On the big bed, the baby crawled in front, the queen followed behind her.
The movements of mother and daughter were uncannily alike, even General Leon couldn't bear to look.
"Why are you always staring at the baby's butt?"
"I'll say it again, that's not a butt, it's! A! Tailbone!"
Rossweise sat up, scooping up her fourth child who was trying to eat the teddy bear by the headboard, "How can this be? How can she still not have a tail..."
At these words, Leon gave a smug cold snort, "Give it up, mother dragon. This time it's a complete victory for human genes, whether you like it or not."
For the past few days, Rossweise had been puzzled. Even if, because of the Blood Charm, the baby was born without a tail, after developing for a few days there should at least be some sign of draconic traits, right?
She, the dignified Silver Dragon Queen, couldn't possibly have a baby with that human idiot where the ratio of dragon-to-human genes was 1 to 9, right?
How embarrassing would that be.
So these days Rossweise stuck to the baby every step, praying that in one miraculous instant, "swoosh," a tail would sprout out.
But clearly, Her Majesty the Queen's prayers had failed.
"It's just that she doesn't have a tail for now, but later on she'll definitely grow one," Rossweise made her final resistance.
Leon chuckled, not arguing with her further.
It wasn't that General Leon was softhearted letting her go, it was just that there would be plenty of opportunities later to tease and torment her. Now that Rossweise had just given birth and her body hadn't fully recovered, Leon didn't want to purposely go against her.
"Speaking of which, about the baby not having a tail, if we tell people it's a 'very rare case,' will that really hold up?", Leon asked with some worry.
The baby having no tail naturally meant his human genes had taken the dominant ground, but aside from feeling pleased, Leon still had a faint concern.
A tail was an important draconic trait, and as the fourth princess of Melkvei, the baby would eventually have to step into the public eye. By then, no matter how much they tried to hide it, the truth about the tail couldn't be hidden.
So they needed to come up with a suitable explanation while she was still young.
"Of course it'll hold up," Rossweise crossed her long legs, sitting sideways on the soft bed.
She placed the baby on her lap, one hand supporting her little back, the other pinching her soft chubby cheeks, clearly loving this little one dearly.
"The excuses I made up for you before, like being a survivor of a fallen clan, no one has doubted them all these years."
"No one really? Didn't your eldest sister already see right through all of our underpants?"
"...My sister is a special case. She's too smart, she wasn't part of my plan."
Leon snorted with laughter, "Fine. Luckily she's our daughter. Even without a tail, no one will gossip."
Among dragons, tails were not only important physical traits, but also symbols of status and identity.
Dragons unwilling to show their tails weren't common, but almost all such dragons were outcasts or fugitives, so gossip was natural.
And all these years, no one dared gossip about General Leon's lack of a tail. Because people simply didn't dare. After all, General Leon really would use his fists.
What's more, as things stood, no carbon-based lifeform could beat him; So as his daughter, the fourth-born child naturally wouldn't be casually criticized either.
Rossweise nodded, continuing to tease the little princess.
"By the way, it's about time we decide the baby's name."
Leon said, "Last time we discussed it, we were choosing between 'Violet' and 'Muse,' but it's been so long and we still haven't settled."
Saying that, Leon turned his head to look at the empty room, "Noah and the others have started school already, there's no one left to vote with us anymore."
The queen's pupils flickered, she had an idea, "Then let's just let the baby choose herself."
"Choose herself? How exactly?"
"Just wait."
Saying so, Rossweise gracefully flipped out of bed, her silver tail and skirt hem cutting a beautiful arc in the air, her movements smooth, completely unlike someone who had just given birth.
Under Leon's astonished gaze, Rossweise fetched paper and pen.
She divided the sheet into two, writing "Violet" and "Muse" on each piece, then crumpled them into balls and placed them in front of the baby.
Leon blinked, suddenly realizing, "So that's what you mean by choosing herself."
"Exactly! Well? Am I not clever?"
"Ah, well..."
"Aren't I?"
"Y-yeah... yes."
