The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 171

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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 171
Rowen steadied herself and drew upon her Ability once more, and shards of ice materialized in her palms.
They drifted upward, colliding with one another as their edges honed themselves razor-sharp.
It was the complete opposite of Tiel’s light fragments, which rose in perfect spheres regardless of form, their edges smooth and rounded.
But in the next moment.
Whisper…
The ice shards that had been floating in Rowen’s hands collided with each other, producing the faintest glimmer of light.
It was dim, but it was unmistakably light.
Within Rowen’s ice shards, a tiny light and a vast darkness collided, painting the fragments the color of ash.
Unlike Tiel’s light—which never mixed with darkness and could banish it with a single shard—the light Rowen had created blended seamlessly with the darkness as if it had always been part of it.
Yet even this was a tremendous achievement for Rowen.
At last, a smile bloomed across her face.
‘I did it!’
For the past eight years, Rowen had been taking lessons from a man named Je, who had appeared in Nestian seemingly out of nowhere.
Though calling them lessons, what Rowen experienced was nothing short of terrifying experiments.
Je had procured Black Orbs from somewhere and fed them to Rowen.
On any day she consumed one of those orbs, she suffered nightmares for the entire week that followed.
Once Rowen stopped suffering from nightmares, Je began feeding her fragments of something else.
She loathed swallowing those fragments, but she endured it without complaint.
Thender’s words had echoed in her memory.
‘If you wish to inherit the position of Head of Household of Nestian, then prove your strength.’
Thender had not yet passed the title of Head of Household to Rowen’s mother, Cornelia.
Though in the current situation Cornelia was the only one who could inherit the position, he had refused to yield it.
Rowen understood better than anyone why Thender had withheld the title from Cornelia.
‘Because Mother is weak.’
Cornelia’s Ability was weak—so feeble it was overshadowed forever by the ghost of Rena Nestian, who had died long ago.
Cornelia herself was well aware of this truth. Yet she could do nothing to change it.
The fact that her Ability was pitiful compared to Rena’s was undeniable.
That was why, when Thender brought Je to her, Rowen did not refuse.
Thender had brought Je, promising that if Rowen listened to his teachings, her Ability could grow twice as strong as it now was.
She would become more powerful than Tiel Asterian, whom the entire Crasion Empire now lauded.
Rowen believed him.
Eight years passed in this way.
Je began teaching Rowen, claiming he would make her Freezing Ability even stronger.
‘In just ten years, you will become the Ability User with the strongest power on this entire continent.’
Yet the Ability Rowen now possessed was slightly different from Freezing.
Rowen’s Ability was, if she had to be precise, similar to Tiel’s.
Puzzled by this, Rowen had once questioned Je about it.
‘It’s strange. My Ability is different from Grandfather’s Freezing. His Ability isn’t this color.’
The ice Thender created leaned toward a deep blue. But since meeting Je, Rowen’s ice had taken on a much darker hue.
Rowen had thought something was wrong with her ice. And she had blamed Je for it.
Yet Je showed no surprise. Instead, he smiled and grasped her hand soothingly.
‘Of course not. The power you’re accepting is not a mere Freezing Ability—it’s the ‘Light Power’…….’
‘But my ice is black.’
‘Naturally. Light can only come into being through darkness.’
Je whispered things Rowen could scarcely believe.
That the Light Ability Tiel possessed was false, and only the light Rowen was now creating was true.
And when the time came, Tiel’s light would vanish completely, and only Rowen’s light would become the sole illumination of this empire…….
To a young girl, Je’s words were far too sweet.
So after that, Rowen stopped asking him such questions.
In Rowen’s hands as she wielded her Ability, ice fish resembling Tiel’s creatures sprouted endlessly—cruder in shape but unmistakable—and they collided head to head, emitting feeble light.
The sight was grotesque, yet Je praised it as excellent progress.
And he demanded she use her Ability more like Tiel.
He pressed her to create small ice shards that ‘appeared’ like light, just as Tiel did, with hands joined and eyes closed.
Rowen obeyed his will without hesitation.
Because Thender and Cornelia wished her to comply with Je’s demands.
And because Rowen herself desired an Ability stronger than Tiel’s.
Perhaps, as Je had said, she could become the sole ‘Light’ of this empire.
And so, now.
Rowen gazed quietly at the ice fish hovering in her hands, then clenched both fists tightly.
Crack!
The ice shattered into fragments that scattered in all directions.
The glittering pieces looked almost like light spreading across the room.
This was exactly…….
What ‘Je’ wanted.
‘This is all I need to do.’
Rowen laughed with confidence.
Through grueling practice, Rowen had learned to wield her Ability in the direction Je desired, but she could not always do so perfectly.
Sometimes her fish would form with missing heads or half-severed fins, taking on grotesque shapes,
and instead of glittering light, a darkness as deep and suffocating as the nightmares she had dreamed would creep up from her palms.
When that happened, Je would press her urgently—she must never let such power show itself…….
So Rowen, following Je’s teachings, had been striving ceaselessly to wield her Ability without revealing ‘that power’.
And today, after a long time, she had succeeded.
Rowen was nearly bursting with joy.
Just then, someone knocked on her door.
“Who is it? I told everyone no one was to enter!”
Rowen cried out sharply.
The maid standing outside answered in a careful voice.
“Je has come, Miss. Shall I tell him you cannot see him?”
“My teacher?”
Rowen brightened and ran toward the door.
Before the maid could open it, she yanked it open herself.
Je stood tall before the threshold, his pale face concealed behind a half-mask.
“Teacher!”
“Have you been practicing your Ability diligently, Miss?”
Je glanced around Rowen’s room, now a chaotic jumble of ice shards pointing in every direction, and rubbed his chin with satisfaction.
“It seems you have indeed been putting in the effort.”
“Yes, I have been working hard. Would you like me to show you? I can show you. I’m now far stronger than Mother!”
Rowen spoke with pride. Je merely smiled and offered no contradiction.
“Perhaps I’ll soon become even stronger than Grandfather…….”
“Mm? The Ability of Thender is stronger than you might think. He is the third most powerful Ability User in this empire, you know.”
“But my Ability is strong enough!”
As Rowen cried out, the ice shards drifting around her transformed in an instant into sharp spear-like shapes.
Yet the spears did not point at Je—they circled around Rowen herself, spinning.
As if one more shout from Rowen would drive them straight through her own body…….
Je, observing her quietly, narrowed his eyes.
‘Is she deteriorating?’
It would be troublesome if what they had cultivated so carefully were to break before their grand plan came to fruition.
Je decided he would need to accelerate their plan somewhat, and placed a hand on Rowen’s rounded shoulder.
“Of course your Ability is sufficiently strong. So there’s no need to rush.
“……Yes.”
“And soon there will come a chance to show your Ability to all of the Crasion Empire. When that time comes, everyone will know.”
Je whispered.
“Who truly possesses a powerful Ability. Who is the one who will bring light to this empire…….”

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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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