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A hidden will has just surfaced, proving the despised illegitimate son was the rightful heir the entire time! Experience the explosive fallout and deadly twists in Blood Oath The Bastard's Reckoning, as the mafia family's greatest cover-up finally implodes. Catch the complete series now and watch the empire crumble!
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00:00I was bastard-born. My father was the High Archon of the realm.
00:04Sixteen years ago, when my mother carried me in her womb,
00:07she traveled with him to his ancestral rites,
00:09where they were ambushed by Aegean pirates,
00:12and she drew them away alone to save him.
00:14My father was saved. My mother was eventually rescued too,
00:18but the pirates were without mercy,
00:20and they violated her while she still carried me in her womb.
00:23Everyone said my mother had lost her honor and should hang herself,
00:26but she refused. She endured and lived on for my sake.
00:31My father could not divorce her outright for the sake of his own political standing,
00:35because she had saved his life.
00:37To cast her out would mark him as a man without gratitude,
00:40and that would damage his career.
00:42So he had her sent to a remote outpost farm beyond the city walls,
00:46telling everyone it was so she could rest quietly during her confinement,
00:49away from gossip.
00:50But that outpost farm had fallen into ruin long ago.
00:53It was no place for a woman with child.
00:55Over the following six months, as people forgot my mother,
00:58my father took a new wife in a full legitimate ceremony,
01:01the daughter of his mentor.
01:02And on the very day of his wedding, my mother gave birth to me.
01:08My mother and I lived at that remote outpost farm for eight years.
01:12My father never came once.
01:13Only two royal handmaids were assigned to care for us,
01:17though in truth they were our keepers,
01:19forbidding us from leaving or receiving any visitors.
01:22The outpost was desolate,
01:23and guarding us was drudge work.
01:25So the two handmaids resented it,
01:27and took their frustrations out on my mother and me.
01:29They called my mother a harlot who had lost her honor and should have died,
01:33and called me a bastard,
01:34a child my mother had conceived by some unknown man.
01:37My mother argued back fiercely to protect me,
01:40but every time she was beaten until she bled.
01:42Once, while the handmaids were beating my mother again,
01:45I crept under their bed that night to frighten them,
01:47and overheard them whispering that all the abuse and humiliation directed at my mother and me
01:52had been ordered by Mara, the second wife back at the estate.
01:55The purpose was to break us until we could no longer endure and took our own lives.
02:00Not that Mara was too timid to kill us outright,
02:03but that she and my father feared their reputations.
02:05And if we were murdered and someone found proof,
02:08it would become a weapon against them at the height of my father's career,
02:11a risk they could not afford.
02:13Our suicide was the cleanest outcome they could hope for,
02:16and even if someone discovered the handmaids had driven us to it through torment,
02:20my father and Mara could simply claim they had been too far away to supervise the servants properly,
02:24and wash their hands of it entirely.
02:26I told my mother everything I had heard, but she did not make a scene.
02:30She simply began teaching me in secret,
02:32reading, writing, and certain rules of conduct I did not yet understand.
02:36I was not willing to accept it and wanted to confront my father.
02:40But my mother stopped me sharply, defiant, I refused to submit.
02:43And finally, when the estate sent a card out to the farm,
02:46I hid inside and wrote it all the way back to the estate.
02:50That was the first time I saw the Archon's estate.
02:53Carved columns, painted archways,
02:55magnificent beyond anything I had known.
02:58And I, in my ragged clothes, was thrown out as a beggar.
03:01At the gates, I saw my father returning in a litter,
03:03with a girl beside him who looked like she had been carved from pale marble.
03:08And I ran forward and called out to him.
03:10But his guards kicked me to the ground.
03:12My father looked at me with undisguised contempt,
03:14ordered me sent back to the farm, and his voice was cold,
03:17his eyes seeing me as nothing but a mark of shame.
03:20I heard the girl ask my father who I was,
03:22and he answered her gently,
03:23Just a beggar, filthy creature, Kalia.
03:27Don't look, you'll dirty your eyes.
03:29Later, I learned that girl was Mara's daughter, Kalia,
03:32only seven years old,
03:33and already celebrated for her talents throughout the city.
03:36The pride of my father's heart.
03:39At eight years old, I still believed naively that if I studied hard enough,
03:43I could be loved by my father the way Kalia was.
03:45So I threw myself into learning everything my mother taught me.
03:48As I grew year by year and became more striking in appearance,
03:52my mother's brow grew more and more furrowed,
03:54and she forbade me from adorning myself,
03:56to keep the two handmaids from noticing my face.
03:59She even made me deliberately look plain.
04:01On the day I came of age,
04:02my mother said something to the handmaids that I never heard,
04:05and they actually took her back to the estate.
04:07But she was gone only half a day before she returned.
04:10And when she came back, she was deeply sorrowful.
04:12I did not know what had happened to her at the estate,
04:15and she told me nothing,
04:16only drove herself to teach me music,
04:18drawing, dance, and all the rest.
04:20A few months later, my mother took her own life.
04:23Without any warning, she was simply gone.
04:27She left behind a written confession,
04:29full of self-reproach,
04:30saying she had been defiled and had no right to go on living.
04:34I did not believe a word of that confession,
04:36and I did not believe she had died by her own hand.
04:39I flew at the two handmaids in a rage,
04:41certain they had driven her to it,
04:42and they beat me unconscious.
04:44When I came to, I ran out of the farm in a frenzy,
04:47and found the city coroner demanding an examination of her body.
