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Keyless Queen :|| New Movie |🔝
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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 apothetery.
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.
00:58It 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
01:20worn 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.
01:53My 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.
02:57Instead, 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.
03:19Again and again.
03:21Until my father died in his bed.
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.
04:05I 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.
04:35My 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.
04:51But 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.
05:02So he locked my father's gold coffer inside the royal treasury.
05:06He said he would release it whenever my father truly needed it.
05:11But 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.
05:39The apothecary key cannot be handed over carially.
05:44Vise de Thomas, your croupon tres colis.
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.
06:32Your majesty.
06:34I'm not trying to make this hard for you.
06:36Every bottle in the royal apothecary must be recorded.
06:40You are queen 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's certificate,
06:52a written reason for withdrawing from the gold car,
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.
07:04I 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, not 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,
08:33I 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,
09:02so no one missed a stand, Lady Lydia.
09:05I sound 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.
09:35Aladia.
09:38May she keep guarding every door,
09:40and may she keep guarding the place she hopes to move into one day.
09:45Your Majesty,
09:47should I really deliver this?
09:49The maid's face went pale.
09:53Deliver 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.
10:16A 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.
10:26Even a guest could at least open a
10:28door 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,
10:36but 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.
11:14I 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 laugh.
11:34So not everyone is blind.
11:38If people misunderstand her so easily,
11:41maybe they already know what she's been doing.
11:43Leon's face darkened.
11:46Aaliyah,
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?
12:00Lydia only manages the palace for me.
12:05If you hadn't made a spade a 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.
12:20I 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 there'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?
13:01Leon?
13:03Look at what my life in your palace has been.
13:07I'm leaving,
13:09and 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 first.
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.
13:35There 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 and deliberately tried to ruin her name?
13:47My heart went cold.
13:49My heart went cold, inch 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.
14:03Fine.
14:04Think whatever you want.
14:07I want our marriage dissolved.
14:09Leon laughed instead.
14:11There was a knowing look in that laugh,
14:13as if he had finally seen through my cheap little trick.
14:16Enough.
14:17I 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.
14:31As he spoke,
14:32he smoothed the wrinkle from his sleeve as though making a great concession.
14:36Tomorrow,
14:37I will send the royal physician to see your father in person.
14:43In a moment,
14:44I'll have Lydia give you the keys to the queen's wardrobe,
14:47the 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 except to end this marriage.
15:23Leon finally realized I was not acting poor.
15:26His impatience instantly turned into anger.
15:29Aaliyah,
15:30don'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,
15:43those rewards,
15:45that gold,
15:46those properties,
15:48you won't get a single copper on you.
15:50and your father's illness.
15:53Without the royal physicians and the royal apothecary,
15:57how long do you think it can last?
15:59Not 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.
16:07My trunk again and said lightly.
16:10Do whatever you want.
16:13Leon froze.
16:14He seemed unable to understand
16:16why a threat that had always worked on Aaliyah
16:18suddenly had no effect.
16:20But his pride
16:21would not let him lower his head again.
16:24So he watched her drag her trunk toward the door
16:26with a cold face
16:27when 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
16:36that Lydia went to his study that night.
16:39Your majesty doesn't need to humor her.
16:41Leave 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
16:56and thought of Aaliyah.
16:57His throat always hurt knowing to grow.
16:59So Aaliyah had once learned
17:00to make those candies for him.
17:02Leon turned the candy between his fingers
17:04for a long while.
17:08She is not completely useless after all.
17:11Lydia lowered her eyes
17:12to hide the shadow of jealousy in them.
17:14Even now,
17:15even while he was angry,
17:17one small candy was enough
17:18to make Leon think of Aaliyah first.
17:20He told himself that Aaliyah
17:22was not completely useless after all
17:24when she came back.
17:25He would make her apologize sincerely
17:28and she would never again threaten him
17:30with 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
17:39to confirm that my petition had been filed.
17:42Then,
17:43carrying my father's ashes,
17:45I went to the armory camp
17:47on the northern border.
17:48That was where my father had worked
17:49when he was young.
17:50He used to say that in the north.
17:52People did not ask where you came from.
17:55They only asked whether you were good
17:56with 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
18:06looked at me with obvious suspicion.
18:11Who are you looking for?
18:14Madam Martha.
18:15Madam Martha was the old blacksmith
18:17of the armory camp
18:18and 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
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,
18:35her hair had turned white.
18:37She looked at the trunk in my hand
18:38and 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
19:02because someone chose to open it for me.
19:06After I had cried enough,
19:07Madam Martha said slowly,
19:13Done crying?
19:15Then wash your hands.
19:19I'm short a lock repairer
19:21and someone who can mend armor.
19:22If you still remember
19:24what 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.
19:33Anyone who can walk out of the palace alive
19:36is lucky enough.
19:38What is there to ask?
19:40Or did three years as queen
19:42make 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.
19:54At first,
19:54I was not used to it.
