Vol. 6 Ch. 7

"Minor concussion? Isn’t that just getting knocked out? How does it turn into a concussion?"

"Your Majesty, the minor concussion His Highness is experiencing is an old issue. However, Miss Mevis’s… slightly excessive force this time aggravated his previous arm injury."

"...Alright, you can leave now."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Once the attendants had exited, the room was left with only Rosvisser, Mevis, and the unconscious Leon, who was sprawled on the bed thanks to his so-called "minor concussion."

Mevis stood at the foot of the bed, her hands clasped behind her back, her head slightly lowered. The tip of her shoe tapped the floor in small, nervous movements, resembling a high school student called to the principal’s office for a mistake.

Rosvisser sat on a chair by the bedside, her arms crossed and legs elegantly poised. She glanced at the unconscious Leon with a mixture of exasperation and amusement before turning her attention to Mevis.

"In the future timeline, has Leon finally managed to store magic power without relying on his dragon markings?"

"…No, not yet."

"Then why did you hit your father so hard? He had just woken up from a seven-day coma, barely had a single meal, and now you’ve knocked him out again—sigh…"

Rosvisser rubbed her forehead in frustration. She wasn’t truly angry, but she couldn’t help feeling both amused and exasperated.

"This father-daughter pair is impossible to deal with."

One was oblivious to his own physical limits, and the other had no concept of restraint when striking.

Rosvisser couldn’t help but wonder, albeit jokingly, if Leon’s severe injuries in the future timeline—which took years to heal—might have had something to do with Mevis.

"Mom, don’t worry!" Mevis chirped in an attempt to defend herself. "Dad’s super strong! He’ll wake up soon, I promise."

"Soon? With the way you struck him using a triple electric storm in the backyard, he’ll be out for at least three more days."

Mevis scratched the back of her head sheepishly, clearly not helping her case.

"It was a tactical knockout," she explained earnestly. "Mom, why are you so eager for Dad to wake up anyway?"

Rosvisser froze, and a faint blush crept across her cheeks. She straightened her posture and turned her head away.

"I-I’m just worried about your father. That’s all. Worried."

Mevis raised an eyebrow, her dark eyes gleaming with mischief.

Dad once told me that Mom rarely lies. And whenever she does, it’s always painfully obvious.

Her biggest tell is repeating the key phrase of her lie.

"Oh? Just worried, huh?" Mevis tilted her head, rubbing her chin as if deep in thought.

"But Mom, your tone and expression don’t really look like worry to me."

Rosvisser gave her an uneasy glance.

"If it’s not worry, then what else could it be?" she asked defensively.

"Hmm…"

Miss Prodigy got to work, her brain whirring.

"It feels like you had some kind of agreement with Dad. And now that I’ve knocked him out, your plans are ruined—doesn’t it feel like that, Mom?"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Rosvisser shot out of her chair.

"Absolutely not! Mevis, don’t make things up!"

"You’re so flustered you called me Noa," Mevis teased, smirking. "Are you trying to pull rank on me now, Mom?"

Rosvisser glared at her eldest daughter in a mix of shame and anger, but she couldn’t muster a retort.

Hiss—

This girl didn’t just inherit Leon’s extreme heroic tendencies and abstract way of thinking.

She also inherited my cunning and wit.

In the past, Noa had shown glimpses of these traits, but in just a few short years, they had blossomed into the formidable sharpness of Mevis. It left Rosvisser utterly speechless.

"Sigh… It seems my inability to win arguments is genetic."

Leon and Rosvisser’s relationship was one of constant bickering and stalemates, with neither ever truly gaining the upper hand.

Now, with their combined characteristics, the daughter they had produced was practically invincible when going up against either parent individually.

After all, whatever Rosvisser had, Mevis also had.

And what Mevis lacked, Rosvisser didn’t have either!

This was the creation of a true supermodel hybrid.

Facing her future daughter head-on? Rosvisser could only acknowledge her defeat.

However, she still had one move up her sleeve, one that Mevis couldn’t counter

"I said there’s no such thing. Hmph."

"Hmph! Stubborn."

"This stubbornness, my dear, is the result of years of practice with your father! Say what you will—I won’t admit to anything. What can you do about it?"

