The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 269

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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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Special Side Story 19
“Ra-ven!”
Upon hearing that Raven had arrived at the Imperial Palace, Runa came rushing over and threw her arms around him.
“!”
“!!!”
The suddenness startled Raven as well, and the attendants following behind Runa gasped in shock.
“Your Highness! Your dignity!”
“Oh dear…….”
“What does it matter? He’s my friend! Raven, why are you here? Did Uncle Ludian come too?”
“……Yes, he’s speaking with the Empress now.”
“Really? Then I should go see Uncle later!”
Raven glanced sideways at Runa’s Salamander, Sali.
The Salamander had grown large enough to ride upon, and now stood pressed against Runa’s side, watching Raven intently.
“Hello, Sali.”
When Raven lowered herself and extended her palm toward Sali, the creature lifted its stubby legs and placed a paw firmly on her hand.
“You’ve grown more cautious lately, but you seem fine with me.”
As Runa stroked Sali’s head, the blazing flames bent backward like a dog’s ears drooping.
“The more I grow, the more guarded I seem to become. It wasn’t like this before.”
“…….”
Raven observed the Salamander intently.
The creature stood its ground, steadfast at Runa’s side, and in that posture it resembled——
‘Ludian…….’
And not just him—Ferdi, Cassius, Alpheus; the faces of the Black Leopards Raven had come to know at the Asterian Mansion flickered through her mind in succession.
Perhaps because it stemmed from their power, it too instinctively guarded Runa and remained vigilant of those around her.
She had heard that the Empress was still young when the Asterian Family’s protection was particularly intense.
“What are you thinking about?”
Runa suddenly thrust her face in front of Raven’s.
Now grown considerably, Runa had transitioned from “baby” to “child,” and she gazed at Raven with round eyes. Raven shook her head and answered.
“Nothing at all.”
“Really? Then come here, let’s go play.”
Runa grasped Raven’s hand and dragged her somewhere. Raven followed while glancing back over her shoulder.
Runa’s attendants watched with helpless expressions, though it seemed none of them possessed any ability to restrain the princess.
As Raven was pulled along by Runa’s hand, she recalled the first time they had met.
When she thought about it, it had been much the same then.
“Come on, let’s play here!”
Just as before, Runa had brought Raven to the Garden, and now she plopped down onto the grass. The distant attendants gasped in alarm and rushed over to help her up.
“Your Highness, you cannot sit on the ground!”
“We’ll lay something down for you. Please sit on this.”
With practiced ease, they spread a plush cloth across the grass. Delighted, Runa flopped down upon it again.
“Raven, you came to play with me, right? Following Uncle was just an excuse, wasn’t it? You wanted to play with me because Raven and I are friends!”
Runa beamed with a radiant smile. Raven nodded slowly.
“……Yes.”
The truth was, that wasn’t why Raven had come.
She needed to tell Runa that tomorrow she would be departing far away with Ludian, yet faced with that smiling princess, the words simply would not leave her lips.
Moreover, Runa seemed reluctant to make new friends, so currently Raven was almost Runa’s only friend.
‘But how can I tell her?’
I can’t say it…….
Perhaps this time the princess would truly be angry with her.
Even as Raven thought it unlikely that Runa would be upset with her, anxiety coiled tight within her chest.
Then.
Chirp, chirp, chirp!
From somewhere came the soft cry of a bird. Runa’s head snapped up first, and Raven reacted a moment after.
“A bird?”
Bird calls could be heard anytime, but this one was unusually faint and delicate. Sensing something odd, Runa rose from her seat.
“Is it over there?”
And she scampered swiftly toward the source of the sound. It came from beneath a great tree.
A massive tree stood unyielding in the Garden, its presence overwhelming all who entered this imperial garden——
Beneath it, a tiny baby bird lay fallen, chirping weakly.
Looking up at the branches, a mother bird circled anxiously overhead.
There was a nest in the branches; the chick had evidently fallen from there.
“Look, Raven…….”
Runa’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. She carefully lifted the baby bird and spoke in hushed tones.
“It’s so small.”
Though Runa was a Beast-kin predator, she harbored no desire to harm the chick. It was natural—seeing something small and young stirred a protective instinct within her, something almost primal.
“Is it hurt?”
Raven bent forward to examine the chick resting in Runa’s palm. Runa’s golden hair brushed against Raven’s cheek, tickling softly.
“It doesn’t seem to be injured. Could you return it to the nest?”
If she used Beastkin Transformation, she could surely climb this tree without hesitation.
But to do so, she would have to evade the eyes of the attendants behind her, and she couldn’t hold the chick in her hands—she’d have to carry it in her mouth, and if she did that…….
“…….”
Briefly imagining the scene, Runa’s face contorted in dismay.
An attendant standing nearby approached quietly and spoke.
“Birds aren’t usually supposed to nest in this tree. I wonder how it ended up building one……?”
“Perhaps the gardener turned a blind eye to it? Since it’s so high, it wouldn’t be noticeable if one didn’t look closely.”
Runa gazed thoughtfully at the baby bird in her rounded palms. The chick chirped vigorously within them.
Watching the scene, Raven looked at Runa and asked.
“Your Highness, shall I return it to the nest?”
“Hmm? You can do that?”
“Yes, I’m a bird Beast-kin.”
Knowing that Raven disliked her Beast-kin form, Runa blinked at her in surprise.
Raven hated her black hair and black wings deeply.
Yet she was offering to transform?
“Are you……sure? If it’s difficult, you don’t have to. We can ask someone else…….”
“I’m fine.”
Raven placed her hands together before Runa. Runa studied her expression, then shrugged as if to say ‘whatever’ and transferred the chick into Raven’s cupped hands.
Chirp!
The small chirping chick was transferred very slowly from Runa’s hands to Raven’s.
Raven gazed at the chick for a moment, and suddenly her own childhood surfaced in memory—a home lost, parents lost.
This bird was not a Beast-kin and the matter was simple assistance, yet she could not turn away.
The boy knew how perilous it was to be separated from one’s parents and left alone.
Whoosh!
Black wings erupted from Raven’s back in an instant. Black feathers, a symbol of ill omen, the wings of a raven.
Yet now they were a good means to return this chick to its nest.
Raven pushed lightly off the ground and flew to land on a branch, carefully positioning herself so the nest wouldn’t tumble. She gazed at the nest.
The mother bird called out frantically nearby, circling anxiously around Raven.
“It’s all right.”
With those few words, Raven calmed the mother bird, then gently placed the chick inside the nest.
The mother bird rushed over the instant Raven’s hands withdrew, confirming her baby was unharmed. Raven watched the scene and smiled softly.
“Raven!”
Just then, Runa’s voice came from below. Raven lowered her gaze to look down at the tree base.
“You did great!”
Runa stood beneath the tree, beaming with excitement, laughing brightly and bouncing on her feet. The Salamander beside her bounded in time with her steps.
The attendants giggled helplessly at Runa’s adorableness, and even the knights standing at a distance watched her with warm approval.
A scene straight from a fairy tale.
“Well done! Come down quickly now!”
Raven gazed at that fairy-tale scene for a long moment, then carefully opened her mouth.
“Your Highness.”
A commoner boy with raven’s wings.
A common boy who had been pointed at and rejected his entire childhood for being ill-omened.
He looked down at Runa with a clear gaze and spoke.
“I’m going to leave for the Cliad Mountain Range.”

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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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