- 4 hours ago
I Take Back the Light, I Found a Dynasty EPISODE
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00:00Morghouse, the queen dowager whom I had treated as my own mother, chimed in without a trace of shame.
00:05You cannot bear an heir. Cecily was generous enough to spare your wretched life, yet you were vicious enough to
00:12push her and nearly cause a miscarriage.
00:15I swallowed the metallic taste in my throat.
00:17If I leave, don't say you weren't warned.
00:20Alistair let out a scornful laugh.
00:22Without my protection, you would have died on the exile road ten years ago.
00:27No. Guards, throw her into the cold tower and leave her to rot.
00:32They seemed to have forgotten that it was I who dug them out of a pile of corpses on that
00:36exile road ten years ago.
00:37They also had no idea that the fate of this new dynasty relied entirely on the light of destiny from
00:42my god bloodline, forcibly sustaining it.
00:45Looking at this mother and son who wanted me dead, I swallowed the blood in my mouth and stopped asking
00:49for any explanation.
00:51Divine warning. Ten years of star blood protection have expired.
00:55Continue to offer the light of destiny?
00:59Withdraw it.
01:00The light of destiny will be completely stripped away in three days.
01:04Within three days, you may change your mind at any time.
01:10Flash of inexplicable irritation crossed his eyes.
01:13Once she is in the cold tower, by my order, no one is to give her a single ember of
01:18coal or one drop of medicine for her wounds.
01:22Let's see just how tough her backbone really is.
01:26Cecily leaned delicately against Alistair, her eyes challenging me.
01:30Alistair, my sister was just jealous in the heat of the moment.
01:34Please don't upset yourself.
01:36With that, she gave a little cry that she was cold.
01:39Alistair instinctively moved to unfasten his cloak.
01:42But when his hand touched the clasp, he froze abruptly.
01:45It was a black fox fur cloak, with flame runes densely embroidered in gold thread over the heart.
01:50Ten years ago, in the frozen exile land, the coal poison had seeped into his bones, and the physician said
01:55he would not survive the night.
01:57It was I who pricked my own heart with a hairpin, used my star blood as a guide, and stayed
02:01up three whole nights sewing that cloak stitch by stitch, pulling him back from the brink of death.
02:05Alistair's fingers curled slightly, but he glanced at Cecily's slightly swollen belly, and in the end he unfastened the cloak
02:12and wrapped it around her.
02:13Yet he muttered a low warning.
02:15Don't dirty it.
02:16Cecily stiffened, then nodded obediently, but jealousy flashed in her eyes.
02:22The destiny stripped away began to set in.
02:24I fell onto the damp, muddied round and vomited a mouthful of black blood.
02:28My lady!
02:29A thin, dark figure rushed out from a corner and hugged me tightly.
02:33It was Primrose.
02:34Ten years ago, on the exile road, when I was starving to death, this silly girl secretly cut flesh from
02:39her own thigh and boiled it into soup to feed me.
02:42Now, seeing me covered in blood, she wept as if her heart would break.
02:46My lady, how could the king treat you like this?
02:49If you hadn't taken that arrow for him back then, he would have...
02:52Stop.
02:53I leaned weakly against her and wiped the blood from my lips.
02:56He doesn't deserve to speak of those days.
02:59The first night.
03:01The capital, which had enjoyed favorable weather, was suddenly hit by a violent gale.
03:05The first threat of golden light was silently being drawn away from above the throne palace where Alistair sat.
03:10That was my light of destiny.
03:12Since they have taken my crown, I shall take away their kingdom's fortune.
03:19And instinctively called out the name carved into his bones.
03:22Sarah, my chest hurts.
03:25Llewellyn, the chamberlain on night duty, fell to his knees in terror.
03:29Your majesty, the queen has already been banished to the cold tower.
03:34Alistair jolted awake.
03:36He looked at the sleeping Cecily beside him, and his eyes churned with anger and panic.
03:41Silence!
03:41Silence!
03:42Without her, I can live just fine.
03:45Countdown.
03:46Two days remaining.
03:47My body grew colder and colder.
03:49The pain of having my divine meridians ripped away left me barely able to stand.
03:54The door of the cold tower was kicked open.
04:00How is my once exalted queen sister finding it?
04:04Isn't that fake belly of yours rather hot under all that padding?
04:08Cecily's face changed dramatically.
04:10Then she stepped forward viciously and slapped me across the face.
04:15Wretch.
04:16Still running your mouth when death is at your door.
04:19Primrose shoved Cecily roughly aside.
04:22Don't you dare hit my lady!
04:23Cecily stumbled back two steps and fell straight into the arms of Alistair.
04:27Alistair.