04:50And the verdict came back that my mother had indeed died by her own hand.
04:54Stop making trouble.
04:55Your worthless mother killed herself willingly.
04:59She made a deal with the High Archcon and Mara.
05:02She died to preserve the honor of the estate.
05:05And in exchange, you would be found a decent match.
05:09Mara, in her generosity, has already chosen someone for you.
05:13A lame widower who slaughters pigs for a living.
05:17A girl of your standing should count herself lucky to marry him.
05:20So prepare yourself.
05:22They'll come for you in a few days.
05:24The handmaid smiled with great satisfaction,
05:26as though she was celebrating the end of her thankless duty guarding us.
05:30This time, I did not argue or make a scene.
05:32The two handmaids assumed I had accepted my fate.
05:35But what they did not expect was that in the dead of night,
05:39once they were asleep,
05:40I strapped my mother's body to my back and fled.
05:45By the time I reached the city,
05:47dawn had broken,
05:47and I carried my mother on my back all the way to the Archon's estate.
05:51I wanted only to demand justice from Creon for what he had done to her.
05:54When I arrived at the gates of the estate,
05:56I found a long procession already moving out.
05:59A true display of splendor, lavish beyond measure.
06:02From the whispers of the crowd around me,
06:04I learned that my beloved sister, Kalia,
06:06was being summoned to the palace that very day
06:08as royal consort to the new king.
06:10I saw Creon standing at the gates to see her off,
06:13his face bright with pride,
06:15while officials surrounded him with flattery and praise.
06:17His expression was one of pure triumph,
06:20and it was plain that my mother's death had not touched him in the slightest,
06:23that this was only joy added to joy for him.
06:25I stood in the crowd with my mother's body on my back
06:28and simply watched in silence,
06:30and the coins and sweets that the servants tossed toward the crowd struck my body,
06:34but I felt no pain.
06:35I clenched my hands until my nails drove into my palms,
06:38and I swore to myself then,
06:39I will avenge my mother,
06:41I will make Creon,
06:42and everyone in that estate pay with their lives to accompany her.
06:45The Agora Vault was the greatest auction house in the realm,
06:48within its walls past every rare and precious thing imaginable,
06:52nothing it could not procure,
06:54nothing in all the land it did not dare put up for sale.
06:57No one knew who stood behind the Agora Vault,
06:59but neither noble sons nor heirs of great houses dared cause trouble within it.
07:03Now I stood on its highest floor,
07:05facing Master Solon across the table.
07:07What are you here to purchase, Miss?
07:09I am not here to purchase anything.
07:11I am here to sell.
07:13And what are you selling?
07:14An item worth 50,000 Drakens.
07:17Can you authorize that amount yourself?
07:19Though I am only the Master of the Vault,
07:2250,000 Drakens is well within my authority to authorize.
07:26Please, speak.
07:28I am selling myself.
07:32Miss, please do not jest.
07:34I am the legitimate firstborn daughter of the current High Archon,
07:37and the elder sister of the Royal Consort.
07:40I am worth 50,000 Drakens.
07:42I am auctioning myself to fund my mother's burial rites.
07:45This story alone will make the Agora Vault the talk of every street in the city,
07:49and your name will rise higher than it has ever been.
07:53You lose nothing in this bargain,
07:55and the Vault boasts there is nothing it does not dare sell.
07:59So I ask you, do you dare take this deal?
08:02I used the simplest form of provocation.
08:05Master Sullen studied me for a long moment, then said,
08:08Please wait a moment, miss.
08:09He withdrew, clearly to consult the Vault's unseen owner,
08:12and after roughly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he returned.
08:16The Agora Vault accepts your business.
08:18The auction will begin in three days.
08:20Before the auction, I need the Agora Vault to do two things, I said.
08:25Please speak, miss.
08:26The first is to spread the news of my auctioning myself to fund my mother's burial rites as widely
08:31as possible, and the fact that I am the High Archon's legitimate daughter,
08:35and the Royal Consort's elder sister, must reach every street and alley in the city,
08:40and even the palace must hear of it.
08:42The second is to protect me for three days.
08:45No matter who applies pressure to the Agora Vault during those three days,
08:48I need the auction to proceed without cancellation,
08:50and I must not be handed over to anyone.
08:52Master Sullen nodded.
08:53Miss, it seems you have declared a blood oath between yourself and the High Archon,
08:58but the Agora Vault agrees.
09:00I smiled.
09:01Of course it was a blood oath,
09:02though Creon was already the head of the civic factions with countless supporters.
09:06There would always be those who wished to see him humiliated,
09:09and I intended to make Creon the laughingstock of the entire city on the day of the auction.
09:14But I wanted more than his humiliation.
09:16I wanted justice for my mother.
09:19As expected, the news of my auctioning myself to fund my mother's burial rites
09:23had spread through the city and caused a sensation in less than half a day.
09:27Because alongside that news came the story of what had happened 17 years ago,
09:31how my mother had been violated by Aegean pirates while saving Creon.
09:3517 years had passed and few still remembered.
09:37But I remembered, and my mother had died because of it,
09:40while Creon, who had benefited most, lived on without consequence.
09:44That was too unjust to bear, so I had paid people to spread the story again.
09:47Some said Creon had mistreated my mother and me so badly
09:50that there was no money even for burial rites after her death,
09:54which was why I had been forced to auction myself.
