To be honest, this was Rebecca's first time being so close to a dragon—let alone the Dragon Queen.

Just like Leon, Rebecca was an outstanding Dragon Slayer trained by the Empire's Dragon Slaying Academy. From a young age, she had been instilled with the idea of "defeating all evil dragons and reclaiming humanity's lands."

Before learning that her captain had married the dragon beneath her, her worldview had remained steadfast: she thought all dragons were enemies, and as a Dragon Slayer, she had the mission of driving every single one of dragons away without exception.

However, through her captain’s peculiar and unpredictable actions, Rebecca gradually began to see the Dragon Clan from a different perspective.

While her understanding was still fairly shallow, she had at least grasped one basic principle:

It was indeed possible for humans and dragons to marry, have children, and even build a harmonious family together.

If someone had told Rebecca in the past that humans and dragons could not only peacefully coexist but even have three children together, she would have probably taken out her pistol and blown that person’s head off, just to check if it was full of mush.

Even now, Rebecca still found it hard to believe that she was currently sitting atop the back of the Silver Dragon Queen, soaring freely through the clouds.

"Uh... What should I call you?" Rebecca tried to start a conversation.

Since the Silver Dragon Queen had humbled herself to take her out for a flight as a form of entertainment, it wouldn't be polite to remain silent like a mute rock. The least Rebecca could do was to make a small talk and avoid letting the atmosphere turn awkward.

"Anything you like. Call me however you wish," came the reply.

There was a time when Roswitha cared a great deal about how others addressed her.

Back when Leon had just awakened, both Noa and Muen referred to her as "Mother" or "Your Majesty Mother." This showed how strict the Melkevi family's upbringing could be.

But over time, as her relationship with Leon grew deeper, Roswitha became less rigid and demanding about such formalities.

As long as a title was proper, it sufficed. She no longer fussed over other extraneous details.

"Um..." Rebecca thought for a moment, and then an invisible lightbulb seemed to go on above her head.

"How about I call you... sister-in-law!"

As soon as the words fell from her lips, the crazy girl could distinctly feel the massive dragon beneath her twitched slightly.

"Si-sister-in-law?" The Queen seemed momentarily at a loss for words, clearly unprepared for such a title.

"Yes! That’s what I’ll call you." Rebecca nodded earnestly. Noticing that Roswitha might not be familiar with the term, Rebecca patiently explained, "In human communities, the wife of an elder brother is respectfully called a sister-in-law. And since the captain is one year older than me, and he married you, you're naturally my sister-in-law."

"I understand what 'sister-in-law' means. It’s just... it’s just..."

"Just what?" Rebecca thought perhaps the queen felt it beneath her dignity to be called "sister-in-law" by a mere human.

To her surprise, Roswitha replied, "Well... Your captain and I... we're not *that* close. You don't have to call me sister-in-law."

Rebecca's beautiful greenish-blue eyes widened in disbelief.

"Not close at all? But you’ve already had three children together!"

"Having kids doesn’t necessarily mean we’re close..."

Rebecca tilted her head, puzzled. "Are you two living together?"

"Does sharing the same bed count as living together?"

"Obviously, yes!"

"...Then I suppose we are."

Rebecca pressed on: "Have you ever held hands?"

"We’ve held hands..."

"Have you kissed?"

"...Rarely."

"Rarely" in this case meaning "whenever there’s an opportunity, we can't help kissing."

"When was the last time you kissed?"

For some reasons, the wind stirred by the flapping of the dragon's wings seemed to grow warmer.

Rebecca didn’t pay it much mind, assuming it was just because of the weather. But had she turned her head slightly, she would have noticed that the queen’s wings and tail were starting to turn a faint shade of red.

"The last time we kissed was... a long, long time ago. I already said, we rarely kiss. How could I possibly remember?"

Roswitha wasn’t deliberately lying. She simply hadn’t made up her mind to come clean about everything when it came to Leon’s companions.

Humans harbored deep distrust of dragons, and naturally, dragons could not be expected to trust humans instantly, either.

Roswitha had brought Rebecca out for a flight partly because she found the girl interesting—both amusing and reliable—and partly to learn more about her.

Roswitha hoped to build a bridge of trust with a lively soul like Rebecca, and this was a step in that direction.

But before establishing that trust… it was probably best to control the spread of any rumors, for now.

"Oh, so it’s been a long time since you two kissed, huh? That really does mean—"

"That we aren’t close, right?"

"You guys are *really* close, sister-in-law."

Rebecca grinned, patting the scales on Roswitha's back. "What’s there to be embarrassed about?"

"I’m not... not embarrassed."

And somehow, without realizing it, Roswitha had begun to accept the idea of Rebecca calling her "sister-in-law."

