44 Just Stress Relief
The couple had pulled a few all-nighters, and finally, they had grasped each other’s depths and lengths to perfection.
Their average score on the practice tests was over 80, so as long as they performed normally, their family assessment should be just fine.
In reality, Roswiser wasn’t someone who often stayed up late; once the clock struck twelve, her biological clock would nag her to hit the hay.
What kept her up late this time wasn’t just “For the sake of our daughter, it’s all worth the exhaustion,” but also…
Listening to Leon’s past embarrassing stories was simply too thrilling.
Who knew that a mere twenty-year human life could be so colorful and abstract?
But in comparison, her own two hundred years as a dragon had been nothing but tedious and monotonous—except for her childhood, every day had been a slog.
This drudgery had seeped into her entire life even more after she became the Silver Dragon Queen.
But it seemed that, at some unknown point in time, a flicker of fun had peeked into her boring existence.
Was it when her daughter was born?
Or was it when… Leon woke up?
Well, it didn’t matter for tomorrow’s exam; Roswiser shook her head to dismiss these thoughts.
In any case, after burning the midnight oil for several nights, they had finally reviewed all the family assessment test questions from recent years.
Their understanding of each other had deepened as well.
The night before they were set to head to the academy, the couple sat at either end of the couch.
Leon looked like he had been drained of all life, while Roswiser had a serious expression.
The room was quiet, only the mechanical ticking of the grandfather clock could be heard.
Outside, the moonlight slinked in, accompanied by a slight chill, and Leon instinctively wrapped himself in his clothes.
He rubbed his slightly cold nose and stole a glance at Roswiser.
She was quietly leaning on the couch, one hand propping her forehead, her brow slightly furrowed—she seemed burdened with not just fatigue but also a fair share of pressure.
Pressure… was understandable.
After all, this was a big deal concerning Noia’s admission to Saint His Academy—
Leon opened his mouth, wanting to show some concern, but the words died on his lips.
After a moment, he said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back.”
But before he could get up, he heard Roswiser say, “Wait.”
“What is it?”
Roswiser closed her eyes and asked faintly, “Thanks for your hard work these past few days.”
“Uh… it’s fine, I’m used to it.”
“Are you tired?”
Leon gave a slight shrug, “A bit.”
Roswiser let out a gentle “hm,” then raised a hand and pointed towards her room’s bathroom, “Go take a shower and relax.”
Leon blinked in surprise, “Shower? In your room?”
“Yup.”
“No way, I’m not used to showering in someone else’s room.”
Especially not in the room belonging to this Mother Dragon.
Roswiser leaned her head on her hand, her beautiful eyebrows slightly knitting together, her tone growing impatient as she urged, “Hurry up. Once you’re done, you can go back.”
Leon reluctantly stood up and tiptoed into the bathroom.
He stripped off his clothes, turned on the hot water, and let the warm stream cascade down from above.
Leon braced himself against the cold tiles, baffled about what was going on with this Mother Dragon.
Why insist on making him shower here?
He just felt so unsafe.
Click—
As he spoke, the bathroom light suddenly went out.
Leon’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned off the hot water.
In the darkness, a faint purple glow flickered to life.
“Dragon Pattern?… Oh no—this is bad!”
Just as he expected, the Mother Dragon had ulterior motives—this wasn’t good.
Panicking, Leon fumbled around in the dark for his clothes, but before he could put anything on, the bathroom door swung open.
Light flooded in from the living room, revealing a tall silhouette.
The figure was slim and graceful, gliding in like a swan.
To top it off, her chest was glowing with that same purple light.
She stepped in, her fair feet landing lightly on the bathroom tiles.
“Roswiser…?”
Thud—
She shut the bathroom door, cutting off all light.
Leon could only make out her position through the dragon pattern’s glow and the sound of her footsteps.
The glow drew nearer until it stopped right in front of him.
“When the dragon pattern resonates, you can’t escape.” Roswiser murmured in the darkness.
Leon gulped, “So what’s the reason this time?”
“Reason? I haven’t come up with one yet; let’s finish first, then I’ll tell you.”
Before Leon could ask anything else, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Her dragon pattern pressed softly against Leon’s scorching chest, her long, flexible tail unbeknownst to him wrapped around his waist.
In the dark, the sound of water gradually surged, and their skin slid against the tiles, producing a clear sound.
…
How long had passed, he couldn’t tell.
Leon lay in the tub, feeling utterly drained again.
Roswiser lay opposite him, absentmindedly staring at the water’s surface.
After a long silence, the Mother Dragon finally spoke, “I get it now.”
Leon tilted his head back, gazing helplessly at the bathroom ceiling, “What exactly have you figured out?”
“This time, I understand the reason.”
“Pray tell, oh Queen.”
“I’m under too much pressure.”
Splash—
Leon shot up, “Just because YOU’RE feeling pressured, doesn’t mean you can pile it on to me!”
