- 8 hours ago
Keyless Queen : New ๐
Category
๐ฅ
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.
00:15So 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.
00:31But 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.
00:43Never 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.
00:55People of your black race should not hold that much gold all at once.
00:59It 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.
01:08I 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.
01:16After three years in the palace, the only things I could take with me were the old dress I had
01:21worn when I first entered the palace.
01:23And the little iron hammer my father had forged for me with his own hands.
01:27The servant waited for me to cry, shout, or beg for the king's mercy.
01:31I did none of those things.
01:32I only folded the message once, placed it on the table, and looked toward the locked wardrobe across the room.
01:39No 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.
01:50My gowns were locked in the West Wing wardrobe.
01:52My jewelry was locked in the queen's jewel room.
01:56My 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
02:09key and permission to leave the palace.
02:11And every one of those keys was in Lydia's hands.
02:14She was the king's chief court lady.
02:16And 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.
02:33But 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.
02:46It 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.
02:58Instead, 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
03:23bed.
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.
03:37When I asked Leon to end our marriage, he refused.
03:40He was in his study, reading the border tax ledgers.
03:44His eyes never left the parchment.
03:46His voice was as cold as if he were scolding a maid who had broken a cup.
03:53Stop 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.
04:06I stood before his desk and said calmly.
04:08Only then did Leon look up at me.
04:11His eyes were cold, as though my words were a waste of his time.
04:16About your father.
04:17I 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.
04:27My fingers twitched at my sides.
04:29In the past, the moment he mentioned my father, I would lower my head.
04:36My 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.
04:47That was the reward the late king had promised him.
04:51But 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.
05:03So 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.
05:13His majesty's commands are absolute.
05:15I have no special privileges even when my own father's life was hanging in the balance.
05:22My 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, the apothecary key cannot be handed over carrially.
05:44Vise de Thomas, your group in tres colise.
05:47Master Thomas is only a commoner.
05:50He does not fall under royal emergency care.
05:54That treatment was promised to him by the late king.
05:57I'm not denying the late king's generosity.
06:00But rules are rules.
06:03Have 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.
06:19She glanced at it and frowned lightly.
06:21I brought back the note.
06:23She glanced at it and frowned lightly.
06:26The date isn't clear enough.
06:28It only says fever.
06:30It doesn't specify whether his life is in danger.
06:33Your majesty, I'm not trying to make this harder.
06:36Every bottle in the royal apothecary must be recorded.
06:40You 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,
06:51a physician certificate,
06:52a written reason for withdrawing from the gold car,
06:55a statement explaining why my father.
06:58Could 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
07:09whispered 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,
07:20and Lydia only asked whether the church seal was placed in the correct corner.
07:29By the time the key finally arrived in the blacksmith shop,
07:33my 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.
07:58Alia, if you hadn't stormed into the household office a few days ago and shouted at Lydia,
08:04I 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.
08:14Last 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,
08:27just 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,
08:34I only smiled and said nothing.
08:36Even when Lydia smiled and took one key after another away from me,
08:40I endured it.
08:41I once thought that as long as my father was alive,
08:44I could endure anything.
08:46Now 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.
08:54Later, a maid brought me the celebration ledger Lydia had sent.
08:58His Majesty asks Your Majesty to write a line of praise,
09:03so no one Mr. Stans, Lady Lydia.
09:05I found that joke and laughed.
09:08The maid lowered her eyes,
09:10afraid I would tear the ledger apart.
09:12Instead, I took the quill with steady fingers.
09:17I picked up the quill and wrote carefully.
09:20Lady Lydia is diligent indeed.
09:24With one ring of keys,
09:25she rules over both the queen and the servants.
09:35Lady Lydia,
09:38May she keep guarding every door,
09:40and may she keep guarding the place she hopes to move into one day.
09:46Your Majesty,
09:47should I really deliver this?
09:49The maid's face went pale.
09:54Deliver it exactly as written.
09:56His Majesty wanted praise.
09:58I gave him praise.
10:00After writing it,
10:01I closed the ledger.
10:03Then 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
10:09palace was locked in someone else's hands.
10:12The only things I could take were the old dress I wore when I entered the palace.
10:15A few faded shirts,
10:17and the little hammer my father had given me.
10:20For all these years,
10:22I had lived in the palace like a temporary guest.
10:25Only now did I understand.
10:27Even a guest could at least open a
10:29door for herself.
10:30I folded the old dress carefully and placed my father's hammer on top of it.
10:35The iron handle was cold,
10:37but 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,
10:50no longer in need of anyone's keys.
10:53I am just me the me who can make any decision.
10:57Leon came back very quickly.
10:59Whenever it involved Lydia,
11:01he 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.
11:11I didn't want to.
11:12Leon looked as if I had said something outrageous.
11:15I already told you.
11:17Lydia has managed the palace household well lately,
11:19so I held a dinner to reward her.
