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Keyless Queen - Short Drama Full HD 720p
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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,
00:22Tonight he will have someone bring you the key to the royal apothetory.
00:26He will also send the royal physician to check on your father again.
00:30But I didn't react at all.
00:32Listening to the royal servant's announcement, I just sat quietly at the table, without the joy he had expected.
00:39His Majesty reminds you to abide by this rule.
00:42Never again employ crude theatrical ploys to threaten the crown.
00:48The gold the late king awarded your father will remain under the royal household's care.
00:54People of your black race should not hold that much gold all at once.
00:57It only invites trouble.
01:00I stood in the grandest chamber of Whitestone Palace and listened quietly.
01:04What Leon did not know was that by the time I received that message.
01:08I 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 and the little iron hammer my father had forged for me with his
01:26own hands.
01:26The servant waited for me to cry, shout, or beg for the king's mercy.
01:31I did none of those things.
01:33I only folded the message once, placed it on the table, and looked toward the locked wardrobe across the room.
01:39No 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.
01:55My carriage sat in the Eastgate carriage house.
01:58My father's reward money was sealed inside an iron coffer at the bottom of the royal treasury.
02:03Even when I wanted to call a royal physician for my father, I had to ask Lydia for the apothecary
02:08key and permission to leave the palace.
02:11And 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.
02:27Because my father, Thomas, had saved the old king during a winter hunt.
02:32But Leon looked down on my low birth.
02:35He always believed that if a poor family suddenly received wealth, we would waste it the moment it reached our
02:41hands.
02:42The gold will stay in the royal treasury.
02:45It will be released whenever your father truly needs it.
02:50I believed him then.
02:52I thought being queen meant I had finally earned a place where my father would be safe.
02:57Instead, I found myself standing before locked doors, waiting for another woman to decide whether my needs were proper enough.
03:05Three days ago, my father was dying.
03:08I begged Leon to give me the key to my father's gold coffer.
03:11I also begged him to let me take medicine from the royal apothecary.
03:15Lydia kept holding back the treasury key and the apothecary key.
03:19Again and again.
03:20Until my father died in his bed.
03:23All these years, I endured everything so my father could keep receiving treatment from the royal.
03:29Physicians and medicine from the palace apothecary.
03:32Now my father was gone.
03:33There was no reason for me to stay.
03:36When I asked Leon to end our marriage, he refused.
03:40He was in his study, reading the border tax ledgers.
03:44His eyes never left the parchment.
03:46His voice was as cold as if he were scolding a maid who had broken a cup.
03:52Stop making trouble.
03:54He treated it like nothing more than a childish error, not realizing for a moment that I meant every word.
04:00I'm not making trouble.
04:02I've already submitted the petition to the archbishop's court.
04:05I stood before his desk and said calmly.
04:08Only then did Leon look up at me.
04:10His eyes were cold, as though my words were a waste of his time.
04:15About your father, I was the one who told Lydia not to give you the apothecary key.
04:21It had nothing to do with her.
04:23She was only following my orders.
04:26My fingers twitched at my sides.
04:29In the past, the moment he mentioned my father, I would lower my head.
04:35My father's old wounds flared up every winter.
04:38Village 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.
04:50But after the old king died, Leon said my father did not know how to manage money.
04:55He said a blacksmith who suddenly possessed that much gold would only be cheated, robbed, and perhaps killed for it.
05:02So he locked my father's gold coffer inside the royal treasury.
05:06He said he would release it whenever my father truly needed it.
05:10But every need had to go through Lydia.
05:13His majesty's commands are absolute.
05:15I have no special privileges even when my own father's life was hanging in the balance.
05:21My father was burning with fever.
05:24His old wound rotting open.
05:26I knelt outside the apothecary door and begged Lydia to give me the key.
05:30She wore a pale blue court gown and held a ring of keys in her hand.
05:34Her smile was gentle.
05:36Almost regretful.
05:38Your majesty.
05:39The apothecary key cannot be handed over carially.
05:44Vise de Thomas, the group in Trescolis.
05:47Master Thomas is only a commoner.
05:50He does not fall under royal emergency care.
05:53That treatment was promised to him by the late king.
05:56King, I'm not denying the late king's generosity.
06:00But rules are rules.
06:02Have the village healer write a note describing his condition first.
06:09Then have it sealed by a church physician.
06:12Only then can I open the apothecary.
06:17I brought back the note.
06:18She glanced at it and frowned lightly.
06:20I brought back the note.
06:22She glanced at it and frowned lightly.
06:26The date isn't clear enough.
06:28It only says fever.
06:29It doesn't specify whether his life is in danger.
06:32Your majesty.
06:33I'm not trying to make this harder.
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,
06:50a physician's certificate,
06:52a written reason for withdrawing from the gold coffin,
06:55a statement explaining why my father
06:57could not be treated by a village healer.
07:00I ran back and forth again and again.
07:02My father's breathing grew weaker each time.
07:05I returned.
