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#shortdrama #miniseries #drama #romance #betrayal #mafia #shortfilm
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Short filmTranscript
00:05When the first king rode to war, he met a great serpent on the road and cut it into eight
00:09pieces
00:09with his sword. From that day forward, every prince born of royal blood carried the curse.
00:14A spirit serpent would mark them at birth as a tattoo on their skin, visible only to certain
00:19eyes. On their 20th birthday, the tattoo would wake, take living form, and drain the prince of
00:25his life. The only way to break the curse was to marry a serpent tamer, and in every generation,
00:31there was only one. In my previous life, the queen arranged my marriage to the crown prince.
00:37After we were joined, the tattoo faded. The crown prince survived, but my half-sister Seraphine had
00:43been in love with him for years. When he did not choose her, she was married off to a brutal
00:48lord
00:48and died under his cruelty. My father blamed me. To make amends for what he felt he owed her,
00:53he poisoned my mother and took Seraphine's mother, Lady Sura, as his new wife. On the anniversary of
01:00Seraphine's death, the crown prince had me thrown into the royal punishment chamber. I was sewn into
01:05a sack. 99 rats tore at me for 10 days. That is how I died. You call yourself a serpent
01:12tamer? Why
01:12didn't you call the serpents to devour the rats? You were nothing but a fraud who wanted to attach
01:16yourself to the crown prince. You caused Seraphine's death for your own gain. I will make you suffer a
01:21thousand times what she endured. When I opened my eyes again, I was in the past. It was the day
01:27the queen had summoned me to the palace. I knelt. Your majesty, I ask you to reconsider. I have not
01:33yet developed the gift of foresight. I'm afraid I cannot tame the serpent for the crown prince.
01:38Only a serpent tamer could see the tattoo. That sight was a gift. Anyone who could not see it was
01:43no serpent tamer at all. The queen frowned and was quiet for a moment. But the oracle's prophecy has
01:49never been wrong. Perhaps your gift has not yet surfaced at your age. Go to the crown prince's
01:53residence first. The doors burst open. The crown prince strode in. Caelan knelt and Seraphine beside
01:58him. I will not marry Alara. I want to marry her half-sister Seraphine. Mother, please give us your
02:04blessing. The queen rebuked him gently. Caelan held his ground. Mother, Alara bribed the oracle to
02:09fabricate the curse. Our royal bloodline is blessed by heaven. No serpent can touch me. The queen pressed
02:14two fingers to her temple. You foolish boy. I was the serpent tamer of my generation. Do you think
02:20your father would have survived if he hadn't married me? Your uncles. Every single one of
02:24them died at 20. I watched it happen with my own eyes. Her eyes had gone red. She came down
02:30from the
02:31throne and lifted Caelan to his feet. I drove the oracle day and night to read the stars before I
02:37found her. Your 20th birthday is five days away. There is no time left. Caelan set his jaw. Star
02:44readings can be wrong. The oracle may have confused the two sisters. Seraphine has the gift of foresight
02:49as well. She is the serpent tamer. I want her. The queen paused and looked at Seraphine. Can you see
02:55the tattoo on the crown prince? Where is it? Seraphine stared at Caelan for a long moment. The tattoo is
03:02on
03:02his right arm. A white serpent. The crease between the queen's brows smoothed. The same as what I see.
03:09Then you are the serpent tamer. I kept my face still and laughed inside. Before I even reached
03:15the palace after waking into this new life, I told Seraphine exactly one thing. Before the crown
03:20prince turned 20, there would be a white serpent tattoo on his right arm. That was all she needed to
03:25know. But once Caelan turned 20, the serpent would wake and move. And Seraphine, who had no gift at all,
03:31would have nothing left to say. This was how I planned to escape the fate that had killed me.
03:36In my first life, the queen had forced the marriage based on the oracle's word. And Caelan had blamed
03:40me for Seraphine's death. When I died, the rats had torn through every vein in my body. The pain
03:46felt like it had never left. A chill crawled up my spine. And I shuddered. The queen thought for a
03:52moment. Very well. Seraphina will marry the crown princess. The wedding will take place in five days,
03:57on his 20th birthday. Caelan's eyes lit up. Seraphine bowed her thanks and turned to look
04:02at me. Sister, you fabricated a lie trying to take my place and get close to the crown prince.
04:06What punishment do you deserve for that? Caelan's voice was cold.
