"Hope our family dinner suits your taste, Helena."

Leon's family of five and today's little guest sat together around the dinner table.

The dinner was extraordinarily substantial, with a few extra dishes added to the menu originally prepared to welcome Noa home, now meant to express their enthusiasm for Helena.

Helena was extremely polite, speaking with respectful tones, and her behavior was graceful and composed, making her appear both genuine and poised.

Such social skills at such a young age could not help but astound everyone.

Earlier in the yard, Roswitha had a vague sense that Helena might not hail from an ordinary noble family.

However, she had refrained from inquiring about which clan Helena belonged to or what rank her parents held.

After all, it was the first time their daughter had brought a classmate home for the weekend; the focus should be on warmth and hospitality rather than delving into other matters.

"Actually, I've always envied Noa. Not only does she have outstanding parents, but she also has two adorable younger sisters."

Helena said, "You see, I come from a cocoon-born family, where my mom solely carried and raised me. So, I don't have any siblings, just grew up by myself, which sometimes makes me feel a bit lonely."

Most traditional Dragon Clan families were cocoon-born, with either just a father or just a mother.

Though there could be siblings, many were often merely distant relatives.

Sisters like Roswitha and Isa, who were directly related by blood, were exceedingly rare.

For Helena and Noa to be friends suggested some shared perspectives between the two, perhaps in how they viewed "family" or "kinship."

Leon and Roswitha were well aware of how much Noa valued her family.

If Helena shared a similar appreciation for family, it made sense that, as a cocoon-born dragonling, she would feel envious of Noa's bustling family of five.

After all, who wouldn’t wish to have an inseparable companion during childhood?

"It’s okay, Helena. If you enjoy a lively atmosphere, feel free to come over to my house anytime," Noa said.

"Really, Noa?"

"Mm-hmm, really."

"That’s wonderful~ Thank you, Noa-chan~"

Helena turned to Noa, wrapping her arms around Noa's shoulders and nuzzling her cheek gently.

Since Helena was a few years older than Noa, her height was also significantly greater, so such an embrace looked rather like an elder sister holding her younger sibling.

And judging by Noa’s reaction, she didn’t seem to mind Helena’s affectionate gesture.

As it happened, Noa was rarely fond of physical contact.

When Noa had first met Leon, she even once said that he couldn’t touch her without her permission.

Leon and Roswitha exchanged a look, already understanding why their daughter accepted Helena's hug.

Firstly, if Helena was close enough to Noa to be brought home as a guest, it naturally meant their bond was deep, making a hug seem all the more normal.

Secondly, it had to do with Noa herself.

Noa was much more mature than typical young dragons. She’d been looking after Muen since she became self-aware, and after Aurora was born, she also took up more responsibilities in caring for her littlest sister.

Not to mention, the spatial rift crisis a while ago—that grueling six months also pushed Noa to mature even further.

But untimely growth often leads to mental fatigue and weariness.

Noa rarely opened her mind to share her feelings, even with Leon and Roswitha, who didn’t always grasp the intricacies of their own daughter's inner world.

This was a subtle phenomenon within their family: sometimes, people wouldn’t even voice their troubles to their closest loved ones.

Helena, however, was different.

As Noa's friend, she occupied a unique position outside the family yet capable of maintaining a close connection with Noa.

Plus, being a few years older, Helena could naturally take on the role of Noa's elder sister.

Even if this phenomenon had never been explicitly voiced between them, the objective reality was there, and Noa, perhaps unconsciously, sought a bit of the emotional value that a "younger sister" might desire from an "older sibling."

Leaning into Helena's embrace allowed Noa to let go of her tightly wound nerves, even if just for a little while.

That is the significance of friendship.

The couple intuitively understood this and shared a smile of relief.

After exchanging glances, they decided to discuss Noa and her friend in more depth after dinner.

For now, eating took priority!

"Sister."

A soft, sweet, and slightly helpless "Sister" came from one side of the dinner table.

The couple, alongside Aurora, turned toward the sound.

There sat Muen, holding a knife and fork in her tiny hands, her face full of grievance as she looked at Noa. "Sister, I can’t cut my steak. Can you help me?"

Aurora froze for a moment, blinking her lovely pink eyes in disbelief as thoughts raced through her mind:

*Second Sister, you could cut through steel plates with your bare hands a year ago, and now you can’t handle a steak?*

*Are you regressing or something?*

Noa was slightly taken aback as well. She distinctly remembered that Muen had long since stopped needing her help with cutting steak or correcting her posture at the dinner table.

Why was she suddenly asking for help now?

Noa didn’t dwell too much on it, though. Since Muen had asked, she would try her best to satisfy her.

Noa leaned over to Muen's side, guiding her tiny hands to cut the steak piece by piece.

"Thank you, Sister. You’re the best~ Muah~"

Taking advantage of Noa's proximity, Muen suddenly planted a kiss on Noa’s cheek.

Her elder sister's face instantly flushed red.

*Hisssss~~*

*What’s with this little one acting so strange today?*

*It’s been ages since she kissed me, and now, out of the blue, she did this? You’re really making your sister blush here!*

As the saying goes, when middle-aged couples kiss, the resulting nightmares can last for days.

What happens when little sisters do it? Surely no bad dreams could come of it... right?

Noa pinched Muen’s nose playfully. "Now, eat properly."

"Got it, Sister~" Muen replied sweetly.

Aurora, off to the side, was utterly covered in goosebumps.

To her brief one-year life so far, her Second Sister had always been adorable, innocent, and purely cute—the undisputed mascot of the Silver Dragon Castle.

But now? What was this behavior?

Not being able to cut steak was one thing, but that sugary tone of voice—Aurora had quit speaking like that ages ago, so why was her sister picking it up again?

*No matter who you are, get off my second sister!*

"You and your sisters seem to have such a great bond," Helena commented.

"Ah, Muen’s been like that since she was little—"

"Of course! My sister and I have such a great relationship!"

The voices of the girls interrupted Aurora's wandering thoughts.

Aurora raised an eyebrow and looked at her eldest sister's classmate.

After a moment of contemplation, she cast her gaze toward her Second Sister, who was currently enjoying Noa’s attentive care.

*Ohhh~~*

The pink-haired girl understood everything.

It turned out that, her Second Sister hadn’t regressed, nor had she been replaced by someone else.

She was simply showing off!

And now, please allow Aurora, the third princess of the Silver Dragon Clan and the Goddess of joy, to demonstrate the inner monologue of a certain sister-complex dragonling to you:

**"Sister, if you feed me, will Helena get jealous?"**

**"But the food my sister feeds me tastes just SO good~"**

**"My sister loves me the most~ Helena, you’re just a friend of her, do you know?"**

**"At most, you two can hug, but I get to kiss my sister~"**

**"My sister’s face is so smooth, so tender, and so fragrant. I can’t kiss it enough~"**

**"I just love my—"**

"What are you giggling about to yourself?"

Leon’s large hand landed lightly on the pink-haired girl’s head.

Aurora looked up at her father’s hand. "Oh, nothing. Dad, the food you and Mom made is just so delicious, it made me laugh uncontrollably."

"You find the dinner is so good and it’s funny?"

"Yes, Dad," Aurora replied with a straight face.

Leon chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Then eat up."

"Got it~"

She knew it. This weekend was bound to be entertaining.

Aurora was already looking forward to seeing what other dramatic antics her Second Sister might come up with!