The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 9

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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 9
Three men bolted to their feet at the maid’s words.
“The young lady is in the guest room beside the kitchen, but—”
Cassius didn’t wait for the maid to finish. He strode ahead with long steps, while she hurried after him in quick little footfalls, speaking urgently.
“She seemed hungry, so I offered her a little dessert, but she ate in such a rush that she became ill—”
The maid’s voice wavered, nearly breaking.
“She’s been so stubborn that she’s barely eaten anything but two slices of bread the whole journey here. I think her stomach was shocked when the food hit it suddenly.”
Sedrick spoke with a furrow between his brows.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed sharply through the corridor.
Not long after, they arrived at the room where Thiel was.
Cassius knocked on the door.
“May I—”
Crash.
Something fell inside the room. Cassius didn’t have the patience to wait. He pushed the door open.
……
……Ah.
What met Cassius’s eyes was an overturned tea table and a small girl nestled in a maid’s arms.
“Oh, I—”
The maids who were tidying the room all looked up at once. Cassius glanced at the carpet they had removed.
There were marks of vomit in the corner. The girl hung her head as though she’d committed some grave sin, trembling violently.
Bread and desserts lay scattered across the floor.
Cassius understood the situation now, from what the maid had told them earlier, from Sedrick’s comment, and from the pile of desserts heaped everywhere.
The hungry child must have eaten dessert until she was sick, and her stomach, unable to bear it, had rejected it right there.
Cassius wanted to comfort his daughter and tell her the illness wasn’t her fault, but he held himself back.
‘Scaring her further won’t help.’
The child was in a rather fragile state. He’d already heard she was sensitive to atmosphere, and now that she’d vomited, she’d be even more anxious watching everyone’s reactions.
“Now, don’t—”
As expected, the girl was already trembling like an aspen, begging forgiveness. The maid holding Thiel patted the small back gently and spoke.
“I’ll clean her up and be right back.”
Cassius gave a nod of assent, his expression troubled. The maid carrying the child quickly left the room.
***
The maid Lia carried Thiel toward the bathroom. She could feel the small body trembling continuously in her arms.
“H-h-hiccup!”
The child had been hiccuping from the shock of it all. Thiel wrapped her arms tightly around Lia’s neck, not wanting to be set down, and opened her mouth.
“I—I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry, please don’t kill me…”
Thiel kept her eyes squeezed shut and repeated the same words like a broken wind-up doll.
Lia didn’t know what this small girl had been through, but feeling a ache in her heart, she continued to stroke the child’s dirty hair.
She held the girl close, letting her own warmth seep into the small body, and spoke.
“It’s alright, it’s alright, young lady. This isn’t your fault.”
Her kind voice wrapped around Thiel. The small girl seemed to calm a little at those words.
Once they reached the bathroom, Lia set the child beside her and drew warm water.
It would have been easier with another maid to help.
But since the child was extremely wary of strangers, and Cassius had ordered her to keep the girl away from other servants for now, Lia had to bathe Thiel alone.
After drawing a full tub of warm water, she lifted Thiel again and spoke.
“Now we need to take off your dress—is that alright with you?”
Lia asked gently. Thiel was still trembling. She didn’t seem in a state to answer properly.
But unable to leave the child as she was, Lia carefully removed the pale yellow dress Thiel was wearing.
The soft dress slipped to the floor, and bruises and wounds covering pale skin came into view.
These were clearly not injuries the child had inflicted on herself. Lia found herself at a loss for words, confronted with the seriousness of the girl’s condition.
“Oh, young lady. Oh my.”
“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—”
Thinking she’d done something wrong at Lia’s reaction, Thiel burst into tears again and begged desperately.
“I’m s-sorry, truly— Hiccup!”
“No, no, young lady. None of this is your fault. It’s alright. I’ll wash you up now. Come, just be patient a little longer!”
She soothed the child and lowered the small body into the tub.
And cursing whoever had done this to the girl, she began to gently wash the tender skin.
Fragrant soap bubbles touched every corner of her body, then dissolved away.
Most of the wounds were old, so the water shouldn’t have hurt, yet Lia was as careful as possible.
Filthy water poured out from the tub. It made sense—no one in Nestian had ever bathed Thiel before.
Her hair, matted from neglect for so long, would need to be cut at the ends.
‘It’s practically hardened. This needs to come off.’
But there was only her and this small young lady in the bathroom.
She didn’t want to risk leaving to fetch scissors and having something happen while she was gone, so Lia decided to postpone cutting the girl’s hair.
Hiccup!
Thiel’s hiccups sounded loud in the quiet bathroom.
Thiel tried to cover her mouth with both hands, but the hiccups kept escaping through her fingers.
Lia gently lowered the girl’s hands and spoke.
“You don’t have to hold it in, young lady. Once I rinse you off, I’ll bring you some water. A drink will make it go away soon.”
Her voice was warm and kind. She washed the small body thoroughly with all her care.
When the filthy water that had been flowing out finally became clear and stopped entirely, Lia ended the bath.
The rank smell that had clung to her skin had vanished at some point, replaced by the gentle scent of soap.
Lia wrapped the small girl in a large towel.
