The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 93

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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 93
The day they returned to the Asterian lands.
Before climbing into the carriage, Tiel turned back to Cassius and asked carefully.
“Before we go, I wanted to see Ian, but… that won’t be possible, will it?”
Since that day at the Imperial Palace, Ian had neither sought Tiel out nor come to where she was.
For the entire duration of her stay in the Capital, Tiel had not seen his face.
“That does seem difficult. Instead, I’ll tell him you wished to see him,” Cassius said, stroking his daughter’s head gently to ease her disappointment.
Tiel nodded with composed dignity.
“Yes, thank you!”
“Don’t worry about it. Now, get into the carriage.”
Cassius lifted Tiel onto the carriage, where Ludian, already seated, naturally pulled her to sit beside him.
“Tiel, are you sad?”
Tiel nodded.
“Yes… I just feel like I never properly thanked Ian for helping me at the Imperial Palace.”
“What do you have to thank him for? He’s the one who should be thanking you!”
“That’s right! Our girl was put in danger because of him!”
Ludian and Olivie flared up indignantly. Under normal circumstances, Ferdi would have soothed Ludian’s outburst, but this time he nodded in agreement.
“There’s nothing for you to thank him for, Tiel.”
To be Marked with Iandros and become his Bonded Partner meant sharing both the burden his body endured and the instability of his Ability.
The one consolation was that Tiel and Ian’s Marking was incomplete—
‘Even an incomplete Marking is still a Marking. Every time Ian goes berserk, Tiel will suffer the consequences.’
Ferdi seriously entertained, if only for a moment, whether it might be better to kill Iandros.
But then he lifted his eyes to meet Tiel’s bright, eager gaze, and the thought vanished at once.
Even if his sister was still a child, her choices—made with her own judgment—deserved respect.
For Ferdi and Ludian to harbor such thoughts was nothing but to dismiss Tiel’s courageous decision to save Iandros as foolishness.
“If you really want to see him, I’ll send a letter inviting Ian to Asterian. Since you’re his Bonded Partner now, the least we can do is that much.”
“Oh, that much…?”
“Who said we’d let him in? Even if he wanted to, we wouldn’t allow it!”
“Right, right! Those who bear no Asterian name cannot set foot in the Asterian Mansion!”
Olivie declared spiritedly.
Ludian cast a cool glance at Olivie.
“You act as though you bear the Asterian name yourself?”
…
“What are you doing? Speak up. You just said those without the Asterian name can’t set foot here, didn’t you?”
Olivie was about to grab Ludian’s collar when she noticed Tiel sitting beside him and held back.
While the children squabbled, the carriage set off. Tiel pressed her cheek against the window, watching the landscape pass.
Whether brief or long, the time spent in the Capital was behind them now as they returned to the Asterian Mansion.
‘Life in the Capital was pleasant enough, but…’
I prefer Asterian after all.
The Asterian Mansion truly feels like ‘home’. Like somewhere I can always return to.
Tiel rested her cheek against the carriage window, watching the trees and houses blur past in the distance, before sleep claimed her.
Ludian, sitting beside her, retrieved a blanket and draped it over his sister, then gently drew her close to rest her head on his lap.
The carriage raced onward.
***
“Tiel, we’ve arrived.”
Ferdi gently shook the sleeping Tiel awake. She brushed her tousled hair aside and blinked her drowsy eyes.
“Hm? Already?”
“Yes, we’re here. Come on.”
Tiel reached out her arms still half-asleep. Ferdi lifted her gently from the carriage and stepped down.
Though they had left in daylight, they arrived in the depths of night. The servants of the Asterian Mansion had all gathered and bowed.
“Welcome home, Head of Household.”
Parden stood foremost, bowing. Alpheus and Cassius, descending from another carriage, nodded to acknowledge his greeting.
“Good to see you. Any troubles while we were away, Parden?”
“No, Head of Household. Do come inside.”
Parden bowed deeply and led Alpheus and Cassius, Ferdi and Ludian, and Olivie and Tiel into the mansion.
Tiel, cradled in Ferdi’s arms, rested her cheek against his shoulder and blinked languidly.
‘I’m home…’
She lifted her heavy eyelids to gaze upon the familiar faces of the servants, the hallways now so dear, the stairs now so known.
The realization that it had taken less than a year to feel this place truly as her ‘home’ struck her deeply, making her suddenly aware of just how much the Beastfolk of the Asterian household had cared for her.
“Shall we bring dinner to your rooms?”
Everyone nodded at the head maid’s question. The long carriage ride had exhausted them; no one had the energy to gather in the dining hall.
“For Tiel’s meal, please prepare something as soft as possible.”
“Yes, at once.”
The head maid nodded, and the servants scattered busily about. Meals needed to be prepared in the kitchen and brought to each room.
Just then, one of the maids, noticing Ferdi still holding Tiel, asked carefully.
“Young master, shall I take the young lady?”
“No, I’ll keep holding her.”
Ferdi declined the maid’s thoughtful offer. The servants knew he enjoyed carrying Tiel, so she stepped back without protest.
“Yes, Ferdi.”
Ferdi carried Tiel toward her room.
Only once they arrived at her chamber did he set her down, then gently stroked her small head.
“Tiel, even if you’re sleepy, you need to eat before bed. Understand? You can’t skip meals.”
“Yes, yes. I will…”
“You promised? Your brother will check later.”
Tiel nodded. Ferdi smiled tenderly at his little sister, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and left the room.
Then Lia, who had been waiting nearby, approached with Tiel’s nightclothes and smiled warmly.
“Young lady, let me help you change~”
Lia swiftly changed Tiel out of her travel clothes into her nightgown, then carefully brushed out her bound hair so the girl could rest comfortably.
Soon after, the servants brought dinner to the room.
“Would you like to eat at the bed?”
“Can I? I might spill…”
“If you spill, we’ll simply change the sheets. Do whatever is most comfortable!”
Tiel hesitated briefly, then sat at the table. She didn’t want to trouble the servants further by accidentally soiling the bedding.
The servants set the meal before her—warm soup, tender meat, and fresh salad, with everything prepared to be easily consumed.
“Please eat, young lady. You must be famished after such a long journey!”
“Mm… I’m not very hungry. My brothers kept making me eat things…”
Ferdi and Ludian had eagerly fed Tiel something every hour.
‘The baby must never go hungry!’ was Ferdi and Ludian’s unwavering logic.
Sometimes it was soft bread, sometimes sweet candy, sometimes fresh fruit. Thanks to them, Tiel had traveled comfortably in the carriage, sleeping and eating in peaceful turns.
Tiel cut a piece of tender meat, placed it in her mouth, and chewed thoughtfully as she looked at Lia.
“Lia, do you know about the land where morning never comes?”
“Of course, young lady. There isn’t a soul in the Crasion Empire who doesn’t know of it. Long ago, the Beastfolk called that place ‘Arcadia.'”
“Arcadia? But why don’t they call it that anymore?”
“Arcadia means paradise, young lady. Once upon a time, it truly was a paradise. That’s how it came to bear such a name…”
Lia smiled gently.
“But as you know, it became a sunless land. So the name fell into disuse. Though who knows…?”
Tiel held her breath, swallowed the meat, and listened intently to Lia’s words.
“If ever the sun should rise again and morning return to that land, perhaps it will reclaim the name of Arcadia. Even though it has now become a territory consumed by darkness—claimed by the Gold Fang…”
“May I ask one more thing?”
“Of course! Ask me anything!”
“Why did that land become a place where Beastfolk cannot enter? Did the fierce Beastfolk do something wrong in Arcadia…?”

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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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