The focus of the afternoon’s tutoring session was Noa’s mistakes.

Skimming through her errors, Leon found that his eldest daughter had an exceptionally accurate assessment of her own abilities.

All her mistakes were from sections marked as red in the difficulty index. As for the ones categorized as green or yellow, she got them all right.

This was good, as it significantly reduced the time they’d waste taking detours.

Learning is like treating an illness—only the right prescription can lead to a swift recovery.

Throughout the entire afternoon, Noa absorbed a great deal of new knowledge.

When it was time to leave, she finally said to Leon with unusual generosity,

"Thank you."

Ah~~

Hearing this “thank you” filled the old father’s heart with unprecedented satisfaction~~

Suppressing his urge to break into a smile, Leon feigned nonchalance and replied,

"It’s nothing. This is what I should do."

Noa nodded, holding the homework Leon had assigned, turned around, stood on her tiptoes, stretched her arm up to grasp the door handle, and opened the door to leave.

Leon heaved a sigh of relief and turned his gaze to the window.

Night was already approaching.

After hastily finishing dinner, he sat back at his desk once more.

On the desk lay some basic herbal books that the maid, Anna, had brought over. There were also a few chili peppers that he had asked Noa to bring him at noon.

Leon picked up one of the chili peppers, studied it closely, and muttered to himself, "Doesn’t look different from the ones Master planted."

As he spoke, he bit into it and chewed.

Two seconds later—

“Water, water, water, water, water!!”

He scrambled to the sink, turned on the faucet, and let the cool water pour into his mouth, but it failed to neutralize the fiery sensation brought on by the insane spiciness of the chili.

Leon clutched his burning mouth, rolling on the floor.

It felt as if someone had stuffed a scorching piece of charcoal right into it.

After writhing in pain for several minutes, Leon finally felt a slight reprieve.

Tears had been forced from his eyes, and his lips were numbed to the point where he couldn’t even feel them anymore.

"If the Dragon Clan eats these peppers as part of their daily diet, they’re all definitely getting hemorrhoids sooner or later!"

Frustrated, Leon grumbled before climbing up from the floor and returning to his desk.

That ordeal had completely washed away the exhaustion of the day.

Leon wiped his face, shook off any lingering fatigue, and began preparing materials for tomorrow's session.

For a brief, fleeting moment, he felt like he was back at his days in Dragon Slayer Academy.

Back then, after daily classes, he would bury himself in books just like this, completely devoted—either reviewing or preparing. He rarely allowed himself any downtime.

No wonder his roommates used to call him the "Involuted King."

When studying late into the night left him too sleepy to continue, he would bite into one of the chilies his Master brought him.

The wake-up effect was undeniable.

Now, having recently recovered from a period of unconsciousness, Leon should be getting more rest.

But Noa’s entrance exams were coming up in a month, tests that typically required at least a year of preparation. Leon needed to make up for lost time and draft a rigorous yet efficient study plan.

With his body barely hanging on, Leon had to rely on the fiery chilies to shock himself awake and keep going.

And the Dragon Clan’s peppers...

Well, they far exceeded Leon’s expectations.

Focused as he was on his studies, Leon maintained such high concentration that when he decided to take a break, it was already past 11 PM.

Rubbing his heavy eyelids, tiredness pressed down on him, so he reached for the chili and bit into it again.

The instant surge of searing spice shot straight to his brain, driving any trace of fatigue miles away.

Leon clenched his thigh tightly, enduring the numbing, fiery assault on his senses.

Once the intensity subsided somewhat, he set aside the prepared teaching plans and materials. Instead, he reached into the drawer and retrieved the herbal books Anna had brought earlier.

He opened up the index and flipped to the sections on "body nourishment" and "supplements."

What a humbling moment.

Roswitha’s words—“Your body isn’t what it used to be”—still felt like a blade lodged in his pride.

And like any self-respecting "Involuted King," Leon shared one universal trait—he was both stubborn and prone to overthinking.

Requesting herbal books from Anna that morning was his attempt to find something to replace his current nutritional supplements.

Simply relying on supplements to recover his body could take ages.

He couldn’t let Roswitha look down on him.

Leon swore that Roswitha would regret her biting remark about his health.

Fueled by determination, Leon dove into the herbals and pored over any potentially useful references.

"Red Pulp Dragon Fruit... sweet flesh, seeds usable as medicinal ingredients, regulates blood circulation... hmm, useless."

"Phantom Lotus Grass, external application relieves minor injuries, intake aids digestion... Seriously? The Dragon Clan’s herbs are multi-purpose?"

"Dragon Vitality Elixir, enhances... Wait, what in the world is this absurd name? Sounds sketchy! According to... wait a sec..."

His complaints diminished as he squinted and read the detailed description.

“Ah... As expected. Matches my preconceived notions of this ridiculous name.”

However, Leon wasn’t looking for bluntly overpowered elixirs like the Dragon Vitality Elixir.

What he needed focused solely on nourishment and restoration.

But after flipping through the book for ages, he still couldn’t find anything he wanted.

Just as he was about to check the next book, the sound of a turning lock caught his attention.

Leon quickly hid the herbal book and swapped it with Noa’s teaching materials.

The visitor wasn’t anyone else—it was Roswitha herself.

“Oh, you’re still awake.”

She said this while making her way over.

“Mm,” Leon replied sullenly, pretending to be busy.

Roswitha sauntered to the edge of the bed and sat down, crossing her long legs. One hand propped her up, while the other rested on her knee, a lazy yet slightly fatigued demeanor emanating from her.

Leon pursed his lips, feeling the Dragon Mark on his chest.

Good. No unusual reaction.

It seemed Roswitha wasn’t here tonight to torment him.

Even so, Leon didn’t try to start a conversation with her, burying himself in revising the supplementary materials instead.

Roswitha’s gaze drifted lazily over to the chilies sitting on Leon’s desk.

She frowned. “Why are you eating chili?”

“For staying awake.”

“Staying awake?”

“Mm. Noa has her entrance exams next month. Usually, you’d need at least a year of preparation, but we don’t have that kind of time. Pulling some late nights is the only way to make it happen,” Leon explained without looking up.

After a moment’s pause, he added, “Also, I owe you a thank you.”

Roswitha raised a brow. “Thank me?”

“Yeah. Thank you for giving birth to such a smart daughter. That’s what gives me the confidence that she can pass with just one month to prepare.”

The queen scoffed, “Noa takes after me.”

Leon froze, finally setting down his plan. Turning to her with a serious expression, he asked,

“And what leads you to that conclusion?”

Caught off guard, Roswitha blinked. “Uh, well, I—I...”

“I was admitted to the Empire’s Dragon Slayer Academy at age ten. Graduated at fifteen, ranking first in both written exams and combat. Secured all the top-level scholarships every year for those five years. Upon graduation, I was personally awarded honors by the principal. In fact, I was the first underaged graduate in the academy’s hundred-year history. After graduation, I dominated all the skill competitions in the Dragon Slayer Army, winning first place every single time."

Leon stared her right in the eye and enunciated each word slowly,

“So, your majesty, what championships have you won?”

“...”

Stunned, Roswitha found herself temporarily silenced.

She genuinely hadn’t anticipated that Leon, of all people, would turn out to be an academic prodigy.

She’d always thought of him as a brawny, hot-headed brute.

Of course, she wasn’t about to compliment him outright. Instead, she remarked flatly in response to his interrogation,

“Impressive.”

“Of course.”

“So how’d you end up as my captive?”

Leon: ...

Damn it.

That hit hard.