“Daddy, Daddy, wake up! It’s time for lunch~”

Leon was roused from his drowsy state by Aurora’s sweet voice.

As soon as he opened his eyes, a splitting headache hit him.

He forced himself to sit up, a pained smile forming on his face. “Sorry, Aurora, Daddy fell asleep without meaning to.”

“It’s okay, Daddy. Let’s go eat lunch!” Aurora said cheerfully.

“Mm.”

Leon stood up, the midday sunlight streaming through the large windows of the library, casting a golden glow over him.

Yet he felt none of its warmth.

In fact, as soon as he got up—

“Achoo!”

The fourth sneeze of the day.

If his teacher were here, she’d probably be dragging Leon to the clinic by now.

Aurora, holding his hand, looked up at him with concern. “Daddy, are you sick? Did you catch a cold?”

Leon shook his head, still trying to smile, though his face was starting to strain.

His throat was sore, his nose stuffy, and his lips dry and cracked.

Not to mention the unrelenting headache—

He probably did have a cold.

“I’m fine. Let’s go eat.”

“Are you really okay?” Aurora asked, still worried.

“Yes, really.” Leon wanted to squat down and scoop her up, to reassure her by saying, “See, Daddy can still pick you up. I’m perfectly fine.”

But then he remembered that if he really was sick, he might pass the cold onto her.

So, he held back.

Hand in hand, they left the library and headed to the dining room.

Rosvisser, Noa, and Moon were already there, having their lunch.

“Good afternoon, Mommy! Good afternoon, big sister and second sister~” Aurora greeted everyone enthusiastically and ran over to Moon, who helped her climb into her child-sized dining chair.

There may not have been a "step stool of progress" at the dining table, but there was always a reliable second sister.

Leon pulled out a chair and sat down on one side of the table. A meal had already been prepared for him by the maids.

He picked up his knife and fork, took one bite, and then began absentmindedly poking at his food.

Rosvisser glanced at him from the side. The man’s expression was gloomy, but it didn’t seem like he was in a bad mood.

It was more like... he just didn’t have an appetite?

“Not to your taste?” Rosvisser asked as she slowly cut into her steak, glancing at him briefly.

“No… I’m just not very hungry.”

Hearing his response, Rosvisser paused mid-motion.

His voice didn’t sound right.

Was it... hoarse?

“Are you sick?” She set down her fork, turning to look at Leon seriously.

Leaning on one hand and with drooping eyelids, Leon replied in a listless tone, “No, I’m fine. Not sick.”

Across the table, Aurora blinked and immediately piped up, “Daddy sneezed earlier.”

Rosvisser’s brow furrowed. “That means you’re sick.”

Leon scratched the tip of his nose, still stubborn. “It was just a sneeze. No need to make a fuss. I’m—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a cold sensation on his forehead.

It was the back of Rosvisser’s hand, gently pressed against his skin.

Realizing she was checking his temperature, Leon immediately moved her hand away. “What are you doing...”

“You’ve got a fever, and you’re saying you’re not sick?”

“No, no, it’s just your hand being cold. Anything would feel warm to you.”

Rosvisser gave him a sarcastic smile. “I thought you only got stubborn when we were talking about our feelings, but I see you’re just as bad when you’re sick.”

Under the table, Leon lightly nudged her foot and whispered, “The kids are here. Don’t say weird things.”

“Oh, thanks for the reminder—the kids are here.” Rosvisser turned her attention to the three little ones across from them, sitting up straight and asking with a serious expression,

“Darlings, when you’re sick, isn’t it uncomfortable?”

Noa, Moon, and Aurora: “Yes~”

“So, what should we do when we get sick?”

Noa, Moon, and Aurora: “Take medicine~”

Clap!

The queen clasped her hands together, smiling in satisfaction. “Such smart children.”

Then, without missing a beat, she turned to Leon, her smile disappearing, “You see? Even the kids know what to do. Why are you acting like a hero?”

Leon scoffed and muttered, “You sounded just like a preschool teacher just now…”

Rosvisser rolled her eyes at him. “Eat your lunch and take the medicine afterward. There’s some in my bedside drawer.”

“I’m not taking it.”

Rosvisser raised an eyebrow. “How old are you? Do I need to coax you into taking your medicine?”

“...”

Leon seemed to hesitate.

No.

Not hesitating. More like… he had a hidden fear.

Rosvisser’s sharp intuition kicked in, and she immediately guessed the reason for his stubbornness.

