The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"Before we hear anything else, I need to write a letter to Grandfather. He’ll be heartbroken to learn that Tiel started her first shedding in Arne instead of at home, but... there’s nothing we can do about it."

Ferdie said this while receiving a quill and parchment from one of Arne’s attendants. Clemence nodded in agreement.

"Yes, there are priorities in life. Naturally, informing the Duke about Lady Tiel’s shedding is the most urgent matter of all."

Tiel watched as Ferdie dipped his quill into the ink, then rested her chin on the desk and looked up at him.

"Brother, please make sure to write that I really, really miss Grandfather and Father!"

"Of course, I’ll tell them how much you miss them. Anything else?"

"Olivia and Clemence told me that a shedding ceremony is usually celebrated with family. Since we couldn’t have one this time, please ask them to throw me a big party when I return home!"

"Got it. I’ll write that down."

Ferdie chuckled and immediately transcribed Tiel’s request onto the parchment. Then, he lifted his gaze and looked at Ludian and Olivia, his expression wordlessly asking: Do you two have anything to add?

"Ferdie, I know better than to ask you to treat me with the same importance as Tiel, but... what’s with that half-hearted look?"

"Yeah, what’s with that ‘I know you won’t say anything useful’ face?"

"So that means you two have nothing to say. Understood."

Ferdie completely dismissed Ludian and Olivia’s complaints and continued writing in his elegant, precise handwriting.

Once he finished, he left the letter on the desk to let the ink dry properly. Soon, Arne’s attendants would seal it with wax and send it directly to Asterian.

After handling the letter, Ferdie turned to Clemence.

"Now, we’d like to hear about the Land Without Morning. We don’t have all the time in the world."

"...Aren’t we completely free right now?"

"Be quiet, Olivia."

"Tch."

Clemence tilted her head slightly, then asked carefully, "What do you want to know? I’ll be guiding you there myself, so do you need more details about the journey?"

Ferdie nodded.

Ian Dross, who had been silently observing, added, "The more you can tell us, the better."

"Hmm... In that case, it would be best to go to the library. There’s a lot of material there—I even studied it myself."

Clemence turned slightly, gesturing for them to follow. Ferdie stood up, and Ludian effortlessly scooped Tiel into his arms.

"The library is located beneath the northern tower of Arne."

As they followed Clemence through the estate, several Arne attendants greeted them with warm smiles.

Arne’s overall atmosphere felt very similar to Asterian’s, making it easy for Tiel to relax, even in a new place.

Upon arriving at the northern tower, Clemence acknowledged the knights guarding the entrance with a slight nod.

The knights bowed deeply to her, then stepped aside and opened the heavy wooden doors leading inside.

"Please come in. It’s dark inside, so be careful."

Clemence took a lantern from one of the knights and cautioned the group.

Ferdie entered first, followed by Ian. Ludian, still carrying Tiel, carefully stepped down the stairs, with Olivia following behind.

"Brother, I can walk down by myself..."

"What if you trip and hurt yourself? It’s really dark down here, so I’ll just carry y—"

Ludian suddenly froze mid-sentence, his expression turning oddly contemplative.

"Wait a second..."

"Yes...?"

Ludian, Ferdie, Olivia, and Clemence all paused at the same time.

Apparently, they had all completely forgotten what Tiel’s ability was.

Tiel shyly nodded, then extended her small hand.

A tiny droplet of light flickered at her fingertips.

At first, it looked like a small bead of water, something that seemed too faint and delicate to brighten the pitch-black tower.

However—

The tiny drop of light suddenly expanded, spilling out like a great river and flooding the entire dark space with illumination.

The once-dark underground library became as bright as daylight.

Tiel clung tightly to Ludian’s neck.

"It’s not dark anymore, is it?"

"This ability... is way more useful than I thought."

Ludian fidgeted with Tiel’s small fingers, seemingly fascinated by the light she had produced.

Walking behind them, Olivia smacked Ludian’s shoulder.

"Hey! Stop treating your own sister like a walking lantern!"

"When did I do that?! I was just saying it’s a really useful ability!"

Ludian, indignant, hugged Tiel even tighter.

Ultimately, Tiel gave up on walking on her own and simply let Ludian carry her the rest of the way.

The tower was now brightly illuminated thanks to Tiel’s ability, making it easy to descend the stairs without using a lantern.

"As expected, the Light Ability is truly incredible... Do you think it could also serve the same function as sunlight?"

"Sunlight?"

"Yes. In Arne, we rely on growing plants, but lately, the sunlight hasn’t been strong enough for our abilities to work properly..."

"You mean your ability doesn’t work when there’s no sunlight?"

"You didn’t know? It’s a well-known fact. Arne’s Green Blessing Ability requires sunlight to function. On cloudy days, it doesn’t work properly."

Clemence smiled as she pushed open the heavy library doors. The children slowly stepped inside.

Inside the library, it was just as dark as it had been outside the tower.

Clemence placed the lantern she had been carrying on a small side table and turned to Tiel.

"Lady Tiel, I apologize, but... if you’re going to use your ability, could you dim the light just a little? Some of the books here are extremely old, and too much light could damage them."

Tiel nodded immediately.

"Yes, I’ll try not to use it too much."

"Thank you. Now... How much do you know about Everard, the fallen House of Water?"

"Everard?"

Olivia tilted her head in curiosity.

"That’s an ancient family that was wiped out ages ago, isn’t it? They were known for using the Water Ability. But why bring them up all of a sudden?"

"Because Arcadia used to be Everard’s territory."

"Arcadia...?"

Olivia trailed off, and Ian Dross, standing beside her, answered in a calm voice.

"Another name for the Land Without Morning."

"Yes, it’s not called that anymore, but..."

Clemence walked over to one of the massive bookshelves and, without hesitation, pulled out an ancient book that looked like it had barely survived the passage of time.

‘It looks... incredibly old.’

Tiel stared at the book in Clemence’s hands, deep in thought.

The leather cover had faded to the point of disintegration, and the binding threads looked so fragile that they might snap at any moment.

It was a miracle the book hadn’t fallen apart already.

Yet, Clemence handled it without hesitation, carefully opening the brittle pages.

"Long ago, Arcadia was Everard’s land. Back then, Everard was a great noble house, powerful enough to stand on equal footing with Asterian."

Clemence pointed to an illustration on one of the pages.

It depicted a land overflowing with water, with lush, fertile fields stretching as far as the eye could see.

"But then..."

Clemence turned the page.

However, the next page was completely torn away.

Tiel’s eyes widened in shock.

‘It's ripped...’

No, rather than being ripped, the missing page looked as though it had been gnawed away by insects.

Clemence traced the torn edges with her fingertips, then let out a small, bitter chuckle.

"Someone deliberately erased all records from that time. Very few people know the full truth now... But from what little remains, it is said that there were Everard nobles who worshiped Orpheo, the Dark God. This led to a war between Light and Darkness in Arcadia."

"...Orpheo?"

Tiel tilted her head at the unfamiliar name.

Clemence turned to the next intact page and smiled.

"Yes. Here, see for yourself. This is a depiction of Orpheo. Orpheo is the God of Darkness. Unlike Lady Lucette, Orpheo is a malicious deity who seeks to destroy the balance of this world."

At the spot Clemence pointed to, there was a horrifying black figure drawn on the page.

Tiel involuntarily held her breath.

‘Why... does this look familiar?’

There was no way she could have seen this figure before.

Yet somehow, it felt like she had.

Her fingers trembled as she slowly reached out, lightly touching the image of Orpheo.

And for some reason, the moment her fingertips made contact with the page—

A sharp, tingling sensation ran up her arm.