Chapter 348

"Ah... donkey? Your four-legged childhood sweetheart actually has a name," Losweiser teased.

Leon smiled and said, "Yes, of course."

"Since you've already chosen a name, why not give it a nicer one? Ah Lu is being too perfunctory."

The Mio walked out of the school building and headed towards the playground.

The setting sun hung obliquely in the sky, casting their shadows long and thin.

Occasionally, a few students running would pass by them on the playground, and some were doing physical training on the grass.

Leon and Losweiser strolled slowly, enjoying this rare moment of leisure.

"It actually had another name back then."

Losweiser became interested and pressed on, "Oh? What is it?"

Leon took a deep breath and then said, word by word:

"Elizabeth S. Lawrence".

The Queen paused, a large question mark appearing on her exquisite and beautiful face.

Leon stopped and turned to look at her. "Yes, when my master first told me this name, I had the same expression as you."

Losweiser covered her mouth and chuckled, "This name is not perfunctory at all; it even has a bit of an aristocratic feel to it."

"The middle name 'Xia' is taken from my master's wife's name, and Lawrence is my master's surname," Leon explained.

"And what about 'Elizabeth'?"

"It is said to be the name of the King's wife."

"I heard? Please, you and your master both worked in the Empire, how come you don't even know the landlady's name?"

Leon shrugged. "Our Queen is very mysterious. She only showed her face on the day she married the King, and no one has seen her since. Even the name Elizabeth is just a rumor."

"Oh, okay then."

"Later, my master felt that calling her 'Elizabeth' among a group of cows and sheep was a bit inappropriate, so he simply changed it to 'Ah Lu.' That's how my beloved donkey got its name."

Losweiser pouted, rolled her eyes at him, crossed her arms, kicked her skirt, and strode forward. "Smooth talker, and you even love donkeys, huh?"

Leon blinked, a thought flashing through his mind. He immediately stepped forward, put his arm around Losweiser's shoulder, and said with a grin,

"You are still my beloved wife."

Losweiser twisted her shoulders symbolically, trying to break free from him. "Get lost, you idiot."

But unfortunately, the scoundrel held on very tightly, and she couldn't break free or shake him off.

Damn it, I'll just have to tolerate him for now.

"Speaking of which, it seems like you haven't seen your beloved donkey for many years, has it?" Losweiser asked.

"Hmm... I haven't seen Ah Lu since the Empire sent me to your Silver Dragon territory a few years ago."

After a pause, Leon added, "I've never met my master's wife either."

Losweiser's heart stirred slightly, and she comforted him, "But at least you can see your master every now and then, and he always says that your master's wife is safe."

"That's true, but I've always felt something's off."

"Strangeness?"

"Hmm. It's been so long, and my master still hasn't given me a single recent photo of his wife."

"Is it really that hard for them to even meet?" Leon said.

Losweiser raised an eyebrow and said, "That's possible."

"But my master said that his wife went back to her parents' home. Even if it's difficult to see her, it can't have been this long and they still haven't seen her at all, right?"

"Hmm... didn't your master also say that he didn't get along well with your master's wife's side of the family?"

Leon sighed and shook his head. "I always feel like this old man has a lot of things he hasn't told me, but he won't tell me when I ask him. He's so difficult to deal with."

Looking at his slightly worried profile, Losweiser didn't rush to comfort him as she had before.

Instead, she lowered her hands from her arms, letting them hang down naturally, and gently took Leon's hand in hers.

It wasn't an intimate gesture like interlocking fingers; it was simply a gentle grip on his fingers.

The man's hands, weathered by countless battles, were covered in scars, yet they were so thick and reassuring.

"Everyone has secrets. You can't expect everyone to be completely open with you and tell you everything. That's unrealistic."

She then spoke slowly, her tone gentle, "Besides, your master has helped us a lot all along. Even if he's hiding something from us, it's certainly not to be wary of us or anything else."

Leon nodded silently.

He certainly understands the reasoning.

It's just that being kept in the dark for so long can make you feel a little resentful.

"Okay, calm down. We're going to have dinner with our daughters later. You don't want them all asking you, 'Daddy, why are you unhappy?', do you?"

The Queen can be very cunning when she wants to be, but she's also incredibly effective at comforting people.

In fact, she rarely cares about other people's emotions. Whether they are happy or sad, what does it have to do with her, the Silver Dragon Queen?

But who can blame her when the emo-loving Yu Yu beside her is her the Only One captive?

Of course she cares a little.

Otherwise, if the little prisoner really gets Yu Yu syndrome, who will pour her foot bath water?

These are all connected; she wouldn't offer comfort for nothing.