04:29My sister's wretched servant is trying to kill our child.
04:32She immediately clucked her belly.
04:34Alistair flew into a rage and kicked Primrose so hard that she flew through the air.
04:38Primrose crashed heavily into the stone wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.
04:43Alistair!
04:43My eyes blazing with fury, I struggled to crawl over and shield Primrose.
04:48Alistair seized my jaw tightly.
04:50Seraphina, you allow your vicious servant to plot against the royal heir.
04:55Do you really think I dare not kill you?
05:00Just then, his eyes fell on a pendant that had slipped out from my neck.
05:04It was a remarkably smooth pink gold gem, the only heirloom my mother left me, called the Starfell Pendant.
05:09Years ago in the snowy mountains, when Alistair was attacked by wolves,
05:13this gem had erupted with divine power and taken the fatal blow for him, leaving a crack on its surface.
05:19Cecily's eyes flickered.
05:21Alistair, that pendant is so beautiful.
05:24The royal physician says my pregnancy is unstable.
05:28If I had such a spiritual stone to nurture me, the little prince would surely be born safely.
05:34Alistair hesitated.
05:35He knew how important that pendant was to me.
05:38It was my very lifeline.
05:39I clutched the pendant tightly and looked at him with reddened eyes.
05:42Alistair, my mother left this to me.
05:45Just you dare touch it.
05:47Alistair saw the resolve in my eyes, and his heart inexplicably twinged.
05:52You are nothing but a cripple now.
05:54Keeping such a treasure is a waste.
05:57Cecily is carrying my first child.
06:01With that, he mercilessly pried open my fingers and tore off the leather cord.
06:07I screamed in anguish.
06:09Alistair handed the pendant to Cecily.
06:11But Cecily pretended to fumble it.
06:14There was a sharp crack.
06:15The pink gold gem that had once saved Alistair's life and carried my mother's soul shattered into pieces on the
06:20stone floor.
06:21The world seemed to fall into dead silence at that moment.
06:26Oh dear.
06:27How clumsy of me.
06:29Sister won't be angry, will she?
06:31I stared blankly at the broken gem on the ground.
06:34The last trace of tenderness in my heart for the youth of ten years ago shattered completely along with that
06:38gem.
06:38I did not cry, instead, I let out a strange, abrupt laugh.
06:44Alistair's scalp prickled at the sound of my laughter.
06:46He looked at the shattered gem on the floor, and suddenly it felt as if a piece of his heart
06:50had gone missing.
06:51As if something most precious had left him forever.
06:55It's just a worthless stone.
06:57I'll give you a hundred in return.
06:59He grabbed Cecily and fled.
07:02Countdown.
07:03The final day.
07:04A messenger on horseback from the border galloped into the capital.
07:07The enemy army, which had been repelled, suddenly gathered a hundred thousand troops for a night raid, captured two cities
07:13in a row, and the defending generals were killed in battle.
07:16The court and the whole kingdom were shaken.
07:19The royal astrologer observed the night sky and cried out in alarm that the star representing Asteria had dimmed, a
07:24star of disaster had descended, and chaos would engulf the court.
07:28The Chamberlain scrambled into the council chamber.
07:34Your Majesty, Lady Cecily has suddenly started bleeding.
07:37The royal physician says that an evil error has disturbed the spirit of the unborn child.
07:42An hour later, a large contingent of guards stormed the coal tower.
07:46Primrose was pinned flat to the ground in the courtyard by two burly maids.
07:50Alistair stood under the eaves, his face ashen, clutching a cursed doll inscribed with Cecily's birth date.
07:56Serafina, this cursed object was found under your bed.
08:01The Astroloper has calculated clearly that your fate has changed.
08:04You are the very disaster star who has doomed my hundred thousand soldiers and disturbed the royal air.
08:10The guards pinned me to the ground.
08:12I shook my head desperately.
08:14I did not!
08:15This is a frame-up!
08:16Cecily, pale-faced and leaning on a couch, pointed at Primrose and wailed.
08:20Your Majesty, it was this wretched servant who secretly buried the doll outside the tower.
08:27No!
08:28I only went to ask for some hot water!
08:30My lady is freezing to death!
08:32Primrose cowed out as she wept.
08:34Alistair would not listen.
08:36He looked at my pallid face, and the panic in his heart turned entirely into fury.
08:40So you won't confess?
08:43Then let your servant bear the punishment in your stead!
08:47Beat her hard!
08:49The heavy wooden club landed on Primrose's thin back.
08:52The sound of breaking bones was terribly clear in the silent coal tower.
08:56Alistair!
08:57Come at me!
08:58Beat me instead!
