- 10 hours ago
My Revenge Under the Serpent Tattoo 18eps HD 1080p ASM
Category
π₯
Short filmTranscript
00:00When the first king rode to war, he met a great serpent on the road and cut it into eight
00:04pieces with his sword.
00:06From that day forward, every prince born of royal blood carried the curse.
00:10A spirit serpent would mark them at birth as a tattoo on their skin, visible only to certain eyes.
00:17On their 20th birthday, the tattoo would wake, take living form, and drain the prince of his life.
00:23The only way to break the curse was to marry a serpent tamer, and in every generation, there was only
00:28one.
00:29In my previous life, the queen arranged my marriage to the crown prince.
00:33After we were joined, the tattoo faded. The crown prince survived.
00:36But my half-sister Seraphine had been in love with him for years.
00:40When he did not choose her, she was married off to a brutal lord and died under his cruelty.
00:45My father blamed me. To make amends for what he felt he owed her, he poisoned my mother and took
00:51Seraphine's mother, Lady Sura, as his new wife.
00:54On the anniversary of Seraphine's death, the crown prince had me thrown into the royal punishment chamber.
01:00I was sewn into a sack. Ninety-nine rats tore at me for ten days. That is how I died.
01:06You call yourself a serpent tamer? Why didn't you call the serpents to devour the rats?
01:11You were nothing but a fraud who wanted to attach herself to the crown prince.
01:15You caused Seraphine's death for your own gain. I will make you suffer a thousand times what she endured.
01:20When I opened my eyes again, I was in the past. It was the day the queen had summoned me
01:25to the palace.
01:26I knelt. Your majesty, I ask you to reconsider. I have not yet dealt the gift of foresight.
01:31I'm afraid I cannot tame the serpent for the crown prince.
01:34Only a serpent tamer could see the tattoo. That sight was a gift.
01:38Anyone who could not see it was no serpent tamer at all.
01:42The queen frowned and was quiet for a moment.
01:44But the oracle's prophecy has never been wrong. Perhaps your gift has not yet surfaced at your age.
01:51Go to the crown prince's residence first.
01:53The doors burst open. The crown prince strode in.
01:56Caelan knelt and Seraphine beside him.
01:58I will not marry Alara. I want to marry her half-sister Seraphina.
02:03Mother, please give us your blessing.
02:05The queen rebuked him gently. Caelan held his ground.
02:09Mother, Alara bribed the oracle to fabulate the curse.
02:12Our royal bloodline is blessed by heaven. No serpent can touch me.
02:16The queen pressed two fingers to her temple.
02:18You foolish boy. I was the serpent tamer of my generation.
02:22Do you think your father would have survived if he hadn't married me?
02:25Your uncles. Every single one of them died at twenty.
02:28I watched it happen with my own eyes.
02:31Her eyes had gone red.
02:32She came down from the throne and lifted Caelan to his feet.
02:36I drove the oracle day and night to read the stars before I found her.
02:40Your twentieth birthday is five days away. There is no time left.
02:43Caelan set his job.
02:45Star readings can be wrong.
02:46The oracle may have confused the two sisters.
02:49Seraphine has the gift of foresight as well.
02:52She is the serpent tamer. I want her.
02:55The queen paused and looked at Seraphine.
02:58Can you see the tattoo on the crown prince?
03:00Where is it?
03:01Seraphine stared at Caelan for a long moment.
03:04The tattoo is on his neck. A white serpent.
03:06The crease between the queen's brows smoothed.
03:09The same as what I see.
03:11Then you are the serpent tamer.
03:13I kept my face still and laughed inside.
03:16Before I even reached the palace after waking into this new life,
03:19I told Seraphine exactly one thing.
03:21Before the crown prince turned twenty,
03:23there would be a white serpent tattoo on his neck.
03:25That was all she needed to know.
03:27But once Caelan turned twenty,
03:29the serpent would wake and move.
03:31And Seraphine, who had no gift at all,
03:33would have nothing left to say.
03:34This was how I planned to escape the fate that had killed me.
03:38In my first life,
03:39the queen had forced the marriage based on the oracle's word,
03:42and Caelan had blamed me for Seraphine's death.