Roswiser pulled herself together, restoring her usual indifferent demeanor. “There are two main ways to deal with pressure: one is to transfer it, and the other is to release it. Right now, I’ve transferred the pressure to you, and in return, I feel relief. It’s perfect. And~”
The Queen leisurely raised her slender arm, sending splashes of water cascading, “You mentioned winning something a while back; now you’re just adding ‘Pressure Handling Champion’ to your accolades. What’s the big deal?”
“You—”
“Besides, didn’t you come here with this very mindset a few days ago?”
Leon clenched his teeth, “I need a word stronger than ‘unsatisfied’ to describe you, Mother Dragon.”
“I’ll give you two: moderate stress relief and work-life balance.”
As Roswiser spoke, she stretched her beautiful body and sighed, “All in all, I’m feeling good now. Thanks, Leon.”
After the storm, the clarity that followed was refreshing, and the pressure from their recent “studies” had indeed received a brief respite.
“So, dear Dragon Slayer, are you going to stay and help me destress more, or are you going to clean up and go back to bed?”
What answered her was the sound of splashing water as he scrambled away, along with a retort, “Just you wait, Mother Dragon.”
The next morning, in front of the Holy Temple courtyard.
“Mom, why does he look like he hasn’t slept a wink all night?”
Noia looked at Leon, who truly did look utterly drained.
Roswiser, looking fresh and radiant, greedily inhaled the crisp morning air and stretched luxuriously, “I don’t know, Leon, didn’t you sleep well last night?”
“……Don’t you have any idea how I slept?” Leon muttered through gritted teeth.
Roswiser waved her hand, “Alright, alright, cheer up! We’re going to take Noia for her test today.”
With that, Roswiser spread her wings, transforming into her giant dragon form.
Leon slapped his own face, forcing himself to wake up.
The father and daughter climbed onto Roswiser’s back, one after the other.
The silver dragon flapped her wings and soared into the sky.
This time, they didn’t bring Moon along since they weren’t going out for fun.
Moon obediently agreed to stay home and wait for her dad, mom, and sister to return.
With the three of them off, they headed confidently toward Saint His Academy.
The academy, nestled deep within dragon territory, was an exceptionally safe place.
How safe was it?
Even if all the races banded together to flatten a dragon city within a day, it would take them a year and a half just to reach the gates of Saint His Academy.
Although the dragon race had long split into hundreds of smaller tribes, when it came to shared places like the Sky City and Saint His Academy, they still unconditionally united to fend off outside threats.
It would take several hours to fly from the Silver Dragon Temple to the academy.
After a while, Leon had more or less recovered from that empty feeling.
He looked up at Noia sitting in front of him.
Her expression was as icy as usual.
But it was clear she looked a bit more worried and anxious.
Leon pondered for a moment, ready to give his eldest daughter one last pep talk.
Of course, he wouldn’t say something like, “Don’t feel pressured; it’s okay if you don’t pass.”
He understood Noia’s fierce drive and high expectations of herself.
So he absolutely couldn’t utter the words “don’t pass.”
That would be akin to disregarding all the effort she had put in before.
“The Young Dragon Department test questions at Saint His Academy are notoriously difficult, Noia.”
Noia nodded.
“So for you, this will be a brand new challenge. And, of course, it’s a significant challenge for your mother and me too.”
“But no matter how tough it gets, we’ll face it together as a family. What do you say?”
Noia didn’t like being treated like a child.
Leon was well aware of this.
So he positioned himself and Roswiser on the same starting line as Noia.
What he meant to convey wasn’t, “Mom and Dad are your strongest shield,” but rather, “Mom and Dad will work hard alongside you.”
That sense of recognition was precisely what Noia needed.
And her reaction confirmed that Leon’s pep talk had hit its mark.
A brief look of surprise and joy broke through her normally icy facade, though it dissipated quickly.
However, deep down, her heart was touched by Leon’s words.
The father and daughter sat cross-legged, facing each other.
Leon raised his right hand, lightly forming a fist, “I don’t know if you’ll understand this cheering gesture, but—Dad wants to try it out with you.”
Saying that, Leon stretched his arm straight out, suspending his fist between him and Noia.
Noia blinked, examining Leon’s gesture, then looked down at her own small hand.
After some hesitation, she also made a fist, mimicking Leon’s action, and extended her arm.
Two fists, one large and one small, met gently.
Leon squinted and smiled, “You can do it, Noia.”
Perhaps even Noia herself didn’t realize that her tail behind her swayed unconsciously a couple of times.
She lowered her head slightly and whispered, “Thank you—”
It seemed Noia wanted to add something after the “thank you”—perhaps an address or a name.
But in the end, she added nothing.
Just that one sentence, thank you.
Leon didn’t push his daughter to say anything more; as long as she took his words to heart, that was the best outcome.
Lowering his arm, Leon stretched and reclined backward on Roswiser’s massive dragon form.
After she insisted on pressuring him last night, now it was his time to sleep deeply!
