The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 129

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 129
There was no one in the Asterian Mansion who disagreed that Tiel had grown far more than before.
Across seasons that turned several times, as spring flowers bloomed and faded and the freckles on the white fur of her companion grew ever more distinct, the girl had flourished more rapidly than anyone else in the household.
In the girl who braided her hair into neat coils—her rosy-peach cheeks, small round nose, large gleaming eyes, and smooth, silken locks—there remained not a trace of her former shabby appearance.
After returning from Arcadia, the Emperor had kept his promise and allowed Tiel to remain at the Asterian Mansion, and Alpheus had temporarily entrusted the House Master Position to her.
Of course, he had never intended to genuinely thrust the heavy and burdensome title of “Head of the Asterian Household” upon her, so he had not conducted a formal investiture ceremony.
Yet all matters were handled under the name of the Head of Household, Tiel Asterian, by Alpheus’s authority, and no one harbored any complaint about it.
There was little room for complaint, given how much this small girl had accomplished.
The girl had saved her brother at seven years old, rescued the Crown Prince from a perilous situation, and then even saved the Beast-folk of Arcadia from the brink of total annihilation.
Who could possibly object? When even Cassius and Ferdi, who had been designated as potential heirs, harbored no grievance, there was no one in this empire who dared to raise one.
Alpheus and Cassius, Ferdi and Ludian, had protected Tiel without a single gap over the past five years.
Though they could not restore the childhood she had lost, they had come to love and cherish the youngest they had belated found, with the determination to embrace and care for her terrible past, even now.
Thanks to their devotion, Tiel had grown brilliantly within the embrace of her family.
The girl in a pale pink dress whose hue matched her rosy cheeks gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
“Of course you’ve grown! You’ve grown so very much more than before~”
Lia answered with a pleased smile. The maid’s gentle gaze rested upon the small girl she had nurtured with her own hands.
Tiel turned with a bright smile and leaned lightly against Lia. The maid, accustomed to the girl’s affections, wrapped her gently in an embrace.
“Come now, it’s time for you to go. Ferdi and Ludian are waiting for you.”
Lia placed a cute hairband atop the girl’s head as she spoke. Tiel nodded obediently.
“Yes! I’ll be back soon, Lia! I’ll bring back some delicious cake on the way home.”
“Oh my, the pastry chefs of the Asterian would be quite put out if they heard that.”
“Of course their creations are delicious too! But sometimes a new flavor is necessary, don’t you think?”
Tiel spoke in a cheerful, lilting voice. Lia simply laughed in response.
There had been many changes in the girl over the five years, and among them, the most striking was that she had become far more talkative.
The girl who had once been too self-conscious to express even simple thoughts—she was gone, and in her place remained only a girl who chirped like a lark every single day in the heart of the Asterian Mansion.
Lia was deeply delighted by the beloved young lady’s charming transformation, and she made every effort to respond warmly whenever Tiel chattered away.
“That’s right, one must have new flavors from time to time. I’m so curious what kind of cake Miss Tiel will bring back today! Do ask Ferdi and Ludian to buy you lots!”
“Yes! That’s what I intend to do! We need to buy lots. I’m sure my brothers will eat half of it anyway.”
Tiel left the room with Lia, laughing cheerfully. In that instant, a figure standing beside the door scooped her up effortlessly.
Startled, Tiel let out a small yelp. Lia stepped back with an indulgent laugh.
“Tiel, what are you so happy about? Making your brothers wait like this?”
The person who had suddenly lifted Tiel was, of course, Ferdi Asterian.
“Ferdi! I told you not to pick me up suddenly like that. I’m twelve years old now······.”
Tiel protested in a disgruntled voice, but Ferdi paid her no mind and carried her forward as he walked.
Ludian followed behind. He fished through his pockets, pulled out a bag of candy, and popped a single piece into Tiel’s mouth.
“You’ll still be small enough to carry around even when you’re twenty. So just settle down and let yourself be carried!”
“Really······.”
