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00:02To survive the Ascension trial, the Fireborn Crown Prince took me, a Serpent Princess, as his bride.
00:09I gave everything I had and made him Emperor.
00:15But, on the day of his coronation, he used the Ascension Flames to destroy the entire Serpent Clan.
00:21One arm around Lily Voss, the Rabbit Spirit.
00:24The other hand driven through my chest, pulling out my soul core.
00:29Seraphine Morrow, when your Serpent Clan destroyed the Hare Clan, you should have known this day would come.
00:34I watched my clanspeople struggle and die in the flames, and I, without my soul core to protect me, was
00:41stabbed to death by that fragile little Rabbit Spirit.
00:44When I opened my eyes again, I was back on my wedding day.
00:48Lily Voss knelt on the floor and said she carried the Crown Prince's child, begging only to be allowed in
00:53as a concubine.
00:55Everyone waited for my answer.
00:57I lifted my own veil, walked to the raven standing nearby, and asked him to marry me.
01:02What Lily didn't know was this.
01:04The Ascension trial was nine parts death.
01:06Without me, the Fireborn Crown Prince was worth less than that raven.
01:11When I opened my eyes, the fire was gone, replaced by candlelights in every direction.
01:16Seraphina, when you go to the Fireborn court, be a worthy Crown Princess.
01:21Don't shame the Serpent Clan.
01:23My mother, Queen Solara, held my hands, her eyes full of tears.
01:27I looked around, recognized everything, and understood I had been reborn to the day of my wedding to Fireborn Crown
01:34Prince Ashvane Solaris.
01:35My mother finished speaking.
01:37My father, King Aldric, added a few words.
01:40The glory of the Snake Clan is entrusted to you today.
01:42Summono placed the white veil over my head, then an uninvited guest burst into the hall.
01:48Princess Seraphine, Lily Vos, the rabbit spirit, knelt on the floor.
01:52Let me marry into the Fireborn court in your place.
01:54I carry the Crown Prince's child.
01:56We have long been promised to each other.
01:59Please, grant me this.
02:01The words hit the hall like a stone hitting water.
02:03My mother's face darkened.
02:05Even my father, who was always even-tempered, went cold.
02:09The Serpent Clan and the Hare Clan had been enemies since the beginning.
02:12Yet Lily Vos, a rabbit spirit, held a higher place in our clan than I did as its princess.
02:18She was the youngest daughter of the last Hare King.
02:21A century ago, a rebellion broke out among the male hares who resented having King King.
02:26On her deathbed, the Hare Queen entrusted her loyal servant to bring the infant Lily secretly to the Serpent Clan.
02:33People came to believe that the Serpent King and the Hare Queen had once shared a brief affair,
02:37and that Lily was the result.
02:39My father never acknowledged that past, but he still brought Lily into the palace.
02:43And out of guilt, gave her treatment even better than what he gave me, his own princess.
02:49In my last life, Lily came to visit after I had already married into the Fireborn court,
02:54and only then entangled herself with Ashvane.
02:57By the time I died, I had never heard anything about her carrying his child.
03:01I couldn't help lifting my veil.
03:02I saw Lily look up at me with a smile that had already decided how this would end.
03:06That was when I understood.
03:08Lily had been reborn too.
03:10Outrageous!
03:11My father was furious.
03:13Do you know how exalted the Fireborn crown prince is?
03:16He and Seraphina have had a betrothal for years.
03:20Lily knows.
03:21Lily's eyes were steady.
03:23Lily knows her place is too low to be his queen.
03:25She would be grateful even as a concubine.
03:28The Fireborn court has more rules than anyone can count and shows no mercy to the weak.
03:32Going there is no different from walking into your own death.
03:35My father was so alarmed, he said this directly to Lily without caring that I was standing right there.
03:40Lily, the match I arranged for you is far better.
03:43Marry into the Raven Order.
03:45Your standing there would be the highest of anyone.
03:47As my father said, the Fireborn were noble, but also arrogant.
03:51They looked down on every other spirit clan.
03:54Every thousand years, the Fireborn faced the Ascension trial.
