22 Congratulations to the Couple on Their Successful Hand-Holding
Outside the Holy Temple,
on a tree-lined path, the afternoon sun shines brightly, filtering through the leaves and casting little spots of light on the ground.
A certain couple, who agreed to take a stroll together, instead ended up on their own little separate adventures.
Roswiser took the far left side of the path;
while Leon occupied the far right.
The space between them could easily fit a half-grown giant dragon!
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” the sweeping Dragon Maid bowed slightly to the left, then turned to the right, “Good afternoon, His Royal Highness.”
She was all formal on the outside, but on the inside, she couldn’t help but think:
Seriously, what’s wrong with these two?
Finally in the same frame together, and they have to keep this ridiculous distance?
Even bowing becomes an acrobatic feat!
And it wasn’t just the Dragon Maid feeling this way.
A crowd of onlookers, ready to munch on popcorn, were equally puzzled.
“Looks like the Queen and her husband… don’t really know each other that well,” one bystander commented.
“Nonsense! They’ve had two little princesses already—how could they not be familiar?”
“Yeah, but who takes a stroll while keeping this kind of distance?”
“Maybe… the royals really value their personal space?”
“Do you even believe what you’re saying?”
“Shhh~~ The royals are coming, hide, hide!”
A few curious dragons scampered into the nearby bushes.
Leon and Roswiser strolled past them.
Now, even though Leon’s physical condition wasn’t fully recovered—and that little incident three days ago drained his hard-earned health points—his perception hadn’t dipped one bit.
He’d spotted the onlooking dragons sneaking around and basically overheard their gossip.
Leon scratched his nose and glanced at Roswiser. Surely, with her sharp instincts, she’d picked up on the sneaky dragon shenanigans too?
But no, she didn’t seem inclined to close the gap between them.
So, Leon decided to keep his mouth shut.
Maintaining the facade of a happy family was her business; he didn’t really care how those nosy dragons viewed their current state.
“Hey,” Roswiser suddenly spoke.
Leon turned to her.
There she was, still staring straight ahead, taking measured, rhythmic steps, “Let’s… move a bit closer.”
Leon hummed, not refusing, “Oh, sure.”
They tentatively inched toward the center of the path.
Eventually, they stopped about a meter apart.
Leon stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Roswiser elegantly placed her hands on her abdomen, looking all poised and regal.
“Is this close enough?” Leon asked.
“Hmm, do you want to get even closer?” Roswiser replied with a twinkle in her eye.
At those words, Leon’s instincts kicked in, and he suddenly felt a little on edge. “Mother Dragon, what kind of scheme are you plotting?”
“Nothing. I simply mean, if you want, I won’t mind. I won’t seize the chance to tease you, considering this stroll is a promise to teach Moon how to write her name.”
At this moment, Roswiser turned her gaze back to Leon.
Her silver dragon eyes weren’t their usual icy, aloof demeanor; instead, they held a hint of warmth.
“So, shall we move a little closer?”
“Alright—”
Wait, hang on.
That’s definitely not right.
As a Dragon Slayer, Leon had a knack for sensing dragonly schemes.
Something felt off about Roswiser today.
“Then come on.”
“Perhaps not, this distance works just fine.”
Seeing Leon decline her offer, Roswiser didn’t show any outward emotion, simply nodding, “Okay.”
“Dad! Mother!”
A familiar high-pitched voice rang out ahead.
They looked up.
Little Moon stood in the middle of the path, hands on her hips, her silly hair bobbing in the breeze, with her tail wagging joyfully behind her.
“Moon? Aren’t you supposed to be playing with your sister in the room?” Roswiser asked.
“Um… Sister told me to follow you both!”
“Now, Noia wouldn’t let you do something like that.”
Roswiser immediately saw through Moon’s little scheme. “You just wanted to sneak over here, didn’t you?”
Realizing her cover was blown, Moon dropped the act and dashed into the space between Leon and Roswiser.
Then, she raised her arms and grabbed both of their hands, one on the left and one on the right.
