years ago, five-year-old Felix had just moved into Vosloda Manor, and back then, she still called that man father.
Although she didn’t wear the fancy little dresses she imagined, nor beca the little princess of her dreams, she had her hair cut short and underwent the strictest noble upbringing. But Felix quickly adapted to her new life; in her youth, she couldn’t see the mockery in the servants’ eyes or the impatience in the teachers’ tones—the manor’s every aspect was so novel, and every day was filled with joy.
Like a wild child, she road the manor, climbing trees and diving into the lake, getting filthy from playing every day. She loved secretly watching Demi’s lessons: horseback riding, swordsmanship, piano, painting... Other than al tis, Felix never saw Demi taking a break. Once, she climbed a tree to chase sparrows and beckoned Demi as he passed by, feeling that Demi’s refusal ca with a pang of envy in his eyes.
But Demi also had things Felix envied because when their father returned, he only checked Demi’s howork. Felix would hide outside the study window, watching their father find countless areas for improvent in Demi’s nearly perfect scores, never offering any praise, just endless criticism. She felt both sympathy and envy for this unfamiliar brother... because their father at least cared about Demi.
Soone caring about you is what gives you worth; otherwise, you’re nothing.
To get her father’s attention, Felix beca particularly mischievous those days: drawing ghostly faces on statues, uprooting the garden’s most precious flowers, and climbing onto the roof until the servants were in a tizzy. No matter what she did, her father never laid eyes on her... not even a scolding.
The absence of attention is the most infuriating for a child. Stubborn Felix couldn’t believe her father truly didn’t care about her at all, so she seized an opportunity, sneaking into her father’s study to see if there was anything fun inside.
Painting maps, playing with models—although Felix didn’t understand what secrets a Duke’s study held, it didn’t stop her from having a great ti. When she accidentally knocked over a stand with a rune-covered armor, unsure of what to do, a voice ca from the doorway: "What are you doing here?"
It wasn’t her father; it was Demi. Hearing the commotion from the study, he ca in to find his younger sibling had made a huge ss. His first reaction was to quickly pull his sibling out.
Felix knew she had gotten into trouble and was a bit scared of being scolded, but when Demi insisted on pulling her away, her temper flared up, and she refused to leave. Demi, three years her senior, often practiced swordsmanship, so of course, an eight-year-old child would be stronger than a five-year-old. Yet, stubborn Felix clung to a nearby white jade statue with all limbs, and Demi couldn’t budge her.
Amid the playful tussle, Felix turned the white jade statue, and a secret door creaked open in the study. The two children were stunned, and Felix imdiately wanted to push open the secret door, but Demi held her back, saying, "This is father’s study, we shouldn’t go in, right?"
But Demi was only holding onto Felix’s clothing with no strength. The hidden room in their father’s study held an undeniable allure for an eight-year-old boy.
"Then don’t go. I’ll go in myself!"
"Stop!" Demi quickly stopped her, stepping forward: "Let go in first!"
"Hmph, tattletale!" Felix certainly didn’t know the hidden room might contain dangers; she only felt Demi was contradicting himself: saying not to go in but eager to enter himself.
When the two eager children entered the secret room, they were soon disappointed. There were neither divine weapons nor barriers sealing monsters, nor was there a hidden young lady—only... paintings.
The ever-lit ’Day Star’ illuminated this ancient luxurious room, its brave-hearted children stepping onto soft carpet, gazing at the array of portraits hanging on the walls. There were n and won, weathered elders and spirited youths, yet all the figures in the paintings bore golden locks without exception.
The largest of the portraits hung on the central wall, frad in gold and silver carvings, the paper bright as if new, the craftsmanship so exquisite that even children could recognize its marvelous detail. Yet the most shocking for Demi and Felix was the beauty of the person in the painting.
"So beautiful..."
"This sister looks so gorgeous..."
Heroic yet alluring, tender yet passionate, soft yet cool—the person in the painting seed to embody all the world’s beauty, able to inspire longing in the children despite the countless ti that had passed.
They instinctively drew closer, wanting to reach out and touch this eternal beauty, frozen in the gaps of ti.
"Beautiful, isn’t it?"
Upon hearing the solemn voice behind them, the two children flinched, their scalps tingling as they turned around to find the cold, stern Star Forger Duke entering the secret room. Even Felix, who was desperate to draw her father’s attention, trembled in fear, ready to burst into tears, despite her father’s silence. Demi, though afraid, stepped forward to attempt to explain desperately: "Father, we weren’t—"
"The first ti I ca in, I swore to marry the woman in the painting."
The Star Forger Duke said, "When I told your grandfather, he hung up and beat half-dead. Because the person in the portrait is our Vosloda ancestor."
