"Leon, do you plan to have another baby with me?"
Could anyone make sense of this? His gentle, considerate dragon queen wife had snuck into his room in the dead of night just to ask that question!
Couldn't she have asked him in private some other time? Couldn't she have waited until the game was over?
Even if he said "yes" right now, did she expect them to start working on a fourth child right here, right now?
Leon lay on the bed, his exterior calm, but his mind was a whirlwind.
He knew that pretending to be asleep was no longer an option. He had to give Rossweise an answer, and it could only be one of two things: "yes" or "no." There was no third option.
Leon remembered Rossweise telling him long ago about the strange significance of 2:30 a.m. for him.
At the time, he had been utterly shocked.
How could a man as invincible as him have such a bizarre vulnerability?
He had tried to overcome it, but he had failed every time.
Still, Leon had nothing to hide. Even if he was compelled to speak only the truth during that peculiar window of time, it was fine—he was the ideal husband with no secrets from his wife. Well, except for those bunny-girl photos, but those were from a lifetime ago.
What Leon didn't know was that Rossweise hadn't told him the complete truth. She had only mentioned that he tended to be honest at 2:30 a.m., not that it was an absolute, magical compulsion. He could have kept pretending to be asleep, and the "truth-telling trigger" would have been considered a failure.
Poor Leon was unknowingly caught in his wife's clever, playful trap!
After a moment's consideration, Leon spoke slowly, as if murmuring in his sleep.
"I... have thought about it..."
The moment the words left his mouth, he sensed Rossweise's breath hitch.
Saying he had "thought about having another baby" was the safest possible answer. It was the truth, but it was non-committal.
If he had said he hadn't thought about it, Rossweise would have been visibly disappointed—he could hear the hint of hope in her voice. Furthermore, if their daughters, who were hiding in the wardrobe, heard a flat "no," they would probably feel downhearted too.
Without realizing it, Rossweise—unaware of her daughters' presence and of Leon's pretense—had perfectly cornered him into a positive answer.
Before Rossweise could react with joy, a sudden thud sounded from behind her.
Startled, she spun around.
Clatter! The wardrobe doors burst open, and four small figures tumbled out in a heap onto the floor.
Rossweise blinked in shock at the sight of her daughters sprawled on the ground. After a moment of processing, she asked, "Noah... what are you all doing here?"
The girls scrambled to their feet, standing in a neat, stiff line, their postures so rigid their tails stuck straight out.
"M-mama, we were just..." Noah stammered, her mind racing for a plausible lie.
Should she try to charm her way out of this? While their mother doted on them, she wasn't as easily swayed as their father, who melted at their slightest plea.
Seeing Noah beginning to sweat, Aurora jumped in to rescue the situation.
"We were doing a task!" she announced confidently.
Rossweise raised a skeptical eyebrow, glanced at Leon's still "sleeping" form, then back at the girls.
"You're doing a task... in someone else's room, in the middle of the night?"
Aurora's eyes darted around, but she maintained her playful tone. "Y-yes! The castle has lots of hidden tasks that only appear at night!"
"I see... then—"
They couldn't let their mother continue this line of questioning, or they'd be exposed!
Aurora's mischievous mind worked furiously. Before Rossweise could finish, she boldly changed the subject. "Mama, were you serious just now? Do you really want another baby?"
In an instant, the tables had turned.
Rossweise's face, which had just begun to cool, flushed a bright red again. Her silver tail gave a slight, self-conscious curl, and her fingers nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt.
Staring at the four pairs of eager, curious eyes fixed on her, Rossweise hesitated.
"I-I was just asking... casually. I actually meant to ask something else. And besides, your father was only talking in his sleep. Sleep-talking doesn't count."
Helena, scratching her head in confusion, said, "Auntie, you came to Uncle Leon's room in the middle of the night, asked a very specific question, and he happened to give a very specific answer... it doesn't really seem like a coincidence."
"Exactly, Mama! Daddy didn't sound like he was just mumbling; it was more like..." Aurora trailed off, searching for the right word.
"It felt like a game of Truth or Dare!" Muen chimed in, hitting the nail on the head.
Aurora's eyes lit up. "Yes! That's exactly what it felt like!"
Rossweise brought a hand to her forehead in mild exasperation.
Kids these days are so hard to deal with, the Queen thought momentarily. Maybe we should indeed hold off on the third child for a while.
She shook her head and quickly regained her regal composure.
"Noah, Muen, Aurora, I know you would probably love to have another sibling, but it's not a decision for just you—or even just for me. This is something for our whole family to decide together."
"And even though Daddy spoke just now, as I said, sleep-talking doesn't count."
"So, let's wait until this game is over, and we can all sit down and have a proper discussion about it at home. Okay?"
Rossweise's confidence returned. Despite being caught off guard by her daughters' impeccably timed ambush, she had adapted quickly. No matter how clever the kids were, they were still no match for a 200-year-old Dragon Queen.