04:10Alera is vain and greedy. He paused, then softened slightly. Since this is a first fence,
04:16corporal punishment. A small lesson. The queen smiled and waved for all three of us to rise.
04:22Alera just refused that proposal herself. You have both misunderstood her. A flash of frustration
04:28crossed Seraphine's face. Caelan looked at me with confusion and suspicion. Are you still planning
04:33something? Congratulations to the crown prince and his bride. I bowed to them both. Since this was all
04:39a misunderstanding, I'll take my leave. The queen sighed. The oracle has never been wrong,
04:45but something still unsettles me. Alera, stay at the prime minister's estate for now. If Seraphine
04:53cannot tame the serpent, you will be taken as a concubine. I breathed in, bowed my thanks and
04:59turned to go. The moment my back was to them, the heat left my face. In this life, I would
05:04not let them
05:05move me like a piece on a board. When I walked back to the prime minister's estate, Caelan and Seraphine
05:10had already arrived ahead of me by carriage. Lady Sura looked at me once and gave a cold laugh.
05:15You tried to climb above your station and ended up a laughingstock. Using your body to court the
05:20powerful, you are lower than a street rat. My father's voice was stern. You committed an offense
05:26against the royal household. If Seraphine had not come forward, you would have dragged the entire
05:31family down with you. He stopped, then issued orders immediately. Alera did all of this at her
05:36mother's direction. Move her mother to the servant's quarter. Lady Sura and Seraphine will take the
05:40main rooms. My mother had broken both legs years ago and had been bedridden since. My father had
05:46not visited her once. Now that Seraphine had secured the crown prince, he dropped all pretense. The
05:52servants went to take my mother away. I panicked and ran after them. My father caught me. You are also
05:58punished. You will serve dinner tonight. I had no choice but to stay. I served dishes, poured water,
06:04and carried the wash basin. After the meal, I was taking the plates to the kitchen when I turned a
06:09corner and nearly walked into Kalen, coming back from the courtyard, his guards behind him. I tried
06:14to go around him. He moved fast and blocked my way. Alara, in the previous life, you caused Seraphine's
06:21death and paid with your own. That debt is settled. But in this life, do not think for a moment
06:25about
06:26interfering with anything between me and Seraphine. His next words came out like charity. If you conduct
06:31yourself properly, I may consider making you a compime, as my mother suggested. You will show
06:35Seraphine the respect she is owed. Every morning, you will bow to her and prepare her tea.
06:41Your Highness, when did I say I wanted to marry you? I know you were also reborn. You deceived my
06:46mother in the previous life. You wanted to be crown princess. You gave that up today. It must be
06:52guilt. You and Seraphine belong together. I have no intention of getting in the way. I met his eyes.
06:57Kalen's face flushed with anger. Don't be ungrateful. Offering you a place as Cubgyne is
07:03already far more than you deserve. If my mother issues a royal decree, you will come even as a
07:08servant. I will not say this twice. In five days, I will come for Seraphine. I will carry her into
07:13the Pelcain myself. Don't stand there weeping and blaming me for leaving you behind. Seraphine had come
07:18to find him. She found him and settled into the curve of his arm. A breeze carried the scent of
07:23roses
07:24into the courtyard. Seraphine sneezed. That smell is unbearable. If I have to breathe it every day
07:30after I move into the main rooms, I won't be able to stand it. Simple enough. Kalen turned to his
07:34guards. Pull them all out. Those roses were my mother's life's work. Before she came to this
07:40estate, she had run a flower shop that was known throughout the region. After marrying my father,
07:45she had spent years cultivating rare varieties and giving them to him as gifts. When she lost the use of
07:50her legs, looking at those flowers through the window was the only comfort she had left.
07:55If they were destroyed, those varieties would be gone forever. No one would ever grow them again.
08:00Stop. This is the prime minister's estate. You dare touch anything here without his permission?
08:05The guards hesitated and looked at Kalen. My father came over at the sound of my voice.
08:10Do as his hide me's commands. Once Lady Sura moves into this courtyard, keeping those flowers will
08:15only displease her. After my mother lost her legs, my father had done everything he could to make
08:20her happy. He had tended those flowers himself. He used to carry her out to the garden so she could
08:25smell them and watch the stars. But years of her illness had changed him. My eyes were burning.
08:31I kept my voice quiet. Give me one day to move them to the building where my mother is staying.
