The couple stepped out of the Silver Dragon Castle and spent some time playing with their daughters in the backyard. Then, they wandered off to the hills behind the castle.

On their way, they encountered quite a few Silver Dragon Clan members who had been called back.

When those people saw Leon, they excitedly shouted "Your Highness!" and approached to him warmly to greet him.

It felt almost like a celebrity fan meet-and-greet conference.

Finally, they reached the relatively secluded cherry blossom grove. Leon breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off him.

"Good grief. I didn’t expect my prestige in your Silver Dragon Clan to be this high. Who would’ve thought that a few years ago, I almost wiped them out?"

"Do not bring up the good old days when you were betrayed. If anyone was about to be wiped out back then, it was you."

Roswitha said with a laugh. "But your standing among my clan is indeed undeniable. While Dragon Clan might outwardly seem to glorify violence and brute force, what lies beneath is the principle of respecting strength."

She stepped up beside Leon, shoulder to shoulder, gazing together towards the distant Silver Dragon Castle as she continued,

"In Dragon Clan, as long as you’re capable, everyone will respect you."

Leon nodded thoughtfully. He recalled how his reputation and fame in the Silver Dragon Clan had gradually accumulated after the Battle of Constantine.

Before Constantine, Silver Dragon Clan members would greet him with emotionless cordiality:

"Your Highness, greetings. Your Highness, thank you for your hard work."

After Constantine, however, their enthusiasm reached entirely new heights:

"Your Highness, can you autograph something for me? My kid’s been a fan of you since they were little!"

Oh, please, ma’am. I’ve only been married to your queen for three years; how could your kid have been my fans since childhood?

This shift in attitude couldn’t just be labeled as fickle admiration.

The Silver Dragon Clan members had always treated Leon with basic respect and courtesy.

But after the Battle of Constantine, Leon's sheer strength and personal charisma elevated that respect to an entirely different level.

"Of course, part of this is thanks to you as well,"

Roswitha remarked. "No wonder you were once the leader of the Dragon Slayer Army—you’ve certainly got the characters of a leader."

The queen's compliment inflated Leon’s ego to the skies.

Rubbing his nose, Leon tried to suppress his grin and responded,

"Well, when’s the day you’ll let me take the throne at Silver Dragon Castle?"

The queen paused, then flicked her tail to playfully swat his backside, "Daydream! With only a few compliments, you've forgotten your surname all of a sudden?"

After a brief moment, Roswitha added mysteriously, "But... as for what we spoke of regarding the throne idea last time—I've kept that in mind. I plan to incorporate it while we rebuild the temple this time around."

"Last time? What did we talk about?"

Roswitha rolled her eyes at him, "If you can’t remember, let it be. You’ll find out when the time comes."

"Oh, okay."

The couple continued to stroll leisurely through the cherry blossom grove.

Leon had purposely brought his camera along when they left the castle—it was April, the time when the cherry blossoms were at their peak bloom.

With beauty and scenery combined, even an amateur photographer could produce mesmerizing shots.

Especially when the beauty was so stunning that she didn’t need to strike any particular poses. Simply standing there made for a perfect composition.

So, if this story has any moral takeaway, it’s this: marrying someone like Roswitha is invaluable.

At the very least, during travels, she'd never get angry at your unpolished photographer skills—her looks alone can carry the visual appeal anyway.

After snapping a few photos, Roswitha noticed that Leon hadn’t bothered to check the preview projection from the camera. She asked,

"Aren’t you going to see how the shots turned out?"

Leon shrugged. "It would just be a waste of time."

"A waste of time?"

"Yep. No matter shoot from what angle, you look gorgeous. I don’t even need to nitpick between the photos for the best one."

Roswitha chuckled lightly, not sure if her husband was genuinely praising her or simply being lazy about filtering the pictures. Nonetheless, she didn’t press him further. The couple continued their leisurely stroll, stopping here and there to capture more shots.

Eventually, they took a break by a small stream.

"Tell me again—in the future without you, I fell into a deep coma after overexerting my powers?"