19:57The wind in the north was hard.
19:59The furnace was scorching.
20:01And the armory camp
20:02was nothing like the palace.
20:04No maids came to make my bed.
20:06Blisters soon formed across my palms.
20:08A young apprentice
20:09saw the blood on my fingers
20:11and held out a strip of cloth.
20:14Miss A'lelia,
20:16maybe you should rest.
20:17I wrapped my palm
20:19and picked up the hammer again.
20:24If 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
20:32slowly returned.
20:33How to hear the quality of.
20:35Metal,
20:36how to tell where a lock's inner teeth
20:37were stuck.
20:38How to shape a horseshoe
20:40with 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.
21:12I couldn't afford rings before.
21:16The soldiers around us
21:17froze for a second,
21:18then burst into laughter.
21:21That was the first time
21:22I laughed easily
21:23after leaving the palace.
21:25Then an unwelcome voice
21:26sounded behind me.
21:28A lady?
21:28I looked up and saw Lydia.
21:30She wore a white fox fur cloak
21:32and stood not far away
21:33with several 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
21:49about 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 brush such a face.
22:03My face went cold.
22:05The people of the Northern Armory
22:07mended armor,
22:08forged swords,
22:09and repaired gates in 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
22:27every door I open?
22:28Lydia's expression changed
22:29at that moment.
22:30A familiar voice
22:32came from behind her.
22:34What happened?
22:37Leon walked over.
22:38He wore black hunting clothes
22:40with the royal cloak
22:41over his shoulders.
22:42So,
22:43he had come to inspect
22:44the northern border.
22:45And of course Lydia
22:46had come with him.
22:48Her eyes reddened
22:49as she lowered her voice.
22:51Nothing,
22:51Your Majesty.
22:54I only saw
22:56Her Majesty
22:56away from the palace
22:58for so long,
22:59surrounded by soldiers
23:00and smith
23:01and worried
23:02she might be
23:03taken advantage of.
23:05I tried to advise her,
23:07but she misunderstood me.
23:10Only then
23:11did Leon notice me.
23:13His brows
23:14drew together slightly.
23:15There was that
23:16familiar certainty
23:17in his eyes.
23:19Aelia,
23:20did you bully Lydia?
23:22again.
23:23If you came here
23:24to admit your mistake,
23:26apologize to her first.
23:27I looked at him once,
23:29then turned away
23:30without wasting a word
23:31and picked up my tools.
23:32The young apprentice
23:33beside me whispered,
23:37Miss Aelia,
23:38who is that?
23:39I said coldly,
23:41my blind,
23:41brainless husband.
23:43Leon's face darkened.
23:45Aelia!
23:51Aelia!
23:51When do you plan
23:52to keep this up?
23:54You've been away
23:55from the palace
23:55for so long,
23:57ignoring your father
23:58completely.
24:04Are you really
24:05trying to force me
24:06to never give him
24:06the apothetory key again?
24:09I looked at him,
24:10tired of him
24:11to the bone.
24:14Then don't give it.
24:17That's what you're
24:17best at,
24:18isn't it?
24:21Something in my eyes
24:22must have cut Leon.
24:24He turned sharply
24:25to the servant
24:26beside him.
24:27Send orders
24:28back to the cathedral.
24:30From today on,
24:31Thomas is not to be given
24:32the apothetory key again.
24:35And the gold coffret
24:37is not to be opened.
24:38Panic flashed
24:39across Lydia's face.
24:40Your Majesty,
24:43perhaps we shouldn't...
24:45Leon coldly pressed
24:46down the hand
24:47she had placed
24:47on his arm.
24:48She needs to be
24:49taught a lesson.
24:51Otherwise,
24:52she will never learn
24:54how to be queen.
24:55The servant's face
24:56went deathly pale
24:57and he did not answer.
24:59Leon frowned.
25:00What?
25:01The servant lowered
25:02his head.
25:03His voice tightened.
25:05Your Majesty,
25:07Master Thomas
25:08has passed away.
25:09Leon froze.
25:10What did you say?
25:12The servant
25:13forced the words out.
25:15Three days ago,
25:18Her Majesty
25:20requested that
25:21the apothetory
25:22be opened,
25:23but the key
25:24was never delivered.
25:25By the time
25:26the physician arrived,
25:28Master Thomas
25:28had already...
25:29He did not finish.
25:32Leon stood there
25:33as if he had
25:34suddenly forgotten
25:34how to understand language.
25:36A long time passed
25:38before he murmured.
25:39How is that possible?
25:44Why didn't anyone
25:46tell me?
25:49The servant
25:50looked even more troubled.
25:52Someone did report it
25:54to your majesty
25:54at the time.
25:55Leon stared at him.
25:58What did I say?
26:00The servant
26:01clenched his jaw.
26:03You said that
26:04while you
26:04and Lady Lydia
26:05were watching
26:06the Winter Lantern
26:07parade,
26:07you did not want to hear
26:09anything related
26:09to the Queen.