09:56Some said Creon was a man without gratitude,
09:59that he had betrayed the woman who had saved his life.
10:01And some said the place of royal consort should have been mined by right,
10:05since the king had originally sought to wed the High Archon's legitimate daughter.
10:09And I was the legitimate daughter while Kalia was born of Mara,
10:12which made her by all proper reckoning, nothing more than a daughter of a concubine.
10:16In less than an hour, a furious Creon arrived at the Agora Vault
10:19with several fierce-looking servants carrying clubs, intending to take me away.
10:23Though his manner made it plain, he meant to beat me to death on the spot.
10:27Fortunately, I had already hidden myself somewhere safe,
10:30and Creon searched the Agora Vault without finding any trace of me,
10:33and was forced to leave in frustration.
10:35Master Solon told me that Creon had left eyes watching the area around the Agora Vault,
10:40that the palace had also sent people to keep watch,
10:43and that a number of Creon's political enemies had stationed men there as well.
10:48None of this surprised me, for I had anticipated all of it,
10:51and so I settled in to wait out the three days.
10:53Master Solon also told me that on Kalia's first day in the palace,
10:57the king had not visited her chambers once, not even once, because of my affair.
11:01I allowed myself a faint smile at that.
11:03This was only the beginning, and the reckoning of the House of Creon had only just begun.
11:08The three days passed quickly, and on the third day the auction hall of the Agora Vault
11:12was filled without a single empty seat, and it was then that I made my entrance.
11:18I sat on the high platform with bitters surrounding me on all sides,
11:22examined like a piece of merchandise, and I remained composed and indifferent.
11:26I swept my gaze around the room and saw Creon seated at the very center,
11:31his face dark with fury, his eyes burning with a consuming rage.
11:35Had this been anywhere other than the Agora Vault,
11:38he would likely have had me struck down already.
11:40My eyes passed over him without pausing for even half a breath,
11:44and finally came to rest for a moment on a private booth on the upper floor.
11:48Master Solon had told me it was occupied by someone from the palace,
11:51though he did not know who.
11:53Master Solon stepped forward, and without lengthy introduction,
11:56my identity was known to everyone,
11:58he simply laid out the rules of the auction.
12:01Today's bidding would not be conducted aloud.
12:03The floor price was 20,000 drachmas,
12:05and each person would write their offer on a piece of parchment,
12:09all of which would be handed to me to examine,
12:11with the highest bid taking the prize.
12:13I watched Creon's eyes flash with the certainty of a man
12:16who considers the outcome already decided,
12:18and he rose to his feet.
12:20I am this wretch's father,
12:21that she has done something this disgraceful today as my failure as a parent.
12:26I offer 20,000 draxons,
12:29and I ask everyone here to do me the courtesy of stepping aside.
12:32Creon looked around the room as he finished,
12:34as though memorizing every face present.
12:37I allowed myself a small smile.
12:39Those words were a threat,
12:41and it seemed few people would dare to outbid him today,
12:44though the sealed nature of the bidding
12:46meant there might still be someone willing to go higher than Creon.
12:50Half an hour later,
12:51Master Solon brought me all the written bids,
12:53and I opened them one by one,
12:55keeping a record as I read.
12:57The Council Secretary Lycos,
12:591,000 drachmas.
13:00The Chief Justice Heron,
13:028,000 drachmas.
13:03The head of the Academy Sorin,
13:0510,000 drachmas.
13:06Every one of them had shown deference to Creon the High Archon
13:09by keeping their bids low,
13:10yet not so low as to be insulting to a legitimate daughter of the Archon.
13:14Truly,
13:15they had managed to offend no one on either side.
13:17I opened the final piece of parchment,
13:19and written on it were the words,
13:21Creon,
13:2220,000 drachmas,
13:23the highest bid in the room.
13:25Master Solon glanced at the figure,
13:27and leaned close to murmur in my ear.
13:29The Agora Vault
13:30only recognizes the bid.
13:33You will have to rely
13:35on your own fortune from here.
13:38I understood what he meant.
13:40He believed that if Creon bought me back,
13:42my fate would most likely be a grim one.
13:44But the Agora Vault only honored bids,
13:47and would not involve itself in anything beyond that,
13:50which was their principle,
13:51and not something they would break even for my sake.
13:56I smiled faintly,
13:57picked up Creon's parchment,
13:59and looked toward him where he sat wearing the expression of a man who has already won.
14:03The highest bidder today is the High Archon Creon.
14:06His offer is 50,000 drachmas.
14:09Creon's face went rigid,
14:11and he rose at once,
14:12already preparing to protest.
14:14I did not give him the chance to speak.
14:16The second highest bid was 49,000 drachmas.
14:20Just 1,000 short.
14:22Creon opened his mouth and said nothing.
14:25I knew he likely suspected I was lying,
14:27but he could not afford to gamble on it,
14:29because he had to have me.
14:31If I were bought by someone else today,
14:33Creon the High Archon would lose all face before the city,
14:36and I would slip beyond his control,
14:38which could mean endless trouble for him in the future.
14:41So his only choice now was to swallow this humiliation in silence.
14:45Creon's face turned the color of iron as he reached into his robe,
14:48and produced a draft for 50,000 drachmas,
14:51and handed it to the vault's representative,
14:53then moved to take hold of me and dragged me away.
14:56I shook his hand off sharply,
14:58then accepted from Master Solon my share of 40,000 drachmas.
