"Oh? How did you get away?"
"Constantine helped us hold off the vice-principal."
"Heh, looks like that crazy dragon's worth is still rising."
After chatting a few words, the graduation ceremony officially began.
A group of little young dragons went up on stage to receive their certificates.
Although it wasn't graduation for their whole academic life, they still wore tailor-made academic gowns.
The little ones lined up neatly in a row, waiting for the principal and vice-principal to award them their graduation certificates.
Leon and his wife, along with Claudia, also came to the front of the auditorium stage, looking up at the platform.
"Congratulations, Student Helena, for graduating from the Young Dragon Division with third place results. This is your graduation certificate, please keep it safe."
"Thank you, Principal Oullette."
The little sea dragon girl accepted the certificate and gave a deep bow.
"Student Sheila, congratulations on successfully graduating with second place results. Here is your certificate, please keep it safe. In the future, you must continue to work hard."
"Thank you, Vice-Principal Wilson."
Finally, the two principals came before the first place of this promotion assessment. They half-squatted down, both hands presenting that graduation certificate. It represented this girl's unceasing effort over the past two-plus years.
"Noah K. Melkvei, congratulations. You are the student in the history of Saint Heath Academy who has graduated from the Young Dragon Division at the youngest age and with the best scores. Your name will be engraved on the Academy's Wall of Honor, sharing this glory with countless predecessors."
After speaking, Principal Oullette took out a golden medal and personally pinned it onto Noah's chest.
"The Sacred Tiamat Medal will light up the road ahead of you."
The principal took Noah's hand, turned around, and facing the entire audience of teachers, parents, and students, raised her arm high.
At that moment, a sea of applause rang out, for her alone.
———
Rossweise's due date was approaching, and the entire family took it very seriously.
But actually, with childbirth, there wasn't much others could help with, at most, they could provide emotional support.
In other words: very busy, but not knowing what exactly they were busy with.
Until one day, the queen suggested, "Why don't we decide the baby's name before the birth?"
With this precise direction issued, the husband and kids now had something to throw their energy into.
So, on a certain sunny morning, the family gathered under the pavilion in the front courtyard of the sanctuary.
Luna and Little Light carried over a colorful plaque from the house.
On the plaque, the words [Melkvei's Third Family Meeting] were pieced together with all kinds of colorful cardboard.
The "Third" in the middle was obviously stuck on later, and its size didn't really match the other characters.
This showed that the two little ones had used some cleverness when preparing this meeting plaque. Instead of redoing the whole lettering, they just added one stroke based on the previous meeting's plaque.
'But it is no big deal. Cleverness is still cleverness. My daughters should be this sharp,' General Leon thought to himself.
Since Little Light was born relatively late, she hadn't experienced the previous two family meetings, so she asked, "What did you discuss in the first two meetings?"
Luna counted on her fingers, recalling, "The first time was voting on whether Mommy and Daddy should move in to sleep together. The second time was discussing what to name you, Little Light. Mm, that's it."
The pink-haired girl raised her brow and blinked her pretty eyes, "So Daddy and Mommy didn't live together before?"
Luna nodded, "Mm-hm, before, Daddy always slept in the nursery. Only after Mommy got pregnant with you did they move in together."
Little Light was thoughtful, "So that's how it was..."
For the first time, the Fun Dragon felt she was born too late.
If she had been earlier, maybe she could have seen those two sappy lovebirds living apart but secretly clinging to each other for fun.
Little Light shook her head, then quickly asked, "So you even held a meeting just to name me, but in the end only came up with something as casual as 'Little Light'...?"
"No, no. That meeting ended in failure. Before we could decide on your name, something unexpected happened."
The "unexpected" referred to the day Rossweise gave birth, when Constantine came invading and crusading on imperial orders, and finally ended up as a dragon-head figurine made by General Leon and hung at the door.
Not long after that, Leon returned to the Empire to investigate the traitor matter, while Rossweise waited for him in the woods near the Empire.
The couple was gone for four or five days. When they came back, they finally confirmed "Aurora" as Little Light's formal name.
But because Luna always called "Aurora" as "Auguagua," Leon and his wife ended up giving their third daughter the nickname "Little Light," meaning "Aurora."
"All right, the third family meeting now begins."
Leon clapped his hands, then placed a whiteboard on the stone table under the pavilion.
"Today, our family meeting's theme is, naming the fourth child. Everyone discuss actively and speak up enthusiastically."
