Little Light clapped her hands, celebrating her victory over her dad.
After handing his two younger daughters over to Rossweise, Leon finally turned his gaze to Noah.
Her small face was smudged with dust, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.
Leon reached out and gently wiped the grime and blood from her cheek.
Father and daughter exchanged a silent look, everything understood in their heartfelt gazes.
Finally, Leon extended a fist toward Noah.
Noah understood and mirrored the gesture, bumping her small fist against his.
"Did Dad look cool just now?"
"Super cool, Dad."
"You'll be as cool as me when you grow up."
Noah snorted softly and withdrew her fist, then stepped forward to hug Leon.
The little dragon girl whispered in her father's ear, her voice low, "I'm proud to have a father like you, Dad."
He gently patted her back, then picked her up and turned to look at Rossweise.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go make some steak for Muen."
.
.
.
"Daddy, Daddy, where have you been all this time? Muen really thought you would never come back."
The family sat together at the dinner table after a long separation.
Due to months of continuous warfare and the fact that Rossweise had disbanded most of the Silver Dragon Clan, the dinner was simple, and the entire palace was unusually quiet.
But the atmosphere of reunion was warm.
The little dragon girls fired off questions one after another, their main concern being where their father had been for so long.
Rossweise sat beside Leon. From the beginning, she didn't ask anything, just rested her chin on one hand, silently watching him.
After six months without seeing that unruly, handsome, and manly face of her husband, she had to get her fill of looking.
What?
Are you saying this Queen is shamelessly obsessed with good looks?
Haha.
This Queen is not obsessed with looks.
She's obsessed with her husband.
Whatever her husband looks like, that's what she's obsessed with.
Hehe.
When answering the daughters' questions, Leon simply said,
"Daddy went to a very, very far~ far away place."
The daughters were still young, a long way from becoming the aloof young woman, the girl-next-door, or the scientist they would be in twenty years.
So Leon had no intention of telling them about the future.
Of course, this was only for now.
Once the little ones were a bit older, Leon would try to explain everything to them clearly.
It was the family's future, and as his daughters, they had the right to know.
"Really far? Then how did you come back, Dad?" Little Light asked.
It was you who brought me back.
Leon smiled and glanced at his precious daughters. "The reason I could come back is all thanks to you."
The three little dragon girls looked at each other, their big eyes wide with confusion, seemingly not understanding what their father meant.
The youngest scratched her head. "I don't really get it… But anyway, it's good that you're back, Dad."
"Mm."
After a pause, since it was Noah who had brought it up, Leon added, "This time, I won't leave you again. I absolutely won't."
Some promises needed to be made clear.
Otherwise, when an accident happened, it would be too late.
This was a lesson Leon had learned from his journey through time.
If a similar situation occurred again in the future, Noah would know that her father had promised her that even if they were briefly separated, they would eventually be reunited.
Because this man never broke his word.
Noah paused slightly, then lowered her eyes, her little face blushing as she nodded. "I understand, Dad."
"Mm, let's eat. Muen, Little Light, you eat too. Eat more."
"Yes, Dad!"
The children continued with their meal.
The little ones ate quickly.
After they finished, Muen still wanted to ask Leon all sorts of questions.
But Noah glanced at her mother, who had fallen into a lovesick daze, and then at her father, who seemed to want to cuddle with his wife but was holding back because of the children.
Got it.
This assist is brought to you by Noah C. Melkvey.
"Muen, Little Light, let's go check on Anna and the others. Once we've taken care of their injuries, we'll come back to find Mom and Dad," Noah said.
Little Light had no objections.
She could tell her big sister wanted to create some alone time for their parents.
Although Muen was a little reluctant, she still listened to her sister.
So the three little ones jumped down from their chairs and left the dining hall one after the other.
It turned out Noah's plan was correct.
Her father didn't stop them at all after she suggested they leave with their sisters.
At that moment, Leon recalled his own childhood, when his master wouldn't let him run around after meals.
But occasionally, his master would actively tell little Leon to go out and play with his friends.
He would even give him some extra pocket money and say it was fine to play for a long time.
His mistress would quietly agree.
Back then, Leon didn't understand, thinking his master had finally realized it was better to give children freedom than to restrict them.
It wasn't until he married Rossweise and started living with her that Leon understood the "good intentions" behind every parent's decision to let their children play outside.
.
.
.
After the daughters left, Leon finally had time to look at his wife beside him—
No.
Not his wife.
A lovesick girl.
She was leaning sideways, her silver hair cascading down, her cute dimples showing as she smiled, her long eyes curved into crescents, the intense affection almost overflowing.
Leon shifted closer. "You… You're not eating properly. Why are you looking at me like that…"
"Oh, earlier, you were hugging and holding me outside, not shy at all, saying you missed me. Now that I'm looking at you, you're shy?" The queen smiled, her eyes narrowing beautifully.
"Earlier? That was… I was overwhelmed by the excitement of seeing you again after so long," Leon said.
"Besides, I hugged Noah and the others too. What's the big deal about a hug? A hug doesn't mean anything."
"Your wise and mighty brain gets overwhelmed so easily?"
"Of course, it gets overwhelmed easily."
"Then stop getting overwhelmed."
"None of your business." Leon rolled his eyes at her.
Rossweise covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. "Is it only when you're facing me that your brain gets overwhelmed?"
Leon felt something was off and frowned. "Why does that sound so strange?"
Hmph.
The queen snorted, then shifted her gaze from Leon's face, lowering her head to play with the food on her plate with her fork.
"Alright, tell me, where did you go these past six months?"
Leon stopped joking. He paused for a moment, then told Rossweise everything about the future worldline.
After hearing it, the queen was stunned.