Previously
Thiel is overwhelmed by the luxury of the Astrian palace and fears her father, Freynide Celeste Astrian, will hate her for her mother's death. Ian and Cedric comfort her in the drawing room, where she tastes chocolate cake for the first time.
Cassius was at a total loss.
‘A storehouse? A barn?’
He stared down at the small child trembling before him.
Just where on earth had this little thing been living?
Even upon meeting her father, she didn't blame him or demand anything; instead, she merely pleaded that she would be fine sleeping in a barn or a storehouse.
Cassius could not fathom what could have happened to his little daughter to make her utter such words.
Moreover, the expression on her face as she spoke looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
He had thought she was dead, yet she was alive.
After Lena had disappeared while pregnant, Cassius had searched all across the empire for her, yet he had failed to catch even a glimpse of the hem of her skirt.
He had scoured every orphanage in the empire and combed through rosters of children dozens of times, day and night, just wanting to know whether their child was dead or alive.
All along, he had harbored a faint hope that the child might still be living.
Then, several years later, the Nestian family officially announced Lena's death.
The Nestians stated that Lena Nestian had passed away in the very year she disappeared, having given birth to a child who died alongside her.
The Leopard clan had been forced to hold a funeral for Lena and the deceased child without even having Lena's body returned to them.
So Cassius and everyone else believed the child was dead—yet here she was before his eyes, alive.
Cassius felt utterly helpless, racked with agony over not having done anything to bring his child home.
At the same time, overwhelming guilt toward his daughter gnawed at him, for he had never once held her since the day she was born.
Unconsciously, he reached out a hand toward his child.
Ever since losing Lena, Cassius's dreams had always been of her and their daughter, their faces perpetually blurred and indistinct.
He had suffered hallucinations in which he heard Lena's voice calling out to him hundreds of times.
Yet the child standing before him now was truly Lena's daughter, his living daughter, not a dream or a hallucination.
Even so, the child squeezed her eyes tightly shut the moment Cassius reached his hand toward her.
He wondered if she thought he was going to strike her.
The small body trembled beneath Cassius's hovering hand.
Unable to even fathom how deeply wounded the child was, he slowly withdrew his hand.
Only then did she slowly open her eyes and take a step back toward Ian's side, shrinking away from Cassius.
There were so many things he wanted to ask her.
Where had she been, and how had she been doing?
Had she eaten well, and Lena… how had it all happened?
However, judging by the child's fragile state, Cassius decided to give her some time.
His expression grew complicated. He glanced toward the closed drawing-room doors and called out.
At his call, the two maids stationed outside entered the drawing room and bowed.
One maid had light brown hair while the other had reddish-brown hair, both bearing tidy appearances.
He paused for a moment before continuing.
Cassius looked toward Thiel and asked, as though seeking her understanding.
Thiel glanced briefly at Ian and Cedric, then nodded slowly.
The maid standing to Cassius's right smiled gently and offered her hand to Thiel.
The little girl took the maid's hand and walked out of the room with small, cautious steps.
‘Maybe he's furious.’
Thiel thought to herself as she walked along, holding the maid's hand.
The moment Cassius had spoken, his expression had hardened.
He had not given any answer about whether she could stay in Astrian.
Neither positive nor negative.
Naturally, Thiel took Cassius's silence as rejection.
So as she walked hand in hand with the maid, she could not raise her head, her eyes brimming with tears.
‘…What should I do now?’
‘He hates me, and there's no way he will give me enough money to leave and live on.’
If she were chased out of here, she would be cast onto the streets with nothing to her name.
Thiel looked down at the dress she was wearing.
It had been bought for her by Ian and Cedric… Perhaps she would have to sell it just to pay for meals.
At that thought, guilt toward Ian and Cedric welled up, and tears began to spill over once more.
Meanwhile, Thiel and the maids arrived at a small room right next to the kitchen.
Because it was situated right beside the kitchen, the scent of freshly baked bread drifted warmly through the air.
The maid guided Thiel toward a lovely, small cream-colored sofa.
Only then did the maid notice the little girl's tear-streaked face, her eyes widening in surprise.
The maid seemed to assume Thiel was crying because she had been separated from her father.
Thiel shook her head vigorously.
Once the tears started falling, Thiel could not hold them back.