"Hmph~ Alright then, Mom, if you say there’s nothing, then there’s nothing."

Mevis smirked, taking a step closer to her mother. Before Rosvisser could react, Mevis lightly patted her on the shoulder, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a quick kiss on her mother’s blushing cheek.

Then, without giving Rosvisser a chance to respond, she dashed toward the door.

"I’m off to play with Moon and the little ones! Call me when Dad wakes up. Bye-bye!"

*Thud*

The door closed behind her.

Rosvisser stared at the door for a moment, an exasperated yet fond smile spreading across her face.

"She’s already so grown up, yet still so impulsive," she muttered to herself.

Turning her gaze back to Leon, her smile faded. She sighed, looking at his unconscious form.

"And I thought you were the only fool in this family."

Despite her words, Rosvisser rolled up her sleeves, soaking a towel in warm water before wringing it out. She leaned over, gently wiping away the dirt from Leon’s face.

Bit by bit, the dust left by Mevis’s punches disappeared, leaving only the faint marks of a scuffle on his sleeves and the imprint of her fist.

"At least it’s a fist mark and not a shoe print. Your precious little girl isn’t completely heartless."

She continued muttering as she cleaned,

"You don’t even know your own limits, do you? She challenges you to a fight, and you just go along with it.

It’s not like she’s leaving tomorrow—she’ll be here for another two weeks."

"I get it. You want to spend more time with her. But seriously, was one night going to make a difference?"

"Ugh… And we had plans too"

Her voice trailed off as she placed the towel back on the bedside table.

Rosvisser sank into the chair again, her gaze softening as she watched Leon’s sleeping face. Her thoughts drifted back eight years, to a similar moment.

Back then, she had been the one lying unconscious, suffering from the aftereffects of her blood awakening. Leon had sat by her side for hours, his face filled with the same mixture of worry and affection she now felt.

Eight years later, the circumstances were reversed.

Even if she would never admit it aloud, Rosvisser knew one truth deep in her heart

She loved this man more than anything.

Suddenly, a mischievous idea flitted through her mind. Her cheeks, which had just cooled down, flushed pink again.

"Just so we’re clear," she whispered, "this is only because I don’t want to break our promise. It’s not because I actually want to do something sneaky like this."

With no one else in the room, it wasn’t clear if she was speaking to Leon or trying to convince herself.

Blushing, Rosvisser leaned closer to him, gently cupping his face in her hands. She could feel the even rhythm of his breathing as she inched toward his lips—

"Mom! Little Light asked if you’ve seen"

The sudden voice jolted Rosvisser upright. She quickly withdrew her hands, her face still flushed as she hurriedly smoothed her hair.

"Ah? W-what? I wasn’t doing anything… nothing at all!"

"But I just saw you leaning over Dad. Could it be… Mom, were you trying to—"

Mevis stood at the door, grinning like a fox who had just caught a chicken.

Rosvisser hadn’t expected her daughter to have such a tight grip on her now, of all times.

"Why do I feel like I’m facing my elder sister, Isha?" she muttered under her breath, frustrated.

"I wasn’t doing anything. I was just… checking your father’s injuries. Is there a problem with that?"

Mevis’s dark eyes gleamed with mirth. "No problem at all, Mom! None whatsoever. By the way, could you help me find a storage stone? Little Light has a new project she wants to work on."

Without saying another word, Rosvisser stood, retrieved a shadow stone from the storage room, and handed it to Mevis.

"Next time, don’t barge into your father’s room without knocking. I taught you better than that when you were little."

"Yes, yes, I know~~"

Mevis tucked the stone into her pocket and hopped toward the door. Just before leaving, she turned back, peeking through the doorframe with a mischievous smile.

"Well then, Mom, I’ll leave you to… carefully inspect Dad’s injuries. Take your time!"

"Noa!"

"Bye, Mom!"

*Thud*

The door closed, and Rosvisser heard the sound of Mevis’s footsteps fading into the distance, accompanied by her laughter.

Rosvisser exhaled, half laughing and half fuming. She turned back to Leon, shaking her head.

"Look at that. This is the daughter you raised."