08:59I broke free from the guards like a madwoman and threw myself over Primrose, taking a blow for her.
09:04That blow shattered my shoulder blade.
09:07The pain made everything go black, but I held on tightly to the person beneath me.
09:12Alistair!
09:13I beg you, spare her!
09:15I'll let you drain my heart's blood again!
09:18I'll give you my life!
09:20Alistair looked at me groveling in the dirt.
09:22He opened his mouth, about to call a halt.
09:28Your Majesty, evil must be eradicated root and branch.
09:32The natural and man-made disasters are all because of this poison woman.
09:37Show no mercy.
09:38In that instant...
09:40My lady, don't beg him.
09:44He's not worthy.
09:48I'll go on ahead.
09:50Please live well.
09:51Before she finished, the maidservant brought the club down hard on the back of her head.
09:56Primrose's head drooped limply.
09:58She was gone.
10:00Primrose!
10:04A thunderclap exploded in the sky, and a torrential downpour followed.
10:09I held Primrose's body as it grew stiff, and my heart became a dry, empty well.
10:14Alistair, I will not leave you a single shred of this kingdom's destiny.
10:18Alistair stood under an umbrella, looking at me silent in the rain like a vengeful ghost.
10:23His voice trembled with panic.
10:24You brought this upon yourself.
10:27The astrologer has said that a disaster star has arrived.
10:30Only a living sacrifice by fire can aspise heaven's wrath.
10:34Tomorrow is Cecily's coronation, and I will sacrifice you to heaven to secure the kingdom of Asteria.
10:41The third day.
10:42The coronation, and also my living sacrifice.
10:46On the square outside the cathedral, the dense black cloud seemed ready to crush the entire capital.
10:51With one arm broken and my body drenched in blood,
10:53I was tightly bound by thick iron chains to a stake dozens of feet high.
10:57Beneath me was a mountain of dry wood drenched in oil.
11:00All the nobles of the court and tens of thousands of citizens surrounded the sacrificial platform,
11:05glaring at me with venomous eyes.
11:07Burn the disaster star! Burn this poisonous woman who has brought chaos to the kingdom!
11:13Countless rotten vegetables and stones hit my face, but I did not even blink.
11:17High up on the stone steps, Alistair, in his golden royal robe, held Cecily in his arms.
11:23She wore a crimson ceremonial gown and the queen's crown that had once been mine.
11:27Serafina, you have committed so many evils that you have aroused the anger of heaven and the hatred of the
11:32people.
11:33For the centuries-old foundation of Asteria, and for the people of this kingdom, I must put you to this
11:38hardship.
11:39Cecily stroked her belly and smiled viciously.
11:42Sister, go in peace.
11:45After you die, the kingdom will enjoy favorable weather, and my bloodline with his majesty will be born safely.
11:52Execute the sentence!
11:54Light the fire!
11:59A dozen guards with torches stepped forward and hurled their torches onto the woodpile beneath me.
12:04A towering inferno erupted in an instant, as if it would devour me any second.
12:09The scorching heat charred my skirt and seared my skin.
12:12Alistair stared fixedly at me in the sea of fire.
12:15He was waiting for me to break down and weep as I used to, to bow my head and beg
12:19for mercy.
12:20If I begged, he had actually prepared a water cart in secret and could spare my life.
12:25But he was wrong.
12:26In the very last second before the fire would burn through me, I slowly raised my head and looked at
12:31him.
12:32Alistair, you are truly pitiful.
12:34You used the kingdom I gave you to sentence me to death.
12:38Alistair, the destiny of Asteria.
12:41I have withdrawn it.
12:43Countdown.
12:44Three, two, one.
12:46Light of destiny completely reset to zero.
12:50In the very last second before the fire consumed me.
12:53Above the sky, an apocalyptic thunderclap exploded.
12:57A pure purple lightning bolt, thick as a dragon, struck straight at the king's pillar that represented the royal authority
13:03of Asteria.
13:06Alistair was thrown to the ground by the blast.
13:09He scrambled to his feet.
13:11He dashed towards the stake dozens of feet high.
13:14The fire raged to the sky.
13:16The massive woodpile collapsed completely.
13:18I closed my eyes.
13:20I let the last of my divine blood ignite into flames.
13:23Under the cover of the heavenly punishment.
13:25I crushed the teleportation array that my mother had left inside the pendant.
13:29White light mingled with the flames.
13:31I vanished into thin air before Alistair's eyes.
13:34Only a pile of ashes remained.
13:36And the half-burnt, heavy iron chain.
13:41Alistair threw himself to the edge of the sea of fire.
13:44The fire licked at his golden royal robe.
13:47Llewellyn, the chamberlain, grabbed him tightly around the waist.