11:22There are already enough people in the palace misunderstanding her.
11:27After what you wrote in the ledger,
11:28how is she supposed to face anyone?
11:30I could not help laughing.
11:34So not everyone is blind.
11:38If people misunderstand her so easily,
11:41maybe they already know what she's been doing.
11:44Leon's face darkened.
11:47Aaliyah,
11:47when 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?
12:01Lydia only manages the palace for me.
12:05If you hadn't made a spheda scene in the household office,
12:07would people be talking about her now?
12:09He looked at me with exhaustion and blame in his eyes.
12:13If you want to be a queen who knows nothing except how to hold out her hand for keys,
12:17I won't blame you.
12:21I gave you a crown,
12:22a palace,
12:23and status.
12:25What more do you want?
12:26For three years,
12:28I had wanted him to ask that question sincerely,
12:31now that he had finally asked it.
12:33But now,
12:34there's no point in my answering anymore.
12:38But if you keep targeting Lydia,
12:40don't blame me for being harsh.
12:42Think about your father.
12:46I finally laughed out loud.
12:49It hurt my throat.
12:51Then I opened my trunk right in front of him.
12:57A crown?
12:58A palace?
13:00Dignity?
13:02Leon,
13:03look at what my life in your palace has been.
13:07I'm leaving,
13:08and I can't even pack four decent dresses.
13:16If I wanted to change into a ball gown,
13:18I had to ask your lady of the court for a key.
13:23If I wanted to visit my father,
13:25I had to explain the reason to Lydia,
13:26first.
13:28What queen has to live at the mercy of her husband's favorite court lady?
13:32There was not a trace of guilt on Leon's face.
13:35He only frowned and asked,
13:37genuinely baffled.
13:39All this over that?
13:43So you were jealous of Lydia,
13:45and deliberately tried to ruin her name?
13:47My heart went cold,
13:49inch by inch.
13:50If he truly thought this was wrong,
13:52he would not have let Lydia take my keys again and again for three years.
13:56He would not have allowed the entire palace to know the queen had no right to open her own doors.
14:01I lowered my eyes.
14:03I lowered my eyes.
14:04Think whatever you want.
14:07I want our marriage dissolved.
14:09Leon laughed instead.
14:10There was a knowing look in that laugh,
14:13as if he had finally seen through my cheap little trick.
14:16Enough.
14:16I don't have time to coax you through another tantrum.
14:22You're doing all this because of Lydia,
14:24aren't you?
14:25Don't assume every woman is like you.
14:28Always fighting over a man.
14:30As he spoke,
14:32he smoothed the wrinkle from his sleeve,
14:34as though making a great concession.
14:36Tomorrow,
14:37I will send the royal physician
14:39to see your father in person.
14:43In a moment,
14:44I'll have Lydia give you the keys to the queen's quadro,
14:48the jewel room,
14:49and the carriage house.
14:51From now on,
14:52your daily expenses won't need to go through the household accounts.
14:57After three years as Leon's wife,
14:59I understood him well enough.
15:00For him,
15:01this 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,
15:13he had made so many promises,
15:15yet he never mentioned Lydia holding back the apothecary key.
15:19I don't want anything,
15:21except to end this marriage.
15:23Leon finally realized I was not acting poor.
15:26His impatience instantly turned into anger.
15:29Aaliyah,
15:31don't forget how you became queen.
15:33Your father saved the late king.
15:37That is why the late king rewarded your family with honor.
15:42If you leave me,
15:44those rewards,
15:45that gold,
15:46those properties,
15:48you won't get a single copper oil.
15:51And your father's illness.
15:53Without the royal physicians and the royal apothecary,
15:57how long do you think we can last?
16:00Not long at all.
16:01I knew that better than anyone,
16:03now everything was only returning to where it should have been.
16:06I fastened my 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 Aaliyah suddenly had no effect,
16:20but his pride would not let him lower his head again.
16:24So he watched her drag her trunk toward the door with a cold face.
16:28When Aaliyah pulled open the chamber doors,
16:30he seemed as if he wanted to call her back.
16:32In the end,
16:33he said nothing.
16:35Only later did Aaliyah learn that Lydia went to his study that night.
16:39Your majesty doesn't need to humor her.
16:42Leave her alone for a few days.
16:44She'll come back and apologize.
16:46Her majesty has simply grown too comfortable as queen
16:50and wants to make a scene.
16:52Leon believed her.
16:53He even found a honey mint in his study and thought of Aaliyah.
16:57His throat always hurt more into her.
16:59So Aaliyah had once learned to make those candies for him.
17:02Leon turned the candy between his fingers for a long while.
17:08She is not completely useless after all.
17:11Lydia lowered her eyes to hide the shadow of jealousy in them.
17:14Even now,
17:15even while he was angry,
17:17one small candy was enough to make Leon think of Aaliyah first.
