The Princess They Called Cursed

OceanicOdyssey

20 minutes ago

Transcript

00:00:01Elena, is this how beg?

00:00:10Two years ago, I was the arrogant saintess, and he was the dragon slave I whipped at my whim.

00:00:17Two years later, he awakens the imperial dragon blood and returns to the imperial capital.

00:00:23As the giant dragon dives to the earth, he transforms into a king of extraordinary elegance.

00:00:31His dark gold dragon pupils are locked firmly onto me.

00:00:35Once his equal, now a disgraced slave of the clan, fallen into the abyss beneath the altar.

00:00:42To save my father, I was forced to kneel at his feet and let him tear away my white robes,

00:00:49the very symbol of my sanctity.

00:00:51He laughed coldly, demanding I pleasure him to repay the debts of those two years.

00:00:57He already has a perfect match by his side, yet he insists on taking me by force,

00:01:03trapping me in an eternal cage.

00:01:06Oh, you are.

00:01:09But I will never let your children become your prisoners.

00:01:12Watching the madness of his possessive gaze, I press my hand against my stomach,

00:01:17where a faint draconic sigil flickered, the mark pulsing with the rhythmic cadence of a heartbeat.

00:01:24It was this very secret that had driven me to orchestrate my own death,

00:01:28a scandalous escape that had shocked the world.

00:01:31A month ago, the Holy Kingdom fell under a sudden monster assault.

00:01:35I found myself cornered in the black forest, trapped, and suffocating under the weight of a dark malevolent curse.

00:01:43As my consciousness began to fracture, he appeared.

00:01:46He rode through the chaos.

00:01:48As he charged forward on horseback, I could have sworn I saw the spectral shimmer of dragon wings unfurl behind

00:01:54him,

00:01:54a broken sword in one hand, and a spear in the other, cutting a path to my side.

00:02:01In my blurred vision, he looked breathtaking.

00:02:05That night, amidst a frantic soul resonance, I let myself cross the forbidden line with him.

00:02:10I think I might have actually fallen for him.

00:02:13I thought of him the moment I opened my eyes.

00:02:15I banished him once more to the most remote, crumbling tower of the estate.

00:02:19Before sending him to the tower was a triumph of my power.

00:02:22Now I found myself sneaking toward it just to catch a glimpse of him.

00:02:26He was right there in my temple.

00:02:28Yet I was dying of an incurable heartache.

00:02:31Today was his 22nd birthday.

00:02:34I had spent hours baking a lemon tart with my own hands, wanting to give him a surprise.

00:02:39I wanted to tell him that he was going to be a father.

00:02:43Two years ago in the arena, I bestowed upon him the name Shadow.

00:02:47He was but a flicker of darkness, easily erased.

00:02:51Now, that name has become my only longing.

00:02:54I reach the tower only to find my world collapsing.

00:02:58My shadow was gone.

00:03:00A massive dragon shadow reared its head, its wings sweeping across the ceiling.

00:03:05A blinding burst of molten gold erupted before my eyes, before shrinking and condensing into the form of a noble

00:03:12man.

00:03:12The slave had vanished, replaced by a prince radiating golden light.

00:03:17The rumors followed quickly.

00:03:19He already had a fiancé, a childhood match.

00:03:24Lady Isabella, the most brilliant woman in the empire.

00:03:27As soon as he returned to the capital, their grand wedding would begin.

00:03:33My sanctuary had been transformed into a cage, surrounded by the cold steel of the paladins.

00:03:40The moment they spotted me, skulking in the shadows like a common theme, a royal guard lunged forward, pressing the

00:03:47frigid edge of a heavy greatsword against my throat.

00:03:49Neil, daughter of a traitor, how dare you stand in the presence of Prince Arthur?

00:03:53I looked past the blade of the man in the center of the crowd.

00:03:56The ragged, homespun clothes were gone.

00:03:59In their place was a magnificent robe of blackened gold.

00:04:04Risking execution, I reached out with trembling fingers, desperately trying to catch his hand.

00:04:10A low, rhythmic vibration hummed in the air as glowing embers of dragonfire drifted from the cold embroidery of his

00:04:17robes.

00:04:20You... are you truly the crown prince?

00:04:22Tell me, Miss Vivian, how do you plan to torture me today?

00:04:25Will it be the jeweled whip, or shall I feel the weight of your dancing shoes again?

00:04:30Once I return to the capital, I will send the official documents to sever our contract.

00:04:34A woman from this wretched holy kingdom has no place beside my throne.

00:04:37My eyes burned with unshed tears.

00:04:40I hadn't come to hurt him.

00:04:42I had come to celebrate his birth.

00:04:44To tell him that I was carrying his children.

00:04:47But even my touch was a stain to him now.

00:04:50I finally understood the brutal reality.

00:04:53He loathed me.

00:04:54He would never want me.

00:04:56And he would certainly never want the bastards in my womb.

00:04:59Even if they carried his own dragon blood.

00:05:02I shielded the faint yet searing spark of dragon blood within me.

00:05:06Standing amidst the hallowed ruins and utter despair.

00:05:09I wanted to tell him that I would give up everything.

00:05:12I would follow him to the capital as a lowly handmaid.

00:05:14Anything just to stay by his side.

00:05:16But to him, my very touch was a defilement.

00:05:20The deposition decree, sealed with the dragon crest, had severed our contract forever.

00:05:25At eighteen, I had fallen from the adored saintess to a prisoner abandoned by the gods.

00:05:31I finally woke up from the dream.

00:05:33Arthur hated me.

00:05:34He would go on to marry the pure-blooded Lady Isabella and father noble dragon heirs.

00:05:39To him.

00:05:40Do you have any final prayers, Miss Vivian?

00:05:44He looked down at me, as if I were a speck of dust.

00:05:47I had wanted to beg him to taste the lemon tart I baked with my own hands.

00:05:51But seeing the frost in his eyes, I could only bite my lip and shake my head through a blur

00:05:56of tears.

00:05:57Golden scales erupted across his skin, as the air ignited with his draconic aura.

00:06:02With a mocking smear, his body shifted and expanded in a blinding flash of light, transforming into a massive dragon.

00:06:10The gale from his wings slamming me violently into the snow.

00:06:14He vanished into the clouds without a single backward glance.

00:06:17I sat frozen in the ice, until a sharp, searing pain tore through my abdomen,

00:06:23nearly causing me to lose the child.

00:06:25Watching the fading silhouette in the sky, I clutched my stomach where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

00:06:30beating rhythmically like a second heart.

00:06:35Disaster struck.

00:06:36Three days, after Arthur's departure, my father, the Holy Father, was branded,

00:06:41with the twin sins of treason and black magic, then cast into the darkest depths of the abyss prison.

00:06:47I rushed to the capital, desperate and breathless, only to be met with the death sentence.

00:06:52He was to face the trial of Holy Fire, on the night of the next full moon.

00:06:56Inside the stench-ridden dungeon, my mother's withered hand gripped mine with terrifying strength,

00:07:03Elena, you must go to Prince Arthur.

00:07:05You must go to your shadow.

00:07:09You swore vows before the dragon god.

00:07:12You are high on only contract holder.

00:07:15He cannot simply watch us die.

00:07:18Her words cut through me like acerated blood, but he couldn't find the voice to answer.

00:07:23How could I admit that during those two years of shadow,

00:07:26I had forced him into the freezing depths of the holy lake just to retrieve a lost jewel for my

00:07:32amusement?

00:07:33How could I confess that, in fits of rage, I had left scars upon his back that would never heal?

00:07:39He likely wanted to see my family reduced to ash more than anyone else in the world.

00:07:44But looking at the last flickering spark of hope in my mother's eyes, I forced myself to move.

00:07:48I picked up the ruby-encrusted whip, the very symbol of my former tyranny,

00:07:53and dragged my trembling body to the crown prince's palace.

00:07:57There, before the towering obsidian iron gates, I fell to my knees and waited.

00:08:05Back in the Holy Kingdom, a single command from my lips was enough to make shadow crawl to my feet.

00:08:11If I wanted him to bow, he never dared to meet my eyes.

00:08:15But now, the tables had turned with a cruel irony.

00:08:18To see him for even a moment I had to kneel in the teeth of a blizzard, begging a shred

00:08:23of mercy.

00:08:24I knelt until I lost all feeling in my legs,

00:08:27the ruby whip in my hands buried under a thick shroud of snow.

00:08:31Just as dawn threatened to break, a dragon's roar shattered the cloud.

00:08:34The black wings eclipsed the dawn as he dived,

00:08:37only to contract and transform the instant they struck the earth.

00:08:40From the heart of the erupting snow, Arthur emerged in human form, breaking through the mist.

00:08:46The crunch of his boots against the frozen ground echoed the frantic beating of my heart.

00:08:50His cold, indifferent gaze lingered for a moment on the whip I held.

00:08:54Tell me, Miss Vivian, which hand was it?

00:08:58Which hand did you use to leave those scars on my body?

00:09:02His voice held no warmth, only the crushing weight of a judge-passing sentence.

00:09:06I was so frozen I could barely breathe.

00:09:09Before I could find my voice, my strength failed me.

00:09:12My knees buckled and I collapsed forward, falling directly into his arms.

00:09:16His chest was burning hot, a searing contrast to the ice.

00:09:19The heat instantly triggered the memory of our night of soul resonance,

00:09:23the way he had pinned me against the altar of predatory hunger.

00:09:26My eyes welled with bitter tears.

00:09:30Your Highness, please, save my father.

00:09:34I'm begging you.

00:09:35His pupils narrowed into golden vertical slits,

00:09:38and a faint rhythmic glow of molten fire pulsed beneath the skin of his throat.

00:09:44Elena, is this how beg?

00:09:52Two years ago, I was the arrogant saintess, and he was the dragon slave I whipped at my whim.

00:10:00Two years later, he awakens the imperial dragon blood and returns to the imperial capital.

00:10:06As the giant dragon dives to the earth, he transforms into a king of extraordinary elegance.

00:10:14His dark gold dragon pupils are locked firmly onto me.

00:10:18Once his equal, now a disgraced slave of the clan, fallen into the abyss beneath the altar.

00:10:25To save my father, I was forced to kneel at his feet and let him tear away my white robes,

00:10:32the very symbol of my sanctity.

00:10:34He laughed coldly, demanding I pleasure him to repay the debts of those two years.

00:10:40He already has a perfect match by his side, yet he insists on taking me by force,

00:10:46trapping me in an eternal cage.

00:10:54Watching the madness of his possessive gaze,

00:10:58I press my hand against my stomach,

00:11:00where a faint draconic sigil flickered,

00:11:03the mark pulsing with the rhythmic cadence of a heartbeat.

00:11:07It was this very secret that had driven me to orchestrate my own death,

00:11:11a scandalous escape that had shocked the world.

00:11:13A month ago, the Holy Kingdom fell under a sudden monster assault.

00:11:18I found myself cornered in the black forest,

00:11:22trapped and suffocating under the weight of a dark malevolent curse.

00:11:25As my consciousness began to fracture, he appeared.

00:11:28He rode through the chaos.

00:11:30As he charged forward on horseback,

00:11:33I could have sworn I saw the spectral shimmer of dragon wings unfurl behind him,

00:11:37a broken sword in one hand and a spear in the other,

00:11:41cutting a path to my side.

00:11:44In my blurred vision, he looked breathtaking.

00:11:48That night, amidst a frantic soul resonance,

00:11:51I let myself cross the forbidden line with him.

00:11:53I think I might have actually fallen for him.

00:11:56I thought of him the moment I opened my eyes.

00:11:58I banished him once more to the most remote, crumbling tower of the estate.

00:12:02Before sending him to the tower was a triumph of my power.

00:12:05Now I found myself sneaking toward it just to catch a glimpse of him.

00:12:09He was right there in my temple.

00:12:11Yet I was dying of an incurable heartache.

00:12:14Today was his 22nd birthday.

00:12:16I had spent hours baking a lemon tart with my own hands,

00:12:20wanting to give him a surprise.

00:12:22I wanted to tell him that he was going to be a father.

00:12:26Two years ago in the arena,

00:12:27I bestowed upon him the name Shadow.

00:12:30He was but a flicker of darkness, easily erased.

00:12:34Now that name has become my only longing.

00:12:37I reached the tower only to find my world collapsing.

00:12:40My shadow was gone.

00:12:43A massive dragon shadow reared its head,

00:12:46its wings sweeping across the ceiling.

00:12:48A blinding burst of molten gold erupted before my eyes,

00:12:51before shrinking and condensing into the form of a noble man.

00:12:55The slave had vanished,

00:12:57replaced by a prince radiating golden light.

00:13:00The rumors followed quickly.

00:13:02He already had a fiancé,

00:13:05a childhood match.

00:13:06Lady Isabella,

00:13:07the most brilliant woman in the empire.

00:13:10As soon as he returned to the capital,

00:13:12their grand wedding would begin.

00:13:16My sanctuary had been transformed into a cage,

00:13:20surrounded by the cold steel of the paladins.