03:58Those who passed became the next king of all feathers.
04:01But the number who passed was very low.
04:04Nine out of ten failed.
04:05Either their power was permanently destroyed, or they died in the attempt.
04:09Our Serpent Clan's scales were indestructible.
04:12They could protect a Fireborn through the trial without death.
04:15Our secret arts were powerful too, and dual cultivation with us amplified both parties' power.
04:21So the Fireborn had come to us a thousand years ago.
04:24The Fireborn forced the Serpent Clan to sign a pact.
04:27Every time a new Fireborn Crown Prince was born, the Serpent Clan had to send a princess with great cultivation
04:33to assist his Ascension.
04:35In return, the Fireborn would protect the Serpent Clan, and because of that protection, the Fireborn looked down on us
04:42even more.
04:43Even married in as the Crown Princess, my standing would be no higher than a Fireborn Servant Girl.
04:48But no matter how much my father reasoned with her, Lily refused to hear a word of it.
04:52Ravens are cursed birds. Their standing is even lower than the Serpent Clan's.
04:58Even if I became their queen, I still wouldn't rank above a Fireborn Servant Girl.
05:02I want to marry the Fireborn Crown Prince!
05:04The auspicious hour was almost here.
05:07My father ran out of patience.
05:09He called guards to drag Lily away by force.
05:12Send for the physician. Get rid of the child she's carrying.
05:15But the moment they reached the door, each of the guards was struck by a bolt of golden light.
05:20When the light faded, Ashvane Solaris stepped into view.
05:23Ashvane was strikingly handsome.
05:25Refined and polished as jade.
05:28At just three years old he had already stood out from among the Fireborn Princes,
05:32and been named Crown Prince by the old Fireborn King.
05:35But this man with such a fine reputation, after I helped him ascend,
05:39listened to Lily's scheming and moved to destroy the entire Serpent Clan.
05:42Because Lily believed her mother's death had been orchestrated by my father,
05:46she had been born a distinguished hair princess, and ended up as the Serpent King's illegitimate daughter,
05:52and she had never forgiven that.
05:55Ashvane, please, stop.
05:57At the time I knelt and begged Ashvane to stop.
05:59If the Serpent Clan fell, the Fireborn would never again have an easy path through their ascension.
06:05Ashvane drove his hand through my chest and pulled out my soul core.
06:09Don't worry.
06:09I'll use the scales of your entire clan to forge the finest armor in the world.
06:13Consider it your clan's atonement.
06:15I watched my clan's people have their scales stripped from their bodies one by one,
06:19then be thrown into the ascension flames.
06:22That day the ground ran with blood.
06:24Screaming filled the air.
06:25The fire dyed the whole sky red.
06:29Thinking of it now, I wanted to kill this man where he stood.
06:32But I knew the moment wasn't right.
06:34I was no match for Ashvane.
06:36Not yet.
06:37Ashvane helped Lily to her feet and looked at my father.
06:39Serpent King.
06:40Lily carries my child.
06:42I intend to make her my queen.
06:43As for Seraphine Morrow, she can serve as my conkine if I'm feeling generous.
06:47Lily leaned against Ashvane's chest.
06:50That wouldn't be right.
06:52I'm only a humble servant girl.
06:54I couldn't compare to Princess Seraphine.
06:57Ashvane smiled coldly.
06:59No matter how noble she is, her nobility is only among the serpent grind.
07:03In the Fireborn court, she isn't fit to carry my shoes.
07:07The Fireborn had never respected the Serpent Clan.
07:10Every time there was a marriage between the clans, the Fireborn never bothered to send anyone.
07:16The Serpent Clan always delivered the bride themselves.
07:20Both sides understood this unspoken arrangement.
07:22But Ashvane saying it aloud in front of everyone had ignited genuine fury.
07:27Several of the elders went dark-faced.
07:29My father's anger rose too.
07:31If the Crown Prince holds our clan in such contene, perhaps this marriage is not one we need to pursue.
07:38Ashvane knew well enough that without Serpent Scales his ascension would be nearly impossible.
