The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

“That…!!”

It was ancient script. Now forgotten in the memories of people, only a few could read it.

And Alpheus and Cassius were among those “few.”

They immediately recognized the script on the wall.

“Cassius…”

“Yes, it’s ancient script.”

The glowing letters were written on the stone wall.

]When the long darkness fades away and light fully takes its place in this world, Asterian and Nestian will reclaim their original power.]

Soon, another set of letters appeared.

[The light will suppress the darkness with its existence.]

‘Suppressing the darkness with its existence’…

Alpheus and Cassius immediately understood its meaning.

Perhaps it referred to the situation where Thiel had calmed Ferdie down.

‘”Just the existence of light can quell madness…’

It was truly a remarkable thing.

It was what the leopard Clan had hoped for.

However, there was no fundamental solution.

‘In the end, to quell madness, we need Thiel.’

Thiel’s existence suppresses the madness of Asterian and Nestian.

In other words, the moment this fact becomes known, everyone will target Thiel.

Nestian will target Thiel to resolve their madness, and other families will fear the disappearance of the curse on Asterian and Nestian and target Thiel…

‘It’s troublesome.’

However, Cassius, Alpheus, and Asterian never had any intention of letting Thiel be taken away.

If only Lena had been taken, it would have been enough. They had no intention of repeating the same mistake.

Cassius’s gaze had a chilling intensity.

The glowing gold eyes in the darkness transformed like a beast’s.

If Alpheus hadn’t stopped him, he would have unleashed his fangs without hesitation.

“Stop, Cassius.”

“…”

Cassius nodded his head. His eyes returned to their original state.

Soon, the glowing ancient letters on the stone wall disappeared.

As Thiel’s power receded, the room was once again filled with pitch-black darkness.

The round light gathered into Thiel’s cupped hands.

As the child blinked, the light was absorbed back into her palm.

As if finding its place again.

Thiel couldn’t decipher the ancient script, so she couldn’t understand the meaning of the letters that had appeared on the wall just now.

She could only guess that it must have been something serious based on the serious expressions on the faces of Alpheus and Cassius.

Thiel asked cautiously, “Um, does it contain something bad?”

“No, Thiel, you did well.”

Alpheus approached the altar and lifted his granddaughter, who was sitting on the floor, into his arms. Thiel squirmed for a moment.

“Oh, Grandpa! There’s dust on your clothes…”

“It’s fine, my dear. You did a great job.”

He didn’t even pay attention to the dust on his clothes. He embraced Thiel and gently stroked her soft hair.

“You did well, Thiel.”

Cassius lightly held and released Thiel’s soft cheek.

The child giggled and hugged Alpheus even tighter.

Alpheus and Cassius left the room with Thiel.

As soon as the three of them left, the sound of machinery could be heard again, and the bookshelves closed on their own.

Alpheus looked at the blocked door again and pointed to the spine of the book he had pressed, as if reminding Thiel once again.

“Thiel, if you ever want to come back here in the future, you can come anytime.”

“But you said this is a place only for the family…”

“It’s a room for those who possess the power of light, before it became the secret chamber of the family. So it’s your room. You can come and go whenever you want.”

Alpheus gently stroked Thiel’s head. Thiel smiled and nodded.

“Yes!”

Thiel looked at the worn spine of the old book.

She already felt like she would grow to like that book.

That book was a grateful one that proved Thiel’s connection to Asterian’s bloodline…

There was a night when she worried and couldn’t sleep, afraid that she might not be part of Asterian’s bloodline.

But now, she felt like she could sleep peacefully.

Cassius, who was observing Thiel with a gentle smile, gently stroked her soft, curly hair.

Smooth strands of hair slipped through his fingers.

* * *

Thiel, Perdi, and Ludian sat side by side at a long dining table, eating blueberry pie.

The pie had a crispy crust that crumbled with each bite, and it was filled with sweet, syrupy blueberry filling and tender, juicy blueberry flesh that pleasantly filled the mouth. It was an excellent blueberry pie.

Thiel couldn’t help but exclaim while eating the pie.

