00:00When I opened my eyes again, I was back on my wedding day.
00:03Lily Voss knelt on the floor and said she carried the crown prince's child,
00:07begging only to be allowed in as a concubine.
00:10Everyone waited for my answer.
00:12I lifted my own veil, walked the raven standing nearby, and asked him to marry me.
00:17What Lily didn't know was this.
00:19The ascension trial was nine parts death.
00:22Without me, the fireborn crown prince was worth less than that raven.
00:26When I opened my eyes the fire was gone,
00:28replaced by candlelights in every direction.
00:31Seraphina, when you go to the fireborn court, be a worthy crown princess.
00:36Don't shame the serpent clan.
00:38My mother, Queen Salara, held my hands, her eyes full of tears.
00:42I looked around, recognized everything,
00:45and understood I had been reborn to the day of my wedding to fireborn crown prince Ashvane Solaris.
00:50My mother finished speaking.
00:52My father, King Aldric, added a few words.
00:55The glory of the snake clan is entrusted to you today.
00:57Summono placed the white veil over my head, then an uninvited guest burst into the hall.
01:03Princess Seraphine, Lily Vos, the rabbit spirit, knelt on the floor.
01:07Let me marry into the fireborn court in your place.
01:09I carry the crown prince's child.
01:11We have long been promised to each other.
01:14Please, grant me this.
01:16The words hit the hall like a stone hitting water.
01:18My mother's face darkened.
01:20Even my father, who was always even-tempered, went cold.
01:23The serpent clan and the hair clan had been enemies since the beginning.
01:27Yet Lily Vos, a rabbit spirit, held a higher place in our clan than I did as its princess.
01:33She was the youngest daughter of the last hair king.
01:36A century ago, a rebellion broke out among the male hairs who resented having a female king.
01:41On her deathbed, the hair queen entrusted her loyal servant to bring the infant Lily secretly to the serpent clan.
01:47People came to believe that the serpent king and the hair queen had once shared a brief affair, and that
01:53Lily was the result.
01:54My father never acknowledged that past, but he still brought Lily into the palace.
01:58And out of guilt, gave her treatment even better than what he gave me, his own princess.
02:04In my last life, Lily came to visit after I had already married into the fireborn court, and only then
02:10entangled herself with Ashvayne.
02:11By the time I died, I had never heard anything about her carrying his child.
02:16I couldn't help lifting my veil.
02:17I saw Lily look up at me with a smile that had already decided how this would end.
02:22That was when I understood.
02:23Lily had been reborn too.
02:25Outrageous!
02:26My father was furious.
02:28Do you know how exalted the fireborn crown prince is?
02:31He and Seraphina have had a betrothal for years.
02:35Lily knows.
02:36Lily's eyes were steady.
02:38Lily knows her place is too low to be his queen.
02:40She would be grateful even as a concubine.
02:43The fireborn court has more rules than anyone can count and shows no mercy to the weak.
02:47Going there is no different from walking into your own death.
02:50My father was so alarmed, he said this directly to Lily without caring that I was standing right there.
02:55Lily, the match I arranged for you is far better.
02:58Marry into the raven order.
03:00Your standing there would be the highest of anyone.
03:02As my father said, the fireborn were noble, but also arrogant.
03:06They looked down on every other spirit clan.
03:09Every thousand years, the fireborn faced the ascension trial.
03:13Those who passed became the next king of all feathers.
03:16But the number who passed was very low.
03:19Nine out of ten failed.
03:20Either their power was permanently destroyed, or they died in the attempt.
03:24Our serpent clan's scales were indestructible.
03:27They could protect a fireborn through the trial without death.
03:30Our secret arts were powerful too, and dual cultivation with us amplified both parties' power.
03:36So the fireborn had come to us a thousand years ago.
03:39The fireborn forced the serpent clan to sign a pact.
03:42Every time a new fireborn crown prince was born, the serpent clan had to send a princess with great cultivation
03:48to assist his ascension.
03:50In return, the fireborn would protect the serpent clan, and because of that protection, the fireborn looked down on us
03:57even more.
03:58Even married in as the crown princess, my standing would be no higher than a fireborn servant girl.
04:03But no matter how much my father reasoned with her, Lily refused to hear a word of it.
04:08Ravens are cursed birds.
04:10Their standing is even lower than the serpent clan's.
04:13Even if I became their queen, I still wouldn't rank above a fireborn servant girl.
04:17I want to marry the fireborn crown prince!
04:19The auspicious hour was almost here.
04:22My father ran out of patience.
04:24He called guards to drag Lily away by force.
04:27Send for the physician.
04:28Get rid of the child she's carrying.
04:30But the moment they reached the door, each of the guards was struck by a bolt of golden light.
04:35When the light faded, Ashvane Solaris stepped into view.