07:43Realizing he had said the wrong thing, he clasped his hands and apologized.
07:48Ashvane spoke out of turn.
07:50Serpent King, please forgive me.
07:52It's only that I cannot bring myself to fail Lily.
07:55So I must ask the Princess to bear with the arrangement.
07:59I hope the Serpent King will decide quickly.
08:02My father is waiting to celebrate.
08:04In terms of power, the Serpent Clan was nowhere near the Fireborn court.
08:08Even if my father was unwilling, he had no choice but to yield.
08:11For the sake of his people, he looked up at me.
08:15Seraphine, what do you think?
08:17His mouth asked for my opinion.
08:19His eyes had already made the answer clear.
08:21He wanted me to accept the realization made something in me go cold.
08:25Everyone said my father adored me, but I knew he favored Lily more.
08:28From childhood he had trained me in how to please the Fireborn.
08:32How to survive at their margins.
08:34How to fight for the Serpent Clan's interests.
08:37He made me cultivate day and night without rest.
08:40It was because the Fireborn set a bar impossibly high for any Serpent Princess.
08:45Without immense cultivation.
08:46She couldn't protect the Crown Prince through his trial.
08:49When the Fireborn ascended, a Serpent was always beside them.
08:53For every Fireborn who came out alive, most Serpents alongside them had been sacrificed.
08:59Lily only needed to eat well, rest well, and enjoy herself.
09:02My father even chose for her the freest and most equal of all clans.
09:06The Raven Order as her future home.
09:09For the first time in my life I had a thought that went against my father.
09:12Father, I refuse to be anyone's conqueen.
09:17The moment I said it I heard a sharp intake of breath from half the room.
09:20Ashvane blinked.
09:22Clearly not having anticipated that anyone would refuse to marry him.
09:26Lily's face filled with satisfaction.
09:28My father frowned.
09:29If not a concubine, what about equal wives?
09:32You and Lily both married to the Crown Prince, neither ranked above the other.
09:36I don't want that either.
09:38I don't want to marry into the Fireborn court at all.
09:41Ashvane looked at me.
09:42His expression said I didn't know what was good for me.
09:44My father lost his patience.
09:46If you won't marry the Fireborn court, then who do you want to marry?
09:49I want to marry him.
09:51I pointed at a man in black standing in the corner, under every eye in the room.
09:55I walked toward him.
09:56Will you marry me?
10:04The man was none other than Corvus Blackwood, the young lord of the Raven Order, who had
10:09come today to meet Lily.
10:11Before Corvus could say a word, Ashvane burst out laughing.
10:14I thought the serpent princess had set her sights on someone important, and it turns out
10:19to be a raven.
10:21Ravens were considered bad omens and naturally held in contempt by the proud Fireborn.
10:25But the Raven Order was free, spirited, graceful, and mysterious.
10:29They believed in equality.
10:31They looked down on no one.
10:32My father's expression went dangerously dark.
10:36Even my mother, who always showed me warmth, went pale.
10:39Lily spoke up.
10:40Princess, are you serious?
10:42You want to marry Corvus?
10:44You're not just saying that?
10:45I nodded.
10:46Of course.
10:46I have long admired him.
10:49Naturally, I want to marry him.
10:50Ashvane's expression curdled instantly.
10:52A raven.
10:53It will never cultivate into a phoenix.
10:56It will never even reach divine transformation.
10:59I smiled.
11:00And yet the great phoenix still relies on our serpent clan to survive the ascension.
11:05There are those who strut around giving orders here, but the moment they need something,
11:09they wag their tails harder than a stray dog begging for scraps.
11:12I thought of how, in my last life, Ashvane had been especially attentive to me as his trial
11:17approached.
11:18That was when he charmed me so thoroughly that when the moment came, I gave everything I had
11:23to protect him through it.
11:24When it was over and I had somehow survived, I was gravely injured.
11:28That was why Ashvane was able to take my soul core.
11:31Then Lily found my weakest point.
11:33Together they stripped my scales from my body, and she killed me with a final blade.
11:38Thinking of it now, the place where my heart used to be ached dull.
