- 11 minutes ago
Vampire Revenge: The True Heiress
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00As a vampire, time should have meant nothing.
00:02But over 4,000 days of darkness is enough to drive even the most elegant noble mad.
00:08Juliana, my dear nemesis, drove a cursed silver pirk through my heart,
00:13imprisoning me in this coffin in the middle of nowhere for 13 long years.
00:17My skin has turned a translucent pale from extreme bloodthirst.
00:20The silver suppresses most of my power, leaving me unable to move.
00:24Until I met her.
00:26Rumor had it that the Earl of Blackwood once had a lost daughter.
00:30After she disappeared, the Counteness, overwhelmed by grief, adopted another girl to fill the void.
00:36Half a year ago, when the Blackwoods finally found their true heir, Evelyn,
00:41and sent someone to fetch her from the countryside, their carriage stopped here for a brief moment.
00:46I breathed a cold breast beside her ear.
00:49Give me something to eat, or let me drain every drop of your blood.
00:58You think I'm a beggar?
01:00I want what they're having.
01:01I haven't entered the manor yet.
01:02The Blackwoods do not feed idlers.
01:04This is my own ration.
01:34The Blackwoods were wealthy enough to rival nations.
01:35Holy filth only shames the family.
01:37Look at this country bumper.
01:39She's worth less than the cat in Lady Chloe's room.
01:41The Earl and Countess knew where she was three years ago.
01:43They just didn't bring her back because she looked too filthy.
01:46If it weren't for the marriage alliance, who would bother fetching an orphan from a stable?
01:51Do you want to see them punished?
01:55Shall I go faster?
01:59Evelyn laughed through her tears.
02:01What is your name?
02:02When I've saved enough money, I'll find the best priest to grant you eternal rest.
02:07The holy silver spike has me pinned.
02:10Don't waste your breath.
02:11Just live.
02:12All I ever wanted was to live.
02:15I'll come back for you.
02:16But she didn't return for half a year.
02:18Then she appeared once again in the storm-sweeped wilderness.
02:22She looked terrible.
02:23Thinner.
02:24Drenched in mud.
02:25Wearing nothing but a tattered rag of a dress.
02:27I didn't forget you.
02:29I just couldn't leave.
02:30No roasted chicken.
02:31Don't hate me.
02:32Even at death's door, I'm still thinking of you.
02:34Who pushed you to this?
02:36The Blackwoods?
02:37She gave a Blake smile.
02:39Rain and tears blurted together on her face.
02:41It's because I was too foolish.
02:43Too weak.
02:44The next second, she used her small knife to awaken the path.
02:48Come here.
02:49Give me a hug.
02:51I forgot.
02:52You can't move.
02:54Let me hug you.
02:55What is your wish?
02:57I will grant it.
02:58I want to die, and you want to live.
03:02You are the only person who ever protected me.
03:05I give my life to you.
03:07Drag those demons to hell for me.
03:09A vampire's power is immense,
03:11but no one can save a heart that has already chosen to die.
03:15That night, the Blackwoods lost a daughter no one cared about.
03:18And inside that coffin, a demon was resurrected.
03:25Before returning to the Blackwood estate,
03:27I made a due tour to the holy monastery deep in the mountains.
03:30The queen mother lived there, the foster mother of the current king.
03:34In the past, she had no fondness with me.
03:37But now, after I revealed the truth behind her son's death,
03:40she took my side and would return to the palace with me to seek our revenge.
03:45I arrived back at the manor on the very day of the adopted daughter's coming-of-age ball.
03:49No one remembered that today was also Evelyn's birthday.
03:53These are the family her heirlooms left by your grandmother.
03:56I wouldn't give them to anyone else, only to my Chloe.
04:01I knew mother loved me most of all.
04:04Sebastian the Blackwood heir stepped forward and offered a huge five-colored agmet ring.
04:08I spiffically requested this from Prince Hedrick.
04:11Only you are worthy of it.
04:14Hedrick. Now that was a pleasant surprise.
04:18Your father's gift is no less grand.
