Rossweise nodded, but her gaze remained fixed on the photo on the desk.
Noticing the subtle shift in her mood, Leon's heart softened. He immediately swept her up into his arms and started walking toward the door.
Rossweise, suddenly lifted, instinctively tightened her hold on his arm. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Going to bed," Leon stated simply, carrying her out of the study and toward their bedroom.
"I can walk by myself. Put me down." Despite her words, she made no move to struggle, allowing Leon to carry her.
Understanding her unspoken thoughts, Leon smiled faintly. "How could I let Her Majesty the Queen return to the bedroom on her own? Allow me, your prisoner, to be of service."
Rossweise shot him a mock glare, a smile playing on her lips that she couldn't quite suppress, and said nothing more.
As the night deepened, they exchanged quiet goodnights and fell asleep in each other's arms.
.
.
.
On Saturday morning, Muen woke up unusually early.
The reason was simple—she was on a mission to "guard the tower."
She couldn't allow Noah and Helena to be alone together while she was still asleep. At the academy, Muen couldn't interfere, and even if she wanted to, she couldn't. But every minute and second spent in this house, Muen was determined to keep a close watch on her older sister. She absolutely would not let this newcomer steal her sister away!
Just the thought of Noah snuggled up in the arms of that tall, blue-haired girl, chatting and laughing, made Muen feel uncomfortable from the tip of her head to the end of her tail. If she wanted to keep her sister's affection, she would start by waking up early to claim her!
Fired with determination, Muen threw off the covers and leaped out of bed in one swift motion. She nearly collided with Little Light, who was sleepily emerging from the bathroom. With a small pink tuft of hair askew, toothpaste foam still on her lips, and walking unsteadily, it was clear Little Light had just dragged herself out of bed.
But when Little Light saw Muen, she was slightly surprised. "You're up this early, second sister? Normally, you'd be asleep for another two hours."
"Anything could happen in two hours! I have to seize every minute and every second!" With that, Muen quickly washed up, threw on her little skirt and white knee-high socks, gave her hair a cursory comb, and rushed for the door.
Little Light peeked out of the bedroom. "Second sister, where are you going?"
"To find my sister. Do you know where she went?" Muen asked while pulling on her shoes.
"She seems to have taken Helena to the back garden for a tour."
Muen paused mid-motion. "Darn it… I'm a step behind!" She quickly finished with her shoes, unlocked the door, and sprinted towards the backyard garden.
Little Light blinked her pretty pink eyes, a thought forming. Mm… A beautiful day starts with having some fun. Second sister, wait for me!
Twenty minutes later, the little dragon girls had gathered in the temple's back garden. Leon and Rossweise stood on their bedroom balcony, watching the scene below.
After observing for a while, Leon suddenly spoke. "I think we should postpone having a fourth child for now."
Rossweise shot him a look, crossed her arms, and stared ahead. "I wasn't planning on asking you for a fourth child; you're the eager one."
After a pause, and seeing that Leon didn't respond, Rossweise couldn't help but ask, "Then… why shouldn't we have a fourth child?"
"You said you weren't planning on asking me for one. Why the sudden concern?"
"I can't ask casually?" Rossweise retorted confidently.
Leon chuckled and then tilted his chin toward the girls in the yard. "Look, with just three kids, we can focus our attention evenly on each one. Our care and attention don't lack for any of them. But once the number goes up to four, it becomes a bit difficult." He leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the balcony railing, sighed, and continued, "Maybe I'm just not ready to be a father of four yet. What about you? Are you ready for that?"
Rossweise's silver eyes shifted thoughtfully. After a moment, she also shook her head. "Not yet."
Leon shrugged. "So, my dear, you must remember to take precautions after every… event."
Rossweise glared at him, raised her tail, and swatted his backside. "Then why don't you stop touching me?"
"I swear, who's the more active one here? Who's touching whom?"
"You. You're the one doing it more."
She was being unreasonable again. Leon rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you speechless now?" Rossweise's tone held a note of triumph.
In the past, she would have been happy to reason and argue with Leon. However, after getting to know him better, she found that being unreasonable was far more effective. It could anger Leon and leave him speechless.
As she basked in her little victory, she heard Leon say, "You're starting to sound more and more like my mistress."
Rossweise froze. "What… do you mean?"
"She always talks to my master like that, completely without inhibition, whenever she wants to act spoiled or unreasonable." Leon slowly turned his head to look at Rossweise. "If you have trouble understanding, I can rephrase it—you're becoming more like a real wife—mmph!"
Before he could finish, Rossweise reached out and covered his mouth. "Keep spouting such nonsense, and I'll have to fulfill the duty of a real wife."
"What duty?"
"Domestic violence."
"Ooh, I'm so scared."
The couple continued their playful bickering. After a while, Leon pointed to the yard. "Look, they seem to be starting a game."
