Having regained a little strength, Noah softly spoke, "Daddy..."
As she spoke, she tried to sit up from her father's arms.
But because her body hadn't fully recovered, she had no strength to use. After trying once, she gave up and obediently leaned against Leon.
Leon rubbed his daughter's little head and said gently, "You're awake, Noah."
"Mm... Daddy, is everything solved?"
"Of course. Once your Daddy makes a move, there's no problem that can't be solved."
On the tired little face of the princess appeared a smile, "Mm, Daddy is the best."
She paused, then asked again, "What about Helena?"
"Her situation isn't as serious as yours. She was just frightened a bit, so halfway back she already returned to the Academy with the teachers and classmates. Senior Claudia will go see her later."
"That's good."
"But..."
"What is it, Daddy?"
Leon lowered his head, looking at his daughter, "This assessment of yours might have ended up being for nothing."
"Why do you say that?"
"The monster that attacked you and Helena was Warhammer Dragon King Adam. He injured the Academy's guard, killed many dangerous species in Nightmare Moon Forest, and most importantly, he tried to harm students like you and Helena. From what I heard from Principal Oullette and Vice Principal Wilson, they're probably going to start another assessment all over again."
Noah dazedly nodded, "Alright. Then it doesn't count as wasted effort, since Helena and I didn't even defeat one dangerous species, our points are still zero."
"My daughter actually got a zero for once," Leon teased with a smile.
Noah's eyes turned, and she answered back seriously, "Daddy, you were so amazing since you were little, but when you grew up didn't you also become henpecked?"
"...Who taught you the word 'henpecked'?"
"Little Light."
"Then it's fine."
'That pink-haired brat never teaches anything good, always picks things that ruin her Daddy's glorious, majestic image.'
'When I get home I'll spank her butt!'
———
At this moment, far away in class at the Academy, Little Light suddenly sneezed for no reason.
Her desk mate Luna asked softly, "Did you catch a cold, Little Light?"
The pink-hair rubbed her nose and shook her head, "I don't think so. Feels like someone's secretly talking bad about me."
———
At some point, Noah had dozed off again.
Her body was so weak, she didn't even know when she would fall asleep.
When she woke again, Noah recognized the scenery below. It was near Silver Dragon territory.
They were almost home.
"Daddy, I haven't been home for two months."
This had also been mentioned in the letter Rossweise sent to Leon. Because Noah was preparing for the Academy's promotion assessment, she had to stay behind every weekend for extra practice, so she couldn't spare the time to go home.
Leon thought for a moment, believing his daughter didn't know she was about to have another new little sister or brother, so he asked,
"When we get home, Mommy will have a surprise for you."
"Surprise?"
Noah thought for a bit, then said, "Oh, you mean that Mommy is pregnant again, right?"
Leon froze, "How do you know?"
"Mommy wrote me last week. She didn't tell me earlier because she was afraid it would distract me and keep me from training properly, so she only told me on the last day before the exam."
'The mother dragon is indeed thoughtful.'
Speaking of which, he also hadn't seen Rossweise in several months.
But this wasn't their longest separation.
Leon had once spent six months in the future timeline.
But that time, he had his grown-up daughter at his side, and he could still see Rossweise every day, even if she was sealed inside a crystal, at least Leon had something to hold on to.
This time, he could only rely on writing letters to Rossweise to ease his longing. That was when General Leon truly understood the pain of long-distance love.
So after several months, now about to return home, Leon's heart was still full of excitement.
It had been a long time since he'd seen that mother dragon. He wondered if she'd been taking good care of herself.
Counting the time, he had been gone for over four months. Rossweise got pregnant right after he left.
That meant after just over four months, it was the time when pregnancy started to show.
Leon coming back at this moment was perfect timing.
Once the belly began showing, it grew day by day. Even as a Dragon Queen, her movements would be inconvenient, and she needed family by her side constantly to take care of her.
No matter how dutiful the maids were, they couldn't compare to family.
Leon had calculated this time precisely, which was why he told Rebecca and the others that he had to go home for a while.
