The entire day's rehearsal went smoothly.

Moreover, whenever it came to scenes involving the emotional developments between the male and female leads, Leon and Roswitha could rely on their seasoned "acting skills" to deliver performances so outstandingly subtle they bordered on perfection.

Scenes like "Claiming not to love each other but willing to risk their lives for each other";

Or "Today's confession, you must give it, whether you want to or not," and the like.

Helena found herself deeply intrigued by the couple's outstanding acting skills.

Because, according to Noa, Aunt Roswitha was a workaholic who spent most of her time managing internal clan affairs, leaving no room to study acting techniques;

And as for Uncle Leon, he was a warrior dad with maxed-out all-rounder attributes—a master of combat, martial arts, and even magic, but unfortunately, acting wasn't among his skills.

Yet, this couple could somehow portray the awkward but affectionate dynamic between the male and female leads with such lifelike precision.

What was going on here?

A curious young dragoness from a cocoonborn family found herself pondering.

Of course, the rehearsal process wasn't completely without obstacles.

Some parts of the play were... puzzling to stage.

This was particularly true for the scenes involving Leon and Claudia.

According to the script, Claudia was Leon's mother. Upon learning that her only son had fallen in love with the princess of an enemy nation, this stern woman vehemently objected, becoming one of the major obstacles in the smooth sailing of the couple's romantic journey.

But in the end, the male lead's mother softened as well, ultimately allowing her son to courageously pursue love, with a grand happy ending to cap things off.

It all sounded reasonable enough.

But the real issue lay in how it only sounded reasonable.

When actually performed... things became inexplicably awkward.

"Mr. Casmode, your line delivery is usually spot-on. Why is it that you just can’t say the word 'Mother' properly?" asked the concerned player.

"Uncle Leon, it's 'Mother,' not 'Mum'," Helena, the scriptwriter, corrected diligently.

"No, no, Dad, you’ve got to show deference, not look like you're casually visiting for the holidays," Director Noa added, as meticulous as ever.

"Dear, I have to say, you seem better suited to playing a captive than a rebellious son who keeps chasing love," the queen commented, landing her jab precisely where it stung.

Then there was the obligatory sister-enthusiast adding:

"Hey sis, why don’t you play the knight, and Muen can be the princess you wake with a kiss?"

Where was Aurora in all this, you ask?

She was sitting on the sidelines, spectating with amusement.

The scene was entertaining enough even without her joining in to stir things up further.

General Leon could never have imagined that one day he’d find himself calling a dragon "mother."

As a rule, Leon had three no’s when it came to calling someone “Mother”:

First, he wouldn’t call his real mother "Mother."

Because he grew up in an orphanage, having never met his birth mother—he couldn’t call someone he didn’t even know.

Second, he wouldn’t call a mediocre-looking woman "Mother."

Because (in his opinion) anyone capable of producing someone as dashing as himself had to be a peerless beauty.

Third, he wouldn’t call a long-tailed, fire-breathing, centuries-old dragoness "Mother."

That would be overturning the natural order and betraying the norms. Besides, having one dragon wife was already enough; Leon certainly didn’t need a dragon mother too.

And, in most cases, it was usually dragons who would call Leon "Mother" instead.

For example:

"F**k your mother! It's the black armor again! Fall back, everyone!"

"F**k your mother! The black armor is still chasing me!"

Or, in slightly different scenarios:

"Leon, F**k your mother! Could you take it easy? You’re so rough—I think you really are famished!"

↑

Although comments like this were reserved for certain *specific* situations and typically only came from Roswitha.

But in any case, for Leon to call Claudia "Mother" was undeniably awkward.

"It’s fine; this is only the first rehearsal. It might just take some getting used to," Claudia eventually chimed in to smooth things over.

"Maybe it’ll come naturally with more familiarity. Don’t we still have a whole month to rehearse?"

Helena nodded. "Except for the scenes with you and Uncle Leon, everything else went quite smoothly. We’ll focus on this particular section tomorrow."

"Alright."

As Leon glanced out the window and noticed the sun dipping toward the horizon, he proposed, "Why don’t we call it a day and resume tomorrow? Mom and I can come back then."

"No need, Dad. You and Mom can stay at the academy tonight—it’ll save the trouble of going back and forth and won’t waste time," Noa suggested.

With weekends offering only two days for practice, by the time the play premiered in a month, there would be at most eight more rehearsals, including this one.

While time wasn’t overly tight, it was far from abundant.

And considering that both sets of parents were the “core executives” of their respective clans, being able to carve out two weekend days was no small feat.

Thus, Noa's suggestion for Leon and Roswitha to stay over at the academy made perfect sense.

"But does the academy have spare rooms? Wouldn't it trouble the teachers here?"

Noa shook her head. "Not at all. Since the academy treats the theater competition as a big deal, parents are allowed to stay over one night on weekends, and they've prepared enough rooms to accommodate that."

Leon silently marveled at the meticulous arrangements of this noble academy.

The couple exchanged glances and subtly nodded.

Staying over at the academy wouldn’t be a problem; besides, it was just one night, and Anna could act as Roswitha's substitute in handling affairs.

