The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 66

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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 66
After Ian left.
“Did the talk go well?”
Ferdi gently brushed back Tiel’s bangs. Tiel, still nestled in Ferdi’s lap, nodded.
“Yes! He said he liked my gift! I was so worried he might not, but I’m relieved!”
“Of course he did. Who gave it to him?”
Ferdi’s eyes crinkled warmly. Ludian, who had been running his fingers through Tiel’s hair, suddenly chimed in.
“Right! That kid would’ve been happy with anything you gave him. You could’ve handed him a rock and he’d have thanked you.”
For an imperial crown prince, it was rough treatment indeed, but no one saw fit to object.
“Now go wash up and get to bed—you’ll need to wake early tomorrow.”
Tonight was the eve of Luminarie, and tomorrow was the festival proper.
Because Tiel was still young, she was excused from attending the eve celebration, but she had to participate in the main festival itself.
Tomorrow was the day that came once every three years—the greatest festival of the Beast-kin, a time devoted to God Lucet, and the moment when
the youngest daughter of House Asterian would appear before the world for the first time.
Tiel gazed vacantly out through the darkened window, swallowing hard.
Though Ferdi and Ludian took turns reassuring her and calming her nerves, she was still trembling a little.
That was when—
“Nervous?”
Alpheus appeared seemingly from nowhere and placed a large, weathered hand atop Tiel’s head.
Tiel’s eyes sparkled as she looked up, drawing comfort from the familiar warmth.
“Grandfather!”
Alpheus had been out handling affairs until just now. Tiel clutched his wrinkled hand firmly.
“A little nervous.”
There was no need to hide nervousness behind false bravado.
The first thing Tiel had learned upon arriving at the Asterian household was how to show her feelings without reservation.
So now she did not conceal her fear. The girl held his warm hand tightly.
“But it’s all right, because Grandfather is here, and Father, and my brothers.”
And Olivier, and Mother, and Uncle Stefano too.
Alpheus gazed at his small granddaughter with unmistakable pride.
Whether from not eating well in her childhood or simply because she had been born small, Tiel was remarkably petite.
That very fact made Alpheus all the more protective of her.
“Yes, Tiel. You’ll do just fine.”
“You don’t have to do anything at all. You just need to stand there.”
The first was Alpheus; the second, Ferdi. As Ferdi built upon his grandfather’s words, he took Tiel’s hand and met her eyes.
“There’s nothing for you to do. Leave the rest to your brothers—we’ll handle everything. So don’t worry. Understood?”
Ferdi’s voice was so gentle and tender that even the last shred of fear lingering in Tiel’s heart melted away completely.
“Yes, I will!”
As Tiel nodded, a small light sparkled in her eyes.
Alpheus smiled warmly and lifted Tiel into the air. Ferdi and Ludian each reached over to stroke her hair.
Cassius, who had arrived late, watched them silently from a distance.
Family.
‘Family, is it…….’
Cassius murmured quietly.
‘Cassius Celeste Asterian, you don’t understand the meaning of family!’
At the time, he’d thought it was a meaningless abstraction.
“Ah, Grandfather! I’m getting dizzy!”
But now, watching this moment, he finally understood what Rena had wanted.
***
The day of the festival.
The servants of House Asterian had spared no effort in dressing Tiel with care.
Of course, being still a young child, they avoided restrictive jewelry, but they draped her in light, delicate pieces that hung gracefully.
Each piece was the work of a master craftsman, so valuable that together they shimmered without a hint of excess.
And with the dress Iandros had gifted her, one might have believed she was a princess dwelling in a colossal castle.
“Shall we go, Tiel?”
Ludian offered his hand. Without hesitation, Tiel grasped her brother’s hand and nodded eagerly.
“Yes!”
An enormous carriage bearing the Asterian family crest stood before the manor, with knights from the order lined up in rows on either side.
The carriage seemed grand even on ordinary days, but arrayed before hundreds of knights, its splendor was even more imposing.
“Tiel, let’s go.”
Cassius lifted Tiel into the carriage. Ferdi and Ludian boarded next, followed by Cassius himself.
Alpheus had to ride alone in the grand carriage ahead, so he could not share theirs.
“Forward!”
At the commanding shout of the leading knight, the carriage began to move.
The sight of hundreds of mounted knights following in procession behind the carriage was nothing short of magnificent.
With a racing heart, Tiel peered out through the carriage window.
When she had come to the capital, the carriage had a horse from House Wolfgang hitched to it, and the scenery had changed so quickly she’d barely caught a glimpse.
But this time, the aim was not swift arrival—it was to display the family’s members to the people of the Crasion Empire—so the carriage moved slowly enough for Tiel to see the sights beyond the window.
They hadn’t even entered the central district yet, and already the streets were packed with citizens.
“Hooray!”
“It’s House Asterian, House Asterian!”
Cheers echoed from every direction—the people of the empire seeing the Asterian procession for the first time in three years.
Ferdi and Ludian waved familiarly at the cheering citizens.
And then.
“Tiel, come here.”
Ferdi lifted Tiel and set her on his lap.
So that those at a distance could see the small girl clearly through the open window—
Tiel sat on Ferdi’s lap, eyes wide, gazing out at the citizens.
She had never seen so many people, neither in her past life nor this one. Far more people than she had imagined were looking at her.
“Um, that one……”
“Could it be—the youngest lady they found not long ago!?”
“The Youngest Lady of House Asterian!”
“The one who manifested the Light Ability, yes?”
“From now on, Luminarie shall be a festival for the Youngest Lady of Asterian!”
The citizens chattered excitedly among themselves. Tiel listened intently to their voices, ears perked.
Though the roar of cheers, the thunder of hoofbeats, and the countless conversations of the crowd made some words hard to hear……
“Now, give them a greeting, Tiel.”
Ferdi gently clasped Tiel’s hand and waved it slightly on her behalf.
Tiel, a bit bewildered, waved at the sea of faces before her.
Then Ludian, waving beside her, suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“Half of them probably came just to see you!”
And they hadn’t even reached the Imperial Palace yet, with crowds this dense.
Even accounting for House Asterian’s prominence, the throng was impossibly large.
“Really, I’m right about this.”
Ludian chuckled, watching the citizens unable to take their eyes off Tiel.
True to his guess, most of the people gathered here had come specifically to see the Youngest Lady of Asterian.
A precious youngest daughter found after seven long years, the precious treasure of the empire’s greatest ducal house—such descriptions were more than enough to stir the people’s curiosity beyond measure.
‘How strange……’
Tiel fidgeted with her hands.
She could scarcely believe that so many people had gathered to see her.
At the same time, she felt joy welling up—as though she was making her formal debut as a member of House Asterian, as part of this family, before everyone.
Tiel gazed at each person in the crowd with wide, emotional eyes.
Meanwhile, the carriage rolled steadily onward toward the Imperial Palace.
The opening ceremony of Luminarie was held in a vast plaza directly beside the Imperial Palace, managed by the palace itself.
The closing ceremony took place there as well. Both the beginning and end of the festival happened in that square.
The Asterian carriage was heading toward that very plaza.
Soon, carriages bearing the crests of each major house arrived in succession.
Lightning Iker arrived first, then Arne.
Nestian came next, followed by House Wolfgang, and finally—
“Roooaaarrr!”
As the grand carriage of House Asterian appeared, a cheer erupted from the crowd.
It was a roar far greater than when the other families’ carriages had arrived.

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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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