Vol. 3 Ch. 74

Leviathan’s spatial magic, unlike the techniques used by Lavie and other dragon kings, came with a cooldown period after each long-distance teleport. Due to his massive size, Leviathan’s teleportation range was also somewhat limited compared to others. Still, for Leon and Rosvisser, this was their fastest way to reach the northernmost lands.

That evening, after completing a long-range teleport, Leviathan paused to let his magic recharge. Standing near the edge of the dragon’s vast back, Leon looked down at the seemingly endless forest stretching out below, the horizon curving in the distance. Flying above the world on the back of a colossal creature had a way of humbling one’s perspective.

“Magnificent, isn’t it? Everyone’s speechless their first time on Leviathan,” came a familiar voice from behind.

Leon turned, watching as a tall, graceful figure approached, her silver hair dancing in the night breeze like threads of moonlight.

“It’s not the view,” Leon replied, turning back toward the horizon.

“Oh? Then what are you thinking about?”

Leon, hands in his pockets, tapped Leviathan’s enormous scales underfoot. “Just thinking… how much effort it would take to chop down a dragon this big.”

Rosvisser rolled her eyes. She should’ve known her thick-headed husband wasn’t thinking anything profound.

“How much longer until we reach the north?” Leon asked.

“Three days.”

“Which means…” Leon glanced over his shoulder at the group of Young Dragons behind them. “We’re spending three days with these melodramatic teenagers on Leviathan.”

“Bold of you to call them melodramatic.”

“I’m passionate. They’re melodramatic.”

“Mm, to me, you’re all the same. Just fools.”

Rosvisser, with over two hundred years of life experience, really did see Leon and the Young Dragons as about the same. Well… not entirely the same. Leon, after all, was the more handsome one.

The two exchanged light banter until Leon suddenly changed the topic. “When was the last time we had an outing like this? Was it Sky City?”

“It was the family trip to the beach,” Rosvisser corrected.

“Oh, you keep track of every outing, huh? You don’t, by chance, have a diary of our love story, do you?”

A diary…

The truth was, she did. But admit it? Never!

“Stop being ridiculous, Cosmod. I have neither love nor stories with you,” Rosvisser quickly changed the subject to avoid giving him any further leverage. “And we’re not out here for romance. We’re here to keep an eye on Konstantin, remember?”

But Leon was more interested in her sudden flustered reaction. Could it be that the proud dragon queen really did have a secret diary? He was definitely going to hunt for it once they got home.

Meanwhile, in a secluded corner, two small heads peeked out, watching the couple closely.

“Why haven’t they kissed yet?” Noa whispered.

“It’s weird. With no one else around and it being nighttime, they’d normally have kissed by now,” Helena added.

Noa knew her parents’ private life was anything but modest, but she didn’t realize that, before the “shameless” stage, there was always a ritual of “pretend disinterest.” The Melkvey family couldn’t function without their habitual sarcasm—it was as essential as Jerusalem to the West.

Noa’s mind raced. “Could it be they’re worried about having a third baby?”

Helena looked down at her in confusion. “What does kissing have to do with having a third baby?”

“Adults have babies if they kiss,” Noa replied with certainty.

This little piece of “knowledge” had come from a deduction she and Moon made years ago during a family beach outing. Back then, they’d even come up with a “seaside rescue plan,” attempting to set up a situation where their parents would kiss and give them another sibling.

Despite their efforts, there was no sign of a baby afterward. Even after Aurora was old enough to walk and talk, their next attempt at a “kiss mission” failed to result in a baby. Eventually, Noa got so busy with her studies that she’d forgotten all about wanting another sibling.

Now, however, she was thrilled at the chance to spy on her parents' “private life” to see if they truly avoided affection in secret or if the idea of a third child had just been pushed aside.

“Who told you that kissing makes you pregnant?” Helena asked, bringing some “accurate” knowledge to her friend. “Kissing is just a way adults show love for each other. It doesn’t make you pregnant.”

Noa blinked, taken aback. “Really?”

“Of course! If kissing led to pregnancy, then we wouldn’t be such a rare species anymore.”

Noa’s big eyes blinked as she processed this new information. It did make sense.

“So how *do* you get a baby?” Noa asked, her curiosity piqued.

Helena’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Well… that’s a bit tricky to explain. You’ll probably understand when you’re older.”