26:10In that instant,
26:11Leon's face
26:12went white.
26:13I watched him
26:14finally remember.
26:15That day,
26:16I had burst
26:17into the household office
26:18and begged Lydia
26:19to give me
26:20the apothecary key.
26:21He said I had
26:22shamed the crown.
26:23Later,
26:24to comfort Lydia
26:25after she had been
26:26frightened,
26:27he lit Winter Lanterns
26:28across the capital
26:29for an entire night.
26:31The nobles
26:31all said
26:32his majesty
26:32truly favoured
26:33his chief court lady.
26:35My father
26:35took his last breath
26:36that same night.
26:38Leon turned sharply
26:40toward Lydia.
26:41Tears welled
26:42in Lydia's eyes
26:43as if she had
26:43suffered a great injustice.
26:45Leon,
26:47I didn't mean
26:47to keep it for you.
26:49I only thought
26:51Master Thomas
26:52had already received
26:52so much grace
26:53from the late king.
26:55And her majesty
26:56always makes things
26:56sound worse
26:57than they are.
26:58I was afraid
26:59she would influence her.
27:01I'm Frohling.
27:03Give me your key ledger.
27:05For the first time
27:06Leon cut her off.
27:08What?
27:10Lydia froze.
27:14The record
27:15from the apothecary
27:16the treasury key
27:18and the carriage house key
27:20from the past few days.
27:22All of them.
27:24The blood drained
27:26from Lydia's face.
27:27Leon,
27:29these are household affairs.
27:31You've never investigated
27:32me like this before.
27:33What was left to explain.
27:35Everything I had said
27:36was true.
27:37I had not been jealous
27:38of Lydia.
27:39I had not used
27:40my father's illness
27:40to threaten him.
27:42I had truly wanted
27:43to leave.
27:43The way Leon looked at me
27:44finally began to change.
27:46But,
27:47I only felt tired.
27:49I looked away
27:49and lowered my head
27:50to sort my tools.
27:52Three whole years
27:52had been wrong.
27:54Leon took one step
27:55toward me.
27:55But the soldiers
27:56of the armory camp
27:57shifted almost
27:58at the same time.
28:00No one drew a weapon.
28:01They only stood there
28:02silent and solid
28:03between the king
28:05and the woman
28:05he had cornered
28:06for too long.
28:14That single word
28:16stopped him
28:17more sharply
28:17than any royal command.
28:19Lydia's fingers
28:20closed around
28:21the edge of her cloak.
28:23Her Majesty,
28:25I can explain
28:26the ledgers.
28:27Her Majesty
28:28always demanded
28:29things outside procedure.
28:31I was protecting
28:33your reputation.
28:35Leon looked at her
28:36and for once
28:37he did not immediately
28:38believe her.
28:39Then you will explain
28:40them in writing.
28:41Every missing hour.
28:44Every delayed key.
28:47Every sealed door.
28:48I heard those words
28:50and felt nothing
28:50like triumph.
28:51There was no victory
28:52in being believed
28:54after the person
28:55you loved most
28:55was already dead.
29:01Late that night
29:02I came out
29:03of the armory camp
29:04to dump furnace ash
29:05and saw Leon
29:06standing not far away.
29:08The firelight was dim
29:09and snow rested
29:10on his shoulders.
29:12I had only seen him
29:13that afternoon
29:13yet he looked
29:14as if his soul
29:15had been drained
29:15out of him.
29:16When he saw me
29:17he stepped toward me
29:18at once.
29:19Aaliyah!
29:19I frowned
29:20and stepped back.
29:21He stopped.
29:23His voice was hoarse.
29:25I've taken all the keys
29:26back from Lydia.
29:27She is no longer
29:27the chief court lady.
29:29About your father
29:30I didn't know.
29:32Give me a chance
29:33to make it up to you
29:33alright?
29:34My heart did not soften
29:35I only found it absurd.
29:37Once
29:37I had begged him
29:38to listen to one sentence
29:39and he found me annoying.
29:41Now he stood in the snow
29:42finally willing
29:43to bow his head
29:44but it was too late.
29:46I looked at him calmly.
29:48Leon
29:48do you think Lydia
29:49is the only problem
29:50between 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
29:58control your keys.
30:00I shouldn't have used
30:02that method
30:02to teach you rules.
30:04I just thought
30:05the palace
30:05had always been like this.
30:07Noblemen manage
30:08their common born wives
30:09this way all the time.
30:12I never thought
30:13it would hurt you
30:15and I never truly
30:17meant to abandon
30:17your father.
30:19I looked at him.
30:21Leon
30:22even now
30:23you still think
30:24that if you are
30:25willing to give
30:26I should be grateful
30:27enough to take it.
30:29You made me queen
30:29then handed my wardrobe
30:30the apothetry
30:31and my father's
30:31life-saving money
30:32to Lydia.
