A few days later, at Silver Dragon Castle, most of the clanspeople had been summoned back.

Roswitha stood on the podium, delivering a passionate victory summary speech.

Below the stage, the clanspeople were listening to her with fervor and excitement.

Despite Roswitha's dislike for public appearances, you had to admit that she did excel in stirring the crowd's emotions as a queen.

Leon was carefully listening among the audience, too.

He was surrounded by the Silver Dragon people. Everyone seemed eager to get closer to their noble prince.

“Hey, you're squeezing me!”

“I was here first. You're the one squeezing me, okay?”

“What do you mean you were first? It was me! Prince Leon, wasn't I standing here first?”

“Prince Leon, I was first! I just greeted you a moment ago!”

Leon gave a helpless smile. “Settle down, everyone, settle down. Let's focus on Her Majesty's speech.”

Leon's inner monologue was like: If you all don’t start paying attention to my wife's speech, I swear I'll hang up and beat all of you!

After Leon’s perfunctory reassuring, the surrounding Silver Dragon clanspeople quieted down to listen to Roswitha's speech.

After summarizing their victory, Roswitha did not attempt to offer any empty promises to the clanspeople.

After all, she had always been a pragmatic leader. What's more, the current issue indeed required the cooperation of the entire Silver Dragon Clan.

“Take a look at the companions around you. I wonder if anyone has noticed something,” Roswitha said.

The clanspeople looked around but no one spoke up.

This was an unspoken rule during speeches by leaders: even if the leader posed a question, one couldn't actually answer it forwardly.

The question was merely a segue into what the leader intended to say next, not an invitation for input.

Of course, if the leader genuinely needed someone to respond, he or she would arrange for it in advance or specifically call on someone to answer.

Roswitha swept her gaze over the clanspeople below the stage and continued,

“Perhaps you've already noticed that, compared to several years ago, our companions have greatly diminished.”

“The constant wars have taken a devastating toll on the Silver Dragon Clan's population. If we continue like this without making any changes, we may not even have our last offspring to preserve when the next war arrives.”

Roswitha was straightforward, laying out the daunting challenges facing the Silver Dragon Clan.

As expected, her words sparked discussions among the clanspeople.

“Her Majesty is absolutely correct. If we want to defend our homeland, we must ensure a stable population.”

“But given the reproductive traits of the Dragon Clan, it's impossible for us to return to previous levels in such a short time.”

“Should we borrow troops from Isa?”

“Isa's situation is similar to ours. They've just emerged from a war and are also in a recovery phase. Borrowing troops? I'm afraid that's not feasible.”

“Then… what about cocoon birth?”

“With cocoon birth, the mother will become extraordinarily weak after forming a dragon cocoon. If enemies were to attack during this period, it would be disastrous. So cocoon birth also can't serve as a large-scale method to boost the population.”

“Indeed… This is such a headache.”

“...”

Roswitha listened quietly to the clanspeople's discussions.

Moments later, she gently raised her hands.

At once, the clanspeople fell silent.

“I've considered everyone's suggestions, and indeed, they each have their drawbacks.”

“While nurturing the next generation of Silver Dragons, we must also guard against outside threats. To figure out a perfect solution… isn’t that easy.”

“But, everyone, as we've been racking our brains with traditional Dragon Clan's thinking model, have we overlooked something close at hand?”

Roswitha smiled, teasing the crowd.

“Something close at hand? What is it?”

“I have no idea. Prince Leon, do you know?”

Leon smirked faintly, internally commenting, “With such thinking models like yours, no wonder you would become an endangered species.”

Still, he couldn't hold it against them. After all, Roswitha had explicitly mentioned it—solving the issue required stepping outside traditional Dragon Clan frameworks.

And once they stepped out that model, the answer would be glaringly obvious.

What Roswitha referred to, the thing “close at hand,” was…

“How long are you going to keep a low profile down there, dear?”

Roswitha slightly tilted her head onstage. Her silver hair cascaded down. Squinting slightly, she smiled warmly—a rarity in front of the clanspeople.

And the word “dear” immediately ignited every dragon’s gossip-loving soul in the room.

“Did I leave home too long or something? What did Her Majesty just call Prince Leon? Dear?”

