The couple returned to the Silver Dragon Sanctuary in the evening.
Dinner was simple but warm. Only, without the chatter of their daughters, the table felt like it was missing something.
No wonder. After all, they had barely been apart for the whole summer break.
Suddenly, school starts, and the quiet is inevitable.
Leon toyed with his fork, poking at the leftovers on his plate. Though he wasn't full yet, he had no appetite.
When his mind was in chaos, he couldn't eat.
And now his distraction was all because of what Claudia had said to him and Rossweise earlier that day.
They had always thought the top priority was investigating Shadow and Adam, that having another baby would be "delaying important matters."
But Claudia's words today made this couple, lost in their own situation, finally see the essence of things clearly.
Chasing down remnants was indeed important, but wasn't ensuring the glory of the Silver Dragon clan just as important?
Yet even so, Leon had no idea how to actually begin this so-called "baby-making project" with Rossweise.
The reason was simple: He had never had the experience of trying for a child for the sake of having a child.
Noah and Luna had come about at Leon's life-and-death turning point, marking the beginning of his love-and-war entanglement with Rossweise.
Little Light's conception was an even greater accident, who knew why Rossweise had forgotten to use purification magic at that time?
So, if they truly wanted baby number four, it would be the first time in their six years of marriage that they deliberately, of their own will, tried to conceive.
And that was what Leon was tangled up about.
Clink!
He set down his fork and looked at Rossweise beside him.
The Queen's plate was still mostly untouched. At this moment, her head rested in her hands, cheeks squished adorably as she stared at the table.
"No appetite?", Leon asked softly.
Rossweise shook her head, "I was thinking."
Leon raised a brow, then cautiously tested, "The thing you're thinking about... it wouldn't happen to be the same thing I'm thinking about, would it?"
At that, Rossweise blinked, lifted her eyes toward Leon, "What are you thinking?"
"You first."
"No, you."
"If you don't say, I won't say."
"Then count down, three, two, one, we say it together."
"Alright."
Leon & the Queen, "Threw~ two~ one—"
"I knew you were trying to trick me!"
Under the table, Rossweise lightly kicked Leon's leg, half-teasing, "Alright, hurry up, what were you thinking about?"
Leon straightened up, answering seriously, "Actually... about this fourth baby thing, I feel kind of anxious."
"It's not that I don't want another with you, but... I've never, not once, done that sort of thing just to make a child..."
"This feeling... is a little unfamiliar."
Even when he woke from his two-year coma and suddenly found Luna in front of him, becoming a father overnight, he hadn't felt as conflicted as now.
It was like the difference between "suddenly being run over by a truck" and "being told the exact date of your execution."
If a truck smashes into you out of nowhere, you have no time to react; maybe the pain is over in an instant, maybe you don't even feel it.
But if you're told your death date in advance, then every day leading up to it is torment.
Wanting a baby wasn't torment, exactly, but it did make Leon feel awkward inside.
It felt like... handing in an assignment with a strong purpose in mind, rather than sharing joy with the person he loved.
And to Leon's anxiety and concern, Rossweise nodded in understanding.
"So we really are thinking the same thing."
She pouted a little. She rarely did such girlish gestures.
But when she did, it meant she too was lost and torn.
The strong Silver Dragon Queen couldn't solve the trouble in her heart, so all she could do was rely on the little girl hidden deep inside her.
"But it's not that I don't want another child, either. Claudia-senpai wasn't wrong, I really do... like children a lot."
Rossweise continued, "But this kind of thing... ah, it really is hard."
For baby number four, yes, it would be the fourth child of the Melkvei family; But for the parents, this would be their first time facing such a situation.
Clearly they were already an old married couple who had "handed in homework" in every way possible, yet here they were, still troubled over "how do we even face this having-kids thing?"
Looks like yet another chapter in the abstract brilliance of General Leon's life.
Not long after, Milan arrived with the maids to clear the table.
Seeing the Queen's plate still half-full, Milan tilted her head and asked, "Your Majesty, are you unwell?"
"Oh, no, just clear it away."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Milan glanced back, and the maids immediately came up to start clearing.
Taking the chance, Milan asked with concern, "Is Your Majesty thinking about the princesses?"
'Actually I'm thinking about your next princess.'
Rossweise gave a weary smile, shook her head, "Nothing, Milan."
She paused, then suddenly remembered, asking, "Right, didn't you break up before?"
Milan blinked, then her cheeks flushed as she turned her head aside, not answering directly.
But her bashful reaction said it all.
"Oh~ and after that you got back together?"
"No, Your Majesty, we made up afterwards. And... well..."
"And?"
"And we're planning to get married by the end of this year. If possible... we want a baby too."
'A baby.'
That surprised Rossweise a little, but thinking about it, it was only natural.
Because the battles a few years ago had cost the Silver Dragons dearly, Rossweise and Leon had discussed launching a "Silver Dragon Population Expansion" plan.
Nicknamed the "Love Cram School."
Encourage the clansfolk to fall in love more, make more babies, strengthen the Silver Dragons.
Looking at Milan's relationship progress now, it seemed the cram school was working.
"Milan."
"Yes, My Lord Prince, what is it?"
"About having a baby... you don't feel anxious?"
Rossweise also nodded by the side, she wanted to know Milan's thoughts too.
This wasn't the Queen and her husband nosing around in gossip.
They were both sensitive, thoughtful people troubled over the same matter, and since Milan was thinking about it too, it was the perfect chance to ask.
Maybe it could ease the knot in their hearts.
"Anxious?", Milan blinked her pretty eyes, thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Nope, not anxious at all."
"Because I think having a baby is something to be happy about, why would I feel anxious over something happy?"
"But... since it's also our first time trying to be parents, if anything, instead of anxious, I'd say nervous and expectant are more accurate."
Hearing Milan's words, Leon and Rossweise glanced at each other.
Then Leon asked, "Nervous and expectant? Can you explain what that feels like?"
That stumped Milan.
She scratched her temple, thinking carefully, "Emmm... I think, for something already set as a 'happy event,' the preparation stage before it must naturally be both nervous and expectant."
"Because even though everyone knows that after the baby's born everyone will be happy, what kind of happiness it will be, no one can really know."
"That's the unknown and the surprise that the birth of new life brings."
"If someone feels anxious about it, I think it might be because they're taking it too seriously, to the point of forgetting the meaning of having a child in the first place."
The little maid tilted her head, her graceful eyes curving into a pretty crescent Luna, "Don't mix up what's most important, Your Majesty, My Lord Prince."
———
Being lectured twice in one day, by Claudia and then by their maid, the couple felt they had gained a lot.
That night, they lay side by side on their large bed, hands resting together on their stomachs, staring straight at the ceiling, their movements uncannily in sync.
"I think Milan was right."
In the dark, Rossweise spoke softly, "Our anxiety comes from forgetting the meaning of having a child itself."
Leon understood his wife's thoughts.
"Mm. Before, we always overthought things, focusing too much on how we felt in the moment, while ignoring that the arrival of new life is actually something long and worth looking forward to."
"And this long process—"
At this, the couple turned their heads toward each other.
Their eyes met, and in unison, they both whispered, "I'll go through it with you."
[T/N: So, don't overthink it. Just do it.]
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