Looking at Thiel with deep concern, the maid said gently.
Thiel wanted to stop her, but the kind maid had already hurried out of the room.
Before long, the maid returned with a basin of water.
After politely asking Thiel's permission, she washed the child's face with gentle hands.
She finished by dabbing and wiping the small face clean with a soft towel.
Around that time, the maid named Leah brought in a tray of biscuits and bread from the kitchen.
Thiel had missed out on finishing her cake earlier because of the commotion when Cassius arrived.
An embarrassing rumble sounded from Thiel's stomach, and she clutched her belly in fluster.
She tried to make an excuse, but no good explanation came to mind.
The maids smiled warmly as though they completely understood, then set out the treats one by one on the small tea table before the sofa.
The maid placed a fork in Thiel's hand.
Only then did Thiel nod slowly.
If she was going to be kicked out anyway, it was best to eat as much as she could.
Once she was cast out of Astrian, there was no telling when she would ever taste warm food again.
‘Warm food…’
That wasn't even the worst of it. If she were thrown out, she might have to scavenge through street trash cans just to survive.
‘…So I must eat as much as possible so I don't starve.’
Thiel clutched the fork with all five fingers.
She had rarely used a fork in Nestian, but she knew how after watching Rowen use one.
Thiel pierced the corner of her cake with the fork and brought it to her mouth.
The bittersweet taste of chocolate and the luscious whipped cream melted across her tongue, spreading through her mouth.
Thiel's eyes went wide.
She then began frantically shoveling the cake into her mouth.
At that very moment, Ian was explaining to Cassius how he had come across Thiel.
She was a pitiable child who had been so terrified of her grandfather that she had run away.
She had been covered in scars, and when she fled and they came searching for her, they had merely referred to her as a servant.
Cedric chimed in.
Cassius, who had been listening in silence, clenched his jaw.
The fury on his face was so intense he could barely contain it.
Just what on earth had they done to that little child?
Of course, he could guess.
Thiel was Lena Nestian's daughter.
And the reason behind hiding her child…
Was that the Nestian and Astrian families had been sworn enemies for generations.
A snow leopard with the power of ice, and a fiery black panther.
On the day the heirs ascended to become family heads, both families would gather and clash for supremacy; the head who proved stronger would claim leadership over the entire leopard clan.
It was a rule handed down through generations.
And for six generations, the Astrian family had held the seat of the clan's chieftain.
Because of this, the Nestians' influence waned day by day, until they had long since been reduced to a mere duchy.
The clan chieftain held dominion over everything belonging to the leopard clan.
The Duchy of Ewald, as well as the Duchy of Nestian, all fell beneath Astrian's sway.
Thus, so long as this tradition endured, the Nestians had no choice but to despise Astrian and keep a watchful eye on them.
For ice could practically never overcome fire.
Yet then, Lena Nestian had been born, possessing immense freezing abilities.
Lena Nestian.
Her power had been far greater than that of Astrian's strongest heir, Cassius Astrian.
Everyone had believed that if Lena and Cassius vied for supremacy, Nestian would finally become the chieftain of the leopard clan.
And that truly would have come to pass had Lena not refused the position of family head.
‘I am not suited to lead the Nestian family.’
For reasons of her own, Lena had declined the headship of Nestian, choosing instead to become Cassius Astrian's wife.
Because of Lena's choice, the Nestian family lost their strongest heir—the one destined to become head of the family and lead the leopard clan.
Cornelia Nestian, the current head, had only taken the position because she was Lena's sister, but her abilities were weak and lacking, making her unfit to lead.
That was why they had concealed the child.
Because she was Lena's daughter.
They believed the child would surely inherit her mother's extraordinary powers, so they had hidden her away.
If the child awakened her abilities, Nestian could reclaim leadership over the leopard clan.
They had sought to exploit an innocent child in the political machinations of adults.
Cassius felt a searing surge of hatred and contempt for Sinder.
Just then, a knock broke the silence at the drawing-room door.
Cassius gave permission to enter.
The person who stepped inside was the maid who had escorted Thiel away earlier.
She looked frantic, sweat beading on her forehead.
The maid blurted out in haste.
Speaking of the young lady brought by the guests, that could only be Thiel.
At the maid's words, all three men shot up from their seats.