"Roswitha..."

"Hm?"

"Did you—"

"Oh!! I've finally figured it out!!"

Rebecca interrupted the captain's spell preparation with such excitement that she looked like she had just discovered a new continent.

The people in the hallway were startled by her sudden outburst.

Leon took a moment to calm himself, swallowing the question that had been on the tip of his tongue.

He decided it was best to ask her when they were alone.

Then he turned to Rebecca and asked, "What have you figured out?"

Roswitha and Claudia also looked over curiously.

"I've figured out the relationship between you all!" Rebecca said with an air of authority.

"Captain, you just said that Aunt Claudia is the mother of your daughter's best friend, right?"

"...Yes."

"And Aunt Charlotte is your master's wife, correct?"

"...Correct."

"And the two aunts are sisters, isn't that so?"

"...That's right."

The genius girl Rebecca put her hands on her hips, her smugness evident, as she proudly declared her groundbreaking discovery:

"That means, Captain, you're the same generation as your daughter!"

Leon: ?

Roswitha: ?

Claudia: = =

**Snap**—

Rebecca tiptoed up and patted Leon on the shoulder, speaking in a faux-mature tone,

"Captain, don't worry about it. From now on, Noa-chan can call you 'big brother,' you can call her 'daughter,' and everyone can just go by their own logic—ouch!"

Leon responded with a gentle flick to Rebecca's forehead.

Just as he was about to tell her not to talk nonsense, he heard Claudia sigh softly from the side.

"Ah... she's just a kid, speaking without much thought," Leon explained quickly, trying to defend Rebecca.

Claudia shrugged. "It's fine. This sort of generational confusion happens often in the Dragon Clan. After all, we live for hundreds of years, and the age gaps when having the next generation can be quite wide. It's not at all unusual to have situations like the one she just described."

The two "kids in their twenties" looked at each other, wide-eyed, then asked in perfect unison,

"So what should we call everyone from now on?"

"Just keep things as they are and don't overthink it."

After a brief pause, Claudia added, "Otherwise, I might really end up with another son, wouldn't I, Leon?"

Great. She still hadn't fully detached herself from the role she played as the "wicked stepmother" in last semester's campus play.

After the joking subsided, Leon turned his gaze to the sealed chamber door, growing more serious.

"Senior, how much longer until they come out?"

"Not long," Claudia replied. "The transplantation of the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale isn't a surgery or a medical procedure. It's merely a transfer of power from one body to another, so there's no post-operative recovery involved."

She pulled a compass-like object from her pocket, which had a unique timer on it.

After taking a quick glance, she said,

"About another hour, and the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale transfer will be complete."

Leon nodded.

Although Claudia had assured him that using the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale to repair his master's damaged heart posed no issues, he couldn't help but worry—they were his foster parents of twenty years, after all.

He rubbed his fingers together and leaned against the wall, staring intently at that door.

After a while, Leon suddenly felt a warm softness envelop his palm.

Looking down, he saw that Roswitha had quietly taken his hand.

"It'll be okay," she said, raising her eyes to meet Leon's, her voice soft and soothing.

Leon nodded lightly. "Mm."

Rebecca, too, quieted down, sitting obediently on a chair in the hallway, waiting for the transfer to finish.

---

An hour later, the door to the chamber creaked softly.

Leon immediately straightened up, stepping quickly toward it.

As the stone door slowly swung open, Tiger and Charlotte appeared, leaning on one another for support as they stood at the threshold.

"Master! Madam!"

Leon hurried forward to help them.

Tiger looked much better than before, though still visibly tired; Charlotte's face, however, was pale and bloodless.

Just as Claudia had mentioned earlier, once a Dragon Clan member lost their Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale, they would be severely weakened for a long period of time. They would need a completely secure environment to rest and recover their strength.

Leon moved to Charlotte's side, placing her arm over his shoulders. Then he called out to Rebecca,

"Rebecca, come help."

"On it!"

Rebecca quickly came over to support Tiger from the other side.

Meanwhile, Claudia stepped forward, halting just in front of Charlotte.

The two sisters—one taller than the other—stood face to face.

Having just lost her Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale, Charlotte looked utterly drained, though she forced a smile.

"Sorry, sister... I was being stubborn again."

Charlotte fully expected Claudia to respond as she always had in the past—acting tough on the surface while soft at heart, scolding her younger sister even while secretly caring for her.

But instead, Claudia simply reached out and gently brushed her hand across Charlotte's cheek, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You've done well. Let me take you to rest."

"Big Sis... I—"

"Shh, don't talk too much. You're very weak right now."

Charlotte's pupils quivered as countless words fought for release but ultimately stayed unspoken. She lowered her head, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Alright."

She could feel it keenly—her sister's attitude toward her and Tiger's marriage was beginning to change.

For thirty years, all Charlotte had wanted was for her family to recognize and bless their union.

Though the journey had been bumpy, at least... things were finally moving in the right direction.

