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(2026) - FULL ENGSUB | Reelshort Hot HD
Full Chinese Movie EngSub
Chinese Drama English Sub Full HD
#shortdrama #bestdrama #actionmovie #Drama #Film #Show #Anime #Movie #cdrama #Movies #BILLIONAIRE #shortdrama #dramashort #shortfilmdrama #minidrama #shortstorydrama #webdrama #indiedrama #shortfilmseries #shortdramaseries #dramashorts #englishmovie #cdrama #drama #movieshortfull
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#goodfilms romance #bestfilmromance #romance #filmromance #drama romance
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Short filmTranscript
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, she traveled with him to his ancestral rites,
00:10where they were ambushed by Aegean pirates, and she drew them away alone to save him.
00:14My father was saved. My mother was eventually rescued too, but 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, but she refused.
00:28She 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, and 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, away 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, the daughter of his mentor.
01:03And 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.
01:14Only 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.
01:21The outpost was desolate, and guarding us was drudge work.
01:25So the two handmaids resented it, and 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, a child my mother had conceived by some unknown man.
01:37My mother argued back fiercely to protect me, but 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.
02:27I 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.
02:39But 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.
02:51That was the first time I saw the Archon's estate.
02:53Carved columns, painted archways, magnificent 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,
03:04with a girl beside him who looked like she had been carved from pale marble.
03:08And I ran forward and called out to him, but 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, and he answered her gently.
03:24Just a beggar.
03:25Filthy creature, Kalia.
03:27Don't look.
03:27You'll dirty your eyes.
03:29Later, I learned that girl was Mara's daughter, Kalia,
03:32only seven years old, and 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,
04:31saying 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.
04:38I flew at the two handmaids in a rage,
04:41certain they had driven her to it,
04:43and they beat me unconscious.
04:44When I came to, I ran out of the farm in a frenzy,
04:47and found the city coroner,
04:48demanding an examination of her body.
04:50And the verdict came back that my mother
04:52had 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,
05:27as though she was celebrating the end of her thankless duty guarding us.
05:30This time, I did not argue or make a scene.
05:33The two handmaids assumed I had accepted my fate.
05:36But what they did not expect,
05:37was that in the dead of night, once they were asleep,
05:40I strapped my mother's body to my back and fled.
05:45By the time I reached the city, dawn had broken,
05:48and 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.
05:55When I arrived at the gates of the estate,
05:57I 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.
06:18His expression was one of pure triumph,
06:19and it was plain that my mother's death
06:21had not touched him in the slightest,
06:23that this was only joy added to joy for him.
06:26I 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
06:33struck my body, but I felt no pain.
06:35I clenched my hands until my nails drove into my palms,
06:38and I swore to myself then,
06:40I will avenge my mother.
06:41I will make Creon and everyone in that estate
06:43pay with their lives to accompany her.
06:45The Agora Vault was the greatest auction house in the realm.
06:48Within its walls passed 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
07:02dared 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 Archen
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 rights.
07:45This story alone will make the Agora Vault
07:47the talk of every street in the city.
07:50And 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 use 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.
08:13And 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
08:29to fund my mother's burial rights as widely as possible.
08:32And the fact that I am the High Archon's legitimate daughter
08:35and the Royal Consort's elder sister
08:37must reach every street and alley in the city.
08:40And even the palace must hear of it.
08:43The 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
08:56between yourself and the High Archon.
08:58But the Agora Vault agrees.
09:00I smiled.
09:01Of course it was a blood oath,
09:03though Creon was already the head of the civic factions
09:05with countless supporters.
09:07There would always be those who wished to see him humiliated,
09:09and I intended to make Creon the laughingstock
09:11of the entire city on the day of the auction.
09:14But I wanted more than his humiliation.
09:16I wanted justice for my mother.
09:20As expected, the news of my auctioning myself
09:22to fund my mother's burial rites
09:23had spread through the city
09:25and caused a sensation in less than half a day.
09:27Because alongside that news
09:28came the story of what had happened 17 years ago.
09:31How my mother had been violated by Aegean pirates
09:34while saving Creon.
09:3517 years had passed and few still remembered.
09:37But I remembered.
09:38And my mother had died because of it.
09:40While Creon, who had benefited most,
09:42lived on without consequence.
09:44That was too unjust to bear.
09:45So I had paid people to spread the story again.