04:21I have petitioned the king.
04:23Once you come of age, the prince himself will officially announce your engagement.
04:27Then what about me?
04:28What gift do I get?
04:31How dare you return to this house?
04:34Do you have any idea how much Chloe suffered because of your disappearance?
04:37Sebastian, please don't.
04:39I've already forgiven Evelyn.
04:40Even though she pushed me into the lake, even though she stole my jewels to run away with a stable
04:46boy, even though she nearly cost me my life more than once, I choose to let it go.
04:51Evelyn, please, just kneel and beg father and mother for mercy.
04:55Do not provoke them any further.
04:56The countess gave a cold laugh and turned away.
04:59The last time Chloe tried to show her any affection, she was nearly drowned.
05:03If I let her apologize now, I might not live to see tomorrow.
05:06I have but one daughter, and her name is Chloe.
05:10Do not sicker me with the presence of this creature.
05:14Evelyn, just apologize.
05:17What are you waiting for?
05:19Kneel!
05:22I stood exactly where I was.
05:24Everything she has.
05:25Don't I deserve it as well?
05:27You dare compare yourself to Chloe?
05:28You are a lowly slut who tried to seduce a stable boy.
05:31You are a stain upon this family.
05:33If Chloe hadn't been shielding you all this time, you would have been rotting in a ditch long ago.
05:37Who told you I eloped?
05:38Chloe kept that innocent look as she walked toward me.
05:41Evelyn, don't be afraid.
05:42Now that you're back, we will keep your secret.
05:45I've already destroyed that love letter you wrote to the stable boy.
05:48As long as you kneel and beg father and mother for forgiveness, we can still be a happy family.
05:52Look at your sister.
05:54You aren't worth her shadow.
05:56If you weren't my own flesh and blood, I would have left you to the wolves long ago.
06:00Her nails dug deep into my skin.
06:03You're quite lucky, bitch.
06:04I can't believe you didn't die out there.
06:07I could hardly believe it.
06:09This?
06:09This pathetic, low-class scheme was what drove the real Evelyn to her death?
06:14So it was you who spread the rumors about me and the stable boy?
06:18Sister, are you blaming me?
06:20I didn't mean to.
06:22I moved fast.
06:23I dislocated her jaw.
06:27Seize her!
06:28The fat, vicious maid beside Chloe charged first.
06:31I didn't even turn my head.
06:33A backward sidekick shattered her leg.
06:36Try me.
06:38Sebastian drew his sword to charge.
06:40Scream one more time and I'll cut out your tongue.
06:42Everyone backed away behind the earl.
06:45My boot came down hard on the wailing maid's chest.
06:49Tell me, how did your mistress really end up in the lake?
06:54Even if you kill me, I'll tell the truth.
06:56You were jealous of Lady Chloe.
06:57You tried to murder her.
06:59You pushed her in.
07:00A practiced liar.
07:01How entertaining.
07:03If it's the gifts you want, I'll give them to you.
07:05But if you dare harm my Chloe, I will never forgive you as long as I live.
07:09The silver knife skimmed past the Countess's cheek.
07:12It sliced through her magnificent hat.
07:15Next time I'll aim through your eyes.
07:17If they are blind to the truth, then they are of no use to you.
07:23I gave you a chance.
07:25You wasted it.
07:27Still refusing to tell the truth?
07:29I pressed the tip of the dinner knife into a cruel, hidden point beneath her shoulder.
07:35This kind of pain isn't immediately fatal, but it drags its victim straight into hell.
07:40Long ago, when I was an assassin at Alexander's side, helping him eliminate his political rivals,
07:46I studied countless ways to make people suffer.
07:49Stop! We'll give you whatever you want.
07:51Chloe's quarters? The inheritance? Even the Prince's engagement?
07:56Put down the knife, and we can gautiate.
07:59I'll tell you exactly what I want.
08:01He hesitated, then stepped closer.
08:03Before he could strike, my hand was already around his throat.
08:05Then came blow after blow, until his pride broke with his smile.
08:09Did I give you permission to speak? Idiot.
