Leon arrived at the outskirts of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan's territory.

Here, the guards of various Dragon Clans were still stationed, monitoring Constantine’s every move, for Constantine being someone who possessed immense Primordial Power.

However, compared to when they were first assigned this task, the number of guards had decreased significantly.

Leon made his way to the area monitored by the Silver Dragon Clan. As he had done the two previous times, he used his status as the Silver Dragon Prince to quietly sneak in and find Constantine.

"Your Highness, you’ve arrived."

Seeing it was Leon, Sherry, the commander of the stationed forces, stepped forward to greet him.

Leon nodded. "Good work, Sherry. Has Constantine made any moves recently?"

"No, ever since he passed through our stationed area not long ago, there has been no activity from him."

What Sherry was referring to—when Constantine “passed through the area monitored by the Silver Dragon Clan”—was the occasion when Constantine traveled to the Empire to assist Leon in overthrowing the Kant regime.

Otherwise, given how the various Dragon Clans had surrounded the Crimson Flame Dragon's territory back then, there was no way Constantine could have slipped out so easily.

The reason he had successfully bypassed them through the Silver Dragon Clan's area was, of course, because Leon and Roswitha had given Sherry a heads-up in advance.

"Good. Keep monitoring."

With that, Leon turned and headed toward the woods ahead.

Beyond the woods, after a bit more walking, was Constantine’s hideout.

Sherry’s gaze followed the prince’s retreating figure, her lips remaining sealed.

"His Highness is acting pretty strange these days."

Once Leon was out of sight, a young Silver Dragon guard approached Sherry and remarked, "This seems to be his third time secretly visiting Constantine, right?"

Sherry continued to remain silent.

"Last time, he even allowed Constantine to slip out of the area we were monitoring. Three or four days later, Constantine returned. Who knows what he was up to?"

The guard muttered on, "I remember back in the day Constantine attacked our sacred temple on the day Her Majesty the Queen was giving birth. Why now—"

"Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask," Sherry cut in with a low voice. "Her Majesty and His Highness gave their orders. All we need to do is follow through. Understand?"

Sherry’s ascent to becoming one of Roswitha’s trusted aides at such a young age wasn’t without reason.

She wholeheartedly believed in the decisions made by Her Majesty and His Highness.

A competent ruler doesn’t betray their followers, and every choice made by a ruler has a purpose.

Scratching his head, the guard replied, "I actually trust the two of them as well. It’s just... I can’t help being curious."

Curiosity is only natural.

Sherry herself felt curious often enough, so she understood the young guard’s thoughts.

"If you truly want answers, I can teach you a method," she said.

"What is it, Senior Sherry?"

"Be patient and wait for the results."

The guard was taken aback. "Wait... for results?"

"A king has his own way of thinking, as well as strategies and decisions about the overall situation. But as executors of his plans, we only catch a glimpse of the iceberg’s tip."

Sherry spoke patiently, "So, if you have endless 'whys' floating in your mind, put them aside for now. Once everything has settled, you can trace the entire sequence of events yourself and make sense of it all. Isn’t that better?"

Hearing her words, the guard suddenly understood. He nodded with enlightenment. "I see now, Senior Sherry."

"Stop calling me 'Senior.' I’m only a little over a century old."

"Got it, Senior."

"...Go back to your post, rookie."

...

Leon passed through the woods and continued walking for about an hour.

On the way, he encountered several patrol squads of Crimson Flame Dragon guards.

The guards, upon recognizing him as a "familiar face," promptly cleared a path, with none daring to make a move.

"Captain, Captain, isn’t that an intruder? Why aren’t we stopping him?" a young Crimson Dragon "intern" asked.

"Do you want to use your life to stop someone even His Majesty Constantine couldn’t block?"

"Huh? That exaggerated? He looks so... ordinary to me."

"Then he might just redefine the word 'ordinary' for you."

The intern scratched his head, gazing at the retreating figure of the man calmly approaching the temple gates. He said no more.

