Whenever Aurora talked about how her father loved her mother, she always spoke with a tone full of pride.

This showed that she genuinely didn’t care about being a half-breed herself.

When Noa learned her father was human, she was the first to stand up and advocate "self-acceptance"—

Of course, there was always the chance that little Muen hadn’t understood a word, or that Aurora had simply chosen to stay silent and watch the drama unfold.

Regardless, the fact that Leon’s daughters had no racial divides between them and their father was the best outcome of all.

Leon inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason he had suddenly brought this up after so long was because he had noticed something peculiar:

From the moment he reunited with the grown-up Noa yesterday until now, she hadn’t called him “Dad” even once.

Not even once—he was entirely certain.

Muen still called him “Dad” as she always had, and Aurora was even more casual, opting for “old dad.”

Only Noa avoided calling him anything, using indirect terms like “you” or “him.”

Leon understood that Noa might still be angry with him for disappearing for twenty years.

But he also worried whether it had something to do with his human identity—or some other reason entirely.

He remembered how little Noa, after he had woken from his two-year coma, hadn’t called him “Dad” for a long time.

Noa’s first “Dad” had been at a Saint Hiss Academy family sports event, when she saw Leon striving with all his might for their family’s honor. In a moment of excitement, she had shouted, “Go, Dad!”

Afterward, Leon had hugged her and asked her to say it a few more times.

Though she had been a bit stubborn, Noa had obediently complied.

Little Noa’s thoughts had always been easy to read—Leon had gradually worked his way into his eldest daughter’s heart, step by step, with his actions.

But now, the grown-up Noa exuded an aura of “I’m cool and untouchable; don’t bother me.” Her emotions were inscrutable, and Leon couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

Do you understand how important a single tender “Dad” is to a father who dotes on his daughters?

In Leon’s mind, Roswitha’s “husband” ranked second, while his daughters’ “Dad” firmly held the first spot!

(Donkey-donkey didn’t count since he didn’t know how to use human language.)

Though Aurora had assured him that Noa wasn’t bothered about her half-blood identity,

Leon still felt compelled to understand what was truly on his daughter’s mind.

After chatting a bit more with Aurora, it was dinner time, and Leon returned to the underground chamber to eat with his daughters.

Dinner was simple: wild fruits, roasted meat steaks, and mushroom soup.

All were ingredients found in the wild.

Leon found this understandable.

The world had changed. Gone were the days when servants prepared three square meals for the queen and her family.

Now, the queen was idle, frozen inside a crystal; the daughters were busy with research and honing their magic; and their aging father had been missing for two decades. The fact that they hadn’t starved was already impressive.

The seating arrangements at the dinner table were also quite revealing.

Muen and Aurora, naturally, sat right next to their dad.

But Noa sat alone at the other end of the table, gently sipping her soup.

“Dad, try this! I made it with my own hands using prime meat from a Dangerous Beast I caught myself!” Muen said proudly.

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

Leon cut a piece off and put it in his mouth. The texture was fine, but the cooking temperature seemed off—the burnt edges detracted a bit from the taste.

“Does it taste good, Dad?” Muen’s eyes were full of the words “please praise me.”

“It’s delicious, of course it is.”

Leon ate the whole steak in one bite. “How about I teach you some other ways to cook steaks later?”

“Uh... Dad, I caught the ingredients, but it was Sis who did the cooking,” Muen admitted sheepishly.

Leon froze momentarily, lifting his eyes to glance at Noa. His eldest daughter seemed unwilling to say anything.

“Oh, I see…”

“Yep! Try this too, Dad! Sis’s cooking is really amazing~”

This older sister, who wasn’t particularly skilled at cooking, was lucky to have a sister who adored her and a father who doted on her.

Noa continued to quietly eat her meal.

After the simple dinner ended, Muen and Aurora took on the task of washing the dishes.

Meanwhile, Noa went outside on her own.

Leon hesitated briefly before following her out.

Once he had stepped out of the underground chamber, Leon couldn’t see Noa anywhere.

He glanced around, but the late hour and the dense canopy of towering trees made it difficult to see far.

Despite searching for a while, Noa was nowhere to be found.

Leon sighed softly, lowered his head in resignation, and turned to head back inside.

Just as he stepped forward, a voice reached him from above.

“Is there something you want to say to me?”

Leon paused and looked up in the direction of the sound.

Noa was sitting on a large stone at the entrance, one leg dangling, her hands resting around her knees.

“Oh… I just wanted to chat a little,” Leon replied hesitantly. “Do you have time now?”

“I do.”

“Then… mind if I come up?”

“Sure.”

Leon nodded, taking a moment to find a less steep incline before climbing up carefully.

Once he was beside Noa, he bent slightly and sat down next to her.

Noa didn’t move away.

