Vol. 6 Ch. 66

The moment Leon heard the name “Melkvey”, his entire body visibly tensed up.

He stood frozen in place, mechanically turning his head back toward the Headmaster’s Office.

At the doorway, the elegant, dignified red-haired woman had just finished greeting Headmaster Olette—and now, she turned her sharp, fox-like gaze toward Leon.

She smiled.

But this smile was completely different from her previous air of absentminded innocence.

At this moment, she was smiling like a cunning fox.

Leon had only ever seen two other women smile like that—

Rosvisser and Isha.

When those two smiled like that, they looked like they had come straight out of the same damn mold!

Leon’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

Cecilia, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow and winked playfully, as if to say—

"Yep. You guessed right."

Then, without another word, she turned and followed Headmaster Olette into the office.

Click—

The door slowly shut, sealing off the room.

The heavy echo of that final sound lingered in the hallway.

Leon swallowed.

Steadying himself, he hurriedly turned and sprinted out of the building.

Meanwhile, at the academy’s central field, the Outstanding Alumni Speech had reached its halfway point.

Leon marched straight onto the stage, where Rosvisser, Isha, and Constantine stood.

Just as the speeches were wrapping up, he immediately approached them.

"Hm? Leon, what are you doing here?" Rosvisser asked.

Leon strode up to the three of them and solemnly announced,

"I have something to tell you. But whatever you do, don’t be afraid."

The three dragons exchanged confused glances.

Constantine crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

Isha, serious as ever, folded her arms and asked,

"We are Dragon Kings. We don’t get afraid. What is it?"

Leon took a deep breath, then spoke with extreme gravity, enunciating each word carefully—

"I just saw… another woman with the surname Melkvey."

At his words, both Rosvisser and Isha instinctively leaned back slightly, exchanged glances, then—

Isha, matching his serious tone, replied,

"It was Noa, right? She’s also a Melkvey."

"Ah—no, not Noa. She’s still over there selling toys with Helena."

"Muse?"

"No, older than Muse."

"Oh~ I got it. It’s Moon."

"This…"

Rosvisser raised a hand. "I know—it must be Grandmother Veronica. She came back for the anniversary festival since she’s friends with Headmaster Olette."

Leon nearly lost it.

"A red-haired woman with the surname Melkvey!"

The three siblings stared at him blankly.

Leon gritted his teeth.

"She was fully grown, beautiful, dressed in red, looked just like Isha, and while she seemed a little absentminded at first, she was actually terrifyingly cunning! I just—"

Pfft—

Isha snickered.

Leon snapped his head toward her. "Why are you laughing?"

Isha raised her hand, her voice dripping with amusement.

"I just thought of something funny."

"What’s funny?"

"My surname is Melkvey."

Pffft—

Leon’s gaze slowly shifted to Rosvisser—who was also grinning.

"Why are you laughing?!"

Rosvisser smirked. "I also have the surname Melkvey."

"YOU—YOU’RE THE SAME—"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

(╬ಠ益ಠ)凸

Constantine, who had been quietly listening this whole time, finally couldn’t take it anymore.

"Reorganize your words properly, and start from the beginning."

Leon took another deep breath, then recounted everything from start to finish.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

After listening to the whole story, Rosvisser and Isha were clearly surprised.

"You’re saying… the red-haired woman we saw on the field earlier also had the surname Melkvey?"

Isha rubbed her chin, frowning in thought.

"…Now that’s interesting."

Leon furrowed his brow. "Is Melkvey a common surname among dragons?"

Rosvisser shook her head.

"Not at all. Normally, when dragon couples marry, the wife takes the husband’s surname."

"Huh… wait."

Leon paused, his expression shifting.

"Then why don’t Noa and the others have my surname, Casmod?"

Rosvisser smiled.

"Because we are a proper, traditional dragon couple."

Rosvisser rolled her eyes at Leon before saying,"Say that again? If your wife is the one marrying you, then obviously the children take my surname."

"Alright, alright, fine. She’s the Queen, she makes the rules. General Leon won’t argue with her."

Leon let it slide. There was no winning against her anyway.

"But… that woman, Cecilia—do you think she might actually be your mother?"

The moment those words left his lips, the atmosphere shifted.

After all, Rosvisser and Isha had never once seen their parents in hundreds of years.

Even their grandmother, Veronica, had never told them much about them.

So even if they did reunite, it wasn’t as if they would instantly recognize each other.

"If she is," Rosvisser said, "then judging by the color of her tail, she should be from Isha’s Crimson Dragon Clan. But neither of us saw a Crimson Dragon emblem on her clothes."

Constantine added,"Think about it. Didn’t your brother-in-law and grandmother both say that your parents were always traveling, working on some kind of intelligence operation? If it’s intelligence work, then naturally, they’d have to conceal their identities."

"So any decorations on her clothing could be deliberate disguises to avoid attracting trouble."

Leon knew this was plausible—he had seen glimpses of it before in Rosvisser’s memories.

Her parents had, indeed, been searching for a certain crown, something tied to the survival of an entire legacy.

If that were true, then they would have needed to stay hidden to avoid enemies tracking them down—or worse, targeting Rosvisser and Isha.

"We’re not going to figure this out just by guessing here," Leon said, rubbing his chin.

He glanced at Rosvisser and Isha, noting their complicated expressions—

A mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

Even battle-hardened warriors like them couldn’t help but feel a little shaken by something like this.

"Cecilia just entered the Headmaster’s Office," Leon pointed out. "Olette definitely knows something. We can just wait for them to finish talking, then go and ask her ourselves."

After a moment of silence, Isha—being the eldest—was the first to respond.

"I think that’s a good idea."

She turned to Rosvisser, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"But, Ros, after all these years… don’t you want to see them?"

Rosvisser glanced toward the office door, her expression hesitant.

After a brief internal struggle, she let out a small smirk and nodded.

"Alright. Let’s go."

"Yeah, let’s go."

And with that, the Melkvey siblings set off for the academic building.

Constantine, realizing he was now the only one left behind, sighed.

"Well, I guess that means I’m on babysitting duty."

Arriving at the Headmaster’s Office, the three pressed themselves against the door, trying to listen in.

"…Hm, can’t hear too well," Leon whispered, crouching slightly.

From what little they could hear, the conversation inside seemed to be mostly catching up—nothing too significant yet.

"Could it be…" Rosvisser murmured, "that this whole ‘Melkvey surname’ thing is just a coincidence?"

Isha, the only one standing upright, furrowed her brows.

"Let’s listen a bit more."

And so, the three of them continued their eavesdropping.

But suddenly—

Leon felt something tap his shoulder.

"Hey, babe, quit messing around."

"…I didn’t do anything."

"I diiiiidn’t dooooo aaanything~"

Rosvisser rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

But then—she felt someone tap her arm.

"Hey, Isha, knock it off."

"…I’m not doing anything either."

Leon and Rosvisser instantly turned toward each other.

"Wait… you weren’t tapping me?"

Isha shrugged. "Do I look like someone with that much free time?"

"Then…"

A voice spoke behind them.

"That would be me."

The three of them whipped around—

And their eyes went wide.

"G-Grandmother Veronica?!"