30:32You saw my humiliation
30:33you just believed
30:34someone of my birth
30:34had no right
30:35to feel humiliated.
30:36His face turned paler
30:37by the second
30:37I went on.
30:40We are over.
30:42I don't want anything.
30:44When the Archbip's court
30:45asks for your response
30:46don't stand in the way.
30:48That's all.
30:49Confusion filled
30:50Leon's eyes.
30:51He seemed unable
30:52to understand
30:53why I refused
30:54to forgive him
30:54when he had already
30:55lowered himself this far.
30:57Carefully he asked.
30:58What will it take
30:59for you to come back
31:00with me?
31:02I can give you
31:02the keys
31:03to 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
31:11will stand in your way.
31:13I could not help laughing.
31:15If all you needed
31:16was a vase beside your throne
31:17you should never have been
31:18kind to me in the beginning.
31:20Yes.
31:21I had loved him once
31:22during my first year
31:23in the palace.
31:24Leon had not always
31:25been cold.
31:27He taught me
31:27my first court dance.
31:29He taught me
31:30my first court dance.
31:33When noble ladies
31:35mocked my accent
31:36he took my hand
31:37and walked me
31:37across the entire
31:38ballroom.
31:40She is my queen.
31:42In that moment
31:43I truly believed
31:44I had been chosen.
31:49Leon began to say
31:50I did not understand
31:51the rules.
31:52That I was too sensitive.
31:53Too petty.
31:55Too embarrassing.
31:56That Lydia
31:57was only helping him.
31:58His tenderness
31:59was like winter fog
32:00on a window.
32:01The moment I touched it
32:02it disappeared.
32:03I looked at Leon
32:05and said softly
32:06I don't need
32:07your compensation.
32:08I only need
32:09this marriage to end.
32:11Leon looked
32:12as if he had been struck.
32:14He stumbled
32:14one step forward
32:15and reached for me.
32:16I avoided him.
32:18His hand
32:19froze in the air.
32:23Elia, even a prisoner
32:24dragged before a court
32:25gets to defend himself
32:26once.
32:27His voice was
32:27almost pleading.
32:29You can't deny me
32:30even one chance
32:31to explain.
32:33I gave you many chances.
32:34I said calmly.
32:37Every time I waited
32:38outside your study.
32:40Every time I went
32:41to the household office
32:42to beg for a key.
32:45Every time I was told
32:46you'd stake for me
32:47when key.
32:49Every time I told you
32:51Lydia was delaying me
32:52on purpose.
32:54Every time you said
32:56listen to Lydia.
32:58Those were chances.
33:01You were the one
33:01who threw them all away.
33:03Leon had nothing
33:04left to say.
33:05I knew how stubborn
33:06he was.
33:07I also knew
33:08dissolving our marriage
33:09would not be easy.
33:10But I did not expect
33:11him to arrive
33:12at the armory camp
33:13the next morning
33:14with a train of carriages.
33:15They were loaded
33:16with silk,
33:17medicine,
33:19gold coffers
33:19and food.
33:24The northern armory
33:25is always short
33:26on funds.
33:27I've already ordered
33:28the treasurer
33:29to allocate money
33:29to you.
33:33Leon stood in the snow
33:34when he saw me.
33:36There was even
33:36a careful smile
33:37on his face.
33:40These medicines
33:41and iron supplies
33:42are for the camp as well.
33:43Then he took a small box
33:45from a servant.
33:47These are
33:47candied figs.
33:48I remember you used
33:50to ask for them
33:50late at night.
33:51Eat while they're still warm.
33:53I did not reach for them.
33:54You don't like them?
33:55The hope in Leon's eyes
33:57stiffened little by little.
33:58I don't like
33:59candied figs.
34:00Lydia does.
34:01I said lightly.
34:03Leon froze.
34:04I looked at the box
34:06and remembered long ago
34:07for a period of time.
34:08He often asked me
34:10to have the kitchens
34:10make candied figs
34:12late at night.
34:12I thought he liked sweets
34:14while working late.
34:15Only later did I learn
34:16they were for Lydia.
34:18Once I saw her
34:19sitting at the small table
34:20in the king's study
34:21with my own eyes.
34:24Your majesty,
34:25please have the kitchens
34:26make another serving
34:27next time.
34:28At Leon tried them
34:29and thinks they're good too.
34:34That day I argued
34:35with Leon.
34:38It's just a bit of food
34:39from the kitchen.
34:41You are queen
34:42and Lydia runs
34:43the palace household for me.
34:44What's wrong with rewarding her?
34:45Stop acting so small-minded.
34:47Now, thinking back,
34:49I found myself
34:50almost laughable
34:51so I had once
34:52been that devoted.
34:54I'm sorry.
34:55I remembered wrong.
34:56Leon 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
35:05and continued inspecting
35:06a broken sword.
35:08No need.
35:10But Leon did not give up
35:11over the next few days.
35:13He kept sending gifts.
