While Adolf was speaking with King Gaius, Dawn was also secretly sizing up the other man.
He saw that although the other was dressed in luxurious attire, he carried himself with a rugged, hard-edged style that exuded a certain Haki, yet he showed not a trace of royal arrogance toward Adolf.
But he never expected the topic to suddenly shift to himself, leaving Dawn at a loss for a moment—he hadn't prepared for this.
So the atmosphere stalled briefly.
But this short silence was quickly broken by Rovena.
The moment Adolf introduced Dawn, she had already rushed forward.
"My child, I thought I would never have the chance to see you again in this life." Though Rovena was crying and somewhat undignified, it still couldn't dim her grace.
The bystanders were happily celebrating their companion's reunion with his family, but Dawn, who was being embraced, didn't feel so great.
"Uh... let go of me first." Dawn gently broke free from Rovena's embrace, momentarily awkward and at a loss.
To be honest, he had prepared for the idea of having two more people above him, but he hadn't braced himself, and he didn't know how to face these two people who were nominally his closest.
That was why he had been at a loss earlier—he had the mental preparation but hadn't figured out what to do.
"Let's just do the test first. Nothing's been confirmed yet." Dawn looked at Gaius, who had also stepped forward, and changed the subject.
Gaius had a look of wanting to say something but holding back, but after hearing Dawn's words, he just nodded and said nothing more.
Sensing Dawn's discomfort, Rovena didn't push too hard. She warmly invited Hina and the others, leading everyone toward the palace, though her gaze never left Dawn.
As for Gaius and Dawn, they couldn't find a topic to discuss and walked side by side in silence.
"I'm sorry, my child. It's our fault. You've suffered a great deal." Gaius spoke slowly, his tone filled with guilt.
"It's fine. We'll talk about that later. Let's do the test first. It wouldn't be good if this turned out to be a false alarm." Dawn glanced at Rovena, who was warmly entertaining the group, and rubbed his nose awkwardly.
Gaius looked at Dawn, then at Rovena, nodded, and said no more.
Arriving at a certain place in the palace, a huge room, spacious and bright, the Ancestral Tablet was here.
"Just place your hand on the palm print in front of the Ancestral Tablet. It will automatically draw blood." Gaius spoke.
"Mm." Dawn nodded to show he understood, then placed his hand on the Ancestral Tablet. A faint stinging sensation flashed by, somewhat like the feeling of having blood drawn in his past life.
After the blood was absorbed, it slowly rose through the instrument's pipes into one side. As the Ancestral Tablet gradually changed from a silver-white luster to gold, Rovena began to sob again.
Although everyone had already guessed the answer from the moment Adolf's nameplate turned gold and the meeting with Rovena and Gaius, they still couldn't help cheering now.
Even Dawn himself felt that this test result was expected after meeting the couple.
After all, the resemblance was too strong. Dawn seemed to have inherited the best of both—Rovena's delicate features and Gaius's firm, chiseled lines—making it obvious at a glance that he was their child.
Seeing the final result appear, Dawn walked over, patted Rovena's shoulder, and handed her a tissue to comfort her: "No need to cry. Today is a good day, isn't it?"
"Mm, he's back, he's back!" Rovena wiped away her tears, her face relaxing as she broke into a smile through her tears.
"Today is a day worth celebrating. Adolf, arrange a banquet. I want to entertain Dawn and his companions."
Gaius watched Dawn comforting Rovena and couldn't help laughing heartily, though his reddened eyes revealed his true feelings.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Adolf looked at the joyful crowd and couldn't help but smile.
"Ohhh, a banquet!" Sola was the first to jump up at the mention of a banquet. She never turned down anything lively.
Especially since this place was nicknamed the Island of Delicacies. If not for Dawn's matters, Sola would have long been unable to resist wandering the streets.
"Let's go." Dawn led his happy companions as Rovena guided them toward the banquet hall.
The banquet had ended.
As the royalty of Ishtar, the banquet was naturally of the highest order. All kinds of exquisite food left everyone with round, full bellies.
It had to be said that the cuisine of the Ishtar Kingdom was truly excellent, especially the pastries and meat dishes, which were quite rare.
This was also closely related to the abundance of these two raw materials.
After all, that allowed for plenty of experimentation to develop all sorts of delicious dishes.
After the banquet, Dawn and the others were each arranged into their own rooms.
Night fell. A gentle breeze brushed across Dawn's face.
Among the star-filled sky, the moon was still the most dazzling. Unlike his past life, the starry sky of this world was brilliantly bright, like gems embedded in the night, forming a breathtaking painting.
The calm after the banquet's revelry flowed through Dawn's heart. Silver moonlight spilled into the room. Listening to the distant chirping of insects and croaking of frogs, Dawn lay quietly on the soft, large bed, savoring the tranquility of the night.
Gradually, Dawn drifted off to sleep on the soft bed.
Slowly, it was as if Dawn saw every scene of "Dawn's" childhood in this country with his parents, playing out like a movie.
By the time he woke the next day, the memories had been directly recorded by his brain, everything so clear.
But Dawn found that he had slept exceptionally well that night. His body felt lighter, and even his senses seemed sharper.
"Hm? What's this?" Dawn closed his eyes to feel it. At that moment, he realized that even with his eyes shut, he could perceive the outside world through his body.
The mosquitoes flying through the air flapping their wings, the dew on the balcony's potted plants dripping into the soil of the flowerpot, the hurried footsteps of the maids outside the door—all of this was so vivid in Dawn's mind.
"Did I awaken Observation Haki just from sleeping? Is this the benefit of the vow I made to let the original owner leave in peace, like in those novels?"
Dawn wore a strange expression, unsure how to handle this situation.
In the web novels from his past life on a certain site, wasn't there always that trope where the protagonist agreed to fulfill the original body owner's lingering wishes, then fully became the master of that body and reaped rewards?
It seemed he'd run into that same scenario... like hell he did!!
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