'Tch, a good husband like me is rare. When I get home, I'll definitely move that little evil dragon to tears!'
General Leon thought to himself happily.
"Daddy...", Noah suddenly spoke.
"Mm?"
"I... I want to ask you a question."
"Go ahead."
Noah slightly squinted her eyes, looking toward the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, whose outline was slowly appearing in the distance.
She pursed her pale lips, silver strands of hair brushing across her cheek in the wind. On her expressionless little face seemed to be hesitation and doubt.
After a long time, she finally spoke again,
"I want to ask you, are you—"
Her question cut off.
She quickly lowered her head.
"Are you what?", Leon asked.
But Noah didn't reply.
Leon looked down, "Oh, you fell asleep again. We're almost home, sweetheart."
Saying that, Leon took off his coat, draped it over his daughter, and held her tighter, afraid she might catch cold.
In the end, Noah still didn't ask the question that had troubled her for years.
There were too many worries in her little head, stopping her from speaking out.
She'd just have to ask another time.
And pretending to sleep was a clumsy trick, but a useful one.
She continued leaning in this man's arms, feeling the warmth of home.
———
Leviathan slowly hovered above the Silver Dragon Sanctuary. A column of teleportation light descended onto the ground.
Leon, holding Noah, was gently transported down.
The maids came out to welcome them. The guards, seeing the prince they hadn't seen in a long while, warmly greeted him.
Leon responded to each one.
When he reached the steps before the Sanctuary entrance, he looked up.
Behind the maids, that tall and beautiful silver figure walked down the steps.
Her long hair was loose, swaying lightly in the wind like ribbons of the Milky Way.
The sunlight shining on her loose, simple dress made her look like a delicate porcelain doll.
Because she was pregnant, she wasn't wearing makeup. But even bare-faced, standing among all those pretty maids, the Silver Dragon Queen was still dazzlingly beautiful.
Compared to before, her beauty wasn't as oppressive. The sharp, commanding aura of a queenly older sister was gradually replaced by gentleness and the air of a wife.
But no matter what, in a certain someone's heart, Rossweise Melkvei was still just as wonderful as when he first fell in love with her.
They looked at each other across the steps, one high, one low.
Black and silver eyes reflected each other's figures.
Through all these many years, they had gazed deeply into each other's eyes more than once.
But every time, they were reluctant to look away.
"I'm back, Rossweise."
"Welcome home, Leon."
———
The Academy's messenger dragon had already arrived at the Silver Dragon Sanctuary several hours before Leviathan, informing Rossweise of what happened at the exam site.
So Leon found it much easier to explain.
After finishing, they didn't linger at the doorway.
In the sisters' chamber, Leon gently placed Noah on the large bed. His coat was still draped over her, and he didn't take it back.
Then he brought over a chair and helped Rossweise sit down.
Just as he thought, at four months, her belly was already starting to show. Even with a loose dress, the outline could faintly be seen.
Noticing Leon's gaze, the queen smiled, touching her stomach.
"Two months after you left, I started having morning sickness. Counting the days, this little one will be born in half a year."
"That's... pretty good."
Leon sat at the bedside, rubbing his palms together back and forth as he spoke, looking rather unnatural.
His head was lowered, eyes downcast. Since entering the room, he hadn't dared meet Rossweise's eyes directly.
Rossweise of course noticed.
Their reunion after months apart had made him a little stiff.
Perhaps it was guilt over not being with her for months, or perhaps the sudden end to their "long-distance love" left this love-clueless straight man, who had leapt straight into marriage, not knowing what to do.
Rossweise smiled, reaching out her hand. Her soft, warm palm gently covered Leon's broad hand.
At that touch of skin, she clearly felt more than half of Leon's tension vanish.
When familiar lovers reunite after a long separation and don't know what to say, a simple physical touch can dissolve the silence and awkwardness, she had only read it in novels, but this was her first time trying it.
She didn't expect it to work so well.
"I missed you very much, Leon," she said softly, looking deeply at the man before her.
"I also... missed you."
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