Tiel shot Ludian a disgruntled look but said nothing more, rolling the candy in her mouth with her tongue. It clicked against her teeth with a cheerful sound.
Ferdi and Ludian carried Tiel down the spiral staircase and out of the mansion. Smiles bloomed naturally on the faces of the servants watching the affectionate siblings.
“How long is the School Break? When do you have to return to the Academy?”
“A month. Short, right? So don’t think about writing to Iandros—spend time with your brothers instead.”
Ferdi spoke with considerable displeasure.
Ferdi disapproved of Tiel exchanging letters with Iandros. In truth, Ludian felt the same way.
Since that day, Tiel had been corresponding regularly with Iandros, though the letters contained nothing particularly remarkable.
Most of the content concerned cakes, scones, or sweet cookies she had eaten that day, and on rainy or snowy days, she occasionally added remarks about the weather.
Sometimes the letters included “I miss you,” but such instances were genuinely rare. By Lucette’s sacred oath, Tiel could swear that she had never written anything problematic in her letters to Iandros.
Iandros, for his part, kept his promise and replied to Tiel’s letters without fail.
There were times when Iandros sent the first letter. On days when Tiel wrote that she missed him, he came to see her, and they ate sandwiches together by the lake.
That was precisely the part that bothered Ferdi and Ludian. They were at the Academy during the school term, yet somehow they had learned of this.
It was unclear how the news had reached them, for there was no one in the mansion spreading word of what passed between Tiel and Iandros to Ferdi and Ludian······.
“I write to you too! Don’t be jealous of Iandros!”
“Of course you write to me. You’re my younger sister and I’m your brother.”
“Right, that Iandros fellow is nothing but a mere Crown Prince.”
A mere Crown Prince? Tiel found herself briefly puzzling over how “mere” and “Crown Prince” could appear in the same sentence.
No matter how powerful the individual Beast-folk families were in their society and how relatively weak the imperial authority was in comparison, Iandros was still the Crown Prince······. Even with age, Ferdi and Ludian continued to treat him as little more than “the wretch who stole our sister.”
As a result, Alpheus’s concerns were considerable, though Cassius refrained from correcting his sons’ manner of speech.
Ferdi, Ludian, and Tiel clambered into the Carriage. The coachman, having received word of their destination in advance, set the vehicle in motion smoothly. The horse let out a long neigh.
They were heading to Grem Street, currently the most bustling district in the Asterian Territory. There they planned to purchase a new dress for Tiel, enjoy some delicious cake, and return home.
Iandros had often sent Tiel new dresses, but Ferdi and Ludian insisted on buying her clothes themselves.
And Alpheus and Cassius felt the same way, so Tiel’s wardrobe overflowed with dresses piled high enough that she could wear a different one every day for a year and still not have tried them all.
Tiel had repeatedly refused, saying she needed no more dresses, but Ferdi and Ludian had insisted stubbornly, claiming they had to buy as many as Iandros did, and had brought her along by force.
Tiel often found herself uncertain whether her brothers were playing with her or she was playing with them.
Just then, Ferdi gestured toward Tiel’s shoulder and asked.
“Tiel, are you just going to keep taking that fish everywhere with you?”
Tiel turned her head and gazed at the shimmering fish. The creature cocked its head and gleamed ceaselessly, as if understanding Ferdi’s words.
Tiel’s fish had likewise grown considerably alongside her over the five years, and by now it had truly taken on the proper form of a fish.
Its fins had grown longer since she first used her Ability five years ago, its body lines had become smoother, and its size had expanded considerably.
“It likes being with me. It wants to see the outside world, so I can’t very well leave it behind. It’s too noticeable outside, but inside the Carriage is fine, isn’t it? Right?”
Tiel smiled gently and tapped the fish lightly on its snout. The creature spun in place, as if understanding her words.
Ferdi and Ludian watched Tiel quietly. She had indeed grown unrecognizably over the past five years.
It was not merely a matter of her lengthened limbs and hair that had grown in wavy strands.
Tiel’s Ability too had grown unrecognizably over the five years.

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