The little girl had just learned to crawl, but there were still no signs of a tail growing.
On the large bed, the baby crawled forward while the queen followed closely behind her, their movements strangely synchronized. Leon, standing off to the side, could not help but watch the peculiar scene.
"Why are you staring at the baby's butt?" Rossweise asked, noticing his gaze.
"I will say it again—it is not her butt. It is her tailbone!" Leon retorted with a knowing smile.
Rossweise let out a sigh as she scooped up their youngest daughter, who was attempting to chew on a stuffed teddy bear near the bed's headboard.
"How can this be? Why has her tail not grown yet?"
Leon smirked smugly. "Face it, Mother Dragon. This is a victory for human genetics. You must accept it!"
For days, Rossweise had been deeply puzzled. Even if the lack of a tail at birth could be attributed to the absence of the Blood Charm, she had expected some dragon traits to have appeared by now.
She, the mighty Silver Dragon Queen, had given birth to a child who seemed, in this one specific way, more human than dragon.
The thought was almost embarrassing!
Because of this, Rossweise had scarcely left the baby's side, secretly hoping for one miraculous moment where a small, silver tail would suddenly appear.
But clearly, her prayers had gone unanswered.
"It is just a temporary delay. Her tail will grow eventually!" Rossweise insisted, making a final attempt to cling to hope.
Leon chuckled but decided not to tease her further. For now, he would let her have this last stand. Rossweise had just given birth, and her body was still recovering. Picking a fight was not on his agenda.
"That said," Leon began, his tone light but curious, "how are we explaining her lack of a tail to others? Calling it an 'exceptionally rare case'—does that really sound convincing?"
"Of course, it does!" Rossweise replied with unwavering confidence.
She adjusted her position on the bed, sitting sideways with the baby perched comfortably on her lap. Supporting the child's back with one hand and cupping her soft cheeks with the other, she doted on the little one.
"After all, we have gotten away with far more creative excuses over the years. Nobody ever seriously doubted my 'lucky dragon' explanations before."
"Are you sure about that?" Leon countered playfully. "Did not your sister, Isha, see right through all of them?"
"She is the exception," Rossweise huffed. "She is too clever for her own good. That is not my fault!"
Leon chuckled. "Well, at least she is our daughter. Even without a tail, no one in this clan would dare speak poorly of her."
In dragon society, a tail was more than just an aesthetic feature—it was often a symbol of pure bloodline and draconic identity. Dragons without tails were extremely rare and were typically outcasts or fugitives, often subjected to whispers and judgment.
Leon, of course, had always avoided such criticism despite being tailless himself. His fearsome reputation as a dragon slayer and his unmatched strength ensured that no one ever dared to mock him. By extension, his daughter would be completely shielded from any ridicule.
Rossweise nodded in agreement and continued playing with their youngest. "By the way, we really should finalize her name."
Leon nodded. "Last time, we narrowed it down to Violet and Muse, but we never made a final decision."
"Let us let the baby choose," Rossweise suggested, a familiar glimmer of mischief in her silver eyes.
"Choose? How?"
"Watch and learn," she replied with a confident grin.
Sliding gracefully off the bed, Rossweise retrieved a piece of parchment and a quill. Her movements were fluid and elegant, showing none of the fatigue one would expect from someone who had recently given birth.
Leon watched in amused amazement. Rossweise neatly tore the parchment in half and wrote one name on each piece before carefully crumpling them into two small balls. She then placed them on the bedsheet in front of the baby.
"Ta-da! The baby will pick her own name," Rossweise declared.
Leon blinked in realization. "That is what you meant by letting her choose?"
"Yup! Is it not clever?"
"...Sure. Very clever," he said, playing along.
"This is an innovative, one-of-a-kind solution!" Rossweise proclaimed proudly.
Leon buried his face in his hands with a laugh. "Humans have a name for this tradition, you know."
"Oh? What is it?"
"'Grab the First'—a ceremony where families place various objects around a baby on their first birthday. The first object the baby grabs is believed to predict their future path."
Rossweise's eyes lit up with excitement. "That sounds wonderful! Let us do that for her, too!"
Leon chuckled. "Fine. We will let her grab for her name and her future career all at once."
He left the room to gather items, leaving Rossweise to entertain the baby. When he returned, he deposited a small assortment of objects onto the bed.
Rossweise inspected the collection: a gold coin, a leather-bound book, and a magic recording stone were among them.
"Okay, I understand the coin and the book. But why a recording stone?"
"If she picks the recording stone, it means she will have a deep affinity for magic and knowledge," Leon explained with mock seriousness.
Rossweise was about to compliment his cleverness when she spotted something suspicious in the pile. Reaching in, she pulled out the abstract, curling form of a suona.
"And why is this here?" she asked, her voice flat. "Did you not promise not to teach her how to play it?"
"Art, my dear! The suona represents the path of a musical artist!" Leon defended, his grin widening.
Rossweise fixed him with a stern glare. "It is far too abstract. Find something else to represent art!"
Leon shrugged innocently. "It was all I could find on short notice. Let us just see if she even picks it."
"You have already doomed her artistic future by including it. There is no way she will choose the suona!"
"Do not be so sure," Leon teased. "Let us wait and see."
With everything in place, they arranged the items in a semi-circle around the baby, adding the two crumpled name papers to the mix.
"Alright, little one, it is up to you now," Rossweise said, her voice gentle and encouraging.
The baby looked at the scattered items, her bright ruby eyes darting between them like a cautious little field mouse surveying its surroundings.
First, she reached for one item, examined it curiously, and then discarded it in favor of something shinier.
"She is definitely going to be rich," Leon joked as she briefly held the gold coin before letting it go.
The baby's indecision continued as she inspected a book, a small practice sword, and even a piece of wrapped candy. But then, to Rossweise's horror, the baby began crawling determinedly toward the suona.
"No, no, no! Not that one!" Rossweise cried out, but it was too late.
"Waah-yaah-waah!" the baby babbled triumphantly as she grabbed the suona with both hands.
Leon smirked victoriously. "Rossweise, some things are simply destined to be. Resistance is futile."
Rossweise crossed her arms in defeat. "Fine. But even if she grabbed it, you are still not allowed to teach her how to play it!"
Leon raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Agreed, agreed."
Finally, the baby turned her attention to the two name papers. She picked up one, began to clumsily unfold it, and then stopped, hesitating. After a long, thoughtful moment, she dropped it and grabbed the other paper, successfully opening it this time.
Leon and Rossweise leaned in eagerly to see the result.
The paper unfurled to reveal Rossweise's elegant handwriting: Muse.
"Muse it is," Rossweise said, a warm, victorious smile spreading across her face.
Leon nodded in wholehearted agreement, a deep, warm glow filling his heart as he looked at their youngest daughter.
"Welcome to the family, Muse," he whispered.