Shut Up, Evil Dragon, I Don't Want to Have Children with You Anymore

"Ah!"

Leon cried out, suddenly jolting awake from his dream.

He gasped for air, cold sweat drenching his body.

After sitting on the bed and calming himself for a moment, Leon slumped back against the headboard.

He glanced towards the window. Pale moonlight streamed in, accompanied by the incessant chirping of cicadas.

Leon swallowed, raised a hand to cover his still-pounding heart, and closed his eyes, trying to recall the dream.

It wasn't really a nightmare.

It wasn't even really a "dream."

It was just a vivid memory fragment from earlier that day when he and Losweiser were in the warehouse.

After they had made love, he'd been sitting on the floor chatting with Losweiser.

She had said, with a hint of doubt, that his body wasn't as good as it used to be...

Hiss—

Leon's eyes snapped open. He shook his head, trying to banish the embarrassing scene from his mind.

It seemed Losweiser's words had hit Leon harder than he'd realized.

He'd been startled awake by a dream, and now even a slight recollection made him feel incredibly awkward.

He sat on the bed, composing himself, then got up and went to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

He returned to bed, his body feeling heavy.

Exhaustion washed over him, and sleep claimed him.

But before he completely drifted off, Leon mumbled drowsily, "That damn Dragon Queen... How dare she say that about me..."

The next morning, Leon was awakened by a knock on his door.

He dressed and groggily went to open it.

He'd expected Muen, but standing outside were Losweiser and Noa.

Stubborn mule.

And her stubborn daughter.

"Good morning, Leon." Losweiser greeted him politely.

"Morning."

Leon looked down at Noa. "Good morning to you too, Noa."

"Mm, morning."

Seeing his eldest daughter still unwilling to acknowledge him, Leon didn't push it. He turned to Losweiser. "What brings you here?"

"Noa mentioned a few days ago that she wanted to enroll in the Young Dragon Department at Saint Hiss Academy. The academy has a very strict entrance exam, and I was hoping you could tutor Noa in her studies for the next month."

Leon's mind stirred at her words.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he addressed Noa, "I need to speak with your mother alone for a moment. Noa, could you wait inside?"

Noa nodded and walked into the room.

"What is it?"

"I can teach Noa some basic cultural knowledge, but in return, I'd like something of equivalent value. Like that walk we took when Muen wrote their name, or something else."

Losweiser raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to bargain with me?"

"If you don't agree, you can find someone else to teach Noa. After all, you dragons are all so talented and speak so nicely."

"As her father, you have an obligation to teach her, Leon."

Despite her words, Losweiser considered for a moment before conceding, "I agree, but your requests can't be too unreasonable."

"Of course."

"Alright, it's a deal."

Leon blinked, as if remembering something, and chuckled. "A deal? Didn't someone tell me a couple of days ago that they didn't need to make any promises to me?"

Losweiser smiled and brushed off his teasing. "I was afraid someone might suddenly have an attack of revenge for a fleeting thrill, only to be knocked unconscious for three days with a single punch from me."

"Tch, you're the one who's unsatisfied,"

"Enough, I don't have time to bicker with you."

Losweiser cut him off. "The maids will bring you the books you need shortly. Teach our daughter well. I hope you can do it."

"I definitely can."

"Let's hope so, because—"

The Queen lowered her gaze, glancing casually towards Leon's lower half, and then said meaningfully, "After all, you understand... so for now, you can only contribute value in other areas."

Poof—

The sharp words were like knives, stabbing deeply into Leon's fragile heart.

Losweiser smiled with satisfaction as she watched him, wanting to curse but being utterly helpless. "Then you two study well, I'm leaving."

Saying that, Losweiser turned and walked towards one side of the corridor.

Leon also intended to close the door.

But before he could fully close it, he heard Losweiser deliver another blow from not far away.

