The Queen and the Lion - Chapter 46

Heibanians, who enjoyed eating meat, had a strong, distinctive odor. But he hadn’t noticed it when he was mostly around Heibanians, and in the chaos of war, such a small thing as body odor was usually insignificant.

Since being brought to Florea as a prisoner, he had bathed frequently and didn’t interact with other Floreans very often, so he had forgotten that his body odor was strong. Lysian hadn’t said anything about it.

But after taking lessons and smelling the faint floral scent of others, Aslan realized that he had a strange smell.

At first, he thought everyone, both men and women, wore perfume. But he learned that it was actually the natural scent of Floreans. No wonder he had smelled a sweet floral scent when he held Lysian. That was her scent.

Aslan was now conscious of his own body odor. Instead of a floral scent, he smelled like the blood and gore of the battlefield.

If it had been the old Aslan, he wouldn’t have cared if other Floreans were disgusted, and he would have angrily demanded to know why he should worry about such a trivial matter.

The only reason Aslan was acting so out of character was because of Lysian.

He thought that even though Lysian hadn’t said anything, she might be secretly displeased. The thought made him restless and anxious.

After that, Aslan began to scrub himself vigorously when he bathed. He even tried using perfume, something he had previously found repulsive, but he couldn’t completely eliminate his body odor.

Perhaps changing his diet to a vegetarian one would help reduce the smell. Aslan considered it seriously. Even though the Floreans also ate meat, that didn’t matter to him right now.

Aslan asked Dandelion.

“Head servant.”

“What is it?”

“Can I change my diet to vegetarian?”

“A vegetarian diet? Why would you suddenly request that?”

Dandelion raised an eyebrow at Aslan’s unexpected request. He tried to guess Aslan’s ulterior motive, but he couldn’t think of anything.

“Well, I think eating meat makes me smell.”

Aslan scratched the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed to say such a thing. Dandelion, momentarily speechless at Aslan’s sudden remark, hesitated before adding,

“But it would be difficult to maintain your physique if you only eat plants.”

“Please, do it anyway.”

“I’ll try to submit a proposal.”

“…But keep it a secret from Her Majesty.”

“I’ll try, but…”

Dandelion trailed off.

Does he like Her Majesty so much that he’s even concerned about such things, or is he just acting to make a good impression? If it’s the latter, I’d have to applaud him for his meticulous observation and script.

Of course, from what Dandelion had seen so far, Aslan didn’t seem intelligent enough to think that far. However, Dandelion couldn’t easily dismiss his suspicions.

Since the head servant, Dandelion, had said he would submit a proposal, Aslan, expecting a final meat-based meal, cut into his meat with a solemn expression. His gestures were so careful and respectful that he received a good evaluation for his table manners for the first time.

The next day, Aslan faced the table with the determination of someone facing a final battle, expecting a meal full of vegetables. But lo and behold, today’s main dish was meat again.

Usually, requests made to Dandelion were handled promptly. Aslan was puzzled.

Dandelion was the one who managed all of Aslan’s complicated schedule, and he had often scoffed at the idea that it was anything compared to Queen Lysian’s schedule. There was no way he would have forgotten or failed to report it to his superiors. While he didn’t enjoy vegetables, he certainly wasn’t happy about being served meat.

Aslan asked Dandelion directly.

“Why is there still meat on the menu?”

“You have a dinner appointment with Her Majesty tonight.”

Dandelion dismissed Aslan’s question. His tone was so firm that Aslan was speechless.

It was time for dinner with Lysian. They began by chatting casually about what he had been learning recently and what he had been doing.

But starting with the soup, there was a meat broth, and as the appetizer, entrée, and main course arrived, there was more meat than usual, greeting Aslan. The fragrant smell of meat made Aslan frown in pain.

“Why do you look like that?”

“…”

Aslan was speechless at Lysian’s sly question.