the princess they called cursed

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A powerful full drama movie filled with love, secrets, and unexpected twists.  Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.  Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.  Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.  New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.  #drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story

Transcript

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

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

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

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

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

00:00:36Once his equal, now a disgraced slave of the clan, fallen into the abyss beneath the altar.

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

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

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

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

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

00:01:07Arthur, you are, but I will never let your children become your prisoners.

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

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

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

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

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

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

00:01:42malevolent 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.

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

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

00:02:11I 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, yet 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.

00:02:48He 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.

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

00:03:17The rumors followed quickly.

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

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

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

00:03:33My sanctuary had been transformed into a cage,

00:03:37surrounded by the cold steel of the paladins.

00:03:40The moment they spotted me, skulking in the shadows like a common theme,

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?

00:03:54I looked past the blade of the man in the center of the crowd.

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

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

00:04:04Risking execution, I reached out with trembling fingers,

00:04:08desperately trying to catch his hand.

00:04:10A low, rhythmic vibration hummed in the air

00:04:13as glowing embers of dragon fire drifted from the gold embroidery of his 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'd 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.

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

00:05:17But to him, my very touch was a defilement.

00:05:20The deposition decree, sealed with the dragon crest,

00:05:23had severed our contract forever.

00:05:26At eighteen, I had fallen from the adored saintess

00:05:28to 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

00:05:37and 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,

00:05:53I could only bite my lip and shake my head through a blur of tears.

00:05:57Golden scales erupted across his skin

00:06:00as the air ignited with his draconic aura.

00:06:02With a mocking smear,

00:06:04his body shifted and expanded

00:06:06in a blinding flash of light,

00:06:08transforming into a massive dragon.

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

00:06:14He vanished into the clouds

00:06:15without a single backward glance.

00:06:17I sat frozen in the ice

00:06:19until a sharp, searing pain tore through my abdomen,

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

00:06:25Watching the fading silhouette in the sky,

00:06:27I clutched my stomach where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

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

00:06:35Disaster struck.

00:06:36Three days.

00:06:37After Arthur's departure,

00:06:39my father, the Holy Father, was branded

00:06:41with the twin sins of treason and black magic.

00:06:44Then cast into the darkest depths of the abyss prison,

00:06:47I rushed to the capital, desperate and breathless,

00:06:49only to be met with the death sentence.

00:06:52He was to face the trial of Holy Fire

00:06:54on the night of the next full moon.

00:06:56Inside the stench-ridden dungeon,

00:06:58my mother's withered hand gripped mine

00:07:00with terrifying strength.

00:07:02Elena, you must go to Prince Arthur.

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

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

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

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

00:07:18Her words cut through me like acerated blood,

00:07:21but he couldn't find the voice to answer.

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

00:07:26I had forced him into the freezing depths of the holy lake

00:07:30just to retrieve a lost jewel for my amusement.

00:07:33How could I confess that,

00:07:35in fits of rage,

00:07:36I had left scars upon his back that would never heal.

00:07:39He likely wanted to see my family reduced to ash

00:07:42more than anyone else in the world.

00:07:44But looking at the last flickering spark of hope

00:07:46in my mother's eyes,

00:07:47I forced myself to move.

00:07:49I picked up the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:07:51the very symbol of my former tyranny,

00:07:53and dragged my trembling body

00:07:55to the crown prince's palace.

00:07:58There,

00:07:58before the towering obsidian iron gates,

00:08:01I fell to my knees and waited.

00:08:06Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:08:07a single command from my lips

00:08:09was enough to make shadow

00:08:10crawl to my feet.

00:08:11If I wanted him to bow,

00:08:13he never dared to meet my eyes.

00:08:15But now,

00:08:16the tables had turned with a cruel irony.

00:08:19To see him for even a moment,

00:08:20I had to kneel in the teeth of a blizzard,

00:08:23begging a shred of mercy.

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

00:08:27the ruby whip in my hands,

00:08:29buried under a thick shroud of snow.

00:08:31Just as dawn threatened to break,

00:08:33a dragon's roar shattered the cloud.

00:08:35The black wings eclipsed the dawn as he dived,

00:08:37only to contract and transform

00:08:39the instant they struck the earth.

00:08:41From the heart of the erupting snow,

00:08:42Arthur emerged in human form,

00:08:45breaking through the mist.

00:08:46The crunch of his boots

00:08:47against the frozen ground

00:08:48echoed the frantic beating of my heart.

00:08:51His cold, indifferent gaze

00:08:52lingered for a moment

00:08:53on the whip I held.

00:08:54Tell me, Miss Vivian,

00:08:56which hand was it?

00:08:58Which hand did you use

00:08:59to leave those scars on my body?

00:09:02His voice held no warmth,

00:09:04only the crushing weight

00:09:05of a judge passing sentence.

00:09:06I was so frozen,

00:09:08I could barely breathe.

00:09:09Before I could find my voice,

00:09:10my strength failed me.

00:09:12My knees buckled

00:09:13and I collapsed forward,

00:09:14falling directly into his arms.

00:09:16His chest was burning hot,

00:09:18a searing contrast to the ice.

00:09:20The heat instantly triggered

00:09:21the memory of our

00:09:22night of soul resonance,

00:09:23the way he had pinned me

00:09:24against the altar

00:09:25of predatory hunger.

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

00:09:30Your Highness, please,

00:09:32save my father.

00:09:34I'm begging you.

00:09:35His pupils narrowed

00:09:36into golden vertical slits,

00:09:38and a faint rhythmic glow

00:09:39of molten fire

00:09:40pulsed beneath the skin

00:09:41of his throat.

00:09:44Elena,

00:09:45is this how beg?

00:09:53Two years ago,

00:09:54I was the arrogant saintess,

00:09:57and he was the dragon slave

00:09:59I whipped at my whim.

00:10:00Two years later,

00:10:02he awakens the imperial dragon blood

00:10:04and returns to the imperial capital.

00:10:07As the giant dragon

00:10:09dives to the earth,

00:10:10he transforms into a king

00:10:12of extraordinary elegance.

00:10:14His dark gold dragon pupils

00:10:16are locked firmly onto me,

00:10:18once his equal,

00:10:20now a disgraced slave of the clan,

00:10:23fallen into the abyss

00:10:24beneath the altar.

00:10:25To save my father,

00:10:27I was forced to kneel

00:10:29at his feet

00:10:29and let him tear away

00:10:30my white robes,

00:10:32the very symbol

00:10:33of my sanctity.

00:10:35He laughed coldly,

00:10:36demanding I pleasure him

00:10:38to repay the debts

00:10:39of those two years.

00:10:40He already has

00:10:41a perfect match

00:10:42by his side,

00:10:43yet he insists

00:10:44on taking me by force,

00:10:46trapping me

00:10:47in an eternal cage.

00:10:48Oh,

00:10:50you are.

00:10:52But I will never let

00:10:53your children

00:10:53become your prisoners.

00:10:55Watching the madness

00:10:56of his possessive gaze,

00:10:58I press my hand

00:10:59against my stomach,

00:11:00where a faint

00:11:01draconic sigil flickered,

00:11:03the mark pulsing

00:11:05at the rhythmic cadence

00:11:06of a heartbeat.

00:11:07It was this very secret

00:11:09that had driven me

00:11:09to orchestrate my own death,

00:11:11a scandalous escape

00:11:12that had shocked the world.

00:11:14A month ago,

00:11:15the Holy Kingdom fell

00:11:16under a sudden

00:11:17monster assault.

00:11:19I found myself

00:11:20cornered in the black forest,

00:11:22trapped and suffocating

00:11:23under the weight

00:11:24of a dark malevolent curse.

00:11:26As my consciousness

00:11:26began to fracture,

00:11:27he appeared.

00:11:29He rode the chaos.

00:11:31As he charged forward

00:11:32on horseback,

00:11:33I could have sworn

00:11:34I saw the spectral shimmer

00:11:35of dragon wings

00:11:36unfurl behind him,

00:11:38a broken sword

00:11:38in one hand

00:11:39and a spear

00:11:40in the other,

00:11:41cutting a path

00:11:42to my side.

00:11:44In my blurred vision,

00:11:46he looked breathtaking.

00:11:48That night,

00:11:49amidst a frantic

00:11:50soul resonance,

00:11:51I let myself

00:11:52cross the forbidden line

00:11:53with him.

00:11:54I think I might have

00:11:54actually fallen for him.

00:11:56I thought of him

00:11:57the moment I opened my eyes.

00:11:58I banished him once more

00:12:00to the most remote,

00:12:01crumbling tower

00:12:01of the estate.

00:12:02Before sending him

00:12:03to the tower

00:12:04was a triumph

00:12:04of my power.

00:12:05Now I found myself

00:12:07sneaking toward it

00:12:07just to catch a glimpse

00:12:08of him.

00:12:09He was right there

00:12:10in my temple.

00:12:11Yet I was dying

00:12:12of an incurable heartache.

00:12:14Today was his

00:12:1522nd birthday.

00:12:17I had spent hours

00:12:18baking a lemon tart

00:12:19with my own hands,

00:12:20wanting to give him

00:12:21a surprise.

00:12:22I wanted to tell him

00:12:24that he was going

00:12:25to be a father.

00:12:26Two years ago

00:12:27in the arena,

00:12:28I bestowed upon him

00:12:29the name Shadow.

00:12:30He was but a flicker

00:12:32of darkness,

00:12:33easily erased.

00:12:34Now,

00:12:35that name has become

00:12:36my only longing.

00:12:37I reach the tower

00:12:38only to find

00:12:39my world collapsing.

00:12:41My shadow

00:12:42was gone.

00:12:43A massive dragon shadow

00:12:45reared its head,

00:12:46its wings sweeping

00:12:47across the ceiling.

00:12:48A blinding burst

00:12:49of molten gold

00:12:50erupted before my eyes.

00:12:51before shrinking

00:12:52and condensing

00:12:53into the form

00:12:54of a noble man.

00:12:55The slave

00:12:56had vanished,

00:12:57replaced by a prince

00:12:59radiating golden light.

00:13:00The rumors

00:13:01followed quickly.

00:13:02He already had

00:13:04a fiancé,

00:13:05a childhood match.

00:13:06Lady Isabella,

00:13:08the most brilliant woman

00:13:09in the empire.

00:13:10As soon as he returned

00:13:11to the capital,

00:13:12their grand wedding

00:13:13would begin.

00:13:16my sanctuary

00:13:17had been transformed

00:13:19into a cage

00:13:20surrounded by the

00:13:21cold steel

00:13:21of the paladins.

00:13:23The moment

00:13:23they spotted me,

00:13:24skulking in the shadows

00:13:25like a common theme,

00:13:27a royal guard

00:13:28lunged forward,

00:13:29pressing the frigid edge

00:13:30of a heavy greatsword

00:13:31against my throat.

00:13:32Neil,

00:13:33daughter of a traitor,

00:13:34how dare you stand

00:13:35in the presence

00:13:35of Prince Arthur?

00:13:36I looked past the blade

00:13:37of the man

00:13:38in the center

00:13:38of the crowd.

00:13:39The ragged,

00:13:40homespun clothes

00:13:41were gone.

00:13:42In their place

00:13:43was a magnificent robe

00:13:45of black and gold.

00:13:47Risking execution,

00:13:48I reached out

00:13:49with trembling fingers,

00:13:51desperately trying

00:13:52to catch his hand.

00:13:53A low,

00:13:54rhythmic vibration

00:13:55hummed in the air

00:13:56as glowing embers

00:13:58of dragon fire

00:13:59drifted from the gold

00:14:00embroidery of his robes.

00:14:02You?

00:14:03Are you truly

00:14:05the crown prince?

00:14:05Tell me,

00:14:06Miss Vivian,

00:14:07how do you plan

00:14:07to torture me today?

00:14:08Will it be the jeweled whip

00:14:09or shall I feel

00:14:10the weight

00:14:10of your dancing shoes again?

00:14:13Once I return

00:14:14to the capital,

00:14:14I will send

00:14:15the official documents

00:14:16to sever our contract.

00:14:17A woman from this

00:14:18wretched holy kingdom

00:14:19has no place

00:14:19beside my throne.

00:14:20My eyes burned

00:14:21with unshed tears.

00:14:23I hadn't come

00:14:24to hurt him.

00:14:25I had come

00:14:26to celebrate his birth,

00:14:27to tell him

00:14:28that I was carrying

00:14:29his children.

00:14:30But even my touch

00:14:31was a stain to him now.

00:14:33I finally understood

00:14:34the brutal reality.

00:14:36He loathed me.

00:14:37He would never want me,

00:14:39and he would certainly

00:14:40never want the bastards

00:14:41in my womb,

00:14:42even if they carried

00:14:43his own dragon blood.

00:14:45I shielded the faint

00:14:46yet searing spark

00:14:47of dragon blood

00:14:48within me,

00:14:49standing amidst

00:14:50the hallowed ruins

00:14:51in utter despair.

00:14:52I wanted to tell him

00:14:53that I would give up

00:14:54everything.

00:14:54I would follow him

00:14:56to the capital

00:14:56as a lowly handmaid,

00:14:57anything just to stay

00:14:58by his side.

00:14:59But to him,

00:15:00my very touch

00:15:02was a defilement.

00:15:03The deposition decree,

00:15:05sealed with the dragon crest,

00:15:06had severed

00:15:07our contract forever.

