- 4 hours ago
I Take Back the Light, I Found a Dynasty - FULL EPISODE
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Short filmTranscript
00:00On the eve of the coronation, King Alistair burst in with the pregnant Cecily.
00:04Cecily is carrying my child. That crown is not fit for you.
00:08I froze on the spot. Morghouse, the queen dowager whom I had treated as my own mother, chimed in without
00:14a trace of shame.
00:15You cannot bear an heir. Cecily was generous enough to spare your wretched life, yet you were vicious enough to
00:22push her and nearly cause a miscarriage.
00:25I swallowed the metallic taste in my throat.
00:28If I leave, don't say you weren't warned.
00:30Alistair let out a scornful laugh.
00:32Without my protection, you would have died on the exile road ten years ago.
00:38Guards, throw her into the cold tower and leave her to rot.
00:42They seemed to have forgotten that it was I who dug them out of a pile of corpses on that
00:46exile road ten years ago.
00:47They also had no idea that the fate of this new dynasty relied entirely on the light of destiny from
00:52my god bloodline.
00:53Forcibly sustaining it.
00:54Looking at this mother and son who wanted me dead, I swallowed the blood in my mouth and stopped asking
00:59for any explanation.
01:01Divine warning. Ten years of star blood protection have expired.
01:06Continue to offer the light of destiny?
01:09Withdraw it.
01:10The light of destiny will be completely stripped away in three days.
01:14Within three days, you may change your mind at any time.
01:20Before I could collect myself, the guards dragged me roughly out of the hall.
01:24I casually took off the queen's crown from my head and threw it at Alistair's feet.
01:28The crown rolled and fell, smashing jewels all over the floor.
01:32Alistair stared hard at my back, which showed no trace of regret, and knitted his brows into a tight knot.
01:37He seemed not to have expected me to be so resolute, a flash of inexplicable irritation crossed his eyes.
01:42Once she is in the cold tower, by my order, no one is to give her a single ember of
01:48coal or one drop of medicine for her wounds.
01:52Let's see just how tough her backbone really is.
01:56Cecily leaned delicately against Alistair, her eyes challenging me.
02:00Alistair, my sister was just jealous in the heat of the moment.
02:04Please don't upset yourself.
02:06With that, she gave a little cry that she was cold.
02:09Alistair instinctively moved to unfasten his cloak.
02:12But when his hand touched the clasp, he froze abruptly.
02:15It was a black fox fur cloak, with flame runes densely embroidered in gold thread over the heart.
02:20Ten years ago, in the frozen exile land, the cold poison had seeped into his bones,
02:24and the physician said he would not survive the night.
02:27It was I who pricked my own heart with a hairpin, used my star blood as a guide,
02:31and stayed up three whole nights sewing that cloak stitch by stitch, pulling him back from the brink of death.
02:36Alistair's fingers curled slightly, but he glanced at Cecily's slightly swollen belly,
02:40and in the end he unfastened the cloak and wrapped it around her.
02:43Yet he muttered a low warning.
02:45Don't dirty it.
02:46Cecily stiffened, then nodded obediently, but jealousy flashed in her eyes.
02:52The guards dragged me all the way and threw me into the cold tower, overgrown with weeds.
02:57The wind crept through the broken window lattice, drilling into my very bones.
03:01The agony of having the destiny stripped away began to set in.
03:04I fell onto the damp, muddy ground and vomited a mouthful of black blood.
03:08My lady!
03:09A thin, dark figure rushed out from a corner and hugged me tightly.
03:13It was Primrose.
03:15Ten years ago on the exile road, when I was starving to death,
03:18this silly girl secretly cut flesh from her own thigh and boiled it into soup to feed me.
03:22Now, seeing me covered in blood, she wept as if her heart would break.
03:26My lady, how could the king treat you like this?
03:29If you hadn't taken that arrow for him back then, he would have...
03:32Stop.
03:33I leaned weakly against her and wiped the blood from my lips.
03:36He doesn't deserve to speak of those days.
03:39The first night.
03:41The capital, which had enjoyed favorable weather, was suddenly hit by a violent gale.
03:45The first threat of golden light was silently being drawn away from above the throne palace where Alistair sat.
03:50That was my light of destiny.
03:52Since they have taken my crown, I shall take away their kingdom's fortune.
04:00At the same time, in the throne palace, Alistair, who had just fallen asleep with Cecily in his arms,
04:06suddenly felt a piercing pain in his chest.
04:08It was the old poison from ten years ago.
04:11For those ten years, I had used my star blood every month to suppress it,
04:15so he had long believed that the court physicians had cured him.
04:18He broke out in a cold sweat from the pain and instinctively called out the name carved into his bones.
04:22Sarah, my chest hurts.
04:25Llewellyn, the chamberlain on night duty, fell to his knees in terror.
04:29Your majesty, the queen has already been banished to the cold tower.