17:21He told himself that Aaliyah was not completely useless after all
17:24when she came back.
17:26He would make her apologize sincerely
17:28and she would never again threaten him with a petition to dissolve their marriage.
17:33After leaving the palace,
17:36I did not leave the kingdom.
17:37I first went to the archbishop's court to confirm that my petition had been filed.
17:42Then,
17:43carrying my father's ashes.
17:45I went to the armory camp on the northern border.
17:48That was where my father had worked when he was young.
17:51He used to say that in the north.
17:53People did not ask where you came from.
17:55They only asked whether you were good with your hands.
17:58I did not understand that before.
18:00Now I did.
18:01When I arrived at the armory camp,
18:03dragging my trunk behind me,
18:05the soldier at the gate looked at me with obvious suspicion.
18:11Who are you looking for?
18:14Madam Martha.
18:15Madam Martha was the old blacksmith of the armory camp,
18:19and she had once trained with my father.
18:21Before I married into the palace,
18:23she had come to persuade me not to go.
18:26A place like the palace isn't meant for people like us,
18:29people who live by our hands.
18:32I did not listen then.
18:33Now when I saw her again,
18:35her hair had turned white.
18:37She looked at the trunk in my hand and the urn in my arms.
18:40She did not ask a single question.
18:43Come in.
18:45She simply stepped aside.
18:50My nose stung,
18:51and tears fell before I could stop them.
18:54For the first time since my father's death,
18:57no one asked me for a permit,
18:59a seal,
19:00or a reason.
19:01One door opened because someone chose to open it for me.
19:06After I had cried enough,
19:08Madam Martha set slowly.
19:13Done crying?
19:16Then wash your hands.
19:19I'm sure to lock repairer,
19:21and someone who can mend armor.
19:22If you still remember what your father taught you, stay.
19:26I stared at her.
19:28You're not going to ask why I'm here?
19:31Madam Martha snorted.
19:33Anyone who can walk out of the palace alive is lucky enough.
19:38What is there to ask?
19:40Or did three years as queen make you too delicate to hold a hammer?
19:45I smiled through my tears.
19:49I can hold one.
19:50For myself, I can hold anything.
19:54At first, I was not used to it.
19:57The wind in the north was hard.
19:59The furnace was scorching.
20:01And the armory camp was nothing like the palace.
20:04No maids came to make my bed.
20:06Blisters soon formed across my palms.
20:08A young apprentice saw the blood on my fingers
20:11and held out a strip of cloth.
20:14Miss Aurelia,
20:16maybe you should rest.
20:17I wrapped my palm and picked up the hammer again.
20:24If I stop every time I bleed,
20:26I will never make anything strong.
20:29But as time passed,
20:30the skills carved into my bones slowly returned.
20:34How to hear the quality of.
20:35Metal,
20:36how to tell where a lock's inner teeth were stuck.
20:39How to shape a horseshoe with the right curve.
20:41How to mend a broken sword.
20:51The more I worked,
20:52the steadier my hands became.
20:54Once,
20:55I repaired a cracked bracer for a night.
20:58He tested it twice
20:59and raised his thumb in surprise.
21:02I smiled.
21:04I thought someone from the palace
21:06would only know how to wear rings.
21:13I couldn't afford rings before.
21:16The soldiers around us froze for a second,
21:19then burst into laughter.
21:21That was the first time I laughed
21:22easily after leaving the palace.
21:25Then an unwelcome voice sounded behind me.
21:28Aladia?
21:28I looked up and saw Lydia.
21:30She wore a white fox fur cloak
21:32and stood not far away,
21:33several servants behind her.
21:35Her gaze swept over my hands,
21:37stained with coal and iron dust.
21:39Then over the soldiers beside me,
21:42the corner of her mouth lifted.
21:46So this is why her majesty
21:48suddenly made such a fuss
21:50about ending the marriage.
21:51You came back to a place like this.
21:54Some people can wear a crown
21:56and still never forget
21:58they came from a blacksmith's shop.
22:00I would rest on your face.
22:03My face went cold.
22:05The people of the Northern Armory
22:07mended armor,
22:08forged swords,
22:09and repaired gates and wind and snow
22:11to protect the border.
22:13They did not deserve her contempt.
22:18I set down the tongs in my hand.
22:22Lydia.
22:23Do you not have a room of your own?
22:25Why are you behind every door I open?
22:28Lydia's expression changed.
22:30At that moment,
22:31a familiar voice came from behind her.
22:34What happened?
22:37Leon walked over.
22:39He wore black hunting clothes
22:40with the royal cloak over his shoulders.
22:42So,
22:43he had come to inspect the northern border.
22:45And of course Lydia had come with him.
22:48Her eyes reddened as she lowered her voice.
22:51Nothing, your majesty.
22:55I 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.
23:05I tried to advise her,
23:07but she misunderstood me.
