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Transcript

00:00:01Elayna, est-ce que c'est qu'il faut?

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, trapping me in

00:01:04an eternal cage.

00:01:06Oh, you are.

00:01:08But 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, where a faint draconic sigil flickered.

00:01:20The mark pulsing of the rhythmic cadence of a heartbeat.

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

00:01:30the world.

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

00:01:36I found myself cornered in the black forest, trapped and suffocating under the weight of a dark malevolent curse.

00:01:42As 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.

00:01:55A broken sword in one hand, and a spear in the other, cutting a path to my side.

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

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

00:02:11I 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,

00:03:08before shrinking and condensing into the form of a noble man.

00:03:13The 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.

00:03:23Lady Isabella, the most brilliant woman in the empire.

00:03:26As 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 thief,

00:03:44a royal guard lunged forward, pressing the frigid 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 at 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 dragon fire drifted from the golden poitery of

00:04:17his robes.

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

00:04:23Tell 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 in 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.

00:05:15Anything 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.

00:05:26At 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.

00:05:41Do 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.

00:05:56Golden 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.

00:06:09The 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, nearly causing me to lose

00:06:24the child.

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

00:06:31a second heart.

00:06:35Disaster struck, three days, after Arthur's departure, my father the Holy Father was branded, with the twin sins of treason

00:06:43and 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 a 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.

00:07:06You must go to your shadow.

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

00:07:13You 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, I had forced him into the freezing depths of

00:07:29the holy lake just to retrieve a lost jewel for my amusement?

00:07:33How could I confess that?

00:07:35In 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.

00:07:49I picked up the ruby-encrusted whip, the very symbol of my former tyranny, and dragged my trembling body to

00:07:56the crown prince's palace.

00:07:58There, before the towering obsidian iron gates, I fell to my knees and waited.

00:08:06Back in the holy kingdom, a single command from my lips was enough to make shadow crawl to my feet.

00:08:12If I wanted him to bow, he never dared to meet my eyes.

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

00:08:19To see him for even a moment, I had to kneel in the teeth of a blizzard, begging a shred

00:08:24of mercy.

00:08:24I knelt until I lost all feeling in my legs, the ruby whip in my hands buried under a thick

00:08:30shroud of snow.

00:08:32Just as dawn threatened to break, a dragon's roar shattered the clouds.

00:08:35The black wings increasingly dawned as he dived, only to contract and transform the instant they struck the earth.

00:08:41From the heart of the erupting snow, Arthur emerged in human form, breaking through the mist.

00:08:47The crunch of his boots against the frozen ground echoed the frantic beating of my heart.

00:08:51His cold, indifferent gaze lingered for a moment on the whip I held.

00:08:55Tell 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 sent him.

00:09:07I 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.

00:09:20The heat instantly triggered the memory of our night of soul resonance.

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

00:09:27My eyes welled with bitter tears.

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

00:09:34I'm begging you.

00:09:36His pupils narrowed into golden vertical slits,

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

00:09:44So, you strip your defenses bare before me just to save that old man?

00:09:50Very well.

00:09:51I have been dying to see just how much the High and Holy Princess has learned about the art of

00:09:55submission.

00:09:56Before I could gasp, he hoisted me over his shoulder, ignoring my cry of protest.

00:10:01He strode ruthlessly through the gallery and hurled me onto the strong bed draped in black fox fur.

00:10:06The air ignited with the violent scent of the dragonkin.

00:10:10As my ornate cloak slid away, my skin shivered against the biting chill.

00:10:15Arthur descended like a predator, his massive frame pinning me down, swallowing me whole within his territory.

00:10:22One hand, cold as iron, clamped my wrists above my head.

00:10:26Elena, every agony you put me through over these last two years,

00:10:29I am going to repay it, inch by inch, upon this bed.

00:10:35Phantasmus' wings spread wide, bathing within a suffocating golden blue.

00:10:39The air crackled through the roof of ancient dragon fire.

00:10:42As the crushing weight of his aura sealed the room,

00:10:45I shielded my womb with a trembling hand,

00:10:48protecting the fragile life within as I sank into the darkness.

00:10:54Shadow

00:10:56He threw me onto the black fox furs with such violence that a sharp pain flared through my lower back.

00:11:01Under the weight of his suffocating, draconic aura,

00:11:04I flashed off my old, haughty temper flared.

00:11:07My hand instinctively reached it for me, ruby-encrusted, disciplinary whip.

00:11:12In the next heartbeat, Arthur ruthlessly shredded my inner robes.

00:11:16He curled his lips into a mocking sneer.

00:11:19His eyes filled with the cold, unreachable detachment.

00:11:22Is this your idea of whistling this way?

00:11:24The whiff slipped from my numb fingers, clattering, uselessly, to the floor.

00:11:29His gaze was licking up, frozen and well, threatening to turn me very soltois.

00:11:33For the thousandth time, virality crashed down upon me.

00:11:36He was no longer the slave I could trample at will.

00:11:39He was a dragon king who crushed my entire bloodline with the lick of his fingers.

00:11:42Pleasing me is your only task.

00:11:45If you can satisfy me, perhaps I will show mercy and grant that old man, Bernard, a chance to live.

00:11:53Pleasing him, a wave of bitterness washed over me.

00:11:56I looked down at Miss Till, flat abdomen, my heart clenching in fear.

00:12:01Ever since the day he claimed his throne, I had been spotting blood.

00:12:05The physician had warned that that the dragon bloodline was too powerful.

00:12:10My pregnancy was fragile.

00:12:11I was terrified of the bleeding.

00:12:13I was even more terrified of losing the tiny life already.

00:12:16Flickering with a dragon's breath inside me.

00:12:22Are you truly that unwilling?

00:12:24He let out a derisive snort, his eyes flickering with pure disdain.

00:12:29I have no interest in forcing anyone.

00:12:33Since the great saint despises her purity so highly,

00:12:37you can simply wait until the next full moon.

00:12:42Then you can collect Bernard's charred remains from the altar of holy fire.

00:12:48He tossed the shredded remnants of my sacred robes onto the floor like trash and turned to leave.

00:12:54Throwing my pride to the wind, I lunged forward and threw my arms around him from behind.

00:12:59I had been spoiled my entire life.

00:13:03I had never bowed to anyone.

00:13:04I was terrified of losing the babies, but I was more terrified of my father's execution.

00:13:10I forced back my tears, my voice trembling.

00:13:15I...

00:13:16I will do it.

00:13:19I will please you.

00:13:20Arthur stood with his back to me, letting out a laugh that was bone-chillingly cold.

00:13:25I couldn't see his face, but the frost radiating from him was suffocating.

00:13:31To save a life, I had to mimic the clumsy movements of a dancing girl.

00:13:36I reached out with shaking hands to touch him,

00:13:39eventually forcing myself onto my tiptoes to press a desperate, humiliating kiss against his lips.

00:13:46Is this all the saintess is capable of?

00:13:50I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

00:13:53My mind flashed back to that night of chaotic soul resonance.

00:13:57Back then, though he was wild,

00:13:59he had kissed away my tears and whispered gentle comforts into my ear.

00:14:04The Arthur standing here now didn't want to comfort me.

00:14:07He wanted to watch me break.

00:14:12Get away from me!

00:14:14He growled the command.

00:14:16The volatile temper and searing heat unique to the dragon race exploded in an instant,

00:14:22shattering his fragile self-control.

00:14:24I tried to recoil in fear,

00:14:27but instead of pushing me away,

00:14:29his arm clamped around my waist like an iron vice,

00:14:32pinning me ruthlessly against the edge of the bed.

00:14:35He seized control,

00:14:36his kiss so violent I thought he would crush my lips.

00:14:41I struggled for air as the kiss grew more feral,

00:14:44a desperate clash of hatred and hunger.

00:14:47My clothes were reduced to threads.

00:14:49I felt like a fallen leaf adrift on a violent sea,

00:14:53swaying and drowning in the tidal wave of his draconic lust.

00:14:57When the first light of dawn filtered through the windows,

00:15:00I drifted back to consciousness.

00:15:01Arthur was already fully dressed in his black and gold princely regalia,

00:15:05looking cold and peerless once more.

00:15:07Your highness,

00:15:10last night I did what you asked.

00:15:13You'll save my father now, won't you?

00:15:16Arthur adjusted the dragon scale cufflinks at his wrists,

00:15:20offering a chilling laugh without even bothering to look back.

00:15:23When exactly did I say that sleeping with me once

00:15:27would guarantee a pardon for a traitor?

00:15:30My eyes snapped open.

00:15:32Every bone in my body felt as though it had been ground to dust,

00:15:35but the pain in my heart was far worse.

00:15:38You.

00:15:46Besides,

00:15:47do you really think a body as broken as yours is enough to satisfy me?

00:15:53I felt as though I had been plunged into an abyss of ice.

00:15:57He never intended to save anyone.

00:15:59This was nothing but cold-blooded retaliation,

00:16:02the cruelest way possible to humiliate me

00:16:05for the two years I spent trampling on his dignity.

00:16:07The air felt thin,

00:16:09the weight of his betrayal suffocating me.

00:16:12Arthur, I'm begging you,

00:16:13please, save my father.

00:16:16He didn't spare me even a fleeting glance.

00:16:19Shrouded in a frost that cut like a blade,

00:16:21he strode away without looking back.

00:16:23Like a hollow shell of a human being,

00:16:25I numbly gathered the shredded remnants of my clothes

00:16:28and draped them over my battered body.

00:16:30I began the long, agonizing trek out of the palace.

00:16:34But as I reached the end of the corridor,

00:16:36I collided with a radiant procession.

00:16:38At the head of the group stood a woman

00:16:40in a vibrant imperial gown trimmed with gold,

00:16:43her elegance as sharp as her status.

00:16:45It was Isabella, the Duke's most beloved daughter.

00:16:49She was the woman Arthur had personally chosen

00:16:52as his crown princess upon his return to the throne.

00:16:54The saint, Russ?

00:16:57I must say, I never expected to find you

00:17:00in the prince's private chambers in such a state.

00:17:07It seems his highness's mercy

00:17:10hasn't taught you anything about dignity.

00:17:15I gripped my collar so hard,

00:17:17my nails bit into my palms.

00:17:18I wanted to scream to fight back,

00:17:21but a sudden wave of weakness

00:17:23from my abdomen stopped me.

00:17:24If I collapsed here,

00:17:26my children,

00:17:27my only remaining secret,

00:17:28would be lost forever.

00:17:33Isabella was breathtaking.

00:17:34She possessed an innate regal air

00:17:36that only comes from a lifetime

00:17:38spent at the pinnacle of power,

00:17:40making me feel a sudden,

00:17:41stinging sense of inferiority.

00:17:43So you're that common girl

00:17:45Arthur used for diversion

00:17:47back in the Holy Kingdom?

00:17:49It wasn't a diversion.

00:17:51We exchanged the vows of the rose

00:17:53before the gods.

00:17:54He was my sworn knight.

00:18:03Those archaic rituals

00:18:05mean less than nothing

00:18:06to a crown prince.

00:18:08I've heard stories

00:18:09of how cruelly you treated him.

00:18:11Now that he's reclaimed his throne,

00:18:14you've come crawling back

00:18:16to beg for mercy.

00:18:17How could a man like Arthur

00:18:19ever truly want a woman

00:18:21with a heart as poisonous as yours?

00:18:24She stepped closer,

00:18:26her voice dripping

00:18:27with the arrogance

00:18:27of a benefactor.

00:18:30If you're truly that desperate

00:18:31to stay in the capital,

00:18:34I might allow him to keep you

00:18:36after our wedding

00:18:38as an unmarked mistress,

00:18:40a private pet with no name.

00:18:43The insult burned through my veins,

00:18:45but I didn't want to be

00:18:47anyone's secret pet.

00:18:48Even if my heart had begun to waver,

00:18:50I knew one thing for certain.