After drying her carefully, she dressed her in the small nightgown that had been left at the bathroom entrance.
It belonged to Olivier, Thiel’s cousin and Cassius’s young niece.
The girl visited House Asterian often enough to sleep there, so her children’s clothes remained in the house.
By then, exhausted from crying, Thiel had fallen into a deep sleep. Lia gazed at the sleeping child with tender eyes for a long moment.
‘I don’t know what you’ve been through, small lady,’
‘but may you find nothing but peace in this place.’
Lia whispered a quiet prayer into the sleeping girl’s ear. She carried the sleeping Thiel and hastened from the room.
***
Thiel was laid in a room that Olivier, Cassius’s niece, used when she stayed at Asterian.
With so many things belonging to a young girl, there was no sense of incongruity with Thiel resting there.
After laying Thiel down, Lia asked another maid to fetch the physician Kade and Cassius.
Not long after, Cassius, Ian, and Sedrick arrived with the physician Kade.
Kade appeared to be a man in his forties, with a weathered, gentle face.
“Is the child alright?”
Cassius asked urgently. Lia shook her head.
“She kept apologizing and begging for her life before she tired herself out and fell asleep… I don’t know what she’s been through.”
Lia’s gaze turned to the sleeping Thiel. The girl appeared more peaceful now than at any moment since arriving at the Asterian estate.
“Examine the child’s condition.”
Cassius ordered curtly. Kade took hold of the child’s slender wrist.
After examining the girl for some time, the physician looked up at Cassius.
“She’s severely malnourished, and her growth is considerably slower than children her age. As for other details, I’ll need to know more once the young lady awakens.”
“She was certainly small.”
Ian murmured, gauging Rowen’s height.
Rowen was the same age as Thiel—seven years old—yet stood a full head taller.
“Why did she fall asleep so suddenly?”
“It appears to be from exhaustion. She probably hasn’t slept properly during the entire journey. Young demi-humans often fall asleep this suddenly when deprived of sleep.”
Kade explained slowly. Cassius nodded in understanding, then issued orders for everyone to leave.
He sat at the edge of the bed and gently brushed his fingers across the child’s cheek.
While awake, she’d been too startled by his presence to speak properly.
‘I… I can eat very little, and I can live as though I have nothing. I can sleep in the storehouse. I can sleep in the barn, so please…’
He hadn’t been able to tell her she could stay at Asterian for as long as she wished.
‘I… want to stay here.’
He was prepared to hand over even the Nestian estate if that was what she wanted.
Cassius resolved that the first thing he would say when Thiel woke was this:
From now on, this place was her home, and she had nothing to fear.
Anyone who tried to harm her would pay with their life, on the honor of House Asterian.
Cassius brought his lips gently to the back of Thiel’s small hand, then withdrew.
It was strange to feel warmth radiating from such a small body.
Just then, Sedrick spoke cautiously.
“Will you conduct a paternity test?”
At Sedrick’s words, Ian and Cassius turned to face him without speaking.
As if to say: the girl’s golden eyes were already proof of her mixed heritage from House Asterian and Nestian—what need was there for a test?
At their gaze, Sedrick hastened to explain himself.
“Of course I’m certain the young lady is your daughter, but for the sake of procedure—”
“We will conduct a paternity test.”
Cassius brushed the child’s hair back behind her ear as he spoke.
“It’s necessary for procedure. Without documentation proving she’s my daughter, I can’t register her in the Asterian family registry.”
“Then it would be best to cut her hair now, Duke.”
This time it was Ian who spoke.
“She might be startled if we cut it when she wakes.”
A paternity test required hair samples from both the child and Cassius.
Ian nodded toward Lia, who stood nearby with proper deference.
Lia brought scissors from somewhere and carefully cut a few strands from the back of Thiel’s hair.
The white hair gleamed transparently in her palm.
“Send the hair to the Temple for the paternity test. Mine is already stored there.”
He had given his own hair to the Temple in advance, in preparation for finding the child.
Once he sent the child’s hair to the Temple, he could receive the paternity test results immediately.
Of course, there would be a long queue, but House Asterian could easily bypass such concerns.
House Asterian made substantial donations to the Temple, so naturally they would prioritize a paternity test commissioned by them.
Cassius looked at his sleeping daughter one last time as he spoke.
“It’s best we leave now. She might wake.”
“Yes, then we shall take our leave.”
Sedrick spoke, exchanging a glance with Ian. Ian nodded in agreement.
“The schedule has fallen behind considerably. Your Highness should return to the Imperial Palace.”
“I wish I could say goodbye properly. That’s unfortunate.”
Ian murmured, looking at the sleeping Thiel’s face.
“Yes, thank you for today, Your Highness. Sedrick. I’ll offer my formal gratitude next time.”
Having finished speaking, Cassius turned to Lia.
“Go to the Temple and commission the paternity test. Call one of the other maids to stay by the girl’s side. Contact me the moment she wakes.”
“Yes, Master.”
All four men left the room.
A small, even breathing echoed softly in the silence.
Then,
Whoosh—!
Bright light flickered in Thiel’s hand once more. It took the shape of a fish, then a small bird.
But it faded quickly, and no one had witnessed it.

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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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