"Minor concussion? Isn't that just getting knocked out? How does it turn into a concussion?" Rossweise asked, her voice laced with a mixture of concern and exasperation.
"Your Majesty, the minor concussion His Highness is experiencing is an old issue. However, Princess Aurora... slightly excessive force this time aggravated his previous injury."
"..Alright, you can leave now."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Once the attendants had exited, the room was left with only Rossweise, Aurora, and the unconscious Leon, who was sprawled on the bed thanks to his so-called "minor concussion."
Aurora stood at the foot of the bed, her hands clasped behind her back, her head slightly lowered. The tip of her shoe tapped the floor in small, nervous movements, resembling a high school student called to the principal's office for a mistake.
Rossweise sat on a chair by the bedside, her arms crossed and legs elegantly poised. She glanced at the unconscious Leon with a mixture of exasperation and amusement before turning her attention to Aurora.
"Why did you hit your father so hard? He had just woken up from a seven-day coma, barely had a single meal, and now you've knocked him out again—sigh..." Rossweise rubbed her forehead in frustration. She wasn't truly angry, but she couldn't help feeling both amused and exasperated. "This father-daughter pair is impossible to deal with."
One was oblivious to his own physical limits, and the other had no concept of restraint when striking.
"Mom, don't worry!" Aurora chirped in an attempt to defend herself. "Dad's super strong! He'll wake up soon, I promise."
"Soon? With the way you struck him using a hug as an excuse on the balcony, he'll be out for at least three more days."
Aurora scratched the back of her head sheepishly, clearly not helping her case.
"It was a tactical knockout," she explained earnestly. "Mom, why are you so eager for Dad to wake up anyway?"
Rossweise froze, and a faint blush crept across her cheeks. She straightened her posture and turned her head away.
"I'm just worried about your father. That's all. Worried."
Aurora raised an eyebrow, her pink eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Oh? Just worried, huh?" Aurora tilted her head, rubbing her chin as if deep in thought. "But Mom, your tone and expression don't really look like worry to me."
Rossweise gave her an uneasy glance. "If it's not worry, then what else could it be?" she asked defensively.
"Hmm..." Miss Prodigy got to work, her brain whirring. "It feels like you had some kind of agreement with Dad. And now that I've knocked him out, your plans are ruined—doesn't it feel like that, Mom?"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Rossweise shot out of her chair. "Absolutely not! Aurora, don't make things up!"
"Why are you so flustered, Mom?"
Rossweise glared at her second youngest daughter in a mix of shame and anger, but she couldn't muster a retort.
Hiss—
This girl didn't just inherit Leon's extreme heroic tendencies and abstract way of thinking like my sister. She also inherited my cunning and wit.
Leon and Rossweise's relationship was one of constant bickering and stalemates, with neither ever truly gaining the upper hand. Now, with their combined characteristics, the daughter they had produced was practically invincible when going up against either parent individually.
After all, whatever Rossweise had, Aurora also had. And what Aurora lacked, Rossweise didn't have either! This was the creation of a true supermodel hybrid. Facing her daughter head-on? Rossweise could only acknowledge her defeat.
However, she still had one move up her sleeve, one that Aurora couldn't counter.
"I said there's no such thing. Hmph."
"Hmph! Stubborn."
"This stubbornness, my dear, is the result of years of practice with your father! Say what you will—I won't admit to anything. What can you do about it?"
"Hmph~ Alright then, Mom, if you say there's nothing, then there's nothing."
Aurora smirked, taking a step closer to her mother. Before Rossweise could react, Aurora lightly patted her on the shoulder, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a quick kiss on her mother's blushing cheek.
Then, without giving Rossweise a chance to respond, she dashed toward the door. "I'm off to play with Muen and Muse! Call me when Dad wakes up. Bye-bye!"
Thud
The door closed behind her.
Rossweise stared at the door for a moment, an exasperated yet fond smile spreading across her face. "She's already so grown up, yet still so impulsive," she muttered to herself.
Turning her gaze back to Leon, her smile faded. She sighed, looking at his unconscious form. "And I thought you were the only fool in this family."
Despite her words, Rossweise rolled up her sleeves, soaking a towel in warm water before wringing it out. She leaned over, gently wiping away the dirt from Leon's face. Bit by bit, the dust left by Aurora's uppercut disappeared, leaving only the faint marks of a scuffle on his sleeves and the imprint of her fist.
"At least it's a fist mark and not a shoe print. Your precious little girl isn't completely heartless."
She continued muttering as she cleaned, "You don't even know your own limits, do you? She challenges you to a fight, and you just go along with it."
Rossweise sank into the chair again, her gaze softening as she watched Leon's sleeping face. Her thoughts drifted back eight years, to a similar moment. Back then, she had been the one lying unconscious, suffering from the aftereffects of her blood awakening. Leon had sat by her side for hours, his face filled with the same mixture of worry and affection she now felt.
Eight years later, the circumstances were reversed.
Even if she would never admit it aloud, Rossweise knew one truth deep in her heart: She loved this man more than anything.
Suddenly, a mischievous idea flitted through her mind. Her cheeks, which had just cooled down, flushed pink again.
"Just so we're clear," she whispered, "this is only because I don't want to break our promise. It's not because I actually want to do something sneaky like this."
With no one else in the room, it wasn't clear if she was speaking to Leon or trying to convince herself.
Blushing, Rossweise leaned closer to him, gently cupping his face in her hands. She could feel the even rhythm of his breathing as she inched toward his lips—
"Rossweise, is Leon up yet... Ohh, what are you doing?"
The sudden voice jolted Rossweise upright. She quickly withdrew her hands, her face still flushed as she hurriedly smoothed her hair.
"Ah? W-what? I wasn't doing anything... nothing at all!"
"But I just saw you leaning over Leon. Could it be... Rossweise, were you trying to—"
Mevis stood at the door, grinning like a fox who had just caught a chicken. Rossweise hadn't expected her mother in law to have such a tight grip on her timing, arriving at this exact moment.
"I wasn't doing anything. I was just... checking your father's injuries. Is there a problem with that?"
Mevis's dark eyes gleamed with mirth. "No problem at all! None whatsoever. By the way, could you help me find a recording stone? Little Light has a new project she wants to work on."
Without saying another word, Rossweise stood, retrieved a recording stone from the storage room, and handed it to Mevis.
"Next time, don't barge into our room without knocking. Mother!!"
'Yes, yes, I know~~"
Mevis tucked the stone into her pocket and hopped toward the door. Just before leaving, she turned back, peeking through the doorframe with a mischievous smile.
"Well then, Rossweise, I'll leave you to... carefully inspect Leon's injuries. Take your time!"
"Mother!"
"Bye, lovebirds!"
Thud
The door closed, and Rossweise heard the sound of Mevis's footsteps fading into the distance, accompanied by her laughter. Alone again with her unconscious husband, Rossweise let out a long sigh, a small, genuine smile finally gracing her lips as she resumed her vigil. Some battles, she thought, were better left unfought—especially when your opponents were your own clever children and her mother in law.