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Each movie brings exciting characters, surprising plot twists, touching relationships, and powerful stories that keep you watching until the final scene. From billionaire romances to inspiring life journeys, every film offers a unique experience.
Enjoy HD movies with English subtitles and stay tuned for regular uploads of the latest popular drama films.
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00:00Bold words from a human.
00:02Your father holds a border post, that's all.
00:05This is a good point.
00:07But more than that,
00:08I took out the candlestick spike and cut into my wrist.
00:11There wasn't a single drop of blood on my wrist,
00:13yet black blood began to seep from the Kale's wrist.
00:16Kale looked at me in disbelief.
00:18What did you do to me?
00:20Nothing.
00:22Remember,
00:23I was born evil and cursed.
00:26I am more monstrous than you.
00:28Any harm done to my body can be transferred to others.
00:31Kale dispersed the serpent swarm.
00:33The spider was just a spider.
00:35I won't hold it against you.
00:37Generous.
00:38We still haven't completed the matching ceremony.
00:41You killed my pet, and you want to-
00:43He stopped, stared.
00:45The ceremony isn't finished.
00:47Then it stays unfinished.
00:49Be grateful I'm not having you thrown out.
00:52I smiled and turned toward the crowd.
00:54My eyes landed on the royal physician Idris,
00:56standing near the far pillar.
00:58Young, silver-robed, and cruel.
01:00Watching the spectacle with an expression of profound discomfort.
01:04I walked toward him.
01:05In my past life,
01:06it was him who made Cecilia a living bloodbond,
01:09cutting her alive.
01:10If Kale won't complete the ceremony,
01:12perhaps you would be willing to stand in.
01:14Idris was shocked.
01:15Looking at Kale in horror,
01:16this was an insult to the king,
01:18though in a passive way.
01:20Execute him.
01:21Anyone suspected of cuckolding the serpent king will never survive.
01:25I said nothing.
01:26Just waited.
01:26Kale's jaw tightened.
01:28Idris was taken away in despair.
01:30Kale turned back to the altar.
01:32Fine.
01:33He completed the ceremony.
01:34I did not make it easy for him.
01:38That night,
01:39he didn't come to the chamber.
01:44In our past life,
01:46Cecilia had waited until dawn,
01:48sitting alone in her wedding dress,
01:49hoping.
01:50I gave him exactly one hour.
01:52Pack his things.
01:54All of them.
01:56If he doesn't want to share the chamber,
01:57we shouldn't inconvenient him by leaving his belongings here.
02:00They didn't hesitate by the time
02:01Sale heard what was happening
02:02and came to the courtyard in a fury.
02:04I was already asleep.
02:06My guards,
02:06my father's people,
02:07loyal to me,
02:08blocked the door.
02:09Vesper.
02:10He said my name like a threat.
02:13Open this door!
02:15I didn't respond.
02:16He transformed into a snake
02:17and slithered into the chamber.
02:19Suddenly,
02:20I felt something cold wrapping itself around my body.
02:28Do you know how the last person
02:30who provoked me like that ended up?
02:33If you want to kill me,
02:35it won't be tonight.
02:36My lord,
02:37you still need the border garrison.
02:39The night was long.
02:40The next morning,
02:41the Queen Mother's attendant arrived before dawn.
02:43She forced me to attend her morning ritual.
02:45I dressed without hurrying.
02:47The moment I stepped into the Queen Mother's chamber,
02:49I saw a pot boiling on the stove.
02:51Hold that pot.
02:52I looked at the Queen Mother and the boiling pot
02:54in a past life.
02:55I noticed that every time Cecilia came home,
02:58her hands were covered in blisters,
03:00so that's how it was.
03:01Do you really want me to hold it?
03:03You will learn your place here.
03:05I waited until she had finished dressing,
03:07until she was standing in her finest robes,
03:10silver-threaded ancient.
03:11Then,
03:12I calmly walked over
03:13and dipped my arm into the boiling water.
03:17With a blood-curdling scream,
03:19blisters instantly broke out
03:20all over the Queen Mother's arm.
03:22Her shriek brought Seal through the door
03:24in under a minute.
03:25He stood in the doorway
03:25and looked at his mother,
03:27shocked,
03:27furious,
03:28extensive burns on one arm,
03:30and then at me,
03:31standing beside her
03:32with a provocative expression.
03:34Throw her out.
03:36Void the contract.
03:38She's a devil!
03:40We can't.
03:42We need the garrison.
03:44Worthless, Liz!
03:45The Queen Mother slammed her goblet
03:47into Kale's chest
03:48and shrieked that he was good for nothing.
03:50That he didn't even have the spine
03:52to cast me out of the fortress.
03:53She was right.
03:54He didn't.
03:55Call the Serpent King
03:56had pledged his sword
03:57to the Great King of the Iron Man,
03:58the most powerful orc warlord on the step.
