Vol. 3 Ch. 124

After a long day out on “field duty,” Leon and Rosvisser made their way back toward the Lionheart Society’s clock tower in the slum district, carrying their bags filled with recording stones.

In the slum district, people tended to turn in early. It was only eight in the evening, and while the middle district still glowed with lively lights, the streets here were already deserted, save for the occasional stray cat darting across.

Walking leisurely down the empty streets, Leon and Rosvisser strolled right in the center of the road without a care—no need to worry about oncoming carriages, as few here could afford one.

Rosvisser, still in her heels, had been walking all day and was now carrying one of the shopping bags. Despite her dragon queen physique, even she couldn’t completely stave off the ache in her ankles.

Leon noticed her slight limp and immediately offered, “Here, let me carry that for you.”

“Oh, it’s fine—”

But before she could protest, he’d already taken the other strap from her hand.

She massaged her sore shoulder, murmuring, “Thank you.”

Leon caught a glimpse of her profile before looking ahead, remarking with a grin, “You look pretty satisfied with yourself.”

“Hmm? Do I?”

“Oh, definitely.”

Leon’s tone softened as he continued, “No matter how exhausted you are, you usually keep a straight face, not showing any hint of how you’re feeling. But today, after an entire day of wandering, carrying a hefty bag of recording stones, you didn’t have that cold look on your face. In fact, I caught you sneaking a few smiles on our way back.”

He shrugged. “So… I’d say you had a pretty fulfilling day.”

Rosvisser didn’t deny it. Nodding, she replied, “You’re right. Today was very satisfying.”

“Because you fulfilled your little wish?”

“Little wish?”

“Yeah—to walk where I’ve walked, see what I’ve seen.”

She smiled gently, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Not only that.”

“Oh? What else?”

They didn’t often have moments like this to talk openly.

Usually, by the time Rosvisser returned from a long day, she was so drained that all she wanted was a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. Often, Leon would join her for the bath.

In those quiet moments, they would embrace or share soft kisses, not going further, savoring just enough closeness to relax.

Afterward, they rarely had the chance to chat. If they did, it was usually to discuss more “serious matters” — like whether Constantine had been behaving or the girls’ school plans.

So, personal conversations were a rarity.

Only when they stepped away from their busy lives, leaving behind the daily demands and small tasks, did they talk about themselves and admit to the feelings they might usually brush off.

It helped that, here, they were just another anonymous couple in the slum district of the Empire.

And since they still had about half an hour before they’d reach the Lionheart Society’s base, they could talk freely for a while.

Rosvisser walked with a light step, swinging her long arms naturally, her voice thoughtful as she spoke, “What else made me happy today? Well… I suppose that would be… you.”

Leon raised a brow, matching her pace. “Me?”

She glanced sideways at him, a faint smile at her lips. “Yes, you.”

“Shopping with you, playing with cats, trying all sorts of street food—oh, you humans call those snack stalls ‘street vendors,’ right?”

Leon watched as she counted the things they’d done on her fingers, one by one.

Finally, he laughed, nodding. “Yes, they’re called street vendors.”

“They’re a bit lacking in hygiene, but the taste was good… very down-to-earth,” Rosvisser said, giving her honest assessment.

Leon smirked, teasing, “But eating at street vendors doesn’t exactly fit a queen’s image, does it?”

“When I’m out with you, I’m not a queen.”

She suddenly stopped walking, prompting Leon to pause and turn to face her.

Reaching up, she removed her wig, letting her radiant silver hair spill out, gleaming in the moonlight, reflecting in his dark eyes.

Looking directly at Leon, she finished her thought, “I’m your wife.”

A gentle breeze drifted down the street, causing the streetlamp above to hum softly, and the faint meow of a cat echoed from a nearby alley.

Her silver hair caught the wind, partially covering her flushed cheeks.

For a moment, they stared at each other, until Rosvisser broke the silence.

“Oh, I mean, I’m *technically* your wife,” she quickly added, recovering her composure.

The Silver Dragon Clan prided itself on speed, and Rosvisser wasted no time retreating to a safe distance from her own vulnerable words.

