- 4 hours ago
Keyless Queen
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Short filmTranscript
00:06Leon finally noticed that I had gone three days without asking Lydia for a single key.
00:11He thought I had finally learned to be an obedient queen.
00:14So he sent a servant with a message that sounded more like a royal favor than an apology.
00:21His Majesty says, tonight he will have someone bring you the key to the royal apothetory.
00:26He will also send the royal physician to check on your father again.
00:30But I didn't react at all.
00:32Listening to the royal servant's announcement, I just sat quietly at the table, without the joy he had expected.
00:39His Majesty reminds you to abide by this rule.
00:42Never again employ crude theatrical ploys to threaten the crown.
00:48The gold the late king awarded your father will remain under the royal household's care.
00:54People of your black race should not hold that much gold all at once.
00:57It only invites trouble.
01:00I stood in the grandest chamber of Whitestone Palace and listened quietly.
01:04What Leon did not know was that by the time I received that message.
01:07I had already filed a petition to dissolve our marriage in the archbishop's court.
01:12My father had died three days ago in his blacksmith shop.
01:15After three years in the palace, the only things I could take with me were the old dress I had
01:20worn when I first entered the palace, and the little iron hammer my father had forged for me with his
01:26own hands.
01:26The servant waited for me to cry, shout, or beg for the king's mercy.
01:31I did none of those things.
01:33I only folded the message once, placed it on the table, and looked toward the locked wardrobe across the room.
01:38No one would believe that Aaliyah, the queen everyone envied, lived in the grandest chamber of Whitestone Palace yet could
01:46not even open her own wardrobe.
01:49My gowns were locked in the West Wing wardrobe.
01:52My jewelry was locked in the queen's jewel room.
01:55My carriage sat in the Eastgate carriage house.
01:58My father's reward money was sealed inside an iron coffer at the bottom of the royal treasury.
02:03Even when I wanted to call a royal physician for my father, I had to ask Lydia for the apothecary
02:08key and permission to leave the palace.
02:10And every one of those keys was in Lydia's hands.
02:14She was the king's chief court lady, and she had grown up with Leon.
02:18Before I appeared, everyone believed she would become the woman who ruled this palace.
02:23Later, on his deathbed, the old king insisted that Leon marry me, because my father, Thomas, had saved the old
02:31king during a winter hunt.
02:32But Leon looked down on my low birth.
02:35He always believed that if a poor family suddenly received wealth, we would waste it the moment it reached our
02:41hands.
02:42The gold will stay in the royal treasury.
02:45It will be released whenever your father truly needs it.
02:50I believed him then.
02:52I thought being queen meant I had finally earned a place where my father would be safe.
02:57Instead, I found myself standing before locked doors, waiting for another woman to decide whether my needs were proper enough.
03:05Three days ago, my father was dying.
03:08I begged Leon to give me the key to my father's gold coffer.
03:11I also begged him to let me take medicine from the royal apothecary.
03:15Lydia kept holding back the treasury key and the apothecary key, again and again, until my father died in his
03:22bed.
03:23All these years, I endured everything so my father could keep receiving treatment from the royal, physicians and medicine from
03:30the palace apothecary.
03:32Now my father was gone.
03:33There was no reason for me to stay.
03:36When I asked Leon to end our marriage, he refused.
03:40He was in his study, reading the border tax ledgers.
03:43His eyes never left the parchment.
03:46His voice was as cold as if he were scolding a maid who had broken a cup.
03:52Stop making trouble.
03:54He treated it like nothing more than a childish error, not realizing for a moment that I meant every word.
04:00I'm not making trouble.
04:02I've already submitted the petition to the archbishop's court.
04:05I stood before his desk and said calmly.
04:08Only then did Leon look up at me.
04:10His eyes were cold, as though my words were a waste of his time.
04:15About your father, I was the one who told Lydia not to give you the apothecary key.
04:21It had nothing to do with her.
04:23She was only following my orders.
04:26My fingers twitched at my sides.
04:29In the past, the moment he mentioned my father, I would lower my head.
04:35My father's old wounds flared up every winter.
04:39Village healers could not help him.
04:41He had to rely on the royal physicians and medicine from the palace apothecary to stay.
04:46Alive, that was the reward the late king had promised him.
04:50But after the old king died, Leon said my father did not know how to manage money.
04:55He said a blacksmith who suddenly possessed that much gold would only be cheated, robbed, and perhaps killed for it.
05:02So he locked my father's gold coffer inside the royal treasury.
05:06He said he would release it whenever my father truly needed it.
05:10But every need had to go through Lydia.
05:12His majesty's commands are absolute.
05:15I have no special privileges even when my own father's life was hanging in the balance.
05:21My father was burning with fever.
05:24His old wound rotting open.
05:26I knelt outside the apothecary door and begged Lydia to give me the key.
05:30She wore a pale blue court gown and held a ring of keys in her hand.
05:34Her smile was gentle.
05:36Almost regretful.
05:38Your majesty.
05:39The apothecary key cannot be handed over carially.
05:44Vise de Thomas, the group and trace police.
05:47Master Thomas is only a commoner.
05:50He does not fall under royal emergency care.
05:53That treatment was promised to him by the late king.
05:56I'm not denying the late king's generosity.
06:00But rules are rules.
06:02Have the village healer write a note describing his condition first.
