The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"......Haha."

Back at the imperial palace, Ian carefully unwrapped Tiel’s gift, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips.

The gift box was as large as Tiel herself.

Yet, what lay inside was astonishingly small.

Everything else in the box was merely cushioning for this one tiny item.

Ian held the gift in his hand and stared at it in silence.

"Yes! Please tell me later if you liked the gift!"

Did he like it?

He didn’t even need a moment to think. What Tiel had given him was—

Something that resembled her completely—a small relic that could shine on its own.

"Where did she even find this?"

It was probably one of the relics owned by the Asterian family. Or perhaps Asterian had procured it for her...

But even if Karsus or Alpheus had obtained it, it was undoubtedly Tiel who had thought of giving it to him.

That much was certain.

"Tiel is..."

The only person who had ever stepped inside his subspace.

Ian never let anyone into his subspace. It was only natural.

From the very beginning, he had never had anyone close enough to warrant such trust. More than that, his subspace was a place filled with things he didn't want others to see—the darkest parts of himself.

Perhaps that was why.

No light could ever illuminate his subspace.

Candles extinguished the moment they entered, and relics that were said to glow even in darkness lost their light as soon as they crossed the threshold.

Ian had long given up on bringing light into that space.

The only faint solace was that, at times, traces of moonlight would seep in.

But even that wasn't enough to brighten it.

His subspace was vast, filled with darkness, and... lonely.

And yet, he had brought Tiel into such a place. He couldn't even recall what he had been thinking at the time. Perhaps he hadn’t been thinking at all.

Tiel must have realized it then.

That inside that place, no light could survive.

"Because Tiel herself is light."

No one needed to tell her—she would have understood immediately. That light couldn't exist in Ian’s subspace.

So she must have prepared this gift for him. Ian could easily imagine what must have been on her mind while she did.

Ian Dross held the relic in his hand.

The small orb, round and smooth like Tiel’s head, twinkled endlessly, just like her.

He gazed down at the relic in his palm.

"In the end."

In the end, if he took it inside, it would fade away.

And it would never shine again. If that was the case, wouldn’t it be better to leave it by the window instead?

Just as he thought that, Ian’s gaze darkened.

He couldn’t bear the thought of watching Tiel’s gift lose its light.

No one knew what thoughts had crossed his mind as he stared at a mansion that could never be lit.

No one knew what he had given up on inside that place.

And that resignation made Ian afraid.

This was Tiel’s gift. It was something precious, something he could never allow to be taken into that place and let it die.

At that moment—

Twinkle!

From within the relic, tiny lights collided, bursting into an even greater radiance. Ian Dross blinked.

A powerful light.

Strong enough to illuminate an entire unlit room.

Yet it wasn’t blinding.

The light, resembling Tiel, felt as if it were embracing everything in the world... Warm, gentle, not harsh to the eyes.

And then—

Fwoosh—!

As if reassuring him not to be afraid, the light in Ian’s palm sparkled without pause. A warm glow continuously seeped between his fingers.

"Haha..."

Ian laughed. His voice carried a hint of relief.

A gesture, as if trying to soothe his fear.

How could it be?

Even in this, she was exactly the same.

As if Tiel had taken a piece of her own light and placed it in his hand.

His resolve hardened. Ian held the relic with care before letting it go.

With a flick of his hand, his subspace materialized before him.

Unlike before, the boy hesitated slightly before stepping inside.

He carried Tiel’s gift with him.

For a moment, the pitch-black subspace lit up. But only for a moment.

"...As expected."

The relic slowly began to lose its light. No different from the others.

All the relics he had brought in before were the same. They had all shone brightly at first, only to fade away, one after another.

Ian closed his eyes. It was a foolish hope. He should have known better than to expect otherwise.

And yet, despite knowing, he had dared to hope.

Even though he knew disappointment awaited him. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ian Dross slowly opened his eyes. He was prepared to watch this light—Tiel’s light—disappear.