00:15:08At eighteen,

00:15:09I had fallen

00:15:10from the adored saintess

00:15:11to a prisoner

00:15:12abandoned by the gods.

00:15:13I finally woke up

00:15:15from the dream.

00:15:16Arthur hated me.

00:15:17He would go on

00:15:18to marry

00:15:18the pure-blooded

00:15:19Lady Isabella

00:15:20and father

00:15:20noble dragon heirs

00:15:22to him.

00:15:23Do you have

00:15:24any final prayers,

00:15:26Miss Vivian?

00:15:27He looked down

00:15:27at me

00:15:28as if I were

00:15:29a speck of dust.

00:15:30I had wanted

00:15:31to beg him

00:15:31to taste

00:15:32the lemon tart

00:15:33I baked

00:15:33with my own hands.

00:15:34But seeing

00:15:35the frost

00:15:35in his eyes,

00:15:36I could only

00:15:37bite my lip

00:15:37and shake my head

00:15:38through a blur

00:15:39of tears.

00:15:40Golden scales

00:15:41erupted

00:15:42across his skin

00:15:42as the air

00:15:43ignited

00:15:44with his draconic aura.

00:15:46With a mocking smear,

00:15:47his body shifted

00:15:48and expanded

00:15:49in a blinding

00:15:50flash of light,

00:15:50transforming

00:15:51into a massive dragon.

00:15:53The gale

00:15:54from his wings

00:15:54slamming me

00:15:55violently into the snow.

00:15:56He vanished

00:15:57into the clouds

00:15:58without a single

00:15:59backward glance.

00:16:00I sat frozen

00:16:01in the ice

00:16:02until a sharp

00:16:03searing pain

00:16:04tore through

00:16:05my abdomen,

00:16:06nearly causing

00:16:06me to lose

00:16:07the child.

00:16:08Watching the

00:16:08fading silhouette

00:16:09in the sky,

00:16:10I clutched

00:16:10my stomach

00:16:11where a faint

00:16:11dragon mark

00:16:12pulsed,

00:16:13beating rhythmically

00:16:14like a second heart.

00:16:18Disaster struck

00:16:19three days

00:16:20after Arthur's

00:16:21departure.

00:16:22My father,

00:16:23the Holy Father

00:16:23was branded

00:16:24with the twin

00:16:25sins of treason

00:16:26and black magic,

00:16:27then cast

00:16:27into the darkest

00:16:28depths of the

00:16:29abyss prison.

00:16:30I rushed to the

00:16:30capital,

00:16:31desperate and breathless,

00:16:32only to be met

00:16:33with the death sentence.

00:16:34He was to face

00:16:36the trial of holy fire

00:16:37on the night

00:16:38of the next full moon.

00:16:39Inside the stench-ridden

00:16:41dungeon,

00:16:41my mother's withered hand

00:16:43gripped mine

00:16:43with terrifying strength.

00:16:46Elena,

00:16:46you must go

00:16:47to Prince Arthur.

00:16:49You must go

00:16:50to your shadow.

00:16:52You swore vows

00:16:53before the dragon god.

00:16:55You are

00:16:56high on only

00:16:56contract holder.

00:16:58He cannot simply

00:16:59watch us die.

00:17:01Her words

00:17:02cut through

00:17:02my like-acerated blood,

00:17:04but he couldn't

00:17:05find the voice

00:17:05to answer.

00:17:06How could I admit

00:17:07that during those

00:17:08two years of shadow,

00:17:09I had forced him

00:17:10into the freezing depths

00:17:12of the holy lake

00:17:12just to retrieve

00:17:13a lost jewel

00:17:14for my amusement?

00:17:16How could I confess

00:17:17that in fits of rage

00:17:19I had left scars

00:17:20upon his back

00:17:20that would never heal?

00:17:22He likely wanted

00:17:23to see my family

00:17:24reduced to ash

00:17:25more than anyone

00:17:26else in the world.

00:17:27But looking at

00:17:28the last flickering

00:17:29spark of hope

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

00:17:30I forced myself

00:17:31to move.

00:17:32I picked up

00:17:32the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:17:34the very symbol

00:17:35of my former tyranny,

00:17:36and dragged my trembling

00:17:38body to the

00:17:39crown prince's palace.

00:17:40There,

00:17:41before the towering

00:17:42obsidian iron gates,

00:17:44I fell to my knees

00:17:45and waited.

00:17:49Back in the holy kingdom,

00:17:50a single command

00:17:51from my lips

00:17:52was enough

00:17:52to make shadow

00:17:53crawl to my feet.

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

00:17:56he never dared

00:17:57to meet my eyes.

00:17:58But now,

00:17:59the tables had turned

00:18:00with a cruel irony.

00:18:01To see him

00:18:02for even a moment,

00:18:03I had to kneel

00:18:04in the teeth

00:18:05of a blizzard,

00:18:06begging a shred of mercy.

00:18:07I knelt until

00:18:08I lost all feeling

00:18:09in my legs,

00:18:10the ruby whip

00:18:11in my hands,

00:18:12buried under

00:18:12a thick shroud of snow,

00:18:14just as dawn

00:18:15threatened to break,

00:18:16a dragon's roar

00:18:16shattered the cloud.

00:18:17The black wings

00:18:18eclipsed the dawn

00:18:19as he dived,

00:18:20only to contract

00:18:21and transform

00:18:22the instant

00:18:22they struck the earth.

00:18:23From the heart

00:18:24of the erupting snow,

00:18:26Arthur emerged

00:18:27in human form,

00:18:28breaking through the mist.

00:18:29The crunch of his boots

00:18:30against the frozen ground

00:18:31echoed the frantic

00:18:32beating of my heart.

00:18:34His cold,

00:18:34indifferent gaze

00:18:35lingered for a moment

00:18:36on the whip I held.

00:18:37Tell me,

00:18:38Miss Vivian,

00:18:39which hand was it?

00:18:41Which hand did you use

00:18:42to leave those scars

00:18:43on my body?

00:18:45His voice held no warmth,

00:18:47only the crushing weight

00:18:48of a judge passing sentence.

00:18:49I was so frozen

00:18:50I could barely breathe.

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

00:18:53my strength failed me.

00:18:55My knees buckled

00:18:56and I collapsed forward,

00:18:57falling directly

00:18:58into his arms.

00:18:59His chest was burning hot,

00:19:01a searing contrast

00:19:02to the ice.

00:19:02The heat instantly triggered

00:19:04the memory of our

00:19:05night of soul resonance,

00:19:06the way he had pinned me

00:19:07against the altar

00:19:08of predatory hunger.

00:19:09My eyes welled

00:19:10with bitter tears.

00:19:13Your Highness, please,

00:19:15save my father.

00:19:17I'm begging you.

00:19:18His pupils narrowed

00:19:19into golden vertical slits

00:19:21and a faint rhythmic glow

00:19:22of molten fire

00:19:23pulsed beneath

00:19:24the skin of his throat.

00:19:27Elena,

00:19:28is this how beg?

00:19:35Two years ago,

00:19:37I was the arrogant saintess

00:19:40and he was the dragon slave

00:19:42I whipped at my whim.

00:19:43Two years later,

00:19:44he awakens the imperial dragon blood

00:19:47and returns to the imperial capital.

00:19:50As the giant dragon

00:19:51dives to the earth,

00:19:53he transforms into a king

00:19:55of extraordinary elegance.

00:19:57His dark gold dragon pupils

00:19:59are locked firmly onto me.

00:20:01once his equal,

00:20:03now a disgraced slave

00:20:04of the clan,

00:20:05fallen into the abyss

00:20:07beneath the altar.

00:20:08To save my father,

00:20:10I was forced to kneel

00:20:12at his feet

00:20:12and let him tear away

00:20:13my white robes,

00:20:15the very symbol

00:20:16of my sanctity.

00:20:17He laughed coldly,

00:20:19demanding I pleasure him

00:20:21to repay the debts

00:20:21of those two years.

00:20:23He already has a perfect match

00:20:25by his side,

00:20:26yet he insists

00:20:27on taking me by force,

00:20:28trapping me

00:20:30in an eternal cage.

00:20:31Oh, you are.

00:20:34But I will never let

00:20:36your children

00:20:36become your prisoners.

00:20:38Watching the madness

00:20:39of his possessive gaze,

00:20:41I press my hand

00:20:42against my stomach,

00:20:43where a faint

00:20:44draconic sigil flickered,

00:20:46the mark pulsing

00:20:48with the rhythmic cadence

00:20:49of a heartbeat.

00:20:50It was this very secret

00:20:52that had driven me

00:20:52to orchestrate my own death,

00:20:54a scandalous escape

00:20:55that had shocked the world.

00:20:57A month ago,

00:20:58the Holy Kingdom fell

00:20:59under a sudden

00:21:00monster assault.

00:21:01I found myself

00:21:03cornered in the black forest,

00:21:05trapped and suffocating

00:21:06under the weight

00:21:07of a dark malevolent curse.

00:21:08As my consciousness

00:21:09began to fracture,

00:21:10he appeared.

00:21:11He rode the chaos.

00:21:14As he charged forward

00:21:15on horseback,

00:21:16I could have sworn

00:21:17I saw the spectral shimmer

00:21:18of dragon wings

00:21:19unfurl behind him,

00:21:20a broken sword

00:21:21in one hand

00:21:22and a spear

00:21:23in the other,

00:21:24cutting a path

00:21:25to my side.

00:21:27In my blurred vision,

00:21:29he looked breathtaking.

00:21:31That night,

00:21:32amidst a frantic

00:21:33soul resonance,

00:21:34I let myself

00:21:35cross the forbidden

00:21:36line with him.

00:21:36I think I might have

00:21:37actually fallen for him.

00:21:39I thought of him

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

00:21:41I banished him

00:21:42once more

00:21:43to the most remote,

00:21:44crumbling tower

00:21:44of the estate.

00:21:45Before sending him

00:21:46to the tower

00:21:46was a triumph

00:21:47of my power.

00:21:48Now I found myself

00:21:49sneaking toward it

00:21:50just to catch

00:21:51a glimpse of him.

00:21:52He was right there

00:21:53in my temple.

00:21:54Yet I was dying

00:21:55of an incurable heartache.

00:21:57Today was his

00:21:5822nd birthday.

00:21:59I had spent hours

00:22:01baking a lemon tart

00:22:02with my own hands,

00:22:03wanting to give him

00:22:04a surprise.

00:22:05I wanted to tell him

00:22:07that he was going

00:22:07to be a father.

00:22:09Two years ago

00:22:10in the arena,

00:22:11I bestowed upon him

00:22:12the name Shadow.

00:22:13He was but a flicker

00:22:15of darkness,

00:22:16easily erased.

00:22:17Now,

00:22:18that name has become

00:22:19my only longing.

00:22:20I reach the tower

00:22:21only to find

00:22:22and my world collapsing.

00:22:24My shadow

00:22:24was gone.

00:22:26A massive dragon shadow

00:22:27reared its head,

00:22:29its wings sweeping

00:22:30across the ceiling.

00:22:31A blinding burst

00:22:32of molten gold

00:22:33erupted before my eyes,

00:22:34before shrinking

00:22:35and condensing

00:22:36into the form

00:22:37of a noble man.

00:22:38The slave had vanished,

00:22:40replaced by a prince

00:22:42radiating golden light.

00:22:43The rumors followed quickly.

00:22:45He already had

00:22:47a fiancé,

00:22:48a childhood match.

00:22:49Lady Isabella,

00:22:51the most brilliant woman

00:22:52in the empire.

00:22:53As soon as he returned

00:22:54to the capital,

00:22:55their grand wedding

00:22:56would begin.

00:22:59My sanctuary

00:23:00had been transformed

00:23:01into a cage,

00:23:03surrounded by the cold steel

00:23:04of the paladins.

00:23:06The moment they spotted me,

00:23:07skulking in the shadows

00:23:08like a common theme,

00:23:10a royal guard

00:23:11lunged forward,

00:23:12pressing the frigid edge

00:23:13of a heavy greatsword

00:23:14against my throat.

00:23:15Neil,

00:23:16daughter of a traitor,

00:23:17how dare you stand

00:23:18in the presence

00:23:18of Prince Arthur.

00:23:20I looked past the blade

00:23:20of the man

00:23:21in the center of the crowd.

00:23:22The ragged,

00:23:23homespun clothes

00:23:24were gone.

00:23:25In their place

00:23:26was a magnificent robe

00:23:28of black and gold.

00:23:30Risking execution,

00:23:31I reached out

00:23:32with trembling fingers,

00:23:34desperately trying

00:23:35to catch his hand.

00:23:36A low,

00:23:37rhythmic vibration

00:23:38hummed in the air

00:23:39as glowing embers

00:23:41of dragon fire

00:23:41drifted from the gold

00:23:43embroidery of his robes.

00:23:45You,

00:23:46are you truly

00:23:47the crown prince?

00:23:48Tell me,

00:23:49Miss Vivlin,

00:23:50how do you plan

00:23:50to torture me today?

00:23:51Will it be the jeweled whip

00:23:52or shall I feel

00:23:53the weight

00:23:53of your dancing shoes again?

00:23:56Once I return

00:23:56to the capital,

00:23:57I will send

00:23:58the official documents

00:23:59to sever our contract.

