Chapter 247: The Rebirth of Castorice
Castorice slowly turned, her gaze drifting to the corner of the bathing chamber where a pot of vibrant foliage sat. It was a common variety on Okhema, its leaves broad and lush green.
She walked toward the plant, her steps deliberate, imbued with a reverence that felt almost like a pilgrimage. Upon reaching it, she extended her hand once more, but her fingers froze in mid-air just as they were about to brush against the tender leaves, as if she'd received an electric shock.
Years of psychological trauma made her instinctively recoil. She was terrified that this hard-won sliver of hope would shatter into an even deeper despair the moment she made contact.
Stelle watched from the side, not rushing her. Instead, her voice was a warm, encouraging murmur. "Go on, try it, Castorice. Trust me, it's fine."
Those words seemed to grant Castorice the last ounce of courage she needed.
She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep, shuddering breath, and then firmly but gently touched the emerald-green leaf with the tip of her finger.
The cool, living texture of the plant transmitted itself through her skin—a sensation she hadn't dared to feel in years.
One second passed. Two seconds. The anticipated wilting, the withering, the crumbling to ash… none of it happened.
The leaf remained unfurled beneath her finger, full of the resilient vitality of life, dazzlingly green.
Castorice's eyes snapped open. She stared intently at the intact leaf, then at her own fingers, her mind cycling through disbelief and confirmation.
It was real. She hadn't killed it.
She had touched life, and life… was still vibrant.
An unmatched surge of ecstasy, immense and overwhelming, crashed through her psychological defenses like a tsunami. She should have been smiling; she felt an incredible, heart-bursting happiness swell in her chest.
Instead, tears completely disobeyed her brain's command. They rolled from her violet eyes like strings of broken pearls, tracing paths down her pale cheeks and dripping onto her clothes, spreading into dark stains.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Only her shoulders shook, a violent and silent proof of her overwhelming emotions.
Mydei had been standing silently to the side. Seeing his companion in such a state, a complex expression flickered across the resolute warrior's stern face. He looked at Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng, and in his usual blunt, concise manner, he spoke of the past Castorice so rarely revealed.
"She's been like this since she was a child," he began, his voice low and unadorned, yet every word landed with a heavy weight. "Her power is out of control. Whatever she touches, dies. Plants, animals… even people who accidentally get too close."
"She didn't want this," he continued, "so she left the crowds herself. She stays in Aedialia, rarely coming out."
Those few simple sentences outlined the tragic plight Castorice had endured for years—a self-imposed exile born from an uncontrollable power, a life steeped in loneliness and guilt. Just imagining those long years, not daring to feel the warmth of another living being, was enough to evoke a deep sense of sympathy.
March 7th, whose empathy was always at the forefront, heard his story and saw Castorice crying uncontrollably. Her own eyes instantly reddened, and she couldn't stop the tears from welling up. "Castorice, she…"
Dan Heng remained silent, his gaze filled with solemnity and compassion.
After a long while, Castorice finally began to regain some composure from the immense emotional shock. She tried her best to control her still-trembling body and steady her voice, attempting to reclaim her usual composure, but the excitement was still impossible to completely conceal.
"Tha… thank you very much, Your Excellency," she said, her voice still hoarse and shaky from sobbing. "Logically speaking… I shouldn't accept such a precious… such a miraculous gift."
Stelle heard this and, thinking she was about to refuse, opened her mouth to protest.
But Castorice immediately followed up, her voice ringing with an incredible firmness, as if she were summoning all her strength. "But… I truly… need it very much."
"Therefore, please allow me to accept it. Should Your Excellency ever need my help in the future, please do not hesitate to command me. Castorice… will not shrink from any danger."
Stelle finally breathed a sigh of relief, quickly waving her hand as her tone returned to its usual lively cadence. "Oh, no, no! We're comrades who've fought side by side!"
"I, Stelle, wouldn't quibble with a comrade over such a small thing! If you consider me a friend, then accept it happily! Between friends, we don't say such things!"
March 7th also chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, Castorice, just take it! Don't be polite with this one; she's a hidden tycoon! Besides, this thing will be most useful with you. It would be a complete waste if it stayed with her!"
Hearing March 7th praise her as a "tycoon," Stelle unconsciously straightened her back, a hint of smugness touching her face.
Castorice looked into Stelle's golden eyes, which shone with sincerity and conviction, and her last psychological barrier finally crumbled.
Long-suppressed emotions, like a bursting dam, overwhelmed her. She could no longer hold back. Taking a step forward, she gently, yet with immense reliance, threw herself into Stelle's embrace.
Burying her face in Stelle's shoulder, a stream of suppressed, tearful "thank yous" continuously emerged, as if she were pouring out the grievances, loneliness, and gratitude of countless days and nights.
Stelle was momentarily stunned by the sudden hug. She wasn't very good at handling such direct emotional expressions, and her body went a bit stiff. But she soon relaxed, mimicking how Himeko used to comfort her. She awkwardly and gently patted Castorice's back, saying in a tender voice that even she found a bit odd, "There, there, it's alright… it's all over… From now on, you can touch whatever you want…"
Several more minutes passed before Castorice's intense emotions gradually subsided.
She lifted her head from Stelle's embrace and stepped back two paces, only then realizing how "disrespectful" her earlier actions had been. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she said softly, a little embarrassed, "I apologize, Your Excellency… I… I lost my composure."
Stelle looked at her and couldn't help but laugh, deliberately joking in a relaxed tone, "It's fine, it's fine. I wouldn't mind if you 'lost your composure' like this a few more times."
The atmosphere finally eased completely.
Afterward, Castorice and Mydei bid farewell and left. Castorice was almost eager to go, to step outside and touch the myriad lives she had only ever dared to observe from afar—the wildflowers by the roadside, the breeze sweeping across the grass, even the warm flagstones in the sun. For her, a brand new world, where she could personally feel the beauty of life, was unfolding before her.
It was as if, in that moment, the girl who had lost a normal childhood to a terrible power finally had the chance to embrace a complete life—a new beginning filled with tangible warmth and color.
After seeing off Mydei and the grateful, hope-filled Castorice, Stelle and the other two returned to the now slightly empty private bathing chamber. The air still seemed to carry the scent of the feast and the lingering echoes of the intense emotions from moments before.
"Alright," Stelle clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "The main business isn't over yet."
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