Vol. 6 Ch. 21

“Grandmother!”

Two days later, Grandmother Veronica returned to the secluded mountain training ground.

Rosvisser ran toward her in excitement, and her grandmother bent down to pick her up.

“I missed you so much, Grandmother,” the little silver dragon said in her sweet, childlike voice.

Veronica smiled gently. “I missed you too, Little Lo. Have you been listening to your sister and practicing your magic diligently these past few days?”

“I have! Big Sis taught me, and so did Big Brother Leon.”

At the mention of an unfamiliar name, Veronica’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Leon?”

“Mhm, he accidentally stumbled upon this place and has been living with us for a few days.”

“I see…”

“Grandmother! They’re here!”

Rosvisser excitedly pointed into the distance.

Following her gesture, Veronica saw Isha walking toward them, accompanied by a stranger.

Isha approached quickly and leaned in to whisper something to Veronica.

Only then did Veronica’s tightly knit brows relax, and her gaze toward Leon softened, showing more goodwill and acceptance.

Leon stepped forward and introduced himself briefly.

“Leon,” Veronica said kindly. “Welcome to our little dragon family.”

After a few pleasantries, Grandmother Veronica got straight to the point.

“I’ve spoken with the Silver Dragon clan, and Little Lo can begin living with them immediately.”

“Grandmother?” Rosvisser’s silver eyes widened. “You mean… right now?”

“Yes, it’s best if you go now,” Veronica said. “You’ll need to enroll at St. Heath’s Academy in a few months. That’s a place where dragons and humans study together. Arriving early will help you adjust.”

“I can take care of myself!” Rosvisser said firmly, her tone and expression uncannily similar to the adult version of herself—stubborn and resolute.

“Listen to Grandmother, Little Lo,” Isha chimed in. “This is important, and the longer you delay, the harder it will be. Don’t worry, we’ll write to each other. You must send me a letter every month, okay?”

So this was the origin of the sisters’ habit of exchanging letters, Leon mused.

“But… but I don’t want to leave Big Sis,” Rosvisser said, her tone softening as she realized the separation was inevitable.

Her beautiful silver eyes began to glisten with tears.

“Little Lo, you’ll have to learn to live on your own eventually. Your sister can’t always be with you,” Veronica explained.

“Besides, Isha has already started the Dragon King Trials. She can’t afford to delay any longer.”

“The Dragon King Trials… So Big Sis is going to become a Dragon King,” Rosvisser murmured.

“Yes, I’ll keep working hard to achieve that goal. And you, Little Lo, must also keep pushing yourself.”

“Then! Then—”

Rosvisser leapt down from her grandmother’s arms and ran to Isha, tilting her head back and wagging her little tail as she excitedly asked,

“If I become a Dragon King too, will we get to see each other often again?”

Leon expected Isha to respond with the truth—that the strict rules binding Dragon Kings wouldn’t allow them to visit each other freely. After all, it was characteristic of dragons to be direct about such matters.

But—

“Yes, we will, Little Lo,” Isha said softly.

“Then I’ll join the Dragon King Trials too! I’ll become a Dragon King! That way, I can be with Big Sis and Grandmother all the time!”

Isha had lied.

Despite her usual bluntness and insistence that she wasn’t good with children, Isha told her little sister a kind lie.

It was true—every Melkvey dragoness had a habit of saying one thing while meaning another.

“Say goodbye to your sister, Little Lo,” Veronica gently urged.

“Okay… Goodbye, Big Sis. When you become the Red Dragon Queen, make sure to write and tell me.”

Isha nodded.

“I will, Little Lo.”

Grandmother Veronica transformed into her massive dragon form. With a gentle motion of her tail, she lifted Rosvisser and placed her on her back.

“Now, you should return to the Red Dragon clan and continue your Dragon King Trials, Isha,” Veronica reminded her.

“Yes, Grandmother,” Isha replied.

The silver dragon nodded, spread her wings, and soared out of the mountain cave.

Before she had flown far, a small head popped out from behind the dragon’s back. Waving excitedly, Rosvisser called out,

“Goodbye, Big Sis~ Goodbye, Big Brother Leon~”

Isha and Leon waved back at her.

As the massive dragon disappeared from view, Isha slowly lowered her arm, a trace of melancholy flickering across her face.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, as though trying to compose herself.

Leon noticed her subdued mood and decided to offer some comfort.

“You’ll see her again, Miss Isha.”

“Maybe… or maybe not…” Isha murmured, her voice barely audible.

“What? Miss Isha, what did you say?” Leon asked, puzzled.

“Did you hear me? I just said that… Little Lo, she…”

—was bullied…

Isha’s words became fragmented, her speech disjointed to the point where Leon couldn’t make sense of it.

Just as Leon was about to ask her to clarify, he noticed that the surroundings, including Isha herself, began to blur and distort.

Furrowing his brows, Leon muttered,

“What’s… happening?”

“Mom has already left this mountain training ground, so her memories from after this point will gradually blur and collapse,” Aurora explained, rubbing her temples in frustration.

“This is one of the limitations of the memory traversal magic—it can’t fabricate memories that the person didn’t actually experience.”

“So Dad needs to fill in this part of the memory?” Moon asked.

Aurora nodded, her gaze lowering slightly before she added,

“Don’t worry. Even though time is moving forward, once Mom’s memory resets to its original state, this part—the memory of her as a six-year-old—will continue. There might even be more to see in the next segment.”

Noa shrugged,

“Who knows? Let’s keep watching.”

The scene of the mountain training ground disintegrated, and Isha’s figure dissolved into nothingness before Leon’s eyes.

Leon realized he had just witnessed the memory’s end, which explained why the scene could no longer sustain itself.

“Well… Let’s move on to the next memory,” Leon murmured, selecting the next point in time. His figure flickered and vanished from the collapsing space.

When Leon reappeared, it was a stormy night.

Standing at the entrance of a mountain cave, he gazed out at the torrential downpour. The sound of rain hitting the ground was deafening, and the entire world seemed shrouded in a heavy, misty gray.

Leon scanned his surroundings before his attention was drawn to a group of figures not far away.

The silhouettes were as obscured as the rain-soaked night itself, the world appearing as though covered in a mosaic.

Despite the poor visibility, Leon could faintly hear snippets of their conversation.

“Mother, the child is in your care.”

“After all these years, you still haven’t found… the crown?”

“No, Mother, but we won’t give up. This is crucial to the survival of… our clan.”

“Very well. No matter what, be careful. Isha worries about you every day.”

“We will, Mother. And this child, we entrust her to you.”

“Understood. Ah, what a lovely little one. Does she have a name?”

“Yes, Mother. Her name is Rosvisser. Rosvisser Melkvey.”