00:24:00A woman from this

00:24:01wretched holy kingdom

00:24:02has no place

00:24:02beside my throne.

00:24:03My eyes burned

00:24:04with unshed tears.

00:24:06I hadn't come

00:24:07to hurt him.

00:24:08I had come

00:24:09to celebrate his birth,

00:24:10to tell him

00:24:11that I was carrying

00:24:12his children.

00:24:13But even my touch

00:24:14was a stain to him now.

00:24:16I finally understood

00:24:17the brutal reality.

00:24:19He loathed me.

00:24:20He would never want me.

00:24:22And he would certainly

00:24:23never want the bastards

00:24:24in my womb,

00:24:25even if they carried

00:24:26his own dragon blood.

00:24:28I shielded the faint

00:24:29yet searing spark

00:24:30of dragon blood

00:24:31within me,

00:24:32standing amidst

00:24:33the hallowed ruins

00:24:33in utter despair.

00:24:35I wanted to tell him

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

00:24:37I would follow him

00:24:38to the capital

00:24:39as a lowly handmaid,

00:24:40anything just to stay

00:24:41by his side.

00:24:42But to him,

00:24:43my very touch

00:24:45was a defilement.

00:24:46The deposition decree,

00:24:47sealed with the dragon crest,

00:24:49had severed

00:24:50our contract forever.

00:24:51At eighteen,

00:24:52I had fallen

00:24:53from the adored

00:24:54saintess

00:24:54to a prisoner

00:24:55abandoned by the gods.

00:24:56I finally woke up

00:24:57from the dream.

00:24:59Arthur hated me.

00:25:00He would go on

00:25:01to marry

00:25:01the pure-blooded

00:25:02Lady Isabella

00:25:03and father

00:25:03noble dragon heirs

00:25:04to him.

00:25:06Do you have

00:25:07any final prayers,

00:25:09Miss Vivian?

00:25:09He looked down at me

00:25:11as if I were

00:25:12a speck of dust.

00:25:13I had wanted

00:25:14to beg him

00:25:14to taste

00:25:15the lemon tart

00:25:15I baked

00:25:16with my own hands.

00:25:17But seeing

00:25:18the frost

00:25:18in his eyes,

00:25:19I could only

00:25:20bite my lip

00:25:20and shake my head

00:25:21through a blur

00:25:22of tears.

00:25:23Golden scales

00:25:24erupted

00:25:24across his skin

00:25:25as the air

00:25:26ignited

00:25:27with his draconic aura.

00:25:29With a mocking

00:25:29sneer,

00:25:30his body shifted

00:25:31and expanded

00:25:31in a blinding

00:25:32flash of light,

00:25:33transforming into

00:25:34a massive dragon.

00:25:36The gale

00:25:37from his wings

00:25:37slamming me

00:25:38violently into the snow.

00:25:39He vanished

00:25:40into the clouds

00:25:41without a single

00:25:42backward glance.

00:25:43I sat frozen

00:25:44in the ice

00:25:45until a sharp

00:25:46searing pain

00:25:47tore through

00:25:47my abdomen,

00:25:48nearly causing

00:25:49me to lose the child.

00:25:51Watching the fading

00:25:51silhouette in the sky,

00:25:53I clutched my stomach

00:25:54where a faint

00:25:54dragon mark pulsed,

00:25:56beating rhythmically

00:25:57like a second heart.

00:26:01Disaster struck

00:26:02three days

00:26:03after Arthur's

00:26:04departure.

00:26:05My father,

00:26:06the Holy Father,

00:26:06was branded

00:26:07with the twin

00:26:08sins of treason

00:26:09and black magic.

00:26:10Then cast

00:26:10into the darkest

00:26:11depths of the

00:26:12abyss prison,

00:26:12I rushed to the

00:26:13capital,

00:26:14desperate and breathless,

00:26:15only to be met

00:26:16with the death sentence.

00:26:17He was to face

00:26:18the trial of Holy Fire

00:26:20on the night

00:26:21of the next full moon.

00:26:22Inside the

00:26:23stench-ridden dungeon,

00:26:24my mother's

00:26:25withered hand

00:26:26gripped mine

00:26:26with terrifying strength.

00:26:28Elena,

00:26:29you must go

00:26:30to Prince Arthur.

00:26:32You must go

00:26:33to your shadow.

00:26:35You swore vows

00:26:36before the dragon god.

00:26:38You are

00:26:39high on only

00:26:39contract holder.

00:26:41He cannot simply

00:26:42watch us die.

00:26:44Her words

00:26:45cut through

00:26:45my leg

00:26:46acerated blood,

00:26:47but he couldn't

00:26:48find the voice

00:26:48to answer.

00:26:49How could I admit

00:26:50that during those

00:26:51two years of shadow,

00:26:52I had forced him

00:26:53into the freezing

00:26:54depths of the

00:26:55holy lake

00:26:55just to retrieve

00:26:56a lost jewel

00:26:57for my amusement?

00:26:59How could I

00:27:00confess that,

00:27:01in fits of rage,

00:27:02I had left scars

00:27:03upon his back

00:27:03that would never heal?

00:27:05He likely wanted

00:27:06to see my family

00:27:07reduced to ash

00:27:08more than anyone

00:27:09else in the world.

00:27:10But looking at the

00:27:11last flickering spark

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

00:27:13eyes,

00:27:13I forced myself

00:27:14to move.

00:27:15I picked up the

00:27:16ruby-encrusted whip,

00:27:17the very symbol

00:27:18of my former tyranny,

00:27:19and dragged my

00:27:20trembling body

00:27:21to the crown prince's

00:27:22palace.

00:27:23There,

00:27:24before the towering

00:27:25obsidian iron gates,

00:27:27I fell to my knees

00:27:28and waited.

00:27:31Back in the

00:27:32holy kingdom,

00:27:33a single command

00:27:34from my lips

00:27:35was enough

00:27:35to make shadow

00:27:36crawl to my feet.

00:27:37If I wanted him

00:27:38to bow,

00:27:39he never dared

00:27:40to meet my eyes.

00:27:41But now,

00:27:42the tables had turned

00:27:43with a cruel irony.

00:27:44To see him

00:27:45for even a moment,

00:27:46I had to kneel

00:27:47in the teeth

00:27:48of a blizzard,

00:27:49begging a shred

00:27:49of mercy.

00:27:50I knelt until

00:27:51I lost all feeling

00:27:52in my legs,

00:27:53the ruby whip

00:27:54in my hands

00:27:55buried under

00:27:55a thick shroud

00:27:56of snow.

00:27:57Just as dawn

00:27:58threatened to break,

00:27:58a dragon's roar

00:27:59shattered the cloud.

00:28:00The black wings

00:28:01eclipsed the dawn

00:28:02as he dived,

00:28:03only to contract

00:28:04and transform

00:28:04the instant

00:28:05they struck the earth.

00:28:06From the heart

00:28:07of the erupting snow,

00:28:09Arthur emerged

00:28:09in human form,

00:28:11breaking through

00:28:11the mist.

00:28:12The crunch

00:28:13of his boots

00:28:13against the frozen

00:28:14ground echoed

00:28:15the frantic beating

00:28:15of my heart.

00:28:16His cold,

00:28:17indifferent gaze

00:28:18lingered for a moment

00:28:19on the whip I held.

00:28:20Tell me,

00:28:21Miss Vivian,

00:28:22which hand was it?

00:28:24Which hand did you

00:28:25use to leave

00:28:25those scars

00:28:26on my body?

00:28:27His voice

00:28:28held no warmth,

00:28:29only the crushing

00:28:30weight of a judge

00:28:31passing sadness.

00:28:32I was so frozen

00:28:33I could barely breathe.

00:28:35Before I could

00:28:35find my voice,

00:28:36my strength failed me.

00:28:38My knees buckled

00:28:39and I collapsed forward,

00:28:40falling directly

00:28:41into his arms.

00:28:42His chest

00:28:42was burning hot,

00:28:43a searing contrast

00:28:45to the ice.

00:28:45The heat instantly

00:28:46triggered the memory

00:28:47of our night of soul

00:28:48resonance,

00:28:49the way he had pinned me

00:28:50against the altar

00:28:51of predatory hunger.

00:28:52My eyes welled

00:28:53with bitter tears.

00:29:00His pupils

00:29:02narrowed into

00:29:02golden vertical slits

00:29:04and a faint

00:29:05rhythmic glow

00:29:05of molten fire

00:29:06pulsed beneath

00:29:07the skin of his throat.

00:29:10Elena,

00:29:11is this how

00:29:12beg?

00:29:18Two years ago,

00:29:20I was the arrogant

00:29:22saintess,

00:29:23and he was the

00:29:24dragon slave

00:29:25I whipped at my whim.

00:29:26Two years later,

00:29:27he awakens

00:29:28the imperial dragon blood

00:29:30and returns

00:29:31to the imperial capital.

00:29:33As the giant dragon

00:29:34dives to the earth,

00:29:36he transforms

00:29:37into a king

00:29:38of extraordinary elegance.

00:29:40His dark gold dragon pupils

00:29:42are locked firmly

00:29:43onto me,

00:29:44once his equal,

00:29:46now a disgraced

00:29:47slave of the clan,

00:29:48fallen into the abyss

00:29:50beneath the altar

00:29:51to save my father.

00:29:53I was forced

00:29:54to kneel at his feet

00:29:55and let him tear

00:29:56away my white robes,

00:29:57the very symbol

00:29:59of my sanctity.

00:30:00He laughed coldly,

00:30:02demanding I pleasure him

00:30:03to repay the debts

00:30:04of those two years.

00:30:06He already has

00:30:07a perfect match

00:30:08by his side,

00:30:09yet he insists

00:30:10on taking me

00:30:11by force,

00:30:11trapping me

00:30:12in an eternal cage.

00:30:14Oh, you won.

00:30:17But I will never

00:30:18let your children

00:30:19become your prisoners.

00:30:21Watching the madness

00:30:22of his possessive gaze,

00:30:24I press my hand

00:30:25against my stomach,

00:30:26where a faint

00:30:27draconic sigil flickered,

00:30:29the mark pulsing

00:30:31with the rhythmic

00:30:31cadence of a heartbeat.

00:30:33It was this very secret

00:30:34that had driven me

00:30:35to orchestrate

00:30:36my own death,

00:30:37a scandalous escape

00:30:38that had shocked

00:30:39the world.

00:30:40A month ago,

00:30:41the Holy Kingdom

00:30:42fell under a sudden

00:30:43monster assault.

00:30:44I found myself

00:30:46cornered in the black forest,

00:30:47trapped and suffocating

00:30:49under the weight

00:30:50of a dark malevolent curse.

00:30:51As my consciousness

00:30:52began to fracture,

00:30:53he appeared.

00:30:54He rode the chaos.

00:30:56As he charged forward

00:30:58on horseback,

00:30:59I could have sworn

00:31:00I saw the spectral shimmer

00:31:01of dragon wings

00:31:02unfurl behind him,

00:31:03a broken sword

00:31:04in one hand

00:31:05and a spear

00:31:06in the other,

00:31:07cutting a path

00:31:08to my side.

00:31:09In my blurred vision,

00:31:11he looked breathtaking.

00:31:13That night,

00:31:15amidst a frantic

00:31:16soul resonance,

00:31:17I let myself cross

00:31:18the forbidden line

00:31:19with him.

00:31:19I think I might have

00:31:20actually fallen for him.

00:31:22I thought of him

00:31:23the moment I opened my eyes.

00:31:24I banished him once more

00:31:25to the most remote,

00:31:27crumbling tower

00:31:27of the estate.

00:31:28Before sending him

00:31:29to the tower

00:31:29was a triumph

00:31:30of my power.

00:31:31Now I found myself

00:31:32sneaking toward it

00:31:33just to catch

00:31:34a glimpse of him.

00:31:34He was right there

00:31:36in my temple,

00:31:37yet I was dying

00:31:38of an incurable heartache.

00:31:40Today was his

00:31:4122nd birthday.

00:31:42I had spent hours

00:31:44baking a lemon tart

00:31:45with my own hands,

00:31:46wanting to give him

00:31:47a surprise.

00:31:48I wanted to tell him

00:31:50that he was going

00:31:50to be a father.

00:31:52Two years ago

00:31:53in the arena,

00:31:54I bestowed upon him

00:31:55the name Shadow.

00:31:56He was but a flicker

00:31:57of darkness,

00:31:59easily erased.

00:32:00Now,

00:32:01that name has become

00:32:02my only longing.

00:32:03I reached the tower

00:32:04only to find

00:32:05my world collapsing.

00:32:06My shadow

00:32:07was gone.

00:32:09A massive dragon shadow

00:32:10reared its head,

00:32:12its wings sweeping

00:32:13across the ceiling.

00:32:14A blinding burst

00:32:15of molten gold

00:32:16erupted before my eyes,

00:32:17before shrinking

00:32:18and condensing

00:32:19into the form

00:32:20of a noble man.

00:32:21The slave had vanished,

00:32:23replaced by a prince

00:32:24radiating golden light.

00:32:26The rumors

00:32:27followed quickly.

00:32:28He already had

00:32:30a fiancé,

00:32:31a childhood match.

00:32:32Lady Isabella,

00:32:33the most brilliant woman

00:32:35in the empire.

