One evening, a few days after the entrance exam, the Melkevi family received the admission notice from Saint Hiss Academy.

Regarding this:

Noa was very pleased because her younger sisters would now have access to a higher quality and more comprehensive education.

Muen was thrilled because, once enrolled, she could keep a close eye on her older sister and prevent her from being grabbing away by a certain dragoness.

Aurora was delighted because she was about to set sail into an even bigger sea of fun and could roam freely.

As for the parents, they were overjoyed—not because their children had been admitted, but because with the kids out of the house, they could secretly work on the fourth baby (crossed out).

In summary, that month of cramming paid off, allowing the two daughters to successfully pass the entrance exam.

However, the exact scores of the test wouldn’t be revealed until three days later at the entrance ceremony held back at the academy.

Still, the Leon couple seemed *very confident* about the results this time around, believing a mid-range score was well within their grasp.

This meant they would have nothing to do with the “Model Family of the Year” award and could steer clear of the socially torturous ceremony speeches.

In truth, the two of them, one being the Queen of the Silver Dragon Clan and the other being the former commander of the Dragon Slayer Army, were both used to being in the public eye. They didn’t mind saying a few words in front of so many people.

But what they truly dreaded was Vice Principal Wilson pulling some new shenanigans on them.

Judging by the passion of that couple enthusiast, the guy probably wouldn’t be satisfied with just a public kiss to showcase their love.

Just because they had a bit of a wild streak in private didn’t mean they wanted to flaunt their affection so openly in front of a crowd.

It would just *feel weird*.

That evening, the three little ones gathered together, chatting enthusiastically about life after starting school.

Meanwhile, the couple stood on the balcony, sipping wine in the cool night breeze. They raised their glasses and gently clinked them together.

"Cheers. To the successful completion of the Non-Social Embarrassing Plan."

Roswitha smiled faintly. "For someone who doesn’t usually drink, it’s rare to have you initiate a toast. You must be quite satisfied with how the plan turned out."

Leon took a small sip of his wine and nodded. "After all, this is the first time we’ve successfully thwarted one of Vice Principal Wilson’s schemes. Definitely worth celebrating."

Roswitha agreed, touching her glass lightly against Leon's again.

After a moment's pause, she looked down at the deep red liquid in her glass, the surface reflecting her face. "But… this would still be considered 'popping the champagne early,' wouldn’t it? Every time we celebrated prematurely in the past, we ended up crashing and burning…"

Leon waved dismissively. "Relax, relax. Trust me. With all my years of experience dealing with dragons, I can tell you—this time, even if we popped the champagne in Wilson's face, nothing would go wrong."

The Queen raised her elegant eyebrows, twirling her glass in her hand before curling her lips into a smirk. "Let’s hope so."

"What’s this? You don’t seem particularly excited."

"Hmm? Do I? No, I’m quite excited."

Leon’s eyes glimmered as if a sudden thought struck him. He leaned closer to Roswitha with a mischievous smile. "You’re actually…"

Roswitha glanced at him. "Actually what?"

"Actually looking forward to me publicly showing off my affection for you, aren’t you?"

Roswitha blushed at his words, lightly elbowing his shoulder.

"Who… Who’s looking forward to that? Don’t be ridiculous. And besides, showing affection requires there to be affection to show. Is there any affection between us?"

General Leon’s mouth curved into a spectacular smirk, but in the end, he merely shrugged, conceding to the dragoness.

"Whatever you say."

"Hmph. Immature."

With a swish of her tail, the Queen stomped off the balcony, her dragon-wing slippers flapping as she took each step.

Leon watched her prideful shadow, chuckling to himself but choosing not to follow.

He turned back around, leaning forward on the balcony railing as he gazed into the distant night. In a soft voice, he murmured,

"Ah, humans… dragons… both so contradictory and awkward in their own ways."

...

Three days later, at the Saint Hiss Academy entrance ceremony.

Inside the auditorium, hundreds of dragons and a lone human quietly waited as the vice principal prepared to announce the top three scores from the entrance tests.

But first, there came the long-winded speech.

"Thank you all for choosing Saint Hiss Academy. I’m the academy’s vice principal, Wilson—"

Beneath the stage, Leon cradled Muen in his arms while Roswitha held Aurora. The family of four stood quietly in a corner of the crowd.

It had only taken them ten minutes to realize that just by standing there, the sheer presence of a family of four—let alone their individual identities—drew nearly everyone's attention.

Left with no other choice, they discreetly retreated to the corner, determined to stay low-key.

"Hey, I wonder which family will take the Model Family title this year."

"I think it might be the kid from the Electric Dragon Clan. She seems pretty smart; I’d bet on her family."

"Not necessarily. I think my kid’s smarter than theirs."

"*Scoff~*"

"Speaking of which, the Model Family recognized at last year’s entrance ceremony was really impressive, right? I heard they were also a live-birth dragon family. And the dragon husband even sang a love song for his wife on the spot!"

"Wow, that’s incredible."

