The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

Tiel blinked, unable to understand Illum's words. What is he saying? Is Illum joking?

'The last head of the family’s son?'

It was said that Everard's family had been wiped out a long time ago. If that's the case, it would mean that the head of Everard's family must have died back then, so how could his son still be alive now?

And then there's Karl.

Tiel shifted her gaze to Karl’s youthful face. He didn’t seem to be much younger than Tiel. If anything, he looked to be around eight years old.

But this boy is supposed to be the son of the head of a family that was destroyed long ago? Illum’s words had too many parts that didn’t make sense.

It wasn’t just Tiel who couldn’t understand Illum’s words. Karl, too, was staring at him with a confused expression.

It seemed this was the first time Karl was hearing this, even though it was about him. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Uncle! What do you mean by that? What nonsense...?”

"Karl, be quiet and listen," Illum gently scolded him. Karl opened his mouth as if to say more but then fell silent.

Ferdie, who had been quietly watching, suddenly intervened.

"It definitely doesn't make sense, but now you're telling us to believe it?"

"You must believe it. It is the truth. Karl is the biological son of Renato Virgilio Everard."

"But he died long ago, right? How is that possible?"

Ian Dross spoke up, and Illum nodded.

"Are you familiar with the special abilities of the Water Everards and the Green Arnes?"

"I don't know about their abilities. What are they?"

"Water and Green powers must be preserved. Without water, green, and light, this world could not exist. That's why Arne and Everard were able ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) to make their children 'sleep' in exchange for the life force of their heads. For a very long time..."

Illum’s words were shocking.

"Everard’s last head, Renato Virgilio Everard's wife, was pregnant when Everard’s family faced extinction."

Illum continued without hesitation.

"Renato, the head of Everard, made his son 'sleep' as an egg, using his own life force, and hid him beneath Everard’s mansion. The retainers were to guard that egg for generations, until it hatched."

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The story Illum relayed about Everard was shocking. Everyone had assumed that Karl was a descendant of Everard, but no one had imagined that he was the biological son of the last head, who had died long ago.

"I have a question..." Tiel looked at Illum and asked.

"If the head of the family, Renato, 'slept' his son Karl for a long time, then who woke him up?"

"An awakened child, in exchange for life force, cannot be woken by anyone. They will simply awaken when the time comes. We are obligated to protect them until the egg hatches."

Illum’s voice was quiet and calm, without fluctuation.

"The problem is... the beastkin in this land have come to curse Everard terribly over time. So even when Karl woke up, we couldn’t let anyone know."

"So, you kept his identity hidden."

"We warned Karl never to use his powers for the same reason."

"It’s absurd, but... it’s hard not to believe. Only Everard’s bloodline can use the Water ability."

Ferdie shrugged his shoulders. Illum nodded and gently patted Karl's head. Karl still wore a confused expression.

"So, what are we going to do now? The beastkin here still curse Everard, right?"

Ian glanced at Karl and then at Illum.

Though Karl and Illum looked nothing alike, sitting side by side, they almost seemed like father and son.

"For now, our family has governed this land instead of Everard. But..."

Illum turned his gaze. Through the window, he could see a waterway flowing brightly in the sunlight.

The water, which had begun flowing from the mountaintop, had swelled and, by now, filled the waterway completely. The shimmering surface reflected the light, sparkling non-stop.

"With the morning, the water has returned. Those who live here know what this means... We will have to restore Everard’s name in this land. However..."

Illum tightly grasped Karl’s small hand. Karl trembled slightly, but as soon as Illum held his hand, the trembling stopped as if by a miracle.

"I don’t want to burden this little child. So, we will wait for Karl to grow a bit more. We’ll wait, and at the right time, we will restore Everard’s name. We exist as Everard’s retainers, so that is what we must do."

A faint light flickered on the back of Illum's hand.

Ferdie, who had noticed the light, narrowed his eyes.

'Retainers.'

Retainers.

It was something long forgotten, along with the marks. An ancient custom where, in exchange for receiving the family’s abilities, one swears loyalty to the family. Ferdie had only read about it in books at the Academy.

But the retainers of Everard were so powerful that the tradition had carried on to Illum, even spanning generations. As long as the mark of the retainers existed, Illum could never betray Everard.

'Well, even without that, it doesn’t look like he’d betray him...'

Ferdie looked at Karl and Illum. Illum kept patting Karl, and it seemed that once they left, he would lift Karl onto his lap and comfort him.

"For now... understood. But this matter will remain secret for the time being. There are people across that river who are itching to take Everard’s territory."

Ian Dross spoke.

If the heir of Everard were known to be alive, those who wanted to kill Karl would swarm like a hive of bees.

They wanted to kill Karl and sever Everard’s bloodline, in order to take the 'Morning’s Paradise,' Arcadia, for themselves.

For Karl’s sake, and for the sake of the unsettled beastkin, it was best to keep this matter a secret for now.

Illum nodded.

"Thank you for the Crown Prince’s grace. Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, we’ll be leaving."

This time, it was Tiel who answered. She spoke with a slight blush on her cheeks, her voice clear.

"We’re going home. Grandpa and Dad are waiting for us. I’ve kept them waiting too long."

"We’ll have things to sort out when we return... But it’s really hot in here, isn’t it?"

Ferdie said, squinting. Tiel nodded in agreement. She had been thinking it was unbearably hot for a while.

She hadn’t brought the brooch Ian had given her, which only made it worse.

‘I definitely remember it being really cold before... Why is it so hot all of a sudden... Ah!’

Tiel finally realized, her mouth slightly opening in realization. The reason was that there had been no sunlight, and it had been cold up until now.

"It won’t be cold on the way back..."

Ludian muttered. Tiel nodded as if agreeing. Ian Dross took off Tiel’s outer garment and glanced at Illum.

"There’s still a lot to sort out, but we must head back for now. Besides, the river near the entrance is very capricious, and we don’t know when the road will be closed."

"You needn’t worry about the waterway. Everard’s heir is here."

"...Me?"

"Even if the waterway closes, this child will open the path."

Karl looked as confused as ever, but since Illum said so, he nodded as if to accept it.

"Everard’s abilities really are incredible..."

Tiel muttered quietly. Illum met her gaze and spoke.

"Wouldn’t you say that your ability, which summoned the sun, is just as great? Of course, Everard’s ability is remarkable, but your ability is unmatched. Truly, it’s worthy of being called legendary."

Illum smiled softly.

"Tiel, you saved Arcadia. Arcadia will never forget this favor."

The beastkin of Arcadia all came out to express their gratitude. They paused in conversation and stared at the sun for minutes. You could tell how long they had waited for the sun to rise on their land.

The water in the river surged as if it would close off, but when Karl approached the river, it calmed down as if nothing had happened.

***

The beastkin of Arcadia didn’t know that Karl had calmed the waters. They just thought, 'The benefactors’ path is blessed by Arcadia’s land.'

Tiel, Ian, Ferdie, Ludian, Clemence, Olivia, and the knights boarded the ship and left 'the land where morning returned.'

Tiel leaned against the ship’s railing, looking at the receding Arcadia. She saw the beastkin standing on the land. Some of them waved their hands at the ship.

Tiel smiled and waved back. Ian smiled at her, gently stroking her hair.

"Now, we’re going home, Ian!"

Tiel said brightly.

"Yes, now we’ll go home and put an end to the arrogance of those who made us suffer," Ian replied.