00:32:36As soon as he returned

00:32:37to the capital,

00:32:38their grand wedding

00:32:39would begin.

00:32:42My sanctuary

00:32:43had been transformed

00:32:44into a cage,

00:32:46surrounded by the cold steel

00:32:47of the paladins.

00:32:49The moment they spotted me,

00:32:50skulking in the shadows

00:32:51like a common theme,

00:32:53a royal guard

00:32:54lunged forward,

00:32:55pressing the frigid edge

00:32:56of a heavy greatsword

00:32:57against my throat.

00:32:58Neil,

00:32:59daughter of a traitor,

00:32:59how dare you stand

00:33:01in the presence

00:33:01of Prince Arthur.

00:33:02I looked past the blade

00:33:03of the man

00:33:04in the center of the crowd.

00:33:05The ragged,

00:33:06homespun clothes

00:33:07were gone.

00:33:08In their place

00:33:09was a magnificent robe

00:33:11of black and gold.

00:33:12Risking execution,

00:33:14I reached out

00:33:15with trembling fingers,

00:33:17desperately trying

00:33:18to catch his hand.

00:33:19A low,

00:33:20rhythmic vibration

00:33:21hummed in the air

00:33:22as glowing embers

00:33:23of dragon fire

00:33:24drifted from the

00:33:25gold embroidery

00:33:26of his robes.

00:33:28You,

00:33:29are you truly

00:33:30the crown prince?

00:33:31Tell me,

00:33:32Miss Vivlin,

00:33:32how do you plan

00:33:33to torture me today?

00:33:34Will it be the jeweled whip

00:33:35or shall I feel

00:33:36the weight

00:33:36of your dancing shoes again?

00:33:39Once I return

00:33:39to the capital,

00:33:40I will send

00:33:41the official documents

00:33:42to sever our contract.

00:33:43A woman from this

00:33:44wretched holy kingdom

00:33:44has no place

00:33:45beside my throne.

00:33:46My eyes burned

00:33:47with unshed tears.

00:33:49I hadn't come

00:33:50to hurt him.

00:33:51I had come

00:33:52to celebrate his birth,

00:33:53to tell him

00:33:54that I was carrying

00:33:55his children.

00:33:56But even my touch

00:33:57was a stain

00:33:58to him now.

00:33:59I finally understood

00:34:00the brutal reality.

00:34:02He loathed me.

00:34:03He would never want me.

00:34:04And he would certainly

00:34:05never want the bastards

00:34:07in my womb,

00:34:08even if they carried

00:34:09his own dragon blood.

00:34:11I shielded the faint

00:34:12yet searing spark

00:34:13of dragon blood

00:34:14within me,

00:34:15standing amidst

00:34:16the hallowed ruins

00:34:16in utter despair.

00:34:18I wanted to tell him

00:34:19that I would give up

00:34:19everything.

00:34:20I would follow him

00:34:21to the capital

00:34:22as a lowly handmaid,

00:34:23anything just to

00:34:24stay by his side.

00:34:25But to him,

00:34:27my very touch

00:34:27was a defilement.

00:34:29The deposition decree,

00:34:30sealed with the dragon crest,

00:34:32had severed our contract

00:34:33forever.

00:34:34At eighteen,

00:34:35I had fallen from

00:34:36the adored saintess

00:34:37to a prisoner

00:34:38abandoned by the gods.

00:34:39I finally woke up

00:34:40from the dream.

00:34:42Arthur hated me.

00:34:43He would go on

00:34:44to marry the pure-blooded

00:34:45Lady Isabella

00:34:46and father noble

00:34:47dragon heirs.

00:34:48To him,

00:34:49Do you have

00:34:50any final prayers,

00:34:52Miss Vivian?

00:34:52He looked down at me

00:34:53as if I were

00:34:54a speck of dust.

00:34:56I had wanted

00:34:57to beg him

00:34:57to taste the lemon tart

00:34:58I baked with my own hands.

00:35:00But seeing the frost

00:35:01in his eyes,

00:35:02I could only bite my lip

00:35:03and shake my head

00:35:04through a blur of tears.

00:35:06Golden scales

00:35:07erupted across his skin

00:35:08as the air ignited

00:35:10with his draconic aura.

00:35:11With a mocking smear,

00:35:13his body shifted

00:35:14and expanded

00:35:14in a blinding flash

00:35:16of light,

00:35:16transforming into

00:35:17a massive dragon.

00:35:19The gale from his wings

00:35:20slamming me violently

00:35:21into the snow.

00:35:22He vanished into the clouds

00:35:24without a single

00:35:25backward glance.

00:35:26I sat frozen in the ice

00:35:28until a sharp searing pain

00:35:30tore through my abdomen,

00:35:31nearly causing me

00:35:32to lose the child.

00:35:33Watching the fading silhouette

00:35:35in the sky,

00:35:35I clutched my stomach

00:35:37where a faint dragon mark

00:35:38pulsed,

00:35:39beating rhythmically

00:35:39like a second heart.

00:35:44Disaster struck.

00:35:45Three days.

00:35:46After Arthur's departure,

00:35:48my father,

00:35:49the Holy Father,

00:35:49was branded

00:35:50with the twin sins

00:35:51of treason

00:35:52and black magic.

00:35:53Then cast into

00:35:53the darkest depths

00:35:54of the abyss prison,

00:35:55I rushed to the capital,

00:35:57desperate and breathless,

00:35:58only to be met

00:35:59with the death sentence.

00:36:00He was to face

00:36:01the trial of Holy Fire

00:36:03on the night

00:36:04of the next full moon.

00:36:05Inside the stench-ridden dungeon,

00:36:07my mother's withered hand

00:36:09gripped mine

00:36:09with terrifying strength.

00:36:11Elena,

00:36:12you must go to Prince Arthur.

00:36:14You must go to your shadow.

00:36:18You swore vows

00:36:19before the dragon god.

00:36:21You are high on only contract holder.

00:36:24He cannot simply watch us die.

00:36:27Her words cut through

00:36:28my leg as a raided blood,

00:36:30but he couldn't find

00:36:31the voice to answer.

00:36:32How could I admit

00:36:33that during those two years

00:36:34of shadow,

00:36:35I had forced him

00:36:36into the freezing depths

00:36:37of the holy lake

00:36:38just to retrieve

00:36:39a lost jewel

00:36:40for my amusement?

00:36:42How could I confess that?

00:36:43In fits of rage,

00:36:45I had left scars

00:36:45upon his back

00:36:46that would never heal.

00:36:48He likely wanted

00:36:49to see my family

00:36:49reduced to ash

00:36:51more than anyone else

00:36:52in the world.

00:36:53But looking at the last

00:36:54flickering spark of hope

00:36:55in my mother's eyes,

00:36:56I forced myself to move.

00:36:57I picked up

00:36:58the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:37:00the very symbol

00:37:01of my former tyranny,

00:37:02and dragged my trembling body

00:37:04to the crown prince's palace.

00:37:06There,

00:37:07before the towering

00:37:08obsidian iron gates,

00:37:10I fell to my knees

00:37:11and waited.

00:37:14Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:37:16a single command

00:37:17from my lips

00:37:17was enough to make shadow

00:37:19crawl to my feet.

00:37:20If I wanted him to bow,

00:37:22he never dared

00:37:22to meet my eyes.

00:37:23But now,

00:37:24the tables had turned

00:37:26with a cruel irony.

00:37:27To see him,

00:37:28for even a moment,

00:37:29I had to kneel

00:37:30in the teeth of a blizzard,

00:37:31begging a shred of mercy.

00:37:33I knelt until

00:37:34I lost all feeling

00:37:35in my legs,

00:37:36the ruby whip

00:37:37in my hands,

00:37:38buried under

00:37:38a thick shroud of snow.

00:37:40Just as dawn

00:37:40threatened to break,

00:37:41a dragon's roar

00:37:42shattered the cloud.

00:37:43The black wings

00:37:44eclipsed the dawn

00:37:45as he dived,

00:37:46only to contract

00:37:47and transform

00:37:47the instant

00:37:48they struck the earth.

00:37:49From the heart

00:37:50of the erupting snow,

00:37:51Arthur emerged

00:37:52in human form,

00:37:54breaking through the mist.

00:37:55The crunch of his boots

00:37:56against the frozen ground

00:37:57echoed the frantic

00:37:58beating of my heart.

00:37:59His cold,

00:38:00indifferent gaze

00:38:01lingered for a moment

00:38:02on the whip I held.

00:38:03Tell me,

00:38:04Miss Vivian,

00:38:05which hand was it?

00:38:07Which hand did you use

00:38:08to leave those scars

00:38:09on my body?

00:38:10His voice held no warmth,

00:38:12only the crushing weight

00:38:13of a judge-passing sentence.

00:38:15I was so frozen,

00:38:16I could barely breathe.

00:38:17Before I could find my voice,

00:38:19my strength failed me.

00:38:21My knees buckled

00:38:22and I collapsed forward,

00:38:23falling directly

00:38:24into his arms.

00:38:25His chest was burning hot,

00:38:26a searing contrast

00:38:27to the ice.

00:38:28The heat instantly

00:38:29triggered the memory

00:38:30of our night of soul resonance,

00:38:32the way he had pinned me

00:38:33against the altar

00:38:34of predatory hunger.

00:38:35My eyes welled

00:38:36with bitter tears.

00:38:38Your Highness,

00:38:40please,

00:38:41save my father.

00:38:42I'm begging you.

00:38:44His pupils narrowed

00:38:45into golden vertical slits

00:38:47and a faint rhythmic glow

00:38:48of molten fire

00:38:49pulsed beneath

00:38:50the skin of his throat.

00:38:53Elena,

00:38:54is this how beg?

00:39:01Two years ago,

00:39:03I was the arrogant saintess

00:39:06and he was the dragon slave

00:39:08I whipped at my whim.

00:39:09Two years later,

00:39:10he awakens the imperial dragon blood

00:39:13and returns to the imperial capital.

00:39:15As the giant dragon dives to the earth,

00:39:19he transforms into a king

00:39:21of extraordinary elegance.

00:39:23His dark gold dragon pupils

00:39:25are locked firmly onto me.

00:39:27Once his equal,

00:39:29now a disgraced slave of the clan,

00:39:31fallen into the abyss

00:39:33beneath the altar.

00:39:34To save my father,

00:39:36I was forced to kneel at his feet

00:39:38and let him tear away

00:39:39my white robes,

00:39:40the very symbol of my sanctity.

00:39:43He laughed coldly,

00:39:45demanding I pleasure him

00:39:46to repay the debts

00:39:47of those two years.

00:39:49He already has a perfect match

00:39:51by his side,

00:39:52yet he insists

00:39:53on taking me by force,

00:39:55trapping me in an eternal cage.

00:39:58Oh, you won.

00:40:00But I will never let your children

00:40:02become your prisoners.

00:40:04Watching the madness

00:40:05of his possessive gaze,

00:40:07I pressed my hand

00:40:08against my stomach,

00:40:09where a faint draconic sigil

00:40:11flickered,

00:40:12the mark pulsing

00:40:13at the rhythmic cadence

00:40:15of a heartbeat.

00:40:16It was this very secret

00:40:17that had driven me

00:40:18to orchestrate my own death,

00:40:20a scandalous escape

00:40:21that had shocked the world.

00:40:22A month ago,

00:40:24the Holy Kingdom fell

00:40:25under a sudden monster assault.

00:40:27I found myself cornered

00:40:29in the black forest,

00:40:30trapped and suffocating

00:40:32under the weight

00:40:32of a dark malevolent curse.

00:40:34As my consciousness

00:40:35began to fracture,

00:40:36he appeared.

00:40:37He rode the chaos.

00:40:39As he charged forward

00:40:41on horseback,

00:40:42I could have sworn

00:40:43I saw the spectral shimmer

00:40:44of dragon wings

00:40:45unfurl behind him,

00:40:46a broken sword in one hand

00:40:48and a spear in the other,

00:40:50cutting a path to my side.

00:40:52In my blurred vision,

00:40:54he looked breathtaking.

00:40:56That night,

00:40:58amidst a frantic soul resonance,

00:41:00I let myself cross

00:41:01the forbidden line with him.

00:41:02I think I might have

00:41:03actually fallen for him.

00:41:05I thought of him

00:41:05the moment I opened my eyes.

00:41:07I banished him once more

00:41:08to the most remote,

00:41:09crumbling tower of the estate.

00:41:11Before sending him to the tower

00:41:12was a triumph of my power.

00:41:14Now I found myself

00:41:15sneaking toward it

00:41:16just to catch a glimpse of him.

00:41:18He was right there

00:41:19in my temple.

00:41:20Yet I was dying

00:41:21of an incurable heartache.

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

00:41:25I had spent hours

00:41:27baking a lemon tart

00:41:28with my own hands,

00:41:29wanting to give him a surprise.

00:41:31I wanted to tell him

00:41:33that he was going

00:41:33to be a father.

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

00:41:37I bestowed upon him

00:41:38the name Shadow.

00:41:39He was but a flicker of darkness,

00:41:41easily erased.

00:41:43Now,

00:41:44that name has become

00:41:45my only longing.

00:41:46I reach the tower

00:41:47only to find

00:41:48and my world collapsing.

00:41:49My shadow

00:41:50was gone.

