THE SERPENT QUEEN'S REVENGE - FULL | Reelshort
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00:05To survive the Ascension trial, the Fireborn Crown Prince took me, a Serpent Princess, as his bride.
00:12I gave everything I had and made him Emperor.
00:18But on the day of his coronation, he used the Ascension Flames to destroy the entire Serpent Clan.
00:24One arm around Lily Voss, the rabbit spirit. The other hand driven through my chest, pulling out my soul core.
00:32Seraphine Morrow, when your Serpent Clan destroyed the Hare Clan, you should have known this day would come.
00:37I watched my clan's people struggle and die in the flames, and die without my soul core to protect me.
00:44Was stabbed to death by that fragile little rabbit spirit.
00:47When I opened my eyes again, I was back on my wedding day.
00:51Lily Voss knelt on the floor and said she carried the Crown Prince's child, begging only to be allowed in
00:56as a concubine.
00:58Everyone waited for my answer.
01:00I lifted my own veil, walked the raven standing nearby, and asked him to marry me.
01:05What Lily didn't know was this.
01:07The Ascension trial was nine parts death.
01:10Without me, the Fireborn Crown Prince was worth less than that raven.
01:14When I opened my eyes the fire was gone, replaced by candlelights in every direction.
01:19Seraphina, when you go to the Fireborn court, be a worthy Crown Princess.
01:24Don't shame the Serpent Clan.
01:26My mother, Queen Solara, held my hands, her eyes full of tears.
01:30I looked around, recognized everything, and understood I had been reborn to the day of my wedding to Fireborn Crown
01:37Prince Ashvane Solaris.
01:39My mother finished speaking.
01:41My father, King Aldric, added a few words.
01:43The story of the Snake Clan is entrusted to you today.
01:46Summono placed the white veil over my head.
01:48Then an uninvited guest burst into the hall.
01:51Princess Seraphine, Lily Voss, the rabbit spirit, knelt on the floor.
01:55Let me marry into the Fireborn court in your place.
01:57I carry the Crown Prince's child.
01:59We have long been promised to each other.
02:02Please, grant me this.
02:04The words hit the hall like a stone hitting water.
02:06My mother's face darkened.
02:08Even my father, who was always even-tempered, went cold.
02:12The Serpent Clan and the Hare Clan had been enemies since the beginning.
02:16Yet Lily Voss, a rabbit spirit, held a higher place in our clan than I did as its princess.
02:21She was the youngest daughter of the last Hare King.
02:24A century ago, a rebellion broke out among the male heirs who resented having a female king.
02:29On her deathbed, the Hare Queen entrusted her loyal servant to bring the infant Lily secretly to the Serpent Clan.
02:36People came to believe that the Serpent King and the Hare Queen had once shared a brief affair, and that
02:41Lily was the result.
02:42My father never acknowledged that past, but he still brought Lily into the palace.
02:46And out of guilt, gave her treatment even better than what he gave me, his own princess.
02:52In my last life, Lily came to visit after I had already married into the Fireborn court, and only then
02:58entangled herself with Ashme.
03:00By the time I died, I had never heard anything about her carrying his child.
03:04I couldn't help lifting my veil.
03:05I saw Lily look up at me with a smile that had already decided how this would end.
03:10That was when I understood.
03:11Lily had been reborn too.
03:14Outrageous!
03:14My father was furious.
03:16Do you know how exalted the Fireborn Crown Prince is?
03:19He and Seraphina have had a betrothal for years!
03:23Lily knows.
03:24Lily's eyes were steady.
03:26Lily knows her place is too low to be his queen.
03:29She would be grateful even as a concubine.
03:31The Fireborn court has more rules than anyone can count and shows no mercy to the weak.
03:36Going there is no different from walking into your own death!
03:38My father was so alarmed, he said this directly to Lily without caring that I was standing right there.
03:43Lily, the match I arranged for you is far better.
03:46Marry into the Raven Order.
03:48Your standing there would be the highest of anyone.
03:51As my father said, the Fireborn were noble, but also arrogant.
03:55They looked down on every other spirit clan.
03:57Every thousand years, the Fireborn faced the Ascension Trial.
04:01Those who passed became the next king of all feathers.
04:04But the number who passed was very low.
04:07Nine out of ten failed.
04:09Either their power was permanently destroyed, or they died in the attempt.
04:13Our Serpent Clan scales were indestructible.
04:15They could protect a Fireborn through the trial without death.
04:18Our secret arts were powerful too, and dual cultivation with us amplified both parties' power.
04:24So the Fireborn had come to us a thousand years ago.
04:27The Fireborn forced the Serpent Clan to sign a pact.
04:30Every time a new Fireborn Crown Prince was born, the Serpent Clan had to send a princess with great cultivation
04:37to assist his Ascension.
04:38In return, the Fireborn would protect the Serpent Clan, and because of that protection, the Fireborn looked down on us
04:45even more.
04:46Even married in as the Crown Princess, my standing would be no higher than a Fireborn Servant Girl.
04:51But no matter how much my father reasoned with her, Lily refused to hear a word of it.
04:56Ravens are cursed birds.
04:58Their standing is even lower than the Serpent Clan's.
05:01Even if I became their queen, I still wouldn't rank above a Fireborn Servant Girl.