00:13:23The moment they spotted me,

00:13:24skulking in the shadows like a common theme,

00:13:27a royal guard lunged forward,

00:13:29pressing the frigid edge of a heavy greatsword against my throat.

00:13:32Neil, daughter of a traitor,

00:13:34how dare you stand in the presence of Prince Arthur?

00:13:36I looked past the blade of the man in the center of the crowd.

00:13:39The ragged, homespun clothes were gone.

00:13:42In their place.

00:13:43This was a magnificent robe of black and gold.

00:13:47Risking execution,

00:13:48I reached out with trembling fingers,

00:13:51desperately trying to catch his hand.

00:13:53A low, rhythmic vibration hummed in the air

00:13:56as glowing embers of dragon fire

00:13:58drifted from the gold embroidery of his robes.

00:14:02You...

00:14:03Are you truly the crown prince?

00:14:05Tell me, Miss Vivian,

00:14:07how do you plan to torture me today?

00:14:08Will it be the jeweled whip,

00:14:09or shall I feel the weight of your dancing shoes again?

00:14:13Once I return to the capital,

00:14:14I will send the official documents to sever our contract.

00:14:17A woman from this wretched holy kingdom has no place beside my throne.

00:14:20My eyes burned with unshed tears.

00:14:23I hadn't come to hurt him.

00:14:25I had come to celebrate his birth.

00:14:27To tell him that I was carrying his children.

00:14:30But even my touch was a stain to him now.

00:14:32I finally understood the brutal reality.

00:14:36He loathed me.

00:14:37He would never want me.

00:14:38And he would certainly never want the bastards in my womb,

00:14:41even if they carried his own dragon blood.

00:14:45I shielded the faint yet searing spark of dragon blood within me,

00:14:49standing amidst the hallowed ruins in utter despair.

00:14:52I wanted to tell him that I would give up everything.

00:14:54I would follow him to the capital as a lowly handmaid,

00:14:57anything just to stay by his side.

00:14:59But to him,

00:15:00my very touch was a defilement.

00:15:03The deposition decree,

00:15:04sealed with the dragon crest,

00:15:06had severed our contract forever.

00:15:08At eighteen,

00:15:09I had fallen from the adored saintess

00:15:11to a prisoner abandoned by the gods.

00:15:13I finally woke up from the dream.

00:15:16Arthur hated me.

00:15:17He would go on to marry the pure-blooded Lady Isabella

00:15:20and father noble dragon heirs.

00:15:22To him.

00:15:23Do you have any final prayers, Miss Vivian?

00:15:27He looked down at me,

00:15:28as if I were a speck of dust.

00:15:30I had wanted to beg him to taste the lemon tart

00:15:32I baked with my own hands.

00:15:34But seeing the frost in his eyes,

00:15:36I could only bite my lip and shake my head

00:15:38through a blur of tears.

00:15:40Golden scales erupted across his skin

00:15:42as the air ignited with his draconic aura.

00:15:45With a mocking smear,

00:15:47his body shifted and expanded

00:15:48in a blinding flash of light,

00:15:50transforming into a massive dragon.

00:15:53The gale from his wings

00:15:54slamming me violently into the snow.

00:15:56He vanished into the clouds

00:15:58without a single backward glance.

00:16:00I sat frozen in the ice

00:16:02until a sharp, searing pain

00:16:04tore through my abdomen,

00:16:05nearly causing me to lose the child,

00:16:07watching the fading silhouette in the sky.

00:16:10I clutched my stomach

00:16:11where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

00:16:13beating rhythmically like a second heart.

00:16:18Disaster struck.

00:16:19Three days.

00:16:20After Arthur's departure,

00:16:22my father, the Holy Father,

00:16:23was branded

00:16:24with the twin sins of treason

00:16:26and black magic.

00:16:27Then cast into the darkest depths

00:16:28of the abyss prison,

00:16:29I rushed to the capital,

00:16:31desperate and breathless,

00:16:32only to be met

00:16:33with the death sentence.

00:16:34He was to face

00:16:35the trial of holy fire

00:16:37on the night of the next full moon.

00:16:39Inside the stench-ridden dungeon,

00:16:41my mother's withered hand

00:16:43gripped mine

00:16:43with terrifying strength.

00:16:45Elena, you must go

00:16:47to Prince Arthur.

00:16:48You must go

00:16:50to your shadow.

00:16:52You swore vows

00:16:53before the dragon god.

00:16:55You are high on

00:16:56only contract holder.

00:16:57He cannot simply

00:16:59watch us die.

00:17:01Her words cut through

00:17:02my like-acerated blood,

00:17:03but he couldn't find

00:17:05the voice to answer.

00:17:06How could I admit

00:17:07that during those

00:17:08two years of shadow,

00:17:09I had forced him

00:17:10into the freezing depths

00:17:12of the holy lake

00:17:12just to retrieve

00:17:13a lost jewel

00:17:14for my amusement?

00:17:16How could I confess that,

00:17:18in fits of rage,

00:17:19I had left scars

00:17:20upon his back

00:17:20that would never heal?

00:17:22He likely wanted

00:17:23to see my family

00:17:24reduced to ash

00:17:25more than anyone else

00:17:26in the world.

00:17:26But looking at

00:17:28the last flickering

00:17:29spark of hope

00:17:29in my mother's eyes,

00:17:30I forced myself

00:17:31to move.

00:17:32I picked up

00:17:32the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:17:34the very symbol

00:17:35of my former tyranny,

00:17:36and dragged my trembling

00:17:38body to the crown prince's palace.

00:17:40There,

00:17:41before the towering

00:17:42obsidian iron gates,

00:17:44I fell to my knees

00:17:45and waited.

00:17:48Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:17:50a single command

00:17:51from my lips

00:17:52was enough to make

00:17:52shadow crawl

00:17:53to my feet.

00:17:54If I wanted him to bow,

00:17:55he never dared

00:17:57to meet my eyes.

00:17:58But now,

00:17:59the tables had turned

00:18:00with a cruel irony.

00:18:01To see him

00:18:02for even a moment

00:18:03I had to kneel

00:18:04in the teeth of a blizzard,

00:18:06begging a shred of mercy.

00:18:07I knelt until

00:18:08I lost all feeling

00:18:09in my legs,

00:18:10the ruby whip

00:18:11in my hands

00:18:12buried under

00:18:12a thick shroud of snow.

00:18:14Just as dawn

00:18:15threatened to break,

00:18:15a dragon's roar

00:18:16shattered the cloud.

00:18:17The black wings

00:18:18eclipsed the dawn

00:18:19as he dived,

00:18:20only to contract

00:18:21and transform

00:18:21the instant

00:18:22they struck the earth.

00:18:23From the heart

00:18:24of the erupting snow,

00:18:26Arthur emerged

00:18:26in human form,

00:18:28breaking through the mist.

00:18:29The crunch

00:18:30of his boots

00:18:30against the frozen ground

00:18:31echoed the frantic

00:18:32beating of my heart.

00:18:33His cold, indifferent gaze

00:18:35lingered for a moment

00:18:36on the whip I held.

00:18:37Tell me,

00:18:38Miss Vivian,

00:18:39which hand was it?

00:18:41Which hand did you use

00:18:42to leave those scars

00:18:43on my body?

00:18:44His voice

00:18:45held no warmth,

00:18:46only the crushing weight

00:18:47of a judge passing sentence.

00:18:49I was so frozen

00:18:50I could barely breathe.

00:18:52Before I could find my voice,

00:18:53my strength failed me.

00:18:55My knees buckled

00:18:56and I collapsed forward,

00:18:57falling directly

00:18:58into his arms.

00:18:59His chest was burning hot,

00:19:00a searing contrast

00:19:01to the ice.

00:19:02The heat instantly

00:19:03triggered the memory

00:19:04of our night of soul resonance,

00:19:06the way he had pinned me

00:19:07against the altar

00:19:08of predatory hunger.

00:19:09My eyes welled

00:19:10with bitter tears.

00:19:13Your Highness,

00:19:14please,

00:19:15save my father.

00:19:17I'm begging you.

00:19:18His pupils narrowed

00:19:19into golden vertical slits

00:19:21and a faint rhythmic glow

00:19:22of molten fire

00:19:23pulsed beneath

00:19:24the skin of his throat.

00:19:27Elena,

00:19:28is this how beg?

00:19:35Two years ago,

00:19:37I was the arrogant saintess

00:19:40and he was the dragon slave

00:19:42I whipped at my whim.

00:19:43Two years later,

00:19:44he awakens

00:19:45the imperial dragon blood

00:19:47and returns

00:19:48to the imperial capital.

00:19:50As the giant dragon

00:19:51dives to the earth,

00:19:53he transforms

00:19:54into a king

00:19:55of extraordinary elegance.

00:19:57His dark gold dragon pupils

00:19:59are locked firmly onto me.

00:20:01Once his equal,

00:20:03now a disgraced slave

00:20:04of the clan,

00:20:05fallen into the abyss

00:20:07beneath the altar.

00:20:08To save my father,

00:20:10I was forced

00:20:11to kneel at his feet

00:20:12and let him tear away

00:20:13in the white robes,

00:20:14the very symbol

00:20:16of my sanctity.

00:20:17He laughed coldly,

00:20:19demanding I pleasure him

00:20:20to repay the debts

00:20:21of those two years.

00:20:23He already has a perfect match

00:20:25by his side,

00:20:26yet he insists

00:20:27on taking me by force,

00:20:29trapping me

00:20:29in an eternal cage.

00:20:32I'll see you one.

00:20:34But I will never let

00:20:36your children

00:20:36become your prisoners.

00:20:38Watching the madness

00:20:39of his possessive gaze,

00:20:41I press my hand

00:20:42against my stomach,

00:20:43where a faint

00:20:44draconic sigil

00:20:45flickered,

00:20:46the mark pulsing

00:20:48with the rhythmic

00:20:48cadence of a heartbeat.

00:20:50It was this very secret

00:20:51that had driven me

00:20:52to orchestrate

00:20:53my own death,

00:20:54a scandalous escape

00:20:55that had shocked

00:20:56the world.

00:20:57A month ago,

00:20:58the Holy Kingdom fell

00:20:59under a sudden

00:21:00monster assault.

00:21:01I found myself

00:21:03cornered in the black forest,

00:21:05trapped,

00:21:05and suffocating

00:21:06under the weight

00:21:07of a dark malevolent curse.

00:21:08As my consciousness

00:21:09began to fracture,

00:21:10he appeared.

00:21:11He rode the chaos.

00:21:13As he charged forward

00:21:15on horseback,

00:21:16I could have sworn

00:21:17I saw the spectral shimmer

00:21:18of dragon wings

00:21:19unfurl behind him,

00:21:20a broken sword

00:21:21in one hand,

00:21:22and a spear

00:21:23in the other,

00:21:24cutting a path

00:21:25to my side.

00:21:26In my blurred vision,

00:21:28he looked breathtaking.

00:21:30That night,

00:21:32amidst a frantic

00:21:33soul resonance,

00:21:34I let myself

00:21:35cross the forbidden

00:21:35line with him.

00:21:36I think I might have

00:21:37actually fallen for him.

00:21:39I thought of him

00:21:40the moment I opened my eyes.

00:21:41I banished him

00:21:42once more

00:21:42to the most remote,

00:21:44crumbling tower

00:21:44of the estate.

00:21:45Before sending him

00:21:46to the tower

00:21:46was a triumph

00:21:47of my power.

00:21:48Now I found myself

00:21:49sneaking toward it

00:21:50just to catch

00:21:51a glimpse of him.

00:21:52He was right there

00:21:53in my temple.

00:21:54Yet I was dying

00:21:55of an incurable heartache.

00:21:57Today was his

00:21:5822nd birthday.

00:21:59I had spent hours

00:22:01baking a lemon tart

00:22:02with my own hands,

00:22:03wanting to give him

00:22:04a surprise.

00:22:05I wanted to tell him

00:22:07that he was going

00:22:07to be a father.

00:22:08Shadow.

00:22:09Two years ago

00:22:10in the arena,

00:22:11I bestowed upon him

00:22:12the name Shadow.

00:22:13He was but a flicker

00:22:14of darkness,

00:22:15easily erased.

00:22:17Now,

00:22:18that name

00:22:18has become

00:22:19my only longing.

00:22:20I reach the tower

00:22:21only to find

00:22:22my world collapsing.

00:22:23My shadow

00:22:24was gone.

00:22:26A massive dragon shadow

00:22:27reared its head,

00:22:29its wings sweeping

00:22:30across the ceiling.

00:22:31A blinding burst

00:22:32of molten gold

00:22:33erupted before my eyes,

00:22:34before shrinking

00:22:35and condensing

00:22:36into the form

00:22:37of a noble man.

00:22:38The slave

00:22:39had vanished,

00:22:40replaced by a prince

00:22:41radiating golden light.

00:22:43The rumors

00:22:44followed quickly.

00:22:45He already had

00:22:47a fiancé,

00:22:48a childhood match,

00:22:49Lady Isabella,

00:22:50the most brilliant woman

00:22:52in the empire.

