"Mommy~"

Muen stood next to two snowballs—one large, one small—waving her tiny arm toward Roswitha.

Roswitha waved back in response. Then, her gaze shifted to Leon and Noa. From the looks of the destroyed practice dummy beside the father-daughter duo, they were probably working on offensive magic techniques.

"Make sure not to hurt yourself while using magic, Noa."

Roswitha had no intention of interfering with Leon's teaching of their elder daughter. He had a knack for teaching kids, which meant she didn’t need to worry at all.

"Got it, Mom," Noa answered before focusing her attention on channeling elemental lightning magic into her hands.

Leon looked up at the silver-haired beauty. Snowflakes landed on her head and shoulders as she stood there, straight and poised, more exquisite than even the finest porcelain doll.

Roswitha returned his gaze.

Neither of them spoke. Their exchange lasted only a brief moment before Roswitha turned away and walked toward Muen.

Dad with the elder one, Mom with the younger—an efficient division of labor.

"Muen, building a snowman?" Roswitha walked over.

"Uh-huh! Muen already rolled out the snowman's body and head, but... Muen's too short and can’t put them together." Muen tilted her head up, her large, sparkling eyes asking her mom for help.

Roswitha chuckled. "Then how about if Mommy helps you?"

"Yes, please~"

Nodding, Roswitha stepped closer, bent down, and picked up the snowman's head. However, her pregnancy—already showing at four months—made straightening up a more laborious process.

Noticing this, the little dragon girl rushed over immediately, raising her arms high to support the other side of the snowball while standing on tiptoes. Even her tail seemed to be contributing to the effort.

Finally, through mother-and-daughter teamwork, the snowman's head was perfectly placed atop its body.

"Mommy, you're amazing!" Muen rushed to grab Roswitha's wrist, shaking it excitedly.

Roswitha ruffled her hair. "Muen did a great job too. But the snowman’s face is still bare. Let's add its eyes and mouth and other parts together, okay?"

"Okay!"

Roswitha had seen over two hundred winters, but she had never built a snowman with anyone before.

Even as a child, she had no interest in games like this. When Isa begged her to play in the snow or join a snowball fight, Roswitha was always indifferent.

She never understood—it seemed silly to her—how rolling snow into a big ball and forming it into a humanoid shape could be considered an accomplishment.

For Roswitha at that time, wasting time on such trivialities felt far less appealing than reading or practicing magic.

Even during her two daughters' first winter, she merely stood by and watched them frolic, never participating.

But after being with Leon for so long, she gradually shed the unapproachable “aloofness” that didn’t befit a mother in the first place.

From insisting her daughters change the formal address of "Mother" to the warm and casual "Mom," to family portraits, school events, and even Noa’s heartfelt essay, "The Love of Parents," and now, building a snowman with Muen—

She had indeed changed a lot.

In the past, she wouldn’t have engaged in such activities so wholeheartedly.

Though reluctant to admit it, these subtle transformations had all started when Leon had awakened from his long sleep.

Of course, her changes only extended to matters concerning their daughters, which were undoubtedly influenced by him.

As for her stance on prisoners of war? She would never waver.

Setting such musings aside, Roswitha and Muen eventually found appropriate items to represent the snowman’s eyes, mouth, and arms.

Only the nose was missing.

The two stood before their nearly finalized snowman. The little dragon girl scratched her snowy head and said, "Muen can’t find a good stick for the snowman’s nose."

Roswitha was about to reply when the sound of footsteps came from behind her.

She turned to look and found Leon approaching.

"Wow, looks like you've built this pretty quickly," Leon remarked, his gaze landing on the snowman's face. "Wait, it’s still missing a nose?"

"The sticks we found were too thin; they wouldn’t look good for a nose," Muen explained.

Leon crouched down and gently pinched Muen’s soft little nose. "Why not make it a nose like Muen's? Wouldn’t that be cute?"

"But earlier, Mommy said if we do that, the snowman won’t have any unique features," Muen replied earnestly.

Leon picked her up and carried her to Roswitha’s side. "Why wouldn’t it be unique? Small noses are adorable."

"Adorable are children like Muen, not noses," Roswitha said coolly.

She had all but forgotten telling Leon before that "adorable" was considered an insult among the Dragon Clan.

There wasn’t much she could do about it—Roswitha simply couldn’t seem to find another suitable word to describe her daughters. So in the end, she went along with Leon’s terminology.

"A snowman should have a long nose," Roswitha stated.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "I think it should have a small nose."

"Long nose."

"Small nose."

"Looong nose!"

"Alright, alright, long nose it is," Leon said, opting not to argue with a pregnant woman.

He looked around. "But from what I can see, you haven’t found anything to serve as a proper long nose."

Roswitha gave a smirk. "Hmph, no need to search—I brought something along before I came here."

Leon blinked, suspecting Roswitha was indirectly accusing him of slacking off in teaching Noa, and quickly defended himself. "Noa’s doing perfectly fine on her own; I came over here just to check in on you two."

Shrugging, Roswitha said, "That’s not what I meant. I’m saying your timing is perfect."

"Perfect? How so?"

Without answering, Roswitha lowered her head and reached into the inside pocket of her cloak. From it, she retrieved—

A carrot.

