“Shhh~~~”

Hearing the sound of the door lock turning, the couple simultaneously placed their index fingers on each other's lips, gesturing for silence.

They tilted their heads to listen. From the doorway came a familiar voice.

“Sis, we’re sneaking into Mom and Dad’s room. What if we get caught?”

“We won’t get caught. At this hour, Mom and Dad should already be asleep. Besides, we’re just here to check up on them to see if they’re keeping their promise. Even if we do get caught, it’s not a big deal.”

“Ohhh, Muen understands.”

Check up on them?

Sweetheart, just what have you been learning at the academy these past few months? First living together, and now this whole concept of ‘checking up.’

It’s hard not to suspect whether that old dragon, Vice Principal Wilson, had brainwashed you somehow, making you ship your mom and dad’s relationship even harder when you got back home.

But they had no time to speculate about Noa’s campus life now. The immediate priority was figuring out how to handle this so-called ‘check-up.’

The couple simultaneously lowered their heads, looking at the scene on the sofa—

Great. There was not the slightest trace of a proper first-night living-together vibe. Instead, they looked like honeymooners about to jump into a full-blown romantic moment right there on the couch.

“It’s Noa and Muen...”

Roswitha’s pupils shifted, her speech hastening. “No wonder Noa was asking earlier, ‘You two are really going to keep living together, right?’ She must’ve suspected from the beginning that we wouldn’t truly stick to it. That’s why she’s coming to check up on us.”

Leon sighed. “Looks like having a smart daughter isn’t always a blessing…”

Muen was still alright—innocent, adorable, naïve, easily tricked. Whatever Mom and Dad said, she believed—basically, an easy target to handle.

Noa, though, was clever by nature. As she grew older and gained more experience, it was becoming increasingly harder to brush her off with superficial acts like before.

“Get into bed,” Roswitha said, lowering her voice after a brief brainstorming session.

This time, Leon had no room for refusal. “Alright.”

The couple hurriedly got off the couch, each grabbing a corner of the duvet and wrapping it around themselves. With all the stealth of cats, they scurried toward Roswitha’s large bed.

But before they even managed to lie down, another pressing realization dawned on them.

They looked at each other and spoke simultaneously, “The pajamas!”

Earlier that evening, they had agreed with Muen that living together meant wearing matching couple pajamas.

But, of course, that was just a PR gesture; neither of them had any intention of actually donning something so embarrassingly tacky with their lifelong rival.

Who could’ve anticipated this ‘check-up’ scenario though?

If they left their little princesses with the impression that their words were unreliable, things could quickly spiral downhill.

Leon anxiously scanned the room. Thankfully, they hadn’t yet stored the couple pajamas in the wardrobe.

He scrambled to grab them, tossing the pink one over to Roswitha. Then, holding up his own set, he nimbly squirmed into it like a kangaroo.

The pajamas were a one-piece design, with a zipper running from the chest down to the belly. As long as you slipped in through the zipper, you were good to go.

Meanwhile, the sound of the sisters’ footsteps grew closer. Panicking, Roswitha had no choice but to throw on her matching pajama set as well, not even bothering to remove the sheer nightdress she had on underneath.

Once they were both dressed, the couple dove into bed, slipping under the quilt like two fish leaping into water.

To look like the epitome of “newly cohabiting loving parents,” they faced each other and embraced intimately beneath the covers.

Leon’s arm was wrapped snugly around Roswitha’s slender waist, while Roswitha’s delicate hand rested lightly on Leon’s shoulder.

“Why do you seem so practiced at putting your arm around my waist?” Roswitha whispered softly.

“Practice makes perfect, my dear wife.”

“Shut up!”

The couple quickly shut their eyes, pretending to sleep.

At this moment, the door to the bedroom creaked open a fraction.

First, Noa’s little head poked in. She scanned the room briefly, and then, just below her chin, a single strand of messy hair popped into view, closely followed by Muen’s small face.

The two sisters jointly surveyed the bedroom.

“Balcony—clear.”

“Sofa—clear.”

“Bathroom—clear.”

“Target confirmed on the bed. Move in, move in!”

Dragon-girl special operatives successfully infiltrated Mom and Dad’s bedroom.

Silently, they approached the bed with stealthy precision, lifting their legs high and setting them down lightly, steps perfectly in sync as they navigated the room in single file.

To avoid detection, they first knelt at the bedside, observing the couple’s still forms for any reactions. When there were none, they carefully used both hands to grip the bed’s edge, their little heads slowly rising above the quilt’s edge.

“Mom’s tail is tucked away; looks like she’s really asleep,” Muen said quietly.

Among dragonkind, their tails were reflexively tucked when deeply asleep. Much like how humans naturally breathe, it was entirely automatic.

