The Queen and the Lion - Chapter 50

Since then, Dandelion had been watching Aslan more closely than usual. If he had previously watched him with disapproval, he was now doing so to try to fathom Aslan’s inner thoughts.

It would have been quicker to ask Aslan directly if he was curious about his inner thoughts, but Dandelion didn’t fully trust Aslan. He knew Aslan was proud and that his outward appearance was not very different from his inner self, but as the queen’s head servant, Dandelion also had the prejudice that Aslan would not confide in him with his true feelings, as everything he said to Dandelion would eventually be reported to the queen.

And it wasn’t just Aslan; the problem was that public opinion within the palace was worse than he thought. Although Lysian was firm, people were increasingly seeing Aslan’s study of Florean etiquette as mere lip service.

“Perhaps his slow progress is because he’s trying to waste time.”

“Are you saying he’s pretending not to be able to do it?”

“If this continues, the succession of the Florean royal family will be delayed. Then we will have no choice but to beg him to at least give us an heir. There’s an easy way to become king, so he might think there’s no need to suffer.”

“No, that’s so petty…”

“He’s clearly using the fact that Her Majesty is infatuated with him to play a sinister game.”

“Didn’t he use the same kind of underhanded tactics on the battlefield? The title of ‘Black Lion of the Battlefield’ is clearly an exaggerated lie.”

Dandelion could hear the nobles whispering as they passed by. Since the nobles were openly belittling Aslan, it was no wonder that the servants were slandering him without any sense of propriety. Dandelion clicked his tongue.

Dandelion knew, watching from the sidelines, that Aslan was trying hard but not achieving results. However, to others who viewed him with cold eyes, he was merely a target for criticism. Seeing Aslan’s already poor reputation hitting rock bottom, Dandelion felt frustrated.

Dandelion briefly considered whether to report this to Lysian. But even if Lysian knew, there wouldn’t be much she could do as long as Aslan’s skills remained stagnant.

On the contrary, if Lysian said anything about it, people would say she was favoring Aslan and nod in agreement with their own thoughts.

With the nobles harboring resentment towards Aslan and refusing to cooperate, Aslan’s progress was at a standstill. The situation was getting worse and worse, and Dandelion sighed.

On a particularly nice day, around lunchtime.

The mealtime was approaching. Aslan clicked his tongue softly. Today, he was determined to perfectly handle everything from choosing the fork to using the knife. Aslan resolved to himself.

He had marveled at the splendid palace food at first, but now, as he concentrated on maintaining proper table manners, he couldn’t even feel the food going down his throat. Count Mugue’s eyes scrutinized Aslan’s fork as sharply as if he were reading a swordsmanship manual.

In the midst of this, Aslan suddenly dropped his knife. Thinking it was another clumsy mistake, Count Mugue glanced at Aslan with disdain. However, as soon as he saw Aslan, he jumped up in surprise.

Clang! For the first time ever, Count Mugue’s fork fell from the table and rolled onto the floor.

Aslan covered his mouth.

A bright red stream of blood flowed from between his fingers. Drop by drop, the bloodstains spread across the white tablecloth.

“The physician!”

Count Mugue, whose face had turned as white as the porcelain on his plate, called for the physician. The servants, realizing the situation belatedly, quickly moved.

Dandelion calmly assessed the situation.

“Arrest the servant who just served the food and the chef!”

The guards quickly moved at Dandelion’s command. Dandelion belatedly checked Aslan’s complexion. His face, which had previously seemed as if it could withstand being poked with a needle, looked unwell.

Aslan waved his hand.

“Don’t make a fuss.”

“This is an assassination attempt. I can’t ignore it.”

“It’s not an assassination attempt, it’s a threat.”

Aslan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Blood stained his hand, revealing his bony knuckles. For a moment, he seemed fine, but then he coughed up blood again.