The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"I heard everything. So... what you're saying is that you can't acknowledge it because the proper procedures weren’t followed."

"Y-Your Highness, the Crown Prince! You cannot enter this area!"

Ian completely ignored the High Priest’s protests and exchanged a brief nod with Karsus.

After glancing at Tiel, he stepped forward, standing right in front of her.

"In that case... we just need to follow the proper procedures, right?"

The High Priest’s face turned deathly pale as he realized what Ian was about to do.

He rushed toward Ian in a panic.

"Your Highness! You cannot do this! If His Holiness finds out—"

"I know that His Holiness is currently out of the country. And, Andres... you seem to have forgotten something."

"I-It's just—"

"Have you forgotten that the Pope granted me the authority of a representative?"

Ian Dross Crasion—the Crown Prince of the Crasion Empire—was also a recognized representative of the Lysseth Temple.

When he was younger, the Pope had personally given him the rights of a delegate.

However, after he had been officially appointed as Crown Prince, he had no reason to use that authority, and most had forgotten about it.

Andres tried to stop him.

Only the Pope or his official representative could conduct a valid paternity test.

And with the Pope absent, Ian, as his designated proxy, was fully capable of performing the test himself.

Ian placed his hand over the fountain.

A shimmering emblem of a fish—the sacred symbol of Lysseth—glowed on the back of his hand.

"As long as we follow the proper procedures... there shouldn’t be a problem."

As soon as Ian finished speaking, the fountain rippled with golden light.

The divine power granted to him by the Pope responded.

"......"

"......"

Everyone held their breath, watching the Crown Prince.

As Ian calmly channeled his divine power, the fountain shimmered.

But—

The color of the water didn’t change.

It remained golden.

Ian withdrew his hand, shaking off the residual energy before turning to the High Priest.

"I used divine power, and yet the water didn’t change. The procedure was legitimate. So now you can acknowledge it, right, Andres?"

"......"

"Tiel is of Asterian blood. She is Karsus’s daughter."

Ian placed his hand lightly on Tiel’s head.

Tiel looked up at him and nodded.

The boy, whose radiant golden hair matched the golden fountain, gazed down at her with warm eyes.

"Thank you, Ian-nim."

Tiel gently grabbed his hand and whispered.

For the first time, Ian’s usually expressionless face softened.

"This? This is nothing. You don’t need to thank me for something like this."

"But you've helped me so much, even before today."

Tiel spoke clearly and firmly. Ian raised an eyebrow.

The last time he had seen her, she had trembled just from receiving a gift.

When did she change so much?

Her face was now full of life, her golden eyes sparkled like stars, and her voice was steady, unwavering.

A faint smile crossed Ian’s lips.

"So, are you planning to repay me?"

"Yes! Once I come of age, I’ll make sure to repay you first, Ian-nim!"

At Tiel’s words, the expressions on the three Asterian men simultaneously darkened.

But since Tiel had her back turned to them, she didn’t notice the storm brewing behind her.

Ian, on the other hand, did.

Watching Karsus, Ferdi, and Ludian glare at him as if they were ready to rip him apart, he smirked.

"Is that so?"

"Yes! I’ll definitely keep my promise!"

"Alright, then I’ll start thinking about what I want in return..."

With an amused grin, Ian suddenly cupped Tiel’s cheeks in his hands.

Ludian jerked forward, but Ian didn’t care. He began squishing Tiel’s soft cheeks between his palms.

"Mm—mmph? I-Ian—nim...!"

"Look at you, little one. Before, you were all frail and timid, like you were about to collapse any second. And now, you’ve settled in so comfortably, huh?"

Ian chuckled.

Ferdi and Ludian nearly exploded, ready to lunge at him, but—

Karsus stopped them.

Ian Dross Crasion was the Crown Prince of an empire.

And, more importantly—he was the man who had saved Tiel.

So...

They would let it slide.

For now.

"A-Ah, Father! It hurts!"

“Father, let go... You’re going to tear your clothes.”

Ferdi and Ludian looked at Karsus with exasperation.