07:06The village healer pressed the last certificate into my hand
07:09and whispered 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
07:22was placed in the correct corner.
07:29By the time the key finally arrived in the blacksmith shop,
07:32my father never opened his eyes again.
07:41So now, when Leon said he would have someone
07:43bring 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
07:52and thought I had finally learned to be afraid.
07:55He closed the parchment in his hand,
07:57impatient.
07:58Alia,
07:59if you hadn't stormed into the household office
08:01a few days ago and shouted at Lydia,
08:03I would never have let her hold back the keys
08:05to teach you a lesson.
08:07You are queen,
08:08not some little girl throwing a fit
08:10in a blacksmith shop.
08:13Last night,
08:14I 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.
08:21With that,
08:22he stood and turned to leave.
08:24He was certain I would lower my head soon enough,
08:26just like I had for the past three years.
08:29Even when he said in front of the nobles
08:31that I looked desperate to please,
08:33I only smiled and said nothing.
08:35Even when Lydia smiled and took one key after another away from me,
08:40I endured it.
08:40I once thought that as long as my father was alive,
08:44I could endure anything.
08:46Now my father was gone,
08:47and I did not need to stay anymore.
08:49But Leon did not know that he had never been willing
08:52to let me finish a sentence.
08:53Later,
08:54a maid brought me the celebration ledger Lydia had sent.
08:58His majesty asks your majesty to write a line of praise,
09:02so no one Mr. Stan's 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,
09:13I took the quill with steady fingers.
09:16I picked up the quill and wrote carefully.
09:20Lady Lydia is diligent indeed.
09:23With one ring of keys,
09:25she rules over both the queen and the servants.
09:35Aladia.
09:38May she keep guarding every door,
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.
09:55His majesty wanted praise.
09:58I gave him praise.
09:59After writing it,
10:01I closed the ledger.
10:02Then I returned to my chamber and began to pack.
10:05There was not much to pack.
10:06Everything that seemed to belong to me in the
10:08palace was locked in someone else's hands.
10:11The only things I could take were the old dress I wore when I entered the palace.
10:15A few faded shirts,
10:17and the little hammer my father had given me.
10:20For all these years,
10:21I had lived in the palace like a temporary guest.
10:24Only now did I understand.
10:26Even a guest could at least open a door for herself.
10:30I folded the old dress carefully and placed my father's hammer on top of it.
10:34The 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,
10:45I closed my trunk and finally felt something like peace.
10:49No longer a queen,
10:50no longer in need of anyone's keys.
10:52I am just me the me who can make any decision.
10:57Leon came back very quickly.
10:59Whenever it involved Lydia,
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,
11:08I heard.
11:10I 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.
11:26After 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.
12:04If 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.
12:12If 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,
12:27I had wanted him to ask that question sincerely,
12:30now that he had finally asked it.
12:33But now,
12:33there's no point in my answering anymore.
12:37But if you keep targeting Lydia,
12:39don't blame me for being harsh.
12:42Think about your father.
12:45I finally laughed out loud.
12:49It hurt my throat.
12:51Then I opened my trunk right in front of him.
12:56A crown?
12:58A palace?
13:00Dignity?
13:01Leon,
13:02look at what my life in your palace has been.
13:07I'm leaving,
13:08and I can't even pack four decent dresses.
13:15If 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,
13:24I 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.
13:34He only frowned and asked,
13:36genuinely 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,
13:48inch 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
13:58the queen had no right to open her own doors.
14:01I lowered my eyes.
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.
14:16I don't have time to coax you through another tantrum.
14:21You're doing all this because of Lydia, aren't you?
14:25Don't assume every woman is like you.
14:28Always fighting over a man.
14:30As he spoke,
14:31he smoothed the wrinkle from his sleeve as though making a great concession.
14:36Tomorrow,
14:37I will send the royal physician to see your father in person.
14:42In a moment,
14:44I'll have Lydia give you the keys to the queen's quadro,
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.
14:56After 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,
15:12he 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.
15:22Leon finally realized I was not acting poor.
15:25His impatience instantly turned into anger.
15:29Aaliyah,
15:30don't forget how you became queen.
15:33Your father saved the late king.
15:36That is why the late king rewarded your family with honor.
15:41If you leave me,
15:44those rewards,
15:45that gold,
15:46those properties,
15:48you won't get a single copper oil.
15:50And your father's illness.
15:53Without the royal physicians and the royal apothecary,
15:57how long do you think you 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 why a threat
16:16that had always worked on Aaliyah suddenly had no effect.
16:19But 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.
16:27When 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.
16:34Only later did Aaliyah learn that Lydia went to his study that night.
16:38Your majesty doesn't need to humor her.
16:41Leave her alone for a few days.
16:44She'll come back and apologize.
16:46Her majesty has simply grown too comfortable as queen
16:49and wants to make a scene.
16:52Leon believed her.
16:53He even found a honey mint in his study and thought of Aaliyah.
16:56His throat always hurt in winter.
16:59So Aaliyah had once learned to make those candies for him.