11:41Who are you calling a dog?
11:43Whoever fits the description.
11:45At that, a soft laugh broke through.
11:47Corvus Blackwood, silent until now, smiled.
11:51I looked up at him and paused.
11:52I hadn't really looked at him before.
11:54This Corvus Blackwood, he was surprisingly handsome.
11:57Even you dare laugh at me, raven.
12:01Die!
12:02Ashvane was provoked by that laugh and immediately struck toward him with an open palm.
12:06Ashvane was still the fireborn crown prince.
12:08He had real power.
12:09My instinct was to shield Corvus, but he was already there ahead of me, meeting Ashvane
12:15palm to palm.
12:16In that instant, black energy and gold energy collided, and held perfectly even.
12:21Ashvane was forced back.
12:22A misunderstanding, your highness.
12:24I laugh because Princess Serafina said she admired me.
12:27I was simply too excited to contain it.
12:29Your power is formidable.
12:31Corvus concedes.
12:32But anyone could see.
12:34Ashvane was not his match.
12:36Others might marvel at how deep Corvus's cultivation ran.
12:40Only I knew the truth.
12:42Ashvane had never been as powerful as his reputation claimed.
12:45In my last life, without me, he couldn't have bested his own personal guards.
12:49Ashvane's face went dark.
12:51But then Lily stepped forward.
12:52Your highness.
12:53Since the princess and Corvus clearly have feelings for each other, there's no need to
12:58insist on marrying her.
12:59I was still puzzling over when Lily had become so reasonable.
13:03When she turned and knelt before my father.
13:06Your majesty.
13:07By the pact between the Fireborn court and the Serpent clan, a Serpent princess must marry
13:11the Fireborn crown tights.
13:12Since Princess Serafina refuses, I am willing to go in her place.
13:15On the condition that she transfers her title of Serpent Princess to me, along with her scales
13:19and her serpent stone.
13:21So that was where she had been waiting.
13:23The Serpent clan had three treasures.
13:26Scales, indestructible, capable of withstanding divine lightning.
13:30Serpent stone, which absorbed the essence of sun and moon, and amplified both parties'
13:36cultivation during dual practice.
13:39And the soul core.
13:41She was demanding two of the three.
13:43How was that any different from taking my life?
13:47I hadn't yet opened my mouth.
13:49Ashvane was already pressing my father.
13:51Serpent king, Seraphine broke the pact first.
13:55If she won't hand over those two things, I'll have a difficult time answering to my father.
14:01Here we go again.
14:02Can't win the fight.
14:03So bring out the Fireborn court.
14:05My father's brow tightened, but he gave way.
14:08Seraphine, if you truly won't marry into the court, then I'm afraid you'll have to hand
14:13those two things over to Lily.
14:15At that moment, my faith in my father was gone entirely.
14:18I gave a cold laugh.
14:21And if I refuse?
14:23The moment I said it, the whole hall went still.
14:25Every serpent in the room looked at me, expressions shifting rapidly.
14:29My father's brows were nearly knotted together.
14:33Seraphine, this is not the time for stubbornness.
14:35He took my hand and lowered his voice.
14:38You know what it means to anger the Fireborn court.
14:41Can you not think of our people for once?
14:43And every Fireborn emperor eventually reached divine transformation.
14:46No clan in the spirit world was willing to make an enemy of them.
14:50But even so...
14:52Father, your daughter refuses to accept this.
14:56I clasped my hands.
14:58The wrong is clearly on the Fireborn court's side.
15:01Even if I refuse to marry, even if I refuse to hand anything over, no one has grounds to
15:06fault me for it.
15:08You are forcing me out of nothing but fear.
15:11But have you ever asked yourself, is the Fireborn court truly that unshakable?
15:15Is our serpent clan truly beneath them?
15:17The more you yield, the more they will take.
15:19That is all they have ever learned to do.
15:20I thought of my last life, when the Fireborn came to destroy us.
15:24The moment they arrived, our serpent clan surrendered.
15:27Not a single person dared to push back.
