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墨書 Inktalez
The air was thick with the humid scent of vines, a sweet and pungent aroma that only the midnight forest could possess. Aelia's cloak was lifted by the wind, revealing her silver-white armor that shimmered coldly under the moonlight. Luna was carefully wrapped in her arms, her pair of bright eyes surprisingly calm for her age.
"Run faster, Qin Si!" she instructed without looking back.
Qin Si held onto her skirt tightly, keeping pace without daring to lag behind. She remembered how Luna had intentionally left an unsealed letter at the threshold of the reading hall that morning. While sweeping, she discovered it, and on the back of the paper were crooked magical words that looked like a child's scribbles—a curse mark that made her heart skip a beat. She had seen a similar symbol among the books hidden in Madam's Room.
"Madam, that letter... it can't be a coincidence," she said cautiously, biting her lip.
Aelia paused and turned back. "Explain yourself."
Qin Si didn’t dare to look up but spoke firmly, "I... I think Young Miss wants someone to see it. The mark on that letter is the magical seal of the secret warehouse where Lord Leonard used to go, which you once asked me to find."
The air fell silent for a moment; even the wind seemed to stop.
At that moment, Luna suddenly opened her eyes and tugged at Aelia's hair tips, pointing in a direction with her fingers. She couldn’t speak, but her expression was so clear in that instant, as if something heavy pressed against her pink forehead, trying to break through the boundaries of the mortal realm.
That expression made Aelia's heart tremble.
She held Luna tighter and whispered, "Let's return to the Magic Castle."
The Glorious Demon Fortress trembled slightly in the deep night—subtle yet undeniable, like the pulse of geomancy quietly shifting. The three brothers were scattered in different corners of the castle when they were summoned by a letter.
The eldest brother sat in his wheelchair wearing a magic robe, his gaze as cold as ice. He glanced up when the evening breeze stirred the curtains. "Are you saying... Father has hidden our mother somewhere unknown, and there are others?"
The second brother sighed; his palm showed signs of magical patterns stirring restlessly as he spoke with unease. "No one can draw conclusions now. But... if it's true, I'm just worried about Mother... how will she bear it?"
Brother San leaned against the chair's back; his usual carefree expression finally turned serious as he murmured, "No wonder... he has been increasingly indifferent to our lives these past few years. Don’t you think? Since I was fourteen, his gaze towards me has changed; it’s not Father anymore—it’s like he’s evaluating a tool."
His tone carried a pain of newfound realization.
The eldest brother spoke coldly: "If he truly deceived Mother and destroyed our family... I won't stand by."
Outside, Aelia's footsteps passed quietly; she stood at the door for a long time as those words pierced through the fantasies she still tried to hold onto.
She smiled softly to herself, as if speaking aloud: "So you all have already... noticed."
Qin Si returned to the library, trying to uncover more details. Occasionally, old papers slipped from the shelves as she crouched down in her uniform to pick up a page from an astrolabe, only to find it was inscribed with Leonard's own magical handwriting.
Though it was a rehearsal record, it contained several annotations:
"Obsidian Order - Sixth Rule: Magical seals inscribed on Blood Pact items can resist master contract retrieval."
“...The Container crafted for her has yet to arrive. If she remains unconscious for too long, the plan may be delayed.”
Her expression changed suddenly—who was this “she”?
Luna was thrown onto the Soft Cushion chair in the study by Qin Si, but now she sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the magical inscription, her brows furrowing in concentration.
Aelia approached, unconsciously staring at the tattered paper. She picked it up, her Fingertip trembling slightly.
Those familiar Tiny Inscriptions. The handwriting that avoided her signature.
She finally became Aware that all those sudden summons and unexpected visits over the years were never coincidental.
She had been mistaken time and again.
“Luna…” she whispered.
The infant, thought to be merely a character from a book, looked remarkably clear-headed.
Without speaking, she grabbed a Magic Stone Pen, dotting two drops of ink on the edge of the paper, her small hands gesturing to form a pattern that resembled a jumbled code, yet it made Aelia suddenly Aware: this was a simplified version of the forbidden Magic Array she had submitted in the black market.
This was no coincidence. Luna knew more than anyone else.
Aelia clenched her teeth, nearly hearing them grind against each other.
The truth was drawing closer, and she felt increasingly afraid.
In the castle tower, a long-sealed door creaked open in a dusty side hall.
Aelia stood before that door, holding Leonard’s everyday Magic Key.
The door at the end of the tower emitted a long-forgotten groan as the Magic Key turned swiftly, stopping at the third Ke Hen.
With a click, the Lock shifted with a muffled sound, as if silently permitting intrusion.
Aelia pushed the door open.
A heavy scent of dust mixed with the faint bitterness of dried herbs rushed toward her.
Her nose twitched, and her gaze became Shan Na, sharp and fierce.
As if entering a battlefield, she slowly stepped into that space half-consumed by darkness.
Magical lamps lit up one by one automatically, their light dancing on the walls and revealing rows of stone cabinets embedded with mechanisms.
The air seemed to freeze.
Brown-red cloth rolls, silver-edged Crystal Vessels, and blood-stained Magic Cores with dried cracks—each item revealed traces of forbidden technique experiments that should not belong to this Lord’s private “hidden place.”