00:41:52A massive dragon shadow

00:41:53reared its head,

00:41:54its wings sweeping

00:41:56across the ceiling.

00:41:57A blinding burst

00:41:58of molten gold

00:41:58erupted before my eyes,

00:42:00before shrinking

00:42:01and condensing

00:42:02into the form

00:42:03of a noble man.

00:42:04The slave had vanished,

00:42:06replaced by a prince

00:42:07radiating golden light.

00:42:09The rumors followed quickly.

00:42:11He already had a fiancé,

00:42:14a childhood match.

00:42:15Lady Isabella,

00:42:16the most brilliant woman

00:42:17in the empire.

00:42:19As soon as he returned

00:42:20to the capital,

00:42:21their grand wedding

00:42:22would begin.

00:42:25My sanctuary

00:42:26had been transformed

00:42:27into a cage,

00:42:28surrounded by the cold steel

00:42:30of the paladins.

00:42:31The moment they spotted me,

00:42:33skulking in the shadows

00:42:34like a common theme,

00:42:36a royal guard

00:42:37lunged forward,

00:42:38pressing the frigid edge

00:42:39of a heavy greatsword

00:42:40against my throat.

00:42:41Neil,

00:42:42daughter of a traitor,

00:42:42how dare you stand

00:42:44in the presence

00:42:44of Prince Arthur.

00:42:45I looked past the blade

00:42:46of the man

00:42:47in the center of the crowd.

00:42:48The ragged,

00:42:49homespun clothes

00:42:50were gone.

00:42:51In their place

00:42:52was a magnificent robe

00:42:54of blackened gold.

00:42:55Risking execution,

00:42:57I reached out

00:42:58with trembling fingers,

00:43:00desperately trying

00:43:01to catch his hand.

00:43:02A low,

00:43:03rhythmic vibration

00:43:04hummed in the air

00:43:05as glowing embers

00:43:06of dragon fire

00:43:07drifted from the gold

00:43:08embroidery of his robes.

00:43:12You...

00:43:12Are you truly

00:43:13the crown prince?

00:43:14Tell me,

00:43:15Miss Vivian,

00:43:15how do you plan

00:43:16to torture me today?

00:43:17Will it be the jeweled whip

00:43:18or shall I feel

00:43:19the weight

00:43:19of your dancing shoes again?

00:43:21Once I return

00:43:22to the capital,

00:43:23I will send

00:43:24the official documents

00:43:24to sever our contract.

00:43:26A woman from this

00:43:27wretched holy kingdom

00:43:27has no place

00:43:28beside my throne.

00:43:29My eyes burned

00:43:30with unshed tears.

00:43:32I hadn't come

00:43:33to hurt him.

00:43:34I had come

00:43:35to celebrate his birth,

00:43:36to tell him

00:43:37that I was carrying

00:43:38his children,

00:43:39but even my touch

00:43:40was a stain

00:43:41to him now.

00:43:42I finally understood

00:43:43the brutal reality.

00:43:44He loathed me.

00:43:46He would never want me

00:43:47and he would certainly

00:43:48never want the bastards

00:43:49in my womb,

00:43:50even if they carried

00:43:52his own dragon blood.

00:43:54I shielded the faint

00:43:55yet searing spark

00:43:56of dragon blood

00:43:57within me,

00:43:58standing amidst

00:43:58the hallowed ruins

00:43:59in utter despair.

00:44:01I wanted to tell him

00:44:02that I would give up

00:44:02everything.

00:44:03I would follow him

00:44:04to the capital

00:44:05as a lowly handmaid,

00:44:06anything just to

00:44:07stay by his side.

00:44:08But to him,

00:44:09my very touch

00:44:10was a defilement.

00:44:12The deposition decree,

00:44:13sealed with the dragon crest,

00:44:15had severed our contract

00:44:16forever.

00:44:17At eighteen,

00:44:18I had fallen

00:44:19from the adored saintess

00:44:20to a prisoner

00:44:21abandoned by the gods.

00:44:22I finally woke up

00:44:23from the dream.

00:44:24Arthur hated me.

00:44:26He would go on

00:44:27to marry the pure-blooded

00:44:28Lady Isabella

00:44:28and father noble

00:44:30dragon heirs.

00:44:30To him,

00:44:32Do you have any

00:44:33final prayers,

00:44:34Miss Vivian?

00:44:35He looked down at me

00:44:36as if I were

00:44:37a speck of dust.

00:44:39I had wanted

00:44:40to beg him

00:44:40to taste the lemon tart

00:44:41I baked with my own hands.

00:44:43But seeing the frost

00:44:44in his eyes,

00:44:45I could only bite my lip

00:44:46and shake my head

00:44:47through a blur of tears.

00:44:49Golden scales erupted

00:44:50across his skin

00:44:51as the air ignited

00:44:53with his draconic aura.

00:44:54With a mocking smear,

00:44:56his body shifted

00:44:57and expanded

00:44:57in a blinding flash of light,

00:44:59transforming into

00:45:00a massive dragon.

00:45:02The gale from his wings

00:45:03slamming me violently

00:45:04into the snow.

00:45:05He vanished into the clouds

00:45:07without a single

00:45:08backward glance.

00:45:09I sat frozen in the ice

00:45:11until a sharp searing pain

00:45:13tore through my abdomen,

00:45:14nearly causing me

00:45:15to lose the child.

00:45:16Watching the fading silhouette

00:45:18in the sky,

00:45:18I clutched my stomach

00:45:20where a faint dragon mark

00:45:21pulsed,

00:45:22beating rhythmically

00:45:22like a second heart.

00:45:27Disaster struck

00:45:28three days

00:45:29after Arthur's departure.

00:45:30My father,

00:45:31the Holy Father,

00:45:32was branded

00:45:33with the twin sins

00:45:34of treason

00:45:35and black magic

00:45:35then cast into

00:45:36the darkest depths

00:45:37of the abyss prison.

00:45:38I rushed to the capital,

00:45:40desperate and breathless,

00:45:41only to be met

00:45:42with the death sentence.

00:45:43He was to face

00:45:44the trial of Holy Fire

00:45:46on the night

00:45:47of the next full moon.

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

00:45:50my mother's withered hand

00:45:51gripped mine

00:45:52with terrifying strength.

00:45:54Elena,

00:45:55you must go

00:45:56to Prince Arthur.

00:45:57You must go

00:45:59to your shadow.

00:46:00You swore vows

00:46:02before the dragon god.

00:46:04You are

00:46:04high on only

00:46:05contract holder.

00:46:07He cannot simply

00:46:08watch us die.

00:46:10Her words

00:46:11cut through

00:46:11my leg as a rated blood,

00:46:12but he couldn't

00:46:13find the voice

00:46:14to answer.

00:46:15How could I admit

00:46:16that during those

00:46:17two years of shadow,

00:46:18I had forced him

00:46:19into the freezing depths

00:46:20of the Holy Lake

00:46:21just to retrieve

00:46:22a lost jewel

00:46:23for my amusement?

00:46:25How could I confess

00:46:26that?

00:46:26In fits of rage,

00:46:28I had left scars

00:46:28upon his back

00:46:29that would never heal.

00:46:30He likely wanted

00:46:32to see my family

00:46:32reduced to ash

00:46:33more than anyone else

00:46:35in the world.

00:46:36But looking at the last

00:46:37flickering spark of hope

00:46:38in my mother's eyes,

00:46:39I forced myself

00:46:40to move.

00:46:40I picked up

00:46:41the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:46:43the very symbol

00:46:44of my former tyranny,

00:46:45and dragged my trembling body

00:46:47to the crown prince's palace.

00:46:49There,

00:46:50before the towering

00:46:51obsidian iron gates,

00:46:52I fell to my knees

00:46:54and waited.

00:46:57Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:46:59a single command

00:47:00from my lips

00:47:00was enough

00:47:01to make shadow

00:47:01crawl to my feet.

00:47:03If I wanted him to bow,

00:47:05he never dared

00:47:05to meet my eyes.

00:47:06But now,

00:47:07the tables had turned

00:47:09with a cruel irony.

00:47:10To see him

00:47:11for even a moment,

00:47:12I had to kneel

00:47:13in the teeth

00:47:14of a blizzard,

00:47:14begging a shred of mercy.

00:47:16I knelt

00:47:17until I lost

00:47:18all feeling

00:47:18in my legs,

00:47:19the ruby whip

00:47:20in my hands

00:47:21buried under

00:47:21a thick shroud of snow.

00:47:23Just as dawn

00:47:23threatened to break,

00:47:24a dragon's roar

00:47:25shattered the cloud.

00:47:26The black wings

00:47:27eclipsed the dawn

00:47:28as he dived,

00:47:29only to contract

00:47:29and transform

00:47:30the instant

00:47:31they struck the earth.

00:47:32From the heart

00:47:33of the erupting snow,

00:47:34Arthur emerged

00:47:35in human form,

00:47:36breaking through the mist.

00:47:38The crunch of his boots

00:47:39against the frozen ground

00:47:40echoed the frantic

00:47:41beating of my heart.

00:47:42His cold,

00:47:43indifferent gaze

00:47:44lingered for a moment

00:47:44on the whip I held.

00:47:46Tell me,

00:47:47Miss Vivian,

00:47:48which hand was it?

00:47:50Which hand did you use

00:47:51to leave those scars

00:47:52on my body?

00:47:53His voice held no warmth,

00:47:55only the crushing weight

00:47:56of a judge passing sentence.

00:47:58I was so frozen,

00:47:59I could barely breathe.

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

00:48:02my strength failed me.

00:48:03My knees buckled

00:48:04and I collapsed forward,

00:48:06falling directly

00:48:06into his arms.

00:48:07His chest was burning hot,

00:48:09a searing contrast

00:48:10to the ice.

00:48:11The heat instantly triggered

00:48:13the memory

00:48:13of our night of soul resonance,

00:48:14the way he had pinned me

00:48:16against the altar

00:48:16of predatory hunger.

00:48:18My eyes welled

00:48:19with bitter tears.

00:48:21Your Highness,

00:48:22please,

00:48:24save my father.

00:48:25I'm begging you.

00:48:27His pupils narrowed

00:48:28into golden vertical slits

00:48:29and a faint rhythmic glow

00:48:31of molten fire

00:48:32pulsed beneath

00:48:33the skin of his throat.

00:48:48and he was the dragon slave

00:48:50I whipped at my whim.

00:48:52Two years later,

00:48:53he awakens

00:48:54the imperial dragon blood

00:48:55and returns

00:48:57to the imperial capital.

00:48:58As the giant dragon

00:49:00dives to the earth,

00:49:01he transforms

00:49:03into a king

00:49:04of extraordinary elegance.

00:49:06His dark gold dragon pupils

00:49:08are locked firmly

00:49:09onto me.

00:49:10Once his equal,

00:49:12now a disgraced slave

00:49:13of the clan,

00:49:14fallen into the abyss

00:49:16beneath the altar.

00:49:17To save my father,

00:49:19I was forced

00:49:20to kneel at his feet

00:49:21and let him tear away

00:49:22my white robes,

00:49:23the very symbol

00:49:25of my sanctity.

00:49:26He laughed coldly,

00:49:28demanding I pleasure him

00:49:29to repay the debts

00:49:30of those two years.

00:49:32He already has

00:49:33a perfect match

00:49:33by his side,

00:49:34yet he insists

00:49:36on taking me by force,

00:49:37trapping me

00:49:38in an eternal cage.

00:49:40Oh, you are.

00:49:43But I will never

00:49:44let your children

00:49:45become your prisoners.

00:49:47Watching the madness

00:49:48of his possessive gaze,

00:49:49I press my hand

00:49:51against my stomach,

00:49:52where a faint

00:49:53draconic sigil flickered,

00:49:55the mark pulsing

00:49:56with the rhythmic

00:49:57cadence of a heartbeat.

00:49:58It was this very secret

00:50:00that had driven me

00:50:01to orchestrate

00:50:02my own death,

00:50:03a scandalous escape

00:50:04that had shocked

00:50:05the world.

00:50:05A month ago,

00:50:07the Holy Kingdom fell

00:50:08under a sudden

00:50:09monster assault.

00:50:10I found myself

00:50:11cornered in the

00:50:12black forest,

00:50:13trapped and suffocating

00:50:15under the weight

00:50:15of a dark,

00:50:16malevolent curse.

00:50:17As my consciousness

00:50:18began to fracture,

00:50:19he appeared.

00:50:20He rode the chaos.

00:50:22As he charged forward

00:50:24on horseback,

00:50:25I could have sworn

00:50:26I saw the spectral shimmer

00:50:27of dragon wings

00:50:28unfurl behind him,

00:50:29a broken sword

00:50:30in one hand

00:50:31and a spear

00:50:32in the other,

00:50:33cutting a path

00:50:34to my side.

00:50:35In my blurred vision,

00:50:37he looked breathtaking.

00:50:39That night,

00:50:40amidst a frantic

00:50:41soul resonance,

00:50:43I let myself cross

00:50:44the forbidden line

00:50:45with him.

00:50:45I think I might have

00:50:46actually fallen for him.

00:50:48I thought of him

00:50:48the moment I opened

00:50:49my eyes.

00:50:50I banished him

00:50:51once more

00:50:51to the most remote,

00:50:52crumbling tower

00:50:53of the estate.

