Rossweise led Leon to a winding path on the back mountain of the temple, stepping on smooth stone steps and gradually heading deeper.
"Where are we going?" Leon asked, following behind.
"You'll find out when we get there."
Leon's steps hesitated. The mountain forest, the atmosphere, the two of them alone…
It brought back some unpleasant memories for him. He stood still, swallowed hard, and said, "Let me tell you, Mother Dragon if you're thinking of having me do that thing like last time while watching your temple, it won't work at all because I have zero feelings for your territory."
Rossweise walked ahead, chuckled lightly, and without turning her head, she said, "Relax, I'm not that unreasonable or ruthless. When it's time to relax, we relax, and when it's time to think about home—"
She stopped in her tracks, and a towering and imposing iron gate stood before them.
"Think about home."
Leon also noticed the building in front of them. No sign, no guards, just a strict and cold iron gate.
"This is?" Leon asked.
"Oh, I haven't given it a name. You can call it a warehouse, storage room, or the queen's treasury, whatever you like," Rossweise replied.
Rossweise raised her hand as she spoke, and silver magical energy danced at her fingertips.
Then, she infused the magical energy into the keyhole of the iron gate, and the gate slowly opened inward.
Rossweise stepped inside. "Come in."
Leon hesitated for a moment but silently followed. Passing through the iron gate and walking down a few steps, several rows of neatly arranged display shelves appeared in front of Leon.
Leon excitedly ran to a display shelf, examining a finely crafted bracelet.
Leon was a knowledgeable dragon slayer and could instantly tell the bracelet's extravagance and rarity.
"If this were in the empire, it could sell for at least a few hundred thousand gold coins."
"That's the bracelet my grandmother gave me for my coming-of-age ceremony," Rossweise explained.
Leon nodded and then turned his gaze to other collectables. His attention was fully absorbed by these precious collectables, completely unaware that Rossweise quietly closed and locked the iron door of the treasury.
After a while, Leon collected his excitement, typical of a country bumpkin entering the city, and asked, "Why did you bring me here?"
"Oh, found it, right here."
Before Leon could voice his confusion, Rossweise tiptoed and retrieved a box from the top shelf. They placed the box on the ground, and Rossweise gently blew off the accumulated dust.
"I just told you things that can temporarily make you forget your worries."
With that, Rossweise aimed the opening of the box towards Leon and then opened it.
Leon looked inside with curiosity.
But when he saw what was inside, he was so surprised that he couldn't speak.
Leon's eyes widened, his mouth slightly ajar, and the black pupils reflected that long-lost "companion" after two years—
Black Gold War Chariot Armour.
Crafted by the empire's finest artisans, the armour had accompanied Leon in battles from the north to the south, countless times shielding him from fatal harm.
Leon slowly reached out, his fingertips brushing the armour's surface gently. The familiar texture, devoid of any signs of ageing, clearly indicated that Rossweise had meticulously maintained this set of armour over the past two years.
"How about trying it on?" Rossweise suggested.
"Huh?"
"What's with the 'huh'? Try it on."
"Oh…"
Leon took out the various parts of the black and gold war machine from the box and skillfully put them on one by one.
After donning the armour, Rossweise clasped her hands together, squinted her eyes, and said with anticipation,
"It looks very handsome, just as handsome as when you were wielding a sword to chop off my head back then."
"How you dragons interpret positive and negative words is unpredictable," Leon commented.
Leon happily admired the black and gold war chariot armour on himself.
Indeed, the old buddy still looked as majestic as back in the day!
Just—
Leon suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a small notch in the chest plate.
"How did this happen? The black and gold war machine has a self-repair function. It should have fully recovered in two years," Leon inquired.
Rossweise shook her head, "Not sure, maybe it got accidentally bumped or scratched."
"Is that so…"
He wiped the notch, and fortunately, it wasn't too large. You wouldn't notice it without a close look.
He grinned like a child who had just received a new toy, "Thanks, Rossweise. I didn't expect you to have a human touch."
"Thanks?"
"Yeah, th—"
Leon lifted his head, but his smile instantly froze.
Because the aura emitted by the dragoness in front of him had completely changed.
Gentle, elegant, dignified—everything vanished when Leon locked eyes with her.
In her silver dragon eyes danced pink hearts, and dragon patterns seemed to shimmer beneath the fabric on her chest. The queen grinned, revealing a slightly unhealthy smile, step by step approaching Leon.
"Dragoness, before you go crazy, let me remind you that the black and gold war machine is enchanted, enhancing various wearer attributes. So, I might not be afraid of you now."
With the capital to resist, Leon straightened his spine!
However, Rossweise just smirked contemptuously, still approaching Leon.
"I've meticulously maintained this set of armour for two years. Do you think I wouldn't have done anything to it?"
Leon was startled, "Wh-what—"
Rossweise raised her hand and snapped her fingers gracefully.
Leon's black and gold war chariot armour instantly became incredibly heavy, dragging him to the ground.
At the same time, dragon patterns slowly appeared on the chestplate…
The reaction of the dragon patterns was more intense than usual.
Rossweise flipped the immobile Leon over, making him lie flat. Then, she straddled his armour with long legs.
"Do you think I forgot about what happened three days ago? I've been acting like a good girl all day, and you fell for it."
The queen smiled, "How was my acting? Pretty good, huh?"
Leon's pupils trembled. "You haven't seen your parents either. You'd let Muwen Noah call you Mom, and the hand-holding… that was all a lie?"
Being a "Dragon Knight" wasn't the first time for Leon. He could endure it reluctantly.
But he couldn't tolerate Rossweise deceiving him like this.
"No, those were all true. But it doesn't change what I will do to you now, Leon."
She opened her collar, unleashing the long-awaited dragon pattern.
"How did you describe it three days ago?"
"Oh, you said I like conquest."
"I'll conquer you now!"
"Are you ready, my dear husband~"