03:45When I died,
03:45the rats had torn through every vein in my body.
03:48The pain felt like it had never left.
03:50A chill crawled up my spine,
03:52and I shuddered.
03:53The queen thought for a moment.
03:54Very well.
03:55Seraphina will marry the crown prince.
03:58The wedding will take place in five days,
04:00on his twentieth birthday.
04:02Caelan's eyes lit up.
04:03Seraphine bowed her thanks,
04:05and turned to look at me.
04:06Sister,
04:07you fabricated a lie trying to take my place,
04:09and get close to the crown prince.
04:11What punishment do you deserve for that?
04:13Caelan's voice was cold.
04:14Allara is vain,
04:16and greedy.
04:17Then softened slightly.
04:19Since this is a first offense,
04:21corporal punishment,
04:22a small lesson.
04:23The queen smiled and waved.
04:25The three of us stepped forward together.
04:26Allara just refused that proposal herself.
04:29You have both misunderstood her.
04:30A flash of frustration crossed Seraphine's face.
04:34Caelan looked at me with confusion and suspicion,
04:36and said quietly,
04:38Are you still planning something?
04:39Congratulations to the crown prince and his bride.
04:42Since this was all a misunderstanding,
04:44I'll take my leave.
04:45The queen sighed.
04:46The oracle has never been wrong,
04:47but something still unsettles me.
04:50Allara,
04:50stay at the prime minister's estate for now.
04:53If Seraphine cannot tame the serpent,
04:55you will be taken as a concubine.
04:56I breathed in,
04:57bowed my thanks,
04:58and turned to go.
04:59The moment my back was to them,
05:01the heat left my face.
05:03In this life,
05:04I would not let them move me like a piece on a board.
05:07When I walked back to the prime minister's estate,
05:10Caelan and Seraphine had already arrived ahead of me by carriage.
05:14Lady Sura looked at me once and gave a cold laugh.
05:17You tried to climb above your station and ended up a laughing stock,
05:20using your body to court the powerful.
05:22You are lower than a street rat.
05:24My father's voice was stern.
05:25You committed an offense against the royal household.
05:28If Seraphila had not come forward,
05:30you would have dragged the entire family down.
05:33He stopped,
05:34then issued orders immediately.
05:36Ilara did all of this at her mother's direction.
05:38Move her mother to the servant's quarter.
05:40Lady Sura and Seraphine will take the main rooms.
05:42My mother had broken both legs years ago
05:45and had been bedridden since.
05:47My father had not visited her once.
05:49Now that Seraphine had secured the crown prince,
05:52he dropped all pretense.
05:54The servants went to take my mother away.
05:56I panicked and ran after them.
05:57My father caught me.
05:59You are also punished.
06:00You will serve dinner tonight.
06:02I had no choice but to stay.
06:04I served dishes, poured water, and carried the wash basin.
06:08After the meal, I was taking the plates to the kitchen when I turned a corner
06:11and nearly walked into Kaylin, coming back from the courtyard, his guards behind him.
06:16I tried to go around him.
06:17He moved fast and blocked my way.
06:20Alara, in the previous life you caused Seraphine's death and paid with your own.
06:23That debt is settled.
06:24But in this life, do not think for a moment about interfering with anything between me and Seraphine.
06:29His next words came out like charity.
06:31If you conduct yourself properly, I may consider making you a concubine, as my mother suggested.
06:37You will show Seraphine the respect she is owed.
06:39Every morning you will bow to her and prepare her tea.
06:42I stepped back.
06:43Your highness, when did I say I wanted to marry you?
06:46He frowned.
06:47I know you were also reborn.
06:49You deceived my mother in the previous serfs.
06:51You wanted to be crown princess.
06:52You gave that up today.
06:54It's Sevenly Quidjo.
06:55I met his eyes.
06:56You and Seraphine belong together.
06:58I have no intention of getting in the way.
06:59Kaylin's face flushed with anger.
07:01Don't be ungrateful.
07:03Offering you a place as cogbine is already far more than you deserve.
07:06If my mother issues a royal decree, you will come even as a sir.
