The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 40

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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 40
“Thiel…….”
He’d given her quite a start. Ian, who’d nearly collided with the girl, scolded her lightly.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry. But something just occurred to me…….”
Thiel laughed brightly. The boy glanced quietly around them. The maids following behind Thiel and Ian wore expressions of bewilderment.
“Could you stay here for a moment? I need to speak with Ian alone.”
The maids nodded readily. Thiel took Ian’s hand and pulled him toward the far end of the corridor.
Ian looked thoroughly confused, but he followed her without protest.
“Why not talk in the Reception Room? Why here?”
“My older brothers are in the Reception Room. They’re waiting for you.”
“Ah.”
So that was why those overprotective panthers who usually stuck to his shadow weren’t around—they’d gone ahead to wait for him.
Ian laughed knowingly. Thiel glanced furtively around once more.
Only after confirming that no one else was nearby did she gesture softly to Ian.
“Your ear…….”
“You’re full of surprises.”
Ian grumbled, but he didn’t refuse her request. He bent down, bringing his ear close to her lips.
“Um, Ian. Is something troubling you?”
“?”
Ian’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Father mentioned that you won’t be holding a birthday celebration this year…….”
Ah, that.
The boy regarded Thiel with a subtle expression. So she’d overheard about the cancelled celebration and had secretly called him out to ask if something was wrong.
She’d even dismissed the maids to do it. What kind of child was she, anyway?
“Thiel, little one. Do I really look like the sort of person who’d cancel a birthday celebration just because something difficult came up?”
At Ian’s rebuke, Thiel shook her head, her lips pressed firmly closed.
“I—I suppose not.”
“The cancellation was planned long ago. It’s not something that happened because of a recent problem.”
“I see……I thought something must be troubling you.”
“Were you worried?”
At Ian’s question, Thiel squeezed his hand tightly. Her small fingers grasped a palm far larger and broader than her own.
“I was worried. You’re my benefactor, after all!”
“Celebrations like birthday parties aren’t necessary. Only fools cry about not being celebrated on their birthday.”
Ian laughed mischievously. Thiel watched him for a moment, then spoke.
“Then what if you spent your birthday at the Asterian Residence? I’m sure my older brothers and father would be delighted.”
“At the Asterian Residence?”
“Yes, with me, and you, and Ferdi, and Ludian…….”
Ian, who had been considering for a moment, gently gripped Thiel’s hand. Her small fingers fit entirely within his palm. It seemed he could hold both her hands in just one of his.
“Maybe so, Thiel.”
***
“No.”
Ferdi refused flatly.
“Can you really reject the Crown Prince’s request so coldly?”
“That’s not a request—it’s a proclamation. Your Highness. I simply don’t understand why you’d insist on holding your birthday party at our residence when you have a perfectly good Imperial Palace…….”
Not to mention you’re hardly a child, Ferdi added quietly. But everyone in the room could hear his mutter.
“Thiel, from now on, if His Highness says something unreasonable like this, you should refuse firmly. Your brother showed you how to handle it before.”
“……You don’t like it?”
“That’s right, refuse just like that.”
“You’re teaching her well, Ferdi.”
Ian laughed mockingly. He seemed to consider for a moment before speaking again.
“I’m not joking. I really do intend to spend my birthday at the Asterian Residence.”
“Well, I’m not joking either, Iandros. Why would you want to hold your birthday celebration at our residence?”
Ferdi remained adamant. Thiel’s eyes darted back and forth as she studied him.
Iandros visited the Asterian Residence frequently, so she’d thought he’d surely be allowed to spend his birthday there too.
‘I guess those are two different things.’
Ian’s gaze shifted to Thiel. She felt oddly embarrassed and scratched at the back of Ferdi’s hand.
“Brother……. It’s lonely to spend your birthday alone. Besides, it was I who first suggested this to Ian.”
“Thiel, this won’t do.”
“I didn’t know when my own birthday was, so I wasn’t lonely. But if I had known, spending it alone would have been doubly painful.”
……
……?
She didn’t know her own birthday? Ian was about to speak when Ludian suddenly smacked his shoulder.
‘Be quiet.’
Iandros wisely closed his mouth. Ferdi sat Thiel on his lap and wiped his eyes.
“Thiel, Ian isn’t lonely. Ian is the Crown Prince. Even without us, there are people who would celebrate his birthday with him…….”