Rebecca didn’t push any further about the specifics of the "relationship" between Roswitha and her captain. After all, unwittingly giving her verbal approval to the title "sister-in-law" already revealed everything.

"By the way, we humans have an old saying going that 'Nothing is tastier than dumplings~'"

"Hm? And then?"

"And nothing is prettier than a sister-in-law!"

“…”

"Aha! I finally said it. I thought I was going to burst trying to hold that in."

Rebecca laid back on Roswitha’s back, gazing up at the azure sky. A sweet smile brightened her adorable face.

"I thought you were stunning the first time I have met you. So different from any other dragon we’ve ever encountered."

"What were the other dragons like?"

"Ferocious. The kind that comes at you, opens its mouth, and seems like is ready to eat you alive."

"Oh, I eat humans too, when I’m hungry."

Rebecca: ?!

"I even specifically target mischievous and pretty young girls like you. One bite, and not a peep," Roswitha quipped, lips curling into a smile.

It wasn’t until Rebecca caught the playful tone in the dragon queen’s voice that her pounding heart began to settle.

Rebecca pouted, then resumed their earlier topic of conversation.

"Other Dragon Kings give off this... inaccessible and uncommunicative vibe. But you’re different. Even though you are chilly, talking to you feels pretty easygoing."

This time, Roswitha didn’t respond immediately.

After a moment of quiet reflection, she finally said, "The fact that we can have this pleasant conversation now is really just the result of a series of improbable occurrences."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "What... do you mean?"

"If the Empire hadn’t attempted to assassinate Leon, he wouldn’t have fallen into my hands, we wouldn’t have married, and you and I wouldn’t be chatting here now."

"Mmm... You’re right. It has been a series of improbable events," Rebecca mused thoughtfully.

"So in essence," Roswitha concluded, "I’m not all that different from the Dragon Kings in your mind."

After a brief pause, she added teasingly, "Oh, maybe a little. At least I don’t eat humans."

Rebecca chuckled faintly but remained silent, waiting for Roswitha to continue.

"You see," Roswitha finally said, "your kind assessment of me is based on what you’ve observed and learned about me, isn’t it?"

Rebecca nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Rebecca, I’m not trying to justify this century-long war between humans and dragons. I just want to point out that without mutual understanding, it’s almost impossible to make an accurate judgment."

Roswitha went on, "To be frank, I used to harbor deep hostility toward you humans. There’s no need to deny that. My relationship with Leon wasn't as smooth sailing as you think either; he suffered greatly along the way."

"Ah... Of course, I suffered my share, too."

"My perception of Leon, and humans as a whole, evolved over time through our interactions."

"But I also understand that one individual cannot represent an entire species. That’s why, beyond Leon, I want to get to know the people around him."

"This may help me better understand the so-called 'enemy' I’ve been fighting for a century. And it’ll enable me to make the most informed decisions I can going forward."

Rebecca fell into a rare moment of quiet contemplation.

She didn’t often stop to think deeply, but Roswitha’s words intrigued her. They seemed worth mulling over.

Eventually, in a soft voice, Rebecca asked, "So... that’s why you’re trying to get to know me? To learn more about me?"

"Exactly. Now that you know my intentions, what’s your take on this?"

Rebecca bit her lips gently, pondering for a while before slowly replying, "I never imagined I would get a chance to discuss something like this with a Dragon Queen. Maybe it’s a bit early to treat you as a sister-in-law. Before we get there… we should try to be friends first. Don’t you think?"

Roswitha’s pupils flickered slightly. With a soft laugh, she said, "I believe humans have a term for this…besties, right?"

The Queen’s word choice made Rebecca giggle, too.

"Yep, besties. Although, a two-hundred-year age gap is kinda huge... But hey, if the captain can marry you, why can’t I be your bestie~?"

Thank goodness it’s just "besties," Rebecca thought to herself.

If you hadn’t clarified that, I might have thought that you were about to ask me to be your foster daughter.

"So what do 'besties' usually do together in human society?" Roswitha asked.

Rebecca thought for a moment before answering, "They chat, eat, drink, and gossip about boyfriends… although I don’t have one yet."

Roswitha blinked. "You don’t, but I do."

The silver dragon half-turned her head to share a knowing glance with the young lady on her back.

Two seconds passed.

"Let me tell you something, Your Majesty—the captain is absolutely fallen for women like you: silver-haired, mature—adult lady like women! Back in school, he..."

General Leon would never know that on this day, his most loyal gunner completely spilled the beans to his wife about every little thing from his past.

The story tells us that:

Never let your wife meet your college classmates.

Otherwise,

at best, you'll lose your privacy;

at worst... your family status will be at stake!