Tiel squirmed in Ludian’s arms, signaling that she wanted to get down.
Ludian gently set her down on the ground. Once her feet touched the floor, Tiel lifted her large golden eyes to look up at the High Priest.
Her gaze sparkled with determination.
“That can’t be right.”
Her voice was so firm and resolute that for a moment, the High Priest involuntarily flinched.
“Y-You dare to question the will of the gods? You must still be too young to understand—”
“Watch your words, Andres. She is the sole daughter of the Duke of Evalt and the rightful heir of the Asterian family.”
Karsus’s sharp gaze landed on Andres.
The High Priest’s pupils quivered, unable to conceal his unease.
No, no, she was not his daughter. Andres wanted to argue that, but he barely held himself back.
But Karsus and Alpheus had already confirmed the truth in the Asterian mansion’s secret chamber.
No matter how much the temple insisted otherwise, the Asterians would never believe it.
They had acknowledged her. Tiel was Karsus’s daughter.
But the priests didn’t know that.
They had no knowledge of the hidden legend, nor of the secret archives and chambers preserved by the Asterian and Nestian families.
To Andres, it was baffling. What are they relying on to act this arrogantly?
“Karsus-nim! Are you doubting the gods? This is blatant blasphemy! The temple’s paternity test has never been wrong.”
“Then it’s wrong now.”
The child’s voice was unwavering.
Tiel, ignoring the flustered High Priest, turned her gaze toward the fountain.
The water remained unchanged.
The clear liquid bubbled endlessly, as if mocking them.
Tiel took a step forward.
“You mustn’t come any closer!”
“But, High Priest…”
Tiel stared at the fountain with a determined expression before suddenly whipping her head around.
Her vivid golden eyes — undeniably those of a black leopard — locked onto Andres.
Andres stiffened.
Her features were unmistakably those of both the black leopard and snow leopard bloodlines. No one except a mixed-blood of both families could have such a distinct appearance.
He broke into a cold sweat. Damn it. He should have known. He should never have attempted such a shallow trick.
Alpheus, had he been here, would have been furious.
Typically, a child resembled only one parent’s features.
Tiel, however, possessed a perfect blend of both.
Society had always scorned such children, labeling them as mongrels.
And yet, of all people, the youngest daughter of Asterian, the one who had awakened the light ability, was that very mongrel.
‘Damn it!’
Andres had opposed this plan from the beginning.
There was no way a trick this pathetic could fool the Asterians.
Word had already spread that the child had inherited an equal balance of traits from both the Snow Leopard and Black Leopard clans.
This test had been nothing more than a formality.
The girl was undoubtedly a direct descendant of Nestian and Asterian blood.
But they—the ones who had forced this plan through — hadn’t cared.
They thought that as long as the temple got their hands on her, nothing else would matter.
Once they had her, they could manipulate the situation however they wished.
And naturally, Andres had been the one tasked with executing this mess.
Because he was the one with the ability to distinguish powers.
And the moment that child had arrived, held in Karsus’s arms... He had sensed it.
The light ability.
Faint, but undeniable.
And even worse — there was a lingering trace of Lysseth’s power.
So Andres had stuck to the plan, swapping the hair samples beforehand and proceeding with the false results.
But now:
‘Who could have predicted the child would be so damn fearless?!’
A normal seven-year-old should have cried in terror.
Should have shaken in fear.
But this girl. Her golden eyes gleamed as she stared at him.
Andres could see it.
In those transparent eyes burned a belief in her family.
And the faint, growing embers of confidence in herself.
Then, without hesitation, Tiel reached up and plucked a few strands of her own hair.
White curls rested in her small palm.
“Papa!”
Tiel called for Karsus.
Karsus, who had been watching her closely, narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then, at the sound of her voice, he let out a soft, amused chuckle and reached for his own hair.
His sharp, animal-like claws extended from his fingers.
Schk.
His black strands were cleanly cut.
