Chapter 85: I want to soak in the hot springs with you!

In the evening, the backyard of the Flowing Cloud Valley just finished an outdoor barbecue party. Next up was the long-awaited fireworks display for the Leon family.

They found a good spot on the stone steps and sat down, quietly awaiting the start of the performance. Leon had his camera and the teddy bear that Rosvitha had given him during the day by his side.

He crossed his legs, hung his arms, and looked up at the night sky. With the moon shining brightly and stars twinkling, it was indeed a perfect setting for fireworks.

“Hey, it’s starting over there. Sister, let’s go quickly,” Muen exclaimed, jumping off the stone steps and dragging Noia’s hand as they ran off.

Leon watched the lively and adorable figures of his daughters, unable to help but reveal a contented smile. He was just about to pick up the camera to capture this beautiful moment, but as he reached out, he couldn’t find it anywhere.

Leon felt a panic rising in his heart as he looked back. The camera was already in Rosvitha’s hands.

Click—

Rosvitha pressed the shutter button while watching the backs of her daughters, then nodded satisfactorily at the magical projection from the camera.

Leon immediately became nervous and casually approached Rosvitha. “Um… let me take the pictures for you. You go and play with the girls.”

Without lifting her head, Rosvitha fiddled with the camera. “No need. I want to see what you’ve taken today and how they turned out.”

“Oh, I… I think they’re all pretty good. We can look at them when we get home and develop them.”

“Let’s see them now. Delete the ones you’re not satisfied with.”

Rosvitha flipped through the photos Leon had taken today one by one. Leon’s adrenaline surged with nervousness.

In this situation, there was a sense of urgency akin to “You spent the whole summer vacation having a blast, only to realize you haven’t touched any homework. Now, the teacher is going through each student’s assignments on the podium, and they’re about to get to you soon.”

But the only difference was that the student who hadn’t finished their summer homework wouldn’t dare to confront the teacher. Leon, on the other hand, dared. At worst, he’d get scolded. What if he managed to turn the tables?

However, these photos were still his trump cards, and it was better not to reveal them if possible. Leon swallowed hard as Rosvitha had now flipped to the photos taken in the pedestrian street in the afternoon.

Flipping further back would reveal the ones taken this morning. And even further back… that would be the bunny girl!

His empty summer homework was about to—no, wait—his trump card for turning the tables on Rosvitha was about to turn into a merciless blade aimed at him!

Think, Casmode, use your brain. What would the master do in this situation? Oh, the master wouldn’t even stoop so low as to photograph the bunny girl for the mistress, so applying his mindset wouldn’t help in this situation at all.

Leon bit his lip, looked left and right, then picked up a candy he had bought during the day. “Want some?”

Rosvitha still didn’t lift her head, staring at the magical projection of the camera, then slightly opened her mouth. “Ah~”

Leon was speechless, so he just fed her a piece of candy.

Rosvitha’s mouth was filled with candy, puffing up one side of her cheek, looking quite adorable— but now wasn’t the time to admire the cuteness of the mother dragon!

If he didn’t stop her now, she would see the even “cuter” bunny girl!

“Hey, Leon, what’s going on with this photo—”

“It’s exactly what you see!” Leon straightened his chest, ready to face the consequences.

Rosvitha paused, then crushed the candy in her mouth. “So, it’s just a slightly off composition… Why such a big deal?”

“Uh… uh?” Leon stammered.

Rosvitha picked up the camera, pointing to a photo on it. “See, my face is almost in the frame.”

Leon cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, maybe it’s because you’re too tall.”

Rosvitha didn’t pursue further. “Oh, okay.”

Muttering to herself, she continued flipping through the photos. The one she had just seen was taken at the entrance of the pedestrian street at noon.

At this moment, this camera was determining the course of the next seven days of vacation.

Whether it would be a storm or a calm, no one could say for sure.

“Why are you so close to me?” Rosvitha suddenly remarked, still not lifting her head.

Leon quickly retreated, “N-No reason.”

“Come here.”

“What for?”

“I said, come here.”

Leon awkwardly approached.

Rosvitha raised the camera, aiming the lens at herself and Leon. Then, she tilted her head towards Leon, and finally, pressed the shutter.

After taking the photo, Rosvitha glanced at the preview image projected.

“Hmm, looks good. This way, we’ll avoid the girls asking why we didn’t take a photo together.”

Leon remarked, “Your Majesty, you are indeed far-sighted.”

And if you keep flipping forward, you’ll see more than just this one photo~

After finishing, Rosvitha handed the camera back to Leon. “I’ll go find the girls. You continue working hard and take more photos for us.”

“Absolutely thrilled, my dear wife!” Leon exclaimed.

Rosvitha rolled her eyes at him, ignoring his remark, and walked towards the fireworks display ahead.

Leon breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, the revolution’s gains are preserved.”

He glanced down at the camera in his hand, the image still frozen on the photo of him and Rosvitha from earlier. In the photo, the couple faced the camera, with Rosvitha leaning slightly against Leon, playfully making a peace sign. There was no deliberate angle chosen; in this photo, the two appeared as naturally as long-time lovers.

Leon scratched his forehead, muttering, “A dragon over two hundred years old still making peace signs, how childish!”

At this moment, he conveniently forgot that when he took a photo with Rosvitha as the bunny girl, he also made quite a few peace signs himself.

Leon raised the camera again, continuing to take photos of the nearby mother and daughters. The fireworks lit up the sky, dazzling and magnificent.

After a while, Muen returned and sat beside Leon.