00:18:52If he chose to marry another,

00:18:53I would never linger

00:18:54for a single second.

00:18:59As I stepped out

00:19:00of the crown prince's estate,

00:19:01the scorching sun felt

00:19:03like a physical assault,

00:19:04making my eyes sting.

00:19:06The truth was a cold,

00:19:07hard weight in my chest.

00:19:09Arthur hated me.

00:19:11He had no intention

00:19:12of saving my father.

00:19:13He only wanted to watch me

00:19:15spiral into the abyss

00:19:16until there was nothing

00:19:17left of me.

00:19:20Miss Elena.

00:19:22I hurriedly wiped the tears

00:19:23from the corners of my eyes,

00:19:25looking up to see Christopher.

00:19:27He had once been a common scholar

00:19:28sponsored by my father.

00:19:30Two years ago,

00:19:31during that fateful ceremony,

00:19:33he had been my first choice

00:19:34for a knight.

00:19:35But through a cruel twist of fate,

00:19:37I had chosen Arthur instead.

00:19:39Now, Christopher had climbed the ranks

00:19:41to become the chief executive

00:19:42of the Imperial Tribunal.

00:19:45Lord Christopher,

00:19:46my father was framed.

00:19:50Please, I'm begging you.

00:19:54Save him.

00:19:57It's been two years.

00:19:59You've grown even more.

00:20:03Breathstaking than I remembered.

00:20:07I have always admired you.

00:20:11Elena.

00:20:13I've always wanted you by my side.

00:20:16He stared at me with a fixed intensity

00:20:19that made my skin crawl.

00:20:20The naked greed in his eyes

00:20:22was nauseating.

00:20:23He had already secured his future

00:20:25by marrying the High Justice's daughter,

00:20:27carving a path to the heights of power.

00:20:30Now, he was looking at me

00:20:32as if I were a prize to be collected,

00:20:34a secret lover

00:20:36to be kept in the shadows

00:20:37of his perfect life.

00:20:42I will purchase

00:20:43a secluded manor for you.

00:20:45You will live there,

00:20:47and when the timing is right,

00:20:49I'll arrange for you

00:20:50to be appointed

00:20:50as a chamber attendant.

00:20:52It's the perfect way

00:20:53to keep you under my protection,

00:20:55without raising eyebrows.

00:20:57My father gave you everything.

00:20:59He funded your education

00:21:01and your rise to power.

00:21:03Is your sense of honor

00:21:04so easily swallowed by greed?

00:21:06I struggled to keep the fury

00:21:08from my voice,

00:21:09my body trembling

00:21:10with a mixture of rage

00:21:12and exhaustion.

00:21:13Christopher let out

00:21:14a sharp, derisive laugh,

00:21:16his eyes scanning me

00:21:17with a terrifying lack of shame.

00:21:19I have plenty of gold now.

00:21:21What I lack is a plaything like you,

00:21:23so holy,

00:21:24yet so utterly ruined.

00:21:25I know you spent two years

00:21:26with the crown prince,

00:21:27but his wedding is imminent.

00:21:29He's done with you.

00:21:30If you won't look Bernard

00:21:31to stay alive,

00:21:31you have no other choice.

00:21:33You belong to me now.

00:21:34I didn't even have

00:21:35the chance to retort.

00:21:36A sudden,

00:21:37violent wave of nausea

00:21:38surged from my stomach,

00:21:40and I doubled over,

00:21:41dry heaving right in front of him.

00:21:44Christopher's face

00:21:45instantly twisted

00:21:46into a blue shade of purple.

00:21:48He had expected tears,

00:21:50or perhaps a desperate surrender.

00:21:52He had expected me

00:21:54to be so physically repulsed

00:21:56by his touch

00:21:56that I would be sick

00:21:58on the spot.

00:22:01Christopher was clearly stunned

00:22:03by my physical repulsion.

00:22:04The mask of a refined gentleman

00:22:07shattered,

00:22:08leaving behind a gaze

00:22:09so dark and venomous

00:22:10it chilled my blood.

00:22:12The fake warmth in his voice

00:22:14died instantly,

00:22:15replaced by a low,

00:22:17predatory snarl.

00:22:19Do not test my patience, Elena.

00:22:21I control the Imperial Tribunal now.

00:22:23If I want that old man dead,

00:22:25he won't even survive long enough

00:22:27to see the Holy Fire next month.

00:22:31I'll give you two days.

00:22:32If I don't see you at my manor

00:22:34on the south side of the city by then,

00:22:36you might as well start picking out

00:22:38a burial plot for your father.

00:22:39He turned on his heel

00:22:40and stormed away

00:22:42in a fit of humiliated rage,

00:22:44leaving me to tremble alone

00:22:46in the biting wind.

00:22:48My heart felt like a lead weight

00:22:50sinking into an abyss.

00:22:52People always whispered

00:22:54that scholars were the most

00:22:55virtuous among us.

00:22:57But in reality,

00:22:58the most wretched souls

00:22:59are often those hidden

00:23:00behind tailored suits

00:23:02and polite smiles.

00:23:03My family was still wealthy.

00:23:05Even after spending a fortune

00:23:07to save my father,

00:23:08what remained could sustain us

00:23:10for generations.

00:23:11My mother had already secured

00:23:13a secluded safe house

00:23:14on the outskirts of the capital.

00:23:16I dragged my battered body,

00:23:18feeling as though

00:23:19it had been trampled

00:23:20by a carriage,

00:23:21and began the long,

00:23:23numb walk back

00:23:24to that hollow substitute

00:23:25for a home.

00:23:28I had a younger brother, Julian,

00:23:30who was two years my junior.

00:23:33Unlike me,

00:23:34who grew dizzy

00:23:35at the mere sight

00:23:36of ancient texts,

00:23:37he was a natural-born arcanist.

00:23:40By the age of five,

00:23:42he could already decipher

00:23:43forbidden runes.

00:23:45Upon hearing of our family's downfall,

00:23:48he had rushed from the arcane academy

00:23:50to the capital,

00:23:51his face pale with worry.

00:23:54Crushed and defeated,

00:23:56I dragged my feet down

00:23:57the endless corridor,

00:23:58and with a trembling,

00:24:00uncertain hand,

00:24:01pushed open the massive door.

00:24:12I looked at the flickering

00:24:14sparks of hope

00:24:15in their eyes,

00:24:15and my throat burned

00:24:17as if I had swallowed

00:24:17hot coals.

00:24:19Worse,

00:24:20I couldn't bring myself

00:24:21to describe the previous night,

00:24:23how Arthur had pinned me

00:24:25to those luxurious

00:24:26black fox furs,

00:24:27claiming my body

00:24:28with a brutal hunger.

00:24:30He wasn't our savior.

00:24:31He was a man

00:24:33who took pleasure

00:24:34in my ruin,

00:24:34a man who wanted

00:24:36to watch me drown

00:24:37in this hopeless mire

00:24:38until the last breath

00:24:39left my lungs.

00:24:44I couldn't bear

00:24:45to shatter the fragile hope

00:24:46in my mother's

00:24:47and Julian's eyes,

00:24:48but with my father's

00:24:50life on the line,

00:24:51I didn't dare

00:24:52weave a lie.

00:24:55My voice cracked

00:24:56as the cold reality

00:24:57spilled out.

00:25:00He refused.

00:25:02Arthur hates me

00:25:03more than you can imagine.

00:25:05Those two years

00:25:06of torment

00:25:07turned his heart

00:25:08into a block of ice.

00:25:10I've brought this

00:25:11upon our family.

00:25:13It's my fault

00:25:13that father is in that cage.

00:25:15My mother pulled me

00:25:17into a fierce,

00:25:18trembling embrace.

00:25:19Her scent of lavender

00:25:21and old books

00:25:22a brief comfort

00:25:23against the storm.

00:25:24You are the most precious jewel

00:25:25of the Vivian family

00:25:26if this is truly

00:25:27Bernard's trial.

00:25:28Then it is a judgment

00:25:29of fate itself.

00:25:30You will not chain yourself

00:25:31to a guilt

00:25:31that isn't yours to bear.

00:25:33She's right.

00:25:35You've done nothing wrong,

00:25:36Elena.

00:25:38It's that cold-blooded prince

00:25:39who is blind.

00:25:41You deserve the purest devotion

00:25:43this world has to offer.

00:25:46Not his cruelty.

00:25:48Listening to them,

00:25:49a wave of bitter sorrow

00:25:51washed over me.

00:25:52The House of Vivian

00:25:53had once been

00:25:54the glorious pillar

00:25:55of the Holy Kingdom.

00:25:57A name spoken

00:25:58with reverence and awe.

00:26:00Now the proud saintess

00:26:01had finally learned

00:26:03how to bow her head.

00:26:04I no longer prayed

00:26:06for glory or power.

00:26:07I only prayed

00:26:09that those I loved

00:26:10might survive the winter.

00:26:13Elena,

00:26:14mother told me

00:26:15you're pregnant.

00:26:16Go back to your room

00:26:17and rest.

00:26:18I'm 16 now.

00:26:19I can carry

00:26:20this family's weight.

00:26:21Trust me.

00:26:22I will bring father home.

00:26:23I looked at the young man

00:26:25standing before me,

00:26:27his shoulders broad

00:26:28and his gaze steady.

00:26:30The little boy

00:26:31who used to trail behind me,

00:26:33crying over scraped knees,

00:26:35had truly grown up.

00:26:37I offered a few soft words

00:26:39of caution

00:26:39before retreating

00:26:40to my room.

00:26:41But the dull,

00:26:42persistent ache

00:26:43in my womb

00:26:44kept me tossing

00:26:46and turning

00:26:46in a feverish unrest.

00:26:48Hours later,

00:26:50I stepped out

00:26:51into the hallway

00:26:51and froze.

00:26:52There stood Julian.

00:26:54But he was unrecognizable.

00:26:56He had changed

00:26:58into a garish,

00:26:59flamboyant suit

00:26:59of shimmering silks

00:27:01with an oversized

00:27:02ruby pendant

00:27:03dangling against his chest.

00:27:05Julian,

00:27:06what are you dressed like?

00:27:10I heard Duchess Audley

00:27:11has a weakness

00:27:12for collecting

00:27:12exquisite young men.

00:27:14I'm going to her estate

00:27:15to offer myself.

00:27:16If she takes me

00:27:16as her pet,

00:27:17even the crown prince

00:27:18will have to show her

00:27:19some respect.

00:27:21That's how I'll save father.

00:27:22My heart stopped.

00:27:24Julian was a once-in-a-century

00:27:26genius

00:27:27at the Arcane Academy.

00:27:28I couldn't let him

00:27:30sell his soul.

00:27:32Panic surged through me

00:27:33as I tricked him

00:27:34into the wine cellar

00:27:34and slam the heavy iron door,

00:27:37locking it tight.

00:27:40Let me out!

00:27:42I was born for this!

00:27:43If it saves father,

00:27:44what does it matter?

00:27:45If I'm just a plaything.

00:27:49I couldn't let my brother

00:27:50destroy his future

00:27:51and his dignity.

00:27:52The thought of Julian,

00:27:54a brilliant prodigy,

00:27:55rotting away

00:27:56as a noblewoman's plaything,

00:27:57was a nightmare

00:27:58I wouldn't allow

00:27:59to come true.

00:28:00Begging Arthur again

00:28:01was a dead end.

00:28:02It would only invite

00:28:03more humiliation

00:28:04and perhaps even

00:28:05ignite his lethal temper.

00:28:07That left Christopher,

00:28:08the hypocritical viper.

00:28:09As much as I loathed

00:28:11the idea of becoming

00:28:12his caged bird,

00:28:13it seemed the path

00:28:14had narrowed

00:28:14until there was

00:28:15nowhere left to run.

00:28:17As night fell,

00:28:18I carried a single

00:28:19flickering magic lamp

00:28:20and crept toward

00:28:21Christopher's secret villa

00:28:22on the south side

00:28:23of the city.

