Previously
Duke Alvinus Ewald Astrian rushes home to see his granddaughter, feeling deep emotion upon seeing her for the first time. Thiel wakes from a nightmare and, misinterpreting the Duke's angry vows to kill Sinder as a threat against herself, transforms into a snow leopard cub and flees to the cellar.
After unleashing her power, Thiel lost consciousness and collapsed into Cassius’s arms, and he caught her.
He laid the little girl carefully onto the bed prepared for her, then immediately ordered the Astrian family physician summoned.
The maids, drenched in sweat after scouring every corner of the mansion for Thiel, bowed their heads and left the room.
With their departure, absolute silence fell over the room.
After a short sigh, Cassius hesitated for a moment, then soon placed his large hand under the little girl’s nose.
The little girl’s chest rose and fell rhythmically. He softly closed and opened his eyes in relief after feeling the faint breath against the tips of his fingers.
Yet the child, finally back in his arms, breathed so weakly it seemed ready to fade once more, only deepening Cassius’s anxiety.
He stroked her tear-stained cheeks, drawing what solace he could from the quiet sound of her breathing.
Nestian—just what had they done to this tiny child in that rotten place?
Remembering the child stammering those words with her small, emaciated frame made the blood in his veins turn to ice.
At the same time, a vast, unspeakable fury surged from deep within him.
It stemmed from two reasons:
The first was fury at himself—at Cassius, who hadn't even known whether his daughter was dead or alive until she had fallen into such a state.
And the second was fury at those who had driven his child to this point.
I haven't verified precisely how Nestian treated the child, but….
From what the little girl had just said, it was clear that Thiel had never manifested her power at Nestian.
And Sinder Nestian was an excessively ambitious man.
Therefore, Sinder could never have tolerated or accepted the fact that the daughter of Lena and Cassius was unable to display any power. But…
Cassius recalled what had happened to Thiel in the cellar just moments ago.
She had opened her tiny palms to show him.
The light that had taken the shape of a fish, then a tiger, before scattering into a gust of wind, had grown so massive it seemed ready to swallow the little child.
Just then, the tightly shut door swung open.
A moment later, Alvinus, Lord of Astrian, burst inside, heedless of his standing or anything else.
It was already the second time today.
Looking as though he had endless questions for Cassius, the Duke rushed straight toward Thiel, who lay on the bed.
Lying upon the massive bed, his granddaughter looked so tiny and frail…
She was so small that the servants had not even been able to find her.
Meanwhile, Cassius kept his gaze fixed on Thiel’s face.
The sinking dread that had seized his heart upon hearing she had vanished melted away like snow the moment he saw Thiel’s little face.
When he had first heard the child was gone, he had been so overwhelmed with dread that he thought he had lost his granddaughter all over again.
Alvinus reached toward Thiel without thinking. Before his fingertips could touch her cheek, Cassius spoke up.
He hesitated briefly, then added,
At his son’s firm tone, Alvinus looked back at his precious granddaughter with a mournful gaze.
He longed to look at her just a little longer, but not wanting to wake the sleeping child, he gave a quiet nod.
Cassius sent for Leah, the maid who had looked after Thiel when she first arrived at the mansion.
Shy as she was, it was far better to have her cared for by someone she had already met before assigning her a personal maid.
Shortly after, Leah, the first one to attend to Thiel, hurried into the room.
She had been searching the estate for Thiel as well, and was drenched in sweat.
Cassius gestured toward Thiel, who was sleeping peacefully, and said,
Leah nodded, assuring him she would not leave the young lady’s side for an instant.
Cassius and Alvinus looked once more at Thiel’s face, then slipped out of the room where the child lay asleep.
Thiel blinked her sleepy eyes at the gentle touch rocking her.
She wanted to sleep just a little longer.
As she rolled over, her soft cheek pressed into the pillow, and her eyelids drifted open on their own.
Yet everything before her was a blur.
She could not see clearly, as though a translucent film covered her eyes, and a heavy languor weighed down upon her.
Wondering what was wrong, Thiel cautiously pushed herself up.
Then she heard an unfamiliar voice.
"…!!!!"
Startled by the voice she did not know, Thiel’s eyes darted around until she met the gaze of a strange man sitting beside her bed. Panicking, she ducked back beneath the soft blanket.
The sudden shock sent her heart pounding, completely jarring her from her sleep.
‘Who is that person?’
Thiel trembled beneath the blanket, struggling to figure out who it could be.
More than that,
‘Why am I here…?’
Certain that the Astrians despised her, she had fled immediately.
Curling up beneath the blanket, Thiel pieced through her hazy memories.
Before long, she remembered the conversation she had overheard between Cassius and Alvinus, right before she had run down to the cellar in tears.
The problem came after that.
Thiel’s thoughts ground to a halt as the memory finally came rushing back.
A moment later, she poked her head out from beneath the blanket, round eyes wide with shock.
Then, clearly, she had seen it.
‘A fish in the palm of my hand…’
As Thiel stared at her palm, she felt a large, warm hand rest upon her shoulder.
Startled, she snapped her head up.
"!"
The hand belonged to Cassius.
Forgetting entirely that she had been staring at her hand, Thiel instinctively curled into herself, her eyes darting away in fear.
Thiel reacted that way not only out of fear of Cassius, but also because no one had ever addressed her as “my little one” with such tender affection.
…No, perhaps she had heard it before…
At that moment, Thiel’s ears perked up as she recalled Cassius’s voice, speaking to her with gentle warmth down in the cellar.
Though she had clearly been terrified in the cellar, she still distinctly remembered everything that had happened: Cassius’s warm tone, and the relief she felt in his arms.
‘…Strange. I thought he hated me so much…’
Besides, hadn’t he said in the hallway that he had to kill me right away?
Thiel trembled at the memory of the Duke’s fury.
Yes, he had definitely said that.
That was why Thiel had run away—she didn’t want to die.
‘I don’t want to die. I want to live.’
And yet…
Cassius felt relieved at the sight. He had worried the child might panic again and refuse treatment.
He spoke gently, stroking the child’s hair with care.
At Cassius’s words, Thiel turned her head cautiously and looked toward Kid.
A middle-aged man in a white coat was gazing at Thiel with a wistful smile.
Thiel stared at him for a moment.
Given the atmosphere, Thiel felt she ought to say something to Kid, but she couldn’t think of what to say.
Besides…
Thiel blinked.