08:36Can you do that? Both my father and Kalen hesitated. Then Seraphine screamed. Something bit me!
08:40Her hand had been stung, a red welt rising on the skin. Kalen caught the insect and waved his hand.
08:46What are you all standing there for? Do it now. My father nodded. They hurt my daughter.
08:52Those flowers should go. I threw myself into the rose beds, desperate to save just a few roses.
08:59But a dozen guards and servants were already tearing every plant out by the roots,
09:04ripping them into pieces. I knelt in the mud, unable to move, unable to do anything.
09:09What are you grieving for? Those flowers mean nothing. Your mother should die sooner.
09:13You want to know how her leg was broken? On the mountaintop, my mother pushed her.
09:17I couldn't breathe. My mother had been healthy once. Since that fall, she had never been the same.
09:22Half of her life had been taken from her. I lost control. I slapped Seraphine hard across the face.
09:28Her cheek swelled immediately. She fell and started crying. My father walked over at once,
09:33had two guards pin my arms, and struck me across the face ten times. My head was splitting.
09:39Through the pain, I shouted at him. Lady Sura, did this to my mother!
09:44My father's expression shifted into something strange. Be quiet.
09:48I understood then. He had already known. That was why he had been so attentive to her afterward.
09:53Guilt. My poor mother. All those years, she never knew.
09:57Kaylin had already pulled Seraphine to her feet. You hurt her again. You never change.
10:02I only wanted to help my sister up. And she did this to me. Maybe she resents me for telling
10:08the
10:08Queen the truth. Maybe she resents me for taking you.
10:10Kaylin kicked me hard in the stomach. I tasted blood.
10:13You claim you have no interest in me, yet you hurt her at every opportunity.
10:18I'm going to give you a lesson you won't forget for the rest of your life.
10:21Take her out. A feast display in the town square. Use her as the offering.
10:25You dare. I will appeal directly to the Queen.
10:27Your mother is alone in the servant's quarters. If something were to happen to her, she would not
10:32survive it. What would you do then? I heard what the threat actually meant.
10:36Don't touch my mother! If enduring my own humiliation would keep her alive,
10:41I would endure it. I let the guards drag me away. Before they pulled me out, I saw it for
10:46the first
10:47time. The spirit serpent coiled around Kaylin, opened its crimson eyes. Then it shifted position
10:52and went back to sleep. I was still frozen from that moment of eye contact when my clothes
10:57were stripped, and I was thrown into the town square. My body arranged with food as the display.
11:03Hundreds of people surged forward. Knives and forks cut into my skin. People scratched me with
11:08their fingernails in the scramble for food. I was shaking. Eyes red, covered in blood and sauce.
11:14Kaylin addressed the crowd.
11:15This is Alara, daughter of the Prime Minister. She fabricated lies and claimed to be a serpent
11:21taker deceiving the royal family. When her scheme was exposed, she tried to harm the crown princess.
11:26She deserves no mercy. I curled into myself and screamed with a raw voice.
11:32I didn't lie to the queen. I struck Seraphine to avenge my mother.
11:38Rotten eggs, garbage, and stones flew from every direction.
11:42A woman like this, thinking she could be queen? What a joke!
11:46We'll punish her for the crown prince, for the crown princess!
11:49I was bruised everywhere, bleeding from a dozen places. I wrapped my arms around my head,
11:55and sobbed. I never tried to compete with Seraphine for that position. Why are you doing
12:00this to me? In our previous life, we were husband and wife. I carried your child.
12:06The child had never been born. When Kaylin learned of Seraphine's death and had me executed,
12:11the child died with me. Alara, you hate Seraphine. I cannot allow any harm to come to her.
12:17This lesson will teach you to stay in your place. Once you come to the palace,
12:21you'll learn to be afraid of her. He hadn't finished speaking when several
12:24stones struck the back of my head. As I was losing consciousness, a figure came close.
12:29A cloak was laid over me. Someone stood over me, shielding me from the stones and flying debris.
12:35Then, everything went dark. When I woke, I was lying in the crown princess's chambers inside
12:41the palace. A man stood at my bedside. He was tall and composed with a sharpness in his features
12:46and eyes that were steady and clear. There was a black serpent tattoo on his neck.
