00:00The kingdom was on edge for my sake, yet my husband, Lord Ronan, was nowhere to be seen.
00:08I was used to his coldness, but at this moment, having gambled my life and burned my manna
00:17to bear this child, a ridiculous shred of hope still flickered in my heart.
00:21Years ago, when I was in a desperate situation, the young Ronan saved my life.
00:30That kindness became my lifelong obsession, but he had no idea that I was the sole pure-blooded
00:38daughter of the High Elfin King.
00:42When I met with disaster in my youth, I was rescued by him, the lord of a mere mid-tier
00:49Elfin Kingdom.
00:51To repay that debt, I concealed my supreme identity, even using a forbidden ritual to seal away
00:58the radiant wings of nature, on my back, that symbolized supreme divine authority.
01:05I willingly became an ordinary female elf, with no background, marrying into his territory.
01:12Under a false name for years, I remained gentle and submissive, using my own pure-blooded
01:19manna, to nourish his family, all for a sliver of his affection.
01:28Yet, I could never warm a heart of stone.
01:31In Ronan's heart, there was only ever room for his first love, Vanessa.
01:41The agony intensified, as the mana and bloodlines within my body surged in a violent reverse flow.
01:49But I held on to my last strength.
01:51Yet, all that arrived was a cold, ruthless message from a guard.
01:57My lady, the lord is busy with official matters and cannot come.
02:01Please deliver the child on your own, and do not delay the lord's business.
02:05At that moment, a self-deprecating laugh escaped my lips.
02:09This life of mine, and the child in my womb, never mattered to him.
02:14After an entire day and night of deathly struggle, a soft, fragile wile finally shattered the silence
02:21of the infirmary.
02:22This was my daughter, a precious treasure, bought at the cost of all my manna.
02:30I named her Iris.
02:32At that exact moment, my personal guard rushed in to report.
02:36My lady, the lord has finished his external affairs, and has returned to the main manor
02:41in his unicorn sacred carriage.
02:43Within my deadland heart, a tiny spark suddenly ignited.
02:47I instinctively assumed that no matter how cold or selfish he might be, at least he would
02:51at least want to look at his newborn flesh and blood.
02:54Forcing my exhausted, severely depleted body up, I carefully held my daughter in her swaddling
02:58clothes, making my way toward the promenade of the main temple to see my husband.
03:02But just as I reached the promenade and looked through the lush courtyard of the sacred elven
03:06tree, I froze instantly.
03:09The blood in my veins turning to ice.
03:12My husband stood there, tall and elegant in his black robes, and right beside him stood a
03:17woman, the first love he had yearned for and never forgotten.
03:20It was Vanessa.
03:21What struck me like a bolt from the blue was that in front of them stood a little elfin boy,
03:25roughly three years old, with long pointed ears and a pair of eyes that flashed with
03:30a cunning disguised as inonence.
03:32Countless absurd possibilities flashed through my mind.
03:35My hands shook uncontrollably from shock and rage, but I forced myself to stand my ground.
03:41Enduring the tearing pain of the postpartum mana reverse flow, Vanessa looked up and spotted
03:46me, her mouth curving into a flitting, provocative smirk.
03:49She intentionally leaned closer, into Ronan's embrace, her voice soft yet dripping with malice.
03:55Ronan, so she's the one who stole my man and my title while I was away?
04:00Tenderness instantly flooded Ronan's eyes as he wrapped his arm around her.
04:05He comforted her softly, even placing a lingering kiss upon her forehead, right in front of me.
04:12When he turned to me, his tone was piercingly cold and dismissive.
04:17Think nothing of it, Vanessa.
04:19You are my true love.
04:23I have never loved her.
04:24She is nothing more than a tool to manage the tribe.
04:29Ronan, look closely.
04:31This is the daughter I just risked my life to give you.
04:34Look at her, she was just born.
04:35Look how beautiful she is.
04:37Ronan cast a brief, indifferent glance downward.
04:40In his eyes, there was not a shred of paternal emotion, only naked disgust and annoyance.
04:44He swiftly averted his gaze, as though looking at his own flesh and blood for even a second longer would
04:49defile his relationship with Vanessa.
04:51Vanessa's gaze locked onto the infant in my arms, a flash of venom crossing her eyes.
04:57Promptly, she lifted her pitiful face, gazing up at Ronan with a trembling sob.
05:03Ronan, she has already born a child for the tribe.
05:06Then what about our Jasper?
05:07He followed me, wandering among foreign kingdoms, and suffered for three long years.
05:13He is your eldest son, the future heir of the Wind Kingdom.
