The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 26

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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 26
From fingertips that had held nothing moments before, a small flame ignited.
“There!”
“This kind of thing is only cool when you see it with your own eyes, not in some fairy tale book.”
The flame that had sparked grew steadily larger, soon swelling across Ludian’s right hand as if to swallow it whole.
And then,
“……!”
The flame transformed into the shape of a small leopard, tore through the room in a rush, and scattered completely in the air before vanishing.
“What were you thinking, scaring the child like that……!”
Ferdi’s face had gone rigid.
Reflexively cradling the small girl, Ferdi’s eyes flickered with tiny flames—a protective instinct running wild. It looked as though sparks might ignite between the two brothers at any moment.
It seemed a fight could break out between them at any second.
Ferdi was growling at his reckless older brother when—
“She doesn’t look frightened. Look.”
Ludian pointed to Tiel, who was nestled in Ferdi’s arms.
Ferdi tore his gaze from Ludian and looked down at his sister.
Her slightly widened pupils did suggest she’d been startled. But—
“That was amazing!”
Tiel showed no fear of Ludian’s flame.
What Tiel truly feared was her grandfather, Chender, and the Ice Freezing Ability he wielded.
Those shards of ice that felt as though they would freeze her entire body.
‘As long as it’s not ice, I’m not afraid.’
Contrary to Ferdi’s expectation that she would burst into tears, Tiel gazed at Ludian’s fingertips with an expression of barely contained excitement.
Ferdi and Ludian exchanged a puzzled look simultaneously.
Tiel reached her hand toward Ludian.
Ludian naturally extended the right hand he had just used his Ability with, offering it to Tiel.
Tiel touched his palm without hesitation, her cheeks flushing as she slowly looked up.
“I want to use my Ability properly too. Just like you both……!”
“If you want to use your Ability properly, then just use it.”
Ludian tilted his head, perplexed.
Both Ferdi and Ludian had awakened to the use of their Abilities naturally, without formal training.
But Tiel’s situation was different.
Tiel’s Ability had manifested late, and with no one to teach her, she could not wield it properly.
Of course, Ferdi and Ludian knew nothing of this.
The two brothers exchanged a glance.
Having learned from Cassius beforehand, they knew about Tiel’s Ability.
The legendary Light Ability.
But she couldn’t use it?
The twin boys’ puzzled gazes met in the air between them.
Neither the abuse Alpheus and Cassius had perpetrated in Nestian nor the fact that Tiel had originally been a child without an Ability was mentioned, so the twins’ confusion was only natural.
Every person in the Crasion Empire had been taught that the legendary Ability was overwhelmingly powerful and magnificent.
“Actually, the thing is…….”
Tiel flinched, clenching both hands tightly.
Ludian had made it sound so simple—”just use your Ability if you want to use it”—but for Tiel, it was far from that easy.
Since then, she had tried countless times to use her Ability as she had in the basement, yet she could summon nothing more than a tiny fish.
A small light that had shimmered in her palm.
It was indeed Tiel’s Ability, just as Cassius had said.
Tiel looked down at her small, scarred palm.
In this world, being born with a different Ability than one’s parents symbolized either a rejection of the parents or a significantly inferior specimen.
But Cassius had told her she was a special child with a very special Ability.
Because of this, Tiel treasured her Ability deeply.
Memories of those days when she was beaten for failing to use her Ability flickered through her mind.
Now that she would never be punished again for being unable to use it, she felt nothing but joy.
And so, she wanted to wield it more magnificently.
She wanted to hone and refine her Ability, and become a true asset to the kind Asterian Family.
One day, perhaps, she could live up to what Chender had once demanded of her——
When Tiel fell silent, a confused Ludian bent forward to check her face.
“Are you crying? Tiel, you’re not crying, are you?”
Ludian was such a natural genius with Ability manipulation that he had almost no experience teaching others—or being taught.
There was no way he could properly instruct Tiel on “how to use her Ability.”
“Tiel, what I meant was…….”
“Get out of the way, Ludian. Tiel, you want to learn how to properly use your Ability?”
Ferdi pushed Ludian’s face aside and spoke. His gaze fixed on Tiel. A faint smile crossed his lips.
‘Perfect timing.’
This was his chance to verify whether Tiel’s Ability was truly the Light Ability.
If it wasn’t——
Ferdi nodded, urging a response from Tiel, who quickly bobbed her head in return.
“Yes, I want to learn to use my Ability properly!”
“Then let’s head to the Training Ground for a bit? I can teach you properly there.”