15:02The Agora Vault retained two-tenths of the auction price,
15:04leaving me with 40,000.
15:06Creon fixed his eyes on me.
15:09Come back to the estate with me,
15:10I'll deal with you there.
15:12And those 40,000 drachmas won't leave with you either.
15:16I looked at Creon.
15:19I'm afraid you will be disappointed, High Archon.
15:22Before he could react,
15:23I turned toward the private booth on the upper floor and spoke clearly.
15:27I, Lyra,
15:28offer 40,000 drachmas in silver to the soldiers on the frontier,
15:32and present a temple ledger of immeasurable worth
15:36that resolve the king's most urgent difficulty.
15:38I ask only to be summoned to the palace as royal concord.
15:44At those words, Creon's face changed completely.
15:47He shot me a furious glare and turned quickly toward the upper booth.
15:51This wretch is speaking in jest.
15:54The new king had only recently taken the throne,
15:56and the frontier was unstable.
15:58Skirmishes had already broken out several times.
16:00And the king wished to fight one decisive campaign
16:03to intimidate the border tribes and establish his own authority.
16:06Creon, as the leader of the civic faction,
16:09had consistently opposed it out of reluctance
16:11to see the military commanders grow powerful.
16:14And with the treasury depleted,
16:16the matter had been left unresolved and dragging on.
16:19Now I was willing to donate 40,000 drachmas
16:21as provisions to support the king's campaign.
16:24And I was certain the man in that booth would be moved.
16:27And indeed from the booth came a warm and measured voice.
16:30What temple ledger?
16:31The moment the words fell,
16:33a palace steward hurried down from the upper floor
16:36and came to stand beside me.
16:37I drew something from my sleeve and handed it to the steward.
16:40And he carried it quickly back up to the booth.
16:43After a short pause,
16:45the steward came back out holding a royal edict.
16:47By royal decree,
16:49Lyra is hereby named Royal Consort Lyra
16:52to enter the palace this very day.
16:56I accepted the edict
16:57and a deep steadiness settled in my chest.
17:00I had finally taken this step.
17:02Creon's expression turned ugly in an instant
17:04and he fixed his eyes on me.
17:05You vile creature.
17:07You and that vile mother of yours are equally repulting.
17:11I paid him no attention at all
17:13and instead looked at Creon and said,
17:15Hi, Archeon.
17:16Today is my wedding day.
17:18As your legitimate firstborn daughter,
17:20my dowry should be no less than my conkine-born sisters
17:24and my mother's dowry that was taken from her
17:26must also be returned to me.
17:28I have the full inventory of both.
17:30With so many people of standing present today,
17:33I trust the High Archman would not embarrass himself
17:35by being known as a man who seized a woman's dowry.
17:39Creon's face was the color of ash.
17:41You deserve to die.
17:43You should have gone the same way as that vile mother of yours.
17:47You should have died long ago.
17:49I should have strangled you at birth.
17:51Do you truly believe that entering the palace
17:54means I cannot still destroy you?
17:56I felt nothing at Creon's curses,
17:59only a faint sense of absurdity.
18:03Riding the litter into the palace,
18:05I felt something close to joy.
18:06Today's confrontation had been my victory,
18:09though a fortunate one,
18:10achieved because Creon had been caught unprepared
18:12and I had slipped through the gap.
18:14That so-called temple ledger
18:15was nothing more than the names of every official
18:18who had placed a bid in the auction hall today.
18:20With the amount each had offered written beside it.
18:23The treasury was depleted,
18:25yet these same officials had been pleading poverty before the king.
18:28And here they were spending so freely to acquire a woman.
18:31If they could spend so much on that,
18:33they could certainly be made to contribute
18:35as much to the treasury to support the frontier campaign.
18:38With that ledger in hand,
18:40the king could compel those officials
18:42to donate to the war effort.
18:44And though it was only a list of names,
18:46it was genuinely a temple ledger
18:48worth its weight in gold
18:49for resolving his most pressing difficulty.
18:52Upon moving into the wing of good fortune,
18:54the first thing I did after entering the palace
18:56was donate every piece of dowry Creon
18:58had given me in full to the treasury.
19:00Everything from Creon I found too filthy to keep.
19:04Only my mother's dowry I stored away carefully and kept close.
19:07This gesture delighted the king greatly,
19:09and he immediately praised me for my civic virtue
19:12and bestowed on me a considerable number of treasures.
19:17Half a day after entering the palace,
19:19the head steward of the household office arrived at my courtyard
19:22with several palace maids and stewards in tow.
19:25My lady Lyra,
19:26these servants have all been trained by the household office.
19:30Please see if any suit your taste.
19:31The head steward smiled with great deference.
19:34I swept a glance over the row of stewards and maids standing before me,
19:38then looked back at the head steward.
19:40Choose a few yourself.
19:41I have only one requirement.
19:42The ones you choose may be the eyes of the king and the queen,
19:46but they must not be the eyes of royal consort Calia or of Creon.
19:49If I discover otherwise,
19:51I will stake my life to see you finished,
19:53so consider carefully whether the silver Creon pays you
19:56is worth more than your life.
19:57Do not dismiss my words lightly.
19:59I swear on a blood oath without end.
20:02My words made the head steward's expression shift,
20:04and then he smiled and said,
20:06My lady Jace,
20:08how would this servant dare?
20:10I drank my tea and ignored him.
20:12And after a long moment of visible deliberation,
20:15the head steward selected a few stewards and maids from the group,
20:18then led the rest away with a deep bow.
