The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 150

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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 150
Tiel opened her eyes slowly.
Lis was breathing in front of her face. Tiel reached out to Lis instinctively, worry blooming in her chest.
“Um, Lis…!”
“I-I’m fine.”
Lis nodded vigorously and lifted her face with renewed brightness. Tiel checked on her condition first.
Fortunately, aside from looking somewhat tired, Lis appeared unharmed.
Lis grasped Tiel’s hand and squeezed her eyes shut as if confirming something, then opened them again before continuing in a slightly pleased voice.
“Ah, it’s all right now.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s all right now—that power no longer remains in the Head of Household’s body.”
At Lis’s words, Tiel lifted her gaze to the Luminous Fish swimming around her.
The black marks that had stained its fins were gone, cleansed away entirely.
Tiel herself had not felt the malign influence of ‘that power’ save for the nightmares, so she could not have sensed it directly.
“Thank you, Lis!”
Tiel beamed and seized Lis’s hand. The girl nodded, her expression heavy with exhaustion.
Cassius, quick to notice how drained Lis had become, lifted Tiel into his arms once more and spoke to the girl.
“You did well. You may go rest now. You have borne your responsibility in this matter, so Asterian will not hold you guilty any longer. You will not be treated as a criminal, and after proper verification procedures, we will not question you further on this affair.”
Lis nodded at Cassius’s words. The girl left a brief farewell and departed the room.
“Tiel, are you all right now?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I don’t think I’ll have any more nightmares tonight.”
The girl spoke with a bright smile. Cassius stroked her fluffy bangs gently.
“If you do have another nightmare, come to my room anytime. I’ll stay beside you until you fall asleep.”
At Cassius’s words, Tiel felt as though she would never have another nightmare again.
Cassius was her guardian, her steadfast fortress, her army, and the one person who would protect her no matter what came. As all fathers do for their children.
And so Tiel, wrapping her arms around Cassius’s neck, finally shared what she had been holding inside all day.
“Father, I have something to tell you. The High Priest came to see me while you were away.”
“The High Priest came to you? Why?”
Tiel took a moment to gather her thoughts. The High Priest’s words had been shocking, and she needed time to organize them properly.
After taking a breath and collecting herself, Tiel spoke.
“He said the Balance of Day and Night has changed.”
Tiel continued.
“He said the Divine Oracle has been severed, and the nights have grown slightly longer. He said that though it’s only a small change now and no one notices it yet, once the days continue to grow shorter and the nights longer, the empire’s people will begin to doubt my fitness for this role…”
“The nights have grown longer?”
Cassius’s expression darkened. As a citizen of the Crasion Empire himself, he understood perfectly well what it meant for the nights to grow longer.
Longer nights meant the power of the Dark God Orpheo was growing stronger.
“Yes, he said the nights have grown longer.”
“…I will look into this. Tiel, even if such a thing comes to pass, have no fear. I will protect you.”
Cassius seated Tiel on the bed and spoke. His voice was soft yet unyielding—like a fortress built to last, like stone that cannot wear away.
“Even if everyone in this world doubts your capability and doubts you, I alone will never doubt you.”
Cassius understood exactly what worried her most.
Tiel had grown up neglected in Nestian, and when she first came to Asterian, she had striven endlessly to be recognized by everyone.
By Cassius, by Alpheus, by Ferdi and Ludian, by Iandros, by the priests, by the emperor, and beyond all of them by the people of the Crasion Empire itself…
Tiel had worked to earn recognition from all of them.
So how deeply the words “people may come to doubt your capabilities” must have struck this small child.
Even if Tiel had grown, she was still young—only twelve years old, hardly a great age. She still needed protection, still needed the embrace of family.
Cassius thought that Tiel had shouldered far too much for her tender years. He felt as though all of it was somehow his fault.
It was something that had happened because he could not protect her. Had she grown up in Asterian from the beginning, she would never have needed to struggle for recognition at all.
So Cassius identified precisely what worried and occupied her most, and comforted his daughter accordingly.
“It will be all right, Tiel. Nothing serious will happen.”
As Tiel listened to Cassius, she recalled the mysterious woman she had seen in Iandros’s Subspace.
The darkness that had attacked Iandros as well…
For some reason, Tiel felt as though a serpent coiled in the darkness was about to tighten around her throat at any moment.
But she did not let it show before Cassius. Tiel nodded at his words and embraced him.
“Yes, Father. Thank you!”
Cassius held his daughter close and patted her back.
Beyond the window, pale moonlight poured in like a flood, illuminating them both. Tiel’s hair shimmered in that radiant light like waves of silver.
***
After hearing from Tiel that “the nights are growing longer,” Cassius investigated whether the High Priest’s words were true.
And they were confirmed to be fact.
The nights had indeed grown slightly longer than the days. This meant the balance between Lucette and Orpheo—the forces that sustained the Crasion Empire—had been broken.
Though the difference was still too subtle for the people to notice, the day they did would be…
“This is a headache.”
Cassius muttered, pressing his forehead.
For now, with no great upheaval in the empire, the fact that Tiel was born with the Light Ability was itself a blessing and a source of strength.
But the moment trouble arose, that honor and power would be cast into the mire, and everyone would scramble to tear her down.
To have this strange phenomenon—nights growing longer—occur at the very moment a child born with the Light Ability arrived.
Just as the High Priest had said, the people would doubt Tiel’s capabilities, and they might demand that she resolve everything herself—as if they had entrusted all the empire’s light to a small child, as if the fate of Crasion itself rested on this tiny girl’s shoulders.
“For now, things should be manageable.”
Alpheus finally spoke, his voice strained. Cassius glanced at him.
Alpheus too looked rigid with worry over his granddaughter, but he pushed forward, maintaining composure as he continued.
“For now, things should be manageable. The difference is still small, so most won’t notice. The Temple won’t reveal that the Divine Oracle has been severed—that would mean admitting the Temple’s power has weakened. They won’t speak of the Oracle being cut or the nights growing longer. The real problem is…”
Alpheus trailed off.
But Cassius already knew what came next. The problem wasn’t the Temple. It wasn’t the imperial court either.
The problem was Nestian and Iker. Both houses were currently at odds with Asterian and could reveal this matter to the people whenever they chose.
“The Temple has not informed Nestian or Iker of this, they say.”
“And yet information always seems to leak from the Temple regardless.”
Cassius nodded in agreement with Alpheus’s words and continued.
“True enough. However, we need not worry overmuch about that quarter for the time being. While pursuing the man called Jaye, we also investigated Nestian. It appears both Nestian and Iker have severed contact with other houses and remain isolated in their own territories. So for now, we should be safe.”

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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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