07:09I will not say this twice.
07:11In five days I will come for Seraphina.
07:13I will carry her into the Palcate myself.
07:15Don't stand there weeping and blaming me for leaving you behind.
07:17Seraphine had come to find him.
07:19She found him and settled into the curve of his arm.
07:22A breeze carried the scent of roses into the courtyard.
07:26Seraphine sneezed.
07:27That smell is unbearable.
07:28If I have to breathe it every day after I move into the main rooms, I won't be able to
07:31stand it.
07:32Simple enough.
07:33Pull them all out.
07:34Those roses were my mother's life's work.
07:36Before she came to this estate, she had run a flower shop that was known throughout the region.
07:40After marrying my father, she had spent years cultivating rare varieties and giving them to him as gifts.
07:45When she lost the use of her legs, looking at those flowers through the window was the only comfort she
07:50had left.
07:51If they were destroyed, those varieties would be gone forever.
07:53No one would ever grow them again.
07:55Your mother should hurry up and die.
07:56Do you want to know how she broke her legs?
07:58At the top of the hill, my mother pushed her.
08:00I lost control.
08:01I slapped Seraphine hard across the face.
08:04Her cheeks swelled immediately.
08:06She fell and started crying.
08:07My father walked over at once, had two guards pin my arms and struck me across the face ten times.
08:12My head was splitting.
08:15Kaelin looked down at me, his eyes filled with absolute disgust.
08:18You deserve this.
08:20You caused Seraphine suffering in the past.
08:23And in this life, I will make you pay a thousand times over.
08:27This time, since he begged to jump straight into the serpent's mouth, I was more than happy to let him
08:32go.
08:32Just wait for me.
08:34Stop.
08:35This is the Prime Minister's estate.
08:37You dare touch anything here without his permission?
08:39The guards hesitated and looked at Kaelin.
08:42My father came over at the sound of my voice.
08:44Do as his height miscommands.
08:45Once Lady Sura moves into this courtyard, keeping those flowers will only displease her.
08:51After my mother lost her legs, my father had done everything he could to make her happy.
08:54He had tended those flowers himself.
08:56He used to carry her out to the garden so she could smell them and watch the stars.
09:00But years of her illness had changed him.
09:02My eyes were burning.
09:03I kept my voice quiet.
09:05Give me one day to move them to the building where my mother's staying.
09:08Can you do that?
09:09Both my father and Kaelin hesitated.
09:12Then Seraphine screamed.
09:13Something bit me.
09:14Her hand had been stung, a red welt rising on the skin.
09:18Kaelin caught the insect and waved his hand.
09:20What are you all standing there for?
09:22Do it now!
09:23My father nodded.
09:23They hurt my daughter.
09:25Those flowers should go.
09:26No!
09:27I threw myself into the rose bush, trying to save the few remaining stones.
09:31But a dozen guards and servants were already tearing every plant out by the roots, ripping
09:35them into pieces.
09:36I knelt in the mud, unable to move, unable to do anything.
09:39Seraphine walked over and made a show of helping me out.
09:42She leaned down close to my ear.
09:43What are you grieving for?
09:44Those flowers are nothing.
09:46Your mother should hurry up and die.
09:47Do you want to know how she broke her legs?
09:48At the top of the hill, my mother pushed her.
09:51I couldn't breathe.
09:52My mother had been healthy once.
09:53Since that fall, she had never been the same.
09:55Half of her life had been taken from her.
09:57I lost control.
09:58I slapped Seraphine hard across the face.
10:00Her cheek swelled immediately.
10:02She fell and started crying.
10:04My father walked over at once, had two guards pin my arms and struck me across the face ten
10:08times.
10:09My head was splitting.
10:10Through the pain I shouted at him.
10:12Lady Sora did this to my mother!
10:14My father's expression shifted into something strange, and then he said sharply.
10:18Be quiet!
10:19I understood then.
10:20He had already known.
10:21That was why he had been so attentive to her afterward.
10:24Guilt.
10:25Kaylin had already pulled Seraphine to her feet.
10:27You hurt her again.
10:28You never change.
10:29I only wanted to help my sister up, and she did this to me.