06:09Then have it sealed by a church physician.
06:12Only then can I open the apothecary.
06:17I brought back the note.
06:18She glanced at it and frowned lightly.
06:20I brought back the note.
06:22She glanced at it and frowned lightly.
06:26The date isn't clear enough.
06:28It only says fever.
06:29It doesn't specify whether his life is in danger.
06:32Your majesty.
06:33I'm not trying to make this hard for you.
06:36Every bottle in the royal apothecary must be recorded.
06:39You are clean now.
06:42You cannot act like you are still in a blacksmith shop.
06:45Taking whatever you want whenever you want it.
06:47After that, she made me bring a travel permit.
06:50A physician's certificate.
06:52A written reason for withdrawing from the gold coffin.
06:55A statement explaining why my father
06:57could not be treated by a village healer.
07:00I ran back and forth again and again.
07:02My father's breathing grew weaker each time.
07:05I returned.
07:06The village healer pressed the last certificate into my hand and
07:10whispered that there might still be time if I hurried.
07:15By the time I returned with the paper,
07:17my shoes were soaked through with mud.
07:19And Lydia only asked whether the church seal
07:22was placed in the correct corner.
07:29By the time the key finally arrived at the blacksmith shop,
07:32my father never opened his eyes again.
07:41So now, when Leon said he would have someone bring me the apothecary key tonight,
07:46I found it absurd.
07:47The apothecary no longer mattered.
07:49My father had no use for it anymore.
07:51Leon watched my silence and thought I had finally learned to be afraid.
07:55He closed the parchment in his hand.
07:57Impatient.
07:58Impatient.
07:58Alia, if you hadn't stormed into the household office a few days ago and shouted at Lydia,
08:03I would never have let her hold back the keys to teach you a lesson.
08:07You are queen.
08:08Not some little girl throwing a fit in a blacksmith shop.
08:13Last night, I already told her to give you the apothecary key.
08:17My time is precious.
08:19I don't have the patience to watch you lose your temper.
08:22With that, he stood and turned to leave.
08:24He was certain I would lower my head soon enough,
08:26just like I had for the past three years.
08:29Even when he said in front of the nobles
08:31that I looked desperate to please,
08:33I only smiled and said nothing.
08:35Even when Lydia smiled and took one key after another away from me,
08:39I endured it.
08:41I once thought that as long as my father was alive,
08:44I could endure anything.
08:45Now my father was gone and I did not need to stay anymore.
08:49But Leon did not know that he had never been willing to let me finish a sentence.
08:53Later, a maid brought me the celebration ledger Lydia had sent.
08:58His Majesty asks Your Majesty to write a line of praise,
09:02so no one Mr. Stans, Lady Lydia.
09:05I sound that joke and laughed.
09:08The maid lowered her eyes, afraid I would tear the ledger apart.
09:12Instead, I took the quill with steady fingers.
09:16I picked up the quill and wrote carefully.
09:20Lady Lydia is diligent indeed.
09:23With one ring of keys,
09:25she rules over both the queen and the servants.
09:35Aladia.
09:38May she keep guarding every door, and may she keep guarding the place she hopes to move into one day.
09:45Your Majesty, should I really deliver this?
09:49The maid's face went pale.
09:53Deliver it exactly as written.
09:55His Majesty wanted praise.
09:58I gave him praise.
09:59After writing it, I closed the ledger.
10:02Then I returned to my chamber and began to pack.
10:05There was not much to pack.
10:06Everything that seemed to belong to me in the palace was locked in someone else's hands.
10:11The only things I could take were the old dress I wore when I entered the palace.
10:15A few faded shirts, and the little hammer my father had given me.
10:19For all these years, I had lived in the palace like a temporary guest.
10:24Only now did I understand.
10:26Even a guest could at least open a door for herself.
10:29I folded the old dress carefully and placed my father's hammer on top of it.
10:34The iron handle was cold, but the weight of it steadied me more than any crown ever had.
10:40Outside.
10:41The bells of White Stone Palace rang for Lydia's private dinner.
10:45Inside.
10:46I closed my trunk and finally felt something like peace.
10:49No longer a queen, no longer in need of anyone's keys.
10:52I am just me the me who can make any decision.
10:57Leon came back very quickly.
10:59Whenever it involved Lydia, he was always prompt.
11:03He strode into my chamber and did not even notice the small leather trunk at my feet.
11:07I said flatly.
11:09I heard.
11:10I didn't want to.
11:12Leon looked as if I had said something outrageous.
11:15I already told you.
11:16Lydia has managed the palace household well lately, so I held a dinner to reward her.
11:22There are already enough people in the palace misunderstanding her.
11:26After what you wrote in the ledger, how is she supposed to face anyone?
11:30I could not help laughing.
11:33So not everyone is blind.
11:37If people misunderstand her so easily, maybe they already know what she's been doing.
11:43Leon's face darkened.
11:46Aaliyah.
11:47Lydia, when did you become so vulgar?
11:50You know exactly how hard it is for a young woman without a noble title to rise this far.
11:55Why would you smear another capable woman like this?
12:00Lydia only manages the palace for me.
12:04If you hadn't made a spade a scene in the household office, would people be talking about her now?
12:09He looked at me with exhaustion and blame in his eyes.
