On the condensed Magic Trial Ground, four Obsidian Pillars engraved with Frost Roses exhaled a faint blue mist.
The eldest brother maneuvered his Wheelchair to stop at the Star Trail Nexus in the Southeast Corner. His damaged right hand suddenly felt the residual warmth of the Chaos Stone—skin that had been touched by Zhuo Tong and Ye Lu was now seeping silver Light Spots.
"Layer three amplifying arrays of the Ice Spike Technique." Lucius spread out the Ice Vein True Solution on the Ice Surface, but the Frost Flower that formed at his Fingertip shattered abruptly when it came into contact with the Magic Scroll thrown by Brother San.
Second Brother leaned against the West Pillar, wiping his Pocket Watch. Suddenly, a reflection of a swaddled Golden Tassel appeared in the ice crystal, revealing Luna's Nanny crossing through the Laurel Corridor.
"It's about to begin." The eldest brother turned his Wheelchair, activating the Protective Barrier. The previously dim Frost Roses suddenly blossomed into twelve petals.
As Brother San tossed up the Magic Water crystal, which just reached mid-air, Luna let out a Giggling sound, her Chubby little hands reaching out with Five Fingers toward the floating crystal.
The explosive Ice Mist froze everyone in place.
Instead of shattering into ice spikes, the Magic Water crystal split into seven hundred and twenty perfectly symmetrical Hexahedrons, forming a continuously rotating Star Ring above Luna's head.
At the moment Second Brother's Pocket Watch fell, each ice crystal surface reflected the Chaotic Rune swirling in Luna's Pupil.
"This is impossible!" Lucius's ancient tome slipped from his In Hand and landed on the Ice Surface. "The Sevenfold Ice Crystal Array requires sixteen Magic Nodes..." Before he could finish, Luna suddenly swung her ankle adorned with a Golden Bell. The previously floating ice crystals plummeted to the Ground and Ice Layer, instantly transforming into a flowing silver stream that outlined a complete Northern Territory Map at Brother San's feet.
The eldest brother's damaged right hand rose uncontrollably, resonating with the Family Crest on the Wheelchair Armrest and the Silver Light on the Ground.
As the Magic Patterns beneath the Ice Layer illuminated to the seventh Node, everyone suddenly heard a crystalline sound akin to shattering glass—the meridians of Second Brother's Right Leg, corroded by Black Rose last year, were being gently washed clean by the flowing Silver Light, revealing tiny traces of repair.
"Again!" Brother San suddenly threw thirteen Sealing Scrolls into the air. The Magic Circuit, long blocked by Error in its training methods, began to warm subtly under the illumination of Silver Light.
Luna tilted her head, staring at the spinning scroll, and suddenly pressed her elder brother's damaged right hand against her chest where the Chaos Stone lay.
The entire Ice Layer of the Trial Grounds emitted a sound akin to Longyin's Zhen Chan.
Seven hundred and twenty ice crystals simultaneously refracted the image of Lucius’s grandfather that he had seen in the attic last night. When her brother's incomplete fingertip touched the surface of the original stone, thirteen scrolls suddenly unfurled on their own, revealing the true meaning of the Ancient Incantation that had been misunderstood by Brother San for many years.
"Stop!" Leonard burst through the barrier, wrapped in a cloak scented with Iris Fragrance, but the Black Ice Blade he had conjured with his palm dissipated into mist the moment it touched the Silver Light.
He stared at the Chaotic Rune still lingering in Luna's pupil and suddenly recalled the shattered Defensive Formation from last night at Outer Chamber Manor—those cracks in the barrier melted by the Chaos Stone were strikingly similar to the flowing Silver Light above the Trial Grounds.
As Aelia's Emerald Earrings emitted a warning, Leonard's Sword suddenly hummed, and he saw Qin Si standing dazed behind the archway of the Trial Grounds, clutching an Intelligence Scroll.
The maid’s usually steady hands trembled violently, and the ice crystals forming at the edge of the Parchment refracted an eerie Purple Light—traces of Ghost Ink that only Black Market Intelligence would use.
As Aelia's fingertip brushed against the edge of the Parchment, Ghost Ink suddenly transformed into Zi Wu and seeped into her Seven Orifices.
The Emerald Earrings buzzed frantically at her temples, and Qin Si was horrified to see an image emerging from Outer Chamber Manor in Aelia’s pupil—a vision of an Ivory Bed entwined with Black Roses, upon which lay Gentleman's Gloves embroidered with the Magic Castle Crest.