08:12Now, does anyone else have an objection?
08:15Do as she says. No one move!
08:21Now, tell the truth.
08:26Evelyn, returning from the countryside, was hated from the very moment she stepped foot in the manor.
08:32On her first day back, Chloe had deliberately cut her own arm to frame her.
08:37She destroyed the christening gown.
08:39She even laced the Earl's medicine with slow-acting poison, only to claim that Evelyn was the one trying to
08:46murder her own father.
08:47And when you were locked in the chapel for it, Chloe offered to bring you food, but she never brought
08:53a single scrap.
08:54Instead, she ordered the guards to terrorize you in the dead of night.
08:59And the elopement?
09:00She forged the love letters, saying you ran away with a servant.
09:04But in truth, she bribed bandits in the wilderness to kill you, to make you vanish forever.
09:10Take Chloe away.
09:12Derry shrewd her!
09:16The doors were violently thrown open.
09:19Templar knights in white gold armor flooded into the hall.
09:22At their head was Prince Hedrick.
09:24Evelyn, you despicable madwoman!
09:26You dare harm my betrothed?
09:28I will see you burned to ashes upon the pyre.
09:30Oh?
09:31To arrest the true-born daughter of this house within her own father's manner, have you asked for their consent?
09:36The Earl lowered his eyes.
09:38The Countess stammered for a while, then said nothing.
09:40Do you honestly believe that by ruining Chloe you can marry me?
09:43Ridiculous.
09:43I will make you pay for every sin you have committed.
09:46Kill her!
09:47I have only one sister, and that is Chloe!
09:50Even when faced with the truth, you still choose to shield her?
09:53The truth.
09:54As a prince, if I say Chloe's innocent, then she is innocent.
09:57And you? You are nothing but a murderer driven mad by jealousy.
10:01Take her away. Bring her to the High Tribunal.
10:04Tell the Lord Justice to ensure this venomous woman is to the full extent of the law.
10:08My apologies, Prince Hedrick. I'm afraid I cannot do that.
10:11Lord Justice Bell stepped from the shadows.
10:13He did not look at Hedrick. Instead, he knelt before me.
10:19So sorry, Your Highness.
10:21By order of the King, anyone in this room who seeks to harm me,
10:27is to be thrown into the dungeon.
10:31I granted you your revenge, did I not?
10:34Yet now you take the power I gave you and use it against my own son.
10:38King Alexander questioned me in displeasure.
10:40I lounged on the velvet shea, half as asleep in the sun, without looking at him.
10:45Your temperament.
10:47It grows more like hers.
10:49I recalled our meeting half a wonks ago.
10:51I had gone to the convent to see the Queen Mother,
10:54and there, I crossed paths with the King.
10:56In a single, fluid stripe, I had unhorsed him.
10:59I stepped on his shoulder-blowed and caught his throat.
11:02The guards moved to kill me, but he waved them back.
11:04He said my movements in that moment reminded him of Lillian,
11:07his first love lost so many years ago.
11:10How absurd.
11:12I was Lillian, before his Queen had me nailed into a coffin.
11:16Now, wearing Evelyn's face to play the part of my former self,
11:19it was, of course, a perfect reflection.
11:22Who better to play the ghost than the woman herself?
11:26He had fallen for me at first sight, demanding that I become his mistress.
11:31And the condition I set was simple.
11:34Kill Chloe for me.
11:36He must kill Chloe for me.
11:39Alexander had grown old.
11:41He had become mellow.
11:42His former ruthlessness weathered away.
11:44He no longer had the stomach to meddle in the private affairs of his ministers.
11:48He only commanded the Lord Justice to assist me.
11:51Whether I succeeded or failed depended entirely on my own hands.
11:55So, I chose a blood-soaked path for the interrogation.
11:59With the Lord Justice standing witness and the evidence irrefutable,
12:02they all broke and confessed.
12:05Then came Prince Hedrick, eager to vent his fury on behalf of his fiancée.
12:10He nearly died as a child, and the Queen has cattled him ever since.
