The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

They crossed the estate in mere moments, arriving at Tiel’s room.

Ria, who had been pacing anxiously in the corridor, turned ashen the moment she saw Karsus carrying Tiel in his arms. She quickly followed behind them.

"M-My Lady! Oh, heavens—"

"She’s just asleep from exhaustion. Where is the physician?"

Karsus laid Tiel down on the bed.

Her peaceful sleeping face tilted slightly to one side.

Just as Karsus had said, she didn’t look like she had collapsed—she simply looked as if she had dozed off.

"They should be here soon. But... will the lady truly be all right?"

Ria asked in a worried tone, her gaze never leaving Tiel.

Karsus nodded.

"Yes. Keep an eye on her, and report to me immediately if anything changes."

Ria nodded at his command.

Karsus stood still for a long while, watching the small child sleep soundly, before finally stepping out of the room.

Alpheus was waiting for him just outside.

Slowly, the two men walked down the corridor toward the Asterian lord’s office.

"We must obtain an official Parentage Verification Certificate from the temple by tomorrow. Only then will we be able to protect Tiel under the name of Asterian."

Alpheus was the first to break the silence. Karsus nodded.

"Yes. The situation is not in our favor."

It was a troubling situation.

The world had already caught wind of Tiel’s Light Ability before they could properly verify her as an Asterian heir.

But—this was Asterian.

This kind of problem could be handled.

Still, securing an official confirmation sooner rather than later would be ideal.

As Karsus stepped into the office behind Alpheus, he spoke.

"I’ll send an official request to the temple first thing in the morning."

"Good. But by now, the temple has likely already caught on to what that light was."

Alpheus’ expression darkened slightly.

"There’s a chance they might try to manipulate the results of the test."

"But if they tamper with the results, we wouldn’t have any way to prove it."

Karsus stated matter-of-factly.

He wasn’t wrong.

The temple’s Parentage Verification Test was conducted by the Pope or their appointed representative.

A strand of the child’s hair would be placed into Holy Water.

If the test confirmed parentage, the water would turn gold.

If not, it would turn red.

But since the test was controlled solely by the temple, they could tamper with it however they pleased.

Sending the hair in advance could end up being a mistake.

"We could request a reexamination."

"They wouldn’t allow it."

Alpheus’ blunt response made Karsus scoff.

The Pope—or their delegate—held absolute authority over the test. If they refused to conduct a second test, there would be nothing they could do. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

An annoying situation, indeed.

But—Alpheus was unfazed.

"It’s fine. There’s someone who can handle this for us."

"Good. Then we’ll set that matter aside for now."

Karsus took a pause as the attendants entered, placing a cup of coffee before him and a cup of warm tea before Alpheus.

Neither of them were particularly fond of sweets, so no additional refreshments were served.

"Well done."

Alpheus dismissed the attendants.

Karsus lifted his coffee cup before speaking again.

"So, the Light Ability... it’s real."

"Yes. It did manage to suppress Ferdi’s madness."

Ferdi and Ludian didn’t seem to be lying.

Ferdi’s energy flow had been completely unstable, as though he had truly lost control.

Yet—he had calmed down.

Which meant...

Tiel had really soothed his rampage.

"I always thought legends were nothing more than myths..."

Alpheus muttered, his expression subtly darkening.

Karsus felt the same.

They knew exactly what the legend meant.

It was a power both glorious and mighty—but that power would come at a cost.

Everyone would covet it.

And someday—there would come a time when Karsus and Alpheus could no longer protect Tiel.

Karsus let out a low scoff.

He had thought that after losing Lena, he had long since discarded fear.

And yet—

A small fragment of it still remained.

Because he was afraid of losing Tiel.

The mere thought of countless people targeting her sent rage surging through him.

My daughter, who is too precious to even touch.

At that thought, Karsus let out a laugh, bringing his coffee to his lips.

"It seems I’ve grown weak, Father."

"That’s what it means to be a parent."