00:28:24I spent the entire journey

00:28:25numbing my mind,

00:28:26whispering to myself

00:28:27that this was merely

00:28:28a sacrifice.

00:28:29I told myself,

00:28:30it would be like

00:28:31being bitten

00:28:32by a wild beast.

00:28:33Painful, yes,

00:28:34but something I could

00:28:35endure if I just

00:28:36closed my eyes.

00:28:37The moment I stepped

00:28:38into that dim,

00:28:39oppressive bedroom

00:28:40and saw Christopher

00:28:41unfastening his outer robe,

00:28:43my stomach churned

00:28:44with violent revulsion.

00:28:45Miss Vivian,

00:28:48I have waited

00:28:49two long years

00:28:50for this day.

00:28:50He undid the silver clasps

00:28:52at his collar,

00:28:53his smile thick

00:28:54with a sticky,

00:28:54predatory mallet.

00:28:55From this moment on,

00:28:56you are my private property.

00:28:58Now come here,

00:28:59help me undress.

00:29:00My body is rigid

00:29:02as stone.

00:29:03Not used to this yet?

00:29:04Don't worry.

00:29:05I'll spend the rest

00:29:06of the night teaching

00:29:07you exactly how

00:29:07to serve me.

00:29:10Christopher shed

00:29:11his hypocritical

00:29:12priestly robes,

00:29:13his eyes gleaming

00:29:14with a feverish light.

00:29:15Tonight,

00:29:16we finally celebrate

00:29:17our sacred union

00:29:18two years late.

00:29:19He advanced toward me

00:29:20one predatory step

00:29:21at a time.

00:29:22Despite the biting

00:29:22cold of the room,

00:29:23my palms were slit

00:29:24with a cold sweat.

00:29:25I realized in that moment

00:29:26that I couldn't endure

00:29:27his proximity.

00:29:28The sensation was visceral,

00:29:29like a slimy serpent

00:29:30slithering up my ankle.

00:29:32Cold and suffocating.

00:29:33A sickly, distorted desire

00:29:34burned in his gaze.

00:29:36He lunged forward,

00:29:37his hands clamping

00:29:38around my waist

00:29:39like iron shackle

00:29:39as he tried to bury

00:29:40his face

00:29:41in the look of my neck.

00:29:42of yours.

00:29:43It's enough to drive

00:29:43a man mad.

00:29:44Stop!

00:29:45Christopher,

00:29:46listen to me.

00:29:47I will give you

00:29:47every coin in the

00:29:48Vivian family bolts.

00:29:49Just save my father

00:29:50and let me go.

00:29:52I don't want

00:29:53your filthy gold,

00:29:54Elena.

00:29:54I want you!

00:29:55His face twisted

00:29:56into a mask of pure malice

00:29:57as he shoved me backward

00:29:58onto the black velvet shade.

00:29:59He began to tear up

00:30:00my sacred robes

00:30:01with a frantic,

00:30:02desperate violence.

00:30:03Go ahead,

00:30:03keep fighting me.

00:30:04If you do,

00:30:05I'll make sure

00:30:06Bernard is dead

00:30:07before the sun rises tomorrow.

00:30:09Arthur was a man of violence,

00:30:10but when he touched me,

00:30:12there was a part of my soul

00:30:13that didn't recoil.

00:30:14Here,

00:30:15pinned under Christopher,

00:30:16I felt only

00:30:17a bone-deep revulsion.

00:30:19Ever since I saw you

00:30:20standing so high

00:30:21above everyone

00:30:21two years ago,

00:30:22I've dreamt of dragging

00:30:24you into the mud.

00:30:25Tonight,

00:30:25I finally get

00:30:26what I've always deserved.

00:30:31I first met Christopher

00:30:32when I was still young.

00:30:34No one could have

00:30:35ever guessed

00:30:36that behind his

00:30:37gentle,

00:30:37refined demeanor

00:30:38hit a dark

00:30:40and twisted heart.

00:30:42He leaned close

00:30:43to my neck,

00:30:44his every word

00:30:45laced with chilling,

00:30:46hidden malice

00:30:47that sent shivers

00:30:49down my spine.

00:30:50To tell you the truth,

00:30:51Elena,

00:30:53I orchestrated everything.

00:30:56Bernard's downfall,

00:30:58the treason,

00:30:59the trial,

00:31:00it was all my design.

00:31:02My eyes snapped wide

00:31:03as the horror

00:31:04of his confession sank in.

00:31:06He funded your education.

00:31:08He gave you a future.

00:31:12How could you betray

00:31:13the man who saved you?

00:31:14If he hadn't gone to prison,

00:31:16would you be here now,

00:31:18kneeling and begging

00:31:19for my favor?

00:31:20No.

00:31:21So be a good girl

00:31:22and please me.

00:31:23I have the power

00:31:24to make your father's life

00:31:26a living hell,

00:31:27and I can just as easily

00:31:28destroy your mother

00:31:29and Julian.

00:31:30The sheer cruelty of it

00:31:31left me gasping.

00:31:32I wanted nothing more

00:31:33than to kill him

00:31:34and myself

00:31:34in a single stroke

00:31:35of vengeance.

00:31:36He held

00:31:36my every weakness

00:31:38in his hand.

00:31:39No matter how much

00:31:39my soul screamed

00:31:40in protest,

00:31:41I was trapped,

00:31:42forced to shiver

00:31:43and endure beneath him.

00:31:45Now,

00:31:46kiss me.

00:31:47He ruthlessly

00:31:48tore open

00:31:49my inner robes.

00:31:50The sudden bite

00:31:50of the cold air

00:31:51stung my exposed skin.

00:31:52I couldn't stop shaking,

00:31:54and as his face

00:31:54descended toward mine,

00:31:56a wave of visceral,

00:31:57physical revulsion

00:31:58took hold.

00:31:59Every ounce of strength

00:31:59I had left,

00:32:00I shoved him away.

00:32:04Christopher's mask

00:32:05of civility

00:32:06shattered into

00:32:07a hundred jagged pieces.

00:32:08His patience

00:32:09had run dry,

00:32:10and he pinned me

00:32:11against the edge

00:32:12of the chaise

00:32:13with a terrifying

00:32:13heavy weight.

00:32:15Get off me!

00:32:17Don't touch me!

00:32:20Keep shouting, Elena,

00:32:22but for every word

00:32:23you scream,

00:32:24I'll have a piece

00:32:24of Bernard's flesh

00:32:25carved away.

00:32:26I went silent instantly,

00:32:28the sound of my own

00:32:28teeth grained together

00:32:29echoing in my skull.

00:32:30To save my father

00:32:31from the torture rack,

00:32:32I could only close

00:32:32my eyes in absolute despair,

00:32:34just as I prepared

00:32:34to bite my own tongue

00:32:35and end it all.

00:32:36The heavy oak doors

00:32:37of the bedchamber

00:32:38were obliterated,

00:32:39kicked inward

00:32:40with a force

00:32:41that shook

00:32:42the foundations

00:32:43of the villa.

00:32:44It was Arthur.

00:32:49Christopher stood

00:32:49paralyzed,

00:32:51his eyes wide

00:32:52with disbelief.

00:32:53He never imagined

00:32:54the crown prince

00:32:55would descend upon

00:32:56this secret sanctuary.

00:32:58Panicked,

00:32:59he scrambled

00:33:00to clutch

00:33:00his discarded robes,

00:33:02his face

00:33:03draining of color.

00:33:04As the temperature

00:33:04in the room plummeted,

00:33:06Arthur approached

00:33:07with a terrifying,

00:33:08predatory calm.

00:33:13Your highness,

00:33:15I do not understand

00:33:16why you would strike me.

00:33:17Since when is it a crime

00:33:19to enjoy a midnight thrisk

00:33:20with one's own lover?

00:33:22Lover.

00:33:26Since when is it a crime

00:33:27to enjoy a midnight thrisk

00:33:30with one's own?

00:33:31Arthur rained down blow

00:33:33after brutal blow

00:33:34until Christopher lay

00:33:35unconscious

00:33:36in an ever-widening

00:33:38pool of blood.

00:33:38I have not yet signed

00:33:40the decree of abdulation.

00:33:41Until I do,

00:33:43she belongs to me.

00:33:45You dare to touch

00:33:46what is mine,

00:33:47and for that,

00:33:48you will die!

00:33:51Between the sheer terror

00:33:53of the night

00:33:54and the gnawing dread

00:33:55for my father's life,

00:33:57the fragile dam

00:33:58of my emotions

00:33:59finally broke.

00:34:00My pregnancy

00:34:01had made me volatile,

00:34:03and now,

00:34:04the tears fell

00:34:05in a relentless,

00:34:06silent torrent

00:34:07that I couldn't stop.

00:34:09Arthur reached out,

00:34:10his arms snaking around me

00:34:12like an iron band

00:34:13to haul me

00:34:13into his chest.

00:34:14Seeing my face

00:34:16streaked with tears,

00:34:18the darkness

00:34:18in his eyes

00:34:19didn't soften.

00:34:21Instead,

00:34:22his fury

00:34:23seemed to congeal

00:34:24into something

00:34:24even more lethal.

00:34:25Do you love him

00:34:26that much?

00:34:28Do you love him

00:34:29that much?!

00:34:33Does it break

00:34:34your heart

00:34:34that I interrupted

00:34:36your little trisk?

00:34:37You actually

00:34:38degraded yourself

00:34:40to this point

00:34:41for a piece

00:34:41of filth like him!

00:34:42When had I ever shown

00:34:44an ounce of affection

00:34:45for Christopher?

00:34:46The man was a monster,

00:34:48yet here was Arthur,

00:34:50twisting my desperation

00:34:51into a betrayal.

00:34:52But I didn't dare

00:34:54fight back.

00:34:54I couldn't risk

00:34:55my father bearing

00:34:56the brunt

00:34:56of a crown prince's

00:34:57lightning strike rage.

00:34:59I could only bury

00:35:00my face against his chest,

00:35:02my body shaking

00:35:03with muffled,

00:35:04agonizing sobs.

00:35:07Is being with me

00:35:08such a miserable fate,

00:35:09Elena?

00:35:10Well,

00:35:10weep all you want,

00:35:11it doesn't change a thing.

00:35:13You're coming back

00:35:14to the palace with me,

00:35:15where you belong.

00:35:17Arthur tossed me

00:35:19into his massive

00:35:19war chariot,

00:35:20pulled by snarling drakes,

00:35:22as if I were nothing

00:35:23more than a conquest

00:35:24claimed on a battlefield.

00:35:26I had no hope

00:35:27of escape.

00:35:28Within the hour,

00:35:30I was back in the palace,

00:35:31thrown once again

00:35:33onto the suffocating

00:35:34black fox furs

00:35:34of his bed.

00:35:35I curled into a ball,

00:35:37my eyes red and swollen,

00:35:39rubbing the small

00:35:40of my back

00:35:41where the impact

00:35:41had left a dull,

00:35:43throbbing ache.

00:35:46His voice was a low,

00:35:48terrifying rumble,

00:35:49cold as a mountain grave.

00:35:51He pressed his callous thumb

00:35:53against my lips,

00:35:54rubbing them

00:35:55with a punishing force

00:35:56that threatened

00:35:57to draw blood.

00:35:59Did he kiss you here?

00:36:03I won't stay.

00:36:07I won't be your secret pet.

00:36:12You think you're worthy

00:36:13of being my mistress?

00:36:15Don't flatter yourself.

00:36:17Let me make this clear,

00:36:19Elena.

00:36:20Until the day I choose

00:36:21to discard you,

00:36:22if you ever dare to shame me

00:36:24with another man again,

00:36:25I will personally ensure

00:36:27you never draw another breath.

00:36:37I stared at Arthur,

00:36:39my heart hammering

00:36:40against my ribs

00:36:41like a trapped bird.

