Leon thought about using the opportunity of lunch to finish off some of the leftover cake. Cream was something that spoiled easily, so the sooner it was gone, the better.

He walked into Roswitha's room without knocking, pushing the door open and stepping inside directly.

Roswitha was wearing a light, casual nightgown and lying on the couch in the living room, enjoying the cool breeze flowing in through the balcony. She looked utterly relaxed and comfortable.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, she didn’t bother to get up to see who it was. After all, there was only one person in the entire Silver Dragon Castle who wouldn’t bother knocking before entering her room.

Roswitha had given Leon a fair share of scoldings for this behavior in the past. That was back when Leon was still young and weak, and she could easily put him in his place. But now, Leon had grown wild and untamed, like a lion, and she had to think twice before acting. Otherwise, it might disrupt the delicate balance of their relationship, flip the situation against her, and end with her utterly overpowered.

So, she decided to let it slide. After all, she was out of the room most of the day anyway, and at night she simply locked her door.

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

Seeing the graceful figure sprawled on the couch, Leon paused for a moment in surprise. Normally, during this time before lunch, Roswitha would be in the Castle hall dealing with work, heading straight to the dining room when it was time to eat.

Roswitha slightly opened her silver eyes, peeking at Leon through a narrow slit before closing them again. "You barge into someone else’s room uninvited and then ask them why they’re here? Does that sound reasonable to you?"

Leon shrugged, unbothered. He knew full well that his actions would annoy Roswitha—and he did it on purpose. Whatever she disliked, he'd just double down on it. Rebellion, after all, was his trademark.

Roswitha yawned sleepily after shutting her eyes again, even squeezing out a few small tears at the corners of her eyes.

"So, you're just here slacking off, huh?" Leon teased.

"I work from eight to five, no holidays. Can't I come back to rest for a bit today?"

"Sure, do whatever you want. I'm just here for the cake."

Leon’s gaze shifted from Roswitha to the coffee table nearby, where a small piece of leftover cake sat. However, the cream had been scraped off and placed onto a piece of tissue paper.

"You dislike cream that much?" Leon asked knowingly.

Honestly, he wasn’t a big fan of it either; it held unforgettable memories for the two of them. However, their dysfunctional relationship always operated on a basis of mutually assured irritation. Leon couldn’t resist making a point of asking.

To his surprise, Roswitha didn’t engage in their usual back-and-forth banter. She simply replied, "Eating cream makes you gain weight."

As she spoke, she pinched her thigh through the thin fabric of her gown. Yep, she could feel it—there was indeed a little more flesh there.

Although not much had changed outwardly, as nothing was visibly apparent, Roswitha had always trusted her own touch over appearances. If she felt she had gained weight, then she was certain of it.

It puzzled her. She had been careful about her diet and exercise for decades, and her weight had always been consistent. So why was she suddenly putting on weight like this, sprouting new flesh like mushrooms after the rain?

Could she have unknowingly developed some bad habits recently? For a moment, Roswitha went into deep thought but couldn’t recall any changes; everything seemed the same as always.

Well, except for one thing…

If she had to point out a difference compared to before, it would probably be…

The frequency of her and Leon “turning in homework” had decreased.

Tsk—!

At that thought, Roswitha clenched her eyes shut tightly, shaking her head to expel such chaotic ideas from her mind.

Turning in homework helps with weight loss?

What kind of reasoning was that? It made no sense!

Feeling slightly frustrated, she sat up abruptly, intending to say something. However, the quick movement caused her blood circulation to falter, her vision to black out momentarily, and her head to spin.

From where he stood, cutting the cake into smaller pieces, Leon glanced at her. Something seemed off.

"Are you sick?" he asked casually.

"No, just… dizzy," Roswitha replied, rubbing her temples lightly.

"Ah... Well, drink some hot water," Leon offered, his tone utterly perfunctory.

Roswitha shot him a glare but remained silent. After taking a moment to regain her composure, she stood up, slipped on a jacket, and left the room.