12:12If you want to be a queen who knows nothing except how to hold out her hand for keys, I
12:17won't blame you.
12:20I gave you a crown.
12:22A palace.
12:23A palace.
12:23A palace.
12:23And status.
12:25What more do you want?
12:26For three years, I had wanted him to ask that question sincerely, now that he had finally asked it.
12:32But now, there's no point in my answering anymore.
12:37But if you keep targeting Lydia, don't blame me for being harsh.
12:42Think about your father.
12:45i finally laughed out loud it hurt my throat then i opened my trunk right in front of him
12:56a crown a palace dignity leon look at what my life in your palace has been
13:07i'm leaving and i can't even pack four decent dresses
13:15if i wanted to change into a ball gown i had to ask your lady of the court for a
13:20key
13:23if i wanted to visit my father i had to explain the reason to lydia first
13:28what queen has to live at the mercy of her husband's favorite court lady
13:31there was not a trace of guilt on leon's face he only frowned and asked genuinely baffled
13:39all this over that
13:43so you were jealous of lydia and deliberately tried to ruin her name
13:46my heart went cold inch by inch if he truly thought this was wrong
13:51he would not have let lydia take my keys again and again for three years
13:55he would not have allowed the entire palace to know the queen had no right to open her own doors
14:00i lowered my eyes fine think whatever you want
14:06i want our marriage dissolved leon laughed instead there was a knowing look in that laugh
14:12as if he had finally seen through my cheap little trick
14:16enough i don't have time to coax you through another tantrum
14:21you're doing all this because of lydia aren't you
14:25don't assume every woman is like you
14:28always fighting over a man
14:30as he spoke
14:31he smoothed the wrinkle from his sleeve as though making a great concession
14:36tomorrow
14:37i will send the royal physician
14:39to see your father in person
14:42in a moment
14:43i'll have lydia give you the keys to the queen's quadro
14:47the jewel room
14:49and the carriage house
14:50from now on your daily expenses won't need to go through the household accounts
14:56after three years as leon's wife i understood him well enough
15:00for him
15:00this was already the greatest compromise he could offer
15:04under normal circumstances
15:06i should have known when to stop
15:08but i was tired of this marriage of three people
15:11just like now
15:12he had made so many promises
15:14yet he never mentioned lydia holding back the apothecary key
15:19i don't want anything
15:20except to end this marriage
15:22leon finally realized i was not acting coy
15:25his impatience instantly turned into anger
15:29alia
15:30don't forget how you became queen
15:33your father saved the late king
15:36that is why the late king rewarded your family with honor
15:41if you leave me
15:43those rewards
15:45that gold
15:45those properties
15:48you won't get a single copper on
15:50and your father's illness
15:53without the royal physicians
15:55and the royal apothecary
15:56how long do you think
15:58he can last
15:59not long at all
16:00i knew that better than anyone
16:02now everything was only returning to where it should have been
16:05i fastened
16:07my trunk again and said lightly
16:10do whatever you want
16:13leon froze
16:14he seemed unable to understand why a threat that had always worked on alia
16:18suddenly had no effect
16:19but his pride
16:20would not let him lower his head again
16:23so he watched her drag her trunk toward the door with a cold face
16:27when alia pulled open the chamber doors
16:29he seemed as if he wanted to call her back
16:32in the end
16:33he said nothing
16:34only later did alia learn that lydia went to his study that night
16:38your majesty doesn't need to humor her
16:41leave her alone for a few days
16:44she'll come back and apologize
16:45her majesty has simply grown too comfortable as queen
16:49and wants to make a scene
16:51and wants to make a scene
16:52leon believed her
16:53he even found a honey mint in his study and thought of alia
16:56whose throat always hurt more into her
16:58so alia had once learned to make those candies for him
17:02leon turned the candy between his fingers for a long while
17:07she is not completely useless after all
17:10lydia lowered her eyes to hide the shadow of jealousy in them
17:13even now
17:15even while he was angry
17:16one small candy was enough to make leon think of alia first
17:20he told himself that alia was not completely useless after all
17:24when she came back
17:25he would make her apologize sincerely
17:27and she would never again threaten him with a petition to dissolve their marriage
17:33after leaving the palace
17:35i did not leave the kingdom
17:36i first went to the archbishop's court to confirm that my petition had been filed
17:42then carrying my father's ashes
17:44i went to the armory camp on the northern border
17:47that was where my father had worked when he was young
17:50he used to say that in the north
17:52people did not ask where you came from
17:54they only asked whether you were good with your hands
17:57i did not understand that before
17:59now i did
18:00when i arrived at the armory camp
18:03dragging my trunk behind me
18:04the soldier at the gate looked at me with obvious suspicion
18:11who are you looking for
18:13madam martha
18:15madam martha was the old blacksmith of the armory camp
18:18and she had once trained with my father
18:20before i married into the palace
18:23she had come to persuade me not to go
18:25a place like the palace
18:27isn't meant for people like us
18:29people who live by our hands
18:31i did not listen then
18:33now when i saw her again
18:34her hair had turned white
18:36she looked at the trunk in my hand and the urn in my arms
18:39she did not ask a single question
18:43come in
18:45come in
18:45she simply stepped aside
18:50my nose stung
18:51and tears fell before i could stop them
18:53for the first time since my father's death
18:56no one asked me for a permit
18:58a seal
18:59or a reason
