to keep.”

Leon bantered along with her, though the joke was rather bleak.

Roswitha giggled and pinched his waist.

“I want both halves. Alright, I think I know what to do now. Are you ready?”

Leon pursed his lips and took a few deep breaths before nodding. “Ready. Go for it.”

“Okay, feel my energy and channel your own magic. Let the two forces collide and try to unlock the first Gate on the first attempt.”

“Understood.”

Leon closed his eyes, drawing upon the magic he had accumulated in his Dragon Mark.

Roswitha, too, began guiding her energy out of her body.

In the initial phase, they both released only small amounts of energy to synchronize with each other.

Once they confirmed they could sense each other’s energy, they gradually increased the output.

“Leon,” Roswitha said, “the book mentions that in addition to magic, you also need to mobilize ‘Vital Energy’ and concentrate it in your abdomen. This will speed up the opening of the first Gate. Give it a try.”

“Got it.”

The concept of *Vital Energy* was also explained in detail in the book.

*Vital Energy* was composed of two elements:

The ‘Qi’ (energy), which represented the body's vital essence or life force—the driving power behind life processes.

The ‘Blood,’ which simply referred to a person’s blood.

Together, they formed what was referred to as *Vital Energy.*

Wherever Vital Energy circulated, it would enhance the efficiency of magical pathways in the body and accelerate metabolic processes. As Roswitha suggested, gathering Vital Energy at the abdomen would aid in unlocking the first Gate.

However, Leon was not deeply versed in the study of Vital Energy, nor had he practiced much in this realm.

For most individuals, the innate magical pathways in their bodies were sufficient, with no need for assistance from Vital Energy.

But now, to open the first Gate, Leon had no choice but to rely on it.

*So it’s true what they say—you regret never having learned enough when the moment comes.* Leon mused to himself.

"Leon, focus. You can do this."

During his moment of distraction, Leon heard Roswitha’s words of encouragement.

He opened his eyes and looked at his wife standing beside him.

Her silver hair was blown into chaos by the gusts of magical energy. She was using both hands, her brows slightly furrowed, her entire attention devoted to controlling the intensity of the power.

Opening the first gate carried certain risks. If they weren’t careful, while it might not result in the comically catastrophic effect they joked about earlier—being split into upper and lower halves—there would definitely be injuries.

Seeing Roswitha take this so seriously, Leon smiled, feeling reassured. "Alright, I understand."

He closed his eyes again, and while channeling his magic, he focused on sensing the path along which his vital energy traveled within his body.

But this wasn't something that could be achieved simply by a few encouraging words.

Despite Leon’s efforts, and successfully directing some of his vital energy toward his abdomen, it still wasn’t enough.

"How can I gather more vital energy here…"

Roswitha muttered softly, "Vital energy… vital energy…"

Her peripheral vision caught sight of the Dragon Mark on Leon’s chest, and in an instant, a thought flashed in her mind.

"Leon, I have a method to direct more vital energy downward."

"What—wait, downward? What do you mean by downward?" Leon’s focus shifted to something slightly off-topic.

Roswitha didn’t bother explaining further, simply smiling as she said, "Bear with me for a bit."

"Bear with what? Hey, Queen Dragon, make yourself clear!"

Before Leon could finish his protest, he suddenly felt a scorching sensation in his chest.

He lowered his eyes to look—it was the Dragon Mark.

The Dragon Mark was glowing with an eerie purple light.

Leon was visibly alarmed. "Hey, hey, hey! Queen Dragon, now’s not the time to be messing with this!"

"Have you forgotten, Leon? The Dragon Mark is the most exquisite aphrodisiac. It can make you feel instantaneously restless, your heartbeat quicken, your body temperature rise, and then… lead your vital energy to flow downward."

Roswitha paused and then added, "Well, it’ll eventually collect in other areas, but while the energy flows through your abdomen, you can seize the opportunity to stop it there."

"What do you think this is, a train robbery? Stop it mid-flow?"

"If you have any other methods to stir your vital energy more efficiently, then go ahead and use them. If not, just relax and enjoy the sensations the Dragon Mark provides you."

Leon always thought that General Lai's use of the Dragon Mark to store magical power was already an absurdly ingenious application.

But now Roswitha was taking the Dragon Mark’s unique ability and leveraging it to direct Leon’s internal vital energy.

Tch. Rest assured, the Dragon Mark on this idiotic couple is proving to be a fantastic return on investment.

At this point, Leon truly had no other effective means to mobilize his vital energy.

Might as well give it a shot.

As he felt the desire gradually being stirred within him, he manipulated his magic to counteract the power Roswitha exerted. His body underwent subtle changes during this intense process.

Centered around Leon’s abdomen, an unceasing flow of force gradually spread through his limbs and made its way to every part of his body.

His bones, bloodstream, and meridians seemed to be undergoing a unique type of refinement.

As abilities surged within him, a faint white glow began to seep out from under Leon’s skin, interspersed with wisps of black matter.

Roswitha remembered reading about this in a book—these black wisps were “impurities” within the body of a cultivator. One of the benefits of opening the first gate was the removal of these impurities, leaving the cultivator with a purer physique.

In other words, their method was working.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Roswitha could clearly feel the tension transmitted from under her palms.

The taut muscles felt as though they belonged to a beast about to awaken; simply touching them was enough to sense their ferocious power.

Leon’s magical energy intertwined and synchronized with Roswitha’s without any signs of rejection.

Leon kept his eyes tightly shut, and in the pitch-black void of his mind, a faint glimmer seemed to appear.

That light grew brighter and brighter, as if impatient to break free from the barriers holding it back.

Once the light completely filled his vision, Leon abruptly woke from a flurry of disorientation.

He suddenly sat up, bare-chested, gasping heavily like someone waking from a nightmare.

When he had calmed somewhat, he felt a warm and soft touch on his shoulder.

Leon slowly turned his head—it was Roswitha. She had placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

The queen’s hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed, and a smile adorned her lips. "We did it, Leon. The first gate is open."

Upon hearing this, Leon was overcome with excitement.

But amidst his joy, the first words he spoke were, "You didn’t get hurt, did you?"

Roswitha blinked, raising her eyebrows, "Oh? So concerned about me, huh? What if I tell you I’m hurt? Oh no, my hand hurts! Ow, my back aches! Ow, my legs feel sore! I’m hurting all over!"

Leon shot her an unimpressed glare. "Childish."

After a moment of pause, he glanced once more at Roswitha’s face.

It was red.

Hmm?

Why was her face red?

Opening the first gate was, of course, something to celebrate. But why was Roswitha blushing?

It wasn’t until Roswitha’s hand quietly slid from his shoulder to his waist that Leon understood the situation.

"Oh crap—the Dragon Mark!"