00:36:43His heterochromatic eyes

00:36:45were threaded

00:36:45with dark red veins,

00:36:47and the draconic aura

00:36:48swirling around him

00:36:49was so suffocating,

00:36:51it felt as though

00:36:52he had just clawed

00:36:52his way out of the deepest

00:36:53pits of hell.

00:36:54Looking at the sheer madness

00:36:55in his expression,

00:36:56I knew with terrifying certainty

00:36:59if I admitted

00:37:00that Christopher's lips

00:37:01even brushed mine,

00:37:03he would cut my lips away

00:37:04without a second thought.

00:37:06In truth,

00:37:07Christopher hadn't touched me.

00:37:09I should have been

00:37:10paralyzed by fear,

00:37:11but every nerve in my body

00:37:12was screaming

00:37:13in pain and exhaustion.

00:37:15I couldn't help

00:37:15but lash out.

00:37:18It's none of your business!

00:37:21You're that desperate

00:37:22to escape me, Vivian.

00:37:26You torture me.

00:37:27You humiliate me.

00:37:30Isn't this exactly

00:37:32what you wanted?

00:37:33Take it!

00:37:34Whip me to death

00:37:35if that's what it takes!

00:37:36I stepped on your shoulders.

00:37:38I crushed your pride.

00:37:40So take my hands!

00:37:41Take my feet!

00:37:42Do whatever you want!

00:37:44Just save my father

00:37:46if you promise to save him.

00:37:48I'll let you sacrifice me

00:37:50on the altar right now!

00:37:55Arthur remained silent

00:37:56as he reached down

00:37:57to retrieve the heavy

00:37:58jewel-encrusted whip.

00:38:00I couldn't help

00:38:00the violent flinch

00:38:01that wracked my body.

00:38:02I had wielded

00:38:03this very weapon

00:38:04countless times,

00:38:05but I was naturally frail.

00:38:07My strikes had barely

00:38:08left a red mark

00:38:09on his skin.

00:38:10Arthur was different.

00:38:11He possessed

00:38:12the terrifying raw strength

00:38:14of the dragon race.

00:38:15If he struck me once

00:38:16with that whip,

00:38:17I would shatter.

00:38:17I forced my spine

00:38:19to straighten

00:38:19and close my eyes,

00:38:20waiting for the end.

00:38:24After I'm gone,

00:38:26would you place

00:38:27a bouquet

00:38:29of fresh roses

00:38:30on my grave?

00:38:32I'm afraid

00:38:34of the cold

00:38:34on the other side.

00:38:41A woman

00:38:42from this wretched

00:38:43holy kingdom

00:38:43has no place

00:38:45beside my throne.

00:38:49He didn't swing

00:38:50the whip.

00:38:51Instead,

00:38:52he lunged forward,

00:38:53his searing fingers

00:38:54clamping around

00:38:54my slender waist

00:38:55like iron bands.

00:38:57Is my touch

00:38:58really that repulsing

00:38:59to you?

00:39:02Well, too bad.

00:39:03Tonight,

00:39:04I'm taking

00:39:04exactly what I want.

00:39:09His lips

00:39:09crashed against mine,

00:39:11fueled by a scorching,

00:39:12desperate rage.

00:39:13In the chaos

00:39:13of the kiss,

00:39:14a memory of my birthday

00:39:15last year surfaced.

00:39:16He was still my shadow

00:39:17then.

00:39:18He had spent weeks

00:39:19carving a wooden

00:39:20statuette of me,

00:39:21a perfect miniature

00:39:22saintess.

00:39:23When I saw the gift,

00:39:24my heart had hammered

00:39:26so wildly,

00:39:27I had accused him

00:39:28of placing a curse

00:39:29on me.

00:39:30I punished him,

00:39:31forcing him to kneel

00:39:32shirtless on the

00:39:33cold temple floor

00:39:34while I used gold ink

00:39:35to paint a massive

00:39:36ridiculous creature

00:39:37across his broad back.

00:39:39His ears had turned

00:39:40a deep burning crimson.

00:39:42I thought it was

00:39:43humiliation,

00:39:44so I insolently

00:39:45grabbed his ear

00:39:46to make him turn around.

00:39:47But as he moved,

00:39:48I lost my balance

00:39:49and tumbled

00:39:50into his arms.

00:39:51Our lips met.

00:39:52That kiss

00:39:53had been clumsy.

00:39:54yet so tender.

00:39:56He had whispered

00:39:57broken pleas,

00:39:58begging me to let him

00:39:59kiss me just once more.

00:40:00My shadow had been

00:40:01so kind then.

00:40:03No matter how I shamed him,

00:40:04he would have handed me

00:40:05the entire world

00:40:06on a silver platter

00:40:06just to see me smile.

00:40:10But the Arthur of today

00:40:12only knew how to bully me,

00:40:14how to make me hurt.

00:40:15As he ruthlessly

00:40:16tore away my silk inner robes,

00:40:18the tears I had fought

00:40:19so hard to suppress

00:40:20finally broke through

00:40:22the dam once again.

00:40:23They cascaded

00:40:24down my cheeks,

00:40:25hot and bitter,

00:40:27splashing against

00:40:27the side of his face.

00:40:29Arthur's movements

00:40:30froze instantly.

00:40:31He remained motionless,

00:40:32his hand still white-knuckled

00:40:34around a shred

00:40:34of the ruined silk.

00:40:36Is my touch

00:40:37so unbearable?

00:40:38He let out a sharp

00:40:39guttural sound

00:40:39of disgust

00:40:40and shoved me aside

00:40:41like a discarded rag.

00:40:43Before I could even shiver,

00:40:45he grabbed a heavy

00:40:45black fox fur blanket

00:40:46and wrapped it around me.

00:40:48That piece of filth,

00:40:50Christopher,

00:40:51already has a wife,

00:40:53the High Justice's own daughter.

00:40:55And yet here you are,

00:40:57playing the martyr,

00:40:58preserving your purity.

00:41:00To Venice's,

00:41:01your controls no purity for him.

00:41:04You really are

00:41:05a devoted fool,

00:41:06Miss Vivian.

00:41:08He stood up,

00:41:09his eyes flashing

00:41:10with a final,

00:41:11cutting spark of disdain.

00:41:12Don't flatter yourself.

00:41:15You aren't the only woman

00:41:16in the world.

00:41:18I don't need you.

00:41:19He turned and strode

00:41:21out of the chamber,

00:41:21the massive oak door

00:41:22slamming shut

00:41:23with a thunderous crash

00:41:24that echoed through

00:41:25the hollow silence

00:41:26of my heart.

00:41:27I wept until

00:41:28my throat was raw

00:41:29and only then

00:41:31did the dull throbbing ache

00:41:32in my womb

00:41:32begin to subside.

00:41:34I was desperate

00:41:35to go home,

00:41:36to save my father,

00:41:37to stop Julian

00:41:38from selling his soul

00:41:39for a scrap of influence.

00:41:41But the world outside

00:41:42had vanished.

00:41:43Arthur had placed me

00:41:44under house arrest.

00:41:45I knew his game.

00:41:47He wanted to break me slowly.

00:41:49He wanted to watch

00:41:50the once-haughty saintess

00:41:51rot in a gilded cage

00:41:52until there was

00:41:53nothing left of my pride.

00:41:55For seven days,

00:41:56Arthur never showed

00:41:57his face.

00:41:58Instead, he sent

00:41:59a flock of handmaids

00:42:00to tend to me.

00:42:00They were meticulously

00:42:02attentive,

00:42:03yet their voices

00:42:03were venomous.

00:42:08Did you really think

00:42:09he'd keep a broken doll?

00:42:12His Highness gifted

00:42:14Lady Isabella

00:42:14the legendary

00:42:15Starry Night necklace.

00:42:17The prince

00:42:18and the duke's daughter

00:42:19are inseparable

00:42:20at the royal hunting grounds.

00:42:22They look so perfect together.

00:42:25Every day,

00:42:26they made sure

00:42:26I heard the rumors

00:42:27of Arthur's devotion

00:42:28to Isabella,

00:42:29each word cut deeper

00:42:30than any whip.

00:42:31I loathed being

00:42:32a caged bird,

00:42:33but my true terror

00:42:34was the fear

00:42:35that the next time

00:42:36I saw my father,

00:42:37he would be a corpse.

00:42:38On the eighth day

00:42:39of my imprisonment,

00:42:40the heavy doors

00:42:41finally groaned open.

00:42:43A silhouette

00:42:43draped in black and gold

00:42:44stepped through

00:42:45the threshold,

00:42:46bringing with him

00:42:46a rush of winter air.

00:42:48Arthur had returned.

00:42:51Arthur, you bastard!

00:42:53The days of isolation

00:42:54had driven me

00:42:55to the brink of madness.

00:42:57Let me out!

00:42:59I have to see my mother!

00:43:00I have to save my father!

00:43:03Shadow, you are nothing

00:43:05but a cold-blooded beast!

00:43:07If you let my father die

00:43:09without me saying goodbye,

00:43:10I swore make you regret it

00:43:12for the rest of your life!

00:43:14I snatched out

00:43:14the ruby-encrusted whip

00:43:15trying to shield

00:43:16my vulnerability

00:43:17behind a pathetic,

00:43:18empty threat.

00:43:19Bernard is still alive.

00:43:22The air rushed back

00:43:24into my lungs.

00:43:25My father was safe,

00:43:27at least for now.

00:43:28But as the panic receded,

00:43:30a different kind of poison

00:43:32took its place.

00:43:33I remembered the maid's whispers,

00:43:36stories of how he had spent

00:43:37the last few nights

00:43:38locked away with Isabella,

00:43:40lost in a passion

00:43:41that lasted until dawn.

00:43:43The jealousy was

00:43:45a sudden, searing heat.

00:43:47When he had taken me,

00:43:48he hadn't shown half

00:43:50that much endurance.

00:43:51He was spending so much time

00:43:53entangled with that

00:43:54Duke's daughter.

00:43:55I wondered if he was

00:43:56trying to drain every drop

00:43:57of his royal blood dry.

00:44:00Are you so desperate to run back

00:44:01to Christopher?

00:44:03To wallow in the dirt

00:44:04as his caged bird?

00:44:05Keep dreaming.

00:44:06I just refuse to stay near a man

00:44:08who belongs to Isabella.

00:44:09In a fit of blind rage,

00:44:11I lunged at him

00:44:12and sank my teeth

00:44:13into his shoulder.

00:44:14Vivian, stop!

00:44:17Are you truly in such a hurry

00:44:19to bury your father?

00:44:20I stopped struggling,

00:44:21but the air between us

00:44:23was thick with loathing.

00:44:25I backed away,

00:44:26slammed the door shut,

00:44:27and turned the lock

00:44:28with a definitive click.

00:44:30Then, staring him

00:44:31straight in the eyes,

00:44:33I began to unmask

00:44:35my sacred robes.

00:44:37Elena, stop.

00:44:38Put your clothes back on!

00:44:40His breath hitched,

00:44:42but I wouldn't be swayed

00:44:43by his feigned restraint.

00:44:45You want your revenge?

00:44:46Then, take it!

00:44:47Do to me exactly

00:44:48what I did to you

00:44:49two years ago.

00:44:51Press your boot

00:44:52into my shoulder.

00:44:54Draw those ridiculous,

00:44:56mocking creatures

00:44:56on my skin.

00:44:58Burn me with your humiliation!

00:45:00My voice broke

00:45:01into a pathetic,

00:45:02desperate sob

00:45:03as I looked at him

00:45:04through a blur of tears.

00:45:07I'm begging you,

00:45:08just finish your revenge

00:45:09and save my father.

00:45:11You swore an oath

00:45:13of loyalty to him

00:45:14before the altar

00:45:14for the sake of that

00:45:16one vow.

00:45:17Please, help him.

00:45:19Arthur stood like a statue,

00:45:21his expression unreadable

00:45:23and frozen.

00:45:25The silence was deafening.

00:45:27I realized then

00:45:29that my words weren't enough,

00:45:30my tears weren't enough.