04:01He needs grain routes,
04:02city gates left unbarred,
04:04and human nobles.
04:05My family controlled the Eastern Pass.
04:07His advisor would have made certain
04:09he understood that
04:10before the betrothal seal was pressed.
04:11In my past life,
04:13he had broken my sister Cecilia slowly
04:15and deliberately
04:16because he had only learned
04:17after the vows were spoken
04:18that she carried no political weight.
04:20This time,
04:21he knew exactly what he was acquiring.
04:22I had made sure of it.
04:24I left the Queen Mother to her collapse
04:26and walked out alongside Kale
04:27into the cold corridor
04:28beyond her chambers.
04:30Three days later
04:30came the customary return
04:32to my family's estate.
04:33Kale had not intended to come.
04:35He had been keeping his nights
04:36at a private house
04:37in the lower city
04:38where he kept his first love,
04:40waiting for the right season
04:41to bring her through the fortress gates
04:42and to install her
04:43as a favored consort.
04:45In the past life,
04:46he had not returned
04:46to Cecilia at all.
04:48She went alone.
04:48Her mother called her useless
04:50for being unable
04:50to manage her own husband.
04:52Cecilia had stood
04:53with her eyes downcast
04:54and received every word in silence.
04:56No one had known
04:57what she endured
04:58inside these walls.
04:59I found Kale
04:59before he could vanish
05:00and had him escorted
05:02firmly into the carriage.
05:03He tried his best
05:04to control Fury.
05:05Vesper,
05:06have I shown you
05:07too much patience?
05:08If Serpent King
05:09fails to appear
05:09at my family state,
05:10the insult falls on them.
05:12That is not my concern.
05:13I have obligations today.
05:15It is his fox lover,
05:16Lucia's name day,
05:17naturally.
05:19Then stay,
05:20and I'll make sure
05:20to have that fox's daughter
05:22killed before evening bells.
05:23You wouldn't.
05:24I held his gaze
05:25until he understood
05:26I was not performing.
05:27Lady Luisha,
05:28the daughter
05:29of the condemned fox moored.
05:31Did you imagine
05:31you could quietly bury
05:33her origins
05:33and bring her through
05:34the gates as a consort?
05:35If I had her killed,
05:37your people will love me.
05:38The cell went very still.
05:40He had not known
05:41I had gone that deep.
05:42A condemned lineage
05:42was not something
05:43he could afford
05:44to have surfaced.
05:45Not what the great king
05:46of the Iron Ma claim,
05:47still fragile.
05:48The temperature
05:49in the carriage dropped.
05:50Sit quietly,
05:51ride with me,
05:52and Luinha lives
05:53another day.
05:56If you get out
05:57of this carriage,
05:59she's dead.
06:00I raised my hand
06:01and drew one finger
06:02slowly across my own neck.
06:04Kale looked like
06:04he wanted to put
06:05his hands around mine.
06:07Viper,
06:08you absolute viper.
06:10He came unwillingly.
06:12When we arrived,
06:13my sister Cecilia
06:13was already there
06:14with her husband,
06:15Lucien,
06:16the Lion Arbiter.
06:17She had brought
06:17half a cartload of gifts,
06:19pressed remedies
06:20and silk
06:20from the eastern provinces.
06:22My mother received them
06:23with polite indifference.
06:25How thoughtful.
06:26And handed everything
06:27to the steward
06:27without looking.
06:28Cecilia's expression
06:29did not change.
06:30She had long since learned
06:31to carry disappointment
06:32without showing it.
06:34But Lucien noticed.
06:34He reached over
06:35and covered her hand
06:36with his.
06:37Tenderly,
06:38Sister.
06:38Cecilia saw me
06:39and smiled.
06:40She inspected me carefully
06:41and then exhaled
06:42when she found me
06:43safe and sound.
06:44Have they treated you bad?
06:46Before I could answer,
06:47Kale stepped forward.
06:49Who would dare?
06:50She's turned
06:51the entire fortress
06:52upside down.
06:53She threatened
06:54to kill me
06:55before we'd been married.
06:56He was still furious
06:57about it.
06:58Cecilia blinked at him.
06:59In the past life,
07:00he had not come here.
07:01His presence surprised her
07:02and scared her.
07:03She flinched.
07:04Lucien noticed her fear.
07:05Come.
07:06Let's walk the garden.
07:07They left together.
07:08Kale watched her go.
07:09Something shifted
07:10in his expression.
07:11Your sister
07:13is gentle,
07:15composed,
07:16gracious.
07:16He turned to look at me.
07:17You and she share
07:18the same blood.
07:19How is it possible
07:20you are so entirely
07:21unlike her?
07:22I should have taken her
07:23instead of you.
07:24I turned to face him.
