Vol. 3 Ch. 44

The next morning, Leon slowly woke up.

His senses gradually came back online, and with them came the familiar aches and soreness all over his body.

Sitting up in bed and leaning against the headboard, he glanced down at his chest and arms, which were covered in scratch marks and love bites.

He grabbed a mirror to check his neck, and sure enough, it was the same story.

“Last night was... quite a ride,” he muttered.

It had been a while since he and Rosvisser had let loose like that.

The main reason was, of course, their daughters.

They all lived on the same floor, and their rooms weren’t far apart. If things got too loud, the girls would definitely hear them. And the thought of Aurora flinging open the door, blinking her big, mischievous eyes, and asking, *“Mommy, Daddy, why aren’t you asleep? What are you doing so late at night?”* was a nightmare Leon would rather avoid. He’d rather die of embarrassment ten times over on Vice Principal Wilson’s podium.

But now, the girls were away at school.

The entire floor of their home belonged to just the queen and the prince.

And honestly, they could’ve gone wild in the hallway if they wanted to—

Ahem, no need to get too graphic.

Leon shook his head, chasing away those thoughts.

“You’re awake.”

Rosvisser walked up to the bed.

Leon turned to look at her.

Her silver hair was pinned up, and she was dressed in a neat, practical outfit, holding a broom in one hand and wearing a face mask.

“What’s going on? The queen demoted to a maid?” Leon teased.

“The girls are away at school, so their room is empty now. I figured it was a good time to do a proper clean-up,” she replied.

“You could’ve just had Anna send someone to do it.”

Rosvisser shook her head. “This is something I want to do for my daughters—as a mother, not a queen.”

She was always the type to act on her thoughts.

And it wasn’t just a passing whim, either. If she decided to do something, she’d see it through to the end with precision and perfection.

Leon scratched his head. “Well... I’ll wash up quickly and meet you in the girls’ room to help.”@@novelbin@@

“Mm-hmm.”

Rosvisser, full of energy, left with her broom in hand.

Leon rubbed his aching temples. *Ah, if I’d known there was a big clean-up today, I wouldn’t have stayed up so late last night...*

*Seizing the moment*, he mused. *Men sure come up with all sorts of nonsense for the sake of reproduction...* Leon Cosmod thought bitterly.

He tossed off the blankets, got dressed, and washed up before grabbing the cleaning tools Rosvisser had prepared for him and heading to the girls’ room.

When he arrived, Rosvisser had already opened all the windows to air the place out.

She was standing on the balcony, one hand holding a broom, the other resting on her hip. She was even wearing flat shoes and an apron over her clothes, clearly prepared for the task.

“Can I take a picture of you?” Leon asked with a grin.

“Why?”

“Well, I’ve seen you in so many stunning outfits—queen’s robes, bunny suits, nurse uniforms... But I’ve never seen you dressed like a cleaning lady. It’s kind of interesting.”

Rosvisser narrowed her eyes. “Either help me clean, or go to the palace hall and handle today’s work in Anna’s place.”

Leon shrugged, picked up a broom, and put on his mask before walking into the room.

“I’ll handle the bedroom, and you take care of the balcony?” he suggested.

“Alright.”

And so, the couple got to work.

Leon was surprisingly good at cleaning.

As a kid, he’d often helped his master’s wife with housework, so he’d become proficient over time.

Rosvisser, naturally, wasn’t lacking in domestic skills either. Leon had discovered long ago that she was more than capable in that regard.

It further proved that Rosvisser had earned her title as queen through hard work, not privilege. She had risen from the bottom, step by step.

Thanks to their teamwork, the room was quickly transformed.

Just as they were about to finish, Leon found a small wooden box under the girls’ bed.

Not thinking much of it, he opened it, expecting to find some miscellaneous items.

But when he looked inside, he froze.

Rosvisser, having just finished her cleaning, noticed Leon staring at the box and walked over curiously.

She glanced at the contents of the box, seeing a variety of small items.

“A Rubik’s cube, some notes, an essay... and two photos. One is the first family portrait we took, and the other is from a few days ago.”

Rosvisser’s gaze fell on an item at the bottom of the box. “Is this... some kind of magical material?”

It was a black crystal, shimmering with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

“Where did you find this?” Rosvisser asked.

“Under the bed.”

“Is it Moon’s?”

Leon shook his head, memories flooding his mind. He gently stroked the box and said quietly, “It’s Noa’s. Before I came back from the future, Noa burned this box.”

Rosvisser raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“She said... these were all things that held extraordinary meaning to her. But when tragedy strikes, things that were meant to hold memories become a burden. If I hadn’t changed the past and set things right, keeping this box would’ve been pointless.”

Leon continued, “This Rubik’s cube is something I made for her and Moon a long time ago. The note has her name on it—I wrote it down when I was teaching Moon how to write her name. And the essay... it’s about our first date in Sky City. She even won an award for it.”

Noa’s personality had a lot in common with Rosvisser’s—outwardly indifferent, seemingly uncaring about anything, but in reality, both of them were meticulous and deeply protective of the things they held dear.

They both strove for perfection in the smallest details.

Just like how Noa had kept this Rubik’s cube, the note, and the essay that held the memories of her parents’ early days together.

“That girl... cares about this family more than we realize,” Rosvisser said with a smile.

“Yeah...”

Compared to her peers, Noa had always been more mature, thinking far beyond her years.

This also meant that her emotional journey had been much more difficult than that of other young dragons.

Whether in the future or the present, Noa was always the most responsible.

In terms of fatherly love, Leon gave each of his daughters an equal amount. He loved them all and cherished them as his treasures.

But if he had to name the one he felt most indebted to... it would be Noa.

It was his initial mishandling of his relationship with Noa that had caused this sensitive child to feel that her family was fragile, pushing her to work tirelessly to ensure she had the ability to protect it.

Her stubborn and somewhat awkward nature was a mix of both his and Rosvisser’s traits.

“What about this shard?” Rosvisser pointed to the black crystal fragment.

“I’m not sure either.”

Leon picked up the shard and examined it closely. “I saw this piece in her box in the future, but I didn’t have time to ask her about it before she burned everything. That fire was proof of how skilled she was with fire magic.”

Rosvisser chuckled. “So... any ideas now?”

Leon frowned slightly. “It feels familiar... the texture and weight are definitely familiar...”

He thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly his eyes widened in realization.

“Oh my god... no way...”

“What?” Rosvisser asked.

Leon slowly turned to her, looking incredulous.

“This... is a fragment of the Black Gold War Chariot.”