But neither did she show any sign of drawing closer.

She remained in her original posture, her gaze fixed on the deep darkness of the night.

Leon looked at her profile.

It was elegant and refined, with traces of her mother’s features delicately etched into her eyebrows.

Neither father nor daughter spoke to break the silence. They simply sat, immersed in the quiet, as time flowed on.

Only when a brisk wind swept through did Noa shrink her neck slightly. “If you’re not going to say anything, I’m leaving—it’s cold here.”

“Ah… uh…”

“Don’t just ‘uh’ me. If you want to talk, then talk. Didn’t you say you wanted to chat?”

Leon scratched his head awkwardly, suddenly unsure of how to start the conversation.

His daughters were adults now, with their own thoughts and perspectives, so he could no longer talk to them the way he did when they were little.

After much deliberation, Leon chose to be straightforward.

“Noa, are you upset with me about something?”

Noa slowly turned her head to look at him and asked evenly, “What makes you think that?”

“Well… because…” Leon hesitated. “Because you haven’t called me ‘Dad’ since yesterday…”

Noa raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with indifference. “That’s all?”

“Yes…”

Leon continued, “When you were little, there was also a long period when you didn’t call me ‘Dad,’ wasn’t there? Back then, it was because you felt I didn’t care for you. But now, what is it? Is it the same reason? Do you still think I don’t love you?”

His urgency showed through in his words.

Usually, Leon carried himself with calm ease in conversations, but he was uncharacteristically restless now.

Desperate to understand what his eldest daughter was thinking, he couldn’t hide the shift in his demeanor.

Noa, though aware of how Leon typically conducted himself, wasn’t surprised by his behavior at this moment.

She let out a soft huff through her nose, bowed her head slightly, and said seriously, “I’m just… afraid.”

Leon blinked in surprise.

It wasn’t the answer he expected.

“Afraid of what?”

“We once had a really happy family, didn’t we?” Noa began softly. “I responded warmly, wholeheartedly, to your love for me. You know… being your daughter, Leon Casmodé’s daughter, I’ve always been proud.”

“I knew my father was strong—unparalleled in strength, in fact.”

“I’ve always felt privileged to have a father like you.”

“The same goes for Mom. Being your daughter has been my greatest blessing.”

“But… all of that was destroyed in the disaster twenty years ago.”

“All the things I cared for, cherished, that nurtured me and loved me—all of them, along with my passionate love, were buried in the rubble of that fateful day.”

“I thought that with you back, everything could be fixed.”

Noa rested her mouth and nose against her arm, clutching herself tightly.

“But the truth isn’t that simple.”

“It’s made me fear even more what the end of all this is going to be.”

“What if you fail? What if you leave me, leave Muen and Aurora, again? What are we supposed to do then? What would Mom do?”

“I do love you, deeply. But I can’t let myself love you recklessly like I did when I was little.”

Slowly lifting her head from her folded arms, Noa looked at her father with tear-filled eyes.

In that instant, Noa’s scarred but delicate face overlapped with the image of her childhood self in Leon’s mind.

Her voice trembled with emotion, yet every word fell with clarity.

“Because I’m afraid of losing you—twice over.”

The strongest, most resilient girl carried a heart that was the most fragile of all.

Noa’s concerns went deeper than anything Leon had imagined.

Studying his daughter’s expression, Leon reached out a hand and gently placed it on Noa’s shoulder.

After confirming she had no intention of pulling away, Leon carefully pulled her close and let her rest against his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Noa. My absence caused everything—made you, your sisters, and your mom suffer so much.”

“I don’t want to make bold promises to you, because no one can fully predict what this journey’s outcome will be.”

“But Noa, please believe me—there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, your sisters, and your mom.”

Leaning against her father’s shoulder, Noa wiped away her tears and murmured, “People who boast... usually end up eating their words instead.”

Leon blinked and glanced at his empty lower back. “Well, you’re putting me in a tough spot here. Even if I wanted to eat my tail, I don’t have one…”

Noa couldn’t help but burst into laughter despite herself. She sat up properly, sniffed a little, and held out her fist to her dad.

“Then this.”

Seeing her lightly clenched fist, Leon immediately understood.

When she was young, Leon had made that same gesture to promise her something.

“Alright.”

Leon nodded and extended his hand.

The father and daughter bumped their fists lightly, just as they had back then.

"But before you save the world, I’m still not going to call you Dad."

Noa’s stubbornness flared up, a trait she had clearly inherited from her equally obstinate parents.

"Ah... why?"

"'Why?' Because being stubborn runs in the Melkevi bloodline. You got a problem with that?"

Leon let out a chuckle. "Nope, no problem at all."

Besides being stubborn, every Melkevi dragoness—from the oldest to the youngest—had an exceptional talent for keeping General Lai under their thumb.