12:51Dorian, the second prince, son of the queen consort. In my first life, on the day of Kaylin's wedding,
12:58Dorian had given me an heirloom bracelet of the royal family as a gift. After Kaylin had me subjected
13:03to the rat punishment, Dorian found my body in the pauper's cemetery. He buried me himself,
13:09crying until he couldn't speak. After that, he opposed Kaylin at every turn, pushing close to
13:14outright rebellion. But he never found a serpent tamer. He died at 20.
13:19You're awake.
13:20Before I could answer, the queen consort came in and took both my hands.
13:24Miss Allara, I beg you, marry my son and save his life.
13:28The tips of Dorian's ears went red. He glanced at me sideways and quickly looked away.
13:33I accept. I didn't hesitate.
13:36But I have one condition.
13:37The terms were settled quickly. The king then summoned Dorian to the throne room.
13:42I cleaned up and took the second prince's carriage back to the estate.
13:46I went to the building where my mother had been moved.
13:49Seraphine and Lady Sura were already there.
13:51What are you doing here?
13:56I brought food.
13:57One look was enough. She was being indulged as always. My mother is the prime minister's wife.
14:03How dare you give her something like this? The two of you deserve to eat whatever the dogs leave
14:08behind. Anger rose in me, but I didn't want to make a scene in front of my mother. I pushed
14:13it down.
14:13Your mother doesn't know yet. Father is planning to throw her out of the house entirely.
14:18And you, her daughter, were put on display in the town square as a feast offering.
14:22Now you're wanted throughout the city for deceiving the royal family and conspiring against
14:26the crown princess.
14:27Who would ever marry you?
14:28That's enough.
14:29I rubbed her back and told Seraphine and Lady Sura to get out.
14:32Seraphine smiled. Something wild in it.
14:35Letting you stay alive has always been a problem.
14:38If the queen discovers I'm not the real serpent tamer, she'll order the crown prince to have
14:43me eliminated. You have to die. Only then will she let it go. She pulled out a small vial
14:49and reached for my mouth. Lady Sura grabbed both my wrists. The pill was nearly forced
14:54between my lips when my mother lunged towards Seraphine. Seraphine stepped aside. My mother
14:59lost her balance and fell. Footsteps sounded outside. Lady Sura let go of me. Kaylin and my
15:05father walked in. Seraphine ran to Kaylin and tucked herself against him, her eyes bright.
15:10These are medicinal herbs. I came personally to bring them for her. She wouldn't take them.
15:16My sister told her they were poison and she attacked me trying to kill me.
15:20I lifted my mother from the floor as gently as I could and helped her back to the bed.
15:25Kaylin grabbed me by the throat.
15:26You're too afraid to cause trouble yourself so you use your mother to do it?
15:30Those are poison. Seraphine was trying to kill me.
15:34Sister, why do you always accuse me of things? My mother and I pray for your mother's recovery
15:39every single day. Father knows this better than anyone.
15:43Kaylin looked at my father. My father gave a firm nod.
15:46Seraphine and Lady Sura are kind-hearted women. They would never hurt anyone.
15:51Kaylin believed it without hesitation. He snatched the pills from Seraphine's hand
15:55and forced them into my mother's mouth.
15:57No! She'll die!
16:04Punish me! Don't hurt her!
16:07My mother had no strength to resist. The poison was already inside her.
16:11I broke free of the guards and pressed my fingers to her throat,
16:14trying to make her bring it back up. It was useless.
16:17I've always said Seraphine would never poison anyone.
16:20Look at her. She's perfectly fine.
16:22He put his arm around Lady Sura. Kaylin held Seraphine.
16:26They walked out without looking back.
16:28Get the doctor!
16:29I shouted at my maid. She stumbled out of the room.
16:32I couldn't protect you. Look what they've done to you.
16:36I don't think I'm going to make it.
16:39She coughed up dark blood.
16:40No! I'll take all the pain for the rest of my life. Just stay.
16:45Please, stay!
16:47The doctor is coming!
16:48Her hand went still. I pressed my ear to her chest.
16:52Her heartbeat was gone.
16:54My mother was dead.
16:55The woman I had let myself be used as a feast offering to protect was gone forever.
17:00On the day of Kaylin's wedding, he rode to the estate on horseback.
17:04He lifted Seraphine into the palanquin himself,
17:07then looked toward the servant's building.
17:09He saw the red flowers at the door.
17:11I sent a crown princess gown to Alera yesterday. Is she dressed?