"Yeah, really something."

Leon listened silently to the chatter around him. A love song performance? That must have been Wilson’s idea!

No doubt, the man had already grown tired of mere public kissing and declarations of love.

Last time it was singing. So what would it be this time?

Dancing? Poetry recital? Or something even worse?

Regardless of what it was, any of those ideas would double the humiliation factor for Leon and Roswitha.

And just the thought of singing a love song to Roswitha's impossibly beautiful yet equally frosty face made Leon want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Though he had indeed sung songs and recited poems to her belly back when she was pregnant with Aurora…

Leon shook his head, banishing such off-topic thoughts from his mind.

Meanwhile, Vice Principal Wilson had finished his opening remarks and was finally starting to announce the test results.

The family with the highest cumulative score would be selected as the Model Family of the Year.

"As you all have likely heard, this year’s test was one of the most challenging in recent years."

"We’re not trying to make things more difficult for you; our intention is simply to use the test to gauge the younger dragons’ strengths and weaknesses, so we can help them improve more effectively after admission."

"While the difficulty was increased, we also lowered the passing threshold slightly, allowing more outstanding young dragons to join the academy."

"Now, I shall announce the top three scores from the entrance tests."

With that, the vice principal pulled out the results list.

Tension gripped the families in the auditorium. Everyone hoped their child had earned an exceptional entrance score.

After all, they were dragons. And dragons had a thing about winning and pride—how could dragons live without competition?

Except for one family quietly tucked away in the corner: the Melkevi family.

They couldn’t have cared less about the Model Family title.

They were just there for formalities.

The couple exchanged knowing smiles, supremely confident.

"Dad, why are you smiling?" Aurora asked.

"Hmm? Oh… Daddy was just thinking of something happy."

"What happy thing?"

Oh, just the thought that—for once—your dad was finally letting go of an easy championship opportunity.

Leon reached out and pinched Aurora’s cheek, smiling without elaborating.

"Now then, in third place for the comprehensive entrance test scores is—Kristina from the Electric Dragon Clan, along with her mother, Aetia. Congratulations!"

Applause broke out in the auditorium.

The young dragon girl, Kristina, blushed as she pressed her hands together, bowing slightly to those around her to convey her gratitude.

Roswitha clapped lightly in response, but then Leon gave her a gentle nudge.

Roswitha glanced sideways at him.

Leon: (*Third place has been announced. We’re safe!*)

Roswitha: (*I really want to play devil’s advocate and tell you not to celebrate too soon. But… yeah, we’re totally out of the woods!*)

Leon: (*Shh, keep it low-key. Just smile like a victor in disguise.*)

"And now, in second place for the comprehensive entrance test scores—"

"The Silver Dragon Clan’s Muen K. Melkevi, along with her parents, Mr. Leon and Mrs. Roswitha! Congratulations!"

The vice principal led the applause this time, and it was noticeably louder than before.

It struck like a bolt out of the blue. Leon and Roswitha froze on the spot.

It wasn’t until someone beside them discreetly reminded them to move forward that they snapped back to reality.

Leon exhaled a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Glancing down at the child in his arms, he muttered,

"Sweetheart, you’re full of surprises, huh?"

"No, Daddy’s the amazing one~"

Haha, sweetie, that’s a great line—one you shouldn’t repeat next time!

But his darling daughter’s ability to secure second place, even after he and Roswitha deliberately lowered their interview scores, was a clear testament to Muen’s talent.

Considering the heightened difficulty of the exam, it was an achievement worthy of recognition.

Moreover, this outcome was the perfect resolution to their "Non-Social Embarrassing Plan."

It ensured they wouldn’t take the top spot and thus avoid the Model Family title, while also sparing their daughters from the sting of failure.

After all, neither Muen nor Aurora had been especially fixated on becoming the top scorers. They had approached the test with a "just pass and it's fine" mindset.

After all, they were significantly younger than most of their peers, and their preparation time had been limited to just one month.

That said, had Muen and Aurora been as stringent about grades as Noa, Leon and Roswitha would never have intentionally suppressed their scores just to avoid public embarrassment.

Such behavior would have failed to put their daughters’ best interests first. And they were not those kinds of parents.

In the end, second place was a win for everyone.

Mom and Dad wouldn’t have to suffer public humiliation, and their daughters’ abilities were rightfully acknowledged.

The Melkevi, WIN!

"Leon…" Roswitha’s voice broke through Leon’s drifting thoughts, her tone carrying a rare sense of gravity.

Leon immediately tamped down his playfulness and turned to her. "What’s wrong?"

"Why did the vice principal only mention 'Muen' and not 'Aurora'?"

Leon blinked and shrugged. "Even though Muen and Aurora are both from our family, their results are calculated separately."

Roswitha swallowed nervously and slowly turned her head to look into Leon's eyes.

"Then do you think... is it possible that Muen is second, and Aurora is—"

"First place, Aurora K. Melkevi of the Silver Dragon Clan!"