Chapter 45: The Queen
“😅😅 How on earth did Noia end up with pieces of the Black Gold Battle Armor?”
Leon was baffled for a moment.
In this Silver Dragon Temple, the only one who knew about his human identity was Roswiser.
And the key piece of evidence confirming his humanity was none other than his Black Gold Battle Armor.
Back in his glory days, General Leon wore the Black Gold Battle Armor, and wherever he went, not a single dragon survived.
During his service in the Dragon Slayer Army, he was either slaying dragons or on his way to slay dragons.
The only constants accompanying him, apart from a few teammates like Rebecca, were this powerful enchanted battle armor.
Dragons who managed to escape him back then didn’t know his name but collectively referred to him as:
“The Man in Black Armor.”
Sure, the nickname was a bit long-winded, but whenever dragons heard it, they couldn’t help but shiver.
During the peak years of Leon’s dragon-slaying career, he became a nightmare for the entire dragon race, and his Black Gold Battle Armor made an unforgettable impression.
This was also why Leon had disguised the armor with paint before facing off against Constantine and Star.
It wasn’t because he feared being recognized by the enemy, after all, they already knew who he was when they came after him.
He couldn’t be recognized by the Silver Dragon Race, or he wouldn’t be able to gather intelligence and information from within.
Of course, the most important reason was that he didn’t want his daughters to find out their dad was actually a human.
He had analyzed the pros and cons of this situation countless times, and for now, keeping his human identity under wraps was the safest bet.
But why was there a piece of Black Gold Battle Armor in Noia’s little wooden box?
“Do you think Noia has found out your true identity?” Roswiser asked, looking a bit worried.
Leon had shared his concerns with her before, and she completely understood, promising to do everything in her power to keep his secret safe.
Because it wasn’t just about letting him continue to operate here as ‘Prince of the Silver Dragon’ to gather more information about the Empire’s conspiracies; it was also about preserving the family they were trying so hard to maintain.
Leon stared at the fragment, thought for a moment, and then slowly shook his head.
“I don’t think Noia knows I’m human yet. But…”
“But what?”
“She must have sensed something strange about her dad’s background.”
His expression turned serious as he fiddled with the fragment in his hand, “A long time ago, when you first took me to the back mountain warehouse to show me the Black Gold Battle Armor, I noticed a dent on the chest plate. If I’m not mistaken, that dent was made by Victor when he tried to assassinate me with an enchanted dagger.”
The traitor Victor’s enchanted dagger was made from polar mammoth ivory, known for its powerful enchantment affinity.
And after being enchanted, it would be entirely possible to pierce the chest plate of the Black Gold Battle Armor from very close range.
The tricky part is that polar mammoth ivory is quite rare, and the enchanting process is complex—one slip-up could ruin a precious ivory piece.
So in most cases, this material is used for jewelry or collectibles, rarely made into weapons.
But of course, for the assassination of the Empire’s top dragon slayer, wasting a couple of pieces of ivory doesn’t seem like a big deal.
Too bad he didn’t succeed in the end!
Instead, a few years later, Leon blew up the Heartguard Dragon Scale he treated as a treasure—talk about poetic justice!
Roswiser thought for a moment and then said, “After the battle years ago, when we cleaned up the battlefield, we recovered your Black Gold Battle Armor, and that should include this fragment as well. But I didn’t see it firsthand; I just… looked at it once afterwards.”
The couple exchanged glances and then simultaneously turned red, looking away.
They both knew what Roswiser meant by “afterwards”.
The bl**d Crisis.
The beginning of it all.
Every time they thought back on it, it had a wonderfully absurd legendary quality, tinged with a sense of risking it all.
“Did you notice this fragment when you saw it?” Leon asked.
Roswiser shook her head, “No… I didn’t pay much attention.”
“Wow, Missy, how could you not notice such a shiny fragment?”
Roswiser shot him a look, “I was only focused on how to torment you when you woke up. Preserving your Black Gold Battle Armor was already a huge favor! Who cares about a little fragment like that…?”
