"Leon, are you planning to have another baby with me?"

My God, who would understand this?

My gentle and virtuous Dragon Queen wife, who never argued, sneaking into my room in the middle of the night just to ask this kind of question!

Couldn't she ask me privately?

Couldn't she wait until the game was over to ask?

Even if I said "yes" now, does that mean she'd actually make us create a forth baby right on the spot?

Lying in bed, Leon appeared calm on the surface, but internally, his mind had been racing for quite a while.

However, he knew that continuing to feign sleep wouldn't solve the problem. He had to give Roswitha an answer sooner or later.

And his response had to be one of two options: "Yes" or "No."

There was absolutely no room for a third answer.

This was because, a long time ago, Roswitha had already told him about the "2:30 a.m." phenomenon.

When General Leon first heard about it, he was utterly shocked.

How could someone as invincible as he have such an absurd weakness?

Leon had pondered ways to overcome it, but he ultimately failed each time.

Still, Leon was honest, unafraid of the shadows. Even if he always told the truth, it didn't matter—he was a top-tier husband with no secrets (except for the Bunny Girl photo albums).

What Leon didn't know was that Roswitha hadn't told him the whole truth back then.

She had mentioned that he would tell the truth at 2:30 a.m., but hadn't explained, "This is not an absolute certainty."

So right now, Leon could totally continue pretending to sleep and act as if the "2:30 a.m. truth-spilling mechanism" hadn't been triggered.

Alas, poor Master Leon was being toyed with by his beloved wife!

After much contemplation, Leon finally spoke slowly.

"I've... thought about it..."

As soon as he uttered these words, he could distinctly feel Roswitha's breathing hitch on the edge of the bed.

In truth, saying "I've thought about having another baby" was the safest answer.

If he responded "No, I haven't," based on Roswitha's tone of expectation when she asked, she'd likely feel a bit upset.

As for the daughters lurking in the closet, they'd probably feel a little disappointed upon hearing such an answer too.

Thus, there was no better option. Unknowingly, the Dragon Queen, unaware both that her daughters were present and that Leon was feigning sleep, had inadvertently "cornered" him into saying he wanted another baby.

But before Roswitha could show any delight or excitement, a sudden muffled noise sounded from behind her.

Roswitha turned her head cautiously.

Crash!—

The closet doors swung open forcefully, and out spilled four small figures.

Roswitha stared blankly at the little dragon girls scattered across the floor. After a moment of shock, she asked,

"Noa... what are you all doing here?"

The four little ones quickly scrambled to their feet, lining up in a neat row with even their tails stiffly straightened.

"Mo-Mommy, we were just..."

Noa stammered. She wasn’t very good at lying.

Should she try acting cute with Mom this time?

Although Mom usually spoiled the three sisters, she wasn’t as easily charmed by simple tricks as Dad was.

Seeing her big sister dripping with sweat, Aurora quickly stepped in.

"We were... on a mission!"

Roswitha raised a brow, glanced back at the still ‘asleep’ Leon, and then looked at the girls again.

"You all... sneaked into someone else's room in the middle of the night to complete a mission?"

The pink-haired one’s gaze shifted nervously, but she laughed carelessly. "Y-Yeah, there are lots of hidden missions in the castle, you know."

"Oh, is that so... then—"

They couldn’t let Mom interrogate them further! Otherwise, they'd be exposed!

Aurora’s playful mind worked at lightning speed and, just as Roswitha was about to ask another question, she blurted out,

"Mom, what you and Dad talked about earlier—is it true? Do you really want another baby?"

And there it was—a role-reversal in the blink of an eye!

Roswitha froze in place. The flush that had almost faded from her cheeks moments ago came rushing back in full force.

She looked a bit embarrassed, her tail instinctively curling, and her right hand subtly gripping her skirt.

Confronted by the four little dragon girls’ unabashedly curious expressions, Roswitha stammered,

"I-I was just asking casually. I actually wanted to ask something else. Besides, your dad was just talking in his sleep a moment ago. Sleep-talking doesn't count as a real answer.”

Helena scratched her temple thoughtfully.

"Auntie, you sneaked into Uncle Leon's room late at night, asked him a weird question, and then he conveniently ‘answered’ you... no matter how you think of it, this wasn't just some coincidence."

"Yeah, Mommy. Dad didn’t seem like he was just talking in his sleep earlier. It felt more like..."

Aurora struggled to find the right phrase to describe the vibe between her parents during their earlier conversation.

"Like you were playing Truth or Dare!"

In the end, Muen succinctly summed it up.

Aurora's eyes lit up. "Right, right! It totally felt like a truth game!"

Roswitha covered her face with her hands.

Kids today were so hard to deal with—this Queen was now seriously considering putting off the idea of having a forth child.

She shook her head, adjusted her composure, and spoke again,

"Noa, Muen, and Aurora, I understand you’re eager for a little sibling—either a sister or a brother. But this isn’t just for you to decide, nor just for me."

"This is a decision our whole family needs to make together."

"Even though your dad gave an answer just now, like I said, sleep-talking doesn't count."

"So let’s wait until this game is over, and then we can go home and discuss it properly, all right?"

