- 10 hours ago
I Take Back the Light, I Found a Dynasty EP
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Morghouse, the queen dowager whom I had treated as my own mother, chimed in without a trace of shame.
00:05You cannot bear an heir.
00:08Cecily was generous enough to spare your wretched life, yet you were vicious enough to push her and nearly cause
00:13a miscarriage.
00:15I swallowed the metallic taste in my throat.
00:18If I leave, don't say you weren't warned.
00:20Alistair let out a scornful laugh.
00:22Without my protection, you would have died on the exile road ten years ago.
00:28Guards, throw her into the cold tower and leave her to rot.
00:32They seemed to have forgotten that it was I who dug them out of a pile of corpses on that
00:36exile road ten years ago.
00:37They also had no idea that the fate of this new dynasty relied entirely on the light of destiny from
00:42my god bloodline, forcibly sustaining it.
00:45Looking at this mother and son who wanted me dead, I swallowed the blood in my mouth and stopped asking
00:49for any explanation.
00:51Divine warning. Ten years of star blood protection have expired.
00:55Continue to offer the light of destiny?
00:59Withdraw it.
01:00The light of destiny will be completely stripped away in three days.
01:04Within three days, you may change your mind at any time.
01:10Flash of inexplicable irritation crossed his eyes.
01:13Once she is in the cold tower, by my order, no one is to give her a single ember of
01:18coal or one drop of medicine for her wounds.
01:22Let's see just how tough her backbone really is.
01:26Cecily leaned delicately against Alistair, her eyes challenging me.
01:30Alistair, my sister was just jealous in the heat of the moment.
01:34Please don't upset yourself.
01:36With that, she gave a little cry that she was cold.
01:39Alistair instinctively moved to unfasten his cloak.
01:42But when his hand touched the clasp, he froze abruptly.
01:45It was a black fox for a cloak, with flame runes densely embroidered in gold thread over the heart.
01:50Ten years ago, in the frozen exile land, the coal poison had seeped into his bones, and the physician said
01:56he would not survive the night.
01:57It was I who pricked my own heart with a hairpin, used my star blood as a guide, and stayed
02:01up three whole nights sewing that cloak stitch by stitch, pulling him back from the brink of death.
02:05Alistair's fingers curled slightly, but he glanced at Cecily's slightly swollen belly, and in the end he unfastened the cloak
02:12and wrapped it around her.
02:13Yet he muttered a low warning.
02:15Don't dirty it.
02:16Cecily stiffened, then nodded obediently, but jealousy flashed in her eyes.
02:22The destiny stripped away began to set in.
02:25I fell onto the damp, muddy ground and vomited a mouthful of black blood.
02:28My lady!
02:29A thin, dark figure rushed out from a corner and hugged me tightly.
02:33It was Primrose.
02:35Ten years ago on the exile road, when I was starving to death, the silly girl secretly cut flesh from
02:39her own thigh and boiled it into soup to feed me.
02:42Now, seeing me covered in blood, she wept as if her heart would break.
02:46My lady, how could the king treat you like this?
02:49If you hadn't taken that arrow for him back then, he would have...
02:52Stop.
02:53I leaned weakly against her and wiped the blood from my lips.
02:57He doesn't deserve to speak of those days.
03:00The first night.
03:01The capital, which had enjoyed favorable weather, was suddenly hit by a violent gale.
03:05The first threat of golden light was silently being drawn away from above the throne palace where Alistair sat.
03:10That was my light of destiny.
03:12Since they have taken my crown, I shall take away their kingdom's fortune.
03:19Ten years ago.
03:21For those ten years, I had used my star blood every month to suppress it, so he had long believed
03:26that the court physicians had cured him.
03:28He broke out in a cold sweat from the pain and instinctively called out the name carved into his bones.
03:32Sarah, my chest hurts.
03:35Llewellyn, the chamberlain on night duty, fell to his knees in terror.
03:39Your majesty, the queen has already been banished to the cold tower.
03:44Alistair jolted awake.
03:46He looked at the sleeping Cecily beside him, and his eyes churned with anger and panic.
03:51Silence!
03:52Without her, I can live just fine.
03:55Countdown.
03:56Two days remaining.
03:57My body grew colder and colder.
03:59The pain of having my divine meridians ripped away left me barely able to stand.
04:04The door of the cold tower was kicked open.
04:10How is my once exalted queen sister finding it?
04:14Isn't that fake belly of yours rather hot under all that padding?
04:18Cecily's face changed dramatically.
04:20Then she stepped forward viciously and slapped me across the face.
04:26Wretch, still running your mouth when death is at your door.
04:29Primrose shoved Cecily roughly aside.
04:32Don't you dare hit my lady!
04:33Cecily stumbled back two steps and fell straight into the arms of Alistair.
04:37Alistair, my sister's wretched servant is trying to kill our child.