19:00one door opened because someone chose to open it for me
19:05after i had cried enough
19:07madam martha
19:08said slowly
19:13done crying
19:15then wash your hands
19:19i'm sure to lock repairer
19:20and someone who can mend armor
19:22if you still remember what your father taught you stay
19:25i stared at her
19:28you're not going to ask why i'm here
19:31madam martha snorted
19:32anyone who can walk out of the palace alive is lucky enough
19:38what is there to ask
19:39or did three years as queen make you too delicate to hold a hammer
19:44i smiled through my tears
19:49i can hold one
19:50for myself
19:51i can hold anything
19:53at first i was not used to it
19:57the wind in the north was hard
19:58the furnace was scorching
20:00and the armory camp was nothing like the palace
20:03no maids came to make my bed
20:05blisters soon formed across my palms
20:07a young apprentice saw the blood on my fingers
20:10and held out a strip of cloth
20:14miss alelia
20:15maybe you should rest
20:17i wrapped my palm and picked up the hammer again
20:23if i stop every time i bleed
20:26i will never make anything strong
20:28but as time passed
20:30the skills carved into my bones slowly returned
20:33how to hear the quality of
20:34metal how to tell where a lock's inner teeth were stuck
20:38how to shape a horseshoe with the right curve
20:40how to mend a broken sword
20:50the more i worked
20:52the steadier my hands became
20:54once
20:55i repaired a cracked bracer for a night
20:57he tested it twice and raised his thumb in surprise
21:01i smiled
21:04i thought someone from the palace would only know how to wear rings
21:12i couldn't afford rings before
21:15the soldiers around us froze for a second
21:18then burst into laughter
21:20that was the first time i laughed easily after leaving the palace
21:24then an unwelcome voice sounded behind me
21:27aladia
21:28i looked up and saw lydia
21:30she wore a white fox fur cloak and stood not far away
21:33several servants behind her
21:34her gaze swept over my hands
21:36stained with coal and iron dust
21:39then over the soldiers beside me
21:41the corner of her mouth lifted
21:46so this is why her majesty suddenly made such a fuss about ending the marriage
21:50you came back to a place like this
21:53some people can wear a crown
21:56and still never forget they came from a blacksmith's shop
22:00i would breast on your face
22:03my face went cold
22:04the people of the northern armory mended armor
22:07forged swords
22:08and repaired gates in wind and snow to protect the border
22:12they did not deserve her contempt
22:18i set down the tongs in my hand
22:22lydia
22:22do you not have a room of your own
22:25why are you behind every door i open
22:27lydia's expression changed at that moment
22:30a familiar voice came from behind her
22:34what happened
22:37leon walked over
22:38he wore black hunting clothes with the royal cloak over his shoulders
22:42so
22:42he had come to inspect the northern border
22:45and of course lydia had come with him
22:47her eyes reddened as she lowered her voice
22:50nothing your majesty
22:54i only saw her majesty away from the palace for so long
22:59surrounded by soldiers and smith
23:01and worried she might be taken advantage of
23:04i tried to advise her but she misunderstood me
23:10only then did leon notice me
23:12his brows drew together slightly
23:14there was that familiar certainty in his eyes
23:46alia
23:48you followed me
23:49you followed me all the way to the north
23:50how long do you plan to keep this up
23:54you've been away from the palace for so long
23:57ignoring your father completely
24:04are you really trying to force me to never give him the apothetri key again
24:09i looked at him
24:10i looked at him
24:11tired of him to the bone
24:14then don't give it
24:16that's what you're best at isn't it
24:21something in my eyes must have cut leon
24:23he turned sharply to the servant beside him
24:27send orders back to the cathedral
24:29from today on
24:30thomas is not to be given the apitary key again
24:35and the gold coffin is not to be opened
24:38panic flashed across lydia's face
24:40your majesty
24:43perhaps we shouldn't
24:44leon coldly pressed down the hand she had placed on his arm
24:48she needs to be taught a lesson
24:51otherwise
24:51she will never learn how to be queen
24:54the servant's face went deathly pale
24:57and he did not answer
24:58leon frowned
25:00what
25:00the servant lowered his head
25:02his voice tightened
25:04your majesty
25:06master thomas has passed away
25:08leon froze
25:10what did you say
25:11the servant forced the words out
25:15three days ago
25:17her majesty
25:20requested that the apothetri be opened
25:22but the key was never delivered
25:24by the time the physician arrived
25:27master thomas had already
25:29he did not finish
25:32leon stood there as if he had suddenly forgotten how to understand language
25:36a long time passed before he murmured
25:38how is that morse
25:44why didn't anyone tell me
25:49the servant looked even more troubled
25:52someone did report it to your majesty at the time
25:55leon stared at him
25:58what did i say
26:00the servant clenched his jaw
26:02you said that while you and lady lydia were watching the winter lantern parade
26:07you did not want to hear anything related to the queen
26:09in that instant
26:11leon's face went white
26:12i watched him finally remember
26:15that day
26:16i had burst into the household office and begged lydia to give me the apothecary key
26:20he said i had shamed the crown
26:22later
26:23later
26:24to comfort lydia after she had been frightened
26:26he lit winter lanterns across the capital for an entire night
26:30the nobles all said his majesty truly favored his chief court lady
26:34my father took his last breath that same night
26:38leon turned sharply toward lydia
26:40tears welled in lydia's eyes as if she had suffered a great injustice
26:44leon
26:46i didn't mean to keep it from you
26:49i only thought master thomas had already received so much grace from the late king
26:54and her majesty always makes things sound worse than they are
26:58i was afraid she would influence her
