Leon hoped he was simply misunderstanding.

When he arrived at the dining room, Muen was already feasting happily on the offering meant for her father.

To enjoy the finest offering—well, ahem—the steak on such a beautiful morning was truly one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Noa sat down next to her younger sister and gently reminded her not to scatter bits of meat outside of the plate, as it would make it troublesome for the maids to clean up later.

Muen nodded obediently and continued eating as instructed.

The parents also seated themselves at their respective spots.

After such an action-packed and eventful morning, it was indeed the perfect time to replenish their energy with a hearty breakfast.

At the dining table, Leon brought up a topic.

"Oh, right, Noa, Muen, during the past few days when your mom and I were out, we happened to think of a name for your little sister."

Hearing this, the two young dragon girls' eyes lit up in excitement.

Muen, gripping her fork and knife tightly, asked eagerly, "What is it? What is it?"

"Aurora," Leon replied.

Roswitha elaborated, "It’s the Chinese pronunciation of 'Aurora.' It represents the northern lights and dawn."

Neither Noa nor Muen felt disappointed that their parents ultimately didn’t choose "Blaise" or "Star" as the baby’s name.

On the contrary, they both thought that Aurora was a fitting name for their little sister.

"It's such a beautiful name. Was it Dad's idea or Mom's idea?" Noa asked.

At these words, General Leon instantly brightened, his fatigue vanishing in an instant.

Oh, my sweet daughter! Daddy hereby declares you the MVP of the family this year!

Leon puffed out his chest with pride and said smugly, "Of course your old man came up with it! When it comes to artistry and artistic conception, your mom is still a step behind me."

The little dragon girls immediately looked at their father with envy, their wide eyes filled with unreserved admiration.

Ah, yes, this is the look.

Leon lived his life in pursuit of two kinds of looks: the adoring gaze of his daughters and the disdainful glare of his wife.

Well, now that the admiration was secured, as for the disdain...

Suppressing the grin that he couldn’t quite banish, he slowly turned his gaze to Roswitha on the other side of the table.

There sat the Silver Dragon Queen, legs elegantly crossed, chin resting on one hand, the other leisurely wielding her fork as she savored the bacon on her plate.

When Roswitha noticed Leon looking at her, she raised her eyebrows and then rolled her eyes with a faint air of exasperation.

Ahhh~~

Yes, this very eye-roll, this very disdain—how delightful~~.

Leon cheerfully looked away and resumed eating his breakfast, silently reveling in the thought that it had been such a fulfilling morning.

"A...Au-ro-ra..." Muen attempted to pronounce her baby sister’s name correctly.

Noa corrected her, "Aurora."

Muen: (..•˘_˘•..) "Au...No-la?"

Noa: "Au-ro-ra."

Muen: (๑•́ ₃ •̀): "Au-no-ruā?"

Noa: "Au, ro, ra."

Muen: ( ˘•灬•˘ ): "Au-ra-gua-gua."

Noa gasped and patted her younger sister on the head. "It’s not your fault, Muen. Just eat.”

Muen: TAT

"Dad, Mom, let’s give my little sister a nickname!" Noa suggested.

Muen nodded in agreement so vigorously that she might as well have raised both hands, both feet, and her little tail in support of her big sister’s idea.

After all, her little sister’s official name was indeed a bit too hard for her to pronounce.

The parents exchanged a glance and naturally had no objections.

Roswitha turned to Leon with a smile. "Honey, since you claim to have such poetic skill, why don’t you come up with a nickname for the baby right here and now?"

"You—"

"Yes, Dad, thinking up a nickname must be way easier than thinking up a formal name, right?"

"Uh..."

Watching Leon flounder as though thrust into a corner, Roswitha hid her laughter behind her hand.

So much for your poetic superiority, you dummy. It was only the poignant atmosphere of our parting that inspired you to come up with a beautiful name for our daughter on the spot. Now that the pressure’s off, are you seriously telling me you can’t even manage a nickname? Really?

An awkward silence fell over the dining table until eventually, Roswitha spoke up with a solution.

"Let’s just call her Aurora as her nickname. It’s directly tied to her formal name and still carries the same meaning."

Muen had no objections. "Aurora’s a great name!"

If it was a name she could pronounce, it was a good name in her book.

Noa, of course, had no complaints either.

And with that, the youngest daughter’s formal name and nickname were both officially decided, lifting a great worry off her parents' shoulders.

After breakfast, Sherry brought the baby over.

In the few days since they’d last seen her, Aurora’s eyes had grown more lively, and her body language more expressive.

At the sight of Leon and Roswitha, Aurora babbled in her baby language while reaching her little hands out to her parents.

Even the small pink tail behind her wagged adorably.

Roswitha quickly took Aurora into her arms.

With her mother’s embrace, Aurora visibly settled down. As she often did, she grasped strands of Roswitha’s hair in her tiny hands, blinking her lovely eyes as she gazed at her mother.

After all these days since her birth, the color of Aurora’s pupils had become more distinct—a sign that her development was perfectly normal.

And yet, the parents couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

Leon frowned slightly, stroking his chin as he studied those light pink pupils. "Hair color and tail resemblance we can handle, but how is her eye color also veering towards your sister’s?"

Roswitha pinched Aurora’s chubby little cheeks. "It’s not so bad. My sister’s eyes are pure red, but Aurora’s lean much more towards pink, don’t they, baby? Hmm?"

Leon had always thought that this kind of one-sided communication with an infant, full of maternal affection, was something only typical first-time mothers did.

Who would’ve guessed that Roswitha was capable of this too?

This development only made him suspect even more that the Dragon Clan’s infamous aggressiveness and tendency for conflict stemmed entirely from not having enough children.

Therefore, to peacefully subdue the Silver Dragon Clan without a single casualty, there was only one solution: convince their queen to settle for a third child immediately...

Leon shook his head, dispelling such absurd thoughts.

Just in time, Noa and Muen were taking Aurora out to play.

"Be careful and don’t trip," Roswitha reminded them.

"Got it, Mom~"

With their daughters gone, the couple returned to Roswitha’s room.

Anna had been cleaning and airing out the queen’s chambers these past few days, so the room was pristine and completely free of any musty smells.

Roswitha kicked off her shoes and padded barefoot over to her wardrobe. She pulled out a few pieces of clothing and tossed them to Leon. "Change into these in the bathroom."

Leon caught the clothes with precise ease. "Oho."

Honestly, some couples can be quite the comedy of errors. Here they were, parents of three already, yet they still insisted on avoiding each other’s gaze whenever changing clothes.

Hard to make sense of this.

After Leon went to the bathroom, Roswitha also selected a clean casual outfit and changed into it.

Five days without an outfit change—it was practically torturous for someone like her with mild OCD.

On top of that, she’d spent the past five days camping in the forests outside the Empire, eating and sleeping under the open sky, with nothing but the stars and moon for company.

Every night, she’d had to remain vigilant for patrols from dragon-slaying squads. It wasn’t that she feared engaging with those humans in combat, but being discovered would have forced her to abandon her vigil waiting for Leon.

Looking back on her two-hundred-plus years of life, who else had she ever considered worth humbling herself to such a degree?

Just one prisoner, and yet she had gone to these lengths. Heavens, what was the world coming to?

"Hmph, Leon Casmod, now that you’re back, don’t think you’ll just walk away so easily this time!"