Her Majesty the Queen, with her conscience not entirely lost, eventually allowed Leon to return to the bedroom in the latter half of the night.

As per usual, the couple spent some time teasing each other in bed before finally falling asleep together— Just harmless fun, folks, nothing more. Don’t overthink it.

The next morning, Leon gradually woke up.

Roswitha was no longer lying by his side. He reached over to her side of the bed and touched the blanket.

Judging from the residual warmth… it was probably around 7:40 a.m. now.

Leon got up and lifted his head to look at the wall clock.

Indeed, 7:40 a.m. .

Using the warmth of his partner’s bedding to estimate the time of waking up—this seemingly impressive but utterly pointless habit had become part of General Lai's daily routine—one he'd even grown to enjoy.

Everyone has their little quirks.

Pulling back the covers, he got out of bed and began dressing.

Suddenly, an unbearable itch surged in his nasal cavity.

“Achoo—”

A sneeze?

His mentor had once told him that a single sneeze meant someone was thinking of him at that moment.

Hmm~ It must be Her Majesty. Even buried under piles of work, she still made the time to think of him. He mused smugly: when it comes to confessing love, it might just be a toss-up who takes the initiative first.

But right after that—

“Achoo!”

A second sneeze.

The mentor had also said that two consecutive sneezes meant someone was cursing at you.

Hiss~ Could it be that dragoness again, ranting even in her thoughts? Ha, well then, kiss any hope of me confessing to you goodbye!

However, just as Leon thought it was over—

“Achoo!”

A third sneeze.

One sneeze signifies longing, two signify cursing, but what about three?

His mentor used to say: Do you still have time to wonder about the significance of three sneezes? It means you’ve caught a cold! Go take medicine!

Leon rubbed his itchy nose. It did feel a bit stuffy, an early symptom of a cold.

“The Nine Hells' Gate body-strengthening effects and physical rebirth… yet it can’t prevent a cold?”

It must have been from spending quite some time on the balcony last night after being locked out by Roswitha. It wasn’t until deep into the night that he was allowed back into the bedroom, leaving him slightly chilled.

Still, it’s nothing serious.

For something as trivial as a little cold, General Lai didn’t even need medication. He could tough it out.

After dressing and washing up, he headed to the backyard training grounds.

His daughters were already there.

Noa was teaching Muen some basic magic at the training ground.

She was on a short vacation recently. After spending several days playing with Muen, the Involuted King could no longer restrain herself. However, not wanting to leave her younger sister behind, she found a compromise: practicing and reinforcing her magic while teaching Muen the skills.

Two birds with one stone.

Leon didn’t disturb them. Instead, he quietly walked over to a bench by the training ground and sat down.

The morning sunlight was warm, and the gentle breeze across his face was soothing.

But his nose still felt a bit stuffy, and his head ached slightly.

He didn’t pay much attention to it, continuing to watch his two daughters practice magic.

Before long, he heard footsteps nearby.

Leon turned toward the sound—it was Aurora.

His youngest daughter had once again snuck out of the sanctuary on her own, with two anxious maids trailing after her in the distance.

This scene reminded Leon of that winter when Roswitha was pregnant with Aurora.

Back then, Anna, concerned about the Queen’s health, wouldn’t let her go about in the ice and snow.

However, Roswitha had been particularly headstrong then. Whatever Anna forbade, she would do, engaging in wits and willpower for quite some time.

Leon hadn’t expected their youngest daughter to inherit this trait from her mother, one of perpetual disobedience and constant sneaking away.

“Daddy~”

No doting father could possibly resist a sweet and tender “Daddy” like this.

Leon scooped up his little girl and waved off the two maids who had caught up, signaling that he would take care of Aurora himself.

The maids stopped, bowed slightly, and left.

Leon set Aurora on his lap, pinched her chubby little cheeks, and said, “Why are you sneaking out again? Did you finish all the books Mom gave you a few days ago?”

Unlike other little dragonlings, who were a handful at four or five months old—like mischievous puppies wreaking havoc—Aurora preferred reading quietly.

Any book would do.

History, novels, science—if it had pages and words, she’d read it.

When she came across unfamiliar characters, she’d look them up in a dictionary—

Yes, even those were a category of books that fascinated her.

Aurora was an independent child when it came to absorbing new knowledge.

Just a while back, while chatting with Leon at the practice grounds, she told him she was working on developing a personalized learning method.

“Mmhmm, I've read them all!”

Aurora nodded and gazed at her father with her beautiful pink eyes. “Papa, do you have any more books?”

If there were two things Silver Dragon Castle had in abundance, they were the couple’s stubbornness and books.

Even before ascending the throne, Roswitha had been a genuine overachiever. Even now, with her intense workload, she occasionally read classic literature, demonstrating her love for books.

Leon was naturally delighted by his youngest daughter’s eagerness to learn and was more than happy to show her more books.

But before that, there was something he wanted to ask Aurora.

“Aurora, why do you enjoy reading so much?”

When Aurora initially showed interest in reading and learning, Leon didn’t probe too much, simply letting her immerse herself in various types of books.

Now that it was clear Aurora genuinely loved reading, Leon was curious about the underlying reason.

If he could understand why Aurora loved it, he could better guide her and help her find the path most suited to her.

Aurora blinked, thought for a moment, and replied,

“Because reading is relaxing~”

Leon raised an eyebrow. “Relaxing?”

“Well... compared to the magic spells Big Sis and Second Sis are learning, reading feels much more relaxing to me.”

Aurora said, “I’ve told you before, Dad. I don’t think I’d ever be as hardworking as Big Sis or as talented as Second Sis. So, for me, reading is an easy and fulfilling thing to do.”

The concept of self-fulfillment—

That was something not even Noa had ever brought up in her talks with Leon.

The idea of self-improvement presupposed an awareness of one’s own shortcomings and the desire to compensate for them.

It sounds straightforward, but in reality, not many people achieve this.

And yet Aurora was only five months old.

Sweetheart, isn’t your line of thinking a little too advanced?

“So, Aurora, what shortcomings do you think you have now?” Leon asked.

“Hmm… plenty! Like, I still don’t know a lot of words,” she answered earnestly.

Leon was momentarily stunned, then broke into laughter.

Alright, it seemed Aurora didn’t fully grasp the concept of “fulfilling oneself” yet, so Leon didn’t press further.

Holding his daughter, gently squeezing her soft little hand, he instead asked, “Aurora, what do you want to become in the future?”

“Become?”

“Yeah, I mean, what career or field do you want to pursue? A warrior charging into battle, or a strategist advising kings?”

Aurora’s eyes sparkled as she pondered for a moment. Then she answered seriously,

“I wanna be... a scholar! Or a scientist.”