58 You Won’t Even Call Me Mother
A whole day of rehearsals went swimmingly.
Whenever it came to scenes involving the romantic tension between the male and female leads, Leon and Roswiser managed to portray their “skills” in acting with absolute flair.
Like scenes where it’s all “I don’t love you, but I’d fight to the d*ath for you!”
Or even “You have to put on a show today, love it or not!”
Helena was deeply curious about the couple’s acting prowess.
According to Noia, Aunt Roswiser was a workaholic, spending most of her time dealing with family matters and had no spare time to study acting techniques whatsoever;
And Uncle Leon was a nature-defying, rugged warrior-dad who was all about swords and magic—but alas, “acting” was not on his list of talents.
Yet this couple managed to embody the awkward yet lovey-dovey vibe of the leads stunningly well.
What was going on?—
A little dragon girl from a cocooned family wondered.
Of course, the rehearsal process wasn’t all smooth sailing.
There was one part that felt… strange.
That was the scenes between Leon and Claudia.
In the script, Claudia was Leon’s mother and upon finding out her only son was in love with a princess from the enemy nation, this stern mother went all-out to put a stop to it.
Consider it a rather hefty stumbling block on the couple’s smooth romantic journey.
But in the end, Mother Claudia had a change of heart and urged her son to courageously chase love, leading to a blissful conclusion—
Seems normal enough.
But therein lay the problem; it only seemed normal.
When it came to performing it… it just got very weird.
“Mr. Casmod, with your solid line delivery, why can’t you just say ‘Mother’?” the party in question asked.
“Uncle Leon, you’re supposed to say ‘Mother’ not ‘Mom.’” Screenwriter Helena corrected earnestly.
“No, no, that’s not it! Dad, you need to show some reverence—don’t look like you’re visiting relatives back home!” Noia, as usual, relentlessly pursued the details.
“Sweetheart, compared to your rebellious son bravely pursuing love, you’re much better at acting the captive.” The Queen threw a well-timed jab.
“Sis, how about you play the knight and Moon plays the princess you kiss awake?”
Now there’s some sisterly favoritism involved!
What’s that?
Where’s Little Light?
She’s watching the show from the sidelines.
This scene was already hilarious enough; she didn’t need to jump in and spice it up.
General Leon never imagined he’d one day call a dragon “Mom.”
Usually, there are three things Leon doesn’t call “Mom”:
First, his biological mom? No way.
Because he grew up in an orphanage and has never met his real mom—if he wanted to call someone, he doesn’t even know who to look for.
Second, an average-looking mom? Not happening.
Because (he believes) a woman who could give birth to a stunning guy like him has to be an absolute beauty.
Third, a mother with a tail, who breathes fire and could easily live for hundreds of years? Nope.
That’s just defying heaven and going against his ancestors. Besides, one dragon wife was already enough; Leon did not want a dragon mom too.
In most situations, it’s typically the dragons calling Leon “Mom.”
For example:
“Mom! It’s that Black Armor again! Retreat, boys!”
“Mother! The Black Armor is still chasing me!”
Or:
“Leon, for crying out loud! Ease up! You’re really hungry, aren’t you?”
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But those kinds of statements only arise in specific situations and only Roswiser would say such things.
Anyway, having Leon call Claudia ‘Mother’ was decidedly awkward.
“No worries, it’s just the first rehearsal; you might not have adjusted yet.”
Finally, Claudia came to Leon’s rescue, “Maybe once we get familiar with it, we’ll be fine. We still have a month, right?”
Helena nodded, “Apart from the ‘Mother’ scenes between you and Uncle Leon—six times, nine, four, nine, three, six, one, three, five—everything else is going smoothly. Let’s focus on practicing that part tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Leon said, glancing out the window and seeing that sunset was approaching, “Then let’s call it a day. Shall I come back with Mom tomorrow?”
“No need, Dad! You and Mom can stay here at the Academy tonight; going back and forth is too much hassle, plus it eats up time.”
With two days over the weekend, and considering there would be at least eight rehearsal opportunities before the month’s end, time wasn’t tight but it wasn’t exactly abundant either.
Given that both sets of parents were the ‘leadership’ of their respective clans, managing even two days for rehearsals was no small feat, so Noia’s suggestion for Leon and Roswiser to stay over made sense.
“But doesn’t the Academy have empty rooms? It won’t be a bother to the teachers here, right?”
Noia shook her head, “Not at all! The Academy values this play competition, so it allows parents to stay over on weekends. Plus, they’ve prepared enough rooms for everyone.”
Truly, what a noble academy—a fine example of meticulous planning, Leon thought to himself.
The couple exchanged a glance and subtly nodded.
Staying at the Academy for just one night was no problem; Anna could take care of the chores while Roswiser was away.
At that moment, Claudia glanced up at the wall clock.
It was already past four in the afternoon.