04:42She immediately clucked her belly.
04:44Alistair flew into a rage and kicked Primrose so hard that she flew through the air.
04:48Primrose crashed heavily into the stone wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.
04:53Alistair!
04:54My eyes blazing with fury, I struggled to crawl over and shield Primrose.
04:58Alistair seized my jaw tightly.
05:00Serafina, you allow your vicious servant to plot against the royal heir.
05:05Do you really think I dare not kill you?
05:10Just then, his eyes fell on a pendant that had slipped out from my neck.
05:14It was a remarkably smooth pink gold gem, the only heirloom my mother left me, called the
05:18Starfell pendant.
05:19Years ago in the snowy mountains, when Alistair was attacked by wolves, this gem had erupted
05:25with divine power and taken the fatal blow for him, leaving a crack on its surface.
05:29Cecily's eyes flickered.
05:30Alistair, Alistair, that pendant is so beautiful.
05:34The royal physician says my pregnancy is unstable.
05:38If I had such a spiritual stone to nurture me, the little prince would surely be born safely.
05:44Alistair hesitated.
05:45He knew how important that pendant was to me, it was my very lifeline.
05:49I clutched the pendant tightly and looked at him with reddened eyes.
05:53Alistair, my mother left this to me.
05:55Just you dare touch it.
05:57Alistair saw the resolve in my eyes, and his heart inexplicably twinged.
06:02You are nothing but a cripple now.
06:04Keeping such a treasure is a waste.
06:07Cecily is carrying my first child.
06:12With that, he mercilessly pried open my fingers and tore off the leather cord.
06:17I screamed in anguish.
06:19Alistair handed the pendant to Cecily.
06:21But Cecily pretended to fumble it.
06:24There was a sharp crack.
06:25The pink gold gem that had once saved Alistair's life and carried my mother's soul shattered
06:29into pieces on the stone floor.
06:31The world seemed to fall into dead silence at that moment.
06:36Oh dear, how clumsy of me.
06:39Sister won't be angry, will she?
06:41I stared blankly at the broken gem on the ground.
06:44The last trace of tenderness in my heart for the youth of ten years ago shattered completely
06:48along with that gem.
06:49I did not cry, instead, I let out a strange, abrupt laugh.
06:54Alistair's scalp prickled at the sound of my laughter.
06:56He looked at the shattered gem on the floor, and suddenly it felt as if a piece of his heart
07:00had gone missing, as if something most precious had left him forever.
07:05It's just a worthless stone.
07:07I'll give you a hundred in return.
07:09He grabbed Cecily and fled.
07:12Countdown, the final day.
07:14A messenger on horseback from the border galloped into the capital.
07:17The enemy army, which had been repelled, suddenly gathered a hundred thousand troops for a night
07:22raid, captured two cities in a row, and the defending generals were killed in battle.
07:26The court and the whole kingdom were shaken.
07:29The royal astrologer observed the night sky and cried out in alarm that the star representing
07:33Asteria had dimmed.
07:34A star of disaster had descended, and chaos would engulf the court.
07:38Yet, the chamberlain scrambled into the council chamber.
07:44Your majesty, Lady Cecily has suddenly started bleeding.
07:48The royal physician says that an evil error has disturbed the spirit of the unborn child.
07:52An hour later, a large contingent of guards stormed the coal tower.
07:56Primrose was pinned flat to the ground in the courtyard by two burly maids.
08:00Alistair stood under the eaves, his face ashen, clutching a cursed doll inscribed with Cecily's
08:05birth date.
08:07Serafina, this cursed object was found under your bed.
08:11The astroloper has calculated clearly that your fate has changed.
08:14You are the very disaster star who has doomed my hundred thousand soldiers and disturbed
08:19the royal air.
08:20The guards pinned me to the ground.
08:22I shook my head desperately.
08:24I did not!
08:25This is a frame-up!
08:26Cecily, pale-faced and leaning on a couch, pointed at Primrose and wailed.
08:30Your majesty, it was this wretched servant who secretly buried the doll outside
08:35the tower.
08:37No!
08:38I only went to ask for some hot water!
08:40My lady is freezing to death!
08:42Primrose cowed out as she wept.
08:44Alistair would not listen.
08:46He looked at my pallid face, and the panic in his heart turned entirely into fury.
08:51So you won't confess?
08:53Then let your servant bear the punishment in your stead!
08:57Beat her hard!
08:59The heavy wooden club landed on Primrose's thin back.
09:02The sound of breaking bones was terribly clear in the silent coal tower.
09:06Alistair!
09:07Come at me!
09:08Beat me instead!
09:09I broke free from the guards like a madwoman and threw myself over Primrose, taking a blow
09:14for her.
09:15That blow shattered my shoulder blade.
09:17The pain made everything go black.
09:19But I held on tightly to the person beneath me.
