Vol 7. Chapter 32: The Real Joy of Marriage

After Leon left, the captain of the sanctuary guard hesitated for a moment, then walked respectfully over to Constantine.

"Your Majesty, what was the Silver Dragon Prince here for?"

Constantine didn’t bother hiding anything from his trusted men.

"He came to take some Emerald Dragon’s Tears."

The captain's eyes widened in shock.

"Your Majesty, may I ask how many exactly is ‘some’?"

Calmly, Constantine replied, "Five."

"...How many?!"

"Five." Constantine’s eyes remained half-closed, his tone as steady as ever.

The captain stared at him, hesitated for a moment, then let out a long breath and said:

"Your Majesty, if you want to cry, just cry."

"Absurd. I am the Redflame Dragon King. I would never weep so easily."

The two dragons locked eyes, neither willing to look away first. Constantine forced himself to maintain the dignity of a dragon king, while the captain looked at him with deep suspicion.

Finally, the captain said:

"I’ll take the squad outside to patrol. I’m ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) not implying anything, Your Majesty, but for the next ten minutes, the entire sanctuary will be... yours alone."

As he walked toward the sanctuary door, he looked back one more time and repeated:

"Your Majesty, I really, truly mean no hints by that. Also, if ten minutes isn’t enough... I can have the brothers do another few laps."

Constantine’s mouth twitched slightly, but he forced himself to keep a stern expression as befit his position.

"Mm."

The captain nodded and took his team away.

Once the sound of footsteps had faded, Constantine slumped backward, one hand clutching the armrest, the other clutching his chest in anguish. He let out a soul-rending sigh toward the heavens.

"My dragon tears... my wealth... it hurts! It hurts so damn much!"

——

After leaving the Redflame Dragon Sanctuary, Leon had intended to go straight back to the academy.

But from the moment old man Wilson announced the third-round rules to Leon acquiring five Emerald Dragon’s Tears... not even ten hours had passed.

Leon clearly remembered a time back in Dragon Academy, during a certain sports meet, when his performance was so far ahead of second place that the judges ended up voiding all his scores.

In the end, they claimed his results were disqualified due to "unreasonable performance"—and even though everyone knew he was the best, he didn’t officially place.

Why? Because he was too far ahead.

"Once bitten by a snake, you fear ropes for ten years. I’d better keep a low profile this time."

Muttering to himself, Leon carefully stored the five Emerald Dragon’s Tears. After all, he'd need to return them to Fire-breather once the test was over. He couldn’t just outright take such important treasures.

With that in mind, he decided to stop by home and see Rosvisser first.

The third round of tests lasted a full five days. He had plenty of time left to enjoy some sweet, domestic idling with his wife.

Leon patted his dragon hawk’s back.

"Let’s go—home."

With a cry, the six-winged dragon hawk turned and soared toward the Silver Dragon territory.

——

Meanwhile, in the Silver Dragon Sanctuary...

Rosvisser had just finished a full day of work and was relaxing in the front courtyard's pavilion.

She kicked off her heels and leaned back against the wooden railings. Her fair, delicate feet stretched out from under her skirt, toes neatly pressed together, quietly raised.

Occasionally, a butterfly or two would land gently on her ankle. She reclined against the railing, holding a small cup of cool, sweet fruit wine in her hand.

"Your Majesty, autumn is setting in. Be careful not to catch a chill," said Anna, the head maid, as she brought over a thick cloak and neatly folded it beside her.

"Mm," Rosvisser replied softly, her silver eyes gazing off into the distance with a faint trace of melancholy.

Having served the Queen for decades, Anna could tell what she was thinking at a glance.

"Are you thinking about the Prince?"

"Hmm...? No. Who’s thinking about him?"

Rosvisser snapped out of her thoughts and set the wine cup aside.

"He’s only been gone two days. I’m not some pathetic widow pining after her man. Everyone’s busy—who has time to sit around like some lovesick girl?"

Anna squinted with a sly smile, tilting her head.

"Your Majesty always talks so much whenever the Prince is mentioned."

Honestly, Anna loved it when Rosvisser got chatty like this. It meant she was in a good mood—not weighed down by endless work.

"He’s just got so many things to talk about. Too many to even begin with," Rosvisser huffed and glanced at the cloak.

"I’m not cold. I had some wine, it’s warmed me up. You can take it back."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll come call you for dinner later."

But before Anna could pick up the cloak, a commotion stirred outside in the courtyard.

They turned toward the noise—it was a six-winged dragon hawk.

Anna’s eyes lit up.

"The Prince is back! Your Majesty, I..."

She turned, only to find that Her Majesty’s eyes were already sparkling even brighter than hers.

But noticing Anna’s gaze, Rosvisser quickly reined in her excitement and returned to her queenly demeanor.

"Tell him to come here."

Anna smiled brightly.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll tell him it was your idea and you wanted him to come."

"What—what do you mean I wanted him to come? Where else would he go if not here? Just go already, and don’t say another word!"

Rosvisser turned her head away, refusing to look at her.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Anna said cheerfully and walked off to find Leon.

After a few quick words in the courtyard, she pointed toward the pavilion.

Rosvisser pretended not to notice.

Leon waved at her from a distance and jogged over.

"Darling! Darling! I’m home!"

He was already yelling from halfway across the courtyard.

Thank the heavens there weren’t many people around right now—otherwise Rosvisser might’ve turned into a dragon and flown off in embarrassment.

When Leon reached the pavilion, Rosvisser put on a show of feigned surprise.

"Hmm? When did you get back?"

"Just now, babe."

Leon sat down beside her, leaning in excitedly.

"It’s only been two days, but did you miss me?"

This idiot had boundless energy every day—especially after any sort of separation. He’d always charge up to her like a hyperactive husky, asking endless questions.

Of course, it wasn’t just him. Rosvisser secretly loved this too. If she didn’t, Leon wouldn’t still be doing it.

The queen took a small sip of fruit wine, her gaze drifting evasively toward the horizon.

"Of course not. It’s only been two days."

Completely different from what she told Anna earlier.

Leon rubbed his temples. He knew she was just being stubborn again.

But after years of marriage, he’d come to understand what the real joy of being married to his tsundere dragon wife was.

It wasn’t catching her in the act of being contradictory and watching her get flustered.

No—it was knowing full well that she’d deny it, and still asking her anyway.

Simply put:

The answer didn’t matter.

What mattered was the ritual.

After sitting for a bit, Leon noticed the cloak Anna hadn’t managed to take away.

"The weather’s been cooling. Aren’t you cold?"

Rosvisser blinked, hesitated slightly, then replied:

"Of course I’m cold. I just didn’t feel like going to get the cloak myself."

She kept looking forward as she said it, but the smile tugging at her lips couldn’t be hidden.

"You should’ve told me earlier, sweetheart. Now that your hubby’s home, you can go back to your luxurious life of raising a hand and having things done for you."

Leon stood and gently draped the cloak over her shoulders.

The queen took another happy little sip of her wine.

Two minutes ago, she told Anna she wasn’t cold. Two minutes later, her husband returned—and suddenly, she was.

Those who know, know.

"Hey, babe."

"What?"

"Your top half is wrapped in a cloak, but your bottom half’s barefoot. You’ll still catch a chill like that."

Rosvisser arched a brow and teased:

"What, you want to fetch me some snow boots too?"

Leon burst through the door dramatically:

"Put ’em right here! Super warm!"

"Get lost, you damn foot fetish freak!"