“What’s wrong, Muen?” Leon asked.

The little dragoness leaned over, resting on Leon’s lap and using her tail to cover her waist. “Muen is tired from playing. Muen wants to rest.”

Leon smiled and took off his jacket, draping it over Muen. “Okay.”

He looked up and saw Rosvitha and Noia playing nearby. Both mother and daughter held small fireworks in their hands, with one also tucked in Noia’s tail.

Observing this scene, Leon sighed, “Two people who are usually so serious, rarely get to play together so happily.”

At his words, the little dragoness lying on his lap curled up and softly said, “Sister usually has to go to school, and Mom is busy with work, so they seldom get to play together like they are now. Dad, you worked hard to get the seven-day trip reward, so Muen wants sister and Mom to spend more time together.”

Leon was momentarily surprised, realizing that Muen’s return wasn’t just because she was tired of playing, but also because she wanted Noia and Rosvitha to have more time alone together.

He smiled warmly and pinched Muen’s ear. “You’re growing up, Muen.”

But Muen shook her head. “Muen hasn’t grown up, and Muen doesn’t know what growing up means. Muen just wants to make sister happy and make Mom and Dad happy. Hmm…”

A warm feeling surged through Leon’s heart. He gently stroked his daughter’s cheek, sighing.

Despite Muen and Noia having vastly different personalities, they still loved their family in their own ways. They loved each other and their mom and dad.

“Muen, you really are growing up—”

“Mmm… zzz…”

Leon lowered his head to see that Muen had already fallen asleep on his lap. Ah, so being “tired from playing” was indeed a significant part of the reason?

Leon chuckled softly, then grabbed the camera and snapped a photo of Muen’s adorable and peaceful sleeping face.

After a while, Rosvitha and Noia returned. Judging from Noia’s expression, she must have been a little tired too.

“Is she asleep?” Rosvitha whispered, lowering her voice.

Leon gently lifted Muen. “Shall we head back?”

Rosvitha nodded, holding Noia’s hand. But after a moment’s thought, she crouched down. “Would you like Mommy to carry you too?”

Noia’s eyes lit up, and a tired smile appeared on her face. “Yes!”

Rosvitha lifted Noia, following behind Leon as they left the backyard. The couple escorted the sisters back to their room.

“Get some rest, both of you. I’ll take care of Muen,” Noia’s voice sounded weary.

Rosvitha patted her head. “Yes, but you also need to rest and not stay up late.”

“Okay, goodnight, Mom.”

After a pause, Noia turned to look at Leon at the bedroom door. “Goodnight, Dad.”

Leon smiled, squinting his eyes, and waved. “Goodnight.”

After bidding each other goodnight, the couple returned to their own room. Leon changed into slippers, stretching lazily as he walked towards the bedroom.

“Ah, what a fulfilling day,” Leon sighed as he flopped onto the soft hotel bed.

Rosvitha walked over to the bedside and kicked his leg gently. “So, are you sleeping with me tonight?”

Leon jolted up, “N-No, I… I’m going to soak in the hot springs for a bit.”

“For how long?” Rosvitha asked.

Shrugging, Leon replied, “About an hour. Why are you joining too?”

“Mm-hmm. You go ahead, I’m not in a rush.”

“Okay.”

Whenever they had to sleep separately, the couple always tacitly agreed to take things as they came, postponing decisions when possible.

Once both of them finished soaking in the hot springs, those two hours would easily pass by, wouldn’t they?

As for how to face each other after those two hours… well, they would figure it out later.

Leon took off his shirt, leaving on the swim trunks Rosvitha had bought him yesterday. He then sneakily grabbed the camera before heading to the hot springs behind the bedroom.

The warm water enveloped his body, washing away the fatigue and exhaustion of the whole day.

Leon closed his eyes, leaning against the edge of the hot spring, arms stretched out, and let out a long sigh, luxuriating in this rare moment of relaxation.

However, before he could fully relax for even ten minutes, he heard the sound of sliding doors behind him. In the next moment, a pair of high heels entered his peripheral vision.

Leon’s heart skipped a beat. Could this dragoness be changing her mind so soon…?

“Where’s the camera?” Rosvitha asked.

Leon hesitated, “Th-the camera? What do you need the camera for?”

“The grand finale of the fireworks display is about to start. I figured I might as well go downstairs to take some photos while I’m idle. Where’s the camera? Oh, here it is.”

“Hey, wait a minute—”

But it was too late. Rosvitha had already bent down and picked up the camera Leon had just placed next to the hot spring.

“What’s wrong?” Rosvitha asked.

Leon pursed his lips, unable to articulate anything. Seeing Leon’s silence, Rosvitha continued, “If you’re not going to say anything, then I’ll leave.”

With that, Rosvitha turned and walked towards the bedroom door. However, just as she took a step, there was a splash behind her—

“Let’s soak in the hot spring together!” Leon blurted out.

Rosvitha halted, standing with her back to Leon for several seconds before slowly turning around. “What did you say?”

Leon’s face flushed red. “I said… um, let’s soak in the hot spring together.”

He couldn’t let this dragoness take the camera. Losing the hard-earned fruits of his revolution was not an option.

Compared to losing the revolution, what did soaking in the hot spring together matter?

The couple stood facing each other, one tall and one short, as the fireworks exploded in the night sky, the brilliant light masking someone’s slightly flushed face.

Rosvitha glanced at Leon’s bare upper body, water droplets sliding down his sturdy muscles and scarred skin.

She swallowed, then calmly replied, “Well, you said it. I’ll go change.”