09:22Alistair!
09:23I beg you, spare her!
09:25I'll let you drain my heart's blood again!
09:28I'll give you my life!
09:30Alistair looked at me groveling in the dirt.
09:32He opened his mouth, about to call a halt.
09:38Your majesty, evil must be eradicated root and branch.
09:42The natural and man-made disasters are all because of this poisoned woman.
09:47Show no mercy.
09:48In that instant,
09:49My lady,
09:52don't beg him.
09:54He's not worthy.
09:58I'll go on ahead.
10:00Please live well.
10:02Before she finished,
10:03the maidservant brought the club down hard on the back of her head.
10:07Primrose's head drooped limply.
10:09She was gone.
10:10Primrose!
10:14A thunderclap exploded in the sky,
10:17and a torrential downpour followed.
10:19I held Primrose's body as it grew stiff,
10:21and my heart became a dry, empty well.
10:24Alistair, I will not leave you a single shred of this kingdom's destiny.
10:28Alistair stood under an umbrella,
10:30looking at me silent in the rain like a vengeful ghost.
10:33His voice trembled with panic.
10:35You brought this upon yourself.
10:37The astrologer has said that a disaster star has arrived.
10:41Only a living sacrifice by fire can aspie's heaven's wrath.
10:44Tomorrow is Cecily's coronation,
10:46and I will sacrifice you to heaven to secure the kingdom of Asteria.
10:51The third day.
10:53The coronation, and also my living sacrifice.
10:56On the square outside the cathedral,
10:58the dense black clouds seemed ready to crush the entire capital.
11:01With one arm broken and my body drenched in blood,
11:04I was tightly bound by thick iron chains to a stake dozens of feet high.
11:07Beneath me was a mountain of dry wood drenched in oil.
11:10All the nobles of the court and tens of thousands of citizens surrounded the sacrificial platform,
11:15glaring at me with venomous eyes.
11:17Burn the disaster star!
11:19Burn this poisonous woman who has brought chaos to the kingdom!
11:23Countless rotten vegetables and stones hit my face,
11:25but I did not even blink.
11:27High up on the stone steps,
11:29Alistair, in his golden royal robe,
11:32held Cecily in his arms.
11:33She wore a crimson ceremonial gown and the queen's crown that had once been mine.
11:37Serafina, you have committed so many evils
11:40that you have aroused the anger of heaven and the hatred of the people.
11:43For the centuries-old foundation of Asteria,
11:45and for the people of this kingdom, I must put you to this hardship.
11:49Cecily stroked her belly and smiled viciously.
11:52Sister, go in peace.
11:55After you die, the kingdom will enjoy favorable weather,
11:59and my bloodline with his majesty will be born safely.
12:02Execute the sentence!
12:04Light the fire!
12:10A dozen guards with torches stepped forward
12:12and hurled their torches onto the woodpile beneath me.
12:14A towering inferno erupted in an instant,
12:17as if it would devour me any second.
12:19The scorching heat charred my skirt and seared my skin.
12:22Alistair stared fixedly at me in the sea of fire.
12:25He was waiting for me to break down and weep as I used to,
12:28to bow my head and beg for mercy.
12:30If I begged,
12:31he had actually prepared a water cart in secret and could spare my life.
12:35But he was wrong.
12:36In the very last second before the fire would burn through me,
12:39I slowly raised my head and looked at him.
12:42Alistair, you are truly pitiful.
12:44You used the kingdom I gave you to sentence me to death.
12:48Alistair,
12:49the destiny of Asteria.
12:51I have withdrawn it.
12:53Countdown.
12:54Three,
12:55two,
12:55one.
12:56Light of destiny completely reset to zero.
13:00In the very last second before the fire consumed me.
13:04Above the sky,
13:05an apocalyptic thunderclap exploded.
13:07A pure purple lightning bolt,
13:09thick as a dragon,
13:10struck straight at the king's pillar that represented the royal authority of Asteria.
13:16The woodpile collapsed completely.
13:18I closed my eyes.
13:20I let the last of my divine blood ignite into flames.
13:23Under the cover of the heavenly punishment,
13:26I crushed the teleportation array that my mother had left inside the pendant.
13:29White light mingled with the flames.
13:32I vanished into thin air before Alistair's eyes.
13:34Only a pile of ashes remained.
13:37And the half-burnt,
13:38heavy iron chain.
13:41Alistair threw himself to the edge of the sea of fire.
13:44The fire licked at his golden royal robe.
13:47Llewellyn,
13:48the chamberlain,
13:49grabbed him tightly around the waist.
13:51Your majesty,
13:53it's dangerous!
13:54Alistair kicked Llewellyn away.
13:56He raked through the scalding ashes with his bare hands.
13:59The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
14:01Alistair's hands were covered with huge,
14:04seeping blisters.