07:26In the past life,
07:27he had taken Cecilia
07:28and he had unmade her
07:29piece by piece,
07:30season by season
07:31until there was
07:32nothing left
07:32that resembled the girl
07:33who had once circled me
07:34in the courtyard,
07:35checking for bruises.
07:36Even his stablemen
07:37could land a hand on her.
07:39He had used her
07:39as a blood vessel
07:40to sustain that Lucia's life.
07:42Regrets?
07:43Say her name once more
07:44and I'll have
07:44Louis' tongue cut out.
07:47I misspoke.
07:48Don't touch her.
07:49Then go.
07:49I need to speak
07:50with my mother.
07:51I left him there
07:52and went inside.
07:54We returned to the fortress
07:55by late afternoon.
07:56Kale still had somewhere
07:57to be tonight.
07:58He went to Lady Lucia's place.
08:00Lucia rose when he entered,
08:02her eyes filling at once.
08:03My lord,
08:04I feared you had forgotten me.
08:06I was detained.
08:08The viper forced my hand.
08:10Of course.
08:12I knew it was she.
08:13She threw herself
08:14into Kale's arms.
08:17Good girl.
08:19Kale's hand slipped
08:20beneath Lucia's clothes
08:21and the two became entwined.
08:23After the tenderness subsided,
08:25Lucia held onto Kale.
08:26Her eyes and cheeks
08:27still flushed
08:28with the afterglow
08:29of passion.
08:30Our son is old enough
08:31to find a tutor.
08:32Could I not bring him
08:33to the palace?
08:34Pack your things.
08:36In two days
08:37I will send for you.
08:38You are coming
08:38to the palace.
08:39Lucia lowered her eyes
08:40and smiled.
08:41Thank you, my lord.
08:42And behind the smile,
08:44behind the downcast lashes,
08:45emerged the calculating slyness.
08:47When we returned
08:48to the fortress,
08:49a child came at me
08:50and shouted,
08:52You!
08:53It's because of you
08:54my mother can't come home!
08:55I'll kill you!
08:56A woman came scrambling
08:57after him,
08:58snatching at his collar,
09:00her face white with terror.
09:01It was Lucia.
09:02The son of Lucia,
09:04that bastard,
09:05was brought into my courtyard
09:06screaming threats,
09:07that he would have me expelled,
09:09that his father would come,
09:10that I would regret it.
09:11I let him exhaust himself.
09:13Then I crouched to his level
09:14and closed my hand
09:16around his throat,
09:17not crushing,
09:17just present.
09:19His screaming stopped.
09:20Listen to me carefully.
09:21You are not what you think you are.
09:22You have no title,
09:24no protection
09:24that I cannot remove.
09:25I could end you
09:26and call it a household matter
09:27and no one with any authority
09:28would tell me I was wrong.
09:30He stared at me.
09:31His lip was trembling.
09:32Your mother,
09:33if she ever enters these walls,
09:34will have no standing to raise you.
09:36That right belongs to me,
09:37which means that by every law
09:38in this kingdom,
09:38I am the closest thing
09:39to a mother you have in this house.
09:40You're not my mother!
09:42No, I'm not.
09:45But I am the woman
09:46you will address accordingly
09:47or you will kneel in that courtyard
09:49until you change your mind.
09:51He was not stupid.
09:52He could feel my grip.
09:53He went limp.
09:54I released him.
09:55Of course I wouldn't really kill him.
09:57He's just a kid.
09:58I just wanted to make his mother submit.
10:00I kept my promise
10:01and spared Lucia's life.
10:03But she wasn't satisfied.
10:04She still wanted to be
10:05the consort of Kale.
10:07Lucia curtsied did,
10:08holding her hand
10:09over the wound on her chest,
10:10which still ached faintly.
10:12I sipped my wine.
10:13In the past life,
10:15Cecilia had been here,
10:16which meant Lucia had Kale to lean on.
10:18This life,
10:19with me occupying this position,
10:21Kale didn't dare move against me openly,
10:24which meant Lucia had no lever to pull.
10:26Except me.
10:27So here she was.
10:28Please,
10:29I am asking for a way forward.
10:31We are both women.
10:32You know what it is
10:34to have no ground beneath you.
10:36If I am not brought
10:38into the fortress properly,
10:40I have nowhere to go.
10:41She let her voice break
10:43on the last word.
10:44She was playing the sympathy card
10:46with both hands.
10:47I had no sympathy for Lucia.
10:49She had watched Cecilia
10:51being bled on a schedule
10:52and called it none of her business.
10:54She had benefited from every drop.
10:56She can find no soft feeling in me.
10:59You may stay,
11:00she exhaled.
11:03As a chambermaid.
11:05The exhale stopped.
11:06My lady?
11:07Kale had been summoned
11:09to the Great King.
11:10Roland had seen us arrive together,
11:12side by side,
11:13like a happy couple.