13:51Your majesty, it's dangerous!
13:54Alistair kicked Llewellyn away.
13:55He raked through the scalding ashes with his bare hands.
13:59The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
14:01Alistair's hands were covered with huge, seeping blisters.
14:05He found nothing.
14:06Not even a single bone was left.
14:08The disaster star has been destroyed!
14:12Alistair, she is dead and gone!
14:15Alistair whirled around.
14:17He stared at Cecily's face.
14:19That face, which usually aroused all his pity and affection, is now twisted beyond recognition.
14:24Get away from me!
14:27Alistair roared.
14:28He stumbled down the stone steps.
14:31Snatched a guard's horse.
14:32He galloped all the way back to the throne palace.
14:35He had to find out for himself.
14:37He pushed open the heavy oak door of the hall.
14:40Inside was empty.
14:42Everything that belonged to me was gone.
14:44The brocade bedding on the bed.
14:46The wooden comb on the dressing table.
14:48The clay pot I had used to brew his medicinal broth.
14:50All gone.
14:54The maidservant in charge of cleaning knelt on the floor, trembling.
14:58Before the queen left, she ordered me to burn all the old things.
15:03That black fox fur cloak that had protected his heart.
15:06Had also become a pile of black ash in a bronze basin.
15:10Alistair clutched his chest.
15:12It hurt.
15:13A piercing pain spread through his limbs and bones.
15:15He spat out a mouthful of black blood.
15:18I had severed all ties with him, including the destiny tablet I had left at the Astrologer's Guild.
15:24The tablet had crumbled to powder.
15:26There was not even the possibility of piecing it back together.
15:29Alistair fell back into a sitting position in the pile of paper ashes.
15:33His hands shook.
15:34He desperately gathered the ashes to his chest.
15:37Sarah, come out.
15:39I won't burn you anymore.
15:41Come out.
15:42No one answered.
15:43Only the mournful cold wind outside the window.
15:45Your majesty, Lady Cecily's pregnancy is disturbed.
15:49Please come to the tower.
15:51Alistair snapped his head up.
15:52Red veins crawled over the whites of his eyes.
15:54He knocked the medicine bowl out of Llewellyn's hands.
15:57The scalding liquid splashed all over Llewellyn's face.
16:00Let her die!
16:03Alistair drew the sword from the wall.
16:05With one stroke, he split the oak table in front of him into pieces.
16:09He swung the sword wildly.
16:11The silk drapes inside the hall were torn to shreds.
16:14Vases shattered across the floor.
16:16He smashed the palace to pieces.
16:18Finally, exhausted, he collapsed in the ruins.
16:22Outside, a storm began to pour.
16:25Rainwater, streaming through the broken window lattice, lashed his face.
16:28He tore at his hair and let out a beastly howl.
16:31He refused to accept the truth.
16:33He could not believe that the woman who loved him like her own life had turned to ash.
16:38Search!
16:39Dig three feet into the ground if you must find her!
16:44Alive! I want to see her!
16:45Dead!
16:46I want to see her body!
16:51Alistair's madness lasted a full seven days.
16:54The capital was turned upside down by the guards.
16:57The city gates were sealed.
16:59House-to-house searches were conducted.
17:01Nothing was found.
17:02From inside the tower came a piercing scream.
17:05Cecily was bleeding.
17:07Alistair, sword still wet with blood, burst into the bedchamber.
17:11The royal physicians knelt in a row, trembling like leaves.
17:14Speak!
17:16Alistair pressed the tip of his sword against the chief physician's neck.
17:19The chief physician cowed out frantically.
17:21Lady Cecily was never pregnant!
17:25It was a false pregnancy pulse caused by long-term consumption of wormwood!
17:31Cecily lay limp on the bed.
17:33The cotton pillow she had tucked under her waist and belly rolled onto the floor.
17:37Alistair's eyes seemed about to split.
17:40You dared to deceive me!
17:44Alistair, I was wrong!
17:46It was her!
17:48Sarah forced me!
17:49Just then, the captain of the personal guard appeared.
17:52He presented a thick stack of documents with both hands.
17:55They were the results of ten days of investigation by the guards.
17:59Your majesty, I have confirmed that the cursed doll in the cold tower was buried in the dead
18:06of night by Lady Cecily's personal maid, and...
18:10The captain paused.
18:11Ten years ago on the Snowy Mountain, while you were being saved, Lady Cecily hid in a cave
18:17the whole time.
18:19The one who truly drew the wolves away was the Queen.
18:24Lady Cecily also regularly poisoned the Queen's calming tonic to damage the Queen's divine meridians.
18:34Alistair's hand loosened abruptly.