09:47Some said Creon had mistreated my mother and me so badly
09:51that there was no money even for burial rites
09:53after 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
10:03should have been mine by right.
10:05Since the king had originally sought to wed
10:07the High Archon's legitimate daughter.
10:09And I was the legitimate daughter
10:10while Kalia was born of Mara.
10:12Which made her by all proper reckoning
10:14nothing more than a daughter of a concubine.
10:16In less than an hour, a furious Creon
10:18arrived at the Agora Vault
10:19with several fierce-looking servants carrying clubs.
10:22Intending to take me away.
10:23Though his manner made it plain,
10:25he 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
10:32without finding any trace of me.
10:33And was forced to leave in frustration.
10:35Master Solon told me that Creon had left eyes
10:38watching 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
10:45had stationed men there as well.
10:48None of this surprised me,
10:49for 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
10:55on Kalia's first day in the palace,
10:57the king had not visited her chambers once.
10:59Not even once.
11:00Because of my affair.
11:01I allowed myself a faint smile at that.
11:03This was only the beginning.
11:05And the reckoning of the House of Creon
11:06had only just begun.
11:08The three days passed quickly.
11:09And on the third day,
11:11the auction hall of the Agora Vault
11:12was filled without a single empty seat.
11:14And it was then that I made my entrance.
11:18I sat on the high platform
11:20with bidders surrounding me on all sides.
11:22Examined like a piece of merchandise.
11:24And I remained composed and indifferent.
11:27I swept my gaze around the room
11:28and saw Creon seated at the very center.
11:31His face dark with fury.
11:33His eyes burning with a consuming rage.
11:35Had this been anywhere other than the Agora Vault,
11:37he would likely have had me struck down already.
11:41My eyes passed over him
11:42without pausing for even half a breath.
11:44And finally came to rest for a moment
11:46on a private booth on the upper floor.
11:48Master Solon had told me
11:49it was occupied by someone from the palace.
11:51Though he did not know who.
11:53Master Solon stepped forward.
11:54And 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
12:08on 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
12:15with 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
12:24is my failure as a parent.
12:26I offer 20,000 drachsons.
12:29And I ask everyone here
12:30to 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
12:48willing 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 Lykos,
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
13:08to Creon the High Archon
13:09by keeping their bids low,
13:10yet not so low as to be insulting
13:12to a legitimate daughter of the archon.
13:14Truly, they had managed to offend
13:16no one on either side.
13:17I opened the final piece of parchment,
13:20and written on it were the words,
13:21Creon, 20,000 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 only 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
13:48in anything beyond that,
13:50which was their principle,
13:51and not something they would break
13:53even for my sake.
13:56I smiled faintly,
13:57picked up Creon's parchment,
13:59and looked toward him
14:00where he sat wearing the expression
14:01of a man who has already won.
14:03The highest bidder today
14:05is the High Archon Crayon.
14:07His 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
14:18was 49,000 drachmas.
14:20Just 1,000 short.
14:22Creon opened his mouth
14:24and 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
14:34would lose all face before the city,
14:36and I would slip beyond his control,
14:38which could mean endless trouble
14:40for him in the future.
14:41So his only choice now
14:42was to swallow this humiliation in silence.
14:45Creon's face turned the color of iron
14:47as 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
14:55and dragged me away.
14:56I shook his hand off sharply,
14:58then accepted from Master Solon
15:00my share of 40,000 drachmas.
15:02The Agora vault retained
15:03two-tenths of the auction price,
15:04leaving me with 40,000.
15:07Creon 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
15:14won't leave with you either.
15:17I 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
15:25on the upper floor and spoke clearly.
15:27I, Lyra,
15:28offer 40,000 drachmas in silver
15:31to the soldiers on the frontier
15:32and present a temple ledger
15:34of immeasurable worth
15:36that resolve the king's most urgent difficulty.
15:38I ask only to be summoned to the palace
15:41as royal concord.
15:44At those words,
15:46Creon's face changed completely.
15:47He shot me a furious glare
15:49and 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
16:02one decisive campaign
16:03to intimidate the border tribes
16:05and establish his own authority.
16:07Creon, as the leader of the civic faction,
16:09had consistently opposed it
16:10out of reluctance
16:11to see the military commanders grow powerful.
16:14And with the treasury depleted,
16:16the matter had been left unresolved
16:17and 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
16:26would be moved.
16:27And indeed from the booth
16:28came a warm and measured voice.
16:30What temple ledger?
