A few days after the end of the Battle against the Empire, the aftermath was finally dealt with.

Currently, the internal operations of the entire Empire were handed over to the core members of the Lionheart Association and the loyal ministers and officials who had refused to collude with Kant and his ilk.

Martin's father was among them.

It’s worth mentioning that, in the beginning, there were too few people to handle the work, and even tasks like compiling reports were overwhelming.

But thankfully, Rebecca had a sudden stroke of genius. She proposed, “Since we’re looking for honest and upright officials, why not just search the prisons?”

Though the statement sounded rather weird, one had to admit it was an effective plan.

Thus, after several sleepless days of effort by everyone, the Empire began functioning again, this time without Kant and his corrupt cronies.

As for electing the new king, that would take some time.

From deciding the election process to selecting candidates, every detail had to be carefully considered before making a final decision.

During this waiting period, there was no fear of foreign nations taking advantage of the situation—not with the Empire's military might safeguarding it.

Once everything was settled, Leon and Roswitha finally prepared to return home.

“Won't you stay a few more days, Captain? After all, this is the country you fought for and won,” Rebecca asked at the city gates.

Standing with her were Martin and several other members of the Lionheart Association, there to see the couple off.

“Conquered country or not, my old man always told me to steer clear of politics. Playing savior was just a side project,” Leon replied nonchalantly.

Rebecca almost rolled her eyes so hard they could have reached the back of her head.

Why did it feel like her captain had gotten better at showing off after all these years with his wife?

“But Silver Dragon Castle is so far away. What if we run into an emergency situation here and can’t contact you in time?” she pressed.

Although the fall of Kant hadn’t significantly weakened the Empire’s power, the establishment of a new system and society came with its own challenges, not to mention potential threats from outside.

As she’d pointed out, the distance between the Empire and Silver Dragon Castle was a significant concern. Even Roswitha herself would take five or six hours flying at full speed to make the trip.

If something urgent happened, by the time someone fetched Leon, it might already be too late.

"After I return, I'll send a trained message dragon here. If there’s an emergency, just use it to send us a message,” Roswitha said, offering a solution.

“The message dragon is very fast—it can fly from here to my sanctuary in a single night.”

Rebecca blinked her beautiful eyes, curiosity brimming within them. "Message dragon? What's that?"

“Oh, it’s similar to your human carrier pigeons,” Roswitha explained. “It’s a dragon subspecies that, after prolonged evolution and training, has taken on the responsibility of facilitating communication among the Dragon Clan.”

Rebecca nodded thoughtfully. “Oh, I see. Thank you, sister-in-law.”

“It doesn't matter.”

“Well, we’ll take our leave now,” Roswitha said.

“Safe travels, Captain,” Rebecca and the others chimed in.

“Safe travels.”

“Next time we meet, I hope you’re off that wheelchair, Leon,”

“Take care. See you next time.”

"..."

Everyone bid Leon farewell one by one.

Leon waved back before departing with Roswitha.

Outside the city gates, the silver dragon ascended into the sky, soaring beyond the clouds.

Rebecca raised her hands to shield her eyes from the sun as she watched the couple’s figures disappear into the horizon.

“A man changes once he has a family, huh? Giving up the throne just to rush home and hold his kids,” she muttered, half in admiration.

“When you have a family someday, you’ll understand the Captain,” Martin said in a knowing tone, trying to sound wise beyond his years.

Rebecca shot him a sideways glance. “Oh, please. Don’t act like you’re so experienced. If I remember correctly, you’ve never even been in a relationship, have you?”

Martin froze, looking flustered as his “spotless” history was exposed. “So what if I haven’t? Have you?”

“Nope.”

Rebecca paused for a beat, then flashed a mischievous smile, looking every bit the sly little fox.

“Then, how about we give it a try?”

“Who’d want to try anything with you?!”

“Oh~ Little Martin is scared, huh?”

“I’m not scared...” Martin protested, clearly defensive.