11:14While Kale was inside
11:16with the Great King,
11:17Roland materialized at my elbow
11:19with the particular expression
11:21of a man assembling a complaint.
11:23Since when have you
11:24and the Serpent King
11:25become so...
11:29companionally?
11:31Since it suited me.
11:33There's nothing.
11:35He has his uses.
11:36Don't stay too close to him.
11:38Go back to your family's estate
11:39for a while.
11:40Say you're unwell.
11:41A few weeks.
11:42He wasn't asking.
11:43Roland.
11:44He was warning.
11:44He knew about the coup.
11:46If I dissolved my arrangement
11:47with Kale,
11:48formally,
11:49legally me,
11:50would you mate me?
11:51He went still.
11:52You have been mated.
11:54The binding rites
11:55were never completed
11:55at the altar, technically...
11:56Vespa!
11:57Is it because I've been
11:58another man's mate?
11:59He turned to look at me.
12:00Eyes darkened.
12:01That is not the reason.
12:04I have never cared
12:05about such things.
12:06If someone devilish like me
12:07could be worth the effort
12:08of becoming better,
12:10it would only ever be
12:11for someone like him.
12:12Then I'll wait for you
12:13to come for me.
12:15And I walked away
12:16before he could answer.
12:17Kale was waiting
12:18when I returned.
12:19Who were you with?
12:20Roland?
12:21Something moved
12:21across his face.
12:23When I have what I owe,
12:24when the throne is settled,
12:26he'll be the first one
12:27I remove.
12:29Then I'll look forward
12:30to that day.
12:30He stared at me.
12:31I went inside.
12:33A fortnight later,
12:34Kale and his allies
12:35moved on the palace.
12:37They were surrounded
12:38before they reached
12:39the inner gates.
12:40I had given Roland
12:41everything.
12:42The documents,
12:44the correspondence,
12:45the names,
12:46the dates.
12:47Roland had gone
12:48to the Crow Prince.
12:49The Crow Prince
12:50had gone to my father.
12:52My father had arrived
12:53at the palace first
12:54and waited in the dark
12:55with 15,000 men
12:57at his back.
12:58The coup lasted
12:59approximately one hour.
13:00Kale's household
13:02was seized
13:02three days later.
13:04He looked at me
13:04across the courtyard
13:05of the fortress
13:06he no longer owned
13:07and his expression
13:08dimmed like a smoldering candle.
13:10You gave the evidence
13:11all to Roland.
13:12You were going
13:13to destroy my family.
13:14I wasn't going
13:15to let that happen twice.
13:20The fortress was stripped.
13:22The household condemned.
13:23Those who had served
13:24the coup
13:25were dealt with
13:26according to the law.
13:28Lucia ran.
13:29She took the boy
13:30and tried for the eastern road.
13:32They were caught
13:33before nightfall.
13:35She had miscalculated
13:36as people often do
13:38when they have spent
13:39too long believing
13:40themselves protected.
13:41She had spent years
13:43cultivating Kale
13:44as her shelter.
13:45In the end,
13:46he could not shelter
13:47even himself.
13:49The great king
13:50received me personally.
13:52My father
13:53had defended the palace.
13:54I had provided
13:55the intelligence
13:56that made the defense possible.
13:58By every accounting,
13:59I had been on the right side
14:00of this from the beginning.
14:01By the following week,
14:03I was the talk
14:04of the capital again,
14:05though the nature
14:06of the talk had shifted.
14:07Less mockery now,
14:08more of the uneasy fascination.
14:12I'm sorry.
14:13This should have been me.
14:14If I had been the one,
14:16you wouldn't have had to.
14:16You have nothing
14:17to apologize for.
14:18You and Lucien are well.
14:20That's enough.
14:23Three days later,
14:25two matching ceremonies
14:26were held at once.
14:27Lucien,
14:28the Lion Arbiter,
14:28came to collect
14:29Cecilia himself.
14:30He arrived in formal
14:32white and gold,
14:33the kind of man
14:33who made ceremonial dress
14:35look effortless.
14:36Be good to her,
14:37I thought.
14:38watching him help Cecilia
14:39into the carriage.
14:40She deserves your love.
14:42Then I turned
14:42and stepped into my own.
14:44Kale had not come
14:45to meet me.
14:46He'd spent last night
14:47at a brothel house
14:48with his mistress
14:49and couldn't drag himself
14:51out of bed before noon.
14:52I thought Kale not coming
14:54to meet my procession
14:55was insult enough.
14:56It wasn't.
14:57When the matching ceremony began,
14:59he still hadn't appeared.
15:01What came in his place
15:02was a spider,
15:03larger than my fist,
15:04its legs polished black,
15:05adorned with a ceremonial ribbon
15:07tied around its midsection.
15:09It was placed on the altar
15:10before me.