17:02Leon turned the candy between his fingers for a long while.
17:07She is not completely useless after all.
17:10Lydia 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.
17:20He told himself that Aaliyah was not completely useless after all
17:24when she came back.
17:25He would make her apologize sincerely
17:27and she would never again threaten him with a petition to dissolve their marriage.
17:33After leaving the palace,
17:35I did not leave the kingdom.
17:37I 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.
17:47That was where my father had worked when he was young.
17:50He used to say that in the north.
17:52People did not ask where you came from.
17:54They only asked whether you were good with your hands.
17:57I did not understand that before.
18:00Now I did.
18:01When I arrived at the armory camp,
18:03dragging my trunk behind me,
18:04the soldier at the gate looked at me with obvious suspicion.
18:11Who are you looking for?
18:13Madam Martha.
18:15Madam Martha was the old blacksmith of the armory camp,
18:18and she had once trained with my father.
18:21Before 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.
18:31I did not listen then.
18:33Now when I saw her again,
18:35her hair had turned white.
18:36She 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 and tears fell before I could stop them.
18:54For the first time since my father's death,
18:56no one asked me for a permit,
18:58a seal,
19:00or a reason.
19:01One door opened because someone chose to open it for me.
19:05After I had cried enough,
19:07Madam Martha set slow.
19:13Done crying?
19:15Then wash your hands.
19:19I'm sure to lock repairer
19:20and someone who can mend armor.
19:22If you still remember what your father taught you, stay.
19:25I stared at her.
19:28You're not going to ask why I'm here?
19:31Madam Martha snorted.
19:33Anyone who can walk out of the palace alive
19:36is lucky enough.
19:38What is there to ask?
19:39Or did three years as queen
19:41make you too delicate to hold a hammer?
19:44I smiled through my tears.
19:49I can hold one.
19:50For myself, I can hold anything.
19:53At 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.
20:03No maids came to make my bed.
20:05Blisters soon formed across my palms.
20:08A young apprentice saw the blood on my fingers
20:10and held out a strip of cloth.
20:14Miss A'lelia, maybe 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.
20:28But as time passed,
20:30the skills carved into my bones slowly returned.
20:33How to hear the quality of.
20:35Metal, how to tell where a lock's inner teeth were stuck.
20:38How to shape a horseshoe with the right curve.
20:41How to mend a broken sword.
20:47The steadier my hands became.
20:49Once.
20:50I repaired a cracked bracer for a night.
20:53He tested it twice and raised his thumb in surprise.
20:56I smiled.
20:59I thought someone from the palace would only know how to wear rings.
21:07I couldn't afford rings before.
21:11The soldiers around us froze for a second.
21:14Then burst into laughter.
21:16That was the first time I laughed easily after leaving the palace.
21:19Then an unwelcome voice sounded behind me.
21:22A'lelia?
21:23I looked up and saw Lydia.
21:25She wore a white fox fur cloak and stood not far away.
21:28Several servants behind her.
21:30Her gaze swept over my hands.
21:32Stained with coal and iron dust.
21:34Then over the soldiers beside me.
21:36The corner of her mouth lifted.
21:41So this is why Her Majesty suddenly made such a fuss about ending the marriage.
21:46You came back to a place like this.
21:49Some people can wear a crown and still never forget they came from a blacksmith's shop.
21:55I would breast on your face.
21:58My face went cold.
22:00The people of the northern armory mended armor.
22:02Forged swords.
22:03And repaired gates in wind and snow to protect the border.
22:07They did not deserve her contempt.
22:13I set down the tongs in my hand.
22:17Lydia.
22:18Do you not have a room of your own?
22:20Why are you behind every door I open?
22:23Lydia's expression changed.
22:24At that moment.
22:25A familiar voice came from behind her.
22:29What happened?
22:32So.
22:33He had come to inspect the northern border.
22:35And of course Lydia had come with him.
22:38Her eyes reddened as she lowered her voice.
22:40Nothing, Your Majesty.
22:44I only saw Her Majesty away from the palace for so long.
22:49Surrounded by soldiers and smith.
22:51And worried she might be taken advantage of.
22:54I tried to advise her.
22:56But she misunderstood me.
23:00Only then did Leon notice me.
23:03His brows drew together slightly.
23:05There was that familiar certainty in his eyes.
23:12I looked at him once.
23:19Then turned away without wasting a word and picked up my tools.
23:22The young apprentice beside me whispered.
23:27Miss Aaliyah.
23:28Who is that?
23:29I said coldly.
23:30My blind, brainless husband.
23:33Leon's face darkened.
23:35Aaliyah!
23:38You followed me all the way to the north.
23:40How long do you plan to keep this up?
23:44You've been away from the palace for so long.
23:47Ignoring your father completely.
23:54Are you really trying to force me to never give him the apothetry key again?
23:59I looked at him.
24:00Tired of him to the bone.
24:04Then don't give it.
24:06That's what you're best at, isn't it?
24:11Something in my eyes must have cut Leon.
