The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

A woman draped in a tattered robe naturally melted into the darkness.

No, rather than saying she hid in the darkness, it would be more accurate to say that the darkness swallowed her whole.

The darkness gradually consumed her, and once again, she stepped into the endless void.

Her empty eyes absorbed the pitch-black nothingness entirely...

[Have you returned?]

A chillingly eerie voice asked from within the darkness.

The voice cracked and splintered continuously, to the point that it was barely comprehensible without careful attention.

The woman nodded.

The darkness, seemingly pleased, let out a long, satisfied laugh before guiding its loyal servant deeper into its depths.

[Good... well done...]

The moment the voice finished speaking, an even darker abyss yawned open and slowly devoured her feet.

The woman stood still, unmoving.

Until she was entirely swallowed by the abyss, a void akin to eternal damnation.

...Until her faded golden hair briefly peeked out from the darkness, only to vanish once more.

***

Ian Dross decided he needed to report this matter to the Emperor first and immediately took a carriage back to the imperial palace.

Meanwhile, the children had gathered in Tiel’s room within the estate.

"Ugh, when is the festival going to end?"

"Why? You were so excited for it."

"I was, but now that I think Tiel might be in danger, I don’t care about the festival or whatever. I just want to go home!"

Olivia yelled and then planted a loud kiss on Tiel’s cheek.

Startled by the act, Ferdie immediately picked Tiel up, and Ludian wiped her soft cheek with his sleeve.

Her cheek was squished in the direction he wiped.

"What are you doing? That’s gross!"

Ferdie exclaimed in horror. It was one of the rare moments when his usual composure was broken.

"Tiel, you can’t just stay still. I told you to say no if you don’t like it."

"Huh?"

Tiel blinked her large eyes and looked up at Ferdie.

"But... she does it often."

"She does? When?"

Ludian gasped and asked in shock. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Olivia chuckled mischievously, curling her index finger and poking Tiel’s cheek teasingly.

"And... I like it too?"

"You what?"

The brothers turned their heads toward Tiel at the same time.

"You like that?"

"That thing?"

"Huh? Yes. Sister is kind to me. She kisses me every day, pats my head, and says I’m adorable..."

Tiel closed her eyes in contentment and spoke slowly.

Watching her, both Ludian and Ferdie felt the urge to clutch the backs of their necks.

"When did she start doing that to Tiel?"

"Heh, while you two weren’t looking, obviously."

Olivia rolled around on the bed, looking at Tiel with eyes dripping with fondness.

Regardless of what her brothers and Olivia were arguing about, Tiel simply pulled another piece of candy from the bag she was holding and popped it into her mouth.

It was a small, round sugar-coated candy that would melt within ten minutes.

While the three of them bickered loudly, Tiel quietly munched on her candy.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

The children, pausing whatever they were doing, simultaneously turned toward the door.

"Come in."

At Ferdie’s command, the door slowly opened, and a maid entered, bowing her head.

"What is it?"

"Sir, the head of the family has requested that everyone remain in the estate for dinner tonight."

"Dinner together? All of a sudden?"

Hearing the maid’s words, Tiel narrowed her eyes slightly.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen her grandfather properly since arriving for Luminarie.

Karsus had at least been close to her most of the time, but Alpheus had been so busy that he hadn’t stopped moving throughout the entire festival.

‘But at least I’ll get to see Grandfather at dinner.’

Thinking about seeing him after so long, a small smile carefully formed on Tiel’s lips.

However, she seemed to be the only one pleased.

"What? How annoying!"

Olivia groaned, squinting her eyes.

"Exactly! I wasn’t planning on going anywhere until dinner anyway, but now that he put it like that, it makes me feel like I should leave out of spite!"

Hearing them, Tiel considered saying that maybe her brothers just didn’t want to listen to their grandfather. But she swallowed the words and held back...

"Fine, we got it. You can leave now."

