The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 98

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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 98
“Taking a break already?”
“Already? We’ve been riding for about half a day now.”
“Brother, are we going to camp here today?”
Tiel had just remembered what Olivier and Ferdi were discussing inside the carriage earlier.
‘This is going to turn into camping, isn’t it?’
‘Well, we do have camping supplies ready.’
Ferdi shook his head.
“No, we’ll probably lodge in a nearby village instead of camping. The sun hasn’t set yet, so there’s no reason to unpack everything here.”
The knights were accustomed to camping—they could sleep on the grass with a waterproof sheet—but the children were not.
So the plan was to sleep in nearby villages whenever possible. For Ludian, who preferred camping to lodging in inns, it was a disappointment.
“I see.”
“Tiel, look at this!”
Olivier called out excitedly, pulling a basket from the corner of the carriage. Tiel’s gaze naturally followed the basket he was holding.
“What is that?”
“Your maid packed it for you! Lia filled it up with lots of snacks for the journey.”
Olivier lifted the cloth covering the basket. Numerous cookies and muffins came into view.
“Are you hungry? Have one!”
Olivier grabbed a chocolate-studded muffin and held it out to Tiel. She accepted it hesitantly.
“But… there are so many people here. Is it all right if only I eat?”
Tiel glanced at the knights standing a little apart, who took turns keeping watch around the children. She hesitated.
To eat a muffin alone while they worked so hard… it didn’t feel right somehow.
Tiel blinked innocently as she asked, and Olivier, looking as though his beloved little sister had just melted his heart, gently pinched her cheek.
“Tiel! How can my sister be such an angel? Are you actually a snow fairy or an angel or something?”
“Hey! Don’t pinch Tiel’s cheek!”
Ludian rushed over and swatted Olivier’s hand away from Tiel’s cheek. Olivier laughed mischievously and pointed at the knights.
“Knights are used to long journeys like this—they can last a long time without even a drop of water. But you can’t! You’re only seven years old, and this is your first long journey.”
“I… I suppose so?”
“So you can’t think of them the same way as yourself. They’re trained soldiers.”
Olivier picked up a cookie from the basket and bit into it with a loud crunch, talking as he chewed.
“But I bet Lia knew your gentle nature. Look—she packed enough cookies and muffins to feed all these knights.”
Though Olivier had pulled out only one basket, the carriage’s cargo hold contained three more.
Lia, worried Tiel might grow very hungry, had prepared enough snacks for her to eat for a week. One could imagine how hard the Asterian cooks had worked to bake such quantities of cookies and muffins.
“If you want to share them, you can—just get permission from your commander first!”
Olivier pushed a piece of cookie into his mouth and pointed at Iandros, who sat beneath a distant tree.
“Yes! I’ll go ask!”
“Put down the muffin you’re holding!”
“I’m going to give it to Iandros!”
“That’s exactly why I said to put it down—”
But Olivier’s last words didn’t reach Tiel.
Tiel had already approached Iandros, who was sitting beneath the tree, and crouched down in front of him.
She held out the muffin she was holding.
“Iandros, please have this!”
“Where did a muffin suddenly come from?”
“Lia packed lots of them. Um, we have so many muffins and cookies—would it be all right to share some with the knights?”
“Hmm…”
Iandros alternated his gaze between the muffin and Tiel. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
‘So this feels like an outing.’
It had been like a children’s outing from the start, lacking a guardian, but now it truly felt like one, didn’t it?
Yet Iandros had no talent for refusing Tiel’s requests, so he took the muffin and bit into it, nodding his assent.
“Do as you like. But one thing—they’re not ‘sirs,’ they’re knights. You’re a princess of Asterian, so use the appropriate forms of address.”
“Yes! I’ll be careful from now on! Thank you!”
Tiel beamed at his permission and hurried back to Olivier to tell him that Iandros had approved.
Iandros watched with a gentle smile, thinking that perhaps it was all right for Tiel’s first journey to feel a little like an outing.
Shortly after, the baskets Lia had so carefully packed were distributed among the knights. Each took a cookie or muffin.
“Thank you, miss.”
“Thank you, my lady!”
“I’ll eat well.”
The knights exchanged light words among themselves as they ate the cookies and muffins.
Lia had packed so generously that after every knight took one, about five remained.
It was enough to rival a single day’s sales at a bakery in the Capital.
In the calloused, muscular hands of sword-wielding knights lay soft, fluffy muffins…
Instead of the smell of sweat or other odors, the sweet and savory scent of muffins and cookies filled the air around them.
Watching this, Tiel felt a warm glow of contentment, and small motes of light scattered around her.
Only then did Tiel bite into her own muffin.
A muffin made by Asterian’s cooks was, needless to say, the finest…
***
“Is the road wrong?”
After traveling for some time, Iandros turned to the Knight Commander and asked. The Knight Commander bowed his head in shame.
“I believe the map and the actual terrain here differ somewhat. According to the map’s markings, there should have been a large central road crossing between these two paths.”
The Knight Commander trailed off, looking at the road before them.
The central road marked on the map was nowhere to be seen—only two branching paths lay ahead.
“Let me see the map again.”
At Iandros’s command, a knight who had been leading a horse behind the Knight Commander jumped down from his mount.
He quickly drew out the map he carried and unfolded it before Iandros.
Iandros studied the map carefully. The route drawn by the Emperor and Alpheus differed slightly from the road they now stood upon.
“You’re right. According to the original plan, there should be a central road crossing here.”
But there was no road. Iandros examined the map. Fortunately, the narrow side roads that existed were marked on the map as well—they didn’t appear to be recent additions.
However, taking those roads would mean circling the mountain and taking a detour to reach the village, which would certainly cost them considerable time.
“At this rate, the sun will set before we cross the mountain.”
“As you know, in these mountains, travel becomes difficult once the sun sets. I recommend we prepare to camp here tonight.”
“I’m fine with it. The problem is those children.”
Ludian and Olivier would probably be fine. They were the sort who could sleep soundly on the grass with just a pillow.
Ferdi might complain a bit, but that was easy enough to ignore. The real concern was Tiel.
“She’s never camped before.”
“Do not worry. We’ve prepared thoroughly for camping, so she should rest comfortably inside the tent.”
Iandros nodded at the Knight Commander’s words. He would prefer not to make her sleep in these mountains, but…
“If it’s unavoidable, then so be it. Fold up the map. For now, we move quickly. If we reach the village, good. If not, we camp where we are.”
At Iandros’s command, the knight holding the map folded it and returned to his position.
The knights began coaxing their horses and preparing to depart. Iandros tapped his horse’s flank lightly with his boot, regarding the narrow path ahead.
‘Strange, though…’
The map came from the imperial treasury—it shouldn’t be wrong. How could a perfectly clear road simply vanish?
It couldn’t have been drawn incorrectly, so it must have disappeared afterward. Iandros’s pupils narrowed slightly.
But Iandros couldn’t afford to think further. He spurred his horse onward.
There was no time to dwell on it. They had already lost enough time. He needed to reach the village as quickly as possible before nightfall.

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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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