Vol. 1 Ch. 115

Twenty minutes later, all the young dragons and their parents had gathered.

The homeroom teacher stepped onto the platform, smiling and nodding slightly. “Thank you, parents, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend the award ceremony for our class’s essay competition.”

After the opening remarks, the homeroom teacher went straight to the point.

“The essays submitted by the students this time are all outstanding, with each student offering their unique perspective on ‘family,’ which is commendable.”

“I’ve written detailed comments on each essay submitted by the students, and you can retrieve them to review after the award ceremony.”

“Now, I have three essays with the highest overall scores. I will announce their authors one by one and, according to their wishes, decide whether to read them aloud in front of everyone.”

After briefly explaining the procedure of the mini-ceremony, the families below the platform began to whisper among themselves, eager to know if their child would make it to the top three.

However, according to the homeroom teacher’s approach, even if a student didn’t make it to the top three, it didn’t matter much.

They could still learn from the teacher’s comments on their essay to improve and refine their writing skills.

“Alright, now, I’ll announce the third place winner of the essay competition for Class One of the young dragons… and it’s… Kelly! Congratulations~” The homeroom teacher led the applause, and the young dragons and their parents in the class followed suit, clapping their hands.

“So, Kelly, would you like to read your essay?” the homeroom teacher asked gently.

Kelly, a small young dragon, stood up. She had a simple ponytail and wore round glasses. Beside her stood her mother, holding her daughter’s hand, as if encouraging her.

Kelly’s other hand nervously gripped her skirt, and after a moment of hesitation, she shyly shook her head and softly said, “No, thank you, teacher.”

Kelly’s mother smiled understandingly at this, without any hint of reproach for Kelly’s introverted nature.

The homeroom teacher smiled, “Alright, everyone, don’t be fooled by Kelly’s quiet demeanor. Her essay is full of love for her mother. Here, Kelly, take your essay back.”

Kelly walked to the side of the platform, her steps small, and received her essay with both hands. “Thank you, teacher,” she said softly.

The homeroom teacher ruffled her little head affectionately.

Kelly held her essay close to her chest and returned to her seat.

“Now, it’s time to announce the second place winner of the essay competition. His name is…” There were still two spots left, and the trio of Leon couldn’t help but feel nervous anticipation.

They stared at the homeroom teacher’s mouth, trying to discern from her lip movements that the first letter of the student’s name probably wasn’t “No.”

“Congratulations, Rand!” Another round of applause ensued.

Rand, a relatively outgoing young dragon, stepped onto the platform and passionately read his essay.

Leon clapped along with the others below the platform, murmuring anxiously, “Just one spot left now…”

He glanced at his daughter, Noia, who appeared extremely nervous, her small fists clenched tightly.

Leon pondered for a moment and gently covered his daughter’s hand with his own. He didn’t say anything, but Noia’s tense fist immediately relaxed a bit.

“Now, it’s time to announce the first place winner of the essay competition. And the winner is…” The homeroom teacher dragged out the suspense, the entire room holding its breath in anticipation.

Especially Lal’s father, who seemed almost eager to pry the homeroom teacher’s mouth open to hear the name.

“Lal! Congratulations, Lal!” Before the homeroom teacher could even ask if Lal wanted to read his essay, Lal’s father stood up from his seat, unable to contain his excitement.

“Thank you, teacher, thank you! Lal’s achievement of first place is all thanks to you. However, considering that the theme of this essay was about family and affection, I must say I’ve also contributed quite a bit to it,” Lal’s father boasted, unable to restrain himself.

Listening to Lal’s father boasting there, Leon felt a mix of emotions. He hadn’t expected that their unconventional parental love story wouldn’t stand out…

Indeed, it was quite unexpected.

But as for feeling disappointed, it’s something to digest slowly when alone.

Leon shifted his focus to comforting his daughter. “It’s okay, Noia. Later, we’ll look at the comments the teacher gave you, correct the mistakes, and bring out the best in your writing.”

Rosvitha also held her daughter’s hand. “Maybe Mommy and Daddy didn’t perform well on our date that day. We’ll work harder together next time and strive for a better result.”

Though Noia couldn’t hide her disappointment, she was still a sensible child. She knew her parents had put a lot of effort into her essay. She nodded.

“Mommy and Daddy, you’ve already done great. Don’t say that.”