04:34Alistair jolted awake.
04:36He looked at the sleeping Cecily beside him, and his eyes churned with anger and panic.
04:41Silence!
04:42Without her, I can live just fine.
04:45Countdown.
04:46Two days remaining.
04:47My body grew colder and colder.
04:49The pain of having my divine meridians ripped away left me barely able to stand.
04:55The door of the cold tower was kicked open.
04:59Cecily, surrounded by seven or eight maids, strode in with her belly thrust out.
05:04She covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief in disgust.
05:07This place is worse than a pig shed.
05:10How is my once exalted queen sister finding it?
05:14Isn't that fake belly of yours rather hot under all that padding?
05:18Cecily's face changed dramatically.
05:20Then she stepped forward viciously and slapped me across the face.
05:25Wretch.
05:26Still running your mouth when death is at your door.
05:29Primrose shoved Cecily roughly aside.
05:32Don't you dare hit my lady!
05:33Cecily stumbled back two steps and fell straight into the arms of Alistair.
05:37Alistair.
05:39My sister's wretched servant is trying to kill our child.
05:42She immediately clucked her belly.
05:44Alistair flew into a rage and kicked Primrose so hard that she flew through the air.
05:48Primrose crashed heavily into the stone wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.
05:53Alistair!
05:54My eyes blazing with fury, I struggled to crawl over and shield Primrose.
05:58Alistair seized my jaw tightly.
06:00Serafina, you allow your vicious servant to plot against the royal heir.
06:05Do you really think I dare not kill you?
06:10Just then, his eyes fell on a pendant that had slipped out from my neck.
06:14It was a remarkably smooth pink gold gem, the only heirloom my mother left me, called the Starfell Pendant.
06:19Years ago in the snowy mountains, when Alistair was attacked by wolves,
06:23this gem had erupted with divine power and taken the fatal blow for him, leaving a crack on its surface.
06:29Cecily's eyes flickered.
06:31Alistair, that pendant is so beautiful.
06:34The royal physician says my pregnancy is unstable.
06:38If I had such a spiritual stone to nurture me, the little prince would surely be born safely.
06:44Alistair hesitated.
06:45He knew how important that pendant was to me.
06:48It was my very lifeline.
06:49I clutched the pendant tightly and looked at him with red eyes.
06:52Alistair, my mother left this to me.
06:55Just you dare touch it.
06:57Alistair saw the resolve in my eyes, and his heart inexplicably twinged.
07:02You are nothing but a cripple now.
07:04Keeping such a treasure is a waste.
07:07Cecily is carrying my first child.
07:11With that, he mercilessly pried open my fingers and tore off the leather cord.
07:17I screamed in anguish.
07:19Alistair handed the pendant to Cecily.
07:21But Cecily pretended to fumble it.
07:24There was a sharp crack.
07:25The pink gold gem that had once saved Alistair's life and carried my mother's soul shattered into pieces on the
07:30stone floor.
07:31The world seemed to fall into dead silence at that moment.
07:36Oh dear.
07:37How clumsy of me.
07:39Sister won't be angry, will she?
07:41I stared blankly at the broken gem on the ground.
07:44The last trace of tenderness in my heart for the youth of ten years ago shattered completely along with that
07:48gem.
07:49I did not cry.
07:50Instead, I let out a strange, abrupt laugh.
07:54Alistair's scalp prickled at the sound of my laughter.
07:56He looked at the shattered gem on the floor, and suddenly it felt as if a piece of his heart
08:00had gone missing.
08:01As if something most precious had left him forever.
08:05It's just a worthless stone.
08:07I'll give you a hundred in return.
08:09He grabbed Cecily and fled.
08:12Countdown.
08:13The final day.
08:14A messenger on horseback from the border galloped into the capital.
08:17The enemy army, which had been repelled, suddenly gathered a hundred thousand troops for a night raid,
08:22captured two cities in a row, and the defending generals were killed in battle.
08:26The court and the whole kingdom were shaken.
08:29The royal astrologer observed the night sky and cried out in alarm that the star representing Asteria had dimmed.
08:34A star of disaster had descended, and chaos would engulf the court.
08:38The chamberlain scrambled into the council chamber.
08:44Your Majesty, Lady Seslik has suddenly started bleeding.
08:47The royal physician says that an evil error has disturbed the spirit of the unborn child.
08:52An hour later, a large contingent of guards stormed the coal tower.
08:56Primrose was pinned flat to the ground in the courtyard by two burly maids.
09:00Alistair stood under the eaves, his face ashen, clutching a cursed doll inscribed with Cecily's birth date.
09:06Seraphina, this cursed object was found under your bed.
09:11The astroloper has calculated clearly that your fate has changed.
09:14You are the very disaster star who has doomed my hundred thousand soldiers and disturbed the royal air.
