Leon was struggling to process his daughters' words.

Though certain details remained unclear, one thing was certain—now that he had a chance to change everything, he would stop at nothing to make it happen.

Twenty years.

For twenty years, he hadn’t been there for his daughters. For a man who prized responsibility above all, this was unquestionably a wound of guilt that cut the deepest.

And the absence of fatherly love, without a doubt, could alter the entire course of a person’s life.

Changes like these were often negative.

What’s more, Leon was an exceptional father—something even little Noa, during the times when her relationship with him hadn’t yet improved, had to grudgingly admit.

And aside from his daughters…

Leon looked up, letting his gaze fall on the crystal.

Encased in the crystal, the silver-haired queen lay in perfect stillness. Her brow was smooth, her long eyelashes distinct, her exquisite, delicate features soft and serene. She looked peaceful, beautiful.

But she wasn’t meant to be like this.

She was the Queen of Silver Dragons, the mother of his daughters.

She was his wife.

This stubborn yet prideful silly dragon deserved a better future.

Catching her father's lingering gaze, Aurora arched an eyebrow.

Tsk.

When she was little, snuggled in her parents’ arms, watching the two of them exchange glances had already made her feel it was overly saccharine.

How was it that now, with just her father looking at her mother from across the room, that gaze of his practically seemed to be dripping with honeyed threads?

Just how much love for their mother had this stubborn old fool suppressed all these years?

This wouldn’t do.

Aurora realized that if they lingered any longer, her sisters and she were bound to be suffocated under the weight of this invisible display of affection.

She subtly nudged her eldest sister with her elbow.

Noa turned her head, glancing over.

Aurora gave her a look.

Noa blinked in mild surprise, then glanced toward Leon. Immediately, understanding dawned.

"Uh... Time's tight, and the mission's critical. I'm going to get back to researching the reversal magic. You all carry on chatting."

With that, Aurora bolted from the scene at lightning speed.

"I'll chat with Dad! I have so much I want to talk about with him!" Muen said excitedly.

The talkative little shadow who had spent all her time following Leon around as a child, chirping "Dad, Dad, Dad," had had twenty long years to bottle up her endless words. Of course, she had countless things she wanted to share with him.

But.

Noa grabbed her sister by the back of her collar and dragged her toward the door. "Come with me and help cook. We’ll talk over dinner."

"Nooo! I want to stay with Dad! Waaaah~"

"If you start calling him 'Dad,' one time after the other, considering he’s only a year older than you now, you’re going to socially annihilate someone."

Muen’s two feet—and her tail—dragged faint lines across the floor as she was forcibly hauled out of the dimly lit chamber, her “puppy eyes” filled with teary indignation.

Once all three sisters had left, Leon shook his head and chuckled.

It was obvious to him: the girls were giving him and Roswitha time alone after finishing their conversation about serious matters.

As for the “he’s only a year older than you now” remark Noa had made earlier... Well, that one did sting his fatherly pride a little.

When Leon had entered the spatial rift, he was twenty-three. At the time, Noa and Muen had been only two years old.

But now, twenty years later, both the eldest and second child were twenty-two.

Twenty-two—the very bloom of youth.

But then, remembering that as their father, he was only a year older than them... It made that thought twist a little into something like, "Is this youthful prime perhaps too full of vitality?"

Leon shook his head, as if to rid himself of those irrelevant musings.

Dragging over a chair, he sat down beside the crystal to admire the beauty within at a closer distance.

She was as beautiful as ever.

In truth, Leon hadn’t seen much of Roswitha’s sleeping face—for when they had lived together as a couple, they usually fell asleep at the same time.

And often, those times involved staying up until the middle of the night, or even dawn, leaving them both so exhausted that they wouldn’t wake until morning—never with the energy to admire the face of the person beside them.

Occasionally, though, Leon had caught sight of Roswitha napping on afternoons when he passed through the main hall of the sanctuary after lunch.

It reminded him of his school days at Dragon Slaying Academy when classmates who had risen far too early would fall asleep during their morning studies.

Roswitha’s cheeks were slightly chubby, so when she rested her head on her arm, her soft flesh would be adorably squished.

Still, such brief naps were never enough to allow her to relax completely. Her brow would always remain faintly furrowed, a sign that her sleep was restless.

A few times, Leon had secretly watched her nap, only to get caught in the act.

Roswitha had called him a voyeur.

He retaliated by pointing out that she drooled when she napped.

Roswitha, who had never shown such an unbecoming behavior, sharply countered—did he clean up the supposed drool for her, then?

Leon laughed: “I drank it.”

The queen was both horrified and disgusted: “Yuck!!”