10:34Maybe she resents me for telling the Queen the truth.
10:36Maybe she resents me for taking you.
10:39Kaylin kicked me hard in the stomach.
10:41I tasted blood.
10:42You claim you have no interest in me, yet you hurt her at every opportunity.
10:47Blood dripped from my chin onto my collar.
10:49His eyes were blank.
10:51I'm going to give you a lesson you won't forget for the rest of your life.
10:53Take her out, a feast display in the town square.
10:56Use her as the offering.
10:57You dare?
10:58I will appeal directly to the Queen.
11:01Your mother is alone in the servants' quarters.
11:04If something were to happen to her, she would not survive it.
11:07What would you do then?
11:08I heard what the threat actually meant.
11:10Don't touch my mother.
11:11If enduring my own humiliation would keep her alive, I would endure it.
11:15I let the guards drag me away.
11:17Before they pulled me out, I saw it for the first time.
11:19The spirit serpent foiled around Kaylin opened its prins and eyes.
11:23Then it shifted position and went back to sleep.
11:26I was still frozen from that moment of eye contact when my clothes were stripped and I was thrown into
11:30the town square.
11:31My body arranged with food as the display.
11:33Hundreds of people surged forward, knives and forks cut into my skin.
11:37People scratched me with their fingernails in the scramble for food.
11:39I was shaking, eyes red, covered in blood and sauce.
11:42Kaylin addressed the crowd.
11:44This is Alora, daughter of the Prime Minister.
11:46She fabricated lies and claimed to be a serpent tamer, deceiving the royal family.
11:50When her scheme was exposed, she tried to harm the crown princess.
11:54She deserves no mercy.
11:55I didn't lie to the queen!
11:58I struck Seraphine to avenge my mother!
12:03The crowd didn't listen.
12:05All lies, rotten eggs, garbage and stones flew from every direction.
12:12A woman like this, thinking she could be queen?
12:15What a joke!
12:16We'll punish her for the crown, crown prince!
12:20All the crown, crown prince!
12:21I was bruised everywhere, bleeding from a dozen places.
12:24I wrapped my arms around my head and saw it.
12:26I never tried to compete with Seraphine for that position.
12:30Why are you doing this to me?
12:32In our previous life, we were husband and wife.
12:36I carried your child.
12:38The child had never been born.
12:40When Kaylin learned of Seraphine's death and had me executed,
12:43the child died with me.
12:45Kaylin heard me.
12:46A flash of something like pain crossed his face, there and gone in an instant.
12:50Alera, you hate Seraphina.
12:52I cannot allow any harm to come to her.
12:54This lesson will teach you to stay in your place.
12:56Once you come to the palace, you'll learn to be afraid of her.
12:59He hadn't finished speaking when several stones struck the back of my head.
13:03As I was losing consciousness, a figure came close.
13:06A cloak was laid over me.
13:08Someone stood over me, shielding me from the stones and flying debris.
13:12Then everything went dark.
13:14When I woke, I was lying in the crown princess's chambers inside the palace.
13:18A man stood at my bedside.
13:20There was a black serpent tattoo on his neck.
13:23Dorian, the second prince.
13:25Son of the queen consort.
13:26In my first life on the day of Kaylin's wedding, Dorian had given me an heirloom bracelet of the royal
13:31family as a gift.
13:32After Kaylin had me subjected to the rat punishment, Dorian found my body in the pauper's cemetery.
13:38He buried me himself, crying until he couldn't speak.
13:41After that, he opposed Kaylin at every turn, pushing close to outright rebellion.
13:45But he never found a serpent to me.
13:47He died at 20.
13:50You're awake.
13:51Before I could answer, the queen consort came in and took both my hands.
13:55Miss Allura, I beg you.
13:57Marry my son and save his life.
13:59The tips of Dorian's ears went red.
14:01He glanced at me sideways and quickly looked away.
14:03I accept.
14:05But I have one condition.
14:07The terms were settled quickly.
14:09The king then summoned Dorian to the throne room.
14:11I cleaned up and took the second prince's carriage back to the estate.
14:15I went to the building where my mother had been moved.