16:31The moment the words fell,
16:33a palace steward hurried down
16:35from the upper floor
16:36and came to stand beside me.
16:37I drew something from my sleeve
16:39and handed it to the steward.
16:41And he carried it quickly back up to the booth.
16:43After a short pause,
16:45the steward came back out
16:46holding a royal edict.
16:47By royal decree,
16:49Lyra is hereby named
16:51Royal 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.
17:06You vile creature.
17:07You and that vile mother of yours
17:10are equally repulting.
17:11I paid him no attention at all
17:13and instead looked at Creon and said,
17:16Hi Archeon.
17:17Today is my wedding day.
17:18As your legitimate firstborn daughter,
17:21my dowry should be no less
17:23than my conkind-born sisters
17:24and my mother's dowry
17:25that was taken from her
17:26must also be returned to me.
17:28I have the full inventory of both.
17:30With so many people
17:31of standing present today,
17:33I trust the High Archman
17:34would not embarrass himself
17:35by being known as a man
17:37who 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
17:45as 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
17:53that 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.
18:07Today'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
18:16was nothing more than the names
18:17of every official
18:18who had placed a bid
18:19in the auction hall today.
18:21With the amount each had offered
18:22written beside it.
18:23The treasury was depleted,
18:25yet these same officials
18:26had been pleading poverty
18:27before the king.
18:28And here they were spending
18:29so freely to acquire a woman.
18:31If they could spend so much on that,
18:34they could certainly be made
18:35to contribute as much to the treasury
18:37to 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.
19:01Everything from Creon I found too filthy to keep.
19:03Only my mother's dowry
19:05I stored away carefully and kept close.
19:08This gesture delighted the king greatly
19:10and he immediately praised me
19:11for my civic virtue
19:12and bestowed on me
19:13a considerable number of treasures.
19:17Half a day after entering the palace,
19:19the head steward of the household office
19:21arrived at my courtyard
19:22with several palace maids
19:24and stewards in tow.
19:25My lady Lyra,
19:26these servants have all been trained
19:28by the household office.
19:30Please see if any suit your taste.
19:32The head steward smiled with great deference.
19:34I swept a glance over the row of stewards
19:37and maids standing before me,
19:38then looked back at the head steward.
19:40Choose a few yourself.
19:41I have only one requirement.
19:43The ones you choose
19:44may be the eyes of the king and the queen,
19:46but they must not be the eyes
19:47of royal consort Calia or of Creon.
19:50If I discover otherwise,
19:51I will stake my life to see you finished.
19:53So consider carefully
19:54whether 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
20:14of visible deliberation,
20:15the head steward selected a few stewards
20:17and 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
20:26and when I arrived at her hall
20:28in the wing of unending spring,
20:30a considerable number of people
20:32had 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.
20:43The consorts who had been waiting
20:44to see me stumble
20:45looked at one another in surprise
20:47because they all knew
20:48I had been raised on a ruined outpost farm
20:50with no proper instruction
20:52and had assumed I would be coarse
20:54and unable to conduct myself
20:55in polished company.
20:57Yet my bearing was composed
20:58and remarkable.
20:59The queen smiled.
21:00Rise Lyra.
21:02Bring her a seat.
21:03I rose and walked to a seat nearby
21:05and my gaze settled
21:06on a woman sitting across from me.
21:08I knew her to be Kalia,
21:09the current royal consort,
21:11Creon's daughter
21:12and the pride of his house.
21:14The queen looked at me and said,
21:16Today is Lyra's first day in the palace.
21:19From now on, you are all sisters
21:21and you must live in harmony.
21:24Kalia looked at me,
21:25her eyes filled with undisguised hatred.
21:27Sister certainly has talent.
21:29Your 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,
21:40knowing your conduct,
21:41could 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
21:53from the very first moment.
21:54That Kalia moved so quickly to mock me
21:57meant my earlier actions
21:58had already caused her considerable distress.
22:00Because I had first donated 40,000 drachmas
22:02to the treasury
22:03and then sent in nearly 10,000 drachmas worth
22:06of 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,
22:15she faced the same question.
22:17Donate her dowry or not.
22:19And either choice cost her something.
22:21That too was the outcome I had wanted.
22:23I intended for everyone in Creon's household
22:26to know no peace.
22:27The other consorts watched me one by one,
22:30their expressions bright with schadenfreude.
22:32I smiled faintly.
22:33I was no soft target and looked coldly at Kalia.
