52 The Wheel of Fate Rolls On
The Angry Bull’s soul was purified by Her Majesty the Queen, and in the end, it was still turned into beef hotpot.
Of course, even with several tons of ingredients, the five-member Leon family couldn’t finish it all —
Leon suggested that Roswiser transform into a giant dragon to eat it all up.
That idea got him a swift tail-whack from Her Majesty, shutting him right up.
In the end, they invited some maids and guards to share this unexpectedly delicious meal.
Everyone gathered in the yard, eating hotpot, singing songs, and enjoying the bonfire.
Roswiser, having exhausted her energy during practice in the afternoon, didn’t drink much this time. After eating a bit, she found a patch of grass and plopped down.
The cool evening breeze swept her silver bangs to the side, revealing her flawless forehead.
Her stunningly beautiful face was like a finely carved piece of art, with distinct eyelashes, a petite and exquisite nose, and slightly drooping eyes that hinted at fatigue.
That very weariness made her seem even more lazily mature.
Calm footsteps approached and stopped beside her.
Leon glanced at the orange juice in her hand and said, “Your Majesty, you don’t seem too interested tonight.”
“Hmm? What makes you say that?”
“You haven’t had any alcohol.”
Roswiser was taken aback, then smiled lightly, “I’m tired, I don’t feel like drinking.”
Leon bent down and sat next to her.
Of course, she was tired.
Ever since she got the “Soul Judgment” martial arts manual from her Master, Roswiser had been practicing non-stop.
Leon knew why she was so eager to get stronger.
After experiencing so many mishaps and dangers, Roswiser realized that the world’s landscape was quietly changing; if she didn’t make some changes right away, she’d soon be drowning in the torrent of these changes.
Excessive practice led to physical weakness, which was just one reason why Roswiser looked so unenthusiastic and drained right now.
As for the other reason…
“Are you still thinking about this afternoon’s events?”
“What do you mean?”
“The effect of your first Soul Judgment on that stupid bull wasn’t exactly impressive—oh, or let’s say, it didn’t look very impressive on the surface.”
Roswiser pouted, turned toward Leon, and gently bumped his shoulder, “Do we really have to bring this up? I’m your nominal wife; can’t you give me a break?”
Leon chuckled but quickly turned serious again, “I wasn’t regarding the face-saving issue. Just ponder my previous statement a bit more.”
Roswiser raised an elegantly shaped eyebrow, recalling Leon’s words.
After a moment, she said, “You emphasized ‘on the surface.’ Why is that?”
“Because from the afternoon practice test on the Angry Bull, I noticed something about the Soul Judgment.”
Leon continued, “It operates fundamentally differently from the magic we’re accustomed to, and thus the results it achieves are… rather… vague.”
“Vague?”
“Yep.”
Leon explained, “Let me give you a simple example: if your Dragon Flame deals 100 damage and my Mystic Shadow can block 90 damage, then if you use Dragon Flame on me, it would only deal 10 damage. But—”
“Wait a second.” Roswiser suddenly raised her hand.
“What?”
Leon thought she halted him because she had guessed what he would say next.
But just when he was about to show a proud smile, the Mother Dragon said:
“Why do I only inflict 10 points of damage? Am I just giving you a scratch?”
“… I was just using that as an example; don’t take it so seriously.”
Leon murmured, “If you’re being so picky, you might not even deal 10 points of damage—hey, don’t pinch me! I won’t say it again!”
Roswiser took her hand off his side and squinted slightly, “You remember, Casmod, besides magic, I have plenty of ways to inflict more than 10 points of damage to your body.”
“Uh-huh, Your Majesty is impressive, absolutely the best! Now let’s get back to the topic.”
Roswiser nodded, listening intently.
“To simplify, our existing attack and defense magic can be explained using basic numerical values—sure, it gets more complex in actual combat, but that’s a different discussion.”
Leon said, “Now the Primordial Magic, specifically Soul Judgment, can’t be described with simple numbers. The book mentioned that its effect depends on the emotional intensity of the target.”
“That bull barged into your territory by mistake, and then I tied it up on a post—surely it was brimming with rage.”
“You saw it too; at first, it dared to roar and shout at you, but after your first use of Soul Judgment on it, its anger noticeably decreased.”
Roswiser’s eyes flickered, then she said, “Right, then it started mocking me.”
Leon snickered, “That’s only after the fact! Didn’t you scare it back into submission when you transformed into a dragon?”
“Hmm… you briefly went over it in the afternoon, but I wasn’t really paying attention.”
Roswiser said, “So… you’re sure its emotion shift wasn’t just because I scared it?”
“Absolutely. Because its emotional state had already shifted before you transformed.”
Leon shrugged, “So… your practice was effective! You just have to view the effects from the perspective of ‘Primordial Magic’ rather than ordinary magic.”
After hearing Leon’s analysis, Roswiser felt a bit better.
She was confident Leon wasn’t just trying to cheer her up; he was always serious about magic studies and never cracked jokes.
He wouldn’t make all this up just to please his wife.
Because he knew well that in the Samail continent, if one wanted to keep moving forward, magic — or rather, power — was the only dependable support.
