The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 146

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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 146
Less than five seconds after Alpheus told him to keep it quiet, Ludian caught him anyway, leaving the old man staring at his grandson in blank dismay.
“Why are you here?”
“Ferdi and Tiel went missing, so I wanted to ask where they went. But what were you telling people not to mention?”
“You shouldn’t have heard that.”
“What’s dead? That bastard Osian?”
He’d heard everything, then.
Alpheus pressed his palm to his forehead, abandoning any thought of reproaching his grandson for his outburst.
He’d sent Ludian to the Academy, and with each passing day the boy grew stranger, now cursing without hesitation even in his own grandfather’s presence.
“Yes, he is dead. I was just about to verify it.”
“I’m coming too.”
“You will not follow me.”
But Ludian paid no heed to Alpheus’s words and stubbornly trailed after him regardless.
Alpheus eventually gave up trying to stop his grandson and descended into the Underground Prison of the Asterian Mansion alongside him.
There lay Osian’s corpse, sprawled upon the cold stone floor, covered with white cloth.
The guards said they’d shown it to the physician, so it was likely the Asterian’s own doctor who had arranged the covering.
When Alpheus and Ludian approached, the guards carefully lifted the cloth to reveal the dead man’s face.
“……!”
Ludian’s face contorted.
Alpheus gazed down at the corpse with an impassive expression.
The body was grotesquely mangled—eyes wide open as if the man had witnessed something shocking in his final moments.
Alpheus didn’t linger long over the remains; he ordered the cloth replaced and asked a question.
“Any signs of intrusion?”
“None, sir. He died not during a changing of the guard, but while the guards were standing directly before his cell. There’s no possibility that anyone could have broken in.”
The guard spoke rapidly. Alpheus nodded. It was certainly true—breaking into an Asterian prison was impossible.
Then why, exactly, had Osian died?
‘Suicide?’
But the timing felt too contrived for suicide, and the manner of death was decidedly strange.
After deliberating briefly, Alpheus concluded that suicide was unlikely.
“For now, preserve the body carefully. Do not clean his cell—leave everything as it is.”
“Yes, Alpheus.”
Alpheus and Ludian left the Underground Prison, abandoning Osian’s grotesquely twisted form to the cold floor below.
The guards obeyed Alpheus’s orders, leaving Osian’s cell untouched.
Slide… slide…
And not long after, something black and unidentifiable crawled silently away and vanished.
***
By the time Tiel and Ferdi returned to the Asterian Mansion, Osian’s corpse had already been secured and removed.
Cassius confirmed there was nothing more to examine about Osian’s body and handed it over to his family.
The Asterian household oversaw the funeral to prevent any possible misfortune, standing witness to the proceedings.
And not long afterward.
“Someone came from the Temple?”
Tiel’s eyes widened as she asked. Lia, who had been arranging Tiel’s hair, looked equally startled toward the doorway.
The maid who had brought the news bowed her head respectfully as she answered.
“Yes, the High Priest himself visited from the Temple. He’s waiting in the Reception Room now.”
Tiel first acknowledged the message, then spun her head around to face Lia.
“Lia, why would the Temple send someone so suddenly?”
“I’m not sure either. Perhaps something’s happened at the Temple? There’s no reason the High Priest would move personally otherwise… Let me finish tying your hair.”
Lia’s nimble hands quickly bound Tiel’s hair and tied a ribbon at the end with grace.
Tiel stood up hastily—she couldn’t keep the High Priest waiting any longer.
Though technically she held the title, Tiel was now the Head of Household of the Asterian; she couldn’t delegate a meeting with him to someone else.
Tiel descended the spiral staircase in quick, light steps and came to stand before the Reception Room door.
She turned to the maid who had brought word of the High Priest’s arrival and asked a question.
“Did you tell my grandfather and father?”
“Both are away from the mansion at present, so I was unable to inform them.”
The maid answered apologetically. Tiel nodded—Alpheus and Cassius had been too busy lately to spend much time at home.
It would have been reassuring to have Ferdi and Ludian present, but they too had left for the Academy after a problem had reportedly arisen there.
As a result, Tiel found herself facing the High Priest alone. She swallowed hard and slowly opened the door.
The High Priest was sitting on a sofa in the Reception Room, sipping tea as he waited for Tiel.
As the door opened and Tiel entered, the High Priest turned his head toward her, set down his teacup, and rose from his seat.
Tiel was no longer an ordinary daughter of the Asterian household—she was now its Head of Household—and thus the High Priest owed her the respect befitting her station.
“I have the honor of greeting the Head of the Asterian Household. I am High Priest Andres.”
Tiel had met Andres before, so she showed no shyness. She bowed in greeting with proper courtesy.
“Good day, High Priest. I am Tiel Asterian.”
Seven years old.
Tiel had met Andres not long after arriving at the Asterian Mansion, when he came to perform the Paternity Test.
At that time, she had not yet been recognized as an Asterian daughter.
Meeting Andres now as the “Head of the Asterian Household” felt strange. Her chest tickled with an odd sensation, as if something warm were rising up inside her.
Tiel swallowed down all of it and invited Andres to sit with dignified courtesy.
Then she settled herself across from him and looked at him inquiringly.
“I heard you came looking for me.”
“To be precise, I came seeking not the Head of the Asterian Household, but the Child of Lyeset God.”
Tiel understood what Andres meant. The girl nodded carefully and asked a question.
“Has something happened at the Temple?”
“The Divine Oracle of Lyeset God no longer descends upon us. It was never frequent to begin with, but this long a silence is unusual, so I came urgently to see you.”
“The Oracle has ceased…?”
Tiel’s eyes widened in surprise.
Now that he mentioned it, when she was younger, she had often heard a warm and gentle voice near her ear—a presence she couldn’t quite place.
Only after learning that she was protected by Lyeset God as a Child of Light did she come to understand that voice belonged to the god.
Yet that voice had never returned since she turned seven years old.
“Therefore, I came to check whether something might have happened to you as well.”
“I’m fine, but there is something I should tell you.”
Tiel spoke carefully, choosing her words with care.
She told Andres that when she was seven years old, she had often heard something that seemed to be the “Voice of God.”
That since then, it had never returned.
“Could something have happened to Lyeset God?”
“It’s possible. Because…”
Andres withdrew a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead. Tiel blinked and waited quietly for his next words.
Only after Andres had wiped his brow and wet his throat with tea did he speak again.
“Are you aware that in the Crasion Empire, day and night are always equal in length, regardless of season?”
“Yes, I am.”
“But recently, the night has begun to last slightly longer than the day. At first, I thought someone had made a mistake or was confused, but it was no mistake.”
“The night is… growing longer?”
Tiel’s eyes widened in astonishment. Could such a thing even be possible?
Andres continued.
“This proves that the power of Lyeset God, who has protected the Crasion Empire, is weakening. Fortunately, the change is so minute that almost no one has noticed the night growing longer. But…”
……
“If the days continue to shorten and the nights continue to lengthen…”
Andres looked directly at Tiel, his expression grave.
“The Beastmen of Crasion will begin to suspect your Ability and your qualifications.”

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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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