The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 124

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 124
The children decided to return to Arne first. They needed to tell the Head of Arne about what had happened in Arcadia and express their gratitude for her kindness.
They had told Illum they wouldn’t reveal that Karl was Eberard’s heir, but they couldn’t hide it from Arne.
First, Clemens, the heir to Arne, had witnessed Karl using his Ability with her own eyes, and Arne’s knights had also seen the extraordinary phenomena occurring in Arcadia.
“But doesn’t that mean everyone’s going to find out anyway?”
Ludian, who had been pondering the matter with folded arms in the swaying carriage, lifted one eyelid and spoke.
“Find out what?”
Iandros replied.
“You said you wouldn’t tell anyone that Karl is Eberard’s heir. But think about it… First, Asterian found out, right?”
Ludian pointed to himself, Ferdi, and Tiel. The two children he’d indicated nodded simultaneously.
“Wolfgang found out too, didn’t he?”
Olivier was in a different carriage, so Ludian couldn’t point to her. Instead of pointing, he changed methods by folding fingers. Four fingers curled down.
“Right.”
“And since Clemens knows, Arne found out too.”
One more finger folded. Iandros nodded silently.
“And finally, the Imperial Palace itself.”
Having used all five fingers of his right hand, Ludian extended his left thumb.
At Ludian’s words, Ferdi rested his head against the carriage window, while Tiel counted on her fingers as he had suggested and wore a troubled expression.
“I think you should have said ‘We will not inform Nestian and Iker’ instead of ‘We will keep this secret.'”
Tiel looked at Iandros. Ian nodded.
“I never thought we could truly keep it secret anyway. I just wanted to reassure them.”
Of course, Iandros had no intention of spreading the fact that Eberard’s heir had survived to everyone far and wide.
But as Ludian and Tiel had said, with so many people having witnessed it, he didn’t think they could keep it secret.
And yet the reason he had said it that way was.
“That land needs stability. At least until the bodies of the dead beastmen are recovered. We can buy them time for that.”
The Emperor, the Head of Asterian, and the Head of Wolfgang were not the sort to act rashly or seize the misfortune of others as their own opportunity—so when they heard of this matter, they would at least try their best to keep it secret.
Arne was unreliable, but given the nature of their territory—isolated and distant from other houses—even if they spread word of this, it would take time.
So they could “buy time” for that land, as Iandros had said. Even if they couldn’t keep it secret until Karl was fully grown.
Tiel thought of the corpses of beastmen piled in one corner and frowned.
Arcadia, exposed beneath the sunlight, was far more devastating than expected. She worried whether this land could truly reclaim its former glory….
“Anyway, I’m relieved it all worked out. Aren’t you? I really thought… all those beastmen were going to die!”
“They probably would have. If Tiel hadn’t come, they’d have faced complete extinction. Since it was Thender who sent us here, should we thank him?”
Ferdi replied casually and drew Tiel into an embrace. Tiel nestled into her brother’s warmth and gave a small nod of agreement to his words.
Thender had never been helpful in Tiel’s life, but this time he certainly had been helpful….
Even if this turn of events hadn’t been intentional on Thender’s part, the fact that “Thender was helpful” could not be denied, Tiel thought.
Of course, if Thender himself had heard these words, he would have railed indignantly and tried to strike the children with his Ice Blade, but since he wasn’t here but in Nestian territory, it wasn’t something Tiel needed to worry about.
“I’m so glad everything worked out. We couldn’t have done it without Karl… Did Elder Illum realize that Karl would be necessary and ask him to serve as our guide?”
In truth, if guidance were needed, it would have been better for Illum or Eren themselves to go. Or they could have sent another beastman of appropriate age as a guide.
Having followed Karl, the children discovered that while he knew the geography of that place intimately, he was terribly bad at navigation.
Because of this, they had to take long, roundabout routes. Ferdi, Ludian, and Olivier complained that they should have brought a different guide instead.
