The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

"It's a promise!"

At Tiel's words, Ian nodded. Tiel obediently allowed Ian Dross to leave.

Ian and the knights he brought returned to the Imperial Palace. As soon as Ian Dross left, the Asterian family’s personal physician entered the room where the children were.

“Perdi-nim, Ludian-nim, Olivier-nim, Tiel-nim. Congratulations on your safe return.”

The Asterian physician bowed deeply. Alpheus waved his hand, signaling for the doctor to get to the point. The children exchanged puzzled glances above their heads.

“Suddenly?”

“Why call a doctor when none of us are injured?”

“Grandpa, don’t you see that we’re fine?”

“Ah, hello!”

Only Tiel greeted the doctor, who had entered abruptly. Ignoring the children’s complaints, the physician started by checking Ludian’s health first, since he was closest.

“We told you, we’re not injured,” Ludian said.

“I know. But since you’ve been on a long journey, it’s important to check on your health.”

As soon as Alpheus finished speaking, the door burst open, and maids entered with various tonics to replenish their energy.

Ludian looked at Alpheus.

Alpheus subtly turned his head away.

“Grandpa…”

“You need to check on their condition!” Alpheus replied firmly.

“This seems a bit much.”

Alpheus ignored Ludian’s words. The physician thoroughly examined each child, one by one, and gave the diagnosis that there was nothing wrong.

“All four of you are fatigued, but a good rest will help. You should rest at the manor for now.”

After recommending a tonic for energy replenishment, the doctor quietly left the room.

Tiel closed her eyes to avoid spitting out the bitter medicine in her mouth, then swallowed it with a gulp.

Meanwhile, Olivier spat her medicine back into the cup.

Watching this quietly, Karsus spoke up softly.

“Next time there’s a summons, it might be best not to bring Tiel, Father.”

At Karsus’s words, Tiel lifted her head. A maid standing beside her quickly slipped a small candy into Tiel’s mouth.

The child looked at Karsus with round cheeks as she sucked on the candy.

“When you say summons… you mean the gathering we had at the Imperial Palace last time, right?”

“Yes.”

Now that Tiel had completed her task and returned safely, it was time to discuss her living arrangements again.

Karsus was saying that he wouldn’t be bringing Tiel to that “place” again. Tiel tilted her head in confusion.

“Why? Is it because I would be a hindrance if I go?”

Alpheus, who was standing behind Tiel, gently lifted his granddaughter. Tiel, still in his arms, looked up at him.

“It’s not that, Tiel. It’s just that this is a matter for the adults to handle from here on out. You’ve done your part wonderfully, so from now on, it’s a matter for your father and me.”

“You’re not saying that if I don’t go… something bad might happen, right?”

Tiel cautiously asked, recalling Chender’s menacing attitude from before.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Chender had done everything he could to keep Tiel away from Asterian.

So if she didn’t go to this summons…

“If you don’t go, nothing will happen. Don’t worry. We’ll say you’re too fatigued from the long journey to move. They wouldn’t be so shameless as to ask a tired child to attend.”

Karsus’s words seemed to put Tiel at ease.

At that moment.

Bang!

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

“Eh?”

“…Squeak?”

Tiel, who had been in Alpheus’s arms, suddenly transformed into a small snow leopard.

Fortunately, Alpheus was holding her tightly, preventing her from falling to the ground.

Tiel looked up in astonishment and lifted her little paw. The pink jelly-like pad of her paw caught her attention.

‘Why did this happen all of a sudden?’

She hadn’t done anything particularly strenuous, and she had even taken the medicine the physician gave her. Why had she transformed again? Tiel tilted her head.

“It seems you were more exhausted than we thought.”

Karsus took Tiel from Alpheus’s arms. Tiel poked Karsus’s chest with her little paw and snuggled closer to her father.

“Mew…”

“You didn’t realize how much you had pushed yourself. So, as soon as your tension broke, you transformed.”

Karsus gently stroked the little back of the baby snow leopard in his arms. Tiel, nestled in Karsus’s embrace, nodded, thinking, I’m glad I didn’t change in front of Ian...

***

“Tiel, come here!”

“Kyaa!”

Tiel jumped into Ludian’s arms. Ludian sat down on the bed, holding his little sister close.

“Were you resting well?”

Tiel nodded eagerly at Ludian’s words.

When news of Tiel’s transformation due to exhaustion spread throughout the manor, all the servants began to worry about her.

In fact, they worried so much that they were constantly offering to carry or hold Tiel, just in case she might fall while walking. Ria even brought Tiel’s food to her in bed.

Tiel, confidently, could claim that no one in all of Asterian territory was more “rested” than she was.

“She still looks a little weak... Hey, Ferdie, do you think so too?”

“I agree. Let’s put her back to bed.”

“Kyaa?”

Tiel was gently put back on the bed by her brothers, and a fluffy blanket was placed over her.

Tiel, who wanted to lie down more comfortably, began to wave her little paws.

‘I’m fine!’

She could change back from her snow leopard form right now. But the reason she didn’t change back was simple.

‘It’s just more comfortable like this...’

It was easier to be held in someone’s arms and to curl up on the bed. Plus, her room was filled with enchanted items that Ferdie had “borrowed” from Chender, so it was never too warm.

Ferdie set a tray down on the nightstand next to the bed and patted his knees.

“Come here, Tiel.”

Tiel quickly ran over and sat on Ferdie’s lap.

Ferdie carefully fed her a bite of sweet, fluffy whipped cream cake with a small spoon.

Tiel opened her mouth wide and bit into the spoon, licking the whipped cream off with her tongue.

While Ferdie lovingly fed Tiel, Ludian wiped the cream off the corner of her mouth.

“Speaking of which, wasn’t today the day?”

After feeding Tiel a few more bites of cake, Ferdie looked up and asked. Ludian squinted at him.

“What do you mean? When you speak, you should use subjects. It’s a bad habit of yours to leave out the subject when speaking…”

“Today’s the day Father and Grandpa are going to the Imperial Palace.”

“Oh, right.”

Ludian answered nonchalantly. Ferdie nodded just as casually. The only one who wasn’t nonchalant was Tiel.

Tiel’s tail wagged nervously, puffed up as she anxiously moved it back and forth.

‘What if something happens because I’m not going?’

Chender might cause trouble for Karsus and Alpheus. They were normally unshakable in the face of Chender’s schemes, but when it came to Tiel, they always became vulnerable, and that made Tiel uneasy.

Noticing Tiel’s worry, Ferdie gently placed a small piece of strawberry from the cake into Tiel’s mouth and said.

“Don’t worry. You’re not going because you’re sick. And even if they are shameless, they won’t say anything about a sick child not attending.”

Tiel nodded as she ate the strawberry.

***

“This meeting was convened to decide Tiel Asterian’s fate. Yet… the person in question is absent. What kind of law is this?”

Chender said in an irritable voice. Alpheus and Karsus looked at him with disdain.

For a moment, they had forgotten just how shameless and immoral Chender Nestian truly was.

But there was nothing to worry about.

“Tiel has no reason to participate. She did her part admirably, and that’s the end of her involvement. But why does Nestian keep trying to drag her into this?”

Before the Asterians could speak, the Emperor had already stepped in and blocked Nestian’s path.