Vol. 1 Ch. 175

Rosvitha’s mood these past few days had indeed been rather bad, but she wouldn’t show it in front of her daughters.

At the dinner table, she patiently listened to Noia and Muen’s endless chatter.

Muen bragged about how good she was at hide-and-seek today, finding all the maids hidden in less than a minute;

Noia talked about what new magic she had learned today.

As for the youngest daughter.

She was still in the stage of babbling and couldn’t participate in her sisters’ conversation for the time being.

Leon ate his dinner while keeping an eye on Rosvitha’s emotions.

Just now, in the backyard, he asked Rosvitha if her bad mood these days was because of him.

Rosvitha didn’t answer.

Usually, when she didn’t answer Leon’s questions, it meant she had tacitly agreed.

But Leon really couldn’t figure out where he had offended Her Majesty these days.

Could it be because of the night of the banquet a few days ago, when Leon praised the beautiful female gunner in his team in front of her?

Has she been holding onto that until now?

Leon thought about it and felt it was unlikely.

Because Rosvitha wasn’t the type to get jealous easily, and besides, she knew Leon so well that she would definitely hear that he was joking.

And even if this incident did upset her, she could have given Leon a “lesson” that night, letting him know that he shouldn’t say anything like “beautiful” in front of her.

There was simply no need to be as depressed and frustrated as she was now, bearing the oppression and boredom alone.

Sigh. Still can’t figure it out.

“Dad.”

Muen’s voice brought Leon back to reality. He shook his head imperceptibly and then looked at his daughter.

“What’s up, Muen?”

“We agreed before that after Mom gives birth to little sis, we’ll go to the beach~ Do you still remember?”

Leon smiled. “Of course, I remember. But the little sister is still too small now, and can’t go far. When she grows a little bigger, we’ll go to the beach, okay?”

Muen obediently nodded, “Okay~”

The little dragon girl then turned to her younger sister, using the agile tip of her tail to tease her.

Her little sister, seated on the chair with a bib tied around her collar to keep her clothes clean, stared at the tip of her sister’s tail with big eyes. She waved her soft, tiny hands back and forth, trying to catch it but never quite succeeding.

Across the table, Rosvitha rested her chin on one hand, her eyes slightly lowered, watching the scene quietly.

Leon glanced at her secretly and was surprised to see a rare smile on her face.

It wasn’t a forced smile; it was a genuine, heartfelt one.

“Little sister, grow up quickly so we can all go to the beach together as a family~”

Leon was just starting to feel relieved that Rosvitha finally smiled, but when Muen said this, her smile instantly disappeared.

She paused for a moment, then immediately withdrew her gaze from her daughters, lowered her head, and silently continued eating the remaining food on her plate.

Leon keenly caught onto this.

Why such a big reaction when Muen mentioned “our family”?

By all accounts, this constructed family was painstakingly built by Rosvitha and Leon with the initial purpose of providing their daughters with a complete childhood and the necessary love from both parents.

And now, Muen’s strong concept of “family” and “being a family” indicates that they have maintained this family well. So why isn’t Rosvitha not only not showing relief but also some… resistance? She wasn’t like this before.

Women are truly hard to understand, Leon sighed inwardly. Even after being “married” for so long, he still couldn’t understand why Rosvitha would act this way.

There was no use in speculating here, Leon thought to himself. He could only wait until she wanted to speak up to understand the whole story.

After dinner, Noia and Muen went back to their rooms, leaving little sister to be taken care of by Mom and Dad. The couple stood side by side in the kitchen, washing the dishes as usual. There was no exchange of words between them, but their movements were synchronized.

After scrubbing off the last bit of dirt from the last dish, Leon handed it to Rosvitha, who was responsible for rinsing at the sink. However, instead of taking the dish like before, Rosvitha stood there quietly, as if struggling with something.

Leon awkwardly held the dish and tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”

Rosvitha closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if she had finally made an important decision.

“Leon, go… spend some time with the girls,” she said.

Leon didn’t quite understand. “What?”

“I said, go play with the girls, play hide and seek, teach them magic, educate them, or… just hug them.”

Leon became more and more confused as he listened. However, he didn’t ask further. Perhaps Rosvitha just wanted some quiet time alone, and using spending time with the girls as an excuse to send him away.

Leon placed the dish next to the sink, took off his apron, dried his hands, and then left the room.

As the evening approached, the sun quickly disappeared, and the kitchen became darker, highlighting the loneliness and solitude of the silver-haired beauty’s figure.@@novelbin@@

“Drip, drip…”

Water rhythmically dripped from the faucet, falling into the sink and splashing around.

Rosvitha slowly turned her eyes to the apron Leon had just taken off. It was a blue, ordinary household apron. But he had worn it for a long time, evidenced by the yellowish stains.

She glanced down at her own apron, which was the same design but pink. When did they buy these again…? She couldn’t remember. She had been with Leon… for so long.

Over a year’s time, which for a dragon’s long life was just a blink of an eye.

But Rosvitha always felt like this year was very long, so long that she even forgot that it might have an end.

After a long silence, she slowly reached out her hand, her fingers trembling slightly, and took the dish Leon had just placed by the sink. Then she turned on the faucet and silently began to wash it.

The icy cold water flowed through her fingers, and she squeezed them, only to find that she couldn’t hold onto it. And what she couldn’t hold onto wasn’t just the water flowing through her fingers…

After nine in the evening, the sound of the door lock echoed through the house. Leon walked through the hallway and returned to the bedroom. Their youngest daughter was already fast asleep in bed, while Rosvitha sat on the couch.

She wasn’t wearing pajamas but instead had on a rather formal dress. Leon stood at the bedroom door, scratching his head.

“I… just spent some time playing with the girls, taught Noia a little magic, and hugged each of them before leaving.”

Rosvitha kept her eyes down, looking at the tip of her shoe, and silently nodded.

“So… what do we do now?” Leon asked.

Rosvitha slowly looked up at Leon. The couple’s eyes met, and in that single glance, it was as if there were a thousand words left unsaid.

Unfortunately, there was no chance to say them now.

After a long moment of eye contact, Rosvitha spoke first. “Leon, a year ago today, I met your master…”