Leon's low spirits improved somewhat.

He responded to Losweiser with a slight exertion of his right hand.

Losweiser chuckled inwardly, thinking to herself, "See, this is no longer Yu Yu."

Great, I'll have him pour my foot bath water again tonight, hehe.

"You just said... everyone has secrets?"

"Yes."

"Is there any secret you haven't told me?"

Upon hearing this, Losweiser suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Leon took a few steps, but the two did not let go of each other's hands.

They stood on the playground, arms slightly raised, holding each other's hands, gazing into each other's eyes.

"Yes," Losweiser said.

"What?"

She didn't answer directly, but slowly lifted her high heels, gently stepped on the ground, and moved closer to Leon little by little.

She stood to the side of Leon, slightly tiptoeing, and whispered in his ear.

Leon's curiosity was piqued, and he moved closer.

But the result was—

Losweiser grabbed her ear.

"You actually want to hear this, you idiot? Why would I tell you my secrets? If I told you, would it still be a secret? Hmm?"

"Dragon Queen, you're not being honest!"

Losweiser released his ear, put her hands behind her back, and took a few steps backward, putting some distance between herself and Leon.

The light of the setting sun shone on her hair, like a blood-red rose blooming in the Milky Way.

She made a face at Leon.

"I'll tell you my secret the day you confess your feelings to me."

After several rehearsals, the relationship between Leon and his wife and Claudia gradually became more familiar.

After getting to know her better, the couple found that Claudia wasn't actually that difficult to get along with.

She is very smart, has high emotional intelligence, and her words and actions are impeccable.

Being around people like this is often very relaxing.

The so-called ease is not because Claudia is compatibility with Leon and Losweiser.

In terms of social skills, Losweiser, the Silver Dragon Queen, is in no way inferior to Claudia.

Both were masters of cunning, able to predict what the other was about to say or do with just a few words.

Fortunately, they were not enemies, so there was no need to rack their brains to glean any tribal information from the other party's few words.

Therefore, under such circumstances, getting along becomes very easy.

After lunch that day, Noa took several Dragon girl to the administration office. Today was the day to finalize the program list, because the official performance would take place in just one week.

Only Leon, his wife, and Claudia remained in the classroom.

The beautiful young woman sat elegantly opposite the couple, her demeanor dignified yet exuding a touch of aristocratic languor.

She interlaced her fingers, rested her chin gently on the back of her hands, crossed her legs, and watched the couple sitting opposite her with great interest.

"Congratulations, Leon! Now you can call me 'Mother' without any problem," Claudia teased with a smile.

"It's still a little awkward, but it's all for the children to get good grades, Claudia."

The way they addressed each other had changed from the initial "Mr. Casmod, Miss Melkwy" and "Ms. Claudia" to now calling each other by their first names.

There's nothing impolite about it. When people are of similar status and quite familiar with each other, calling each other by name can even help to build rapport.

"Speaking of children."

After the joke, Claudia started the conversation, "After Helena visited your home last time, she raved about your family atmosphere. You two must have put a lot of effort into raising your children, right?"

"The children are very well-behaved, and Leon and I haven't had to put in much effort. Besides, in my opinion, there's no such thing as a good or bad family atmosphere, only what's suitable or unsuitable," Losweiser said.

Claudia raised an eyebrow with interest. "Suitable or unsuitable?"

Losweiser nodded slightly.

"The family atmosphere we've created is perfect for Noa and the others, but other children probably wouldn't be able to adapt. Helena's high praise is likely just because she's suddenly encountered a completely new way of interacting with family, and she finds it very novel. Claudia."

She paused deliberately when she called Claudia by her name at the end.

This pause is actually a hidden subtext.

The hidden subtext is, "Do you understand what I mean?"

Of course, Losweiser couldn't say those words out loud, because that might make Claudia feel like she was being questioned.

This is the most taboo thing to do in conversation.

To build good social relationships, you need to soften the sharpness of your words and make your speech more rounded.

Despite the Queen's usual playful banter with General Leon, she is quite adept at handling such situations when she gets serious.

Claudia smiled faintly, "You're right, Losweiser."

Her smile was also somewhat subtle.

She was very satisfied with Losweiser's answer.

And within this satisfaction, there was also a hint of... relief?

Losweiser could understand where this satisfaction came from.

Her previous answer about the family atmosphere could be simply put as, "Everyone's children are great, my family has its own merits, and your Helena is wonderful too."

While subtly praising himself, he also complimented Helena.

This is a high-EQ, win-win response.

But what does this sense of relief mean?

Losweiser had seen that smile before.

But I've only ever seen it on the face of Grandmother Veronica.