00:22:53As soon as he returned

00:22:54to the capital,

00:22:55their grand wedding

00:22:56would begin.

00:22:59My sanctuary

00:23:00had been transformed

00:23:01into a cage,

00:23:03surrounded by the cold steel

00:23:04of the paladins.

00:23:05The moment they spotted me,

00:23:07skulking in the shadows

00:23:08like a common theme,

00:23:10a royal guard

00:23:11lunged forward,

00:23:12pressing the frigid edge

00:23:13of a heavy greatsword

00:23:14against my throat.

00:23:15Neil, daughter of a traitor,

00:23:17how dare you stand

00:23:18in the presence

00:23:18of Prince Arthur?

00:23:19I looked past the blade

00:23:20of the man

00:23:21in the center

00:23:21of the crowd.

00:23:22The ragged,

00:23:23homespun clothes

00:23:24were gone.

00:23:25In their place

00:23:26was a magnificent robe

00:23:28of black and gold.

00:23:29Risking execution,

00:23:31I reached out

00:23:32with trembling fingers,

00:23:34desperately trying

00:23:35to catch his hand.

00:23:36A low,

00:23:37rhythmic vibration

00:23:38hummed in the air

00:23:39as glowing embers

00:23:40of dragon fire

00:23:41drifted from the golden

00:23:43embroidery of his robes.

00:23:45You...

00:23:46Are you truly

00:23:47the crown prince?

00:23:48Tell me,

00:23:49Miss Vivlin,

00:23:49how do you plan

00:23:50to torture me today?

00:23:51Will it be the jeweled whip

00:23:52or shall I feel

00:23:53the weight

00:23:53of your dancing shoes again?

00:23:55Once I return

00:23:56to the capital,

00:23:57I will send

00:23:58the official documents

00:23:59to sever our contract.

00:24:00A woman from this

00:24:01wretched holy kingdom

00:24:01has no place

00:24:02beside my throne.

00:24:03My eyes burned

00:24:04with unshed tears.

00:24:06I hadn't come

00:24:07to hurt him.

00:24:08I had come

00:24:09to celebrate his birth,

00:24:10to tell him

00:24:11that I was carrying

00:24:12his children.

00:24:13But even my touch

00:24:14was a stain

00:24:15to him now.

00:24:16I finally understood

00:24:17the brutal reality.

00:24:18He loathed me.

00:24:20He would never want me.

00:24:21And he would certainly

00:24:22never want the bastards

00:24:24in my womb,

00:24:25even if they carried

00:24:26his own dragon blood.

00:24:28I shielded the faint

00:24:29yet searing spark

00:24:30of dragon blood

00:24:31within me,

00:24:32standing amidst

00:24:33the hallowed ruins

00:24:33in utter despair.

00:24:35I wanted to tell him

00:24:36that I would give up everything.

00:24:37I would follow him

00:24:38to the capital

00:24:39as a lowly handmaid,

00:24:40anything just to stay

00:24:41by his side.

00:24:42But to him,

00:24:43my very touch

00:24:44was a defilement.

00:24:46The deposition decree,

00:24:47sealed with the dragon crest,

00:24:49had severed our contract

00:24:50forever.

00:24:51At eighteen,

00:24:52I had fallen

00:24:53from the adored saintess

00:24:54to a prisoner

00:24:55abandoned by the gods.

00:24:56I finally woke up

00:24:57from the dream.

00:24:58Arthur hated me.

00:25:00He would go on

00:25:01to marry the pure-blooded

00:25:02Lady Isabella

00:25:03and father noble dragon heirs.

00:25:05To him,

00:25:06Do you have any

00:25:07final prayers,

00:25:09Miss Vivian?

00:25:09He looked down at me,

00:25:10as if I were

00:25:11a speck of dust.

00:25:13I had wanted to beg him

00:25:14to taste the lemon tart

00:25:15I baked with my own hands.

00:25:17But seeing the frost

00:25:18in his eyes,

00:25:19I could only bite my lip

00:25:20and shake my head

00:25:21through a blur of tears.

00:25:23Golden scales erupted

00:25:24across his skin

00:25:25as the air ignited

00:25:27with his draconic aura.

00:25:28With a mocking sneer,

00:25:30his body shifted

00:25:31and expanded

00:25:31in a blinding flash of light,

00:25:33transforming into

00:25:34a massive dragon.

00:25:36The gale from his wings

00:25:37slamming me violently

00:25:38into the snow.

00:25:39He vanished into the clouds

00:25:41without a single

00:25:42backward glance.

00:25:43I sat frozen in the ice

00:25:45until a sharp searing pain

00:25:47tore through my abdomen,

00:25:48nearly causing me

00:25:49to lose the child.

00:25:50Watching the fading silhouette

00:25:52in the sky,

00:25:52I clutched my stomach

00:25:54where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

00:25:56beating rhythmically

00:25:56like a second heart.

00:26:01Disaster struck.

00:26:02Three days

00:26:03after Arthur's departure,

00:26:05my father,

00:26:05the Holy Father,

00:26:06was branded

00:26:07with the twin sins

00:26:08of treason

00:26:09and black magic.

00:26:10Then cast into

00:26:10the darkest depths

00:26:11of the abyss prison,

00:26:12I rushed to the capital,

00:26:14desperate and breathless,

00:26:15only to be met

00:26:16with the death sentence.

00:26:17He was to face

00:26:18the trial of holy fire

00:26:20on the night

00:26:21of the next full moon.

00:26:22Inside the stench-ridden dungeon,

00:26:24my mother's withered hand

00:26:26gripped mine

00:26:26with terrifying strength.

00:26:28Elena,

00:26:29you must go

00:26:30to Prince Arthur.

00:26:31You must go

00:26:33to your shadow.

00:26:34You swore vows

00:26:36before the dragon god.

00:26:38You are high

00:26:39on only contract holder.

00:26:41He cannot simply

00:26:42watch us die.

00:26:44Her words

00:26:45cut through

00:26:45Malek-acerated blood,

00:26:46but he couldn't find

00:26:48the voice to answer.

00:26:49How could I admit

00:26:50that during those

00:26:51two years of shadow,

00:26:52I had forced him

00:26:53into the freezing depths

00:26:54of the holy lake

00:26:55just to retrieve

00:26:56a lost jewel

00:26:57for my amusement?

00:26:59How could I confess

00:27:00that in fits of rage,

00:27:02I had left scars

00:27:02upon his back

00:27:03that would never heal?

00:27:04He likely wanted

00:27:06to see my family

00:27:06reduced to ash

00:27:08more than anyone

00:27:08else in the world.

00:27:10But looking at the last

00:27:11flickering spark

00:27:12of hope in my mother's eyes,

00:27:13I forced myself to move.

00:27:14I picked up

00:27:15the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:27:17the very symbol

00:27:18of my former tyranny,

00:27:19and dragged my trembling body

00:27:21to the crown prince's palace.

00:27:23There,

00:27:24before the towering

00:27:25obsidian iron gates,

00:27:27I fell to my knees

00:27:28and waited.

00:27:31Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:27:33a single command

00:27:34from my lips

00:27:34was enough to make shadow

00:27:36crawl to my feet.

00:27:37If I wanted him to bow,

00:27:39he never dared

00:27:39to meet my eyes.

00:27:41But now,

00:27:41the tables had turned

00:27:43with a cruel irony.

00:27:44To see him

00:27:45for even a moment,

00:27:46I had to kneel

00:27:47in the teeth of a blizzard,

00:27:49begging a shred of mercy.

00:27:50I knelt until

00:27:51I lost all feeling

00:27:52in my legs,

00:27:53the ruby whip in my hands

00:27:55buried under a thick

00:27:56shroud of snow.

00:27:57Just as dawn threatened

00:27:58to break,

00:27:58a dragon's roar

00:27:59shattered the cloud.

00:28:00The black wings

00:28:01eclipsed the dawn

00:28:02as he dived,

00:28:03only to contract

00:28:04and transform

00:28:04the instant they struck

00:28:05the earth.

00:28:06From the heart

00:28:07of the erupting snow,

00:28:09Arthur emerged

00:28:09in human form,

00:28:11breaking through the mist.

00:28:12The crunch of his boots

00:28:13against the frozen ground

00:28:14echoed the frantic beating

00:28:15of my heart.

00:28:16His cold,

00:28:17indifferent gaze

00:28:18lingered for a moment

00:28:19on the whip I held.

00:28:20Tell me,

00:28:21Miss Vivian,

00:28:22which hand was it?

00:28:24Which hand did you use

00:28:25to leave those scars

00:28:26on my body?

00:28:27His voice held no warmth,

00:28:29only the crushing weight

00:28:30of a judge passing sentence.

00:28:32I was so frozen

00:28:33I could barely breathe.

00:28:35Before I could find my voice,

00:28:36my strength failed me.

00:28:38My knees buckled

00:28:38and I collapsed forward,

00:28:40falling directly

00:28:41into his arms.

00:28:42His chest was burning hot,

00:28:43a searing contrast

00:28:44to the ice.

00:28:45The heat instantly

00:28:46triggered the memory

00:28:47of our night of soul resonance.

00:28:49The way he had pinned me

00:28:50against the altar

00:28:51of predatory hunger.

00:28:52My eyes welled

00:28:53with bitter tears.

00:28:55Your Highness, please.

00:28:58Save my father.

00:28:59I'm begging you.

00:29:01His pupils narrowed

00:29:02into golden vertical slits

00:29:04and a faint rhythmic glow

00:29:05of molten fire

00:29:06pulsed beneath

00:29:07the skin of his throat.

00:29:10Elena,

00:29:11is this how beg?

00:29:19Two years ago,

00:29:20I was the arrogant saintess

00:29:23and he was the dragon slave

00:29:24I whipped at my whim.

00:29:26Two years later,

00:29:27he awakens the imperial dragon blood

00:29:30and returns to the imperial capital.

00:29:33As the giant dragon

00:29:34dives to the earth,

00:29:36he transforms into a king

00:29:38of extraordinary elegance.

00:29:40His dark gold dragon pupils

00:29:42are locked firmly onto me.

00:29:44Once his equal,

00:29:46now a disgraced slave

00:29:47of the clan,

00:29:48fallen into the abyss

00:29:50beneath the altar.

00:29:51To save my father,

00:29:53I was forced to kneel

00:29:54at his feet

00:29:55and let him tear away

00:29:56my white robes,

00:29:57the very symbol

00:29:59of my sanctity.

00:30:00He laughed coldly,

00:30:02demanding I pleasure him

00:30:03to repay the debts

00:30:04of those two years.

00:30:05He already has

00:30:07a perfect match

00:30:08by his side,

00:30:09yet he insists

00:30:10on taking me by force,

00:30:12trapping me

00:30:12in an eternal cage.

00:30:14Oh,

00:30:15you want me.

00:30:17But I will never let

00:30:18your children

00:30:19become your prisoners.

00:30:21Watching the madness

00:30:22of his possessive gaze,

00:30:24I press my hand

00:30:25against my stomach,

00:30:26where a faint

00:30:27draconic sigil flickered,

00:30:29the mark pulsing

00:30:30with the rhythmic cadence

00:30:31of a heartbeat.

00:30:33It was this very secret

00:30:34that had driven me

00:30:35to orchestrate my own death,

00:30:37a scandalous escape

00:30:38that had shocked the world.

00:30:40A month ago,

00:30:41the Holy Kingdom fell

00:30:42under a sudden

00:30:43monster assault.

00:30:44I found myself

00:30:45cornered in the black forest,

00:30:47trapped and suffocating

00:30:49under the weight

00:30:49of a dark malevolent curse.

00:30:51As my consciousness

00:30:52began to fracture,

00:30:53he appeared.

00:30:54He rode the chaos.

00:30:56As he charged forward

00:30:58on horseback,

00:30:59I could have sworn

00:31:00I saw the spectral shimmer

00:31:01of dragon wings

00:31:02unfurl behind him.

00:31:03A broken sword

00:31:04in one hand,

00:31:05and a spear

00:31:06in the other,

00:31:07cutting a path

00:31:08to my side.

00:31:09In my blurred vision,

00:31:11he looked breathtaking.

00:31:13That night,

00:31:15amidst a frantic

00:31:16soul resonance,

00:31:17I let myself

00:31:18cross the forbidden line

00:31:19with him.

00:31:19I think I might have

00:31:20actually fallen for him.

00:31:22I thought of him

00:31:22the moment I opened my eyes.

00:31:24I banished him once more

00:31:25to the most remote,

00:31:26crumbling tower

00:31:27of the estate.

00:31:28Before sending him

00:31:29to the tower

00:31:29was a triumph

00:31:30of my power.

00:31:31Now I found myself

00:31:32sneaking toward it

00:31:33just to catch a glimpse

00:31:34of him.

00:31:35He was right there

00:31:36in my temple,

00:31:37yet I was dying

00:31:38of an incurable heartache.

00:31:40Today was his

00:31:4122nd birthday.

