The sleeping arrangement of the three sisters, from left to right, was as follows:

Noa, Muen, Aurora.

On the surface, it was arranged according to their birth order, but in reality, there was more to it.

Noa slept on the outermost side of the large bed, ensuring that her younger sisters wouldn’t accidentally fall off during the night.

Aurora slept on the innermost side because this position allowed her to have a full view of both older sisters, making it convenient for her to enjoy the occasional amusement.

As for why Muen had to sleep in the middle—

Aurora lay flat on the bed, her sleeping posture steady, her eyes gently closed, and her breath even. Resting on her soft belly was Muen's short little legs, while Aurora's shoulders were embraced by her second sister, turning her into a pink-haired body pillow.

Aurora knew that her second sister loved hugging something to sleep.

Before Aurora was born, Muen always hugged their eldest sister.

After Aurora came along, Muen would alternate between Noa and Aurora.

And that was why Muen needed to sleep in the middle.

To her left, a soft and fragrant younger sister; to her right, the classic comfort of her older sister—Muen, the second princess of the Silver Dragon clan, loved treating everyone equally.

Aurora had long since grown accustomed to this, which was why she could sleep so soundly now.

"Jerky… Jerky is so delicious…"

Holding Aurora in her embrace, Muen murmured dreamily, reliving the memory of Noa's post-dinner snacks from earlier that evening.

Aurora, however, remained unresponsive, continuing her serene sleep.

This was a skill she had honed over many years—barring an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption, Aurora generally would not wake.

After a while, having hugged her little sister enough, Muen rolled over with contented "gurgles" and reached out to hug her big sister instead.

But when the small dragon girl turned and stretched out her arm, she found herself clutching at empty air.

Still half-asleep, Muen frowned as she groped around for Noa but could feel nothing.

Hiss~~ Something seemed off.

Normally, she only needed to turn around to hug Noa. Could it be...

Did her eldest sister fall off the bed?

Drowsily, Muen opened her eyes, wriggling around under the blanket until she reached the edge of the bed. But when she peered down, Noa was nowhere to be seen.

"Big sister?..."

No response.

Muen jolted awake and sat upright, glancing around the dimly lit room under the moonlight pouring through the tall windows. She called out again,

"Big sister?"

Still, there was no reply.

Now fully alert, Muen lifted the blanket gently and jumped off the bed, her tiny bare feet padding toward the bathroom.

But the bathroom light was off.

She searched the other rooms, but there was no sign of Noa.

Muen quickly ran back to the bedroom, kneeling beside Aurora on the bed. She gently nudged her sister's shoulder,

"Aurora, Aurora, wake up. Big sister is gone."

The pink-haired dragon girl rolled over, mumbling in her sleep, "Mmh~ Maybe she went to the bathroom..."

"No, she’s not in the bathroom," Muen insisted.

Aurora finally stirred and sat up groggily, rubbing her messy pastel hair. She glanced at the bed, then the room, but still didn’t see Noa.

In an instant, Aurora’s drowsiness vanished.

"Could she have gone to the dining room for food again?" Aurora speculated.

Muen’s large eyes brimmed with worry. While this was their home and no harm was likely, their eldest sister had never gone missing in the middle of the night before.

"Let’s check the dining room," Muen suggested.

Aurora nodded. "Alright."

The two dragon girls climbed off the bed, put on their shoes and clothes, and quietly tiptoed past their parents' room, through the hallway, and down the stairs to the dining room on the first floor.

But there was no sign of Noa there either.

"Big sister has disappeared!"

Muen pressed her small palms against her cheeks, a torrent of tragic scenarios flooding her little mind.

"Could a Dangerous Beast have captured her?"

"Or maybe that old spatial rift reopened and pulled her in?"

"Or... did she abandon us and leave on her own?"

"Could it be—"

"Second sister."

Aurora interrupted, placing her hands gently on Muen's soft, chubby cheeks, halting her wild imagination.

"First, no Dangerous Beast could set foot in Silver Dragon Castle. Dad would turn any threatening creature into roast meat long before it reached here."

"Second, the old spatial rift was dealt with ages ago. Dad handled it perfectly."