23:10Only then did Leon notice me.
23:13His brows drew together slightly.
23:15There was that familiar certainty in his eyes.
23:19Aelia,
23:20did you bully Lydia again?
23:23If you came here to admit your mistake,
23:26apologize to her first.
23:28I looked at him once,
23:29then turned away without wasting a word
23:31and picked up my tools.
23:33The young apprentice beside me whispered,
23:37Miss Aelia,
23:38who is that?
23:39I said coldly,
23:41my blind,
23:42brainless husband.
23:43Leon's face darkened.
23:45Aelia!
23:48You followed me all the way to the north.
23:51How 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
24:06to never give him the apothetory key again?
24:09I looked at him,
24:11tired of him to the bone.
24:14Then don't give it.
24:17That's what you're best at, isn't it?
24:21Something in my eyes must have cut Leon.
24:24He turned sharply to the servant beside him.
24:27Send orders back to the capital.
24:30From today on,
24:31Thomas is not to be given the apothetory key again.
24:35And the gold coffret is not to be opened.
24:38Panic flashed across Lydia's face.
24:41Your Majesty.
24:43Perhaps we shouldn't.
24:45Leon coldly pressed down the hand she had placed on his arm.
24:49She needs to be taught a lesson.
24:51Otherwise,
24:52she will never learn how to be queen.
24:55The servant's face went deathly pale,
24:58and he did not answer.
24:59Leon frowned.
25:00What?
25:01The servant lowered his head.
25:03His voice tightened.
25:05Your Majesty.
25:07Master Thomas has passed away.
25:09Leon froze.
25:11What did you say?
25:12The servant forced the words out.
25:15Three days ago,
25:18Her Majesty
25:20requested that the apothory be opened,
25:23but the key was never delivered.
25:25By the time the physician arrived,
25:28Master Thomas had already...
25:29He did not finish.
25:32Leon stood there as if he had suddenly forgotten
25:35how to understand language.
25:36A long time passed before he murmured.
25:39How is that possible?
25:44Why didn't anyone tell me?
25:49The servant looked even more troubled.
25:53Someone 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.
26:03You said that while you and Lady Lydia
26:05were watching the Winter Lantern Parade,
26:08you did not want to hear anything related to the queen.
26:10In that instant,
26:11Leon's face went white.
26:13I watched him finally remember.
26:15That day,
26:16I had burst into the household office
26:18and begged Lydia to give me the apothecary key.
26:21He said I had shamed the crown.
26:23Later,
26:24to comfort Lydia after she had been frightened,
26:27he lit winter lanterns across the capital
26:29for an entire night.
26:30The nobles all said
26:32His Majesty truly favored his chief court lady.
26:35My father took his last breath that same night.
26:39Leon turned sharply toward Lydia.
26:41Tears welled in Lydia's eyes
26:43as if she had suffered a great injustice.
26:45Leon,
26:47I didn't mean to keep it from you.
26:49I only thought Master Thomas
26:52had already received so much grace from the late king.
26:55And Her Majesty always makes things sound worse than they are.
26:58I was afraid she would influence her.
27:01I frole.
27:03Give me your key ledger.
27:05For the first time,
27:06Leon cut her off.
27:08What?
27:10Lydia froze.
27:14The record from the apothecary.
27:17The 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.
27:29These are household affairs.
27:31You've never investigated me like this before.
27:33What was left to explain.
27:35Everything I had said was true.
27:37I had not been jealous of Lydia.
27:39I had not used my father's illness to threaten him.
27:42I had truly wanted to leave.
27:43The way Leon looked at me finally began to change.
27:46But.
27:47I only felt tired.
27:49I looked away and lowered my head to sort my tools.
27:52Three whole years had been wrong.
27:53Leon took one step toward me.
27:56But the soldiers of the armory camp shifted almost at the same time.
28:00No one drew a weapon.
28:01They only stood there, silent and solid.
28:04Between the king and the woman he had cornered for too long.
28:15That single word stopped him more sharply than any royal command.
28:19Lydia's fingers closed around the edge of her cloak.
28:32Leon looked at her, and 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.
28:53In being believed after the person you loved most was already dead.
29:01Late that night, I came out of the armory camp to dump furnace ash and saw Leon standing not far
29:07away.
29:07The firelight was dim, and snow rested on his shoulders.
29:11I had only seen him that afternoon, yet he looked as if his soul had been drained out of him.
29:16When he saw me, he stepped toward me at once.
29:19Aaliyah!
29:20I frowned and stepped back.
29:22He stopped.
29:23His voice was hoarse.
29:25I've taken all the keys back from Lydia.
29:27She is no longer the chief court lady.
29:29About your father, I didn't know.
29:32Give me a chance to make it up to you, alright?
29:34My heart did not soften.
29:35I only found it absurd.
29:37Once, I had begged him to listen to one sentence, and he found me annoying.