00:31:42I had spent hours

00:31:44baking a lemon tart

00:31:45with my own hands,

00:31:46wanting to give him

00:31:47a surprise.

00:31:48I wanted to tell him

00:31:49that he was going

00:31:50to be a father.

00:31:51Shadow.

00:31:52Two years ago

00:31:53in the arena,

00:31:54I bestowed upon him

00:31:55the name Shadow.

00:31:56He was but a flicker

00:31:57of darkness,

00:31:58easily erased.

00:32:00Now,

00:32:01that name

00:32:01has become

00:32:02my only longing.

00:32:03I reach the tower

00:32:04only to find

00:32:05my world collapsing.

00:32:06My shadow

00:32:07was gone.

00:32:09A massive dragon shadow

00:32:10reared its head,

00:32:11its wings sweeping

00:32:13across the ceiling.

00:32:14A blinding burst

00:32:15of molten gold

00:32:15erupted before my eyes,

00:32:17before shrinking

00:32:18and condensing

00:32:19into the form

00:32:20of a noble man.

00:32:21The slave

00:32:22had vanished,

00:32:23replaced by a prince

00:32:24radiating golden light.

00:32:26The rumors

00:32:27followed quickly.

00:32:28He already had

00:32:29a fiancé,

00:32:31a childhood match,

00:32:32Lady Isabella,

00:32:33the most brilliant

00:32:34woman in the empire.

00:32:35As soon as he returned

00:32:37to the capital,

00:32:38their grand wedding

00:32:39would begin.

00:32:42My sanctuary

00:32:43had been transformed

00:32:44into a cage,

00:32:45surrounded by the

00:32:46cold steel

00:32:47of the paladins.

00:32:48The moment

00:32:49they spotted me,

00:32:50skulking in the shadows

00:32:51like a common theme,

00:32:53a royal guard

00:32:54lunged forward,

00:32:55pressing the frigid

00:32:56edge of a heavy

00:32:56greatsword

00:32:57against my throat.

00:32:58Neil,

00:32:59daughter of a traitor,

00:33:00how dare you stand

00:33:01in the presence

00:33:01of Prince Arthur?

00:33:02I looked past

00:33:03the blade of the man

00:33:04in the center

00:33:04of the crowd.

00:33:05The ragged,

00:33:06homespun clothes

00:33:07were gone.

00:33:08In their place

00:33:09was a magnificent

00:33:10robe of black and gold.

00:33:12Risking execution,

00:33:14I reached out

00:33:15with trembling fingers,

00:33:17desperately trying

00:33:18to catch his hand.

00:33:19A low,

00:33:20rhythmic vibration

00:33:21hummed in the air

00:33:22as glowing embers

00:33:23of dragon fire

00:33:24drifted from the

00:33:25gold embroidery

00:33:26of his robes.

00:33:28You...

00:33:29Are you truly

00:33:30the crown prince?

00:33:31Tell me,

00:33:32Miss Vivlin,

00:33:32how do you plan

00:33:33to torture me today?

00:33:34Will it be the

00:33:35jeweled whip,

00:33:35or shall I feel

00:33:36the weight

00:33:36of your dancing

00:33:37shoes again?

00:33:38Once I return

00:33:39to the capital,

00:33:40I will send

00:33:41the official documents

00:33:41to sever our contract.

00:33:43A woman from

00:33:43this wretched

00:33:44holy kingdom

00:33:44has no place

00:33:45beside my throne.

00:33:46My eyes burned

00:33:47with unshed tears.

00:33:49I hadn't come

00:33:50to hurt him.

00:33:51I had come

00:33:52to celebrate

00:33:52his birth.

00:33:53To tell him

00:33:54that I was

00:33:54carrying his

00:33:55children.

00:33:56But even my

00:33:57touch was a

00:33:57stain to him

00:33:58now.

00:33:59I finally

00:34:00understood the

00:34:00brutal reality.

00:34:01He loathed me.

00:34:03He would

00:34:03never want me.

00:34:04And he would

00:34:05certainly never

00:34:06want the

00:34:06bastards in my

00:34:07womb,

00:34:07even if they

00:34:08carried his

00:34:09own dragon blood.

00:34:11I shielded

00:34:12the faint yet

00:34:12searing spark

00:34:13of dragon blood

00:34:14within me,

00:34:14standing amidst

00:34:15the hallowed

00:34:16ruins in utter

00:34:17despair.

00:34:18I wanted to

00:34:18tell him that

00:34:19I would give

00:34:19up everything.

00:34:20I would follow

00:34:21him to the

00:34:21capital as a

00:34:22lowly handmaid.

00:34:23Anything just

00:34:24to stay by

00:34:24his side.

00:34:25But to him,

00:34:26my very touch

00:34:27was a defilement.

00:34:29The deposition

00:34:30decree, sealed

00:34:31with the dragon

00:34:31crest, had

00:34:32severed our

00:34:33contract forever.

00:34:34At eighteen, I

00:34:35had fallen from

00:34:36the adored

00:34:36saintess to a

00:34:37prisoner abandoned

00:34:38by the gods.

00:34:39I finally woke up

00:34:40from the dream.

00:34:41Arthur hated me.

00:34:43He would go on

00:34:44to marry the

00:34:44pure-blooded

00:34:45Lady Isabella and

00:34:46father noble

00:34:47dragon heirs.

00:34:47to him.

00:34:49Do you have

00:34:50any final

00:34:51prayers, Miss

00:34:52Vivian?

00:34:52He looked down

00:34:53at me as if I

00:34:54were a speck of

00:34:55dust.

00:34:56I had wanted to

00:34:57beg him to

00:34:57taste the lemon

00:34:58tart I baked

00:34:59with my own

00:34:59hands.

00:35:00But seeing the

00:35:01frost in his

00:35:01eyes, I could

00:35:02only bite my

00:35:03lip and shake

00:35:03my head through

00:35:04a blur of

00:35:05tears.

00:35:06Golden scales

00:35:07erupted across

00:35:08his skin as the

00:35:09air ignited with

00:35:10his draconic aura.

00:35:11With a mocking

00:35:12smear, his body

00:35:13shifted and

00:35:14expanded in a

00:35:15blinding flash

00:35:15of light,

00:35:16transforming into

00:35:17a massive dragon.

00:35:18The gale from

00:35:20his wings slamming

00:35:21me violently into

00:35:22the snow.

00:35:22He vanished into

00:35:23the clouds without

00:35:24a single backward

00:35:25glance.

00:35:26I sat frozen in

00:35:27the ice until a

00:35:28sharp searing pain

00:35:30tore through my

00:35:30abdomen, nearly

00:35:32causing me to

00:35:32lose the child.

00:35:33Watching the

00:35:34fading silhouette in

00:35:35the sky, I

00:35:36clutched my stomach

00:35:37where a faint

00:35:37dragon mark pulsed,

00:35:39beating rhythmically

00:35:39like a second

00:35:40heart.

00:35:44Disaster struck,

00:35:45three days.

00:35:46After Arthur's

00:35:47departure, my

00:35:48father, the

00:35:48Holy Father, was

00:35:49branded with the

00:35:50twin sins of

00:35:51treason and black

00:35:52magic.

00:35:53Then cast into the

00:35:54darkest depths of

00:35:54the abyss prison, I

00:35:55rushed to the

00:35:56capital, desperate

00:35:57and breathless, only

00:35:58to be met with the

00:35:59death sentence.

00:36:00He was to face the

00:36:01trial of Holy Fire

00:36:03on the night of the

00:36:04next full moon.

00:36:05Inside the

00:36:06stench-ridden dungeon,

00:36:07my mother's

00:36:08withered hand gripped

00:36:09mine with terrifying

00:36:10strength.

00:36:11Elena, you must go

00:36:12to Prince Arthur.

00:36:14You must go to

00:36:16your shadow.

00:36:17You swore vows

00:36:19before the dragon

00:36:20god.

00:36:21You are high

00:36:22on only contract

00:36:23holder.

00:36:24He cannot simply

00:36:25watch us die.

00:36:27Her words cut

00:36:28through my like

00:36:28acerated blood, but

00:36:30he couldn't find the

00:36:31voice to answer.

00:36:32How could I admit

00:36:33that during those

00:36:34two years of shadow,

00:36:35I had forced him

00:36:36into the freezing

00:36:37depths of the

00:36:38holy lake just to

00:36:39retrieve a lost

00:36:40jewel for my

00:36:40amusement?

00:36:42How could I

00:36:43confess that, in

00:36:44fits of rage, I

00:36:45had left scars upon

00:36:46his back that would

00:36:46never heal?

00:36:47He likely wanted to

00:36:49see my family reduced

00:36:50to ash more than

00:36:51anyone else in the

00:36:52world.

00:36:53But looking at the

00:36:54last flickering spark

00:36:55of hope in my

00:36:55mother's eyes, I

00:36:56forced myself to

00:36:57move.

00:36:57I picked up the

00:36:58ruby-encrusted

00:36:59whip, the very

00:37:00symbol of my

00:37:01former tyranny, and

00:37:02dragged my trembling

00:37:03body to the

00:37:04crown prince's

00:37:05palace.

00:37:06There, before the

00:37:07towering obsidian

00:37:09iron gates, I fell to

00:37:10my knees and

00:37:11waited.

00:37:14Back in the

00:37:15holy kingdom, a

00:37:16single command from

00:37:17my lips was enough

00:37:18to make shadow

00:37:18crawl to my feet.

00:37:20If I wanted him to

00:37:21bow, he never

00:37:22dared to meet my

00:37:23eyes.

00:37:24But now, the

00:37:25tables had turned

00:37:26with a cruel irony.

00:37:27To see him for

00:37:28even a moment I

00:37:29had to kneel in

00:37:30the teeth of a

00:37:31blizzard, begging

00:37:32a shred of

00:37:32mercy.

00:37:33I knelt until I

00:37:34lost all feeling

00:37:35in my legs, the

00:37:36ruby whip in my

00:37:37hands buried under

00:37:38a thick shroud of

00:37:39snow, just as

00:37:40dawn threatened to

00:37:41break, a dragon's

00:37:42roar shattered the

00:37:43cloud.

00:37:43The black wings

00:37:44eclipsed the dawn as

00:37:45he dived, only to

00:37:46contract and

00:37:47transform the

00:37:48instant they

00:37:48struck the earth.

00:37:49From the heart of

00:37:50the erupting snow,

00:37:52Arthur emerged in

00:37:52human form, breaking

00:37:54through the mist.

00:37:55The crunch of his

00:37:56boots against the

00:37:56frozen ground echoed

00:37:58the frantic beating of

00:37:58my heart.

00:37:59His cold, indifferent

00:38:00gaze lingered for a

00:38:01moment on the whip I

00:38:02held.

00:38:03Tell me, Miss

00:38:04Vivian, which

00:38:05hand was it?

00:38:07Which hand did you

00:38:08use to leave those

00:38:08scars on my body?

00:38:10His voice held no

00:38:11warmth, only the

00:38:13crushing weight of a

00:38:13judge-passing sent

00:38:14him.

00:38:15I was so frozen I

00:38:16could barely breathe.

00:38:17Before I could find

00:38:18my voice, my strength

00:38:20failed me.

00:38:20My knees buckled and I

00:38:22collapsed forward,

00:38:23falling directly into

00:38:24his arms.

00:38:24His chest was burning

00:38:26hot, a searing

00:38:27contrast to the ice.

00:38:28The heat instantly

00:38:29triggered the memory of

00:38:30our night of soul

00:38:31resonance, the way he

00:38:32had pinned me against

00:38:33the altar of predatory

00:38:34hunger.

00:38:35My eyes welled with

00:38:36bitter tears.

00:38:38Your Highness, please,

00:38:40save my father.

00:38:42I'm begging you.

00:38:44His pupils narrowed

00:38:45into golden vertical

00:38:46slits, and a faint

00:38:47rhythmic glow of

00:38:48molten fire pulsed

00:38:49beneath the skin of

00:38:50his throat.

00:38:52Elena, is this how

00:38:55beg?

00:39:01Two years ago, I was

00:39:04the arrogant saintess, and

00:39:06he was the dragon slave

00:39:07I whipped at my whim.

00:39:09Two years later, he

00:39:11awakens the imperial

00:39:12dragon blood and returns

00:39:14to the imperial capital.

00:39:15As the giant dragon

00:39:17dives to the earth, he

00:39:19transforms into a king

00:39:20of extraordinary elegance.

00:39:23His dark gold dragon

00:39:24pupils are locked

00:39:25firmly onto me, once

00:39:27his equal, now a

00:39:29disgraced slave of the

00:39:30clan, fallen into the

00:39:32abyss beneath the

00:39:33altar.

00:39:34To save my father, I

00:39:36was forced to kneel at

00:39:37his feet and let him

00:39:38tear away my white

00:39:39robes, the very symbol

00:39:42of my sanctity.

00:39:43He laughed coldly,

00:39:45demanding I pleasure him

00:39:46to repay the debts of

00:39:47those two years.