20:23Upon entering the palace,
20:24I was required to pay my respects to the queen.
20:27And when I arrived at her hall in the wing of unending spring,
20:30a considerable number of people had already gathered.
20:33The queen sat at the center of the room,
20:35and I stepped forward to offer my greeting.
20:37My movements were precise and faultless,
20:40as though I had practiced them 10,000 times.
20:42The consorts who had been waiting to see me stumble,
20:45looked at one another in surprise,
20:47because they all knew I had been raised on a ruined outpost farm
20:50with no proper instruction,
20:52and had assumed I would be coarse and unable to conduct myself in polished company.
20:56Yet my bearing was composed and remarkable.
20:59The queen smiled.
21:00Rise, Lyra.
21:01Bring her a seat.
21:03I rose and walked to a seat nearby,
21:05and my gaze settled on a woman sitting across from me.
21:08I knew her to be Kalia,
21:09the current royal consort,
21:11Creon's daughter and the pride of his house.
21:13The queen looked at me and said,
21:16Today is Lyra's first day in the palace.
21:19From now on, you are all sisters,
21:22and you must live in harmony.
21:23Kalia looked at me,
21:25her eyes filled with undisguised hatred.
21:27Sister certainly has talent.
21:28Your mother has been dead only three days,
21:30yet you could not wait to enter the palace.
21:32Auctioning yourself to fund her burial rates
21:34and playing the object of pity to win sympathy.
21:37What a fine performance.
21:38And I wonder whether your mother knowing your conduct could rest in peace.
21:42I glanced toward the queen.
21:43She had just finished speaking of harmony,
21:45and Kalia had immediately begun to mock me,
21:48showing no regard for the queen's face whatsoever,
21:50and clearly meaning to establish her authority over me from the very first moment.
21:54That Kalia moved so quickly to mock me
21:56meant my earlier actions had already caused her considerable distress.
22:00Because I had first donated 40,000 drachmas to the treasury,
22:03and then sent in nearly 10,000 drachmas worth of the dowry Creon had given me.
22:08And everyone was praising my loyalty and virtue.
22:11This had placed Kalia in an impossible position.
22:13For as Creon's other daughter, she faced the same question.
22:17Donate her dowry or not.
22:18And either choice cost her something.
22:21That too was the outcome I had wanted.
22:23I intended for everyone in Creon's household to know no peace.
22:27The other consorts watched me one by one,
22:29their expressions bright with schadenfreude.
22:32I smiled faintly.
22:33I was no soft target.
22:35And looked coldly at Kalia.
22:37So you do know my mother died only three days ago.
22:40My mother passed.
22:41And you, a daughter of a concubine,
22:44were permitted to take a husband.
22:45So why should I, the legitimate daughter,
22:47not be permitted the same?
22:50Whether my mother can rest in peace I cannot say.
22:52But the concubine who bored you must be sleeping very uneasily.
22:55The whole world now knows that so-called second wife of your fathers
22:58is nothing but a kept woman deceiving herself with a title she was never given.
23:01And you, sister,
23:02will be a daughter of a concubine for the rest of your life.
23:05That is truly pitiful.
23:07My words drained the color from Kalia's face
23:09because the rumors had already spread
23:11that a concubine-born daughter
23:13had taken the place of the legitimate daughter as royal consort,
23:17that the king had not visited her chambers once in three days,
23:20and that she had become a laughingstock.
23:22She was just drawing breath to fire back
23:24when the queen cut across her sharply.
23:26Enough, both of you.
23:30Lyra, remain behind.
23:32The rest of you may withdraw.
23:36Kalia was furious but had no choice
23:38and she left with the other consorts.
23:41When everyone had gone,
23:42the queen looked at me and said,
23:44Lyra, the king and I are both aware
23:46of the grievances between you and the High Archant.
23:48You helped the king today
23:50and I will remember that debt.
23:52And though I too must be cautious
23:53of the High Archant within this palace,
23:55it is within my power to protect you.
23:57In the half day since I had entered the palace,
24:00the king had already taken my ledger
24:01to the homes of the relevant officials
24:03and pressed them for contributions
24:05with clear justification.
24:07And those men had found it difficult
24:09to plead poverty any further.
24:10I looked at the queen
24:12and considered her words carefully.
24:14After a long pause, I spoke.
24:16I am grateful for your kindness, my queen.
24:19But between myself and Creon's household,
24:22there is a blood oath without end.
24:25The queen sighed.
24:27Why bring this upon yourself?
24:28You have no power, no allies.
24:31How do you expect to fight?
24:33In the end, the queen had no choice
24:35but to let me withdraw.
24:36On my first day in the palace,
24:38it was understood without question
24:40that I would attend the king that evening.
24:42That was the unspoken custom of the palace.
24:45At the hour of the setting sun,
24:47the king came to my wing of good fortune
24:49and I stepped forward to greet him.
24:53Long life to the king.
24:56The king walked to the table and sat down.
24:58I recognized the voice.
25:00It was the same warm, measured voice
25:02from the booth that day.
25:03The king's palace steward
25:04then withdrew with everyone else
25:06and I knew the king had something to say.
25:09Lyra, the high archer came to find me today
25:12and asked me to cost you into the forgotten wing.
25:14The king looked at me and said,
25:16I walked to his side
25:18and poured him a cup of wine.
25:20And what did the king say?