“Are you… afraid of taking medicine?”

Noa’s head shot up, her mouth still full of food as she stared at her father in shock.

Okay, next essay topic: *"My Dad Can Defeat Constantine in One Move, But He’s Afraid of Cold Medicine."*

Faced with Rosvisser’s accusation, Leon didn’t answer. But his expression grew darker.

Which pretty much confirmed it.

It wasn’t exactly that he was scared of medicine—it was just that he really didn’t like it.

No particular reason; he just hated the taste.

Otherwise, why would he have thought of his master dragging him to the clinic earlier? On his own, Leon would never step foot in a place like that.

Rosvisser drummed her fingers lightly on the table, no longer trying to convince him to take the medicine.

*Stubborn. He’ll give in and take it once he’s feeling miserable enough.*

Aurora glanced between her parents, her pink eyes wide with concern. If Daddy didn’t like medicine... would he take supplements instead?

...

That evening, Leon’s cold had worsened.

The dragon-slaying hero lay in bed, a towel on his forehead and a cup of hot water by his side, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Rosvisser stood by the bed, arms crossed, holding the cold medicine between her fingers as she stared at him helplessly. “If you don’t take this, you might not make it through the night.”

“Stop nagging,” Leon groaned, his head pounding from the fever. His voice was hoarse. “I think I’m seeing my great-grandmother.”

“You were adopted by your master. You don’t have a great-grandmother.”

With the last of his strength, Leon raised a finger and croaked, “It’s... a figure... of speech.”

Rosvisser snorted. “When you die of this cold, I’ll have a thousand figures of speech to mock you with.”

“No... I believe... I can overcome this.”

“First, no, you can’t. Second, a cold isn’t even close to being something like a ‘disease demon.’ Losing an arm, a leg, or battling cancer would qualify.”

“That’s... another... figure of speech...”

Rosvisser rolled her eyes and tossed the cold medicine onto his pillow, giving up on him.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Rosvisser went to open it—it was the three little ones.

Moon was leading the charge. “Mommy, we’ve come to offer tribute to Daddy!”

Rosvisser: “?”

“Offer... tribute?”

*Honey, are you just trying to sneak a steak again?*

But no, it was too soon for that. Your dad isn’t going to die just yet, so maybe come back later?

Noa quickly pulled Moon back and explained, “It’s from Aurora. She made a pill—or rather, a supplement.”

“A supplement?”

Aurora nodded enthusiastically. “Since Daddy doesn’t like taking medicine, maybe he could take a supplement instead. It’s important to help Daddy recover.”

Rosvisser’s eyes flickered with interest.

The girls only had access to a limited range of ingredients, none of which would be harmful. Even if the supplement didn’t work, it wouldn’t do any damage. Plus, she was sure the doting father in bed would be more than willing to be their little guinea pig.

“Alright, come in. Daddy’s in the bedroom.”

The three little dragon girls rushed in, and Rosvisser followed, closing the door behind them.

After expressing their concern, Aurora pulled out a small pill from her little box.

Though it was called a pill, it looked more like a chocolate candy.

Leon thought it looked oddly familiar.

But he couldn’t quite place where he’d seen it before.

He wanted to refuse, but seeing the eager faces of his daughters, the devoted father in him just couldn’t say no.

*Alright, alright. If I have to be a guinea pig, I’ll do it. Anything for my daughters.*

Leon popped the chocolate pill into his mouth. It didn’t taste like medicine at all.

He swallowed it with some water, feeling no immediate effects.

Well, at least it wasn’t poison.

“Daddy, are you feeling better?” Aurora asked, her big pink eyes filled with hope.

Not wanting to worry them, Leon nodded. “Mm, much better. You did a great job, Aurora! Your supplement worked wonders.”

“Oh, actually...

 Big sister helped me a lot,” Aurora explained earnestly. “Extracting the residue from the ingredients required lightning magic, and big sister is really good at that.”

Leon’s heart skipped a beat, a bad memory flashing in his mind.

What kind of supplement requires lightning magic to extract?!

Fighting back a nervous tremor, he asked, “Sweetie... did you follow a recipe for this?”

“Mhm!”

“From the book in the nursery drawer...?”

“Mhm!”

“And the supplement is called... Dragon Strength...?”

“Mhm! Daddy, you’re so smart! You guessed it all right!”

*Haha... oh no... we’re doomed.*