00:39:49He already has a perfect

00:39:50match by his side, yet he

00:39:52insists on taking me by

00:39:53force, trapping me in an

00:39:55eternal cage.

00:39:57Oh, shh.

00:39:58Arthur, you are.

00:40:00But I will never let your

00:40:01children become your

00:40:02prisoners.

00:40:04Watching the madness of his

00:40:05possessive gaze, I pressed

00:40:07my hand against my

00:40:08stomach, where a faint

00:40:10draconic sigil flickered,

00:40:12the mark pulsing with the

00:40:14rhythmic cadence of a

00:40:15heartbeat.

00:40:16It was this very secret that

00:40:17had driven me to orchestrate

00:40:19my own death, a scandalous

00:40:20escape that had shocked

00:40:22the world.

00:40:22A month ago, the Holy

00:40:24Kingdom fell under a sudden

00:40:26monster assault.

00:40:27I found myself cornered in

00:40:29the black forest, trapped

00:40:31and suffocating under the

00:40:32weight of a dark, malevolent

00:40:33curse.

00:40:34As my consciousness began to

00:40:35fracture, he appeared.

00:40:37He rode the chaos.

00:40:39As he charged forward on

00:40:41horseback, I could have

00:40:42sworn I saw the spectral

00:40:44shimmer of dragon wings

00:40:45unfurl behind him, a broken

00:40:47sword in one hand, and a

00:40:48spear in the other, cutting

00:40:50a path to my side.

00:40:52In my blurred vision, he

00:40:55looked breathtaking.

00:40:56That night, amidst a

00:40:58frantic soul resonance, I

00:41:00let myself cross the

00:41:01forbidden line with him.

00:41:02I think I might have

00:41:03actually fallen for him.

00:41:05I thought of him the

00:41:05moment I opened my eyes.

00:41:07I banished him once more to

00:41:08the most remote, crumbling

00:41:10tower of the estate, before

00:41:11sending him to the tower was

00:41:12a triumph of my power.

00:41:14Now I found myself sneaking

00:41:15toward it just to catch a

00:41:17glimpse of him.

00:41:18He was right there in my

00:41:19temple, yet I was dying of

00:41:21an incurable heartache.

00:41:23Today was his 22nd birthday.

00:41:25I had spent hours baking a

00:41:27lemon tart with my own

00:41:28hands, wanting to give him

00:41:30a surprise.

00:41:31I wanted to tell him that he

00:41:33was going to be a father.

00:41:35Two years ago in the arena,

00:41:36I bestowed upon him the name

00:41:38Shadow.

00:41:39He was but a flicker of

00:41:40darkness, easily erased.

00:41:43Now, that name has become my

00:41:45only longing.

00:41:46I reached the tower only to

00:41:47find my world collapsing.

00:41:49My shadow was gone.

00:41:51A massive dragon shadow

00:41:53reared its head, its wings

00:41:55sweeping across the ceiling.

00:41:56A blinding burst of molten

00:41:58gold erupted before my eyes,

00:42:00before shrinking and condensing

00:42:02into the form of a noble man.

00:42:04The slave had vanished,

00:42:06replaced by a prince radiating

00:42:08golden light.

00:42:09The rumors followed quickly.

00:42:11He already had a fiancé,

00:42:13a childhood match.

00:42:15Lady Isabella, the most

00:42:17brilliant woman in the empire.

00:42:18As soon as he returned to the

00:42:20capital, their grand wedding

00:42:22would begin.

00:42:25My sanctuary had been

00:42:27transformed into a cage,

00:42:28surrounded by the cold steel

00:42:30of the paladins.

00:42:31The moment they spotted me,

00:42:33skulking in the shadows like a

00:42:34common theme, a royal guard

00:42:36lunged forward, pressing the

00:42:38frigid edge of a heavy

00:42:39greatsword against my throat.

00:42:41Neil, daughter of a traitor,

00:42:42how dare you stand in the

00:42:44presence of Prince Arthur?

00:42:45I looked past the blade of the

00:42:46man in the center of the crowd.

00:42:48The ragged, homespun clothes

00:42:50were gone.

00:42:51In their place was a

00:42:53magnificent robe of

00:42:54blackened gold.

00:42:55Risking execution, I reached

00:42:58out with trembling fingers,

00:43:00desperately trying to catch

00:43:01his hand.

00:43:02A low, rhythmic vibration

00:43:04hummed in the air as glowing

00:43:06embers of dragon fire drifted

00:43:08from the gold embroidery of

00:43:09his robes.

00:43:12You, are you truly the

00:43:13crown prince?

00:43:14Tell me, Miss Vivlin, how do

00:43:16you plan to torture me today?

00:43:17Will it be the jeweled whip,

00:43:18or shall I feel the weight of

00:43:19your dancing shoes again?

00:43:21Once I return to the capital,

00:43:23I will send the official

00:43:24documents to sever our

00:43:25contract.

00:43:26A woman from this wretched

00:43:27holy kingdom has no place

00:43:28beside my throne.

00:43:29My eyes burned with unshed

00:43:31tears.

00:43:32I hadn't come to hurt him.

00:43:34I had come to celebrate his

00:43:35birth, to tell him that I was

00:43:37carrying his children.

00:43:39But even my touch was a stain

00:43:41to him now.

00:43:42I finally understood the

00:43:43brutal reality.

00:43:44He loathed me.

00:43:45He would never want me,

00:43:47and he would certainly never

00:43:49want the bastards in my womb,

00:43:50even if they carried his own

00:43:52dragon blood.

00:43:54I shielded the faint yet searing

00:43:56spark of dragon blood within me,

00:43:58standing amidst the hallowed

00:43:59ruins in utter despair.

00:44:00I wanted to tell him that I

00:44:02would give up everything.

00:44:03I would follow him to the

00:44:04capital as a lowly handmaid.

00:44:06Anything just to stay by his

00:44:07side.

00:44:08But to him, my very touch

00:44:10was a defilement.

00:44:12The deposition decree, sealed

00:44:14with the dragon crest, had

00:44:15severed our contract forever.

00:44:17At eighteen, I had fallen from

00:44:19the adored saintess to a

00:44:20prisoner abandoned by the

00:44:21gods.

00:44:22I finally woke up from the

00:44:23dream.

00:44:24Arthur hated me.

00:44:26He would go on to marry the

00:44:27pure-blooded Lady Isabella and

00:44:29father noble dragon heirs.

00:44:30To him.

00:44:32Do you have any final prayers,

00:44:34Miss Vivian?

00:44:35He looked down at me, as if I

00:44:37were a speck of dust.

00:44:39I had wanted to beg him to

00:44:40taste the lemon tart I baked with

00:44:42my own hands.

00:44:43But seeing the frost in his eyes,

00:44:45I could only bite my lip and

00:44:46shake my head through a blur of

00:44:48tears.

00:44:49Golden scales erupted across his

00:44:51skin, as the air ignited with his

00:44:53draconic aura.

00:44:54With a mocking smear, his body

00:44:56shifted and expanded in a blinding

00:44:58flash of light, transforming into

00:45:00a massive dragon.

00:45:01The gale from his wings slamming

00:45:04me violently into the snow.

00:45:05He vanished into the clouds

00:45:07without a single backward

00:45:08glance.

00:45:09I sat frozen in the ice, until a

00:45:11sharp searing pain tore through

00:45:13my abdomen, nearly causing me to

00:45:15lose the child.

00:45:16Watching the fading silhouette in

00:45:18the sky, I clutched my stomach

00:45:19where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

00:45:21beating rhythmically like a second

00:45:23heart.

00:45:27Disaster struck.

00:45:28Three days, after Arthur's

00:45:30departure, my father, the Holy

00:45:32Father, was branded, with the

00:45:33twin sins of treason and black

00:45:35magic, then cast into the darkest

00:45:37depths of the abyss prison.

00:45:38I rushed to the capital, desperate

00:45:40and breathless, only to be met with

00:45:42the death sentence.

00:45:43He was to face the trial of Holy

00:45:45Fire on the night of the next full

00:45:47moon.

00:45:48Inside the stench-ridden dungeon, my

00:45:50mother's withered hand gripped mine

00:45:52with terrifying strength.

00:45:54Elena, you must go to Prince

00:45:56Arthur.

00:45:57You must go to your shadow.

00:46:00You swore vows before the dragon

00:46:03god.

00:46:03You are high on only contract

00:46:06holder.

00:46:06He cannot simply watch us die.

00:46:09Her words cut through my like

00:46:11acerated blood, but he couldn't find

00:46:13the voice to answer.

00:46:15How could I admit that during those

00:46:16two years of shadow, I had forced

00:46:19him into the freezing depths of the

00:46:20holy lake just to retrieve a lost

00:46:23jewel for my amusement.

00:46:25How could I confess that, in fits of

00:46:27rage, I had left scars upon his back

00:46:29that would never heal.

00:46:30He likely wanted to see my family

00:46:32reduced to ash more than anyone else

00:46:35in the world.

00:46:36But looking at the last flickering

00:46:37spark of hope in my mother's eyes, I

00:46:39forced myself to move.

00:46:40I picked up the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:46:42the very symbol of my former tyranny,

00:46:45and dragged my trembling body to the

00:46:47crown prince's palace.

00:46:49There, before the towering obsidian

00:46:51iron gates, I fell to my knees and

00:46:54waited.

00:46:57Back in the Holy Kingdom, a single

00:46:59command from my lips was enough to

00:47:01make shadow crawl to my feet.

00:47:03If I wanted him to bow, he never dared

00:47:05to meet my eyes.

00:47:06But now, the tables had turned with a

00:47:09cruel irony.

00:47:10To see him for even a moment, I had to

00:47:13kneel in the teeth of a blizzard, begging

00:47:15a shred of mercy.

00:47:16I knelt until I lost all feeling in my

00:47:18legs, the ruby whip in my hands buried

00:47:21under a thick shroud of snow.

00:47:23Just as dawn threatened to break, a

00:47:24dragon's roar shattered the cloud.

00:47:26The black wings eclipsed the dawn as he

00:47:28dived, only to contract and transform

00:47:30the instant they struck the earth.

00:47:32From the heart of the erupting snow,

00:47:34Arthur emerged in human form, breaking

00:47:37through the mist.

00:47:38The crunch of his boots against the

00:47:39frozen ground echoed the frantic beating

00:47:41of my heart.

00:47:42His cold, indifferent gaze lingered for a

00:47:44moment on the whip I held.

00:47:46Tell me, Miss Vivian, which hand

00:47:48was it?

00:47:49Which hand did you use to leave those

00:47:51scars on my body?

00:47:53His voice held no warmth, only the

00:47:56crushing weight of a judge passing

00:47:57sentence.

00:47:58I was so frozen, I could barely breathe.

00:48:00Before I could find my voice, my

00:48:02strength failed me.

00:48:03My knees buckled and I collapsed

00:48:05forward, falling directly into his

00:48:07arms.

00:48:07His chest was burning hot, a searing

00:48:10contrast to the ice.

00:48:11The heat instantly triggered the

00:48:13memory of our night of soul resonance.

00:48:14The way he had pinned me against the

00:48:16altar of predatory hunger.

00:48:18My eyes welled with bitter tears.

00:48:21Your Highness, please, save my father.

00:48:25I'm begging you.

00:48:27His pupils narrowed into golden vertical

00:48:29slits, and a faint rhythmic glow of

00:48:31molten fire pulsed beneath the skin of his throat.

00:48:35Elena, is this how Beg?

00:48:44Two years ago, I was the arrogant

00:48:48saintess, and he was the dragon slave I

00:48:50whipped at my whim.

00:48:52Two years later, he awakens the imperial

00:48:55dragon blood and returns to the imperial

00:48:57capital.

00:48:58As the giant dragon dives to the earth, he

00:49:02transforms into a king of extraordinary

00:49:05elegance.

00:49:06His dark gold dragon pupils are locked firmly

00:49:09onto me.

00:49:10Once his equal, now a disgraced slave of the

00:49:13clan, fallen into the abyss beneath the altar.

00:49:17To save my father, I was forced to kneel at his

00:49:20feet and let him tear away my white robes, the very

00:49:24symbol of my sanctity.

00:49:26He laughed coldly, demanding I pleasure him to

00:49:29repay the debts of those two years.

00:49:32He already has a perfect match by his side, yet he

00:49:35insists on taking me by force, trapping me in an

00:49:38eternal cage.

00:49:40Oh, you are.

00:49:43But I will never let your children become your

00:49:45prisoners.

00:49:47Watching the madness of his possessive gaze, I

00:49:50press my hand against my stomach, where a faint

00:49:53draconic sigil flickered, the mark pulsing with the

00:49:56rhythmic cadence of a heartbeat.

00:49:58It was this very secret that had driven me to

00:50:01orchestrate my own death, a scandalous escape that

00:50:04had shocked the world.

00:50:05A month ago, the Holy Kingdom fell under a sudden

00:50:09monster assault.

00:50:10I found myself cornered in the black forest, trapped

00:50:14and suffocating under the weight of a dark, malevolent

00:50:16curse.

