After the interview was over, the couple left the room, closed the door, and simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

"Operation No Public Embarrassment—Huge Success!"

*Clap—*

The two high-fived in celebration.

But they quickly realized they were still in the vice principal's territory. After portraying their relationship as "calm and low-key" in the interview room, they stepped out, immediately high-fiving in celebration. This behavior might make it hard not to seem suspicious—as if the whole thing had been an act.

The couple walked through the crowd, down the stairs, and into the first-floor lobby.

Several other parents were still waiting for their young dragons to finish the test.

Leon scanned the surroundings, and after confirming there was no sign of the vice principal—or any of his potential informants—sidled up to Roswitha with a grin, looking for praise.

"How was my acting just now?"

The queen folded her arms, eyes roving over the man like she was assessing him. She suppressed the upward curve of her lips and feigned ignorance. "Acting? What acting? Weren't those your genuine feelings?"

General Leon froze for a moment before hurriedly rebutting. "W-what do you mean by 'genuine feelings'? Didn't we agree beforehand to act like there's no spark between us?"

"Oh? And how do I know you weren’t just using this opportunity to express how you’ve really been feeling all along?"

"Hey, you—!"

Seeing the poor fool was about to explode in frustration, Roswitha quickly pumped the brakes. She raised a finger and gently pressed it against Leon’s lips. "Just teasing you—look at how flustered you are."

"......"

She’s gotten so much better at stopping just shy of going too far—not just in bed, either.

One of Roswitha’s great daily joys was teasing her husband, a dragon-slaying hero. The sight of him embarrassed and helpless was endlessly entertaining.

But as the saying goes, walk by the riverside often enough, and your shoes will eventually get wet.

There were indeed times when she pushed Leon a little too far, crossing the line and truly upsetting him.

In the beginning, Roswitha would coax him patiently.

But over time, she had learned Leon’s temperament. She knew exactly when he was about to get angry—and would quickly play the role of the innocent and remorseful wife just before things escalated.

At that point, Leon would almost instantly cool down.

For all his bravado, General Leon was hopelessly indulgent of his wife.

"Your acting was actually pretty good," Roswitha remarked. "You perfectly captured the helplessness and melancholy of a married man, all while maintaining a subtle layer of hope for this marriage of ours. Truly masterful! Honestly, the Empire owes you a Best Actor award."

"Right back at you. For a moment, I almost believed you really didn’t—"

Leon had intended to banter with her, but he spoke without thinking, nearly letting something slip.

However, it was already too late.

Roswitha, a mischievous smile dancing on her lips, clasped her hands behind her back and leaned slightly forward. Her silver eyes glinted as she looked up at him. "Didn’t what? What exactly was it that you almost believed about me?"

"...Nothing."

"Come on, tell me. Do you think I’ve really lost interest in you? Hmm?"

The queen beamed. "Oh, poor little lion, scared and trembling—how pitiful~"

"Is there a practice arena at this academy?"

Roswitha blinked, taken aback. "Uh… yeah, what do you want to do?"

"Let’s go have a duel. That way, you won’t be able to talk anymore."

"Tch."

Roswitha planned to continue teasing the poor fool, but Leon suddenly raised a finger to his lips in a gesture to hush her.

Her smile disappeared as she lowered her voice. "What’s wrong?"

"Winston—the old dragon—he’s coming downstairs. He’s right behind you. Don’t look back; just pretend you didn't notice."

Roswitha nodded, subtly putting some distance between herself and Leon.

After all, the vice principal currently believed they were a couple with "little passion left for each other."

"Ah, Mr. Leon! There you are—I was just looking for you."

The vice principal approached briskly.

"Is there something you need, sir?" Leon asked politely.

"Oh... it’s nothing urgent. I just wanted to chat with you."

After a brief pause, the vice principal hastily added, "It’s unrelated to the entrance interview or test, just a friendly chat between… acquaintances."

Unsure of what the vice principal was scheming, Leon turned to Roswitha.

Roswitha gave him a barely noticeable nod, indicating it was fine.

"Alright, sure," Leon agreed.

"Then may I have a word in private?" The vice principal made a gesture toward a side room, inviting Leon inside.

"Uh… sure, lead the way."

"Miss Roswitha, if you don’t mind waiting here."

"Alright."

Leon followed the vice principal into the side room.

The vice principal glanced furtively down both sides of the hall, then quickly shut the door behind them with an air of secrecy.

Leon raised an eyebrow.

What’s this about?

Don’t tell me the vice principal has gone from a couple shipper to an overzealous stalker? Planning to lock me up here?!

Better think twice, Winston—because one Chidori from me, and I’m not sure how well your old bones can handle it.

"Mr. Leon, I want to ask… is there actually trouble in your marriage with Ms. Roswitha?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean… have you two hit some kind of emotional… problems?"

Leon crossed his arms, furrowing his brows in thought before replying, "I believe my wife and I already explained our situation during the interview, sir. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity left."

Not getting a direct answer, the vice principal was upset further.