00:45:32I know what you want.

00:45:34You're still angry

00:45:35about that winter,

00:45:37about how I forced you

00:45:38into the frozen lake.

00:45:40Well, it's winter again.

00:45:42I'll go.

00:45:43I'll jump into the ice

00:45:44in the back garden.

00:45:46and catch every single

00:45:47one of those damn fish

00:45:49for you.

00:45:49I remembered that day

00:45:51vividly.

00:45:52The snow had been blinding

00:45:53and he had been practicing

00:45:55his sword play

00:45:56in the courtyard.

00:45:57I had been in a foul mood,

00:45:59agitated by the sight

00:46:00of his bare, powerful torso.

00:46:03I had mocked him,

00:46:05my voice dripping with disdain.

00:46:07If you're really

00:46:07as strong as you look,

00:46:11why don't you dive

00:46:12into the lake

00:46:13and bring me a snack?

00:46:15I hadn't expected him to do it.

00:46:18But without a word,

00:46:19he had plunged

00:46:20into the bone-chilling waters

00:46:22of the sacred lake.

00:46:24I spun around

00:46:25and bolted toward the door.

00:46:27Vivian,

00:46:28have you lost your mind?

00:46:29Where do you think

00:46:30you're going dressed like that?

00:46:31Whether a filthy woman

00:46:32like me lives or dies,

00:46:36what is it to you?

00:46:41None of my business?

00:46:43Elena,

00:46:44I'm going to make sure

00:46:46you never forget

00:46:48exactly who I am!

00:46:50The predatory glint in his eyes

00:46:52was enough to devour me.

00:46:54I am Arthur.

00:46:56I am your sworn knight.

00:46:58He descended upon me

00:46:59like a wolf.

00:47:00And I am your lawful husband.

00:47:02His teeth raising my lips

00:47:04and a kiss

00:47:05that felt more like

00:47:06a claim of territory.

00:47:07You bastard!

00:47:09You aren't human!

00:47:10But the more I struggled,

00:47:11the more his possessiveness

00:47:13spiraled into a feverish madness.

00:47:15I hurled every curse

00:47:17I knew at him.

00:47:19Even as the world began

00:47:20to blur into a dizzying,

00:47:22unwanted pleasure,

00:47:23I wanted him to feel my hatred

00:47:25even if my body

00:47:26was betraying me in his arms.

00:47:30I felt my life force

00:47:31draining away like sand

00:47:33through an hourglass

00:47:34as he pinned me

00:47:35to the bed once more,

00:47:36claiming me

00:47:37with a desperate

00:47:38crushing intensity.

00:47:39A sharp, tearing agony

00:47:41exploded deep

00:47:43within my abdomen.

00:47:44It was as if a blade

00:47:45had been twisted inside me.

00:47:47I collapsed

00:47:48into the black fox furs,

00:47:49a rose severed

00:47:51from its stem,

00:47:51and the world dissolved

00:47:53into a hollow, silent void.

00:47:56Elena.

00:47:57Elena.

00:47:58Was that panic in his voice?

00:48:00It felt almost comedic.

00:48:02Didn't he want to cast

00:48:02this beautiful witch

00:48:04into the fires of purgatory?

00:48:05In the final second

00:48:06before the darkness

00:48:07swallowed me whole,

00:48:08I felt a pair of searing,

00:48:10calloused hands trembling

00:48:11as they pulled me tight

00:48:13against a racing heart.

00:48:15When I finally drifted

00:48:16back to consciousness,

00:48:17the heavy velvet curtains

00:48:19had been drawn,

00:48:20sealing out the daylight.

00:48:21The chamber was thick

00:48:23with the bitter,

00:48:24cloying scent

00:48:25of medicinal herbs

00:48:26and the metallic tang

00:48:27of holy water.

00:48:29From beyond the veil

00:48:30of the bed curtains,

00:48:31I heard Arthur's voice,

00:48:33a low, dangerous growl

00:48:36vibrating with suppressed fury.

00:48:38Why isn't she awake yet?

00:48:45Your Highness,

00:48:48Miss Vivian's spirit

00:48:49was already fragile.

00:48:54After the physical trauma,

00:48:57she is showing signs

00:48:59of a miscarriage.

00:49:04If it weren't for

00:49:05the powerful dragon bloodline

00:49:08within the fetus

00:49:09fighting to survive,

00:49:13the hatchling would have

00:49:15already been lost.

00:49:18A hatchling,

00:49:19signs of a miscarriage.

00:49:21A bitter,

00:49:22self-deprecating smile

00:49:23touched my lips.

00:49:24My little dragon

00:49:25was still there.

00:49:26It was far more resilient

00:49:28than I had imagined,

00:49:28but within seconds.

00:49:30A bone-chilling dread

00:49:32washed over me.

00:49:33Arthur knew.

00:49:34He knew that within me,

00:49:36a secret was growing.

00:49:37a secret the temple

00:49:39would never allow to exist.

00:49:42In an empire

00:49:42where blood purity

00:49:43was everything,

00:49:44the bastard

00:49:45of a fallen saintess

00:49:47would likely never be given

00:49:48the chance

00:49:49to draw his first breath.

00:49:52In a surge of sheer panic,

00:49:54my hand struck

00:49:55the wooden bed frame

00:49:56with a sharp crack

00:49:57at the sound.

00:49:58Arthur pulled back

00:49:58the heavy velvet curtains.

00:50:00He sat beside me,

00:50:01his face a mask

00:50:02of cold stone.

00:50:03I instinctively recoiled

00:50:04into the corner of the bed,

00:50:05desperate for a shred

00:50:06of safety.

00:50:07I knew the protocol

00:50:07of the empire.

00:50:08If I hadn't woken up,

00:50:09I might have already

00:50:10ordered the priest

00:50:10to prepare a purification draft

00:50:12to erase the evidence

00:50:14of my shame.

00:50:14Arthur gripped my hand

00:50:15with bruising force,

00:50:16his voice devoid of warmth.

00:50:18Are you still in pain?

00:50:19Mind raced.

00:50:20Should I tell the truth?

00:50:21Physical ache

00:50:22had mostly subsided.

00:50:23I knew he lived

00:50:23for my suffering.

00:50:24If I told him

00:50:25I was in agony,

00:50:26perhaps his thirst

00:50:26for vengeance

00:50:27would be satisfied.

00:50:29Yes, it hurts.

00:50:31Terrified that he would

00:50:32force the draft

00:50:32down my throat right then,

00:50:33I scrambled to reassure him.

00:50:36You don't have to worry.

00:50:37I would never use this child

00:50:39to trap you

00:50:40or force you.

00:50:41Just let me go.

00:50:42Once I return

00:50:43to my family lands,

00:50:44I'll deal with it myself.

00:50:45I'll make sure it's gone.

00:50:48It was a lie

00:50:49that tasted like ash.

00:50:51I loved my little dragon already,

00:50:53but I needed him

00:50:54to believe I was

00:50:55no threat to his future.

00:50:57Deal with it?

00:51:01You're truly that eager

00:51:02to get rid of these

00:51:03two children.

00:51:04Two?

00:51:05I was stunned

00:51:06into silence.

00:51:08Dragon twins were a miracle,

00:51:10a rarity whispered of

00:51:11in legends.

00:51:12It meant I was carrying

00:51:13a double dragon pulse.

00:51:14My resolve to protect them

00:51:15hardened instantly,

00:51:17but I forced my voice

00:51:18to stay cold.

00:51:19Yes, I don't want them.

00:51:21I'd rather die

00:51:22than have them.

00:51:23I'll brew two bowls

00:51:24of the draft

00:51:25and wipe them

00:51:26from existence.

00:51:27I glanced at the priest

00:51:28standing in the shadows.

00:51:29They weren't moving

00:51:30to help.

00:51:31Instead,

00:51:32they were visibly

00:51:33trembling in terror.

00:51:34You really are heartless,

00:51:35Elena.

00:51:36He shoved my hand away

00:51:37and stormed out,

00:51:38his cloak swirling

00:51:40like a dark cloud.

00:51:40I shouted after him,

00:51:42my voice cracking

00:51:43with desperation.

00:51:44If two bowls aren't enough,

00:51:46I'll drink ten!

00:51:50Arthur vanished again

00:51:51for several days.

00:51:52I was forced to listen

00:51:54to the maids gossiping

00:51:55in the hallways,

00:51:56their whispers

00:51:57like jagged glass.

00:51:58They said he spent

00:51:59every waking

00:52:00and sleeping,

00:52:02hour,

00:52:03in Isabella's chambers.

00:52:04Rumor had it

00:52:05that once the dragon

00:52:06bloodline awakened,

00:52:08the host possessed

00:52:09a terrifying,

00:52:10near-limitless

00:52:10stamina.

00:52:11He and the duke's daughter

00:52:13were reportedly lost

00:52:14in each other's embrace

00:52:15until the break

00:52:16of every dawn.

00:52:19A bitter wave

00:52:20of sorrow

00:52:21crashed over me.

00:52:23I assumed he found

00:52:24the idea

00:52:24of having children

00:52:25with a twisted woman,

00:52:27like me,

00:52:28repulsive,

00:52:29leading him

00:52:30to seek solace

00:52:31in someone pure.

00:52:33I pitied his burden,

00:52:35yet the ache

00:52:36in my own chest

00:52:37only grew more hollow.

00:52:38To my absolute shock,

00:52:40a summons arrived.

00:52:42The emperor

00:52:42and empress

00:52:43demanded an audience

00:52:44with me.

00:52:45Before Arthur

00:52:46reclaimed his throne,

00:52:47the highest authority

00:52:49I had ever encountered

00:52:50was a local

00:52:51provincial lord.

00:52:53To be called

00:52:53before the absolute rulers

00:52:55of the empire

00:52:55was terrifying.

00:52:56I was certain they intended

00:52:59to put me on trial

00:53:00for the crime

00:53:01of desecrating

00:53:02the crown prince.

00:53:03The imperial couple

00:53:04was legendary

00:53:05for their sole covenant.

00:53:06The emperor

00:53:07had married a commoner

00:53:09when he was nothing more

00:53:10than a minor noble,

00:53:12and they had remained

00:53:13devoted to one another

00:53:14ever since.

00:53:16After Arthur

00:53:17disappeared at age six,

00:53:18the empress

00:53:19was so devastated

00:53:20by grief and injury

00:53:21that she could never

00:53:23bear another child.

00:53:24their love for Arthur

00:53:26was boundless.

00:53:27And then there was me,

00:53:29the witch

00:53:30who had tormented

00:53:31their precious

00:53:32long-lost son.

00:53:33I felt certain

00:53:34that if I wasn't

00:53:35sent straight to the pyre,

00:53:37it would be a miracle.

00:53:42The imperial palace

00:53:43was a fortress

00:53:44of limestone and gold,

00:53:46looming over me

00:53:46with a heavy sacred weight.

00:53:49Every footstep

00:53:50echoed against the marble,

00:53:51amplifying my dread.

00:53:53I kept my head bowed,

00:53:54trembling,

00:53:55until a pair of silk slippers

00:53:57appeared in my vision.

00:53:59When I looked up,

00:54:00I saw a woman

00:54:02of such timeless beauty.

00:54:03She looked less like

00:54:04Arthur's mother,

00:54:05Please, stand up.

00:54:06and more like

00:54:07an elder sister.

00:54:07She reached out

00:54:09and personally

00:54:09helped me to my feet.

00:54:11I held my breath,

00:54:12my heart hammering

00:54:13against my ribs.

00:54:15Was she inspecting

00:54:16my skin

00:54:16to decide

00:54:17which torture

00:54:18would be most effective?

00:54:19Was she looking

00:54:20for the mark

00:54:21of the witch?

00:54:22You are breathtaking,

00:54:25even more beautiful

00:54:26than the way

00:54:27Arthur described you.

