The condensed snowflakes melted into traces of water, while deep within the infant's pupils flowed the ancient blue patterns of a thousand-year-old magic circle.
Suddenly, flames shaped like Shu Tong surged from a crack in the scepter, projecting the image of Leonard kissing the Red-Haired Witch in the Emerald Marsh on Aelia's Moonlight Rose bushes as she pruned them.
"Madam, be careful of Hua Ci!" Maid Qin Si screamed as she rushed to snatch the Silver Scissors away, only to see Aelia's frosted roses explode into powder—those drifting Ice Crystal Shards clearly reflected her husband caressing the pregnant belly of a strange woman.
The Frostmoon Staff rolled off the embroidered golden soft cushion and fell to the ground, with cracks in its body oozing liquid imbued with Xing Hui.
Aelia's wrist silver bracelet screeched as seventeen Moonlight Chains shot out from the hem of her skirt, twisting the entire rose garden into a ruin shrouded in ice mist. "It’s impossible..." She staggered and grasped a piece of ice crystal suspended in mid-air, where Leonard was seen unfastening his Obsidian Cufflinks and stuffing a Magic Letter stained with Violet Perfume into a tree hollow—Leonard's last night. That cufflink was a gift she had refined herself during last year's Frost Moon Festival.
Luna let out a sob like a kitten from her cradle in the palace, her small hand entwined with silver threads suddenly grasping at the crack in the scepter.
The oozing Starlight Liquid abruptly transformed into a torrent of memories—twenty years ago on their wedding night when Leonard trembled as he placed the Moonlight Stone necklace around her neck, ten years ago when their eldest son suffered from a Magic Backlash and her husband had spent the night channeling warmth through his palm, three months ago when he said he would seek the secret technique to lift their second son's contract and kissed her forehead... all of Leonard's last night was stained crimson within the crack of the scepter.
"Master Lucius's Astrolabe has gone out of control!" The servant Qian Jiao's voice echoed from the forbidden area.
Aelia mechanically turned her head to see gray mist rising from the direction of the Abyssal Corridor, twisting into the silhouette of a pregnant woman.
She suddenly tore off her Moonlight Stone necklace; the silver light that erupted from its shattered gem illuminated the entire castle—every window lattice reflected different periods of Leonard, each Xu Ying’s left ring finger entwined with the Dark Purple Thread of an Emotion Spell cast by the Red-Haired Witch.
Seizing the opportunity, Luna stuffed the black mist cocoon deeper into the crack where Shu Tong flames burned.
The scepter suddenly emitted a loud cry akin to that of an infant, and translucent blue tentacles extended from the crack, piecing together Aelia's scattered memory fragments into a new version of Leonard's last night: Leonard's true route every time he "went out for medicine," the emerging magic castle in the Red-Haired Witch’s abdomen inheriting an emblem, and the Contract Scroll hidden within the third stone pillar in Castle Cellar.
"The Frost Throne requires two masters to jointly infuse magic!" The butler's anxious voice exploded in the celebration preparation venue.
Only then did everyone realize that the Frostmoon Staff had somehow floated above the Main Hall Dome, its cracks devouring decorative celebration ribbons.
Aelia dragged her frozen skirt down the corridor, each footprint blooming into Ice Roses with spikes. When she kicked open the stone door to the cellar, an entire wall of Family Portraits behind her was pierced by surging ice spikes.
At that moment, Leonard was trembling miles away in Mist Valley.
The pregnant belly of the witch in his arms suddenly cracked with ice, and the Heart Convergence Spell Ring hidden within his chest felt hot enough to almost melt through his ribs.
When the Contract Scroll shot out from the stone pillar in the Cellar and landed at his feet, all the Bing Ling on the cliff of the canyon revealed Aelia's Crimson eyes.
"Return to the castle immediately!" As he tore apart the Teleportation Scroll, his hand was suddenly caught by a materialized Memory Frame—this was the Crystal Bottle where he had secretly hidden Aelia's fallen hair on their wedding night. At that moment, every silver strand inside the bottle transformed into chains with barbed hooks.
Luna expelled a starry Milk Foam, watching as the Scepter oozed a third drop of Blood Pearl from its crack.
This drop did not fall; instead, it crawled up along the Embroidered Pattern of the Celebration Main Flag toward the highest tower of the castle, leaving traces of Violet Fragrance on the satin embroidered with "A Hundred Years of Harmony."
As the tail feather of the Ice Crystal Phoenix brushed against her eyelashes, a crisp sound echoed from the Castle Cellar as the scroll was shredded by an Ice Blade. Meanwhile, in Mist Valley, a hundred miles away, Leonard let out an inhuman wail at the sight of his suddenly petrified lover.
