A few days after the enrollment photo was taken, the day of Noa's entrance exam was fast approaching.
In just a short month, Leon had gone over the key points of Saint Hiss Academy’s entrance exams from the past few years with Noa.
Noa had excellent comprehension; she grasped whatever she was taught quickly.
In these final days, Leon decided to let his daughter relax for a bit. No need to keep her wound too tightly.
After all, balance between work and rest was important.
In the evening, Leon was eating dinner alone in the nursery.
Roswitha had been very quiet and agreeable these past few days.
Unless absolutely necessary, she had barely sought Leon out at all.
Leon had thought that the matter with the Black Dragon Bolus wouldn’t just blow over so easily.
To his surprise, so many days had passed, and Roswitha hadn’t brought it up even once.
He supposed that on that night, with the enhancement from the Black Dragon Bolus, Leon must have pleased Roswitha so much that she was willing to let it slide this time?
As such thoughts crossed his mind, he finished off the last piece of pan-fried meat on his plate.
After dinner, Leon took a short break before beginning some basic physical exercises.
Push-ups, sit-ups, jump squats.
By the end of the routine, Leon was panting heavily.
But he was in a much better state than he had been a few days ago.
Since Dragon Clan medicine came with unpredictable side effects after ingestion, Leon had no choice but to return to the original, time-tested method of training.
After completing a few more sets, the sound of the door lock turning reached his ears.
Leon stopped what he was doing and glanced toward the entrance.
It was Roswitha.
She hadn’t come to see him for two days—so why was she suddenly appearing tonight?
“Well, look at you, working out.”
Roswitha approached but didn’t enter the bedroom. Instead, she crossed her arms lightly and leaned against the doorframe.
Leon didn’t respond to her and lay back down on the floor, continuing with his sit-ups.
Seeing that he was ignoring her, Roswitha moved closer and stood beside him.
Taking advantage of the moment when he leaned back onto the floor, she lifted her foot and pressed it onto his chest.
Leon lay on the ground speechlessly, turning his head to the side. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
“If you want to recover your physical strength, just take another couple of Black Dragon Boluses. Why bother doing sit-ups here, sweating yourself up?” Roswitha teased.
Leon rolled his eyes at her, then tilted his head up slightly to look at her delicate, slender ankle.
“Either move your foot, or let me take another bite,” he said.
“I came to talk to you,” Roswitha replied as she withdrew her foot.
Leon stood up from the floor, clapping his hands. “What is it?”
“Come to my room tonight, and I’ll tell you then.”
“...Can’t you just say it here?”
Roswitha shook her head.
Well, that figures.
He’d just been praising how this she-dragon had become more docile, only for her true nature to resurface in the blink of an eye.
Going to her room at this time of night, just the two of them—Leon didn’t need to think too hard to guess what might happen.
And this time, she wasn’t coming to his room to corner him; she wanted him to deliver himself to her “doorstep.”
That troublesome dragon, did she really think of him as her servant?
“I’m not going,” Leon tried to refuse.
“Oh? Well, you might want to carefully consider the consequences of that.”
“I’m going.” Leon caved immediately.
Going meant suffering for one night.
Not going meant suffering for at least a week.
Clenching his teeth, he closed his eyes and resolved to endure it.
Roswitha smirked triumphantly, humming lightly. “That’s more like it. Half an hour—I’ll be waiting.”
With that, she strutted away in her high heels.
After the she-dragon left, Leon let out a long sigh of exasperation.
He should’ve known—Roswitha’s vengeful streak was far too strong to let the Black Dragon Bolus incident slide.
Chances were, when he went to her room tonight, she’d come up with some new mischief to torment him.
The thought alone left Leon feeling even more hopeless.
When would this miserable life finally come to an end?
Looking up at the clock, Leon realized he had half an hour to kill.
After some thought, he decided to take a shower.
Roswitha had pointed out that he smelled sweaty earlier.
He didn’t want to give her any ammunition to criticize him further.
