Hearing the name of this particular animal, Rosvisser was momentarily taken aback.
“A... donkey?”
Leon nodded.
“But why would a dragon clan keep a donkey as a pet? Are you sure you aren’t mistaken?”
Rosvisser’s skepticism was well-founded. Donkeys were nearly nonexistent among the dragon clans—not because they were valuable, but simply because they held no practical value for dragons. As food, they didn’t have enough meat or the preferred taste. As labor, anything a donkey could do could be done better and faster by other creatures trained by dragons.
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The idea of keeping a donkey as a pet was almost absurd.
Even the fearless General Leon considered donkeys to be creatures deserving of respect. After all, they were among the rare beings capable of dealing him actual physical damage.
Leon’s certainty was unwavering: “This is definitely donkey fur. Trust the judgment of a man who grew up with donkeys from the age of five.”
He said this with such conviction that Rosvisser almost imagined the donkey as one of his childhood friends.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you—I just don’t understand how Claudia is connected to a donkey.”
Leon shrugged, brushing the fur from his fingers as the breeze scattered it. “It might not even be from her. We’ve been around the academy all day, meeting all kinds of dragons. Maybe one of them just happens to like donkeys.”
“That... could be true, but it still feels strange.”
“Strange” was one word for it; “out of place” might be better. The idea of dragons and donkeys—two creatures worlds apart—appearing together in a single conversation was downright bizarre.
But beyond the oddness of it all, Leon felt a pang of melancholy. He let out a quiet sigh, not saying more, but Rosvisser noticed the subtle shift in his expression.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked gently as they began to walk down the stairs.
They had spent part of their lunch break strolling around the academy, both enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
Leon stuffed his hands into his pockets, his tone quiet, “Oh, it’s nothing... Just remembering my mentor’s donkey.”
“Your... donkey? So your four-legged childhood friend had a name,” Rosvisser teased.
Leon chuckled, “Of course it did.”
“Then why not give it a nice name? ‘Donkey’ sounds so lazy.”
They exited the school building and made their way to the athletic field. The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground. A few students were jogging by, and others were training on the grass. They walked slowly, savoring the rare peaceful moment.
“Well, it actually had another name.”
Rosvisser’s curiosity was piqued, “Oh? What was it?”
Leon took a deep breath and said each syllable with deliberation: “Elizabeth *Sha* Lawrence.”
Rosvisser stopped in her tracks, a large question mark on her delicate face.
Leon stopped too, turning to look at her. “Right? My expression was the same when my mentor first told me.”
Rosvisser covered her mouth, laughing softly, “It’s not a lazy name, that’s for sure. It even has a bit of nobility to it.”
“The middle name ‘Sha’ was from my mentor’s wife, and Lawrence is my mentor’s last name,” Leon explained.
“And ‘Elizabeth’?”
“Supposedly the name of the king’s wife.”
“Supposedly? Come on, you and your mentor both worked in the Empire. How could you not know the queen’s name?”
Leon shrugged. “The queen was shrouded in mystery. She showed herself only once, on the day she married the king. After that, no one saw her again. Even ‘Elizabeth’ was just a rumor.”
“Oh, I see.”
“In the end, my mentor felt it was odd to shout ‘Elizabeth’ among a herd of cows and sheep, so he shortened it to ‘Donkey.’ And that’s how my beloved donkey got its name.”
Rosvisser rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and kicking the edge of her skirt as she walked ahead, “Smooth talker. ‘Beloved donkey,’ really.”
Leon’s eyes sparkled as he quickly sidled up to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder with a grin, “But you’re my beloved wife.”
Rosvisser made a token attempt to shrug him off, “Get lost, you silly fool.”
But he was holding on tight, and she couldn’t shake him off.
“By the way, it’s been a while since you last saw your beloved donkey, hasn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah... Ever since the Empire stationed me in the Silver Dragon’s territory, I haven’t seen Donkey... or my mentor’s wife,” Leon replied.
Rosvisser’s expression softened, “But you do see your mentor regularly, and he’s assured you that she’s safe, right?”
“That’s true, but it still feels a bit odd.”
“Odd?”
“Yeah. After all this time, he’s never given me a recent photo of her.”
Leon sighed. “Could it be that they rarely see each other too?”
Rosvisser raised her eyebrows, “It’s possible.”
“But my mentor said she went back to her family. Even if it’s difficult, they surely would have found a way to meet at least once by now, wouldn’t they?”
“Hm... Didn’t your mentor say he doesn’t have a great relationship with her family?”
Leon let out another sigh, shaking his head, “I get the feeling there are a lot of things he’s not telling me. Whenever I ask, he just brushes it off.”
Rosvisser looked at his slightly troubled expression, choosing not to comfort him right away. Instead, she let her arms fall to her sides and gently reached out to hold his hand.
She didn’t interlace their fingers, just clasped his hand lightly.
Leon’s battle-scarred hands were rough yet strong, a reassuring presence.
“Everyone has secrets, Leon. You can’t expect everyone to pour out their hearts to you. That’s not realistic.”
Her voice was soft. “And your mentor has helped us so much over the years. If he’s keeping something from us, it’s probably for a good reason, not because he’s suspicious of us or anything like that.”
Leon nodded silently. He understood the logic.
Still, being kept in the dark for so long left a bit of bitterness.
“Alright, shake it off. We’re about to have dinner with our daughters. You don’t want them swarming you with, ‘Dad, what’s wrong?’ do you?”
When she wanted to, the Queen’s words could be as sharp as a blade—but her comfort could be equally soothing.
In truth, she rarely concerned herself with others’ emotions. Happiness or sorrow, what did it matter to the Queen of the Silver Dragons?
But this melancholy man at her side was her one and only captive.
Naturally, she had to care a little.
After all, if her captive actually did fall into a slump, who would fetch her bathwater?
It was all interconnected; she wasn’t comforting him for free.
Leon’s spirits lifted slightly.
In response, he gave Rosvisser’s hand a gentle squeeze.
Rosvisser chuckled to herself. Good—no more gloomy moods. Tonight, he’d be fetching her bathwater.
“So... you just said everyone has secrets?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any secrets you haven’t told me?”
Hearing this, Rosvisser stopped in her tracks.
Leon took a few steps ahead, but their hands remained clasped.
They stood in the center of the athletic field, facing each other as they gazed into each other’s eyes.
“Yes,” Rosvisser said simply.
“What kind?”
She didn’t answer directly. Instead, she slowly raised one heel, setting it down with a soft click, inching closer and closer to Leon.
Until she was standing by his side, she leaned up on her tiptoes, close to his ear.
Leon’s curiosity was fully piqued, and he leaned in closer.
Only to have his ear tugged.
“You really want to know, don’t you, silly? Why would I tell you my secrets? Then they wouldn’t be secrets anymore, would they?”
“Such dishonesty!”
Rosvisser released his ear, then clasped her hands behind her back and took a few steps back, putting some space between them.
The sunset bathed her hair in a deep red hue, like roses blossoming across the galaxy.
She stuck her tongue out playfully.
“When you confess your love to me one day, I’ll tell you my secrets.”