27:01i froley
27:03give me your key ledger
27:04for the first time leon cut her off
27:08what
27:10lydia froze
27:14the record from the catheter key
27:16the treasury key
27:18and the carriage house key from the past few days
27:22all of them
27:24the blood drained from lydia's face
27:27leon
27:28these are household affairs
27:30you've never investigated me like this before
27:32what was left to explain
27:34everything i had said was true
27:36i had not been jealous of lydia
27:38i had not used my father's illness to threaten him
27:41i had truly wanted to leave
27:43the way leon looked at me finally began to change
27:45but
27:46i only felt tired
27:48i looked away and lowered my head to sort my tools
27:51three whole years had been wrong
27:53leon took one step toward me
27:55but the soldiers of the armory camp shifted almost at the same time
27:59no one drew a weapon
28:00they only stood there silent and solid
28:03between the king and the woman he had cornered for too long
28:12allia
28:13don't
28:14that single word stopped him more sharper than any royal command
28:18lydia's fingers closed around the edge of her cloak
28:23your majesty
28:24i can explain the ledgers
28:27her majesty always demanded things outside procedure
28:31i was protecting your reputation
28:34leon looked at her
28:35and for once he did not immediately believe her
28:38then you will explain them in writing
28:41every missing hour
28:44every delayed key
28:47every sealed door
28:48i heard those words and felt nothing like triumph
28:51there was no victory
28:52in being believed after the person you loved most was already dead
29:01late that night
29:02i came out of the armory camp to dump furnace ash and saw leon standing not far away
29:07the fire light was dim
29:08and snow rested on his shoulders
29:11i had only seen him that afternoon
29:13yet he looked as if his soul had been drained out of him
29:16when he saw me
29:17he stepped toward me at once
29:19alia
29:19i frowned and stepped back
29:21he stopped
29:22his voice was hoarse
29:24i've taken all the keys back from lydia
29:26she is no longer the chief court lady
29:29about your father
29:30i didn't know
29:31give me a chance to make it up to you all right
29:33my heart did not soften
29:35i only found it absurd
29:36once
29:37i had begged him to listen to one sentence
29:39and he found me annoying
29:40now he stood in the snow
29:42finally willing to bow his head
29:44but it was too late
29:45i looked at him calmly
29:48leon
29:48do you think lydia is the only problem between us
29:51he seemed caught off guard
29:53i know i was wrong
29:55he seemed caught off guard
29:56i shouldn't have let her control your keys
30:00i shouldn't have used that method to teach you rules
30:04i just thought the palace had always been like this
30:07noblemen manage their common-born wives this way all the time
30:12i never thought it would hurt you
30:15and i never truly meant to abandon your father
30:19i looked at him
30:21leon
30:22even now
30:23you still think that if you are willing to give
30:25i should be grateful enough to take it
30:28you made me queen
30:29then handed my wardrobe the apothetory
30:30and my father's life-saving money to lydia
30:32you saw my humiliation
30:33you just believed someone of my birth
30:34had no right to feel humiliated
30:35his face turned paler by the second
30:37i went on
30:40we are over
30:41i don't want anything
30:44when the archbip's court asks for your response
30:46don't stand in the way
30:47that's all
30:48confusion filled leon's eyes
30:50he seemed unable to understand why i refused to forgive him when he had already lowered himself this far
30:56carefully he asked
30:58what will it take for you to come back with me
31:01i can give you the keys to the queen's wardrobe
31:04the jewel room
31:05the treasury
31:06the apothetory
31:07all of them
31:08from today on
31:09no door in the palace will stand in your way
31:13i could not help laughing
31:15if all you needed was a vast beside your throne
31:17you should never have been kind to me in the beginning
31:19yes
31:20i had loved him once
31:22during my first year in the palace
31:24leon had not always been cold
31:26he taught me my first court dance
31:28he taught me my first court dance
31:33when noble ladies mocked my accent
31:35he took my hand and walked me across the entire ballroom
31:39she is my queen
31:42in that moment i truly believed i had been chosen
31:48leon began to say i did not understand the rules
31:51that i was too sensitive
31:53too petty
31:54too embarrassing
31:55that lydia was only helping him
31:58his tenderness was like winter fog on a window
32:00the moment i touched it
32:02it disappeared
32:03i looked at leon and said softly
32:05i don't need your compensation
32:08i only need this marriage to end
32:11leon looked as if he had been struck
32:13he stumbled one step forward and reached for me
32:16i avoided him
32:17his hand froze in the air
32:22alia even a prisoner dragged before a court gets to defend himself once
32:26his voice was almost pleading
32:28you can't deny me even one chance to explain
32:32i gave you many chances
32:34i said calmly
32:37every time i waited outside your study
32:40every time i went to the household office to beg for a key
32:44every time was told you stake for me when key
32:49every time i told you lydia was delaying me on purpose
32:54every time you said listen to lydia
32:57those were chances
33:00you were the one who threw them all away
33:03leon had nothing left to say
33:04i knew how stubborn he was
33:06i also knew dissolving our marriage would not be easy
33:10but i did not expect him to arrive at the armory camp the next morning with a train of carriages
33:15they were loaded with silk
33:17medicine
33:18gold coffers
33:19and food
33:23the northern armory is always short on funds
33:27i've already ordered the treasurer to allocate money to you
33:33leon stood in the snow when he saw me
33:35there was even a careful smile on his face
33:40these medicines and iron supplies are for the camp as well
33:43then he took a small box from a servant
