The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

Karsus held the glass orb given to him by Tiel and gazed at her quietly.

The girl, after handing over her precious orb, blushed slightly, her ears turning pink with shyness.

"It might help, if my guess is correct..."

Karsus accepted the orb and gently ruffled Tiel's hair. The soft white strands rippled under his large hand.

"Thank you, Tiel. I’ll keep it safe."

"Yes! Please don’t do anything dangerous! Be careful, Dad."

"Don’t worry, my daughter."

Karsus placed the glass orb in his pocket and knelt down to give Tiel a gentle hug.

Tiel, enveloped in her father’s arms, rested her cheek against his shoulder. Her soft cheek pressed into Karsus’s shoulder.

"Take care. Have fun playing with your brothers. And just in case, don’t go near ‘that girl.’"

"Do you mean Lissa?"

"Yes."

"Don’t worry! I won’t approach her carelessly."

Once Karsus received her promise, he felt a little more at ease, releasing Tiel from his embrace and standing up.

The pouch containing the glass orb bulged slightly in his pocket. He gave Tiel one last ruffle of her hair before leaving her room.

***

Karsus was watching through the salamander as it navigated the black smoke.

No, was it right to call it smoke?

It was different from smoke or mist. Karsus squinted, looking through the salamander’s eyes as it wandered through the mist.

Normally, smoke or mist would obscure your vision, but this wasn’t the case here. Everything was unusually clear.

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

It was a very clear darkness.

He searched the area for a long time through the salamander, but in the end, he found nothing.

There was definitely some special force in the mist, one that made anyone who entered lose their way and wander inside. The salamander, unable to escape, was proof of that.

Eventually, Karsus had the salamander burn itself out and disappear.

"What did you find?"

The leader of the Asterian knights asked. Karsus pressed his eyes, still trying to adjust to the light after wandering in the darkness for so long.

"There’s nothing to see. It was good that we didn’t rush in. It seems like anyone who enters there will inevitably lose their way."

"Then, can’t we enter?"

"There might be a way to burn down the entire mountain to force them out, but that seems a bit extreme."

If it were the old Karsus, he wouldn’t have hesitated to set fire to the place. But Karsus was ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ now the father of three children.

He didn’t want to act like that anymore.

Moreover...

"You said there were children inside."

There were supposed to be several children. If the culprits felt threatened and either ran away, abandoning the children, or worse, killed them, Karsus would never forgive himself for burning down the mountain.

So, instead of setting fire to the place, Karsus led the knights and stood before the black smoke.

The ominous black force seemed to reach out, as if to engulf the knights, then withdrew, repeating the motion. The knights watched with furrowed brows as the strange scene unfolded.

"This is where the mad experiments are happening, they say. Is this the result of those experiments?"

Karsus raised his hand and signaled the knights to step back. He took out the small glass orb Tiel had given him from his pocket.

"What is that?"

"It’s something my daughter gave me. It contains the power of light."

Karsus inspected the orb carefully and became almost certain. This power wasn’t smoke or mist. It was pure darkness itself. While Karsus wasn’t sure if such a power existed in the world, he was certain about one thing.

This wasn’t some crude mist or smoke ability.

The only thing they could rely on now was the small orb Tiel had handed to Karsus.

With a flick of his hand, a large fiery leopard formed beneath his command.

The leopard’s skin glowed with flickering flames, and its golden eyes—just like Karsus’s—stared steadily at the black mist.

He tossed the glass orb to the leopard, which swiftly caught it in its mouth.

"Go."

As soon as Karsus gave the command, the leopard, holding the small orb, charged into the black smoke.

A small glimmer of light shone from the orb in the leopard’s mouth.

The knights, standing still, watched without taking their eyes off the leopard as it disappeared completely into the black mist.

The knights remained perfectly aligned, standing watch until Karsus gave the order to move.

Then, one knight spoke.

"Look, over there!"

The knight pointed at the black mist. Karsus and the Asterian knights all looked up in the direction he pointed.

From that spot, a faint beam of light was emerging.

It was small, just like Tiel Asterian, Karsus’s daughter—a faint, dim light.

But even though it was small and faint, it was undoubtedly light.

The small light in the darkness began to split into branches, and the surrounding black smoke slowly started to dissipate.

The knights stared in disbelief, but Karsus, who had believed that Tiel’s abilities could surely do this, calmly watched the scene.

The massive black force that had enveloped the area crumbled helplessly before the small piece of light.

The black mist shattered like glass, burned like flames, and flowed away like water, revealing the hidden mansion inside.

The small mansion, appropriately sized for the Russell family’s financial situation, came into view. Of course, compared to the Asterian mansion, it was no larger than an Asterian storage room.

Once the darkness fully lifted, the leopard, holding the glass orb in its mouth, slowly walked back to Karsus and placed the orb in his hand.

Then, it turned to ash and disappeared. Karsus held the now-warmed glass orb and inspected it.

Before, tiny pieces of light had flickered inside.

'Now it’s completely black.'

It seemed as though the orb had absorbed all the black mist. Karsus narrowed his eyes as he looked at the orb before slipping it back into his pocket.

He might need to investigate this further.

He jumped off his mount and gestured to the knights.

"Have the vanguard enter the mansion and find the criminals. The rest of you block the mansion from the outside. No one escapes. Mistakes will not be tolerated."

"Yes, sir!"

The Asterian knights entered the mansion, and Karsus followed slowly behind them.

However, something felt off.

"There’s no sign of anyone inside the mansion."

It was possible they had realized they were being tracked and had already escaped.

Since they had wasted a lot of time dealing with the black mist, it was plausible they could have fled.

The knights who entered the mansion found strange devices and potions, along with warm beds, but the beastkin who were supposed to be living there were nowhere to be found.

No children were left behind. The knight captain frowned in disappointment.

Then, they heard a scream.

"Ahhh—!!"

"I found Oshian Russell!"

A knight, who had gone to search the smallest room at the far end of the mansion, dragged Oshian Russell out from the closet where he had been hiding.

The knights thoroughly searched the room, but no one else was found besides Oshian.

"O-Oh no! Let go of me! Damn it! Ah, no!!"

Ignoring Oshian’s screams, the knights dragged him in front of Karsus.

Karsus looked down at him with cold eyes and asked.

"Where are the others?"

"I-I don’t know! I... I came and they were already gone! Jae, that bastard, betrayed me and ran off! I don’t know where he went!"

Oshian babbled excuses.