05:05I want to marry the Fireborn Crown Prince!
05:07The auspicious hour was almost here.
05:10My father ran out of patience.
05:12He called guards to drag Lily away by force.
05:15Send for the physician.
05:17Get rid of the child she's carrying.
05:19But the moment they reached the door, each of the guards was struck by a bolt of golden light.
05:23When the light faded, Ashvane Solaris stepped into view.
05:26Ashvane was strikingly handsome.
05:29Refined and polished as jade.
05:31At just three years old he had already stood out from among the Fireborn Princes,
05:35and been named Crown Prince by the old Fireborn King.
05:38But this man with such a fine reputation,
05:40after I helped him ascend,
05:42listened to Lily scheming and moved to destroy the entire Serpent Clan.
05:46Because Lily believed her mother's death had been orchestrated by my father,
05:50she had been born a distinguished hair princess,
05:52and ended up as the Serpent King's illegitimate daughter.
05:55And she had never forgiven that.
05:58Ashvane, please, stop.
06:00At the time I knelt and begged Ashvane to stop.
06:03If the Serpent Clan fell,
06:04the Fireborn would never again have an easy path through their ascension.
06:09Ashvane drove his hand through my chest and pulled out my soul core.
06:12Don't worry.
06:13I'll use the scales of your entire clan to forge the finest armor in the world.
06:16Consider it your clan's atonement.
06:18I watched my clan's people have their scales stripped from their bodies one by one,
06:22then be thrown into the ascension flames.
06:25That day the ground ran with blood.
06:27Screaming filled the air.
06:29The fire dyed the whole sky red.
06:32Thinking of it now, I wanted to kill this man where he stood.
06:35But I knew the moment wasn't right.
06:37I was no match for Ashvane.
06:39Not yet.
06:40Ashvane helped Lily to her feet and looked at my father.
06:43Serpent King, Lily carries my child.
06:45I intend to make her my queen.
06:46As for Seraphine Morrow,
06:48she can serve as my conkind if I'm feeling generous.
06:51Lily leaned against Ashvane's chest.
06:53That wouldn't be right.
06:55I'm only a humble servant girl.
06:58I couldn't compare to Princesses Seraphine.
07:00Ashvane smiled coldly.
07:02No matter how noble she is,
07:04her nobility is only among the serpent grind.
07:06In the Fireborn court,
07:08she isn't fit to carry my shoes.
07:10The Fireborn had never respected the Serpent Clan.
07:13Every time there was a marriage between the clans.
07:16The Fireborn never bothered to send anyone.
07:19The Serpent Clan always delivered the bride themselves.
07:23Both sides understood this unspoken arrangement.
07:25But Ashvane saying it aloud in front of everyone had ignited genuine fury.
07:30Several of the elders went dark-faced.
07:32My father's anger rose too.
07:34If the Crown Prince holds our clan in such contene,
07:38perhaps this marriage is not one we need to pursue.
07:42Ashvane knew well enough that without Serpent Scales his ascension would be nearly impossible.
07:46Realizing he had said the wrong thing,
07:49he clasped his hands and apologized.
07:51Ashvane spoke out of turn.
07:53Serpent King, please forgive me.
07:55It's only that I cannot bring myself to fail Lily.
07:58So I must ask the Princess to bear with the arrangement.
08:02I hope the Serpent King will decide quickly.
08:05My father is waiting to celebrate.
08:07In terms of power,
08:08the Serpent Clan was nowhere near the Fireborn court.
08:11Even if my father was unwilling,
08:13he had no choice but to yield.
08:14For the sake of his people,
08:16he looked up at me.
08:18Seraphine,
08:19what do you think?
08:20His mouth asked for my opinion.
08:22His eyes had already made the answer clear.
08:25He wanted me to accept the realization made something in me go cold.
08:28Everyone said my father adored me,
08:30but I knew he favored Lily more.
08:32From childhood,
08:33he had trained me in how to please the Fireborn.
08:36How to survive at their margins.
08:38How to fight for the Serpent Clan's interests.
08:40He made me cultivate day and night without rest.
08:43It was because the Fireborn set a bar impossibly high for any Serpent Princess.
08:48Without immense cultivation,
08:50she couldn't protect the Crown Prince through his trial.
08:52When the Fireborn ascended,
08:54a Serpent was always beside them.
08:56For every Fireborn who came out alive,
08:59most Serpents alongside them had been sacrificed.
09:02Lily only needed to eat well, rest well, and enjoy herself.
09:05My father even chose for her the freest and most equal of all clans.
09:09The Raven Order as her future home.
09:12For the first time in my life,
09:14I had a thought that went against my father.
09:16Father, I refuse to be anyone's conqueen.
09:20The moment I said it,
09:21I heard a sharp intake of breath from half the room.
09:24Ashvane blinked.
09:25Clearly not having anticipated that anyone would refuse to marry him.
09:29Lily's face filled with satisfaction.
09:31My father frowned.
09:32If not a concubine,
09:34what about equal wives?
09:36You and Lily both married to the Crown Prince,
09:38neither ranked above the other.
09:39I don't want that either.
09:41I don't want to marry into the Fireborn court at all.
09:44Ashvane looked at me.
09:45His expression said I didn't know what was good for me.
