The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 218

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

Chapter 218
At some point, her falling body stopped mid-air. Tiel blinked. Had it finally halted?
“……!”
No—her body plunged downward again. She felt herself rebound, floating briefly upward before plummeting once more into the endless void.
‘Where does this end?’
There was no such thing as a path in this Subspace, so she couldn’t truly lose her way—and yet dread seized her anyway.
But for some reason, she felt she mustn’t lose the jewel. Even as fear gripped her, Tiel held the gem tight in her fist.
It still gleamed, casting green light transparent against her golden eyes.
She continued falling for a long time after that. The prolonged descent made her dizzy and nauseated.
At least it was fortunate that this wasn’t ‘actual space’—no matter how far she fell, she couldn’t be hurt.
Knowing this well, Tiel remained calm, waiting for her body to come to rest.
And soon.
Thud.
Her body stopped in the void. Tiel blinked, then carefully straightened herself.
She felt nothing solid beneath her feet, and yet she knew instinctively that this was the lowest point.
The very bottom of this vast Subspace.
She had arrived.
“……Is it safe?”
Tiel tested a tentative step. Fortunately, the ground held. This was truly the bottom.
She summoned her Ability, and a fainter light than before bloomed before her eyes, particles scattering like dust.
Her strength was draining rapidly. She didn’t know how much longer this light would last.
The mercy was that the Emerald in her hand still faintly glowed, keeping the darkness from consuming her entirely.
“Why did I fall all the way here?”
Tiel tilted her head, moving forward slowly.
She had chased the jewel and poured her Ability into it. That’s when she’d plummeted straight to the bottom of this Subspace.
Tracing back what had happened, she realized the gem must have drawn her here.
“Was it you who brought me here?”
She whispered carefully to the Emerald, but it gave no answer. A mere stone couldn’t speak, after all.
She walked softly. Would there be anything in this place?
Perhaps not. Orpheo had said this space was a ‘perfect prison’ made only for her.
A prison with nothing, where nothing could be done, filled only with darkness……
But Orpheo’s words were wrong.
There was a small light, and at the end of that light was this Emerald. Tiel began to think that perhaps this Subspace held something beyond the gem.
With each step she took, the tatters of her dress brushed against her ankles. She pressed on, heedless. Yet nothing appeared before her eyes.
Was Orpheo right—was there truly nothing here?
Then why did the Emerald draw her here? Unanswered questions tumbled through her mind.
Then it happened.
“Oh……”
The small light she had conjured with her Ability began to fade, then crumbled into dust that scattered downward.
The particles fell beneath her feet and lost their glow. She tried to summon her Ability again.
But it wouldn’t come.
Perhaps because this was the darkest place in the Subspace? That had to be it. The stronger Orpheo’s power grew, the weaker Tiel’s Ability became.
Tiel looked at the Emerald in her hand. If even its green light went out, she would be left alone in this darkness.
Was that what the Emerald wanted?
Had it brought her here to snuff out her light completely?
But then.
“Hm?”
Something rolled across the floor and struck her foot. Rather than picking it up hastily, Tiel lit it with the gem’s glow to see.
It was a plump apple.
“An apple? What’s an apple doing here?”
She seized it, and its sweet scent reached her nose. With her sharp nails, she scraped at its surface.
The flesh yielded, releasing sticky juice that trickled down her hand—only to vanish moments later.
Just like the things that had been in Iandros’s Subspace!
“It’s an illusion created by the Subspace……!”
Tiel turned toward where the apple had come from, her pace quickening. Would there be more?
Even as she walked, her mind filled with questions anew. Orpheo had said this was a place made ‘for her’—so why did such things exist here?
Perhaps it wasn’t made for her at all. Perhaps the princess’s original Subspace was opened, and she was simply trapped inside it.
These thoughts consumed her as another apple rolled her way.
It rolled toward her feet. She snatched it up and held it close. Then she turned toward where it had come from. Another apple rolled. She caught it, clutching it. Another came. She caught it. And another……
By the time she couldn’t hold any more apples, the Subspace suddenly blazed with light.
Tiel squinted against the sudden brightness.
The light from the Subspace was different from her own—painfully bright and harsh.
Yet it was light, undeniably. Her face broke into a smile.
‘There was light!’
The Emerald in her hand resonated with the Subspace’s glow, vibrating softly. Tiel narrowed her eyes and peered into the heart of the radiance.
In the midst of the light, something like a tree seemed to stand, but the pain in her eyes and the distance kept it from focus.
“I need to get closer.”
Tiel let the apples she’d gathered tumble from her arms onto the ground. The moment they landed, they transformed into illusions and vanished.
She ran toward the light. This time, reaching its center came easily.
There stood an apple tree, and something about it felt familiar to Tiel.
Why? She approached it carefully. It was a large, well-tended specimen, its branches heavy with plump apples.
Then.
“Sister!”
A voice called out. Tiel looked up in shock. The voice came from the tree itself!
This was the first time she’d heard any voice but her own and Orpheo’s in this place. Wide-eyed, she stared at the source.
It was a boy with golden hair and green eyes, perched in the branches.
“Wait……is it not green?”
Looking closer, it seemed to shimmer like emerald. But without inner light, his eyes appeared green.
Tiel narrowed her eyes, studying him. He resembled someone……
‘He looks like Iandros.’
She was looking into the memories of the princess. This golden-haired boy with emerald eyes must be the princess’s brother.
If that were so, was he the emperor of Crasion? Then this boy was Iandros’s ancestor. The princess had borne no children.
Tiel stepped back from the tree. The boy picked a plump apple from the branches and jumped down with a gleeful cry.
“Sister! Look! The apples are so beautiful this year!”
He grinned and bounded away. Tiel followed.
Standing ahead was a girl slightly taller than the boy. She turned at his call.
Wavy golden hair, beautiful emerald eyes. Tiel recognized her—the owner of this Subspace, the princess who now held her imprisoned.
‘I’m seeing the princess’s memories.’
Just as she’d glimpsed the records preserved in Iandros’s Subspace before, just as she’d glimpsed the princess’s memories overlaid upon his—she was witnessing them again.
The memory was playing out before her eyes.
The princess couldn’t see Tiel, and yet she turned and smiled gently. She reached out to embrace her approaching brother.
The princess whispered.
“Come here…… Liam.”

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