About twenty minutes later, Leon emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes, and headed to Roswitha’s room.
Standing at her door, he raised a hand and knocked.
Roswitha’s voice rang out from inside immediately. “Come in, the door’s not locked.”
Pressing his lips together, Leon hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and stepping inside.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the first time he’d ever been in Roswitha’s private quarters.
Upon entering, the layout of the entire living space came into view.
It was simple, minimalist, with no extravagant decorations—very much adhering to a barebones aesthetic.
As he ventured deeper, he passed by the kitchen, guest room, and master bedroom.
The master bedroom door was ajar, but Roswitha wasn’t inside.
Leon’s gaze inadvertently swept past the bed in her room, where he spotted the stuffed bear he had gotten for her from Sky City a few days ago.
Leon’s brows knitted slightly in confusion.
He distinctly remembered Roswitha claiming she wasn’t interested in toys like that.
Yet here it was, sitting on her bedside.
“Women are impossible to understand,” Leon muttered, walking over to take a seat on the living room sofa.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom—Roswitha was apparently taking a shower.
This only confirmed Leon’s suspicions.
He was sure of it now: there was no way he was leaving this room tonight without losing at least 100 grams.
Taking a deep breath, Leon inhaled and exhaled repeatedly, trying to calm himself down.
About ten minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Roswitha stepped out.
She wore a simple spaghetti-strap nightgown, the Dragon Mark on her chest faintly visible. Her damp silver hair draped over her shoulders, and a light mist of steam rose from her well-proportioned calves.
Her skin was so flawless that water droplets couldn’t cling to it; they slid down her cheek, along her jawline, and finally dropped onto her slender collarbones.
Barefoot, Roswitha walked past Leon as she dried her hair with a towel.
“Well, you’re right on time. Oh, you showered too, huh?”
Leon glanced at the trail of wet footprints she left on the floor, blinked, and said nothing.
Roswitha poured herself a glass of water and handed it to Leon.
“Drink something first. I’ll finish drying my hair.”
If she followed it up with, “So, how long have you been in this line of work?” it would be the ultimate killer.
Leon took the glass silently and sipped at it.
A few moments later, Roswitha had finished drying her hair and returned to the living room, standing before Leon with her hands on her hips.
“Alright, shall we get started? Where do you want to do this—the living room or... the balcony?”
Leon was stunned. “On the balcony... isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
Roswitha shrugged. “Why would it be? Nobody can see us anyway.”
Leon covered his face. “Fine, if you’re not afraid of embarrassment, then let’s do it on the balcony.”
“Pff, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Let’s just do it here in the living room, then—it’s the same no matter where.”
With that, Roswitha walked around the coffee table and sat beside Leon.
Leon let out a long sigh of relief, then lay back on the sofa, shutting his eyes.
Honestly, he felt like punching himself. Maybe if he opened his eyes again, everything would be over.
But after waiting a while, nothing happened.
Instead, he heard Roswitha’s voice, soft and teasing, from beside him. “What are you doing?”
Leon opened his eyes and sat back upright. “Huh? I... weren’t you saying we were going to... you know...”
Roswitha smirked, her gaze filled with amusement. “Oh? ‘You know’? What’s that supposed to mean, exactly?”
Leon swallowed hard, momentarily at a loss for words.
Then, Roswitha reached under the coffee table and pulled out a thick stack of test papers.
“Saint Hiss Academy also evaluates family members as part of its admissions process, including compatibility assessments. We need to use these days before the school year starts to get to know each other better so we don’t mess up the answers and affect Noa’s admission score.”
She drummed her fingers lightly on the cover of the papers, gazing with satisfaction at Leon’s flustered and mortified expression.
“...Roswitha, you’re—”
This dragoness had clearly intended for him to misunderstand, all so she could enjoy his utterly humiliated reaction at this moment!
Roswitha narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone dripping with a mix of disdain and mockery.
“Mister Casmod, you seem... quite unsatisfied~ But not tonight. Another time, perhaps.”
