Chapter 178: 1 Year Contract Ends Tonight

Across the dining table, Rossweise rested her chin on one hand, her eyes slightly lowered as she quietly watched the scene before her.

Leon stole a glance at her and was surprised to find her smiling for once.

That smile wasn't fake, it was a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"Little sister, you have to grow up quickly. Then our whole family can go to the beach together~"

Leon had just felt a slight sense of relief seeing Rossweise finally smile, but as soon as Luna said this, the smile on her face instantly disappeared.

She froze for a moment, then immediately withdrew her gaze from her daughters, lowered her head, and silently continued eating the remaining food on her plate.

Leon caught this reaction keenly.

'When the words "whole family" are mentioned... why does she react so strongly?'

Logically, this fake family was something she and Leon had painstakingly built together. Their original goal was to give their daughters a complete childhood and the necessary love from both a father and a mother.

Now, Luna had developed a strong sense of "family" and "home," which meant they had done a good job maintaining this family.

But why did Rossweise not only fail to show any relief but even seem... resistant?

She hadn't been like this before.

'Women are really hard to understand,' Leon thought to himself. Even after being married for so long, he still couldn't figure out what was going on in Rossweise's mind.

There was nothing he could do, overthinking wouldn't help. He could only wait for her to speak up when she was ready to share.

After dinner, Noah and Luna went back to their rooms, and the little sister was left in the care of their parents for the night.

As usual, the couple stood side by side in the kitchen, washing the dishes.

They didn't exchange a single word the whole time, but their actions were perfectly in sync.

After scraping the last stain off a plate, Leon handed it to Rossweise, who was in charge of rinsing at the sink.

However, this time, she didn't take the plate like she had before. Instead, she just stood there quietly, as if she was hesitating about something.

Leon awkwardly held the plate up and tilted his head, "What's wrong?"

Rossweise closed her eyes and let out a long breath, as if she had finally made an important decision.

"Leon, go... play with the girls for a while."

Leon didn't understand, "What?"

"I said, go play with them. Hide-and-seek, teaching magic, studying... or just hug them."

The more Leon listened, the more confused he became.

But he didn't ask further. Maybe Rossweise just wanted some quiet time alone and used the excuse of letting him spend time with the girls to send him away.

Leon placed the plate beside the sink, took off his apron, dried his hands, and left the room.

As evening fell, the sun sank quickly. The dimming light in the kitchen made the silver-haired beauty's figure appear even more solitary and lonely.

Drip— Drip—

Water dripped rhythmically from the faucet, splashing into the sink.

Rossweise slowly turned her gaze to the apron Leon had just taken off.

A simple blue household apron, nothing fancy.

But he had been wearing it for so, so long. The yellowed stains were proof enough.

She lowered her head and looked at the one she was wearing, a matching pink version.

'When did we buy these...?'

She couldn't remember anymore.

'Have I really been with Leon for this long?'

A year might be nothing more than the blink of an eye for a dragon's long lifespan.

But to Rossweise, this year had felt unbearably long, so long that she had even forgotten that it might eventually come to an end.

She stood there silently for a long time before she slowly reached out with trembling fingers, picked up the plate Leon had left beside the sink, turned on the faucet, and quietly washed it.

The cold water slipped through her fingers. She clenched them but found that she couldn't hold onto it.

And it wasn't just water she couldn't hold onto.

.

.

.

Around 9 PM, the sound of the door unlocking echoed.

Leon walked through the hallway and returned to the bedroom.

The little one was already fast asleep on the bed, while Rossweise was sitting on the sofa.

She wasn't wearing her nightgown but a rather formal dress.

Leon stood at the bedroom door, scratching his head, "I... just played with the girls for a while, taught Noah some magic tricks, and hugged them before leaving."

Rossweise kept her eyes lowered, staring at the tips of her shoes. She silently nodded.

"So... what do we do now?", Leon asked.

Rossweise slowly looked at him.

Their eyes met, and in that brief moment of eye contact, it felt like countless unspoken words passed between them.

Unfortunately, there was no time left to say them.

After a long silence, Rossweise finally spoke.

"Leon, one year ago today, I met your master...", Rossweise told Leon everything about the one-year agreement she had made with Tiger that day.

After listening, Leon felt a mix of emotions.

But he didn't think Rossweise had intentionally hidden anything from him. After all, his master had forbidden him from returning to the Empire for a year. If he had known about this earlier, he wouldn't have been able to stay calm for an entire year.

Rossweise sat on the sofa and spoke softly, "Your master never told me what he planned to do during this year, but I suspect he went back to the Empire to deal with something. And whatever it was, it likely involved danger, otherwise, he wouldn't have forbidden you from returning."

