00:00stunned silence. I don't flinch, locking my gaze with hers. I don't care about the council,
00:04and I don't care about her empire. I was an orphan, taken in by my adoptive parents when
00:09I had nothing. My sister is their biological daughter, the bloodline they left behind.
00:13Before they passed away, their trembling hands held mine, making me promise to protect her with
00:17my life. I gave them my word. If my cosmic knowledge has made me powerful today, the only
00:23thing I want to exchange it for is my sister's life. For the first time, Elena's frozen mask
00:29cracks. Her wintry eyes soften by a fraction as she looks at me, as if truly seeing me for the
00:34very
00:34first time. Your sister will be safe, Elena says. Her voice is completely flat, businesslike, and
00:40stripped of all emotion. She will have a courtyard in the inner sanctum, and a squadron of my personal
00:45guards. No one will touch her. But… She pauses, her gaze dropping to the small gray egg resting on
00:51her lap. Her face remains completely cold. But what? You will provide me with the exact step-by-step
00:57methodology to incubate this specimen, and you will ensure its soul bond links directly to my mana
01:03signature. I am referring to… hatching it myself. She says it so seriously, so professionally.