"To the study," Aelia commanded as she crushed the ice crystals that had formed on the Intelligence Scroll. An Ice Shard pierced her palm, causing Golden Blood Pearl to seep out.
When she burst through the door inlaid with twelve Moonstones, Leonard was polishing Leonard's Sword, which had slain thirty-seven Frost Dragons, with Black Velvet.
"This position should have been occupied by the most esteemed mistress of the Northern Territory," Aelia said as she slapped the blood-stained Parchment onto Jian Qiao. Ice Magic automatically coalesced on its surface to form a Three-Dimensional Projection of Outer Chamber Manor. "Now it has become a nest for Ghost Mice!"
Leonard lightly turned and shattered the Projection, but the Black Ice Crystal was suddenly frozen in mid-air by the Silver Light emanating from Aelia's Moonstone Earrings.
The fragments eerily reflected the scene from last night—he had personally sprinkled the powder of the Chaos Stone on Leonard's Concubine's bedside, and now the Silver Light flowing in the Trial Grounds was proof of the raw stone's energy being Automatically Activated.
"You actually used an ancestral Holy Relic to keep a lover?" Aelia's Roar shattered the Crystal Chandelier of the Dome.
Ice Magic uncontrollably spread, freezing all the furniture in the study into Ice Sculptures, except for a newly painted Magic Portrait from their wedding, which remained intact amidst the cold wave.
In the painting, twenty-year-old Leonard was gently adorning her with Leonard's Emerald Earrings, which now seemed painfully ironic.
Luna's Loud Cry suddenly pierced through three layers of stone walls.
Aelia felt the Chaos Stone Jade Pendant on her chest slightly warm up. The baby in the cradle projected images into her mind through Magic Resonance: the seven hundred twenty ice crystals remaining in the Trial Grounds were automatically piecing together a dynamic scene of Leonard meeting with Leonard's Concubine—Leonard's Last Night.
"Do you think destroying the Projection will cover up your betrayal?" Aelia raised her hand to freeze her husband's right hand, which was about to cast a Silencing Spell. The Ice Layer rapidly spread along his Magic Circuit. "Every ice crystal touched by Luna is a vessel of memory; now the walls of this entire castle are replaying your disgrace!"
As Leonard shattered the Ice Layer, Aelia had already burst through a hidden door into the family’s secret chamber.
Trembling, she opened the Ice Crystal Codex that recorded generations of Lords' Marriage Contracts. The page belonging to them was covered in Web-like Cracks—the thirty-seventh clause of the Codex was melting before her eyes: if a couple grows apart, the Frost Rose shall never bloom again.
Suddenly, Luna's Magical Fluctuation came from the Nursery.
Following the sensation, Aelia ran to the North Tower and discovered Glowing Patterns emerging on the wall beside the baby carriage.
The Silver Lights, manipulated by Luna's awareness, were sketching the contours of the Dark Compartment in the Gap, where a Soul Contract signed with Leonard's Concubine lay hidden.
Suddenly, the castle shook violently.
Aelia, holding Luna, ran to the courtyard and saw the Frost Rose, symbolizing the Lord's marriage, cracking under the Dome.
As each petal fell, it transformed into Ice Blades, carving deep chasms into the Ground.
The servants were in a panic as they noticed all the magical candle flames had turned a ghostly blue.
"Madam..." Qin Si rushed in with an Ice Shield, only to find that the Chaos Stone on Aelia's chest was absorbing the fallen Rose Petals.
Luna suddenly grasped Mother’s bleeding right hand, and the Ice Shards embedded in her Palm began to arrange themselves into the Northern Ancient Language—Chapter Seven of the Prophecy Tablet slowly emerged on their touching skin.
The cracks in the Frost Rose spread beneath the Northern Sky, forming a web-like pattern. The Eerie Blue Candlelight cast shadows of the fleeing maidens onto the Relief Pillar.
Butler Old Joseph burst into the Cellar clutching an Inventory List and discovered that the Iceberry Wine Barrel of Centennial Brew was seeping Scarlet Liquid—what should have remained dormant for thirty years was now forming outlines of Leonard and Leonard's Concubine kissing on the oak surface under the influence of Ghost Ink.
"It's about to change," Brother San declared as he burst through the library door with a scroll revealing the truth. The long-blocked Magic Circuit erupted in anger, sending sparks flying and scorching marks along the edges of the Parchment.