Rossweise turned her gaze to the yard. The four girls had stood up, and Muen had taken a blindfold from a maid.
"Let's play blindman's buff," Muen suggested.
"Sure." Noah had no objections; she would always play whatever game Muen wanted. She spoiled her younger sister.
"Fine, no problem." Little Light wouldn't miss any opportunity for fun. Blindman's buff was the second sister's favorite game, and she wondered what method Muen would use to "assert her dominance" once the game started.
"Okay, I'm fine with whatever." Being the guest, Helena naturally agreed.
The girls played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would be the "seeker." The final result was that Noah lost, so she would be the seeker for the first round.
Muen helped her sister put on the blindfold and then stepped aside. Little Light and Helena also distanced themselves.
"Ready? Here I come!" Noah raised her arms, carefully feeling her way forward.
Blindman's buff didn't require much technique; it relied on 90% hearing and… 10% luck. But even so, it remained a game that children loved to play with their families.
In this round, Noah was quite lucky. As she fumbled around, she was getting closer and closer to Muen. Muen, watching Noah approach, felt a surge of excitement. See! Even with a blindfold on, my sister is the first to sense me! Don't underestimate the bond between us!
Noah was getting closer. Muen, smiling, prepared herself to be caught by her sister. Come on, sister, don't be shy! Catch me! Catch me!
However, just as Noah was about to catch Muen, she suddenly turned away. Muen was stunned. She blinked her large, pretty eyes, shouting internally, Sister, I'm over here! Just take one more step!
Unfortunately, Noah didn't possess the telepathic connection her parents shared. She continued to turn and slowly moved toward Helena instead. Seeing this, Muen grew anxious. If Noah continued forward, she would end up hugging Helena! No, no, no, no, no! The first hug from my sister today is mine!
Muen's brain, for once, started working overtime, trying to figure out a way to keep her sister's attention! Helena, seeing Noah getting closer to her, followed the rules of the game and tried to avoid her as much as possible. She slowly stepped back, trying to keep her footsteps light and silent. But Noah continued to approach slowly.
After a few steps back, Helena's back suddenly hit a tree trunk. She had no way to retreat. And Noah was almost right in front of her. Helena squinted and smiled, thinking, I'm about to be caught.
Creek!
Just as Noah was about to catch Helena, the sound of a breaking tree branch came from behind Noah. Noah's ears were sharp; she immediately turned around and quickly felt her way toward the sound. And it was none other than Muen who had stepped on the branch.
Noah easily caught her sister and tightly embraced her before taking off the blindfold. "Sister, you caught me first, that's so annoying!" Muen said "annoying," but inside, she was overjoyed.
Noah removed the blindfold and gently pinched her sister's nose. "Who told you to step on the branch?"
"Ugh…" She wasn't sure why she had suddenly stepped on a branch either. But who cared? She had managed to get a hug from her sister. Even if it had been steel bars, she would have broken them! "Sister, you're so great, hehe~" Muen leaned into Noah's arms, her little tail wagging happily, looking incredibly cute.
Meanwhile, Little Light looked down at the several branches in her hands and quietly hid them behind her back. Second sister, remember, someone is always here in the shadows to protect you!
.
.
.
After the game of blindman's buff, the little dragon girls played several other games, most of them physical and involving contact. Although Muen was usually a bit lazy and regarded as the mascot of the Silver Dragon Temple, she made a concerted effort to be clever this time to successfully "guard the tower." She spent half the morning in Noah's arms.
Noah even briefly considered whether they should just sit down, with Muen in her lap and Helena holding Little Light, chatting casually. But she ultimately followed Muen's wishes and played various little games with her.
After lunch, having woken up early and spent the entire morning playing, fatigue and drowsiness began to set in. Muen tried to resist, but she couldn't. In the end, with Noah's comfort, she returned to her room for a nap.
Little Light, seeing that the afternoon promised no further entertainment, headed straight to her mother's private library to pass the time.
Noah and Helena didn't need rest. The two girls returned to the back garden of the temple, lying on the grass, enjoying the warm, pleasant noon sunlight.
"Noah."
"Mm?"
"Your sisters seem to adore you." Helena gazed at the clear, cloudless sky. Her pupils, the same deep blue as the sky, reflected its calm.
"Mm, especially Muen. She's always been clingy since she was little." After a pause, Noah added, "But lately, it seems a bit unusual… She's always been clingy, but not to this extent."
Helena smiled, closed her eyes, and said slowly, "But you still accept it all."
Noah curved the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, after all, she's my sister."
"You once told me that you work so hard and are so diligent because you want to protect and take care of your sisters and not disappoint Uncle Leon and Aunt Rossweise, right?"
Noah nodded.
"From what I can see, you're doing great." Helena said, "Your sisters depend on you, and I can see the pride in Uncle Leon and Aunt Rossweise's eyes when they look at you. Noah, you're doing well."