Times had changed. Once, maids had prepared three meals a day for the royal family. Now, the queen was encased in crystal, the daughters were consumed by research and magical training, and their father had been missing for twenty years. The fact they hadn't starved was an accomplishment in itself.
The seating arrangement at the dinner table was telling.
Muen and Aurora naturally sat close to their dad.
But Noah sat alone at the far end of the table, quietly sipping her soup.
"Daddy, try this! I caught the prime cut from a dangerous beast myself!" Muen announced proudly.
"Alright, let's have a taste."
Leon cut a piece and put it in his mouth. The meat quality was good, but it was slightly overdone, with some charred bits affecting the flavor.
"Is it good, Daddy?" Muen's eyes were full of unspoken plea for praise.
"It's delicious, of course!" Leon ate the grilled meat in one bite. "How about I teach you some other ways to cook meat later?"
"Uh… Daddy, I caught the ingredients, but my sister did the actual cooking," Muen admitted.
Leon froze, then glanced at Noah, who showed no intention of speaking up.
"Oh, I see…"
"Mm-hmm! Try it, Daddy. My sister's cooking is amazing~"
This elder sister, whose culinary skills were still a work in progress, was fortunate to have a sister who adored her and a father who doted on her.
Noah continued her meal in silence.
After the simple dinner, Muen and Aurora took on dishwashing duty.
Noah went outside alone.
.
.
After a moment's hesitation, Leon followed her.
Exiting the underground space, Leon found no sign of Noah. He scanned the area, but night had fallen, and the tall trees with their thick foliage obscured his view. After a brief, fruitless search, he sighed softly and turned to head back.
But as he took his first step, Noah's voice came from above.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Leon stopped and looked up.
Noah was sitting on a large boulder by the cave entrance, one leg dangling, her arms wrapped around her knees.
"Ah… I just wanted to talk," Leon said. "Do you have a moment?"
"Yes."
"Then can I… come up there?"
"Mm."
Leon nodded, found a gentler slope, and carefully climbed up. When he reached Noah's side, he bent down and sat next to her. She didn't move away, but she didn't lean closer either. She maintained her posture, half-lidded eyes gazing into the deep night.
Leon studied her profile. Exquisite, with a faint resemblance to her mother in the brow line.
Neither spoke; they sat in silence.
A cold gust of wind swept past, and Noah shivered slightly. "If you're not going to say anything soon, I'm going back inside—it's cold."
"Ah… oh…"
"Don't just 'oh.' Say something. You wanted to talk, so talk."
Leon scratched his head, suddenly unsure how to begin. His daughters were grown now, with their own thoughts and perspectives. He couldn't speak to them as he had when they were children.
After a moment's thought, Leon decided to be direct.
"Noah, are you… unhappy with me?"
Noah slowly turned her head to look at him. "Why would you think that?"
"Because… you haven't called me 'Dad' since yesterday…"
Noah raised an eyebrow, her tone flat. "That's it?"
"Yes…"
Leon continued, "When you were little, there was also a long time when you didn't call me Dad, right? Back then, it was because you thought I didn't love you. Is it the same now? Do you still think I don't love you?"
He was growing anxious. Normally, Leon remained composed in conversation, but now he was desperate to understand what was in Noah's heart.
Noah, familiar with her father's usual demeanor, wasn't surprised by his agitation. She let out a soft, almost imperceptible sigh through her nose, then lowered her head and spoke seriously, "I'm just… afraid."
Leon was taken aback by the unexpected response.
"Afraid… of what?"
"We used to have a happy family, didn't we?" Noah's voice was soft. "I once returned your love with just as much passion. Do you know, as Leon Cosmodeous's daughter, I was always proud?"
"I knew my father was strong, the kind of strength that's one-of-a-kind in this world."
"I was proud to have a father like you."
"And Mom too. Being your daughter was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me."
"But… all of that was shattered by the disaster."
"Everything I cared about, everything I cherished, everything that nurtured me and loved me… along with my once-fiery love, was buried twenty years ago."
"I thought everything would be fixed when you came back."
Noah buried her face in her arms, her grip on her own sleeves tightening.
"But that's not how it turned out."
"Instead, I'm even more afraid of the day everything will end."
"If we fail, and you leave me, Muen, and Little Light again, what will we do? What will Mom do?"
"I do love you, I love you deeply, but I can't love you as recklessly as I did when I was a child."
She slowly lifted her head from her arms. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at her father beside her. In that moment, Noah's face, with its faint scars, seemed to overlap with her childhood visage in Leon's eyes.
Her voice was choked, yet every word was clear:
"Because I'm afraid of losing you—twice."
The strongest girl had the most fragile heart. Noah always saw deeper than Leon could fathom.
Looking at his daughter, Leon slowly reached out and gently placed a hand on Noah's shoulder. Assured she wouldn't pull away, he carefully drew her into an embrace, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Noah. It's my leaving that caused all of this, making you, your sisters, and your mother suffer so much."
"I don't want to stand here and make grand promises to you, because the truth is, no one can predict the outcome this time."
"But, Noah, please believe me. For the sake of you, your sisters, and your mother… I can do anything."
Noah, leaning against her father's shoulder, wiped her tears and said softly, "People who talk big… will get their tails rotten." She glanced at his empty back and added, "That might be tough for Dad, though… Even if I wanted my tail to rot, I don't have one."
Noah smiled through her tears, sat up, sniffled twice, then clenched her fist and held it out toward Leon.
"Then, how about this."
Seeing Noah's slightly raised fist, Leon immediately understood. This was the gesture he used to make promises to her when she was little.
"Alright."
Leon nodded and extended his own hand.
Father and daughter's fists gently bumped together, just like old times.
"But until you save the world, I still won't call you Dad."
Noah's stubbornness resurfaced, a trait undoubtedly inherited from both her headstrong parents.
"Ah… why?"
"What do you mean why? It's a tradition in the Melkvey family to be stubborn. You got a problem with that?"
Leon chuckled. "No, none at all."
Aside from the stubbornness, the dragon women of the Melkvey family—both the elder and the younger—had always been quite adept at keeping General Leon firmly in his place.