Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Tiel stretched out her front paw toward Olivier. Seizing the opportunity, Olivier picked up the baby snow leopard in her arms.

“Oh my gosh… so soft.”

“Just try dropping her.”

Ferdi warned in a languid voice, but the girl paid no mind. Her lovely, pale pink eyes were focused solely on the baby snow leopard in her embrace.

“Tiel, you like me too, don’t you? Hm? You really, really like your big sister, right?”

“Uuuung!”

Of course, I do! Tiel regretted not being able to say this out loud since she was in her beast form.

Every time Olivier burst into laughter, a cool breeze gently brushed against Tiel’s fur.

It feels so refreshing...

Having spent the entire day panting from the heat, the baby snow leopard could finally let out a satisfied purring sound.

“…Tiel, do you like Olivier?”

“That’s weird… That can’t be right. Her entire body is made of muscle. Hugging her should feel hard and uncomfortable…”

“Ludian, do you have a death wish?”

Olivier growled again. A pair of ashen wolf ears suddenly popped up on her head before vanishing just as quickly.

Because she had just realized she was holding Tiel in her arms.

However, even though Olivier was growling, Tiel neither flinched nor shrank away.

It was only natural—Olivier’s wind was gently and carefully caressing her.

She’s so gentle, I really like this…

Tiel purred contentedly in Olivier’s arms. Ferdi and Ludian were utterly shocked as they stared at her.

“You never made that sound when you were in my arms, Tiel.”

Oh no, did I? Tiel rolled her eyes playfully.

“You never even let me hold you!”

That was because Ludian’s embrace was even warmer than Ferdi’s. Tiel blinked, pretending not to hear her brothers’ complaints.

“Ahaha! Looks like she likes me way more than you two~! So cute! You’re just too cute. Tiel, do you want to come live with me? If you want, I’ll take the best room in the mansion and give it to you!”

“…Isn’t the best room in the mansion your uncle’s?”

“So what! Dad’s an adult, so he doesn’t need to use the best room. But Tiel’s still a baby, so she should have the very best room.”

Had her father, Stefano—the head of the Wolfgang family—heard this, he might have wept, lamenting how poorly he had raised his daughter.

Ferdi and Ludian shook their heads. Tiel, however, paid no attention to their chatter and continued purring in Olivier’s embrace.

At that moment, Ferdi spoke up with a serious expression.

“But really, why does Tiel like Olivier? She doesn’t like strangers.”

“Exactly. And there’s no way she’s comfortable being held like that. Just look at her position—it’s obvious Olivier has never held a baby before.”

“Hey, you know I can hear you, right?”

“We’re saying it loud enough so you can hear. We just don’t get it. I wish we could ask Tiel.”

Ferdi’s gaze landed on Tiel. In her beast form, they couldn’t communicate with her. Tiel also blinked in frustration.

How do I tell them that Olivier’s embrace feels cool?

Fortunately, she didn’t have to say anything. Olivier laughed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You really don’t know? It’s because my arms feel cool~.”

“Because it’s cool?”

“Duh! You dumb black leopards. She’s a snow leopard, obviously she’s used to cold places~.”

Olivier waved her hand, and a fresh breeze swirled through the room.

Ferdi’s neatly tied-back hair and Ludian’s bangs were blown in all directions.

To confirm Olivier’s words, Tiel eagerly nodded. Yes, yes, big sister Olivier is right!

“…Ah.”

Only then did Ferdi recall that the Asterian mansion was warmer compared to other estates.

“All this time… I didn’t know. Because Tiel never said anything.”

“I didn’t realize how much snow leopards suffered from the heat either—until I met Rowen Nestian~.”

At the mention of Rowen Nestian, Tiel’s eyes widened. Rowen?

Why is Rowen being brought up?

Olivier gently patted Tiel’s small back, looking exasperated.

