"Aunt Claudia, hello~ I'm Helena's classmate and roommate, Noah K. Melkvei."
Claudia nodded with a gentle smile, "Hello, Noah."
"Hello, Auntie, my name is Luna, I'm Noah's little sister."
"A very beautiful name, it means the Moon. Hello, little Luna."
"Me me me! My name is Aurora, nickname is Little Light. Auntie hug me—"
"Hey baby, hugging's not allowed," Leon hurried to intercept his youngest daughter.
If Little Light triggered her uppercut, they could forget about getting any information from Claudia in this lifetime.
Little Light blinked her big eyes in confusion.
Leon immediately explained, "That's not very polite, Little Light."
"Alright then," Little Light nodded obediently.
'Unfortunately, the achievement of [Winning Over Every Pretty Auntie at First Contact] didn't unlock, a blemish in the short dragon life of me, Aurora.'
After the introductions, Noah clapped her hands.
"Alright everyone, since everyone's here, let's officially start rehearsals~"
———
The first step in preparing for the play was to assign roles and duties.
"Noah-chan will be the director of this play, I'm the scriptwriter. The two of us don't have fixed roles, but we'll guest act in a few small parts to solve the manpower issue."
Helena held the script in her hands. The first page wasn't lines or scenes, but rather a small memo she made, "Mom will give me guidance during rehearsals to fix flaws in the script. If Uncle Leon and Auntie Rossweise have any suggestions about the plot, they can speak up at any time. Little Luna and Little Light too~"
After all, this was a play organized by the Academy's Dragonling Division, so having children take on the roles of director and scriptwriter was perfectly normal.
They couldn't leave everything to the adults, or it would defeat the purpose of this competition.
Moreover, their staffing was quite reasonable.
Noah had prior experience as a "documentary" director.
That was a few years ago, when Leon and Rossweise had their first date in Sky City to help Noah complete a school essay.
Noah "followed and filmed the entire thing," striving to capture the most authentic side of mom and Daddy's date. Thankfully, it was Noah's idea of "authentic," not the couple's secret drama.
Otherwise, that essay about family harmony would have turned into "The Silver Dragon Lady Wants to Kill Me", A Brief History of Human-Dragon War.
In the end, Noah still wrote a deeply emotional, high-scoring essay, and the foolish couple's feelings warmed up a bit during the date (finger-sized universe).
Helena being the scriptwriter also made sense. After all, her mom worked in a related field, and she had been influenced since childhood. Everyone trusted her ability.
"Alright, now that the director and scriptwriter are set, let's decide the main roles in the play," Director Noah said seriously, "My idea is: since the plot revolves around the love-hate entanglement between the male and female leads, it's best to cast a real couple to play the roles."
With that said, everyone turned their eyes in unison to the only couple (married pair) present.
The couple had anticipated they'd shoulder such an important task.
But before it was officially decided, Leon still wanted to resist a little.
"Noah, Helena, is there a possibility that a contrast between the characters and the actors would give the judges and audience a fresh surprise? Creating an unexpected effect?"
Noah put on a stern little face, "There's no such possibility, Daddy. Actually, Helena said these two roles were tailored specifically for you and Mom from the beginning."
"..."
'Tailored roles, seriously? Are you sure this play is for the Academy competition and not for giving your parents a public stage to flaunt their love?'
"No problem, Noah. Daddy and I will follow your arrangements," Rossweise said with a smile.
Leon looked at Rossweise, and saw her subtly nodding.
Seeing this, Leon didn't continue pushing back.
Since he had already promised Noah to take part in this play, he might as well go along with her requests.
"Luna's role is the little maid beside the female lead, responsible for taking care of the princess in daily life, and will help the princess bravely pursue love when needed," Noah looked at her sister.
Luna happily shook the little tuft of hair on her head and looked at Rossweise, "Yay~ Now it's Luna's turn to take care of Mommy~"
Rossweise smiled and rubbed her head, "Then thank you in advance, Luna."
Little Luna proudly placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and lifted her tail, "Taking care of Mommy the Princess, Luna is duty-bound!"
'Great! You'll definitely be a dedicated actress in the future, my good girl.'
"Little Light's role is a little fairy who guides the male lead step-by-step out of danger and helps him return to the female lead's side."