"I think so too. Letting the baby draw lots for herself is truly a brand-new, unprecedented idea!"
'Don't laugh, you're seeing the aftermath of "pregnancy brain for three years." The queen is still the queen!'
Leon silently covered his face.
"In our human society, there's actually a proper name for this."
"What is it?"
"Zhuazhou."
Leon patiently explained, "When the baby turns one, the family places all sorts of objects around her, letting her choose. If she picks up a gold coin, it means wealth in the future; if she picks up a pen, it means she'll pursue literature. And so on, you get the idea."
Rossweise blinked her beautiful eyes curiously.
"Sounds so fun... let's play like that later too!"
For a moment, Leon mistook the silver-haired beauty before him for Luna.
See? No way Luna could be an airheaded for no reason, there had to be Rossweise's influence behind it.
He remembered how after giving birth to little Light, Rossweise had also been this emotional and easygoing, softer and sweeter than usual.
Leon shook his head, clearing his thoughts, "Alright then, let's mix the name papers with some objects and let the baby pick."
"Okay."
"Mm, I'll go prepare a few things first."
"Alright."
Leon turned and left, while Rossweise continued playing with the baby.
Not long after, Leon came back, dumping out a whole backpack of stuff onto the bed.
Rossweise glanced over.
"Gold coins, books... those I understand. But why did you bring a Memory Stone?"
"If the baby picks the Memory Stone, it means she'll have great magical talent."
"Ohh~ I see."
The queen was just about to praise her husband's cleverness, when her eyes suddenly fell on something out of place in the pile.
She reached out and picked it up.
"Then could you kindly explain to me why there's a suona here? Didn't we agree not to teach the baby suona?"
"Art, honey, the suona represents art!"
"Then you should've picked something else to represent art! A suona is way too abstract."
Leon shrugged, "It's all I could find on short notice, just make do."
"Pfft! You're cutting off our baby's artistic future at the root. How could she ever choose the suona?"
"Not necessarily. Just watch."
"Fine, we'll just see."
After sorting the objects needed for Zhuazhou, the couple placed them one by one around the baby, not forgetting the two crumpled papers with names.
"Alright, sweet girl, pick one."
The two of them crouched at the bedside, poking their heads out like moles sticking out of the ground, secretly observing the baby's every move.
Their eyes followed wherever the baby moved.
First, the baby crawled toward the gold coin.
"This one's good, this one's good. She'll be rich and prosperous in the future," Leon said.
But halfway there, the baby turned toward the book instead.
"This one's not bad either, maybe she'll be a scholar," Rossweise said.
But that too was just a feint.
Next came silk, an abacus, snacks, the baby looked at each, but didn't pick them up.
The couple squinted their eyes.
"Something seems off... is the baby not interested in any of these?", Rossweise asked.
"Who says that? There's still one suona left, isn't there?"
The queen rolled her eyes, "If she didn't care for those pretty little objects before, how could she possibly pick your suona?"
Leon didn't answer, only jutted his chin toward the bed, "Look, look, she's going for the suona!"
At that, Rossweise immediately looked, and indeed, their sweet daughter was determinedly crawling toward that abstract instrument.
"Hey, nooo, baby!"
"Yiya~ Yiya~"
The fourth princess babbled baby-talk no one could understand, and under her mother's powerless protests, she grabbed Daddy's suona in one go.
"Rossweise, some things are destined. You can't resist."
General Leon's tone was thick with triumph.
Rossweise pouted, "Anyway, you promised me she can't learn suona. Even if she picked it, she has to study some other instrument later."
Leon nodded, "Yes, yes, I know."
After their little struggle, the couple held their breath again, turning back to watch the baby.
Two paper balls remained, which would decide the baby's name.
She first looked at one, picked it up, about to open it, then suddenly stopped.
Next, she grabbed the other one.
She looked left, then right, as if facing a tough decision.
Finally, the baby opened the second paper ball.
The couple immediately leaned closer.
The paper slowly unfolded, with graceful handwriting inside. It read, [Muse.]
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