24:14He turned sharply to the servant beside him.
24:17Send orders back to the capital.
24:19From today on, Thomas is not to be given the apothetry key again.
24:25And the gold coffet is not to be opened.
24:28Panic flashed across Lydia's face.
24:31Your majesty.
24:33Perhaps we shouldn't.
24:35Leon coldly pressed down the hand she had placed on his arm.
24:38She needs to be taught a lesson.
24:41Otherwise, she will never learn how to be queen.
24:44The servant's face went deathly pale, and he did not answer.
24:49Leon frowned.
24:50What?
24:51The servant lowered his head.
24:53His voice tightened.
24:55Your majesty.
24:57Master Thomas has passed away.
24:58Leon froze.
25:00What did you say?
25:02The servant forced the words out.
25:05Three days ago.
25:07Her majesty.
25:10Requested that the apothory be opened.
25:13But the key was never delivered.
25:15By the time the physician arrived,
25:18Master Thomas had already...
25:19He did not finish.
25:22Leon stood there as if he had suddenly forgotten how to understand language.
25:26A long time passed before he murmured.
25:29How is that possible?
25:34Why didn't anyone tell me?
25:39The servant looked even more troubled.
25:42Someone did report it to your majesty at the time.
25:45Leon stared at him.
25:48What did I say?
25:50The servant clenched his jaw.
25:52You said that while you and Lady Lydia were watching the Winter Lantern Parade,
25:57you did not want to hear anything related to the queen.
26:00In that instant, Leon's face went white.
26:03I watched him finally remember.
26:05That day, I had burst into the household office and begged Lydia to give me the apothecary key.
26:11He said I had shamed the crown.
26:13Later, to comfort Lydia after she had been frightened,
26:17he lit winter lanterns across the capital for an entire night.
26:20The nobles all said his majesty truly favored his chief court lady.
26:24My father took his last breath at the same night.
26:28Leon turned sharply toward Lydia.
26:31Tears welled in Lydia's eyes as if she had suffered a great injustice.
26:35Leon, I didn't mean to keep it from you.
26:39I only thought Master Thomas had already received so much grace from the late king.
26:44And her majesty always makes things sound worse than they are.
26:48I was afraid she would influence you.
26:51I froly.
26:53Give me your key ledger.
26:55For the first time, Leon cut her off.
26:58What?
27:00Lydia froze.
27:04The record from the apathetic key.
27:06The treasury key.
27:08And the carriage house key from the past few days.
27:12All of them.
27:14The blood drained from Lydia's face.
27:18Leon, these are household affairs.
27:20You've never investigated me like this before.
27:23What was left to explain?
27:25Everything I had said was true.
27:26I had not been jealous of Lydia.
27:28I had not used my father's illness to threaten him.
27:31I had truly wanted to leave.
27:33The way Leon looked at me finally began to change.
27:36But I only felt tired.
27:38I looked away and lowered my head to sort my tools.
27:41Three whole years had been wrong.
27:43Leon took one step toward me.
27:45But the soldiers of the armory camp shifted almost at the same time.
27:49No one drew a weapon.
27:51They only stood there, silent and solid.
27:54Between the king and the woman he had cornered for too long.
28:24Leon looked at her and for once he did not immediately believe her.
28:28Then you will explain them in writing.
28:31Every missing hour.
28:34Every delayed key.
28:37Every sealed door.
28:38I heard those words and felt nothing like triumph.
28:41There was no victory.
28:43In being believed after the person you loved most was already dead.
28:51Late that night, I came out of the armory camp to dump furnace ash and saw Leon standing not far
28:56away.
28:57The firelight was dim and snow rested on his shoulders.
29:01I had only seen him that afternoon, yet he looked as if his soul had been drained out of him.
29:06When he saw me, he stepped toward me at once.
29:09Aaliyah!
29:09I frowned and stepped back.
29:11He stopped.
29:12His voice was hoarse.
29:14I've taken all the keys back from Lydia.
29:16She is no longer the chief court lady.
29:19About your father, I didn't know.
29:21Give me a chance to make it up to you, alright?
29:24My heart did not soften.
29:25I only found it absurd.
29:26Once, I had begged him to listen to one sentence, and he found me annoying.
29:31Now he stood in the snow, finally willing to bow his head.
29:34But it was too late.
29:35I looked at him calmly.
29:38Leon, do you think Lydia is the only problem between us?
29:41He seemed caught off guard.
29:43I know I was wrong.
29:45He seemed caught off guard.
29:46I shouldn't have let her control your keys.
29:50I shouldn't have used that method to teach you rules.
29:54I just thought the palace had always been like this.
29:57Noblemen manage their common-born wives this way all the time.
30:02I never thought it would hurt you.
30:05And I never truly meant to abandon your father.
30:09I looked at him.
30:11Leon, even now, you still think that if you are willing to give,
30:16I should be grateful enough to take it.
30:18You made me queen, then handed my wardrobe, the apothetry,
30:20and my father's life-saving money to Lydia.