09:48My father lost his patience.
09:49If you won't marry the Fireborn court,
09:51then who do you want to marry?
09:53I want to marry him.
09:54I pointed at a man in black standing in the corner,
09:57under every eye in the room.
09:58I walked toward him.
10:00Will you marry me?
10:08The man was none other than Corvus Blackwood,
10:11the young lord of the Raven Order,
10:12who had come today to meet Lily.
10:14Before Corvus could say a word,
10:16Ashvane burst out laughing.
10:17I thought the Serpent Princess
10:19had set her sights on someone important.
10:22And it turns out to be a raven.
10:24Ravens were considered bad omens
10:26and naturally held in contempt by the proud Fireborn.
10:29But the Raven Order was free,
10:30spirited, graceful, and mysterious.
10:32They believed in equality.
10:34They looked down on no one.
10:36My father's expression went dangerously dark.
10:39Even my mother,
10:40who always showed me warmth,
10:42went pale.
10:43Lily spoke up.
10:43Princess, are you serious?
10:45You want to marry Corvus?
10:47You're not just saying that?
10:48I nodded.
10:49Of course.
10:50I have long admired him.
10:52Naturally, I want to marry him.
10:54Ashvane's expression curdled instantly.
10:55A raven.
10:56It will never cultivate into a phoenix.
10:59It will never even reach divine transformation.
11:02I smiled.
11:03And yet the great phoenix still relies
11:05on our Serpent Clan to survive the ascension.
11:08There are those who strut around giving orders here,
11:11but the moment they need something,
11:13they wag their tails harder
11:14than a stray dog begging for scraps.
11:16I thought of how, in my last life,
11:18Ashvane had been especially attentive to me
11:20as his trial approached.
11:21That was when he charmed me so thoroughly
11:23that when the moment came,
11:25I gave everything I had to protect him through it.
11:27When it was over and I had somehow survived,
11:30I was gravely injured.
11:31That was why Ashvane was able to take my soul core.
11:34Then Lily found my weakest point.
11:36Together they stripped my scales from my body,
11:39and she killed me with a final blade.
11:40Thinking of it now,
11:42the place where my heart used to be ached dull.
11:44Who are you calling a dog?
11:46Whoever fits the description.
11:48At that, a soft laugh broke through.
11:50Corvus Blackwood, silent until now, smiled.
11:54I looked up at him and paused.
11:55I hadn't really looked at him before.
11:57This Corvus Blackwood, he was surprisingly handsome.
12:00Even you dare laugh at me, raven.
12:04Die.
12:05Ashvane was provoked by that laugh
12:07and immediately struck toward him with an open palm.
12:09Ashvane was still the fireborn crown prince.
12:12He had real power.
12:13My instinct was to shield Corvus.
12:15But he was already there ahead of me,
12:17meeting Ashvane palm to palm.
12:19In that instant, black energy and gold energy collided.
12:22And held perfectly even.
12:24Ashvane was forced back.
12:26A misunderstanding your highness.
12:27I laughed because Princess Serafina said she admired me.
12:30I was simply too excited to contain it.
12:32Your power is formidable.
12:34Corvus concedes.
12:36But anyone could see.
12:37Ashvane was not his match.
12:40Others might marvel at how deep Corvus's cultivation ran.
12:43Only I knew the truth.
12:45Ashvane had never been as powerful as his reputation claimed.
12:48In my last life without me, he couldn't have bested his own personal guards.
12:53Ashvane's face went dark.
12:54But then Lily stepped forward.
12:56Your highness.
12:57Since the princess and Corvus clearly have feelings for each other.
13:00There's no need to insist on marrying her.
13:03I was still puzzling over when Lily had become so reasonable.
13:06When she turned and knelt before my father.
13:09Your majesty.
13:10By the pact between the fireborn court and the serpent clan.
13:13A serpent princess must marry the fireborn crown tights.
13:15Since Princess Serafina refuses, I am willing to go in her place.
13:18On the condition that she transfers her title of serpent princess to me.
13:22Along with her scales and her serpent stone.
13:24So that was where she had been waiting.
13:26The serpent clan had three treasures.
13:29Scales.
13:30Indestructible.
13:31Capable of withstanding divine lightning.
13:34Serpent stone.
13:35Which absorbed the essence of sun and moon.
13:37And amplified both parties' cultivation during dual practice.
13:42And the soul core.
13:44She was demanding two of the three.
13:46How was that any different from taking my life?
13:50I hadn't yet opened my mouth.
13:52Ashvane was already pressing my father.
13:55Serpent king.
13:57Seraphine broke the pact first.
13:59If she won't hand over those two things.
14:01I'll have a difficult time answering to my father.
14:04Here we go again.
14:05Can't win the fight.
14:06So bring out the fireborn court.
14:08My father's brow tightened.
14:10But he gave way.
14:11Seraphine.
14:12If you truly won't marry into the court.
14:15Then I'm afraid you'll have to hand those two things over to Lily.
14:18At that moment.
14:19My faith in my father was gone entirely.
14:22I gave a cold laugh.
14:24And if I refuse.
14:26The moment I said it.
14:27The whole hall went still.
14:29Every serpent in the room looked at me.
14:31Expressions shifting rapidly.
14:33My father's brows were nearly knotted together.
