Book 4: Chapter 25 |
With the Castle Secrets game over, everyone took something away from it.
Claudia learned how to interact with her daughter more naturally;
Helena fulfilled her wish of playing an interactive game together with Noya.
Noya won and obtained the Night-Spirit Crystal that could improve the efficiency of condensing primal power.
Mu’en successfully held onto her sister and didn’t let the little sea dragon girl “steal the tower”;
A-Guang got to witness the ultimate, once-in-an-era father–daughter showdown—the supreme kind of fun;
Isha also got to see just how terrifying her little sister and brother-in-law became once they teamed up.
And General Leon, despite losing the match, won a one-night Bunny Girl Experience Card.
You all might make a small profit, but I, Leon, never lose.
The two families left the game venue.
The normal playtime should’ve been seventy-two hours—three full days.
But who could’ve guessed Big Sis would go on a killing spree halfway through, almost becoming an “Honorary Dragon-Slayer,” and that Leon and Rosvitha would intercept from the side and straight-up end the match?
With this family’s “strong-strong alliance,” any game would probably end early.
But since it was rare for the whole family to come out for a team outing, they couldn’t exactly just go home after playing one game.
The little dragon girls were buzzing with excitement, wanting to stroll around Sky City.
The adults naturally agreed.
Isha was, as always, unbelievably popular with kids—several little darlings tugged her along as they wove through streets and alleyways.
Leon and the other two followed a short distance behind.
“Your older sister seems to really like children,” Claudia said.
Rosvitha nodded. “Even though my sister is a non-marriage type, she truly loves kids.”
Claudia’s thoughts shifted, and she changed the subject with a turn of her tone.
“Then… does she know about you and Leon?”
“What— oh. Not yet.”
Rosvitha looked at her sister’s back. A trace of worry and difficulty appeared on her beautiful face.
“Actually, after the Imperial decisive battle ended, Leon and I talked about whether we should tell my sister the truth.”
“Mm. And what did you decide?”
“The result is… now is a relatively suitable time to come clean.”
This time, the one speaking was Leon.
With both hands in his pockets, he narrowed his eyes slightly and also looked toward Isha and the children’s retreating backs.
“It’s been so many years. Even if Big Sis hasn’t noticed anything yet, paper can’t wrap fire.”
“Sooner or later, either we’ll have to tell her the truth for some reason, or she’ll discover it herself.”
“And besides, we stirred up such a huge commotion in the Empire not long ago—there’s no way she hasn’t caught wind of anything at all.”
“So…”
“Rather than coming clean in some unpredictable emergency, or having Big Sis pierce it herself, it’s better that we bring it up proactively now.”
“That way, it won’t turn into everyone feeling awkward and not knowing what to do.”
After hearing Leon, Claudia pondered briefly and said,
“That does make sense.”
“But what if Isha can’t accept her younger sister marrying a human?”
At that, Leon and Rosvitha abruptly stopped walking.
The Queen didn’t say anything, but that troubled expression on her face already said a thousand words.
Then Leon let out a sigh.
“Big Sis is a very good person.”
“She’s not like certain dragons—wild and violent—so I can’t stand on the opposite side from a Big Sis like that.”
“If she truly can’t accept it, then I think…”
“I might leave here for a while.”
Claudia’s brows pressed down slightly.
“Leave? Where would you go?”
“Back to the Empire—go lead the Lionheart Society to perfect that new nation.”
Leon’s tone turned heavy.
“That’s also why I said now is the best time to come clean.”
“The Empire isn’t what it used to be. Now that Kant’s rule is gone, I can return to my homeland again.”
“No matter what, that place is also my home.”
“And…”
He paused, pressed his lips together, and glanced at the wife beside him.
Without much hesitation, he reached out and took Rosvitha’s hand.
Rosvitha didn’t act coy at all—she opened her palm and met his.
Fingers interlaced.
“And I can’t ruin the kinship between Rosvitha and Big Sis because of myself.”
“If, when Big Sis can’t accept me, I still insist on staying… then all I’d do is destroy the family Rosvitha, and I finally managed to build.”
“Our beginning was a mistake—but the ending absolutely cannot also be a mistake.”
“So… the best way to handle it is for me to leave the Silver Dragon Clan.”
“Then, every so often, I’ll meet Rosvitha… something like that.”
Claudia slowed her pace as well.
This little couple’s family situation really was special.
Even Claudia wasn’t particularly skilled at handling this kind of domestic problem.
After a moment of silence, the beautiful woman spoke softly,
“Why do you care so much about the beginning and the ending?”