17:15Tell her to wait. Once I've seen Seraphine inside, I'll come for her.
17:18He had sent Seraphine one hundred boxes of gifts and me one box.
17:22The gown had been inside it.
17:24Before the steward could answer,
17:25Dorian walked out of the servant's quarters with me on his back.
17:29I was wearing a finely embroidered wedding dress,
17:32not the one Kaylin had sent.
17:34The steward leaned close to Kaylin and said haltingly,
17:36Your Highness, last night Miss Alera burned the gown you sent room night
17:40and left word that your gift should be returned to you after the wedding.
17:43Kaylin didn't move.
17:45As Dorian passed him, he reached out to stop him.
17:47Brother, Alara is only marrying you to spine me.
17:51Do you still want her?
17:55I have admired her for years.
17:57I had planned to ask the king's permission to court her myself,
17:59but the queen consort moved first.
18:02As luck would have it,
18:03my brother mistook glass for a pearl and handed her over,
18:06and that gave me my chance.
18:07A sharp sound came from inside the palanquin.
18:10Seraphine had hurt herself compared to broken glass.
18:13Rapid stomping followed.
18:14You knew I intended to make her a combine,
18:16and you went behind my back and did this.
18:18When I take the throne,
18:20you will pay for it.
18:22By then you won't be able to protect yourself,
18:24let alone her.
18:26Through the veil, I could see clearly.
18:28The spirit serpent on Kaylin had woken,
18:30barely alive, but awake.
18:32Its tongue was moving.
18:33It was waiting for the moment of his birthday to consume him.
18:36I gave a cold laugh.
18:37Whether you survive tonight, your highnesses, we'll see.
18:41Seraphine couldn't hold herself back any longer.
18:44She burst out of the palanquin.
18:46The crowd gasped.
18:47She stepped out of the carriage before the ceremony.
18:49That's no good omen.
18:50Seraphine didn't care.
18:52Sister, you invented a story and convinced yourself it was true.
18:56The crown prince will be perfectly fine tonight.
18:59Looking at the woman who had destroyed my mother's life,
19:02I felt my hands clench tight,
19:04my nails cutting into my palms.
19:05You say I'm lying,
19:07then let's make a wager.
19:08If something happens to the crown prince tonight,
19:10you and your mother drink the poison,
19:12the same kind you fed my mother.
19:14Kaylin's voice came out mocking.
19:17Accusing Seraphine of poisoning again.
19:19Your mother is alive and living in the servants' quarters.
19:22Seraphine's eyes sharpened.
19:23She changed her mind.
19:25Fine.
19:26Let's wager.
19:27If you lose,
19:29you and the second prince crawl into a dog cage
19:32and parade through the streets three times as pen and teeth
19:35before the crown prince.
19:36The crowd erupted.
19:37People rushed forward to place bets,
19:39and every single one of them backed Seraphine.
19:42Kaylin's voice rang out with satisfaction.
19:45I wager a thousand gold coins.
19:47Seraphine wins.
19:48Dorian had his guard produce a note worth 10,000.
19:51I wager on my bride, Alara.
19:53Brother, you'll be in tears by tomorrow.
19:57Your estate will be eating scraps.
20:00His guards laughed at him.
20:01Dorian paid them no attention.
20:03He lifted me into the carriage and took me to his estate,
20:06where the wedding was held.
20:07The crowd gathered outside the palace gates,
20:10waiting for the outcome.
20:11After the wedding guests had gone,
20:13Dorian and I drank together.
20:15He lifted me and carried me to the bed,
20:17and said quietly in my ear,
20:18Don't be afraid.
20:20This is just warm wine.
20:22It won't hurt.
20:23The curtains fell.
20:24In the dark, the bed made a soft sound.
20:31When the midnight bell rang,
20:32all other sounds stopped.
20:34I lay still, my cheeks warm,
20:36and watched in the moonlight
20:37as the tattoo on Dorian's skin
20:39dissolved into points of light
20:41and disappeared.
20:42I let out a slow breath,
20:43then someone pounded violently on the bedroom door.
20:45Allura, you are the true serpent tamer, aren't you?
20:49After Caelan and Seraphine's wedding night,
20:51the spirit serpent is still coiled around him.
20:53Come with me.
20:54You have to help him.
20:56The queen consort's command
20:57was not something that could be refused.