14:36Seraphine.
14:37This is not the time for stubbornness.
14:39He took my hand and lowered his voice.
14:41You know what it means to anger the fireborn court.
14:44Can you not think of our people for once?
14:46And every fireborn emperor eventually reached divine transformation.
14:51No clan in the spirit world was willing to make an enemy of them.
14:54But even so.
14:56Father.
14:57Your daughter refuses to accept this.
14:59I clasped my hands.
15:01The wrong is clearly on the fireborn court's side.
15:04Even if I refuse to marry.
15:06Even if I refuse to hand anything over.
15:08No one has grounds to fault me for it.
15:11You are forcing me out of nothing but fear.
15:14But have you ever asked yourself.
15:16Is the fireborn court truly that unshakable?
15:18Is our serpent clan truly beneath them?
15:20The more you yield.
15:21The more they will take.
15:22That is all they have ever learned to do.
15:24I thought of my last life.
15:26When the fireborn came to destroy us.
15:27The moment they arrived our serpent clan surrendered.
15:31Not a single person dared to push back.
15:34Because even my father feared the powerful fireborn.
15:37How could the people below him be expected to resist?
15:40Yet I remembered my mother once telling me that when my father was young.
15:44He was not a man who bent easily.
15:46Hearing my words my father stared at me as though he didn't know me.
15:49Ashvane gave a cold laugh.
15:51Quite the speech.
15:52Since the serpent clan clearly has no interest in negotiating.
15:55I suppose nothing left to discuss.
15:57I'll have to bring this matter back to my father.
16:00I thought my words might have reached something in him.
16:02Then his hand came across my face.
16:05I looked up at my father.
16:06His face burning with fury.
16:08And felt something freeze inside me.
16:11You ungrateful wretch.
16:13What nonsense are you spouting?
16:15Hand over the scales and the serpent stone now.
16:18Or do you intend to force your own father's hand?
16:21Those words.
16:22Each one a blade driven straight into my chest.
16:24I looked around contempt in every clans person's eyes.
16:28Triumph all over Lily's face.
16:30Only Corvus made a move to step forward.
16:32The person beside him grabbed him and held on hard.
16:34I closed my eyes.
16:36You cannot wake someone who is only pretending to sleep.
16:39I was about to shift form.
16:40About to strip my scales.
16:42Wait.
16:42I opened my eyes.
16:45My mother looked at Ashvane.
16:47Your highness.
16:48Use my scales.
16:50And my serpent stone instead.
16:53Mother!
16:56Why would you?
16:58My scales are denser.
17:00My serpent stone is stronger.
17:03I started to say it didn't matter.
17:06You're so old.
17:08Who wants your things?
17:10We want Serafina Moros.
17:13Ashvane nodded in agreement.
17:17Please.
17:18Let Serafine go.
17:20Mine are not lesser.
17:22Every word my mother said drove deeper into me.
17:25My mother, like my father, had always kept the best things for Lily.
17:29I had always resented that in her.
17:31I thought she was weak.
17:32That she had spent her whole life losing herself for my father's sake.
17:36But now I saw how completely wrong I had been.
17:39That Neil broke something open in my chest.
17:44Mine.
17:45Lily.
17:46I'll give you my scales and my serpent stone.
17:49But whether you can keep them?
17:50That depends on your own abilities.
17:53Lily curved her lips.
17:55Then I'll thank the princess.
17:58In front of everyone, I shifted into my true form.
18:01The pain of stripping scales went beyond anything that can be described.
18:05My tail swept across my body.
18:08The scales fell away one by one.
18:10I shook with each one.
18:11One.
18:12Two.
18:12Three.
18:13Every scale I lost added another measure of pain.
18:16When all of them had fallen away, the blue-green scales gathered together and wove themselves
18:22into a sheath of armor that drifted down onto Lily.
18:26She couldn't help spinning once, the smile on her face uncontainable.
18:31I shifted back to human form.
18:37I lost my footing for a moment.
18:40Staggering, and was caught.
18:41I turned to look.
18:43It was Corvus.
18:44I thanked him, and then used my inner energy to force out the serpent stone.
18:49The blue-green serpent stone rose into the air.
18:52Lily swallowed it without waiting.
18:53But the next second, she let out a scream.
18:56Instead of the flood of power she had expected, a violent pain erupted from the center of her chest.
19:04She writhed on the floor.
19:06Shrieking.
19:07The sound was raw and tearing.
19:12Ashvane frowned and moved to channel energy to help her.
19:14Before he even touched her, Lily screamed once more.
19:17The serpent stone burst out from her chest.
19:19It rose into the air, streaked with blood, its blue-green light dimmer than before.
19:25Lily looked up and vomited a mouthful of blood.
19:29Seraphine Moro, you tampered with the serpent stone.
19:33The next instant, Ashvane's sword was pressed against my throat.
19:37What did you do to her?
19:41I told him, I did nothing.
19:44If you did nothing, how did she end up like this?
19:49A serpent stone is naturally a serpent clan treasure.
19:59Without a serpent's soul core to anchor it, it cannot be absorbed by anyone else.
20:03That is common knowledge.
20:04This was not a secret.
20:06Lily had lived among us long enough to know it.
20:09Her face went pale.
20:11Impossible.
