With Muen's help, Leon was seated by the table.

Muen raised her small hand and gently rubbed the bridge of Leon's nose, apologizing in her soft, childish voice,

"I'm sorry, Daddy. Muen really didn't mean it. I didn't think that just lightly pushing the door would send you flying so far."

She pouted, her warm, glistening eyes looking like she would burst into tears if Leon didn't forgive her.

"Daddy, does it still hurt? Let Muen blow on it. If I blow on it, it won't hurt anymore~"

As she spoke, Muen cupped Leon's cheeks with her small hands and softly blew on his forehead.

The warm breath brushed against him, and Leon's heart instantly melted.

Roswitha's biting sarcasm didn’t faze him in the slightest; he had always been as unyielding as steel.

But when his little dragoness whimpered an apology and acted coquettishly, he started questioning if he might have done something wrong instead.

Truly, daughters weren’t just soft linings to a father’s armor—they were the sugar-coated cannonballs that could blast through its hardest walls.

Leon pulled Muen onto his lap and used a hand to wipe away the warm moisture at the corner of her eyes. "It's nothing, Muen. Stop worrying. It's all Daddy's fault. Daddy's so weak that even a simple door knocked him over. I'll work out harder so I can withstand a few more hits next time."

Muen giggled, wiping at her own tears. "As long as Daddy's not hurting anymore!"

Leon smiled, pinching her little nose. "Alright then, how about we just—chua~"

He made a book-flipping gesture. "Let’s turn the page and forget about it. How about that?"

Muen squinted her eyes and grinned, her voice soft like marshmallows. "Okay~ Daddy's the best~"

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Leon’s neck and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

While Leon enjoyed her affection, a strange thought crossed his mind.

Why did this feel suspiciously close to being emotionally manipulated by his daughter?

Five minutes ago: "Don't touch me, you idiot."

Five minutes later: "Daddy is the best! Muuuua~"

Hiss—

Dragons were truly incomprehensible creatures.

“Daddy, what are we going to do this afternoon?”

The question broke Leon’s train of thought. Taking the paper placed on the table, he pointed at its contents. "This afternoon, Daddy will teach you how to write these three names. How does that sound?"

Recognizing and writing letters was a novelty for Muen. She nodded excitedly. "Yes, yes! Daddy, teach me quickly~"

"Hasn't your mom taught you this before?" Leon asked absentmindedly while preparing paper and a pen.

"Mother said she'd wait until Daddy woke up so you could be the one to teach me, hehe~"

Seriously?

That lazy dragoness.

Muen dragged over a small stool and sat next to Leon.

Leon began by teaching her how to hold the pen.

Muen learned swiftly, practicing a couple of times before managing to grip it properly.

Then Leon moved on to teaching her how to recognize letters.

"The first name is Daddy's: Leon Casmod. You can try writing it first."

"Okay!"

Muen gripped the pen tightly in one hand and held the parchment down with the other, her focus so intense that even her mouth seemed determined.

Leon’s name was relatively simple, phonetically derived from "lion" and easy to spell.

"Don't press too hard, or you'll tear the paper. Take your time; no need to rush."

"Mm-hmm."

Blessed with a natural knack for learning, Muen managed to roughly copy Leon's name after just a couple of pointers.

"Very good, Muen. Next, we'll learn the writing sequence for the letters." Leon explained patiently.

"Huh? Is there a specific sequence? Muen thought you just needed to write the letters and that's it."

"Of course there's a sequence. As the saying goes, there’s no rule, no order. Without rules, writing wouldn’t be called 'writing'; it’d just be 'drawing'."

Leon explained with care, "When you follow the correct sequence, your written letters will look much better."

"Okay~ I get it, Daddy. I'll practice diligently!"

"Good, keep going."

Leon continued to teach Muen the proper stroke order for letters.

At first, Muen kept instinctively writing whichever strokes felt easier first. But under Leon’s patient guidance and thanks to her own aptitude, she quickly mastered writing "Leon Casmod" neatly.

