Chapter 24: The Deadline Arrives
The Melkway family encountered something peculiar.
Generally, normal young dragons can start talking within two months of birth.
But then there’s Noia, the early bird of talkers, who began chatting with the world before she was even twenty days old.
Strangely, however, Little Light had been born for almost three months and showed no signs of opening her mouth—unless you counted her version of babbling, which was just “Ah wa ah wa~”
While her big sisters, the chatty queen and the mascot, were busy making noise, Little Light seemed a bit… lazy.
One evening, the couple was lounging in bed, with Little Light cozily tucked in between them.
Three months in, Little Light had grown quite a bit—though still mute, she was now using her little tail to interact with her parents.
The level of tail-wagging is a solid indicator of whether a young dragon is healthy.
From her enthusiastic tail wags, it looked like she was perfectly fine.
But she wouldn’t say a single word—unless “ah wa ah wa” counted!
Roswiser propped her chin on her hand, lying sideways as she teased the tip of Little Light’s tail with her finger.
Little Light, like a cat spotting a feather toy, fervently chased after her mother’s finger, always just missing it by a whisker.
The tail chase was an epic battle of persistence—playful yet frustrating.
But on Roswiser’s face loomed a frown. “This shouldn’t be happening. Moon was talking by two months old! Little Light is already three months, and still no words…”
Leon’s brow furrowed in concentration.
Young dragon girls aren’t like human babies—no amount of human logic could resolve this mystery.
Roswiser had mentioned that normally young dragons start speaking at two months, so what was going on?
If it was the hybrid nature that was slowing Little Light’s development down, how come Noia and Moon, also hybrids, were either talkative or itching to fight from the get-go?
Leon scratched his head, muttering, “What on earth is going on…?”
Roswiser’s eyes sparkled with an idea. “It must be because you’ve been making her call dad too much, scaring her into silence!”
Leon shrugged innocently. “Hey, you’ve been pushing her to call mom just as much! If we’re blame-shifting here, it’s fifty-fifty!”
The couple had been competing to get Little Light’s first word to be their name for three months, tirelessly trying to “brainwash” their little daughter.
Sometimes even Moon chimed in, though her obsession over who Little Light would call first wasn’t as intense. She just loved the idea of a dragon family gathering.
But surprise, surprise! Among the hopeful expectations from her father, mother, and sister, Little Light chose a path no one saw coming:
She was just going to chill.
Little Light wasn’t so mature yet; all she could do was “ah wa” her way through life.
Eventually, after wearing herself out, she curled up her tail and drifted into a deep sleep under her parents’ watchful eyes.
Leon tucked her blanket around her snugly, ensuring she wouldn’t catch a chill, then turned to Roswiser. “Didn’t we have a check-up for Little Light just last week?”
“Yup,” Roswiser confirmed. “The clan physician said she’s perfectly fine all around, but couldn’t figure out why she hasn’t spoken yet.”
Roswiser thought for a moment, then added, “How about this? Tomorrow, we take her to Sky City; the physicians there have a broader range of expertise.”
“Tomorrow, huh…”
Leon sighed, shaking his head. “Tomorrow might not work; let’s give it a few days.”
Roswiser tilted her head curiously. “Why not tomorrow?”
“I promised my master I’d report back at the mountain cave every three months. Tomorrow is the due date.”
Roswiser’s eyes lit up. “Oh~ I see. So…”
With a knowing grin, the queen asked, “Do you want me to escort you?”
“…No need, Your Majesty; I can handle it myself. By the time I come back, it should be about six months from now, and by then Little Light should definitely be talking!” Leon teased.
Roswiser playfully punched his shoulder. “I’ll take you; no arguments. Now go to sleep already.”
With that, Roswiser turned off the bedside lamp.
In the peaceful quiet, moonlight flowing in, Leon rested his hands behind his head, gazing at the ceiling, lulled by the gentle breaths of Little Light and Roswiser.
He mentally prepared for his report to his master the next day.
He was figuring out that the dragon king collaborating with the empire wasn’t just Constantine; some of the other dragon kings might be known to a certain confidant of his.
After some time, once the ruckus within the Red Flame Dragon Race settled down, Leon planned to start looking into that confidant.
The information was scarce, mostly held back by boundaries and the unknown power struggles. He knew he needed to speed up the investigation once things cooled down.
As these thoughts circled his mind, weariness washed over him, and soon Leon was off to dreamland.
The night passed without event.
The next day, after reminding the girls to take care of Moon and Little Light, the couple headed toward the border between the dragon realm and human territory.
On the way, Roswiser suddenly asked, “Are you nervous?”
The wind whistled past Leon’s ears, tousling his hair as he looked down at the silver dragon beneath him. “Nervous? Why do you ask?”
After a moment of thought, Roswiser replied, “Three months is quite a long time for you humans, right? In that time, anything could happen. What if your master doesn’t show up…?”
Leon blinked, taken aback, then scratched his forehead.
He didn’t think Roswiser was being a harbinger of doom; she was just considering a worst-case scenario.
After mulling it over, he said, “I trust my master and Rebecca. They’ll definitely keep their appointment.”
“Hmm… that’s good,” the queen said, though her tone sounded somewhat preoccupied.
Leon caught that tone and sensed Roswiser bringing this up was hinting at something else.
He ruminated over the mention of “if he doesn’t show up after three months.”
With a sudden realization, the dragon-slaying hero had an epiphany.
He chuckled and gave Roswiser a pat on her scaly back. “Hey, Mother Dragon, after we split, we agreed to meet every three months. You were already thinking about this back then, weren’t you?”
Suddenly, the rhythm of their swift flight faltered, and Leon nearly lost his balance.
The Silver Dragon Queen flew on in silence, focused on her path.
Looks like I hit the nail on the head, Leon thought.
“So, if I don’t leave the empire once I handle the rogue, and three months later you come looking for me but find I’ve ghosted you, what would you… do?” He asked, thoroughly intrigued.
He really wanted to know just how much this stubborn, proud mother dragon cared about him.
“W-what would I do? If you don’t show up, we could chat about our daughter; if you don’t show… I’d… I’d…”
“You’d what?”
“I’d go home and plan a funeral for you with Noia and Moon.”
“I don’t believe you; you’re just saying that out of anger.”
“Bull! That’s the truth!”
“You’re truly—hey, hey, slow down!”
With a sudden burst of speed, the queen’s acceleration choked off any further retorts from her dog-man.