20:12I carry serpent blood.
20:13Why can't I use it?
20:14You must have done something.
20:16I asked her.
20:18Who told you that you carry serpent blood?
20:24I am the serpent king's daughter!
20:27How could I not carry serpent blood?
20:29Who said you were the serpent king's daughter?
20:33Your father is not me.
20:35My father finally stepped forward.
20:37In my last life, my father was gravely injured before Ashvane's ascension trial.
20:42After I went back to see him one final time, my mother told me the truth.
20:46Lily is not your father's child at all.
20:49There had never been any affair between my father and the Hare Queen.
20:52It was my mother who had once been saved by the Hare Queen.
20:56They had called each other sisters ever since.
20:58When my father learned that Hare Queen was under attack, he had even sent troops to rescue her.
21:03But they arrived too late.
21:07Lily, you were never my father's child.
21:10She didn't believe me.
21:11She thought I was lying.
21:12But now, hearing it from my father's own mouth, with the serpent stone's reaction as proof,
21:17Lily had no choice but to believe.
21:20So the serpent stone alone isn't enough.
21:23A soul core is needed too.
21:25Then give me the soul core.
21:27I looked at him with cold eyes.
21:29In your dreams.
21:31A soul core was everything to a spirit being.
21:34Once it was taken, any chance of revenge I had would be gone forever.
21:38My words had pushed Ashvane past his limit.
21:40Then I'll take it myself.
21:42He gathered his power, took his stance, and flew at me with his sword.
21:46I had just stripped all my scales.
21:49There was no way I could match him now.
21:51At that moment, Corvus stepped in front of me.
21:54I heard the person beside him shout.
21:56Corvus, this is a matter between the serpent clan and the Fireborn court.
21:59Do you want to bring destruction on the Raven Order?
22:02Corvus's foot shifted slightly to the side.
22:04Then he held his ground.
22:05But in the end, it was not Corvus who blocked Ashvane's sword.
22:10It was my father.
22:14Red Palm Force met Golden Sword energy.
22:17My father swept his hand and sent Ashvane flying back several feet.
22:21He hit the floor.
22:22He got back up.
22:23Serpent King, what do you think you're doing?
22:26My father stood between me and Corvus, his presence like a wall.
22:30Crown Prince, our clan has already given you what you came for.
22:33To keep demanding more is going too far.
22:36There is nothing this Crown Prince desires that he cannot have.
22:40Are you inviting me to take this complaint to my father?
22:44This king has met the Fireborn Emperor and found him to be a reasonable man.
22:49If the Crown Princess wishes to bring a complaint,
22:52this king would not mind making the journey to the Fireborn court himself
22:56to give the Emperor a full account of what his Crown Prince did here today.
23:01My father's words were well-reasoned.
23:04The Fireborn Emperor was arrogant, but he was a man who valued appearances,
23:09even when he wanted to start a conflict.
23:11He needed a suitable pretext.
23:13Today, the fault was plainly Ashvane's from the start.
23:17If this truly reached the Emperor, Ashvane would not come away clean.
23:21Ashvane understood that.
23:23His expression went cold.
23:24He reached out and drew the bloodied Serpent Stone from the air.
23:28Then he picked Lily up off the floor.
23:30Serpent clan.
23:32You'll regret this.
23:33Ashvane left.
23:34Every face among the Serpent clan was heavy, especially the elders.
23:39They gathered near my father and spoke quietly in his ear.
23:42My father shook his head.
23:43I'll handle this.
23:44He looked up at me.
23:46Seraphine.
23:47Come to the back hall.
23:48I followed him.
23:49I couldn't quite read what he was thinking.
23:52But when he had stepped in front of me just now,
23:54I began to wonder if my father was not entirely the man I had assumed him to be.
24:02Father.
24:03What did you want to see me for?
24:04The moment the door closed behind us,
24:06my father gripped the edge of the table and coughed up blood.
24:11Father!
24:12What is this?
24:13I knew my father's strength.
24:15Nothing Ashvane had done today could have hurt him.
24:18Seraphine.
24:20I'm sorry.
24:21Your father may be dying.
24:24Don't say such things, father.
24:26How could you possibly be dying?
24:28Your father is old.
24:29And then I learned the truth.
24:31That the Hare clan had been finding ways to infiltrate the Serpent clan for years.
24:35They had placed people inside the palace.
24:38They had even bought off the personal guard closest to my father.
24:41That guard had been slowly poisoning him for three years.
24:44When my father discovered it recently,
24:46the guard gave him one final strike before being captured.
24:50Lily had also been manipulated by these same people.
24:53My father had never told me any of this.
24:56That was why, in my last life, he had left so early.
24:59Knowing the truth now, tears ran down my face beyond my control.
25:04I truly am sorry.
25:06I know relying on the Fireborn court was never the answer.
25:10They can protect us, but they can just as easily swallow us whole.
25:14The Hare clan has been circling us like wolves.
25:17Your father can no longer protect his people.
25:19That is why I forced you to give those two things away.
25:22Now I understood how much my father had been carrying alone.
25:25He had truly wronged me.
25:27But when the choice was between wronging me and wronging his people,
25:31he had no other option.
