The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 157

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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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Episode 157
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Olivier looked between Ferdi and Ludian in disbelief, waiting for clarification.
Tiel and Ludian were equally stunned. Someone was going to Nestian? Directly?
“You and the other one are going? To Nestian? In person?”
“Yes.”
Ferdi answered simply. Irked by his composure, Ludian tilted his head with a defiant air. “Why are you only telling us this now? And don’t tell me you think Nestian is some backyard of Asterian?”
Ludian fired the words out in the same tone he’d used as a child. Yet Tiel and Olivier felt no concern that the brothers might come to blows.
Ferdi and Ludian had never truly fought in front of Tiel before. Both were careful never to show their sister such a sight, so by now she barely tensed when they growled at each other.
True to form, seeing Ludian slightly worked up, Ferdi replied in a tone even calmer than usual.
“Father and Grandfather have already given their approval.”
“Father and Grandfather? What—oh, they have?”
The moment Ludian heard both had consented, he settled down with remarkable speed.
He abandoned his anger and dropped back onto the sofa with a thud, then tilted his chin in a gesture that said go on, tell us more.
“We can’t bring Asterian soldiers into Nestian. They won’t allow it, and even if by some miracle they did, the moment word reached anyone that Asterian troops had crossed their border, they’d flee immediately.”
“That’s true.”
“And we can’t ask for Nestian’s cooperation either. If Je is hiding there, then it’s clear that Thender has decided to shelter him.”
“That’s also true.”
“Which means we need someone who can slip in undetected, break the barrier on the estate hidden in the Snowy Mountain, and capture Je without alerting anyone.”
“I have a question, if I may.”
Tiel, who had been listening intently to Ferdi, raised her hand carefully.
Ferdi blinked, inviting her to speak freely.
“What if—what if you’re discovered?”
“War.”
……
“Don’t worry. We’ll win.”
That’s not the point at all!
Tiel stared at Ferdi, Olivier, and Ludian in alarm. But they all wore expressions that seemed to say, ‘As long as we don’t get caught,’ which made her protest futile.
“Even if we manage to slip in undetected and grab what we need without being seen—do you really think we won’t be discovered?”
Ludian posed a more practical question, and Tiel nodded in agreement.
Most Beastfolk in Nestian had fair-colored hair.
Even Nestian’s direct lineage bore shimmering silver locks, didn’t they?
If Ferdi and Ludian, with their dark hair, walked into such a place, they’d stand out enormously.
‘And besides…… my brothers aren’t exactly plain-looking either.’
They were called the most handsome men in the Crasion Empire, and their faces were widely known to the public from countless official appearances—sneaking in unnoticed would be impossible.
‘But how?’
How could they possibly sneak in with that plan?
Fortunately, Tiel’s confusion was resolved quickly.
“There’s a tool that can temporarily alter appearances. We’ll use it to pass through Nestian. Of course, since we can’t be discovered, we’ll need to go through the most loosely guarded route…….”
Tiel was familiar with the Face-Altering Tool that Ferdi mentioned.
It was one of the treasures kept by Asterian—or more precisely, it didn’t actually change the face so much as it overlaid an illusion on the face for a short time, concealing the true visage beneath.
But the duration was too brief to be useful for infiltration. Tiel watched Ferdi with renewed curiosity.
“I know the duration is short. So we’ll only use the tool briefly, then move while keeping our faces as covered as possible. Fortunately, since Nestian is cold, no one will question us wearing thick clothing.”
“But…… it seems far too dangerous. Did Father really approve of this plan?”
It was such a reckless scheme that Tiel found it hard to imagine it came from Ferdi’s mind.
She could more readily believe it if Ludian had devised it. But Ferdi?
Her brother wasn’t usually so impulsive. She looked at him as if to ask what he was thinking.
“There is one more thing we’ll need, though…….”
“What’s that?”
“We need to borrow your fiancé for a while.”
“……Pardon?”
Tiel’s eyes widened.
In other words, if things grew dangerous, they’d hide by entering Iandros’s Subspace.
Tiel’s mouth fell open in surprise as she addressed Ferdi. “Does…… does Iandros approve of this?”
“No, I was planning to ask him now.”
Olivier, who had been watching quietly, interjected with a bewildered comment.
“Ferdi, you really don’t want war, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Then you’re saying the two sons of Asterian and the Crown Prince are going to storm Nestian?”
“We’re not storming anything. We’re going in quietly, grabbing one item, and getting out.”
“And how exactly is that different?”
Olivier threw up his hands in exasperation. But Ferdi’s resolve seemed unshakeable.
“If you won’t go, I’ll go alone. Now that I know where he is, I can’t let this slip. This time, I will capture him.”
……
“Ten years. It’s been ten years since he attacked Tiel. I need to know what he’s been plotting, what scheme he’s been brewing in hiding all this time.”
Ferdi continued.
“And if he’s walking around out there freely, I can’t guarantee Tiel won’t be attacked again. I won’t stand by and watch my sister in danger. So I will eliminate the threat first.”
Ferdi was ordinarily composed and rational.
He was the most level-headed of them, and when Olivier or Ludian occasionally proposed absurd plans, it was Ferdi who talked them down—never the one devising such reckless schemes.
They had already sensed something odd when, all at once, Tiel, Ludian, and Olivier understood why Ferdi was being so impulsive.
‘It’s because of Tiel.’
Everyone bearing the Asterian name was exceptionally sensitive when it came to matters concerning their youngest sister and current Head of Household, Tiel.
Je could attack Tiel at any moment.
Next time, he might not use clumsy methods like Lis—a soft target, easily overpowered. He might employ a more precise and certain approach.
Such thoughts had driven Ferdi to devise this reckless plan and spend ten years systematically searching Nestian’s territory.
Tiel’s nose twitched. Knowing her brother was pushing himself this hard because of her made her chest tighten.
But that was separate from the matter of Iandros. Tiel spoke to Ferdi carefully.
“But I don’t think Iandros will agree.”
“Why not? If he hears it concerns you, he’d volunteer immediately.”
“It’s just…….”
Tiel hesitated for a moment.
Could she tell Ferdi, Ludian, and Olivier that Iandros’s Ability was currently unstable?
But.
‘Whether or not Iandros would even let my brothers enter his Subspace is another matter…….’
Currently, Iandros’s Subspace was in a severely unstable state—rooms vanishing, and even Iandros himself becoming lost within it.
If Ferdi and Ludian entered and the Subspace warped or collapsed……?
Tiel could never bear to witness such a thing.
Yet she couldn’t thoughtlessly expose Iandros’s condition either. So she remained silent, earnestly hoping that Iandros would refuse Ferdi’s proposal, and said:
“I think Iandros will decline…… It would be faster to ask him directly.”
Ferdi, Ludian, and Olivier all nodded in unison.
Among them, Tiel smiled somewhat awkwardly.
‘Iandros will refuse, of course.’
Because he said his Ability was unstable…….
***
“Yes, I’ll go with you.”
But Iandros brutally shattered Tiel’s expectations.
“It’s no difficult task.”
Tiel found herself looking between Iandros and Ferdi in disbelief once more.

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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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