Vol. 6 Ch. 65

"So… Mr. Leon, if you have time, could you take me to the academic building?"

Leon casually shoved one hand into his pocket and scratched his head with the other.

"I’ve got time. But we might have to take a detour."

"Hm? Why’s that?"

"My wife asked me to check on the kids and make sure they’re not running around too much."

At his words, a flicker of light flashed across Cecilia’s red eyes.

"Oh… so Mr. Leon is already married?"

Leon grinned. "Been married for ten years now."

Cecilia clasped her hands together, her expression filled with admiration.

"Wow, that sounds so wonderful. In that case, I don’t mind taking a longer route at all!"

That bright-eyed, trusting expression was way too mismatched with her mature and elegant face.

Leon found the contrast amusing, though he didn’t dwell on it too much.

After all, the dragon race was full of weirdos. A big sister with this kind of contrast? Not even close to the strangest thing he’d seen.

"Then follow me, Miss Cecilia."

"Alright, alright!"

Cecilia folded her hands neatly in front of her, obediently following behind Leon as they made their way into the crowd.

The closest stop was Muse and Hefei’s performance stall.

Even from a few rows of people away, Leon could already hear Muse playing the harmonica.

Unlike the usual loud and rowdy atmosphere at the other stalls, the crowd here was quiet and attentive, fully immersed in Muse’s performance.

Leon didn’t get too close—he didn’t want to disrupt his daughter’s flow.

Instead, he peeked through the gaps in the crowd, making sure Hefei wasn’t running around. Once he confirmed everything was fine, he relaxed.

"That’s my youngest daughter over there. Her name’s Muse—she loves music."

"The little black-haired, red-eyed dragon girl?"

Cecilia studied Muse for a moment, then tilted her head toward Leon and glanced at his silver hair.

"Then that means… your wife must have red eyes?"

"Nope. She’s silver-themed."

Leon rubbed his nose. "But if you’re looking for warm colors, I’ve got those in the family too."

Cecilia’s eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Mhmm."

With that, Leon led Cecilia toward Aurora’s stall. This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There was a longer line here compared to the other stalls.

"Unlike gambling with stone slabs, you can just spend more like me and roll as much as you want!"

It was the ultimate gacha experience—people were lining up to use memory recall magic, watching snippets of their own past experiences.

Sure enough, Aurora sat there smugly, arms crossed, looking like she owned the world.

"With this many people's memories (a.k.a. blackmail material), she’s got entertainment for days."

Since the stall was too crowded, Xiaoxue was also there helping out.

"That’s Aurora, full name Aurora Melkvey. She’s a really smart one."

Leon introduced her.

"Oh~ She does look sharp! Pink and fluffy too—so cute."

"Eh? Dad, you’re here!"

Years of honing her ‘sixth sense for entertainment’ had sharpened Aurora’s awareness. The moment her eyes scanned the crowd, she immediately spotted her father.

By now, several of her close friends had already started using the memory magic, so she wasn’t too busy.

She and Xiaoxue stepped out from behind the stall and walked over to Leon and Cecilia.

Seeing the striking woman, Aurora tilted her head.

"This pretty big sister is…?"

She totally meant to say ‘auntie.’

But she remembered what her dad taught her—when talking to women, always call them "big sister" instead of "auntie" for max favorability.

"What do you mean ‘big sister’? I’m actually quite old, you know, little one."

Cecilia bent down and reached out, ruffling Aurora’s soft, fluffy pink hair.

She smiled with squinted eyes and introduced herself, "My name is Cecilia. Nice to meet you."

"I’m Aurora. Nice to meet you too, Aunt Cecilia."

"…Aunt, huh? That still doesn’t feel quite right…"

"Huh?"

"Ah, it’s nothing."

After that, Cecilia turned her gaze to Xiaoxue.

The moment their golden eyes met, Cecilia’s smile suddenly stiffened.

For just a split second, an unusual expression flashed across her face.

But it was gone in an instant.

She politely extended her hand. "Hello, young lady. How should I address you?"

Xiaoxue quickly recovered, extending her hand and lightly shaking Cecilia’s.

"My name is Xiaoxue. Nice to meet you, Aunt Cecilia."

The moment their hands touched, Cecilia’s expression subtly changed again.

But Xiaoxue, keeping her head slightly lowered and her gaze modestly lowered, didn’t notice.

Leon, standing behind Cecilia, didn’t see it either.

"Dad, where are you taking Aunt Cecilia?" Aurora asked.

"Oh, she got lost. I’m taking her to the academic building."

"Okay, then let’s meet at the entrance later and go eat together."

Leon nodded. "Sounds good."

"Alright, see you later!"

"Yeah."

Leon waved his hand and led Cecilia toward Dane District, where Noa and Moon were.

On the way, Cecilia asked,

"Mr. Leon, with so many children, you and your wife must be very much in love, right?"

Leon didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he casually glanced around, making sure there were no female dragons or their spies nearby before grinning and admitting openly,

"Of course! My wife and I are the model couple of our clan."