25:22I have only recently taken the throne
25:24and the court is unsettled.
25:27If the high archer supports me,
25:29the council will be stable.
25:30The king finished speaking
25:31and let a troubled expression show
25:33then picked up the cup and drank.
25:35I smiled at his side.
25:37The king very much wished to agree
25:38but I had just helped the king
25:40and moreover had donated 50,000 drake rooms in silver
25:42as provisions for the frontier soldiers
25:44who will all remember that gift.
25:45If the king were to punish me now,
25:47not only would the frontier soldiers
25:48feel the cold of it
25:49but all those who do things
25:50on the king's behalf would feel it too.
25:52The king looked at me,
25:53a flash of surprise passing through his eyes.
25:56Lyra, you are very shrewd.
25:58You have been calculating every step since the auction.
26:00Since you are this shrewd, tell me.
26:01Did I agree?
26:02I shook my head with complete certainty.
26:04The king would not agree.
26:05The king was curious.
26:07Why not?
26:08Those reasons you gave are not sufficient
26:10to make me refuse the high archer's goodwill.
26:12Because I could simply wait six months
26:14until everything has settled
26:15and then find some pretext
26:17to cast you into the forgotten wing.
26:19Because the king is the king,
26:21the son of heaven.
26:23The king does not submit to another's will.
26:26Kriam's help resolves one crisis
26:27but what of the second?
26:29And the third?
26:31So the king would not agree.
26:32I finished speaking and looked at the king.
26:35The king said nothing
26:36and his eyes fixed on me,
26:38cold and still.
26:39And after a long moment,
26:40he suddenly broke into laughter.
26:42Laia,
26:43if you had been born a man,
26:45I would have made you my chief minister.
26:47I could see it clearly.
26:48In that one instant,
26:49the king had felt the urge to have me killed
26:51for a ruler does not tolerate
26:53a shrewd mind dwelling in the inner palace.
26:57Your majesty,
26:58shall we make a bargain?
27:00Speak.
27:01I will help you bring down Creon.
27:04And when Creon falls,
27:06I ask the king to let me leave the palace
27:09and take my vows at the shrine of Hestia.
27:11I finished speaking and looked at the king.
27:13I accept.
27:14But do you understand how deeply
27:16Creon is rooted in this court
27:18to speak such bold words?
27:20I nodded.
27:21Creon was the high archon
27:22and six of the seven councils
27:24fell under his influence.
27:26It was an iron fortress
27:27that even the king
27:28could not yet pry open.
27:30Then I will watch and wait.
27:32The king did not waste further words.
27:35After sitting in my chambers
27:36for more than an hour,
27:37the king departed,
27:38having clearly stayed long enough
27:40to preserve my honor
27:41so that everyone would believe
27:43I had attended him that night.
27:45After entering the palace,
27:46the king came to sit in my chambers
27:48every evening for three days running.
27:50And most of the time,
27:51we played strategy games across a board.
27:54But in the eyes of others,
27:55I was considered deeply favored,
27:57attended every night.
27:58I heard that the wing of green bamboo
28:00had already gone through
28:01several sets of ceramic vessels,
28:03smashed in succession.
28:05The wing of green bamboo
28:06was Kalia's quarters.
28:07I could see that the king
28:08was doing this deliberately
28:10to provoke both Kalia
28:11and the man behind her, Creon.
28:13And indeed on the fourth day,
28:15word came from the archon's estate
28:17that Creon had formally annulled
28:19his marriage to my mother
28:20on the grounds
28:21that she had been dishonored.
28:22And that from that point forward,
28:24my mother and I had no relation
28:25to the house of Creon.
28:27And my mother was to be barred from burial
28:28in the archon's ancestral ground.
28:30I gave a cold laugh,
28:32who wanted anything to do
28:33with the archon's ancestral ground.
28:35My mother would find it filthy
28:36even to be buried there.
28:37But Creon had made his move
28:39and I had to answer it.
28:42That same afternoon,
28:44I asked the king to summon Creon
28:45and Mara to the palace.
28:46The king was reluctant at first,
28:48but when I told him this move
28:49would help him crack open
28:50the civic faction's united front,
28:53he agreed with some reluctance.
28:56I waited in the wing of good fortune
28:58for an hour,
28:58and then a palace steward arrived
29:00leading Creon and Mara inside.
29:02In the council hall,
29:03Creon stood second only
29:05to the king himself,
29:06and all the stewards and maids
29:08bowed and scraped before him.
29:09Creon clearly enjoyed this,
29:11and his expression was one of triumph
29:13throughout the walk.
29:14When Creon saw me,
29:15his eyes still carried fury,
29:17but then he smiled.
29:19You called the old man
29:20to the palace
29:21to ask for your mother's burial
29:22in our ancestral ground?
29:24I swept a glance over Creon,
29:26then looked at the woman beside him,
29:28Mara,
29:28she was genuinely beautiful,
29:29and Kalia had clearly
29:31inherited her looks.
29:33Hi, Archrin.
29:35Such great official dignity.
29:37To not offer a greeting
29:39when standing before
29:40the king's concord,
29:41is that contempt
29:42for the royal house?
29:43I gave a cold smile.
29:46Creon's face stiffened,
29:47and then he gritted his teeth
29:49and bent into a bow,
29:50while Mara's expression
29:52turned equally ugly
29:53as she followed
29:54with a reluctant curtsy.
29:55I drew something from my sleeve
29:57and set it on the table beside me,
29:59facing directly toward Creon
30:01and Mara as they bowed.