12:14To see Hedrack turn out like this, it is a profound disappointment.
12:18Just disappointment?
12:19I looked up at him, my gaze Lillian that just the look he loved most.
12:23Seeing me like that, his eyes softened.
12:25He was about to speak.
12:27Her Majesty!
12:28The Queen!
12:30My eyes lit up.
12:33Juliana, it has been a long time.
12:35I've waited so long for this moment.
12:38Queen Juliana looked perfectly composed.
12:43Then she passed me without a glance.
12:46Hedrick is still young.
12:47He was merely led astray by some wicked influence and acted out of impulse.
12:51As Queen, I have failed to guide the Crown Prince.
12:53I am willing to sequenced myself in St. Mary's Convent to repent for my failure.
12:57It was a calculated gamble.
12:58She wasn't begging for mercy.
13:00She was betting on power.
13:01The Normans, standing behind Juliana, controlled a third of the Empire's iron mines and its military.
13:07If she and Hedrick were penalized, the Normans would not take it lying down, and the cabinet would be thrown
13:11into a frenzy once more.
13:13Her Majesty has been ill for months.
13:15She nearly collapsed on the journey.
13:17My lady, in the presence of the King, does a mere servant now have the right to speak?
13:23Alexander waved his hand.
13:26Lord Justice Bell immediately had the talkable lady-in-waiter dragged out.
13:30This wicked influence the Queen speaks of, does she mean me?
13:33Or is she referring to that woman of dubious origin, Chloe?
13:36You are the one I love.
13:38If you were wicked, would that not make me the Lord of Hell?
13:41Since this woman called Chloe is so insidious, manipulating the Prince's mercy and plotting to murder a member of the
13:47Royal Family, I shall sentence her to-
13:50No!
13:50Father!
13:53Prince Hedrick stumbled into the inner hall.
13:58Presumptuous!
14:00If you do not wake from that woman's spell this instant, I will personally send her to meet God.
14:05Mother, Chloe is innocent.
14:07She is as pure as an angel, merely framed by a wicked soul.
14:10Her face is already ruined.
14:12She has suffered more than enough.
14:13As the mistress of this kingdom, you should be protecting a fragile woman like her.
14:17Alexander looked at the Prince, his eyes filled with disgust.
14:21Since His Highness remains unconvinced, why not let him visit the Chamber of Incredation and witness the interrogation himself?
14:26The Queen's face changed.
14:28Her body trembled violently.
14:29The Chamber has 72 methods of torture.
14:31No one emerges alive.
14:33Hedrick has never seen such carnage.
14:35I fear it will shatter his mind.
14:38Instead of wasting your breath begging me, you would be better off educating your useless son.
14:43Continue to pamper him, and he will be fit for nothing but exile to the frozen woods of the North.
14:48I suppose this counts as me settling the score for you.
14:53I am not entirely satisfied.
14:57But since you stood up for me, I shall ensure you are satisfied as well.
15:05Three days later, the once-arrogant Prince Hedrick collapsed, broken by illness.
15:10Word spread that he had watched, paralyzed, as Chloe was torn apart, her blood slicking the stone floor.
15:16With her final eubing strength, she clawed at his boots.
15:19Save me, Hedrick.
15:20He had fled the scene in pure, unambulterated terror, but he remained ignorant of the truth.
15:25The blade I used to mark Chloe had been dipped in a vampiric hallucinorant.
15:28Now, every time he closes his eyes, he sees the spherical image of Chloe whispering at his bedside.
15:34You promised we would be together forever.
15:36I was not content with merely shattering a prince's insanity.
15:40I took the blood-crusted gown Chloe wore during her agony,
15:44sealed it within an exquisite gift box, and had it delivered to the Earl's Manor.
15:49I heard the Countess had coughed up blood and fallen into a coma on the spot.
15:56The Blackwoods, once steeped in glory, have become the premier laughingstock of the social season.
16:01That my air should be so utterly spinless.
16:04This shame is a fate far worse than death.
16:07The Queen happened to pass by and heard him, her face twisted with fury.
16:12I watched her from the King's side.