Karsus’s grip had tightened so much while watching Ian and Tiel that his knuckles were white.

But he ignored his sons’ reactions and refused to release his grip.

“There seems to have been... a mistake.”

His voice was laced with mockery, his sharp gaze shifting from Ian to Andres.

Andres wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded.

At this point, he had no room left for excuses.

The High Priest, who had been teetering on the edge of despair, let out an awkward chuckle and hastily nodded again at Karsus’s words.

“Yes, it appears there was a mistake. We will conduct a full investigation to determine how such an error occurred on the temple’s side...”

Karsus had just given the temple one last chance to sweep this under the rug as a mere “mistake.”

Andres, desperate to salvage the situation, wasted no time taking that opportunity.

“I sincerely apologize. If the temple can offer any form of compensation—”

“No need.”

Karsus extended his hand toward Tiel. At the perfect moment, Ian finally released her reddened, squished cheeks.

Tiel, with her flushed face still marked from Ian’s relentless kneading, nestled into Karsus’s arms.

“Tiel, let’s go home.”

His voice was warm. Tiel nodded firmly.

And then—

The golden fish that had been circling the fountain swam toward Tiel and nestled into her embrace.

Everyone fell silent, watching in disbelief.

Even Ferdi and Ludian were speechless.

The tiny glowing creatures tucked themselves into Tiel’s arms, settling there as if they had found their rightful home.

Tiel, wide-eyed, stared at them for a moment before suddenly breaking into laughter.

Her round eyes curved into crescent moons.

“You want to go home too?”

“......”

“Alright. I want to go home too. Let’s go together.”

Tiel loved the word home.

She had never once used that word when she lived with the Nestians.

Because, of course—

Nestian had never been her home.

That place belonged to her grandfather, Chender Nestian, and the members of the Nestian family who carried its name.

But Tiel had never been given the Nestian name.

So it had never been her home.

Her real home was only one place.

“Asterian.”

Tiel whispered softly, lifting her gaze.

The golden fountain was still flowing before her.

Only Asterian.

So—

I want to help my father.

She had heard it before—

If you made a wish at the temple’s fountain, sometimes it would come true.

Tiel quietly made her wish.

I want to help my father. I want to help Asterian. If this really is a special power, then I want it to be of use to the people who love me...

The golden fish swam in graceful circles at her words, then suddenly dispersed into the air.

Before vanishing completely, they flickered as if in response to her wish.

Tiel saw it.

Karsus gently ran his fingers through her soft, wavy hair before pressing a light kiss to her forehead.

***

The news that Tiel was Karsus’s biological daughter spread quickly through the Asterian estate.

Karsus’s salamander had been the first to deliver the long-awaited news to Alpheus’s household.

“I knew it! Of course, the young lady is his daughter. She looks just like Karsus-nim and Lena-nim!”

“Exactly! It’s rare to have such an even mix of both parents’ features.”

“The moment I first saw her, I knew she was their child!”

The servants chattered excitedly.

Alpheus, though he had known all along that Tiel was his granddaughter, was still so overjoyed that he ordered drinks and meat to be served throughout the estate.

He even handed out special bonuses.

Seems like everything was resolved.

Alpheus nodded in satisfaction.

With the Crown Prince present, there wouldn’t have been any major issues.

Chuckling, the Duke of Asterian allowed himself a rare moment of amusement.

Of course, he had known that Ian Dross Crasion would be there.

Because he was the one who had asked him to be there.

They had expected the temple to pull something.

They had expected that the temple would try to take Tiel.

After all, the temple was a sacred ground where even the emperor himself could not easily interfere.

As long as the temple got its hands on her first, they could justify everything afterward.

That was why Alpheus had contacted Ian beforehand.

The Crown Prince holds the Pope’s authority as a representative.

Not long after the salamander had delivered the news, a carriage arrived.

Alpheus extended his hand toward his granddaughter as she stepped out.

“Tiel.”

Tiel spotted Alpheus, her cheeks turning pink as she smiled brightly.

“Grandfather!”