Truth be told, it wasn’t just an excuse; that piece really wasn’t very big.
How large could a dent made by a dagger used for assassination be?
It was about depth, not width; as long as it could puncture the target’s heart, that was what mattered!
“Did you ever bring Noia here later?”
“Never! I’ve never brought her here.”
Roswiser said, “This is key evidence revealing your lowly human identity; why would I take our daughter here?”
Leon facepalmed, “Could we please drop the ‘lowly’ part?”
“I’m just channeling how I felt about you back then; at that time, I detested you with every fiber of my being!”
“Thanks for not suffocating me with a pillow while I was in a coma for two years, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t mention it; it was the least I could do.”
Leon chuckled, waved his hand, and, after a few playful jabs, the conversation shifted back to the fragment of the Black Gold Battle Armor.
“So… this fragment ended up with Noia without you knowing, but she’s never mentioned it over the years.”
Leon pondered, continuing, “If Noia says this box contains her most precious memories, then this fragment is definitely one of them. But based on the timeline, she must have gotten this fragment during the two years I was in a coma.”
“To be more precise… if we take away the ten-month pregnancy and the subsequent three to four months of developmental time… this means Noia received the fragment about a year before I woke up. Right?”
Roswiser followed Leon’s deduction and nodded, “That’s right. It should be around that timeframe.”
This deduction only strengthened Leon’s earlier thought: Noia had likely sensed that there was something off about her dad’s background.
But why hadn’t she mentioned it in the four years since then?
What was going on?
With her level of curiosity, she couldn’t possibly ignore this fragment.
So… either Noia had enough secrets of her own and didn’t see the need to dig deeper into this piece;
Or…
She was guarding this secret alongside Roswiser and Leon.
Completely without discussing it with them and unaware of her parents’ past grievances, Noia might have realized that if she dug too deep into this matter, it could turn her family upside down.
Even changing her future and that of her sisters.
So, the girl chose to keep this secret in her way without letting the truth drift away from her.
Between the two possibilities, Leon leaned towards… the latter.
He examined the fragment in his hand, sunlight gleaming off its surface, dazzling him.
After a moment, Leon placed the fragment back into the box and pushed it back under the bed.
“So… what are your plans?” Roswiser asked softly. “Are you going to test Noia to see how much she knows, or…?”
“Test her?”
Leon shook his head, “Not necessary.”
“And our eldest is quite smart, Roswiser. The moment we try to probe her, she’ll be on high alert.”
“At that point, regardless of how much she knows about me, our relationship with her could end up strained… and I don’t want that.”
“So, let’s just… maintain the status quo for now.”
“Hmm… sounds good.”
The queen sighed in relief, then slowly added, “You know, Noia really cares about this family, as well as us, Moon, and Little Light. That kind of care can’t be fake, so it’s clear she loves us.”
“Maybe we’re overthinking it? No matter how she got that fragment, she hasn’t chosen to confront us. Leon, she’s very understanding, isn’t she?”
Leon nodded in agreement, “Exactly. A kid like that…”
Roswiser raised an eyebrow, thinking he’d say something like “kids that understanding are rare”.
Oh, but that Dog Man always had a knack for making her speechless.
“That kind of understanding kid—just like me.”
The queen’s mouth almost twisted into a frown.
“Like you? Like you at five, wrestling with a bulldog? Or at seven, smashing boulders with your chest? Or is it your stubbornness pretending to be stupid, you dumb man?”
“Rubbish! How could I let my precious daughter smash boulders with her chest? Only my master would do something that reckless.”
Leon argued rationally, “And about being stubborn… I just realized you used a very interesting term earlier.”
“What term?”
“You said Noia’s care for us can’t be faked.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So… does your care for me also mean it can’t be faked?” Leon asked with a grin.
Roswiser huffed, swatting him with her tail.
“I don’t need to fake it, Leon, because I don’t care about you at all! I never—”
“Ow! Your tail hit me!”
“Ah! I didn’t mean to! Are you okay?”
Leon: 😋😋🤣🤣
Roswiser: 😅😅
