Leon found himself trapped in a deadlock.

"Your body isn't what it used to be, huh?"

Defense broken.

"Your performance last night pleased me. Keep it up."

Defense broken.

His defenses in front of Roswitha were as flimsy as paper—broken with a single jab.

Leon would rather face this she-dragon on a blood-soaked battlefield for three hundred rounds than endure her psychological onslaught in bed day after day.

Damn it.

The subject "Mental Fortitude" wasn't exactly in the curriculum at the Dragon-Slaying Academy!

Roswitha patted Leon on the head. "Alright, clean yourself up. You'll need to tutor Noa in a bit."

Leon moved his half-dead arms and legs. "I'm practically bedridden. Can't we skip today and do it tomorrow?"

Roswitha nodded, not pressing him. "Okay."

So agreeable.

She must have been truly satisfied with last night, then.

Leon sighed again in his heart.

The medicine he'd worked so hard to refine—all its effects squandered on that.

Satisfied? How could she not be?

Even if she had a heart of stone, she'd still be satisfied, wouldn't she?

Roswitha put away her teasing demeanor and began tidying up the mess of the room.

Watching her clean methodically, Leon pursed his lips and explained, "I really can't get out of bed, or I'd help you clean up."

"Mm, it's fine."

To be fair, Roswitha's housekeeping skills were top-notch.

In mere moments, the chaotic room was restored to a somewhat tolerable state.

As Leon watched her deft movements, a thought crossed his mind. She bore all those kiss marks and undoubtedly wasn't lightly spared last night, yet this morning she appeared unaffected.

Tch, is this the legendary stamina of the Dragon Clan?

Frightening, truly.

Next, she moved on to finer cleaning.

She was just as efficient and skilled at the details.

Leon had always assumed that as a silver dragon queen, Roswitha never did chores like these.

For a moment, he felt a flicker of recognition; in Roswitha's figure, he seemed to see the shadow of his master’s wife.

That simple and diligent farmer’s wife—who also took her housekeeping seriously and meticulously.

Thinking this, Leon's mood sank a little.

Though his memories of last night were incomplete, he vaguely recalled muttering about how... he missed home.

Two years... Of course, he missed it.

He wondered how his master and his wife were faring.

Leon fiddled with his fingers, hesitating for a moment before finally saying to Roswitha,

"Hey... remember the bet we made earlier? About getting the girls to call you 'Mom,' just to see if it would make them happier?"

Roswitha momentarily stopped tidying, turned to him, and replied, "Yeah, I remember. Have you decided what request to make?"

Whoa, so straightforward. She must have realized on her own how much closer the girls became after switching to calling her 'Mom.'

"I’ve decided. Can you send someone to the Empire... to check on my master and his wife?"

Leon said, "I know the Dragon Clan sends infiltrators to human countries. You've even trained people specifically for such tasks, right?"

Roswitha's eyes flickered as she replied, "Silver dragons aren't particularly good at stealth missions; those are usually handled by dragons adept in disguise. But if it’s just visiting your master and his wife, that’s doable."

Leon’s eyes lit up. "Really? Then thank—thank you."

Roswitha chuckled. "Saying 'thanks' to a nemesis, that's rare. Haha."

Leon turned his gaze away, saying nothing further.

Roswitha quietly returned to tidying up.

Before long, the room was nearly spotless.

At that moment, Leon heard the sound of the lock turning.

Seconds later, two small figures walked into the bedroom, one after the other.

"Good morning, Mum."

"Good morning, Mum!"

"Good morning, Noa, Muen," Roswitha greeted them.

The two little ones then turned their eyes to Leon lying on the bed. Just as they were about to greet him, they noticed something off about their dad's expression.

Muen suddenly remembered the "chocolate candy" from yesterday.

Dad said it was medicine for Mom.

But Mom said it was actually for Dad, that he wasn’t feeling well but couldn’t admit it and had to pretend it was for her.

Looking at him now...

Mom was right after all!

Muen quickly scampered to the bedside, her little face full of concern.

"Daddy, are you not feeling well?"

Leon looked at his youngest daughter, bewildered. "Huh? No, no. I'm fine, just a bit tired."

"I know everything, Daddy. Don’t pretend."

Leon froze. "You—you know what... about what?"

As he spoke, his gaze flicked to Roswitha.

No way. The dragoness didn’t tell the kids, did she?

Hey, what’s wrong with you?

How could you talk about something like that with little kids?

What about my dignity as a father?

Noa’s cold face also softened, showing a hint of concern. Unlike Muen, however, she didn’t rush over but stood quietly on the side.

"Daddy, you told us it was Mommy who was sick yesterday. But now it’s clear—you’re the one who’s not feeling well, right?"

Muen clutched Leon’s sleeve, her voice carrying a hint of sobs. "Muen knows. Daddy is a man, and men don’t like to admit when they’re sick. But... but Daddy looks even worse today. Muen is worried!"

"Don’t cry, don’t cry. Daddy’s fine."

Leon hurriedly tried to pick up Muen to comfort her but found he was still too weak. Even lifting the little dragon girl was a struggle.

In the end, Noa helped out by supporting her sister’s bottom, finally placing her on Leon's lap.

Afterward, Noa stood back in her usual indifferent posture, though her eyes never left Leon.

Leon wiped the tears from Muen’s eyes and smiled. "Daddy’s really fine. If I were sick, I’d already be lying here lifeless, unable to talk to you like this."

He thought a little joke might lighten the mood, as it always had before, and make his little girl laugh. But Muen still looked worried.

"Daddy, you’re lying. You are sick. You’re not well."

Muen sniffled. "Oh, right! Didn’t you prepare some medicine yesterday? Did you take it?"

"...I did."

"Then why aren’t you better, Daddy?"

"...ummm."

"Was the medicine not strong enough?"

"......"

"Or did you not take enough?"

"......"

"Or... did you take the wrong one?"

Sweetie, if you keep this up, it’s going to get real awkward. :)

"Daddy, talk to me! Don’t scare me—say something!"

Noa glanced at Leon’s expression, then blinked as certain thoughts clicked into place.

Ah. So this guy must really be feeling unwell but lied to Muen, claiming it was Mom who was sick. Then he took the medicine himself, only to realize it didn’t work—or maybe even backfired.

In short: he screwed up.

And look at Mom.

She was still cleaning quietly, but... was she holding back laughter?

Yep, that’s it.

At least the guy wasn’t dying.

"Daddy! Daddy! Muen can’t live without you! Daddy, please get better soon! Waaaa!"

Noa tugged on her sister’s tail and said, "Come on, Muen. Let’s go play. We’ll check on him again tonight."

"No! If Daddy’s time is running out, I need to stay with him!"

"What do you mean, 'time is running out'? Stop misusing idioms. Come on, he’s fine. I guarantee it. When we eat dinner tonight, he’ll be lively as ever."

Muen blinked her pretty eyes. "Really, Sis? You promise you’re not lying to Muen?"

"I promise."

"Okay, then Daddy, you take a good rest. We’ll see you tonight for dinner."

"...Alright."

Muen hopped off Leon’s lap, and Noa took her hand, leading her out of the bedroom.

"Daddy, make sure you rest and take your medicine!" Muen shouted back from the doorway.

Click—

The door closed.

"Pfft—"

Roswitha, who had been holding it in all this time, finally burst into laughter.

Leon’s face darkened.

"Can anyone relate to this?"