09:20The guards pinned me to the ground.
09:22I shook my head desperately.
09:24I did not! This is a frame-up!
09:26Cecily, pale-faced and leaning on a couch, pointed at Primrose and wailed.
09:30Your Majesty, it was this wretched servant who secretly buried the doll outside the tower.
09:37No! I only went to ask for some hot water! My lady is freezing to death!
09:42Primrose cowed out as she wept.
09:44Alistair would not listen.
09:46He looked at my pallid face, and the panic in his heart turned entirely into fury.
09:51So you won't confess?
09:53Then let your servant bear the punishment in your stead.
09:57Beat her hard!
09:59The heavy wooden club landed on Primrose's thin back.
10:02The sound of breaking bones was terribly clear in the silent coal tower.
10:06Alistair! Come at me! Beat me instead!
10:09I broke free from the guards like a madwoman and threw myself over Primrose,
10:13taking a blow for her.
10:15That blow shattered my shoulder blade.
10:17The pain made everything go black.
10:19But I held on tightly to the person beneath me.
10:22Alistair! I beg you, spare her!
10:25I'll let you drain my heart's blood again!
10:28I'll give you my life!
10:30Alistair looked at me groveling in the dirt.
10:32He opened his mouth, about to call a halt.
10:38Your Majesty, evil must be eradicated root and branch.
10:42The natural and man-made disasters are all because of this poison woman.
10:47Show no mercy.
10:48In that instant...
10:50My lady, don't beg him.
10:54He's not worthy.
10:58I'll go on ahead.
11:00Please live well.
11:02Before she finished, the maidservant brought the club down hard on the back of her head.
11:06Primrose's head drooped limply.
11:09She was gone.
11:10Primrose!
11:14A thunderclap exploded in the sky, and a torrential downpour followed.
11:19I held Primrose's body as it grew stiff, and my heart became a dry, empty well.
11:24Alistair, I will not leave you a single shred of this kingdom's destiny.
11:28Alistair stood under an umbrella, looking at me silent in the rain like a vengeful ghost.
11:33His voice trembled with panic.
11:34You brought this upon yourself.
11:37The astrologer has said that a disaster star has arrived.
11:41Only a living sacrifice by fire can aspie's heaven's wrath.
11:44Tomorrow is Cecily's coronation, and I will sacrifice you to heaven to secure the kingdom of Asteria.
11:51The third day.
11:53The coronation, and also my living sacrifice.
11:56On the square outside the cathedral, the dense black clouds seemed ready to crush the entire capital.
12:00With one arm broken and my body drenched in blood, I was tightly bound by thick iron chains to a
12:06stake dozens of feet high.
12:07Beneath me was a mountain of dry wood drenched in oil.
12:10All the nobles of the court and tens of thousands of citizens surrounded the sacrificial platform, glaring at me with
12:16venomous eyes.
12:17Burn the disaster star! Burn this poisonous woman who has brought chaos to the kingdom!
12:23Countless rotten vegetables and stones hit my face, but I did not even blink.
12:27High up on the stone steps.
12:28First, Alistair, in his golden royal robe, held Cecily in his arms.
12:33She wore a crimson ceremonial gown and the queen's crown that had once been mine.
12:37Seraphina, you have committed so many evils that you have aroused the anger of heaven and the hatred of the
12:42people.
12:43For the centuries-old foundation of Asteria, and for the people of this kingdom, I must put you to this
12:48hardship.
12:49Cecily stroked her belly and smiled viciously.
12:52Sister, go in peace.
12:55After you die, the kingdom will enjoy favorable weather, and my bloodline with his majesty will be borne safely.
13:02Execute the sentence!
13:04Light the fire!
13:10A dozen guards with torches stepped forward and hurled their torches onto the woodpile beneath me.
13:14A towering inferno erupted in an instant, as if it would devour me any second.
13:19The scorching heat charred my skirt and seared my skin.
13:22Alistair stared fixably at me in the sea of fire.
13:25He was waiting for me to break down and weep as I used to, to bow my head and beg
13:29for mercy.
13:30If I begged, he had actually prepared a water cart in secret and could spare my life.
13:35But he was wrong.
13:36In the very last second before the fire would burn through me, I slowly raised my head and looked at
13:41him.
13:42Alistair, you are truly pitiful.
13:44You used the kingdom I gave you to sentence me to death.
13:48Alistair, the destiny of Asteria.
13:51I have withdrawn it.
13:53Countdown.
13:54Three, two, one.
13:56Light of destiny, completely reset to zero.
14:00In the very last second before the fire consumed me.
14:04Above the sky, an apocalyptic thunderclap exploded.
14:07A pure purple lightning bolt, thick as a dragon, struck straight at the king's pillar that represented the royal authority
14:13of Asteria.
14:16Alistair was thrown to the ground by the blast.
14:19He scrambled to his feet.