Karsus handed them to Tiel.
“Here, Tiel.”
“Thank you, Papa.”
Tiel nodded firmly.
Andres couldn't even think of stopping Tiel. He simply stood there, watching the scene unfold.
“This isn’t about defying the temple’s will. I just don’t believe it, High Priest.”
“That is defying the temple’s will!”
“I’m sorry, but—”
Tiel looked straight at Andres.
The High Priest flinched at the sheer force radiating from the small child.
“I have the fur of a Snow Leopard and the eyes of a Black Leopard. But you’re saying I’m not an Asterian? That just doesn’t make sense.”
The moment she finished speaking, a faint glow flickered in her hand.
It was her ability.
Tiel pressed her lips together.
I am my father’s daughter.
No matter what anyone said, her father was Karsus Celeste Asterian, and her mother was Lena Nestian.
And—
Asterian had recognized her.
Tiel thought back to the secret chamber in the Asterian estate, the one that had responded to her touch and confirmed the truth.
They acknowledged me.
Belief and courage guided her.
Just as when she had calmed Ferdi’s madness, she heard a faint whisper near her ear.
[Drop it, child…]
[Drop the hair…]
Tiel nodded.
Then, she let go of both her white strands of hair and Karsus’s black ones, letting them fall into the fountain.
“No!”
Andres shouted sharply. Even he was startled by the sudden outburst.
Ordinarily, dropping the hair wouldn’t activate the fountain.
Only the Pope or their representative could conduct a valid paternity test.
And with the Pope absent, Andres was the only one who could have properly performed the test.
That meant the fountain should remain unchanged, no matter how many times hair was dropped into it.
After all, he had not infused it with divine power.
It should have been fine.
Then why…?
Why did he feel so uneasy?
Andres stared intensely at the fountain as it swallowed the hair.
Then—
“…!”
The water where the hair had fallen began to bubble.
A ripple spread outward.
A soft light shimmered in Tiel’s hand.
The temple priests, Ferdi, Ludian, and even Karsus—everyone watched her.
“……”
Before long, the flickering glow in Tiel’s small palm began to shift.
A shape emerged—
A fish.
Tiel wasn’t consciously using her ability.
It’s resonating with the temple’s power.
Karsus observed the tiny glowing fish swimming gently in Tiel’s hand.
The light ability was inherently tied to the god Lysseth, the deity worshipped in this temple.
Tiel’s power had responded to Lysseth’s call.
The two luminous fish swam in circles around her hands before smoothly gliding toward the golden fountain.
They moved in delicate arcs, scattering fragments of light into the water as they circled.
Then, gradually—
The color of the fountain’s water began to change.
“I knew it.”
The moment Ferdi spoke, the water turned gold.
A radiant golden light burst forth from the fountain.
The High Priest and the surrounding priests stared, utterly stunned.
“…T-The color?”
One of the priests stammered.
If a parent and child were confirmed to be related, the fountain’s water was supposed to turn blue.
But this…
The water had turned a brilliant gold.
It looked as if the entire fountain had been made of liquid gold.
Shocked priests scrambled to rationalize the situation.
“The fountain shouldn’t react! The test wasn’t conducted properly by the Pope’s representative, so the result is invalid!”
“Tiel’s ability is the light ability. It is the power of Lysseth, the god of light. It aligns with divine power. The fountain reacted to Tiel’s energy.”
Karsus’s voice was resolute.
Andres shook his head, unwilling to accept it.
Of course he couldn’t accept it!
If they acknowledged this, it would mean that the temple had tried to deceive the youngest daughter of Asterian.
That would be disastrous.
At that moment—
“Y-You can’t enter here!”
“What do you mean, I can’t?”
A familiar voice cut through the tension.
Ian Dross Crasion had arrived.
The Crown Prince of the Crasion Empire.
Ferdi and Ludian’s close friend.
And the very man who had saved Tiel.