14:18Seraphine and Lady Sura were already there.
14:21I walked up to my mother.
14:22What are you doing here?
14:24I brought food.
14:26Seraphine nudged the bowl on the floor with her foot.
14:28My mother is the prime minister's wife.
14:31How dare you give her something like this?
14:33The two of you deserve to eat whatever the dogs leave behind.
14:37Anger rose in me, but I didn't want to make a scene in front of my mother.
14:40I pushed it down.
14:41Your mother doesn't know yet.
14:43Father is planning to throw her out of the house entirely.
14:45And you, her daughter, were put on display in the town square as a feast offering.
14:49Now you're wanted throughout the city for deceiving the royal family and conspiring against the crown princess.
14:55Who would ever marry you?
14:56That's enough!
14:57My mother sat up sharply, breathing hard.
14:59I rubbed her back and told Seraphine and Lady Sura to get out.
15:04Letting you stay alive has always been a problem.
15:07If the queen discovers I'm not the real serpent tamer, she'll order the crown prince to have me eliminated.
15:12You have to die.
15:14Only then will she let it go.
15:16She pulled out a small vial and reached for my mouth.
15:18Lady Sura grabbed both my wrists.
15:19The pill was nearly forced between my lips when my mother lunged towards Seraphine.
15:23Seraphine stepped aside.
15:24My mother lost her balance and fell.
15:26Footsteps sounded outside.
15:28Lady Sura let go of me.
15:30Kaylin and my father walked in.
15:33Seraphine ran to Kaylin and tucked herself against him, her eyes bright.
15:37These are medicinal herbs.
15:39I came personally to bring them for her.
15:42She wouldn't take them.
15:44My sister told her they were poison and she attacked me trying to kill me.
15:48I lifted my mother from the floor as gently as I could and helped her back to the bed.
15:53No!
15:53And grabbed me by the throat.
15:54You're too afraid to cause trouble yourself so you use your mother to do it?
15:59Those are poison!
16:01Seraphine was trying to kill me!
16:03Sister, why do you always accuse me of things?
16:07My mother and I pray for your mother's recovery every single day.
16:11Father knows this better than anyone.
16:13Kaylin looked at my father.
16:14My father gave a firm nod.
16:16Seraphine and Lady Sura are kind-hearted women.
16:18They would never hurt anyone.
16:20Kaylin believed it without hesitation.
16:22He snatched the pills from Seraphine's hand and forced them into my mother's mouth.
16:27These are herbs, Alara.
16:29And you call them poison?
16:31I screamed and tried to get to her, but the guards blocked her.
16:33She'll die!
16:34They punished me!
16:37Don't hurt her!
16:39My mother had no strength to resist.
16:41The poison was already inside her.
16:43I broke free of the guards and pressed my fingers to her throat trying to make her bring
16:46it back up.
16:47It was useless.
16:48My father gave a disdain for a sound.
16:51I've always said Seraphine would never poison anyone.
16:53Look at her.
16:54She's perfectly fine.
16:56He put his arm around Lady Sura.
16:58Kaylin held Seraphine.
16:59They walked out without looking back.
17:01Get the doctor!
17:03I shouted at my maid.
17:05She stumbled out of the room.
17:06My mother shook her head and pulled me close.
17:09I couldn't protect you.
17:11Look what they've done to you.
17:12I don't think I'm going to make it.
17:15She coughed up dark blood.
17:16Help!
17:17Help!
17:18I'll take all the pain for the rest of my life.
17:21Just stay.
17:23Please stay.
17:24The doctor is coming.
17:26My hand went still.
17:27I pressed my ear to her chest.
17:29Her heartbeat was gone.
17:30My mother was dead.
17:32The woman I had let myself be used as a feast offering to protect was gone forever.
17:36On the day of Kaylin's wedding, he rode to the estate on horseback.
17:39He lifted Seraphine into the palanquin himself, then looked toward the servant's building.
17:43I sent a crown princess gown to Alara yesterday.
17:46Is she dressed?
17:47Tell her to wait.
17:48Once I've seen Seraphine inside, I'll come for her.
17:51He had sent Seraphine one hundred boxes of gifts and me one box.