15:11Is the Serpent King
15:12really doing this?
15:13A human bride,
15:15bound to a pest.
15:16How fitting.
15:17If I were her,
15:17I'd kill myself.
15:19What's left to preserve?
15:20Kale's attendant
15:21stepped forward.
15:22My lady,
15:23the king was occupied
15:24through the night
15:24and could not rise in time.
15:25This is his most prized companion.
15:27He felt it appropriate
15:28that it stand in his place
15:29for the ceremony.
15:30The king despises me.
15:32Even his servants
15:33don't bother hiding it.
15:34I said nothing.
15:35I looked past him
15:36to the queen mother
15:37seated on the high dais.
15:38Your husband returned
15:39from campaign exhausted.
15:41As his mate,
15:42Grace is expected of you.
15:43The guests are waiting.
15:45Complete the ceremony.
15:46This was what Cecilia
15:47had endured
15:48in our past life.
15:49She never told me.
15:51Vespo!
15:52Stop stalling!
15:54You're asking me
15:55to complete a matching ceremony
15:56with a bug?
15:58So the serpent king
15:59is equivalent to this bug?
16:00How dare you!
16:02I dare nothing.
16:04I came here
16:05to bind myself to a king,
16:07not a bug.
16:08Silence,
16:09then scattered laughter.
16:10Nervous,
16:11surprised,
16:11quickly smothered.
16:12The queen mother's composure
16:14cracked at the edges.
16:15The spider felt
16:16the shift in the air.
16:17It lunged,
16:18spitting venom.
16:19I dodged
16:20and drove the candlestick
16:21spike through it
16:22in one clean motion.
16:23A black stain
16:24spread outward
16:25from the altar.
16:26Droplets
16:27caught the front
16:27of my wedding wights.
16:29Dark,
16:29deliberate looking,
16:30like I'd planned it.
16:31The hall erupted.
16:32She killed it!
16:33She killed the king's companion!
16:35The queen mother
16:36was on her feet.
16:37You!
16:38It attacked me.
16:40I pulled the spike free
16:41and wiped it
16:42on the altar cloth.
16:43What would you
16:43have had me do?
16:44Seize her!
16:45Someone fetch the king!
16:47The doors opened.
16:48The ground trembled faintly
16:49as K.L. walked in.
16:51Eyes that swept the room
16:52and landed on me.
16:53On the crushed creature,
16:54on the stains spreading
16:55across the altar stone
16:57and the absolute calm
16:58on my face.
16:59You killed my spider.
17:01It started first.
17:03I'm going to kill you.
17:04I smiled.
17:05I knew he'd come eventually.
17:07K.L. crossed the hall
17:08in a few strides
17:09and beckoned.
17:09Then thousands of serpents
17:11swarmed forward.
17:12I didn't move.
17:13The guests held their breath.
17:15Half terrified,
17:16half fascinated,
17:17wondering if he'd actually do it.
17:18A swarm of serpents
17:19had crawled up to my waist.
17:21K.L.
17:22Just before the a-serpent's tail
17:23stopped an inch
17:24from my throat.
17:25Kill me
17:26and you'll die.
17:27She hauled him back
17:28and turned to leave,
17:29the boy still thrashing
17:30in her arms,
17:31still screaming.
17:32Wait!
17:32She stopped then.
17:34Slowly she sank to her knees
17:35with the child
17:36still clutched
17:36against her chest.
17:37My lady,
17:38he is only small.
17:40Children say foolish things.
17:42Please,
17:43he means nothing by it.
17:45What do you call him?
17:47The young lord.
17:49My handmaid quickly stepped forward
17:50and struck Lucia across the face.
17:52The boy erupted.
17:54Witch!
17:54You hit my mother!
17:56I'll have my father kill you!
17:58I'll have you all killed!
18:00In the past life,
18:01this same child
18:02had put serpents
18:02in Cecilia's bedchamber.
18:04Serpents in her shoes.
18:05He had tormented her
18:06until she fell ill with fright
18:08and lay shaking for days.
18:09This life,
18:10I would teach him differently.
18:11I looked at him for a moment.
18:13Then I crossed the distance
18:14between us
18:15and slapped him.
18:16I had not particularly wanted to.
18:17But he had raised his hand
18:19to me first
18:20in my own house.
18:21And there are rules about that.
18:23How dare you touch my son!
18:24He's the future lord!
18:26Lucia shrieked in fury.
18:27My handmaid struck her again.
18:29You are confused.
18:30The lady has no children yet.
18:32There is no young lord.
18:34Everyone calls him.
18:36Even the queen mother
18:37has never objected.
18:38Everyone
18:38has been imprecise.
18:40A young lord
18:41is born of a lady
18:42and a king.
18:43You are neither legitimate
18:43nor formally acknowledged.
18:45You are a bastard.