25:34Seraphine, I have always set the bar high for you
25:36because you were born a serpent princess,
25:38and anyone who receives the trust and reparates of their people
25:42must bear the responsibilities that come with it.
25:45But your father never once asked whether you wanted any of this.
25:48I didn't yet understand what he meant.
25:50My father suddenly reached out and took my hand.
25:53I felt a current of spiritual energy surge from his palms into mine.
25:57New scales had begun to grow slowly beneath my skin.
26:00I yanked my hand back immediately.
26:01Father, you cannot give me your scales!
26:04If you give them to me, what will become of you?
26:07I don't want them!
26:09But my protests were useless.
26:10He gave me his scales anyway.
26:12And beyond that, a new serpent stone took shape inside me.
26:16Seraphine, I know you have always longed for freedom.
26:20Go and find it.
26:21But what about you, father?
26:23What will happen to you?
26:27Your father is dying.
26:30Death is its own release.
26:32After I am gone, you must take your mother and leave the serpent clan.
26:36After that, don't come back.
26:38His voice grew fainter.
26:39At last, he closed his eyes.
26:41His human form dissolved quickly,
26:43and a great serpent, bare of every scale,
26:46lay coiled on the bed.
26:48Father!
26:49Father!
26:51I wept until my throat was raw,
26:53but my father could no longer see me.
26:55When I opened the door,
26:56my mother, Queen Solara, was already waiting outside.
27:00Is your father gone?
27:01I nodded through my tears.
27:03My mother pressed a packed travel bag into my hands.
27:06Then go quickly.
27:07When the others find out, they may try to blame you.
27:10I caught my mother's hand.
27:12Father told me to take you with me.
27:14I can't leave.
27:16I still have to hold the serpent clan together for your father.
27:18He was bound to this clan his whole life.
27:20I can't watch his life's work fall apart.
27:22I broke down weeping.
27:24Those words struck directly into the center of me.
27:29Mother, I'll stay and hold it with you.
27:31After my father's death, I inherited the throne.
27:33I became the new serpent queen.
27:35Only then did I learn how precarious our situation truly was.
27:39The Fireborn court had promised to protect the serpent clan.
27:42But that protection only guaranteed we wouldn't be wiped out entirely.
27:46The hair clan kept causing trouble within our walls.
27:48The first thing I did after taking power was to hunt down those informants.
27:52After rounding them all up,
27:54I used our resources to buy large quantities of cultivation medicine for the clan's younger generation.
27:59A strong generation of young serpents meant a strong clan.
28:03I studied cultivation methods.
28:05I forged spirit weapons.
28:06Only a serpent clan powerful in its own right could ever break free from the Fireborn court's control.
28:12While I was busy doing all of this, someone appeared at my side.
28:16After my father's death, Corvus Blackwood stayed.
28:19No matter what I was doing, whatever I turned around, he was there.
28:24Why haven't you left?
28:26Corvus smiled.
28:28Didn't you ask me to marry you?
28:29He said it so openly.
28:32I heard it and felt heat rise to my ears.
28:35Three years passed like that.
28:37The serpent clan grew stronger by the day.
28:39The tension I had carried in my nerves for so long finally began to ease.
28:43But when it eased, my body's mating cycle arrived.
28:46Serpent nature runs hot.
28:48The mating cycle was always difficult to endure.
28:51When Corvus pushed the door open and walked in,
28:53I was twisted up on the bed like something dragged up from deep water.
28:57He stopped at the sight of me.
28:59My queen.
29:01What's wrong?
29:02I had intended to push through it alone.
29:04But during the mating cycle,
29:06a serpent's senses become extraordinarily sharp,
29:09especially toward the presence of a powerful male.
29:11Once his scent filled the room,
29:13my awareness began to dissolve.
29:15By the time I came back to half a thought,
29:17I had already crawled on top of him.
29:19Corvus's face was deeply flushed.
29:21My queen, you...
29:23I looked up at him.
29:25My voice gone low.
29:26You said you would marry me.
29:28Does that still stand?
29:30His ears were red enough to bleed.
29:33It... it stands.
29:35Then tonight, let it be our wedding night.
29:39Five days later, the hollow ache in my body finally faded.
29:43Dual cultivation with a serpent amplifies both sides power.
29:46So it wasn't only me.
29:48Corvus's cultivation had grown considerably as well.
29:50Even without my involvement,
29:52Corvus cultivated faster than anyone I had ever seen.
29:55In my last life, I had merged with Ashvane.
29:59Yet Ashvane didn't have half of Corvus's natural understanding,
30:03which only went to show the Fireborn
30:05were not the strongest beings in this world.
30:07A few more days passed,
30:09then word came from the Fireborn court,
30:11Ashvane's ascension trial had failed.
30:13The news didn't surprise me.
30:15In my last life,
30:16Ashvane's success had depended entirely on my spiritual energy sustaining him.
30:21At the critical moment,
30:22I had used my cultivation and my scales to protect him through it.
30:26In this life, he had no help from me to build his power.
30:29Lily was useless to him.
30:31With only my scales for protection and nothing more.
30:34His failure was inevitable.
30:35The messenger returned and reported that although Ashvane had failed,
30:39he had not lost his cultivation entirely.
30:41The Fireborn Emperor had given him half his own cultivation to preserve him.
30:45And a second attempt was likely.