"I know this one!", Little Light raised her hand, "It must be inspired by Cupid. I read in a book that it's a little fairy who helps grown-ups fall in love~"
"Hmm... Actually, your role is a bit different from Cupid's," said Noah.
Little Light tilted her head, "Eh? How is it different?"
"Cupid doesn't wear pants, but you don't have to go without."
Little Light: "..."
"Ha, ha, big sis, you're so funny."
Leon was quietly holding back laughter behind Little Light.
Not many people could shut down the little pink-haired one, her big sister was one of them.
"What about Ms. Claudia?", Rossweise asked proactively.
Actually, Noah was going to bring up Claudia next, no need for her to ask.
But to leave a strong impression in this first encounter, Rossweise planned to occasionally cue Claudia.
She would also control the degree, not letting Claudia feel offended.
"Auntie Claudia... she'll play the male lead's~ mother!"
Leon: ?
"How come a love story has a previous generation's role?", Leon asked.
"Love stories aren't always smooth. There has to be someone to create obstacles," Noah said, "This raises expectations and shows how difficult the final happy ending is."
Rossweise's thoughts stirred, "Obstacle? So... Ms. Claudia will play a non-positive role?"
"Hmm... not entirely non-positive."
This time Helena explained, "Because after thinking it through, only my mom could show that oppressive feeling while still revealing care for the male lead."
Got it.
A demanding role that tests acting skills. Little dragon girls can't handle it, so they had to leave it to an adult.
"Helena," Claudia, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"Yes, Mom?", Helena looked up and saw Claudia's serious face.
Leon quietly broke into a sweat for the little sea dragon girl.
'You're the writer. Designing a layered antagonist is totally normal, it's a highlight of the script.'
'And if arranged well with a rich character background, it can really enhance the play.'
'But little one, you just straight up said, "My mom is perfect for playing an oppressive villain"...'
'If Noah had said your Aunt Rossweise was fit for a villain, guess how your Aunt would vent on me tonight?'
Let's hope Ms. Claudia understands the principle of childish innocence.
The beautiful lady lowered her eyes and asked seriously, "Do I look like the type of evil queen mother?"
"Emmm...", Little sea dragon girl began to think.
'Please, child, your mother is giving you a chance, make sure to think carefully before answering!'
In the end, Helena also nodded seriously, "Mm, you do."
This time, not only Leon, even Rossweise threw her back out from the shock of this comment.
Compared to hoping Claudia understood childish innocence, Rossweise hoped more that she wasn't the type to hold grudges.
Otherwise, after the rehearsal, there'd be no chance to chat about things beyond the play.
What a strange feeling, clearly it's the sea dragon mother and daughter talking, but the ones sweating buckets are the silver dragon couple.
"Mm, Mommy is pleased. Helena, you've learned the most important thing in 'creation'," Claudia patted her daughter's little head, her face showing a smile for the first time, "Never change your original intention because of others' doubts."
"But..."
"Mom still has to clarify."
"Mom just looks a bit fierce, but actually, Mom is a very nice person."
"Got it?"
Helena nodded hard, "Got it, Mom."
Claudia smiled in satisfaction, then lifted her head to look at the Leon couple.
She didn't say anything, but it felt like she was silently repeating to them—
"But Mommy is actually a very nice person."
Leon squinted slightly, confused, why did this Claudia feel the need to emphasize that so pointedly...
———
After assigning the roles, Noah's little theater troupe immediately began rehearsal for Act 1.
First, Director Noah explained the scene:
"Act 1 is when the male and female leads first meet in the dungeon. Three actors are needed: Daddy, Mom, and Luna."
"At the beginning, Mom brings Luna to the dungeon. Then Mom wants to talk to the captured enemy knight alone, so she sends Luna away."
"After Luna leaves, Mom enters the knight's cell. A short exchange follows. Since it's our first rehearsal, just read the lines directly from the script."
"Once the lines are memorized, we'll move to full acting."
"Does anyone have questions about this part?"
Questions...
None, actually.
It's just that this first scene feels way too familiar.
'How do you know your mom didn't just want to chat alone with your Daddy back in the day, and that's how you and your sister happened?'
'Clearly, the inspiration for this script came from real life...', Leon sighed a little in his heart.
"No problem, Noah," Claudia said.
"Alright, Act 1—begin."
With Director Noah's command, rehearsal officially started.
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