18:37Cecily crashed to the floor and coughed violently.
18:39Alistair stared at the stack of documents.
18:42Every word turned into a poison steel needle, stabbing into his eyes.
18:46All along, he had treated a demon as a goddess.
18:49Yet he had pushed the true divine maiden onto the fiery stake.
18:52What about Primrose?
18:55Alistair's voice was terrifyingly hoarse.
18:58Before Primrose died, Lady Cecily had every bone in her body broken.
19:04Alistair staggered back three steps.
19:06His back slammed hard into a pillar.
19:08He gasped for breath, then suddenly let out a wretched, piercing laugh.
19:12He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.
19:15He stomped on Cecily's hand, grounded under his heel.
19:19Cecily shrieked.
19:21Alistair, have mercy!
19:24Alistair drew a dagger.
19:25He moved extremely fast.
19:28He plunged the blade into Cecily's shoulder.
19:32Have mercy on you!
19:33Who will have mercy on Sarah?
19:36Who will give Sarah back to me?!
19:40He severed the tendons in Cecily's hands and feet.
19:43Cecily fainted from the pain.
19:46Wake her with salt water!
19:49Alistair threw away the dagger.
19:51Throw her into the dungeon.
19:53Cut a piece of fesh from her every day.
19:56Feed her the best life-prolonging medicine.
19:58I want her to live a full ten years!
20:00Cecily was dragged away by the guards like a dead dog.
20:03The bloodstains on the floor were horrifying.
20:06Sarah!
20:08I was wrong!
20:09Alistair knelt in the pool of blood.
20:12He covered his face with his hands.
20:14Tears mixed with blood trickled through his fingers.
20:16The fate of Asteria had changed, without the protection of the light of destiny.
20:21The North suffered months of drought, and the land was littered with the starving dead.
20:25The South was plagued by frequent floods, and dykes burst.
20:28Enemy nations seized the opportunity to send troops, and three border cities fell in a row.
20:34Alistair neither slept nor rested, day or night.
20:36Half his hair turned white.
20:38He became a mad tyrant.
20:40In court, any word that displeased him was met with immediate execution.
20:45Everyone said a tyrant had descended upon the world.
20:48Only Llewellyn knew.
20:49Every night, deep into the darkness, the king would hold a charred wooden comb,
20:53and kneel outside the abandoned coal tower until dawn.
20:58Three years later, in the south, Port City, the main street was bustling with traffic and crowds.
21:05I sat in the main hall of the Holy Light Clinic.
21:08I placed my fingers on a patient's wrist, picked up a brush, and wrote out a prescription.
21:13Your medicine will be prepared according to this prescription.
21:16You will be cured in three days.
21:19The patient left, showering me with thanks.
21:22I picked up the ceramic, silver-rimmed bowl from the table.
21:25The honeyed water was at the perfect temperature.
21:28Lysander walked over and naturally refilled the bowl with hot water.
21:32You've seen 50 patients today, Sarah.
21:35Time to rest.
21:36He wore a long moon-white robe, gentle, upright.
21:39He was the head of the Lysander family, the richest in the south.
21:43Three years ago, I landed outside Port City through the teleportation array.
21:47Badly wounded and near death, Lysander's carriage happened to pass by, and he picked me up.
21:52With the little medical skill I had left, I cured his naturally weak constitution.
21:56He funded me to establish a trading company.
21:59Now, the signboard of the Exchange Guild hung in 12 southern cities.
22:03I was not only a divine physician, but also the uncrowned queen who held the economic lifeline of hysteria.
22:11I blew on the bowl and took a sip.
22:14There are more refugees outside the city today.
22:17There is a great drought in the north, and the court's relief money has been embezzled.
22:23The young king pushes too hard, and the people are full of complaints.
22:27I put down the silver-rimmed bowl.
22:29When I heard the words young king, my heart no longer stirred.
22:33That man was far, far away from me now.
22:36Just then, a commotion broke out in the street.
22:39A troop of soldiers in tattered armor was driving away the refugees.
22:43The leading officer brandished a whip.
22:45Get out of the way!
22:46Don't block the path of the royal envoy.
22:49A plain, dark carriage rolled slowly towards them.
22:52Suddenly, several assassins rushed out from the crowd.
22:55They raised their blades and struck at the carriage.
22:57Kill the lackeys of the daub king.
23:00The carriage compartment was smashed to pieces.
23:02A black figure tumbled out.
23:04His hair was disheveled, and he looked utterly wretched.
23:07It was Alistair, traveling incognito to the south to raise funds.
23:11Most of his personal guards around him were dead or wounded.
23:14An assassin's blade came straight at his face.