14:05He found nothing.
14:07Not even a single bone was left.
14:08The disaster star has been destroyed!
14:12Alistair,
14:13she is dead and gone!
14:15Alistair whirled around.
14:17He stared at Cecily's face.
14:19That face,
14:20which usually aroused all his pity and affection,
14:22is now twisted beyond recognition.
14:25Get away from me!
14:27Alistair roared.
14:29He stumbled down the stone steps,
14:31snatched a guard's horse.
14:32He galloped all the way back to the throne palace.
14:35He had to find out for himself.
14:37He pushed open the heavy oak door of the hall.
14:40Inside was empty.
14:42Everything that belonged to me was gone.
14:44The brocade bedding on the bed.
14:46The wooden comb on the dressing table.
14:48The clay pot I had used to brew his medicinal broth.
14:51All gone.
14:54The maidservant in charge of cleaning knelt on the floor,
14:57trembling.
14:58Before the queen left,
15:00she ordered me to burn all the old things.
15:03That black fox fur cloak that had protected his heart
15:06had also become a pile of black ash in a bronze basin.
15:10Alistair clutched his chest.
15:12It hurt.
15:13A piercing pain spread through his limbs and bones.
15:16He spat out a mouthful of black blood.
15:18I had severed all ties with him,
15:20including the destiny tablet I had left at the Astrologer's Guild.
15:24The tablet had crumbled to powder.
15:26There was not even the possibility of piecing it back together.
15:29Alistair fell back into a sitting position in the pile of paper ashes.
15:32His hands shook.
15:34He desperately gathered the ashes to his chest.
15:37Sarah, come out.
15:39I won't burn you anymore.
15:41Come out.
15:42No one answered.
15:43Only the mournful cold wind outside the window.
15:46Your majesty.
15:47Lady Cecily's pregnancy is disturbed.
15:49Please come to the tower.
15:51Alistair snapped his head up.
15:52Red veins crawled over the whites of his eyes.
15:54He knocked the medicine bowl out of Llewellyn's hands.
15:57The scalding liquid splashed all over Llewellyn's face.
16:00Let her die!
16:03Alistair drew the sword from the wall.
16:05With one stroke, he split the oak table in front of him into pieces.
16:09He swung the sword wildly.
16:11The silk drapes inside the hall were torn to shreds.
16:14Vases shattered across the floor.
16:16He smashed the palace to pieces.
16:19Finally, exhausted, he collapsed in the ruins.
16:22Outside, a storm began to pour.
16:25Rainwater, streaming through the broken window lattice, lashed his face.
16:28He tore at his hair and let out a beastly howl.
16:31He refused to accept the truth.
16:33He could not believe that the woman who loved him like her own life had turned to ash.
16:38Search!
16:39Dig three feet into the ground if you must find her!
16:44Alive!
16:44I want to see her!
16:45Dead!
16:46I want to see her body!
16:52Alistair's madness lasted a full seven days.
16:54The capital was turned upside down by the guards.
16:57The city gates were sealed.
16:59House-to-house searches were conducted.
17:01Nothing was found.
17:03From inside the tower came a piercing scream.
17:05Cecily was bleeding.
17:07Alistair, sword still wet with blood, burst into the bedchamber.
17:11The royal physicians knelt in a row, trembling like leaves.
17:14Speak.
17:15Alistair pressed the tip of his sword against the chief physician's neck.
17:19The chief physician cowed out frantically.
17:21Lady Cecily was never pregnant!
17:25It was a false pregnancy pulse caused by long-term consumption of wormwood!
17:32Cecily lay limp on the bed.
17:33The cotton pillow she had tucked under her waist and belly rolled onto the floor.
17:37Alistair's eyes seemed about to split.
17:40You dared to deceive me!
17:44Alistair!
17:45I was wrong!
17:46It was her!
17:48Sarah forced me!
17:49Just then, the captain of the personal guard appeared.
17:52He presented a thick stack of documents with both hands.
17:56They were the results of ten days of investigation by the guards.
17:59Your Majesty, I have confirmed that the cursed doll in the cold tower was buried in the dead of night
18:06by Lady Cecily's personal maid, and...
18:10The captain paused.
18:11Ten years ago on the Snowy Mountain, while you were being saved, Lady Cecily hid in a cave the whole
18:17time.
18:19The one who truly drew the wolves away was the Queen.
18:24Lady Cecily also regularly poisoned the Queen's calming tonic.
18:29To damage the Queen's divine meridians.
18:34Alistair's hand loosened abruptly.
18:37Cecily crashed to the floor and coughed violently.
18:40Alistair stared at the stack of documents.
18:42Every word turned into a poison steel needle, stabbing into his eyes.
18:46All along, he had treated a demon as a goddess.
18:49Yet he had pushed the true divine maiden onto the fiery stake.