After all, their “pretend marriage” arrangement provided the perfect cover for every honest admission they made.

Leon understood her, so he never pestered her with silly questions like, “Do you even care about me?”

Whether or not she cared wasn’t defined by her words but by her actions.

Every choice Rosvisser made, including her willingness to journey to a foreign human land, showed how much she cared for him.

Otherwise, how could the Queen of the Silver Dragons let herself be captivated by a mere human?

“So, if you’re technically my wife…”

Leon said, taking a step toward her.

Instinctively, Rosvisser took a half-step back. “What are you doing?”

Before she could react, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“Then I’ll give you a *technical*—”

“Ugh, disgusting! I don’t want it!”

Leon blinked, feigning offense. “Then give it back!”

“Fine! You think I’m scared?”

Rosvisser stood on her tiptoes and quickly returned the kiss to his forehead.

“There, we’re even!” she said, her face flushed.

Then she spun around, her high heels clicking as she hurried down the street toward the clock tower.

Apparently, even twenty minutes was too much.

The moment either of them showed their true feelings, it took just five minutes to get each other’s hearts racing.

This was no good!

There was a war on the horizon!

Shaking his head, Leon laughed and chased after her.

When they finally returned to the Lionheart Society’s clock tower, a few members were still working the night shift.

Rebecca and Nacho were both awake.

Leon dropped his bag of recording stones onto the long table in the center of the hall.

There were already several bags of recording stones collected by other members, enough to create the resonance effect he had mentioned the day before.

“Oh, Captain, you really did buy recording stones,” Rebecca remarked, sounding surprised.

“What? Going out on field duty was precisely for buying recording stones, wasn’t it?”

“I thought you’d just been on a day-long date with Sister-in-law.”

“Why not both?” Leon replied.

Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “So that’s the legendary time management of a married man? Impressive.”

Leon waved her off, ignoring her cheeky comment.

Nacho, hands in his pockets, glanced through the collection of recording stones and commented, “Tomorrow, we just need about a third of what we got today as backup.”

Leon nodded, agreeing with Nacho’s plan.

“But we have a problem,” Nacho continued. “While using resonance to spread the message will work, the real issue is how to get the recording stones inside the lanterns during the Lantern Festival.”

A new hurdle.

Leon frowned. It was indeed a tricky problem.

After a moment of thought, Leon asked, “Do any of our members have families in the lantern business?”

He remembered Carolyn mentioning that the orphanage was currently making lanterns to sell at the festival for some extra funds.

Maybe they could work something out with a lantern supplier to get the stones directly into the lanterns.

Nacho shook his head. “No one here has ties to that kind of work. Lanterns are only made for the festival—no one makes them year-round.”

“I see…”

Leon scratched his head, then offered, “I can get us a few lanterns, but it won’t be enough.”

He was referring to the batch he’d ordered from Carolyn at the orphanage.

But, as he’d already mentioned, there was no way the orphanage alone could produce enough.

Nacho ruffled his hair in frustration. “Alright, we’ll think of something. Let’s all get some rest for now. Rebecca, wake me up at dawn.”

He gave a wave as he headed off to his quarters.

“Why the early night?” Leon asked.

Nacho waved dismissively, “That brat Will was after me again today—drove me crazy.”

With that, he disappeared into his room and closed the door.

“Who’s Will?” Leon asked.

“Oh, he’s a kid who hangs around the streets in the middle district. Apparently, he’s heard some wild stories about the Lionheart Society and decided Nacho’s the leader. Now every time he sees Nacho, he pesters him to join.”

“Why not let him join?”

Rebecca shrugged. “First, he’s too young—not even an adult yet. Second, he’s got sticky fingers and a sharp mind. We couldn’t dig up much on his background, so Nacho decided to keep him at arm’s length.”

“I see…”

Rebecca hopped off the table. “Captain, Sister-in-law, you two should get some rest, too. We’ll tackle the lantern problem tomorrow.”

“Good night, Rebecca.”

“Good night, Captain.”

“Good night, Sister

-in-law! Oh, by the way, Captain, can I sleep with Sister-in-law?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Your sister-in-law has social anxiety.”

“Hmph! Stingy married man!”