Early in the morning, Muen woke up. Her little brain was still fuzzy. She mumbled, her words unclear,
"Sister…what's for breakfast…"
No answer.
"Sister?"
Muen slowly opened her eyes and saw that Noah was already out of bed. With a start, she jumped down and ran to the bathroom, the study, and the hallway, but there was no sign of her sister.
Finally, Muen went to the balcony and looked down at the courtyard. She found Noah. But it wasn't just Noah in the courtyard. Leon and Rossweise were standing on either side of her.
All three were like statues, their heads tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, staring motionlessly at the sky.
Muen blinked her pretty eyes. She hopped over to Leon first and asked,
"Dad, what are you doing?"
"Waiting for the Dragon Courier."
"Huh?"
Muen:?
She then hopped over to Noah.
"Sister, what are you doing?"
"Waiting for the Dragon Courier."
Muen:?
Finally, she hopped over to Rossweise.
"Mom, you're not also…"
"Waiting for the Dragon Courier."
Muen raised her hands, her little palms holding her cheeks.
"You're all waiting for the Dragon Courier! Then who will make breakfast for Muen!"
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Thirty minutes later, the family of four was having breakfast at the table in the nursery.
"Speaking of which, even if the test results are out, the Dragon Courier probably won't come this early," Leon said.
"The academy is always very efficient. When I was in school, I got my results early the next morning," Rossweise added.
Hearing this, Leon looked at Rossweise from across the table. "You also graduated from St. Heath Academy?"
"Of course."
"So, in the future, should Noah call you Mom, or should she call you Senpai?"
"Just eat."
Muen sat at the table, holding a set of utensils made just for little dragons. She looked at her mom, then at her dad. Then she said softly, "Why does it seem like Mom and Dad get along even better after you went to the academy?"
The couple stopped eating for a second. They looked at each other at the same time.
Leon pressed his lips together. "Is that so…"
Muen nodded hard."Yes, yes! You never used to joke during meals!"
"We usually don't talk during meals or at bedtime. We only joke sometimes. Besides, your dad and I have always had a good relationship. Hurry up and eat, Muen," Rossweise said.
Leon stood up. "I'm done. I'm going to the courtyard to wait for the messenger dragon."
"I'll go with you."
Watching Dad and her sister run off, Muen said, "They're so excited."
Rossweise patiently cut the bread on the plate into small pieces. She spread strawberry jam on them evenly and gave them to Muen.
"Dad and your sister are both very serious about studying. Besides, Dad used to be a top student," Rossweise explained.
All that talk about starting school at ten, graduating at fifteen, and being the Dragon Slayer Champion—Leon might as well hang a sign about it.
Muen poked the strawberry-jam-covered bread with a fork. She asked thoughtfully, "Hmm… when will Dad be able to teach Muen to study?"
Rossweise smiled and looked at Muen lovingly. She reached out and gently touched the little head. "Very soon. When Muen is a little bigger, you can start learning from Dad."
"Really?"The little dragon girl's eyes shone with excitement.
"Yes, really."
"Great!"
"To grow up fast, Muen, you need to eat well. Finish your breakfast first."
"Okay!"
Muen immediately started eating with gusto. Rossweise smiled a happy smile. She thought that Leon's way with children was surprisingly good.
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After breakfast, Rossweise took Muen to the courtyard. Leon and Noah were still looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, waiting for the Dragon Courier.
This was the determination of top students awaiting their results. Their willpower was strong. Rossweise waved her hand and told the maids to prepare some tea and pastries.
The family of four ate and waited together.
They waited until evening. There was still no sign of the Dragon Courier.
Rossweise let out a soft sigh. "I'll go make dinner. Let's eat first and then come back to wait."
But before she had taken more than a few steps, she heard Leon shout from behind, "Dragon Courier! The Dragon Courier is here!"
Noah shouted excitedly too, "It's true! It's really the Dragon Courier!"
Rossweise turned around.
Sure enough, a Dragon Courier was flying slowly toward the temple. It landed in the courtyard. All four of them hurried over.