Ferdi closed the Fairy Tale Book and set it aside.
He glanced at the clock.
Though the hour was late, the Training Ground, exclusive to Ferdi and Ludian as twins, was always accessible, so there was no reason they couldn’t go.
Tiel’s eyes widened at the mention of the Training Ground, and she tugged at Ferdi’s sleeve. “The Training Ground?”
“The Training Ground?”
“Yes. You said you wanted to learn to use your Ability properly, didn’t you? Then you need a space where you can practice comfortably and safely.”
Ferdi lifted Tiel to her feet and took her small hand firmly in his. The child’s hand was cold. Was it because she was a Snow Leopard? Ferdi’s expression softened slightly. The boy gently used his Ability to warm the palm pressed against his own.
“Hold my hand too, Tiel! Don’t be unfair to just Ferdi!”
“Yes, of course……!”
Ludian extended his hand to Tiel. After a moment’s hesitation, she firmly grasped it.
Ludian’s simple face brightened instantly. The three—Tiel, Ludian, and Ferdi—left the room with their hands tightly clasped together.
“Oh my, young masters, and young miss. Where are you headed?”
Just then, Lia, who had been returning to the room, spotted the children leaving and called out.
Ferdi glanced down at Tiel briefly, then nodded as he spoke.
“To the Training Ground for a moment.”
“……The Training Ground?”
“Yes. I have something to teach Tiel.”
Upon hearing the words “Training Ground,” Lia’s expression grew troubled.
Lia’s mouth opened as if to stop the children, but Ferdi and Ludian paid her no mind and swept past her.
Tiel, anxious, kept glancing back at Lia, gauging her reaction. The child asked Ferdi hesitantly.
“Is the Training Ground a dangerous place?”
“What?”
“No, it’s just… Lia seems to dislike it…….”
“She’s worried you might get hurt. The Training Ground is where people usually practice handling their Abilities.”
Ah, I see. Tiel nodded in understanding.
Lia’s concern made sense, certainly. Abilities were dangerous, after all.
Tiel recalled the shards of ice that had grazed her cheek—Chender’s ice.
‘But Ferdi and Ludian don’t seem like they would ever use their Abilities recklessly on me.’
She couldn’t be certain, but something in her heart told her it was true.
Tiel squeezed the warm hands of Ferdi and Ludian tightly.
Her cold palms had already warmed in their grasp.
***
The three children soon arrived at the Training Ground.
Located at the northernmost point of the Asterian Mansion—it was a Training Ground created exclusively for the twins when Ferdi and Ludian turned five.
Though they had begun using their Abilities in the Training Ground from just four years old, their power was so overwhelming that others training alongside them often suffered injuries.
For this reason, Cassius had constructed a separate Training Ground just for the two boys.
And this was it.
“Wow……”
Tiel, entering the Training Ground for the first time, let out a gasp of wonder.
The Training Ground was a large, circular building with an open ceiling that exposed the night sky in its entirety.
The densely scattered starlight seemed as though it might pour down into the arena at any moment.
Ferdi flicked his finger, and servants appeared from somewhere, carrying a small chair with a plush cushion already set upon it.
“Sit here for a moment, Tiel.”
Ferdi lifted Tiel and set her down in the chair.
Tiel nodded from her cushioned seat.
“All right, Tiel. Sit there and watch carefully. An Ability is used like this—you just do it!”
Ludian swept his arms grandly, his expression brimming with pride.
An enormous flame erupted from the boy’s hands.
The fire swelled rapidly, as if it might consume the entire Training Ground.
A wave of heat surged forward. Tiel curled slightly in her seat, watching Ludian intently.
“Like this, you use your Ability…… and then.”
Ludian flicked his hand once more, and the raging flame transformed into the shape of a sword.
“That’s how you do it.”
Ludian pointed the flame-sword at the night sky as he spoke.
Though there was barely a word of actual explanation, Tiel applauded in rhythm with Ludian’s smugness.
She didn’t fully understand, but she could tell that Ludian’s Ability was extraordinary.
Ferdi, regarding his brother with disdain, gestured for him to move aside.
“Put away that pathetic sword, Ludian. That’s not what Tiel wants to learn.”
“You bastard! Since we’re here in the Training Ground, why don’t we duel? Draw your sword, Ferdi!”
“No. I have to teach Tiel how to use her Ability properly.”
Ferdi ignored Ludian completely.
He gathered his hair with the hair tie from his wrist and tied it back neatly as he spoke.
“Tiel, when you use your Ability, the trick is to picture an image in your mind.”

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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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