00:50:54before sending him

00:50:55to the tower

00:50:55was a triumph

00:50:56of my power.

00:50:57Now I found myself

00:50:58sneaking toward it

00:50:59just to catch

00:51:00a glimpse of him.

00:51:01He was right there

00:51:02in my temple,

00:51:03yet I was dying

00:51:04of an incurable heartache.

00:51:06Today was his

00:51:0722nd birthday.

00:51:08I had spent hours

00:51:10baking a lemon tart

00:51:10with my own hands,

00:51:12wanting to give him

00:51:13a surprise.

00:51:14I wanted to tell him

00:51:15that he was going

00:51:16to be a father.

00:51:18Two years ago

00:51:19in the arena,

00:51:19I bestowed upon him

00:51:21the name Shadow.

00:51:22He was but a flicker

00:51:23of darkness,

00:51:24easily erased.

00:51:26Now that name

00:51:27has become

00:51:28my only longing.

00:51:29I reach the tower

00:51:30only to find

00:51:31my world collapsing.

00:51:32My shadow

00:51:33was gone.

00:51:34A massive dragon shadow

00:51:36reared its head,

00:51:37its wings sweeping

00:51:39across the ceiling.

00:51:39A blinding burst

00:51:40of molten gold

00:51:41erupted before my eyes,

00:51:43before shrinking

00:51:44and condensing

00:51:45into the form

00:51:46of a noble man.

00:51:47The slave

00:51:48had vanished,

00:51:49replaced by a prince

00:51:50radiating golden light.

00:51:52The rumors

00:51:53followed quickly.

00:51:54He already had

00:51:55a fiancé,

00:51:56a childhood match,

00:51:58Lady Isabella,

00:51:59the most brilliant woman

00:52:00in the empire.

00:52:02As soon as he returned

00:52:03to the capital,

00:52:04their grand wedding

00:52:05would begin.

00:52:08My sanctuary

00:52:09had been transformed

00:52:10into a cage,

00:52:11surrounded by the cold

00:52:13steel of the paladins.

00:52:14The moment they spotted me,

00:52:16skulking in the shadows

00:52:17like a common theme,

00:52:19a royal guard

00:52:19lunged forward,

00:52:21pressing the frigid edge

00:52:22of a heavy greatsword

00:52:23against my throat.

00:52:24Neil, daughter of a traitor,

00:52:25how dare you stand

00:52:26in the presence

00:52:27of Prince Arthur?

00:52:28I looked past the blade

00:52:29of the man

00:52:30in the center of the crowd.

00:52:31The ragged,

00:52:32homespun clothes

00:52:33were gone.

00:52:34In their place

00:52:35was a magnificent robe

00:52:37of black and gold.

00:52:38Risking execution,

00:52:40I reached out

00:52:41with trembling fingers,

00:52:43desperately trying

00:52:43to catch his hand.

00:52:45A low,

00:52:46rhythmic vibration

00:52:47hummed in the air

00:52:48as glowing embers

00:52:49of dragonfire

00:52:50drifted from the

00:52:51gold embroidery

00:52:52of his robes.

00:52:55You...

00:52:55Are you truly

00:52:56the crown prince?

00:52:57Tell me,

00:52:58Miss Vivune,

00:52:58how do you plan

00:52:59to torture me today?

00:53:00Will it be the jeweled whip

00:53:01or shall I feel

00:53:02the weight

00:53:02of your dancing shoes again?

00:53:04Once I return

00:53:05to the capital,

00:53:06I will send

00:53:06the official documents

00:53:07to sever our contract.

00:53:09A woman from this

00:53:09wretched holy kingdom

00:53:10has no place

00:53:11beside my throne.

00:53:12My eyes burned

00:53:13with unshed tears.

00:53:15I hadn't come

00:53:16to hurt him.

00:53:17I had come

00:53:18to celebrate his birth,

00:53:19to tell him

00:53:20that I was carrying

00:53:20his children.

00:53:22But even my touch

00:53:23was a stain to him now.

00:53:25I finally understood

00:53:26the brutal reality.

00:53:27He loathed me.

00:53:29He would never want me,

00:53:30and he would certainly

00:53:31never want the bastards

00:53:32in my womb,

00:53:33even if they carried

00:53:34his own dragon blood.

00:53:37I shielded the faint

00:53:38yet searing spark

00:53:39of dragon blood

00:53:40within me,

00:53:40standing amidst

00:53:41the hallowed ruins

00:53:42in utter despair.

00:53:44I wanted to tell him

00:53:45that I would give up

00:53:45everything.

00:53:46I would follow him

00:53:47to the capital

00:53:48as a lowly handmaid,

00:53:49anything just to stay

00:53:50by his side.

00:53:51But to him,

00:53:52my very touch

00:53:53was a defilement.

00:53:55The deposition decree,

00:53:56sealed with the dragon crest,

00:53:58had severed our contract

00:53:59forever.

00:54:00At eighteen,

00:54:01I had fallen

00:54:02from the adored saintess

00:54:03to a prisoner

00:54:04abandoned by the gods.

00:54:05I finally woke up

00:54:06from the dream.

00:54:07Arthur hated me.

00:54:09He would go on

00:54:09to marry the pure-blooded

00:54:11Lady Isabella

00:54:11and father

00:54:12noble dragon heirs

00:54:13to him.

00:54:15Do you have

00:54:16any final prayers,

00:54:17Miss Vivian?

00:54:18He looked down at me

00:54:19as if I were

00:54:20a speck of dust.

00:54:22I had wanted

00:54:22to beg him

00:54:23to taste the lemon tart

00:54:24I baked with my own hands.

00:54:26But seeing the frost

00:54:27in his eyes,

00:54:28I could only bite my lip

00:54:29and shake my head

00:54:30through a blur of tears.

00:54:32Golden scales erupted

00:54:33across his skin

00:54:34as the air ignited

00:54:36with his draconic aura.

00:54:37With a mocking smear,

00:54:39his body shifted

00:54:40and expanded

00:54:40in a blinding flash

00:54:41of light,

00:54:42transforming into

00:54:43a massive dragon.

00:54:44The gale from his wings

00:54:46slamming me violently

00:54:47into the snow.

00:54:48He vanished into the clouds

00:54:50without a single

00:54:50backward glance.

00:54:52I sat frozen

00:54:53in the ice

00:54:53until a sharp,

00:54:55searing pain

00:54:56tore through my abdomen,

00:54:57nearly causing me

00:54:58to lose the child.

00:54:59Watching the fading

00:55:00silhouette in the sky,

00:55:01I clutched my stomach

00:55:02where a faint dragon

00:55:03mark pulsed,

00:55:04beating rhythmically

00:55:05like a second heart.

00:55:10Disaster struck

00:55:10three days

00:55:11after Arthur's departure.

00:55:13My father,

00:55:14the Holy Father,

00:55:15was branded

00:55:16with the twin sins

00:55:17of treason

00:55:17and black magic.

00:55:18Then cast into

00:55:19the darkest depths

00:55:20of the abyss prison,

00:55:21I rushed to the capital,

00:55:22desperate and breathless,

00:55:24only to be met

00:55:25with the death sentence.

00:55:26He was to face

00:55:27the trial of Holy Fire

00:55:29on the night

00:55:30of the next full moon.

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

00:55:33my mother's withered hand

00:55:34gripped mine

00:55:35with terrifying strength.

00:55:37Elena,

00:55:38you must go

00:55:38to Prince Arthur.

00:55:40You must go

00:55:41to your shadow.

00:55:43You swore vows

00:55:45before the dragon god.

00:55:46You are high

00:55:47on only contract holder.

00:55:49He cannot simply

00:55:51watch us die.

00:55:52Her words

00:55:53cut through

00:55:54my leg

00:55:54as a rated blood,

00:55:55but he couldn't find

00:55:56the voice to answer.

00:55:58How could I admit

00:55:59that during those

00:55:59two years of shadow,

00:56:01I had forced him

00:56:02into the freezing depths

00:56:03of the holy lake

00:56:04just to retrieve

00:56:05a lost jewel

00:56:06for my amusement.

00:56:08How could I confess

00:56:09that,

00:56:09in fits of rage,

00:56:10I had left scars

00:56:11upon his back

00:56:12that would never heal.

00:56:13He likely wanted

00:56:14to see my family

00:56:15reduced to ash

00:56:16more than anyone else

00:56:18in the world.

00:56:18but looking

00:56:19at the last

00:56:20flickering spark

00:56:20of hope

00:56:21in my mother's eyes,

00:56:22I forced myself

00:56:23to move.

00:56:23I picked up

00:56:24the ruby-encrusted whip,

00:56:25the very symbol

00:56:27of my former tyranny,

00:56:28and dragged

00:56:29my trembling body

00:56:30to the crown prince's palace.

00:56:32There,

00:56:33before the towering

00:56:34obsidian iron gates,

00:56:35I fell to my knees

00:56:37and waited.

00:56:40Back in the Holy Kingdom,

00:56:42a single command

00:56:43from my lips

00:56:43was enough

00:56:44to make shadow

00:56:44crawl to my feet.

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

00:56:47he never dared

00:56:48to meet my eyes.

00:56:49But now,

00:56:50the tables had turned

00:56:51with a cruel irony.

00:56:53To see him

00:56:54for even a moment,

00:56:55I had to kneel

00:56:56in the teeth of a blizzard,

00:56:57begging a shred of mercy.

00:56:59I knelt until

00:57:00I lost all feeling

00:57:01in my legs,

00:57:02the ruby whip

00:57:03in my hands,

00:57:04buried under

00:57:04a thick shroud of snow.

00:57:05Just as dawn

00:57:06threatened to break,

00:57:07a dragon's roar

00:57:08shattered the cloud.

00:57:09The black wings

00:57:10eclipsed the dawn

00:57:11as he dived,

00:57:12only to contract

00:57:12and transform

00:57:13the instant

00:57:14they struck the earth.

00:57:15From the heart

00:57:16of the erupting snow,

00:57:17Arthur emerged

00:57:18in human form,

00:57:19breaking through the mist.

00:57:21The crunch of his boots

00:57:22against the frozen ground

00:57:23echoed the frantic

00:57:24beating of my heart.

00:57:25His cold,

00:57:26indifferent gaze

00:57:27lingered for a moment

00:57:27on the whip I held.

00:57:29Tell me,

00:57:30Miss Vivian,

00:57:31which hand was it?

00:57:32Which hand did you use

00:57:34to leave those scars

00:57:35on my body?

00:57:36His voice held

00:57:37no warmth,

00:57:38only the crushing weight

00:57:39of a judge-passing sentence.

00:57:41I was so frozen

00:57:42I could barely breathe.

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

00:57:45my strength failed me.

00:57:46My knees buckled

00:57:47and I collapsed forward,

00:57:49falling directly

00:57:49into his arms.

00:57:50His chest was burning hot,

00:57:52a searing contrast

00:57:53to the ice.

00:57:54The heat instantly

00:57:55triggered the memory

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

00:57:57the way he had pinned me

00:57:59against the altar

00:57:59of predatory hunger.

00:58:01My eyes welled

00:58:02with bitter tears.

00:58:04Your highness, please.

00:58:06Save my father.

00:58:08I'm begging you.

00:58:10His pupils narrowed

00:58:11into golden vertical slips

00:58:12and a faint rhythmic glow

00:58:14of molten fire

00:58:15pulsed beneath

00:58:15the skin of his throat.

00:58:18Elena,

00:58:20is this how beg?

00:58:27Two years ago,

00:58:29I was the arrogant saintess

00:58:31and he was the dragon slave

00:58:33I whipped at my whim.

00:58:35Two years later,

00:58:36he awakens the imperial dragon blood

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

00:58:41As the giant dragon

00:58:43dives to the earth,

00:58:44he transforms into a king

00:58:46of extraordinary elegance.

00:58:48His dark gold dragon pupils

00:58:51are locked firmly onto me.

00:58:53Once his equal,

00:58:54now a disgraced slave

00:58:56of the clan,

00:58:57fallen into the abyss

00:58:58beneath the altar.

00:59:00To save my father,

00:59:01I was forced to kneel

00:59:03at his feet

00:59:04and let him tear away

00:59:05my white robes,

00:59:06the very symbol

00:59:07of my sanctity.

00:59:09He laughed coldly,

00:59:11demanding I pleasure him

00:59:12to repay the debts

00:59:13of those two years.

00:59:15He already has a perfect match

00:59:16by his side,

00:59:17yet he insists

00:59:18on taking me by force,

00:59:20trapping me

00:59:21in an eternal cage.

00:59:24I will never let your children

00:59:28become your prisoners.

00:59:29Watching the madness

00:59:31of his possessive gaze,

00:59:32I press my hand

00:59:34against my stomach,

00:59:35where a faint

00:59:36draconic sigil flickered,

00:59:38the mark pulsing

00:59:39at the rhythmic cadence

00:59:40of a heartbeat.

00:59:41It was this very secret

00:59:43that had driven me

00:59:44to orchestrate my own death,

00:59:45a scandalous escape

00:59:47that had shocked the world.

00:59:48A month ago,

00:59:50the Holy Kingdom fell

00:59:51under a sudden monster assault.

00:59:53I found myself cornered

00:59:55in the black forest,

00:59:56trapped,

00:59:57and suffocating

00:59:58under the weight

00:59:58of a dark malevolent curse.

