Apart from occasions involving "revenge," Roswitha rarely took the initiative to talk to Leon.

Of course, Leon couldn't be bothered to go out of his way to chat with her either.

In the eyes of outsiders, they might seem like a courteous couple, leading a busy but harmonious married life.

But only they knew the undercurrents lurking beneath the surface of that supposed harmony.

Leon and Roswitha locked eyes for a long time. Neither of them made the first move to speak.

Without interest in wasting more time, Roswitha turned around and prepared to leave.

"Hey!"

Leon’s voice suddenly came from above.

Roswitha paused her steps, turned her head, and looked up at him.

"I want to go out for a walk," Leon said. "Staying cooped up in this house all the time is stifling."

At that, Roswitha vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing just outside the balcony.

She beat her dragon wings to hover in mid-air, her long, silver tail dangling below her for balance.

Leon was startled, thinking that his remark had somehow angered the dragoness again.

"You’re only allowed to leave this house when you’re playing games with Muen," Roswitha said coldly.

"But... but won't Muen find it strange?"

"Strange how?"

"That her dad only leaves the house to play with her and spends every other moment locked inside. She’s bound to start questioning it."

"Daddy is in poor health and can’t go out freely—a reason that’s good enough."

"...You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you."

"Play your role as her father well. Don’t think about anything else, and especially don’t act on it. Got it?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Leon gave no reply.

There wasn’t much left for him to ask Roswitha.

Even going out for a walk had become a luxury. What else was there to discuss?

Waving her off lazily, Leon turned away and headed toward the bedroom.

Watching Leon’s thin, solitary figure retreating, Roswitha’s pupils trembled slightly. A fleeting, unidentifiable expression rippled through her otherwise cold eyes.

"Leon," she called out to him.

Stopping in his tracks, Leon half-turned his head. "What?"

"Muen will come to you this afternoon. You need to teach her how to write her name."

Leon frowned slightly at her words. "And then?"

"I’ll check her progress tonight. If she’s learned, you’ll get to walk with me in the garden tomorrow for one hour."

Leon blinked, catching onto a particular word. "With you... go for a walk?"

Roswitha froze for just a second but remained calm. She replied with the same air of indifference, "Don’t misunderstand. I just want to keep an eye on you. You’re too cunning. If it were someone else, you might’ve already gotten away."

Leon chuckled dryly. "Teaching a kid to write her name isn’t exactly the hardest thing in the world."

"I never said it was only her name."

Roswitha added, "She has to write all the names in our family."

"Even mine?"

"Obviously. Aren’t you her father?"

"...Alright, deal. No backing out, though."

Roswitha let out a cold snort. "I’m not obligated to promise you anything, Leon."

"Dragoness, you really are immune to persuasion."

Without paying him any more attention, Roswitha turned and flew off.

Leon shifted his gaze away, heading back inside.

Yet just two steps in, a serious question suddenly struck him. He spun around and rushed back to the balcony, shouting downward at Roswitha.

"Hey, dragoness, you never told me what your last name is!"

...

"Leon Kasmode."

"Roswitha Melkevi—"

"Ugh... What a tongue-twister of a name."

Leon muttered to himself while writing both his and Roswitha's names on a piece of paper.

Below them, he added, "Muen Melkevi."

At first, he thought about tricking Muen into thinking she carried his surname.

But then he remembered how Roswitha would definitely see through and punish such petty deceit.

It wasn’t worth it. Better not provoke the dragoness over something so trivial.

So his task for the afternoon boiled down to teaching little Muen to write those three names.

Generally speaking, human children are introduced to basic literacy around the age of three.

But as a half-human, half-dragon child, Muen was presumably more intelligent than ordinary human kids.

Hence, teaching her these basics at just over a year old didn’t seem unreasonable.

Contemplating this, Leon couldn’t help but marvel at his timing.

If he’d woken up earlier, Muen wouldn’t have learned to walk yet, and he wouldn’t have been so tired.

If he’d woken up later, Roswitha would likely have found someone else to teach Muen the fundamentals, leaving Leon free of childcare duties.

It was hard not to suspect that the dragoness had calculated the timing of his awakening to the very second.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Leon refocused on the names he’d just written and started brainstorming how best to teach Muen to write them.

"Melkevi... Melkevi..."

Though the name was a bit of a mouthful, as he repeated it, Leon suddenly made a connection.

"Melkevi—Oh~ so it’s an adaptation of ‘Milky Way,’ huh."

Apparently, the Dragon Clan had a touch of poetic romance when it came to naming.

While indulging in this thought, Leon heard a faint commotion near the door.

Setting down the paper, he stood and went to open it.

"Oh, Muen, you already finished lunch?"

The little dragon girl outside lifted her head, gazing at the man before her.

Her delicate and adorable face remained expressionless.

"Mue...n..." she murmured her name softly.

"Come in," Leon said, bending down to pick her up as he spoke. "Daddy’s going to teach you something new this afternoon."

The little dragoness didn’t resist. However, she glanced briefly at the arms encircling her waist and asked coolly, "Who gave you permission to touch me?"

Leon: ?

Wait a minute.

Why did her tone and demeanor suddenly resemble Roswitha’s so much?

I just finished lecturing you about your "dual-faced" tendencies this morning. Is this how you’re applying it right after lunch?

Not wanting to engage further, Leon gently put Muen back down on the floor.

Muen looked down, brushing out the wrinkles in her dress. Then she raised her head to scrutinize Leon again.

"From now on, without my permission, you’re not allowed to touch me—let alone pick me up. Understood?"

Leon inhaled sharply.

If her earlier "Who gave you permission to touch me?" matched Roswitha’s tone and bearing,

Then this "Understood?" was practically an exact replica of Roswitha’s unwavering authority.

No negotiation. Just an order—don’t touch me.

"Muen... What’s gotten into you?"

"Hmph. Idiot."

"Huh?"

The little dragoness shot him a frosty glance and walked away without another word, slamming the door behind her.

Her stubborn little footsteps quickly faded into the distance, leaving Leon standing bewildered in the entryway.

Snapping out of it moments later, he stepped forward to open the door, intending to figure out what was going on.

But just as he moved, the door came crashing inward, striking him hard.

"Daddy, I’m back~!"

"Whoa—!"

Dragon girls truly did possess supernatural strength. One swing of the door sent her poor father flying back three meters.

"Ah! Daddy, are you okay?"

Muen hurried over, clearly concerned, and helped Leon back to his feet.

Though still slightly dizzy from the blow, Leon felt thankful for his earlier training in Vajra Indestructible Body Technique. If he could withstand breaking bricks on his chest, what’s one door slammed by a dragon girl?

After taking a moment to recover, he was fine.

"I’m sorry, Daddy. Muen... Muen hurt you..." The dragon girl tugged on Leon’s sleeve, her face the picture of remorse.

Leon was dumbfounded.

She’d just forbidden him from touching her not a minute ago. Now she was clinging to him like this?

Could it be...

The genetic flaw of being a human-dragon hybrid was multiple personalities?