23:17Alistair raised his sword to block.
23:19Weak from exhaustion, he was forced back step after step.
23:23He retreated all the way to the door of my clinic.
23:25He spat out blood and dropped to one knee, propping himself up with his sword.
23:32The assassin raised his blade to strike.
23:35I sat in the main hall, watching coldly.
23:38Shall we save him?
23:39I shook my head.
23:43Don't dirty the clinic's floor.
23:46Alistair heard that familiar voice.
23:48His whole body trembled violently.
23:51He whipped his head around, through the bustling crowd, across three years of life and death.
23:57His eyes met mine directly.
23:59That face he had longed for day and night.
24:01That face that had appeared in his dreams countless times.
24:04Was right there in front of him.
24:06Alistair forgot to dodge the assassin's blade.
24:09He stared at me, unblinking.
24:11His breath stopped.
24:13Sarah.
24:14The assassin's blade slashed across his back.
24:16Blood sprayed.
24:17He felt nothing.
24:21Sarah!
24:22Is it really you?
24:27Alistair knocked over the herb stall in front of the clinic, sending medicinal herbs scattering
24:31all over the ground.
24:32He threw himself down at the bottom of the steps and looked up at me.
24:36His face was covered in blood and mud.
24:38Sarah.
24:39He reached out a bloody hand, trying to grab the hem of my skirt.
24:43I stepped back.
24:44Avoided his touch.
24:46Lysander strode forward.
24:48He kicked Alistair hard in the shoulder.
24:50Alistair fell back down the steps and rolled twice.
24:53Lysander drew the sword from his waist and pointed its tip at him.
24:56How dare you!
24:58Who is this ruffian causing trouble here?
25:01The personal guards arrived and killed the assassins.
25:05They shielded Alistair.
25:06Protect his majesty!
25:09At those words, the whole street fell silent.
25:13The common people dropped to their knees.
25:15Only Lysander and I remained standing.
25:18Alistair pushed aside his guards.
25:20Ignoring the knife wound on his back, he crawled towards me again.
25:24He pushed aside Lysander's sword.
25:26Letting the sharp blade cut his palm.
25:28He fell heavily to his knees at my feet.
25:31The proud king of Asteria, in front of everyone, went down on both knees.
25:36Sarah, I have finally found you.
25:38He wept so hard that tears covered his face.
25:41Tears washed through the blood.
25:44Thank God.
25:46Come back to the palace with me, won't you?
25:49The queen's throne is yours.
25:51I'll give you my very life.
25:53I looked down at him from above, watching him grovel like a begging dog.
25:58I only felt disgust.
26:00I picked up the basin of dirty water used for washing herbs, poured the whole basin over his head,
26:06soaking him completely, making him look utterly pathetic.
26:10Alistair did not dodge.
26:12He wiped the filthy water from his face and continued to beg.
26:15Sarah, hit me.
26:16Curse me.
26:18As long as you feel better, anything is fine.
26:21I threw the basin aside and dusted off my hands.
26:25Alistair, you have mistaken me for someone else.
26:28I am Serafina, not your Sarah.
26:33Alistair shook his head violently.
26:35He raised his hand.
26:37He delivered aloud, stinging slap to his own face.
26:42Another one.
26:43He struck himself left and right until blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
26:46I was blind.
26:49I trusted that poisonous woman.
26:53Cecily has been tortured to death by a thousand cuts.
26:57I avenged Primaris for you.
27:02At the name Primrose, I clenched my fists tightly.
27:06A surge of rage shot to my head.
27:09I walked down the steps and landed a heavy kick on Alistair's chest, knocking him to the ground.
27:14You are not worthy to speak Primrose's name.
27:18While she was taking those blows for me, what were you doing?
27:22You were holding that poisonous woman and watching the show.
27:25You had her beaten to death in the cold tower.
27:28Alistair clutched his chest and wept bitterly.
27:31I didn't know.
27:32I truly didn't know.
27:35Lysander stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me protectively into his embrace.
27:41Fina, be careful.
27:43Don't disturb the baby.
27:44He deliberately raised his voice.
27:47Alistair looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
27:49He stared at Lysander's hand on my waist, then at my flat belly.
27:54His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
27:56What did you call her?
27:58Whose child are you carrying?
28:00Alistair sprang up from the ground.
28:02Like a cornered mad dog, he drew a guard sword and slashed at Lysander.
28:08I'll kill him!
28:12Lysander dodged easily.
28:14One kick sent the sword flying from Alistair's hand.
28:17I stepped in front of Lysander, raised my hand.
28:21A crisp slap landed on Alistair's face, turning his head to the side.
28:25Go back to your capital.
28:28I pointed to the end of the street.