00:54:30I heard that

00:54:31when he was

00:54:31a lost nine-year-old

00:54:32wandering the wilderness,

00:54:34you were the one

00:54:35who gave him

00:54:35the hope to keep living.

00:54:36Is that true?

00:54:41I froze,

00:54:42completely blindsided.

00:54:44I had no memory

00:54:45of saving a prince.

00:54:48When I was nine,

00:54:50I had slipped away

00:54:51from the temple

00:54:52to explore.

00:54:53I found a starving,

00:54:55filthy beggar boy

00:54:55collapsed by the roadside.

00:54:57I had simply tossed him

00:54:59a high-grade healing pill

00:55:00and a heavy pouch

00:55:02of gold coins.

00:55:03I only gave him

00:55:04the gold

00:55:04because the coins

00:55:05were weighing down

00:55:06my dress

00:55:07and I wanted

00:55:07to be rid of them.

00:55:09It was a casual gesture

00:55:10to a stranger.

00:55:11It wasn't until

00:55:12two years ago,

00:55:13in the stench

00:55:14of a blood-soaked

00:55:15gladiator pit,

00:55:16that I recognized

00:55:17those striking,

00:55:18mismatched eyes again.

00:55:20I bought him

00:55:20for a single gold coin

00:55:22just so I wouldn't

00:55:23have to watch him

00:55:23rot in the mud.

00:55:24I don't understand

00:55:26why they're making

00:55:27such a fuss.

00:55:28I only gave him

00:55:30some gold I was

00:55:31planning to throw away.

00:55:37Such a good child.

00:55:42Without another word,

00:55:43she carefully removed

00:55:44a shimmering mithril amulet

00:55:46from her own neck,

00:55:47an artifact pulsing

00:55:48with divine light,

00:55:50and placed it gently

00:55:51in my open.

00:55:57The Empress spent

00:55:58hours speaking with me,

00:55:59her voice a gentle lilt,

00:56:01as she asked about

00:56:02my past with Arthur

00:56:03at the temple.

00:56:04Cold sweat trickled

00:56:05down my face.

00:56:05How could I possibly

00:56:07confess the truth?

00:56:08How could I tell her

00:56:09that I had once punished him

00:56:10by making him kneel

00:56:11shirtless on

00:56:12freezing stone steps?

00:56:13Or that I had branded

00:56:14his chest with the word

00:56:16shadow,

00:56:16a title of absolute

00:56:18desecration?

00:56:19I could only offer

00:56:19pale, hollow lies,

00:56:21claiming we had lived

00:56:22as the closest of companions.

00:56:24When I returned

00:56:24to the Crown Prince's estate,

00:56:26I was greeted

00:56:27by an overwhelming

00:56:28display of favor.

00:56:29Carts filled with

00:56:30rare medicinal tonics,

00:56:31and bolts of the finest silk

00:56:33were being unloaded

00:56:34into my side hall.

00:56:35The Empress had even

00:56:36promised to visit me

00:56:37personally in the coming days.

00:56:39My mind was a whirlwind

00:56:40of confusion.

00:56:41Arthur loathed me.

00:56:43Why then had he told

00:56:43his parents I was

00:56:44his savior?

00:56:45But I ran out of time

00:56:47to wonder.

00:56:47The doors to the chambers

00:56:48were thrown open

00:56:49by Arthur's head guard.

00:56:50In his hands,

00:56:51he carried a porcelain bowl

00:56:53filled with a black,

00:56:54steaming liquid

00:56:55that smelled of death.

00:56:56It was the purification draft.

00:56:58His Highness's orders.

00:57:01Miss Vivian is to

00:57:02drink this immediately.

00:57:03We cannot allow

00:57:05anything improper

00:57:06to stain the purity

00:57:07of the royal bloodline.

00:57:08The world turned to ice.

00:57:10He was finally coming

00:57:11for the life inside me.

00:57:13He wanted to personally

00:57:14destroy these twin dragon pulses,

00:57:15to burn away the last

00:57:17lingering evidence

00:57:18of our humiliating past.

00:57:19I looked at the black liquid,

00:57:21my hand instinctively

00:57:22dropping to cover my stomach.

00:57:23I could feel them,

00:57:24tiny, flickering

00:57:25sparks of light.

00:57:26I have to run.

00:57:27I have to escape.

00:57:29The emperor of the empire

00:57:30was indeed

00:57:31a just and formidable ruler.

00:57:33When I knelt before him

00:57:34and begged for a thorough

00:57:35investigation into my

00:57:36father's wrongful imprisonment,

00:57:38he gave me his word

00:57:39that the case had been

00:57:40transferred to the

00:57:40High Tribunal.

00:57:41I finally felt a weight

00:57:43lift from my chest.

00:57:43I clung to the belief

00:57:45that once the truth

00:57:46was laid bare,

00:57:47the honor of the Vivian family

00:57:48would be restored

00:57:49to its former glory.

00:57:50Now,

00:57:51my only remaining weakness

00:57:52was the twin dragon pulses

00:57:53growing within me.

00:57:55The moment I returned

00:57:55from the palace,

00:57:56a maid entered my chambers

00:57:58carrying a bowl of liquid

00:57:59that shimmered

00:57:59with an eerie violet light.

00:58:01She called it

00:58:02a sacred essence supplement,

00:58:03claiming it was meant

00:58:04to bolster my strength.

00:58:05I wasn't a fool.

00:58:06I knew Arthur was incapable

00:58:07of such sudden mercy.

00:58:09I pretended to drink it

00:58:10with a grateful smile.

00:58:11But the second the doors

00:58:11were closed

00:58:12and the windows latched,

00:58:13I tipped the bowl

00:58:14into a pot of moonlight ivy,

00:58:16the magic plant,

00:58:16known for its incredible

00:58:18resilience,

00:58:19reacted instantly.

00:58:20The moment the liquid

00:58:21touched the soil,

00:58:22the lush leaves shriveled,

00:58:24turning into brittle,

00:58:25blackened husks

00:58:25as if scorched

00:58:26by dragon fire.

00:58:28My blood ran cold.

00:58:29It wasn't a supplement at all.

00:58:30It was a blood-cleansing draft,

00:58:32a lethal poison

00:58:33designed to starve

00:58:34my hatchlings

00:58:35of their magic

00:58:36and kill them in the womb.

00:58:38Gold can buy

00:58:39even the most depraved of souls.

00:58:41Using a priceless

00:58:42mithril hairpin

00:58:43as a bribe,

00:58:44I managed to smuggle

00:58:45a desperate message

00:58:45to Julian

00:58:46through a kitchen maid.

00:58:47I begged him

00:58:48for a vial of

00:58:49Draft of the Living Death,

00:58:51a forbidden alchemical

00:58:52concoction

00:58:53that could halt a heartbeat

00:58:54and mimic

00:58:55the cold stillness

00:58:56of the grave,

00:58:57all without harming

00:58:58the fragile dragon

00:58:59sprouts in my womb.

00:59:00When a person dies,

00:59:02their debts

00:59:02are supposedly settled.

00:59:04If I were dead,

00:59:06Arthur would have

00:59:06no reason

00:59:07to force those cruel,

00:59:08poisonous drafts

00:59:09down my throat.

00:59:10At worst,

00:59:11he would have my body

00:59:12tossed into a mass grave

00:59:13in the desolate barrens.

00:59:14Once the effects wore off,

00:59:16I could crawl out of the dirt

00:59:17and vanish into the night

00:59:18with my children

00:59:19to find my mother.

00:59:20My only terror

00:59:21was Arthur's depravity.

00:59:22I feared that even in death,

00:59:24he might plunge a blade

00:59:26into my chest

00:59:27just to be certain.

00:59:28The potion took hold

00:59:29with terrifying speed.

00:59:31A bone-deep chill

00:59:32spread through my limbs,

00:59:33turning my blood

00:59:34to slush.

00:59:35My mind remained

00:59:36agonizingly sharp.

00:59:38Yet I was a prisoner

00:59:39in my own skin,

00:59:40unable to move a muscle,

00:59:42unable to flicker an eyelid.

00:59:44until the heavy doors

00:59:45first opened.

00:59:46Help!

00:59:47Someone help!

00:59:53Miss Vivian!

00:59:55She stopped breathing!

00:59:57The frantic scream

00:59:59echoed through

00:59:59the stone chamber,

01:00:00sounding more like

01:00:01a celebration of my freedom

01:00:02than a mourning of my life.

01:00:04I lay there,

01:00:06a hollow shell,

01:00:07waiting to see

01:00:07if my gambit

01:00:08would lead to the wilderness

01:00:09or the pyre.

01:00:12before I heard

01:00:13the heavy rhythmic thud

01:00:15of leather boots

01:00:16against the stone floor.

01:00:18Arthur had arrived.

01:00:20He seemed unable

01:00:21to fathom that the witch

01:00:22who had once tormented him

01:00:24so ruthlessly

01:00:24could fall so easily.

01:00:28Who says she is dead?

01:00:30If you are mocking

01:00:32me again,

01:00:35I swear I will bury

01:00:37the entire Vivian family

01:00:39along with you!

01:00:42But I was merely

01:00:44a corpse now,

01:00:45a silent witness

01:00:46to his descent

01:00:47into hysteria.

01:00:48I stayed frozen,

01:00:50locked in the icy grip

01:00:52of the draft.

01:00:52His voice grew softer,

01:00:55losing its edge

01:00:56until it was filled

01:00:58with a frantic,

01:00:59staggering sense of panic

01:01:00I had never heard before.

01:01:02Why was he so shaken?

01:01:04Wake up.

01:01:05Was he afraid

01:01:05my vengeful spirit

01:01:06would haunt him

01:01:07for the rest of his days?

01:01:09Wake up.

01:01:10Or was he simply realizing

01:01:11that his favorite toy

01:01:12had finally broken

01:01:13beyond repair?

01:01:14Either way,

01:01:15I remained still,

01:01:17praying for the darkness

01:01:19of the burial grounds

01:01:20to come quickly.

01:01:23By now,

01:01:24he must have found

01:01:25the letter I left behind.

01:01:27In it,

01:01:28I wrote that I had

01:01:29finally reached

01:01:30my breaking point,

01:01:32that I had swallowed

01:01:33a lethal poison

01:01:34to end the humiliation,

01:01:36and that no one else

01:01:37was to blame.

01:01:38My only dying wish

01:01:40was for him to honor

01:01:41our old contract

01:01:42and return my remains

01:01:44to my family's

01:01:44ancestral lands.

01:01:46But his reaction

01:01:47after reading those words

01:01:48sent a fresh wave

01:01:50of horror

01:01:50through my frozen soul.

01:01:52Do you love Christopher

01:01:53that much?

01:01:54Do you love him so deeply

01:01:55that you would rather

01:01:57commit suicide?

01:02:00You want your bones

01:02:02returned home?

01:02:03Never.

01:02:04You will stay

01:02:05by my side.

01:02:08Even if you rot.

01:02:10You will do so

01:02:11in my arms!

01:02:12The living death

01:02:13only lasted 12 hours.

01:02:16If he didn't hurry up

01:02:17and bury me,

01:02:18I was going to resurrect

01:02:20right in front of him.

01:02:22Elena,

01:02:22please,

01:02:25open your eyes

01:02:26and look at me.

01:02:28Then,

01:02:29I felt it.

01:02:30A cold,

01:02:31trembling kiss

01:02:32pressed against

01:02:33my unresponsive lips.

01:02:37Time was running out.

01:02:40Outside,

01:02:41the night was dark

01:02:42and the wind was howling.

01:02:43The effects of the draft

01:02:44were finally beginning

01:02:45to wane.

01:02:47Arthur was on the jagged edge

01:02:48of a mental collapse,

01:02:50blinded by a grief

01:02:51I never expected.

01:02:53As the feeling

01:02:54returned to my limbs,

01:02:55my fingers brushed

01:02:57against the paralyzing

01:02:58silver needle Julian

01:02:59had hidden among

01:03:00my supplies.