30:22You saw my humiliation.
30:23You just believed someone of my birth had no right to feel humiliated.
30:26His face turned paler by the second I went on.
30:30We are over.
30:31I don't want anything.
30:34When the Archbip's court asks for your response, don't stand in the way.
30:37That's all.
30:38Confusion filled.
30:40Leon's eyes.
30:41He seemed unable to understand why I refused to forgive him
30:44when he had already lowered himself this far.
30:46Carefully, he asked.
30:48What will it take for you to come back with me?
30:51I can give you the keys to the queen's wardrobe,
30:54the jewel room, the treasury, the apothetry, all of them.
30:58From today on, no door in the palace will stand in your way.
31:03I could not help laughing.
31:05If all you needed was a vase beside your throne,
31:07you should never have been kind to me in the beginning.
31:09Yes.
31:10I had loved him once.
31:12During my first year in the palace,
31:14Leon had not always been cold.
31:16He taught me my first court dance.
31:18He taught me my first court dance.
31:23When noble ladies mocked my accent,
31:26he took my hand and walked me across the entire ballroom.
31:29She is my queen.
31:32In that moment, I truly believed I had been chosen.
31:38Leon began to say I did not understand the rules,
31:41that I was too sensitive,
31:43too petty,
31:45too embarrassing.
31:46That Lydia was only helping him.
31:48His tenderness was like winter fog on a window.
31:50The moment I touched it,
31:52it disappeared.
31:53I looked at Leon and said softly,
31:56I don't need your compensation.
31:58I only need this marriage to end.
32:01Leon looked as if he had been struck.
32:03He stumbled one step forward and reached for me.
32:06I avoided him.
32:08His hand froze in the air.
32:12Aylia, even a prisoner dragged before a court
32:15gets to defend himself once.
32:16His voice was almost pleading.
32:19You can't deny me even one chance to explain.
32:22I gave you many chances.
32:24I said calmly.
32:27Every time I waited outside your study.
32:30Every time I went to the household office to beg for a key.
32:35Every time I was told you stake for me when key.
32:39Every time I told you Lydia was delaying me on purpose.
32:44Every time you said listen to Lydia.
32:47Those were chances.
32:50You were the one who threw them all away.
32:53Leon had nothing left to say.
32:55I knew how stubborn he was.
32:57I also knew dissolving our marriage would not be easy.
33:00But I did not expect him to arrive at the armory camp the next morning with a train of carriages.
33:05They were loaded with silk, medicine, gold coffers, and food.
33:13The northern armory is always short on funds.
33:17I've already ordered the treasurer to allocate money to you.
33:23Leon stood in the snow when he saw me.
33:25There was even a careful smile on his face.
33:30These medicines and iron supplies are for the camp as well.
33:33Then he took a small box from a servant.
33:36These are candid figs.
33:38I remember you used to ask for them late at night.
33:41Eat while they're still warm.
33:42I did not reach for them.
33:44You don't like them?
33:45The hope in Leon's eyes stiffened little by little.
33:48I don't like candid figs.
33:50Lydia does.
33:51I said lightly.
33:53Leon froze.
33:54I looked at the box and remembered long ago, for a period of time.
33:58He often asked me to have the kitchens make candied figs late at night.
34:02I thought he liked sweets while working late.
34:05Only later did I learn they were for Lydia.
34:07Once I saw her sitting at the small table in the king's study with my own eyes.
34:14Your Majesty, please have the kitchens make another serving next time.
34:18At Leon tried them and thinks they're good too.
34:23That day, I argued with Leon.
34:28It's just a bit of food from the kitchen.
34:30You are queen, and Lydia runs the palace household for me.
34:34What's wrong with rewarding her? Stop acting so small-minded.
34:37Now, thinking back, I found myself almost laughable.
34:41So I had once been that devoted.
34:44I'm sorry. I remembered wrong.
34:46Leon gave a difficult smile.
34:49Then what do you like?
34:51I'll wish to hurt it. I'll have someone prepare it.
34:54I lowered my head and continued inspecting a broken sword.
34:58No need.
34:59But Leon did not give up over the next few days.
35:03He kept sending gifts.
35:05Sometimes it was a sapphire necklace.
35:07Sometimes a gold-threaded shawl.
35:09Sometimes white roses from the royal greenhouse once.
35:13He even sent a pair of ivory gloves set with tiny pearls.
35:16I looked at those things and became genuinely curious.
35:20How did a man who listened this badly manage to rule a country?
35:23When the armory finished repairing a batch of border longswords,
35:27Leon came again.
35:28This time he carried a delicate wooden box.
35:34I did not let him open it.
35:36The palace keys?
35:39His eyes lit up.
35:40How did you know?
35:42I looked at him and gave a small smile.
35:44Because you finally remembered that keys were what I lacked most for the past three years.
35:49A hint of joy appeared on his face.
35:51As if he thought he had finally done something right, he opened the box.
35:55Inside lay a ring of golden keys, the wardrobe, the jewel room, the apothecary, the carriage house, the treasury, the
36:03inner chamber.