In the midst of all the commotion, only Ferdie managed to maintain the dignity of the Asterian heir. The maid bowed her head and quickly scurried out of the room.

"Does Grandfather have something he wants to say?"

Tiel asked cautiously.

Even if Alpheus hadn't given such instructions, the children would have naturally gathered at the Asterian estate for dinner.

But for him to specifically order, ‘Do not go out.’ meant that Alpheus had something he wanted to tell them in person.

Ferdie must have been thinking the same thing, as he nodded while gently patting Tiel's head.

"Looks like it. Who did my little sister take after to be this smart?"

Tiel beamed at his words. As he continued to ruffle her hair, Ferdie cast a slightly contemptuous glance at Olivia and Ludian, who were still bickering.

"Unlike your brother and sister, who refuse to act their age."

Tiel wanted to defend them somehow, but when she saw the two of them now fully engaged in a full-blown pillow fight like raging bulls, she decided to stay silent.

It was a little too... violent to make excuses for them.

Ferdie seemed to think it was too much for Tiel to witness as well. He gently covered her eyes and asked cautiously,

"By the way, Tiel, there's going to be fireworks tomorrow. Do you want to go see them?"

"...Fireworks?"

Tiel blinked.

What were fireworks? Naturally, she had never heard of nor seen them before...

After furrowing her brows in deep thought for a moment, she hesitantly reached out and tapped Ferdie’s fingertip with her own.

"Fire...?"

"..."

Then, she turned and gestured toward Ludian and Olivia still wrestling on the bed.

"...Works?"

Ferdie’s expression twisted in an instant.

He looked at his innocent little sister, then at Ludian and Olivia, who still hadn't come to their senses, and finally, he picked up a doll that had fallen nearby and hurled it.

Thud!

The doll smacked Ludian square in the face.

"Sit down and behave, or I’m not taking you to see the fireworks with Tiel."

At that, Olivia and Ludian, who had been fighting as if their lives depended on it, immediately calmed down. As if nothing had happened, they brightened up and rushed over to Tiel.

"Tiel! Are you going to see the fireworks?"

"That sounds fun! You've never seen them before, right? This is your first festival, after all!"

"Huh? But... what are fireworks?"

Ferdie had opened his mouth to explain, but then shut it again after a few silent movements.

He was reminded of how Tiel had pointed to his hand and said fire, then pointed at the chaos behind her and said works.

The moment of realization left him feeling deeply conflicted.

After rubbing his face in frustration while glaring at Ludian and Olivia, Ferdie quickly regained his composure, smiled, and patted Tiel’s head.

"Fireworks are explosions that shoot up into the sky."

"They explode in the sky...? Why? Why would you do that?"

Tiel's eyes widened.

Firing explosives into the sky? Why? Was it some kind of hunting method to kill all the birds flying up there?

Seeing her fearful expression, Ferdie realized something had gone terribly wrong. He let out a chuckle and stepped back.

Then—

"Watch closely, Tiel."

Whoosh—!

A small flame ignited at the tip of Ferdie's fingertip. It was tiny, harmless enough that it wouldn't burn anyone even if it flickered.

Ferdie took Tiel’s hand and led her to the window. Opening it, he launched the tiny flame into the air.

The fire soared skyward, and at the height of their gaze, it burst— pop!

Glowing embers scattered beautifully, drifting down toward the garden...

"..."

"...Huh?"

Tiel leaned against the windowsill and peered downward.

The embers from the tiny flame Ferdie had just shot up were now setting fire to the neatly arranged trees in the garden.

Fwoosh—!

"Ack! I don’t know anymore! What the hell is happening?!"

The gardener, who had been trimming the saplings nearby, shrieked in horror and rushed off to fetch water.

"..."

"Uh... is this a firework?"

Tiel glanced between the blazing trees below and the panicked gardener.

Ferdie flashed a bright smile.

"Let's close the window, Tiel."

"..."

"I don’t think we need to go watch the fireworks anymore, do we?"