Leon felt very pleased with her progress.

Next, they moved on to practicing Roswitha’s name.

Her name was more challenging.

However, perhaps influenced by the "Mother's Buff," Muen was especially focused when it came to practicing Roswitha's name.

It took Muen three pages of parchment to master Leon’s name.

But it took her seven or eight pages for Roswitha’s.

Looking at the pile of papers, Leon remarked wistfully, "You sure enjoy writing your mom’s name, don’t you..."

"Uh..."

"Keep practicing. Daddy needs to use the restroom."

"Okay."

Muen blinked her big, beautiful eyes.

She was too young to understand what "jealousy" meant.

But she instinctively sensed that Daddy seemed unusually concerned about how many pages she had used.

So while Leon was away, she quietly picked up her pen and started rewriting Leon’s name.

Before long, she had written a new stack of "Leon Casmod."

"One, two, three... eleven! Daddy, look—I wrote your name eleven times!"

When Leon returned, Muen excitedly waved the eleven sheets in the air.

For a moment, Leon was stunned, then his heart swelled with warmth.

Little sweetheart!

You really are my precious little girl. Far better than your stubborn mother!

Leon pulled Muen close, gently rubbing his face against hers.

Muen's chubby cheeks, pressed flat by Leon, radiated pure joy.

This might have been the first time Daddy had shown her such affectionate closeness.

"Alright then, let’s practice the last name—your own: Muen Melkevi."

"Huh? That’s not Muen’s full name."

Leon blinked. "Are we not on the same page about what 'Muen' means?"

"No, no, the middle name. Muen has a middle name too."

The concept of a middle name was common among the Empire's royals. It typically came from the first letter of a spouse’s family name, as a mark of respect and recognition of their place in the family.

Leon hadn't expected the Dragon Clan to observe the same tradition.

"What’s your middle name, then?"

"K."

"K?"

"Yes. Muen K. Melkevi. The 'K' stands for Daddy’s family name, Casmod."

Pausing briefly, Muen added earnestly, "Mother explained it to me."

Leon raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Your mother said that?"

"Mm-hmm."

This revelation caught Leon off guard.

He’d always thought of himself as little more than a tool for childcare in this dragon's den.

The so-called "father" seemed to be a wishful role assigned by Muen, with Roswitha viewing him as a nobody.

But now it turned out that when naming Muen, Roswitha had deliberately included Leon’s family name initial, following the formal tradition of recognition.

Leon wasn’t sure what this signified in Dragon Clan culture.

But in human society, using someone’s initials as a middle name acknowledged their importance within the family.

Leon pressed his lips together, unable to decipher what Roswitha’s intentions truly were.

Was it just another step in crafting an impeccable illusion of a harmonious family?

Shaking his head to clear these thoughts, he said, "Alright, Daddy understands. Let’s start practicing your name now."

"Mm-hmm."

Writing her own name, Muen was equally earnest.

Her name, phonetically derived from "moon," was just as easy to spell.

Unlike Roswitha, with her convoluted, tongue-twisting name.

Leon worried that one day, if they ever hit the heights of passion during a Dragon Mark resonance, he’d end up blurting out her name incorrectly.

"All done~ Daddy, look!"

Leon glanced at the parchment.

Muen’s handwriting was neat, with fluid strokes. For a child, it was remarkably well-written.

He patted her head approvingly. "Good job, Muen. You’ve learned all our family names so quickly."

"Family?"

"Yes, we’re a family."

Muen froze for a moment, then shook her head. "No, no. If we’re talking about family, we’re still missing one person."

Leon’s heart skipped a beat. His smile froze.

Missing one person...

Recalling the feisty version of Muen he encountered that afternoon...

There was only one possible explanation!

Swallowing nervously, Leon muttered,

"So not only did I hit the mark in one go back then, but... it was a double strike?!"