01:00:00As my consciousness

01:00:01began to fracture,

01:00:02he appeared.

01:00:03He rode the chaos.

01:00:05As he charged forward

01:00:07on horseback,

01:00:07I could have sworn

01:00:09I saw the spectral shimmer

01:00:10of dragon wings

01:00:11unfurl behind him,

01:00:12a broken sword

01:00:13in one hand,

01:00:14and a spear

01:00:15in the other,

01:00:15cutting a path

01:00:16to my side.

01:00:18In my blurred vision,

01:00:20he looked breathtaking.

01:00:22That night,

01:00:23amidst a frantic

01:00:24soul resonance,

01:00:25I let myself cross

01:00:27the forbidden line

01:00:27with him.

01:00:28I think I might have

01:00:29actually fallen for him.

01:00:30I thought of him

01:00:31the moment I opened my eyes.

01:00:33I banished him once more

01:00:34to the most remote,

01:00:35crumbling tower

01:00:36of the estate,

01:00:37before sending him

01:00:37to the tower

01:00:38was a triumph

01:00:39of my power.

01:00:40Now I found myself

01:00:41sneaking toward it

01:00:42just to catch a glimpse

01:00:43of him.

01:00:44He was right there

01:00:45in my temple,

01:00:46yet I was dying

01:00:47of an incurable heartache.

01:00:49Today was his

01:00:5022nd birthday.

01:00:51I had spent hours

01:00:52baking a lemon tart

01:00:53with my own hands,

01:00:55wanting to give him

01:00:56a surprise.

01:00:57I wanted to tell him

01:00:58that he was going

01:00:59to be a father.

01:01:00Two years ago

01:01:01in the arena,

01:01:02I bestowed upon him

01:01:04the name Shadow.

01:01:05He was but a flicker

01:01:06of darkness,

01:01:07easily erased.

01:01:09Now,

01:01:09that name has become

01:01:10my only longing.

01:01:12I reached the tower

01:01:13only to find

01:01:14my world collapsing.

01:01:15My shadow

01:01:16was gone.

01:01:17A massive dragon shadow

01:01:19reared its head,

01:01:20its wings sweeping

01:01:21across the ceiling.

01:01:22A blinding burst

01:01:23of molten gold

01:01:24erupted before my eyes,

01:01:26before shrinking

01:01:27and condensing

01:01:28into the form

01:01:29of a noble man.

01:01:30The slave

01:01:31had vanished,

01:01:32replaced by a prince

01:01:33radiating golden light.

01:01:35The rumors

01:01:36followed quickly.

01:01:37He already had

01:01:38a fiancé,

01:01:39a childhood match.

01:01:40Lady Isabella,

01:01:42the most brilliant woman

01:01:43in the empire.

01:01:44As soon as he returned

01:01:46to the capital,

01:01:47their grand wedding

01:01:48would begin.

01:01:51My sanctuary

01:01:52had been transformed

01:01:53into a cage,

01:01:54surrounded by the cold steel

01:01:56of the paladins.

01:01:57The moment they spotted me,

01:01:59skulking in the shadows

01:02:00like a common theme,

01:02:01a royal guard

01:02:02lunged forward,

01:02:04pressing the frigid edge

01:02:05of a heavy greatsword

01:02:06against my throat.

01:02:06Neil,

01:02:07daughter of a traitor,

01:02:08how dare you stand

01:02:09in the presence

01:02:10of Prince Arthur?

01:02:11I looked past the blade

01:02:12at the man

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

01:02:14The ragged,

01:02:15homespun clothes

01:02:16were gone.

01:02:17In their place

01:02:18was a magnificent robe

01:02:19of blackened gold.

01:02:21Risking execution,

01:02:23I reached out

01:02:24with trembling fingers,

01:02:26desperately trying

01:02:26to catch his hand.

01:02:28A low,

01:02:29rhythmic vibration

01:02:30hummed in the air

01:02:31as glowing embers

01:02:32of dragon fire

01:02:33drifted from the

01:02:34gold embroidery

01:02:35of his robes.

01:02:38You...

01:02:38Are you truly

01:02:39the crown prince?

01:02:40Tell me,

01:02:41Miss Vivian,

01:02:41how do you plan

01:02:42to torture me today?

01:02:43Will it be the jeweled whip

01:02:44or shall I feel

01:02:45the weight of your

01:02:45dancing shoes again?

01:02:47Once I return

01:02:48to the capital,

01:02:49I will send

01:02:49the official documents

01:02:50to sever our contract.

01:02:51A woman from this

01:02:52wretched holy kingdom

01:02:53has no place

01:02:54beside my throne.

01:02:55My eyes burned

01:02:56with unshed tears.

01:02:58I hadn't come

01:02:59to hurt him.

01:03:00I had come

01:03:00to celebrate his birth,

01:03:02to tell him

01:03:03that I was carrying

01:03:03his children.

01:03:05But even my touch

01:03:06was a stain

01:03:06to him now.

01:03:08I finally understood

01:03:09the brutal reality.

01:03:10He loathed me.

01:03:11He would never want me.

01:03:13And he would certainly

01:03:14never want the bastards

01:03:15in my womb,

01:03:16even if they carried

01:03:17his own dragon blood.

01:03:20I shielded the faint

01:03:21yet searing spark

01:03:22of dragon blood

01:03:22within me,

01:03:23standing amidst

01:03:24the hallowed ruins

01:03:25in utter despair.

01:03:26I wanted to tell him

01:03:27that I would give up

01:03:28everything.

01:03:29I would follow him

01:03:30to the capital

01:03:31as a lowly handmaid,

01:03:32anything just to stay

01:03:33by his side.

01:03:34But to him,

01:03:35my very touch

01:03:36was a defilement.

01:03:37The deposition decree,

01:03:39sealed with the dragon crest,

01:03:41had severed our contract

01:03:42forever.

01:03:43At eighteen,

01:03:44I had fallen

01:03:45from the adored

01:03:45saintess to a prisoner

01:03:46abandoned by the gods.

01:03:48I finally woke up

01:03:49from the dream.

01:03:50Arthur hated me.

01:03:51He would go on

01:03:52to marry the pure-blooded

01:03:53Lady Isabella

01:03:54and father noble

01:03:55dragon heirs.

01:03:56to him.

01:03:58Do you have

01:03:59any final prayers,

01:04:00Miss Vivian?

01:04:01He looked down at me

01:04:02as if I were

01:04:03a speck of dust.

01:04:05I had wanted

01:04:05to beg him

01:04:06to taste the lemon tart

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

01:04:09But seeing the frost

01:04:10in his eyes,

01:04:11I could only bite my lip

01:04:12and shake my head

01:04:13through a blur of tears.

01:04:15Golden scales

01:04:16erupted across his skin

01:04:17as the air ignited

01:04:18with his draconic aura.

01:04:20With a mocking smear,

01:04:22his body shifted

01:04:22and expanded

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

01:04:25transforming into

01:04:26a massive dragon.

01:04:27The gale from his wings

01:04:29slamming me violently

01:04:30into the snow.

01:04:31He vanished into the clouds

01:04:33without a single

01:04:33backward glance.

01:04:34I sat frozen in the ice

01:04:36until a sharp searing pain

01:04:38tore through my abdomen,

01:04:40nearly causing me

01:04:41to lose the child.

01:04:42Watching the fading silhouette

01:04:43in the sky,

01:04:44I clutched my stomach

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

01:04:47beating rhythmically

01:04:48like a second heart.

01:04:52Disaster struck.

01:04:54Three days.

01:04:55After Arthur's departure,

01:04:56my father,

01:04:57the Holy Father,

01:04:58was branded

01:04:59with the twin sins

01:05:00of treason

01:05:00and black magic.

01:05:01Then cast into

01:05:02the darkest depths

01:05:03of the abyss prison,

01:05:04I rushed to the capital,

01:05:05desperate and breathless,

01:05:07only to be met

01:05:08with the death sentence.

01:05:09He was to face

01:05:10the trial of Holy Fire

01:05:11on the night

01:05:12of the next full moon.

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

01:05:16my mother's withered hand

01:05:17gripped mine

01:05:18with terrifying strength.

01:05:20Elena,

01:05:21you must go

01:05:21to Prince Arthur.

01:05:23You must go

01:05:24to your shadow.

01:05:26You swore vows

01:05:28before the dragon god.

01:05:29You are high

01:05:30on only contract holder.

01:05:32He cannot simply

01:05:34watch us die.

01:05:35Her words cut through

01:05:37my leg as a raided blood,

01:05:38but he couldn't find

01:05:39the voice to answer.

01:05:40How could I admit

01:05:42that during those

01:05:42two years of shadow,

01:05:44I had forced him

01:05:45into the freezing depths

01:05:46of the Holy Lake

01:05:47just to retrieve

01:05:48a lost jewel

01:05:49for my amusement?

01:05:51How could I confess

01:05:52that, in fits of rage,

01:05:53I had left scars

01:05:54upon his back

01:05:55that would never heal?

01:05:56He likely wanted

01:05:57to see my family

01:05:58reduced to ash

01:05:59more than anyone else

01:06:00in the world.

01:06:01But looking at the last

01:06:03flickering spark

01:06:03of hope in my mother's eyes,

01:06:05I forced myself to move.

01:06:06I picked up

01:06:07the ruby-encrusted whip,

01:06:08the very symbol

01:06:09of my former tyranny,

01:06:11and dragged my trembling body

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

01:06:15There, before the towering

01:06:17obsidian iron gates,

01:06:18I fell to my knees

01:06:20and waited.

01:06:23Back in the Holy Kingdom,

01:06:24a single command

01:06:26from my lips

01:06:26was enough to make shadow

01:06:27crawl to my feet.

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

01:06:30he never dared

01:06:31to meet my eyes.

01:06:32But now,

01:06:33the tables had turned

01:06:34with a cruel irony.

01:06:36To see him,

01:06:37for even a moment,

01:06:38I had to kneel

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

01:06:40begging a shred of mercy.

01:06:42I knelt until

01:06:43I lost all feeling

01:06:44in my legs.

01:06:45The ruby whip in my hands

01:06:46buried under

01:06:47a thick shroud of snow.

01:06:49Just as dawn threatened

01:06:49to break,

01:06:50a dragon's roar

01:06:51shattered the cloud.

01:06:52The black wings

01:06:53eclipsed the dawn

01:06:54as he dived,

01:06:54only to contract

01:06:55and transform

01:06:56the instant

01:06:57they struck the earth.

01:06:58From the heart

01:06:59of the erupting snow,

01:07:00Arthur emerged

01:07:01in human form,

01:07:02breaking through the mist.

01:07:03The crunch of his boots

01:07:05against the frozen ground

01:07:06echoed the frantic beating

01:07:07of my heart.

01:07:08His cold, indifferent gaze

01:07:09lingered for a moment

01:07:10on the whip I held.

01:07:12Tell me,

01:07:12Miss Vivian.

01:07:13Which hand was it?

01:07:15Which hand did you use

01:07:17to leave those scars

01:07:18on my body?

01:07:19His voice held no warmth,

01:07:21only the crushing weight

01:07:22of a judge passing sentence.

01:07:24I was so frozen,

01:07:25I could barely breathe.

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

01:07:28my strength failed me.

01:07:29My knees buckled

01:07:30and I collapsed forward,

01:07:32falling directly

01:07:32into his arms.

01:07:33His chest was burning hot,

01:07:35a searing contrast

01:07:36to the ice.

01:07:37The heat instantly triggered

01:07:38the memory

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

01:07:40the way he had pinned me

01:07:42against the altar

01:07:42of predatory hunger.

01:07:44My eyes welled

01:07:45with bitter tears.

01:07:47Your Highness, please,

01:07:49save my father.

01:07:51I'm begging you.

01:07:53His pupils narrowed

01:07:54into golden vertical slits

01:07:55and a faint rhythmic glow

01:07:57of molten fire

01:07:58pulsed beneath

01:07:58the skin of his throat.

01:08:01Elena,

01:08:03is this how beg?

01:08:10Two years ago,

01:08:12I was the arrogant saintess

01:08:14and he was the dragon slave

01:08:16I whipped at my whim.

01:08:18Two years later,

01:08:19he awakens the imperial dragon blood

01:08:21and returns to the imperial capital.

01:08:24As the giant dragon

01:08:26dives to the earth,

01:08:27he transforms

01:08:28into a king

01:08:29of extraordinary elegance.

01:08:32His dark gold dragon pupils

01:08:34are locked firmly onto me.

01:08:36Once his equal,

01:08:37now a disgraced slave

01:08:39of the clan,

01:08:40fallen into the abyss

01:08:41beneath the altar.

01:08:43To save my father,

01:08:44I was forced to kneel

01:08:46at his feet

01:08:47and let him tear away

01:08:48my white robes,

01:08:49the very symbol

01:08:50of my sanctity.

01:08:51He laughed coldly,

01:08:54demanding I pleasure him

01:08:55to repay the debts

01:08:56of those two years.

01:08:57He already has

01:08:58a perfect match

01:08:59by his side,

01:09:00yet he insists

01:09:01on taking me by force,

01:09:03trapping me

01:09:04in an eternal cage.

01:09:06Oh, shh.

01:09:07Oh, you are.

