That evening, the backyard of Flowing Cloud Valley hosted a barbecue party for the Melkvey family. Next was the long-awaited fireworks display.
They found a good spot on the stone steps and sat down, waiting quietly for the show to begin. Leon had the camera and the little bear Rossweise had given him earlier by his side.
He sat with his legs crossed, arms resting on his knees, and looked up at the night sky. The moon was bright, and the stars were clear—a perfect backdrop for fireworks.
"Look, it's starting over there! Sis, let's go!" Muen exclaimed, hopping off the steps and pulling Noah along as they ran off.
Leon watched his daughters' lively, adorable figures and couldn't help but smile. He reached for the camera to capture the moment but found it missing.
A wave of panic hit him. He looked back and saw the camera was already in Rossweise's hands.
Click—
Rossweise pressed the shutter, capturing the girls' retreating figures, then nodded in satisfaction at the magical projection from the camera.
Leon grew nervous and casually moved closer. "Um… let me handle the photos. You go play with the girls."
Without looking up, Rossweise continued fiddling with the camera. "No need. I want to see how the ones you took today turned out."
"Oh, I… I think they're all pretty good. We can develop them when we get home."
"Let's see them now. We can delete the ones that didn't turn out well."
Rossweise began flipping through the photos Leon had taken that day. His adrenaline spiked.
This felt like the dread of realizing you hadn't touched your summer homework until the teacher started checking it publicly. But unlike those students, Leon dared to fight back—worst case, he'd get scolded. What if he turned the tables?
Still, those photos were his trump cards. Better to keep them hidden if possible. Leon swallowed hard as Rossweise reached the photos taken on the pedestrian street that afternoon.
A few more clicks would bring her to the morning shots. And a few more after that… the bunny girl photos!
His "unfinished homework"—no, his leverage over Rossweise—was about to become a weapon turned against him!
Think, Cosmodeous, think! What would the master do? Oh, right, the master would never stoop to taking bunny girl photos of the mistress, so that line of thought was useless.
Leon bit his lip, glanced around, then picked up a piece of candy he'd bought earlier. "Want one?"
Rossweise still didn't look up, staring at the camera's projection, but slightly opened her mouth. "Ah~"
Leon had no choice but to feed her the candy.
With her cheek puffed out from the candy, Rossweise looked adorable—but now was not the time to admire the mother dragon's cuteness!
If he didn't stop her now, she'd see the even "cuter" bunny girl!
"Hey, Leon, what's with this photo—"
"It's exactly what it looks like!" Leon straightened up, ready to face the music.
Rossweise paused, then crunched the candy in her mouth. "So it's just a slightly off composition… Why the big reaction?"
"Uh… uh?" Leon stammered.
Rossweise pointed at the photo on the camera. "Look, my face is almost out of the frame."
Leon cleared his throat awkwardly. "Maybe it's because you're too tall."
Rossweise didn't press further. "Oh, alright."
Muttering to herself, she continued flipping. The photo she'd just seen was taken at the pedestrian street entrance at noon.
Right now, this camera held the fate of their next seven vacation days. Whether it would be stormy or calm, no one could say.
"Why are you so close to me?" Rossweise suddenly remarked, still not looking up.
Leon quickly moved back. "N-No reason."
"Come here."
"What for?"
"I said, come here."
Leon awkwardly complied.
Rossweise raised the camera, aiming the lens at herself and Leon. She tilted her head toward him and pressed the shutter.
After taking the photo, she glanced at the preview.
"Hmm, not bad. This way, the girls won't ask why we didn't take one together."
Leon remarked, "Your Majesty is indeed far-sighted."
And if you keep scrolling, you'll see more than just this photo~
After that, Rossweise handed the camera back to Leon. "I'll go find the girls. Keep working hard and take more photos for us."
"Absolutely thrilled, my dear wife!" Leon exclaimed.
Rossweise rolled her eyes and walked toward the fireworks display.
Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. The fruits of the revolution are preserved."
He looked down at the camera in his hand, the screen still showing the photo of him and Rossweise. In it, the couple faced the camera, Rossweise leaning slightly against Leon, playfully flashing a peace sign. There was no deliberate posing; they looked as natural as a long-term couple.
Leon scratched his forehead, muttering, "A two-hundred-year-old dragon still making peace signs. How childish!"
He conveniently forgot that when he took photos with Rossweise as the bunny girl, he'd made plenty of peace signs himself.
[Hey! Come on, Leon's only in his twenties! Not over two hundred like Rossweise!]
Leon raised the camera again, continuing to photograph the mother and daughters nearby. The fireworks lit up the sky, dazzling and magnificent.
After a while, Muen returned and sat beside Leon.
"What's wrong, Muen?" Leon asked.
The little dragoness leaned over, resting on Leon's lap and covering her waist with her tail. "Muen is tired from playing. Muen wants to rest."