“I’m lonely, Ferdi.”
……
“Because I have no friends to spend my birthday with.”
“……Sigh.”
Ferdi exhaled slowly and rolled his eyes. Thiel stopped scratching the back of his hand and waited to see what he would do.
“All right, all right. I won’t ask for anything more. Instead, let’s make a deal.”
Ian, who had been joking the entire time, suddenly spoke with genuine seriousness. He leaned back against the sofa and crossed his legs.
“A deal?”
“Yes. You said you were having a dress made for Thiel, didn’t you?”
“Who told you that?”
“Ferdi, who else would have told me?”
Ian’s gaze turned toward Thiel. She flinched. She remembered how she’d chattered away all the way to the Reception Room with him.
But Ferdi didn’t scold her. The boy tilted his head, as if willing to hear what Ian had to say.
“I’ll have Madam Estella come.”
……
“In exchange for letting me celebrate my birthday with the members of the Asterian family.”
Ferdi’s eyes narrowed. Madam Estella? Was he serious?
Who was Madam Estella? She was an exclusive designer for the imperial family. Not exclusively for the Crathion Imperial Family, but she was renowned for refusing to make clothes for anyone except the imperial and royal families.
Countless nobles had sent her thousands of requests in hopes of wearing one of her dresses, but Estella had never once responded to their pleas.
She only accepted contact from the imperial and royal families, and because of this, most people had never even seen her face.
They didn’t know her age, which empire she was from—nothing! She guarded her privacy fiercely.
And he was offering to summon her?
If someone else had said such a thing, Ferdi would have dismissed it as nonsense. But the boy before him was the Crown Prince of the empire.
Which meant he could contact Madam Estella directly. Ferdi tapped his fingers against the leather of the sofa cushion as he asked.
“Are you serious about this?”
“Dead serious. Did you think I’d lie?”
Ian shrugged.
“I was planning to give the little one a new dress as a gift anyway. What do you say—does that tempt you now, young Asterian?”
“How can you be sure she’ll make a dress for my sister? You said she won’t make anything that isn’t for the imperial and royal families.”
At Ferdi’s remark, Ian waved his hand dismissively and laughed.
“It’s not that she won’t make anything except imperial and royal garments. It’s that only the imperial and royal families can reach her.”
“……?”
“So—will you accept the deal or not?”
Ferdi’s gaze fell on his sister in his lap. Thiel, who knew nothing of Madam Estella, had no idea how extraordinary Ian’s proposal was.
Ferdi did some quick calculations in his head. Spending a couple of hours at Iandros’s birthday celebration in exchange for getting Estella’s dress for Thiel was quite a favorable trade.
No other noble house’s young ladies would ever be able to obtain such a dress.
If Thiel wore Estella’s dress, she would stand out most beautifully at the coming Luminarie.
Of course, Ian had acted as though he would obtain Estella’s dress for Thiel regardless of whether this deal was accepted, but Ferdi chose to overlook that part.
If Ian simply handed over a gift, it would be his kindness. But if he obtained it through a proper exchange, it would be a trade—not a gift.
Having completed his calculations, Ferdi clapped his hands together.
“It is an honor to celebrate the Crown Prince’s birthday alongside him. The Asterian family shall prepare with utmost care.”
“Hahaha, and so Ferdi relents at last. Well done, Ian. You really know how to exploit Ferdi’s weaknesses.”
Ludian burst into laughter. Ian too broke into a smile.
“Thank you so much, brother!”
Thiel flung herself into Ferdi’s arms with a radiant smile. Ferdi, resigned, gently stroked her back.
“Isn’t this wonderful? Don’t you think so, Your Highness?”
Thiel turned to look at Ian. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation and joy.
But when their eyes met, Ian did not smile. Instead, he felt an odd displeasure and asked quietly.
“……Your Highness?”
“Yes, everyone calls you the Crown Prince, and I’ve been calling you by your name this whole time, which seemed disrespectful…….”
……
Ian’s handsome face twisted slightly. Ferdi and Ludian turned away and snickered.
Ian considered his words carefully before finally speaking.
“Just call me Ian.”
“What?”
“You can call me Iandros if you want. Whatever’s comfortable for you. But ‘Your Highness’ is out of the question.”
Why? Thiel’s mind flooded with questions. But seeing Ian’s expression, which somehow seemed frightening, she simply nodded obediently.

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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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