The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"Ugh..."

Tiel slowly woke up, blinking her eyes. Her half-curly hair was tangled messily.

Tiel turned her head to check the time. It was still three in the morning.

Considering that Tiel usually woke up around eight in the morning, it was extremely early for her.

She yawned, opening her mouth wide, and stretched her body. Tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"Ugh... Why can't I sleep well lately?"

Tiel muttered as she rolled over onto her pillow. It was the third time recently that she had woken up without a proper rest.

On days like these, she often had nightmares, but when she woke up, she couldn’t remember the dream itself. All that remained was an uncomfortable feeling, leaving her unsettled.

"When did this start?"

Tiel rolled her eyes, trying to think back to when she began having trouble sleeping.

It had been a little over a week, so it must have been from the day she went out with Ferdie and Ludian and met "that girl."

"Did I get shocked?"

She thought she hadn’t been too surprised that day, but maybe she had been more startled than she realized.

Maybe that’s why she kept having nightmares and waking up from them.

But she didn’t want to blame that girl. She had already heard from Karsus about why the girl had attacked her.

She had also heard about her younger sibling being held hostage. Because of that, she didn’t want to blame the girl.

Tiel pressed her cheek against the pillow and tried to sleep again. She was hoping to get a little more rest. Her soft cheek pressed into the fluffy pillow.

***

"Tiel, are you awake?"

Ferdie entered her room, opening the door and asking. Tiel, who had slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky, moved her body lazily at the sound of his voice.

Ferdie approached her bed and patted Tiel’s head. Tiel blinked a few times, then opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Uh... Brother?"

"You’ve been sleeping in late lately."

"I couldn’t sleep well... I tossed and turned all night. Ugh."

Tiel yawned as she stretched and sluggishly got out of bed. Ria, knowing that Tiel had been waking up late recently, had intentionally avoided waking her up.

Ferdie casually took out a round brush from the drawer under the nightstand. He sat Tiel up and gently brushed her hair. Her smooth hair swayed as Ferdie’s hand ran through it.

"You couldn’t sleep? You’ve been having trouble lately?"

"Yeah, I think I’ve been having nightmares too..."

"Nightmares? I guess you’ve been stressed out from what happened last time. I should ask for some tea to help you sleep better."

"Ria already brought me some, and I’ve been having a cup before bed lately."

"That’s fine, but drinking it too often isn’t great... I’m worried."

After finishing brushing Tiel’s hair, Ferdie patted her head. Tiel smiled brightly, as if to reassure him.

"I’m fine! It’s just occasionally. It’s not like I can’t sleep every night."

"Even so, I’m worried. I was wondering why your maid hadn’t been waking you up. Now I understand..."

Ferdie muttered to himself. Tiel nodded, then tilted her head in curiosity.

"But Brother, why did you wake me up today? You usually don’t wake me up when I’m sleeping..."

"Oh, we have a guest. I didn’t want to, but it’s a guest we can’t refuse."

Tiel immediately realized that this meant Ian Dross Crassion, hearing the words "guest we can’t refuse."

Ian Dross had been coming to the Asterian Estate excessively lately, and both Ferdie and Ludian were very displeased about it.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Ian, as the Crown Prince, had even expressed dissatisfaction a few times about leaving the Imperial Palace so often, but they had been completely ignored by him.

When the Emperor had given his approval, there was no argument they could make, so Ferdie and Ludian were forced to watch as Ian came and went as if it were his own home.

At that moment, Ria entered the room with a basin of water and placed it in front of Tiel before quickly leaving again.

Ferdie, grumbling, tied Tiel's hair for her.

"He said something about showing you something... Then why did he send the messenger? He could have just handed it to you himself."

"He’s going to show me something?"

"Yeah, he said it was something you’d like."

Ferdie grumbled again. Tiel was washing her face with the lukewarm water when she looked up at Ferdie’s words.

"Right! Where is my bird?"

"I had a new birdcage prepared for it. The one Ian Dross gave you was too small, so I got a new golden birdcage. The servants are probably feeding it right now."

Tiel nodded, finishing her face wash. She had planned to take the messenger with her when she met Ian to thank him.

After Ferdie finished tying her hair, he patted her back. Just then, the maids entered with Tiel’s breakfast.

Thanks to Ria’s judgment, who thought it would be better for Tiel to eat breakfast quickly before going to meet Ian Dross, they were ready to serve the meal even though it was closer to lunchtime than breakfast.

"Thank you!"

At Tiel’s thanks, the maids smiled brightly and left the room.

Tiel ate the plump, delicious sausages, well-toasted bread, fig jam, and a delicious egg dish with milk, finishing it all quickly before jumping up.

She then grabbed the letter she had written last night, rolled it up, and placed it in the messenger tube. The messenger bird would deliver it to Ian Dross.

Ferdie, who had been silently watching her, raised an eyebrow.

"Why don’t you just give the letter to him directly instead of putting it in there?"

"I’m asking the messenger to deliver it for me!"

"But Ian’s downstairs, and you’re going to see him now, right?"

"Still!"

"You’ve inherited some bad traits from Ian..."

Ferdie said this without scolding her. Then, he stepped aside to allow Tiel to change.

At the door, Tiel, who had been told she was awake, came face to face with Ludian, who had been waiting to greet her.

Ferdie shook his head, signaling Ludian not to come in. Tiel needed to change her clothes. Ludian turned away with a disappointed expression.

***

"Ian-nim!"

Tiel smiled brightly and walked towards him in quick steps. A bird with snow-white feathers, as white as snow itself, was perched on her shoulder.

It was the messenger bird that Ian had given her, and its pure white feathers matched Tiel's snowy-white hair perfectly.

Tiel carefully sent the bird into the air, and it fluttered from her shoulder to Ian’s. The bird subtly extended its foot, where the letter was tied.

As Ian watched this, a smile briefly appeared at the corner of his mouth. He took the letter from the messenger tube and spoke.

"You came to see me in person, but why send the letter through the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ messenger bird, Tiel Asterian...?"

"Because I wanted to send a letter to Ian-nim first!"

Tiel's cheerful response made Ian smile even more. Ian Dross placed the bird down on a chair for a moment and tucked the letter into his pocket.

Then, he took Tiel's hand.

"Come here, I have something to show you."

Tiel nodded.

Ian Dross waved his hand in the air. Immediately, a massive portal to another dimension opened. It was Ian's spatial realm.

A glowing white hole opened and closed, as if waiting for Tiel and Ian to enter. Ian held onto Tiel's hand.

Tiel stepped into the portal, holding Ian's hand.

As soon as they entered, the portal closed behind them. Tiel looked around the space and babbled excitedly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"This is what you wanted to show me? Your spatial realm? I think it’s been such a long time since I’ve been here!"

"That’s right... I haven’t brought you here since about three or four years ago."

Ian Dross hadn’t brought Tiel into his spatial realm since about three or four years ago. At first, she had been a little disappointed by that.

It had felt like Ian was putting up some kind of boundary between them.

But after realizing that his attitude towards her hadn’t changed, she wasn’t upset anymore.

Tiel lightly grabbed and released Ian’s hand as she quickly scanned the space around her.

What immediately caught her eye was an enormous... cushion.