"We?"

Noa nodded.

"Yeah, since everyone else is writing about familial love, if I want to stand out, I can't choose the same theme. I want to write about Mom and Dad's..."

Don't say that word.

Please, don't say it!

"Love!"

Pfft—

It was as if two invisible daggers had plunged deeply into the hearts of this couple.

Roswitha and Leon exchanged a glance.

It was obvious; Noa's chosen topic instilled a hint of...fear in both of them.

Familial love was fine.

In a household of four, any random combination could yield at least three unique familial bonds:

Father-daughter love, mother-daughter love, sisterly love.

If it were familial love, not to mention an 800-word essay, you could probably write 2,400 words—just enough for some lazy authors to split into multiple chapters.

But love...

Love? Are you joking?

Do your mom and I look like we're a deeply in love married couple?

Have we held hands? Kissed? Hugged? Gone on vacations together?

...

Wait a second—seems like we actually have.

So, it’s no wonder Noa is so confident in her "love" theme.

Blame it on Leon and Roswitha overly committing to their performance as a "married couple" in front of the kids.

This also speaks volumes about how well they've managed to maintain the illusion of a warm and loving family life.

So much so that when Noa thought about taking an unconventional approach to win a competition, the first thing that came to mind was them.

Now the couple, fumbling over their words and passing the burden back and forth, found themselves at a loss.

Seeing her parents' indecision, the light in Noa's eyes dimmed, her initial expectation and excitement fading. "Do you...not want me to win first place?"

Seeing this, Leon quickly squatted down. "Alright, Mommy and Daddy will cooperate with you. Our family is going to get first in the essay competition!"

Noa's small face lit up again. "Thank you, Mommy and Daddy~"

She was still a kid, mature beyond her years at times, but her adorable, delicate little face couldn't hide her emotions.

Now that Leon had agreed, Roswitha naturally wouldn't have much to say otherwise.

"So, Noa, how do you need Daddy and me to cooperate with you?"

Noa had already thought it through on the way home. "It's super simple—not complicated at all."

Hearing this, the couple secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Simple. Simple is good.

A child's understanding of love couldn't possibly be too complex, right?

Leon refused to believe his sweet daughter could come up with any outrageous requests.

"You two can go on a date to Sky City tomorrow!"

...

"A date?! She used the word 'date' this afternoon, didn’t she? At her age, does she even know what a date is?!"

Late into the evening, Leon paced back and forth in Roswitha’s room.

Roswitha shook her head. "Noa knows more than most kids her age. Since she brought it up, maybe we should think about how to handle tomorrow's date."

Leon stopped pacing and looked at Roswitha. "Have you ever been on a date before?"

Roswitha spread her hands. "The first hundred years were spent on academics, the next hundred on my career. When would I have had time for dating? What about you?"

"The first fifteen years were for school, the next five for work..."

And the past two years have been dedicated to raising kids.

Roswitha covered her face, sighing. "Alright, so clearly neither of us can rely on past experience."

Zero experience—it really wasn't promising.

Roswitha sat in silence for a moment, then stood and went to her study.

A short while later, she returned to the living room holding several books.

She placed the books on the coffee table.

Leon leaned over for a look. "My Lover and I, Afternoon Slumber, Albatross of True Love... What are these?"

"Novels." After a pause, she clarified, "Romance novels."

"I thought you usually researched magic in your study. Didn’t realize you were sneaking in light reading!"

Roswitha shot him a glare, ignoring his teasing, and got straight to business.

"To give Noa authentic material for her story, even if we’re terrible at dating, we should cram for it tonight."

She patted the covers of the books. "Learning from these should be pretty effective."

It was reminiscent of the nights they crammed for their entrance exams, pulling all-nighters to make it through testing.

But this time, they only had one night to prepare.

"Cramming for a test? Now that you mention it, I’m wide awake."

Saying that, Leon sat down beside Roswitha, and the two began flipping through the novels in front of them.

Of course, since Roswitha had already read these romance novels several times, she only skimmed the sections specifically about "dating."

Leon, on the other hand, didn't waste time reading every word either—it wasn't like they had enough hours for that. Instead, he scanned the table of contents of each novel, jumping straight to chapters that suggested they might include information about dating.

The two used their methods efficiently and effectively.

While reading, they also took notes, jotting down bits of dating scenarios from the novels for later selection.

Within a few hours, they had thoroughly studied the dating portions of these romance novels.

Their handwritten notes grew into a rather impressive collection.

They exchanged a glance and shared a knowing, scholarly smile.

They combined their notes and began sifting through them to select what suited their purposes.

The first item on their dating agenda? Watching a ballet performance.

A theater was crowded, elegant, and perfect—it was just watching a show, a safe choice without any bizarre activities.

"Alright, a couples' bar... Hmm, let’s cross that off," Roswitha said.

Leon nodded in agreement. He wasn’t a fan of drinking, after all.

Moreover, since this was for Noa's essay, she’d likely sneak around observing them tomorrow. If he drank too much and got sloppy during her data gathering, it’d be a disaster.

The couple continued organizing and selecting appropriate date activities.

What counted as "appropriate"?

Basically, activities without weird couple games, excessive physical intimacy, while still showcasing the theme of "parental love" in a wholesome manner.

Frankly, it was quite challenging.

But after some effort, they managed to piece together a dating itinerary that could last the entire day.

Leon felt satisfied reviewing the list.

"As long as we stick to this tomorrow, there’s no way we’ll mess it up!"

Roswitha, unusually, agreed with his assessment.

"That's right. We’ll definitely give our daughter the perfect dating material!"

The two popped open some champagne to celebrate.

Little did they know, the last time they popped champagne together was the night before their entrance exams, and well... those who know, know.

So this time...

Can the pair avoid the infamous champagne curse of inevitable failure?

Stay tuned for Noa K. Melkevi's blockbuster production: *Parental Love!*