14:21He dashed towards the stake dozens of feet high.
14:24The fire raged to the sky.
14:26The massive wood pile collapsed completely.
14:28I closed my eyes.
14:30I let the last of my divine blood ignite into flames.
14:33Under the cover of the heavenly punishment.
14:35I crushed the teleportation array that my mother had left inside the pendant.
14:39White light mingled with the flames.
14:42I vanished into thin air before Alistair's eyes.
14:44Only a pile of ashes remained.
14:47And the half-burnt, heavy iron chain.
14:52Alistair threw himself to the edge of the sea of fire.
14:54The fire licked at his golden royal robe.
14:57Llewellyn, the chamberlain, grabbed him tightly around the waist.
15:01Your majesty, it's dangerous!
15:04Alistair kicked Llewellyn away.
15:06He raked through the scalding ashes with his bare hands.
15:09The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
15:11Alistair's hands were covered with huge, seeping blisters.
15:15He found nothing.
15:17Not even a single bone was left.
15:19The disaster star has been destroyed!
15:22Alistair, she is dead and gone!
15:25Alistair whirled around.
15:27He stared at Cecily's face.
15:29That face, which usually aroused all his pity and affection,
15:32is now twisted beyond recognition.
15:35Get away from me!
15:37Alistair roared.
15:39He stumbled down the stone steps.
15:41Snatched a guard's horse.
15:42He galloped all the way back to the throne palace.
15:45He had to find out for himself.
15:47He pushed open the heavy oak door of the hall.
15:50Inside was empty.
15:52Everything that belonged to me was gone.
15:54The brocade bedding on the bed.
15:56The wooden comb on the dressing table.
15:58The clay pot I had used to brew his medicinal broth.
16:01All gone.
16:04The maidservant in charge of cleaning knelt on the floor, trembling.
16:08Before the queen left, she ordered me to burn all the old things.
16:14That black fox fur cloak that had protected his heart
16:16had also become a pile of black ash in a bronze basin.
16:20Alistair clutched his chest.
16:22It hurt.
16:23A piercing pain spread through his limbs and bones.
16:26He spat out a mouthful of black blood.
16:28I had severed all ties with him,
16:30including the destiny tablet I had left at the Astrologer's Guild.
16:34The tablet had crumbled to powder.
16:36There was not even the possibility of piecing it back together.
16:39Alistair fell back into a sitting position in the pile of paper ashes.
16:43His hands shook.
16:44He desperately gathered the ashes to his chest.
16:47Sarah, come out.
16:49I won't burn you anymore.
16:51Come out!
16:52No one answered.
16:53Only the mournful cold wind outside the window.
16:56Your majesty.
16:57Lady Cecily's pregnancy is disturbed.
16:59Please come to the tower.
17:01Alistair snapped his head up.
17:02Red veins crawled over the whites of his eyes.
17:04He knocked the medicine bowl out of Llewellyn's hands.
17:07The scalding liquid splashed all over Llewellyn's face.
17:10Let her die!
17:13Alistair drew the sword from the wall.
17:15With one stroke, he split the oak table in front of him into pieces.
17:19He swung the sword wildly.
17:21The silk drapes inside the hall were torn to shreds.
17:24Vases shattered across the floor.
17:26He smashed the palace to pieces.
17:29Finally, exhausted, he collapsed in the ruins.
17:32Outside, a storm began to pour.
17:35Rainwater, streaming through the broken window lattice, lashed his face.
17:38He tore at his hair and let out a beastly howl.
17:41He refused to accept the truth.
17:43He could not believe that the woman who loved him like her own life had turned to ash.
17:48Search!
17:49Dig three feet into the ground if you must!
17:52Find her!
17:54Alive!
17:54I want to see her!
17:55Dead!
17:56I want to see her body!
18:02Alistair's madness lasted a full seven days.
18:04The capital was turned upside down by the guards.
18:07The city gates were sealed.
18:09House-to-house searches were conducted.
18:11Nothing was found.
18:13From inside the tower came a piercing screen.
18:15Cecily was bleeding.
18:17Alistair, sword still wet with blood, burst into the bedchamber.
18:21The royal physicians knelt in a row, trembling like leaves.
18:24Speak.
18:25Alistair pressed the tip of his sword against the chief physician's neck.
18:29The chief physician cowed out frantically.
18:31Lady Cecily was never pregnant.
18:35It was a false pregnancy pulse caused by long-term consumption of wormwood.
18:41Cecily lay limp on the bed.
18:43The cotton pillow she had tucked under her waist and belly rolled onto the floor.
18:47Alistair's eyes seemed about to split.
18:50You dared to deceive me!
18:54Alistair!
18:55I was wrong!
18:56It was her!
18:58Sarah forced me!
18:59Just then, the captain of the personal guard appeared.
19:02He presented a thick stack of documents with both hands.