30:02When Creon straightened
30:04and saw the object on the table,
30:05his face turned the color of iron.
30:07Laia, you are truly insolent.
30:10And Mara, upon seeing it,
30:12went equally pale
30:13with barely concealed rage.
30:15But I only smiled
30:16and ran my fingers gently
30:17along the object beside me.
30:19It was my mother's mourning tablet,
30:21small enough to be carried
30:22close to my body
30:23and smuggled into the palace.
30:25And Creon and Mara
30:26had just bowed,
30:27which was the same
30:28as bowing to my mother,
30:29and that was why
30:30they were so furious.
30:31I simply enjoy speaking
30:33to my mother's tablet
30:34in my leisure.
30:35How is that insolent?
30:36The High Archman
30:38is welcome to explain himself.
30:40Creon was too enraged
30:41to form words,
30:42and Mara spoke up in his place.
30:43You made my lord
30:44bow to that creature.
30:45Does she deserve it?
30:46What business
30:47does a kept woman have
30:49questioning anything
30:50concerning my mother?
30:52Someone come!
30:53Royal Consort Mara
30:55has shown disrespect to me.
30:57Thirty strokes
30:58across the face.
30:58Who dares?
31:00The stewards and maids
31:01in the room indeed
31:02did not dare step forward,
31:03and Mara looked at me
31:04with triumphant contempt.
31:06I rose from my seat
31:07and walked forward.
31:09I dare!
31:11And struck Mara
31:12hard across the face myself.
31:14And he raised his hand
31:15to strike me.
31:16How dare you!
31:18High Archon,
31:19think carefully.
31:20If that hand comes down,
31:21it is the same
31:22as striking the face
31:23of the royal house,
31:24and your honor
31:25will be destroyed
31:26in a single moment.
31:27I fixed him
31:28with an icy stare.
31:32Creon had spent his entire life
31:33guarding his honor.
31:34He would never break that code
31:36for the sake of a kept woman.
31:38Creon trembled with fury
31:39from head to foot,
31:40but the hand never fell,
31:42and I turned and struck Mara
31:43across the face
31:44a second time.
31:45My hand was strong,
31:47and Mara had lived
31:48a pampered life.
31:49Two strikes from me
31:50sent her crumpling to the floor,
31:52stunned and unable to speak.
31:53Laya,
31:54I have more than enough methods
31:56to make you beg for death
31:57and be refused it.
31:58In the past,
31:59I held back
32:00out of what little regard
32:01I still had
32:01for the tie of blood
32:02between us.
32:03But today,
32:04you have humiliated me like this,
32:06and I will not let it pass.
32:08High Archman,
32:09the moment you drove
32:11my mother to her death,
32:12a blood oath
32:13was sworn between us,
32:16without end.
32:19Less than half an hour
32:20after Creon left with Mara,
32:21a pile of formal accusations
32:23before the council
32:24had been sent
32:25to the king's war chamber.
32:26That evening,
32:27the queen came to my courtyard.
32:28Walk with me
32:29to the shrine of Hestria
32:30and bring your mother's
32:32mourning tablet.
32:33The shrine of Hestria
32:34was a small sanctuary
32:35within the palace,
32:36tucked in one of its
32:37more secluded corners,
32:38set aside for consorts
32:39who wished to observe
32:40rites of prayer and offering.
32:42I carried my mother's
32:43mourning tablet
32:44and followed the queen
32:45to the shrine of Hestria,
32:46where she offered incense first,
32:48and then turned to speak to me.
32:49Leave your mother's mourning tab
32:51here in the shrine of Hestria.
32:53Palace law forbids
32:54the keeping of private
32:55mourning shrines.
32:57I nodded.
32:58Laya,
32:59this time you have gone too far.
33:01The king must discipline you.
33:04The queen spoke plainly.
33:07I nodded again.
33:09I had already prepared
33:10myself for this,
33:11and today was my mother's
33:12seventh day of mourning,
33:13and I had done
33:14what I did for her sake.
33:15The queen saw my composure
33:16and sighed.
33:17Fortunately,
33:18your earlier acts of virtue
33:19counted in your favor,
33:20and I have also spoken
33:22to the king on your behalf.
33:24So this time the punishment
33:25will be light.
33:26A rep remained
33:26and the copying of sacred texts.
33:29Lyra,
33:30I can see from the way
33:31you carry your mother's
33:32mourning tablet
33:33how deep the bond
33:34between you was.
33:35Your mother's spirit
33:37would not wish you
33:37to take such risks.
33:39I looked at the queen.
33:40My queen need not
33:41trouble herself
33:42to dissuade me.
33:43A blood oath
33:44has been sworn
33:45without end.
33:47Look at those
33:48young palace maids.
33:49The queen sighed again,
33:50and she pointed
33:51toward the garden outside.
33:53I followed the direction
33:54of her gesture
33:55and looked out.
33:56A group of young palace maids
33:58were tending the garden flowers
33:59at the edge of the shrine,
34:00pulling weeds
34:01from the beds.
34:02And perhaps because
34:03the shrine of Hestia
34:04was so deep
34:05within the palace
34:06and consorts rarely came,
34:07the maids had grown bold,
34:09working and playing
34:10at the same time,
34:11their laughter
34:12carrying across
34:13to where we stood.
34:14This palace is full
34:15of darkness,
34:16full of that
34:16which devours people whole,
34:18but there is also hope
34:19and quiet ease.