Alpheus nodded knowingly.

Karsus and Alpheus were of the same mind. If anything, Alpheus’s concerns ran even deeper.

As Karsus took a slow sip of coffee, Alpheus hesitated briefly before speaking.

"Bring Tiel to me when she wakes up. There’s something I need to confirm."

"Are you planning to take her to Asterian’s secret chamber?"

The Asterian Secret Chamber.

A place known only to the heads of the Asterian family.

It was where ancient records of the Light Ability legend were kept.

It was also a vault of many precious treasures—and a room prepared specifically for the one who would manifest the Light Ability.

Alpheus nodded.

"It is a place meant for the one who possesses the Light Ability. If Tiel truly is the child from the legend..."

"Then the Asterian estate itself will acknowledge her. Is that what you’re implying?"

"......"

With that, silence stretched between them.

Only the occasional sound of teacups being placed on the table could be heard.

As Karsus and Alpheus had expected—word of the Light Ability had spread.

There was no way it wouldn’t.

In the Crasion Empire, a light taking the form of fish was the symbol of Lyssette, the goddess of the empire’s state religion.

And last night, that very light had erupted from the Asterian estate—spreading far beyond Black Leopard territory, even reaching into the lands of the Snow Leopards.

"Only a fool wouldn’t realize it."

Karsus muttered indifferently.

As expected, the entire empire was buzzing about the Light Ability and the legend of light.

The Imperial Palace was in turmoil—

"Send a message to Asterian immediately! We need to know who used that power!"

The Temple was in uproar—

"A manifestation of the legendary ability?! This must be Lyssette’s divine will! We must bring them to the temple immediately, so they may receive the goddess’s blessing!"

And even the Nestians had taken notice—

"...What? It happened at Asterian?"

Despite all this commotion, Asterian had remained silent.

They had given no official statement regarding the massive burst of light that had illuminated the night sky.

Still—everyone was convinced that someone in the Asterian estate possessed the Light Ability.

And, as expected, the first letters arrived from none other than the Imperial Palace and the Temple.

"Tsk. Knew this was coming."

Alpheus scoffed, tossing aside the letter from the Imperial Palace without a second glance.

The message from the emperor requested that Duke Evalt attend court immediately to explain what had transpired at Asterian last night.

Karsus skimmed over the discarded letter before unceremoniously tossing it aside as well.

"What about the temple?"

"They claim the Parentage Test results are ready. They’re demanding that we bring Tiel to the temple to collect them in person."

Karsus let out a bitter chuckle.

Typically, Parentage Test results were sealed and delivered directly to the requesting household.

For the temple to demand a personal appearance was... highly unusual.

"How convenient. The results were delayed for so long—and now, the moment this happens, they’re suddenly ready?"

The temple must have already figured out that Tiel was the one who possessed the Light Ability.

While the rest of the empire had no way of knowing who in Asterian had used that power—

The temple knew.

Because they knew Asterian had requested a Parentage Test for their youngest daughter.

And they already had a strand of Tiel’s hair.

"The Light Ability is closest to Lyssette’s divine power."

Perhaps...

Perhaps they had recognized her ability just from her hair alone.

Karsus scoffed as he crumpled the temple’s letter and tossed it aside. Then—

"Did you send word to him?"

"Yes. I contacted him last night. He will meet us at the temple on the day of our visit."

"Good. That’s fortunate. I’ll have to personally thank him once this is over."

Though he spoke politely, Karsus’s expression was somewhat stiff.

Still—like Ferdi, he was very good at concealing his emotions. His expression soon returned to its usual composure.

"Then, as soon as Tiel recovers, we’ll head to the temple. We can’t afford to delay this any longer."

"Yes. But before that—you must bring Tiel to me first. Understood?"

"Of course. Don’t worry."

Karsus stood first, signaling the end of their conversation. Alpheus gave a small nod.

Shortly after, Karsus left the office.

On the table, untouched, sat the cup of tea that had been set before him.