Vol. 5 Ch. 4

"Congratulations, Prince Consort. Both mother and daughter are safe," the head maid, Anna, announced.

"Daughter?" Leon's eyes lit up. "It's a girl?"

Anna nodded with a smile. "Yes, Your Highness, a beautiful little princess."

Excitement surged through Leon as he strode quickly to the bedside.

Rosvisser lay there, visibly exhausted, her silver eyes half-lidded, while their newborn daughter rested beside her in a bundle of soft fabric.

The baby cried energetically, her voice filling the room. Leon felt an indescribable mix of emotions, the same as he had when Aurora was born.

He knelt by the bed and gently took Rosvisser’s cool hand in his. After briefly gazing at their daughter, he turned his attention back to his wife.

“You’ve worked so hard, Rosvisser.”

She offered a faint but contented smile. In a soft, breathless voice, she said, “Look at her… isn’t she adorable?”

“Of course.”

After ensuring that Rosvisser was okay, Leon turned his focus fully to their newest family member.

The little dragon girl had stopped crying and lay calmly in her swaddle, her bright eyes curiously scanning the unfamiliar world around her.

Leon’s gaze was drawn to the striking color of her eyes—a vivid, unblemished red.

If Aurora’s pink hues had been the result of blending Rosvisser’s silver and Isa’s red, then this crimson shade was something entirely different.

*Could this be a sign of ultimate victory?* he wondered, bemused.

“Wow! Such beautiful eyes!” Isha exclaimed as she admired her niece. “They’re like rubies! Absolutely gorgeous!”

Isa, who had already flaunted Aurora’s pink hair to no end, now seemed ready to make this new red-eyed addition the next focal point of her exuberance.

“This is clearly a victory for justice!” she declared, playfully jabbing at Leon. “Tell me, Leon, is your family’s genetic code lost in the woods? How do your kids keep looking more like me?”

Leaning closer to Rosvisser, Leon whispered with a mock pout, “Seriously, why do our kids always seem to lean toward your side of the family?”

Rosvisser chuckled weakly. “Oh, please. You don’t exactly contribute much in the eye color department either. Noa and Moon have blue eyes, Aurora’s are pink, and now this one’s red. Are you really complaining?”

“I may not help with eye colors, but I’ve definitely contributed to their hair!”

“Well, I’ve given them tails,” Rosvisser retorted with a sly smirk. “Why don’t you check this one’s tail?”

Nearby, the maids, still bustling quietly, began whispering among themselves.

“I didn’t see a tail on the fourth princess,” one murmured.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m certain.”

“Impossible. All dragon babies have tails.”

Isa, who was doting over her niece, overheard the conversation. She frowned slightly, her curiosity piqued. Quietly, she peeled back the blanket covering the baby and glanced at her waist.

Her brows furrowed.

“She really… doesn’t have a tail.”

Leon approached, but Isa quickly motioned for silence. He stopped, puzzled, and raised a questioning brow at her.

Isha’s expression had turned uncharacteristically serious. Trusting her instincts, Leon remained silent and waited.

Carefully, Isha lifted the baby, adjusting the blanket just enough for Leon to see. His heart sank.

No tail.

His emotions were a mixture of surprise and… satisfaction.

On one hand, he was perplexed. All three of their previous daughters had tails—how could this one not? On the other hand, the absence of a tail hinted at stronger human traits, a small yet significant triumph in his long-standing rivalry with Rosvisser over their children’s dragonic and human characteristics.

Still, there was concern. If the baby never grew a tail, would others find it suspicious?

“Isha,” Leon asked quietly, “you’ve seen a lot in your time. Is this normal?”

Isa shook her head. “I’m not sure. Let’s clear the room first. Noa and the others should leave as well.”

Leon nodded and whispered instructions to Anna, who efficiently ushered everyone out under the pretense of needing privacy for the royal couple.

Noa lingered by the door, glancing back just before closing it. She saw her father kneeling by the bed, speaking softly to her mother, but the door clicked shut before she could catch more.