Claudia led the group into the lounge and arranged for the two "patients" to rest in a soft, comfortable bed.

Once they had lain down, Tiger slowly turned his head to look at Charlotte. Charlotte happened to be gazing back at him.

The elderly couple locked eyes and exchanged a warm, understanding smile.

"You two have just undergone the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale transfer and need rest to regain your energy. Whatever catching up you want to do will have to wait until tomorrow," Claudia said, maintaining her characteristically detached tone while delivering the most professional advice.

"I'll have dinner brought to you shortly. For now... we'll leave you to rest."

"Master, Madam, take good care of yourselves. I'll come to see you tomorrow."

"Alright... You and your wife have had a long day as well. Rest early."

"Mm."

After bidding farewell to the elderly couple, Claudia led the rest of them to dinner.

Once dinner was over, she arranged rooms for them to stay in.

Claudia felt like she'd spent the entire day as a tour guide—seriously, was hosting guests like this really part of her duties as the Princess of the Sea Dragon Clan?

But there was no choice: Leon and his group were highly significant figures, and the fewer people knew about them, the better.

"Thank you for everything, Senior. And also, for helping my master. I owe you."

Before waving goodbye, the Silver Dragon couple expressed their thankfulness sincerely.

"Just skip the thanks. Get some rest and try to adjust to life under the sea."

"Got it. Goodnight, Senior."

"Goodnight."

Claudia closed the door for them and strolled away.

The couple, now alone, finally relaxed.

And as the tension lifted, exhaustion flooded over them.

Roswitha massaged her shoulders, which were still sore from hours of high-speed flying earlier in the day, a grueling effort even for a Silver Dragon.

She glanced around the guest room, taking in its orderly decor, which appealed to her aesthetic.

There was even a small balcony attached.

Curious, Roswitha stepped over to it. She had assumed the balcony was just for show—what could you possibly see if you couldn't even glimpse the sun?

But when she stood there and looked up, her eyes lit up in awe.

Before her was the breathtaking beauty of the deep sea.

The entire palace was encased in a transparent barrier that separated its internal space from the ocean outside.

Rare species of fish and other marine life swam across her field of vision.

She raised her arms, her sleeves sliding down to reveal her smooth, delicate skin, as she gently pressed her jade-like fingers against the inner surface of the barrier. A few vibrant, lively fish swam eagerly toward her fingertips, blowing bubbles in greeting.

Roswitha smiled knowingly.

Perhaps it was because she was old, so she was enchanted by watching little fish swim about. (just a joke)

"Roswitha..."

Leon stepped up behind her.

"Hm?"

She withdrew her gaze from the scenery and turned to Leon.

But Leon seemed hesitant, as if struggling to find the right words.

Roswitha blinked at him, smiling as she asked,

"You seemed like wanted to tell me something earlier, back at the chamber door. Was that the case?"

Leon pressed his lips together, nodding slightly. "Yeah."

"And what would that be?" she asked, tilting her head.

In truth, she already had an inkling of what Leon wanted to ask.

The man was far too sharp. After everything Claudia said earlier about the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale, and having witnessed with his own eyes how it had brought his master back from the brink of death, it wouldn't be hard for Leon to connect the dots—

To events from the past.

"It's just..."

After a moment of internal conflict, Leon exhaled deeply, as though he'd finally made up his mind.

"Your Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale... it's inside me, isn't it?"

He mustered up the courage to meet those silver eyes.

Even though he had already pieced together most of the truth in his heart, he still wanted to hear Roswitha admit it out loud.

The Queen's pupils trembled slightly, but she did not appear particularly surprised.

She smiled faintly and nodded. "Yes, it's with you."

"Why—"

"When you became my captive back then, you were severely wounded; your heart was almost completely shattered. To save you, I had no choice but to transplant my dragon scale into you."

Roswitha turned her head, leaning on the balcony railing, her gaze fixed on the depths of the ocean.

"Don’t feel burdened by this, Leon. After all... the reason I saved you back then was solely that I could take revenge on you later."

It was indeed an objective fact.

After all, at that time, Roswitha and Leon had created such a colossal mess with the Blood Feud incident. There was simply no way she could have developed any feelings for Leon then.

Just as she said, transferring her Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale to Leon was purely an act driven by vengeance.

But—

"You had plenty of opportunities to take the dragon scale back later, yet you didn’t. Isn’t that right?"

"Yes. Because I didn’t want our daughters to grow up with their father by their side, only to suddenly lose him one day."

"And? What else?"

"What else?"

Roswitha lowered her eyes.

For a long moment, the corner of her lips curved into a faint smile, her dimples adorably small, her expression as warm as a spring breeze.

"I also didn’t want to lose you."

"Roswitha..."

"Oh, oh~ I’ve finally admitted it out loud, haven’t I? Are you satisfied now?"

Roswitha turned around, stretching her arms with a satisfied sigh. Lowering them, she reached out and poked Leon’s chest.

"So, please take good care of my heart, you fool."