A bamboo tube was tied to its back. Leon took the tube, opened it, and shook out an envelope.
The envelope was carefully made with a navy blue background. The family name "Melkvey" was written on it in gold foil. The opening was sealed with red wax, stamped with the symbol of St. Heath Academy.
"She passed, she passed, she passed! Sister is amazing! Mom and Dad are amazing too!" Muen happily spun around while hugging Noah.
Leon gave the letter to Rossweise. After she read it twice, she showed a relieved smile.
She put the letter down, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then she looked at Leon from the corner of her eye.
"Thank you."
Leon stretched his arm. "Thank me for what? It's mostly thanks to Noah herself. She's very smart."
"Can you drink?"Rossweise suddenly asked.
"Ah? Me?"
She nodded.
"Not really…I'm not a big drinker, but I can try a little."
"Okay. Let's celebrate tonight. I'll go cook."
"Yeah."
Rossweise carefully put the envelope away for safekeeping. Then she walked toward the temple.
After a few steps, she suddenly stopped. She turned around and asked, "Do you want to come help? Then you won't say you have no presence in this house again."
"Mother Dragon, I find you really hold a grudge."
Leon complained but still followed her eagerly.
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About an hour later, dinner was ready. Rossweise also opened a bottle of old wine, stored for fifty years since she became the Silver Dragon Queen.
She poured some for Leon. "Is this okay?"
Leon nodded. Dinner was very plentiful.
Rossweise excitedly talked about her plans for Noah's future school life.
"No bringing boys home. She has to learn magic well. After she graduates, she has to protect Muen."
Noah listened carefully, remembering every word.
After they had eaten and drunk for a while, the two little ones went back to their room early for their own private sister talk.
Rossweise sat in her chair. Her eyes looked a little blurry, and her cheeks were red. She had drunk quite a bit. It had been a long time since she had been this happy.
After a short break, Rossweise reached out to pour herself another drink. But Leon stopped her hand.
"You've had enough to drink, Rossweise."
"Why? Are you worried about me?" Rossweise said, dazed.
"Who's worried about you? Who will take Noah to the academy tomorrow morning if you drink too much?"
"Why worry? Even if I drink a lot, I can still fly!"
Leon sighed."In the Empire, if you drink too much, you can't even ride a horse."
"That's for you humans. We dragons aren't scared…"
Leon stood up and held Rossweise's arm. "I'll take you to the balcony to get some fresh air. It will help you sober up."
"Don't stop me…just one more drink…"
"Wait until after we take Noah to the academy tomorrow. Then you can drink."
Using a mix of coaxing and tricking, Leon pulled her to the balcony.
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Leaning on the balcony railing, Rossweise felt the cool breeze on her face. Her long hair danced in the night wind, looking like flowing silver sand.
Leon stood beside her, his hands in his pockets. He planned to wait until she was more sober before taking her back to her bedroom.
The two of them were quiet, with only the sound of the night wind. After a while, Rossweise tilted her head back and spoke slowly,
"I'm so worried about her."
"Noah?"
"Yeah. Even though she acts mature for her age, she's still just a child. She's never left home and lived by herself before."
She closed her eyes and went on,
"Will she remember to do her laundry? Will she be picky with the food? Will she eat breakfast on time?"
"And with her studies, what if the teachers at the academy aren't as good as you? Will she get discouraged and not pay attention in class?"
"What if she gets sick? Can she go to the doctor by herself?"
"Leon…I'm so worried about her, I'm so worried… about her…"
The wind swallowed the sound of the last word. She was drunk. Her body tilted and leaned against Leon's shoulder.
Leon pressed his lips together. He used a little strength to free his wrist from her grasp.
"Go to sleep, Mother Dragon."
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As the night deepened, Rossweise was taken over by sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep. Soon, the quiet bedroom was filled with the steady sound of her breathing.
By the way, if this unlucky family had known what would happen at the school opening ceremony three days later, there's a specific term in the academic world to describe what they did tonight—popping the champagne too early.