05:17Looking at that three-year-old elfin child clinging to their side, I felt as if my soul had been
05:22struck by lightning.
05:23It turned out that my suspicion was actually the truth.
05:26What exactly is going on here?
05:29Ronan looked down at me, entirely devoid of guilt, and let out a righteous, cold snot.
05:36Good, you saw it. Saves me the trouble of explaining.
05:38When Vanessa left three years ago, she was already pregnant with my child!
05:41For these three years, she raised Jasper alone among foreign kingdoms, enduring endless grievance.
05:45Now that she has returned, I must make it them properly, restoring everything that belongs to them a thousand times
05:50over!
05:52I stared at the picture-perfect family of three before me, as a boundless despair swallowed me like a tidal
05:59wave.
06:00Just as I was on the verge of collapsing, Ronan's mother, Elodie, walked over hoarsely, flanked by attendants.
06:08Three-year-old Jasper was incredibly sweet-talked, twitching his delicate little elven ears.
06:12He immediately ran over on his short legs, and tightly hugged Elodie's leg.
06:18Grandma!
06:19I finally get to see you!
06:22Mother said you are the most benevolent and noble elder.
06:27In the entire kingdom!
06:29Elodie, who was extremely superstitious about bloodlines and male esters, melted instantly.
06:34She gathered Jasper into her arms, treating him like her ultimate treasure.
06:41Seizing the moment, Vanessa leaned into Ronan's embrace, weeping with feigned grievance.
06:47It's all my fault!
06:49If I had been stronger, your perfect grandson wouldn't have spent three years starving in exile!
06:57Elodie's heart ached for them.
06:59She snapped her head around to look at me, with my deathly, pale face, and my weakly, wailing daughter.
07:06Her eyes instantly turning into daggers of piercing disgust.
07:11You nearly died, just to produce...
07:14...a magicless, useless girl?
07:18What a pathetic waste!
07:20Pack up that defective brat, and drag yourselves to the Withan Tower at the border, right now!
07:27I won't let you bring your bad luck near my precious grandson!
07:33Ronan, Iris is your flesh and blood, too.
07:37How can you just let them trample all over us?
07:42But Ronan's face remained completely indifferent, his tone dripping with disdain.
07:47Mother is right.
07:50Jasper is the future, and hope of Wind Kingdom.
07:54The daughter you gave birth to has a dull divine mark.
08:00She is utterly unworthy of living in the main manor.
08:06Going to the tower is your only option.
08:10Vanessa threw a provocative glance my way, squeezing her throat to spit out the most poison words.
08:16Loser.
08:16Since you possess no noble bloodline, staying here will only bring you self-inflicted humiliation.
08:25Looking at their hypocritical, I clenched my fingers, and the very last ember of gratitude within me was completely extinguished.
08:34The cold wind wowed through the Withan Tower, a place that never saw a single ray of moonlight.
08:41I held my frail little daughter close, huddling in the corner of the freezing stone wall.
08:47Having barely survived childbirth, and with my mana completely burned out, my chest felt as if it were being torn
08:55apart.
08:56By ten thousand winds, just when I was completely helpless and desperate, the heavy wooden door of the tower was
09:06suddenly pushed open, and Ronan walked in, silhouetted against the light.
09:12In that single instant, a ridiculous shred of hope, actually flared up once more, in my deadland heart.
09:20But, he was the child's father. Had he finally softened, coming to bring some mana, to ward off the cold,
09:29or to take my daughter and me back?
09:31Forcing my mana-de-pleased body up, my pale lips trembled.
09:36Ronan! Did you come to see Iris?
09:38She caught a chill, and the divine mark on her forehead is growing weaker and weaker.
09:45Please, save her!
09:46But before I could even get close, Ronan took a disgusted step backward.
09:52Serafana.
09:53As if the child and I were some kind of fear.
09:55I only came here to warn you.
09:59Stay in your withered tower quietly, sign this declaration relinquishing your rights as the primary mistress, and don't try any
10:05clever tricks.
10:06I felt as though I had been struck by lightning, taking a shocked step back.
10:11I stared firmly at the man.
10:13I had loved with my very life for three years.
10:17You came all the way to this desolate place, not to cast a single glance at your own daughter, but
10:24merely to force me to give up my position.
10:27And to warn me?
10:29Ronan let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with arrogance, and a fierce protectiveness for Vanessa.
10:36Vanessa is kind-hearted.
10:39And she suffered terribly.
10:42While wandering among foreign kingdoms with our child.
10:44And she was like, oh my God.
10:45And she was like, oh my God.
10:45And she was like, oh my God.
10:45And she was like, oh my God.
10:45And she was like, oh my God.
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