17:56The gown had been inside it.
17:59Before the steward could reply, Dorian swept me up in his arms and carried me out of the
18:03servant's quarters.
18:04I was wearing a finely embroidered wedding dress.
18:07Not the one Kaylin had sent.
18:09The steward leaned close to Kaylin and said haltingly,
18:11Your highness.
18:12Yes, you're the Alessirri.
18:14Last night, Miss Alarcta burned the gown you sent and left word that your gift should be
18:17returned to you after the wedding.
18:19As Dorian passed him, he reached out to stop him.
18:22Brother, Alara is only marrying you to spine me.
18:24Do you still want her?
18:26I have admired her for years.
18:28I had planned to ask the king's permission to court her myself, but the queen consort moved
18:32first.
18:32As luck would have it, my brother mistook glass for a pearl and handed her over, and that
18:37gave me my chance.
18:38A sharp sound came from inside the palanquin.
18:41Seraphine had heard her sight compared to broken glass.
18:44Rapid stomping followed.
18:45Kaylin's face darkened with anger.
18:47You knew I intended to make her a compine, and you went behind my back and did this.
18:52When I take the throne, you will pay for it.
18:55By then you won't be able to protect yourself, let alone her.
18:58Through the veil, I could see clearly.
19:00The spirit serpent on Kaylin had woken, barely alive, but awake.
19:04Its tongue was moving.
19:06It was waiting for the moment of his birthday to consume him.
19:09I gave a cold laugh.
19:10Whether you survive tonight, your highness, we'll see.
19:14Seraphine couldn't hold herself back any longer.
19:17She burst out of the palanquin.
19:19The crowd gasped.
19:20She stepped out of the carriage before the ceremony.
19:23That's no good omen.
19:25Seraphine didn't care.
19:26Sister, you invented a story and convinced yourself it was true.
19:30The crown prince will be perfectly fine tonight.
19:33Looking at the woman who had destroyed my mother's life,
19:35I felt my hands clenched tight, my nails cutting into my palms.
19:39You say I'm lying.
19:41Then let's make a wager.
19:42If something happens to the crown prince tonight,
19:45you and your mother drink the poison.
19:47The same kind you fed my mother.
19:49Accusing Seraphina of poisoning again.
19:52Your mother is alive and living in the servants' quarters.
19:56Seraphine's eyes sharpened.
19:58She changed her mind.
19:59Fine.
20:00Let's wager.
20:01If you lose,
20:03you and the second prince crawl into a dog cage
20:05and parade through the streets three times as peniments before the crown prince.
20:09The crowd erupted.
20:10People rushed forward to place bets,
20:12and every single one of them backed Seraphine.
20:15Caelan's voice rang out with satisfaction.
20:18I wage a thousand gold coins.
20:20Seraphine wins.
20:21Dorian had his guard produce a note worth ten thousand.
20:25I wager on my bride, Alara.
20:28Caelan laughed.
20:30Brother, you'll be in tears by tomorrow.
20:32Your estate, the state will be eating scraps.
20:36His guards laughed at him.
20:37Caelan paid them no attention.
20:40He lifted me into the carriage and took me to his estate,
20:42where the wedding was held.
20:44After the wedding guests had gone,
20:46Dorian and I drank together.
20:48He lifted me and carried me to the bed.
20:50Don't be afraid.
20:52This is just warm wine.
20:53It won't hurt.
20:55The curtains fell.
20:56In the dark, the bed made a soft sound.
21:00When the midnight bell rang, all other sounds stopped.
21:03I lay still and watched in the moonlight
21:05as the tattoo on Dorian's skin dissolved into points of light and disappeared.
21:09I let out a slow breath.
21:10Then someone pounded violently on the bedroom door.
21:13Alara, you are the true serpent tamer, aren't you?
21:15After Caelan and Seraphana's wedding night,
21:17the spirit serpent is still coiled around him.
21:18Come with me.
21:19You have to help him.
21:20The queen consort's command was not something that could be refused.
21:23Dorian and I rode in the same carriage.
21:25We accompanied her to the crown prince's estate.