00:50:17As my consciousness began to fracture, he

00:50:19appeared.

00:50:20He rode through the chaos as he charged forward on

00:50:24horseback.

00:50:25I could have sworn I saw the spectral shimmer of dragon

00:50:27wings unfurl behind him, a broken sword in one hand and a

00:50:31spear in the other, cutting a path to my side.

00:50:35In my blurred vision, he looked breathtaking.

00:50:39That night, amidst a frantic soul resonance, I let myself

00:50:43cross the forbidden line with him.

00:50:45I think I might have actually fallen for him.

00:50:47I thought of him the moment I opened my eyes.

00:50:50I banished him once more to the most remote, crumbling tower

00:50:53of the estate, before sending him to the tower was a triumph

00:50:56of my power.

00:50:57Now I found myself sneaking toward it just to catch a glimpse

00:51:00of him.

00:51:01He was right there in my temple.

00:51:03Yet I was dying of an incurable heartache.

00:51:06Today was his 22nd birthday.

00:51:08I had spent hours baking a lemon tart with my own hands,

00:51:12wanting to give him a surprise.

00:51:13I wanted to tell him that he was going to be a father.

00:51:17Two years ago in the arena, I bestowed upon him the name

00:51:21Shadow.

00:51:22He was but a flicker of darkness, easily erased.

00:51:26Now, that name has become my only longing.

00:51:29I reach the tower only to find my world collapsing.

00:51:32My shadow was gone.

00:51:34A massive dragon shadow reared its head, its wings sweeping across

00:51:39the ceiling, a blinding burst of molten gold erupted before my eyes,

00:51:43before shrinking and condensing into the form of a noble man.

00:51:47The slave had vanished, replaced by a prince radiating golden light.

00:51:52The rumors followed quickly.

00:51:54He already had a fiancé, a childhood match.

00:51:58Lady Isabella, the most brilliant woman in the empire.

00:52:01As soon as he returned to the capital, their grand wedding would begin.

00:52:08My sanctuary had been transformed into a cage,

00:52:11surrounded by the cold steel of the paladins.

00:52:14The moment they spotted me, skulking in the shadows like a common thief,

00:52:18a royal guard lunged forward, pressing the frigid edge of a heavy greatsword

00:52:23against my throat.

00:52:24Neil, daughter of a traitor, how dare you stand in the presence of Prince Arthur?

00:52:28I looked past the blade of the man in the center of the crowd.

00:52:31The ragged, homespun clothes were gone.

00:52:34In their place was a magnificent robe of blackened gold.

00:52:38Risking execution, I reached out with trembling fingers,

00:52:42desperately trying to catch his hand.

00:52:45A low, rhythmic vibration hummed in the air

00:52:48as glowing embers of dragon fire drifted from the gold embroidery of his robes.

00:52:54You... are you truly the crown prince?

00:52:57Tell me, Miss Vivian, how do you plan to torture me today?

00:53:00Will it be the jeweled whip, or shall I feel the weight of your dancing shoes again?

00:53:04Once I return to the capital, I will send the official documents to sever our contract.

00:53:08A woman from this wretched holy kingdom has no place beside my throne.

00:53:12My eyes burned with unshed tears.

00:53:15I hadn't come to hurt him.

00:53:17I had come to celebrate his birth,

00:53:19to tell him that I was carrying his children.

00:53:22But even my touch was a stain to him now.

00:53:25I finally understood the brutal reality.

00:53:27He loathed me.

00:53:28He would never want me.

00:53:30And he would certainly never want the bastards in my womb,

00:53:33even if they carried his own dragon blood.

00:53:37I shielded the faint yet searing spark of dragon blood within me,

00:53:40standing amidst the hallowed ruins in utter despair.

00:53:43I wanted to tell him that I would give up everything.

00:53:46I would follow him to the capital as a lowly handmaid,

00:53:49anything just to stay by his side.

00:53:51But to him, my very touch was a defilement.

00:53:54The deposition decree, sealed with the dragon crest,

00:53:58had severed our contract forever.

00:53:59At eighteen, I had fallen from the adored saintess

00:54:03to a prisoner, abandoned by the gods.

00:54:05I finally woke up from the dream.

00:54:07Arthur hated me.

00:54:08He would go on to marry the pure-blooded Lady Isabella

00:54:11and father noble dragon heirs, to him.

00:54:15Do you have any final prayers, Miss Vivian?

00:54:18He looked down at me, as if I were a speck of dust.

00:54:22I had wanted to beg him to taste the lemon tart I baked with my own hands.

00:54:26But seeing the frost in his eyes,

00:54:27I could only bite my lip and shake my head through a blur of tears.

00:54:32Golden scales erupted across his skin

00:54:34as the air ignited with his draconic aura.

00:54:37With a mocking smear,

00:54:39his body shifted and expanded in a blinding flash of light,

00:54:42transforming into a massive dragon.

00:54:44The gale from his wings slamming me violently into the snow.

00:54:48He vanished into the clouds without a single backward glance.

00:54:51I sat frozen in the ice

00:54:53until a sharp, searing pain tore through my abdomen,

00:54:57nearly causing me to lose the child.

00:54:59Watching the fading silhouette in the sky,

00:55:01I clutched my stomach where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

00:55:04beating rhythmically like a second heart.

00:55:09Disaster struck.

00:55:11Three days.

00:55:12After Arthur's departure,

00:55:13my father, the Holy Father,

00:55:15was branded,

00:55:16with the twin sins of treason and black magic.

00:55:18Then cast into the darkest depths of the abyss prison,

00:55:21I rushed to the capital, desperate and breathless,

00:55:24only to be met with the death sentence.

00:55:26He was to face the trial of holy fire

00:55:28on the night of the next full moon.

00:55:31Inside the stench-ridden dungeon,

00:55:33my mother's withered hand gripped mine with terrifying strength.

00:55:36Elena, you must go to Prince Arthur.

00:55:40You must go to your shadow.

00:55:43You swore vows before the dragon god.

00:55:47You are high on only contract holder.

00:55:49He cannot simply watch us die.

00:55:52Her words cut through my like-acerated blood,

00:55:55but he couldn't find the voice to answer.

00:55:58How could I admit that during those two years of shadow,

00:56:01I had forced him into the freezing depths of the holy lake

00:56:04just to retrieve a lost jewel for my amusement?

00:56:08How could I confess that, in fits of rage,

00:56:10I had left scars upon his back that would never heal?

00:56:13He likely wanted to see my family reduced to ash

00:56:16more than anyone else in the world.

00:56:18But looking at the last flickering spark of hope

00:56:21in my mother's eyes, I forced myself to move.

00:56:23I picked up the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:56:25the very symbol of my former tyranny,

00:56:28and dragged my trembling body to the crown prince's palace.

00:56:32There, before the towering obsidian iron gates,

00:56:35I fell to my knees and waited.

00:56:40Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:56:41a single command from my lips was enough to make shadow

00:56:44crawl to my feet.

00:56:46If I wanted him to bow,

00:56:47he never dared to meet my eyes.

00:56:49But now, the tables had turned with a cruel irony.

00:56:53To see him for even a moment,

00:56:55I had to kneel in the teeth of a blizzard,

00:56:57begging a shred of mercy.

00:56:59I knelt until I lost all feeling in my legs,

00:57:02the ruby whip in my hands,

00:57:04buried under a thick shroud of snow.

00:57:06Just as dawn threatened to break,

00:57:07a dragon's roar shattered the cloud.

00:57:09The black wings eclipsed the dawn as he dived,

00:57:11only to contract and transform

00:57:13the instant they struck the earth.

00:57:15From the heart of the erupting snow,

00:57:17Arthur emerged in human form,

00:57:19breaking through the mist.

00:57:21The crunch of his boots against the frozen ground

00:57:23echoed the frantic beating of my heart.

00:57:25His cold, indifferent gaze lingered for a moment

00:57:27on the whip I held.

00:57:29Tell me, Miss Vivian,

00:57:30which hand was it?

00:57:32Which hand did you use to leave those scars on my body?

00:57:36His voice held no warmth,

00:57:38only the crushing weight of a judge passing sentence.

00:57:41I was so frozen, I could barely breathe.

00:57:43Before I could find my voice,

00:57:45my strength failed me.

00:57:46My knees buckled and I collapsed forward,

00:57:48falling directly into his arms.

00:57:50His chest was burning hot,

00:57:52a searing contrast to the ice.

00:57:54The heat instantly triggered the memory

00:57:56of our night of soul resonance,

00:57:57the way he had pinned me against the altar

00:57:59of predatory hunger.

00:58:01My eyes welled with bitter tears.

00:58:04Your Highness, please,

00:58:06save my father.

00:58:08I'm begging you.

00:58:10His pupils narrowed into golden vertical slits,

00:58:12and a faint rhythmic glow of molten fire

00:58:15pulsed beneath the skin of his throat.

00:58:18Elena,

00:58:20is this how beg?

00:58:27Two years ago,

00:58:29I was the arrogant saintess,

00:58:31and he was the dragon slave

00:58:33I whipped at my whim.

00:58:35Two years later,

00:58:36he awakens the imperial dragon blood

00:58:38and returns to the imperial capital.

00:58:41As the giant dragon dives to the earth,

00:58:44he transforms into a king

00:58:46of extraordinary elegance.

00:58:49His dark gold dragon pupils

00:58:51are locked firmly onto me.

00:58:53Once his equal,

00:58:54now a disgraced slave of the clan,

00:58:57fallen into the abyss beneath the altar.

00:58:59To save my father,

00:59:01I was forced to kneel at his feet

00:59:04and let him tear away my white robes,

00:59:06the very symbol of my sanctity.

00:59:09He laughed coldly,

00:59:11demanding I pleasure him

00:59:12to repay the debts of those two years.

00:59:15He already has a perfect match by his side,

00:59:17yet he insists on taking me by force,

00:59:20trapping me in an eternal cage.

00:59:29Watching the madness of his possessive gaze,

00:59:32I pressed my hand against my stomach,

00:59:35where a faint draconic sigil flickered,

00:59:38the mark pulsing

00:59:39with the rhythmic cadence of a heartbeat.

00:59:41It was this very secret

00:59:43that had driven me to orchestrate my own death,

00:59:45a scandalous escape that had shocked the world.

00:59:48A month ago,

00:59:49the Holy Kingdom fell

00:59:51under a sudden monster assault.

00:59:53I found myself cornered in the black forest,

00:59:56trapped and suffocating

00:59:58under the weight of a dark malevolent curse.

01:00:00As my consciousness began to fracture,

01:00:02he appeared.

01:00:03He rode the chaos.

01:00:05As he charged forward on horseback,

01:00:07I could have sworn I saw the spectral shimmer

01:00:10of dragon wings unfurl behind him,

01:00:12a broken sword in one hand

01:00:13and a spear in the other,

01:00:16cutting a path to my side.

01:00:18In my blurred vision,

01:00:20he looked breathtaking.

01:00:22That night,

01:00:23amidst a frantic soul resonance,

01:00:25I let myself cross the forbidden line with him.

01:00:28I think I might have actually fallen for him.

01:00:30I thought of him the moment I opened my eyes.

01:00:33I banished him once more

01:00:34to the most remote,

01:00:35crumbling tower of the estate.

01:00:37Before sending him to the tower

01:00:38was a triumph of my power.

01:00:40Now I found myself sneaking toward it

01:00:42just to catch a glimpse of him.

01:00:43He was right there in my temple.

01:00:45Yet I was dying of an incurable heartache.

01:00:49Today was his 22nd birthday.

01:00:51I had spent hours baking a lemon tart

01:00:53with my own hands,

01:00:55wanting to give him a surprise.

01:00:57I wanted to tell him

01:00:58that he was going to be a father.

01:01:00Two years ago in the arena,

01:01:02I bestowed upon him the name Shadow.

01:01:05He was but a flicker of darkness,

01:01:07easily erased.

01:01:08Now, that name has become my only longing.

01:01:12I reach the tower only to find my world collapsing.

01:01:15My shadow was gone.

01:01:17A massive dragon shadow reared its head,

01:01:20its wings sweeping across the ceiling.

01:01:22A blinding burst of molten gold

01:01:24erupted before my eyes,

01:01:26before shrinking and condensing

01:01:28into the form of a noble man.

01:01:30The slave had vanished,

01:01:32replaced by a prince radiating golden light.

01:01:34The rumors followed quickly.

01:01:37He already had a fiancé,

01:01:39a childhood match.

01:01:41Lady Isabella,

01:01:42the most brilliant woman in the empire.

01:01:44As soon as he returned to the capital,

01:01:46their grand wedding would begin.

01:01:51My sanctuary had been transformed into a cage,

01:01:54surrounded by the cold steel of the paladins.

01:01:57The moment they spotted me,

01:01:59skulking in the shadows like a common thief,

01:02:01a royal guard lunged forward,

01:02:04pressing the frigid edge

01:02:05of a heavy greatsword against my throat.