Demi blinked. He thought he saw a slight smile at his father’s mouth, but upon closer inspection, it was just as stern... Even sharing the folly of his youth before the children, the Star Forger Duke seed indifferent.
When the children fully understood their father’s words, they imdiately turned their heads to stare at the painting, their hearts shaken to the core. Felix stamred, "An...ancestor is a woman!?"
"No, it’s male."
The Star-Casting Duke said, "He has no na, just called Vosloda. This is a na derived from ’Starry Poems’, ’Vos’ represents dominion, ’Loda’ implies conquest, and Vosloda ans dominating fate and conquering everything."
Demi imdiately said, "I will definitely rember the glory of the ancestors!"
Felix, who was slow to realize, also quickly said, " too!"
The Star-Casting Duke didn’t care about the flattery from the two children, waved his hand, and said, "Go out."
Seeing his father not pursuing his mischief, Felix was no longer afraid, and asked expectantly, "Will I be as good-looking as the ancestors when I grow up?"
Demi couldn’t help but say, "Father, can you tell us the story of the ancestors?"
The Star-Casting Duke was silent for a mont, staring at the painting, lost in thought. Just when the children thought their father would not respond, the normally taciturn Star-Casting Duke sighed lightly, "Being so good-looking may not be a good thing."
"A thousand years ago, chaos arose in the Kingdom of Stars, nobles fought against each other. The ancestor who rose from humble beginnings followed the fourth princess at the ti to crusade against disloyal subjects, destroying the ’Azure Star Dynasty’ and establishing the ’Golden Star Dynasty’... At night, when you look up, you see the brightest golden star in the north, which is the banner of the Starry Dynasty."
"What does ’rose from humble beginnings’ an?" Felix didn’t understand, "Does it an that the ancestors were not nobles?"
"It ans the family’s situation was bad," the more cultured Demi explained, "The ancestor probably wasn’t a noble at the start, but a common civilian."
"Not even a civilian, the ancestor..." The Star-Casting Duke paused, "was soone who brought joy to others with beauty."
"Wow!" Felix exclaid, "The ancestor was such a good person? Was he doing charity?"
Demi, not as innocent as Felix, vaguely guessed at his father’s implication, and couldn’t help but look up at his ambiguously beautiful ancestor, feeling a strange pity.
"Why did the noble war happen?" Demi asked, "Was it because the royal family was bad?"
"It was because the system was bad," the Star-Casting Duke said, "At that ti, there was no ’Noble Charter’, only a crude noble system, which couldn’t accommodate the growing number of mages and the interests of the populous. The upper class lived indulgently, the lower classes sabotaged each other."
"The noble war was not just violent confrontation; various forces put forward different political advocacies, even the Church split, helping different lords implent different Star Cluster Charters. Eventually, the ’Golden Rose Empress’ gained the most support from subjects, had the most powerful army, thus established the Golden Star Dynasty, continuing until now. And the ’Noble Charter’ she implented beca the political foundation of the stars..."
Just as the Star-Casting Duke and Demi wanted to delve deeper into the conversation, Felix, who didn’t understand, protested loudly, "Why is it bad to be as beautiful as the ancestor?"
The Star-Casting Duke glanced at her, thought for a mont, and closed the door of the secret chamber. Felix was startled, thinking she was about to be spanked, as her mother often spanked her when she was naughty. Demi also thought his father was angry, stood in front of Felix, ready to unbuckle his belt, thinking if punishnt was to be, they’d get spanked together.
"What I am about to say, you must act as if you didn’t hear it, and you must not speak of it," the Star-Casting Duke sternly said, "Do you understand!?"
"Understood!" The children quickly agreed.
The Star-Casting Duke walked to the front of the painting, the children watched from behind, suddenly realizing that their father indeed had so resemblance to the ancestor. Not just the golden hair, but the father’s eyes and brows were similar to the ancestor’s, poetic like birds gliding across the sky, only the father was always expressionless, so the children didn’t realize it... But looking at the ancestor’s portrait, they vaguely felt their father might have been good-looking when he was young.
"How many Dukes are there in the Star Cluster?" he suddenly asked.
"Including Vosloda, there are five in total!" Demi answered promptly, "Collectively known as the Star Cluster’s Five Pillars!"
"The Star Cluster’s five original Dukes were all outstanding Legendary Mages, either commanding generals skilled in battle, or Healing Saints who could revive the dead, or Disaster ssengers moving mountains and seas," the Star-Casting Duke said, "Except for the ancestor, the other Dukes were two n and two won, along with the fourth princess who beca Empress, making two n and three won..."
At this point, the Star-Casting Duke stopped, the children found it strange why he was ntioning this, but since the father didn’t continue, they didn’t dare to ask.
Nearly a minute passed before the Star-Casting Duke squeezed out a few words, "They all loved the ancestor."
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