19:06They were the results of ten days of investigation by the guards.
19:09Your Majesty, I have confirmed that the cursed doll in the cold tower was buried in the dead
19:16of night by Lady Cecily's personal maid, and...
19:20The captain paused.
19:21Ten years ago on the Snowy Mountain, while you were being saved, Lady Cecily hid in a cave
19:27the whole time.
19:29The one who truly drew the wolves away was the Queen.
19:34Lady Cecily also regularly poisoned the Queen's calming tonic.
19:39To damage the Queen's divine meridians.
19:44Alistair's hand loosened abruptly.
19:47Cecily crashed to the floor and coughed violently.
19:50Alistair stared at the stack of documents.
19:52Every word turned into a poison steel needle, stabbing into his eyes.
19:56All along, he had treated a demon as a goddess.
19:59Yet he had pushed the true divine maiden onto the fiery stake.
20:02What about Primrose?
20:05Alistair's voice was terrifyingly hoarse.
20:07Before Primrose died, Lady Cecily had every bone in her body broken.
20:13Alistair staggered back three steps.
20:16His back slammed hard into a pillar.
20:18He gasped for breath, then suddenly let out a wretched, piercing laugh.
20:22He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.
20:25He stomped on Cecily's hand, grounded under his heel.
20:29Cecily shrieked.
20:31Alistair drew a dagger.
20:36He moved extremely fast.
20:38He plunged the blade into Cecily's shoulder.
20:42Have mercy on you.
20:43Who will have mercy on Sarah?
20:46Who will give Sarah back to me?
20:50He severed the tendons in Cecily's hands and feet.
20:53Cecily fainted from the pain.
20:56Wake her with salt water!
20:59Alistair threw away the dagger.
21:01Throw her into the dungeon.
21:03Cut a piece of fesh from her every day.
21:06Feed her the best life-prolonging medicine.
21:08I want her to live a full ten years!
21:10Cecily was dragged away by the guards like a dead dog.
21:13The bloodstains on the floor were horrifying.
21:17Sarah, I was wrong!
21:20Alistair knelt in the pool of blood.
21:22He covered his face with his hands.
21:24Tears mixed with blood trickled through his fingers.
21:26The fate of Asteria had changed.
21:29Without the protection of the Light of Destiny,
21:31the North suffered months of drought,
21:33and the land was littered with the starving dead.
21:35The South was plagued by frequent floods and dykes burst.
21:39Enemy nations seized the opportunity to send troops,
21:41and three border cities fell in a row.
21:43Alistair neither slept nor rested,
21:45day or night.
21:47Half his hair turned white.
21:48He became a mad tyrant.
21:50In court, any word that displeased him
21:53was met with immediate execution.
21:55Everyone said a tyrant had descended upon the world.
21:58Only Llewellyn knew.
21:59Every night, deep into the darkness,
22:02the king would hold a charred wooden comb,
22:04and kneel outside the abandoned coal tower until dawn.
22:08Three years later, in the south, Port City,
22:12the main street was bustling with traffic and crowds.
22:15I sat in the main hall of the Holy Light Clinic.
22:18I placed my fingers on a patient's wrist,
22:21picked up a brush, and wrote out a prescription.
22:23Your medicine will be prepared according to this prescription.
22:26You will be cured in three days.
22:28The patient left, showering me with thanks.
22:32I picked up the ceramic, silver-rimmed bowl from the table.
22:35The honeyed water was at the perfect temperature.
22:38Lysander walked over and naturally refilled the bowl with hot water.
22:42You've seen 50 patients today, Sarah.
22:45Time to rest.
22:46He wore a long moon-white robe, gentle, upright.
22:49He was the head of the Lysander family, the richest in the south.
22:53Three years ago, I landed outside Port City through the teleportation array.
22:57Badly wounded and near death.
22:59Lysander's carriage happened to pass by, and he picked me up.
23:02With the little medical skill I had left,
23:04I cured his naturally weak constitution.
23:06He funded me to establish a trading company.
23:09Now, the signboard of the Exchange Guild hung in 12 southern cities.
23:13I was not only a divine physician,
23:15but also the uncrowned queen who held the economic lifeline of Hysteria.
23:21I blew on the bowl and took a sip.
23:24There are more refugees outside the city today.
23:28There is a great drought in the north,
23:29and the court's relief money has been embezzled.
23:33The young king pushes too hard,
23:35and the people are full of complaints.
23:37I put down the silver-rimmed bowl.
23:39When I heard the words young king,
23:41my heart no longer stirred.
23:43That man was far, far away from me now.
23:46Just then, a commotion broke out in the street.
23:49A troop of soldiers in tattered armor was driving away the refugees.
23:53The leading officer brandished a whip.
23:55Get out of the way!
23:56Don't block the path of the royal envoy.
23:59A plain, dark carriage rolled slowly towards them.