As she approached an ancient Long Table, Aelia suddenly stumbled slightly.
She saw a thin booklet.
The leather cover was cracked, but in the center, she could vaguely make out an Inscription: “Second Division Contract · Lima Instance.”
She quickly flipped through the pages, her fingers turning white from the pressure, trembling even between the gaps.
“Experiment begins; the product is intended for sealing the third type of soul—requiring a donor of the same bloodline…”
“Forbidden Element Container will cultivate around an infant's pure soul as the core…”
“Projected targets will gradually Automatic Activation. If the plan proceeds as expected… initial awakening time: within five years.”
Her Pupil contracted rapidly, her entire body feeling as if it had plunged into an Ice Cave.
All her recent speculations suddenly echoed like an Ancient Bell, each doubt striking her heart fiercely—
Luna.
That child was not a coincidence, not a miracle, nor any form of “divine favor.”
She was “manufactured.”
A sharp pain twisted in her stomach, as if every breath could unleash flames.
She slowly sat at the table, her heartbeat roaring like thunder, her chest spasming with tension.
Her hand unconsciously tightened around the thin booklet, Ailya's White Nails digging into her Palm without her noticing.
She did not want to believe it.
But she knew she could no longer escape.
“Aelia?” A familiar yet insincere voice suddenly came from behind her.
Leonard stood at the door, draped in his usual voluminous Magic Robe, wearing that disingenuous smile he had maintained for years; yet at this moment, the smile resembled a tattered flag, frayed and torn.
He glanced at the booklet in his wife’s hands and stepped forward, his tone slightly more tense than usual: “This is not for you to see.”
Aelia slowly raised her gaze, her eyes calm as ice at the bottom of a lake: “Then who is it for? Is it for Leonard's Concubine? Or perhaps for those experimental subjects you’ve been hiding and nurturing?”
Leonard’s face paled instantly; his Lips moved as he still tried to defend himself: “You misunderstand, Aelia, it's merely leftover data from past research. I truly intended…”
“Stop.” She interrupted him, her voice hoarse yet laced with a chilling Coldness: “I don’t want to hear it anymore, Leonard. I’ve listened to your fabrications for nearly Twenty Years, and I’m tired of it.”
Sweat beaded on Leonard’s forehead as he finally tore off his mask, his tone becoming Urgent and almost pleading: “This is for the Glorious Demon Fortress! You know my position; you also know how much pressure we’ve faced these past few years! We must attempt… the fusion of rare Bloodline magic to…”
“So you’re using our own child’s sister as material?” Aelia’s voice rose another pitch, its sharpness cutting through his false confidence like a blade.
In that moment, Leonard was truly rendered speechless.
Half of his expression was regret, another half was anger, and part of it was a cowardice he had never dared to confront.
The night was deep; outside the tower, Lucius stood at the end of the Emerald Corridor.
The youthful indulgence and arrogance he once possessed had long faded away.
He listened to his mother’s scolding and his father’s silence; those family secrets he once scorned to inquire about now pierced into his heart like bloodied arrows.
“It really is him,” Lucius murmured; those three words lodged in his chest like ice blocks, impossible to dissolve or shake off.
His fist pressed against the railings, knuckles turning white—yet he did not rage; only the corners of his eyes reddened, and his throat felt as dry as if he had swallowed sand.
He was acutely aware that if the Magic Castle lost the cornerstone of "honor," it would merely become a hollow shell filled with Fake Masks and bones.
Vaguely, his elder brother and Second Brother rushed over; the dusty past began to surface one by one, while his once omnipotent and lofty Father stood at the center of the storm, looking utterly disheveled.
The secret whispers among the servants of Magic Castle spread rapidly.
In the dining hall, maids murmured in hushed tones; in the corner of the library, a magic attendant muttered to himself; in the kitchen, pots and pans clattered out of sync.
Every face bore an expression of "knowing" yet unable to speak, and the entire Magic Castle felt like a bridge on the verge of collapse—seemingly solid on the surface but riddled with countless cracks.
"The Lord and Lady had a quarrel." "It seems more than just a quarrel; something old has been unearthed."
"Even Third Young Master Lucius has shut himself away... something truly has happened."
The sound of Wind echoed like a crane's call; overnight, the rooftops of Glorious Demon Fortress seemed to tremble.
Aelia sat by her window in her chamber, cloaked yet feeling the Coldness seep into her bones.
Luna lay quietly on her lap, wide-eyed like an ancient soul who perceived everything.
"You knew from the very beginning, didn’t you?" Aelia murmured.
Luna did not respond; she simply raised her small hand and picked up a grain of magic dust scattered on the desk, dotting it on a page of paper.
The dark ink spread out, faintly revealing a complex pattern that was nearly indecipherable.
Aelia held her breath as she watched.
That was the blurred Symbol Array from the last page of Leonard's booklet—yet Luna drew it clearer than anyone else could.
Light slowly began Emerging.
Deep within the tower, a magical seal suddenly responded.
From several miles away, magic resonated silently, like an ancient heart beating out a muted "thump" between buildings.
Aelia turned instantly.
"Qin Si, summon Elder Brother, Second Brother, and Lucius."
Her gaze was sharp as a blade; after countless sails had passed, those tears and anger finally settled into a form of extreme calmness.
"It’s time to Clear Glorious Demon Fortress."
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