36:04Each key bore the queen's crest.
36:08From today on, you can open every room in the palace.
36:14A'Lelia, I will make up for everything I owe you.
36:20I looked at those keys, so late in coming, and suddenly felt exhausted.
36:25Leon, you still don't understand.
36:27Leon, you still don't understand.
36:29I wanted keys before because I was still trying to survive inside that palace.
36:35I don't need them now.
36:37I never wanted the keys to every door in the palace.
36:41I never want to go back to that palace at all.
36:45The color drained from Leon's face.
36:47I continued.
36:49The sapphire you sent is what Lydia likes.
36:51The gold-threaded shoal is something she wears often.
36:56White roses sit in her room all year.
36:59The ivory gloves are what she wears before every winter hunt.
37:03See?
37:04You remember another woman's taste so clearly.
37:07So why not dissolve this marriage smoothly and marry her?
37:10Leon answered almost without thinking.
37:13Thinking.
37:13She cannot be queen.
37:15Her birth is not suitable.
37:17She only likes power and the things inside the palace.
37:20I suddenly understood.
37:21He saw Lydia clearly.
37:23He had simply never considered her someone who could stand beside him.
37:27As for me, I had the late king's command and the title of the savior's daughter.
37:32My birth was low.
37:33But I had no noble family that could threaten him.
37:36I was suited to be a queen placed beside his throne.
37:39Perhaps there was love in his attachment to me.
37:42But more than that, he could not accept that I had chosen to leave him.
37:47I looked straight at Leon.
37:49So you think I walked away with nothing because I loved you?
37:52Because you broke my heart?
37:54Because I wanted you to regret it?
37:56Leon looked away.
37:57I said softly.
38:00You're wrong.
38:02I married you because my father needed the physicians and medicine the late king promised him.
38:08I stayed in the palace because he was still alive.
38:14Now he is dead.
38:15I don't need your money.
38:16I don't need your keys.
38:18I don't need your love.
38:22And I don't need you, Leon.
38:27The ruling from the archbishop's court came sooner than I expected.
38:31Perhaps because Leon did not interfere again.
38:34Perhaps because too many people in the capital already knew that before the queen's father died.
38:39The apothecary key had been delayed again and again.
38:43The marriage is dissolved on the grounds that it was arranged by the late king's command.
38:47That there are no children and that the relationship has broken beyond repair.
38:54Leon did not appear, Dot.
38:56Royal judges handled everything on his behalf.
38:58To my surprise.
38:59He did not leave me with nothing as he had once threatened to do.
39:03He sent all the reward money my father should have received to the north.
39:06He also gave me an estate near the border.
39:09A box of jewels.
39:10And everything that had once belonged to me in the queen's chamber.
39:14I returned to the palace once.
39:16Nothing in that chamber had been moved.
39:17The wardrobe stood open.
39:19The jewel room stood open.
39:21Even the inner room I could not enter for three years had its door wide open.
39:25On the table lay that ring of golden keys.
39:28Each one had been polished until it shone.
39:30But I no longer wanted them.
39:34I spent two days handing the gowns, jewelry, and properties in the capital over to the merchant's
39:40guild for auction.
39:41Part of the money went to repairing the northern armory camp.
39:44Part went to the families of fallen border soldiers.
39:47The rest, I used to build a small workshop in my father's name.
39:51One that would take in girls with nowhere else to go and teach them a trade.
39:54On the third evening, a royal servant came to the armory camp.
39:59He carried a small gold chest and looked uncomfortable.
40:02Miss Aaliyah, His Majesty said the earlier compensation was not enough.
40:09These are new deeds and letters of credit.
40:12I looked at the black carriage parked in the distance.
40:14I took the chest and walked over.
40:17After a while, the carriage window lowered.
40:20Leon sat inside.
40:22He had lost a great deal of weight.
40:23Dark stubble shadowed his jaw, and his eyes were full of exhaustion.
40:30I handed the chest back through the window.
40:36Leon, I am grateful you didn't truly send me away empty-handed.
40:40What you have already given me is enough.
40:44But I will still sell the gowns, the jewels, and the houses.
40:51I have enough money.
40:54I simply don't want to keep anything from the palace.
40:57Leon's voice was hoarse.
41:01Aaliyah, I only want to make it up to you.
41:06You've already made up enough.
41:13Leon's voice is hoarse.
41:14We owe each other nothing now.
41:16Leon suddenly grew agitated.
41:19How can we owe each other nothing?
41:22Your father, and the way I treated you before.
41:27I wronged you.
41:28I was silent for a moment.