18:46I looked down at the boy
18:47who had gone very still.
18:48And since you are
18:49the king's blood,
18:50however informally,
18:52you will come
18:52and live in my wing.
18:54Lucia suddenly lunged
18:55at me like a madwoman.
18:56If you dare lay a finger
18:58upon my son,
18:59I'll kill you!
19:00In the struggle,
19:01Lucia suddenly took advantage
19:02of my distraction
19:03to snatch the dagger
19:04I was using
19:05for self-defense.
19:06Then gritted her teeth
19:07and plunged it
19:08into her right shoulder,
19:09causing blood
19:10to gush out.
19:12Kale arrived
19:12with a drawn sword.
19:13He crossed the courtyard,
19:15sword leveled,
19:16the markings along his jaw
19:18pulled taut with fury.
19:19Lucia with eyes already wet
19:21when she saw Shale coming.
19:22She threw herself
19:23into his arms
19:23with all her might.
19:25Kale's eyes were filled
19:26with pity,
19:26and then he looked up
19:28and shot me an angry glance.
19:29Vesper,
19:30you touched Luia
19:31and my son.
19:32Your son charged at me
19:34in my own hall
19:35and threatened
19:35to kill my servants.
19:37I disciplined him.
19:38That is my right.
19:39Apologize to my son.
19:41I almost laughed.
19:42or I will end you for this.
19:44Your bastard
19:44has no acknowledged title,
19:46no formal standing,
19:47and no right
19:47to that courtyard
19:48without my lead.
19:49He is here
19:50only because I permit it.
19:51While this bitch,
19:52she deserves to die.
19:54In the past life,
19:55this Lucia framed
19:56my sister in the same way.
19:57She deliberately
19:58bled herself,
19:59but when she stabbed herself,
20:00she avoided
20:01the vital areas.
20:02Although the wound
20:02looked scary,
20:03it was only
20:04a superficial injury.
20:05But Kale cut Cecilia open
20:06and drained her blood
20:07for Lucia.
20:09Kale, please.
20:12She is the lady of the house.
20:13You cannot...
20:14But I could tell
20:15she wasn't using much force.
20:17He shook her off easily
20:18and kept walking.
20:19I stood where I was.
20:21Lucia,
20:22do you really want me to die?
20:24Lucia lowered her head,
20:25pretending not to dare
20:26to see what would happen next.
20:28But her eyes betrayed
20:29an uncontrollable,
20:30triumphant smile.
20:31The sword stayed raised
20:32for another moment.
20:33The tip of the sword
20:34was just an inch away from me.
20:36Seizing the moment,
20:37I grabbed the blade
20:38and thrust it
20:39straight into my chest,
20:40right into my heart.
20:42A blood-curdling scream
20:44rang off the walls.
20:45Not mine,
20:45but Lucia's.
20:46Blood gushed
20:47from Lucia's chest
20:48like a fountain.
20:49Kale faced.
20:50She pressed her hand
20:50against the wound,
20:51only to find the blood
20:52flowing faster and faster.
20:54This can't be...
20:55Lucia!
20:56Mother!
20:57Kale and the boy
20:58rushed over to Lucia
21:00at the same time.
21:01Fetch the royal position!
21:03Kale shouted,
21:04extremely furious.
21:05He looked at me
21:06as if his eyes
21:07were about to shoot fire.
21:09Guards!
21:10Cut this woman
21:11into pieces!
21:12The serpent guards,
21:13after witnessing all this,
21:15none of them dared
21:15to touch me.
21:16Idris was executed.
21:18In your hands.
21:21The look on his face
21:22suddenly changed
21:23into disbelief and fear.
21:25So it was you all along.
21:28You planned this
21:29from the very beginning.
21:30Looks like you're not
21:31all that dumb after all.
21:34But why?
21:36Why are you doing this to me?
21:38We had no history
21:40of conflict before we met!
21:42He cried out in despair.
21:44No conflict?
21:46You seem to have
21:47no recollection
21:48of how you mistreated
21:49my sister.
21:50That really is a bit unfair.
21:52Here's the deal.
21:53If you want to save this woman,
21:55come with me
21:56to the spring hunt
21:57organized by Lucian
21:58the Lion of Bouger.
21:59He had no reason to object.
22:01Lucian organized
22:02a spring hunting expedition.
22:04A riding party
22:05into the hills
22:05beyond the city.
22:07Ostensibly for the season,
22:08practically for the politics.
22:10The guest list reads
22:11like a map of every alliance
22:13and rivalry in the capital.
22:15The moment Cecilia and I
22:16appeared,
22:17the whispers started.
22:18Isn't that the Serpent King's mate?
22:20The one who was wed
22:21to his pet spider?
22:21She still shows her face.
22:23Remarkable.
22:23He doesn't even treat her
22:24as a person.