18:53What about Primrose?
18:55Alistair's voice was terrifyingly hoarse.
18:57Before Primrose died, Lady Cecily had every bone in her body broken.
19:03Alistair staggered back three steps.
19:06His back slammed hard into a pillar.
19:08He gasped for breath, then suddenly let out a wretched, piercing laugh.
19:12He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.
19:15He stomped on Cecily's hand, grounded under his heel.
19:19Cecily shrieked.
19:21Alistair drew a dagger.
19:26He moved extremely fast.
19:28He plunged the blade into Cecily's shoulder.
19:32Have mercy on you.
19:34Who will have mercy on Sarah?
19:36Who will give Sarah back to me?
19:40He severed the tendons in Cecily's hands and feet.
19:43Cecily fainted from the pain.
19:46Wake her with salt water!
19:49Alistair threw away the dagger.
19:51Throw her into the dungeon.
19:53Cut a piece of fesh from her every day.
19:56Feed her the best life-prolonging medicine.
19:58I want her to live a full ten years!
20:01Cecily was dragged away by the guards like a dead dog.
20:03The bloodstains on the floor were horrifying.
20:07Sarah, I was wrong!
20:10Alistair knelt in the pool of blood.
20:12He covered his face with his hands.
20:14Tears mixed with blood trickled through his fingers.
20:16The fate of Asteria had changed.
20:19Without the protection of the light of destiny,
20:21the North suffered months of drought,
20:23and the land was littered with the starving dead.
20:25The South was plagued by frequent floods and dykes burst.
20:29Enemy nations seized the opportunity to send troops,
20:31and three border cities fell in a row.
20:34Alistair neither slept nor rested,
20:35day or night.
20:37Half his hair turned white.
20:38He became a mad tyrant.
20:40In court,
20:41any word that displeased him was met with immediate execution.
20:45Everyone said a tyrant had descended upon the world.
20:48Only Llewellyn knew.
20:49Every night,
20:50deep into the darkness,
20:52the king would hold a charred wooden comb,
20:54and kneel outside the abandoned coal tower until dawn.
20:58Three years later,
21:00in the south,
21:01Port City,
21:02the main street was bustling with traffic and crowds.
21:05I sat in the main hall of the Holy Light Clinic.
21:08I placed my fingers on a patient's wrist,
21:11picked up a brush,
21:12and wrote out a prescription.
21:13Your medicine will be prepared according to this prescription.
21:16You will be cured in three days.
21:19The patient left,
21:20showering me with thanks.
21:22I picked up the ceramic,
21:24silver-rimmed bowl from the table.
21:25The honeyed water was at the perfect temperature.
21:28Lysander walked over and naturally refilled the bowl with hot water.
21:32You've seen 50 patients today, Sarah.
21:35Time to rest.
21:36He wore a long moon-white robe,
21:38gentle,
21:38upright.
21:39He was the head of the Lysander family,
21:41the richest in the south.
21:43Three years ago,
21:44I landed outside Port City through the teleportation array.
21:47Badly wounded and near death.
21:49Lysander's carriage happened to pass by,
21:51and he picked me up.
21:52With the little medical skill I had left,
21:54I cured his naturally weak constitution.
21:57He funded me to establish a trading company.
21:59Now,
22:00the signboard of the Exchange Guild hung in 12 southern cities.
22:03I was not only a divine physician,
22:06but also the uncrowned queen who held the economic lifeline of hysteria.
22:11I blew on the bowl and took a sip.
22:14There are more refugees outside the city today.
22:18There is a great drought in the north,
22:20and the court's relief money has been embezzled.
22:23The young king pushes too hard,
22:25and the people are full of complaints.
22:27I put down the silver-rimmed bowl.
22:29When I heard the words young king,
22:31my heart no longer stirred.
22:33That man was far,
22:34far away from me now.
22:36Just then,
22:37a commotion broke out in the street.
22:39A troop of soldiers in tattered armor
22:41was driving away the refugees.
22:43The leading officer brandished a whip.
22:45Get out of the way!
22:46Don't block the path of the royal envoy.
22:49A plain,
22:49dark carriage rolled slowly towards them.
22:52Suddenly,
22:53several assassins rushed out from the crowd.
22:55They raised their blades and struck at the carriage.
22:58Kill the lackeys of the Daub King.
23:00The carriage compartment was smashed to pieces.
23:02A black figure tumbled out.
23:04His hair was disheveled,
23:06and he looked utterly wretched.
23:07It was Alistair,
23:09traveling incognito to the south to raise funds.
23:11Most of his personal guards around him were dead or wounded.
23:14An assassin's blade came straight at his face.
23:17Alistair raised his sword to block.
23:19Weak from exhaustion,
23:21he was forced back step after step.
23:22He retreated all the way to the door of my clinic.