41:32i did hate you my father saved the late king but the reward he earned was locked inside the palace
41:40when he needed those things to live i couldn't even get a key
41:45there was a time when i wanted to burn that palace down leon's face turned pale
41:51i went on but i also have to admit leon that my father survived those three years
41:58because of the royal physicians and the apothetry that was what the old king promised him
42:06and it was something you never completely own
42:10he never completely took away before my father died he held my hand with the little strength he had left
42:22alia don't spend your whole life inside hatred
42:26my greatest regret is not that i never lived in a grand house
42:31it's that i never got to see you return to the forge
42:36my daughter could have made the finest keys
42:40win the finest keys
42:43at that moment the person i hated most became myself
42:47i hated myself for being useless
42:50i hated that even though i knew the palace was not my home
42:53i still endured three years there for my father and i hated that in the end
42:57i still failed to save him
43:00so now everything is only returning to where it should be
43:04and it was something you never completely own
43:09you never completely took away
43:10something seemed to shatter in leon's eyes
43:17we sat in silence for a long time in the end
43:20there was no unnecessary farewell
43:22when the carriage left
43:24i did not look back
43:25over the next few years
43:27i poured almost all my time into the armory camp
43:30i repaired gates
43:32adjusted crossbows
43:34redesigned horseshoes for the northern cavalry
43:37eventually
43:38even the minister of war in the capital heard that there was a female armorer
43:42in the north who could make ruined plates of armor look new again
43:46when madame martha grew older
43:48she often sat by the forge and watched me train apprentices
43:53choose your students carefully
43:55i'm too old to rescue you first and then rescue your useless little apprentices too
44:01my apprentices and i all laughed
44:05that winter i suddenly received news
44:08leon had been injured
44:09a fire had broken out in the old queen's chamber
44:12and he had rushed in to save someone
44:17half his face had been burned
44:18the messenger said lydia had set the fire
44:23after she was driven from the palace she never accepted it
44:26she believed his majesty refused to marry her because you were still alive
44:31and because he had kept the queen's chamber
44:34untouched
44:35she used an old key she had secretly copied
44:38slipped into whitestone palace
44:39and tried to burn the chamber down
44:42maybe she wanted to kill leon
44:44maybe she wanted to kill me
44:45the woman she believed would one day return
44:48after hesitating for a long time
44:51i went to see him once my heart had not softened
44:53something simply needed a real ending
45:00leon lay in the palace infirmary
45:02half of his face was wrapped in white bandages
45:04the physicians whispered that the scar would likely be deep
45:08when he saw me
45:09he gave a smile uglier than crying
45:12you came
45:13i nodded politely as if visiting an old acquaintance
45:17i heard you were hurt
45:18he said
45:20lydia will stand trial
45:22falsifying the key ledger
45:24holding back the apothetory key
45:26hiding the queen's travel permits
45:28and arson
45:29she will pay for all of it
45:31i did not ask further
45:33none of those things had anything to do with me now
45:35i only asked
45:37a few polite questions about his injuries
45:44will the burn affect your sight
45:50the physicians say one eye may blur in winter
45:53it doesn't matter
45:56then follow their instructions
45:58when the next group of nobles came in to visit
46:01i took the chance to leave at the door
46:03leon suddenly called my name
46:10alia
46:11i stopped but did not turn around
46:13his voice was low
46:17that chamber is gone
46:22everything from before is gone too
46:24i said calmly
46:26that's all right
46:28i never wanted any of it
46:31i said calmly
46:34behind me
46:35there was a long silence
46:36i opened the door
46:37and walked out of the infirmary
46:39the sunlight outside was bright
46:41like my new life
46:51lydia's trial was held in the old judgment hall
46:54of white stone palace
46:55she no longer wore pale blue silk
46:57or white fox fur
46:59her wrists were bound
47:00her hair was loose
47:02and smoke stains still clung to the hem of her gown
47:05lydia
47:06former chief court lady
47:07you are accused of falsifying household ledgers
47:10withholding royal keys
47:12concealing travel permits
47:13delaying royal medicine
47:14and setting fire to the queen's chamber
47:17how do you answer
47:19lydia lifted her head and laughed
47:23queen's chamber
47:24queen's chamber
47:25she was never worthy of that chamber
47:26the noble's whisper dot leon sat behind the carved screen
47:30half his face hidden beneath bandages
47:32he did not speak
47:35the recovered ledger shows that the apothetery key was requested five times on the night master thomas died
47:43each request was delayed under your seal
47:47i followed palace
47:50i followed palace rules
47:52the travel permit was also hidden under your seal
47:56because she always wanted to run back to that filthy forge
48:02not the furls
48:05leon closed his eyes
48:07lydia suddenly turned toward the screen as if she could see him
48:10leon if allelia had not appeared
48:13i would have been queen long ago
48:17you kept that chamber untouched because you still dreamed she would return
48:21if she died
48:23everything would go back to how it was
48:27the judgment hall fell silent
48:29then you admit you set the fire knowing she might return
48:33lydia s face twisted
48:35i admit nothing except that she stole what should have been mine
48:46after the trial leon dismissed every guard and walked alone to the ruins of the old queen's chamber
48:52the corridor still smelled of smoke