22:27I'd have drowned myself.
22:30That last one
22:30came from Lady Maron
22:32from Snake Clan,
22:33old enemy of mine,
22:34and I know she had a crush
22:35on Kale for years.
22:36She was standing
22:37with a cluster
22:38of other ladies
22:39near the tree line,
22:40not bothering
22:41to lower her voice.
22:42She had never needed
22:43a reason to look
22:44at me with contempt,
22:45and today,
22:46she considered herself
22:47well supplied.
22:48Cecilia's eyes went red.
22:49My sister has done
22:51nothing wrong.
22:52The fault lies
22:53with the Serpent King,
22:54not with her.
22:56I squeezed her hand.
22:57Don't.
22:57In the past life,
22:58they had said
22:59these things
22:59to Cecilia.
23:00I only learned later.
23:02Cecilia walking alone
23:03through the snow
23:04while they called
23:05after her,
23:06no one standing
23:06beside her,
23:07no one speaking.
23:08I crossed the grass
23:09toward Lady Maron.
23:10She didn't step back.
23:11She thought I wouldn't dare.
23:13Out here,
23:13in front of everyone.
23:15I slapped her.
23:15The crowd went quiet.
23:17Somewhere in the trees,
23:18a bird startled
23:19and fled.
23:21You.
23:22You struck me.
23:24Do you know
23:25who my father is?
23:26I know exactly
23:27who your father is,
23:28and when a king's mate
23:29is present,
23:30you bow.
23:31You don't perform
23:31for your friends
23:32at her expense.
23:33Your father failed
23:34to teach you that.
23:35Consider this a correction.
23:37You think you're untouchable?
23:38My cousin is
23:39Serpent King's favorite.
23:41She will discipline you
23:42and your father
23:43and your brothers.
23:44She had been rattled
23:45into saying something
23:46she couldn't take back.
23:47You mean Luezza.
23:50What's so funny?
23:51I called for my maid
23:52and she came in
23:53carrying a tray.
23:56Lady Maron took one look
23:58at the tray
23:58and nearly threw up.
24:00Lady Maron left.
24:01Quickly and without her friends,
24:03the tray held a fox's paw,
24:04still adorned
24:05with a signet ring.
24:06It was Lucia's.
24:07This is exactly
24:08morbid of you, Vesper.
24:09A gentle but calm voice
24:10rang at my ear.
24:11I looked over my shoulder
24:13and saw a handsome man
24:14wearing dark green riding gear.
24:16Roland,
24:16the prince of the Serpent clan,
24:18Kale's nephew.
24:19I stood there for a moment,
24:21genuinely caught off guard.
24:22In another life,
24:23when the Serpent King's coup collapsed
24:25and my father was swept up
24:27in the wreckage,
24:27it had been Roland
24:28who stepped forward.
24:29He had argued my father's case
24:31before the great king of Iron Maw.
24:33He had taken 30 lashes for it
24:35and 30 lashes
24:36had nearly killed him.
24:37I had never thanked him.
24:38I hadn't known.
24:40Roland, thank you.
24:42I only said you're Morid.
24:44What are you thanking me for?
24:45He turned to go.
24:46I caught his sleeve.
24:49You ran.
24:51When I told you
24:52I wanted to mate you,
24:53you actually ran.
24:58My lady,
24:59I would strongly advise
25:00against pursuing this particular...
25:01I licked his hand.
25:04He went completely still.
25:05Then he pulled his hand back
25:07and stared at me
25:07the way a man stares
25:09at something
25:09that has justified
25:10his understanding
25:11of how the world works.
25:14You...
25:14We are outside.
25:16There are...
25:16There are people.
25:17You cannot simply...
25:18There are horses.
25:19The horses can see.
25:21I know.
25:22He stared at me
25:23for another moment,
25:24color climbing steadily
25:25up the back of his neck
25:26and then turned
25:27and walked away
25:28with tremendous dignity
25:29and absolutely no idea
25:30where he was going.
25:32Hale and I
25:33never completed
25:33the binding rites
25:35nor did we ever
25:35sleep together.
25:37By any strict reading
25:38of the law
25:39we are not truly wed.
25:40Roland's face
25:41had gone the color
25:42of fresh linen.
25:43Whatever is between you
25:44and the serpent king
25:45has nothing to do with me.
25:46You should not...
25:47You must not...
25:47This is entirely...
25:48He stopped,
25:49seemed to decide
25:50that finishing the sentence
25:51was too dangerous.
25:52Then he turned
25:53and walked away
25:54very quickly.
25:55Roland!
25:55I called after him.
25:57He kept walking.
25:58If you're willing,
25:59once I've dissolved
26:00the arrangement with Kale,
26:01I'd mate you.
26:02He walked faster.
26:04He was almost
26:05at the treeline.