“Hm? I didn’t understand what you mean, Senior.”
“You did have a mistaken beginning.”
“But that mistaken beginning triggered a beautiful process.”
Claudia smiled faintly and glanced sideways at the couple.
In those sea-blue eyes was a hint of envy.
“Grudges and debts, love and hate, passion and feud—what you two have been through along the way…”
“It’s been more wonderful than the several hundred years of my life.”
“But why do you only place the emphasis on the beginning and the ending?”
“In your beautiful five years, hasn’t Isha also witnessed it… and participated in it?”
Isha’s witness and participation…
The husband and wife looked at each other, and fragments of the past flashed through their interlacing gaze—
The first time they visited Isha’s home, she pulled out so, so many of Rosvitha’s embarrassing black-history stories; then that night Leon chatted with her on the rooftop, and she made him swear he would protect her little sister no matter what.
That “same-stage competition” in Sky City—both of them got fooled by that clever red dragon, and in the end, they had no choice but to blurt out that Rosvitha was pregnant with their second child;
After A-Guang was born, the very first title she spoke was “Aunt Isha”;
In the days when Grandmother returned, the whole family came together to Sky City—that was probably the most reunited day the Melkwei family had seen in a hundred years.
The attack after Constantine’s revival—Leon and Rosvitha joined hands with Isha to fight the enemy together.
…
So many experiences.
It did seem that Leon and Rosvitha had forgotten another participant in that beautiful process—
The Red Dragon Queen, Isha.
After a brief hush, Claudia continued,
“I very much agree with what you said: ‘Now is the most suitable time to come clean.’”
“But clearly…”
“The timing is ready—yet the two of you, as husband and wife, aren’t ready yet. Am I wrong?”
Rosvitha pressed her lower lip lightly.
“…Mm.”
“Do you know how I felt back then, when I learned Charlotte was with a human?”
The two of them shook their heads in perfect sync.
“Very angry. Very confused.”
“I couldn’t understand why my younger sister would fall in love with a human.”
“But what could I do about it?”
“Charlotte is an independent individual.”
“She has her own thoughts, her own life.”
“If, in her long life, she doesn’t even have the freedom to love someone as she pleases…”
“Then what meaning would that life even have?”
“In the end, I accepted Taige not because they’d ‘turned raw rice into cooked rice’—”
She paused, then looked at Leon.
“In fact, they didn’t even cook at all.”
“They just ordered a portion and brought it back from outside.”
It was a strange metaphor, but it did ease the slightly heavy mood a little.
“The reason I accepted Taige, and accepted their marriage…”
“Was because I was certain my little sister had married the man who loved her the most.”
“As older sisters, what rigid dogma do we really have?”
“As long as our younger sister is happy, that’s enough, right?”
In truth, Claudia hadn’t expected herself to say so much.
She clearly wasn’t good with emotional matters, yet she still offered a couple of thoughts that were genuinely useful.
Perhaps it was because she could empathize.
As Claudia said, she and Isha were both the “older sister” in their respective families.
So when it came to a younger sister’s love life, they did have the right to speak.
“Of course,” Claudia added,
“You should still be prepared for the Red Dragon King to lose her temper.”
She raised both hands and patted Leon and Rosvitha on the shoulders—one each.
“Accepting it is one thing…”
“But as older sisters, the anger we’re supposed to have…”
“We absolutely won’t forget that, you know.”
…
Footnotes:
- zhǐ bāo bù zhù huǒLiterally, “paper can’t wrap fire.” A proverb meaning the truth can’t be hidden forever; secrets will eventually come out.
- shā fēng leSlang meaning “went on a killing spree / went berserk,” often used jokingly for someone dominating a game or situation.
- jié húTo “cut in and snatch it away at the last second.” Used for intercepting someone else’s win or taking an opportunity from them.
- tuán jiànShort for “group team-building activity,” often company/family organized outings meant to bond and have fun together.
- bù hūn zhǔ yì“Non-marriage-ism,” meaning someone who prefers not to marry; an anti-marriage or marriage-avoidant personal stance.
- hēi lì shǐ“Black history” is internet slang for someone’s embarrassing past or cringe moments you’d rather not have brought up.
- shēng mǐ zhǔ chéng shú fànIdiom: “raw rice cooked into cooked rice,” implying things have already happened irreversibly (often about a relationship becoming a done deal).
- tōu tǎGaming slang meaning “steal the tower,” i.e., sneak an objective or “steal” a key advantage while the other side isn’t paying attention; used here humorously for “stealing” someone away.