Vol 7. Chapter 62: Be a Little Bolder

After returning to the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, Muse immediately rushed off to the backyard to play with the sisters she hadn’t seen for several days.

Leon, meanwhile, found Rosvisser and updated her on Muse’s progress during her training in the Empire, including the special kind of attack she had encountered. After hearing it, Rosvisser also said she had never seen ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) that kind of attack before.

“It can inflict serious damage on anything behind the initial impact, even pulverizing the whole object...”

The queen furrowed her brows slightly.

“Even the most destructive thunder magic, or the sharpest wind magic, probably can’t do that, right?”

Leon nodded.

“But no matter what, Muse really does seem to have what Hera said—a power not belonging to the five fundamental elements. A brand-new power. We need to figure out its properties quickly if we’re going to design a proper training method for Muse. A new kind of power needs a new kind of training, but clearly, at Muse’s current age, she can’t do that herself.”

So it was up to Leon and Rosvisser to figure out how this power worked before Muse could properly master it.

“Alright.”

After a pause, Rosvisser added:

“But the girls are about to start the new school term. This semester, Muse will have an outdoor combat exam, like the one Noa and the others had in the far north. If we can’t guide her to master this power before then, she might not score well.”

At that, Rosvisser pursed her lips and paused for a moment before continuing:

“And that exam score will affect her final promotion ranking—”

“I understand, Rosvisser.”

Leon walked to the throne and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll make sure to help Muse master this power before the exam.”

Over the next few days, Leon stayed in the nursery.

Rosvisser was curious why he didn’t use her personal library instead, where there were tons of documents and materials for reference. But Leon explained that he didn’t want to make a mess in there.

Rosvisser didn’t get it. How could just doing some research dirty the place?

Until...

“Milan, where are you going with those stones?”

That day, while Rosvisser was handling affairs in the main hall of the sanctuary, she looked up and saw Milan walking upstairs with a large stone in her arms.

The little maid peeked her head out from behind the rock, trying to bow, but if she lowered her head, she’d bump into the stone.

Rosvisser quickly said, “No need to bow, just speak.”

“Oh, yes, Your Majesty. His Highness asked me to bring these stones up to him.”

“Leon? What does he want with those stones?”

Milan shook her head. “I’m not really sure, Your Majesty.”

Rosvisser nodded thoughtfully and then said:

“Alright, go ahead and take them up.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Milan left, carrying the various sizes of stones.

Rosvisser more or less figured out what Leon had been doing in the nursery these past few days.

Muse had used the gold-red gauntlet Rebecca gave her to demonstrate twice in front of Leon, turning a stone into powder.

So now Leon was probably testing what kind of attack could produce that same effect.

“No wonder he said he didn’t want to mess up my library. That would’ve been hard to clean up. Wait—so messing up the nursery is okay, you idiot!”

The queen sighed helplessly. But she still patiently returned to her work.

After lunch, she used her break to sneak up to the nursery.

As she pushed open the door and was about to call out to Leon, before she could even open her mouth—

A wave of pale gray dust hit her in the face!

Rosvisser raised her hand and fanned it in front of her face, then summoned a narrow wind current with her magic to blow away the dust.

At that moment, Leon was sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by small shattered stones.

“Leon, do you think Muse will be our last baby?”

Rosvisser stood beside him and asked.

Leon didn’t even look up, still fiddling with the stone in his hand.

“Nope, we’ll have lots more babies in the future. Why?”

“Why? Wow, I can’t believe you’re even asking why.”

Rosvisser sounded slightly exasperated. “If Muse isn’t our last baby, that means we still need this nursery in the future. So why are you turning it into a construction zone! Cough...”

As she spoke, some dust got into her throat, making her cough a few times.

Leon didn’t answer right away—he just held out a dust mask.

Rosvisser took it and put it on.

“I was originally planning to use the training grounds, but it’s easy for Muse to see me there,” Leon said.

Rosvisser blinked in confusion.

“So what if she sees? Didn’t you say you were going to figure out her power before the exam?”

But Leon shook his head.

“Because I’m not certain what this new power really is. If I prematurely tell Muse she’s already mastered it, and it turns out it’s something she can’t actually control—or worse, just a fluke that can’t be replicated—it’ll be another blow to her. She’s already been through enough.”

Rosvisser sighed and nodded.

“Ohh~ I get it now. So you have to be absolutely certain how her power works before you can safely tell her.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“So how’s it going?”

At the mention of progress, Leon instantly deflated. He leaned back and lay on the floor.

Staring at the ceiling, he murmured:

“I’ve tried all kinds of attacks, but none of them can replicate the way Muse shattered that stone. For example, thunder magic, in normal conditions, can only reduce the stone to small pieces. If I want to pulverize it, I’d need a high-intensity thunder spell strong enough to destroy this whole room. But Muse did it with a casual strike. So, her new power probably isn’t a variant of thunder magic. I’ve also tested water magic, wind magic, and a bunch of small combo spells. None of them work.”

Leon sighed and spread out his arms.

“I finally understand how hard it was for Senior Claudia to catalog all those ancient and unknown magics.”

“Honestly, this isn’t your strong suit. You’re great on the battlefield—no one’s more enthusiastic than you there. But when it comes to academic work like this... yeah, it’s gonna be rough.”

But speaking of Claudia, Leon suddenly sat up.

“Maybe we should just go ask Senior Claudia for help. She’s seen way more stuff than I have. She’d definitely have more of a clue.”

Rosvisser nodded, then reached out her delicate fingers and gently wiped the dust off his nose.

“Even during summer break, she’s got meetings and evaluations back at the Academy. And with about to start term Claudia even busier, she’s probably swamped. So if we go bother her now, it might not be the best timing.”

She was right. Leon had really been driven half-insane by these stupid rocks.

“Yeah, true. Guess we’ll have to rely on ourselves.”

Rosvisser thought back to what Leon had just said and fell into silent thought for a moment. Then she said:

“Honestly, I think you’re still stuck inside the framework of the five fundamental elements.”

Leon raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

Rosvisser slowly extended a hand and picked up one of the stone fragments, playing with it in her palm.

“If it’s a brand-new power, different from the five elements and not a derivative of them, then we can’t keep approaching it with traditional thinking. Don’t be limited by the kinds of attacks we already understand. You have to...”

She lightly tapped his forehead with a finger.

“Break out of the box. Be a little bolder.”

Leon scratched the corner of his mouth.

“How bold exactly—mm...”

Before he could finish asking, Rosvisser pressed a finger against her dust mask, pulling it down to reveal her red lips.

Then she leaned in and kissed him.

It wasn’t a soft peck, nor a deep, indulgent kiss.

She simply tasted him lightly, letting the warm tip of her tongue gently slip into his mouth—and linger there.

After a moment, the queen pulled back and whispered softly:

“Like me sneaking in to kiss you during lunch break. That kind of bold.”