01:02:07Neil, daughter of a traitor,

01:02:08how dare you stand in the presence of Prince Arthur?

01:02:11I looked past the blade

01:02:12of the man in the center of the crowd.

01:02:14The ragged, homespun clothes were gone.

01:02:17In their place

01:02:18was a magnificent robe of blackened gold.

01:02:21Risking execution,

01:02:23I reached out with trembling fingers,

01:02:26desperately trying to catch his hand.

01:02:28A low, rhythmic vibration

01:02:30hummed in the air.

01:02:31As glowing embers of dragon fire

01:02:33drifted from the gold embroidery of his robes.

01:02:37You...

01:02:38Are you truly the crown prince?

01:02:40Tell me, Miss Vivian,

01:02:41how do you plan to torture me today?

01:02:43Will it be the jeweled whip,

01:02:44or shall I feel the weight

01:02:45of your dancing shoes again?

01:02:47Once I return to the capital,

01:02:49I will send the official documents

01:02:50to sever our contract.

01:02:51A woman from this wretched holy kingdom

01:02:53has no place beside my throne.

01:02:55My eyes burned with unshed tears.

01:02:58I hadn't come to hurt him.

01:02:59I had come to celebrate his birth.

01:03:02To tell him that I was carrying his children.

01:03:04But even my touch was a stain to him now.

01:03:08I finally understood the brutal reality.

01:03:10He loathed me.

01:03:11He would never want me.

01:03:13And he would certainly never want the bastards

01:03:15in my womb,

01:03:16even if they carried his own dragon blood.

01:03:20I shielded the faint yet searing spark

01:03:22of dragon blood within me,

01:03:23standing amidst the hallowed ruins

01:03:25in utter despair.

01:03:26I wanted to tell him

01:03:27that I would give up everything.

01:03:29I would follow him to the capital

01:03:30as a lowly handmaid,

01:03:32anything just to stay by his side.

01:03:34But to him,

01:03:35my very touch was a defilement.

01:03:37The deposition decree,

01:03:39sealed with the dragon crest,

01:03:41had severed our contract forever.

01:03:43At eighteen,

01:03:44I had fallen from the adored saintess

01:03:46to a prisoner abandoned by the gods.

01:03:48I finally woke up from the dream.

01:03:50Arthur hated me.

01:03:51He would go on to marry

01:03:53the pure-blooded Lady Isabella

01:03:54and father noble dragon heirs.

01:03:56To him!

01:03:58Do you have any final prayers,

01:04:00Miss Vivian?

01:04:01He looked down at me

01:04:02as if I were a speck of dust.

01:04:04I had wanted to beg him

01:04:06to taste the lemon tart

01:04:07I baked with my own hands.

01:04:09But seeing the frost in his eyes,

01:04:11I could only bite my lip

01:04:12and shake my head

01:04:13through a blur of tears.

01:04:14Golden scales erupted

01:04:16across his skin

01:04:17as the air ignited

01:04:18with his draconic aura.

01:04:20With a mocking smear,

01:04:21his body shifted and expanded

01:04:23in a blinding flash of light,

01:04:25transforming into a massive dragon.

01:04:27The gale from his wings

01:04:29slamming me violently

01:04:30into the snow.

01:04:31He vanished into the clouds

01:04:33without a single backward glance.

01:04:35I sat frozen in the ice

01:04:36until a sharp, searing pain

01:04:38tore through my abdomen,

01:04:40nearly causing me

01:04:41to lose the child.

01:04:42Watching the fading silhouette

01:04:43in the sky,

01:04:44I clutched my stomach

01:04:45where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

01:04:47beating rhythmically

01:04:48like a second heart.

01:04:52Disaster struck.

01:04:53Three days.

01:04:54After Arthur's departure,

01:04:56my father,

01:04:57the Holy Father,

01:04:58was branded

01:04:58with the twin sins

01:05:00of treason and black magic.

01:05:01Then cast into the darkest depths

01:05:03of the abyss prison,

01:05:04I rushed to the capital,

01:05:05desperate and breathless,

01:05:06only to be met

01:05:08with the death sentence.

01:05:09He was to face

01:05:10the trial of holy fire

01:05:11on the night

01:05:12of the next full moon.

01:05:14Inside the stench-ridden dungeon,

01:05:16my mother's withered hand

01:05:17gripped mine

01:05:18with terrifying strength.

01:05:20Elena,

01:05:21you must go to Prince Arthur.

01:05:23You must go to your shadow.

01:05:26You swore vows

01:05:28before the dragon god.

01:05:30You are high one

01:05:30only contract holder.

01:05:32He cannot simply

01:05:34watch us die.

01:05:35Her words cut through

01:05:37my like-acerated blood,

01:05:38but he couldn't find

01:05:39the voice to answer.

01:05:40How could I admit

01:05:42that during those

01:05:42two years of shadow,

01:05:44I had forced him

01:05:45into the freezing depths

01:05:46of the holy lake

01:05:47just to retrieve

01:05:48a lost jewel

01:05:49for my amusement?

01:05:50How could I confess that,

01:05:52in fits of rage,

01:05:53I had left scars

01:05:54upon his back

01:05:55that would never heal?

01:05:56He likely wanted

01:05:57to see my family

01:05:58reduced to ash

01:05:59more than anyone else

01:06:00in the world.

01:06:01But looking at the last

01:06:03flickering spark of hope

01:06:04in my mother's eyes,

01:06:05I forced myself to move.

01:06:06I picked up

01:06:07the ruby-encrusted whip,

01:06:08the very symbol

01:06:09of my former tyranny,

01:06:11and dragged my trembling body

01:06:13to the crown prince's palace.

01:06:15There,

01:06:16before the towering

01:06:17obsidian iron gates,

01:06:18I fell to my knees

01:06:19and waited.

01:06:23Back in the Holy Kingdom,

01:06:24a single command

01:06:25from my lips

01:06:26was enough to make shadow

01:06:27crawl to my feet.

01:06:29If I wanted him to bow,

01:06:30he never dared

01:06:31to meet my eyes.

01:06:32But now,

01:06:33the tables had turned

01:06:34with a cruel irony.

01:06:36To see him,

01:06:37for even a moment,

01:06:38I had to kneel

01:06:39in the teeth of a blizzard,

01:06:40begging a shred of mercy.

01:06:42I knelt until

01:06:43I lost all feeling

01:06:44in my legs,

01:06:45the ruby whip

01:06:46in my hands,

01:06:46buried under

01:06:47a thick shroud of snow.

01:06:48Just as dawn threatened

01:06:49to break,

01:06:50a dragon's roar

01:06:51shattered the cloud.

01:06:52The black wings

01:06:53eclipsed the dawn

01:06:54as he dived,

01:06:54only to contract

01:06:55and transform

01:06:56the instant

01:06:57they struck the earth.

01:06:58From the heart

01:06:59of the erupting snow,

01:07:00Arthur emerged

01:07:01in human form,

01:07:02breaking through the mist.

01:07:03The crunch of his boots

01:07:05against the frozen ground

01:07:06echoed the frantic

01:07:07beating of my heart.

01:07:08His cold,

01:07:09indifferent gaze

01:07:09lingered for a moment

01:07:10on the whip I held.

01:07:11Tell me,

01:07:12Miss Vivian,

01:07:13which hand was it?

01:07:15Which hand did you use

01:07:17to leave those scars

01:07:17on my body?

01:07:19His voice held no warmth,

01:07:21only the crushing weight

01:07:22of a judge passing sentence.

01:07:23I was so frozen

01:07:25I could barely breathe.

01:07:26Before I could find my voice,

01:07:28my strength failed me.

01:07:29My knees buckled

01:07:30and I collapsed forward,

01:07:31falling directly

01:07:32into his arms.

01:07:33His chest was burning hot,

01:07:35a searing contrast

01:07:36to the ice.

01:07:37The heat instantly

01:07:38triggered the memory

01:07:39of our night of soul resonance,

01:07:40the way he had pinned me

01:07:41against the altar

01:07:42of predatory hunger.

01:07:43My eyes welled

01:07:45with bitter tears.

01:07:47Your Highness, please,

01:07:49save my father.

01:07:51I'm begging you.

01:07:52His pupils narrowed

01:07:54into golden vertical slits

01:07:55and a faint rhythmic glow

01:07:57of molten fire

01:07:58pulsed beneath

01:07:58the skin of his throat.

01:08:01Elena,

01:08:03is this how beg?

01:08:10Two years ago,

01:08:12I was the arrogant saintess

01:08:14and he was the dragon slave

01:08:16I whipped at my whim.

01:08:17Two years later,

01:08:19he awakens

01:08:20the imperial dragon blood

01:08:21and returns

01:08:22to the imperial capital.

01:08:24As the giant dragon

01:08:26dives to the earth,

01:08:27he transforms

01:08:28into a king

01:08:29of extraordinary elegance.

01:08:32His dark gold dragon pupils

01:08:33are locked firmly onto me,

01:08:35once his equal,

01:08:37now a disgraced slave

01:08:39of the clan,

01:08:40fallen into the abyss

01:08:41beneath the altar.

01:08:42To save my father,

01:08:44I was forced

01:08:45to kneel at his feet

01:08:47and let him tear away

01:08:48my white robes,

01:08:49the very symbol

01:08:50of my sanctity.

01:08:52He laughed coldly,

01:08:54demanding I pleasure him

01:08:55to repay the debts

01:08:56of those two years.

01:08:57He already has a perfect match

01:08:59by his side,

01:09:00yet he insists

01:09:01on taking me by force,

01:09:03trapping me

01:09:04in an eternal cage.

01:09:12watching the madness

01:09:13of his possessive gaze,

01:09:15I pressed my hand

01:09:16against my stomach,

01:09:18where a faint

01:09:19draconic sigil flickered,

01:09:21the mark pulsing

01:09:22with the rhythmic cadence

01:09:23of a heartbeat.

01:09:24It was this very secret

01:09:26that had driven me

01:09:27to orchestrate my own death,

01:09:28a scandalous escape

01:09:30that had shocked the world.

01:09:31A month ago,

01:09:32the Holy Kingdom fell

01:09:34under a sudden

01:09:35monster assault.

01:09:36I found myself

01:09:37cornered in the black forest,

01:09:39trapped,

01:09:40and suffocating

01:09:41under the weight

01:09:41of a dark malevolent curse.

01:09:43As my consciousness

01:09:44began to fracture,

01:09:45he appeared.

01:09:46He rode the chaos.

01:09:48As he charged forward

01:09:49on horseback,

01:09:50I could have sworn

01:09:51I saw the spectral shimmer

01:09:53of dragon wings

01:09:53unfurl behind him,

01:09:55a broken sword

01:09:56in one hand

01:09:56and a spear

01:09:57in the other,

01:09:58cutting a path

01:09:59to my side.

01:10:01In my blurred vision,

01:10:03he looked breathtaking.

01:10:05That night,

01:10:06amidst a frantic

01:10:07soul resonance,

01:10:08I let myself cross

01:10:09the forbidden line

01:10:10with him.

01:10:11I think I might have

01:10:12actually fallen for him.

01:10:13I thought of him

01:10:14the moment I opened my eyes.

01:10:16I banished him once more

01:10:17to the most remote,

01:10:18crumbling tower

01:10:19of the estate.

01:10:20Before sending him

01:10:20to the tower

01:10:21was a triumph

01:10:22of my power.

01:10:23Now I found myself

01:10:24sneaking toward it

01:10:25just to catch

01:10:25a glimpse of him.

01:10:26He was right there

01:10:27in my temple,

01:10:28yet I was dying

01:10:30of an incurable heartache.

01:10:32Today was his 22nd birthday.

01:10:34I had spent hours

01:10:35baking a lemon tart

01:10:36with my own hands,

01:10:38wanting to give him

01:10:39a surprise.

01:10:40I wanted to tell him

01:10:41that he was going

01:10:42to be a father.

01:10:43Two years ago

01:10:44in the arena,

01:10:45I bestowed upon him

01:10:46the name Shadow.

01:10:48He was but a flicker

01:10:49of darkness,

01:10:50easily erased.

01:10:52Now,

01:10:52that name

01:10:53has become

01:10:53my only longing.

01:10:55I reached the tower

01:10:56only to find

01:10:56my world collapsing.

01:10:58My shadow

01:10:59was gone.

01:11:00A massive dragon shadow

01:11:02reared its head,

01:11:03its wings sweeping

01:11:04across the ceiling.

01:11:05A blinding burst

01:11:06of molten gold

01:11:07erupted before my eyes,

01:11:09before shrinking

01:11:10and condensing

01:11:11into the form

01:11:11of a noble man.

01:11:12The slave

01:11:14had vanished,

01:11:15replaced by a prince

01:11:16radiating golden light.

01:11:17The rumors

01:11:18followed quickly.

01:11:20He already had

01:11:21a fiancé,

01:11:22a childhood match,

01:11:24Lady Isabella,

01:11:25the most brilliant

01:11:26woman in the empire.