35:15Sometimes it was
35:16a sapphire necklace.
35:17Sometimes a gold-threaded shawl.
35:20Sometimes white roses
35:21from the royal greenhouse
35:22once.
35:23He even sent a pair
35:24of ivory gloves
35:25set with tiny pearls.
35:26I looked at those things
35:28and became genuinely curious.
35:30How did a man
35:31who listened this badly
35:32manage to rule a country?
35:34When the armory
35:35finished repairing
35:35a batch of border longswords,
35:38Leon came again.
35:39This time,
35:40he carried a delicate
35:41wooden 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
35:53and gave a small smile.
35:54Because you finally remembered
35:56that keys were what
35:57I lacked most
35:58for the past three years.
35:59A hint of joy
36:00appeared on his face.
36:01As if he thought
36:02he had finally done
36:03something right,
36:04he opened the box.
36:05Inside lay a ring
36:06of 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
36:15the queen's crest.
36:18From today on,
36:20you can open
36:21every room in the palace.
36:24A'Lelia,
36:26I will make up
36:27for everything I owe you.
36:30I looked at those keys,
36:32so late in coming,
36:33and suddenly felt exhausted.
36:35Leon,
36:36you still don't understand.
36:37Leon,
36:38you still don't understand.
36:40I wanted keys before
36:41because I was still
36:42trying to survive
36:43inside that palace.
36:45I don't need them now.
36:48I never wanted the keys
36:49to every door in the palace.
36:51I never want to go back
36:52to that palace at all.
36:55The color drained
36:56from Leon's face.
36:57I continued.
36:59The sapphire you sent
37:00is what Lydia likes.
37:02The gold-threaded shoal
37:03is something she wears often.
37:06White roses
37:07sit in her room all year.
37:09The ivory gloves
37:10are what she wears
37:10before every winter hunt.
37:13See?
37:14You remember
37:15another woman's taste
37:16so clearly.
37:17So why not dissolve
37:19this marriage smoothly
37:20and marry her?
37:21Leon answered
37:21almost without thinking.
37:23Thinking.
37:24She cannot be queen.
37:25Her birth is not suitable.
37:27She only likes power
37:29and the things
37:29inside the palace.
37:30I suddenly understood.
37:32He saw Lydia clearly.
37:34He had simply
37:34never considered her
37:35someone who could
37:36stand beside her.
37:37As for me,
37:38I had the late king's command
37:40and the title
37:41of the savior's daughter.
37:42My birth was low,
37:43but I had no noble family
37:45that could threaten me.
37:46I was suited to be
37:47a queen placed
37:48beside his throne.
37:49Perhaps there was love
37:50in his attachment to me.
37:52But more than that,
37:53he could not accept
37:54that I had chosen
37:55to leave him.
37:57I looked straight at Leon.
37:59So you think
38:00I walked away with nothing
38:01because I loved you?
38:03Because you broke my heart
38:04because I wanted you
38:05to regret it?
38:06Leon looked away.
38:08I said softly,
38:10you're wrong.
38:12I married you
38:13because my father
38:14needed the physicians
38:15and medicine
38:16the late king promised him.
38:18I stayed in the palace
38:19because 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,
38:34Leon.
38:37The ruling from the archbishop's court
38:39came sooner than I expected.
38:41Perhaps because Leon
38:42did not interfere again.
38:44Perhaps because too many people
38:46in the capital
38:46already knew that
38:47before the queen's father died.
38:49The apothecary key
38:51had been delayed
38:51again and again.
38:52The marriage is dissolved
38:54on the grounds
38:55that it was arranged
38:56by the late king's command
38:57that there are no children
38:59and that the relationship
39:00has broken beyond repair.
39:05Leon did not appear, Dot.
39:06Royal judges handled
39:07everything on his behalf.
39:08To my surprise,
39:10he did not leave me
39:11with nothing
39:11as he had once
39:12threatened to do.
39:13He sent all the reward money
39:14my father should have received
39:16to the north.
39:17He also gave me
39:17an estate near the border,
39:19a box of jewels,
39:21and everything that had once
39:22belonged to me
39:22in the queen's chamber.
39:24I returned to the palace once.
39:26Nothing in that chamber
39:27had been moved.
39:28The wardrobe stood open.
39:29The jewel room stood open.
39:31Even the inner room
39:32I could not enter
39:33for three years
39:34had its door wide open.
39:35On the table
39:36lay that ring
39:37of golden keys.
39:38Each one had been polished
39:40until it shone,
39:40but I no longer wanted them.
39:44I spent two days
39:45handing the gowns,
39:47jewelry,
39:47and properties
39:48in the capital
39:49over to the merchant's guild
39:50for auction.
39:51Part of the money
39:52went to repairing
39:52the northern armory camp.
39:54Part went to the families
39:55of fallen border soldiers.
39:57The rest,
39:58I used to build
39:59a small workshop
39:59in my father's name.
