Chapter 101: Recast the Silver Dragon Glory ( Part 2 )
“Am I hearing things because I’ve been away from home too long? Did Her Majesty just call the prince ‘my dear’?”
“Hey, hey! This is a public occasion! How can they be so improper? Hmm, I want more of this. I love watching it.”
“I thought at most she’d call him ‘husband’ or something since they’ve been married for three years. But this ‘my dear’… tsk tsk, I have no words!”
“….”
“Step aside! If anyone’s going to fangirl over this ship, let the professionals handle it!”
As the voice fell, Sherley and Milan raised two flags high in the middle of the crowd. Each flag had a slogan on it. Sherley’s flag was simple:
“Revive the glory of the Silver Dragons, and it is our duty!”
As for Milan’s flag, the slogan was unfamiliar to the dragons present:
“Life continues through love… and dreams shine because of children?”
“What does that mean?”
“I understand every word, but when they’re put together, I don’t get it…”
“Oh look, the prince is getting on stage!”
A single reminder drew all the dragons’ attention back to the stage. Leon and Roseweisse stood side by side, and Leon whispered under his breath, “I told you, empire slogans about encouraging childbearing aren’t something dragons can easily understand.”
“It’s fine if they don’t get it now; I’ll explain it,” Roseweisse said with a shrug. Leon didn’t say more.
“I’m sure you all recognize the man standing beside me,” Roseweisse said, slipping her arm around Leon’s.
“We met and fell in love three years ago, building the family we have today. Over these three years, we’ve also had three lovely and well-behaved children.”
“What do you think of them?”
Sherley shouted from below, “Princess Noa is the best!”
A chorus of agreement followed immediately.
“Princess Muen is the cutest dragon baby, no argument!”
“In that case, I’m taking Princess Aurora. Sorry, everyone.”
“….”
Ah, this was the ‘supportive banter’ that leaders would arrange beforehand. The effect was remarkable!
“It seems everyone loves the princesses,” Roseweisse continued.
“So you should all know that since I’ve been married to Leon, all our children have been born via live birth.”
“In the past, cocoon-birth was the norm in dragon society. Compared to live births, dragons born from cocoons inherit the mother’s power more easily. Plus, cocoon-birth can be completed without needing a partner, which reduces the risk of betrayal by one’s mate.”
Dragons value “pure love” highly. However, this doesn’t mean there are no scoundrels who abandon their mates after intimacy. While rare, when it happens, it leaves deep scars on those who value “pure love” so much. This is another reason most dragons prefer cocoon-birth.
The Silver Dragons below listened attentively, waiting for Roseweisse’s next words.
“I’m not forcing anyone to fall in love because love is a free choice. It can cross ages and statuses—” Roseweisse glanced at Leon, speaking softly enough only for him to hear, “or even species.”
Leon was briefly stunned, and then the corners of his mouth curled slightly upwards. He grasped her hand a little tighter.
“But trust is the hardest thing for love to cross.”
“Indeed, I cannot guarantee the one you fall in love with will respond with the same love. Long-standing doubts have caused many of us dragons to close off the love deep within our hearts.”
“Before I met Leon, I was the same.”
“I even wondered if I had lost the ability to love.”
“But then I met him, the man who changed my life forever.”
Leon sucked in a sharp breath. In a way… ahem… he did influence her life quite a lot.
“I used to not understand what ‘love’ was.”
“Some say love is at first sight.”
“Others say love is enduring the trials of life together.”
“But my husband taught me what real ‘love’ is.”
Leon quietly glanced sideways at the silver-haired beauty beside him. Her tone had softened, no longer as impassioned as at the start, and certainly not with the brainwashing fervor of a motivational speaker. She smiled, her silver eyes shimmering slightly as if telling a beautiful fairy tale.
“Love is knowing all of a person’s flaws, yet still choosing to stay by their side with unwavering determination.”
“Love is the freedom to spend today with them, even if tomorrow is the end of the world.”
“And love… has allowed me to witness the most beautiful aspects of this world.”
“So, what I want to say is… I’ve never thought Leon would betray me.”
“Because the moment we fell in love, our eyes had only each other.”
…
Evening.
Leon leaned against the balcony railing, gazing out at the courtyard behind the temple.
Under Her Majesty the Queen’s impassioned (gou liang)^1 speech, the Silver Dragon clan’s enthusiasm for “having children” reached unprecedented heights.
And now, they were throwing a party in the courtyard.
Of course, “wanting to have kids” and “throwing a party” weren’t causally related — because that would turn into a silver rager.^2
They were simply celebrating the Silver Dragons’ successful weathering of the recent crisis and looking forward to a bright future under the Queen’s leadership.
Leon cast his gaze toward the silver-haired beauty in the crowd.
She stood out like a shining star, the light from the bonfire illuminating her delicate face. She was laughing, linking arms with the maids as they danced around the fire in a traditional dragon celebratory dance.
Her promotional plan was progressing smoothly, and it had already met with early success. The majority of the people had started to try, bit by bit, to bravely fall in love with someone.
A few days ago, when Rosseweisse first proposed this idea to Leon, he had asked her, “Is this really for the revival of the tribe, or do you truly feel this way?”
Rosseweisse thought for a moment and said, “Both.”
So touching, Rosvitha has grown a lot as a woman.
Also this would serve as a little push for Leon to finally confess to her 🤞