Congratulations to the male and female guests for successfully holding hands.

Outside the temple, on a tree-lined path, the afternoon sun was bright, shining through the gaps in the leaves and forming light spots on the ground.

A certain pair of wronged couples, although they agreed to take a walk together when they really got outside, turned into a 'walk separately.'

Rossweise walked on the left side of the path, while Leon walked on the right. The distance between them was even wide enough to accommodate a half-grown dragon.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty, the Queen," the dragon maid with a broom bowed slightly to the left and then turned to the right, "Good afternoon, Prince".

On the surface, respectful, but the dragon maid couldn't help but complain inwardly,

Were these two crazy?

They finally appeared together on the screen and had to keep such a distance.

Even bowing was so inconvenient!

Actually, it was not just this dragon maid who wanted to complain. Even the onlookers who were ready to enjoy the show were puzzled.

"It seems like Her Majesty the Queen and her husband… aren't that familiar."

"Don't talk nonsense. They've even had two little princesses. How could they not be familiar?"

"Then where have you seen a married couple walk so far apart during a stroll?"

"Maybe… their Majesties value their personal space a lot?"

"Do you believe the words coming out of your mouth?"

"Hush~~ Here comes their Majesties. Quick, hide!"

Several dragons enjoying the show quickly hid in the nearby bushes. Leon and Rossweise walked past them.

Leon's physical condition hadn't fully recovered yet, and the heroic feat from three days ago depleted the health he had painstakingly accumulated, but his insight hadn't diminished.

He noticed the sneaky behaviour of those dragons enjoying the show and caught most of the gossip they were chatting about. Leon touched his nose and looked at Rossweise. With her abilities as a mother dragon, she should have noticed, right?

She didn't suggest getting closer, either. Leon decided to keep quiet.

Maintaining the peaceful facade of a fake family was her concern. Leon wasn't bothered by how the dragons watching would perceive their current situation.

"Hey", suddenly Rossweise spoke up.

Leon glanced at her sideways.

Rossweise still looked ahead, her steps slow and rhythmic. "Let's… get a bit closer."

Leon hummed and didn't refuse, "Sure, okay."

They silently moved towards the middle of the path. Finally, they stopped about a meter apart from each other.

"Is this good?"Leon asked.

"Yeah, do you want to get even closer?" Rossweise asked in return.

Upon hearing this, Leon's steps faltered, and he became a bit cautious, "Mother dragon, are you up to something?"

"No, what I mean is, if you want, I won't refuse, and I won't take the opportunity to tease you. After all, this walk is also a promise from before when I taught Muwen to write her name."

This time, Rossweise withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Leon.

In her silver dragon eyes, there was no longer the coldness and aloofness of the past. Instead, a hint of gentleness appeared.

"So, do you want to get even closer?"

"Sure—"

Wait.

Something was definitely off.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Rossweise today.

"Actually, forget it. This is fine."

Seeing Leon reject her proposal, Rossweise didn't show emotion but nodded, "Okay."

A familiar child's voice appeared ahead. The two looked up. The little dragon girl was standing in the middle of the path, hands on her hips, the tuft of hair on her head gently swaying with the breeze, and her small tail wagging happily behind her.

"Muwen? Aren't you playing with your sister in the room?" Rossweise asked.

"Uh… sister asked Muwen to track you!"

"Noah would never ask you to do such a thing."

Rossweise immediately exposed Muwen's scheme, "Actually, you just wanted to follow us, right sneakily?"

Seeing her plan instantly foiled by her mother, the little dragon girl didn't bother pretending anymore. She went straight between the two of them.

Then she raised her arms and held the hands of both Leon and Rossweise, one on each side.

"Muwen wants to take a walk with Dad and Mother!"

"Sure, sure."

Leon wished for his obedient daughter to come and ease the awkward atmosphere between him and Rossweise.

"No, Muwen."

Rossweise sternly said, "Dad and I are walking alone, Muwen. Be good, don't cause trouble."

Hearing this, Muwen pouted. She knew that her mother never changed her mind easily, so she cleverly sought help from Leon with her eyes.

"Really? Dad, if you go for a walk alone with Mother, leaving Muwen alone to play in the backyard, Muwen will be super sad. And who knows, Muwen might get snatched by a dangerous species sneaking in, then taken into the woods and never returned. Dad will never see Muwen again, all because you want to walk alone with Mother."

"…Have you been reading that book 'Enlightening Stories for Young Dragons' too much?"

"Muwen doesn't care, Muwen doesn't care! Muwen wants to be with you! Dad, do you only love Mother and not Muwen anymore?"

Agree with her! Agree with her!

She was so cute, why not agree with her!

"Today, Dad's got your back. You follow us. If your mom doesn't agree, I'll deal with her tonight!"

Even though there's a high probability that she'll be the one dealing with me, it doesn't matter! The most important thing is that the daughter is happy! He thought.

"Muwen, be good. Dad and I have already agreed."

Rossweise couldn't quite hold it on her face. She had lived for two hundred years, and let alone holding someone else's hand, even getting so close to Leon just now took a lot of courage.

Unexpected, indeed.

On Leon's side, while he was a bit uneasy, it wasn't as complex as Rossweise's feelings.

He simply wanted to know,

The dragon hoof had been chewed on, so what did a dragon claw taste like? The estranged couple accepted that their first time holding hands was in front of outsiders.

On the other side, Muwen ran away and hid behind a tree to secretly observe.

Seeing Dad and Mother holding hands, Muwen secretly chuckled.

"You did that on purpose, Muwen."

"Ah!——"

Noah appeared behind Muwen at some point, hands on her chest, imitating the manner of an adult like Rossweise.

"Sister, you scared me!" Muwen covered her chest and complained playfully.

"Hmph, what's so interesting about holding hands?"

"It is, it is."

Noah stepped forward and pinched her sister's chubby cheeks, "You were deliberate, after all."

"Wuwu~ Muwen was wrong. Muwen won't do it again. Sister, let go, let go~."

The two little ones played and laughed, and before leaving, Muwen cast a lingering glance in that direction.

She pouted, "Dad is really something. Needs Muwen to teach him how to hold hands. Tsk—doesn't know how to take the initiative at all!"

Noah followed her sister's gaze and silently thought, If only it could be like this all the time.