So such matters couldn’t be treated lightly.
He was like that when he taught Noia magic.
And even more serious when he was a training partner for Roswiser.
“Okay, I get it now.”
Her tone was noticeably brighter.
Leon felt a bit relaxed too.
“Are you happy?” he asked.
“Just a bit.” The Queen suppressed a smile, looking toward the bonfire in the yard.
“Aren’t you going to reward me for making you happy?”
“Sure, when we get back, I’ll prepare a basin of fresh foot bath water for you.”
“…… Since when is that a reward?”
Roswiser slowly turned her head, smiling playfully, “So what do you want… as a reward?”
The couple locked eyes, their dark and silver gazes tangling with each other.
The wood in the bonfire crackled, sending up sporadic sparks, much like the tension between Leon and Roswiser.
The evening breeze was intoxicating, drowning them in the thrill of the moment.
They leaned closer towards each other’s lips, her breath mingled with a delightful citrus soda scent.
“Mommy, Daddy!”
A childish voice shattered the romantic mood.
Roswiser panicked slightly and quickly pulled back.
Leon also immediately withdrew.
But then he thought:
Wait a minute!
Why does it seem like we’re always interrupted at crucial moments?
Not today.
Today, this General must claim a kiss!
With that, Leon suddenly lunged forward, grasped Roswiser’s neck, and deeply kissed her.
The Queen was completely caught off guard; she only regained her senses at the moment of the kiss.
With their lips locked, risking the chance of being “caught in the act” by their daughters, they reveled in the exciting thrill of this passionate kiss.
Fortunately, before the daughters arrived, they managed to pull apart.
Roswiser’s face was flushed as she wiped her lips and glanced at Noia and the other little ones not too far away, quietly saying, “You really have some guts.”
“As long as you are bold, the Queen gets a maternity leave.”
“Shut it!”
“Mommy, Daddy~”
Moon and Little Light dove into their parents’ embrace.
Noia obediently nestled herself between them, sitting cross-legged.
The five of them sat on the grass, enjoying their precious weekend time together.
Moon happily reported all the new knowledge and magic she had learned this week;
While Little Light recounted all the new fun she had seen throughout the week.
Now it was Noia’s turn.
The eldest daughter brought up a new topic, which was both surprising and expected.
“The Young Dragon Department is hosting a play competition, and I signed up!”
Leon nodded, “Great! Is it an original play or something else?”
“Of course, it’s original~”
Noia proudly declared, “The script is written by Helena, and I’m in charge of casting.”
Leon was taken aback.
He looked at Moon in his arms, then at Little Light beside him.
From the calm expressions and reactions of those two, they had probably already been earmarked for roles by Noia.
“Moon and Little Light will be in it, but we’re short two actors.”
Noia’s big, adorable eyes sparkled, “Mommy, Daddy, will you join us?”
Leon pressed his lips together and glanced at Roswiser.
She hesitated a bit too.
The truth was, both of them had some psychological trauma regarding stage plays.
After all, one of their first date activities in the Sky City had been to watch a play.
And at the end of that performance, the infernal host had chosen them to reenact the classic proposal scene live!
Talk about sending Leon and Roswiser’s mental state to the moon.
They thought that would be their one and only time getting up on stage for a proposal in front of a crowd, but little did they know…
The wheel of fate rolls on, and there’s no stopping it!
“Well, uh…”
Not wanting to dampen their daughter’s spirits, Leon decided to inquire about the type of script, “What’s the basic plot?”
“Oh, it goes like this.”
Noia earnestly recounted,
“A brave knight, betrayed by a villain, ends up in the enemies’ camp. But during a chance encounter, he meets the enemy princess, and they fall in love at first sight—”
“Okay, I’ve heard enough, no need to continue.” Leon silently facepalmed.
Noia tilted her head, “But Dad, this is our original script! Do you know how it ends?”
Oh, sweetie, if you hadn’t said it was your original, I’d have thought you were writing my autobiography~
“And in the end, the enemy princess falls into a coma, and the knight brings her back with the kiss of true love, waking her up!”
Moon chimed in to supplement her sister.
Leon’s eye twitched slightly, “And there’s a kissing scene too…?”
“Of course! Moon thinks these two roles fit you and Mommy perfectly, don’t you think, Little Light?”
Little Light: ✪ω✪!
Well, duh, big sis!
What do you think I agreed to participate in this play for?
It’s all to get a closer look at the action on stage!
Leon scratched his head, looking indecisive.
Roswiser was equally uncertain.
The shadow of their last social d*ath at the graduation ceremony still loomed large, and now another stage play…
All the couple’s crumbs of romantic time were thrown into the academy!
Observing their parents’ reactions, Noia seemed to realize something.
She blinked, stopped smiling, and quietly said, “If you two don’t want to, that’s fine, I’ll find someone else.”
“Noia…”
“Ugh, Helena finally convinced Claudia Auntie to join as well…”
Leon & the Queen: ?
The couple exchanged glances.
And at that moment, the group voice chat had just one comment:
“Looks like we have a reason we can’t refuse to perform now.”