Leon's expression grew serious. He sat down next to Rossweise on the sofa, "But my master is just a retired dragon slayer. After retiring, he's only been running his farm. He rarely even talks about his years in the Dragon Slayer Corps. My master's wife said he was just an ordinary soldier back then. What could an old man in his fifties possibly do in the Empire?"

"Your master rarely talks about his past. Your understanding of his service years is only based on what his wife told you. So, Leon, from my perspective, your master may not be as simple as you think," Rossweise's tone was serious.

She still remembered when she met Tiger, the powerful aura he exuded far surpassed any human she had encountered, except for Leon.

She believed that someone capable of training a monster like Leon couldn't possibly be ordinary.

Leon frowned deeply, unsure of what to say.

Rossweise sat beside him in silence. She had now told him about his master's situation and the one-year agreement.

Now, it was up to him to make a choice.

But to prevent this idiot's brain from overheating, she decided to help him analyze the situation first, "Leon, before I met your master, he didn't know you were still alive. He was only praying, or rather, hoping, that you were. Back then, he and his wife were hiding in the mountains, living a peaceful, isolated life. It was safe there, the Empire couldn't easily find them."

"But after learning that you were alive, he immediately made a decision."

"I believe he went back to the Empire to do something dangerous for your sake."

"To be honest, at first, I didn't want to tell you this. One year, two years, it didn't matter. Before I took my revenge on you, I wasn't going to let you go."

"And our home... even if it's a fake one, you've become an irreplaceable part of it. You are Noah and Luna's father. You are my...", She spoke fluently until this point when she suddenly stumbled.

Her silver eyes flickered evasively, and she turned her head away, her voice lowering, "...my husband."

"If you leave, this home won't be a home anymore."

"But I understand, Leon. In the human world, you have another home."

"Your master and his wife—they're waiting for you too."

"And right now, your master might need you more than we do."

"You have the right to know everything."

"And you have the right... to choose."

Leon stared blankly at the former enemy sitting beside him, 'Is she giving me the right to decide?

Not only that, but she had also laid out both sides' conditions and situations clearly before him, just to prevent him from getting confused and making the wrong decision.

And what she had just said, "your master needs you more than we do", Leon understood the meaning behind it.

Not long ago, he had defeated the arrogant Crimson Flame Dragon King, Constantine, which greatly elevated the Silver Dragon's status and prestige among all dragonkind.

In the short term, no other dragon was likely to challenge Rossweise's Silver Dragon clan.

So, the daughters were safe. Rossweise was also safe.

But his master had disappeared without a trace, his life or death uncertain.

According to his master's instructions back then, now that a year had passed, he was allowed to return to the empire. Rossweise hadn't delayed even a single day.

'She—'

'Wait.'

Leon suddenly realized, 'Is this why Rossweise has been so gloomy these past few days?'

"Rossweise… You know what decision I'm going to make, don't you?"

Rossweise silently nodded.

"So, this is why you've been so distracted these past days?"

She sighed, her slender jade fingers brushing past her face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "At this point, what's the use of saying all this, Leon?"

With that, Rossweise slowly stood up, "If you've made your decision, then… we leave tonight."

Even a fool could see that Rossweise had her own selfish desires.

She didn't want Leon to leave this home, to leave their daughters.

But she was the Silver Dragon Queen, not some self-centered young girl. She knew what she could fight for and what she couldn't.

Leon was the same.

He could very well pretend to know nothing, stay here as the Silver Dragon Prince, bask in the love and admiration of countless people, watch his adorable daughters grow up day by day, and, just as he once dreamed, live out his days peacefully.

But if he truly did that, he wouldn't be Leon Casmodeous.

A man who bears responsibility on his shoulders, how could he let his master, who was like a father to him, face the unknown dangers alone?

Now that Rossweise had handed the choice to Leon, the outcome was already clear to both of them.

He had to return, to help his master, to root out the traitor who had set him up.

Leon stared at her for a long, long time, as if he had countless things he wanted to say to her.

But in the end, all those words condensed into a simple sentence, "Thank you, Rossweise."

Rossweise did not say, "You're welcome."

She only half-turned her head. Though her expression remained cold, she could not completely hide the choke in her voice.

"Before we leave… do you want to go and hug our little daughter?"

'Hug my daughter…'

'So, when she asked me earlier to go play with Noah and Luna for a while and then hug them, was it… a farewell?'

Unfortunately, Leon hadn't realized this at the time, and his parting embrace had been somewhat careless.

He sighed, stood up, and walked slowly to the bedside.

Looking at his peacefully sleeping little daughter, the heaviness on Leon's face softened into a smile.

He bent down slowly and pressed a light kiss on her forehead, "When you grow up, listen to your sisters. Protect your mother."

The little girl murmured softly in her sleep.

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