Sometimes, the couple enjoyed teasing each other with such playful “grossness.”

Now, looking at his slumbering wife inside the crystal, that exquisite and elegant face of hers seemed endlessly captivating to Leon.

How could she look so beautiful—so breathtakingly beautiful?

In the past, whenever Leon had secretly complimented the dragoness's beauty to himself, he would always purposefully offset it by picking on her.

For instance, “Sure, she’s beautiful, but she’s so stubborn and contrary.”

Or, “She may be gorgeous, but when it comes to roasting someone, she doesn’t pull any punches.”

But now.

Now, all he wanted to do was silently praise his wife’s loveliness in his heart.

She was stunning. So stunning she resembled a masterpiece created by an artist who had dedicated their entire life to their craft.

"My dearest Roswitha... I’m not very good at talking to someone who’s already asleep. But Noa and the others say that even though you're unconscious, you can still hear us."

Leon pursed his lips, lowering his head as his hands nervously fidgeted. "There’s so much I want to tell you... Things I should have said to you twenty years ago. I just didn’t have the opportunity back then."

"Now, I finally have the chance to say them. But you’re unable to respond."

He paused for a moment, then let out a bitter smile and shook his head.

“About responses… Back in those days, I didn’t say those things to you because I was afraid your response... would be rejection.”

“The fear of your rejection has always paralyzed me.”

“Whenever I led troops into battle, I told my subordinates over and over: ‘It’s better to make a mistake than to do nothing at all.’

"But with my feelings for you... I became the opposite: I’d rather do nothing than risk making a mistake."

“Even now, I can only muster the courage to tell you these heartfelt words because... because you’re still unconscious.”

Leon’s chuckle turned into a self-mocking laugh as he rubbed his reddened palms together.

“Honestly, Roswitha, every single time I tried to express myself to you, the words would get stuck at the tip of my tongue.”

“So, you know what? This is all your fault.”

"You had to be so beautiful. And to make things worse, you look even more beautiful when you smile."

"A guy like me—who’s never had any experience with romance—getting completely flustered in front of an incredible beauty... That’s pretty normal, right?"

"But then again, you’re a dragon, and I’m a Dragon Slayer. No matter how stunning you may be, I shouldn’t have had improper thoughts about you."

"So maybe... maybe it’s your fault for being too stunning for your own good."

Every word he said came from a place of pure sincerity as he poured out praises for his wife.

These compliments were the kind of things Leon would never, ever have dared to say to her face if Roswitha were awake.

As he himself had admitted—it was only because she was unconscious, unresponsive, that he had the courage to speak so freely.

After showering his wife with a seemingly endless stream of admiration, Leon finally rose to his feet, brushing the surface of the crystal lightly.

“I’ll go check on the girls. I’ll come back to see you later.”

With that, Leon turned and left the dim chamber.

Stepping outside, he realized he still wasn’t quite familiar with the layout of this underground space.

So he decided to wander aimlessly.

Eventually, his search led him to discover Aurora’s laboratory.

However, calling it a laboratory was a bit of a stretch; the setup was relatively primitive.

Bookshelves lined both sides of the room, filled with an assortment of ancient texts and research on spatial magic and reversal magic.

In the center was an extensive stone worktable, cluttered with an assortment of magical array materials and Aurora’s handwritten notes.

Hearing movement near the door, Aurora looked up and adjusted the temple of her glasses. "Oh, Dad. Need something from me?"

Leon shook his head. "No, just wandering around."

"Alright. It’s kind of a mess in here, so just make yourself comfortable." She immediately returned to her work.

"Okay."

Leon scratched his cheek awkwardly before asking, "This reversal magic... Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I’ve been working on this for over ten years, Dad. As clever as you are, you wouldn't be able to catch up to my research in such a short amount of time."

“I see... Then do Noa and the others help you with the research?” Leon asked.

Aurora shook her head. "It’s just the three of us here. If Noa and Muen were to focus all their energy on studying reversal magic, they wouldn’t have time to practice combat."

“In other words, my two sisters are responsible for fighting, while I, as a scientist, lack that kind of power and instead handle the logistical efforts. That’s how we divided the work from the very beginning—everyone has their role."

“Got it~ Makes sense.”

Though Leon knew Noa was adept at combat, he couldn’t help but wonder—Muen too?

Wasn’t she the one who hated fighting and violence the most?

"So, Dad, you don’t need to worry about helping me. Just focus on restoring your strength. That 'Nine Hells Gate' thing—practice more with it; it’s powerful."

Leon shrugged. "I’m up to the fifth gate now."

"I’ve reached the eighth."

General Leon: "What."

Aurora casually dropped the line: “A mere researcher with no aptitude for their martial arts.”