"Wow~ A model couple!"

Cecilia’s admiration wasn’t just for show—her eyes were filled with genuine envy and astonishment.

"Miss Cecilia, are you married?" Leon asked casually.

"I am, and we have children too."

But as she spoke, her voice suddenly turned somber.

Leon instantly noticed the shift in her tone. He probed gently,

"Is there… something troubling you when it comes to your children?"

"Troubling…?"

Cecilia let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

"If only I could actually spend time with them. Since the day they were born, neither my husband nor I have been able to raise them properly. We were never there for them—so where would the 'bonding time' even come from?"

"Ah… were you both away a lot?"

"You could say that."

After a pause, Cecilia put on her warm, radiant smile again.

"But I believe that my children must be living happily."

"Maybe—"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Maybe?"

"Maybe they’ve already built their own families and have many, many little ones of their own."

Hah.

Miss Cecilia, you sure love to dream.

Do you think all dragons breed like me and Rosvisser? Four kids in ten years?

That requires not just dragon stamina but also dragon-level wealth.

Still, Leon didn’t shoot her down. He simply nodded and replied,

"Yeah, maybe."

As they chatted, Leon took Cecilia to where Noa and Moon were.

After confirming that both of his eldest daughters weren’t running off anywhere, he continued escorting Cecilia to the academic building.

Most of the crowd was still gathered at the academy’s central field, so the area near the academic building wasn’t too crowded.

Cecilia started another conversation.

"By the way, Mr. Leon, how did you and your wife meet?"

"…."

"Why does every single person I meet for the first time ask me that?"

If you don’t know, go read Shut Up, Malevolent Dragon Chapter One, you bastards!

All you people do is ask, ask, ask!

"We… met at a victory banquet," Leon finally answered, recycling his usual PR-friendly version of the story.

"That night, I was incredibly handsome, and my wife came up to talk to me. That’s how we… well, met."

As the eras changed, so did Leon and Rosvisser’s "origin story".

But no matter how much the details changed, the core never did—

"Was there a victory banquet?"

"Did the Queen make the first move?"

Yes and yes.

"Art imitates life."

So it wasn’t like Leon was just making things up.

"That’s a very romantic way to meet," Cecilia commented.

"Yeah… what about you? How did you and your husband meet?"

"Oh, back in school, he was an expressionless block of wood—so I used to mess with him all the time."

As Cecilia reminisced about the past, a small smile tugged at her lips.

"After graduation, we often worked together on missions, and I still loved teasing him. But one time, I pushed him too far, and he got really mad. No matter what I did, I couldn’t cheer him up."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "And then?"

"Then, I told him: ‘I’ll marry you, so don’t be mad anymore, okay?’"

Leon: ???

"And he said okay."

Leon: ????

"So we got married. The next year, we had a child."

Leon: ?????

What the hell?

Leon had always thought that he and Rosvisser were the biggest anomaly in dragon society.

But there’s always a higher peak.

This? This was some next-level nonsense.

Leon completely failed to comprehend.

"What the hell is with dragon relationships…?"

A fusion of "innocent mischief," "strategic manipulation," and "overwhelming curiosity"?

Cecilia tilted her head. "Doesn’t it sound kind of simple and peaceful?"

Leon twitched his lips. He had no idea what to say.

"…I-I should just hurry up and take you to the academic building."

"Oh, okay, okay."

If he kept talking, his entire understanding of the world was about to get rewritten.

Upon arriving at the academic building’s entrance, Leon said,

"Alright, here we are."

"Mm…"

Cecilia looked up at the towering structure, her expression troubled.

Leon noticed and asked, "…Don’t tell me you get lost inside buildings too?"

"You… You figured it out again, huh? Ahaha~"

Leon pressed his lips together and sighed.

But as a man of principle, he followed through.

"Fine. Where do you need to go? I’ll take you."

"The Headmaster’s Office."

"…The Headmaster’s Office?"

So she’s a guest of Vice Principal Wilson and Headmaster Olette?

Leon was surprised, but he didn’t pry. He simply gestured,

"Alright, this way."

The two of them entered the building.

Leon was no stranger to the Headmaster’s Office. After climbing a few floors, they reached their destination.

Standing to the side of the corridor, Leon pointed toward a specific room.

"The Headmaster’s Office is right there. The sign’s on the door, so you can’t miss it."

"Alright, alright! Thank you so much, Mr. Leon, for guiding me."

"Don’t mention it."

"Then I’ll be heading in now. Goodbye, Mr. Leon."

"Yeah."

Cecilia strode toward the Headmaster’s Office.

Leon watched her tall, graceful figure, finally feeling relieved.

…But just in case the directionally-challenged lady got lost again, he stayed put.

Only after seeing her knock on the door did he turn to leave.

Click—

The office door slowly opened.

Then came a voice.

"It’s been a while, Olette."

Hearing Headmaster Olette’s name, Leon finally felt at ease.

But just as he turned to go—

A voice from inside the office called out:

"It’s been a while… Melkvey."

Leon froze.