PAID

The bedroom door creaked open, and a set of quiet, sneaky footsteps made their way inside.

After a moment, a tuft of pink hair cautiously poked through the doorway, revealing a pair of big, curious eyes scanning the room.

Noa slowly drifted out of her consciousness space, opened her eyes, and turned toward the door.

"Aurora? What are you doing?"

Seeing her older sister notice her, Aurora stepped fully into the room, her face breaking into a mischievous grin.

"Good morning, big sis! What are you doing?"

She ignored Noa's question entirely, expertly steering the conversation her way.

"Reading."

It wasn’t like she could admit she was actually in a "history lesson" with a dragon relic from thousands of years ago.

Aurora’s gaze shifted to the book on Noa's desk. Sure enough, a book lay open—but the pages hadn’t been touched, lying there flat without a single turn.

Aurora knew that this book had been on her sister’s desk for at least a week. Given Noa’s usual reading speed, she would have finished a book of that size in three days, at most.

So, reading? Just a cover. Clearly, her big sister was up to something else, and Aurora had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"Where’s Moon?" Noa asked.

"Oh, second sis is in the backyard with Dad."@@novelbin@@

Noa nodded and turned her attention back to her “reading,” leaving further questions alone. But she didn’t realize that her oversight—leaving a finished book out as a prop—was exactly what Aurora had been waiting for.

Pretending to read, Noa only half-noticed when Aurora pushed a chair taller than herself over to Noa's side. Using hands and feet, she scrambled up and sat beside her sister.