01:09:09But I will never let

01:09:10your children

01:09:11become your prisoners.

01:09:12Watching the madness

01:09:14of his possessive gaze,

01:09:15I press my hand

01:09:17against my stomach,

01:09:18where a faint

01:09:19draconic sigil flickered,

01:09:20the mark pulsing

01:09:22at the rhythmic cadence

01:09:23of a heartbeat.

01:09:24It was this very secret

01:09:26that had driven me

01:09:27to orchestrate

01:09:27my own death,

01:09:28a scandalous escape

01:09:30that had shocked

01:09:30the world.

01:09:31A month ago,

01:09:32the Holy Kingdom fell

01:09:34under a sudden

01:09:35monster assault.

01:09:36I found myself

01:09:37cornered in the black forest,

01:09:39trapped,

01:09:40and suffocating

01:09:41under the weight

01:09:41of a dark,

01:09:42malevolent curse.

01:09:43As my consciousness

01:09:44began to fracture,

01:09:45he appeared.

01:09:46He rode the chaos.

01:09:48as he charged

01:09:49forward on horseback,

01:09:51I could have sworn

01:09:52I saw the spectral shimmer

01:09:53of dragon wings

01:09:54unfurl behind him,

01:09:55a broken sword

01:09:56in one hand

01:09:57and a spear

01:09:57in the other,

01:09:58cutting a path

01:09:59to my side.

01:10:01In my blurred vision,

01:10:03he looked breathtaking.

01:10:05That night,

01:10:06amidst a frantic

01:10:07soul resonance,

01:10:08I let myself

01:10:09cross the forbidden

01:10:10line with him.

01:10:11I think I might have

01:10:12actually fallen for him.

01:10:13I thought of him

01:10:14the moment I opened

01:10:15my eyes.

01:10:16I banished him

01:10:16once more

01:10:17to the most remote,

01:10:18crumbling tower

01:10:19of the estate,

01:10:20before sending him

01:10:20to the tower

01:10:21was a triumph

01:10:22of my power.

01:10:23Now I found myself

01:10:24sneaking toward it

01:10:25just to catch

01:10:25a glimpse of him.

01:10:26He was right there

01:10:28in my temple,

01:10:28yet I was dying

01:10:30of an incurable heartache.

01:10:32Today was his

01:10:3322nd birthday.

01:10:34I had spent hours

01:10:35baking a lemon tart

01:10:36with my own hands,

01:10:38wanting to give him

01:10:39a surprise.

01:10:40I wanted to tell him

01:10:41that he was going

01:10:42to be a father.

01:10:43Two years ago

01:10:44in the arena,

01:10:45I bestowed upon him

01:10:47the name Shadow.

01:10:48He was but a flicker

01:10:49of darkness,

01:10:50easily erased.

01:10:52Now,

01:10:52that name has become

01:10:53my only longing.

01:10:55I reach the tower

01:10:56only to find my world

01:10:57collapsing.

01:10:58My shadow

01:10:59was gone.

01:11:00A massive dragon shadow

01:11:02reared its head,

01:11:03its wings sweeping

01:11:04across the ceiling.

01:11:05A blinding burst

01:11:06of molten gold

01:11:07erupted before my eyes,

01:11:09before shrinking

01:11:10and condensing

01:11:11into the form

01:11:11of a noble man.

01:11:13The slave

01:11:14had vanished,

01:11:15replaced by a prince

01:11:16radiating golden light.

01:11:18The rumors

01:11:19followed quickly.

01:11:20He already had

01:11:21a fiancé,

01:11:22a childhood match,

01:11:24Lady Isabella,

01:11:25the most brilliant woman

01:11:26in the empire.

01:11:27As soon as he returned

01:11:28to the capital,

01:11:30their grand wedding

01:11:31would begin.

01:11:34My sanctuary

01:11:35had been transformed

01:11:36into a cage

01:11:37surrounded by the cold

01:11:39steel of the paladins.

01:11:40The moment they spotted me,

01:11:42skulking in the shadows

01:11:43like a common theme,

01:11:44a royal guard

01:11:45lunged forward,

01:11:47pressing the frigid edge

01:11:48of a heavy greatsword

01:11:49against my throat.

01:11:50Neil,

01:11:50daughter of a traitor,

01:11:51how dare you stand

01:11:52in the presence

01:11:53of Prince Arthur?

01:11:54I looked past the blade

01:11:55at the man

01:11:55in the center of the crowd.

01:11:57The ragged,

01:11:58homespun clothes

01:11:59were gone.

01:12:00In their place

01:12:01was a magnificent robe

01:12:02of black and gold.

01:12:04Risking execution,

01:12:06I reached out

01:12:07with trembling fingers,

01:12:08desperately trying

01:12:09to catch his hand.

01:12:11A low,

01:12:12rhythmic vibration

01:12:13hummed in the air

01:12:14as glowing embers

01:12:15of dragon fire

01:12:16drifted from the

01:12:17gold embroidery

01:12:18of his robes.

01:12:20You...

01:12:21Are you truly

01:12:22the crown prince?

01:12:23Tell me,

01:12:23Miss Vivian,

01:12:24how do you plan

01:12:25to torture me today?

01:12:26Will it be the jeweled whip

01:12:27or shall I feel the weight

01:12:28of your dancing shoes again?

01:12:30Once I return

01:12:31to the capital,

01:12:32I will send

01:12:32the official documents

01:12:33to sever our contract.

01:12:34A woman from this

01:12:35wretched holy kingdom

01:12:36has no place

01:12:37beside my throne.

01:12:38My eyes burned

01:12:39with unshed tears.

01:12:41I hadn't come

01:12:41to hurt him.

01:12:42I had come

01:12:43to celebrate his birth,

01:12:45to tell him

01:12:45that I was carrying

01:12:46his children.

01:12:47But even my touch

01:12:49was a stain to him now.

01:12:51I finally understood

01:12:52the brutal reality.

01:12:53He loathed me.

01:12:54He would never want me,

01:12:56and he would certainly

01:12:57never want the bastards

01:12:58in my womb,

01:12:59even if they carried

01:13:00his own dragon blood.

01:13:03I shielded the faint

01:13:04yet searing spark

01:13:05of dragon blood

01:13:05within me,

01:13:06standing amidst

01:13:07the hallowed ruins

01:13:08in utter despair.

01:13:09I wanted to tell him

01:13:10that I would give up

01:13:11everything.

01:13:12I would follow him

01:13:13to the capital

01:13:13as a lowly handmaid,

01:13:15anything just to stay

01:13:16by his side.

01:13:17But to him,

01:13:18my very touch

01:13:19was a defilement.

01:13:20The deposition decree,

01:13:22sealed with the dragon crest,

01:13:24had severed our contract

01:13:25forever.

01:13:26At eighteen,

01:13:27I had fallen

01:13:27from the adored saintess

01:13:29to a prisoner

01:13:29abandoned by the gods.

01:13:31I finally woke up

01:13:32from the dream.

01:13:33Arthur hated me.

01:13:34He would go on

01:13:35to marry the pure-blooded

01:13:36Lady Isabella

01:13:37and father

01:13:38noble dragon heirs

01:13:39to him.

01:13:41Do you have

01:13:42any final prayers,

01:13:43Miss Vivian?

01:13:44He looked down at me

01:13:45as if I were

01:13:46a speck of dust.

01:13:47I had wanted

01:13:48to beg him

01:13:49to taste the lemon tart

01:13:50I baked with my own hands.

01:13:52But seeing the frost

01:13:53in his eyes,

01:13:54I could only bite my lip

01:13:55and shake my head

01:13:56through a blur of tears.

01:13:58Golden scales

01:13:58erupted across his skin

01:14:00as the air ignited

01:14:01with his draconic aura.

01:14:03With a mocking smear,

01:14:04his body shifted

01:14:05and expanded

01:14:06in a blinding flash of light,

01:14:08transforming into

01:14:09a massive dragon.

01:14:10The gale from his wings

01:14:12slamming me violently

01:14:13into the snow.

01:14:14He vanished into the clouds

01:14:16without a single

01:14:16backward glance.

01:14:18I sat frozen in the ice

01:14:19until a sharp searing pain

01:14:21tore through my abdomen,

01:14:23nearly causing me

01:14:24to lose the child.

01:14:25Watching the fading silhouette

01:14:26in the sky,

01:14:27I clutched my stomach

01:14:28where a faint dragon mark pulsed,

01:14:30beating rhythmically

01:14:31like a second heart.

01:14:35Disaster struck

01:14:36three days

01:14:37after Arthur's departure.

01:14:39My father,

01:14:40the Holy Father,

01:14:41was branded

01:14:41with the twin sins

01:14:43of treason

01:14:43and black magic.

01:14:44Then cast into

01:14:45the darkest depths

01:14:46of the abyss prison,

01:14:47I rushed to the capital,

01:14:48desperate and breathless,

01:14:50only to be met

01:14:51with the death sentence.

01:14:52He was to face

01:14:53the trial of Holy Fire

01:14:54on the night

01:14:55of the next full moon.

01:14:56inside the stench-ridden dungeon.

01:14:59My mother's withered hand

01:15:00gripped mine

01:15:01with terrifying strength.

01:15:03Elena,

01:15:04you must go

01:15:04to Prince Arthur.

01:15:06You must go

01:15:07to your shadow.

01:15:09You swore vows

01:15:11before the dragon god.

01:15:12You are high

01:15:13on only contract holder.

01:15:15He cannot simply

01:15:17watch us die.

01:15:18Her words

01:15:19cut through

01:15:20my leg as a rated blood,

01:15:21but he couldn't find

01:15:22the voice to answer.

01:15:24How could I admit

01:15:25that during those

01:15:25two years of shadow,

01:15:27I had forced him

01:15:28into the freezing depths

01:15:29of the holy lake

01:15:30just to retrieve

01:15:31a lost jewel

01:15:32for my amusement?

01:15:34How could I confess that?

01:15:35In fits of rage,

01:15:36I had left scars

01:15:37upon his back

01:15:38that would never heal.

01:15:39He likely wanted

01:15:40to see my family

01:15:41reduced to ash

01:15:42more than anyone else

01:15:43in the world.

01:15:44But looking at the last

01:15:46flickering spark of hope

01:15:47in my mother's eyes,

01:15:48I forced myself to move.

01:15:49I picked up

01:15:50the ruby-encrusted whip,

01:15:51the very symbol

01:15:52of my former tyranny,

01:15:54and dragged my trembling body

01:15:56to the crown prince's palace.

01:15:58There,

01:15:59before the towering

01:16:00obsidian iron gates,

01:16:01I fell to my knees

01:16:02and waited.

01:16:06Back in the Holy Kingdom,

01:16:07a single command

01:16:08from my lips

01:16:09was enough

01:16:09to make shadow

01:16:10crawl to my feet.

01:16:12If I wanted him to bow,

01:16:13he never dared

01:16:14to meet my eyes.

01:16:15But now,

01:16:16the tables had turned

01:16:17with a cruel irony.

01:16:19To see him

01:16:20for even a moment,

01:16:21I had to kneel

01:16:22in the teeth of a blizzard,

01:16:23begging a shred of mercy.

01:16:25I knelt until

01:16:26I lost all feeling

01:16:27in my legs,

01:16:28the ruby whip

01:16:29in my hands

01:16:29buried under

01:16:30a thick shroud of snow.

01:16:31Just as dawn

01:16:32threatened to break,

01:16:33a dragon's roar

01:16:34shattered the cloud.

01:16:35The black wings

01:16:36eclipsed the dawn

01:16:37as he dived,

01:16:37only to contract

01:16:38and transform

01:16:39the instant

01:16:40they struck the earth.

01:16:41From the heart

01:16:42of the erupting snow,

01:16:43Arthur emerged

01:16:44in human form,

01:16:45breaking through the mist.

01:16:46The crunch of his boots

01:16:48against the frozen ground

01:16:49echoed the frantic beating

01:16:50of my heart.

01:16:51His cold,

01:16:52indifferent gaze

01:16:52lingered for a moment

01:16:53on the whip I held.

01:16:55Tell me,

01:16:55Miss Vivian,

01:16:56which hand was it?

01:16:58Which hand did you use

01:17:00to leave those scars

01:17:00on my body?

01:17:02His voice held no warmth,

01:17:04only the crushing weight

01:17:05of a judge passing said in.

01:17:06I was so frozen,

01:17:08I could barely breathe.

01:17:09Before I could find my voice,

01:17:11my strength failed me.

01:17:12My knees bungled

01:17:13and I collapsed forward,

01:17:14falling directly

01:17:15into his arms.

01:17:16His chest was burning hot,

01:17:18a searing contrast

01:17:19to the ice.

01:17:20The heat instantly

01:17:21triggered the memory

01:17:22of our night of soul resonance,

01:17:23the way he had pinned me

01:17:24against the altar

01:17:25of predatory hunger.

01:17:26My eyes welled

01:17:28with bitter tears.

01:17:30Your Highness,

01:17:31please,

01:17:32save my father.

01:17:34I'm begging you.

01:17:36His pupils narrowed

01:17:37into golden vertical slits,

01:17:38and a faint rhythmic

01:17:39glow of molten fire

01:17:41pulsed beneath

01:17:41the skin of his throat.

01:17:42лять

01:17:42what do you think

01:17:43of them?

01:17:43He's doing three

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