Truthfully, most young dragons Noa’s age wouldn’t even be curious about how babies were made. But Helena’s knowledge stemmed from a rather unique pet her aunt had brought home, leading her to learn more about biology and reproduction than the average young dragon.

Helena shook her head to refocus and continued observing. “Why are they still talking? I want to see a kiss.”

“Doesn’t your mom let you watch?”

Helena shook her head, “Nope! Every time a couple shows affection in public, she covers my eyes.”

“Same here! Our maids cover our eyes whenever my parents kiss.”

Noa huffed indignantly. “And then they just enjoy the show themselves. It’s not fair!”

“Exactly! So this time, we’re seeing it firsthand!”

“Right!”

The two young dragons were determined not to leave until they witnessed the kiss.

Meanwhile, Leon and Rosvisser were wrapping up their ritual of banter. They were almost through the verbal back-and-forth, on the brink of crossing into affectionate territory.

“Quit it, Leon. I don’t like you,” Rosvisser declared.

“I dislike you even more,” Leon replied smoothly.

“No way. I definitely dislike you more.”

For years, the couple had kept up this playful argument about who “liked” the other less. Both knew the truth well enough, but admitting affection aloud was harder than resurrecting Konstantin twice.

Leon glanced sideways at his stubbornly beautiful wife and leaned slightly over the edge of Leviathan’s back.

Inspiration struck.

“Rosvisser, I can prove that not only do you like me, but you care about me deeply,” he declared.

She rolled her eyes. “The air is already freezing. Spare me your cold jokes.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Not at all.”

“Fine. I’ll prove it right now.”

Rosvisser watched him with interest. “Alright. Show me.”

Leon simply turned to face her, smiling, then spread his arms wide.

“Let’s see if your famous Silver Dragon speed can catch me before gravity does.”

As he tilted backward, Rosvisser’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you doing…”

Without a word, Leon leaned back—and fell right off Leviathan’s back.

“Hey, idiot!” Rosvisser shouted, rushing to the edge to look down at him.

Leon was in freefall, plummeting toward the distant ground.

Rosvisser clenched her fists. “You think I’m going to jump down there and save you?”

She spun on her heel, tossing her hair with exaggerated defiance. There was no way she was going to play into his hands. With all his techniques—Void Shadow, the Nine Gates of Hell—he had plenty of ways to make it back up. There was no reason for her to jump down after him.

And yet…

A flash of silver dove from Leviathan’s back, and with speed almost invisible to the eye, Rosvisser reached her free-falling husband, pulling him into her arms. She brought him safely back to Leviathan’s back and tossed him onto the ground in exasperation.

Half-sitting, Leon looked up at her with a triumphant grin. “See? I knew—”

Before he could finish, Rosvisser stepped over him, planting herself firmly on his stomach.

“You are absolutely the most childish person I know, Cosmod!”

“Does that mean you like me?”

“I—!” Her frustration boiled over, and she thumped his chest in exasperation.

“You idiot. You’re just lucky I care,” she muttered, flustered.

Leon, still lying under her, leaned in close, inhaling her subtle scent. Gazing up at her elegant jawline, he murmured, “Rare to have a wife who can fly… makes me want to push the limits of our daily excitement.”

She tilted her head, eyes narrowed. “Flying, *fake* wife, thank you very much.”

Their eyes met. With the final sarcastic remark out of the way, they closed the distance and kissed.

Their hearts raced, though they couldn’t tell if it was from Leon’s “cliff-dive” or simply the thrill of being so close.

“Wow… that was intense,” Helena whispered in awe. “I’ve never seen a couple like them.”

“Wait, but all adult dragons can fly, so why did Rosvisser need to rescue him like that?” Helena mused, confused.

Noa thought for a moment. “Oh, Mom told me once that Dad’s wings were injured. It took him a long time to recover, and I’ve never actually seen him use them.”

Helena nodded, “That

explains it. Well, we finally got a front-row seat. Mission complete—let’s head to bed.”

“Agreed.”

Helena turned to walk back to their room, but Noa paused, casting one last glance at her parents, who were still enjoying their stolen moment of intimacy.

Her mom had mentioned her dad’s wings were injured. But…

“Was Mom… a bit too worried just now?”

As the night deepened, Noa’s thoughts continued to swirl in the evening breeze.