34:20If you can wait one year
34:22until everyone
34:23has forgotten you,
34:24I can ask the king
34:25to release you
34:26from the palace
34:26and you can find
34:27some place to live in peace.
34:29I looked at the queen
34:30and asked the question
34:31that had been in my mind.
34:32Why are you doing this for me?
34:36From my very first day
34:38in the palace,
34:38I had sensed
34:39that the queen
34:39regarded me differently.
34:41And now she was even
34:42speaking of sending me
34:43away from the palace.
34:44That was not something
34:46a queen should say.
34:47The queen smiled.
34:48You may not believe me
34:50when I hear it,
34:50but I see in you
34:51the defiance
34:52I always wanted for myself,
34:53that ferocity
34:54willing to fight
34:55against everything.
34:56I spent my whole life
34:57serving my family
34:59and the king
34:59and could only ever
35:00be the queen,
35:01but you are different.
35:02You can have far more
35:03than that.
35:04I turned her words over
35:05in my mind
35:06all the way back.
35:07And when I reached
35:08the wing of good fortune,
35:09I found Kalia waiting
35:10at the entrance
35:11to my courtyard
35:11with her attendants.
35:13Lyra,
35:14you vile creature!
35:16Kalia lunged toward me
35:17the moment she saw me,
35:18though her maids
35:19held her back.
35:20My lady,
35:21you are too precious
35:21to lower yourself
35:22to a direct confrontation
35:23with her.
35:24My lady,
35:25calm yourself.
35:25The High Archel
35:26has already rallied
35:27the council members
35:28to submit formal
35:29accusations against her.
35:30The voices of those
35:31around her gradually
35:32brought Kalia back
35:33to her senses.
35:33I looked at Kalia.
35:34Would you like to know
35:35what a strike across
35:36the face feels like as well?
35:37You think you can rely
35:38on the king's favor?
35:39I am telling you now,
35:41I will take every last drop
35:42of that favor from you.
35:43Just you wait.
35:44Kalia finished speaking
35:45and swept away
35:46with her maids and stewards
35:47in a great show of fury.
35:49Word spread afterward
35:50that Kalia had gone
35:51on her own initiative
35:52to the king's war chamber
35:53with a bowl of warm broth.
35:55In the past,
35:56this would have been unthinkable.
35:57Kalia had always held herself
35:59above the other consorts
36:00because of her standing
36:01as the High Archon's daughter
36:03and had looked down on them
36:05for sending the king
36:05nourishing gifts and broths,
36:07calling it fawning,
36:08yet now here she was,
36:10doing the very same thing
36:11she had once despised,
36:12only she had not anticipated
36:14that the king still came
36:15to my courtyard that evening.
36:18The king tossed a pile
36:19of formal accusations
36:20before the council
36:21onto the table.
36:22I will give you a chance
36:23to explain yourself.
36:25I picked up one of the documents,
36:27scanned the contents,
36:29and then smiled.
36:30Today the king has at least
36:32seen clearly how much reach
36:33Crayon has in the council.
36:35These officials submitted
36:36accusations against the king's
36:38own consort
36:39for the sake of Crayon's
36:40kept woman,
36:41the king said.
36:42I do not need you
36:43to tell me that.
36:44I smiled.
36:46Before the assembly
36:47convenes tomorrow,
36:48I ask the king to issue
36:49one more royal edict,
36:51summoning Crayon and Mara
36:52to my wing of good fortune,
36:54with the message that I wish
36:56to offer them
36:56a formal apology.
36:58You are retreating
36:59this quickly?
37:00The king jaced.
37:01Does the king think
37:02Crayon will come?
37:04Most likely not.
37:06Crayon is the head
37:06of the civic faction.
37:08After suffering
37:09such a humiliation,
37:10he could never let it rest
37:10and he will certainly refuse.
37:12If you already know
37:13he will refuse,
37:14why ask me to issue
37:14the edict?
37:15Because if the king
37:16issues the edict
37:17and he does not come,
37:18that is defiance
37:19of a royal command.
37:21But to avoid
37:22the charge of defiance,
37:23his only recourse
37:24is to claim
37:25he is bedridden
37:25with sudden illness
37:26and unable
37:27to enter the palace.
37:28And then?
37:29A man confined
37:31to his bed
37:31with sudden illness
37:32is naturally
37:33in no condition
37:34to attend the assembly.
37:35So tomorrow
37:36in the council hall
37:37those civic officials
37:38will be without
37:39their leader
37:40and the king
37:41as sovereign
37:41will have room to act.
37:43The king shook his head.
37:45That will not work.
37:46Those officials
37:47are not fools.
37:48With Crayon absent
37:49they will simply
37:50play ignorant
37:51and I cannot
37:51have them executed.
37:53The king cannot
37:54execute them.
37:55But the king
37:55can refuse
37:56to adjourn the assembly
37:57and tomorrow
37:58the king
37:59can simply defy
38:00to dismiss
38:01the session
38:01until the goal
38:02was achieved.
38:03I do not believe
38:04they can hold out
38:05indefinitely.
38:06The king paused
38:07then let out
38:08a short laugh.
38:09That is genuinely
38:10underhanded.
38:12It has never occurred
38:13to me to try
38:13something like this.
38:15Because the king
38:15is an upright man
38:17by nature.
38:18But sometimes
38:19a little shamelessness
38:20goes quite a long way.
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