33:46these are candied figs
33:48i remember you used to ask for them late at night
33:50eat while they're still warm
33:52i did not reach for them
33:54you don't like them
33:55the hope in leon's eyes stiffened little by little
33:58i don't like candied figs
34:00lydia does
34:01i said lightly
34:03leon froze
34:04i looked at the box and remembered long ago
34:07for a period of time
34:08he often asked me to have the kitchens make candied figs late at night
34:12i thought he liked sweets while working late
34:15only later did i learn they were for lydia
34:17once i saw her sitting at the small table in the king's study with my own eyes
34:24your majesty
34:25please have the kitchens make another serving next time
34:28at leon tried them
34:29and thinks they're good too
34:33that day i argued with leon
34:38it's just a bit of food from the kitchen
34:40you are queen
34:41and lydia runs the palace household for me
34:44what's wrong with rewarding her stop acting so small-minded
34:46now thinking back
34:48i found myself almost laughable
34:51so i had once been that devoted
34:53i'm sorry
34:55i remembered wrong leon gave a difficult smile
34:59then what do you like
35:01i'll wish to her it i'll have someone prepare it
35:04i lowered my head and continued inspecting a broken sword
35:07no need
35:09but leon did not give up over the next few days
35:12he kept sending gifts
35:14sometimes it was a sapphire necklace
35:17sometimes a gold threaded shawl
35:19sometimes white roses from the royal greenhouse
35:22once
35:22he even sent a pair of ivory gloves set with tiny pearls
35:26i looked at those things and became genuinely curious
35:29how did a man who listened this badly manage to rule a country
35:33when the armory finished repairing a batch of border longswords
35:37leon came again
35:38this time he carried a delicate wooden box
35:44i did not let him open it
35:46the palace keys
35:49his eyes lit up
35:50how did you know
35:52i looked at him and gave a small smile
35:54because you finally remembered that keys were what i lacked most for the past three years
35:59a hint of joy appeared on his face
36:01as if he thought he had finally done something right
36:04he opened the box
36:05inside lay a ring of golden keys
36:07the wardrobe
36:08the jewel room
36:09the apothecary
36:10the carriage house
36:12the treasury
36:13the inner chamber
36:14each key bore the queen's crest
36:18from today on
36:20you can open every room in the palace
36:24a'lelia
36:26i will make up for everything i owe you
36:30i looked at those keys
36:32so late in coming
36:33and suddenly felt exhausted
36:35leon you still don't understand
36:37leon you still don't understand
36:39i wanted keys before
36:41because i was i was still trying to survive inside that palace
36:45i don't need them now
36:47i never wanted the keys to every door in the palace
36:51i never want to go back to that palace at all
36:55the color drained from leon's face
36:57i continued
36:59the sapphire you sent is what lydia likes
37:01the gold-threaded shoal is something she wears often
37:06white roses sit in her room all year
37:08the ivory gloves are what she wears before every winter hunt
37:13see
37:13you remember another woman's taste so clearly
37:16so why not dissolve this marriage smoothly and marry her
37:20leon answered almost without thinking
37:22thinking
37:23she cannot be queen
37:25her birth is not suitable
37:27she only likes power and the things inside the palace
37:30i suddenly understood
37:31he saw lydia clearly
37:33he had simply never considered her someone who could stand beside him
37:37as for me
37:38i had the late king's command and the title of the savior's daughter
37:41my birth was low but i had no noble family that could threaten him
37:45i was suited to be a queen placed beside his throne
37:49perhaps there was love in his attachment to me
37:52but more than that he could not accept that i had chosen to leave him
37:57i looked straight at leon
37:59so you think i walked away with nothing because i loved you
38:02because you broke my heart because i wanted you to regret it
38:05leon looked away
38:07i said softly
38:10you're wrong
38:12i married you because my father needed the physicians and medicine the late king promised him
38:18i stayed in the palace because he was still alive
38:23now he is dead
38:25i don't need your money
38:26i don't need your keys
38:27i don't need your love
38:32and i don't need you
38:33leon
38:37the ruling from the archbishop's court came sooner than i expected
38:40perhaps because leon did not interfere again
38:43perhaps because too many people in the capital already knew that before the queen's father died
38:48the apothecary key had been delayed again and again
38:52the marriage is dissolved on the grounds that it was arranged by the late king's command
38:57that there are no children and that the relationship has broken beyond repair
39:04leon did not appear dot royal judges handled everything on his behalf to my surprise
39:09he did not leave me with nothing as he had once threatened to do
39:12he sent all the reward money my father should have received to the north
39:16he also gave me an estate near the border
39:18a box of jewels and everything that had once belonged to me in the queen's chamber
39:23i returned to the palace once nothing in that chamber had been moved
39:27the wardrobe stood open
39:28the jewel room stood open
39:30even the inner room i could not enter for three years had its door wide open
39:35on the table lay that ring of golden keys
39:37each one had been polished until it shone
39:40but i no longer wanted them
39:44i spent two days handing the gowns
39:46jewelry and properties in the capital over to the merchant's guild for auction
39:50part of the money went to repairing the northern armory camp part went to the families of fallen border
39:56the rest i used to build a small workshop in my father's name
40:01one that would take in girls with nowhere else to go and teach them a trade
40:04on the third evening a royal servant came to the armory camp
40:08he carried a small gold chest and looked uncomfortable
40:12miss alia