‘If they had brought a different guide, they probably would have failed.’
They wouldn’t have called forth the sun or wetted the parched earth of Arcadia with water. The beastmen would have all died, and Tiel would have suffered torment from guilt watching their corpses.
Iandros, who had been thinking it over, nodded at Tiel’s words.
“Illum was one of the few people who knew Karl was the last son of Eberard. Even if he didn’t know the details, he might have sensed that Eberard’s bloodline would be necessary to restore Arcadia.”
“But Eberard was exterminated so long ago… wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Then… could it be that Karl hatching now is connected to that? Did Eberard’s Head… know everything and prepare by leaving his son behind?”
“I don’t think so.”
Ferdi spoke, resting his chin on Tiel’s head. Tiel lifted her gaze to look up at him. Her eyes met Ferdi’s, who was looking down at her.
Ferdi smiled warmly.
“Eberard’s Ability wasn’t Foresight, so how could he have known? As Illum said, for the land of Arcadia to exist, his bloodline was necessary, so he left Karl behind. At the cost of his life force.”
Ferdi turned his gaze out the window and continued speaking.
“And surely he also had the heart to keep his son alive. He didn’t leave him behind merely as a tool for the beastmen of Arcadia…. Eberard’s Head, who loved that land, left it behind with concern for Arcadia—and in the end, wasn’t that what saved Arcadia? That’s what I believe.”
“You’re right, when you put it that way!”
“Though I wonder if he knew when his son would hatch. Illum said that because they didn’t know when Karl would hatch, his house protected him for generations. But if Karl hatched seven years ago….”
“That’s exactly when Tiel was born.”
Iandros murmured. Before they’d departed, he’d asked Illum how many years ago Karl had been born.
‘Karl hatched seven years ago.’
‘Seven years?’
‘Yes, he is seven years old this year.’
Illum had answered their questions. And for that reason, ever since hearing Illum’s reply, all the boys had been thinking the same thing.
The heir of the Water House, Eberard, who had slept for so long, and the child with the legendary Light Ability were born in the same year. Could this truly be coincidence?
Ferdi reached out and gently stroked Tiel’s tangled hair.
Because no lady’s maid had accompanied them, Clemens and Olivier had tied Tiel’s hair for her, but it was still somewhat loosely done, with strands sticking out here and there.
Still, Tiel truly loved the way her sisters had braided it!
Tiel broke into a bright smile at Ferdi’s touch. Ferdi too smiled, following his beloved younger sister.
***
“Nothing’s happened, has it?”
………
“Shouldn’t we send out search parties now?”
………
“No, wait. Perhaps I should go myself….”
“Father.”
Cassius called to him with composure. At his call, Alpheus turned his head sharply to look at him. Their gazes met in the empty air between them.
Cassius looked at his father and spoke in a measured, grave voice, infused with the utmost respect and affection.
“Please sit down. You’re being unsettled.”
………
“The children haven’t even lost contact with us. Why are you making such a fuss?”
Arne had sent regular updates to Asterian about the children’s movements, and had also notified them that the children had safely entered the Land Without Morning.
Yet since the children had left, Alpheus had been pacing in circles through his study hundreds of times a day, muttering things like “I really should have gone with them after all.”
Alpheus, whose patience wore thin at Cassius’s calm demeanor, flared up.
“Aren’t you worried about them? They’re far more delayed than expected!”
“Of course I am worried.”
Cassius believed in the children. He was certain they would manage well in any situation.
But sometimes there are things that even the children’s strength cannot overcome.
So Cassius’s worry for them was the same as Alpheus’s. The reason he could remain calm despite that was.
“That is why I sent the Salamander. It should be arriving about now.”
Cassius murmured, gazing at a calendar marked with lines. From the tip of Cassius’s finger, a small flame flickered to life—whoosh! As if the Salamander were answering his murmur.
***
At that very moment.
A small Salamander made of flame was crossing the vast snowy field with determined speed.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————