15:30Because even my father feared the powerful Fireborn, how could the people below him be
15:35expected to resist?
15:37Yet I remembered my mother once telling me that when my father was young, he was not
15:41a man who bent easily.
15:42Hearing my words, my father stared at me as though he didn't know me.
15:46Ashvane gave a cold laugh.
15:47Quite the speech.
15:49Since the serpent clan clearly has no interest in negotiating, I suppose nothing left to
15:53discuss.
15:54I'll have to bring this matter back to my father.
15:56I thought my words might have reached something in him.
15:59Then his hand came across my face.
16:01I looked up at my father, his face burning with fury, and felt something freeze inside
16:06me.
16:07You ungrateful wretch!
16:09What nonsense are you spouting?
16:11Hand over the scales and the serpent stone now!
16:14Or do you intend to force your own father's hand?
16:17Those words.
16:18Each one a blade driven straight into my chest.
16:21I looked around, contempt in every clansperson's eyes.
16:24Triumph all over Lily's face.
16:26Only Corvus made a move to step forward.
16:28The person beside him grabbed him and held on hard.
16:31I closed my eyes.
16:32You cannot wake someone who is only pretending to sleep.
16:35I was about to shift form, about to strip my scales.
16:38Wait.
16:39I opened my eyes.
16:41My mother looked at Ashvane.
16:43Your Highness, use my scales and my serpent stone instead.
16:49Mother!
16:52Why would you?
16:54My scales are denser.
16:56My serpent stone is stronger.
17:00I started to say it didn't matter.
17:03You're so old.
17:04Who wants your things?
17:06We want Seraphina Moros.
17:10Ashvane nodded in agreement.
17:14Please, let Seraphine go.
17:17Mine are not lesser.
17:18Every word my mother said drove deeper into me.
17:22My mother, like my father, had always kept the best things for Lily.
17:26I had always resented that in her.
17:28I thought she was weak.
17:29That she had spent her whole life losing herself for my father's sake.
17:33But now I saw how completely wrong I had been.
17:35That Neil broke something open in my chest.
17:40Mine.
17:41Lily, I'll give you my scales and my serpent stone.
17:45But whether you can keep them, that depends on your own abilities.
17:49Lily curved her lips.
17:52Then I'll thank the princess.
17:54In front of everyone, I shifted into my true form.
17:58The pain of stripping scales went beyond anything that can be described.
18:02My tail swept across my body.
18:04The scales fell away one by one.
18:06I shook with each one.
18:08One, two, three.
18:10Every scale I lost added another measure of pain.
18:13When all of them had fallen away, the blue-green scales gathered together and wove themselves
18:18into a sheath of armor that drifted down onto Lily.
18:22She couldn't help spinning once, the smile on her face uncontainable.
18:27I shifted back to human form.
18:33I lost my footing for a moment.
18:36Staggering and was caught.
18:38I turned to look.
18:39It was Corvus.
18:40I thanked him and then used my inner energy to force out the serpent stone.
18:45The blue-green serpent stone rose into the air.
18:48Lily swallowed it without waiting.
18:50But the next second, she let out a scream.
18:52Instead of the flood of power she had expected, a violent pain erupted from the center of her chest.
19:00She writhed on the floor, shrieking.
19:03The sound was raw and tearing.
19:08Ashvane frowned and moved to channel energy to help her.
19:11Before he even touched her, Lily screamed once more.
19:14The serpent stone burst out from her chest.
19:16It rose into the air, streaked with blood, its blue-green light dimmer than before.
19:21Lily looked up and vomited a mouthful of blood.
19:25Seraphine Moro, you tampered with the serpent stone.
19:29The next instant, Ashvane's sword was pressed against my throat.
19:34What did you do to her?
19:37I told him.
19:38I did nothing.
19:41If you did nothing, how did she end up like this?
19:44A serpent stone is naturally a Serpent Clan treasure.
19:55Without a serpent's soul core to anchor it, it cannot be absorbed by anyone else.
19:59That is common knowledge.
20:00This was not a secret.
20:02Lily had lived among us long enough to know it.
20:05Her face went pale.