Nearby, Claudia glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall.

It was already past four in the afternoon.

She calculated the time in her head and muttered softly, "It's almost feeding time..."

"What did you say, Mom?" Helena turned curiously toward Claudia.

The elegant lady smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Helena, Mom can’t stay here tonight."

The young sea dragoness didn’t understand. "Why not, Mom?"

"Well... there are matters at home that need my attention."

"Can’t you let Auntie handle it instead?"

"Nope. Some things can only be dealt with by me."

Claudia gently patted her daughter's head. "Be good, Helena. I'll come back on time for rehearsal tomorrow."

Her tone was soft yet carried a firmness that brooked no argument.

Helena obediently nodded. "I understand, Mom. Take care on the way back."

"I will. Be sure to get along with your friends and your aunt and uncle."

"Got it!"

Claudia put on her coat and bid farewell to Noa and the other little ones.

"Goodbye, my darlings."

"Bye-bye, Auntie~" x3

Claudia turned to Roswitha and looked her in the eye. "It was a pleasure working with you, Ms. Melkevi."

She extended her hand.

Roswitha understood instantly and extended her hand as well. The two shook hands lightly, just the right amount of pressure.

"The pleasure was mine, Ms. Claudia."

Then Claudia turned to Leon and offered her hand as well.

Leon, naturally, understood proper etiquette.

As they shook hands, Claudia quipped, "I look forward to hearing a proper 'Mother' from you tomorrow."

Leon chuckled awkwardly. "I’ll do my best, I promise."

"See you tomorrow, you two."

"See you tomorrow."

With a graceful nod, Claudia left the classroom.

After the elegant lady departed, Helena visibly let out a breath of relief.

Noa gave her friend a curious glance. "Seriously? Did Claudia Auntie really give you that much pressure?"

Now freed from tension, Helena slumped in her chair, tossed her head back, and slapped the script over her face. "You wouldn’t understand, Noa. My mom is super gentle when she’s kind, but when she gets stern, watch out—she can criticize you so thoroughly that you won’t even dare to lift your head."

"My mom’s the same way," Noa said straightforwardly.

From the side, the queen added, "Noa, dear, you do realize your mother can hear every word, right?"

"Er… uh… but Mom’s gentle more often than she’s stern. Hehe!"

Helena waved it off. "Enough about that—let's review today's rehearsal in detail."

"Alright."

"Muen, come join us too~"

The little dragon girls huddled together and began meticulously revising the script.

Leon and Roswitha exchanged a glance, said nothing, and silently left the classroom.

At this moment, the setting sun bathed the academy in a golden glow.

The couple leaned against the railing, enjoying the cool evening breeze and the tranquil campus atmosphere.

"Claudia seems easy to get along with," Leon remarked.

Roswitha propped her chin with one hand, gazing at the distant sunset. The crimson light reflected in her eyes, making them appear luminous. "It's just the first encounter—people are always on their best behavior. Who knows what she'll really be like later on."

"Fair point."

Leon pondered for a moment before adding, "But her personality, as it comes across, combined with Helena’s description… it all reminds me of someone."

"Who?"

"My master's wife," Leon admitted after a heavy exhale. "She was mostly quite gentle, but the moment my master did even one irresponsible thing, she'd explode."

Roswitha looked at him with interest and asked, "And what happened after?"

Leon shrugged. "Best case, she’d ban him from the bedroom. Worst case, she'd confiscate every bit of his secret stash of money."

Roswitha covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Sounds brutal."

After a brief pause, she added, "If Claudia reminds you of your master's wife, then why is it so hard for you to call her 'Mother'?"

Leon rolled his eyes at her and threw up his hands. "That’s a completely different matter!"

"Dummy."

The couple bantered idly for a bit longer. Soon, Leon stretched, about to ask Noa which dorm they’d be staying in for the night.

But just as he raised his arm, Roswitha caught a faint hint of gray on the back of his hand from the corner of her eye.

"Hey, wait—what's this?"

"Hmm? What's what?"

Roswitha reached out and carefully pinched the patch of gray on Leon’s hand.

The two pressed their faces close together, observing intently the gray smudge that Roswitha now held...

"Hair?"

Leon shook his head. "Not hair. It's more like... animal fur."

"Do you have pets?"

"Yeah, I do. I have four dragons at home. One big one, three small ones—oh crap! Another elbow strike!"

Roswitha, clearly annoyed, gave him a jab with her elbow and rolled her eyes at him.

"We don't even have any pets at home. Where would gray fur come from?"

Roswitha's thoughts stirred, and she guessed, "Could it have gotten on you when you shook hands with Claudia earlier?"

"Hmm... that's possible. The Sea Dragon Clan lives far away from the mundane world. Keeping pets for some company would make sense."

"But what kind of pet has gray fur? A cat? Or a dog?"

Leon took the tuft of gray fur from Roswitha's hand, examined it for a moment, and said,

"Based on its hardness, length, and softness, it's neither a cat nor a dog."

Roswitha was curious. "Then what is it?"

After a brief silence, Leon slowly uttered one word,

"Donkey."