"But why would I dream about the Primordial Dragon King? And so many times?"

Leon thought for a moment and asked, "Since when did these dreams start occurring?"

He already had a hunch about the answer, but he wanted confirmation.

Without hesitation, Noa replied, "Since we returned from the Far North."

The father and daughter locked eyes, and as they pieced together all the clues, the answer became clear.

Noa's recent peculiar behaviors were all tied to the ruin beneath the ice in the Far North.

In fact, as soon as they returned from the Far North, Leon and Roswitha had summoned the clan’s best physicians to examine Noa.

The results were normal; aside from a minor injury to her right hand, there were no issues with the rest of her body.

But after all, Noa had ventured into the ancestral ruins of the Dragon Clan, which meant an outwardly clean bill of health did not necessarily mean there was no hidden trouble.

Leon took the matter very seriously.

If anything happened to his precious daughter, his first action would be to take down Old Constantine, and then smash the ruins to pieces.

Others might analyze the situation in hindsight, spouting endless reasoning; General Leon, though, was all action—he’d pin you to the ground *first* and give you a lecture *later*.

Of course, for now, the priority was to address Noa’s condition.

"Based on your account, you interrupted Constantine while he was absorbing power. During the process, your magic collided with the Primordial Power, causing an explosion, which successfully stopped Constantine, correct?"

Noa nodded.

Leon pondered this briefly before analyzing, "It’s possible that, in the process, you unintentionally absorbed a portion of Primordial Power. Since this power resides in your body but you're unable to wield it, over time, certain 'substances' dwelling within this power may have begun influencing your dreams."

Noa blinked, her curiosity piqued for the first time upon hearing this theory.

"'Substances' dwelling within the power...?"

"Yes. It’s difficult to define what these substances are. Some scholars believe they are the souls of living beings after death, while others suggest they are fragments of memories from the deceased."

Leon explained, "Opinions vary. But what is certain is that the magic we wield—"

As he spoke, Leon raised his hand slowly, and arcs of blue lightning began flickering and dancing in his palm. "—does indeed inherit certain things. If at the moment of death, the body perishes but a portion of its power and the substances within it are preserved through some method, it is possible to revive these energies using specific magical techniques."

Reviving the dead was a forbidden and obscure domain of magic across all races, shrouded in complexity. Leon simplified it for Noa’s understanding.

In the past, Leon had only encountered mentions of these theories and practices in books. He’d never witnessed such magic personally.

It wasn’t until the Empire fully crossed the line and resurrected Constantine—not once but *twice*—that Leon had seen it with his own eyes.

At the time, Constantine had been reduced to nothing but a severed head, its stored power negligible. But after being revived, he had bounced back to life. Let alone the Primordial Dragon King, who had left a massive concentration of power in those ruins.

Noa mulled over her father's explanation, trying to keep up with his train of thought.

"So, Dad, you're saying that I now have some Primordial Power in my body, but since I don't know how to use it, I can’t expel it. That’s why the 'substances' lingering in this power are affecting me. Is that correct?"

Leon nodded. "In theory, yes. If you can release the residual Primordial Power in your body, the dreams should stop, and your physical state should gradually normalize."

Noa froze, then spread her hands helplessly. "But, Dad, I have no idea how to use Primordial Power. I’ve never learned."

Something completely outside her experience—this was beyond even the "Involuted Queen’s" capacity for self-teaching.

However, Leon remained utterly calm.

"Even if you don’t know how, someone else does."

"Huh?"

...

"Why do the two of you look so suspiciously pleased?"

Inside the temple hall, Roswitha sat at the throne’s desk, with a pen in hand, her head tilted as she gazed at Leon and Noa.

The man held the young girl in his arms, both wearing ingratiating smiles.

"Darling~"

"Mommy~"

"Spit it out. I’m busy."

As Noa grew older, she resembled her father more and more in every respect.

Combat style, magical affinities, personal principles—they were becoming increasingly alike.

Even this goofy, cheeky grin of his was something she seemed to have picked up.

Oh, precious daughter, you can learn anything from your father, but *not* that laid-back demeanor!

There was no time to reminisce about the icily elegant girl of yesteryear. The ever-cheerful Noa had taken the stage.

But come to think of it, when Leon had mistakenly traveled twenty years into the future, the Noa of that time had become somber and withdrawn due to a childhood without her father’s presence.

Roswitha wouldn’t—*couldn’t*—allow her daughter to turn out like that.

So, when she looked at the increasingly lively and expressive elder daughter before her, Roswitha felt nothing but relief.

Back to the matter at hand.

The father-daughter duo surely had a reason for seeking her out.

Leon gave Roswitha a succinct explanation of Noa's condition and the analysis they had just pieced together.

Roswitha immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation.

"Teaching Noa to channel Primordial Power? No problem. Noa, when do you want to start?"

"Whenever you're done with your work, Mom."

Roswitha set down her pen, stood up, and declared, "I’m done now."

Leon & Noa: ?

"But, Mom, weren’t you just saying you were busy?"

"Honey, nothing is more important than my daughter. Let’s head to the training grounds."

And so, the workaholic lost to the doting mother in this battle of personas.

Ten minutes later, the three of them arrived at the training grounds behind the temple.

"As long as Noa can expel the residual power she accidentally absorbed, her dreams will cease, and her body should recover. Is that right?" Roswitha asked.

Leon nodded. "Roughly how long do you think it’ll take to teach Noa the basic use of Primordial Power?"

He still remembered how much time Roswitha herself had spent, laboring to master the concentration and proper use of Primordial Power. It had taken ages and significant effort.

