'Little girl, you finally know how powerful your dad is, huh? Let's see if you dare to—'
However, before Leon could secretly pop the champagne in celebration, he saw Little Light clench her little pink fists, and in a flash.
UPPERCUT!
The pink-haired dragon lady wagged her tail excitedly, cheering, "Little Light, beat up Dad!"
———
In the end, Little Light won over her mother, sister, and aunt with her irresistible charm.
Then, she won over her father with an irresistible uppercut.
Mr. Casmodeous, the ultimate daughter-lover, finally admitted defeat, holding Little Light on his lap and letting her snuggle in his arms.
Luna sat beside them, reading from 'Enlightening Young Dragons – New Edition' to Little Light.
The old edition described Constantine as a hero of the dragon race, but since that hero had already been defeated in a blink by their father, the dragon race's publishing house had no choice but to urgently compile a new version.
Meanwhile, Rossweise and Isa got down to business, "Big Sis, you didn't come all this way just to visit Little Light, did you?"
Dragon Kings didn't casually visit each other. No matter how much Isa loved her nieces, she wouldn't come back just three months after her last visit.
As expected, Isa nodded, "Indeed, I have something to tell you."
"If it's just to tell me something, you could've used a messenger dragon. There was no need to come in person," Rossweise said.
Isa shook her head with a smile, "Little Rose, this isn't just some trivial matter."
Rossweise raised her pretty eyebrows, intrigued, "So, what is it that you want to tell me?"
"Grandmother is coming back."
At the mention of "Grandmother," Rossweise visibly froze.
Leon, who was coaxing the child nearby, also heard the sisters' conversation—
Not that he meant to eavesdrop, but the bedroom was only so big. He couldn't avoid hearing even if he wanted to.
'Rossweise and Isa's grandmother…'
Leon recalled that in the first few days after he had awakened, during casual conversations with Rossweise, she had mentioned her family.
She and Isa were both viviparous dragons, yet they had never met their parents and were raised by their grandmother.
However, despite living with Rossweise for nearly two years, Leon had never seen this grandmother, who only existed in conversations.
After that chat, Rossweise had rarely brought up her family again.
'So now, is this legendary grandmother finally going to make an appearance?'
Perhaps due to the trauma caused by the Empire, Leon's first instinct was to wonder if Rossweise's grandmother's return was related to the Empire.
'Hiss—'
He shook his head, deciding not to jump to baseless conclusions.
Meanwhile, Rossweise, having calmed her emotions, asked, "Did Grandmother write to you?"
"Yes, I received a letter from her yesterday. It wasn't very long. First, she asked how we sisters were doing, then she said she'd be coming back soon and hoped that we were still strong enough to be worthy of the Dragon King title."
Upon hearing that, Rossweise sighed with a wry smile, "Grandmother is as strict as ever."
Thinking back to childhood, Rossweise and Isa had grown up under their grandmother's strict teachings.
Whether it was academics, magic training, or daily life, their grandmother always had high expectations.
Noah took after their grandmother in personality.
Except, while their eldest daughter pushed herself hard, their grandmother had not only pushed herself but also her two granddaughters.
That said, their grandmother's education wasn't about blindly applying pressure or raising expectations. Her strictness toward the Silver-Red sisters had always been well-measured.
So after reaching adulthood, Isa and Rossweise didn't feel like they had an unhappy childhood.
Having never met their parents, they felt fortunate enough to have a grandmother who took care of them so responsibly.
Pulling herself out of her memories, Rossweise looked at her sister, "Did Grandmother say why she's coming back this time? Just to visit us?"
"No, but I doubt it's just a casual visit," Isa said, "The last time we saw Grandmother was when you ascended the throne. That was fifty years ago, wasn't it?"
"Yeah... Fifty years. Back then, I was all fired up, wanting to lead the Silver Dragon race to prosperity. But now—"
Isa looked at her sister, guessing she was about to lament how time had passed.
But perhaps due to spending too much time with her unreliable brother-in-law, Rossweise's next words were, "And now, I'm a mother of three."
"...", Isa chuckled and poked her sister's forehead, "If Grandmother knew you'd become this cheerful, she'd surely be happy."
Rossweise blushed, "What do you mean, 'become cheerful'? I've always been like this!"
Isa smirked, "Oh please, before you married Leon, you could count your annual smiles on one hand. Tell me I'm wrong."
In the corner, Master Leon, who had been forced to eavesdrop, instantly straightened his back.
'See that? That's the prestige of a dragon-slaying champion!'
Rossweise shot a glare at that idiot's back. Complimenting him was like inflating his ego.
She quickly tugged at her sister's arm and whispered, "Don't praise him, or his tail will go up in the air."
Isa chuckled and returned to the topic of their grandmother, "Anyway, since Grandmother only returned last time for something as major as your coronation, she must have something important this time as well."