"Finally, no matter who big sister might leave behind, she’d never leave you. Relax."

Comforted by Aurora’s reassurances, Muen gradually calmed down.

Her eyes welled with tears as she asked pitifully, "Then... where could big sister have gone?"

Aurora rubbed her chin thoughtfully and replied, "Recently, big sister has been saying she's always hungry, claiming it's because her training regimen has increased. Is it possible she went for late-night extra training?"

Muen’s eyes widened with realization, nodding repeatedly. "That’s possible! Let’s check the training grounds!"

"Alright."

The little dragon girls left the dining room and headed straight for the training grounds behind the sanctuary.

Sure enough, beneath an ancient towering tree, they found Noa.

Muen’s eyes lit up, and she called out,

"Big sist—mmph!—"

Her words were muffled as Aurora swiftly covered her mouth.

Dragging Muen behind a tree, Aurora peeked out cautiously at Noa.

"What’s wrong?" Muen asked.

"Look at big sister. She doesn't seem to be doing normal physical training."

Muen watched and noticed Noa was sitting cross-legged beneath the tree, her eyes closed, with an invisible aura swirling softly around her, ruffling her hair.

It didn’t resemble physical training. It looked more like magic condensation.

"Is big sister practicing magic condensation?" Muen asked.

Aurora shook her head solemnly. "Big sister's natural magic element is lightning. When concentrating magic, there should be evident lightning attributes. But right now, there’s no elemental reaction around her."

Noa wasn’t summoning lightning magic. Yet, strangely, even from this distance, the two younger sisters could faintly sense a subtle power radiating.

So, what was it...?

As they pondered, Noa’s voice suddenly rang out,

"Who’s there?!"

The two small dragons jumped in surprise.

Hesitantly, they stepped out from behind the tree, one after the other.

Noa, recognizing them, relaxed her vigilant expression.

Standing up, she approached her younger sisters.

"Why are you out of bed and wandering around at this hour?"

"We... We couldn’t find you in the room and thought something happened, so we came looking for you..."

“Something happened? What could possibly happen to—ah… to your elder sister?” Noa said, catching herself mid-sentence.

She patted Muen’s cheek reassuringly. “I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

"Really, big sister?" Muen asked, her wide, sparkling eyes filled with worry.

Noa placed one hand on her waist and waved the other hand dismissively. "Really, really. Go on, go back to bed."

"Then come back with us, big sister," Muen said, tugging on Noa’s hand.

Hearing this, Noa froze, momentarily pulling her hand away on instinct but stopped herself.

Her eyes flickered briefly, but then she agreed,

"Ah... sure. Let’s go."

With that, she let Muen hold her hand as they walked back toward Silver Dragon Castle.

Aurora trailed a short distance behind them, her expression clouding in thought.

"Just now... Did big sister use some strange form of self-address? Or did I mishear..."

The pink-haired girl ruffled her hair in confusion before shaking her head, deciding to stop overthinking, and quickly catching up with her sisters.

The three of them returned to their shared bedroom. After tucking Muen and Aurora into bed, Noa said,

"I’m just going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back."

Muen clutched the corner of her blanket. "Come back soon, big sister."

"Mm."

Noa nodded and headed to the bathroom.

Closing the door quietly, she switched on the light and stood before the mirror over the sink.

The smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by a cold and frosty expression.

This was different from the usual ‘aloofness’ Noa portrayed.

Typically, Noa acted like a ‘miniature grown-up,’ a so-called mature child.

But now, her demeanor resembled that of a weathered, ancient ruler—someone who had seen all the joys and sorrows of life and was now detached from it all.

"Even though this body is also female like my own, adapting to it isn’t too difficult. But this child’s age… it’s far too young. Fully regaining my power will take time."

Noa stared at her hands, trying to summon the power she had just gathered.

Suddenly, an intense buzzing filled her mind.

She massaged her temples lightly.

"Tch… This little brat has such high vigilance…"

"After a whole week, I still can only control this body for less than two hours at a time while she’s asleep..."

"No matter. Until my full strength returns, staying here is tolerable."

"Consider it… the price you pay for borrowing my name."