“Moon wants to stroll with Dad and Mother!”
“Oh yay!” Leon was more than happy to have his adorable daughter ease the awkward tension with Roswiser.
“No, Moon,” Roswiser said sternly, “Dad and I want to walk alone. Be a good girl and don’t interrupt.”
Moon pouted, knowing her mother was a no-nonsense type, so she cleverly turned to Leon for help.
“Really? Daddy, you’re going for a solo stroll with Mother, leaving little Moon all alone to amuse herself in the backyard? Moon would be super sad! What if a Dangerous Species sneaks in and carries Moon away into the woods, never to be seen again? Then Daddy would never see Moon again, all because you wanted to stroll alone with Mother!”
“…Did you read that book ‘Little Dragon’s Enlightenment Stories’ too many times?”
“Moon doesn’t care, Moon doesn’t care! Moon just wants to stick with you guys! Daddy, do you love Mother more than me now?”
Agree to her! Agree to her!
She’s so cute, why not agree?
Today, I’ll back you up, and if your mom objects, I’ll deal with her later!
(Though I might end up being the one in trouble, but who cares! What matters is Moon’s happiness!)
“Moon, honey, your father and I have planned this.”
Roswiser seemed dead-set on saying no to Moon’s request for some reason. “How about this: whatever goodies or games you want, we’ll get them for you later, okay?”
“Moon doesn’t want food or games; Moon just wants—”
Little Moon’s sentence abruptly stopped.
She knew better than to keep pestering her mother, or she might end up making her annoyed or angry.
Even though Roswiser wouldn’t punish her, Moon still didn’t want her mother to be troubled by negative feelings all the time.
Feeling deflated, she thought for a moment and said, “Moon doesn’t want food or games. If you want Moon not to follow you, you have to agree to one thing.”
Roswiser nodded, “Okay, what is it?”
“This!”
Little Moon excitedly said as she pulled their hands together.
When Leon and Roswiser’s fingertips touched, it felt as if an electric current flowed through them.
The hand of the Dragon Slayer, weathered and scarred;
The hand of the Silver Dragon Queen, delicate and long.
But they shared one thing in common at that moment—they both felt a little tingly.
Because they were too nervous.
Moon held their hands together until she was certain they were really holding each other’s hands before she finally let go.
“Alright~ Daddy and Mother need to hold hands like this all the way!”
Roswiser’s face showed signs of cracking under pressure.
She had lived two hundred years—not to mention holding hands with someone, even just getting that close to Leon was a huge first step for her.
She actually despised being near the opposite gender; any male dragon within three meters of her was either a corpse or soon-to-be one.
So… this hand-holding… was unexpectedly—
Quite a shock.
On Leon’s side, while he felt a little overwhelmed, it wasn’t as complicated as Roswiser’s feelings.
He simply wanted to know:
After biting a dragon hoof, what would dragon claws taste like?
The couple guilty of the familial facade was still getting accustomed to this first hand-holding moment with a foreigner.
Meanwhile, Moon skipped away to hide behind a tree to observe stealthily.
Watching her dad and mother holding hands, little Moon couldn’t help but giggle to herself.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you, Moon?”
“Ah!——”
Noia suddenly appeared behind her, arms crossed, striking a pose reminiscent of a grown-up Roswiser.
“Sister, you scared me to d*ath!” Moon clutched her chest and complained playfully.
“Hmph, what’s so great about holding hands?”
“It’s great! It’s great!”
Noia stepped forward and pinched the baby fat on her sister’s cheek. “You totally intended this.”
“Wah~ Moon was wrong! Moon won’t do it again! Please let go, Sister!”
The two tiny ones continued their playful banter. Before heading off, Moon took one last peek in that direction.
She pouted, “Seriously, Dad? You need Moon to teach you how to hold hands? Tch—why don’t you take the lead for once!”
Noia followed her sister’s gaze and silently thought,
“If only it could stay like this forever.”
XX
Tomorrow marks a new month, so please spare some monthly votes in support! The more votes I get, the more releases there will be! Please—it means a lot to me!