Leon, hands casually in his pockets, wore a serene expression as he walked steadily. Under the watchful yet resigned eyes of the gatekeepers—"Oh great, it’s him again; but we can't beat him; let’s just pretend we don’t see him"—he strolled leisurely into Constantine's residence.

Crossing the gravel path and ascending the steps, Leon entered Constantine’s temple.

The grand doors of the temple slowly opened, revealing the Crimson Flame Dragon King reclining leisurely on his throne, gazing down at Leon from above.

Not a single attendant or guard was present in the hall.

It seemed that not only had Leon grown accustomed to visiting, but Constantine had also gotten used to it.

"Long time no see, Constantine," Leon greeted.

"What do you want this time?"

"Hmm? Can’t I visit an old friend without an agenda? Maybe I just want to catch up."

"Don’t flatter yourself. Who said we’re old friends?"

"Oh, come on! We’ve been through thick and thin together!"

"You’ve lived, I’ve died—twice. That’s your definition of 'old friends'?"

"Ah—"

Just as Leon was about to continue, Constantine raised a hand, cutting him off. "I don’t have time for your nonsense. Get to the point."

Seeing the old flame dragon still as grumpy as ever, Leon felt reassured.

He quickly got to the heart of the matter.

"Some time ago, I obtained a list from one of your former deputies. It detailed all the Dragon Kings who colluded with the Empire."

Constantine's eyebrows knitted. "One of my deputies? You mean... Augu?"

Leon nodded. "Yes."

"But he’s dead, Leon," Constantine replied, his tone shifting from serious to somber, laced with suppressed anger.

Leon quickly explained, "He handed me the list just before he chose to self-destruct."

Back then, Augu had indeed completed the list, followed by a slew of expletives aimed at Leon, like "Casmode! The Dragon Clan will definitely kill you some day!" And then... he self-destructed.

The reason for Augu’s self-destruction was simple: after the Crimson Flame Dragon King fell and his faction neared collapse, Augu, as the second-in-command, lacked the ability to shoulder the burden. Overwhelmed, he chose that path as his escape.

Shutting his eyes, Constantine exhaled deeply and slowly.

"Augu was a loyal and capable deputy. Even now, I can’t come to terms with his death. But you and I don’t need to dig up old grievances. Because if we do, neither of us will come out looking good."

Constantine’s remark was true enough.

At first, he had acted under the Empire’s orders, attacking Silver Dragon Castle and causing significant casualties.

Then Leon killed him.

Followed by his zombified resurrection, Constantine attacking Isa’s Red Dragon territory under the Empire’s spell.

Then Leon killed him again.

If they were to settle old scores, there really wasn’t much need for explanation. They could skip straight to a fight.

Constantine did long for a real victory over Leon, one where he could finally put his humiliation to rest.

But he knew that the current unstable situation called for shrewd alliances. A reliable "ally" was essential, and his showdown with Leon could wait.

"I had expected you to come storming in, itching for a fight," Leon joked.

He knew Constantine was someone capable of understanding the bigger picture. Otherwise, their previous collaborations would never have worked.

Constantine gave a cold snort. "Get back to the point. You said you got the list. What happened after?"

"Not long ago, the humans and Dragon Clan held a peace negotiation. The talk went smoothly, and those colluding Dragon Kings were appropriately punished."

"I heard about that. I also heard... that it was you who represented the Dragon Clan in the talks, right?"

Leon grinned. "Oh, none other than yours truly!"

"Heh. No wonder you’d call the negotiations 'smooth.' Anything less would’ve been surprising."

Leon shrugged, then steered the conversation back to the subject.

"Looking back over recent years and cross-referencing with Augu’s list, I went case by case, ruling things out, until I realized there was only one colluding Dragon King left. One I haven’t defeated, nor who suffered any punishment."

At this, Constantine grew interested, raising an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Warhammer Dragon King Adam."

The name made Constantine pause for a moment.

The faint smile on his face froze before slipping away entirely.

After a short silence, Constantine rose from his throne and slowly descended the steps.

"I don’t like that name, nor the insidious creature it belongs to."

"Oh? Insidious? I don’t know much about Adam. Care to elaborate?" Leon asked.

