The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

Ah.

The subspace distorted once more, and this time, it plunged Tiel and Ian Dross into an abyss of absolute darkness.

Tiel sat there, dazed, replaying everything she had just witnessed.

‘What... did I just see?’

So, it seemed like... she had glimpsed Ian’s past memories.

‘Or was it an illusion?’ 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But this was Ian’s subspace.

A subspace wouldn’t show illusions to someone who entered against its master’s will. And Ian himself was unconscious, meaning he wasn’t controlling anything.

No—what she saw wasn’t an illusion. It had to be Ian’s actual memories.

Tiel slowly ran her fingers through Ian’s hair, blinking.

‘I shouldn’t have seen that...’

Ian-nim will be upset.

She made a silent vow to herself. No matter what, she would never tell Ian—or anyone—about what she had just seen.

She wasn’t even sure if it had been real. The last thing she wanted was to stir up Ian’s painful memories.

So, she would forget.

The small girl nodded to herself and carefully lifted Ian’s head, resting it on her lap.

How much time had passed like that?

“...Why isn’t he waking up?”

Tiel blinked.

Ian needed to regain consciousness for them to escape this place. But he showed no sign of stirring.

She had been waiting for quite a while now, but surrounded by nothing but darkness, she had no way to tell how much time had actually passed.

Fwoosh—!

She activated her ability, letting her light illuminate the area, but there was nothing around them. Nothing at all.

It was as if they were trapped in an empty void.

Finding nothing, Tiel reluctantly withdrew her ability.

She had to conserve her energy—there was no telling when Ian would wake up.

‘...I’m hungry.’

Her stomach growled, and the confinement was beginning to feel suffocating. The only thing keeping her sane was the fact that Ian was with her. If she had been alone, she wouldn’t have been able to endure this at all.

She waited for a long while, unmoving. Then, after some time, she used her ability once more, casting light over Ian’s unconscious form.

And that was when—

‘...What is that?’

Something strange was there.

Dark smoke—so black it seemed to swallow all the light in the world—was coiling around Ian’s neck, slithering like a noose, tightening ever so slightly.

Alarmed, Tiel quickly reached out, placing her tiny hand on Ian’s throat.

The moment her fingers made contact, the shadowy thing recoiled, writhing away from her touch and gathering itself into a single mass.

‘What... is this?’

Then, as if it had realized something, it suddenly shifted direction.

And lunged straight at her.

Tiel gasped in shock, but she couldn’t pull her hand away. Her fingers remained pressed against Ian’s throat.

A sickening sensation crawled up her wrist.

Her face went pale.

She had felt this before.

On the street that day, and again when she touched Ian’s body. This was the third time.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Tiel carefully activated her ability.

That thing... hated light.

As the glow slowly radiated from her hand, the darkness that had been choking Ian’s throat convulsed, writhing violently as if in agony.

Then—sizzle!

It burned away, disintegrating into nothing.

...That was it?

Tiel blinked in disbelief and ran her fingers along Ian’s throat again.

‘It disappeared just like that?’

Was it really that easy?

If she had known, she would have used her ability that day in the carriage.

Back then, the moment she touched it, it had resisted—growing denser and harder. But now, it had vanished the second it came into contact with light.

The ease of it all was almost disappointing.

Tiel stared at Ian’s neck, blinking.

And then—

“...What is this?”

She gingerly traced a mark left behind on his skin.

A shape.

It was... a fish.

A glowing imprint of a fish, faintly shimmering even in the darkness.

When she pulled back her ability, it was the only thing still visible in the pitch-black void.

Flustered, she tried rubbing it off, but no matter how much she pressed against his skin, the mark wouldn’t fade.

Instead—

“...Huh?”

Something in the darkness shifted.

A warping sensation rippled through the void.

Instinctively, Tiel squeezed Ian tightly in her arms.

The space around them twisted again.

And her vision flipped—twice.

***

"Is there... truly no way to do something about this?"

