The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 160

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

Chapter 160
“Let’s head inside now. The sun will be setting soon.”
The farmer, his basket brimming with the day’s harvest, wiped the sweat from his brow as he spoke.
A small boy who appeared to be his son paused mid-chase after a grasshopper and lifted his head sharply. “We’ve only been out for two hours, haven’t we? Is the sun already setting?”

“That’s right, the days have grown shorter. It’ll be dark soon. Blast it all, I wonder if daylight itself will disappear entirely before long…….”
Grumbling, he took his son’s hand and hurried forward. The boy plucked a ripe fruit from the basket his father carried and bit into it with a satisfying crunch.
“But why is it bad if the days get shorter?”
“Of course it’s bad! Don’t you understand how terrifying that is?”
“No.”
“You foolish child……. The Balance of the World is crumbling, that’s what.”
The boy took another bite of the fruit.
“But then they can just fix it, can’t they? There’s a Child of Light, so what’s the problem?”
“That’s exactly the problem—it can’t be fixed! The Child of Light, the Light Ability……. Everyone was in an uproar, but when this actually happened, she vanished without a trace.”
The farmer launched into a lengthy complaint about just how useless the Child of Light was. The boy narrowed his eyes and gazed toward the hill where the sun was descending.
All the people on the hill were preparing to head home. Among them were the boy’s mother and older sister.
The boy didn’t quite understand what the Balance of the World meant, but he was simply glad his mother and sister could return home early.
***
“Did Iandros get back safely?”
“Yes, I saw him off.”
“It’s strange—Iandros doesn’t even have Teleportation, so how does he manage to visit Asterian so often?”
Ludian posed the question with genuine curiosity.
Tiel knew full well that Iandros had come because her brothers had summoned him, but she saw no reason to remind them of that fact.
“Perhaps he wanted to see Tiel. Though there’s no need for him to go to such trouble, considering that soon…….”
Ferdi trailed off mid-sentence, his mood seemingly dampened, and clamped his handsome mouth firmly shut.
Ludian, too, regarded Ferdi with a displeased expression.
Both Ludian and Ferdi knew the truth: once this crisis subsided even slightly, Tiel would be married to Iandros and become the Crown Princess.
In fact, Tiel ought to have married Iandros and assumed the title immediately upon turning twenty.
Yet the reason Tiel remained merely his betrothed was twofold: partly because she was the Head of Household of Asterian, but also because the world was in chaos.
How could a State Wedding be held when Tiel herself was drowning in reproach and accusation?
For this reason, the Emperor had refrained from summoning Tiel to the Imperial Palace for now. But once matters calmed, he would certainly move to have Tiel and Iandros wed.
Ferdi and Ludian were displeased about this, but……they knew they could not shelter their younger sister forever, and so they had made a kind of peace with themselves.
Tiel saw through her brothers’ thoughts at a glance and spoke to soothe them.
“But that’s still so far away! There’s no need to worry about it now. Besides, you two haven’t married yet either.”
“But Iandros is the Imperial Crown Prince, so he can’t put off marriage indefinitely……. I don’t think poorly of your marrying him. In fact, Iandros would be acceptable—far better than those other men with their reputation for womanizing. But why do I feel so displeased about it?”
Ferdi spoke with bewilderment. Tiel suspected she knew why his mood had soured, but she refrained from voicing it.
Just then, someone knocked at the door.
They all turned their gazes toward the sound.
A servant of Asterian entered, offered a respectful bow, and spoke with downcast eyes.
“Master Cassius has returned from his outing.”
“Father?”
“Father’s back?”
“He’s returned early.”
Ferdi murmured, recalling the ruined reception room.
The reception hall that Olivier had left in shambles hadn’t yet been restored, and here their father was already home.
Of course, Alpheus had administered a stern rebuke already, and Cassius was not one to concern himself overmuch with such incidents, but still—there was a measure of unease.
Ferdi and Ludian excused themselves to attend to other matters, while Tiel went out to greet Cassius.
“Father!”
At Tiel’s call, Cassius drew her into a light embrace, pressing his cheek against her hair—a gesture laden with tender affection and the obvious esteem in which he held her.
“Tiel, I hear you had a guest.”
“Yes, but both Olivier and Iandros have left now! Where did you go, Father?”
“I stopped by the Temple for a time—I had matters to discuss with the High Priest. It seems I’ll be able to dine with you all this evening.”
“Really! Oh, and…….”
Tiel proceeded to confide in Cassius about the ‘plan’ that Ferdi had just outlined.
She found it difficult to believe that Cassius had approved of this reckless scheme.
Cassius listened attentively to her account and nodded.
“Ferdi mentioned it to me as well. While I confess it seems recklessly ambitious, if that is the only way to apprehend them, then it cannot be helped.”
“But if they’re discovered……!”
“Ferdi and Ludian have grown strong enough to match their Abilities against mine now. And on this occasion, Iandros will be accompanying them as well. Even if Nestian were to lose his mind and attack them, they would walk out unscathed.”
There was a note of confidence in Cassius’s voice as he spoke. Tiel nodded.
Her brothers, her father, and even Iandros—they were all working so hard for her sake. The knowledge filled her with warmth, yet at the same time, a weight of responsibility pressed upon her.
‘But I said I was a child of Lucet…….’
The voice Tiel had heard was almost certainly that of the god Lucet, given the circumstances. And the Ability she wielded was Lucet’s own power.
So then, why did she find herself powerless to act in the face of this crisis?
The frustration gnawing at Tiel was not unique to her—the farmers of Krasion struggling with the shortened daylight felt it too.
But Tiel’s anguish ran deeper. And unbeknownst to the others, her Ability was slowly, imperceptibly weakening.
‘What if my Ability vanishes entirely?’
Anxious thoughts threatened to overwhelm her mind, but Cassius drew her back from that dark spiral with a gentle word.
“There is no need to burden yourself. What Ferdi and Ludian do, they do out of profound love for you. They are the sons of Asterian. Should there be duties that must be undertaken in the name of Asterian, it is only right that they shoulder them. And among those duties is the apprehension of a heinous criminal who has targeted both their younger sister and the Head of Household of Asterian…….”
Cassius seemed able to read every corner of Tiel’s heart with his eyes closed.
“So do not worry overmuch, Tiel. Neither your grandfather nor I approved this plan out of ignorance. You know as well as I do how deliberate Ferdi can be.”
“Yes, I know…….”
“Then do not fret. Trust in him.”
Cassius pressed a small Gift Box into Tiel’s arms. She blinked as she received it.
“I had it sent from the shop you favor. According to Olivier, you’re fond of their Fig Cake.”
“You’re right! Thank you so much, Father……!”
Tiel’s eyes sparkled as she nodded, her luminous white hair swaying about her shoulders.
Cassius smiled back at her.
“Enjoy the cake, and if you find yourself with time to spare, you might visit the Training Ground to practice your Ability or work on your Beast Transformation. Such exertion will clear your mind of needless worry.”
What Cassius referred to as ‘Beast Transformation practice’ meant using one’s Ability while in Beast Transformation form.
Wielding an Ability in Beast Transformation was no trivial feat; it required deliberate training to master.
Tiel understood that everyone in the Asterian Mansion was concerned for her welfare.
And in that knowledge alone, a warm thread of light seemed to unfurl within her chest.

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