"You seem to have returned much more mature, my son."
Dan said to Thorn, who was sitting across from him after being away for quite some time.
"I learned a great deal from this journey, Father."
Thorn replied honestly, confirming his father's words without adding anything more.
Then Dan calmly turned his gaze toward the blonde young woman sitting beside his son and said,
"Welcome to our family."
Hinako quickly gathered herself, bowed respectfully before him, and said,
"Thank you, Father."
In truth, Hinako was still struggling with the lingering shock she had experienced ever since she began her journey with Thorn toward his family. It had completely shaken her understanding of the world.
Although Thorn had clearly warned her on the way that she would witness extraordinary things and should prepare herself by adjusting her expectations, she had never imagined she would be this shocked.
It had begun when she learned during the journey that his family originated from the Blue Dragon Kingdom, a nation renowned throughout the world for its strength and prosperity. That alone was enough to completely change the image she had of Thorn, who had first arrived at her village alone as nothing more than a traveler. But what truly stunned her came later, when he explained that the Blue Dragon Kingdom itself had been established by his family as nothing more than an outward facade. The entire kingdom with its army, wealth, and history was merely a curtain hiding the truth. That was when the first real shock struck her, and she realized that what she was about to witness was one of the deepest secrets in the world.
Then, when they arrived at the Sacred Dragon Forest, a forbidden land throughout the kingdom where no one was allowed to approach, she finally understood that Thorn's family were the very "dragons" the forest was named after. The forbidden forest itself was nothing more than a buffer zone designed to prevent outsiders from reaching what lay beyond it.
The next shock came after they reached the headquarters. Thorn revealed that this base was merely the entrance and not the family's true residence. They passed through a gate located at the center of the base, and the moment she crossed it, she found herself standing in the middle of a city that looked utterly fantastical. Massive, beautiful architectural structures stretched high into the sky, unlike anything she had ever heard of or even imagined. Towering buildings lined broad paved streets arranged in an orderly network. Thorn explained that they had entered another world belonging exclusively to the Walt family.
He then gave her a brief tour of the city, where she met many of his brothers and sisters. They all resembled him, with the same sky-blue hair and blue eyes. Some were younger, while others appeared older than Thorn, but all shared the same distinctive appearance. They treated her kindly, and it was obvious that they had already been informed about her arrival.
The tension inside her reached its peak as they approached the wing where Thorn's father lived. From everything Thorn had told her, she understood that everything connected to this family had begun with that single individual.
The person who had built this inner world, established the kingdom in the outside world as a facade, and fathered all of these sons and daughters. In her mind, she had naturally imagined an older man, at least middle-aged, with a face carrying the marks of countless years and experiences.
So when they finally arrived, the door opened, and she found herself standing before a young man who appeared to be no older than nineteen. His body was slender, his features youthful, and his sky blue hair and blue eyes regarded her calmly. For a moment, her mind simply stopped.
The shock was completed when Thorn respectfully bowed before this youthful-looking man and addressed him with a single word.
"Father."
She had never expected it. Not in the slightest. The legendary father Thorn always spoke of with such admiration looked like someone who had only just reached the end of his teenage years.
But Hinako did not allow the shock to freeze her for long. She quickly regained her composure and bowed respectfully as well. In the end, regardless of the youthful appearance that had caught her completely off guard, this man was her fiancé's father and the one who had created everything she had witnessed with her own eyes today. That alone was more than enough to deserve the highest respect she could show him.
"Welcome to our family."
Those three simple words were enough to make her feel that an enormous door had opened before her, leading into a world whose existence she had never even known until only a few months ago.
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