Rosvitha smiled and ruffled her daughter’s head.

Meanwhile, Lal’s father was still reveling in his triumph. The homeroom teacher had to interrupt him. “Lal’s dad, would you like Lal to read his essay now?”

“Read it! Of course, read it! Lal, go ahead, read it to your classmates.”

Lal’s father was incredibly confident in his child’s work. After all, it had won first place. How could he not be confident?

Lal nodded earnestly, stood up, and walked to the platform, picking up his essay to begin reading.

Lal: “The title is ‘Silent Father’s Love.”

Lal’s father chimed in, “See that? Just by looking at the title, it’s already so profound, isn’t it?” The other parents nearby could only politely agree, “Yes, yes, indeed.”

“My father is a duke of the Crimson Flame Dragon clan. He’s always too busy to play games with me or teach me my studies.”

“But I know, my dad is busy with work. He actually loves me a lot; he’s just not good at saying it.”

Lal read his essay on stage, while Lal’s father sat below, listening with relish. He praised almost every sentence.

As Lal reached the middle part, it began to tie into the theme of “Silent Father’s Love.”

“I remember once I got into trouble at school. When I came home, I thought Dad would scold me, but he didn’t. The next day, I asked Dad to teach me some simple magic as usual, but Dad looked a bit strange.”

As Lal’s father listened to this part, his smile froze, seemingly realizing something.

“Dad didn’t refuse me. He started teaching me how to use small-scale dragon flames, but before long, he was sweating profusely and couldn’t even stand properly.”

“I only found out afterward that Dad had injured his knee those days.”

“I asked him how it happened. He said he accidentally bumped into a very hard stone while hunting and needed two days of rest to recover.”

“But at that time, to prevent me from worrying and to let me focus on learning magic, Dad chose silence, chose to endure.”

“That’s a silent father’s love!”

As Leon listened below, his initially disheartened mood lifted slightly. So, this is what “silent father’s love” means.

Child, you need to understand, being rendered silent by others and choosing silence oneself are completely different concepts.

But Lal’s little essay was indeed well-written, with smooth prose and neat handwriting, so there was a reason it won first place.

After all, one couldn’t expect a seven or eight-year-old young dragon to produce a masterpiece.

After Lal finished reading, he looked at his father with sparkling eyes. Even though he had lightly jabbed his father’s knee, it didn’t matter.

First place!

His eldest son had won first place!

Lal’s father stood up, giving his acceptance speech. “Lal, Dad indeed loves you silently. Today, you’ve repaid Dad with such a vivid essay. Even if Dad’s other knee is injured, it’s worth it!”@@novelbin@@

Leon couldn’t help but turn his head at such an explosive speech. However, as he turned, he met Lal’s father’s gaze.

Lal’s father sneered disdainfully at him, as if he wanted to mock him openly if it weren’t for the classroom setting.

Now he’s showing his true colors. Perhaps it would be better to break his other knee as you wish later, Leon thought.

Rosvitha tugged at Leon’s sleeve and whispered, “Out of sight, out of mind.”

Leon shrugged and withdrew his gaze.

Lal’s father wanted to continue teasing Leon and his family, but at that moment, the homeroom teacher interjected, “Oh, by the way, one student’s essay isn’t with me, so it didn’t participate in this ranking.”

With that remark, the attention of the young dragons and their parents in the classroom shifted from Lal’s father back to the homeroom teacher.

Lal’s father, who had been bragging, stopped when he heard there was another contender.

As for Leon, the phrase “didn’t participate in the ranking” made him vaguely think of something. Could it be that his obedient daughter had surpassed the level of young dragons and no longer belonged among the children?

Sure enough, the homeroom teacher lowered her gaze and looked towards the front row closest to the platform. “Noia, it’s you.”

Noia’s eyes, previously filled with disappointment, lit up again. “Th-then where is my essay?”

Before the homeroom teacher could respond, the classroom door suddenly opened.

“Noia K. Melkvi’s essay is here!”

The white-haired old dragon held up the two pages of the essay, his age seemingly forgotten as he panted. Perhaps only the exemplary students from their institution could make him so excited.

As Leon looked at the vice principal, he couldn’t help but feel impressed:

“The executioner may be late, but he never misses a show!”

In his hands, there might even be torture devices that could make people wish they were dead!