Aelia lowered her gaze to the bloodstains smeared across the skirt, the crimson patterns eerily reminiscent of the pools of blood from the tragic deaths of her three sons.
Luna curled up in her embrace, sobbing, while the infant's palm pulsed with a purple glow that resonated with the frequency of Leonard's Magic Core.
"Madam, tonight the Rose Garden's Twelve Rays barrier is fully activated." Qin Si stepped over shards of glass, his whale bone skirt brushing against her pale Luna.
The alchemist who had served Aelia for twenty years crouched down and picked up a bloodied Magic Core Fragment with his Secret Silver Tweezers. "Third Young Master Lucius just discovered in the Library of Hidden Books that Leonard's Concubine has been mixing mermaid spinal fluid into the Magic Potion Formula she receives monthly."
Aelia's fingertips dug deeply into the velvet chair's back, and the silver ring adorned with Evening Primrose patterns suddenly burst forth with a blinding light.
The portraits of past Lords on the walls all turned their heads in unison, and within the image, Leonard's grandfather's scepter pointed toward the dome—where a mural depicting the Twelve Constellations guarding the Magic Castle now revealed the true celestial alignment: the Rose Nebula, symbolizing a marriage contract, was being devoured by a dark purple Demon Fetus Star.
"He's actually using Marriage Contract Magic to nurture an illegitimate child!" The Gilded Candelabra melted into liquid gold under Aelia's surging magical power, winding along the marble pattern to form an angry curse.
Seizing the opportunity, Luna threw the bloodied Magic Core Fragment into the air. The shard resonated with the gem atop Leonard's Staff, conjuring an image of Xu Ying from a secret manor on the outskirts of the capital.
Leonard swung his scepter to dispel the illusion but found golden chains entangled around the tip of his wand.
Brother San's Magic Tome hovered in midair, and on its yellowed parchment emerged his vow made at ten years old with Father: "By the stars as witness, I shall never betray Aelia Moonlight Rose."
"Do you still remember what you said when you personally plucked a Moonlight Rose on our wedding day?" Aelia raised her hand to wipe away blood from her neck; instead of flesh and blood, vines shimmering with Xing Hui blossomed from her wound.
Luna widened her eyes as she saw those vines quietly wrapping around her three brothers' wheelchairs, wrists, and Magic Tome.
Cold sweat beaded on Leonard's forehead as defensive formations on Leonard's Cloak flickered on and off. "It's just an illusion created by a baby... Madam, do you really believe this dubious..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Si suddenly smashed an Alchemical Bottle against the ground.
In the boiling Silver Liquid, the Magic Contract Scroll emerged, the signature of the Lady of the Fortress fading away, replaced by the magical fingerprint of a Strange Woman.
Aelia let out a cold laugh as the Moonlight Rose, which had slept for a hundred years in her hair, suddenly bloomed, filling the entire banquet hall with the Cedar Fragrance from her wedding day.
"Do you need me to ask an elder from the Astrology Hall to verify the authenticity of the Marriage Contract, or shall we head to your Moonlight Rose garden on the outskirts of the royal capital right now?" Aelia said, her fingertip lightly tapping. Luna's Palm summoned a blade of light that cleaved Leonard's Lion Griffin Badge, a symbol of Eternal Loyalty, in half.
The Dome Star Map shifted abruptly, and three points of Red Glow lit up in the prophetic scene of the Blood Wedding.
The Dragon Crystal Stone on her elder brother's wheelchair emitted a greenish light as Second Brother's Contract Mark emerged alongside a Guardian Spell. Brother San's Magic Tome flipped open to the Forbidden Techniques Page without any wind—these changes were precisely captured by Aelia from the corner of her eye. As she handed Luna over to Qin Si, her fingertip drew a smiling New Moon Symbol on the Infant Swaddling.
When the first ray of dawn pierced through the Colored Glass Window, seven muffled chimes echoed from the Castle Bell Tower.
