The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"Rumors?"

"What rumors?"

Even Olivia and Ludian, who had been bickering moments ago, fell silent and looked at Ian with serious expressions. Ferdi, of course, was no exception.

The children waited patiently for Ian’s response.

Ian glanced briefly at Tiel.

She, too, was staring at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"To be precise, it’s a rumor about your family."

"Explain it properly."

"A hidden legend related to the Light Ability has surfaced."

"......."

"......."

Ferdi and Ludian shut their mouths at the same time.

How?

That legend was a top-secret known only to the head and direct descendants of Asterian.

There was no way it could have leaked.

Ah.

Ferdi suddenly realized something.

Asterian wasn’t the only family that knew about this legend.

Asterian and Nestian—two families representing the leopard clans.

Could it be...?

"...Did it come from Nestian?"

"I don’t know. I only know that the information leaked. If it didn’t come from Asterian, then it must have been Nestian. Those two families are the only ones that would know."

Ian shrugged.

Ferdi and Ludian exchanged glances.

It had to be Nestian.

But why?

"Why would they leak something like that? What would they possibly gain from it?"

Ludian slammed his hand on the table.

Tiel flinched, startled, and looked at him with wide eyes.

Realizing his mistake, Ludian quickly softened and murmured,

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you."

"I’m okay. I wasn’t that surprised."

Tiel nodded before turning back to Ian.

Ian was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

She didn’t understand his gaze, but one thing was clear.

The legend about the Light Ability had spread.

"Asterian and Nestian shall reclaim their true power with the return of the glorious Light."

That meant...

Tiel’s very existence had become a threat to the other noble families.

Asterian and Nestian—two duchies, the strongest among the six families that safeguarded the empire.

Even though both bloodlines carried the Curse of Madness, their abilities still surpassed those of any other house.

And now, a child had appeared—one who could potentially cure that madness.

Of course she would be seen as a threat...

Ferdi had reached the same conclusion.

Up until now, Tiel had merely been a child with an unusual ability or a girl blessed by Lucette.

But not anymore.

Countless families, especially those wary of Asterian’s power, would now begin to target her.

Including Nestian.

Ferdi gritted his teeth.

He understood why Nestian had leaked the legend.

They knew they couldn’t reclaim Tiel on their own.

So if they couldn’t have her, they would ensure that no one could.

By making all the other families wary of Asterian.

If they can’t have something, they destroy it.

It was such a Nestian thing to do.

Ferdi’s sharp golden eyes locked onto Ian.

"How quickly is it spreading?"

"By now, all five of the remaining families should know."

Ian replied nonchalantly.

The five families.

In the Crasion Empire, there were originally six noble houses with unique abilities, excluding the imperial family.

Fire—Asterian.

Ice—Nestian.

Wind—Wolfgang.

Lightning—Iker.

Verdure—Arne.

Water—Everard (Destroyed).

Everard had been wiped out long ago by the imperial family, leaving only the five remaining families.

And now, all five of them had learned about the legend.

"This means even the temple will start hunting her."

"......."

"Which means Asterian will become a public enemy—for as long as they protect her."

Gulp.

Tiel swallowed hard.

Why?

Why was this happening?

Had she done something wrong?

Was it my fault...?

Had something she did since arriving at Asterian caused this?

All she wanted was to be useful to her family.

She never wanted to be a burden.

So she worked hard, trying to prove her worth.

But if her efforts had been a mistake—

If she had just made Asterian an enemy of the empire—

At that moment, Ludian’s laughter cut through the heavy silence, breaking her spiraling thoughts.

"Hah! Public enemy? Those weaklings don’t even qualify as enemies!"

"He’s right."

Ferdi nodded calmly.

"Unless all four remaining families unite, they don’t stand a chance against Asterian."

He shot Ludian a look that said, For once, you’re actually making sense.

Tiel, watching her brothers, bit her lip before nodding firmly.

Yes.

They weren’t wrong.

Tiel had done nothing wrong.

She had fought to survive.

She had struggled not to meet the same miserable end as before, when she had died helplessly in Nestian.

She had worked hard—just to live.

No one could say her actions were wrong.

So.

They won’t blame me.

Tiel had awakened the Light Ability.

And because of that alone, all the noble families had turned her into a target.

Her family had become the empire’s enemy.

But none of it—not a single part—was Tiel’s fault.

Hmm.

Ian narrowed his eyes.

Tiel’s reaction was unexpected.

Even if she had grown a little bolder, she was still just a seven-year-old child.

At that age, most children would crawl into their parents’ bed at the sound of thunder.

Yet, after hearing that all the noble families would now be hunting her...

She wasn’t trembling in fear.

Her expression was determined.

It didn’t matter that she had grown up under abuse.

A beast was still a beast.

No matter what, the blood of a predator ran strong in her veins.

Realizing this, Ian let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah. You’re right."

"Like those small fry could ever stand a chance."

"It’s not even logical. There’s no way all these noble houses would unite just to claim a single child."

That meant all the minor threats could be easily handled—whether by Asterian or by Crown Prince Ian Dross himself.

Of course, things would change if the emperor started to covet Tiel.

But for now—

"Wait! I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but basically, the other families are gonna be after our baby, right?"

"Why is she your baby?!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Ludian ignored Ferdi’s protest.

"Then we don’t have time for this! We need to go tell Uncle right now!"

"He probably already knows."

"Knowing and reporting are two different things!"

Olivia huffed in exasperation, smacking her chest.

"Hey, idiot. Just knowing something and having all of us run up to Uncle, clinging to his legs and crying about how scared we are—how are those the same?"

"......."

"Obviously! The second one makes him feel way worse for us! If we want Uncle to take this seriously and protect our baby properly, we have to do this right!"

She’s not your baby.

Besides, even without this act, Father and Grandfather were already fiercely protective of their youngest.

But Olivia and Ludian were clearly beyond reason at this point.

Ludian, looking convinced, slowly nodded.

"Now that you mention it, that does make sense."

"Right? So let’s go back immediately! I also need to write a letter to my dad when we get back. Don’t worry, Tiel! I swear on the name of Wolfgang—I’ll protect you!"

Tiel blinked up at Olivia.

Wasn’t this something she should discuss with the actual Wolfgang family first...?

But Olivia was so adamant that Tiel could only nod along.

"Let’s go! Back to the estate!"

"Michel! Pack some cakes for us—a lot of cakes!"

"Yes. I already know."

Karsus nodded.

Olivia and Ludian immediately jumped up.

"Then hurry up and do something! Go crush Nestian—"

"Olivia."

Karsus sighed.

Having grown up alongside his sons, his niece was even more reckless than Ferdi and Ludian.

"Oh, right. Ahem! Anyway!"

"And attacking Nestian won’t fix this. What do you expect me to do? March in and demand they publicly declare the legend to be a lie?"

"That..."

"That won’t solve anything. The rumor is already out. What we can do—"

Karsus’s sharp golden eyes settled on his small daughter.

His gaze was warm, but filled with responsibility.

Tiel looked back at him, silently taking in his expression.

"—is protect Tiel with everything we have."

A heavy silence filled the room.

"And luckily... Asterian knows what it means to lose someone."

His voice was steady but firm.

Everyone fell quiet.

Feeling their eyes on him, Karsus looked down at Tiel and said,

"Don’t worry, Tiel.

Those who have lost before... know how terrifying it is to lose again."

"A... Dad."

"We will not lose you."