The next day…
"Knock, knock, knock—"
"Daddy, mommy, wake up! The sun is shining on our butts and tails!"
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Muen had already knocked on the door several times, but there was no response from inside.
The little dragon girl scratched her head and looked puzzledly at Noah. "Sister, what's going on… Are they still sleeping?"
Noah crossed her arms, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "According to their pattern of taking turns feeling unwell, whose turn is it this time?"
Muen recalled, "Last time was when we sent you to school, sister. Dad said he stayed up late doing homework that night, so he felt tired and unwell."
Noah nodded, analyzing logically. "Then this time it should be mom's turn."
Muen pressed her little face against the door. "But even if it's mom's turn and she can't get up, what about dad? Dad's gone too! Sister, do we have to set up an offering for dad again? Muen wants steak this time."
Noah lifted her hand and gently pressed down on her sister's wrist, then took her hand. "It's okay. Even if they don't get up, I can still take Muen out to play."
"Really, sister?"
"Yes, let's go."
"Yay~"
.
.
.
The two little dragon girls held hands and bounced out of the castle. Meanwhile, in the suite, after an unknown amount of time, Leon finally slowly woke up.
His brain gradually booted up, followed by the familiar sensation of soreness in his limbs. Luckily, Leon had grown accustomed to this feeling.
He slowly sat up, rubbed his temples, and the memories of last night gradually surfaced in his mind.
"Tsk… Both of us crashed together. Looks like the challenge failed without even lighting up."
He glanced sideways at Rossweise, who was curled up on her side, looking peaceful in sleep. However, the faint marks on her neck and chest clearly indicated she had been even more "comfortable" last night.
Looking at Rossweise's sleeping face, Leon's gaze then fell on her lips, causing his cheeks to flush involuntarily.
Last night… he and Rossweise had truly, for the first time, shared a kiss—excluding the confusion brought by Blood's Temptation.
Recalling the scenes of their unrestrained kissing, Leon couldn't help but want to slap himself. Why did they even start that no-lighting challenge? Now they had messed up, gone too far, and it was awkward.
Now, in his "Chronicles of a Captive," besides "Sleeping with Dragons" and "Breeding with Dragons," he had to add "Kissing Dragons."
But on the other hand, for a couple whose children were already running around everywhere to have just shared their first kiss yesterday…
Apart from the awkwardness that was hard to face, there was a certain level of absurdity that was even harder to confront.
After resting in bed for a while longer, Leon gently lifted the covers and got up. He went to the bathroom, freshened up quickly, then stood in front of the mirror, looking at the dragon mark on his chest.
The mark had already calmed down, showing no signs of last night's loss of control. Leon sighed with relief, muttering to himself, "You really got me this time."
As he stepped out of the bathroom, Rossweise was already dressed and sitting at the vanity, tidying her hair. Leon hesitated for a moment, then gently closed the bathroom door.
Neither spoke first. Rossweise quietly attended to her hair and makeup while Leon walked to the bedside, opened the suitcase, and took out his change of clothes. After he finished changing, Rossweise had also completed her grooming.
The couple spontaneously looked at each other, but their eyes quickly darted away when they made contact. It seemed the bewildering first kiss from last night had affected Rossweise as well.
She neither teased nor mocked Leon, nor did she pretend nothing had happened. The embarrassment and confusion she displayed were genuine, mirroring Leon's own feelings.
Last night, she had finally kissed this dragon slayer.
Wait.
Why "finally"?
That made it sound like she had wanted to kiss Leon!
It was all the dragon mark's fault!
Leon scratched his head. "Should we… go out and find Noah and Muen?"
Rossweise licked her lips, looking down at the tips of her shoes, quietly rubbing her fingers together. "Hmm, okay."
The couple arrived at their daughters' room, but there was no response to their knocking.
"Did they go out to play by themselves?" Leon said. "It's already past ten in the morning."
"Probably. Let's go look for them," Rossweise replied.
They weren't particularly worried about their daughters encountering danger—especially with Noah around, and besides, this was a top-tier resort where dragon traffickers or other shady characters were unlikely.
Outside the castle, the sun was shining brightly. Everything was just as beautiful as yesterday. A few squirrels ran past Rossweise's feet, and she turned to look in the direction they came from.
Not far away, Muen stood on the steps, holding a camera, apparently taking photos for the couple in front of her.
Noah stood nearby watching, so there didn't seem to be any danger. Leon and Rossweise exchanged a glance, nodded to each other, and walked over.
"Noah, Muen," Leon called out.
The two little ones turned at the sound of their names. Muen waved the camera happily. "Good morning, Mom and Dad! Muen is helping Aunt Yuna and Uncle Zay take photos!"
Yuna, Zay…
Leon's gaze fell on the dragon couple before them—presumably the ones Muen referred to.
The couple looked polite and refined—though that wasn't surprising. Most who could vacation at Flowing Cloud Valley were of similar caliber.
The husband and wife approached, and Rossweise extended her hand in greeting. "Hello, we're the parents of these two. I'm Rossweise Melkvey, and this is my husband, Leon Cosmodeous."
The brown-haired dragon lady immediately shook Rossweise's hand with a warm smile. "I'm Yuna, and this is my husband, Zay. We're on our honeymoon. The scenery here is so beautiful, we wanted to take some photos. When these two little ones passed by, we asked for their help."
As she finished speaking, Muen hopped down the steps, holding up the camera and projecting the images to show Leon and Rossweise the photos she had taken.
"Mom, Dad, how are Muen's photos?"
"Sweetie, I'm sure Muen took wonderful pictures," Yuna said, crouching down to ruffle Muen's hair.
Leon looked at the magically projected previews. Though the lighting wasn't perfect, the composition was quite good.
Besides, Muen probably hadn't used a camera many times before, so being able to take photos at this level was already impressive.
"Aunt Yuna is right, Muen. You did great," Leon said, bending down with one hand on his knee while using the other to pinch Muen's chubby cheek.
Muen excitedly showed the photos to Noah as well, receiving the praise from her sister she had hoped for.
The two little ones happily continued photographing the scenery around them.
Yuna glanced at the nearby seating area. "Why don't we sit and chat?"
"Certainly."
The four of them took their seats.