Since Leon had explained a bit about those six months, Roswitha had grown curious about that alternate future. She’d occasionally ask Leon to elaborate on certain parts.

Leon nodded. "Yeah, that’s what happened."

"Does that mean no one would banter with you during those six months?"

Roswitha teased him playfully. Her smile was full of amusement. "You must’ve been unbearably lonely, huh?"

"Of course I was lonely. I dreamed about arguing with you every night."

"Oh, I see now."

Leon blinked. "You see now? See what?"

"You dreamed of me."

"You really know how to dig out sugar for yourself, don’t you, dragon queen?" Leon laughed, teasing her.

But as he mulled over Roswitha’s words, his laughter gradually faded.

Without Roswitha, it wasn’t just the lack of banter that left his days empty.

Leon vividly remembered the final days before he completed the reversal magic. He had been despairing, like someone suffering from depressive disorder.

He’d thought countless times that if only Roswitha were there.

Because she was empathetic, skilled at comforting others, and had a knack for identifying knots in Leon’s heart and patiently unraveling them.

Some people or things, their goodness often goes unnoticed while they’re always around.

Only when they’re gone or apart does that profound sense of absence hit you.

Leon had learned plenty of theories during those six months in the alternate future,

including one essential lesson: cherish those who are there for you now.

He turned to gaze at Roswitha beside him. She was looking ahead with a soft smile on her lips, her dimples playfully charming, as if scheming some new ways to tease him.

Leon withdrew his gaze and fiddled with the camera in silence for a while.

Eventually, he seemed to recall something and asked,

"By the way, in the future, Aurora mentioned something about an insurance mechanism you Dragon Clan have—called Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale. Is that real?"

Roswitha’s smile faltered slightly. Her silver eyes quivered as she replied, "Yes... It is. Why do you bring it up?"

"Your grandmother performed a checkup on you after you fell into that coma, saying that while your Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale indeed existed, it was practically ineffective. And from what I’ve learned, Dragon Clan members won’t start developing their Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale until they turn one hundred years old."

Leon said, "Is it fair to assume… that this isn’t your original Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale, but one that you formed later instead?"

Roswitha softly bit her lip but didn’t deny it. She nodded. "Yes, that’s correct."

"What happened to your original dragon scale?"

Roswitha turned her eyes aside and mumbled reluctantly, "It… it was missing."

General Leon froze. "Lost?! You lost it?!"

"Y-yeah..."

Leon stepped around and stood in front of Roswitha. He cupped her cheeks with both hands, tilting her face so their eyes could meet.

"That huge Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale—you’re telling me you just lost it? And isn’t that thing supposed to grow on you dragons? How could it possibly be lost?"

Clearly, this clumsy excuse wasn’t going to fool Leon.

Continuing to weave lies would only arouse his suspicions even more.

After a moment of thought, Roswitha confessed,

"I put it… somewhere very safe."

Leon arched an eyebrow. "Somewhere very safe? What place could be safer than your own body? And why would you remove it from yourself in the first place? Doesn’t this only bring you harm?"

Lowering her gaze, Roswitha’s silver eyes briefly flicked towards Leon’s chest.

After a long pause, she finally explained,

"My version of safe doesn’t mean protecting the scale. It means… protecting something more precious."

Although that initial decision to remove it had little to do with protection.

Leon narrowed his eyes. "Now you’re becoming cryptic. I—"

"I’ll tell you someday. But not now—it’s not the right time yet," Roswitha interrupted.

Leon opened his mouth to probe more,

but he knew her personality well—Roswitha never revealed anything she didn’t want to share, no matter how much pressure she faced.

Despite his worry about her Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale, he had no choice but to wait until she deemed it proper to address the matter.

Leaving the topic abruptly behind, the couple fell into silence.

Leon passed the time flipping through the camera’s preview projections while Roswitha watched him hesitantly. After a while, she finally spoke,

"Want to visit the borders?"

Leon didn’t refuse her suggestion. "Sure, let’s go."