When the Ice Crystal Phoenix Tail Feather swept past the Dome Chandelier, Luna's pupil reflected the castle's Magic Veins.
The third drop of Blood Pearl seeping from the Scepter traveled along the celebration flag, coalescing into a glowing Violet Totem at the corner embroidered with the Magic Castle Emblem—this symbol in Original represented an underground intelligence network for the Red-Haired Witch.
"Ugh... Ah!" Luna suddenly tightened her grip on the Swaddling Tie entwined with Starlight Liquid, as her delicate infant palm slapped against the Silk Satin embroidered with Guardian Spell.
The moonstones on all four walls of the sleeping chamber flickered simultaneously, refracting Memory Fragments swimming within the Scepter's crack onto the surface of the Crystal Chandelier.
Those jumping Light Spots coincidentally formed a pattern of Breaking the Curse Array that Aelia excelled at during her childhood. The ice-like Light Spots flickered in sync with Luna's Breathing Frequency.
A roar erupted from below in response to the shattering Contract Scroll, causing Luna's Swaddling to launch her black Obsidian Crystal Pacifier into midair.
Seizing this opportunity, she expelled a Milk Foam wrapped in Frost Magic. Upon contact with the Scepter's crack, it expanded into a transparent mirror surface—this was a prototype of the "Truth Mirror" recorded in Original, which was supposed to be forged by a Great Mage three months later to expose Leonard's lies.
As Aelia rushed into the chamber dragging her frozen skirt, she saw a floating Milk Foam mirror reflecting scenes from the Cellar: fragments of Shuang Sheng Contract being shredded by Ice Blade were automatically reassembling, revealing a hidden Contract written in Dragon Blood on Parchment—when the main Contract became invalid, Leonard’s offspring hidden within the witch would automatically inherit seventy percent of Magic Spring from Magic Castle.
"Madam!"
"The Third Young Master Lucius' Astrolabe..." Before Qin Si could finish his sentence as he chased after her, Luna suddenly let out a sharp Loud Cry.
The baby's small feet wrapped in Silver Stockings kicked against the edge of the Cradle. This action caused eerie blue Tentacles to burst forth from the crack in Scepter and suddenly ensnare Aelia’s Spider Web Silver Bracelet.
Seventeen Moonlight Chains pierced through Peacock Stone Tiles, pinning down the reassembling Contract Fragment into a glowing Star Map.
The Silver Bracelet on Aelia's wrist began to spin rapidly, and from it emerged the Life-Saving Talisman she had crafted for her Eldest Son long ago.
Golden Runes flowed along the Moonlight Chains into the Cellar, scorching the Contract Fragment until it bore blackened cracks—this spell was originally meant for a ritual to heal her Eldest Son's disability.
"Master Lucius's Astrolabe points to the North Tower!" The Servant's exclamation echoed down the corridor.
Seizing the opportunity, Luna pressed her saliva-coated Thumb against the edge of the Scepter's crack. The reincarnation magic in the infant's saliva caused the crack to suddenly expand into a Shu Tong-shaped doorway.
From within emerged the long-sealed Frost Moon Chronicles from the North Tower Secret Chamber, with Yellowed Pages stopping at the paragraph she had marked with Magic Mark—detailing that releasing the binding of the Magic Spring required a Gemini Star Meteorite.
Aelia's frosty Starry Gown suddenly erupted with Hexagonal Ice Crystals, which assembled in midair to form a blueprint of the North Tower.
When her Fingertip touched the floating Milk Foam mirror, the reflection shifted from Leonard's Last Night to a newlywed secret chamber from Twenty Years Ago—Leonard had hidden a Secret Silver Box containing a Gemini Star Meteorite behind that wall, and the Original mentioned that this box would be stolen by the Red-Haired Witch's Familiar in three days.
Luna's Pupil contracted slightly as she saw Starlight Liquid seeping from the Scepter's crack, coalescing into the outline of the Secret Silver Box.
The infant let out a tremorous coo, a sound that caused all the moonstones in the chamber to project Frost Rose's Xu Ying—each petal reflecting a different Time Scale. This was a time-space marking magic of Great Mage level, cleverly disguised as an infant's unaware magical overflow.
As the first rays of dawn pierced through the Ice Mist into the castle, Luna curled up in her swaddling blanket scented with Milk Fragrance, her Tongue quietly licking at the newly formed Frost Flower on the Scepter's crack.
Deep within that crack, her Star Map pieced together from Memory Fragments was slowly rotating, with one Coordinate marked by ice crystals pointing towards that rainy night recorded in the Original—a night that would change the Destiny of Magic Castle...
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