“Hey, hey, this is a public setting! How could they be so improper? But, never mind. I love it—keep it coming!”

“I thought at most she would call him 'husband' or something, since they've already been married for three years. But 'dear'… Wow, wow! I can't even let out a word! This is too much!”

“...”

“Move aside! Leave the gossip and ship-building to the professionals!”

Just then, Sherry and Milan raised two flags amid the crowd.

Each flag had its own slogan.

The phrase on Sherry's flag was direct and straightforward:

Rejuvenating the Silver Dragon glory is our sacred duty!

As for Milan's flag, its slogan was a bit unfamiliar to the Dragon Clan present:

Life continues with love… Dreams illuminated by children?

“What does that mean?”

“I recognize all the words, but when they are put together, I don’t get it…”

“Oh, look! Prince Leon is going on stage!”

The reminder pulled the dragons' attention back to the podium.

Leon walked up and stood side by side with Roswitha, leaning in to speak softly, “I've told you that the Empire's pro-natalist slogans aren't something the Dragon Clan can easily understand.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter if they don’t understand now. We can just explain it to them.”

Leon shrugged, saying no more.

“I believe everyone is quite familiar with the man beside me,” Roswitha began, wrapping an arm around Leon's.

“Three years ago, we met, fell in love, and created the family we have now. During these three years, we’ve also added three children to our family, and they’ve been both obedient and tactful.”

“How do you all see them, I wonder?”

“Princess Noa is the best!” Sherry shouted below the stage.

The crowd responded enthusiastically.

“Princess Muen is the cutest baby dragon ever. No argument!”

“In that case, I’ll claim Princess Aurora for myself. Sorry, everyone!”

“...”

This, of course, was the leader's pre-arranged setup for crowd engagement.

As for its effect? Superb!

“It seems everyone really loves the little princesses,” Roswitha continued.

“So, you all should have known that since I’ve married Leon, all our children were naturally born.”

“In the past, traditional Dragon Clan ideology overwhelmingly supported cocoon birth.”

“Because compared to natural birth, cocoon birth produces dragon hatchlings who can better inherit their mothers' power.”

“Furthermore, cocoon birth doesn’t require partnership with another—it can be completed solo, avoiding potential betrayal by a mate.”

The Dragon Clan was highly devoted to “pure love.”

But this didn’t mean it was devoid of members who “put their clothes back on and became strangers.”

Though rare, such actions inflicted lifelong trauma on those dragons most invested in “pure love.”

This was another reason why most Dragon Clan members favored cocoon birth.

Below the stage, the Silver Dragon Clan people listened intently to their queen's speech, patiently waiting for her next words.

“I’m not compelling anyone to fall in love, because love is free. It can transcend age, status—”

Roswitha shot Leon a glance and whispered in a voice only he could hear, “—and species.”

Leon froze briefly before his lips curled into a faint smile.

Then, he tightened his grip on Roswitha's hand.

“But love is hardest to transcend when it comes to trust.”

“It’s tru that I cannot guarantee that the one you love will reciprocate with the same devotion. Prolonged suspicion has led many Dragon Clan members to seal off the deepest parts of their hearts.”

“Before I met Leon, I thought in the same way.”

“In fact, I even wondered if I had lost the ability to love someone.”

“But that changed when I met him—this man who shaped the course of my life.”

General Leon drew a sharp breath. From a certain perspective… he did profoundly affect Roswitha's life.

“There was a time when I didn’t understand what ‘love’ was.

“Some said love is at first sight;

“Others said love is companionship over time.

“But my husband showed me what true ‘love’ really is.”

Leon subtly glanced at the silver-haired beauty beside him.

Her tone had lost the initial fervor—no longer resembling that of a motivational speaker.

Instead, she spoke softly, her silver eyes trembling faintly, as if telling a beautiful fairy tale:

“Love is seeing all of someone’s flaws and still choosing unwavering commitment;

“Love is spending today with him or her, no matter if tomorrow is the end of the world;

“Love is also to witness the most beautiful sides of the world through that chance.”

“So, what I want to say is… I have never believed Leon would betray me.”

“Because from the moment we fell in love, our eyes have contained only each other.”