Just as Leon had expected, Aurora carried him into the mountain gorge, coming to a graceful halt before the familiar waterfall.
With a practiced flick of her wings, Little Light parted the curtain of water—the movement was identical to how Rossweise had done it all those years ago. It was hard not to suspect the mother dragon had personally taught her daughter this trick.
This further confirmed Leon's suspicion: his daughters knew he was human.
But why hadn't Aurora mentioned it?
The puzzle deepened.
Inside the cave, Aurora shifted back to her human form and called into the darkness, "Sister."
Her tone still held a scientist's coolness, but Leon could detect a thread of familial warmth woven through it.
That single word, "sister," made his heart clench with nerves.
As a father, he had imagined countless times what his daughters would look like grown up. The young woman beside him fit his imaginings of Aurora—save for the fact she'd greeted her old dad with an uppercut. It was a mark of familial duty, etched deep in their genes.
But what of Noah? What had become of the serious, diligent little girl who always tried to act so mature?
A mix of anticipation and anxiety churned in his chest. He stared into the cave's depths, and after a moment, a tall figure emerged from the shadows.
The soft tap of low-heeled boots echoed rhythmically against the cold stone.
The girl stepping into the light wore a fitted black outfit, the tight pants outlining the powerful contours of her legs. Her waist was slender but radiated strength. Her hair, not particularly long, was a rich black streaked with silver. Her face was a masterpiece of exquisite lines, perfectly stoic—a skill all Melkvey women seemed to possess.
She had grown so tall. Her steps were heavy, stable. Her sharp eyes held the glint of blades, making her look like a seasoned female general, a true warrior.
"Noah…"
An indescribable emotion swelled in Leon's chest. In his mind's eye, the grown-up Noah was indeed this cool and fierce, a born warrior destined for greatness. But seeing the reality of it—his once-tiny daughter transformed into this formidable woman—left his heart tangled in a web of pride and sorrow. How much had she endured to get here?
From the child pretending to be an adult to this ice-faced warrior, what had she been through?
By the time Leon gathered his wits, Noah was standing right in front of him.
His daughter had grown up. She was beautiful, just like her mother.
But on that lovely face was a faint, faded scar. It was barely noticeable from a distance, but to a father's eye, it stood out starkly. Every scar tells a story, he thought. Over the years, Noah must have endured her share of hardship. And given her nature, she was likely the one who had borne the most among the three sisters.
Leon looked into his daughter's eyes, and Noah met his gaze.
Her brows and eyes were her mother's; at a glance, she seemed indifferent, cold and distant. But if one could pierce that icy surface, they would find a torrent of burning emotion beneath.
Noah's pupils trembled slightly. The ice on her face showed fine cracks of feeling.
Unlike Aurora, who could cloak her emotions in absolute calm, Noah, for all her maturity, had always relied more on her father.
For her, a full twenty years had passed since she last saw him.
Now, the family member she had longed for day and night stood before her. Countless memories surged, overwhelming the dams behind her eyes.
Seeing his daughter's emotional shift, Leon slowly raised a hand, moving to brush away the tear welling in the corner of her eye.
However— Snap!
Noah suddenly seized his wrist.
Before he could process it, a sharp jab connected with his abdomen.
The old father's knees instantly buckled, his head spinning.
Yet, with his last shred of consciousness, he managed to poke Noah's nose. "You…" He blinked, dazed. "What's wrong, Noah—uh!!"
The Melkvey dragons were not only masters of transformation but also of… patricide.
With that final thought, General Leon's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
A flicker of panic crossed Aurora's face before vanishing. She walked slowly to her sister's side, looking down at their fallen father.
"Dad just came through the rift. His body hasn't recovered yet. That punch was a bit too heavy," she remarked, though it was only a few hours prior that she'd knocked him out with an uppercut of her own.
Noah wiped the unshed tears from the corners of her eyes, steadying herself. "That was just the first punch. There are three more to go."
Aurora raised an eyebrow, calculating. "Actually, it's two punches—one from Mom and one from Second Sister."
"What about yours?"
"I already hit him a long time ago."
"Oh."
Noah looked at their unconscious father, a trace of regret crossing her cold features. "Then I… really did hit too hard."
.
.
.
Leon slowly opened his eyes to the sight of an old wooden table.
He was sitting in a chair. An oil lamp sat on the table, its flame flickering precariously as if it might die at any moment.
Across from him sat his two dutiful daughters.
"Dad, you're awake!" Aurora's pink eyes sparkled.
Leon forced a smile, enduring the throbbing pain in his abdomen. He glanced at his youngest, then his gaze settled on his eldest. "Are you mad at me, Noah?"
He could guess why she had punched him. He had promised her the family would never be apart, yet because of the spatial rift, he had vanished from their lives for twenty years.