20:07Impossible!
20:08I carry serpent blood!
20:09Why can't I use it?
20:11You must have done something!
20:12I asked her.
20:14Who told you that you carry serpent blood?
20:21I am the Serpent King's daughter!
20:23How could I not carry serpent blood?
20:26Who said you were the Serpent King's daughter?
20:29Your father is not me.
20:31My father finally stepped forward.
20:33In my last life, my father was gravely injured before Ashvane's ascension trial.
20:38After I went back to see him one final time, my mother told me the truth.
20:42Lily is not your father's child at all.
20:45There had never been any affair between my father and the Hare Queen.
20:49It was my mother who had once been saved by the Hare Queen.
20:52They had called each other sisters ever since, when my father learned the Hare Queen was under attack.
20:57He had even sent troops to rescue her.
20:59But they arrived too late.
21:03Lily, you were never my father's child.
21:06She didn't believe me.
21:07She thought I was lying.
21:09But now, hearing it from my father's own mouth, with the Serpent Stone's reaction as proof, Lily had no choice
21:14but to believe.
21:17So the Serpent Stone alone isn't enough.
21:19A soul core is needed too.
21:21Then give me the soul core.
21:23I looked at him with cold eyes.
21:25In your dreams.
21:27A soul core was everything to a spirit being.
21:30Once it was taken, any chance of revenge I had would be gone forever.
21:34My words had pushed Ashvane past his limit.
21:37Then I'll take it myself.
21:39He gathered his power, took his stance, and flew at me with his sword.
21:43I had just stripped all my scales.
21:45There was no way I could match him now.
21:47At that moment, Corvus stepped in front of me.
21:50I heard the person beside him shout.
21:52Corvus, this is a matter between the Serpent Clan and the Fireborn Court.
21:55Do you want to bring destruction on the Raven Order?
21:58Corvus's foot shifted slightly to the side.
22:00Then he held his ground.
22:02But in the end, it was not Corvus who blocked Ashvane's sword.
22:06It was my father.
22:10Red Palm Force met Golden Sword energy.
22:13My father swept his hand, sent Ashvane flying back several feet.
22:17He hit the floor.
22:18He got back up.
22:19Serpent King, what do you think you're doing?
22:22My father stood between me and Corvus, his presence like a wall.
22:26Crown Prince, our clan has already given you what you came for.
22:30To keep demanding more is going too far.
22:33There is nothing this Crown Prince desires that he cannot have.
22:37Are you inviting me to take this complaint to my father?
22:40This king has met the Fireborn Emperor and found him to be a reasonable man.
22:45If the Crown Princess wishes to bring a complaint, this king would not mind making the journey to the Fireborn
22:51Court himself to give the Emperor a full account of what his Crown Prince did here today.
22:57My father's words were well-reasoned.
23:00The Fireborn Emperor was arrogant, but he was a man who valued appearances, even when he wanted to start a
23:07conflict.
23:07He needed a suitable pretext.
23:10Today, the fault was plainly Ashvane's from the start.
23:13If this truly reached the Emperor, Ashvane would not come away clean.
23:17Ashvane understood that.
23:19His expression went cold.
23:21He reached out and drew the bloodied Serpent Stone from the air.
23:24Then he picked Lily up off the floor.
23:27Serpent clan.
23:28You'll regret this.
23:30Ashvane left.
23:31Every face among the Serpent clan was heavy, especially the elders.
23:35They gathered near my father and spoke quietly in his ear.
23:38My father shook his head.
23:39I'll handle this.
23:40He looked up at me.
23:42Seraphine.
23:43Come to the back hall.
23:44I followed him.
23:46I couldn't quite read what he was thinking.
23:48But when he had stepped in front of me just now, I began to wonder if my father was not
23:53entirely the man I had assumed him to be.
23:59Father, what did you want to see me for?
24:01The moment the door closed behind us, my father gripped the edge of the table and coughed up blood.
24:07Father, what is this?
24:09I knew my father's strength.
24:11Nothing Ashvane had done today could have hurt him.
24:14Seraphine.
24:16I'm sorry.
