"Ah—!"
Leon cried out and jolted awake from his dream.
He panted heavily, drenched in cold sweat.
After sitting on the bed for a while to calm down, Leon finally went limp and leaned against the headboard.
He glanced toward the window. Pale moonlight spilled in, accompanied by the unceasing chirping of cicadas.
Leon swallowed, raising a hand to cover his still-pounding heart. He closed his eyes and began recalling the dream he had just had.
Actually, it had not been a nightmare.
It could not even really be called a dream.
It was merely a particularly memorable fragment from when he and Losweiser had been in the storage room during the day.
After their lovemaking, he had sat on the floor chatting with Losweiser.
With a hint of doubt, Losweiser had said that his body was nowhere near what it used to be...
Hiss—
Leon quickly opened his eyes and shook his head, trying to drive that embarrassing scene out of his mind.
It seemed Losweiser's remark had dealt Leon quite a heavy blow.
He had been scared awake by it in his dreams, and now even recalling it slightly made him feel unbearably embarrassed.
After sitting on the bed and calming down, Leon got up and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face.
Then, dragging his heavy body along, he returned to bed.
Exhaustion instantly swallowed him whole. Sleepiness surged over him, and Leon fell into a deep sleep.
But before he completely drifted off, Leon murmured hazily in his sleep,
"Damn Dragon Queen... how dare you say that about me..."
The next morning, Leon was awakened by a knock at the door.
He got dressed and staggered over to open it.
He had assumed it would be Mu En, but it was actually Losweiser and Noa outside.
That stubborn mule.
And her stubborn-mule daughter.
"Morning, Leon," Losweiser greeted him politely.
"Morning."
Leon lowered his head to look at Noa. "Morning to you too, Noa."
"Mm, morning."
Seeing that his eldest daughter was still unwilling to acknowledge him, Leon did not force the issue. He looked at Losweiser instead. "What is it?"
"Didn't Noa say a few days ago that she wanted to attend the Young Dragon Department at Saint Hiss Academy? The academy has very strict entrance tests. I hope that during this month, you can tutor Noa in cultural subjects."
Hearing that, Leon's thoughts stirred.
He did not answer Losweiser right away. Instead, he said to Noa, "I want to speak with Mom alone for a moment. Can you go inside and wait for me first, Noa?"
Noa nodded and walked into the room.
"What is it?"
"I can teach Noa some basic cultural knowledge, but in return, I want something of equal value. Like that walk after Mu En wrote her name last time, or something else."
Losweiser raised a brow. "Are you bargaining with me?"
"If you won't agree, then go find someone else to teach Noa. Anyway, every one of you Dragon Race people is talented and speaks so nicely."
"As her father, you have an obligation to teach her, Leon."
Even so, after a brief moment of thought, Losweiser made a concession. "I can agree, but your request cannot be too excessive."
"Of course."
"Fine. It's a deal."
Leon blinked, as if recalling something, then gave a derisive hum. "It's a deal? Didn't someone tell me a few days ago that she didn't need to make any promises to me?"
Losweiser merely smiled at Leon's teasing. "I'm afraid someone might suddenly relapse again, all for the fleeting pleasure of revenge, and end up getting punched unconscious for three days by me."
"Tch. You're obviously the one who's sexually frustrated, aren't you?"
"Enough. I don't have time to bicker with you."
Losweiser cut him off. "The maids will bring up the books you need later. Teach your daughter properly. I hope you can manage it."
"I definitely can."
"I hope so. After all—"
The Queen lowered her eyes and seemingly casually glanced at Leon's lower body before saying meaningfully,
"After all, you know... for now, you can only prove your worth in other areas."
Pfft—
Those cutting words were like knives, stabbing viciously into Leon's fragile heart.
Seeing how he looked like he wanted to curse but could do nothing about it, Losweiser smiled in satisfaction. "Then study well. I'm leaving."
With that, Losweiser turned and walked down one side of the corridor.
Leon also prepared to close the door.