29:41Now he stood in the snow, finally willing to bow his head.
29:44But it was too late.
29:46I looked at him calmly.
29:48Leon.
29:49Do you think Lydia is the only problem between us?
29:51He seemed caught off guard.
29:54I know I was wrong.
29:55He seemed caught off guard.
29:57I 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.
30:47I looked at him.
30:48That's all.
30:49Confusion filled.
30:50Leon's eyes.
30:51He seemed unable to understand why I refused to forgive him when he had already lowered himself this far.
30:56Carefully, he asked.
30:59What will it take for you to come back with me?
31:02I can give you the keys to the queen's wardrobe, the jewel room, the treasury, the apothetory, all of them.
31:08From today on, no door in the palace will stand in your way.
31:13I could not help laughing.
31:15If all you needed was a vase beside your throne, you should never have been kind to me in the
31:19beginning.
31:20Yes.
31:21I had loved him once.
31:22During my first year in the palace, Leon had not always been cold.
31:26He taught me my first court dance.
31:29He taught me my first court dance.
31:33When noble ladies mocked my accent, he took my hand and walked me across the entire ballroom.
31:40She is my queen.
31:42In that moment, I truly believed I had been chosen.
31:49Leon began to say I did not understand the rules.
31:52That I was too sensitive.
31:53Too petty.
31:55Too embarrassing.
31:56That Lydia was only helping him.
31:58His tenderness was like winter fog on a window.
32:01The moment I touched it, it disappeared.
32:04I looked at Leon and said softly,
32:06I don't need your compensation.
32:08I only need this marriage to end.
32:11Leon looked as if he had been struck.
32:14He stumbled one step forward and reached for me.
32:16I avoided him.
32:18His hand froze in the air.
32:23Elia, even a prisoner dragged before a court gets to defend himself once.
32:27His voice was almost pleading.
32:29You can't deny me even one chance to explain.
32:33I gave you many chances.
32:35I said calmly.
32:37Every time I waited outside your study.
32:40Every time I went to the household office to beg for a key.
32:45Every time I was told you'd 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.
32:58Those were chances.
33:01You were the one who threw them all away.
33:03Leon had nothing left to say.
33:05I knew how stubborn he was.
33:07I 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.
33:16They were loaded with silk.
33:18Medicine, gold coffers, and food.
33:24The 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.
33:36There was even a careful smile on his face.
33:41These medicines and iron supplies are for the camp as well.
33:44Then he took a small box from a servant.
33:47These are candid figs.
33:49I remember you used to ask for them late at night.
33:51Eat 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 candid figs.
34:00Lydia does.
34:01I said lightly.
34:03Leon froze.
34:04I looked at the box and remembered long ago, for a period of time.
34:09He 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.
34:18Once I saw her sitting at the small table in the king's study with my own eyes.
34:24Your Majesty, please have the kitchens make another serving next time.
34:29At Leon tried them and thinks they're good too.
34:34That day I argued with Leon.
34:38It's just a bit of food from the kitchen.
34:41You are queen and Lydia runs the palace household for me.
34:44What's wrong with rewarding her? Stop acting so small-minded.
34:47Now, thinking back, I found myself almost laughable.
34:51So I had once been that devoted.
34:54I'm sorry.
34:55I remembered wrong.
34:57Leon gave a difficult smile.
35:00Then what do you like?
35:02I'll wish to her it.
35:03I'll have someone prepare it.
35:04I lowered my head and continued inspecting a broken sword.
35:08No need.
35:10But Leon did not give up over the next few days.
35:13He kept sending gifts.
35:15Sometimes it was a sapphire necklace.
35:17Sometimes a gold-threaded shawl.
35:19Sometimes white roses from the royal greenhouse, once.
35:23He even sent a pair of ivory gloves set with tiny pearls.
35:27I looked at those things and became genuinely curious.
35:30How did a man who listened this badly manage to rule a country?
35:34When the armory finished repairing a batch of border longswords,
35:38Leon came again.
35:39This time he carried a delicate wooden box.
35:44I did not let him open it.
35:47The palace keys?
35:49His eyes lit up.
35:51How did you know?
35:52I looked at him and gave a small smile.
35:55Because you finally remembered that keys were what I lacked most for the past three years.
35:59A hint of joy appeared on his face.
36:02As if he thought he had finally done something right, he opened the box.
36:05Inside lay a ring of golden keys.
36:07The wardrobe.
36:08The jewel room.
36:10The apothecary.
36:11The carriage house.
36:12The treasury.
36:13The inner chamber.
36:14Each key bore the queen's crest.
36:18From today on, you 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, so late in coming, and suddenly felt exhausted.
36:36Leon, you still don't understand.
36:38Leon, you still don't understand.
36:40I wanted keys before because I was still trying to survive inside that palace.
36:45I don't need them now.
36:48I 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.