Doors from three different directions opened simultaneously, and the sounds of the Metal Wheelchair rolling, the low growl of the Contract Beast, and the rustling pages of the Magic Tome created a rhythm of Destiny intertwining on the Spiral Staircase.
As the seventh chime resonated between the Pillars, the sound of the Wheelchair rolling over rose-patterned marble startled a Night Owl resting in the Window Lattice.
Elder brother's pale knuckles gripped the Dragon Crystal Stone on the armrest. The Blood Vessels that had once been eroded by Magic Backlash now flowed with an Emerald Color glow—Aelia's Starshine Vines spreading from her wound were continuously injecting Evening Primrose magic into his damaged Magic Core.
"Mother, the Northern Ice Wolf Contract Beast has had its mental seal lifted," Second Brother's voice came from below the spiral staircase. The Contract Mark on his wrist coiled like a living Thorn around a Curse Chain left by a dear friend.
With a roar from the Contract Beast, a mirror adorned with their Family Crest suddenly reflected scenes from five years ago in the snowy hunting grounds: a Forbidden Spell hidden beneath his friend's glove glimmered with Purple Light at a frequency matching Leonard's wand.
Brother San's Magic Tome hovered beneath the Banquet Hall Dome, and Tiny Inscriptions formed from Star Sand fell between its Yellowed Pages.
Those obscure theories he once thought he could never comprehend suddenly materialized into practical Spells within Mother’s Moonlight Rose Cedar Fragrance.
As the Yellowed Pages settled on the chapter titled Dark Matter Replacement Law, a roar echoed from deep within the castle’s foundation—the sound of gears turning as the Defensive System buried at the inception of Magic Castle was activated.
The tip of Leonard's Staff suddenly shattered, and the splintered fragments were ground into Powder by the Starshine Vines before they could touch Aelia's Skirt. "Do you think controlling three crippled sons can overthrow the Glorious Demon Fortress?" He tore open Leonard's Cloak, revealing his chest, where the writhing Black Curse perfectly matched the patterns of the Dome and the Demon Fetus Star. "Twenty Years Ago, when you entrusted the castle to me, Father, you never mentioned that the curse of the Moonlight Rose would devour the Heir..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lucius suddenly flashed out from the shadows.
The usually silent Third Young Master Lucius held a half-broken chain in his hand, which was the golden Contract that had previously bound Leonard's Staff. "Father may have forgotten," he pressed the chain into his Palm, blood immediately searing new vows into the ancient metal. "The first Alchemy technique you taught me was how to separate the master and servant Contract within a Symbiotic Curse."
Aelia's eyes brightened suddenly; she raised her hand and threw the Moonlight Rose blooming in her hair into the air.
As those falling petals touched the ground, they transformed into a Crystal Cage, firmly trapping Leonard's swirling Black Magic.
Luna suddenly let out a sharp Loud Cry in Qin Si's arms, and the Purple Galaxy swirling in her eyes resonated with the Demon Fetus Star, causing the Twelve Celestial Guardians sleeping within the Dome Mural to open their eyes simultaneously.
"In the name of the First Generation Fortress Master, strip Leonard Darkmoon of all magical authority." Aelia's voice became an entity Curse amidst the harmonies of the Celestial Guardians. The crimson gold liquid flowing within the Marble Pattern suddenly solidified into a Thorned Throne.
As Leonard was forcibly pressed onto the throne, everyone realized that the Griffin Statue on the Ice Crystal Armrest perfectly fitted with the Reformer Badge Fragment on his chest—this man who had ruled Magic Castle for Twenty Years had already sold his soul to the Shadow Griffin of the Forbidden Land.
The morning light pierced through the Crystal Cage just as Luna abruptly stopped crying.
Her small hand, stained with Bloodstain, grasped aimlessly in the air, and several Ying Huo quietly coalesced into a Miniature Celestial Chart.
Qin Si's Gold Glasses Chain suddenly tightened; the Alchemist keenly sensed that the Magic Fluctuation surrounding the baby contained hints of a Track from Millennium Prophecy's "Celestial Shift," while a dim secondary star within the Dome was flickering strangely along this Track.
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