04:38Ashvane was strikingly handsome.
04:40Refined and polished as jade.
04:43At just three years old he had already stood out from among the fireborn princes, and been named crown prince
04:48by the old fireborn king.
04:50But this man with such a fine reputation, after I helped him ascend, listened to Lily scheming and moved to
04:56destroy the entire serpent clan.
04:57Because Lily believed her mother's death had been orchestrated by my father, she had been born a distinguished hair princess.
05:04And ended up as the serpent king's illegitimate daughter.
05:07And she had never forgiven that.
05:10Ashvane, please, stop.
05:12At the time I knelt and begged Ashvane to stop.
05:15If the serpent clan fell, the fireborn would never again have an easy path through their ascension.
05:20Ashvane drove his hand through my chest and pulled out my soul core.
05:24Don't worry.
05:24I'll use the scales of your entire clan to forge the finest armor in the world.
05:28Consider it your clan's atonement.
05:30I watched my clan's people have their scales stripped from their bodies one by one, then be thrown into the
05:36ascension flames.
05:37That day the ground ran with blood.
05:39Screaming filled the air.
05:40The fire dyed the whole sky red.
05:44Thinking of it now, I wanted to kill this man where he stood.
05:47But I knew the moment wasn't right.
05:48I was no match for Ashvane.
05:50Not yet.
05:51Ashvane helped Lily to her feet and looked at my father.
05:54Serpent king.
05:55Lily carries my child.
05:56I intend to make her my queen.
05:57As for Seraphine Morrow, she can serve as my conkine if I'm feeling generous.
06:02Lily leaned against Ashvane's chest.
06:05That wouldn't be right.
06:06I'm only a humble servant girl.
06:09I couldn't compare to Princesses Seraphine.
06:12Ashvane smiled coldly.
06:14No matter how noble she is, her nobility is only among the serpent grind.
06:18In the fireborn court, she isn't fit to carry my shoes.
06:21The fireborn had never respected the serpent clan.
06:24Every time there was a marriage between the clans.
06:27The fireborn never bothered to send anyone.
06:30The serpent clan always delivered the bride themselves.
06:34Both sides understood this unspoken arrangement.
06:37But Ashvane saying it aloud in front of everyone had ignited genuine fury.
06:41Several of the elders went dark-faced.
06:44My father's anger rose too.
06:45If the crown prince holds our clan in such conteen,
06:49perhaps this marriage is not one we need to pursue.
06:53Ashvane knew well enough that without serpent scales his ascension would be nearly impossible.
06:58Realizing he had said the wrong thing, he clasped his hands and apologized.
07:02Ashvane spoke out of turn.
07:04Serpent king, please forgive me.
07:06It's only that I cannot bring myself to fail Lily.
07:09So I must ask the princess to bear with the arrangement.
07:13I hope the serpent king will decide quickly.
07:16My father is waiting to celebrate.
07:19In terms of power, the serpent clan was nowhere near the fireborn court.
07:22Even if my father was unwilling, he had no choice but to yield.
07:26For the sake of his people, he looked up at me.
07:30Seraphine, what do you think?
07:32His mouth asked for my opinion.
07:33His eyes had already made the answer clear.
07:36He wanted me to accept.
07:37The realization made something in me go cold.
07:39Everyone said my father adored me, but I knew he favored Lily more.
07:43From childhood, he had trained me in how to please the fireborn.
07:47How to survive at their margins.
07:49How to fight for the serpent clan's interests.
07:52He made me cultivate day and night without rest.
07:54It was because the fireborn set a bar impossibly high for any serpent princess.
07:59Without immense cultivation.
08:01She couldn't protect the crown prince through his trial.
08:04When the fireborn ascended, a serpent was always beside them.
08:07For every fireborn who came out alive, most serpents alongside them had been sacrificed.
08:13Lily only needed to eat well, rest well, and enjoy herself.
08:17My father even chose for her the freest and most equal of all clans.
08:21The raven order as her future home.
08:23For the first time in my life, I had a thought that went against my father.
08:27Father, I refuse to be anyone's conqueen.
08:31The moment I said it, I heard a sharp intake of breath from half the room.
08:35Ashvane blinked, clearly not having anticipated that anyone would refuse to marry him.
08:41Lily's face filled with satisfaction.
08:43My father frowned.
08:44If not a concubine, what about equal wives?
08:47You and Lily both married to the crown prince, neither ranked above the other.
08:50I don't want that either.
08:52I don't want to marry into the fireborn court at all.
08:55Ashvane looked at me.
08:56His expression said I didn't know what was good for me.
08:59My father lost his patience.
09:00If you won't marry the fireborn court, then who do you want to marry?
09:04I want to marry him.
09:05I pointed at a man in black standing in the corner, under every eye in the room.
09:10I walked toward him.
09:11Will you marry me?
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