01:11:27As soon as he returned

01:11:28to the capital,

01:11:29their grand wedding

01:11:31would begin.

01:11:34My sanctuary

01:11:35had been transformed

01:11:36into a cage,

01:11:37surrounded by the cold

01:11:38steel of the paladins.

01:11:40The moment they spotted me,

01:11:42skulking in the shadows

01:11:43like a common theme,

01:11:44a royal guard

01:11:45lunged forward,

01:11:46pressing the frigid

01:11:47edge of a heavy

01:11:48greatsword

01:11:48against my throat.

01:11:50Kneel,

01:11:50daughter of a traitor,

01:11:51how dare you stand

01:11:52in the presence

01:11:53of Prince Arthur?

01:11:54I looked past the blade

01:11:55of the man

01:11:55in the center

01:11:56of the crowd.

01:11:57The ragged,

01:11:58homespun clothes

01:11:58were gone.

01:11:59In their place

01:12:01was a magnificent robe

01:12:02of black and gold.

01:12:04Risking execution,

01:12:06I reached out

01:12:07with trembling fingers,

01:12:08desperately trying

01:12:09to catch his hand.

01:12:11A low,

01:12:12rhythmic vibration

01:12:12hummed in the air

01:12:14as glowing embers

01:12:15of dragon fire

01:12:16drifted from the

01:12:17gold embroidery

01:12:17of his robes.

01:12:20You...

01:12:21Are you truly

01:12:22the crown prince?

01:12:23Tell me,

01:12:23Miss Vivian,

01:12:24how do you plan

01:12:25to torture me today?

01:12:26Will it be the

01:12:26jeweled whip

01:12:27or shall I feel

01:12:27the weight

01:12:28of your dancing shoes

01:12:29again?

01:12:30Once I return

01:12:31to the capital,

01:12:32I will send

01:12:32the official documents

01:12:33to sever our contract.

01:12:34A woman from

01:12:35this wretched

01:12:35holy kingdom

01:12:36has no place

01:12:37beside my throne.

01:12:38My eyes burned

01:12:39with unshed tears.

01:12:41I hadn't come

01:12:41to hurt him.

01:12:42I had come

01:12:43to celebrate his birth.

01:12:45To tell him

01:12:45that I was

01:12:46carrying his children.

01:12:47But even my touch

01:12:49was a stain

01:12:49to him now.

01:12:50I finally understood

01:12:52the brutal reality.

01:12:53He loathed me.

01:12:54He would never

01:12:55want me.

01:12:56And he would

01:12:57certainly never

01:12:57want the bastards

01:12:58in my womb.

01:12:59Even if they

01:13:00carried his own

01:13:01dragon blood.

01:13:03I shielded the

01:13:04faint yet searing

01:13:04spark of dragon blood

01:13:05within me.

01:13:06Standing amidst

01:13:07the hallowed ruins

01:13:08in utter despair.

01:13:09I wanted to tell him

01:13:10that I would

01:13:11give up everything.

01:13:12I would follow him

01:13:13to the capital

01:13:13as a lowly handmaid.

01:13:14Anything just

01:13:15to stay by his side.

01:13:17But to him

01:13:18my very touch

01:13:19was a defilement.

01:13:20The deposition decree

01:13:22sealed with the

01:13:23dragon crest

01:13:23had severed our

01:13:24contract forever.

01:13:26At eighteen

01:13:26I had fallen

01:13:27from the adored

01:13:28saintess to a

01:13:29prisoner abandoned

01:13:30by the gods.

01:13:31I finally woke up

01:13:32from the dream.

01:13:33Arthur hated me.

01:13:34He would go on

01:13:35to marry the

01:13:36pure-blooded

01:13:36Lady Isabella

01:13:37and father

01:13:38noble dragon heirs.

01:13:39To him.

01:13:41Do you have

01:13:41any final prayers

01:13:43Miss Vivian?

01:13:44He looked down

01:13:45at me as if

01:13:46I were a speck

01:13:46of dust.

01:13:47I had wanted

01:13:48to beg him

01:13:49to taste the

01:13:49lemon tart

01:13:50I baked with

01:13:50my own hands.

01:13:51But seeing the

01:13:52frost in his eyes

01:13:53I could only

01:13:54bite my lip

01:13:55and shake my head

01:13:55through a blur

01:13:56of tears.

01:13:58Golden scales

01:13:58erupted across

01:13:59his skin

01:14:00as the air

01:14:01ignited with

01:14:01his draconic aura.

01:14:03With a mocking

01:14:04smear his body

01:14:05shifted and expanded

01:14:06in a blinding

01:14:07flash of light

01:14:07transforming into

01:14:09a massive dragon.

01:14:10The gale from his

01:14:11wings slamming me

01:14:12violently into the

01:14:13snow.

01:14:14He vanished into

01:14:15the clouds

01:14:15without a single

01:14:16backward glance.

01:14:17I sat frozen

01:14:18in the ice

01:14:19until a sharp

01:14:20searing pain

01:14:21tore through my

01:14:22abdomen

01:14:22nearly causing me

01:14:24to lose the child.

01:14:25Watching the fading

01:14:26silhouette in the sky

01:14:27I clutched my stomach

01:14:28where a faint

01:14:29dragon mark pulsed

01:14:30beating rhythmically

01:14:31like a second heart.

01:14:35Disaster struck

01:14:36three days

01:14:37after Arthur's

01:14:38departure

01:14:39my father

01:14:40the holy father

01:14:41was branded

01:14:41with the twin

01:14:42sins of treason

01:14:43and black magic

01:14:44then cast into

01:14:45the darkest depths

01:14:46of the abyss prison.

01:14:47I rushed to the

01:14:48capital desperate

01:14:48and breathless

01:14:49only to be met

01:14:50with the death

01:14:51sentence.

01:14:52He was to face

01:14:53the trial of

01:14:54holy fire

01:14:54on the night

01:14:55of the next

01:14:56full moon

01:14:56inside the

01:14:57stench ridden

01:14:58dungeon.

01:14:59My mother's

01:15:00withered hand

01:15:00gripped mine

01:15:01with terrifying

01:15:01strength.

01:15:03Elena you

01:15:04must go to

01:15:04prince Arthur.

01:15:06you must

01:15:07go to

01:15:07your shadow.

01:15:09You swore

01:15:10vows before

01:15:11the dragon god.

01:15:12You are

01:15:13high on

01:15:13only contract

01:15:14holder.

01:15:15He cannot

01:15:16simply

01:15:16watch us

01:15:17die.

01:15:18Her words

01:15:19cut through

01:15:20my leg

01:15:20acerated blood

01:15:21but he couldn't

01:15:22find the voice

01:15:23to answer.

01:15:23How could I

01:15:24admit that

01:15:25during those

01:15:25two years

01:15:26of shadow

01:15:26I had forced

01:15:28him into

01:15:28the freezing

01:15:29depths of

01:15:29the holy lake

01:15:30just to retrieve

01:15:31a lost jewel

01:15:31for my amusement.

01:15:33How could I

01:15:34confess that

01:15:35in fits of

01:15:35rage I had

01:15:36left scars

01:15:37upon his

01:15:37back that

01:15:38would never

01:15:38heal.

01:15:39He likely

01:15:40wanted to

01:15:40see my

01:15:41family reduced

01:15:41to ash

01:15:42more than

01:15:42anyone else

01:15:43in the world.

01:15:44But looking

01:15:45at the last

01:15:46flickering spark

01:15:46of hope

01:15:46in my mother's

01:15:47eyes I

01:15:48forced myself

01:15:48to move.

01:15:49I picked

01:15:50up the

01:15:50ruby encrusted

01:15:51whip the

01:15:51very symbol

01:15:52of my former

01:15:53tyranny

01:15:53and dragged

01:15:54my trembling

01:15:55body to

01:15:56the crown

01:15:56prince's

01:15:57palace.

01:15:58There

01:15:58before the

01:15:59towering

01:16:00obsidian

01:16:00iron gates

01:16:01I fell

01:16:02to my

01:16:02knees

01:16:02and

01:16:02waited.

01:16:06Back in

01:16:06the holy

01:16:07kingdom

01:16:07a single

01:16:08command

01:16:08from my

01:16:09lips

01:16:09was

01:16:09enough

01:16:09to

01:16:09make

01:16:10shadow

01:16:10crawl

01:16:11to

01:16:11my

01:16:11feet

01:16:11if I

01:16:12wanted

01:16:12him

01:16:12to

01:16:13bow

01:16:13he

01:16:13never

01:16:14dared

01:16:14to

01:16:14meet

01:16:14my

01:16:14eyes

01:16:15but

01:16:15now

01:16:16the

01:16:16tables

01:16:17had

01:16:17turned

01:16:17with

01:16:17a

01:16:17cruel

01:16:18irony

01:16:18to

01:16:19see

01:16:19him

01:16:20for

01:16:20even

01:16:20a

01:16:20moment

01:16:20I

01:16:21had

01:16:21to

01:16:21kneel

01:16:22in

01:16:22the

01:16:22teeth

01:16:22of

01:16:22a

01:16:22blizzard

01:16:23begging

01:16:23a

01:16:24shred

01:16:24of

01:16:24mercy

01:16:24I

01:16:25knelt

01:16:25until

01:16:26I

01:16:26lost

01:16:26all

01:16:26feeling

01:16:27in

01:16:27my

01:16:27legs

01:16:27the

01:16:28ruby

01:16:28whip

01:16:28in

01:16:29my

01:16:29hands

01:16:29buried

01:16:29under

01:16:30a

01:16:30thick

01:16:30shroud

01:16:30of

01:16:31snow

01:16:31just

01:16:32as

01:16:32dawn

01:16:32threatened

01:16:32to

01:16:32break

01:16:33a

01:16:33dragon's

01:16:33roar

01:16:34shattered

01:16:34the

01:16:34cloud

01:16:34the

01:16:35black

01:16:35wings

01:16:36eclipsed

01:16:36the

01:16:36dawn

01:16:36as

01:16:37he

01:16:37dived

01:16:37only to

01:16:38contract

01:16:38and

01:16:38transform

01:16:39the

01:16:39instant

01:16:39they

01:16:40struck

01:16:40the

01:16:40earth

01:16:40from

01:16:41the

01:16:41heart

01:16:42of

01:16:42the

01:16:42erupting

01:16:42snow

01:16:43Arthur

01:16:43emerged

01:16:44in

01:16:44human

01:16:44form

01:16:45breaking

01:16:45through

01:16:46the

01:16:46mist

01:16:46the

01:16:47crunch

01:16:47of

01:16:55Vivian

01:16:56which

01:16:57hand

01:16:57was

01:16:57it

01:16:58which

01:16:59hand

01:16:59did

01:16:59you

01:16:59use

01:16:59to

01:17:00leave

01:17:00those

01:17:00scars

01:17:00on

01:17:01my

01:17:01body

01:17:02his

01:17:02voice

01:17:03held

01:17:03no

01:17:03warmth

01:17:03only

01:17:04the

01:17:04crushing

01:17:05weight

01:17:05of

01:17:05a

01:17:05judge

01:17:05passing

01:17:06sentence

01:17:06I

01:17:07was

01:17:07so

01:17:07frozen

01:17:08I

01:17:08could

01:17:08barely

01:17:08breathe

01:17:09before

01:17:09I

01:17:10could

01:17:10find

01:17:10my

01:17:10voice

01:17:10my

01:17:11strength

01:17:11failed

01:17:12me

01:17:12my

01:17:12knees

01:17:13buckled

01:17:13and I

01:17:13collapsed

01:17:14forward

01:17:14falling

01:17:15directly

01:17:15into

01:17:15his

01:17:15arms

01:17:16his

01:17:16chest

01:17:17was

01:17:17burning

01:17:17hot

01:17:18a

01:17:18searing

01:17:18contrast

01:17:19to

01:17:19the

01:17:19ice

01:17:20the

01:17:20heat

01:17:20instantly

01:17:21triggered

01:17:21the

01:17:21memory

01:17:22of

01:17:22our

01:17:22night

01:17:22of

01:17:22soul

01:17:22resonance

01:17:23the

01:17:23way

01:17:24he

01:17:24had

01:17:24pinned

01:17:24me

01:17:24against

01:17:25the

01:17:25altar

01:17:25of

01:17:25predatory

01:17:26hunger

01:17:26my

01:17:27eyes

01:17:27welled

01:17:28with

01:17:28bitter

01:17:28tears

01:17:30your

01:17:31highness

01:17:31please

01:17:32save

01:17:33my

01:17:33father

01:17:34I'm

01:17:35begging

01:17:35you

01:17:35his

01:17:36pupils

01:17:36narrowed

01:17:37into

01:17:37golden

01:17:37vertical

01:17:38slits

01:17:38and a

01:17:39faint

01:17:39rhythmic

01:17:39glow

01:17:40of

01:17:40molten

01:17:40fire

01:17:40pulsed

01:17:41beneath

01:17:41the

01:17:41skin

01:17:41of

01:17:42his

01:17:42throat

The Princess They Called Cursed

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