He did not notice that Silver Shards clinging to his cloak were quietly seeping down the Stone Steps into the depths of the dungeon, automatically activating a Wall Tile inscribed with a Backlash Curse.
Leonard stood before the dark window of the secret chamber, his black Obsidian ring crushing three Communication Crystals.
As the last trace of Zi Wu sank into the underground East Corridor, a strange reflection of Leonard's Last Night appeared in the Ice Mirror behind him: Luna, sound asleep in the Nursery, rolled over, her golden swaddling blanket pressing down on a burning curse paper.
"My Lord, the Black Ice Puppet has infiltrated the East Wing Corridor." The loyal Knight, adorned in Silver Armor that bore unnatural Frost Flowers, had Tadpole-shaped Black Magic Runes swirling in his eye whites. "But the lady's Emerald Bird has built a nest in the Nursery's Window Lattice..."
"Then let them become doves of mourning." Leonard snapped his fingers, shattering the Ice Mirror, and the splintered shards crystallized into a miniature storm of Wind and Snow in midair.
As he stepped over the glimmering ice crystals, a sudden flash of Silver Light from the Trial Grounds seared a Scorch Mark into his Boot Sole—this slight sting reminded him of the Chaotic Rune in Luna's pupil, prompting him to pour an entire bottle of Ghost Ink onto the corner's Teleportation Circle.
The Temperature in the Nursery plummeted.
Aelia's Twelve-Layer Protective Barrier activated automatically, but the Magic Ripple stirred by the Emerald Bird collided with something far more sinister—three Puppets formed from Black Ice slithered along the shadows by the wall, their hollow eye sockets blooming with thorny Ice Roses.
"Yi Ya!" Luna suddenly grasped her rattle and sat up, her Chaos Stone erupting with Strong Light around her neck.
As the first Puppet broke through the window's Ice Spike, the unaware infant's flailing fist triggered the Astrolabe mechanism, causing the Northern Star Map embedded in the ceiling to begin its Reverse Rotation.
The entire castle's foundation let out a deep Roar.
At that moment, her elder brother, who was repairing the Magic Circle, suddenly pressed his hand to his Heart. The Family Crest on his Wheelchair Armrest, dormant for years, detached itself from Liujin Base and transformed into Liuguang, piercing through three layers of stone walls.
Inside the Nursery, starlight projected by the Star Map clashed violently with the Curse Patterns on the Black Ice Puppet, forming a continuously collapsing silver vortex around Luna.
"Stop them!" Qin Si shouted as he slammed the Ice Shield onto the Ground, but the splintering ice curiously avoided the area where Luna stood.
In terror, she realized that the Cradle was consuming the Black Ice energy, and the chilling Curse Power was being transformed through the Chaos Stone, giving birth to Ice Crystal Flowers with a sacred aura on the wooden Railings.
Leonard watched in horror as Puppets were shattered one after another within the crystal ball. In a moment of panic, he crushed the Palm's Extramarital Token.
The blood-stained Bloody Rose Necklace fell into Shan Na's Magic Circle, and at that moment, every mirror in the castle reflected Luna's figure—this was the highest level of Most Wanted Curse, meaning each reflection could become a pathway for assassination.
"Mother..." Luna suddenly uttered broken syllables, her Chubby Palm striking the surface of the Chaos Stone.
As Aelia burst through the door, she saw fragments of Emerald Earrings floating in the air, enveloping her daughter in a soft green Protective shield.
The Cursed Tentacles reaching out from the mirrors collided with the Light Barrier, only to be repelled by raw stone energy into drifting Stardust.
As the last wisp of black mist dissipated at Dawn, everyone noticed that all of the Nursery's Ice Crystal Flowers had turned to bloom towards the east—that was in the direction of her elder brother's secluded tower.
Aelia trembled as she touched her daughter's feverish forehead, unaware that within Luna's grasp was a Yin Ling containing a petal-like ice crystal melting away, quietly seeping into the Magic Potion Bottle she had prepared for her brother last night.
As the castle bell tolled for the seventh time, Leonard stood beneath the cracked Frost Rose, dripping blood from Leonard's Concubine into the ancestral Holy Grail.
At that moment, unbeknownst to anyone, an ancient rune began to emerge from the Family Crest that had reformed on her brother's Wheelchair Armrest in the morning light—a rune capable of breaking the backlash curse...
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