'Something important…'
Rossweise once again glanced at Leon.
The couple had quite a bit of overlap in their thought processes.
Leon had just speculated, without evidence, that Grandmother's return might be related to the Empire.
And Rossweise couldn't help but connect it to recent Imperial events and Constantine.
Of course, just because she made the connection didn't mean she suspected her grandmother of colluding with the Empire.
It was simply… related.
Seeing her sister deep in thought, Isa asked, "Little Rose, did something come to mind?"
"Huh? Oh… I just wondered if Grandmother's return has to do with Constantine."
Rossweise avoided mentioning the Empire and only brought up Constantine, "After all, the invasion of the Silver Dragon race wasn't a small matter. It's worth her coming to check things out."
"Hmm… that makes sense."
Isa paused before suddenly remembering something, "But if Grandmother is returning because she's worried about the Silver Dragons being in danger, why didn't she come three years ago?"
Three years ago.
Rossweise knew what Isa meant.
That was when the human Empire's dragon-slaying army attacked the Silver Dragons.
And back then, the leader of that army, the hero of mankind, the strongest dragon slayer, was now sitting in her bedroom, coaxing their daughter.
Rossweise sneaked a glance at Leon, then quickly steered the conversation away, "Maybe Grandmother was tied up at the time."
"Could be. We've never known what she's been busy with. After raising us to adulthood, she just said she was going to wander the world, but no one knows what for."
Isa sighed, "This time, I've got a lot of questions for her."
Rossweise smiled, "Me too. But… she doesn't even know I'm married."
The Red Dragon Queen's lips curled into a smirk, her gossip senses tingling.
"Meeting the in-laws?"
Speaking of which, the matter of "meeting the family" didn't seem to be a simple one for Little Rose and her husband.
The Melkvei family had a rather special background. The two sisters had never met their parents since childhood and were raised entirely by their grandmother.
After raising the two sisters into adulthood, their grandmother left them under the pretext of traveling the world, often going ten or even dozens of years without contacting them.
She didn't even return to see her granddaughter's husband when Rossweise got married.
As for her brother-in-law's side, Isa didn't know much. She had only heard from Little Rose that he came from a now-dissolved minor tribe and was considered to have married into her Silver Dragon clan.
Isa was half skeptical about her sister's claim.
After all, the Red Flame Dragon King, Constantine, had been taken down by her seemingly harmless brother-in-law.
A person with enough power to defeat Constantine couldn't possibly have fallen into such dire straits that his tribe was disbanded, leaving him no choice but to rely on another clan's protection to survive, right?
Perhaps Leon had chosen to marry Little Rose to escape pursuit from his enemies?
Or maybe the two of them had made some kind of deal?
Isa had thought about this question more than once, but Little Rose firmly said that Leon was someone reliable and trustworthy.
As for the reason, Little Rose didn't elaborate.
Then, as her elder sister, what else could she do?
Of course, she had to believe in her sister.
Pulling her wandering thoughts back, Isa looked at her sister, "Well, I've passed on the message. Grandmother didn't say exactly when she'll be back, but it'll be sometime soon. I should start preparing as well, so I'm not caught off guard when the old lady suddenly appears."
Rossweise nodded, "Mm, me too."
"Alright, that's all I had to say."
Isa stood up, took a deep breath, and then looked at Leon, who was tending to the baby. "Finally, I can cuddle my little niece~"
Leon also stood up and handed the Little Light to Isa.
"Leon, come help me prepare dinner," Rossweise said.
"Oh, okay."
Leon lowered his head and patted Luna's little head, "Mom and Dad are going to make dinner, so you have to be good and listen to your aunt, okay?"
The little dragon girl nodded obediently, "Mm-hmm! Luna understands!"
Leon smiled, took a few steps to Rossweise's side, and the couple left the bedroom one after the other.
After closing the door, the two walked side by side down the corridor.
Dinner was already being prepared by the maids; they had just used this as an excuse to have a private chat.
They had that much mutual understanding, at least.
"Your grandmother really only comes back once every few decades?", Leon asked.
"Mm."
"That long? Isn't she afraid of growing distant from her family?"
Rossweise shook her head, "Dragons have very long lifespans. A few decades isn't much. Besides, most dragons don't put much emphasis on family relationships."
Leon blinked, "So, your grandmother is also the type who doesn't care much about family?"
The queen shrugged, "Judging by how rarely she comes home, she indeed doesn't seem to care much about this family. But when my sister and I were young, we could still clearly feel her love and concern for us."
While chatting, the couple arrived at the sanctuary's backyard and continued strolling along the shaded pathway.
"All intelligent beings are complex. You can't judge them based on just one aspect of their behavior."
Rossweise said, "Just like how dragons are perceived by outsiders as brutal, ruthless, and only respecting the strong, without valuing bonds or emotions."
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