16:14Then I gave her a provocative smile.
16:18Alexander sought Lillian's ghost within me with a fervory bordering on madness.
16:23He craved that specific reckless arrogance in my soul, that untamed defiance.
16:28He came to my chambers almost every day,
16:31heaping favor, jewels, and power at my feet like offerings.
16:34Lillian.
16:37Your Majesty.
16:38Look closely.
16:40I am Evelyn.
16:42True, she was never this submissive.
16:44If Juliana had dared to call her a witch, she would have slapped her right in front of me.
16:49I hadn't always been so overbearing.
16:51The only time I had struck Juliana was when she pointed at my swollen belly.
16:55You have spilled too much blood.
16:56You are not worthy of bearing royal seeds.
16:58Even if you carry it to term, there is no guarantee you will bring forth a living soul.
17:04The cost of that impulse?
17:06I was sentenced to kneel for a full night.
17:09In the cold, I lost the child that had been in my womb for eight months.
17:14Only much later did I learn that when Juliana approached me that day,
17:18she carried a scent infused with abortifections.
17:20From the very beginning, she had marked that child for death.
17:24My child died in her shadow.
17:26Thus, her son shall never know peace within these palace walls.
17:30What about Lillian?
17:32How did she die?
17:34Alexander's body went stujic.
17:36He drew his hand out of my hair.
17:38It is late.
17:41Sleep.
17:44I cannot sleep.
17:45My mind is haunted by the memory of my brother.
17:48The year Alexander went on his great campaign,
17:50Juliana's brother led the Holy Army to siege my estate.
17:54Juliana dragged my brother, whom I had hidden so carefully,
17:56and forced him before me to demand my surrender.
17:58You die, or he dies.
18:00Make your choice.
18:01My family, the house of Mortani, had been falsely accused by the late king.
18:05Every soul was slaughtered.
18:06Only my brother and I remained.
18:08I became Alexander's shadow,
18:09an assassin killing anyone whom he wished to eliminate.
18:12All for the day I could clear our name,
18:14and all to keep that boy alive.
18:15He was only seven then,
18:17just three years older than Hedrick.
18:18My brother, played, had already sworn an oath
18:20to reclaim our family's justice.
18:22Don't worry about me!
18:24Just run!
18:24Even with Juliana's blade at his throat,
18:26he remained f***ing.
18:27If she dares to flee,
18:28I will flay you alive.
18:30Seeing that I would not drop my blade,
18:32they hurt him with their bare hands.
18:33It doesn't hurt.
18:34I'm a man.
18:35I can take it.
18:36His leg was broken beneath her brother's boot.
18:39When Juliana's blade moved toward his eye,
18:41I threw down my knife.
18:43But at that same moment,
18:44a sword pierced me from behind.
18:46The one who struck me was my most trusted confidants.
18:49That woman still lives within these palace walls,
18:53quietly savoring her wealth and status.
18:56Her life is a debt that must now be paid.
19:04The palace held a grand autumn hunt banquet.
19:07Alexander held my hand tightly and seated me beside him.
19:10Juliana held on to her pride.
19:12Hatred clenched between her teeth.
19:14The goblet in Juliana's hand nearly shattered.
19:17I rose and left the banquet.
19:20Be careful.
19:23I have this.
19:25Don't worry.
19:28I walked to a secluded place.
19:30A rusty iron door opened.
19:33Selina stood trembling in the moonlight, waiting for me.
19:36Are they still alive?
19:37What more do you want from me?
19:39Neil.
19:41Yes.
19:42My lady.
19:43This place is a far cry from the grand courtyard you once inhabited.
19:48What's the matter?
19:49Has Juliana not been kind to you?
19:52I failed to bear the king a child.
19:55This is the life I have earned.
19:57What is it you want?
19:58Pay more frequent visits to the queen.
20:01Since her precious son is bedthrown,
20:03it is only fitting that you go and offer your compassion.
20:07If I do this, will you release my family?
20:11You are in no position to bargain with me.
20:13That year, she was the only one who had my brother's letter.