23:25He spat out blood and dropped to one knee,
23:28propping himself up with his sword.
23:32The assassin raised his blade to strike.
23:35I sat in the main hall,
23:37watching coldly.
23:38Shall we save him?
23:40I shook my head.
23:43Don't dirty the clinic's floor.
23:46Alistair heard that familiar voice.
23:48His whole body trembled violently.
23:51He whipped his head around.
23:52Through the bustling crowd,
23:54across three years of life and death,
23:57his eyes met mine directly.
23:59That face he had longed for day and night,
24:01that face that had appeared in his dreams countless times,
24:04was right there in front of him.
24:06Alistair forgot to dodge the assassin's blade.
24:09He stared at me, unblinking.
24:11His breath stopped.
24:13Sarah.
24:14The assassin's blade slashed across his back.
24:16Blood sprayed.
24:17He felt nothing.
24:21Sarah!
24:22Is it really you?
24:27Alistair knocked over the herb stall in front of the clinic,
24:30sending medicinal herbs scattering all over the ground.
24:32He threw himself down at the bottom of the steps and looked up at me.
24:36His face was covered in blood and mud.
24:38Sarah.
24:39He reached out a bloody hand,
24:41trying to grab the hem of my skirt.
24:42I stepped back.
24:44Avoided his touch.
24:46Lysander strode forward.
24:48He kicked Alistair hard in the shoulder.
24:50Alistair fell back down the steps and rolled twice.
24:53Lysander drew the sword from his waist and pointed its tip at him.
24:56How dare you!
24:58Who is this ruffian causing trouble here?
25:01The personal guards arrived and killed the assassins.
25:05They shielded Alistair.
25:06Protect his majesty!
25:09At those words, the whole street fell silent.
25:13The common people dropped to their knees.
25:15Only Lysander and I remained standing.
25:18Alistair pushed aside his guards.
25:20Ignoring the knife wound on his back,
25:22he crawled towards me again.
25:24He pushed aside Lysander's sword.
25:26Letting the sharp blade cut his palm,
25:28he fell heavily to his knees at my feet.
25:31The proud king of Asteria,
25:33in front of everyone,
25:34went down on both knees.
25:36Sarah, I have finally found you.
25:38He wept so hard that tears covered his face.
25:41Tears washed through the blood.
25:45Thank God!
25:46Come back to the palace with me, won't you?
25:49The queen's throne is yours!
25:51I'll give you my very life!
25:54I looked down at him from above.
25:56Watching him grovel like a begging dog,
25:58I only felt disgust.
26:00I picked up the basin of dirty water used for washing herbs,
26:04poured the whole basin over his head,
26:06soaking him completely,
26:08making him look utterly pathetic.
26:10Alistair did not dodge.
26:12He wiped the filthy water from his face
26:14and continued to beg.
26:15Sarah, hit me.
26:16Curse me.
26:18As long as you feel better,
26:20anything is fine.
26:21I threw the basin aside and dusted off my hands.
26:25Alistair, you have mistaken me for someone else.
26:28I am Seraphina.
26:31I am Seraphina, not your Sarah.
26:33Alistair shook his head violently.
26:35He raised his hand.
26:37He delivered aloud, stinging slap to his own face.
26:42Another one.
26:43He struck himself left and right
26:45until blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
26:48I was blind.
26:50I trusted that poisonous woman.
26:53Cecily has been tortured to death by a thousand cuts.
26:58I avenged Primrose for you.
27:03At the name Primrose,
27:04I clenched my fists tightly.
27:06A surge of rage shot to my head.
27:09I walked down the steps
27:10and landed a heavy kick on Alistair's chest,
27:13knocking him to the ground.
27:15You are not worthy to speak Primrose's name.
27:18While she was taking those blows for me,
27:20what were you doing?
27:22You were holding that poisonous woman
27:24and watching the show.
27:25You had her beaten to death in the cold tower.
27:29Alistair clutched his chest and wept bitterly.
27:31I didn't know.
27:33I truly didn't know.
27:35Lysander stepped forward
27:36and put his arm around my shoulder,
27:38pulling me protectively into his embrace.
27:41Fina, be careful.
27:43Don't disturb the baby.
27:45He deliberately raised his voice.
27:47Alistair looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
27:50He stared at Lysander's hand on my waist,
27:52then at my flat belly.
27:54His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
27:56What did you call her?
27:58Whose child are you carrying?
28:00Alistair sprang up from the ground.
28:02Like a cornered mad dog,
28:04he drew a guard sword and slashed at Lysander.
28:08I'll kill him!
28:12Lysander dodged easily.
28:14One kick sent the sword flying from Alistair's hand.
28:17I stepped in front of Lysander,
28:19raised my hand.
28:20A crisp slap landed on Alistair's face,
28:23turning his head to the side.
28:25Go back to your capital.
28:28I pointed to the end of the street.
