"Well, that sums up my experience from yesterday. What do you think? Pretty eventful, right?"

In the courtyard of Silver Dragon Castle, the couple sat under the pavilion, sipping tea and chatting.

"Yeah, it does sound eventful."

Roswitha nodded. After a pause, she asked, "But you took so many things from the Sea Dragon Clan. Even though you promised to repay Claudia with a favor, didn't she have anything to say about it?"

"Nope. I kept saying, 'No, no, I couldn’t possibly accept it, Senior!' But Claudia insisted on giving me all these great things. So, of course, I reluctantly accepted," Leon replied, gently rubbing his still aching backside as he spoke.

The left side of his butt hurt—courtesy of Claudia’s kick.

The right side hurt—courtesy of his master and madam.

Sure, as the eldest princess of the Sea Dragon Clan, Claudia had plenty of resources and wasn't lacking a few rare manuals or a stalk of Ghost Lotus Grass. But it wasn't reasonable for Leon to take such great benefits for the simple price of saying, "I owe you one, Senior!"

Which is why the kicking was warranted.

His master and madam also felt that their disciple had been a bit too greedy. In order to leave the Sea Dragon Clan with the impression of, "This is not how we usually discipline him! Look, we’re teaching him a lesson right now!" they each gave Leon a kick of their own.

That said, getting three kicks on the behind in exchange for all those amazing treasures seemed like a pretty fair deal.

Besides, neither Claudia nor his master were unreasonable people.

Constantine, though notoriously irritable, was undeniably formidable. Especially after mastering the Primordial Power, his strength had become unfathomable. In such turbulent times, having Constantine as an ally was well worth the price of offering up two primordial manuals and a Ghost Lotus Grass.

On the other hand, with the release of the latest version of events, General Leon's old tactics might still work for the time being. But no one could guarantee how powerful the enemies they’d face next would be. Strengthening Leon in advance didn’t seem like a bad decision at all.

"Hmph, I don’t believe that. I’m sure you were eating and taking stuff from their clan shamelessly, leaving them no choice but to give it to you," Roswitha teased, nailing the truth.

Leon coughed to mask his embarrassment. "Some things are better left unspoken as long as we know them in our hearts."

"So... where's the Ghost Lotus Grass?" Roswitha asked.

"Oh, on my way back, I stopped by Constantine’s place and handed both the manuals and the Grass to him," Leon replied.

Roswitha blinked her beautiful eyes. "And that’s it?"

"That’s it."

"He didn’t thank you or anything?"

"He did thank me, but... it was a bit indirect."

The queen arched her brows, intrigued. "Indirect? How exactly did he thank you?"

Clearing his throat, Leon straightened his back, lowered his voice, and imitated Constantine’s usual disdainful tone.

"Casmode, don’t think for a second I’ll be grateful to you for this. This is what you owe me. Oh, and if you need my help in the future, send a message with a messenger dragon. Don’t get the wrong idea—I’m only helping because I enjoy being in the thick of things."

"Pfft—"

Roswitha covered her mouth, stifling her laughter. Her lovely eyes curved into crescent moons.

"That guy has such a stubborn mouth."

Leon shrugged. "You Dragon Kings and Queens are all the same. Don’t laugh at him when you’re no better."

Hearing that, the queen immediately reined in her smile, feigning discontent as she bumped her shoulder against Leon’s.

"What’s that supposed to mean? This queen always gets straight to the point and never beats around the bush!"

Hearing this, Leon curled his lips upwards in mock disbelief. In a singsong tone, he mimicked her, "This queen always gets straight to the point and never~ beats~ around~ the~ bush~."

Roswitha giggled as she twisted his arm slightly.

"When have I ever been indirect? I’ve always been like this all these years. If you think I’m stubborn, maybe the problem lies with you?"

Leon froze. "Me? What problem would I have?"

"Have you ever been honest about your feelings? Have you ever played straight with me? Stop spouting nonsense with your eyes open!" Roswitha retorted.

Leon shut his eyes. "Fine. I’ll spout it with my eyes closed then, Stubborn Queen."

"I’m going to kill you!"

After some playful banter under the pavilion, Roswitha returned to the former more serious topic.