But the twin-tailed girl had already seen through him. She casually turned around, raising her arm to pat him on the chest.

“If you’re not scared, I’ll give you a chance to pursue me,” she said teasingly.

“Uh... wait, what? Who said I wanted to pursue you?!”

The bickering pair laughed and joked as they walked back into the city, leaving Nacho trailing behind them with his hands on his hips and a wearied sigh escaping his lips.

“Hard to believe I started a revolution with a bunch of kids. What a mess,” he muttered.

Walker approached and gave Nacho’s shoulder an encouraging pat. “Come on, senior, there’s still plenty of work to do.”

“Hmph. Fine. Let’s get back to it.”

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, it illuminated the reborn nation and paved a bright path forward for the Lionheart Association.

***

“I bet the girls will run to hug me first when we get home,” Leon declared as he leaned against Roswitha on the her back.

“No, they’ll hug me first,” Roswitha retorted confidently.

Nacho probably wouldn’t have guessed that not only was his so-called revolutionary colleague a bunch of immature kids, but even his leader—married with three kids—wasn’t much more mature.

What kind of responsible adults would argue about things like this?

Apparently only these two would—and they enjoyed every second of it.

“This time, I’m definitely going to win, Roswitha. And I’ll win three times over!” Leon announced.

“Oh? And you’re so sure that all three of our daughters will pick you first?”

“No, no. What I mean is—” Leon straightened up a bit and gave her a self-assured grin.

Roswitha tilted her head, one ear cocked as if waiting to see what mischief her husband would conjure this time.

“As long as Noa, Muen, or Aurora, even *one* of them hugs me before they hug you, that’s a victory for me,” Leon began elaborating his “brilliant” strategy.

“And?”

“Then you have zero wins while I have one win—this is the second victory!”

Roswitha raised an eyebrow. “...Go on.”

“Then if you’re still at zero wins while I’m at two wins—bam! Third victory!”

“...”

“Three-to-zero, Mother Dragon. What do you have to say to that?”

“I’m wondering if it’s too late to release Kant from prison. A world leader shouldn’t be some insufferable idiot like you,” Roswitha muttered darkly.

She seriously suspected Leon had a split personality.

Whenever the stakes were high—be it heroically stepping up to save the day, turning the tide in battle, or protecting their homeland—he’d switch to his intense, decisive, and action-oriented side.

But most of the time, it was his frustratingly sarcastic and shamelessly obnoxious persona in charge.

Calling it a mere contrast didn’t cut it. After all, he’d been like this ever since she first met him. But then again, he also seemed more *brazen* now than when they first got together.

Breaking it down in her mind, Roswitha came to one clear conclusion:

This man had simply grown too comfortable with her.

He’d completely stopped bothering to treat her like an outsider.

Five years of married life, and he’d clearly forgotten that he’d once been a prisoner of hers.

Forget about which daughter hugged whom first.

She’d need to teach him a lesson when they got home—remind him who truly ruled this household!

With that thought, Roswitha flapped her mighty wings and sped toward her sanctuary.

***

By midday, the couple landed back at Silver Dragon Castle.

Oddly enough, not a single servant came out to greet them.

The entire sanctuary’s courtyard seemed deserted.

If it weren’t for the patrolling guards at the border earlier, Leon would’ve suspected some daring Dragon Clan had raided their home.

As the pair stepped into the front courtyard, they scanned their surroundings.

No maids.

No daughters.

“Where is everyone?” Roswitha murmured.

Leon blinked as an idea struck him.

“Oh! I know where they are!”

Roswitha gave him a startled look. “Know what? The method to stand up from your wheelchair?”

“No, no, not that,” Leon said quickly, excitement flickering in his eyes. “I mean I know where Noa and the others are—along with the maids.”

He turned his head to meet Roswitha’s gaze. She raised a brow, staring back cautiously.

The couple locked eyes for a brief moment.

And in the next second, they both exclaimed in unison:

“Stealing the tributes!”