40:01One that would take in
40:02girls with nowhere else
40:03to go and teach them a trade.
40:05On the third evening,
40:06a royal servant
40:07came to the armory camp.
40:09He carried a small gold chest
40:11and looked uncomfortable.
40:13Miss Aaliyah,
40:15His Majesty said
40:16the earlier compensation
40:16was not enough.
40:19These are new deeds
40:21and letters of credit.
40:22I looked at the black carriage
40:23parked in the distance.
40:25I took the chest
40:26and walked over.
40:27After a while,
40:28the carriage window lowered.
40:30Leon sat inside.
40:32He had lost
40:33a great deal of weight.
40:34Dark stubble
40:35shadowed his jaw
40:36and his eyes
40:37were full of exhaustion.
40:41I handed the chest
40:42back through the window.
40:45Leon,
40:47I am grateful
40:48you didn't truly
40:48send me away empty-handed.
40:50What you have already
40:51given me is enough.
40:55But I will still
40:56sell the gowns,
40:57the jewels,
40:59and the houses.
41:01I have enough money.
41:04I simply don't want
41:05to keep anything
41:06from the palace.
41:07Leon's voice was hoarse.
41:10Aaliyah,
41:12I only want
41:13to make it up to you.
41:16You've already
41:16made up enough.
41:23We owe each other
41:24nothing now.
41:27Leon suddenly
41:28grew agitated.
41:29How can we owe
41:30each other nothing?
41:33Your father,
41:34and the way
41:35I treated you before.
41:37I wronged you.
41:38I was silent
41:39for a moment.
41:43I did hate you.
41:45My father
41:46saved the late king,
41:47but the reward
41:48he earned
41:49was locked
41:49inside the palace.
41:51When he needed
41:51those things to live,
41:52I couldn't even
41:53get a key.
41:55There was a time
41:56when I wanted
41:57to burn that palace down.
41:58Leon's face
41:59turned pale.
42:01I went on.
42:03But I also
42:04have to admit,
42:06Leon,
42:06that my father
42:07survived those
42:08three years
42:08because of the
42:09royal physicians
42:10and the apothetry.
42:11That was what
42:12the old king
42:13promised him.
42:16And it was
42:16something you
42:17never complete,
42:18Leon.
42:21He never
42:21completely took away.
42:23Before my father
42:24died,
42:24he held my hand
42:25with the little
42:26strength he had
42:27left.
42:30Alia,
42:32don't spend
42:33your whole life
42:34inside hatred.
42:37My greatest regret
42:38is not that I
42:39never lived
42:40in a grand house.
42:41It's that I
42:42never got to see
42:43you return
42:44to the forge.
42:46My daughter
42:47could have made
42:48the finest keys.
42:50Win the finest keys.
42:54At that moment,
42:55the person I hated
42:56most became myself.
42:58I hated myself
42:59for being useless.
43:00I hated that
43:01even though I knew
43:02the palace was
43:02not my home.
43:03I still endured
43:05three years there
43:05for my father,
43:06and I hated that
43:07in the end,
43:08I still failed
43:09to save him.
43:10So now everything
43:11is only returning
43:12to where it should be.
43:14And it was
43:15something he never
43:15completely on.
43:19He never
43:20completely took away.
43:21Something seemed
43:22to shatter
43:22in Leon's eyes.
43:27We sat in silence
43:28for a long time.
43:30In the end,
43:30there was no
43:31unnecessary farewell.
43:33When the carriage left,
43:34I did not look back.
43:36Over the next few years,
43:37I poured almost all my time
43:39into the armory camp.
43:41I repaired gates,
43:43adjusted crossbows,
43:45redesigned horseshoes
43:46for the northern cavalry.
43:47Eventually,
43:48even the minister of war
43:50in the capital
43:50heard that there was
43:51a female armorer
43:52in the north
43:53who could make
43:54ruined plates of armor
43:55look new again.
43:56When Madam Martha
43:57grew older,
43:58she often sat
43:59by the forge
44:00and watched me
44:01train for innocence.
44:03Choose your students
44:04carefully.
44:05I'm too old
44:06to rescue you first
44:08and then rescue
44:08your useless
44:09little apprentices, too.
44:11My apprentices,
44:12and I all laughed.
44:15That winter,
44:16I suddenly received news.
44:18Leon had been injured.
44:19A fire had broken out
44:21in the old queen's chamber,
44:22and he had rushed in
44:24to save someone.
44:27Half his face
44:28had been burned.
44:29The messenger said
44:30Lydia had set the fire.
44:33After she was driven
44:34from the palace,
44:35she never accepted it.
44:36She believed his majesty
44:37refused to marry her
44:39because you were still alive
44:41and because he had kept
44:42the queen's chamber
44:44untouched.
44:45She used an old key
44:47she had secretly copied,
44:48slipped into White Stone Palace
44:50and tried to burn
44:51the chamber down.