21:28The crowd outside the palace gates had not dispersed.
21:31The royal observatory had already released a statement.
21:34The crown prince is critically weakened.
21:36His body is failing.
21:38The oracle says this is only the beginning.
21:41The spirit serpent will consume what remains of the crown prince's life.
21:46Was the curse the prime minister's daughter spoke above real?
21:50We beat her because we believed the crown prince.
21:53We were used.
21:54I bet everything and lost it all.
21:56This is our punishment.
21:57The carriage sped past, leaving the noise behind.
22:01When we arrived, we found the crown prince's estate in chaos.
22:04People were rushing toward Caelan from every direction.
22:11Dorian looked on with confusion.
22:14Why does my brother keep clawing at his own throat?
22:16Something seems taking hold of him.
22:19I could see it.
22:20The spirit serpent had fully woken,
22:23hoiling tighter and tighter around Caelan's body, alert and hungry.
22:26It opened its mouth and began drawing out his soul.
22:30Caelan screamed.
22:31The queen consort ran to him.
22:33She saw Seraphine standing nearby, frozen, powerless.
22:37Her fury broke.
22:39You dared to impersonate a serpent, Tankster!
22:42Look at what you've done to my son!
22:45Seraphine had already collapsed to her knees, trembling.
22:48I had no idea it would come to this.
22:50The curse sounded so absurd.
22:52How could it be real?
22:53It must be Bialara.
22:55She conspired with the oracle to arrange all of this.
22:57It has to be her!
22:58Caelan heard her.
22:59He grabbed a teacup from nearby and hurled it at me.
23:02Dorian caught the cup before it reached me.
23:05You schemed to trap me.
23:07Mother, help me.
23:09I can't breathe.
23:11The queen consort had already crossed the room to Seraphine.
23:14She slapped her, again and again, more than a dozen times, unable to stop herself.
23:20You shameless fraud!
23:22I am a serpent, Tramer!
23:24I can see the serpent on my own son!
23:26Are you calling me a liar, too?
23:28Caelan was drenched in cold sweat, his pupils contracting sharply.
23:33Mother, is it true?
23:35Is the curse real?
23:36He remembered his previous life, his wedding to me, the life he had lived before.
23:41Mother, Elora is the real Serpent Tamer.
23:44Let her save me.
23:46I'll give her the title of Crown Princess.
23:48I'll give her anything.
23:50The queen consort knelt before me.
23:53The court attendants looked on in horror, their faces drained of color.
23:57I stepped forward quickly and helped her up.
23:59I let out a slow breath.
24:01Your Majesty, I have to tell you the truth.
24:05Dorian and I are already married.
24:06You are a serpent tamer yourself.
24:09You know what that means.
24:10I can only tame the serpent once, and only save one prince.
24:14After that, the gift is gone.
24:17The queen consort noticed Dorian for the first time.
24:19She stepped back.
24:20It's over.
24:21The tattoo left Dorian.
24:23He will live, and my son will die.
24:25Caelan collapsed and twisted on the floor, as if trying to throw the serpent off his body.
24:31The queen consort's eyes filled with tears.
24:33No one speaks of what happened here tonight.
24:36Anyone who breathes a word of it will be beaten to death.
24:41Dorian brought me back to the second prince's estate.
24:43In the carriage.
24:44I was never entirely certain the curse was real.
24:47When my mother asked me to marry you, I was glad.
24:50But not because I needed to be saved.
24:53Years ago, I saw you once at a royal gathering.
24:55I never forgot you.
24:57I didn't expect that marrying the woman I had always admired would also be the thing that kept me alive.
25:02I couldn't help laughing.
25:03And you happened to win more than a million gold coins in the process.
25:10Everything at the estate is yours to manage.
25:13I thought about my previous life.
25:15About what the curse had done to Dorian when he turned 20.
25:19I hadn't seen how he died.
25:20But the thought of him suffering the way Caelan had brought a tension into my chest that I hadn't been
25:25prepared for.
25:26You saved me.
25:27You gave my mother a proper burial.
25:29I can't begin to repay that.
25:30Without him, she would have been wrapped in straw matting and thrown into the pauper's district.