She calculated the time in her head and quietly muttered, “Dinner time’s approaching…”
“Mom, what did you say?” Helena looked over at Claudia.
The beautiful woman smiled and shook her head, “Nothing. Helena, Mommy can’t stay here tonight.”
Little Dragon Daughter was puzzled, “Why not, Mom?”
“Um… there are still some things at home that I need to deal with.”
“Can’t Aunt handle them?”
“No can do; some things only Mommy can handle.”
Claudia gently patted her daughter’s little head, “Be good, Helena; I’ll be there for rehearsal tomorrow, on time.”
Her tone was sweet but carried an air of gentle firmness that was hard to refuse.
Helena nodded obediently, “Got it, Mom. Be careful on the way.”
“Okay. Have fun with your classmates and with the uncle and aunties!”
“Mmhm!”
Claudia put on her coat and took a moment to bid farewell to the three little ones.
“Bye-bye, sweeties!”
“Auntie, goodbye!” ×3
Claudia looked at Roswiser, “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Melkway.”
She extended her hand.
Roswiser instantly understood and reached out, the two gently shook hands with just the right amount of pressure.
“Likewise, Mrs. Claudia.”
Then she turned to Leon and extended her hand.
Leon naturally understood the courtesy.
As they shook hands, Claudia teased, “I hope tomorrow I’ll hear a harmonious ‘Mother.’”
Leon chuckled shyly, “I’ll do my best, I promise.”
“Then see you tomorrow, both of you.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Claudia gracefully nodded her head and stepped out of the classroom.
After the elegant woman exited, Helena visibly let out a sigh of relief.
Noia looked at her friend suspiciously, “Is it that serious? Did Aunt Claudia really give you that much stress?”
Having shed her pressure and anxiety, Helena flopped into her chair, looking up and spreading out the script over her face, “You wouldn’t understand, Noia. My mom is gentle when she’s gentle, but she’s really strict when she’s strict! When she reprimands someone, you don’t even have a chance to look up!”
Noia replied bluntly, “Mine too.”
The Queen chimed in, “Noia, Mom can hear you, you know.”
“Uh… but my mom’s actually more gentle most of the time, hehe.”
Helena waved her hand, “Enough of that; let’s review today’s rehearsal.”
“Okay.”
“Moon’s joining too~”
The little dragon girls huddled together, starting to meticulously revise the script.
Leon and Roswiser glanced at them, choosing not to say anything as they quietly left the classroom.
At that moment, the sunset cast a golden hue over the Academy.
The couple leaned against the railing, enjoying the crisp evening breeze and the tranquil atmosphere of the campus.
“I think Claudia is pretty easy to get along with,” Leon remarked.
Roswiser rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the distant sunset, the crimson light reflecting in her eyes, shining bright, “It’s just the first encounter; everyone is being polite. You never know how it’ll be later on.”
“True.”
Leon’s thoughts wandered, “But based on her personality, plus Helena’s description, it reminds me of someone.”
“Who?”
“My master’s wife.”
Leon sighed, “She’s usually gentle, but the moment my master gets a little bit unruly, she goes off!”
Roswiser raised an intrigued eyebrow, “And after she goes off?”
Leon shrugged, “At best, she won’t let him sleep in the same bed; at worst, she confiscates all of his secret stash!”
Roswiser giggled, covering her mouth, “Now that’s pretty serious.”
Pausing for a moment, Roswiser added, “If this Claudia reminds you of your master’s wife, why’s calling her ‘Mother’ so tough?”
At that, Leon shot her a look, a bear shrugging his shoulders, “That’s completely different, okay?”
“Hmph, stupid.”
The couple continued to banter and after a while, Leon stretched, planning to ask Noia which dorm they would be staying in that night.
But as he raised his arm, Roswiser’s sharp eyes spotted a faint gray mark on the back of his hand.
“Hey, wait, what’s that?”
“Huh? What?”
Roswiser reached out and pinched the gray thing on Leon’s hand.
The two leaned in closely, examining what was in Roswiser’s hand…
“Hair?”
Leon shook his head, “Not hair. More like… animal fur.”
“You got a pet?”
“Yeah, we have four dragons at home—one big one and three little ones—oh snap! Another elbow jab!”
Roswiser shot him an annoyed elbow and an eye roll.
“We don’t have any pets at home; where did this gray fur come from?”
Roswiser’s mind started to work, guessing, “You didn’t get that when you shook hands with Claudia, did you?”
“Hmm… that’s possible. The Sea Dragon Race stays away from people, so having a pet wouldn’t be out of the question.”
“But what pet has gray fur? A cat? Or a dog?”
Leon took the clump of gray fur from Roswiser’s hand and examined it before saying,
“Going by the hardness, length, and softness, it’s neither cat nor dog.”
Roswiser became curious, “So what is it?”
After a long pause, Leon slowly said one word,
“Donkey.”