40:14his majesty said the earlier compensation was not enough
40:19these are new deeds and letters of credit
40:21i looked at the black carriage parked in the distance
40:24i took the chest and walked over
40:26after a while
40:28the carriage window lowered
40:29leon sat inside
40:31he had lost a great deal of weight
40:33dark stubble shadowed his jaw
40:36and his eyes were full of exhaustion
40:40i handed the chest back through the window
40:45leon
40:47i'm grateful you didn't truly send me away empty-handed
40:50what you have already given me is enough
40:54but i will still sell the gowns
40:57the jewels
40:59and the houses
41:01i have enough money
41:04i simply don't want to keep anything from the palace
41:07leon's voice was hoarse
41:09alia
41:11i only want to make it up to you
41:16you've already made up enough
41:23we owe each other nothing now
41:26leon suddenly grew agitated
41:29how can we owe each other nothing
41:32your father
41:34and the way i treated you before
41:37i wronged you
41:38i was silent for a moment
41:42i did hate you
41:45my father saved the late king
41:47but the reward he earned was locked inside the palace
41:50when he needed those things to live i couldn't even get a key
41:55there was a time when i wanted to burn that palace down
41:58leon's face turned pale
42:00i went on
42:02but i also have to admit
42:05leon that my father survived those three years because of the royal physicians in the apothetory
42:11that was what the old king promised him
42:16and it was something you never completely
42:17he never completely took away
42:22before my father died
42:24he held my hand with the little strength he had left
42:30alia
42:32don't spend your whole life inside hatred
42:36my greatest regret is not that i never lived in a grand house
42:40it's that i never got to see you return to the forge
42:46my daughter could have made the finest keys
42:50win the finest keys
42:53at that moment the person i hated most became myself
42:57i hated myself for being useless
43:00i hated that even though i knew the palace was not my home
43:03i still endured three years there for my father
43:06and i hated that in the end
43:07i still failed to save him
43:10so now everything is only returning to where it should be
43:14and it was something you never completely on
43:16you never completely took away
43:21something seemed to shatter in leon's eyes
43:27we sat in silence for a long time in the end
43:30there was no unnecessary farewell
43:33when the carriage left i did not look back
43:35over the next few years
43:38i poured almost all my time into the armory camp
43:41i repaired gates adjusted crossbows
43:44redesigned horseshoes for the northern cavalry
43:47eventually even the minister of war in the capital heard that there was a female armorer
43:52in the north who could make ruined plates of armor look new again
43:56when madame martha grew older she often sat by the forge and watched me train at renaissance
44:02choose your students carefully
44:05i'm too old to rescue you first and then rescue your useless little apprentices too
44:11my apprentices and i all laughed
44:15that winter i suddenly received news leon had been injured a fire had broken out in the old queen's
44:21chamber and he had rushed in to save someone
44:27half his face had been burned the messenger said lydia had set the fire
44:33after she was driven from the palace she never accepted it
44:36she believed his majesty refused to marry her because you were still alive
44:41and because he had kept the queen's chamber
44:45untouched she used an old key she had secretly copied slipped into white stone palace and tried
44:50to burn the chamber down maybe she wanted to kill leon maybe she wanted to kill me the woman she
44:56believed would one day return after hesitating for a long time i went to see him once my heart had
45:03not
45:03softened something simply needed a real ending
45:10leon lay in the palace infirmary half of his face was wrapped in white bandages
45:15the physicians whispered that the scar would likely be deep when he saw me he gave a smile
45:21uglier than crying you came i nodded politely as if visiting an old acquaintance i heard you were hurt
45:28he said lydia will stand trial falsifying the key ledger holding back the apothetery key hiding the
45:37queen's travel permits and arson she will pay for all of it i did not ask further none of those
45:44things
45:44had anything to do with me now i only asked a few polite questions about his injuries
45:54will the burn affect your sight
46:00the physicians say one eye may blur in winter it doesn't matter
46:06then follow their instructions when the next group of nobles came in to visit
46:11i took the chance to leave at the door leon suddenly called my name
46:20alia i stopped but did not turn around his voice was low
46:27that chamber is gone
46:32everything from before is gone too
46:34i said calmly that's all right i never wanted any of it i said calmly
46:44behind me there was a long silence i opened the door and walked out of the infirmary the sunlight
46:50outside was bright like my new life
47:01lydia's trial was held in the old judgment hall of white stone palace she no longer wore pale blue
47:07silk or white fox fur her wrists were bound her hair was loose and smoke stains still clung to
47:14the hem of her gown lydia former chief court lady you are accused of falsifying household ledgers
47:20withholding royal keys concealing travel permits
47:23delaying royal medicine and setting fire to the queen's chamber
47:27how do you answer
47:33queen's chamber she was never worthy of that chamber
47:36the noble's whisper dot leon sat behind the carved screen
47:40half his face hidden beneath bandages he did not speak
47:45the recovered ledger shows that the apothetery
47:48key was requested five times on the night master thomas died
47:54each request was delayed under your seal
47:58i followed palace i followed palace rules
48:02the travel permit was also hidden under your seal
48:07because she always wanted to run back to that filthy forge
48:12not the furls