20:59Dorian and I rode in the same carriage.
21:01We accompanied her to the crown prince's estate.
21:04The crowd outside the palace gates had not dispersed.
21:07The royal observatory had already released a statement.
21:10The crown prince is critically weakened.
21:12His body is failing.
21:13The oracle says this is only the beginning.
21:16The spirit serpent will consume
21:17what remains of the crown prince's life.
21:20Was the curse the prime minister's daughter
21:22ever spoke out real?
21:23We beat her because we believed the crown prince.
21:26We were used.
21:27I bet everything and lost it all.
21:30This is our punishment.
21:32The carriage sped past,
21:33leaving the noise behind.
21:35When we arrived,
21:36we found the crown prince's estate in chaos.
21:38People were rushing toward Caelan
21:40from every direction.
21:41Dorian looked on with confusion.
21:43Why does my brother keep clawing at his own throat?
21:46Something seems to have taken hold of him.
21:49I could see it.
21:49The spirit serpent had fully woken,
21:52coiling tighter and tighter around Caelan's body,
21:54alert and hungry.
21:56It opened its mouth
21:57and began drawing out his soul.
21:59Caelan screamed.
22:01The queen consort ran to him.
22:04She saw Seraphine standing nearby,
22:06frozen, powerless.
22:08Her fury broke.
22:09You dared to impersonate a serpent tamer.
22:12Look at what you've done to my son!
22:14Seraphine had already collapsed to her knees.
22:17Trembling,
22:17she turned her glare on me.
22:19It must be Alara.
22:21She conspired with the oracle to arrange all of this.
22:24It has to be her!
22:25Caelan heard her.
22:26He grabbed a teacup from nearby and hurled it at me.
22:28You schemed to trap me, mother.
22:30Help me.
22:31I can't breathe.
22:32Dorian caught the cup before it reached me.
22:35The queen consort had already crossed the room to Seraphine.
22:38She slapped her again and again,
22:40more than a dozen times,
22:41unable to stop herself.
22:43You shameless fraud!
22:44I am a serpent tranker!
22:46I can see the serpent on my own, son!
22:49Are you calling me a liar, too?
22:53Caelan was drenched in cold sweat,
22:55his pupils contracting sharply.
22:57Mother, is it true?
22:59Is the curse real?
23:01He remembered his previous life,
23:03his wedding to me,
23:04the life he had lived before.
23:06Mother, Alara is the real serpent tamer.
23:10Let her save me.
23:11I'll give her the title of crown princess.
23:14I'll give her anything!
23:16The queen consort knelt before me.
23:19The court attendants looked on in horror,
23:21their faces drained of color.
23:22I stepped forward quickly and helped her up.
23:25I let out a slow breath.
23:26Your majesty,
23:28I have to tell you the truth.
23:29Dorian and I are already married.
23:31You are a serpent tamer yourself.
23:33You know what that means.
23:34I can only tame the serpent once,
23:37and only save one prince.
23:39After that,
23:40the gift is gone.
23:41The queen consort noticed Dorian for the first time.
23:44She stepped back,
23:45her lips parting slightly.
23:46It's over.
23:48The tattoo left Dorian.
23:50He will live.
23:51And my son will die.
23:53Caelan collapsed and twisted on the floor,
23:55as if trying to throw the serpent off his body.
23:58The queen consort's eyes filled with tears.
24:00No one speaks of what happened here tonight.
24:04Anyone who breathes a word of it will be beaten to death.
24:08Dorian brought me back to the second prince's estate.
24:10I was never entirely certain the curse was real.
24:13When my mother asked me to marry you,
24:15I was glad.
24:16But not because I needed to be saved.
24:18Years ago,
24:18I saw you once at a royal gathering.
24:20I never forgot you.
24:21I didn't expect that marrying the woman I had always admired
24:25would also be the thing that kept me alive.
24:28And you happened to win more than a million gold gollars in the process.
24:32He looked at me with warmth I hadn't expected.
24:34Everything at the estate is yours to manage.
24:36I thought about my previous life.
24:38About what the curse had done to Dorian when he turned 20.
24:41I hadn't seen how he died.
24:42But the thought of him suffering the way Caelan had brought attention into my chest
24:46that I hadn't been prepared for.
24:47You saved me.
24:48You gave my mother a proper burial.
24:50I can't begin to repay that.