There is such a food in the world… 

Every dish she ate in Asterian was always fresh and excellent.

However, the two brothers now ate a few pieces without much enthusiasm and put their forks down.

Their reaction was in stark contrast to Thiel, who was marveling and widening her mouth in awe.

“Thiel, is it delicious? Should I bring you more?”

Perdi wiped Thiel’s mouth with a napkin and asked.

Thiel glanced around, trying to gauge Lía’s reaction.

“But you shouldn’t eat too much…”

“No, Miss, Young Master, she can only have one pie. You should eat dinner later.”

“Then have this.”

Luthian cheerfully pushed his share of blueberry pie in front of Tiel.

He looked at Lía with a triumphant expression and said, “It’s okay since I’m not eating.”

“Ludian, that’s not what Lía meant. You fool,” Perdi sighed.

Thiel silently looked at the plate in front of Ludian and then pushed it back to him.

“Eat, Older Brother! It’s really delicious. I only need one.”

Thiel picked up a fork and brought a piece of blueberry pie to Ludian’s mouth.

Ah… Without even intending to eat it, my mouth opened as if I were the one eating.

“You’re giving it to me? Thiel!”

Ludian happily accepted it and took a bite. His mouth was covered in pie crumbs, but he didn’t mind.

While observing them quietly, Perdi tapped Thiel’s back of the hand and asked, “Thiel, what about me?”

“Oh, I’ll give you some too, Older brother!”

Thiel quickly stabbed a piece of pie that was already cut with a fork.

Perdi smiled, touching his chin as if finding it cute.

That’s when it happened.

“Don’t bother your younger sister. Perdi, Ludian.”

Cassius suddenly appeared and firmly pressed down on Perdi’s head, disheveling his neatly arranged hair.

“I wasn’t bothering her! Where do you see any signs of me bothering her?”

“Yeah, Father. We were just playing with Thiel.”

Ludian fumed, and Perdi added as he fixed his disheveled hair.

Cassius shrugged his shoulders, dismissing his two sons.

“Thiel.”

Then he looked down at his daughter, who was stuffing her mouth full of pie and chewing vigorously. Her chubby cheeks were puffed up.

After Thiel chewed and swallowed the pie messily, she smiled broadly.

“Mr. Cassius, hup. No, Dad…!”

“That’s right, daughter.”

Cassius gently wrapped his large hand around Thiel’s cheek and wiped away the pie crumbs with his thumb.

Thiel blinked.

“You must eat dinner. Snacks alone won’t do.”

“No worries, sir. I’ll definitely have dinner.”

“That’s good, you’re obedient. Eat a lot and rest well today. We need to go out tomorrow.”

“Go out?”

The one who asked wasn’t Thiel but Ludian.

Ludian, who was stealthily eating Perdi’s share of blueberry pie, tilted his head and asked.

“You’re taking Thiel out with us?”

“Yes. The results of the kinship test came out. Don’t worry, Thiel. I’ll accompany you.”

Thiel nodded vigorously. Now she wasn’t afraid of the results of the kinship test anymore.

‘Since the Sanctuary of Asterian recognized me.’

There was no way she wasn’t a descendant of Asterian.

The results of the kinship test were merely a formality. However, going to the temple made her a little apprehensive.

Thiel was still quite reserved, and besides Asterian and Nestian Manor, she had never been anywhere else.

But with Cassius accompanying her, she felt inexplicably reassured, so Thiel smiled and nodded without saying a word.

“I’ll go too.”

Perdi, who had neatly tied back his hair, stepped forward and put his hand on Thiel’s shoulder.

“Then I’ll go too. What if someone tries to take Thiel away?”

In Asterian, it was an unnecessary worry, but Cassius and Perdi didn’t point out that it was an unnecessary worry.

Cassius alternated his gaze between his two sons, then put his hand in his pocket and stood up.

“They won’t be pleased at the temple.”

It was permission. With those words, Cassius stroked Thiel’s head once again before leaving the room.

And not long after that, Thiel finished a plate of blueberry pie.