Vol. 4 Ch. 24

“You did it, Sis!” Moon ran over excitedly, throwing herself into Noa’s arms.

Helena and Aurora joined them, each offering their own congratulations. The little dragons gathered around their **[Princess]**, joyfully celebrating her victory.

But amid the happiness, a brief flash of confusion crossed Noa’s face before she quickly composed herself, joining hands with her sisters and friend as they danced in a circle.

“Well done, brother-in-law! Surviving three rounds against the fierce attacks of my genius niece—I hereby declare you the third-strongest in the Silver Dragon clan.”

Leon just chuckled at his sister-in-law’s teasing.

But as he mentally counted, something seemed off.

“I get the second-strongest—Noa beat me. But why third?”

“The second is your wife.”

“Got it.”

Family rank -1.

After poking fun at Leon, Isha joined the little dragons in their celebration.

Rosvisser approached Leon and whispered, “We did agree you’d hold back and let Noa win, but I didn’t expect you to lose… so quickly.”

Leon chuckled, letting out a soft sigh. “There’s plenty you didn’t expect.”

The Queen raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Actually… I hadn’t intended to lose during Noa’s third attack.”

Leon touched his waist, where his bell had been tied.

He replayed the scene in his mind before explaining, “Her third approach was similar to her first, so it was easy to counter. I planned to block it and say something like, ‘That move only works on Dad once.’”

Rosvisser covered her mouth, chuckling as she listened intently. “And then?”

“Then… Noa switched tactics in a way I didn’t anticipate—using her tail. But it wasn’t just that; the angle of her tail’s surprise attack was really hard to predict.”

Rosvisser considered his explanation thoughtfully, eventually summarizing, “In simple terms, our daughter genuinely captured you, didn’t she?”

“…”

Leon’s mouth twitched. “I said all that to downplay it, and you just had to point it out.”

Though in truth, it wasn’t entirely accurate.

Before Noa’s successful attack, Leon had several chances to take her bell. He just hadn’t done it. And her tail maneuver really had caught him off guard.

“Guess I should’ve guarded against Noa’s tail.”

“If you’d listened to me five years ago, you would’ve let me attach a fake tail for practice.”

Rosvisser brought up an old grievance, looking smug. “I told you, but you didn’t listen.”

“Oh, sure. If I had a tail, would you be wrapping around me all the time, Your Majesty?”

The Queen’s cheeks flushed, and she nudged his arm. “Stop saying nonsense. Who’d want to wrap around you like a snake? That’s disgusting.”

“Liar. I’ve seen those romance novels in your study. The dragons in them entwine their tails whenever they’re madly in love, practically impossible to separate.”

“Silence, human. I have no interest in tail-tangling with you.”

The two exchanged playful banter.

After a bit of teasing, Leon suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right. About the thing you promised me in the cellar—it’s still on, right?”

Rosvisser blinked, immediately understanding what he meant by “that thing.”

“Of course… but then again, no.”

Crossing her arms, she smiled mischievously.

“Why not? We agreed on it.”

“Because our precious daughter won fair and square. It wasn’t you letting her win, so… it doesn’t count.” Rosvisser continued to tease him.

“No way! That’s cheating.”

“Not at all. It’s your own fault for letting your guard down. Not only did you lose the bell, but you also lost—”

Rosvisser stood on her toes, cupping his ear and whispering softly, “A chance to spend the night with the bunny girl.”

Yes, back in the cellar, to fuel his motivation, Rosvisser had promised Leon she’d wear a bunny outfit again if Noa emerged victorious.

And as Rosvisser had hoped, Leon defeated her sister, allowing Noa to secure the Black Sacred Stone.

The lesson here: knowing your partner’s weak spot is a very powerful thing.

Rosvisser enjoyed the look of disappointment on Leon’s face.

In his eyes, he’d lost two things that day—the game and the bunny girl.

A tragedy, worse than failing to defeat a Dragon King.

“Alright, alright. I’m just teasing you.”

Of course, Rosvisser wouldn’t back out on her promise to her foolishly loyal captive. She just wanted to see his pitiful expression for a while.

Sigh, teasing her husband was one of her small pleasures, so she’d take every chance she got.

Rosvisser took his arm and said, “I’ll wear it for you once we’re home. Happy?”

Leon shrugged. “It’s not like I’m desperate to see it.”

“Oh? Well, then! Since you’re not that eager, I’ll skip it. That outfit is so tight anyway.”

“…”

Rosvisser barely stifled a laugh.

It was just impossible to get Leon to say, “Please, wear the bunny girl outfit for me.” He’d rather quietly resent not seeing it than lose his pride and beg her.

The most he’d do was grumble a bit.

“I love how stubborn you are, you idiot.”

If they weren’t surrounded by people, Rosvisser would’ve kissed him right there. He deserved a reward for defeating her sister and helping Noa win.

While the two flirted, a few staff members approached.

“Sir, please hand over the Black Sacred Stone. It’s a game item, not a real Night Spirit Crystal, and we’ll need it for the next round.”

“Oh, right.”

Leon walked over to the suit of armor near the meeting hall entrance, removed its leg armor, and retrieved the Black Sacred Stone from inside his boot.

Everyone was stunned.

“So the Black Sacred Stone was hidden right by the meeting hall door this whole time!”

“We came and went so many times, but never thought to search there.”

“Princess, please play with us again sometime!”

Everyone sighed and regretted not finding it sooner.

Whether they wanted to retrieve, destroy, or escape with the Black Sacred Stone, no one had expected it to be hidden in plain sight, right under their noses.

Even Isha hadn’t suspected it.

“Brother-in-law, I never realized you were this good at hiding things.”

“Yes, I have a knack for hiding things.”

Not to mention the bunny girl photos Leon had hidden years ago that still hadn’t been found by anyone—not even Leon himself could remember where he’d stashed them.

Back to the main story.

Leon handed the game version of the Black Sacred Stone back to the staff.

Then another staff member brought out the actual **Night Spirit Crystal**, placing it in a fine wooden box and handing it to Noa.

“Congratulations, Miss Noa. You’ve won this round of **Secrets of the Castle**. The Black Sacred Stone is now yours.”

Noa accepted it politely with both hands. “Thank you.”

Opening the box, she found a single black orb resting inside.

The Night Spirit Crystal had been crafted into a decorative item, beautiful and elegant.

Gently touching the surface of the crystal, she felt its cool, icy texture.

The moment her fingers brushed the crystal, she sensed a faint reaction within her magic circuit.

“You’ve condensed enough primal energy over time. Your magical circuit is no longer the same as it used to be. That residual primal energy in your circuit just awakened the crystal. Nothing to worry about—it’s proof this is indeed a genuine Night Spirit Crystal,” the elder explained.

“I see.”

Noa gazed intently at the pristine orb, feeling the resonance between her inner primal energy and the crystal.