Back inside, Rosvisser struggled to sit up. Leon immediately moved to support her, propping her against the headboard. Isha placed the baby in her arms, and Rosvisser’s silver eyes softened as she gazed down at their child.

“She really… doesn’t have one,” Rosvisser murmured.

Isha leaned in to gently tease her niece with a finger. “Her dragon eyes are perfectly normal, but there’s no sign of a tail. Are you sure you two didn’t do anything unusual while, uh, preparing for this pregnancy?”

Leon and Rosvisser exchanged a look, both recalling their actions. Then, in perfect unison, they shook their heads.

“No. Everything was… normal.”

“Then why do Noa, Moon, and Aurora have tails, but not this one?” Isa pondered aloud, her brow furrowed.

Leon’s thoughts drifted to past moments. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

“Oh! I know why!”

“What?” Isha asked skeptically.

“You asked if we did anything unusual while preparing. Well, we didn’t. And that’s exactly the problem!”

Isa raised a hand to stop him. “Wait. What? That logic makes no sense. Rosvisser, did you understand that?”

Rosvisser, after a moment’s thought, nodded. “I think I do.”

Isha shuddered. “Okay, let me rephrase this for the sake of the kids who aren’t here. Whatever you two are talking about… it’s not something inappropriate, is it?”

Leon shook his head vigorously. “No, no, Isa. It’s about *Blood Bond*.”

Isha’s brows shot up. “Blood Bond? That’s the one-time-only magic that brought you two together in the first place, isn’t it?”

Leon nodded. “Exactly. We used it when we conceived Noa and Moon in that dungeon. And we used it again when Aurora was conceived.”

Rosvisser sighed softly but confirmed with a reluctant nod. “Yes, it was me who used it the second time.”

Isa slowly clapped, her tone dripping with mock admiration.

“You two never fail to redefine my understanding of boundaries.”

She sighed and summarized, “So, without using Blood Bond, Noa, Moon, and Aurora had tails. But this little one, conceived without it, doesn’t. It seems like the Blood Bond magic is the only variable here.”

Leon nodded. “That’s what it seems like. But, Rosvisser, doesn’t Blood Bond only work once in a lifetime for humans and dragons?”

“Yes.”

“So I’ve already used up my chance, which means… from now on, none of our kids will ever have tails again! I win, Rosvisser! I win for life!”

Rosvisser gave him a cold glare, too weak to throw the pillow she wanted to launch at him.

“Don’t forget all the promises you just made to me, dear *husband*.”

“What promises? I don’t recall!”

“Brother-in-law,” Isha chimed in, grinning, “I recorded everything you said on a memory stone. You’re welcome.”

Leon groaned. “I hate every single adult female in the Melkvey family!”

Despite the banter, none of this diminished their love for their new daughter.

Leon cradled the baby and walked to the window. The first rays of dawn broke through the sky, bathing the child in golden light. Her ruby-red eyes sparkled like gems, radiant and full of life.

---

**Outside the Silver Dragon Sanctuary**

In the shadow of the fortress walls, Konstantin stood over the corpse of a small dangerous beast. He crouched, extracting a fragment from its body and holding it up to the sunlight.

“Is this the same material as the black dragon scale from Adam’s remains?” he murmured.

Behind him, a young voice called out.

“Father, we’ve been here for days. Why won’t you tell me the reason?”

The wind tugged at the red banners of the Flame Dragon Army as Konstantin pocketed the shard. Without turning, he replied,

“I owe a fool many debts. This is my way of repaying a small part of it.”

He gazed toward the shining silver castle in the distance.

“During the Moon Forest expedition, Leon casually mentioned he was expecting another child. I calculated the timing and have been waiting here, watching.”

He glanced at the beast he had killed and the black shard in its remains.

“We won’t need to return tomorrow, Hefei. But remember this.”

“What is it, Father?”

Konstantin raised a hand, pointing toward the sanctuary.

“The child born in that castle today is someone you must surpass in the future.”

Hefei didn’t understand her father’s words, but she nodded solemnly. “I will remember, Father.”

As Konstantin continued to gaze at the castle, a

strange feeling stirred within him—a sense of inevitable… **destiny.**