24:02Suddenly, several assassins rushed out from the crowd.
24:05They raised their blades and struck at the carriage.
24:08Kill the lackeys of the daub king.
24:10The carriage compartment was smashed to pieces.
24:12A black figure tumbled out.
24:14His hair was disheveled, and he looked utterly wretched.
24:17It was Alistair, traveling incognito to the south to raise funds.
24:21Most of his personal guards around him were dead or wounded.
24:24An assassin's blade came straight at his face.
24:27Alistair raised his sword to block.
24:29Weak from exhaustion, he was forced back step after step.
24:33He retreated all the way to the door of my clinic.
24:35He spat out blood and dropped to one knee, propping himself up with his sword.
24:42The assassin raised his blade to strike.
24:45I sat in the main hall, watching coldly.
24:48Shall we save him?
24:49I shook my head.
24:53Don't dirty the clinic's floor.
24:56Alistair heard that familiar voice.
24:58His whole body trembled violently.
25:01He whipped his head around.
25:03Through the bustling crowd.
25:05Across three years of life and death.
25:07His eyes met mine directly.
25:09That face he had longed for day and night.
25:11That face that had appeared in his dreams countless times.
25:14Was right there in front of him.
25:16Alistair forgot to dodge the assassin's blade.
25:19He stared at me, unblinking.
25:21His breath stopped.
25:23Sarah.
25:24The assassin's blade slashed across his back.
25:26Blood sprayed.
25:28He felt nothing.
25:31Sarah!
25:32Is it really you?
25:37Alistair knocked over the herb stall in front of the clinic.
25:40Sending medicinal herbs scattering all over the ground.
25:42He threw himself down at the bottom of the steps and looked up at me.
25:46His face was covered in blood and mud.
25:48Sarah.
25:49He reached out a bloody hand, trying to grab the hem of my skirt.
25:53I stepped back.
25:54Avoided his touch.
25:56Lysander strode forward.
25:58He kicked Alistair hard in the shoulder.
26:00Alistair fell back down the steps and rolled twice.
26:03Lysander drew the sword from his waist and pointed its tip at him.
26:06How dare you!
26:08Who is this ruffian causing trouble here?
26:11The personal guards arrived and killed the assassins.
26:15They shielded Alistair.
26:16Protect his majesty!
26:19At those words, the whole street fell silent.
26:23The common people dropped to their knees.
26:25Only Lysander and I remained standing.
26:28Alistair pushed aside his guards.
26:30Ignoring the knife wound on his back, he crawled towards me again.
26:34He pushed aside Lysander's sword.
26:36Letting the sharp blade cut his palm.
26:38He fell heavily to his knees at my feet.
26:40The proud king of Asteria, in front of everyone, went down on both knees.
26:46Sarah, I have finally found you.
26:48He wept so hard that tears covered his face.
26:51Tears washed through the blood.
26:55Thank God!
26:56Come back to the palace with me, won't you?
26:59The queen's throne is yours!
27:01I'll give you my very life!
27:03I looked down at him from above, watching him grovel like a begging dog.
27:08I only felt disgust.
27:10I picked up the basin of dirty water used for washing herbs, poured the whole basin over his head, soaking
27:17him completely, making him look utterly pathetic.
27:19Alistair did not dodge.
27:22He wiped the filthy water from his face and continued to beg.
27:25Sarah, hit me.
27:26Curse me.
27:28As long as you feel better, anything is fine.
27:31I threw the basin aside and dusted off my hands.
27:35Alistair, you have mistaken me for someone else.
27:38I am Seraphina.
27:41Not your Sarah.
27:43Alistair shook his head violently.
27:45He raised his hand.
27:47He delivered a loud, stinging slap to his own face.
27:52Another one.
27:53He struck himself left and right until blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
27:58I was blind.
27:59I trusted that poisonous woman.
28:03Cecily has been tortured to death by a thousand cuts.
28:08I avenged Primaris for you.
28:12At the name Primrose, I clenched my fists tightly.
28:17A surge of rage shot to my head.
28:18I walked down the steps and landed a heavy kick on Alistair's chest, knocking him to the ground.
28:25You are not worthy to speak Primrose's name.
28:28While she was taking those blows for me, what were you doing?
28:32You were holding that poisonous woman and watching the show.
28:35You had her beaten to death in the cold tower.
28:38Alistair clutched his chest and wept bitterly.
28:41I didn't know.
28:43I truly didn't know.
28:45Lysander stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me protectively into his embrace.
28:51Fina, be careful.
28:53Don't disturb the baby.
28:55He deliberately raised his voice.
28:57Alistair looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
29:00He stared at Lysander's hand on my waist.
29:02Then at my flat belly, his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
29:06What did you call her?
29:08Whose child are you carrying?
29:10Alistair sprang up from the ground.
