Chapter 14: Love Stronger than Gold – Seven-Day Lock!
“Leon, are you considering having another baby with me?”
Family, who can understand this!?
My gentle and virtuous Dragon King wife sneaking into my room at midnight just to ask this question!
Can’t she ask me privately?
Can’t she wait until the game is over?
Even if I answer “yes” now, does she expect me to make a third baby on the spot?!
Lying in bed, Leon appeared unfazed, but internally, he had been flipping through possibilities for a while.
However, he understood that pretending to be asleep wouldn’t cut it; he had to give Roswiser an answer—and quickly.
And that answer had to be a hard “yes” or “no.”
There would absolutely be no third option.
Leon remembered that Roswiser had mentioned something about the 2:30 AM truth-telling game a while back.
General Leon had been quite shocked after hearing about it.
How could a legendary hero have such an abstract weakness?
He had considered overcoming it, but ultimately, all attempts failed.
Fortunately, Leon was still a principled man who didn’t fear shadows. He always spoke the truth and kept no secrets (other than that bunny girl photo).
What Leon didn’t know was that Roswiser hadn’t told him the whole truth.
She only mentioned he would speak the truth at 2:30 AM without clarifying that “this isn’t a guaranteed event.”
So right now, he could just pretend to keep sleeping, acting as if “the 2:30 AM truth mechanism” had not activated.
Oh, poor Master Leon was totally at the mercy of his wife!
After some thought, Leon finally spoke up, “I’ve… thought about it…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he could sense Roswiser’s breath hitch at the bedside.
Honestly, answering “I’ve considered having a baby” was the best play here.
If he had said “not at all,” given Roswiser’s undercurrent of expectation, she would have been a bit peeved.
And the daughters hiding in the cupboard would undoubtedly be a little disappointed hearing that response.
So it was unavoidable; without knowing that the daughters were present and that Leon was pretending, Mother Dragon had inadvertently “forced” him to respond with “I want a baby.”
But before Roswiser could express her excitement and joy, there was an unexpected loud noise from behind.
Roswiser turned around alertly.
Crash—
The wardrobe door swung open violently, and four little figures tumbled out.
Roswiser gaped at her “spilled” little dragon daughters, startled for a moment, before asking, “Noia… what are you doing here?”
The four little ones immediately scrambled to their feet and lined up neatly, even their tails stiffened straight.
“Mom, we were…”
Noia stuttered; she wasn’t very good at lying.
Should they charm their mommy a little?
Although mom usually spoiled the three of them, compared to the old man, mom wouldn’t be swayed as easily by their cuteness.
Seeing her big sister sweating bullets, Little Light quickly chimed in, “We were on a mission!”
Roswiser raised an eyebrow, glanced back at the still-‘asleep’ Leon, and then turned back to the girls, “You lot… are sneaking into someone else’s room to conduct a mission at this hour?”
The little pink-haired one shuffled her eyes around but played it cool, “Y-yeah, there are lots of hidden quests in the castle.”
“Is that right… then—”
Roswiser couldn’t let her interrogate any longer! Or they’d spill the beans!
Little Light’s brain raced for a way out, and before Roswiser could ask her next question, she piped up, “Mom, was what you just said true? Do you really want another baby?”
Now the roles had reversed!
Roswiser blinked, the blush that was fading from her face suddenly made a comeback.
Feeling a bit shy, her tail flicked and curled, and she secretly tugged at her skirt.
Faced with the four little dragon daughters whose expressions screamed “gossip,” Roswiser stammered, “I-I just asked casually! I actually wanted to ask something else. Plus, your dad only happened to mumble something; mumbling doesn’t count!”
Helena scratched her head, “Auntie, you sneaked into Uncle Leon’s room at midnight to ask a weird question, and then he just happened to answer… This doesn’t sound like coincidence, does it?”
“Yeah, Mom, Dad didn’t sound like he was mumbling. It was more like… like…”
Little Light struggled to find a word to describe the vibe of their earlier convo.
“It’s like you were playing Truth or Dare!”
In the end, Moon nailed it.
Little Light’s eyes lit up, “Exactly! It totally felt like playing Truth or Dare!”
Roswiser covered her face in silence.
Kids today are really tricky; the queen suddenly thought, “Maybe it’s better to postpone the idea of a third child.”
She shook her head to collect herself and said, “Noia, Moon, and Little Light, I know you really want another sister or brother, but that’s not just up to you or even just me.
“We all need to make that decision together as a family.
“Even though Dad just said something, as I said, mumblings don’t count.
“So let’s wait until after this game ends and then discuss this properly at home, okay?”
Roswiser quickly got her head back in the game.
Despite her girls catching her off guard, she could still hold her own with ease after a moment of surprise.