28:31Don't force me to grind your face into the mud.
28:35Alistair held his cheek, looked at me in despair.
28:39He suddenly tore the royal insignia from his belt and smashed it onto the ground.
28:43I am the king!
28:46I command you to come back with me!
28:49He tried to use the last of his royal authority to intimidate me.
28:55I could not help but burst out laughing.
28:57Laughed so hard that tears came out.
29:00King!
29:00I stepped back twice and looked at him coldly.
29:03Your majesty!
29:04You can't even pay your army's wages now, can you?
29:07From my sleeve, I took out a golden token.
29:10It was the highest seal of the Silver Coin Guild.
29:13I threw it at his feet.
29:15See what this is.
29:16The moment Alistair recognized the token, his face turned ashen.
29:21You...
29:22You are the master of the Silver Coin Guild?
29:26I nodded.
29:27The relief funds you came south to raise, I hold every coin of them in my hand.
29:32With a single word from me.
29:34The price of grain in Asteria could rise tenfold.
29:37What do you have to fight me with?
29:39Alistair's legs gave way, and he slumped completely to the ground.
29:43He looked up at my unfamiliar face.
29:45Sarah, how did you become like this?
29:49You used to feel sad even when you stepped on an aunt.
29:52I suddenly tore open my collar, revealing the hideous burn scar beneath my collarbone.
29:58It was the mark left by the holy fire.
30:00The Seraphina of the past burned to death on that stake in front of the cathedral.
30:05I stepped towards him, one step at a time.
30:08You want money?
30:10Fine.
30:11Kneel outside the city for three days and three nights.
30:16Shout Alistair is a beast a thousand times.
30:19Then I will give you a hundred thousand silver coins.
30:26Alistair trembled all over.
30:27He saw the people around him pointing and whispering.
30:30His proud dignity was being ground into the dirt.
30:33He closed his eyes, and two streams of bloody tears ran down his face.
30:37He slowly turned around, facing the direction outside the city, and cowed out heavily.
30:44Alistair is a beast.
30:46The personal guards knelt and wept.
30:50Your majesty, you must not!
30:53Alistair pushed the guards aside and continued to cowed out.
30:56Alistair is a beast!
30:58With every shout, his heart shattered a little more.
31:01I took Lysander's hand and turned to walk into the clinic.
31:04The heavy door slammed shut.
31:06Shutting him out, Lysander draped a coat over my shoulders.
31:10You're not pregnant.
31:12Why lie to him?
31:14I picked up the cold honeyed water and poured it on the floor.
31:17If you don't blind his eyes, how will he ever feel the pain?
31:23From outside the door came Alistair's hoarse shouts, one after another.
31:27My life had long since left no room for him.
31:33Alistair knelt outside the city for three days and three nights.
31:37He shouted until his throat bled.
31:39His knees were scraped raw down to the bone.
31:41I kept my promise and gave him a hundred thousand silver coins.
31:45He dragged his broken body back to the capital.
31:47But he had lost.
31:49A hundred thousand silver coins could not fill the gaping holes in Asteria.
31:53Asteria, without the protection of destiny, had reached the end of its days.
31:58Half a year later, the northern defenses collapsed completely.
32:02Rebel forces broke through the gates of the capital.
32:05Alistair was dragged down from his throne by the rebels.
32:07They severed the tendons in his hands and feet, crippling his ability to fight.
32:12The rebel leader did not kill him.
32:14Instead, he threw him into the lowest, most wretched beggar's pit in the capital.
32:18Leaving him to live or die as fate would have it.
32:21In the midst of the kingdom's chaos, Lysander raised his own army.
32:25With the financial backing of the Silver Coin Guild, Lysander's forces swept through the land.
32:30In just one year, he pacified the entire realm.
32:33Lysander ascended the throne as emperor.
32:36He changed the kingdom's name to Nova, and made me his empress.
32:42On the day of our grand wedding, red carpets and flowers covered the entire main street.
32:47Pebbles swirled in the air.
32:49I wore the imperial crown in a golden gown, seated in a carriage drawn by six horses.
32:54Receiving the homage of the people.
32:56In a corner of the crowd, a filthy, disheveled beggar with crippled hands and feet lay beside a gutter.
33:01He was fighting a stray dog for half a moldy loaf of bread.
33:05When the fanfare sounded.
33:07When the people around shouted, long live her majesty the empress.
33:10The beggar jerked his head up.
33:12His eyes, hidden beneath matted hair, fixed on me in the carriage.
33:16It was Alistair.
33:18He looked at the magnificent crown on my head, and remembered the one he himself had smashed.
33:23Remembered the great fire in front of the cathedral.
