The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"In there," a soldier guarding the entrance to the underground dungeon guided Karsus and Tiel deeper inside.

Tiel squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dark, damp atmosphere of the dungeon. It reminded her of the attic where she had lived long ago.

A small light emerged from Tiel's hand, floating gently before illuminating the dungeon brightly. The soldiers looked around in confusion.

The reason the Asterian dungeons were built underground and kept dark was to prevent prisoners from seeing the 'light of the goddess Lucette.'

But here was the young lady, using divine abilities to light up the dungeon! The soldiers swallowed hard and watched Karsus for his reaction.

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Karsus seemed to ponder for a moment, then touched Tiel's cheek lightly and asked,

"Do you dislike the darkness?"

"Yes, Dad. It's too dark here. It would be nice if it were a bit brighter. I can't even tell if it's day or night."

"This place is meant to confine criminals, so it's naturally dark. If you dislike it, we can leave right now..."

"Oh, come on! Dad, when did I say I disliked it? It's bright now. I'm not uncomfortable, I want to see her quickly."

Worried that Karsus might pick her up and turn around to leave the dungeon, Tiel squirmed in his arms.

Karsus set Tiel down on the ground. Following the soldier's lead, the girl hurried to the farthest corner of the dungeon.

There, in that corner, was 'that girl' who had given Tiel the bouquet of flowers. Tiel instinctively gripped the bars of the cell.

"Ouch, hot!"

She quickly withdrew her hands in shock. The bars were very hot. Tiel's eyes widened as she looked at the bars and then at her hands. Karsus hurried over to examine Tiel's palms.

"I forgot to mention one thing... You shouldn't touch the bars with your hands, Tiel."

Tiel looked incredulously at Karsus.

"Why are the bars so hot?"

"In the Asterian dungeons, the bars are heated to prevent prisoners from escaping."

"That figures!"

Tiel carefully removed the brooch pinned to her chest.

As soon as she removed the brooch, made of a special relic, a wave of heat hit her. The heated air was uncomfortably hot.

Almost reflexively exposing her ears and tail, Tiel quickly pinned the brooch back on and looked at Karsus.

"This is too much... What if I burned my hands on the bars?"

"If you don't touch them, you won't get burned."

Karsus gently stroked Tiel's reddened palms as he murmured.

Fortunately, Tiel wasn't burned. The bars were heated by Asterian's fire ability, which didn't harm Tiel, who was under the protection of the same fire ability.

Ideally, Tiel shouldn't have felt the heat, but since Alpheus and Karsus had designed the dungeon abilities primarily to harm others, even Tiel felt the heat.

Tiel glanced at her palms, which had quickly stopped swelling, then back at Karsus, and finally turned her gaze into the cell.

The girl lay on the small bed inside the cell, appearing almost dead.

The bed was so narrow that the girl could easily roll off if she turned over. Cobwebs hung in the corners, and the floor looked cold and hard. The walls were solid, with no cracks, but the bed was badly cracked.

This was the dungeon of the Asterians, where criminals were held, so the harsh conditions were expected, but Tiel felt a tightening in her heart.

It reminded her of the attic where she had lived while with the Nestians...

The girl asked in a subdued voice.

"Is her condition very bad?"

"The doctor says she should wake up in three or four days and be ready for interrogation."

"You're not going to torture her, are you?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"If necessary."

Tiel looked up at Karsus with horror-filled eyes. Karsus shrugged.

"It can't be helped. This is a serious matter. Someone tried to harm you, and we still don't know what poison she used."

Tiel understood the gravity of the situation but still wanted to dissuade Karsus.

She was certain the girl had tried to save her. Though it was unclear why she initially intended to harm her, it was evident she had changed her mind.

"I hope there won't be any torture. Even if it's deemed necessary, I wish it could be avoided. She's just too young. You know that, Dad."

"What?"

"That she couldn't have planned this alone. And that she tried to save me."

"Tiel, as I said before..."

"But it's a clear fact."

Tiel's clear voice echoed in the dungeon. The soldiers watched in amazement as Karsus seemed at a loss for words.

"So please consider that... she got badly hurt because of me. If she had just given the bouquet and run away, she might have been captured by {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the Asterians but wouldn't have been injured."

"She would have died instead."

"You're planning to kill her anyway... for getting hurt instead of me."

"Really... this is absurd. Tiel, my daughter. When did you grow up to be such a meddler in my affairs?"

Karsus lightly pinched Tiel's cheek. He was gentle, so it was more of a slight pinch than a painful one.

"When she wakes up, I'd like to talk to her... is that alright?"

"You want to talk to someone who tried to kill you?"

"Because she saved me. We've been going around in circles for the past hour..."

Tiel grumbled quietly. Karsus sighed again.

"...I can't win against you. But you can't meet her alone. I must be with you."

"Yes! Of course!"

Having finally gotten her way, Tiel smiled broadly and hugged Karsus.

Despite their not-so-quiet conversation, the severely injured girl didn't wake up even once.

Karsus, seeming eager to leave the dungeon, took Tiel and exited the place.

As Tiel left, the light that had brightened the dungeon vanished, plunging it back into darkness.

"It was nice when the head of the family was here; it was bright, but now it's dark again."

"Actually, this is normal. Giving light to criminals? Does that make any sense?"

As soon as Karsus and Tiel left, the soldiers started whispering among themselves.

"But we can't see either without light, can we? The torches are too small to light up this large dungeon."

"Why do you complain as if it's your first day here?"

One soldier, who had briefly enjoyed the sweetness of light, continued to grumble, while his colleague sharply rebuked him.

Then, a soldier squinted his eyes.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Look there, what's that?"

He pointed toward the very end of the dungeon where Karsus and Tiel had just visited—the cell where the girl who had attacked Tiel was confined.

The soldiers approached and peered into the cell.

Inside, a small fish made of shimmering light circled around the girl's head.

"Isn't that the head of the family's ability?"

"It seems so. But why is it here?"

As the fish noticed the soldiers, it swam through the air slowly, coming right up to their noses before circling around them and returning to the girl's bedside.

It was a small light left by Tiel for the girl who had changed her mind and saved her.

At that moment, the girl's hand twitched.

However, none of the guards who had realized the strange object was a manifestation of their leader's ability stayed to see this; they had already returned to their posts.

***

"Someone else has come...?" Tiel asked, looking tired.

Ria responded gently, seeing how weary Tiel looked.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived. He heard about the accident involving you..."