The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

Before long, the Asterians officially announced Tiel’s existence—along with the results of the temple’s paternity test.

The nobles immediately latched onto the news, eagerly gossiping about the "long-lost" youngest daughter of Asterian and the mysterious light that had recently shone over Asterian territory.

"So... does that mean the Marchioness is alive too?"

"I heard the Marchioness really did die that day! Only the child survived."

"Then... could that mysterious light from Asterian’s territory have been because of the youngest daughter?"

"A light ability? I thought it was just a legend! Who would’ve thought such an ability truly existed?"

The Asterians had deliberately kept silent about their youngest daughter's ability.

But the nobles had already convinced themselves that the "light" that illuminated Asterian’s territory had belonged to none other than the newly revealed daughter.

After all, the announcement had conveniently come right after that mysterious light had appeared.

As a result, interest in "the youngest daughter of the Asterian family" skyrocketed.

Since she had never officially appeared in public, curiosity about Tiel naturally surged.

On top of that, rumors spread that even the famously cold-blooded men of the Asterian family were completely doting on their youngest.

Nobles began scrambling to establish a connection with Tiel, desperate to form ties with her.

Dozens of party invitations flooded into the Asterian estate. Every single one was addressed to Tiel Asterian, the youngest daughter of the Asterian family.

Tiel stared at the mountain of invitations, her eyes rolling in disbelief.

"All of these... are invitations for me?"

"Yes."

Karsus answered, sounding thoroughly uninterested. He casually picked up the topmost invitation, opened it, then tossed it aside as if it were a nuisance.

"Of course, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. But..."

"But?"

"You should at least have some dresses tailored. With no women in the house, we haven't been paying attention to that."

Tiel tilted her head at Karsus’s words.

Dresses? She already had so many that her wardrobe was practically overflowing.

Ian had gifted her several, and Karsus had even had some custom-made for her.

So why would she need more?

"You’ll have to attend official events from now on. It’s better to have dresses prepared for such occasions."

Ferdi spoke as he picked out a few invitations from the pile and threw them straight into the fireplace.

Ludian, who was prodding the burning invitations with a fire poker to make them burn faster, chimed in.

"Yeah! We need to get you the most expensive, most glamorous dresses in the empire, Tiel! You’re the youngest of the Asterian family—there’s no way you can just wear anything!"

Tiel wanted to ask her brothers, Why are you burning the invitations? But she held back. Instead, she decided to ask something else.

"Aren’t the dresses I have already enough? Ian-nim even gifted me some."

"It’s best to get new ones every season. Fashion trends change constantly."

Of course, not every noble lady ordered a brand-new dress for every single party.

A single dress designed by a renowned couturier often cost as much as the annual budget of an entire estate.

But this was Asterian.

If she wanted, she could have a new dress tailored every day from dozens of ateliers without a second thought.

Ferdi recalled the dresses Ian had previously gifted Tiel.

He needed to have her fitted for something even better—so that she wouldn’t even think about pulling out Ian’s dresses.

A plan formed in Ferdi’s mind, and the corners of his lips curled up.

"There are a few famous ateliers in the capital. We should select some and visit them together. Or we could summon them to the mansion."

Ferdi glanced at Karsus for approval. Karsus seemed to ponder the matter briefly before nodding.

"Yes, that would be best. Also, we should call Olivia to the mansion. It’s likely that girls her age would know more about these things."

At the familiar name, Tiel lifted her head.

When she first arrived at the Asterian mansion, Ria had dressed her in nightwear and given her a room, saying that it belonged to Lady Olivia.

She had wondered back then—who exactly was this Olivia?

Would she finally get to meet her?

At that moment, Ludian scrunched his face in disgust. Even Ferdi’s normally composed expression showed mild discomfort.

"Olivia? Are you serious, Father?"

"I can take Tiel to get her dresses myself. There’s no need to involve Olivia."

Ludian was the first to protest, followed by Ferdi.

But Karsus remained firm.

"A man's eye has its limits. Girls know best what other girls like. And since I just received a message from Etienne, this would be a good opportunity to introduce you to Olivia."

Karsus finished speaking and turned his gaze to Tiel. She nodded slightly before asking,

"But... who is Olivia?"

"Your cousin. Etienne is your aunt."

"...Cousin?"

Unconsciously, Tiel thought of Cornelia and Rowen, and her expression tensed slightly.

Since Olivia was part of the Asterian family, they would obviously be different from Cornelia and Rowen...

But the years of being locked in a small room and enduring abuse had made it difficult for her to think beyond her past experiences.

She had improved a lot since coming to the Asterian mansion, but there was still a long way to go. Tiel swallowed nervously.

"Tiel, if you don’t want to meet her, you don’t have to. Aunt wouldn’t force you either."

And Ferdi seized the perfect opportunity. He lightly tickled Tiel’s small palm.

"Our Tiel is still shy around new people... Wouldn’t it be better to go dress shopping with just your brother instead of a cousin you’ve never met before?"

"Why just the two of you? You’re leaving me out completely now?"

"Oh no, here we go again..."

"What do you even know about dresses? The best you can do is judge the sharpness of a blade. If you come along, you’ll just be in the way."

"Stop fighting!"

Tiel suddenly reached out and covered Ferdi’s mouth.

Then, realizing what she had just done, she quickly pulled her hand away, looking startled.

"Ah— um, I mean, that was, uh..." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Why did I do that?! Tiel had never covered anyone’s mouth before!

Ferdi, Ludian, and even Karsus stared at her in surprise. A brief silence filled the room.

Then Ferdi burst into laughter. Tiel’s face flushed bright red.

"Pfft, Tiel. Did you cover my mouth because you didn’t want us to fight? Alright, I won’t fight."

"See! Ferdi, it’s your fault! You kept provoking him, so Tiel had to shut you up!"

Ferdi ignored Ludian completely and instead pulled Tiel onto his lap.

Etienne and Olivia were already long forgotten in the minds of the three children.

Meanwhile, the invitations from the "less desirable families," which Ferdi and Ludian had carefully selected, continued to burn in the fireplace.

***

A royal carriage pulled up in front of the Asterian mansion.

The Asterian servants no longer looked surprised at this frequent visitor and led Ian Dross to the parlor.

"Ian-niim—!"

As soon as Tiel heard of Ian’s arrival, she ran out with a bright smile, her small steps quick and excited.

In her rush, her hair had become a mess.

Ian raised an eyebrow and casually reached out, smoothing down her bangs.

Moments later, her personal maid appeared, carrying a comb. She looked flustered upon realizing that the Crown Prince himself had been tending to Tiel’s hair.

"I apologize, Your Highness. The young lady ran out in such a hurry..."

Ian simply raised his palm, signaling that it was fine, before tilting his hand slightly.

Ria instantly understood what he wanted and placed the comb in his hand.

"Don’t run like that again. What if you hurt yourself?"

"Hehe, but I was excited when I heard you were here..."

Tiel blushed as she clasped her hands together.

Ian sighed, as if exasperated.

He gently combed through her tangled hair.

"Even so, don’t run. Alright? If you get hurt, your brothers will throw a fit."

He placed the comb back onto Ria’s outstretched palm with a curt motion.

"Don’t worry! I won’t run anymore."

Tiel had also learned how to properly guide Ian inside now.

As she held his hand and led him toward the parlor, Ian caught his reflection in the glass window and let out a small chuckle.

At first, she had been too afraid to even step into his home...

Feeling oddly proud, he ruffled the round top of her head.

The hair he had just carefully brushed was immediately tousled again.

At that moment, as she walked ahead with her usual cheerful stride, Tiel suddenly stopped and spun around.

"......!"