Once Leon finished slicing the cake, he brought the plates to the dining room.

The three-person family sat around the dining table. The cake was set aside for the moment as a dessert for after the meal.

Muen, seated across from Roswitha, tilted her head. Noticing her mother’s somewhat tired expression, she asked, "Mommy, you look like… you haven’t woken up yet."

Roswitha raised her gaze and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling as she replied, "Do I? I don’t think so. Maybe it’s because I didn’t put on makeup today, so I just look a bit tired."

"Mommy, you need to take care of yourself!" the young dragon girl said with concern.

"Alright, mommy knows. Now hurry and eat, didn’t you say you’re going to study with daddy this afternoon?"

"Mmm-hmm!"

Muen enthusiastically focused on her lunch.

The married couple exchanged a glance but said nothing, silently eating their meal.

A while later, Roswitha offered a simple reminder—“Don’t overdo it with the studying; be sure to take breaks”—and then got up to leave.

Leon glanced at her plate; there was still plenty of food left untouched.

Is she trying to lose weight?

He looked up at Roswitha’s retreating figure. Her tall, curvy frame, waterfall-like hair, and perfect proportions, down to her model-like legs and wasp waist—there was no reason for her to diet.

Women. He couldn’t figure them out.

Turning back to his daughter, Leon said, "Muen, eat more. You’ll need strength to study."

"Yes, daddy!"

After lunch, the father and daughter spent half an hour relaxing in the backyard garden before starting their afternoon study session.

Muen’s aptitude was impressive, and she learned quickly, something Leon found immensely satisfying.

Though most of the time Muen acted as the family mascot, whenever she got serious, her efficiency rivaled even that of Noa.

But this determination depended entirely on Muen herself. Noa was a genius and the epitome of a high achiever, with a baseline performance that outstripped most people’s ceiling. By contrast, Muen only gave it her all when she was motivated to pursue a particular goal.

She had confided in Leon once, telling him that she worked so hard because she wanted to catch up to her older sister.

As a proud father, Leon was deeply touched. Muen wasn’t putting in effort just to grill steaks for fun; her drive was genuinely pure and inspiring. She truly was his daughter!

Leon couldn’t help but look forward to the day Muen awakened her talents.

If she ended up with the same lightning element as Noa, then “proud” wouldn’t even begin to cover his feelings. He’d be over-the-moon ecstatic.

He might even have to dance on Roswitha’s head to celebrate.

Look at that, mother dragon—our daughters are so amazing, all thanks to my genetics!

Ahem—

Leon quickly reined in his excitement. After all, this was just a fantasy for now, a seedling yet to sprout.

Shaking off his wandering thoughts, he refocused on teaching his daughter.

By around three in the afternoon, Leon decided to take a short break, allowing Muen to work on some practice problems on her own.

He walked over to the bookshelf, scanning for any texts that might help him solve his problem of magical depletion.

Noa had mentioned that Saint Hiss Academy’s winter vacation was coming up in just over a month. By then, Leon needed to have recovered his magic so he could teach her more lightning spells.

Time was tight and the task was urgent. Leon couldn’t afford any delays.

But with his current situation, he’d already tried every method he could find, yet nothing had worked.

Leaning against the bookshelf with an ancient tome in hand, Leon furrowed his brows deeply.

"What on earth is going wrong…?"

"What’s the real cause of my magical depletion?"

"I can gather faint traces of mana, and my magic circuits are fine. My physical and mental strength are all normal, and there’s no external force sealing me. Even the side effects of the Blood Enchantment only involve fainting, with no connection to mana."

"Ugh—so many possibilities considered, but still no answers."

"Could my entire approach be misguided…?"

As his train of thought deepened, the heavy atmosphere in the library grew stifling. Leon instinctively reached up to loosen his collar.

But the moment his palm touched his chest, his motion froze.

In that instant, a completely new idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.