Hemmie was taken aback and looked over to see Drea licking her wrist with a whimper.

Hemmie quickly blocked the baby’s lips and shook her head.

“Oh no, you can’t do that. Huh! I’m not hurt at all, so it’s okay.”

“Kyaaong…”

Drea, with her eyes narrowed, looked at Hemmie as if understanding the situation.

The gaze she directed at Hemmie, while gently holding Sasha, leaning against her arm, was pitiful.

“Ugh.”

Hemmie wanted to hold her heart in the face of Drea’s fatal cuteness.

If only she wasn’t holding Sasha, she would have done so long ago.

Still, she had to say something, right?

“But Drea, you can’t bite without warning next time. You know that, understand?”

“Kye…?”

“Drea is a very strong being, so she might accidentally hurt someone. If by any chance she hurts Sasha, we will all be very sad.”

“…Kyaang!”

It was as if she understood every word she said, as if she was so incredibly smart.

After Drea responded with a ‘Kyaang’ sound, she looked at Hemmie’s arm, gently patting it with her round cheek, while Sasha, filling his stomach, was being watched with great interest.

“Kyaa!”

Hmph.

However, Sasha’s eyes as he looked at Drea with a bottle in his mouth were cold.

For how long has he been born that his innocent gaze was so full of meaning?

With a sense of wonder, Hemmie observed the expressions of the two babies.

Beyond surprise, she felt a sense of marvel.

Sasha seemed sulky, and Drea’s eyes simply sparkled, but the fact that newborn babies could sense and express something was itself incredibly.

“Oh, right! Have Kalia and Simon not arrived yet?”

“Yeah, why aren’t they here?”

Allen looked at his watch in response to Hemmie’s question.

It was already past 10 a.m.

They should have left by now, but the two of them were still nowhere to be seen.

They called a staff member and soon received a message from the cottage.

As Allen read the note, his face became complicated, and he blushed as he looked at the distant mountains through the window.

“What does it say?”

Allen, who had been staring out the window absentmindedly, shook his head and spoke.

“…It says they won’t be able to get out of bed today, so let’s leave early tomorrow.”

“What?”

“I don’t know who passed out… but one of them seems to have fallen asleep or fainted and can’t get up.”

Really, Allen didn’t even know who it was…

He expressed his condolences.

* * *

Luckily, Sasha didn’t whine even though he hadn’t seen his mom and dad all day.

He played with the spirits and Drea, took naps when he felt full, and spent a comfortable day. Then, early the next day, Simon appeared.

“Huh?”

The moment Hemmie saw Simon entering Sasha’s room, she couldn’t help but let out a surprised voice.

In just one day, Simon’s distinctive sharp and meticulous aura had become even stronger.

Just by running his fingers through his hair, the people around him blushed, and he seemed languid and decadent.

It was an inexplicably dry appearance, yet at the same time, it was as enticing and moist as his complexion.

Hemmie, who was watching Simon approaching with sluggish steps, cautiously asked.

“Um, did you not sleep last night? Your face seems a bit flushed…”

“No, I’m perfectly fine.”

“…Really?”

With a hint of suspicion in Hemmie’s retort, Simon glared at her with sharp eyes before abruptly turning his head.

Then, he muttered in a voice that seemed audible and indistinct at the same time, with a bitter tone.

“…Couldn’t sleep… Too tired to… get up… Dammit…”

He, who already had a flushed and decadent face, then sighed while looking at the sky.

A little later, as if regaining his composure, he returned with a composed face and spoke to Hemmie.

“Are we ready to depart?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. Once Sasha and Drea finish their meal, we can leave right away.”

“Good. Then I’ll go get Kalia.”

Hemmie immediately grabbed Simon who was about to turn and leave.

“Sasha still has a little time left to finish his meal. You don’t have to rush. It’s fine if Kalia takes her time.”

It was an attempt to stop him since it was obvious that it would only take a few seconds if he teleported.

However, Simon raised his head in defiance of Hemmie’s objection.

“No. If we’re going to run, we have to move right now.”

“Yes? You’re going to run? Why?”

“I think I’ve been neglecting physical training lately.”

“Physical training?”

Hemmie widened her eyes and looked at Simon with a face that seemed to say, ‘Why would you need that, Simon?’

Reflexively, Simon moved his mouth to respond but then waved his hand as if it was nothing and dashed down the stairs.

His face was filled with determination.

Hemmie, who was watching Simon’s disappearing figure with a puzzled expression, was approached by Allen.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“It’s only natural to need great physical stamina for great love.”

He muttered incomprehensible words.

* * *

About 30 minutes later, Kalia and Simon appeared, tightly holding each other’s hands.

Derek and Hemmie, along with Allen, had already been inspecting the carriage and preparing to leave.

Kalia, who was wiping the sweat from Simon’s brow, saw Derek, who was clinging to Drea and crying.

When she looked at him as if to ask why he was like that, Hemmie shrugged her shoulders and briefly explained.