20:16The hand that sold us out belonged to her.
20:18Selina.
20:19Blood for blood.
20:20What made her think she had the right to negotiate?
20:22From the moment I delivered the keepsakes of her mother and brother into her hands,
20:26every day until her death, she would know no peace.
20:31On my way back to the banquet, Lady Aurora stopped me.
20:35You look remarkably like an old friend of mine.
20:37I know.
20:38The king told me.
20:39I'm just a stand-in for his first love.
20:41But with plenty to eat in the king's favor, why should I complain?
20:45The current situation is a golden opportunity for Prince Derek.
20:48The king is desperate for an able son.
20:51A chance like this won't come again.
20:52Compared to the queen's brittle hypocrisy, you seem far more genuine to me.
20:56The scales of power in the kingdom began to tilt entirely at the subtle agitation of my fingertips.
21:02Hedrick collapsed under the weight of his own terror.
21:05The ambitious Derek finally had his moment to command the round table council.
21:13His mother, Lady Aurora, had once been my favorite handmaiden at the estate.
21:17In those days, she trailed behind me like a fragile shadow, soft and obedient.
21:22Whenever I returned to the manor after eliminating the king's enemies,
21:25she would be waiting at the end of the long gallery with warm water, ready to cleanse my wounds.
21:31The two people I had trusted most in that life.
21:33One was Aurora, whom I had elevated with my own hand.
21:36The other was Selina, the wretch I had plucked from the grave.
21:39But in the end, Selina traded my brother's life for a royal title.
21:42And Aurora, she drove a blade through my back to purchase a future for herself and her son.
21:47Neither shall escape the debt they owe.
21:52Now, armed with the evidence I provided,
21:55Aurora has seen a duke from the queen's lineage imprisoned for corruption.
21:59Derek tirelessly courts the masses, crushing the weakened Hedrick under his thee.
22:03In the palace walls, Aurora openly flaunters our alliance,
22:07catching the queen completely off guard.
22:09Thank you for the gift, dear Evelyn.
22:12It is a pity the old duke went to his grave without implicating Hedrick.
22:17The evidence is irrelevant.
22:19Rumors have a poison all their own.
22:22Prince Derek should understand that well enough.
22:24I rose and left.
22:26Aurora's smile vanished in an instant.
22:29She truly believes she is the hunter.
22:32She has no inkling that the deadliest predators always present themselves as the prey.
22:40Because I was pregnant,
22:42Alexander mobilized nearly the entire royal guard to encircle my chambers.
22:46This time, I will ensure that both mother and child survive.
22:50I hid the mockery at the corner of my mouth.
22:53A few days later, Selina joined me for afternoon tea.
22:56When Alexander arrived, I was already lying on the marble floor.
23:00Don't sleep, Evelyn.
23:02The physicians are coming.
23:04Stay with me.
23:05I will never leave your side.
23:08He was undoubtedly reliving the day Lillian lost her child.
23:12When he had carried her out of a similar scene,
23:15only to find the life within her gone,
23:17I mirrored the haunting, hollow-eyed stare Lillian once wore when she was broken.
23:23Selina's maid knelt on the floor and said,
23:25The queen has been summoning our lady constantly.
23:27Before our lady came here, the queen sent a message.
23:29Go in peace.
23:30I shall handle the rest.
23:32When the physicians declared that I had been ravaged by a lethal toxin,
23:36my body shattered.
23:37My womb rendered forever barren.
23:39He loathed the repetition of this tragedy even more.
23:42Alexander turned and stormed toward the queen's palace.
23:47As Selina was dragged away, she shrieked for mercy,
23:50her eyes wide with desperate enticent.
23:53I knew what she wanted.
23:54She had played her part in my script.
23:56She expected me to spare her mother and brother.
23:58But my brother is dead.
24:00By what right does she still have hers?
24:02She was thrown into the deepest dungeon.
24:05I stood before her in a black cloak.
24:07You promised!
24:08You said if I did doing, they would live!
24:10You lost so much blood, yet you stand here now?
24:13You aren't human.