"Adam has always had a terrible reputation among my generation of Dragon Kings. It makes sense that you and your Silver Dragon wife wouldn’t know much about him," Constantine replied as he stepped down, coming to stand a few feet in front of Leon, now at eye level.

"My wife only told me he has no tribe of his own and serves as a mercenary for the Dragon Clan. As long as he’s paid, he’ll do anything," Leon remarked.

"That’s correct," Constantine said, his tone growing sharper. "And to achieve his goals, Adam is willing to use any means necessary—no matter how despicable or dishonorable."

Constantine paused, his tone growing heavier as he spat out a few words through gritted teeth.

“An utter disgrace to the name ‘Dragon King.’”

Leon knew that Constantine was a Dragon King who valued honor and reputation above all else. His pride and principles as a Dragon King were well-known.

Just like during the time at the ruins in the Far North—though he had the chance to use Noa to take revenge on Leon, he chose not to.

The Crimson Flame Dragon King would never drag the next generation into his personal grudges.

This was also why Leon trusted Old Constantine would not stab him in the back.

“It seems like you truly detest Adam,” Leon remarked.

“Believe me, Leon, if you ever dealt with him, you’d despise him just as much as I do.”

“Alright, if I ever cross paths with him, I promise to teach him a lesson for you.”

Constantine let out a sharp chuckle before turning to ask,

“So, are you here because Adam’s not on the list? Do you want to know where that bastard is?”

“But I swear, if I actually knew where he was, I would’ve been the first to deal with him.”

Hearing this, Leon couldn't help but feel curious.

“Simply insulting the name of the Dragon King isn’t enough to make you hate him this much, is it? So, what exactly did he do?”

Constantine didn’t immediately answer Leon’s question. He remained silent for a while, appearing to wrestle with his thoughts. Leon also stayed quiet, waiting without pressing further.

After a moment, Constantine looked at Leon.

“Follow me.”

With that, Constantine turned and headed toward the back of the sacred hall.

Leon quickly followed after him.

They bypassed a few pillars, walked through a long corridor, and descended a staircase that led deep underground.

After about five minutes of walking downward, the two arrived in front of a highly concealed stone door.

Constantine slowly raised his hand, infusing his own magical power into the recessed area at the center of the stone door.

With a low rumble, the stone door gradually opened to either side.

“Come in.”

Leon stepped into the hidden chamber behind Constantine.

He glanced around the room but noticed nothing particularly remarkable about its furnishings.

That was until Constantine shifted to the side, revealing what lay in the center of the chamber—a bed made entirely of ice.

Thin strands of cold mist wafted up from the ice bed. Suspended above it was a crystal.

Encased within the crystal was—a small dragon with a fiery red tail…

A young dragon.

The baby dragon’s tiny, delicate fists were clenched as it lay curled up, its eyes gently closed. The small creature appeared to be peacefully asleep.

Seeing this, Leon was momentarily taken aback.

He quickly walked closer. Judging by its appearance and size, this dragon couldn’t have been born very long ago.

As for the crystal encasing it, Leon had seen this type of thing before.

In that tragic alternate future timeline, Roswitha had fallen into a deep slumber after exhausting her magical power. She was later sealed within such a crystal by Grandmother Veronica to ensure her survival.

But why was this newborn dragon…?

“Thirty-three years ago,” Constantine began, his voice thick with suppressed rage. “Adam was tasked by one of the Dragon Kings to steal some magical resources from me. So, Adam decided to use her to threaten me.”

Constantine’s gaze fell upon the young dragon, and fury burned within his tone.

“But in the end, he failed his mission—and hurt this child in the process.”

Leon pressed his lips together.

“So this child is…”

“Her name is Heffy—Heffy Constantine. She is… my daughter.”

Walking forward, Constantine gazed down at the sleeping young dragon. For a brief moment, his normally expressionless face softened into a faint smile.

But then, his voice turned cold and murderous once more.

“The reason I agreed to cooperate with the Empire is because Adam is among this group of Dragon Kings.”

“From that day on, I prayed every single moment that I’d get a chance to encounter that bastard.”

“And… I’ll tear him limb from limb.”