37:02The gold-threaded shawl is something she wears often.
37:06White roses sit in her room all year.
37:09The ivory gloves are what she wears before every winter hunt.
37:13See?
37:14You remember another woman's taste so clearly.
37:17So why not dissolve this marriage smoothly and marry her?
37:21Leon answered almost without thinking.
37:23Thinking.
37:24She cannot be queen.
37:26Her birth is not suitable.
37:27She only likes power and the things inside the palace.
37:30I suddenly understood.
37:32He saw Lydia clearly.
37:34He had simply never considered her someone who could stand beside him.
37:37As for me, I had the late king's command and the title of the savior's daughter.
37:42My birth was low.
37:43But I had no noble family that could threaten him.
37:46I 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.
38:00So you think I walked away with nothing because I loved you?
38:03Because you broke my heart?
38:04Because I wanted you to regret it?
38:06Leon looked away.
38:08I 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.
38:24Now he is dead.
38:25I don't need your money.
38:27I don't need your keys.
38:28I don't need your love.
38:32And I don't need you, Leon.
38:37The ruling from the archbishop's court came sooner than I expected.
38:41Perhaps because Leon did not interfere again.
38:44Perhaps because too many people in the capital already knew that before the queen's father died.
38:49The apothecary key had been delayed again and again.
38:53The marriage is dissolved on the grounds that it was arranged by the late king's command.
38:58That there are no children and that the relationship has broken beyond repair.
39:05Leon did not appear.
39:06Royal judges handled everything on his behalf.
39:09To my surprise, he did not leave me with nothing as he had once threatened to do.
39:13He sent all the reward money my father should have received to the north.
39:17He also gave me an estate near the border, a box of jewels, and everything that had once belonged to
39:22me in the queen's chamber.
39:24I returned to the palace once.
39:26Nothing in that chamber had been moved.
39:28The wardrobe stood open.
39:29The jewel room stood open.
39:31Even the inner room I could not enter for three years had its door wide open.
39:36On the table lay that ring of golden keys.
39:38Each one had been polished until it shone.
39:41But I no longer wanted them.
39:44I spent two days handing the gowns, jewelry, and properties in the capital over to the merchants' guild for auction.
39:51Part of the money went to repairing the northern armory camp.
39:54Part went to the families of fallen border soldiers.
39:57The 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.
40:05On the third evening, a royal servant came to the armory camp.
40:09He carried a small gold chest and looked uncomfortable.
40:13Miss Aaliyah, his majesty said the earlier compensation was not enough.
40:19These are new deeds and letters of credit.
40:22I looked at the black carriage parked in the distance.
40:25I took the chest and walked over.
40:27After a while, the carriage window lowered.
40:30Leon sat inside.
40:32He had lost a great deal of weight.
40:34Dark stubble shadowed his jaw, and his eyes were full of exhaustion.
40:41I handed the chest back through the window.
40:46Leon, I am grateful you didn't truly send me away empty-handed.
40:50What you have already given me is enough.
40:55But I will still sell the gowns, the jewels, and the houses.
41:01Leon, I have enough money.
41:04I simply don't want to keep anything from the palace.
41:07Leon's voice was hoarse.
41:11Aaliyah, I only want to make it up to you.
41:16You've already made up enough.
41:23We owe each other nothing now.
41:27Leon suddenly grew agitated.
41:29How can we owe each other nothing?
41:33Your father, and the way I treated you before.
41:37I wronged you.
41:38I was silent for a moment.
41:43I did hate you.
41:45My father saved the late king.
41:48But the reward he earned was locked inside the palace.
41:51When he needed those things to live, I couldn't even get a key.
41:56There was a time when I wanted to burn that palace down.
41:58Leon's face turned pale.
42:01I went on.
42:03But I also have to admit, Leon, that my father survived those three years because of the royal physicians and
42:10the apothetry.
42:11That was what the old king promised him.
42:16And it was something you never completely own.
42:21He never completely took away.
42:23Before my father died, he held my hand with the little strength he had left.
42:32Alia, don't spend your whole life inside hatred.
42:37My greatest regret is not that I never lived in a grand house.
42:41It'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.
42:54At that moment, the person I hated most became myself.
42:58I hated myself for being useless.
43:00I hated that even though I knew the palace was not my home.
43:04I still endured three years there for my father.
43:06And I hated that in the end.
43:08I 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 own.
43:19You never completely took away.
43:21Something seemed to shatter in Leon's eyes.
43:27We sat in silence for a long time.
43:30In the end, there was no unnecessary farewell.
43:33When the carriage left, I did not look back.
43:36Over the next few years, I poured almost all my time into the armory camp.
43:41I repaired gates, adjusted crossbows, redesigned horseshoes for the northern cavalry.
43:47Eventually, even the minister of war in the capital heard that there was a female armorer in the north who
43:54could make ruined plates of armor look new again.
