The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

Episode 76

A woman draped in a worn robe naturally concealed herself within the darkness.

No, it would be more accurate to say that the darkness consumed her rather than her merely hiding within it.

The shadows slowly swallowed her whole, and once again, she stepped into the boundless void.

Her vacant eyes absorbed the pitch-black emptiness, taking it all in as if they saw everything…

[You have returned?]

A bone-chillingly cold voice resonated from within the darkness.

The voice cracked and splintered as it spoke, so faint and unclear that one had to strain to catch the words.

The woman nodded silently.

The shadows, seemingly satisfied, let out a long, deep chuckle and guided their loyal servant further into the abyss.

[Yes, well done…]

The moment the voice concluded, an even deeper darkness yawned wide, its gaping maw slowly devouring her steps.

The woman stood still, unmoving.

Until she was completely swallowed by a void as endless as an infernal chasm.

…And so, her faded golden hair briefly shimmered outside the shadows before vanishing once more.

* * *

Iandros quickly announced that he needed to report this to the emperor and promptly returned to the imperial palace by carriage.

Meanwhile, the children were gathered cozily in Thiel’s room inside the mansion.

“Ugh, when will this festival finally be over?”

“Why? You were looking forward to it all along.”

“I was, but now that I think Thiel might be in danger, I don’t care about the festival or anything else—I just want to go home!”

Olivia shouted as she planted a kiss on Thiel’s cheek with a loud smack.

Perdi, horrified by Olivia’s action, quickly scooped Thiel up into his arms while Lucian rubbed Thiel’s soft cheek with his sleeve.

Thiel’s cheek squished and flattened in the direction Lucian was wiping.

“What are you doing? That’s gross!”

Perdi’s voice rose in disgust, one of the rare moments his composure broke.

“Thiel, you shouldn’t just sit there. I told you to say no if you don’t like it.”

“What? Oh, uh…”

Thiel looked up at Perdi with her large, round eyes.

“But… it happens often.”

“Often? When else has this happened?”

Lucian asked in shock.

Olivia, laughing mischievously, bent her index finger and poked Thiel’s cheek in an annoying manner.

“And I like it, too.”

“What? You don’t hate it? Then you should—wait, what?”

Lucian’s expression hardened at Thiel’s words. Both brothers turned their heads toward Thiel simultaneously.

“What do you mean, you like it?”

“That?”

“Uh, yes. Sister Olivia is kind. She kisses me every day, pats my head, and treats me nicely…”

Thiel spoke slowly, closing and opening her eyes with a pleased expression.

Lucian and Perdi, watching her, could only grab the back of their necks in frustration.

“When did she start doing such things to Thiel?”

“Heh, I did it when you weren’t looking.”

Olivia rolled around on the bed, her eyes sparkling with adoration as she looked at Thiel.

Thiel, unconcerned by her brothers or sister’s antics, pulled another piece of candy from her pouch. It was a small, round sugar-coated candy that melted in her mouth within ten minutes.

While the three children argued noisily, Thiel contentedly savored her candy.

Knock, knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

All of them paused and turned to look at the door at the same time.

“Come in.”

At Perdi’s command, the door creaked open, and a maid stepped in, bowing her head politely.

“What is it?”

“The head of the household has requested that everyone stay at the mansion tonight for dinner together.”

“A family dinner? All of a sudden?”

Thiel narrowed her eyes at the maid’s words. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen her grandfather properly since arriving at the Luminari festival.

Cassius had stayed close to Thiel, but Alpheus had been so busy that he barely stopped moving throughout the festival.

‘Well, I’ll get to see Grandfather at dinner.’

At the thought of seeing her grandfather after a long time, a cautious smile spread across Thiel’s lips.

However, the happiness seemed to be hers alone.

“What? How annoying!”

Olivia shouted, her eyes narrowing, and Lucian chimed in.

“Exactly. I wasn’t planning to go anywhere until dinner, but now it feels like I should go out just because he told us not to.”

Thiel held back her urge to point out that her brother simply didn’t want to obey their grandfather.

“Fine, you can go now.”

In the midst of the chaos, only Perdi maintained the dignity of the heir to the Asterian family. The maid bowed and quickly left the room.

“Do you think Grandfather has something to say?”

Thiel asked cautiously.

Even without Alpheus’s specific instruction, the children would have gathered at the Asterian mansion for dinner.

But given his explicit command not to go out, it was clear that Alpheus intended to address them personally.

Perdi seemed to share the same thought as he patted Thiel’s head and nodded.

“Looks that way. Who did you get your smarts from, little sister?”

Thiel smiled brightly at Perdi’s words. As he ruffled her hair, Perdi cast a disdainful glance at Olivia and Lucian, who were still squabbling.

“Unlike your older siblings, who act nothing like their age.”

“…”

Thiel wanted to defend the two but gave up after seeing them holding pillows and fighting like bulls. It was too chaotic to justify.

Perdi, sensing that it might be too much for Thiel to witness, gently covered her eyes and asked cautiously.

“By the way, Thiel, there’ll be fireworks tomorrow. Do you want to see them?”

“…Fireworks?”

Thiel blinked.

What are fireworks? She had never heard of them, let alone seen them.

After a moment of deep thought, she tentatively touched Perdi’s fingertips with her own.

“Fire…?”

“…”

Then, pointing at Olivia and Lucian’s brawl, she added, “…works?”

Perdi’s expression twisted instantly.

Looking between his innocent little sister and the two still fighting, he grabbed a nearby doll and hurled it.

Thud!

The doll smacked Lucian squarely in the face.

“Knock it off and sit down, or I won’t take you to see the fireworks with Thiel.”

At his words, Olivia and Lucian immediately settled down. They approached Thiel, their eyes sparkling as if the fight had never happened.

“Thiel! Are you going to see the fireworks?”

“That sounds fun! You’ve never seen them, have you? This is your first festival, right?”

“Uh… but… what are fireworks?”

Perdi’s mouth opened and closed several times as if to explain, but he stopped. Thiel’s earlier innocent description of fire and chaos had left him too bewildered.

Rubbing his temples, Perdi glared at Lucian and Olivia before regaining his composure. He stroked Thiel’s head and smiled.

“Fireworks are when you shoot explosives into the sky.”

“Explosives… into the sky? Why would you do that?”

Thiel’s eyes widened.

Shooting explosives into the sky? Could it be a method to hunt all the birds?

Seeing her alarmed expression, Perdi realized she misunderstood. He laughed and stepped back slightly.

“Well, watch closely, Thiel.”

With a flick of his finger, a small flame sparked to life. It was tiny and harmless.

Perdi held Thiel’s hand and led her to the window. Opening it, he shot the flame into the sky. It burst with a light *pop*, scattering embers across the garden.

“…”

“Hmm?”

Thiel leaned out the window and looked down.

The sparks from the fireworks had landed in the garden, setting the shrubs on fire.

Fwoosh!

“Ack! What’s going on? This is absurd!”

The gardener, who had been tending to the plants, shrieked and ran to fetch water.

“…”

“Uh… Is that a firework?”

Thiel alternated her gaze between the blazing bushes and the frantic gardener below.

Perdi smiled faintly.

“Let’s close the window, Thiel.”

“…”

“We probably don’t need to see the fireworks, do we?”