In the icy, snowy landscape, this bright orange "stick of terror" appeared under Leon’s startled gaze.

He instinctively took half a step back. "This is the 'perfect nose' you were talking about?"

"Mm-hmm."

Roswitha flashed a triumphant smile, then turned and decisively stuck the carrot beneath the snowman’s eyes.

To be fair, it did look quite fitting.

"Fantastic. Perfect," Roswitha said, clearly satisfied.

Leon let out a quiet, disgruntled "Tch."

Glancing at him, Roswitha quipped, "Not happy? If you’re dissatisfied, I have a substitute for the carrot right here."

"What is it?"

Before Leon could react, Roswitha fished out an eggplant from the same pocket.

Leon: "......I really should’ve kept my mouth shut."

"Yay~ The snowman’s done~"

Muen cheered, shaking her little tail while the strand of hair on her head swayed back and forth.

Leon put her back on the ground, allowing her to wander around and admire her snowman friend.

With Muen preoccupied, the couple was finally able to converse privately.

Leon glanced at Roswitha’s visible baby bump. "You really came out in this freezing weather... What if you slipped?"

"The Dragon Clan rarely slips," Roswitha said, swishing her tail behind her. "Besides signifying status and age, our tails also help us maintain balance effectively."

Leon narrowed his eyes at her long silver tail, remaining silent for a moment before giving a contemplative nod. "I see. It really does serve many functions."

"Hiss—you idiot," Roswitha muttered, catching his implication immediately. She mumbled to herself and quickly lowered her tail.

Leon chuckled faintly, crossing his arms. "Didn’t Anna and the others notice you sneaking out?"

By her fourth month, Roswitha’s pregnancy was apparent enough that Anna and the other maids could easily tell. Coupled with the winter season, the snowy ground posed a risk of slipping, so the maids had taken it upon themselves to watch over her closely. They only allowed her to move around inside the Castle.

Going outside? Out of the question.

"Limitations on the queen’s movement" sounded like a perilous proposition—certainly grounds for losing one’s head if mishandled.

But Roswitha wasn’t a tyrannical queen blind to reason.

Her maids genuinely cared for her well-being and only imposed these restrictions out of concern for her safety. To punish them for it would be unnecessarily cruel.

So over the past week, Roswitha had resorted to a battle of wits with her loyal maid squad.

Her usual demeanor was cool and aloof, but in truth, she was quite rebellious. The moment the maids’ attention wavered, she would slip away effortlessly—far too quick to catch.

Naturally, Leon, as her husband, had become her accomplice.

Of course, he was a reluctant one.

Roswitha had threatened Leon: if he dared to report her escape plans to Anna, she would reinstate the rigorous routines of his old training days. Reluctantly, Leon had no choice but to cooperate.

As her closest partner, Leon actually had a better understanding of Roswitha’s physical condition than Anna did. She was perfectly fine to venture outside occasionally, contrary to the maids' strict prohibitions.

"Don’t worry. I left through the side gate; they didn’t see me."

After a pause, Roswitha added, "And even if they had, what’s the worst that could happen? I am their queen, after all. I doubt Anna would lead a group to forcibly drag me back."

Leon opened his mouth to reply but suddenly paused as his gaze shifted to something behind her.

He didn’t give his reaction away, instead continuing to ask, "So, you're saying you’re not afraid of your head maid at all?"

"Why should I be? Even if she catches me now, I’d just escape again later."

"Oh, really? That eager to see the outside world, huh?"

"Come on, I’m only four months along—not like I’m about to go into labor."

Roswitha had a point. She knew her own body better than anyone else.

Though, to the ever-dutiful maids, any potential hazard near their queen had to be stamped out.

Watching her speak with such confidence, Leon slowly began to clap.

"Truly living up to the name of the Silver Dragon Queen. So since you’ve managed to sneak out without getting discovered, what are you planning to do next?"

Roswitha thought for a moment. "Hmm... maybe teach Muen fire magic? Or build another snowman? A snowball fight sounds fun too."

"If Anna finds out you’re planning to have this much fun, she’s definitely going to drag you back immediately," Leon said.

Roswitha shrugged nonchalantly. "She’s not here, so I—"

"Your Majesty." A familiar voice abruptly sounded from behind.

"..." Roswitha froze, every hair on her body standing on end.

"Fire magic, snowmen, snowball fights... Which of these, pray tell, are suitable activities for a pregnant woman?" The head maid’s tone was filled with exasperation.

At that moment, Roswitha had her back to Anna, facing Leon.

She glared fiercely at the despicable Dragon Slayer in front of her, gritting her teeth. "You had the nerve to bait me!"

"I was just asking casually! I didn’t report you, so don’t pin this on me," Leon quickly distanced himself from the situation.

"You!..."

"Your Majesty, please cooperate and come back with me. If you fall or hurt yourself, that would be my negligence," Anna said.

Having served the queen for decades, she knew Roswitha responded better to soft words than to force, so she kept her tone gentle.

Roswitha shot Leon another vicious glare. Judging by the seething emotions in her dragon eyes, if Anna and Muen weren’t present, she might have already pressed Leon face-first into the snow.

Leon, meanwhile, maintained an expression of wide-eyed innocence.

Come on, I really didn’t report you!

"Casmod, well done! Let’s see if you dare get into bed tonight!"