“Drea has been sticking with Sasha and Allen, so Derek is crying.”

“Why…?”

“You’ll understand if you see.”

As Hemmie’s words trailed off, Derek watched Drea and began pouring out complaints rather than consolation.

“Drea, let’s ride together, okay? Huh? How could you abandon me right after I took care of you with all my heart? Sob, sob, sob!”

“Kyo!”

Derek hugged Drea, who was trying to escape, and poured out his lament with teary eyes.

Drea, whom Derek had raised with great care, imprinted Sasha as her companion as soon as she was born, and even chose Allen as her father.

It was a sense of betrayal, even more so, it made him feel sad and depressed.

On the first day, he was so shocked that he couldn’t move from his room and lay there suffering.

His mind was blank and he felt lost.

Although it had only been a few months, the child he had nurtured as if she were his own, sharing his life force, no, his magical power, without a moment’s hesitation, had chosen someone else as her father…

But he couldn’t just let it go like that.

He also had a stake in Drea’s upbringing!“Sob… Please, make me a father too! I don’t even ask for the imprint, just give me parental rights too! Sob, if you keep taking only my magical power stealthily and keep your mouth shut, isn’t that just cruel? Huh? Baby, uncle, no, make me a mom too!”

“Kyaa, kyaong.”

Confused, Drea looked at Allen.

It was a gaze that seemed to say she would follow Allen’s opinion, whatever he said.

Allen scratched his head awkwardly and said to Derek.

“Um, well, the mother is a bit… What about the godfather?”

“Th-the godfather…?”

“It seems like Drea gave her heart to me first, so it would be difficult for me to willingly give up my position.”

While Allen took a moment to catch his breath, Derek, looking tense, swallowed hard as if he had a dry throat. Allen smiled slightly and spoke in a gentle voice.

“Nevertheless, Derek, you have sincerely raised Drea until before hatching, so I think you would be more than capable of being her Godfather. What do you think, Drea?”

“Kyao…?”

Drea, who didn’t understand the meaning, looked back and forth between Derek and Allen.

Then, noticing the tears on Derek’s face, Drea reached out her hand and gently touched his cheek.

As Derek felt the gentle touch of the baby’s hand, he looked at her with a face full of emotion.

Watching that scene, Allen smiled and said.

“It seems like Drea has given her permission too.”

Godfather!

He wasn’t her real father, but he was a godfather with a presence as significant as a father.

Derek’s face brightened instantly, and he enthusiastically pulled Allen into a hug.

“Great! Let’s make Drea a good dragon together!”

Hahaha!

Only after Derek, Allen, and Drea sorted out their own relationship, Kalia’s group was able to continue their journey.

Their schedule had already been delayed.

The five adults and two babies hurried along.

The palace was waiting for them.

* * *

“Hmm, it’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

Leah stood in front of the entrance to the forest and smiled broadly.

The forest had a different atmosphere from the Fairy Forest.

If the Fairy Forest occupied the center of the continent, this forest spread around the outskirts of the continent.

They were a race much freer than the fairies, and the place was open to anyone and allowed them to go anywhere.

Since intermingling and moving their base was easy, they had less pure-blooded individuals.

But that’s exactly why they could live safely and for such a long time.

Leah walked along a well-maintained forest path and looked around the beautifully groomed surroundings like a garden.

Occasionally, there were also forest fairies, and not far from the human villages, there were people who appeared to be families enjoying a peaceful picnic.

As she walked through the place where the two worlds harmoniously coexisted, crossing a bridge between the canyons, her destination, the ‘Elf’s Castle’, came into view.

It was the place where Leah’s oldest friend and the second elder of the Elf Forest, Titiana, resided.

Leah confidently crossed the bridge and stood in front of the Elf’s Castle, which resembled a luxurious mansion.

As soon as she raised her hand to knock on the door, it swung open, revealing a beautiful middle-aged elf with long, black hair and golden ornaments. She greeted Leah with a smile.

“Leah.”

“Titiana.”

The two embraced each other, their foreheads touching, exchanging greetings of joy.

“You finally woke up, Sleeping Queen of the Forest.”

“After being asleep for such a long time, how could I miss this once?”

“Oh, I somehow managed to find out that you hadn’t come.”

“Do you know how many decades I’ve been sleeping? You heartless old elf.”

Leah playfully tapped Titiana’s shoulder and walked inside. Titiana responded with a mischievous laugh.

“I was counting on you to wake up on your own. You have the protection of the Kalexia, and you’re under the Tree’s protection… I believe in you. By the way, seeing that you came to find me immediately upon waking up, does that mean you missed me a lot in your dreams?”

Leah looked at Titiana with a faint smile, as if she knew but didn’t fully understand her playful words.

“Well, that’s also that, Titi. But, actually… I came because I have something to confirm with you.”

“Confirm?” Titiana asked, pausing in her steps.

Leah took hold of Titiana’s hand.

Their warm hands overlapped.

“Didn’t you say that you had a granddaughter who disappeared then? Who married a human…”