44:52Maybe she wanted
44:53to kill Leon.
44:54Maybe she wanted
44:55to kill me.
44:56The woman she believed
44:57would one day return.
44:58After hesitating
44:59for a long time,
45:01I went to see him once.
45:02My heart had not softened.
45:04Something simply
45:05needed a real ending.
45:10Leon lay in the palace infirmary.
45:12Half of his face
45:13was wrapped in white bandages.
45:15The physicians whispered
45:17that the scar
45:17would likely be deep.
45:19When he saw me,
45:20he gave a smile
45:21uglier than crying.
45:22You came.
45:24I nodded politely
45:25as if visiting
45:26an old acquaintance.
45:27I heard you were hurt.
45:29He said,
45:30Lydia will stand trial.
45:32Falsifying the key ledger,
45:34holding back the apothetory 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
45:44had anything to do
45:45with me now.
45:46I only asked
45:47a few polite questions
45:49about his injuries.
45:54Will the burn
45:55affect your sight?
46:01The physicians say
46:02one eye may blur in winter.
46:04It doesn't matter.
46:06Then follow
46:07their instructions.
46:08When the next group
46:09of nobles came in to visit,
46:11I took the chance
46:12to leave at the door.
46:14Leon suddenly called my name.
46:21Aaliyah.
46:22I stopped
46:22but did not turn around.
46:24His voice was low.
46:28That chamber is gone.
46:32Everything from before
46:33is gone too.
46:34I said calmly,
46:36that's all right.
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
46:48and walked out of the infirmary.
46:50The sunlight outside
46:51was bright,
46:51like my new life.
47:02Lydia's trial was held in the old judgment hall of White Stone 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.
47:15Lydia,
47:16former chief court lady.
47:17You 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 shut up.
47:33Queen's chamber?
47:35She was never worthy of that chamber.
47:37The noble's whisper dot,
47:38Leon sat behind the carved screen,
47:40half his face hidden beneath bandages.
47:43He did not speak.
47:45The recovered ledger
47:47shows that the apothothry key
47:49was requested five times
47:51on the night Master Thomas died.
47:54Each request was delayed
47:56under your seal.
47:58I followed palace.
48:00Die followed palace rules.
48:02The travel permit
48:03was also hidden under your seal.
48:07Because she always wanted to run back
48:09to that filthy forge.
48:13Not the furls.
48:16Leon closed his eyes.
48:18Lydia suddenly turned toward the screen
48:19as 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
48:29because you still dreamed she would return.
48:31If she died,
48:33everything would go back
48:35to how it was!
48:37The judgment hall fell silent.
48:40Then you admit you set the fire
48:42knowing she might return.
48:44Lydia's face twisted.
48:46I admit nothing
48:47except that she stole
48:48what should have been mine.
48:56After the trial,
48:58Leon dismissed every guard
48:59and walked alone
49:00to the ruins of the old queen's chamber.
49:02The corridor still smelled of smoke.
49:05The portraits of past queens
49:06remained on the walls,
49:08but the place where Allia's portrait
49:10had once hung
49:10was black and empty.
49:13Your Majesty,
49:14the physician said
49:15you should not be near Ash.
49:20Leave.
49:21The guard bowed and retreated.
49:24Leon stepped over burned silk,
49:26broken beams,
49:27and melted glass.
49:28The wardrobe that he had finally opened
49:30for Allia was gone.
49:32The jewel room was gone.
49:33The table where he had placed
49:35the polished golden.
49:36Keys was split in half.
49:38A half-melted key
49:39lay in the ashes.
49:41Leon picked it up
49:42with his bandaged hand.
49:46Your Majesty,
49:48your wound will reopen.
49:49It should.
49:50He looked at the twisted key
49:52and suddenly remembered Allia
49:54standing before him
49:55with a small trunk at her feet.
50:00Allia's voice seemed
50:01to return from the fire.
50:03I don't need them now.
50:06Leon pressed the key
50:07against his palm.
50:09Four years,
50:10he had believed
50:10that if he kept the chamber,
50:12kept the gowns,
50:14kept the keys,
50:15he could keep the possibility
50:16of her return.
50:18But the chamber had burned,
50:20the portrait had burned.
50:21Even the keys
50:22had lost their shape.
50:24Only then did Leon understand
50:26that Allia had not disappeared
50:27from his life
50:28because a door had closed.
50:30She had left because
50:31he had never given her
50:33one worth opening.
50:35The palace corridor
50:37looked as brilliant
50:38as it had before,
50:39with portraits of past queens
50:41hanging along the walls.
50:42There had once been
50:43a portrait of me there too
50:44after the dissolution.
50:46Leon never ordered it removed.
50:48Now that portrait
50:49had burned with the chamber.
50:51Good.
50:52Some things should never
50:53have been kept later.
50:54I heard that Lydia
50:55cursed my name
50:56throughout her trial.
50:58She said that if it
50:59had not been for me,
51:00she would have been
51:01queen long ago.