26:06I was fairly certain
26:07he was considering
26:08breaking into a run
26:09and had only his dignity
26:10to lose.
26:11Coward, I thought,
26:12with great affection.
26:13Absolute coward.
26:14You viper.
26:15Kale appeared from my left,
26:17materializing out
26:17of the expedition crowd,
26:19setting his teeth on edge.
26:20I'm not dead yet.
26:23You'd like to dissolve
26:24our arrangement
26:25and mate Roland
26:27over my living body.
26:28He had come after all,
26:29some belated instinct
26:31about appearances,
26:32most likely.
26:32and he had arrived
26:33at exactly the wrong moment.
26:35I'm considering my options.
26:38I'm considering.
26:40He said very quietly.
26:43Finding a convenient moment
26:45to have you removed.
26:48Are you?
26:49Yes.
26:50I looked at him.
26:53That would be
26:56a miscalculation.
26:58He stared at me.
26:59His jaw worked.
27:00He knew I was right.
27:01He couldn't touch me
27:02without consequences.
27:03He wasn't prepared to face.
27:05He couldn't risk
27:06to lose my father's support.
27:07And Lucia's fate
27:08lies in my hands.
27:10You asked me
27:10to come here with you.
27:12Was it just so I could
27:13watch you cheat on me?
27:15Not exactly.
27:17Cecilia, come here.
27:19I saw my younger sister
27:20standing not far away,
27:21but I didn't dare
27:22to approach us.
27:23She feared Kale
27:24deep to bone.
27:25She approached cautiously,
27:26holding the sacred artifact
27:28of the Lion Clan,
27:29a deer antler.
27:30In her hands,
27:31it was no ordinary antler.
27:32I picked up the antler
27:33and stabbed the serpent king
27:34with its sharpest point.
27:36You want to kill me?
27:38That would be too easy for you.
27:39The antler is a relic
27:41of the Lion Clan's prophet.
27:42When it come into contact
27:43with blood,
27:44they reveal the truths
27:45of past lives.
27:46You should repent
27:47for everything you did
27:47to my sister.
27:49Kale, remember this.
27:50It's a fight to the death
27:51between us.
27:52And of course,
27:52you're the one
27:53who's going to die.
27:54But I won't let you die easily.
27:56Kale left.
27:57Ladder, someone told me
27:58he had spent the ride home
27:59in uncharacteristic silence.
28:01I was told he kept reaching up
28:03to touch the back of his neck,
28:04as though feeling a draft
28:05from somewhere he couldn't locate.
28:07Good, I thought.
28:08He should start getting used
28:09to that feeling.
28:10A condemned lord's daughter
28:12does not become
28:13a favored concord.
28:14You have no name,
28:16no title,
28:17and no standing
28:18I am obgraged to recognize.
28:20I bore him a son.
28:22The softness had thinned
28:23at the edges now.
28:24That counts for something.
28:25It counts for the boy's existence.
28:27It does not count for yours.
28:29You produced an illegitimate child
28:31outside of any formal arrangement
28:33and called it a service.
28:34In most households,
28:36that gets you killed.
28:37She stood there,
28:38not quite able to speak.
28:40In truth,
28:41I didn't particularly care
28:43what she was called.
28:44What I cared about was Cecilia
28:46and the years Lucia
28:47had spent comfortable
28:48while Cecilia bled.
28:51Let her kneel for a while.
28:53Let her learn the texture
28:54of the floor.
28:55I understand.
28:56She bowed her head
28:57and went down.
28:58The weeks that followed
28:59had a rhythm.
29:00Lucia came to attend me
29:02every morning,
29:03dutiful and precise,
29:04and every evening
29:05went to Kale
29:06to describe in soft detail
29:08how difficult
29:08I had made her day.
29:10Kale,
29:11caught between
29:11two immovable objects,
29:13eventually lost patience
29:14and snapped at her.
29:17She is the lady.
29:19Serving her
29:20is not beneath you.
29:21I was told Lucia
29:23did not speak to him
29:24for three days after that.
29:27Meanwhile,
29:27I worked through
29:28the fortress household
29:29piece by piece,
29:30repositioning those
29:31who could be turned,
29:32removing those
29:33who couldn't,
29:34watching the architecture
29:36of loyalty shift
29:37beneath my hands.
29:38And I watched Kale.
29:39He was planning something.
29:41The signs were there.
29:42Meetings that ended
29:43when I entered rooms.
29:45Correspondence sealed
29:46with unfamiliar marks.
29:47Certain lords
29:48appearing in the fortress
29:49with no announced purpose.
29:51A coup in preparation
29:53moves like weather.
29:55You feel it
29:56before you can name it.
29:57I needed evidence,
29:59which meant
30:00staying close to Kale.
30:01Close enough to search.
30:03Close enough to be seen.
30:04And there was Roland
30:05as my ally.
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