28:31Don't force me to grind your face into the mud.
28:35Alistair held his cheek,
28:37looked at me in despair.
28:39He suddenly tore the royal insignia from his belt
28:41and smashed it onto the ground.
28:43I am the king!
28:46I command you to come back with me!
28:49He tried to use the last of his royal authority to intimidate me.
28:55I could not help but burst out laughing.
28:57Laughed so hard that tears came out.
29:00King!
29:00I stepped back twice and looked at him coldly.
29:03Your majesty!
29:04You can't even pay your army's wages now, can you?
29:08From my sleeve, I took out a golden token.
29:10It was the highest seal of the Silver Coin Guild.
29:13I threw it at his feet.
29:15See what this is!
29:17The moment Alistair recognized the token,
29:19his face turned ashen.
29:21You...
29:22You are the master of the Silver Coin Guild?
29:26I nodded.
29:27The relief funds you came south to raise,
29:29I hold every coin of them in my hand.
29:32With a single word from me,
29:34the price of grain in Asteria could rise tenfold.
29:37What do you have to fight me with?
29:39Alistair's legs gave way,
29:41and he slumped completely to the ground.
29:43He looked up at my unfamiliar face.
29:45Sarah.
29:47How did you become like this?
29:49You used to feel sad even when you stepped on an aunt.
29:52I suddenly tore open my collar,
29:54revealing the hideous burn scar beneath my collarbone.
29:58It was the mark left by the holy fire.
30:00The Seraphina of the past burned to death
30:03on that stake in front of the cathedral.
30:05I stepped towards him, one step at a time.
30:08You want money?
30:10Fine.
30:11Kneel outside the city for three days and three nights.
30:15Shout Alistair is a beast a thousand times.
30:19Then I will give you a hundred thousand silver coins.
30:26Alistair trembled all over.
30:27He saw the people around him pointing and whispering.
30:30His proud dignity was being ground into the dirt.
30:33He closed his eyes,
30:34and two streams of bloody tears ran down his face.
30:37He slowly turned around,
30:39facing the direction outside the city,
30:41and cowed out heavily.
30:44Alistair is a beast.
30:47The personal guards knelt and wept.
30:50Your majesty, you must not!
30:53Alistair pushed the guards aside and continued to cowed out.
30:56Alistair is a beast!
30:58With every shout, his heart shattered a little more.
31:01I took Lysander's hand and turned to walk into the clinic.
31:04The heavy door slammed shut.
31:06Shutting him out,
31:08Lysander draped a coat over my shoulders.
31:10You're not pregnant.
31:13Why lie to him?
31:14I picked up the cold honeyed water and poured it on the floor.
31:18If you don't blind his eyes,
31:21how will he ever feel the pain?
31:23From outside the door came Alistair's horse shouts,
31:26one after another.
31:27My life had long since left no room for him.
31:34Alistair knelt outside the city for three days and three nights.
31:37He shouted until his throat bled.
31:39His knees were scraped raw down to the bone.
31:41I kept my promise and gave him 100,000 silver coins.
31:45He dragged his broken body back to the capital.
31:47But he had lost.
31:49100,000 silver coins could not fill the gaping holes in Asteria.
31:53Asteria, without the protection of destiny,
31:56had reached the end of its days.
31:58Half a year later,
31:59the northern defenses collapsed completely.
32:02Rebel forces broke through the gates of the capital.
32:05Alistair was dragged down from his throne by the rebels.
32:08They severed the tendons in his hands and feet,
32:10crippling his ability to fight.
32:12The rebel leader did not kill him.
32:14Instead, he threw him into the lowest,
32:16most wretched beggar's pit in the capital,
32:18leaving him to live or die as fate would have it.
32:21In the midst of the kingdom's chaos,
32:23Lysander raised his own army,
32:25with the financial backing of the silver coin guild.
32:28Lysander's forces swept through the land.
32:30In just one year,
32:31he pacified the entire realm.
32:33Lysander ascended the throne as emperor.
32:36He changed the kingdom's name to Nova
32:38and made me his empress.
32:42On the day of our grand wedding,
32:44red carpets and flowers covered the entire main street.
32:47Petals swirled in the air.
32:49I wore the imperial crown in a golden gown,
32:52seated in a carriage drawn by six horses.
32:53Receiving the homage of the people.
32:56In a corner of the crowd,
32:58a filthy, disheveled beggar with crippled hands and feet lay beside a gutter.
33:02He was fighting a stray dog for half a moldy loaf of bread.
33:05When the fanfare sounded,
33:07when the people around shouted,
33:08long live her majesty the empress.
33:10The beggar jerked his head up.
33:12His eyes, hidden beneath matted hair,
33:15fixed on me in the carriage.
33:17It was Alistair.
33:18He looked at the magnificent crown on my head,
33:20and remembered the one he himself had smashed.