The girls exchanged glances. Seeing their mother's reasonable stance, they decided not to press the matter further for now.
"I'm sorry, Helena. Our family can get a bit... chaotic sometimes, but we do respect each other. I hope we didn't scare you," Rossweise said, turning to the sea dragon girl.
Helena smiled warmly. "No, not at all, Auntie. I really love the atmosphere in your family."
She meant it sincerely. The lively, loving, and sometimes absurdly dramatic interactions of the Melkvey family were something any only child would envy.
"Good. Now, let's leave your father to his rest before he actually wakes up and finds all of us here," Rossweise said, ushering them toward the door.
"Yeah!" the girls agreed, filing out of the room one by one.
Rossweise stayed behind, ensuring everyone else left first.
She reached the doorway and paused, one hand on the frame. She glanced back into the dim room.
"Get up. I know you're pretending to be asleep."
Leon's voice came from the shadows. "How did you know?"
"With all that noise, if you were really asleep, you would have woken up. It's obvious."
"Hmm... well, you should go get some rest too," Leon said, sitting up and leaning against the headboard, his eyes meeting hers across the room.
But Rossweise didn't move. She fidgeted, bit her lip, and seemed to be wrestling with something she wanted to say.
Leon sighed softly and broke the silence for her.
"You're wondering if what I said just now was the real truth, aren't you?"
Rossweise stayed silent, which, for her, was as good as a confirmation.
Leon took a deep breath, hesitated for a final moment, then got out of bed and walked over to her. He leaned in close, his lips nearly brushing the delicate curve of her ear, and whispered something only she could hear.
Five minutes later, Rossweise left the room, her face flushed with a deep, satisfied pink, having finally received the heartfelt answer she had been longing for.
.
.
.
"Leon definitely stole the Black Sacred Stone! Everyone, vote for him!"
"Rossweise is the real thief! Trust me, vote for her!"
"Do you have any proof?"
"Do you?"
"..."
It was hard to believe that the two people now arguing so passionately across the meeting table had been sharing such a tender, private moment just a few hours before.
Did they possess some passive skill that regularly wiped their memory of all sweet moments?
Couldn't the morning's warmth last at least until after breakfast?
The game's second meeting was drawing to a close amid the couple's relentless mutual accusations.
Claudia watched the spectacle in silence, refraining from interjecting. Her eyes drifted to her side, where Isha was busy scribbling intently on a piece of paper.
"What are you writing? Is it for a task?" Claudia asked.
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing important," Isha replied, quickly tucking the paper and pen away and tucking a strand of fiery red hair behind her ear. She glanced at her still-bickering sister and brother-in-law. "Are they still at it?"
Claudia offered a slight shrug. "Is this how they usually are?"
Isha nodded enthusiastically. "Almost every time the whole family gathers, it ends up like this eventually."
A small smile touched Claudia's lips. "Interesting."
"Alright! Let's move to the final vote. The truth will prevail!" Leon declared, slapping a hand on the table.
"Bring it on. I'm not afraid of the truth," Rossweise retorted, her chin held high.
The voting commenced.
The votes for Leon being the thief of the Black Sacred Stone were:
Muen, Noah, and Helena.
The vote for Rossweise being the thief was:
Claudia.
Only Aurora and Isha were left to vote.
Aunt and niece exchanged a glance, and in that moment, they saw the same word reflected in each other's eyes:
Fun.
Aurora was personally leaning toward suspecting her dad. But if she voted for him now, he would be eliminated.
And where was the fun in that? How could she and Isha continue to enjoy the spectacle of her parents' legendary rivalry if one of them was kicked out of the game so early?
So, Aurora cast her vote for her mother.
Isha, following the same unspoken logic, voted for Rossweise as well, ensuring the vote was tied.
"Oh? It's a draw," Martin, the game moderator, observed.
The two "candidates" had, of course, voted for each other, leading to the stalemate.
"Hmph. Just you wait until the next meeting. I'll find the concrete evidence to expose you as the thief," Rossweise said, arms crossed, her confidence unshaken.
Leon rolled his eyes. "Typical dragon, always accusing others without proof."
With their final barbs exchanged, the couple turned and left the room. The others trickled out after them.
Claudia was the last to stand. Once the hallway was clear and the others had walked away, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, ornate card she had earned from a hidden task. It read:
[Unbreakable Seven-Day Lock of Love]
[Effect: When used on two players, they must stay within five meters of each other and act in concert for six hours. Cannot be resisted.]
It was a utility card, not game-breaking, but if used on the right two people... it could certainly lead to some highly entertaining developments.
Claudia looked down the hallway. Leon had gone left to gather "evidence," and Rossweise had gone right to do the same, their paths decisively diverging.
A knowing, playful smile spread across Claudia's face.
"Well, you two... enjoy each other's company for the next six hours."
She raised the card, and it dissolved into a shimmering, invisible magic that shot down the hallway, splitting in two to seek its targets. The lock was engaged.