The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 21

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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 21
Being a hybrid of two races did not mean one inherited the traits of both bloodlines.
Typically, a child inherited the appearance of only one parent—the most common outcome.
A Snow Leopard and a Black Leopard.
At first glance, one might mistake them for the same species, but they were entirely different races, making it impossible for any offspring to inherit the physical traits of both.
And yet.
“Your eyes are gold, but your hair is white. How fascinating, Tiel. Don’t you think, Ferdi?”
True to Ludian’s words, Tiel’s hair was a snowy white—the trademark of a Snow Leopard—while her irises glowed gold, the signature of a Black Leopard.
She was the only being in existence who possessed both the white fur of a Snow Leopard and the golden eyes of a Black Leopard.
That was why Chender had always called Tiel a “mongrel.” Simultaneously, he loathed her golden eyes with an intensity that bordered on revulsion.
He had convinced himself that the reason Tiel had not manifested an Ability was because she had inherited those accursed golden eyes from the Black Leopard bloodline.
‘This mongrel!’
‘Where are you looking with those hideous eyes?’
The unwelcome memory surfaced, and Tiel’s gaze fell away. She clasped her hands tightly together.
Carsus quickly discerned that Tiel’s condition had deteriorated, and he moved to restrain Ludian.
“Ludian, spare us the unnecessary comments.”
It was a command. Ludian’s expression twisted with visible displeasure as he looked at Carsus, but Carsus paid him no mind.
“Your sister is quite shy. Keep your distance for now.”
He had effectively dismissed Ludian as an unwanted guest. The hot-blooded Ludian was on the verge of protesting when—
“Understood, Father. Don’t be reckless, Ludian.”
“……You.”
Ferdi cut off Ludian’s retort with a bright smile, deftly slicing a large piece of meat and placing it on his brother’s plate.
Then, in a gentle voice, he turned to Tiel.
“I apologize for startling you. Your name is Tiel, correct?”
Tiel, who had been receiving Carsus’s gentle pats while thoroughly cowed, slowly lifted her head at the warmth in Ferdi’s tone.
“Yes, I’m Tiel.”
“That’s right, Tiel. I’m Ferdi Asterian—your older brother. And this is Ludian, my twin brother, also your older brother.”
Ah, they were twins.
The mystery of why the two boys looked so strikingly similar dissolved, and Tiel’s eyes moved from Ferdi to Ludian and back again. She nodded in understanding.
Now that she knew they were twins, their faces seemed even more alike.
“Please take good care of me……!”
“Of course, Tiel. I’m delighted to have a cute little sister.”
Ferdi’s warm golden gaze fell upon her, and the tension drained from her clasped hands.
Though Tiel herself would not have known it.
“I hope we can become close quickly. I’ve always envied friends with sisters—watching them hold their sister’s hand as they went to festivals together.”
The corners of Ferdi’s eyes softened into an almost affectionate smile.
Ludian, watching from the side with an expression of clear disbelief, let out a snort.
“What? Since when do you actually want a sister? You said they were bothersome.”
“That was when my sister would be like you, Ludian. Don’t you think you’re rather inconvenient to have around?”
“……Do you have a death wish? Why should I be your junior? We’re the same age! Come on, step outside with me. Let’s settle this and establish the hierarchy.”
“Resorting to brute force from the start. No wonder people say you’re inadequate.”
Ludian’s face flushed red, then purple. It looked as though he might hurl his cutlery and launch into combat at any moment.
Carsus, seemingly accustomed to such scenes, paid no attention and focused entirely on transferring food to Tiel’s plate.
It fell to Alpheus to restrain the two boys.
Setting down his own cutlery, Alpheus spoke in a stern voice.
“Ferdi, Ludian. What are you doing at the dining table?”
“My apologies, Grandfather.”
“But this fool……!”
“Ludian.”
This time it was Carsus.
Carsus called Ludian’s name in a measured tone.
For the first time in memory, Ludian’s father had deigned to acknowledge him, and the boy looked at Carsus with something akin to bewilderment.
“Your sister is eating.”
“…….”
“If she develops indigestion because of you, it will be your fault.”
At Carsus’s words, everyone fell silent and turned their attention to Tiel.
Carsus then placed a small cherry tomato gently into her mouth, as though finally satisfied.
“…….”
“…….”
“How peaceful it is now.”
In all of this, Tiel found herself on the verge of tears.
***
“……Excuse me.”
“Yes, Miss? Is something the matter?”
Lia had asked kindly. Tiel glanced beyond the tall rosebush, then shook her head.
“……No, nothing at all.”