"So according to the clues and advice from your master, are you planning to return to the Empire soon to investigate this Shadow?"

Leon nodded. "The information on Shadow here in the Dragon Clan is almost nonexistent. Constantine has been hunting Adam for thirty years without results. Starting from Adam wouldn’t be realistic, so I’ll have to focus on the Empire."

"Hmm... that makes sense," Roswitha agreed, contemplating briefly before adding, "Still, the fact that Constantine has a daughter is surprising to me."

"Right? I was stunned when I saw that little dragonling. That grumpy old guy having such a cute daughter?"

Leon paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Do you think... maybe she’s adopted?"

Roswitha let out a derisive laugh. "Highly unlikely. Dragons almost never adopt offspring because it would jeopardize the purity of their bloodline, and the power wouldn’t genuinely carry forward. Besides, no one would willingly take in a discarded dragonling with an unknown background—too much trouble."

"Plus~" she looked at Leon.

"Plus what?" he asked.

"You, my foolish straight-laced husband, managed to have three adorable, clever daughters. It’s not that surprising that Constantine has one too."

"Wait a second, how am I foolish? And our daughters are obviously brilliant thanks to my superior genes!"

"Our daughters didn’t graduate from Saint Hiss Academy at three years old. Your so-called superior genes are clearly the weak link."

"Wow, what a sharp tongue, Mother Dragon. Did you graduate at three, then?"

"I didn’t, because I started school at seven."

"Then what’s the point of even bringing it up?"

Their friendly domestic bickering continued until both laughed.

"Oh, speaking of the Academy, the girls are starting school next week. Head back to the Empire after that," Roswitha suggested.

"Alright, that’s my plan as well," Leon said. "If I remember correctly, Noa is entering her final semester in the Young Dragon Division. Her end-of-term assessment will determine if she can advance to the Adolescent Dragon Division."

"Mm."

The queen stood and walked over to the pavilion railing. She leaned casually on the post, gazing out into the courtyard. From her vantage point, she could see a corner of the training ground in the backyard.

In that corner stood a battered practice dummy, covered in marks left by lightning magic.

"She’s just about to turn six, and she’ll soon have to compete with kids over ten," Roswitha murmured.

Leon got up to stand beside her, looking toward the same spot. He too noticed the old practice dummy.

The dummy was made of a special material meant to withstand magic practice. Ordinary attacks wouldn’t cause the kind of scars it bore.

Unless, of course, they were the result of persistent, rigorous training.

Like what Noa had been doing.

"She’s no longer the little girl who just started school, Roswitha. Age doesn’t mean much. She’s been through so much over the years—we should stop looking at her as a child," Leon said softly.

Roswitha thought back to Noa’s journey. From her first sneak attack on the Star-Wandering Dragon King, Ravi, to protecting her friends amidst countless traps in the northern ruins—it was true. Her growth had far surpassed Roswitha’s expectations.

Maybe Leon was right. She shouldn’t see Noa as a fragile child anymore. Nor should she be overly worried.

Yet Roswitha couldn’t quite understand why she felt this way. As a pure-blood Dragon Clan member, her instincts should have driven her to be strict, showing little affection toward her offspring.

So why did she care so deeply for her daughters?

"Oh, they’re coming out. I’ll go play with them first," Leon said, vaulting over the pavilion railing and heading toward the backyard where their daughters were.

"Daddy~ Today, you have to teach Muen a new spell~"

"No problem! Whatever you want to learn, Daddy will teach you!"

Roswitha watched the father and daughters from a distance, listening to their exchange. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw that eager figure of his bounding off.

She didn’t even realize she was smiling.

Perhaps the question that had puzzled her moments before already had an answer.

"When you spend your life with someone, you start to become like them."

Gentleness, responsibility, and assurance—these traits about him had always drawn her in.

And before she knew it, his qualities had influenced her, shaping who she was today.

"You rascal, Casmode. First, you stole my heart, and now you want to change my entire life? Dream on," Roswitha murmured, laughing.

Lifting her skirt slightly, she made no effort to preserve her usual grace. Instead, she jumped over the railing like Leon had, running over to join her husband and daughters.

The weathered practice dummy remained in its quiet corner—its scars standing as a witness to the past, present, and... the future of the Melkevi family.