The radiance faded. The glow that had been strong enough to light an entire room had now dimmed to the point that it barely illuminated Ian himself.

And then—

"...Huh?"

Ian stared at the relic in confusion.

This was the moment when the light should have gone out completely. By now, it shouldn’t even be able to shine on him anymore.

Inside the orb, the fragments of light wavered as if they were on the verge of flickering out.

Yet, it did not disappear.

"...!"

He waited for a long time.

Yet, nothing changed. The light did not go out.

It illuminated the darkness.

Barely a hand’s span, but light was still light. It broke through the darkness.

The fragments of light flickered as if they were on the verge of extinguishing, yet they never did. Desperately, they reached out, casting a glow around them.

Ian Dross sank to the ground. There was no one here to reprimand him. This was his subspace.

And in this place, Ian had always been completely alone.

But now, he was not alone.

Ian clutched Tiel’s gift to his chest, his grip urgent, almost desperate. His emerald-green eyes glimmered, catching the light.

"It didn’t fade..."

He muttered.

The faint light continued to push back the darkness, holding its ground in the warmth of Ian’s embrace.

Ian lowered his head.

For a moment, his shoulders trembled.

***

"Ria, are you sure it’ll be okay?"

Tiel asked, her face filled with uncertainty.

It was already the tenth time she had asked, yet Ria answered each time without a hint of annoyance, her smile warm and reassuring.

"Of course, my lady. He will definitely love it."

"Really? Ugh, he has to...."

Giving gifts was really difficult. Tiel realized this more than ever. At the same time, she found herself amazed at how Alpheus and Karsus managed to give her presents so often.

"Don’t worry, my lady. You worked hard on this gift. I’m sure he’ll be happy."

"Yes, I’ll try to think positively."

Tiel nodded.

She had put a lot of effort into preparing this gift.

And for good reason—Ian was the Crown Prince of the Empire. A simple gift wouldn’t do.

But did he need something extravagant? No, that wasn’t it either. The imperial palace already held the rarest and most valuable treasures in the entire empire.

As she pondered, Tiel recalled the first day she met Ian.

His subspace, where there wasn’t even a single trace of light.

A space cluttered with extinguished chandeliers and unlit candles.

The moment the memory resurfaced, she knew exactly what she had to give him.

Tiel had rushed straight to Karsus and told him, "I want to give him something that shines."

After a brief moment of thought, Karsus had retrieved a jewelry box from the Asterian family's storage.

Inside was a small relic.

"This is a relic that emits its own light. It’s a rare item, one worthy of the Crown Prince."

Tiel had been delighted as she took it. And then...

"To be honest, I didn’t expect it to work."

Tiel murmured, a little stunned.

She had infused a tiny bit of her own power into the relic.

She had wanted to add more, but she was still inexperienced with her abilities, and that was all she could manage.

But she had succeeded. She had worked tirelessly for three whole days to make it happen.

The relic, which already emitted its own light, now shone a little brighter, infused with Tiel’s power.

Just imagining Ian’s reaction when he saw it warmed a quiet place deep in her heart.

And yet, she had deliberately stopped him from opening it in front of her.

‘Because there’s always a chance...’

A chance that he might not like it.

And if that happened, she thought, she might feel a little sad. That was why.

But now that she couldn't see his reaction, she did feel a little regretful. After putting in so much effort, even more so.

‘Ugh, well... it can’t be helped.’

What was done was done. Thinking about it now wouldn’t change anything.

Instead of dwelling on it, Tiel knelt down and spread her palm open.

Ria, quick to recognize that her lady was about to practice using her abilities, turned off the lights and silently left the room.

Tiel closed her eyes. For a moment, it felt as if a warm breeze swept over her.

With careful intent, the child used her power.

Fwaaa—!

In that instant, a bright, warm light burst forth from her palm.

A light identical to the one Ian had held close in his embrace.