48:15leon closed his eyes lydia suddenly turned toward the screen as if she could see him
48:21leon if allelia had not appeared i would have been queen long ago
48:27you kept that chamber untouched because you still dreamed she would return
48:31if she died everything would go back to how it was
48:37the judgment hall fell silent
48:39then you admit you set the fire knowing she might return
48:43lydia s face twisted
48:45i admit nothing except that she stole what should have been mine
48:56after the trial leon dismissed every guard and walked alone to the ruins of the old queen's
49:01chamber the corridor still smelled of smoke the portraits of past queens remained on the walls
49:07but the place where alia's portrait had once hung was black and empty
49:12your majesty the physician said you should not be near ash
49:20leave
49:21the guard bowed and retreated leon stepped over burned silk
49:25broken beams and melted glass the wardrobe that he had finally opened for alia was gone
49:32the jewel room was gone the table where he had placed the polished golden keys was split in
49:37half a half melted key lay in the ashes leon picked it up with his bandaged hand
49:46your majesty your wound will reopen it should he looked at the twisted key and suddenly remembered
49:53alia standing before him with a small trunk at her feet
50:00alia's voice seemed to return from the fire i don't need them now leon pressed the key against his palm
50:08four years he had believed that if he kept the chamber kept the gowns kept the keys he could
50:15keep the possibility of her return but the chamber had burned the portrait had burned even the keys
50:22had lost their shape only then did leon understand that alia had not disappeared from his life because
50:28a door had closed she had left because he had never given her one worth opening
50:35the palace corridor looked as brilliant as it had before with portraits of past queens hanging along
50:41the walls there had once been a portrait of me there too after the dissolution leon never ordered
50:47it removed now that portrait had burned with the chamber good some things should never have been kept
50:53later i heard that lydia cursed my name throughout her trial she said that if it had not been for
50:59me
51:00she would have been queen long ago she said that if it had not been for me
51:05she said that if i died everything would go back to how it was i only found it ridiculous in
51:11the end
51:12they really were a perfect match one believed that as long as he kept the old chamber i would one
51:18day
51:18return the other believed that as long as i disappeared she would be able to walk through that door they
51:24were
51:25both stubbornly guarding things that did not belong to them both of them were trapped in the past refusing
51:30to move on what a shame i had not seen it sooner one regret in a lifetime was enough a
51:37young girl at
51:37the work table glanced at the messenger's letter in my hand teacher is that news from the palace
51:44i folded the letter and pushed it into the fire no it is only ash madam martha snorted from the
51:54corner
51:55good answer now teach that girl how to file a clean edge before she ruins my tools after that i
52:02never
52:03went back to the palace i never followed any news of leon again several months after lydia's sentence the
52:11minister of war placed a northern armory report before leon your majesty the border cavalry requests
52:17more horses shoes from miss alia's workshop but their design has reduced winter injuries by nearly half
52:24leon's fingers paused on the seal the capital armory could use her skill we may invite her to white
52:30stone for a royal commission for a moment the chamber was silent then leon said quietly send the
52:37invitation he told himself it was for the kingdom he did not tell the minister that he had read every
52:42northern report with her name on it he did not say that each mention of alia's work hurt worse than
52:48the scar across his face days later a royal messenger arrived at thomas's workshop miss alia his majesty
52:56invites you to the capital to oversee a new lock system for white stone palace i did not stop filing
53:02the
53:02iron plate in my hand tell the ministry to send the measurements i will design what the palace needs
53:09from here his majesty hoped you would come in person i finally looked up i am an armater not a
53:16memory he
53:16can summon that evening i wrote a formal reply thomas's workshop accepts commissions for tools hinges armor
53:26plates locks and keys it does not accept invitations to reopen closed doors when leon received the letter
53:34he read the last line three times then he folded it carefully and placed it beside the ruined golden key
53:40he still kept in his desk the winters in the north were long but the forge fire never went out
53:47one of the
53:48new girls held up a broken lock and asked softly teacher what should i do if this won't open
53:54i glanced at it and pushed a bar of iron into the fire if it won't open replace it same
54:02with doors
54:03same with people the fire rose the red hot iron slowly took shape beneath the hammer i suddenly
54:10thought of the night i left the palace three years ago back then i thought i had lost everything only
54:17now
54:17did i understand i had simply carried myself out of a palace where i had never been given a key
54:25from then on my life would only move forward i would never look back the new girl stared at the
54:32broken lock in her palm then looked at the iron glowing in the furnace teacher can i make my own
54:39key i handed her the smaller hammer my father once made for me you can make a key you can
54:47make a door
54:48you can even decide there should be no door there at all less talking more hammering the apprentices
54:54burst into laughter i laughed with them outside the northern snow covered the road to the capital
55:00inside the forge burned brighter than any palace chandelier i had ever seen i raised the hammer the
55:07first strike rang clear then the second then the third a new shape began to form beneath my hands
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