30:47The Emperor truly did favor this son,
30:49and Yon-Else with such mediocre talent would have been abandoned long ago.
30:52Hearing this news, there was only one thought in my mind.
30:55If Ashvane attempted the ascension again,
30:57he would certainly come to the Serpent Clan for scales.
31:00The very next day after that thought,
31:02a servant reported that the Fireborn crown prince had arrived.
31:06When I saw Ashvane and Lily again,
31:08I almost didn't recognize them.
31:10Ashvane had once been called the finest young lord in the spirit world.
31:14Handsome in every detail, noble in every movement.
31:17But the Ashvane who had failed his ascension was a disaster.
31:21Even his elaborate robes couldn't hide the defeat that had settled into his face.
31:26Corvus beside me, by contrast, had only become more composed.
31:30Lily had changed even more dramatically.
31:32After several years, she had wasted to almost nothing.
31:35The spy who had gone to the Fireborn court to gather information,
31:39said Lily's life there had been wretched.
31:41As a rabbit spirit, anyone could walk all over her.
31:44She had once believed that carrying Ashvane's child would give her a position of power above all others.
31:50What she didn't know was that the Fireborn queen valued bloodline above everything.
31:55And once she learned Lily was a rabbit spirit,
31:58she arranged to have the child destroyed.
31:59At first, Ashvane had stood up for her.
32:02But as time passed, Ashvane realized Lily was entirely useless to his cultivation,
32:07and abandoned her entirely.
32:09Lily's life in the Fireborn court was worse than that of livestock.
32:13Ashvane had also given my serpent stone away to another serpent clan woman.
32:16But an ordinary serpent had no way to wield a serpent stone of my caliber.
32:20When Ashvane saw me, he actually apologized.
32:24Seraphine, three years ago, I was in the wrong.
32:28I should not have humiliated you in front of everyone.
32:31He shoved Lily forward.
32:33It was this vile woman who stirred up trouble between us.
32:36I've brought her today.
32:37You may deal with her however you see fit.
32:39Hearing that, Lily trembled from head to foot.
32:41I said,
32:42Your Highness is too gracious.
32:44What's past is part.
32:45Then you've forgiven me?
32:46Ashvane's eyes brightened.
32:48Seraphine, I have thought of you constantly these three years.
32:51I kept track of everything happening here.
32:53When I learned how you had rebuilt the entire serpent clan,
32:56I was genuinely glad for you.
32:58His false sincerity made my stomach turn.
33:00I gave a cold laugh.
33:01Is that so?
33:03I have not thought of you.
33:04I have someone far better now.
33:06As I spoke,
33:07I glanced at Corvus beside me.
33:09Your purpose in coming today is perfectly clear to me.
33:12Please go back.
33:13You won't take a single scale from here today.
33:16Ashvane's expression curdled.
33:17He stripped away his pretentious tyros.
33:19Seraphine Moro!
33:21Others call you Serpent Queen and you actually believe it.
33:24Today, the scales.
33:26I'm taking them.
33:28The moment he finished speaking,
33:30Lily still on the floor,
33:31suddenly reduced his mouth and swung it at him.
33:33My instinct struck back.
33:35Lily hit the ground.
33:36I looked up.
33:38Ashvane had already flown out of the hall.
33:40I heard him shout.
33:41All soldiers!
33:43The Serpent Queen has murdered my crown consort without cause!
33:47Justice demands it!
33:49Come with me and avenge her!
33:51Avenge the crown!
33:54Avenge the crown consort!
33:57The shouts filled the sky.
34:00That was when I understood Ashvane had not come alone.
34:03The Fireborn court never changed.
34:06They always needed a pretext before declaring war.
34:10Lily was lying on the ground now, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
34:13I walked over and knelt beside her.
34:15The Fireborn treated you that way, and you still fought for them.
34:18My father and mother raised you like their own child.
34:21You helped bring about their deaths.
34:23Why?
34:24Lily laughed.
34:25Because I am HairClan!
34:27If it weren't for your people, I would never have been cast out by mine!
34:30Do you know the reason you were cast out?
34:33Because the HairClan wanted to kill you.
34:35My father took you in to save your life.
34:39Lily gave a cold sound.
34:40That's nothing but lies your father invented!
34:42They kidnapped me!
34:43That's why my mother surrendered territory to your SerpentClan!
34:45That's why the HairClan turned against her and killed her!
34:48Your clan is the most treacherous of all!
34:50I did all of this for Ashvan, so he would destroy your clan in return and make me Fireborn Queen!
34:55Her words weren't finished.
34:56My blade had already entered her heart.
34:58When she felt the pain, Lily looked at me in disbelief.
35:02Why?
35:03Ashvan clearly said...
35:05She didn't finish.
35:06Her eyes closed.
35:07What did Ashvan say?
35:09He said Fireborn's secret arts would keep her from dying.
35:12This woman, she was pitiful in her foolishness.
35:15She believed every lie her own clan told her.
35:18She refused to believe the clan that had protected her since childhood.
35:21I truly felt grief for my father.
35:23She had lived among the Fireborn all that time.
35:26And still believed Ashvan was a good man.
35:29The way he once deceived me, he had used the exact same method on Lily.
35:33Wind rose.
35:34Outside.