51:02She said that if it
51:03had not been for me,
51:06she said that if I died,
51:07everything would go back
51:08to how it was.
51:09I only found it ridiculous.
51:11In the end,
51:12they really were
51:13a perfect match.
51:15One believed that
51:16as long as he kept
51:16the old chamber,
51:17I would one day return.
51:19The other believed
51:20that as long as I disappeared,
51:22she would be able
51:23to walk through that door.
51:24They were both stubbornly
51:26guarding things
51:26that did not belong to them.
51:28Both of them were trapped
51:29in the past,
51:30refusing to move on.
51:31What a shame
51:32I had not seen it sooner.
51:34One regret in a lifetime
51:35was enough.
51:36A young girl
51:37at the work table
51:38glanced at the messenger's
51:39letter in my hand.
51:41Teacher,
51:42is that news from the palace?
51:44I folded the letter
51:46and pushed it into the fire.
51:49No.
51:50It is only ash.
51:53Madam Martha
51:53snorted from the corner.
51:55Good answer.
51:56Now teach that girl
51:58how to file a clean edge
51:59before she ruins my tools.
52:01After that,
52:02I never went back
52:03to the palace.
52:04I never followed
52:05any news of Leon again.
52:08Several months
52:09after Lydia's sentence,
52:11the Minister of War
52:12placed a Northern Armory
52:13report before Leon.
52:15Your Majesty,
52:16the Border Cavalry
52:17requests more horseshoes
52:18from Miss Alia's workshop,
52:20but their design
52:21has reduced winter injuries
52:22by nearly half.
52:24Leon's fingers
52:25paused on the seal.
52:27The capital armory
52:28could use her skill.
52:29We may invite her
52:30to Whitestone
52:31for a royal commission.
52:32For a moment,
52:33the chamber was silent.
52:35Then Leon said quietly,
52:36Send the invitation.
52:38He told himself
52:39it was for the kingdom.
52:40He did not tell the minister
52:41that he had read
52:42every Northern report.
52:43With her name on it,
52:45he did not say
52:46that each mention
52:47of Alia's work
52:47hurt worse
52:48than a scar
52:49across his face.
52:50Days later,
52:51a royal messenger
52:52arrived at Thomas' workshop.
52:54Miss Alia,
52:56His Majesty invites you
52:57to the capital
52:57to oversee a new lock system
52:59for Whitestone Palace.
53:01I did not stop
53:02filing the iron plate
53:03in my hand.
53:04Tell the ministry
53:05to send the measurements.
53:07I will design
53:08what the palace needs
53:09from here.
53:10His Majesty hoped
53:11you would come in person.
53:12I finally looked up.
53:14I am an armature.
53:16Not a memory
53:16he can summon.
53:17That evening,
53:18I wrote a formal reply.
53:21Thomas' workshop
53:22accepts commissions
53:23for tools,
53:25hinges,
53:26armor plates,
53:27locks,
53:28and keys.
53:29It does not accept
53:30invitations
53:31to reopen closed doors.
53:33When Leon received
53:34the letter,
53:35he read the last line
53:36three times.
53:36Then he folded it
53:37carefully and placed it
53:38beside the ruined
53:39golden key
53:40he still kept
53:41in his desk.
53:43The winters
53:44in the north
53:44were long,
53:45but the forge fire
53:46never went out.
53:48One of the new girls
53:49held up a broken lock
53:50and asked softly,
53:51Teacher,
53:52what should I do
53:53if this won't open?
53:54I glanced at it
53:56and pushed a bar
53:56of 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
54:07slowly took shape
54:08beneath the hammer.
54:09I suddenly thought
54:10of the night.
54:11I left the palace
54:12three years ago.
54:14Back then,
54:15I thought I had
54:16lost everything.
54:17Only now did I understand.
54:18I had simply carried myself
54:20out of a palace
54:21where
54:21I had never been
54:23given a key.
54:25From then on,
54:26my life would only
54:27move forward.
54:28I would never look back.
54:31The new girl
54:32stared at the broken lock
54:33in her palm,
54:34then looked at the iron
54:35glowing in the furnace.
54:37Teacher,
54:38can I make my own key?
54:40I handed her
54:41the smaller hammer
54:42my father once made
54:43for me.
54:45You can make a key.
54:46You can make a door.
54:48You can even decide
54:49there should be
54:49no door there at all.
54:50Less talking.
54:52More hammering.
54:53The apprentices
54:54burst into laughter.
54:55I laughed with them.
54:57Outside,
54:58the northern snow
54:59covered the road
55:00to the capital.
55:01Inside,
55:02the forge burned brighter
55:03than any palace
55:04chandelier I had ever seen.
55:05I raised the hammer.
55:07The first strike
55:08rang clear.
55:08Then the second.
55:10Then the third.
55:11A new shape
55:12began to form
55:12beneath my hands.
55:13The third.
55:15The third.
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