Alpheus spoke with a troubled expression, his gaze fixed on Wilhelm. The emperor shook his head.

"...There is no such way."

Opening or closing a subspace—only its master could do that.

This was precisely why the ability to create subspace was considered both the strongest and most dangerous ability within the empire.

Once something entered a subspace, it could not be retrieved without the master’s permission. Likewise, no one could forcibly extract someone who had hidden inside it.

Alpheus and Karsus stood together at the spot where Ian Dross had vanished. Wilhelm, the imperial knights, and the heads of Wolfgang, Iker, and Arne were all present as well.

The head of Nestian was absent.

"Even so, we cannot just stand here and do nothing."

Karsus’s voice was steady as he spoke.

"Then what do you propose? We cannot open that subspace by our own means."

"We have to search for a solution. If we go through the records in the imperial archives, we might find something."

Karsus's voice was unnervingly calm, but no one failed to recognize the immense restraint he was exercising.

Thus, no one dared to provoke him—or Alpheus.

It was only natural.

For seven years, they had believed Tiel to be dead. And now, after finally getting her back, they had lost her again, right before their eyes.

Everyone present was searching for a way to rescue Ian Dross and Tiel from the subspace.

But the reality was... there was nothing they could do.

Arne and Iker did not grieve. She was not their child.

But as parents themselves, they sympathized.

And at the same time, they felt... relieved.

‘The child with the Light ability is gone...’

With Tiel missing, Asterian would never rise to power beyond its current reach.

It wasn’t something they could say aloud, but perhaps... in some ways, this was for the best.

Yes, perhaps...

At that moment—

Pop—!!

It wasn’t an explosion.

Rather, it was a light, bursting sound.

Everyone, who had been standing with their heads bowed as if they were convicts, jerked their heads up at the sudden noise.

Thud—!

From a small tear in space, two small figures tumbled out, rolling across the ground.

Tiel was still nestled in Ian Dross’s unconscious embrace, and even while unconscious, Ian’s body instinctively cushioned her, keeping her from harm.

But still—

“Oww...”

Tiel groaned, rubbing her head where she had bumped it.

A shadow loomed over her.

‘Huh?’

She looked up.

A group of towering adults stood before her, staring in stunned silence.

"......"

"......"

"Ah, hello?"

Tiel quickly bowed her head, greeting them hesitantly.

Then, before she could react, Karsus—his face unreadable—stepped forward and swiftly scooped her up.

Tiel flinched, squeezing her eyes shut in fear.

She was sure she was about to be scolded.

After all, she had ignored her family's pleas and thrown herself into danger just to save Ian.

She had no excuse.

But Karsus did not reprimand her.

He did not berate her, nor did he demand an explanation.

Instead, he simply pulled his daughter into his arms and held her tightly.

As if... as if he had been waiting forever to hold her like this.

For seven years, he had been unable to embrace her.

For seven years, that absence had solidified in his heart like an immovable stone wall.

And when she had disappeared again—he had been terrified.

Because he was a coward.

A coward who could not bear to lose his daughter a second time.

Karsus said nothing, simply holding his child.

But to Tiel, it was as if she could hear his thoughts as clearly as if he had spoken them.

Slowly, carefully, she lifted her tiny arms.

And hugged her father back.

“...Papa.”

“Yes, my daughter.”

“...I’m sorry for worrying you. I won’t do it again.”

"That’s enough."

Karsus said nothing else.

Neither did Tiel.

The others could only watch in silence, unable to bring themselves to interrupt the moment between father and daughter.

Even Wilhelm, who bent down to gently pull Ian Dross closer, remained quiet.

“...What are you all standing around for?" Wilhelm’s voice was low, directed at the knights. "Are you going to leave the Crown Prince lying there?"

The imperial knights quickly bowed their heads in acknowledgment and stepped forward, carefully lifting Ian Dross from the emperor’s arms.

Wilhelm gazed at the boy’s peaceful face for a long time.

Even as Ian was carried away and placed inside the carriage, the emperor continued watching him in silence.