01:03:00I waited,

01:03:02holding my breath,

01:03:04until Arthur slumped

01:03:05against my neck

01:03:06with a broken moan.

01:03:08With every ounce

01:03:09of strength

01:03:09I had regained,

01:03:11I lunged

01:03:12and drove the needle

01:03:13deep into the pressure point

01:03:14at the nape of his neck.

01:03:16Even a crown prince

01:03:17of the dragon line

01:03:18couldn't withstand

01:03:18a strike so precise

01:03:19and unexpected.

01:03:20I moved like a ghost.

01:03:22I snatched

01:03:23the dragon seal,

01:03:25the symbol

01:03:25of supreme authority,

01:03:27from his belt

01:03:28and threw on

01:03:29a nondescript

01:03:30maid's cloak.

01:03:31Keeping my head low,

01:03:32I slipped out

01:03:34of the chamber.

01:03:36I abandoned

01:03:37the memory-haunted north,

01:03:39seeking refuge

01:03:40in Emerald Harbor.

01:03:41The southern air

01:03:43was sweet

01:03:43and blooming

01:03:44with flowers,

01:03:45a place where

01:03:46I could finally

01:03:47fade away.

01:03:49The night I fled,

01:03:51Julian met me

01:03:52at the city gates,

01:03:53sobbing like a child.

01:03:54He pressed

01:03:55a mountain

01:03:56of mana crystal cards

01:03:57into my hands,

01:03:58begging to follow.

01:03:59It took hours

01:04:01to convince him

01:04:02to stay

01:04:02until my father

01:04:03was freed.

01:04:04Julian had liquidated

01:04:05half of the Vivian

01:04:06family fortune

01:04:07for me.

01:04:08Even if I lived

01:04:09a life of absolute decadence,

01:04:12this wealth

01:04:12would last

01:04:13for lifetimes.

01:04:15I opened a boutique

01:04:17named Amber Eyes.

01:04:19While I loathed

01:04:20the dry imperial codes,

01:04:22I had a genius

01:04:23for alchemy,

01:04:24distilling oils

01:04:26and crafting

01:04:27the eternal youth elixirs

01:04:28that once drove

01:04:29the capital's elite

01:04:31into a frenzy.

01:04:31but in the quiet moments,

01:04:34the ghosts returned.

01:04:36I saw my father's face,

01:04:38then Arthur's.

01:04:40I remembered the whispers

01:04:41of his nights

01:04:42with Isabella

01:04:43and the steam rising

01:04:44from the poison

01:04:45he sent for my children.

01:04:47Whenever the pain flared,

01:04:49I drowned it in work.

01:04:50My little dragons

01:04:52were growing

01:04:52and for them,

01:04:53I had to be strong.

01:04:57I found a few

01:04:58displaced, starving girls

01:05:00wandering the streets

01:05:01and took them in.

01:05:03Under my care,

01:05:04their hollow cheeks

01:05:05filled out

01:05:06and their fearful eyes

01:05:08began to spark

01:05:08with life.

01:05:10They became

01:05:10my loyal apprentices,

01:05:12learning the delicate

01:05:13secrets of my shop.

01:05:15But I wanted

01:05:16more for them.

01:05:17I used my fortune

01:05:18to establish

01:05:19a women's academy

01:05:20at the harbor.

01:05:21This world has always

01:05:22been cruel to women,

01:05:24demanding they be

01:05:25nothing more than

01:05:25ornaments or property.

01:05:27I don't harbor

01:05:28grand illusions

01:05:29of saving the world.

01:05:31But I want these girls

01:05:33to master weaving,

01:05:34commerce,

01:05:34or even basic arcana.

01:05:36I want them to have

01:05:37a trade and a voice.

01:05:39My business flourished

01:05:41beyond my wildest dreams.

01:05:43Within six months,

01:05:45Amber Eyes

01:05:45became the ultimate

01:05:46obsession for the

01:05:48noble women of the South.

01:05:49People often ask me

01:05:51if I fear bankruptcy,

01:05:52considering the academy

01:05:54charges no tuition.

01:05:55I simply offer

01:05:56a faint smile

01:05:57and say nothing.

01:05:59They have no idea

01:06:01I am the daughter

01:06:01of the wealthiest man

01:06:02in the Holy Kingdom.

01:06:04Besides,

01:06:05Julian still sends

01:06:06crates of mana crystals

01:06:07via secret caravans

01:06:08every month.

01:06:09In his eyes,

01:06:10I am likely still

01:06:11his reckless

01:06:12spendthrift sister

01:06:13who might run out

01:06:14of pocket money

01:06:14at any moment.

01:06:17Letters from the capital

01:06:18arrived occasionally

01:06:20through secret channels,

01:06:21carrying whispers

01:06:22of a world

01:06:23I had left behind.

01:06:24Five months ago,

01:06:26my father,

01:06:26Bernard,

01:06:27was finally exonerated

01:06:29and released.

01:06:30The High Tribunal

01:06:31had uncovered everything.

01:06:33It was all a web of lies

01:06:34spun by Christopher.

01:06:36The shadow that had loomed

01:06:37over my family's honor

01:06:38was finally dispelled.

01:06:40According to Julian,

01:06:42Christopher's obsession

01:06:43had spiraled into madness.

01:06:45Desperate to replace me,

01:06:47he had kidnapped a girl

01:06:48who shared a passing

01:06:50resemblance to me

01:06:51and kept her imprisoned

01:06:52in a secret villa,

01:06:53calling her by a pet name.

01:06:55But his highborn wife,

01:06:57the daughter of

01:06:58the Lord Chief Justice,

01:07:00discovered his

01:07:01sordid spirit.

01:07:02In a fit of betrayed rage,

01:07:04she stormed the villa

01:07:05with her retainers.

01:07:07The innocent girl

01:07:08caught in the crossfire

01:07:09met a horrific end

01:07:11at the hands

01:07:12of a woman scorned.

01:07:14Christopher,

01:07:14the man who pretended

01:07:15to love me so deeply,

01:07:17didn't spare a single tear

01:07:19for his victim.

01:07:20He immediately turned

01:07:22on the dead girl,

01:07:23slandering her memory

01:07:24to save his own skin

01:07:26and his political career.

01:07:28He underestimated

01:07:29a woman's wrath.

01:07:30His wife stripped away

01:07:32his mask,

01:07:33exposing his embezzlement

01:07:35in treason.

01:07:36Now,

01:07:37he rots

01:07:38in a lightless dungeon,

01:07:39his limbs broken

01:07:40and his mind shattered.

01:07:42He is a pathetic creature,

01:07:44a far cry

01:07:45from the elegant scholar

01:07:47he once pretended to be.

01:07:48I felt no pity

01:07:50as I burned the letter.

01:07:51He earned every second

01:07:52of his agony.

01:07:54The Vivian family

01:07:56was unable to return

01:07:57to the Holy Kingdom.

01:07:58Julian's letters

01:07:59became increasingly frantic,

01:08:00claiming that Arthur

01:08:01had descended

01:08:02into a state

01:08:03of pure madness.

01:08:04The wedding between

01:08:05Arthur and Isabella

01:08:06never happened.

01:08:07Instead,

01:08:08in a shocking twist

01:08:09that paralyzed the capital,

01:08:11he personally

01:08:11escorted Isabella

01:08:13to the ghost tower.

01:08:14Arthur!

01:08:14Please!

01:08:15You can't do this!

01:08:17No one knew the reason,

01:08:19but I could guess.

01:08:20A man like Arthur

01:08:21would never tolerate

01:08:22anyone who dared

01:08:23to touch his secrets

01:08:24or threaten

01:08:25his absolute control.

01:08:27Now Arthur spends

01:08:28his days scouring

01:08:29the capital for a ghost.

01:08:30He searches

01:08:31for any trace

01:08:32of my existence.

01:08:32and at night,

01:08:34he stands before

01:08:35my empty grave,

01:08:36screaming to the heavens

01:08:38that I am his only

01:08:39true crown princess.

01:08:41I felt nothing

01:08:42but cold disdain

01:08:43when I read those words.

01:08:44He had spent his nights

01:08:45lost in the arms

01:08:46of another woman,

01:08:47and now,

01:08:48he wants to play the role

01:08:50of the grieving,

01:08:50devoted husband.

01:08:52It was a pathetic performance.

01:08:54My only focus now

01:08:55is the safety

01:08:56of my two little dragons.

01:08:57The most experienced

01:08:58midwife in the south

01:08:59warned me,

01:09:00the carrying twins,

01:09:01especially those

01:09:02of the dragon line,

01:09:03is a treacherous path.

01:09:05She told me

01:09:06that the day

01:09:07of their birth

01:09:07would be like

01:09:08walking along

01:09:09the precipice

01:09:09of the underworld.

01:09:10It is a gamble

01:09:11with death.

01:09:12A heavy fear

01:09:13has settled in my bones.

01:09:15I am terrified

01:09:16that I will never wake

01:09:17to see Julian

01:09:18become a grand archmage,

01:09:19and even more terrified

01:09:20that my children

01:09:21will enter this world

01:09:22only to find

01:09:23themselves motherless.

01:09:27A soft touch

01:09:28on my shoulder

01:09:28pulled me

01:09:29from my thoughts.

01:09:30I looked up

01:09:30to see Perrin

01:09:31standing before

01:09:32the counter,

01:09:32his usual modest expression

01:09:34colored by a hint

01:09:35of nerves.

01:09:36Perrin was a wandering

01:09:37scholar I had rescued

01:09:38three months ago

01:09:39after he collapsed

01:09:39outside my shop.

01:09:40He was handsome

01:09:41in a gentle,

01:09:42intellectual way,

01:09:44possessing a quiet grace

01:09:45that persisted

01:09:46despite his poverty.

01:09:47The young girls

01:09:48who worked for me

01:09:49loved to whisper

01:09:50that he was hopelessly

01:09:51in love with me.

01:09:52I always dismissed it

01:09:53as childish gossip.

01:09:55Why would a brilliant

01:09:55young man

01:09:56with his whole life

01:09:57ahead of him

01:09:57want a woman like me?

01:09:58I was a widow

01:10:00with a swollen belly,

01:10:01living under a story

01:10:02that my husband

01:10:03had perished

01:10:03on some distant battlefield.

01:10:05Is something wrong,

01:10:06Mr. Perrin?

01:10:07His face flushed crimson,

01:10:09the heat spreading

01:10:10all the way

01:10:11to his ears.

01:10:12He hesitated

01:10:13for what felt

01:10:13like an eternity,

01:10:14fidgeting with his sleeves

01:10:15as if trying to summon

01:10:16every ounce of courage

01:10:17in his soul.

01:10:19Miss Vivian,

01:10:20I have admired you

01:10:21for a very long time.

01:10:22I don't care about

01:10:23your past

01:10:24and I don't care

01:10:25about the rumors.

01:10:26I want to take care of you.

01:10:27If you would honor me

01:10:29by becoming my wife,

01:10:30I promise to love

01:10:31your children

01:10:31as if they were

01:10:32my own blood.

01:10:33I froze,

01:10:34my mind racing

01:10:35to find a kind way

01:10:36to reject him.

01:10:37Before I could speak,

01:10:38however,

01:10:39a voice like a sudden

01:10:40arctic gale

01:10:41tore through the room,

01:10:42turning the humid

01:10:43southern air to ice.

01:10:46Elena,

01:10:47you intend to take

01:10:48my children and marry

01:10:50this pathetic,

01:10:51lowly commoner?

01:10:52My body turned to stone.

01:10:54I turned my head

01:10:55slowly toward the doorway.

01:10:57There,

01:10:57framed against

01:10:58the dying rays

01:10:59of the sunset,

01:11:00stood the man

01:11:01who should have been

01:11:02a thousand miles away.

01:11:03Arthur's face

01:11:04was a mask

01:11:05of sheer murderous rage.