No matter how tricky kids could be, they weren’t a match for a 200+ year-old Dragon King.
The three little ones exchanged glances, realizing Mom had a point, so they ceased their line of questioning.
“Sorry, Helena, our family is just a bit noisy, but we respect each other, so I hope we didn’t scare you.”
Finally, Roswiser remembered to check in on Helena’s feelings.
The little sea dragon girl waved her hands dismissively, “No worries, Auntie, I really like your family vibe!”
That was true; the Melkway family was certainly the envy of every only child.
“Alright, let’s leave Dad’s room now before he wakes up and catches us!” Roswiser said.
“Yup!”
The four little ones scampered ahead, exiting Leon’s room one by one.
Roswiser brought up the rear.
She walked to the door, resting a hand on the door frame but not leaving right away.
Roswiser stood there, half-turned, looking at Leon.
“Time to wake up; I know you’re just pretending.”
As soon as her words dropped, Leon’s voice came from the dim room, “How did you know I was pretending?”
“You didn’t wake up with all that noise, so obviously, you’re faking it.”
“Hmm… then you should go back to bed early.”
Leon propped himself up, leaning against the headboard, matching gazes with Roswiser from a few meters away.
But Roswiser still didn’t make any move.
She continued to tug at her skirt, biting her lip as if she had something to say but hesitated.
After a moment of staring, Leon said, “You want to know if my answer just now was the truth, right?”
Roswiser fell silent.
For her, silence meant “yes” and “definitely.”
Leon took a deep breath, paused, then threw off the covers and walked slowly up to Roswiser.
He leaned in slightly, whispering a few words into the ears of the beauty before him.
Five minutes later, Roswiser exited Leon’s room.
At that moment, her face bore the rosy glow of afterglow and… a satisfied look from having received the answers her heart longed for.
…
“Leon definitely stole the Black Holy Stone; everyone vote for him.”
“Listen to me, it was Roswiser; trust me, vote for her and you can’t go wrong!”
“Do you have proof?”
“Do you have proof?!”
“……”
It was hard to imagine that the two people at the conference table glaring at each other had been locking lips for five minutes the night before.
Do you two possess some sort of skill that formats your brains on a schedule?
Couldn’t you let last night’s brief warmth last until breakfast?
The second meeting after the game began neared its end amidst the couple’s mutual mud-slinging.
Claudia quietly listened from the side, having no intention of interjecting.
Suddenly, she caught sight of Isar next to her.
The red-haired beauty was scribbling on paper with a pen.
Claudia couldn’t see what she was writing, so she asked, “What are you doing? A mission?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing.”
Isar tucked away her pen and doodles, flicking her hair back. She glanced at the still squabbling sister and brother-in-law, “They haven’t stopped, huh?”
Claudia shrugged, “Is this how they usually interact?”
Isar nodded vigorously, “Pretty much every time we gather, it’s always them arguing.”
Claudia chuckled, “That’s amusing.”
“Alright! Let’s wrap this up with a vote; the eyes of the masses see clearly!” Leon proposed.
“Bring it on; I ain’t scared of you!”
The final voting round commenced.
Those who believed Leon stole the Black Holy Stone included:
Moon, Noia, and Helena.
Those who thought Roswiser was the thief:
Claudia.
That left Little Light and Isar.
Auntie and niece exchanged glances, reading the same two words in each other’s eyes:
Fun!
Actually, based on last night’s investigation, Little Light leaned more towards Dad being the thief.
However, if she voted for him now, then poof! Dad would be out of the running.
If that happened, how would she and Isar continue witnessing Dad and Mom’s love-hate battles?
So… Little Light cast her vote for Mom.
Isar, needing to block a tie, naturally voted for Roswiser as well.
“Whoa, a tie?!”
The two ‘candidates’ had undoubtedly voted for each other, so the final result remained a tie.
“Hmph, before the next meeting, I will definitely find evidence to expose you as the thief,” Roswiser said, crossing her arms confidently.
Leon rolled his eyes at her,
“Tch, the Evil Dragon speaks first.”
After the couple had thrown their verbal jabs, they left the meeting room.
The others followed suit, gradually departing.
Claudia was the last to stand, and once the others had moved far away, she slowly pulled a card from her pocket, reading:
[Love Stronger than Gold – Seven-Day Lock]
[Effect: When used on two players, they must act together for six hours, keeping a distance no greater than five meters.]
It was a prop card that wouldn’t determine the outcome of the game, but if used on the right two people, it could lead to quite a bit of…
Interesting events.
Claudia raised her gaze, looking down the corridor.
That pair of “doomed” husband and wife were about to “go their separate ways” to find incriminating evidence against each other.
Seeing this, Claudia smiled knowingly,
“Hey, you two, for the next six hours, please take good care of each other.”