24:17Your father may be dying.
24:20Don't say such things, father.
24:22How could you possibly be dying?
24:24Your father is old.
24:25And then I learned the truth.
24:27That the Hare clan had been finding ways to infiltrate the Serpent clan for years.
24:31They had placed people inside the palace.
24:34They had even bought off the personal guard closest to my father.
24:37That guard had been slowly poisoning him for three years.
24:40When my father discovered it recently, the guard gave him one final strike before being captured.
24:46Lily had also been manipulated by these same people.
24:49My father had never told me any of this.
24:52That was why, in my last life, he had left so early.
24:55Knowing the truth now, tears ran down my face beyond my control.
25:00I truly am sorry.
25:02I know relying on the Fireborn court was never the answer.
25:06They can protect us but they can just as easily swallow us whole.
25:10The Hare clan has been circling us like wolves.
25:13Your father can no longer protect his people.
25:15That is why I forced you to give those two things away.
25:18Now I understood how much my father had been carrying alone.
25:21He had truly wronged me.
25:23But when the choice was between wronging me and wronging his people, he had no other option.
25:30Seraphine, I have always set the bar high for you because you were born a serpent princess.
25:34And anyone who receives the trust and reparates of their people must bear the responsibilities that come with it.
25:41But your father never once asked whether you wanted any of this.
25:44I didn't yet understand what he meant.
25:46My father suddenly reached out and took my hand.
25:49I felt a current of spiritual energy surge from his palms into mine.
25:53New scales had begun to grow slowly beneath my skin.
25:56I yanked my hand back immediately.
25:58Father, you cannot give me your scales!
26:01If you give them to me, what will become of you?
26:03I don't want them!
26:05But my protests were useless.
26:06He gave me his scales anyway.
26:08And beyond that, a new serpent stone took shape inside me.
26:13Seraphine, I know you have always longed for freedom.
26:16Go and find it.
26:17But what about you, father?
26:19What will happen to you?
26:23Your father is dying.
26:26Death is its own release.
26:28After I am gone, you must take your mother and leave the serpent clan.
26:32After that, don't come back.
26:34His voice grew fainter.
26:36At last, he closed his eyes.
26:38His human form dissolved quickly.
26:40And a great serpent, bare of every scale, lay coiled on the bed.
26:44Father!
26:45Father!
26:47I wept until my throat was raw.
26:49But my father could no longer see me.
26:51When I opened the door, my mother, Queen Solara, was already waiting outside.
26:56Is your father gone?
26:57I nodded through my tears.
26:59My mother pressed a packed travel bag into my hands.
27:02Then go quickly.
27:03When the others find out, they may try to blame you.
27:07I caught my mother's hand.
27:08Father told me to take you with me.
27:10I can't leave.
27:12I still have to hold the serpent clan together for your father.
27:14He was bound to this clan his whole life.
27:16I can't watch his life's work fall apart.
27:18I broke down weeping.
27:20Those words struck directly into the center of me.
27:25Mother, I'll stay and hold it with you.
27:27After my father's death, I inherited the throne.
27:29I became the new serpent queen.
27:31Only then did I learn how precarious our situation truly was.
27:35The Fireborn court had promised to protect the serpent clan.
27:38But that protection only guaranteed we wouldn't be wiped out entirely.
27:42The hair clan kept causing trouble within our walls.
27:44The first thing I did after taking power was to hunt down those informants.
27:48After rounding them all up, I used our resources to buy large quantities of cultivation medicine
27:53for the clan's younger generation.
27:55A strong generation of young serpents meant a strong clan.
27:59I studied cultivation methods.
28:01I forged spirit weapons.
28:03Only a serpent clan powerful in its own right could ever break free from the Fireborn court's
28:07control.
28:08While I was busy doing all of this, someone appeared at my side.
28:12After my father's death, Corvus Blackwood stayed.
28:15No matter what I was doing, whenever I turned around, he was there.
28:20Why haven't you left?
28:22Corvus smiled.
28:24Didn't you ask me to marry you?
28:26No matter what I'm doing here.
28:44You
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