24:14What are you?
24:15I crouched down and looked at her with ice in my eyes.
24:18Years ago, I rescued her mother from a brothel
24:21and found her brother honest work.
24:23Yet, those two lured my brother out of hiding with lies of my peril.
24:28I am not Lillian's sister.
24:31Lillian never had a sister.
24:33So guess, why are my killing techniques exactly the same as Lillian's?
24:38Why do I have the same face as hers?
24:43When I returned to the palace, Alexander was sitting by the bed, reading.
24:49Come here.
24:50It's cold outside.
24:52I went to kill someone.
24:54She deserved it.
24:55You won't ask who?
24:57It doesn't matter.
24:58He was desperate to atone for his failures to Lillian through me.
25:01For a fleeting second, I almost faltered under the weight of his devotion.
25:05But then I remembered.
25:07The true executioner, the queen, had been forgiven.
25:10He had merely confined her to her chambers.
25:13When you have healed, I shall name you Duchess.
25:17No more schemes, all right?
25:19What if I want her life in exchange for my child's?
25:22Evelyn!
25:23He was reminding me to behave.
25:24To be a graceful bird in a cage, not a predator seeking blood.
25:28Lillian died by her hand too, didn't she?
25:30Did you protect her back then the same way?
25:32Alexander froze.
25:33Or is it that you never truly loved Lillian, just as you never truly cared for me?
25:37Enough!
25:38I have spoiled you beyond reason.
25:40Who do you think you are?
25:41You are but a plaything I keep.
25:42From this day forth, you go nowhere!
25:46Alexander adored my wild defiance, yet he loathed my lack of submission.
25:51It was the same paradox he had with Lillian.
25:53He loved her for the blood she spilled in his name, yet condemned her for being too fierce.
25:59He preferred the queen's poise, Aurora's gentleness, and Selina's depicity,
26:03quiet virtues that never challenged his ego.
26:06The truth was, he loved no one but himself.
26:08I offered you a thousand chances for redemption.
26:12You chose to look away.
26:14Do not blame me for the ruin that follows.
26:16Soon, the court was abuzz with a new scandal.
26:19The arrogant Evelyn had finally overstepped, becoming a cursed, discarded favor.
26:24No one rejoiced more than Aurora.
26:26She seized control of the internal palace affairs, while her son, Derek, began to dominate the council
26:31chamber as if the crown were already his.
26:33Hedrick, shattered by the psychological horrors he had witnessed, was stripped of his authority
26:38and sent to a monastery to converse it.
26:41Upon hearing of her son's ruin, Queen Juliana coughed up blood.
26:45From her sickbed, she begged for an audience with the king, only to have the doors slammed
26:51in her face.
26:52That day, I flew a giant falcon kite in the garden.
26:58Years ago, Lillian's brother had gifted Alexander a captured falcon, promising to guard the king
27:03just as an eagle guards the sky.
27:06When Alexander stood outside the palace and looked up at the circling falcon, I knew he
27:10was thinking of the boy who had died under the holy army's swords.
27:14The earl sent a messenger with a cold ultimatum, begged the king's forgiveness at once.
27:18For the sake of the family, I shall send a more subdisive daughter to the palace.
27:22Raise her child as your own, that shall be your only support.
27:26Understand this, without the earlity, you are nothing.
27:29I placed the letter directly upon Alexander's desk.
27:32No monarch can tolerate a vassal attempting to pull the strings of his private life.
27:36Overnight, the earl's house was implicated in a treasonous conspiracy.
27:39Their lands were seized, their titles revoked.
27:42Men like him don't need excuses when they want to act.
27:45Did you not say you loved the untamed spirit within me most of all?
27:49The court is not a slaughterhouse.
27:51I will give you the means to protect yourself, but you must be mine to command.
27:56Only if you repay me for the child I lost.
28:00A simple request.
28:01There is a solution waiting in the monastery.
28:04He was a sickly, weak little prince named Theodore.
28:07His mother had died in childbirth.
28:09Come here, little one.
28:11Let mother see what my future king looks like.
Comments