“Oh, but please do tell me if you need anything at any time.”
Tiel was currently seated at a small Tea Table in the Garden, taking tea at Lia’s suggestion.
The Tea Table, perfectly sized for the child, had been a gift from Alpheus to Tiel.
The girl would spend a leisurely afternoon beneath the shade of the trees, sipping black tea loaded with sugar cubes that Alpheus had gifted her, lost in peaceful solitude—if not for her two older brothers constantly poking their heads over the rosebushes.
……If it weren’t for those two older brothers persistently peering out from behind the rose bushes.
“Idiot, it’s obviously visible.”
“Then why don’t you try climbing over?”
Though they were whispering as quietly as possible, the distance between the rosebushes and the Tea Table was not great enough to muffle their voices, and Tiel heard every word.
“Wait, she heard us, didn’t she?”
Ferdi and Ludian had been forbidden from approaching Tiel ever since that mealtime, by Carsus’s direct order.
The reason given was that “Tiel is quite reserved.” Ludian had protested, but to no avail. Carsus had made it clear he would send them both straight back to the Academy if Tiel showed any sign of discomfort.
Yet Carsus’s threat seemed to have had little effect—Ferdi and Ludian continued to linger around Tiel, watching her constantly.
They paced the hallway outside her room and even thrust their faces through the window at one point. This was despite the fact that her room was on the second floor!
At one point, puzzled by their behavior, Tiel had asked Lia about it.
‘So, um……’
‘Yes, Miss? What is it?’
‘Why do my older brothers keep……watching me? Did I do something wrong?’
Tiel had asked anxiously, and Lia, covering her mouth with her hand as she laughed, soon answered warmly.
‘Oh no, Miss, you haven’t done anything wrong. The young masters simply find their new little sister so fascinating and adorable that they can’t help themselves.’
Tiel didn’t quite believe it, but she nodded anyway.
‘Fascinating and adorable, they say?’
That couldn’t possibly be true…….
Tiel found herself muttering internally as she recalled the look in Ferdi’s eyes from that one glance.
During her time at the Nestian Mansion, the girl had seen only those consumed with hostility, and she had learned well how to recognize the gaze of an enemy.
And Ferdi, while treating her very kindly at the dining table, had shown her something different the next time they met—something unmistakably…….
‘Oh, Tiel. Hello.’
‘…….’
‘He was on his guard against me…….’
Unlike Ludian, who seemed to have no hidden agenda, Ferdi was clearly wary of her.
He tried to conceal it, but it showed.
As a result, Tiel spent the entire time hyperaware of her brothers’ scrutiny, unable to draw a single steady breath, her skin prickling with nervous sweat as she raised the teacup to her lips.
The bitter taste of black tea bloomed across her tongue.
Unaccustomed to the flavor, Tiel’s eyes drifted toward the sugar bowl—filled to the brim with sugar cubes—before she quickly looked away.
‘Oh my.’
In the meantime, Lia watched the girl sip her black tea with a slightly stiffened expression, her hand rising to her mouth.
She had added plenty of sugar cubes, hoping to match the child’s palate, but even that didn’t seem to suit her taste.
Lia popped a sweet candy into Tiel’s mouth and asked gently.
“Miss, would you prefer a different type of tea?”
“Yes, please, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, I’ll bring it right away.”
Lia accepted the teacup from Tiel’s hands and set it aside.
Just as she was about to fetch a new tea, a maid hurried over and whispered something urgently to her.
“Oh, right now?”
“Yes, he’s just arrived.”
Tiel’s ears perked up, and she listened carefully to the exchange between Lia and the maid.
Who could be arriving?
After a moment of hesitation, Lia approached Tiel, knelt beside her, and whispered softly.
“Miss, we have a guest at the mansion. It’s Crown Prince Iandros—the one who brought you here last time. He wishes to see you……Would you like to meet him? If you’re uncomfortable, you’re welcome to decline.”
To refuse a crown prince’s visit would be unthinkable in most families, but this was the Asterian Family.
The Asterian Family—so powerful that even the birds in flight would fall at their word.
Lia waited for Tiel’s response calmly, fully prepared to refuse the Crown Prince’s visit if that was what the girl wished.
But contrary to what Lia had expected—that Tiel would naturally decline the Crown Prince’s surprise visit—
‘……Iandros Crasion, call me Iandros.’
Tiel’s face brightened as she recalled her benefactor’s kind voice from that day. She broke into a smile and nodded eagerly.
“I’d like to meet him! I wasn’t able to properly thank him last time.”
At that very moment, a loud crash and the sound of things falling came from beyond the rosebushes.

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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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