Rossweise sat on a bench at the stone table with the three little ones. The mother and daughters sat neatly, actually showing a bit of the seriousness of an office meeting.
Luna impatiently raised her hand first.
"Me me me! I have so many good names!"
"Then Luna, you go first."
"Star! Star! Star! Star!"
Noah quickly pressed down her little sister's arm, helplessly complaining, "Why are you always hung up on that 'Star'."
"What's wrong with 'Star'! Little Light, you say, isn't 'Star' a nice name?"
To give her second sister some face, Little Light naturally echoed, "Nice, nice."
"Hmph, see? Little Light says it's nice. We should've given her this name back then!"
The pink-haired girl froze, raising her finger to her own nose.
"So the name 'Star' was originally meant for me?"
"Of course."
"..."
'Thank heavens, thank Mommy and Daddy and Big Sis, that they didn't listen to Second Sis's suggestion back then.'
'"Star" was such a sloppy name, totally unfit for the temperament of the God of Joy, okay.'
"If 'Star' doesn't work, then we could use a homonym, like... Stah!"
"Eh, that name doesn't work either," This time it was Leon who spoke.
Luna scratched her cheek, "Why not, Daddy?"
"Among your Daddy's defeated enemies, there was a Dragon King named 'Stah.' Naming the baby that wouldn't have a very good meaning," Rossweise explained for Leon.
Luna quickly nodded, "Oh, oh, then fine."
"If you ask me, it should be Blaize," Noah said.
"Big Sis, and you criticize me, but you've been hung up on that barbarian name yourself!"
"How is Blaize barbarian? Little Light, isn't Blaize a nice name?"
Learning her lesson from earlier, Little Light didn't answer firmly right away but cautiously tested, "Uh... ni-nice?"
"See? Nice. It's just a pity it almost became your formal name, Little Light."
'Not a pity at all, Big Sis.'
'Second Sis is right, this name sounds way too barbarian.'
'Even more unfitting for the God of Joy's temperament.'
So was today's family meeting really for naming the fourth baby, or a review of Little Light's rejected names?
The names Noah and Luna offered obviously weren't suitable.
"Little Light, do you have any ideas?", Rossweise asked.
Little Light, for once, got serious, stroking her chin as she thought.
After a while, she said,
"Violette, or... Muse."
Hearing this, the couple exchanged a glance, then at the same time gave a barely noticeable nod.
They hadn't expected the youngest daughter to be the most reliable in the end.
"Why did you think of these two names, Little Light?", Luna asked curiously.
Noah also leaned forward, looking at Little Light across Luna, "Yeah, I know Violette, it's a kind of flower, but what does it have to do with 'Muse'?"
Little Light shook her head, "The two names aren't directly related. I just thought of them."
She jumped off the bench, walked to the pavilion railing, and gazed at the flowers, plants, and trees in the courtyard. The sunlight was cozy, the breeze blew by, so comfortable.
"Violette's language of flowers is 'eternal beauty and love,' and it also means 'the coolness of midsummer.'"
Little Light turned back and continued, "I thought, since this baby will be born in summer, then naming them Violette, representing summer, would be pretty good."
Noah and Luna exchanged looks, "Definitely better than your Blaize, Sis."
"And better than your Star, Luna."
Rossweise covered her mouth and chuckled, then asked, "And what about 'Muse'?"
"Oh, that one I came across in a book I read recently."
Little Light said, "In that book, 'Muse' was an ancient deity, ruling over art and music, often singing and dancing at the gatherings of the gods, showing her grace."
"Lately, Big Sis, Second Sis, and I often heard music coming from Mommy's piano room."
Here Little Light paused, then added, "And also a kind of sound we'd never heard before, with incredible penetration."
"Though I don't know what it was, listening to it made my blood boil."
"Whether it was the graceful, gentle piano, or that powerful, strange music, both had artistry."
"So I thought, if this little sister or brother has talent and interest in this area, maybe we could name them 'Muse.'"
Little Light's two suggestions were indeed comprehensive.
They took into account the timing of the third baby's birth and also the direction of future nurturing.
Either way, both provided options.
After further discussion, Leon and Rossweise finally decided: the third baby's name would be chosen between "Violette" and "Muse."
The noon wind blew softly.
Rossweise sat under the pavilion, gently stroking her rounded belly; Leon stood beside her, holding her shoulder.
The little dragon girls, meanwhile, were in the back doodling on the same whiteboard.
This warm and harmonious family was about to welcome a new member.
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