“The other day, who was it…? Ugh, I can’t remember. Anyway, I met him at some tea party. He made such a big fuss about the place being unbearably hot. I thought he was just being dramatic, but now that I see Tiel, maybe he wasn’t exaggerating after all!”

Tiel nodded. Rowen had probably genuinely struggled with the heat.

Unlike Tiel, who was a half-blood of both black and snow leopards, Rowen was a pure snow leopard. His fur was twice as long and thick as hers.

So that mansion must have really been unbearably hot for him… Not that it excused his behavior.

“Tiel, if you were too hot, you should’ve told me.”

Ferdi rang the bell to summon a servant. The attendant swiftly entered and bowed his head.

"Do you need anything, sir?"

"Bring some ice cream."

"Kyaaah! Ice cream! Double the portion for me—double!"

"Give her only half. Tell her to go on a diet."

"You little—"

Ludian and Olivier immediately started bickering, unable to hold back for even a moment.

The servant, already accustomed to such scenes, muttered under his breath, "Four ice creams. More for Lady Olivier," before leaving the room.

Tiel, who had been exhausted from the heat, perked up at the mention of "ice cream," her golden eyes gleaming with anticipation.

***

Seated at his desk, Ian Dross pulled out a quill and ink. He stared at the blank parchment for a moment.

"Are you writing a letter?"

Cedric asked gently. Ian shook his head.

"I'm sending a message to Madam Estella. Is the carrier pigeon ready?"

"Yes. It's been fed and watered sufficiently, so it will deliver the letter without issue."

Nodding at Cedric’s reply, Ian began writing smoothly across the parchment.

In short, the letter requested that Estella craft clothing for a girl he had recently come to know.

Cedric, glancing at Ian's writing, widened his eyes in surprise.

"Your Highness… are you planning to give Lady Tiel clothes made by Estella?"

"Yes. I promised her a gift."

"But, Your Highness…"

Cedric hesitated, looking troubled.

Estella was renowned for making clothes exclusively for royalty and nobility of the highest rank. No amount of money could persuade her to sew for anyone outside of imperial or royal bloodlines.

Wearing Estella’s clothes meant—

"Your Highness, I believe this may not be wise. Especially now, when candidates for the Crown Princess are being selected…"

"What does that have to do with anything? If I want to give a gift, I will."

Ian dismissed Cedric’s concerns without a second thought.

Of course, he was well aware of the kind of rumors that might spread if he gifted Estella’s dress to Tiel at this particular time.

But.

"Then… how about celebrating your birthday at the Asterian estate? Your brothers and your father would be happy too."

Tiel was the first person to ever suggest such a thing to Ian.

Naturally so. Who in the empire would ever dare to tell the Crown Prince, "Why don’t you celebrate your birthday at my house?"

Only Tiel could make such a suggestion.

And Ian… had welcomed it.

No matter how grand the banquets, his loneliness was never filled. The more extravagant the celebration, the more he felt isolated and insignificant.

No one truly celebrated him. No one sincerely wished to be by his side.

That was why he had canceled this year’s birthday banquet.

"You want to cancel your birthday banquet?"

"Yes."@@novelbin@@

Fortunately, the timing coincided with Luminaria, and the Emperor accepted Ian's suggestion that the banquet be omitted.

Ian thought that was enough. Birthdays didn’t matter to him.

But then, a girl—one who didn’t even know her own birthdate, who had never once been celebrated on her birthday—had said:

"It’ll be me, you, Ferdi, Ludian… and—"

She was worried about him.

The moment Ian held Tiel’s hand, he felt the crushing weight of loneliness inside him begin to melt away.

So, if there was anything he could do for her…

"Tiel needs a dress."

Then he would give her everything within his power.

This time, it just happened to be a dress.

Ian carefully folded the dried letter, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to Cedric.

Then, he pulled out another sheet of parchment.

This time, he would write a letter.

His quill moved gracefully across the page, leaving behind delicate strokes of ink.