29:12Like a cornered mad dog, he drew a guard sword and slashed at Lysander.
29:18I'll kill him!
29:22Lysander dodged easily.
29:24One kick sent the sword flying from Alistair's hand.
29:27I stepped in front of Lysander, raised my hand.
29:31A crisp slap landed on Alistair's face, turning his head to the side.
29:36Go back to your capital!
29:38I pointed to the end of the street.
29:41Don't force me to grind your face into the mud!
29:45Alistair held his cheek, looked at me in despair.
29:48He suddenly tore the royal insignia from his belt and smashed it onto the ground.
29:54I am the king!
29:56I command you to come back with me!
29:59He tried to use the last of his royal authority to intimidate me.
30:05I could not help but burst out laughing.
30:07Laughed so hard that tears came out.
30:10King?
30:10I stepped back twice and looked at him coldly.
30:13Your majesty!
30:14You can't even pay your army's wages now, can you?
30:17From my sleeve, I took out a golden token.
30:20It was the highest seal of the Silver Coin Guild.
30:23I threw it at his feet.
30:25See what this is.
30:27The moment Alistair recognized the token, his face turned ashen.
30:31You...
30:32You are the master of the Silver Coin Guild?
30:36I nodded.
30:37The relief funds you came south to raise, I hold every coin of them in my hand, with a single
30:43word from me.
30:44The price of grain in Asteria could rise tenfold.
30:47What do you have to fight me with?
30:49Alistair's legs gave way, and he slumped completely to the ground.
30:53He looked up at my unfamiliar face.
30:55Sarah, how did you become like this?
30:59You used to feel sad even when you stepped on an aunt.
31:02I suddenly tore open my collar, revealing the hideous burn scar beneath my collarbone.
31:08It was the mark left by the holy fire.
31:10The Seraphina of the past burned to death on that stake in front of the cathedral.
31:15I stepped towards him, one step at a time.
31:18You want money?
31:20Fine.
31:21Kneel outside the city for three days and three nights.
31:25Shout, Alistair is a beast a thousand times.
31:30Then I will give you a hundred thousand silver coins.
31:36Alistair trembled all over.
31:37He saw the people around him pointing and whispering.
31:40His proud dignity was being ground into the dirt.
31:43He closed his eyes, and two streams of bloody tears ran down his face.
31:47He slowly turned around, facing the direction outside the city, and cowed out heavily.
31:54Alistair is a beast.
31:57The personal guards knelt and wept.
32:00Your majesty, you must not!
32:03Alistair pushed the guards aside and continued to cowed out.
32:06Alistair is a beast!
32:08With every shout, his heart shattered a little more.
32:11I took Lysander's hand and turned to walk into the clinic.
32:14The heavy door slammed shut.
32:16Shutting him out, Lysander draped a coat over my shoulders.
32:20You're not pregnant.
32:23Why lie to him?
32:24I picked up the cold honeyed water and poured it on the floor.
32:27If you don't blind his eyes, how will he ever feel the pain?
32:33From outside the door came Alistair's horse shouts, one after another.
32:37My life had long since left no room for him.
32:44Alistair knelt outside the city for three days and three nights.
32:47He shouted until his throat bled.
32:49His knees were scraped raw down to the bone.
32:51I kept my promise and gave him 100,000 silver coins.
32:55He dragged his broken body back to the capital.
32:57But he had lost.
32:59100,000 silver coins could not fill the gaping holes in Asteria.
33:03Asteria, without the protection of destiny, had reached the end of its days.
33:07Half a year later, the northern defenses collapsed completely.
33:12Rebel forces broke through the gates of the capital.
33:15Alistair was dragged down from his throne by the rebels.
33:18They severed the tendons in his hands and feet, crippling his ability to fight.
33:22The rebel leader did not kill him.
33:24Instead, he threw him into the lowest, most wretched beggar's pit in the capital.
33:28Leaving him to live or die as fate would have it.
33:31In the midst of the kingdom's chaos, Lysander raised his own army.
33:35With the financial backing of the silver coin guild.
33:38Lysander's forces swept through the land.
33:40In just one year, he pacified the entire realm.
33:43Lysander ascended the throne as emperor.
33:46He changed the kingdom's name to Nova and made me his empress.
33:52On the day of our grand wedding, red carpets and flowers covered the entire main street.
33:57Petals swirled in the air.
33:59I wore the imperial crown in a golden gown, seated in a carriage drawn by six horses.
34:04Receiving the homage of the people.
34:06In a corner of the crowd.
34:08A filthy, disheveled beggar with crippled hands and feet lay beside a gutter.
34:12He was fighting a stray dog for half a moldy loaf of bread.
34:15When the fanfare sounded.
34:17When the people around shouted, long live her majesty the empress.
34:20The beggar jerked his head up.
34:22His eyes, hidden beneath matted hair, fixed on me in the carriage.
