Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System

Chapter 392: Chapter 85: The Morning Star Shines Anew, a New Chapter Begins

"You must have been so disappointed in me back then." Aurora’s voice grew quiet. "Watching me act so proud and haughty, watching me instinctively avoid the people and things you treasured."

"But later... as I grew up, I gradually came to understand. So that I wouldn’t disappoint you again, I started trying to understand you, learning to like the things you liked and love what you loved. I realized that what you wanted was never a world just for you to sit on high, enjoying honor and wealth."

"What you wanted..."

She took a deep breath. "What you wanted was a world where people like Bart and Hank, who toiled their whole lives, wouldn’t be casually cast aside to fend for themselves when they grew old and weak. A world where they could have steady work until the end of their days, where their skills and experience would even be remembered and respected."

"From the very beginning, your gaze wasn’t fixed on the castle’s splendid halls, but on the stables, the fields, the craftsmen’s shops—on all the most ordinary, most easily overlooked corners and the people who lived there."

After she finished speaking, Aurora looked at Murphy quietly, awaiting his response.

The only sounds in the corridor were the faint music of the celebration drifting from afar and the soft crackle of the sconces’ burning wicks.

"Bart and Hank..." Murphy repeated the two names in a low voice. "They passed peacefully. Their grandsons later became fine leatherworkers and carpenters in the workshop."

He paused. "It’s good that you remember them, Aurora."

"Perhaps." He looked toward the closed castle gate, as if his gaze could pierce the heavy oak and see the sea of joy in the square once more. "Perhaps, in some corner of my mind I wasn’t even fully aware of, I really did... hope the starlight could reach more places than just the spire of the castle tower. I hoped that people like Bart and Hank, who quietly supported this land with their skills and hard work, could also be warmed by that starlight."

He drew his gaze back, letting it rest on Aurora’s face again. The faintest hint of a smile touched his lips. "But I must correct you on one point, my dear Aurora."

"Hm?"

"I’m very selfish. I live only for myself, for all of you. All that other business was always just incidental... And when you were little and complained that the stables were dirty, I wasn’t disappointed. I just thought... that’s exactly how a well-protected little girl who deserves to enjoy cleanliness and beauty should be."

Aurora’s face flushed slightly. She gave him a look of mock reproach but couldn’t help but smile as well.

She began to push the wheelchair again.

"Let’s go home, brother," she said softly. "Eleanor should be back soon, and Kaiden and Alina will come over later. Tonight is our family’s time."

...

「By the time Eleanor returned to Monte Territory, night had long since fallen.」

The carriage crossed the territory’s border and rolled onto the familiar, smooth flagstone road.

The sound of the wheels on the ground was even and steady, a world away from the jolting and groaning she had heard on the rough roads outside the territory.

The fields beside the road shimmered with a silvery-white luster under the moonlight, remnants of the harvest. In the distance, village lights dotted the landscape, and plumes of cooking smoke rose straight into the crisp, cool air, exuding an aura of peace.

The closer she got to Monte Castle, the clearer the festival’s afterglow became.

The air held the lingering char of roasted meat, the sweet richness of apple wine, and the scattered, fading fragments of cheerful folk songs.

Colorful ribbons hung on the trees along the road fluttered gently in the night breeze. A few tipsy villagers supported each other as they headed home, humming off-key songs, their laughter hearty and unguarded.

In the square before Monte Castle, the bonfires had burned down to warm embers.

A few servants were cleaning up.

Food still sat on the long tables, yet to be cleared away. A few children were laughingly pulled away from the tables by their parents, their hands still clutching the last of the honey biscuits.

Eleanor had the carriage stop at the castle’s side gate.

She didn’t disturb anyone, slipping out of the carriage like a weightless shadow, her black skirt blending almost perfectly into the night.

The guard, recognizing her, immediately bowed and opened the small, inconspicuous door for her.

The corridors inside the castle were brightly lit.

The candles in the sconces were new and burned steadily. The air held the faint scent of beeswax and pine, a whole world apart from the dust, acrid smoke, and other, more unsettling smells she had encountered on her journey.

She didn’t go to her room first, nor did she head straight for the study as she usually would.

Instead, she passed through the main corridor and headed for the small sitting room in the east wing—the place where the family usually gathered on festival nights.

Sure enough, before she even drew near, she could hear Kaiden’s voice from inside. He seemed to be telling an amusing story, drawing a soft laugh from Alina.

The door was ajar, and a warm, orange light streamed out from the gap.

Eleanor paused outside the door for a moment, then raised her hand and knocked gently three times.

The conversation inside stopped.

Footsteps sounded, the door was pulled open, and Alina’s gentle, smiling face appeared behind it.

"Eleanor!" Her voice was filled with pleasant surprise as she stepped aside. "Come in, quickly. We were just talking about you. It’s a shame you missed the liveliest part of the celebration."

The fireplace in the small sitting room was burning brightly.

Kaiden was sitting in an armchair, holding a warm drink. He smiled when he saw Eleanor enter. "Was the journey smooth? We calculated the time and thought you’d be here by noon."

"I was delayed on the road," Eleanor said softly as she entered the room, closing the door behind her.