"Oh dear… so you mean to say… you really are preparing for a divorce?"

Leon: ?

"Wait, wait, hold up—sir, where is this coming from? How did we jump straight to divorce?"

"Well, Mr. Leon, you didn’t outright refute my question, so isn’t that essentially an admission? That your marriage with Ms. Roswitha is in trouble, and you’re now contemplating separation?"

"...What?"

"How could this be? Mr. Leon, only two years ago, you were considered the academy’s model couple!"

"Vice principal… you—"

"Ah. I just can’t believe it. Of all the couples I’ve had faith in, how could yours end up like this?"

"Sir—?"

"Let me make a suggestion, Mr. Leon. I know of a highly skilled marriage-crisis intervention team. They include the most renowned relationship specialists from the Dragon Clan! It’s said they once made a hundred-year-old dragon fall madly in love with an eight-hundred-year-old dragoness. Their expertise is unmatched. If you and Ms. Roswitha consult them, they’re bound to help fix your issues!"

"Where is this going…?"

"I’m afraid they may require absolute honesty from both of you, though. And even if you spoke to professionals, who’s to say you’d open up fully—"

Leon exhaled deeply, squeezing his eyes shut. "Vice principal, enough!"

At last, he couldn’t hold back and interrupted him.

If this conversation continued, by tomorrow morning, he and Roswitha would be signing divorce papers.

The vice principal adjusted his monocle, his expression still heavy with concern. "Mr. Leon, you’re eager to save your marriage with Ms. Roswitha, aren’t you?"

The barrage of persistent questions finally ignited a fire within Leon.

That fire roared straight to his head. "There’s nothing to fix, vice principal. My wife and I are doing perfectly fine."

"You can’t fool me, Mr. Leon—I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You and Ms. Roswitha are clearly—"

"I’ll prove it to you right now!"

"Excuse me?"

Not waiting for a response, Leon strode out of the room. He marched directly toward Roswitha, who was still waiting in the lobby.

Seeing Leon approach with such resolve, Roswitha felt a pang of concern. Did she say something that upset him earlier?

"Hey… Leon, what’s wrong? Let’s talk about this—mmph?! Mm!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Leon wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his lips firmly to hers.

The surrounding parents—and the vice principal himself—were left dumbfounded.

The kiss lingered. It was tender yet fervent, with a depth of affection that left no room for doubt.

Caught by surprise, Roswitha instinctively patted Leon’s arm in protest. But soon enough, she found herself yielding to it, sinking into the unexpected passion of the moment.

Though she wasn’t sure what had prompted this… who could really resist a spontaneous and feverish kiss from this man?

"What’s happening? Is this part of the family interview?"

"Wow… isn’t that the Dragon Clan hero Casmode and his wife? Just as inseparable as the rumors say!"

"Scandalous! Scandalous! Someone call the disciplinary committee!"

"Pipe down! The committee members are shipping them too."

"...!"

The kiss didn’t last too long. Leon eventually pulled away and released her waist.

Roswitha’s exquisitely beautiful face was tinged with a soft blush. As she slowly regained her composure, her voice emerged, slightly dazed, "W-what just happened? What’s going on?"

"He kept saying our marriage was in trouble."

"...So?"

"So I had to prove to him that it’s not."

Roswitha blinked. Then she jabbed a finger at Leon's chest, half-angry and half-laughing. "You impulsive fool… you just completely ruined the act we put on during the interview!"

The now-calm Leon suddenly realized what he’d done. He hastily stepped back from her as if that might undo his actions.

Before he could stammer out an excuse, the vice principal’s voice rang out behind them, thrilled,

"My favorite couple—resurrect at last!"

......

Outside the academy building, Leon and Roswitha sat side by side on a bench.

Roswitha was holding an orange-flavored ice cream cone Leon had just bought for her. She looked down at the tips of her shoes, a smile playing on her lips.

"The vice principal said that little scene earlier wouldn’t affect our interview scores. So… our ‘No Public Embarrassment’ operation was still a success," she mused aloud.

Leon glanced up, watching the groups of parents coming and going.

Many were still gossiping about his earlier impulsive kiss inside the building.

"Was it really a success? Feels like everyone’s paying even more attention to us now…"

"And whose rash behavior do you think caused that?"

"Alas..." Life was not easy. Leon sighed.

The queen raised her hand and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You're only in your twenties. Impulsiveness is normal. When you get to my age, you'll naturally become more composed."

"When I get to your age, it won't be composure—I'll have sunk to the bottom," Leon said. "Ashes sinking to the bottom."

Roswitha lightly nudged him. "Stop it, don't say such nonsense."

Leon gave a helpless smile as well. "Well, in any case, our interview scores just barely hit the mark, so at least we don't have to worry about another public embarrassment during the entrance ceremony."

Roswitha nodded. "Yeah, as long as the girls perform normally, everything will be fine."

The couple finally felt like they could breathe easily—

But could they really relax?

Meanwhile, at the young dragon aptitude test site, a certain pink-haired troublemaker had already discovered the next earth-shattering bit of drama.