34:26It was Alistair.
34:28He looked at the magnificent crown on my head and remembered the one he himself had smashed.
34:33Remembered the great fire in front of the cathedral.
34:36He opened his mouth to call my name.
34:39Sarah.
34:40But his throat only produced a wheezing hiss.
34:43He tried to crawl forward.
34:45A stray dog pounced on him and bit his leg hard.
34:48Alistair fell into the muddy water.
34:50He watched helplessly as the carriage moved farther away.
34:53Watched Lysander, on his tall horse, look back at me with tender eyes.
34:57Jealousy, remorse, and despair intertwined.
35:01Alistair's heart seized with a violent, agonizing pain.
35:04The old poison exploded inside him.
35:06He suddenly spat out a huge mouthful of black blood.
35:09Blood splattered onto the stone slabs by the road.
35:12His outstretched hand fell limply.
35:14He died with his eyes wide open.
35:16A patrolling soldier kicked his body aside in disgust.
35:20Drag him into the wilderness.
35:23And feed him to the wolves.
35:27The first year of the new dynasty.
35:30Only the empress's hall remained in the inner palace.
35:33All other palaces were torn down.
35:35The timber and stone were taken outside the city to build schools.
35:39Court officials petitioned and remonstrated.
35:41Lysander drew his sword before all the civil and military officials.
35:45And chopped off the arm of the throne.
35:47Anyone who mentions selecting concubines again will end up like this throne.
35:51No one in the court dared speak another word.
35:53After the morning court.
35:55Lysander did not even change out of his imperial robe.
35:58He went straight to the empress's hall.
36:00I was sitting at the desk.
36:01Reading the account books that the silver coin guild had sent to the palace.
36:05He walked over.
36:06And placed a token on the table.
36:08Made of pure gold.
36:09The seal of the imperial treasury.
36:12The finance minister says the treasury is empty.
36:17He told me to come and ask.
36:20The head of the silver coin guild for a loan.
36:24I did not look up.
36:25My fingers moved the counting beads.
36:28How much?
36:29Lend me a hundred years of peace.
36:31For the nova dynasty.
36:33My fingers stopped.
36:35I looked up at him.
36:36He poured a cup of hot honeyed water and handed it to me.
36:41Without the light of destiny.
36:43Without the support of divine blood.
36:46The northern drought.
36:47500,000 silver coins were allocated to build irrigation channels.
36:51The southern floods.
36:52Guild stewards were sent to supervise the construction of dikes.
36:55The people had food to eat.
36:57Clothes to wear.
36:58Peace and prosperity relied on real gold.
37:00Real silver.
37:01And real governance.
37:02Not on some ethereal destiny.
37:05I picked up the silver rimmed bowl and took a sip.
37:08Fancy a walk outside the palace?
37:11We changed into ordinary clothes.
37:14Two fast horses carried us through the city gates.
37:16The capital's main street was bustling with people.
37:19Vendors called out their wares without cease.
37:22A long line had formed outside the clinic.
37:24I dismounted and walked into the clinic.
37:27The resident physician saw me and immediately rose to offer me his seat.
37:30I sat down behind the examination table.
37:33Placed my fingers on a patient's wrist.
37:36Picked up the brush and wrote a prescription.
37:38Take three doses of this medicine.
37:41Boiled in water and take an oranil.
37:43I saw 30 patients in a row.
37:45Lysander stood behind me.
37:48Handed me paper.
37:49The people recognized Lysander.
37:51Knelt to the ground.
37:53There was no fear.
37:54Only reverence.
37:56He raised his hand to excuse them from the formalities.
37:59Then took my hand and led me out of the clinic.
38:04Poplar trees lined the riverbank outside the city moat.
38:07Their branches were showing green.
38:09We walked side by side along the embankment.
38:11The wind blew across the water.
38:13The old stories of the previous dynasty had burned away with that fire at the cathedral.
38:17No one spoke of disaster stars anymore.
38:20No one spoke of living sacrifices.
38:23In the taverns, minstrels tapped on wooden tables and sang of how the new empire's emperor and empress had raised
38:28an army and pacified the kingdom.
38:29The crowd roared with approval.
38:32The south sent some fragrant herbs.
38:35Tomorrow I'll have the royal kitchen make vanilla biscuits.
38:39I nodded.
38:41While you're at it, tell the guild steward to send up last month's dividends.
38:46The treasury of Nova is entirely supported by its empress.
38:51I gazed at the boats on the river.
38:53Without the light of destiny, this kingdom was still well taken care of.
38:57I touched the burnt scar beneath my collarbone.
39:00It no longer hurt.
39:02Primrose's memorial tablet was enshrined in the capital's cathedral.
39:06Every day, someone lit a candle for her.
39:09Lysander took my hand.
39:10His palm was warm.
39:12Let's go back to the palace for dinner.
39:16All right.
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