43:56When Madam Martha grew older, she often sat by the forge and watched me train apprentices.
44:03Choose your students carefully.
44:05I'm too old to rescue you first and then rescue your useless little apprentices, too.
44:12My apprentices and I all laughed.
44:15That winter, I suddenly received news.
44:18Leon had been injured.
44:19A fire had broken out in the old queen's chamber.
44:22And he had rushed in to save someone.
44:27Half his face had been burned.
44:29The 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 untouched.
44:45She used an old key she had secretly copied, slipped into Whitestone Palace, and tried to burn the chamber down.
44:52Maybe she wanted to kill Leon.
44:54Maybe she wanted to kill me.
44:56The woman she believed would one day return.
44:58After hesitating for a long time, I went to see him once, my heart had not softened.
45:04Something simply needed a real ending.
45:10Leon lay in the palace infirmary.
45:13Half of his face was wrapped in white bandages.
45:15The physicians whispered that the scar would likely be deep.
45:19When he saw me, he gave a smile uglier than crying.
45:22You came.
45:23I nodded politely as if visiting an old acquaintance.
45:27I heard you were hurt.
45:29He said,
45:31Lydia will stand trial.
45:33Falsifying the key ledger.
45:34Holding back the apothetery key.
45:36Hiding the queen's travel permits.
45:38And arson.
45:40She will pay for all of it.
45:42I did not ask further.
45:43None of those things had anything to do with me now.
45:46I only asked.
45:47A few polite questions about his injuries.
45:54Will the burn affect your sight?
46:01The physicians say one eye may blur in winter.
46:04It doesn't matter.
46:06Then follow their instructions.
46:09When the next group of nobles came in to visit,
46:11I took the chance to leave at the door.
46:14Leon suddenly called my name.
46:21I stopped but did not turn around.
46:24His voice was low.
46:28That chamber is gone.
46:32Everything from before is gone too.
46:34I said calmly,
46:36That's alright.
46:38I never wanted any of it.
46:41I said calmly.
46:44Behind me,
46:45there was a long silence.
46:47I opened the door and walked out of the infirmary.
46:49The sunlight outside was bright.
46:52Like my new life.
47:02Lydia's trial was held in the old judgment hall of Whitestone Palace.
47:06She no longer wore pale blue silk or white fox fur.
47:09Her wrists were bound.
47:11Her hair was loose.
47:12And smoke stains still clung to the hem of her gown.
47:16Lydia,
47:16former chief court lady.
47:18You are accused of falsifying household ledgers,
47:21withholding royal keys,
47:22concealing travel permits,
47:24delaying royal medicine,
47:25and setting fire to the queen's chamber.
47:27How do you answer?
47:29Lydia lifted her head and laughed sharply.
47:33Queen's chamber?
47:35She was never worthy of that chamber.
47:37The nobles whispered.
47:38Leon sat behind the carved screen,
47:40half his face hidden beneath bandages.
47:43He did not speak.
47:45The recovered ledger shows that the apothetery key was requested five times on the night Master Thomas died.
47:54Each request was delayed under your seal.
47:57I followed palace.
48:00I followed palace rules.
48:03The travel permit was also hidden under your seal.
48:07Because she always wanted to run back to that filthy forge.
48:13Not the furls.
48:16Leon closed his eyes.
48:18Lydia suddenly turned toward the screen as if she could see him.
48:22Leon,
48:22if Allelia had not appeared,
48:24I would have been queen long ago!
48:27You kept that chamber untouched because you still dreamed she would return.
48:31If she died,
48:33everything would go back to how it was!
48:38The judgment hall fell silent.
48:40Then you admit you set the fire knowing she might return.
48:44Lydia's face twisted.
48:46I admit nothing except that she stole what should have been mine.
48:56After the trial,
48:57Leon dismissed every guard and walked alone to the ruins of the old queen's chamber.
49:02The corridor still smelled of smoke.
49:05The portraits of past queens remained on the walls.
49:08But the place where Allia's portrait had once hung was black and empty.
49:13Your Majesty,
49:14the physician said you should not be near Ash.
49:20Leave.
49:21The guard bowed and retreated.
49:24Leon stepped over Bernie's silk,
49:26broken beams and melted glass.
49:28The wardrobe that he had finally opened for Allia was gone.
49:32The jewel room was gone.
49:33The table where he had placed the polished golden.
49:36Keys was split in half.
49:38A half-melted key lay in the ashes.
49:41Leon picked it up with his bandaged hand.
49:47Your Majesty,
49:48your wound will reopen.
49:50It should.
49:50He looked at the twisted key and suddenly remembered Allia standing before him with a small trunk at her feet.
50:00Allia's voice seemed to return from the fire.
50:03I don't need them now.
50:06Leon pressed the key against his palm.
50:09Four years,
50:10he had believed that if he kept the chamber,
50:12kept the gowns,
50:14kept the keys,
50:15he could keep the possibility of her return.