33:26He opened his mouth to call my name.
33:29Sarah.
33:29But his throat only produced a wheezing hiss.
33:33He tried to crawl forward.
33:35A stray dog pounced on him and bit his leg hard.
33:38Alistair fell into the muddy water.
33:40He watched helplessly as the carriage moved farther away.
33:43Watched Lysander, on his tall horse, look back at me with tender eyes.
33:47Jealousy, remorse, and despair intertwined.
33:51Alistair's heart seized with a violent, agonizing pain.
33:54The old poison exploded inside him.
33:56He suddenly spat out a huge mouthful of black blood.
33:59Blood splattered onto the stone slabs by the road.
34:02His outstretched hand fell limply.
34:04He died with his eyes wide open.
34:06A patrolling soldier kicked his body aside in disgust.
34:10Drag him into the wilderness.
34:12And feed him to the wolves.
34:17The first year of the new dynasty.
34:20Only the empress's hall remained in the inner palace.
34:23All other palaces were torn down.
34:25The timber and stone were taken outside the city to build schools.
34:28Court officials petitioned and remonstrated.
34:31Lysander drew his sword before all the civil and military officials.
34:35And chopped off the arm of the throne.
34:37Anyone who mentions selecting concubines again will end up like this throne.
34:40No one in the court dared speak another word.
34:43After the morning court.
34:45Lysander did not even change out of his imperial robe.
34:48He went straight to the empress's hall.
34:50I was sitting at the desk.
34:51Reading the account books that the silver coin guild had sent to the palace.
34:55He walked over.
34:56And placed a token on the table.
34:58Made of pure gold.
35:00The seal of the imperial treasury.
35:02The finance minister says the treasury is empty.
35:07He told me to come and ask the head of the silver coin guild for a loan.
35:14I did not look up.
35:15My fingers moved the counting beads.
35:17How much?
35:19Lend me a hundred years of peace for the nova dynasty.
35:23My fingers stopped.
35:25I looked up at him.
35:26He poured a cup of hot honeyed water and handed it to me.
35:31Without the light of destiny.
35:33Without the support of divine blood.
35:35The northern drought.
35:37500,000 silver coins were allocated to build irrigation channels.
35:40The southern floods.
35:42Guild stewards were sent to supervise the construction of dikes.
35:45The people had food to eat.
35:47Clothes to wear.
35:48Peace and prosperity relied on real gold.
35:50Real silver.
35:51And real governance.
35:52Not on some ethereal destiny.
35:55I picked up the silver rimmed bowl and took a sip.
35:58Fancy a walk outside the palace?
36:01We changed into ordinary clothes.
36:04Two fast horses carried us through the city gates.
36:06The capital's main street was bustling with people.
36:09Vendors called out their wares without cease.
36:12A long line had formed outside the clinic.
36:14I dismounted and walked into the clinic.
36:16The resident physician saw me and immediately rose to offer me his seat.
36:20I sat down behind the examination table.
36:23Placed my fingers on a patient's wrist.
36:26Picked up the brush and wrote a prescription.
36:28Take three doses of this medicine.
36:30Boiled in water and take an oranil.
36:33I saw 30 patients in a row.
36:35Lysander stood behind me.
36:38Handed me paper.
36:39The people recognized Lysander.
36:41Knelt to the ground.
36:43There was no fear.
36:44Only reverence.
36:45He raised his hand to excuse them from the formalities.
36:49Then took my hand and led me out of the clinic.
36:54Poplar trees lined the riverbank outside the city moat.
36:57Their branches were showing green.
36:59We walked side by side along the embankment.
37:01The wind blew across the water.
37:03The old stories of the previous dynasty had burned away with that fire at the cathedral.
37:08No one spoke of disaster stars anymore.
37:10No one spoke of living sacrifices.
37:12In the taverns, minstrels tapped on wooden tables and sang of how the new empire's emperor and empress had raised
37:17an army and pacified the kingdom.
37:19The crowd roared with approval.
37:21The south sent some fragrant herbs.
37:25Tomorrow I'll have the royal kitchen make vanilla biscuits.
37:29I nodded.
37:30While you're at it, tell the guild steward to send up last month's dividends.
37:36The treasury of Nova is entirely supported by its empress.
37:40I gazed at the boats on the river.
37:43Without the light of destiny, this kingdom was still well taken care of.
37:47I touched the burnt scar beneath my collarbone.
37:50It no longer hurt.
37:52Primrose's memorial tablet was enshrined in the capital's cathedral.
37:56Every day, someone lit a candle for her.
37:59Lysander took my hand.
38:00His palm was warm.
38:02Let's go back to the palace for dinner.
38:06All right.
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