35:34The sky was swallowed by a mass of dark clouds.
35:37A guard rushed in to report that the Fireborn forces were trying to survive.
35:41The wind lifting my hair.
35:43Tell everyone.
35:45We fight.
35:46Three years of waiting.
35:48Three years of preparation.
35:49All for this day.
35:51After being reborn, I finally understood.
35:53The Fireborn court had long since stopped wanting to rely on the Serpent clan to get
35:58through the ascension.
35:59What they wanted was to raise the number of successful ascensions.
36:02And forging an invincible armor from Serpent Scales was their safest path to that.
36:07So Ashvan hadn't destroyed the Serpent clan for Lily's sake.
36:11The Fireborn court had moved to destroy us for their own benefit.
36:14There was no hiding from it anymore.
36:16The only way to survive was to fight.
36:19Fortunately, the Serpent clan was no longer what it had been.
36:22Everyone was ready.
36:24This was going to be a brutal war.
36:26The battle began with me.
36:27I charged out.
36:30Corvus charged out.
36:32Everyone charged out.
36:33War cries.
36:34Swords.
36:35Blades.
36:35The Fireborn had not expected us to dare fight back.
36:38They paid the price for underestimating us quickly.
36:41The battle tilted heavily in our favor, just as I was preparing to press for a decisive strike.
36:47Ashvane transformed into a phoenix and took to the sky.
36:50He blotted out the sun and breathed fire directly down onto us.
36:55In an instant, the Serpent clan's casualties surged.
36:58So this was the power the Fireborn Emperor had lent to you.
37:01Only half his cultivation.
37:03And already this devastated him.
37:05Ashvane called down from above.
37:08Seraphine Moro.
37:09You're clever.
37:10You prepared for this.
37:11Too bad your clan is still too weak.
37:13This war is already over.
37:16Fire surrounded me and my clan's people on every side.
37:19Looking at those warring clans, I felt as if I had been sent back to my last life.
37:23Was it truly the Serpent clan's fate to never be able to resist?
37:28I gripped my weapon and raised it directly toward Ashvane.
37:31Even if we can't win, I will fight anyway.
37:35I was about to shift into my true form to face him.
37:38When Corvus took my hand.
37:40Let me.
37:41Ha.
37:42You hopeless dead raven.
37:44You don't know your own limits.
37:46You dare touch me?
37:48Ashvane laughed.
37:49Today I won't just destroy the Serpent clan.
37:51I'll wipe out the raven order alongside them.
37:55I knew Corvus had cultivated heart in his three years.
37:58I frowned at him.
37:59Corvus.
38:00Go.
38:01But facing Ashvane was clearly beyond him.
38:04This is a Serpent clan matter.
38:06The phoenix was king of all birds.
38:08I didn't want to drag the raven order into this.
38:11Corvus smiled.
38:12Fool.
38:13We've already shared a wedding night.
38:15That makes us husband and wife.
38:17Husband and wife are one.
38:20Besides, there's something you don't know.
38:23Ravens can ascend too.
38:25My eyes went wide.
38:26Distant thunder rolled in.
38:28Ashvane frowned.
38:29What is this?
38:31Wasn't the next ascension years away?
38:33Only I knew the truth.
38:35That thunder wasn't Ashvane's.
38:37It was Corvus's.
38:38Corvus took my hand.
38:40My love.
38:41I may need your help to get through this ascension.
38:44I nodded.
38:45Corvus shifted his form, became a raven, and flew straight into the thunder.
38:49My heart surged.
38:51I spoke the incantation.
38:53Every scale on my body rose and followed him.
38:57Moments later, thunders split the sky.
39:01This stupid bird flew into lightning of his own accord.
39:04Clearly in a hurry to die.
39:06Before Ashvane's words had finished, a long, shaking cry rang out.
39:10The mountains and earth trembled.
39:12A dark bird tore out from within the thunder.
39:20Someone in the crowd recognized it.
39:33Everyone knelt, as though the sun god itself had descended.
39:37The Sunday raven's light outshone the sun, let alone a mere phoenix.
39:42Ashvane's face went rigid with shock.
39:44How is this possible?
39:47He was only a raven.
39:50Ashvane barely managed a single move.
39:53Corvus flew toward him.
39:56And swept one wing lightly.
40:02And the fireborn crown prince was swallowed by white flame.
40:07The phoenix fears nothing less than fire.
40:10It can even be reborn through flame.
40:12But the Sunday raven's fire was too fierce.
40:15And Ashvane was too fragile.
40:16In no time at all.
40:18His voice was gone.
40:19Ashvane was dead.
40:20The remaining fireborn forces fell to pieces.
40:23Corvus took me and flew directly to the fireborn court stronghold.
40:27We killed the arrogant fireborn emperor as well.
40:30Every bird clan bowed to Corvus as the new king of all birds.
40:34Honoring the raven order as the new nobility.
40:37But Corvus abolished the hierarchy that divided the spirit clans.
40:40He said all spirit kind were equal.
40:42No clan should be bound in subjugation to another.
40:45This could not change the prejudice that ran between clans overnight.
40:49But at least some among them now knew what resistance looked like.
40:53Corvus came for me with a grand wedding procession.
40:55I became in truth and in name Corvus Blackwood's wife.
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