33:23Remembered the great fire in front of the cathedral.
33:26He opened his mouth to call my name.
33:29Sarah.
33:30But his throat only produced a wheezing hiss.
33:33He tried to crawl forward.
33:35A stray dog pounced on him and bit his leg hard.
33:38Alistair fell into the muddy water.
33:40He watched helplessly as the carriage moved farther away.
33:43Watched Lysander, on his tall horse,
33:45look back at me with tender eyes.
33:47Jealousy, remorse, and despair intertwined.
33:51Alistair's heart seized with a violent, agonizing pain.
33:54The old poison exploded inside him.
33:56He suddenly spat out a huge mouthful of black blood.
33:59Blood splattered onto the stone slabs by the road.
34:02His outstretched hand fell limply.
34:04He died with his eyes wide open.
34:06A patrolling soldier kicked his body aside in disgust.
34:10Drag him into the wilderness.
34:13And feed him to the wolves.
34:18The first year of the new dynasty.
34:20Only the empress's hall remained in the inner palace.
34:23All other palaces were torn down.
34:25The timber and stone were taken outside the city to build schools.
34:29Court officials petitioned and remonstrated.
34:31Lysander drew his sword before all the civil and military officials.
34:35And chopped off the arm of the throne.
34:37Anyone who mentions selecting concubines again will end up like this throne.
34:40No one in the court dared speak another word.
34:43After the morning court.
34:45Lysander did not even change out of his imperial robe.
34:48He went straight to the empress's hall.
34:50I was sitting at the desk, reading the account books that the silver coin guild had sent to the palace.
34:55He walked over and placed a token on the table.
34:58Made of pure gold.
35:00The seal of the imperial treasury.
35:02The finance minister says the treasury is empty.
35:07He told me to come and ask the head of the silver coin guild for a loan.
35:14I did not look up.
35:15My fingers moved the counting beads.
35:18How much?
35:19Lend me a hundred years of peace for the nova dynasty.
35:23My fingers stopped.
35:25I looked up at him.
35:26He poured a cup of hot honeyed water and handed it to me.
35:31Without the light of destiny.
35:34Without the support of divine blood.
35:36The northern drought.
35:37500,000 silver coins were allocated to build irrigation channels.
35:41The southern floods.
35:42Guild stewards were sent to supervise the construction of dikes.
35:45The people had food to eat.
35:47Clothes to wear.
35:48Peace and prosperity relied on real gold, real silver, and real governance.
35:53Not on some ethereal destiny.
35:54I picked up the silver rimmed bowl and took a sip.
35:58Fancy a walk outside the palace?
36:01We changed into ordinary clothes.
36:04Two fast horses carried us through the city gates.
36:06The capital's main street was bustling with people.
36:09Vendors called out their wares without cease.
36:12A long line had formed outside the clinic.
36:14I dismounted and walked into the clinic.
36:17The resident physician saw me and immediately rose to offer me his seat.
36:20I sat down behind the examination table.
36:23Placed my fingers on a patient's wrist.
36:26Picked up the brush and wrote a prescription.
36:28Take three doses of this medicine.
36:31Boiled in water and take an oranil.
36:33I saw 30 patients in a row.
36:36Lysander stood behind me.
36:38Handed me paper.
36:39The people recognized Lysander.
36:41Knelt to the ground.
36:43There was no fear.
36:44Only reverence.
36:45He raised his hand to excuse them from the formalities.
36:49Then took my hand and led me out of the clinic.
36:54Poplar trees lined the riverbank outside the city moat.
36:57Their branches were showing green.
36:59We walked side by side along the embankment.
37:01The wind blew across the water.
37:04The old stories of the previous dynasty had burned away with that fire at the cathedral.
37:08No one spoke of disaster stars anymore.
37:10No one spoke of living sacrifices.
37:12In the taverns, minstrels tapped on wooden tables and sang of how the new empire's emperor and empress had raised
37:18an army and pacified the kingdom.
37:19The crowd roared with approval.
37:22The south sent some fragrant herbs.
37:25Tomorrow I'll have the royal kitchen make vanilla biscuits.
37:29I nodded.
37:31While you're at it, tell the guild steward to send up last month's dividends.
37:36The treasury of Nova is entirely supported by its empress.
37:40I gazed at the boats on the river.
37:43Without the light of destiny, this kingdom was still well taken care of.
37:47I touched the burnt scar beneath my collarbone.
37:50It no longer hurt.
37:52Primrose's memorial tablet was enshrined in the capital's cathedral.
37:56Every day, someone lit a candle for her.
37:59Lysander took my hand.
38:00His palm was warm.
38:02Let's go back to the palace for dinner.
38:06All right.
38:09All right.
38:10All right.
38:11All right.
38:11All right.
38:11All right.
38:11All right.
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