01:11:10The moment Perrin

01:11:11finished his confession,

01:11:13the air in the room

01:11:13shattered.

01:11:14A suffocating pressure,

01:11:16the raw,

01:11:17primal weight

01:11:17of a dragon's aura

01:11:18exploded outward,

01:11:20pinning everyone

01:11:21to the spot.

01:11:22Arthur stepped

01:11:22into my workshop,

01:11:23clad in robes

01:11:24of deep obsidian

01:11:25and gold.

01:11:26His eyes

01:11:27were twin glaciers,

01:11:28harboring a frost

01:11:29cold enough

01:11:30to freeze

01:11:30the entire southern coast.

01:11:32He moved

01:11:33with a heavy,

01:11:34deliberate stride,

01:11:35and I knew instantly

01:11:36that the day

01:11:36of reckoning

01:11:37for my six-month escape

01:11:38had finally arrived.

01:11:40My legs

01:11:41turned to water.

01:11:42In a frantic,

01:11:43useless panic,

01:11:44I grabbed a handful

01:11:44of monocrystals

01:11:45and tried to bolt

01:11:46for the back exit,

01:11:47but it was already

01:11:48too late.

01:11:49The doorway

01:11:49was blocked

01:11:50by a wall

01:11:50of iron,

01:11:51a phalanx of paladins,

01:11:52their armor gleaming

01:11:54with an oppressive

01:11:54holy light.

01:11:55There was no escape.

01:11:57His eyes turned

01:11:58a violent bloodshot crimson,

01:11:59his voice cracking

01:12:00with a shock

01:12:01that looked far too much

01:12:02like genuine pain.

01:12:03Faking your own death

01:12:04to deceive me?

01:12:06Elena,

01:12:06your audacity

01:12:07truly knows no bounds.

01:12:08You were the one

01:12:09who sent that bowl

01:12:10of poison!

01:12:12If I hadn't fled,

01:12:13my children

01:12:14would be nothing

01:12:15but a memory

01:12:16by now!

01:12:17Poison?

01:12:18I never gave

01:12:19such an order.

01:12:23Perrin stood paralyzed,

01:12:25the sheer weight

01:12:26of the crown prince's

01:12:27presence crushing

01:12:28the air from his lungs.

01:12:29Miss Vivian.

01:12:30He looked at me.

01:12:30You told me your husband

01:12:32had...

01:12:32that he had been marted

01:12:33on the northern front.

01:12:35Marted?

01:12:36Elena,

01:12:37are you so desperate

01:12:38for my death

01:12:38that you've already

01:12:39buried me in your stories?

01:12:40I couldn't look him

01:12:41in the eye.

01:12:42I hadn't wished

01:12:42for his death.

01:12:43It was quite the opposite.

01:12:45I had missed him

01:12:45so much

01:12:46that the only way

01:12:47to survive the silence

01:12:48was to bury his memory

01:12:49under a lie.

01:12:51Your highness,

01:12:52please,

01:12:53do not distress her.

01:12:55She is heavily pregnant.

01:12:56She cannot handle

01:12:57such a shock.

01:12:57Despite the visible

01:12:58trembling of his hands,

01:12:59Perrin stepped forward

01:13:00shielding me

01:13:01with his own body.

01:13:03Get out of my way!

01:13:04He lunged forward,

01:13:05reaching to seize me.

01:13:06But before his fingers

01:13:07could brush my skin,

01:13:08a cataclysmic pain

01:13:09tore through my lower body.

01:13:11It felt as if my very soul

01:13:13was being ripped in two.

01:13:15It hurts.

01:13:16Arthur,

01:13:17something is wrong.

01:13:18The hatchlings,

01:13:19they're coming now!

01:13:20I doubled over,

01:13:21my breath pitching

01:13:22and strangled screams

01:13:23as the world began

01:13:24to tilt into darkness.

01:13:28The crown prince,

01:13:29who only moments ago

01:13:31had looked ready

01:13:31to tear the world apart,

01:13:32instantly lost his composure.

01:13:34Arthur gathered me

01:13:35into his arms.

01:13:36Those hands,

01:13:37usually so steady

01:13:39when gripping a sword

01:13:40or signing a death warrant,

01:13:41were now shaking

01:13:42uncontrollably.

01:13:51He stayed right there,

01:13:53pacing the halls

01:13:53of the manor

01:13:54I had bought

01:13:54six months ago.

01:13:56The healers and midwives

01:13:57begged him to leave,

01:13:58citing ancient superstitions

01:13:59that a crown prince's

01:14:01presence in a birthing chamber

01:14:02would bring ruin

01:14:03to his divine love.

01:14:04Arthur didn't argue.

01:14:06He simply drew his sword

01:14:07and stood guard at the door

01:14:09as the hours bled

01:14:10into one another

01:14:10and the labor

01:14:11became unbearable.

01:14:12I began to sob,

01:14:13the tears flowing freely.

01:14:15Every time I cried out,

01:14:16the cold, ruthless leader

01:14:18of the dragon line,

01:14:19the man who made

01:14:20the empire tremble,

01:14:21found his own eyes

01:14:22welling with moisture.

01:14:23Finally,

01:14:24two sharp,

01:14:25piercing cries

01:14:25rang out.

01:14:26A boy and a girl

01:14:27had safely entered the world.

01:14:29The midwives whispered

01:14:30among themselves

01:14:31as they cleaned the infants.

01:14:32In all their years

01:14:33of delivering children,

01:14:34they had never seen

01:14:35a mother endure labor,

01:14:36while the father stood by

01:14:38and cried his eyes out.

01:14:40When I finally opened my eyes,

01:14:42the room was bathed

01:14:43in the golden dying light

01:14:44of the next day's twilight.

01:14:46Arthur was right there,

01:14:47sitting by the bed.

01:14:48But as soon as my mind cleared,

01:14:49the old bitterness flared up.

01:14:51Stop pretending to care!

01:14:52You never wanted us!

01:14:53The day you returned

01:14:54to the capital,

01:14:55you were so eager

01:14:56to have me disposed.

01:14:57You stayed in your chambers

01:14:58with Isabella

01:14:59for three days

01:15:00and three nights.

01:15:01They said you were lost

01:15:02in each other

01:15:03until dawn,

01:15:04that the priests

01:15:04had to change the holy water

01:15:05twenty times

01:15:06because of your pravity!

01:15:08I never touched Isabella.

01:15:10And I never,

01:15:10not for a single second,

01:15:12intended to depose you.

01:15:13When I returned,

01:15:14my father did push

01:15:15for an alliance,

01:15:16but I stood before

01:15:17the entire court

01:15:18and declared that I already

01:15:19had a wife by sacred contract.

01:15:20He urged me to bring you

01:15:22to the palace immediately.

01:15:23I thought your heart

01:15:24was still full of Christopher.

01:15:25I was so mad with pain

01:15:27that I delayed

01:15:28the official proclamation

01:15:30of your title.

01:15:31I was a fool, Elena,

01:15:33but I was never unfaithful.

01:15:37A deep flush crept up my neck.

01:15:39All those stories,

01:15:40the whispered nights of passion,

01:15:42were nothing more than

01:15:43illusions and rumors

01:15:44engineered by Isabella

01:15:46to drive me

01:15:47to the edge of insanity.

01:15:48I've uncovered the truth.

01:15:53It was Isabella.

01:15:56She bribed the priests

01:15:58in the side hall

01:16:00to lace your medicine

01:16:01with a cursed powder

01:16:02designed to wither

01:16:04the dragon line.

01:16:06His voice turned cold

01:16:07and predatory,

01:16:08a low vibration

01:16:10of pure hatred.

01:16:12I've stripped her

01:16:13of her noble name

01:16:14and condemned her

01:16:15the tower to eternal waists

01:16:18for the rest of her life.

01:16:21Elena, thank God

01:16:22you were alert enough

01:16:23to refuse that drast.

01:16:28If you hadn't...

01:16:29His arms began

01:16:30to shake violently.

01:16:31This powerful, terrifying crown prince

01:16:33looked suddenly,

01:16:34heartbreakingly fragile.

01:16:35The walls I had built

01:16:36around my heart

01:16:36crumbled in an instant.

01:16:38For the first time

01:16:38in two years,

01:16:39I reached out

01:16:40and wound my arms

01:16:40around his neck,

01:16:41leaning into him

01:16:42with a surge

01:16:43of pure, unadulterated longing.

01:16:45Since you never chose her,

01:16:47you aren't allowed

01:16:48to look at anyone else

01:16:49ever again.

01:16:50Arthur,

01:16:50if you ever dare

01:16:51to betray our contract,

01:16:53I will take our children

01:16:54and vanish into the mistwood.

01:16:55I will hide so well

01:16:56that you could spend

01:16:57the rest of your life

01:16:58searching

01:16:58and never see my face again.

01:17:00What did you just say?

01:17:04You...

01:17:04You're willing

01:17:05to stay for me?

01:17:06He pulled back,

01:17:08his eyes searching mine

01:17:09with a look of frantic,

01:17:10overwhelming joy,

01:17:11as if he were a drowning man

01:17:13who had finally

01:17:13found the shore.

01:17:16I looked at his face,

01:17:18the face of a man

01:17:19so devastatingly handsome,

01:17:20yet currently twisted

01:17:22into an expression

01:17:23of clumsy,

01:17:24desperate anxiety.

01:17:26And I couldn't help

01:17:28but let out a soft laugh.

01:17:30I've always had

01:17:31a fondness for beasts,

01:17:32especially a dragon like you.

01:17:35Greedy,

01:17:36humble,

01:17:37and so utterly obsessed

01:17:39that once you've chosen

01:17:41a master,

01:17:43you can never be shaken off.

01:17:45Arthur's gaze darkened instantly.

01:17:48That predatory glint

01:17:49returned to his mismatched eyes,

01:17:51dancing with a renewed fire.

01:17:54He crushed his lips

01:17:55against mine,

01:17:56kissing me with a ferocity

01:17:57that suggested he wanted

01:17:59to grind my very soul

01:18:00into his own.

01:18:03I am your shadow.

01:18:06I am your guardian dragon.

01:18:10You will never push me away again

01:18:12as long as you live.

01:18:13His kiss was beginning to wander,

01:18:15growing more fervent and hungry,

01:18:17until it was abruptly shattered

01:18:19by two loud,

01:18:20synchronized wails.

01:18:24The babies!

01:18:26Arthur, stop!

01:18:26I haven't even seen

01:18:27our children yet!

01:18:29The dignified crown prince

01:18:31lowered his lashes

01:18:32in a fit of silent,

01:18:33brooding resentment.

01:18:35He looked exactly

01:18:36like a great dragon

01:18:37who had just seen

01:18:38his most precious treasure stolen,

01:18:40yet lacked the heart

01:18:42to retaliate.

01:18:43With a resigned sigh,

01:18:45he reached into the bassinets

01:18:46and scooped up

01:18:47the two velvet-wrapped bundles.

01:18:51Elena,

01:18:53even with these two little things

01:18:55stealing your attention,

01:18:56you are not allowed

01:18:57to reduce the love

01:18:58you give me

01:18:58by a single inch.

01:19:02I gave a helpless,

01:19:04quiet laugh.

01:19:05My fingertips brushed

01:19:06against the faint,

01:19:07shimmering gold scales

01:19:08on the hatchling's foreheads,

01:19:10the most sacred mark

01:19:12of the imperial line.

01:19:13Then, to be fair,

01:19:15I leaned up

01:19:16and pressed a lingering,

01:19:17reassuring kiss

01:19:18to the lips

01:19:19of their jealous father.

01:19:20The evening breeze

01:19:21of Emerald Harbor

01:19:22drifted through the window,

01:19:24carrying the scent

01:19:25of salt

01:19:26and blooming flowers.

01:19:27On this ancient continent

01:19:29of miracles

01:19:30and strong wine,

01:19:31we finally had our future.

01:19:34And for the first time,

01:19:36it was enough.

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