Previously
Thiel experiences the luxury of the Astrian household, tasting pudding for the first time and bonding with Leah, who promises to apply as her personal maid. Leah moves Thiel into a guest room belonging to Olivia, noting that a grander room is being prepared by Cassius's orders.
In an instant, silence fell over the entire study.
Not a single sound stirred the room save for the ticking of the clock hand and the soft clatter of Cassius turning the necklace in his hand.
It was Alvinus who broke the silence first.
He turned to his son and asked in astonishment.
Cassius nodded without hesitation.
The cellar where he had found Thiel had been so dark and silent that missing it would have been impossible.
The faint light that had bloomed in her small hands.
The light that took the shape of a fish, then a leopard, before scattering into the wind, shining so brilliantly it seemed about to swallow the child whole.
It had lasted only a moment, but the immense glow that illuminated the entire basement was undoubtedly the child’s power.
At Cassius’s answer, Alvinus murmured in a low voice laden with disbelief.
In this Crassion Empire, a legend had been handed down from ancient times.
It told of the ‘Child of Light’ who bore the Power of Light and held the protection of Lucet, King of Light.
The legend was divided into two parts.
The first spoke of the Child of Light who would make the sun rise in a land where morning never broke.
The other spoke of the Child of Light who would vanquish the darkness and preserve the balance between light and shadow.
The era when everyone believed in that legend had long since passed.
Now, so few remembered it that it had been almost entirely forgotten.
After all, no one believed the ‘Power of Light’ spoken of in myth was anything more than a fairy tale.
Yet his granddaughter had manifested that very light.
Displaying such power was no trivial matter to be taken lightly.
‘Troublesome.’
Since the Power of Light was the stuff of legend, word spreading that its wielder had emerged meant that not only the Nestian family, but the imperial house and the temple as well, would surely try to seize Thiel.
Even so, that was not what weighed on Alvinus and Cassius.
For they were Astrian.
They were the sole duchy guarding the empire, the family blessed with the flame—the mightiest among all known powers.
Therefore, no one would dare lay a hand on Astrian, whether Thiel possessed the Power of Light or not.
Alvinus was not troubled by the prospect of rumors spreading that Thiel had shown the Power of Light. There was something far more significant.
There was a hidden lore intertwined with the legend of the Child of Light, known only to the Leopard Clan.
‘Both Astrian and Nestian can reclaim their original power through the Power of Light.’
As an age arrived where the Power of Light was dismissed as a preposterous myth, barely anyone spoke of it.
Those privy to this hidden legend were solely the Nestian and Astrian families and their successors, Cassius included.
Alvinus muttered under his breath, closing his eyes as though he needed a moment to think.
If that were true, could this child lift the curse weighing upon the Astrian family?
If only…
Catching the drift of Alvinus’s thoughts, Cassius let out a sigh and spoke.
"…"
He continued, “A legend is merely a legend, Father.”
His tone was uncompromising, making it clear he would permit no one to load their burdens onto Thiel.
Not even his own father, the master of the Astrian family, Alvinus Ewald Astrian.
Alvinus gave a slow nod and tilted his teacup.
A legend was merely a legend…
Inside the study of Sinder Nestian, the head of the Nestian family.
Sinder’s roar rang out in fury, his face and eyes flushed with rage.
Sinder glared at the Knight Commander, who had just reported that Thiel was still nowhere to be found, and ground his teeth at the thought of his granddaughter vanishing without his knowledge.
He would teach her a lesson harsh enough to ensure she never dared try this again.
Right after Thiel disappeared, Sinder had first thrown the maids who failed to watch her into the dungeons.
Yet that hardly cooled his temper, so he went on to threaten Rowen’s nanny—the last person to see Thiel that day—with docked wages and dismissal if Thiel were not found.
Sinder had always dealt with Thiel easily enough in such matters before, but this time was different.
‘If Astrian learns she is alive…’
If the Astrian family discovered that Nestian had kept Thiel hidden, they would never stand idly by.
Thiel was Lena’s daughter, but at the same time, she was the daughter of Cassius Celeste Astrian.
He had to hurry and track her down before the Astrian family caught wind of her existence!
Sinder pressed his forehead and snapped his eyes open, seething with anger at the incompetence of the knights who still had not found Thiel.
In that moment, the image of Thiel’s mother, Lena, overlapped with the vision of Thiel vanishing.
Years ago, Lena had suddenly vanished after falling for that scoundrel Cassius Celeste Astrian, declaring she would marry him.
She had played the docile, obedient daughter, only to vanish into thin air without a trace, just like Lena.
If she took after her mother so much, why had she not inherited her freezing abilities?
Of all things, why did she have to inherit that instead!
As if blind to the trembling Nestian Knight Commander before him, Sinder was lost in thought for a moment.
‘Why on earth haven’t I been able to find her yet?’
A full week had already passed since Thiel vanished. Every knight and servant in Nestian had combed through the entire estate, yet…
‘Forgive me, my lord. We could not find her.’
‘We still have not found her, my lord.’
‘There is no trace of her in the annex either…’
They had failed to find Thiel anywhere.
For an entire week, Sinder had been unable to eat or relieve himself in peace.
If she were hiding on the estate grounds, some trace of her ought to have turned up.
‘Yet there is not a single trace.’
Which meant Thiel might have escaped the estate altogether.
Sinder exhaled in frustration and bit his tongue.
Thinking that he should have dealt with her when he had the chance, he continually regretted letting that opportunity slip.
Fortunately, Thiel was only a seven-year-old child, and the Nestian estate was surrounded by snowy fields impassable on foot even for grown adults.
Therefore…
At Sinder’s command, the Knight Commander, who had been standing with an uneasy look on his face, gave a curt reply and hurried out of the study.
Meanwhile, Sinder stood by the window overlooking the snowbound fields, staring out at the expanse.
If she had left the estate, she was surely dead by now.
The snowfields of Nestian were so vast and unforgiving that even adult snow leopards would lose their way and freeze to death.
Not to mention Thiel, who was barely seven years old; being half black panther and half snow leopard, she lacked thick fur and could never endure the cold.
So most likely…
Sinder gazed upon the snowfield with a cold, pitiless look, muttering in a casual tone that bordered on pleased.
There was not the slightest hint of regret or grief in his voice.
‘Good. This is better.’
He could not bring himself to murder someone of his own bloodline with his own hands, yet neither could he send her back to Astrian.
If she had died all on her own, that was all the better.
By order of Sinder Nestian, the Nestian knights, who had been scouring every inch of the estate, expanded their search outward into the snowfields beyond.
The order given to them was: “If she is dead, find her corpse and bring it back.”
And…
“If she is alive, kill her on the spot.”
The knights commanded to slaughter a seven-year-old child looked back toward the Nestian manor as though binding themselves to the vow.
And across the study window of the master of Nestian, the blue velvet curtain was drawn shut.