Leon smiled and took off his jacket, draping it over her. "Okay."
He looked up and saw Rossweise and Noah playing nearby. Both held small fireworks, with an extra one tucked into Noah's tail.
Watching them, Leon sighed. "Two usually serious people, rarely playing so happily together."
At his words, the little dragoness on his lap curled up and said softly, "Sis usually has school, and Mom is busy with work, so they rarely get to play like this. Dad, you worked hard to win this seven-day trip. Muen wants Sis and Mom to spend more time together."
Leon was momentarily surprised. Muen hadn't returned just because she was tired—she also wanted to give Noah and Rossweise more time alone.
He smiled warmly and pinched Muen's ear. "You're growing up, Muen."
But Muen shook her head. "Muen hasn't grown up, and Muen doesn't know what growing up means. Muen just wants to make Sis happy and make Mom and Dad happy. Hmm…"
A warm feeling surged in Leon's heart. He gently stroked his daughter's cheek and sighed.
Despite their different personalities, both Muen and Noah loved their family in their own ways. They loved each other and their parents.
"Muen, you really are growing up—"
"Mmm… zzz…"
Leon looked down to see Muen had already fallen asleep on his lap. Ah, so being "tired from playing" was indeed a big part of it?
Leon chuckled softly, then picked up the camera and snapped a photo of Muen's adorable, peaceful sleeping face.
After a while, Rossweise and Noah returned. Judging by Noah's expression, she was also quite tired.
"Is she asleep?" Rossweise whispered, lowering her voice.
Leon gently lifted Muen. "Shall we head back?"
Rossweise nodded, holding Noah's hand. But after a moment's thought, she crouched down. "Do you want Mommy to carry you too?"
Noah's eyes lit up, a tired smile appearing on her face. "Yes!"
Rossweise lifted Noah and followed Leon as they left the backyard. The couple escorted the sisters back to their room.
"Get some rest, both of you. I'll take care of Muen," Noah said, her voice weary.
Rossweise patted her head. "Yes, but you need to rest too. Don't stay up late."
"Okay. Goodnight, Mom."
After a pause, Noah turned to look at Leon at the bedroom door. "Goodnight, Dad."
Leon smiled, squinting, and waved. "Goodnight."
After saying goodnight, the couple returned to their room. Leon changed into slippers, stretching lazily as he walked toward the bedroom.
"Ah, what a fulfilling day," Leon sighed, flopping onto the soft hotel bed.
Rossweise walked over to the bedside and gently kicked his leg. "So, are you sleeping with me tonight?"
Leon jolted up. "N-No, I… I'm going to soak in the hot springs for a bit."
"For how long?" Rossweise asked.
Shrugging, Leon replied, "About an hour. Why, are you joining me?"
"Mm-hmm. You go ahead. I'm not in a rush."
"Okay."
Whenever they had to sleep separately, the couple tacitly agreed to take things as they came, postponing decisions whenever possible.
Once they both finished their hot spring soaks, those two hours would pass quickly, right?
As for how to face each other after those two hours… well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
Leon took off his shirt, leaving on the swim trunks Rossweise had bought him yesterday. He then sneakily grabbed the camera before heading to the hot springs behind the bedroom.
The warm water enveloped his body, washing away the day's fatigue.
Leon closed his eyes, leaned against the edge of the spring, stretched out his arms, and let out a long sigh, luxuriating in this rare moment of relaxation.
But before he could fully relax for even ten minutes, he heard the sound of sliding doors behind him. A pair of high heels entered his peripheral vision.
Leon's heart skipped a beat. Was this dragoness changing her mind so soon…?
"Where's the camera?" Rossweise asked.
Leon hesitated. "Th-the camera? What do you need it for?"
"The grand finale of the fireworks is about to start. Since I'm free, I thought I'd go downstairs and take some photos. Where's the camera? Oh, here it is."
"Hey, wait—"
But it was too late. Rossweise had already bent down and picked up the camera Leon had placed beside the hot spring.
"What's wrong?" Rossweise asked.
Leon pursed his lips, unable to speak. Seeing his silence, Rossweise continued, "If you're not saying anything, I'll leave."
With that, she turned and walked toward the bedroom door. But just as she took a step, there was a splash behind her—
"Let's soak in the hot spring together!" Leon blurted out.
Rossweise halted, standing with her back to him for several seconds before slowly turning around. "What did you say?"
Leon's face flushed red. "I said… um, let's soak in the hot spring together."
He couldn't let her take the camera. Losing the hard-won fruits of his revolution was not an option.
Compared to that, what did sharing a hot spring matter?
The couple stood facing each other, one tall and one short, as fireworks exploded in the night sky, their brilliant light masking someone's slightly flushed face.
Rossweise glanced at Leon's bare upper body, water droplets tracing the lines of his sturdy muscles and scarred skin.
She swallowed, then calmly replied, "Well, you said it. I'll go change."