48:54the portraits of past queens remained on the walls
48:57but the place where alia's portrait had once hung was black and empty
49:02your majesty
49:03the physician said you should not be near ash
49:10leave
49:11the guard bowed and retreated
49:13leon stepped over burned silk
49:15broken beams and melted glass
49:18the wardrobe that he had finally opened for alia was gone
49:21the jewel room was gone
49:23the table where he had placed the polished golden
49:26keys was split in half
49:28a half-melted key lay in the ashes
49:30leon picked it up with his bandaged hand
49:36your majesty
49:37your wound will reopen
49:39it should
49:40he looked at the twisted key
49:42and suddenly remembered alia standing before him with a small trunk at her feet
49:50alia's voice seemed to return from the fire
49:52i don't need them now
49:56leon pressed the key against his palm
49:58four years he had believed that if he kept the chamber
50:01kept the gowns
50:03kept the keys
50:04he could keep the possibility of her return
50:08but the chamber had burned
50:10the portrait had burned
50:11even the keys had lost their shape
50:14only then did leon understand that alia had not disappeared from his life because a door had closed
50:19she had left because he had never given her one worth opening
50:25the palace corridor looked as brilliant as it had before
50:28with portraits of past queens hanging along the walls
50:32there had once been a portrait of me there too after the dissolution
50:35leon never ordered it removed
50:38now that portrait had burned with the chamber
50:40good
50:41some things should never have been kept later
50:44i heard that lydia cursed my name throughout her trial
50:48she said that if it had not been for me she would have been queen long ago
50:52she said that if it had not been for me
50:55she said that if i died everything would go back to how it was
50:59i only found it ridiculous in the end
51:02they really were a perfect match
51:04one believed that as long as he kept the old chamber
51:07i would one day return
51:09the other believed that as long as i disappeared
51:11she would be able to walk through that door
51:14they were both stubbornly guarding things that did not belong to them
51:17both of them were trapped in the past refusing to move on
51:21what a shame i had not seen it sooner
51:23one regret in a lifetime was enough
51:26a young girl at the work table glanced at the messenger's letter in my hand
51:31teacher is that news from the palace
51:34i folded the letter and pushed it into the fire
51:39no
51:40it is only ash
51:42madam martha snorted from the corner
51:44good answer
51:45now teach that girl how to file a clean edge
51:49before she ruins my tools
51:51after that
51:52i never went back to the palace
51:54i never followed any news of leon again
51:58several months after lydia's sentence
52:00the minister of war placed a northern armory report before leon
52:05your majesty the border cavalry requests more horses shoes from miss alia's workshop
52:10that their design has reduced winter injuries by nearly half
52:14leon's fingers paused on the seal
52:17the capital armory could use her skill
52:19we may invite her to white stone for a royal commission
52:22for a moment the chamber was silent
52:24then leon said quietly send the invitation
52:27he told himself it was for the kingdom
52:30he did not tell the minister that he had read every northern report
52:33with her name on it
52:35he did not say that each mention of alia's work hurt worse than the scar across his face
52:40days later a royal messenger arrived at thomas's workshop
52:44miss alia his majesty invites you to the capital to oversee a new lock system for white stone palace
52:51i did not stop filing the iron plate in my hand
52:54tell the ministry to send the measurements
52:57i will design what the palace needs from here
52:59his majesty hoped you would come in person
53:02i finally looked up
53:04i am an armata
53:05not a memory he can summon
53:07that evening i wrote a formal reply
53:11thomas's workshop accepts commissions for tools
53:14hinges armor plates locks and keys
53:18it does not accept invitations to reopen closed doors
53:22when leon received the letter
53:24he read the last line three times
53:26then he folded it carefully and placed it beside the ruined golden key he still kept in his desk
53:33the winters in the north were long
53:35but the forge fire never went out
53:37one of the new girls held up a broken lock and asked softly
53:41teacher
53:42what should i do if this won't open
53:44i glanced at it and pushed a bar of iron into the fire
53:49if it won't open
53:50replace it
53:52same with doors
53:53same with people
53:54the fire rose
53:56the red hot iron slowly took shape beneath the hammer
53:59i suddenly thought of the night
54:01i left the palace three years ago
54:04back then
54:05i thought i had lost everything
54:06only now did i understand
54:08i had simply carried myself out of a palace where
54:12i had never been given a key
54:15from then on
54:16my life would only move forward
54:17i would never look back
54:20the new girl stared at the broken lock in her palm
54:23then looked at the iron glowing in the furnace
54:27teacher
54:28can i make my own key
54:29i handed her the smaller hammer my father once made for me
54:35you can make a key
54:36you can make a door
54:38you can even decide there should be no door there at all
54:40less talking
54:42more hammering
54:43the apprentices burst into laughter
54:45i laughed with them
54:47outside
54:48the northern snow covered the road to the capital
54:50inside
54:51the forge burned brighter than any palace chandelier i had ever seen
54:55i raised the hammer
54:56the first strike rang clear
54:58the first strike rang clear
54:59then the second
55:00then the third
55:01a new shape began to form beneath my hands
55:03the two
55:04you
55:04never
55:05i
55:05you
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