50:18But the chamber had burned,
50:20the portrait had burned,
50:21even the keys had lost their shape.
50:24Only then did Leon understand that Allia had not disappeared from his life because a door had closed.
50:29She had left because he had never given her one worth opening.
50:35The palace corridor looked as brilliant as it had before,
50:39with portraits of past queens hanging along the walls.
50:42There had once been a portrait of me there too after the dissolution.
50:46Leon never ordered it removed.
50:48Now that portrait had burned with the chamber.
50:51Good.
50:52Some things should never have been kept later.
50:54I heard that Lydia cursed my name throughout her trial.
50:58She said that if it had not been for me,
51:00she would have been queen long ago.
51:02She said that if it had not been for me,
51:06she said that if I died,
51:08everything would go back to how it was.
51:10I only found it ridiculous in the end.
51:12They really were a perfect match.
51:15One believed that as long as he kept the old chamber,
51:18I would one day return.
51:19The other believed that as long as I disappeared,
51:22she would be able to walk through that door.
51:24They were both stubbornly guarding things that did not belong to them.
51:28Both of them were trapped in the past,
51:30refusing to move on.
51:31What a shame I had not seen it sooner.
51:34One regret in a lifetime was enough.
51:36A young girl at the work table glanced at the messenger's letter in my hand.
51:41Teacher, is that news from the palace?
51:44I folded the letter and pushed it into the fire.
51:50No, it is only ash.
51:53Madam Martha snorted from the corner.
51:55Good answer.
51:56Now teach that girl how to file a clean edge
51:59before she ruins my tools.
52:02After that, I never went back to the palace.
52:04I never followed any news of Leon again.
52:08Several months after Lydia's sentence,
52:11the Minister of War placed a Northern Armory report before Leon.
52:14Your Majesty,
52:16the Border Cavalry requests more horseshoes from Miss Elia's workshop.
52:20But their design has reduced winter injuries by nearly half.
52:24Leon's fingers paused on the seal.
52:27The capital armory could use her skill.
52:29We may invite her to Whitestone for a royal commission.
52:32For a moment, the chamber was silent.
52:35Then Leon said quietly,
52:36Send the invitation.
52:38He told himself it was for the kingdom.
52:40He did not tell the minister that he had read every Northern report.
52:43With her name on it,
52:45he did not say that each mention of Elia's work hurt worse than a scar across his face.
52:50Days later,
52:51a royal messenger arrived at Thomas' workshop.
52:55Miss Elia,
52:56His Majesty invites you to the capital
52:58to oversee a new lock system for Whitestone Palace.
53:01I did not stop filing the iron plate in my hand.
53:05Tell the Ministry to send the measurements.
53:06I will design what the palace needs from here.
53:10His Majesty hoped you would come in person.
53:12I finally looked up.
53:14I am an armature,
53:16not a memory he can summon.
53:17That evening,
53:18I wrote a formal reply.
53:21Thomas' workshop accepts commissions for tools,
53:25hinges,
53:26armor plates,
53:27locks,
53:28and keys.
53:29It does not accept invitations to reopen closed doors.
53:32When Leon received the letter,
53:35he read the last line three times,
53:37then he folded it carefully
53:38and placed it beside the ruined golden key he still kept in his desk.
53:43The winters in the North were long,
53:45but the forge fire never went out.
53:48One of the new girls held up a broken lock and asked softly,
53:51Teacher,
53:52what should I do if this won't open?
53:54I glanced at it and pushed a bar of iron into the fire.
53:59If it won't open,
54:00replace it.
54:02Same with doors.
54:03Same with people.
54:05The fire rose.
54:06The red-hot iron slowly took shape beneath the hammer.
54:09I suddenly thought of the night.
54:11I left the palace three years ago.
54:14Back then,
54:15I thought I had lost everything.
54:17Only now did I understand.
54:18I had simply carried myself out of a palace where,
54:22I had never been given a key.
54:25From then on,
54:26my life would only move forward.
54:28I would never look back.
54:31The new girl stared at the broken lock in her palm,
54:34then looked at the iron glowing in the furnace.
54:37Teacher,
54:38can I make my own key?
54:40I handed her the smaller hammer my father once made for me.
54:45You can make a key.
54:46You can make a door.
54:48You can even decide there should be no door there at all.
54:50Less talking.
54:52More hammering.
54:53The apprentices burst into laughter.
54:56I laughed with them.
54:57Outside,
54:58the northern snow covered the road to the capital.
55:01Inside,
55:02the forge burned brighter than any palace chandelier I had ever seen.
55:05I raised the hammer.
55:07The first strike rang clear.
55:09Then the...
55:10Second,
55:10then the third.
55:11A new shape began to form beneath my hands.
55:13The last one.
55:14Then the killer's Oder-
55:16You
Comments