The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family-Chapter 135

Ian Dross Crassion exchanged a few more words with Karsus and Alpheus before returning to the imperial palace.

After that, life went back to its usual rhythm, with one notable exception: Tiel was advised to refrain from going out for a while. When Tiel asked how long she would need to stay inside, Karsus and Alpheus replied that she should stay in until the person behind the plot was found.

The girl locked up in the Asterian dungeon had been unconscious for a while. It was odd since the doctor had said she should wake up soon, as she had passed the worst of it.

The girl seemed to be having nightmares, tossing and turning and frowning, but she couldn’t seem to regain consciousness.

A week passed.

"She’s awake?" Alpheus raised his eyebrows, looking up from the documents he was reviewing. The maid who entered with the news bowed her head.

Without wasting time, Alpheus threw the bundle of papers down and stood up abruptly.

"I’ll go see her. Has Karsus been informed?"

"He went out today, and I believe he just sent a messenger bird to Asterian."

"Good. I’ll... wait a moment."

Alpheus paused just as he was about to open the office door. The maid, still with her head bowed, looked up at him curiously.

"Do you need something else?"

"You haven’t told Tiel yet, have you?"

Alpheus narrowed his eyes and whispered cautiously. He knew Tiel had no interest in eavesdropping, so he found it unnecessary to worry, but he still maintained a careful attitude.

"No, I haven’t told her yet."

"Good. She’ll find out eventually, but for now, keep it a secret from her. It would be difficult if she’s present during the interrogation."

"Yes, Alpheus-sama."

The maid bowed respectfully.

Alpheus then walked briskly out of the room, with his aide following closely behind. They hurried to the dungeon.

The Asterian soldiers guarding the dungeon immediately recognized Alpheus and opened the door for him.

Without hesitation, Alpheus entered and headed toward the farthest cell, where the girl was sitting, looking blankly ahead.

"..."

Alpheus silently observed the girl. She was the one who had tried to harm his precious granddaughter.

‘I can’t forgive her.’

He couldn’t stand it. The granddaughter he had cherished as though she would break if touched, the one he had sworn to protect from any threat. Yet here was this girl, trying to harm Tiel. And the poison she used—he still hadn’t figured out what kind it was. Alpheus pressed his throbbing forehead in frustration.

"Open the door."

At Alpheus’s command, the guard approached and unlocked the dungeon door. As the guard touched the bars, the dungeon’s heating system stopped, and the air inside began to cool.

Without moving from his spot, Alpheus asked,

"What’s your name?"

"...Riss."

The girl answered quietly, but there was something strange about it. Alpheus furrowed his brow, noticing how hollow her response sounded, despite it being so brief and simple.

"Then why did you attack my granddaughter?"

Alpheus asked again.

"..."

This time, Riss didn’t answer.

Alpheus didn’t expect an answer, so he didn’t care much. He took a step forward toward Riss. As he did, she shrunk back in fear.

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Riss, who appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, was thin and frail, and when she curled up, she almost looked the same age as Tiel.

Seeing her like this briefly reminded Alpheus of Tiel in her younger days. But he stopped advancing and spoke firmly, as if to warn her,

"You’ve committed the crime of attempting to kill the head of the Asterian family. According to Asterian law, you deserve to be executed."

"..."

"However, considering your young age, the fact that you changed your mind at the last moment, and the possibility that someone else is behind this, if you tell me who made you do this, I will forgive you."

Alpheus gave Riss a cold stare, and his golden eyes flashed, sharp as ever.

"But if you don’t speak, Asterian will kill you."

"...Will you?"

Riss muttered, so quietly that it was almost inaudible unless Alpheus had been standing right in front of her.

But Alpheus caught the faint movement of her lips and leaned in to ask again,

"What did you say?"

"If... If I tell you, will you save my brother?"

"Are you trying to bargain with me, a criminal, while in your position? You have no choice."

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"..."

Riss stared silently at Alpheus.

Her expression remained empty, but there was no sign of fear, even though she was in front of the former head of Asterian. It was as if she had already experienced all the fear she needed to in her life and had nothing left to fear.

But something about this seemed off.

‘Does she really have a brother?’

Alpheus blinked, confused by this new information.

If she had a brother, and if he was being held hostage, why hadn’t she mentioned that when he asked her to tell him who was behind this earlier?

He had assumed she had nothing left to lose, but if she really had a brother, the situation was different. No one would want to lose their sibling.

No one would want to face execution while their brother was still alive.

If Alpheus himself had been in such a position, he would have revealed everything and begged for his brother’s safety.

So why was this girl acting like she didn’t expect him to save her brother?

Alpheus's thoughts grew even more complicated. After a brief pause, he finally spoke again.

"Is your brother being held hostage?"

"..."

"Tell me. If you don’t speak, I’ll kill you. And then you’ll ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) lose any chance of saving your brother. Is that really what you want?"

Alpheus pressed, his voice sharp. Riss curled up even more, biting her nails, but then lifted her head to meet Alpheus’s gaze.

"...Yes, he’s being held."

"Was your brother held hostage, and did they send you the poison?"

"...Yes."

"Do you know who did this to you?"

Riss hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Alpheus gestured for her to speak, and after a brief pause, Riss frowned slightly.

"He... he’s called ‘Oshian,’" she said.

"Oshian?"

Alpheus’s heart skipped a beat at the name. It wasn’t a particularly famous noble, but he had heard of an Oshian before.

‘No... it could just be someone with the same name.’

He had to be cautious. Alpheus nodded to himself.

His aide, who had been following him, quickly took out a small notebook and a fountain pen to write down Riss’s words.

‘Jae’ and ‘Oshian’ were written clearly in the notebook. Alpheus nodded.

"Who is Jae?"

"His name is Jae. He’s never called anything else. He’s Oshian’s... friend."

Alpheus nodded absently. It seemed that Jae hadn’t given her his real name. It was likely an initial.

Riss seemed to know more than Alpheus had expected. Even though she was still recovering and occasionally grimacing in pain, she managed to tell him everything she knew.

Thanks to her, Alpheus learned that there was a man named Oshian and another named Jae conducting strange experiments on young beastkin.

Hearing this, Alpheus's face grew pale with shock.

"So your brother is also being held there?"

Riss nodded.

Alpheus asked if she knew what kind of experiments they were doing, but Riss shook her head. All she knew was that she had been drugged to fall asleep at specific times, and when she woke up, her body ached as though she had been beaten.

Alpheus could hardly believe what he was hearing.

Why would those conducting such experiments target Tiel and try to harm her?

A pounding headache overwhelmed him.