Noa, prodigy though she was, would surely take at least ten days or so to even scratch the surface.

Roswitha considered this and replied, "Ordinarily, it would take significant time. But since this power is negatively affecting her health, we can’t afford the delay. So, I think... I might be able to extract her Primordial Power directly. The outcome should be the same."

Roswitha's proposal was logical.

Even after just half a month, Noa’s discomfort had become evident.

If more time were wasted training her to wield the Primordial Power, the additional strain could make things worse.

Thus, Roswitha’s plan was clearly the optimal solution.

"Let’s go with that, then."

"Alright. Come here, Noa. Sit down."

Noa nodded and obediently complied.

The mother and daughter sat cross-legged, facing each other.

"Hold out your hands and place them on Mommy’s."

"Yes, Mommy."

Noa extended her hands, placing her small palms in Roswitha’s soft ones.

Roswitha gently supported her daughter's hands and comforted her. "Don’t worry, Noa. Just relax."

"Okay."

"Now, close your eyes and slowly channel the magic already present in your body."

Noa complied once more.

She was already practiced in her control over magic.

Before long, blue sparks began flickering around her.

"Good. Now try to sense anything unusual mixed in with that magic."

Noa's brows furrowed slightly. "'Unusual'...?"

"Yes. Your body’s own magic is pure to you, but Primordial Power is different. It’s like a drop of ink in water, carried throughout your magical circuits. Focus carefully, and you’ll find it."

Having practiced Primordial Power for so long, Roswitha had honed this efficient strategy.

"Got it. I’ll give it a try."

Following Roswitha's guidance, Noa calmed herself, searching within for the foreign presence of Primordial Power.

Meanwhile, Roswitha used her own Primordial Power to trace Noa’s internal path. Once Noa identified the foreign power, Roswitha would promptly draw it out.

After a short while, a flicker of realization crossed Noa's expression.

"Mommy, I think I feel the Primordial Power."

"Good. Leave the next part to Mommy."

As soon as Roswitha heard this, she seized upon the identified Primordial Power and carefully began extracting it from Noa’s magical circuits.

This step required precision and a steady pace—rushing would risk harming Noa.

Just as Roswitha was on the verge of fully removing the Primordial Power, she suddenly felt an unseen force pulling back, resisting her effort.

"What... is this?" she murmured.

Standing nearby as her guard, Leon picked up on the anomaly and quickly approached.

"What’s wrong?"

"There seems to be something preventing me from extracting the Primordial Power from Noa."

"Do you need my help?"

Roswitha shook her head. "No, it’s alright. The resistance isn’t strong—it’s faint. I can handle it."

"Okay. But if anything feels off, I’ll immediately sever your connection to it," Leon assured.

"Hmm."

Roswitha continued to concentrate on extracting the Primordial Power within Noa.

As she had said, the “thing” obstructing her was too weak to put up any real resistance.

Sure enough, it didn’t take her long to guide all of Noa’s Primordial Power outward.

Both the mother and daughter let out a sigh of relief.

Noa fell backward onto the soft grass, her body feeling noticeably lighter, and even the mild headache she had been enduring eased up significantly.

Roswitha looked at the white energy cluster in her hands. "So this is the Primordial Power that inadvertently flowed into Noa’s body back during the ruins..."

Leon crouched beside her. "Compared to Constantine’s, this doesn’t seem like much."

Roswitha elbowed him sharply. "Can’t you compare it to that of a normal person instead?"

Leon chuckled sheepishly, then walked over to scoop Noa into his arms. "Feeling better?"

Noa nodded. "Much better."

She then turned to Roswitha. "Thank you, Mom!"

Roswitha stood up as well, reaching out to pinch her daughter’s cheek. "As long as you’re okay. Tonight, we’ll ask the maids to make extra food to help replenish your strength."

"Okay."

...

At midnight, in the sisters’ room, Muen had just finished hugging Aurora and was preparing to turn and hug Noa.

This time, she succeeded in hugging her elder sister.

The little dragon girl, still lost in her dreams, smiled and pressed her small face snugly into Noa’s neck.

Meanwhile, Noa, who had been turned into a life-sized doll, stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.

She raised her hand and pushed Muen away.

But in the next moment, Muen hugged her again.

Push.

Hug.

Push.

Hug.

Noa gave up.

"You annoying little brat. How can the daughter of the Dragon Queen have such an unseemly sleeping posture? You’re a disgrace to me."

"Though I admit, your face is quite cute. Could it be the genetics of the Dragon Clan concentrated all their optimization on appearance?"

The King of Days Past stared at the ceiling, pondering how his once-rescued Dragon Clan from millennia ago had ended up like this.

Not that it was bad, necessarily.

Just... surprising.

"Alas. It seems I can no longer secretly use this little brat’s body to recondense the Primordial Power. That silver dragon named Roswitha is truly formidable—mastering my power at such a young age."

"And her husband... Leon Casmode. He’s a troublesome one too. If I damage this little brat’s body, he definitely won’t let me off."

"Heh... If I still had my original body and power from back then, I wouldn’t fear that couple at all."

"But unfortunately... ah."

The King of Days Past sighed again, pondering how to recover without anyone noticing.

But try as he might, no good ideas came to mind.

At that moment, the little child beside her finally decided to roll over and hug the pink-haired brat on the other side.

Good, the King of Days Past breathed a sigh of relief.

Carefully lifting the blankets, Noa stepped out barefoot and made her way to the bathroom.

Staring at the young dragon reflection in the mirror, Noa’s mind churned.

After a brief hesitation, she finally made up her mind.

"It seems... I’ll have to come clean with you, little brat."