Noa nodded in agreement. “I thought for sure they wouldn’t be sleeping together.”

Muen glanced up at her sister, her gaze curious. “If they aren’t sleeping together, then how would they sleep?”

Shrugging, Noa replied, “Mom would sleep on the bed, and Dad would sleep on the couch, I guess.”

Speaking of which, Noa cautiously tiptoed closer to the bed’s headboard.

Upon seeing that her mom was indeed dressed in the pink couple’s pajama set, she finally relaxed, a satisfied smile appearing on her face. “Even the pajamas are on. Looks like Mom and Dad are really taking cohabitation seriously.”

Listening to their daughters’ exchange, the couple under the quilt maintained calm exteriors, though they were inwardly sweating bullets.

If they hadn’t been up so late tonight, worrying over a spider incident, they might have genuinely been caught red-handed by their eldest daughter.

In hindsight, while they had maintained the illusion of a harmonious family life quite convincingly, Noa probably still viewed them as a rather “peculiar” couple.

Sure, Mom and Dad appeared “affectionate,” but there was something… off about it—at least, that’s what Noa must feel.

At her young age, Noa couldn’t yet grasp the intricate subtleties of adult relationships. All she could do was find her own ways of verifying whether “Mom and Dad truly love each other.”

Fortunately, Mom and Dad’s performance tonight had passed with flying colors.

Dad really loved them. And for now, it seemed like Mom wouldn’t exhibit the kind of sorrow and heartache she used to carry anymore.

“Hey Sis, actually, one time when you were at school, I came to see Mom and Dad and found them sleeping together just like this,” Muen said out of the blue.

Noa raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. Only...”

Muen touched her chin, her gaze drifting upward in thought, as if recalling the scene from back then. “Mom and Dad seemed super tired that time. Even though the sun was already high in the sky, they hadn’t gotten up yet. Also, also, they had red marks on their arms and necks.”

“Red marks?”

Muen nodded energetically. “Yeah, I think they must’ve been bitten by bugs. I even put ointment on them for it~”

The little dragon-girl beamed, seeking praise.

Noa chuckled and pinched her younger sister’s chubby cheek. “Very thoughtful of you, Muen.”

Muen squinted happily, then asked in a worried tone, “But when they wake up tomorrow, will those red marks still be there?”

Noa scratched her head, not entirely sure what this ‘red mark’ business was about.

But there shouldn’t be any weird bugs in Mom’s room. “Probably not. If there are, we’ll just put more ointment on them.”

“Okay, okay!”

At this point, the two people lying on the bed were holding back both laughter and tears.

The sisters’ conversation had evoked memories of a certain episode in their shared history.

The “one time” Muen was referring to happened shortly after Roswitha had fainted from using the ‘Blood Enchantment’ ability. Leon had taken her on a “check-in tour” of the back mountain, and they had returned utterly exhausted the next morning, falling asleep together on the spot.

That scene had coincidentally been witnessed by Muen, who had mistaken the kiss marks on their bodies for bug bites.

For Roswitha, that had been one of the most embarrassing times of her life.

But according to the “Relativity of Misery,” her embarrassment meant someone else got to laugh.

Lying in bed, their faces were very close.

Hearing their daughters casually talk about that incident, they silently opened their eyes and looked at each other.

Leon was smiling, his expression deeply amused.

Roswitha, on the other hand, bit her lip, her face flushed crimson. Her beautiful eyes glared angrily at Leon.

Leon, grinning mischievously, mouthed the word: “Hickey~”

You rotten man, do you think I don’t know what my daughters are talking about? No need to remind me!

How could Roswitha let Leon's smugness go unchecked?

Dropping her gaze to his waist, a wicked idea popped into her mind. With her thumb and index finger, she gave his side a well-practiced—and quite painful—pinch.

Ouch, ouch, ouch! A wave of sharp pain shot straight from his waist to his head.

The move was stealthy, barely perceptible, but devastatingly effective.

Leon turned beet red from the pain but clenched his teeth in silence. Under no circumstances could he make a noise now, lest he alert his daughters and get stuck explaining himself.

Roswitha, of course, would act completely innocent and leave him to face the music alone.

Where on earth did this mother dragon learn this sneaky trick? Over two centuries old and still pinching like a schoolgirl?

Seeing the triumphant smirk on Roswitha’s face, Leon knew exactly what she was thinking: she was being defiant again.

“No~Noise~Allowed~” Roswitha mouthed mischievously.

Ah, so after the “Don’t Flash the Dragon Mark Challenge,” we’ve moved on to the “Don’t Make a Sound Challenge,” huh?

Fine, dear wife. Since you want to play, I’ll gladly join in your little game!