Logically, Leon had entered the rift to save them. It wasn't a senseless abandonment. But the raw fact of "losing a father" couldn't be smoothed over by "logic." This was a matter of the heart.
Noah's punch wasn't an accusation. It was a simple, physical way of telling her dad everything about the years they had spent without him.
Her grievances, her longing, all her tangled feelings toward Leon—whether calm or extreme—were packed into that one blow.
She had thought about embracing him, but an embrace felt too simple, its message too singular. She would embrace him, yes, but not at this first moment of reunion.
"I don't know," Noah replied.
Leon was taken aback. He lowered his gaze. "Well… regardless of whether you're mad or not, I apologize."
"Alright. I accept your apology. Even though I don't even know if I'm mad at you."
Feelings had always been vague and messy. Noah genuinely didn't know if she should be angry with Leon. But getting an apology from her stubborn dad for free? Why not?
Her mom had once said only about five people in the world could make Leon Cosmodeous bow his head and apologize.
"Oh… so quick to accept. I thought there would be more back-and-forth," Leon remarked.
"Back-and-forth? What kind of back-and-forth?" Noah leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and propping up her long legs—her posture a perfect mirror of her mother's. "Like how you and Mom used to argue, where in the end there wasn't even a proper confession?"
Leon pressed his lips together. "Did your mother tell you everything about us…"
"Uh-huh," Noah nodded.
"Not only did she talk about it, she went into so much detail she could have written a whole painful teenage romance novel," Aurora added.
Leon: "…"
So, he and that mother dragon were the protagonists of a painful teenage romance? What a twist! Who falls in love after already having children? Wasn't that completely backwards?
"Of course, besides your love story—ah, let's tentatively call that awkward feeling 'love,' shall we, Little Light?" Noah looked at her sister.
Aurora nodded.
Both sisters were fair in their assessment: Dad was awkward, and Mom was awkward too. They were two of a kind.
"Besides your love story, Mom also told me about how you two got together in the first place." Noah's expression was subtle, but anyone with sense could grasp her meaning.
Leon's heart trembled. It seemed they truly knew everything now. He kept his eyes downcast, choosing silence.
"So, the harmonious family we had back then was fake, right? It was a lie you and Mom wove together."
Upon learning the truth, she hadn't immediately fixated on her own bloodline. She cared more about the family itself.
"You always said you loved Mom and loved us, but all of that was—"
"It's all true, Noah."
Leon finally spoke. He stared at the table, his voice low and firm.
"Indeed, it was a complete accident that your mom and I ended up together at first. Your births were accidents, too."
"It might even be like you said—this family was a lie made up by your mom and me. Everything was fake."
"But."
"Noah, Aurora, my love for you is real."
"I love you both, and I love Muen. You are my daughters, the most important people to me in this world."
He pursed his dry lips, rubbing his cold palms together.
"You made me a father. I am truly… so grateful to you."
"Because you were born, I now have people I would risk my life to protect."
"Noah, you can blame me and your mom for keeping things from you to maintain the family, but don't say my love for you is fake."
"I really… love you. I love you so much…"
The man sitting before them was once the empire's strongest, yet now he bowed his head, his voice hushed, repeating over and over that he loved them.
Constantine might have been right: the ones you love become your weaknesses.
But Leon willingly let himself be bound by these weaknesses.
They were his family. His most important bonds in this world.
Noah and Aurora exchanged a glance, then looked back at the man across the table.
"You didn't get to the point."
"Huh?" Leon looked up, bewildered.
"We were just scaring you, Dad. Everyone knows you're a doting father." Aurora couldn't hide her amusement.
Leon's face darkened immediately. "So you've grown up and learned to mess with your dad's feelings now, huh?"
"Who messed with your feelings? We haven't seen you in twenty years. We just wanted to make sure you still love us." Aurora offered a shallow excuse and quickly changed the subject. "Ahem, Big Sis is right. You didn't get to the point just now."
"What point?" Leon asked.
Noah put her leg down, leaning closer over the table, her eyes fixed on Leon. "You love me, Muen, and Aurora. But did you forget the last family member?"
Leon blinked, then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh~~~ I get it!"
"Mm. Say it."
"I love the donkey, too."
Noah & Aurora: "…?"
"Sis, I take back what I said earlier. That punch you gave him wasn't hard enough."
Smack! Noah slapped the table. "Be serious, old fool! Say it! Do you love her?"
"Do I… really have to say it…"
Both sisters nodded in unwavering unison.
Seeing their determination, Leon knew there was no escape. He let out a long breath, steadied his emotions, and then gave a serious nod.
"I love her. Rossweise Melkvey, your mother… I love her."
He thought back to the confession he'd made before entering the spatial rift. That clumsy dragon probably never heard it.
So that was why his daughters were forcing him to say it now.
But Leon still didn't quite understand. Why did he have to say it now? Couldn't he wait until he saw the leading lady of their parents' painful romance in person?