Roswitha quickly regained her thought.

Though caught off guard by her daughters, after the brief shock, she soon had the upper hand again.

As cunning as the kids could be, they couldn’t outplay a two-hundred-year-old Dragon Queen.

The trio exchanged glances and figured their mom made sense, so they didn’t press the issue further.

"Sorry, Helena. This is just how our family interacts—it’s noisy but full of respect for one another. I hope we didn’t scare you."

The little sea dragon shook her head quickly. "No, no, Auntie! I love your family dynamic!"

She meant it. A family like the Melkevis was enviable for any only child.

"Alright. Then let’s leave Dad’s room for now. If he wakes up later, we’ll be in trouble," Roswitha said.

"Mm-hmm!"

The four little ones left Leon’s room one after the other, trailing a line behind them.

Roswitha brought up the rear.

At the doorway, she set her hand lightly against the frame but didn’t leave right away.

Roswitha lingered by the threshold, half-turning her head to glance at Leon.

"You can stop pretending—I know you’re awake."

At her words, a voice emerged from the dimly lit room moments later.

"How did you know I was pretending?"

Her tone was matter-of-fact. "With all that commotion and you still didn’t wake up? Obviously, you were faking it."

"Hmm... well then, you should head back and get some rest."

Leon sat upright, leaning against the headboard as he and Roswitha exchanged looks across the shadowy space.

But she still didn’t move.

Her fingers fidgeted slightly with her skirt as she bit her lips. She looked like she had something to say but hesitated.

Finally, Leon spoke.

"You want to know if my answer earlier was true, don’t you?"

Roswitha said nothing.

For her, silence meant “Yes” and “Absolutely.”

Leon took a deep breath, paused for a second, and then got up, sauntering over to stand before Roswitha.

Leaning down slightly, he whispered a few words into the beauty’s ear.

Five minutes later, Roswitha exited Leon’s room.

Her cheeks bore the rosy hue of intimate warmth, and there was... satisfaction from receiving the answer she had longed for.

...

"Leon definitely stole the Black Sacred Stone. Vote him!"

"It’s Roswitha, I swear. Trust me, vote her and it’s a guaranteed hit!"

"Do you have proof?"

"Do *you* have proof?!"

"..."

It was hard to imagine that the two individuals exchanging sharp retorts around the table this morning had shared a heartfelt kiss for five minutes just hours earlier.

Did these two have some kind of passive skill that wiped their emotions on a schedule?

At least let the tender warmth of last night extend *past breakfast*, for goodness’ sake!

The second meeting of the game was reaching its conclusion amid the comedic antics of this chaotic couple.

On the sidelines, Claudia quietly listened without interjecting.

At some point, her gaze drifted to Isa sitting nearby.

The red-haired beauty was jotting something down with paper and pencil.

Curious, Claudia asked, "What are you doing? A task?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing much."

Isa tucked away her writing tools, casually threading her fingers through her hair, then glanced toward her still-bickering little sister and brother-in-law. "They’re still going at it, huh?"

Claudia shrugged. "Are they always like this?"

Isa nodded emphatically. "Basically, every single time we gather with them, they’re like this."

Claudia chuckled. "Interesting."

"Alright, let’s just vote. The truth will shine through!" Leon suggested.

"Bring it on! I’m not afraid of you!" Roswitha retorted.

And so, the final voting round began.

Votes against Leon as the Black Sacred Stone thief:

Muen, Noa, and Helena.

Votes against Roswitha as the Black Sacred Stone thief:

Claudia.

Now it was down to Aurora and Isa.

The aunt and niece exchanged glances, and in each other’s eyes, they saw the same two words:

**Chaos first.**

Based on her investigations last night, Aurora leaned toward believing it was her dad who took the Black Sacred Stone.

But if she voted for him now, he’d be eliminated.

If that were the case, how could she and Isa continue watching their dad and mom bicker lovingly?

So... Aurora cast her vote for Mom.

Isa, aiming to even out the vote, naturally voted for Roswitha.

"Oh, it's a tie?"

The two "candidates" must have voted for one another, so the final result was, unsurprisingly, a tie.

"Hmph. Before the next meeting, I’m going to find the evidence to expose you as the thief." Roswitha crossed her arms confidently.

Leon rolled his eyes at her.

"Tch, the real thief is accusing others first."

After throwing their parting remarks, the couple left the meeting room.

The others also gradually began to leave.

Claudia was the last to stand up. Once the others had gone far enough ahead, she slowly pulled an intel card from her pocket. It read:

**[The Seven-Day Lock: Love is Stronger than Gold]**

**[Effect: When used on two players, they will be required to act together for the next six hours, remaining no more than five meters apart.]**

It was an item card, incapable of deciding the outcome of the game, but if it were used on the right pair—oh, it could certainly lead to...

Interesting developments.

Claudia raised her eyes, gazing toward the end of the corridor.

She spotted the two hapless lovebirds about to "go their separate ways," each ready to search for evidence that would incriminate the other.

Seeing this, Claudia smiled knowingly.

"Well then, you two. Over the next six hours, I hope you’ll take good care of each other."