"Oh, right, my dear husband, don't get ~too~ tired~"

She feigned concern, then raised her hand to her face, wiggling her fingers slightly, as if waving goodbye to Leon.

Leon: "Dragon Queen, are you done yet! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"

Bang—

Leon slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong, did you argue with Mom again?" Noa poked her little head out from the room.

"No, just daily communication, I— wait a minute, what did you just call her?"

"Mom."

Leon's eyes lit up, and he excitedly walked over, crouching in front of Noa. "Did she ask you to change how you address her?"

"Mm, we were chatting about it this morning, and Mom asked me to change."

Good heavens, he mentioned this to Losweiser yesterday, and she already tried to get Noa to change how she addresses her this morning.

The Dragon Queen is a bit devious, but she's certainly efficient.

Beyond the surprise, Leon asked, "Oh~ So do you think the old way of calling her was better, or the new way?"

Noa thought seriously for a moment and replied, "The new way."

No one knows a child better than their father!

See, Dragon Queen, this is a father's innate intuition!

Noa glanced at Leon with disdain, seeing him suddenly become inexplicably happy, and then said, "When do we start studying?"

Leon reined in his excitement. "She said the maids would bring the textbooks up later, and we—"

Knock knock—

"Prince, Princess Noa, we've brought the books."

Outside the door, Anna, the Head Maid, called out.

Leon immediately got up to open the door.

Anna handed over several thick books.

Leon reached out and took them.

They were quite heavy, with a good weight to them.

"These books cover basic magic theory, popular science on Dragon race history, and some compiled daily knowledge. They're all things that will be tested on the entrance exam for Saint Hiss Academy," Anna said.

"Okay, I understand."

"Alright, then we won't disturb the Prince's teaching of the Princess. We'll be going now."

After a moment's hesitation, Leon suddenly spoke, "Oh, wait a moment, Anna."

"Is there something else, Prince?"

"Could you bring me two more books related to medicinal herbs later?"

Anna's eyes flickered, not understanding why the Prince wanted books related to medicinal herbs.

The entrance exam for Saint Hiss Academy doesn't test that.

However, since it was the Prince's request, Anna would comply unconditionally. "Yes, Prince. I'll have someone send them up to you shortly."

"Mm, thank you for your trouble."

"You're too kind, my lord."

Anna bowed slightly and then left.

Leon returned to the room with the books and placed them on the table with a bang.

He patted the topmost book and looked at Noa, "Shall we begin?"

"Mm."

Because Losweiser hadn't informed Leon beforehand about tutoring Noa, Leon wasn't prepared, so he could only start by explaining some basic things to Noa.

However, he flipped through a book titled "Dragon Physiology Basics Popular Science" for a while without saying anything.

Noa couldn't help but ask, "Why haven't we started yet?"

Could it be that this guy actually doesn't understand the content of the book at all and is just pretending to be strong? Noa thought.

"If it's really not working out, I can learn by myself," Noa said.

Leon's gaze didn't leave the book. "This stuff is too simple for you. You can just read it yourself when you get back. There's no need for us to waste time on it."

Losweiser had told Leon some things about Noa while she was free yesterday, and he knew that Noa was very smart and had high comprehension.

If measured by Muen's standards, she was considerably stronger than Muen.

So, there really was no need to waste time specifically explaining this knowledge.

The teaching method for Muen was not suitable for Noa.

Upon hearing Leon say this, Noa's cold little face showed a rare hint of surprise.

Is he acknowledging my abilities... not treating me like a child...?

Noa pursed her lips, lowered her head, and fiddled with the tip of her tail, finding her current emotions difficult to describe.

Actually, before coming, she hadn't held out much hope for Leon.

What knowledge could a stay-at-home dad who only seemed capable of taking care of children teach her?

But after this close proximity alone, Leon had changed Noa's impression of him.

Perhaps... this father-daughter lesson would truly allow Noa to understand this man before her better.

Monthly votes, I'm hungry!