24:52Without him,
24:53she would have been wrapped in straw matting and thrown into the pauper's district.
24:57He drew me gently toward him and wiped away the last trace of tears at the corner of my eye.
25:02That night,
25:02I slept better than I had in what felt like a very long time.
25:07The next morning,
25:08my father arrived at the second prince's estate with Lady Sura.
25:11Both of them looked haggard,
25:13with dark shadows under their eyes,
25:14as if they had spent the night with something they couldn't put down.
25:17Allura,
25:18I didn't expect things to go this far.
25:20The queen consort is furious.
25:22She went to the king.
25:23She said,
25:25I encouraged Serafina to deceive the royal family
25:28and demanded that I be stripped of my position and imprisoned.
25:33But I was misled by Serafina's words.
25:36If I had known the truth,
25:38how could I have allowed a prince of pure blood to come to harm?
25:43I gave a short cold sound.
25:45You told everyone my mother was behind my so-called deception
25:49and had her sent to the servant's quarter.
25:52Now you'll suffer what she suffered.
26:13A faint voice came from outside the door.
26:18Good.
26:19She deserves every bit of it.
26:21Kaelin was carried in on a stretcher,
26:23his body gaunt,
26:24like a husk of himself.
26:26I looked at the spirit serpent on him.
26:28It had grown to half again the size it was the day before.
26:31Everyone around him dropped to their knees.
26:33My father saw the state he was in and went pale,
26:36then crawled forward,
26:37still trying to appear useful.
26:39Your Highness,
26:40what brings you here?
26:41Kaelin raised his hand
26:43and struck my father twice across the face,
26:45almost lazily.
26:46That woman deceived me
26:48into thinking she was the serpent tamer.
26:50You were all part of it.
26:52I will never forgive any of you.
26:55His guards dragged Serafina in
26:56and threw her down in the courtyard.
26:58There was not an uninjured inch on her body.
27:01My father and Lady Sera stared at her
27:03and began to shake.
27:05Kaelin turned to me.
27:06Alara, I was wrong.
27:07You can save me the way you did before.
27:10I went rigid.
27:10He had just said it out loud
27:12in front of everyone.
27:13I looked around quickly.
27:15The people around him
27:16seemed to take it for the curse speaking,
27:18a sign that his mind was breaking down.
27:20No one appeared to understand
27:21what he actually meant.
27:23In the previous life,
27:24you saved me
27:25and I repaid you with cruelty.
27:27I am nose-at-fit to call myself human.
27:30You said you could only tame the serpent once.
27:32That's not true, is it?
27:33You're angry with me.
27:35Divorce Dorian.
27:36Marry me.
27:37Kill me if you want.
27:39Tear me down.
27:39I don't care.
27:40Everything in the Crown Prince's palace
27:42is yours.
27:43Just save me!
27:45Abrothera is my lawful wife.
27:47Married under royal decree,
27:49I will not divorce her.
27:51You would let me die!
27:53I swear that once I recover,
27:56I will renounce the title of Crown Prince
27:58and withdraw from the succession entirely.
28:01Please, help me.
28:03Daughter, if you agree,
28:04I'll bring your mother back to the estate.
28:06I went to see her before I came here.
28:08The servant's room was empty.
28:09Did you move her?
28:10Prime Minister,
28:12Alara's mother passed away.
28:13I have arranged for remains,
28:15placed a headstone,
28:16and had her buried in her family's ancestral grounds.
28:19My father's face drained of color.
28:21That's not possible.
28:22Kaelin also couldn't believe it.
28:24I only gave her one pill,
28:26a medicinal herb.
28:27That was enough to kill her?
28:29I ordered Lady Sura arrested and searched.
28:32Despite her protests,
28:33the guards found a vial of pills on her person.
28:36These are the herbs
28:37Seraphane and her mother claimed to be giving.
28:40Whether they are poison will need to be tested.
28:43Kaelin's physician was still present.
28:45He examined the pills carefully.
28:47These are poison,
28:50without any doubt.
28:51Kaelin coughed up dark blood.
28:53His breathing came in short, rapid bursts.
28:55My father's legs gave out.
28:57He collapsed,
28:58then crawled toward Lady Sura
28:59and closed his hands around her throat.
29:01You and that daughter of yours
29:03used the Hayat!
29:04The Harper Eight Ones
29:05used me
29:06and destroyed everything!
29:07The Harper Eight Ones
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