22:38So you do know my mother died only three days ago.
22:40My mother passed and 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
22:54must be sleeping very uneasily.
22:55The whole world now knows that so-called second wife
22:57of your father's is nothing but a kept woman
22:59deceiving herself with a title she was never given.
23:01And you, sister, will be a daughter of a conchime
23:04for the rest of your life.
23:05That is truly pitiable.
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
23:15as royal consort,
23:17that the king had not visited her chambers
23:19once 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,
23:39and 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.
24:11I 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?
24:29You 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 archerate came to find me today
25:12and asked me to cost you into the forgotten wing.
25:15The 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 archerial 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.
25:36I smiled at his side.
25:37The king very much wished to agree,
25:39but I had just helped the king,
25:40and moreover had donated
25:4150,000 drakerums and silver
25:42as provisions for the frontier soldiers
25:44who will all remember that gift.
25:46If 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,
25:54a flash of surprise passing through his eyes.
25:56Lyra, you are very shrewd.
25:58You have been calculating every step
25:59since 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
26:09are not sufficient to make me refuse
26:11the high arpate'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.
26:20Because 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,
26:28but what of the second?
26:29And the third?
26:31So the king would not agree.
26:33I 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,
26:41he suddenly broke into laughter.
26:43Lyra, if 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 Creoc 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
27:16how deeply Creod is rooted in this court
27:18to speak such bold words?
27:20I nodded.
27:21Creon was the high archon,
27:23and 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.
27:33The 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,
27:52we played strategy games across a board.
27:53But in the eyes of others,
27:55I was considered deeply favored,
27:57attended every night.
27:59I heard that the wing of green bamboo
28:00had already gone through
28:01several sets of ceramic vessels,
28:04smashed in succession.
28:05The wing of green bamboo
28:06was Kalia's quarters.
28:07I could see that the king
28:09was doing this deliberately,
28:10to provoke both Kalia
28:11and the man behind her,
28:13Creon.
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
28:25had no relation
28:26to the house of Creon.
28:27And my mother was to be
28:28barred from burial
28:29in the archon's ancestral ground.
28:31I 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
28:44to summon Creon and Mara
28:46to the palace.
28:47The king was reluctant at first,
28:48but when I told him
28:49this move would help him
28:50crack open the civic faction's
28:51united front,
28:53he agreed with some reluctance.
28:56I waited in the wing
28:57of good fortune for an hour,
28:58and then a palace steward
29:00arrived leading Creon
29:01and Mara inside.
29:02In the council hall,
29:04Creon 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
29:12was one of triumph
29:13throughout the walk.
29:14When Creon saw me,
29:16his 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
29:27beside him,
29:28Mara.
29:28She was genuinely beautiful,
29:30and 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
29:56from my sleeve
29:57and set it on the table
29:58beside me,
29:59facing directly toward Creon
30:01and Mara
30:01as they bowed.
30:02When Creon straightened
30:04and saw the object
30:05on the table,
30:05his face turned
30:06the color of iron.
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
30:17gently along the object
30:18beside me.
30:19It was my mother's
30:20mourning 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
30:32speaking to my mother's
30:33tablet in my leisure.
30:35How is that insolent?
30:37The High Archman
30:38is welcome
30:38to explain himself.
30:40Creon was too enraged
30:41to form words,
30:42and Mara spoke up
30:43in his place.
30:43You made my lord
30:44bow to that creature.
30:45Does she deserve it?
30:47What 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!
30:59Who dares?
30:59The 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 hard
31:12across 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 as
31:22striking 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,
31:31and I was like,
31:32Creon had spent
31:33his entire life
31:33guarding his honor.
31:35He would never break
31:36that code for the sake
31:37of a kept woman.
31:38Creon trembled
31:39with fury
31:39from head to foot,
31:40but the hand never fell,
31:42and I turned
31:43and struck Mara
31:44across the face
31:44a second time.
31:46My hand was strong,
31:47and Mara
31:48had lived
31:48a pampered life.
31:49Two strikes from me
31:50sent her crumpling
31:51to the floor,
31:52stunned
31:52and unable to speak.
31:53Laia,
31:54I have more than
31:55enough methods
31:56to make you
31:56beg 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
32:02for the tie of blood
32:02between us,
32:03but today,
32:04you have humiliated me
32:05like this,
32:06and I will not
32:07let it pass.
