The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"It’s getting late. We should go in."

The farmer, wiping the sweat from his forehead, spoke as he carried a basket filled with the day’s harvest.

The small boy, who appeared to be his son, stopped chasing the bugs and looked up, asking,

"We’ve only been out for less than two hours. Is it already time for the sun to set?"

"Yes, the days are getting shorter. The sun will set soon. Damn it, I wonder if the days will completely disappear at this rate..."

The farmer grumbled as he grabbed his son’s hand and started walking. The boy took a ripe fruit from the basket the farmer was carrying and bit into it with a crunch.

"Is it bad for the days to get shorter?"

"Of course it is! Don’t you know how scary that is?"

"Yeah."

"You fool... the balance of the world is breaking."

The boy took another bite of the fruit.

"Well, we can just fix it, right? There’s the child of light, so what’s the problem?"

"That’s the problem! The child of light, the powers of light... They made a fuss, but when things actually happened, they hid away."

The farmer complained for quite a while about how useless the "child of light" had turned out to be. The boy squinted his eyes and looked at the hill where the sun was setting.

The people on the hill were all preparing to head home. Among them were the boy’s mother and older sister.

The boy didn’t really care about the balance of the world. He was just glad that his mother and sister would be home earlier than usual.

***

"Did Ian make it back safely?"

"Yes, I saw him off."

"Ian doesn’t even have teleportation abilities, so how does he come to the Asterian estate so often?"

Ludian asked, genuinely curious.

Tiel, knowing that Ian had visited because her brothers had called him, didn’t bother reminding them of that.

"Maybe he just wanted to see Tiel. He really didn’t need to, but he’s leaving soon anyway..."

Ferdie, who had been speaking, suddenly closed his mouth, as though something had upset him. His well-formed lips tightened.

Ludian, also looking displeased, glanced at Ferdie.

Both Ludian and Ferdie knew that once the current situation calmed down a bit, Tiel would likely marry Ian Dross.

In fact, as soon as Tiel turned twenty, she was supposed to marry Ian Dross and become the Crown Princess.

But the reason Tiel was still only the Crown Prince’s fiancée, instead of his wife, was partly because she was the head of the Asterian family and partly because the world was in such turmoil.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to hold the royal wedding while Tiel was already receiving so much blame and criticism.

For that reason, the Emperor had postponed summoning Tiel to the palace. However, once things settled down, he would likely go ahead with marrying Tiel and Ian. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ferdie and Ludian didn’t like that, but they knew they couldn’t keep looking after Tiel forever, so they were trying to compromise with themselves.

Tiel, seeing what her brothers were thinking, spoke gently to calm them.

"Anyway, that’s still a long way off! There’s no need to worry about it already. You haven’t even gotten married yet either."

"But Ian Dross is the Crown Prince. He can’t keep delaying marriage forever... I don’t mind you marrying him. Honestly, if it’s Ian Dross, that’s fine. He’s probably better than the others with worse reputations... but why do I feel so uneasy?"

Ferdie spoke with some confusion. Tiel had a good idea of why he felt that way, but she didn’t feel the need to explain it to him.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

They all turned to look toward the door.

An Asterian maid entered, bowed politely, and spoke with her head lowered.

"Master Karsus has returned from his outing."

"Father?"

"Dad?"

"He’s back early."

Ferdie muttered, recalling the mess in the parlor.

The parlor had still not been cleaned up since Olivia had left it in disarray, and yet Karsus was already back.

Of course, Alpheus had scolded them, and Karsus wasn’t one to get overly concerned about such incidents, but still, it bothered him a little.

Ferdie and Ludian excused themselves, saying they had things to do, and Tiel went out to greet Karsus.

"Dad!"

Tiel called, and Karsus gently pulled her into an embrace, pressing his cheek against her head. It was a gesture full of affection, showing how much he cherished her.

"Tiel, I heard a guest was here."

"Yes, both Olivia and Ian have already left, but where did you go, Dad?"

"I went to the temple for a meeting with the high priest. Looks like we’ll be able to have dinner together today."

"Yes! Oh, and..."

Tiel proceeded to explain the "plan" Ferdie had mentioned earlier to Karsus in detail.

It was hard to believe that Karsus had approved such a reckless plan.

Karsus, who listened intently to Tiel’s account, nodded.

"Ferdie already told me about it. I think it’s an absurdly reckless plan, but if it’s the only way to catch them, then we have no choice."

"But if we get caught...!"

"Ferdie and Ludian have gotten strong enough to even compete with me in terms of abilities. Plus, Ian Dross will be accompanying them. Even if Nestian turns on them and attacks, they should be able to walk out unharmed."

Karsus spoke with a voice full of confidence. Tiel nodded.

Her brothers, father, and even Ian Dross were all making such efforts for her, and while she was happy, she also felt a bit of pressure.

’I said I was the child of the god Lysette...’

The voice Tiel had heard was likely that of Lysette, and the abilities she used were Lysette’s abilities as well.

So why was it that, even with everything happening, Tiel couldn’t do anything to resolve the situation?

It wasn’t just the farmers in Crassion who were feeling frustrated with the shortening of the days.

Tiel herself was suffocating with frustration. And although no one had noticed yet, Tiel’s powers were faintly weakening.

’What if my powers disappear completely?’

An uneasy thought quickly filled Tiel’s mind, but thanks to Karsus’s kind words, she was able to shake off that feeling.

"Ferdie and Ludian are doing all of this because they care about you, so don’t feel burdened. Ferdie and Ludian are sons of the Asterian family. If something needs to be done in the name of Asterian, it’s only right that they do it. And among those things, one of them is the task of arresting the heinous criminals who are targeting you, my daughter, and the head of the Asterian family..."

Karsus spoke as if he could see right through Tiel’s thoughts.

"So don’t worry too much, Tiel. Your grandfather and I didn’t approve of this because we didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation. You know how cautious Ferdie is."

"Yes, I know..."

"Then don’t worry and trust him."

Karsus handed Tiel a small gift box, and Tiel blinked as she took it.

"I had them get something from your favorite shop. According to Olivia, you like their fig cake."

"That’s right! Thank you, Dad!"

Tiel’s eyes sparkled as she nodded, her white hair fluttering at her shoulders.

Karsus smiled back warmly.

"Eat the cake, and if you have time, you can go to the training grounds to practice your abilities or your beast transformation. Doing that will keep your mind from wandering."

Karsus’s mention of "beast transformation practice" referred to using abilities while in beast form.

Using abilities in beast form wasn’t easy and required dedicated training.

Tiel knew that everyone at the Asterian estate was worried about her.

Just knowing that made Tiel feel a warm light blooming in her chest.