The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family-Chapter 106

"Then, because of that fight... is that why morning no longer comes to Arcadia?"

"When Orfeo withdrew from Arcadia, he placed a terrible curse on it. A curse that will make it so that morning will never come again..."

"Why in the Everard territory...? Didn't you say there were people who believed in Orfeo in Everard?"

"Because that was the only land where Orfeo could freely use his power... There were many reasons why Everard was wiped out, but the biggest reason was probably..."

"Because of that incident..."

Clemence nodded at Tiel's words and closed the book.

"Is there anything else you want to tell us?"

Ian asked. Clemence seemed to hesitate for a moment, then tilted her head slightly and responded.

"Since you haven’t told me what exactly you want to know, I’m not sure what I should tell you... It might be better for you to look for it yourself."

Clemence pointed to the bookshelf.

"This library has a variety of old books. If you look through them, you might find more information about Arcadia."

"I'll guide you and explain anything else you might need."

Clemence lightly shook the lantern.

"Would anyone like a lantern?"

"We don't need a lantern! We have Tiel..."

"Don't use your little sister as a lantern."

Ludian, who was about to lift Tiel, let out a groan after getting smacked on the back of the head by Ferdie.

Tiel, who had briefly been off the ground, asked Clemence.

"If I’m careful when using my ability, will it be okay? I won’t use it to the point where the book will get damaged...!"

In truth, Tiel’s ability was the light made from the warmest energy in the world, and even if she shone it strongly for a long time, the book wouldn’t get damaged. But the children didn’t know that.

Clemence, who had been thinking for a moment, lightly nodded.

"As long as it’s about the brightness of this lantern, you can use it as much as you like."

"Yes, with the brightness of a lantern..."

Tiel waved her hand. Small fish, about five or six, appeared instantly from her fingertips.

The fish swam around her fingers, as if chasing food, but their light was faint compared to the fish Tiel usually summoned.

That was because Tiel was deliberately calling them out more faintly and softly.

"Now, go."

As the child whispered, the little fish swam through the air and stopped near the other children’s hands.

When they held books, the light was just bright enough to illuminate the book pages adequately.

"Tiel! When did your ability improve so much? My little sister is so smart~!"

Olivia looked at the fish swimming around her hand with affection.

"It’s really hard to control an ability like that... My little sister is so clever."

Ferdie gently patted Tiel's head. Tiel squirmed at her older siblings' embarrassing compliments.

Every time she was praised, it felt like fish were swimming inside her belly... The child spoke carefully.

"I practiced little by little on my own... Is this okay, Clemence?"

"Of course, it’s excellent. Feel free to browse... You might find something you want."

"Iris said that Clemence would tell us everything, but it seems we have to find it ourselves."

Ian grumbled, pulling out a book nearby.

The fish swimming near Ian swam to the book and illuminated the pages. Ian lightly tapped the fish. The fish seemed to enjoy it, spinning around in place.

"I’m not good at organizing and explaining things... It’s better if you look around and if you have any questions, I’ll answer them as best as I can..."

Clemence spoke apologetically. The children sat down without any complaints and flipped through the pages of the books.

Ludian was flipping the pages roughly when Ferdie scolded him. Olivia flipped a few pages but then started playing with the fish.

Only Clemence, Ian, Ferdie, and Tiel were carefully examining the books, but Tiel still couldn’t read, so she had to look at the pictures.

‘Maybe I can find the picture from the book Clemence showed earlier?’

If she found the book with the ominous shape drawn in it, she could pass it to Ferdie or Ian to read... With that thought, Tiel closed the book with pictures of birds and reached for another book.

‘What’s this?’

Tiel picked up the book and examined its cover closely. There wasn’t much depicted on it. However, it seemed to be very old as it smelled of dust. Moreover, she had to handle it carefully or the pages might tear.

Tiel carefully turned the pages and, upon seeing a familiar drawing, her eyes widened.

‘This...!’

The page depicted a girl using what appeared to be a dimensional rift.

Tiel quickly turned more pages, but the next page had something else drawn. The dimensional rift-like drawing was only on that one page.

Not closing the book, Tiel carefully walked over to Ian.

"Ian, Ian."

Worried she might disturb the others, Tiel lowered her voice and whispered, standing on her tiptoes.

"Yes?"

Ian glanced at Tiel and bent down slightly to help her whisper in his ear.

"Please take a look at this... I can’t read the words, but you can, right?"

Tiel held out the book to Ian. Ian naturally took the book from her hands.

His arms were numb from holding the heavy book for so long. Tiel secretly rubbed her arm. Fortunately, since the library wasn’t very bright, no one saw her rubbing her arm.

"This..."

Ian, who had been examining the book, quickly walked over to Clemence.

"Clemence."

"Yes, Your Highness. What is it?"

"This book... I’d like to borrow it. If you need anything in return, I’ll make sure to give it."

Clemence looked at the book Ian was holding and, after a moment of thought, made a hum sound.

"I’ll have to ask my mother, but it should be fine. She’s promised to help you, so she’ll probably agree... But just to be sure, I’ll ask. Could you give it to me?"

"Alright, thank you."

Ian handed the book to Clemence. Tiel, who had been silently watching, asked Ian.

"Is there something important written in it?"

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"It’s not that, but... there aren’t any records like that in the Imperial Palace. I plan to look over it more thoroughly once we get back."

Ian kept his gaze fixed on the book in Clemence's hands as he spoke.

Ian's ability was a cursed one that passed down through the royal bloodline. He had assumed that all records related to dimensional rifts would be in the Imperial Palace.

After investigating all the records there, he hadn’t found anything useful.

‘What an unexpected find...’

Unexpectedly, he had found the record in Arne. Perhaps it was due to the previous head of the Arne family, who enjoyed collecting records. Either way, it wasn’t a bad thing for Ian.

Tiel looked up at Ian.

"Yes, can I not ask what it’s about?"

"It’s not that you can’t, but there are parts I can’t answer right now. I’ll check it and let you know later."

Ian lightly poked Tiel's cheek. Tiel nodded.

Ian didn’t lie, so if Ian said he would tell her later, that meant he truly intended to do so... Tiel decided not to press him.

***

The children left the library without any major findings. There hadn’t been as much material about Arcadia as they had hoped.

Of course, Arne had the most records about the land, but most of the records had long been lost, and even Arne’s remaining records weren’t many.

In the end, they spent time without any real gains. It was soon lunchtime.

The children followed Clemence to the Arne dining hall. It was their first meal in Arne. As Tiel stepped into the dining hall, her eyes widened.

Unlike the large, grand, and well-organized dining hall in Asterian, the one in Arne had a very... warm atmosphere. Was it because the ceiling was made of glass?

It felt more like a greenhouse than a dining hall. Tiel carefully sat down in her seat, guided by Clemence. The maids brought thick cushions to sit on.

"Tiel."

Ferdie gently called to Tiel and laid a white cloth on her lap.

"Thank you, big brother. You’re so kind and gentle."

"Am I as kind and gentle as you, my cute little sister?"

Ferdie replied softly. It was a stark contrast to how he spoke to Ludian and Olivia.

Excluding Clemence, who didn’t understand the situation, Ian, Ludian, and Olivia looked at Ferdie with disapproving glances...

"Do you have a problem?"

At Ferdie's sharp words, Ludian was about to respond when, the head of Arne, Iris Hilde Arne, entered the dining hall.