32:08High Archman,
32:10the moment you drove
32:11my mother to her death,
32:13a blood oath
32:14was sworn between us,
32:16without end.
32:19Less than half an hour
32:20after Creon left
32:21with Mara,
32:21a pile of formal
32:23accusations
32:23before the council
32:24had been sent
32:25to the king's war chamber.
32:26That evening,
32:27the queen came
32:27to 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
32:41and offering.
32:42I carried my mother's
32:43mourning tablet
32:44and followed the queen
32:45to the shrine of Hestria,
32:46where she owned
32:47incense first
32:48and then turned
32:49to speak to me.
32:50Leave your mother's
32:51mourning tab
32:51here in the shrine
32:52of Hestria.
32:53Palace law forbids
32:54the keeping
32:55of private mourning shrines.
32:57I nodded.
32:58Laya,
32:59this time you have
33:00gone too far.
33:02The king must
33:03discipline you.
33:04The queen spoke plainly.
33:08I 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
33:16inside.
33:17Fortunately,
33:18your earlier acts
33:19of virtue counted
33:20in your favor
33:20and I have also spoken
33:22to the king
33:23on your behalf.
33:24So this time
33:25the punishment
33:25will be light,
33:26a reprimand
33:27and the copying
33:27of 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
33:38to 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
33:58the garden flowers
33:59at the edge
33:59of the shrine,
34:00pulling weeds
34:01from the beds.
34:02And perhaps
34:03because the shrine
34:04of Hestia
34:04was so deep
34:05within the palace
34:06and consorts
34:07rarely came,
34:08the maids
34:08had 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
34:15is full of 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
34:21one year
34:22until everyone
34:23has forgotten you,
34:24I can ask the king
34:25to release you
34:26from the palace
34:27and you can find
34:27some place
34:28to 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
34:33this for me?
34:36From my very first day
34:38in the palace,
34:38I had sensed
34:39that the queen
34:39regarded me differently
34:40and now she was
34:42even speaking
34:42of sending me
34:43away from the palace.
34:44That was not something
34:46a queen should say.
34:47The queen smiled.
34:49You may not believe me
34:50when I hear it,
34:51but I see in you
34:51the defiance
34:52I always wanted
34:53for myself,
34:54that 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
35:03far more than that.
35:04I turned her words
35:05over in my mind
35:06all the way back
35:07and when I reached
35:08the wing of good fortune,
35:09I found Kalia
35:10waiting at 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.
35:26The High Archel
35:26has already rallied
35:27the council members
35:28to submit formal accusations
35:29against her.
35:30The voices of those
35:31around her
35:31gradually brought Kalia
35:32back to her senses.
35:33I looked at Kalia.
35:34Would you like to know
35:35what a strike
35:36across the face
35:36feels like as well?
35:38You think you can rely
35:38on the king's favor?
35:40I 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
36:06nourishing gifts and broths,
36:07calling it fawning.
36:08Yet now, here she was,
36:10doing the very same thing
36:11she had once despised,
36:13only she had not anticipated
36:14that the king still came
36:15to my courtyard that evening.
36:18The king tossed a pile
36:20of formal accusations
36:21before 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,
36:28scanned the contents,
36:29and then smiled.
36:31Today the king has at least
36:32seen clearly
36:33how much reach Crayon
36:34has in the council.
36:35These officials submitted
36:36accusations against
36:37the king's own 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
36:48to issue one more
36:49royal edict,
36:51summoning Crayon and Mara
36:52to my wing of good fortune,
36:54with the message
36:55that I wish to offer them
36:56a formal apology.
36:57You 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
37:11and he will certainly refuse.
37:12If you already know
37:13he will refuse,
37:14why ask me to issue
37:15the edict?
37:15Because if the king
37:16issues the edict
37:17and he does not come,
37:18that is defiance
37:20of a royal command.
37:21But to avoid
37:22the charge of defiance,
37:23his only recourse
37:24is to claim
37:25he is bedridden
37:26with sudden illness
37:26and unable
37:27to enter the palace.
37:28And then?
37:30A man confined
37:31to his bed
37:32with 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
37:42to act.
37:43The king shook his head.
37:45That will not work.
37:46Those officials
37:47are not fools.
37:48With Crayon absent,
37:50they 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 can simply
38:00defy to 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
38:08then 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
38:16is an upright man
38:17by nature
38:17but sometimes
38:19a little shamelessness
38:20goes quite a long way.
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