But before he could shut it completely, he heard Losweiser add another stab from not far away,
"Oh, right, dear husband. Don't~ work~ too~ hard~"
Putting on a concerned expression, she raised her hand to her cheek after speaking and lightly wiggled her fingers, waving goodbye to Leon.
Leon: "Dragon Queen, are you done yet?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
Bang—
Leon slammed the door shut.
"What happened? Did you argue with Mom again?" Noa poked her little head out from the room.
"No, just normal communication. I—wait, what did you just call her?"
"Mom."
Leon's eyes lit up. He excitedly walked over and crouched in front of Noa. "Did she tell you to start calling her that?"
"Mm. We happened to talk about it this morning, and Mom told me to change how I addressed her."
Well, damn. He had brought it up to Losweiser yesterday, and she had already tried getting Noa to change how she addressed them this morning.
The Dragon Queen might be a little devious, but her efficiency was not bad.
Amid his surprise, Leon asked again,
"Oh? So, do you think the old way of addressing us was better, or is the current way better?"
Noa thought seriously for a moment before answering, "The current way."
A father knows his daughter best!
See that, Dragon Queen? That was a father's natural instinct!
Noa watched Leon suddenly become inexplicably happy, shot him a disdainful glance, and then asked,
"When do we start studying?"
Leon restrained his excitement. "They said the maids would bring the textbooks up later, so we—"
Knock, knock—
"Prince, Princess Noa, we've brought the books."
Head Maid Anna's voice sounded from outside the door.
Leon immediately got up to answer it.
Anna handed over several thick books she was carrying.
Leon reached out and took them.
They were quite heavy, with a real heft to them.
"These books cover basic magic theory, popular science on Dragon Race history, and organized daily knowledge. All of these subjects will be tested in Saint Hiss Academy's entrance exam," Anna said.
"Alright, I understand."
"Mm, then we won't disturb Prince while you teach Princess. We'll be leaving first."
After hesitating for a moment, Leon suddenly spoke up. "Ah, wait a moment, Anna."
"Is there anything else, Prince?"
"Bring me two books related to medicinal herbs later."
Anna's eyes shifted slightly. She did not understand why the Prince wanted books about medicinal herbs.
Saint Hiss Academy's entrance examination did not test that subject.
But since it was the Prince's request, Anna would carry it out unconditionally. "Certainly, Prince. I'll have someone deliver them shortly."
"Mm, thank you."
"You're too polite, my lord."
Anna gave a slight bow, then left.
Leon carried the books back into the room and dropped them onto the table with a bang.
He patted the topmost book and looked at Noa.
"Ready?"
"Mm."
Losweiser had not informed Leon beforehand about tutoring Noa, and he had not made any preparations. So he could only start by explaining some basic things to her.
However, he flipped through a book titled "Dragon Physiology Basics Popular Science" for quite a while without saying anything.
Noa could not help asking, "Why haven't we started yet?"
Could it be that he doesn't understand the contents of the book either, and is only pretending to be capable? Noa thought.
"If you really can't do it, I can study by myself," Noa said.
Leon's gaze did not leave the book. "This stuff is too simple for you. Just read through it yourself when you get back. There's no need for us to waste time on it."
Yesterday, while she had some free time, Losweiser had told Leon a little about Noa. He knew that Noa was very smart and had exceptional comprehension.
Compared to Mu En, she was considerably better.
There really was no need to deliberately spend time explaining this knowledge.
The teaching method he used for Mu En did not apply to Noa.
When Noa heard Leon say that, a rare trace of surprise appeared on her cold little face.
Was he acknowledging her abilities... Was he not treating her like a child?
Noa pursed her lips and lowered her head, fiddling with the tip of her tail. For a moment, it was hard for her to describe how she felt.
In truth, she had not held much hope for Leon before coming here.
What knowledge could a stay-at-home dad who only seemed capable of looking after children possibly teach her?
But after spending time alone with him up close today, Leon had changed Noa's impression of him.
Perhaps... this father-daughter lesson could really help Noa understand the man before her better.
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