25:35He drew me gently toward him and wiped away the last trace of tears at the corner of my eye.
25:41That night, I slept better than I had in what felt like a very long time.
25:46The next morning, my father arrived at the second prince's estate with Lady Sura.
25:50Both of them looked haggard with dark shadows under their eyes.
25:53Ilara, I didn't expect things to go this far.
25:56The queen consort is furious.
25:57She went to the king.
25:58She went to the king!
25:59She said I encouraged Seraphine to deceive the royal family and demanded that I be stripped of my position and
26:04imprisoned.
26:04But I was misled by Seraphine's words.
26:07If I had known the truth, how could I have allowed a prince of pure blood to come to harm?
26:15You told everyone my mother was behind my so-called deception and had her sent to the servant's quarter.
26:21Now you'll suffer what she suffered.
26:24My lady, please speak to the queen consort on behalf of the prime minister.
26:30Save him.
26:31Save my daughter.
26:33My poor Seraphina.
26:35The queen consort sends someone to flog her every day.
26:38No one is allowed to visit her.
26:41Her wounds go untreated.
26:43A faint voice came from outside the door.
26:46Good.
26:47She deserves every bit of it.
26:49Caelan was carried in on a stretcher, his body gaunt, like a husk of himself.
26:54I looked at the spirit serpent on him.
26:56It had grown to half again the size it was the day before.
27:00Everyone around him dropped to their knees.
27:03My father saw the state he was in and went pale, then crawled forward, still trying to appear useful.
27:08Your highness, what brings you here?
27:10That woman deceived me into thinking she was the serpent tamer.
27:17You were all part of it.
27:19I will never forgive any of you!
27:22His guards dragged Seraphine in and threw her down in the courtyard.
27:26There was not an uninjured inch on her body.
27:29Caelan turned to me.
27:31Alara, I was wrong.
27:32You can save me the way you did before.
27:35I went rigid.
27:36He had just said it out loud in front of everyone.
27:39I looked around quickly.
27:41The people around him seemed to take it for the curse speaking,
27:44a sign that his mind was breaking down.
27:46No one appeared to understand what he actually meant.
27:48In the previous life, you saved me and I repaid you with cruelty.
27:52I am no longer fit to call myself human.
27:54You said you could only tame the serpent once.
27:57That's not true, is it?
27:58You're angry with me.
28:00Divorce, Dorian.
28:01Marry me.
28:02Kill me if you want.
28:04Tear me apart.
28:05I don't care.
28:05Everything in the crown prince's palace is yours.
28:08Just save me.
28:11Brother, Alara is my lawful wife, married under royal decree.
28:16I will not divorce her.
28:18You would let me die.
28:21He hurt himself and caught his mistake.
28:23I swear that once I recover, I will renounce the title of crown prince and withdraw from the succession entirely.
28:29Marry, please, help me.
28:31My father added his voice to the appeal.
28:33Daughter, if you agree, I'll bring your mother back to the estate.
28:37He hesitated.
28:38I went to see her before I came here.
28:40The servant's room was empty.
28:42Did you move her?
28:43Prime Minister, Alara's mother passed away.
28:46I have arranged for her remains, placed a headstone, and had her buried in her family's ancestral grounds.
28:52My father's face drained of color.
28:54That's not possible.
28:55Kalen also couldn't believe it.
28:57I only gave her one pill, a medicinal herb.
29:00That was enough to kill her.
29:03I ordered Lady Sura arrested and searched.
29:06Despite her protests, the guards found a vial of pills on her person.
29:10These are the herbs Seraphine and her mother claim to be giving.
29:14Whether they are poison will need to be tested.
29:16Kalen's physician was still present.
29:18He examined the pills carefully, and when he spoke, his voice was unsteady.
29:22These are poison, without any doubt.
29:25Kalen coughed up dark blood.
29:27His breathing came in short, rapid bursts.
29:30My father's legs gave out.
29:32He collapsed, then crawled toward Lady Sura and closed his hands around her throat.
29:36You and that daughter of yours used me, and destroyed everything!
29:42You and that daughter of yours used me, and destroyed everything!
Comments