The Queen and the Lion - Chapter 53

Lysian leaned back deeply into her throne, letting out a weary sigh. Dandelion, who was standing beside her, offered her a drink to soothe her throat. Lysian gulped down the beverage as if to quench a burning thirst. Dandelion, who would normally have commented on such an unrefined act, remained silent, feeling a sense of responsibility for what had happened.

After finishing the last drop of the drink, Lysian handed the ornate gold-rimmed glass to Dandelion. She gazed at the empty courtroom, lost in thought. As if reassuring herself, she murmured, “When they return, we can make them into ambassadors for cultural exchange between Heiban and Florea. It’s not a bad idea.”

“What if they develop an even greater aversion to Heiban?” Dandelion asked, his voice filled with worry. Not everyone was capable of approaching things with a positive and open mind, and he couldn’t guarantee that these young nobles would understand Lysian’s deeper intentions. Despite Dandelion’s concerns, Lysian shook her head firmly, her tone unwavering.

“If they develop a greater aversion, they clearly can’t understand the culture. And if they refuse to adapt, they don’t deserve to be nobles of Florea.”

Dandelion was silenced by Lysian’s icy words. Her anger, now cold, was as sharp and unyielding as the peak of a rugged iceberg.

“Be sure to tell Aslan that everything has been resolved.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Dandelion bowed deeply in response. As he turned to leave, he noticed the jewel on Lysian’s forehead trembling slightly.

Realizing how upset Lysian must be over this incident, Dandelion felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.

****

After that, everything sent to Aslan had to pass through even stricter inspections than those for Lysian. His lessons were naturally canceled altogether.

Despite having some time off, Aslan seemed uneasy.

“How long am I supposed to rest?”

“Her Majesty said to rest as long as you like.”

Aslan clicked his tongue in response. Though he usually attended his lessons diligently, he didn’t seem to be particularly studious. Curious as to why he was displeased with the suspension of his lessons, Dandelion asked casually,

“Isn’t it nice to have some time off?”

“It’s fine to rest, but the problem is I’ll forget everything.”

“You can always learn again. There’s no rush. Her Majesty said so herself.”

“Her Majesty would say there’s no rush, but I bet the people around her are already bothering her.”

Aslan sighed and shook his head. Was it pretense or sincerity?

Dandelion tried to gauge the truth in Aslan’s words, but his dull golden eyes remained simply honest. They had only ever spoken about lessons, so it was difficult to read his mind.

And then he realized this was his chance to ask Aslan something he had been curious about. “Why didn’t you say anything to Her Majesty back then?”

“What?”

“When they compare you to the others.”

What was going through the mind of the man who had stood so firmly at the end of the corridor?

Aslan slowly looked up at Dandelion. His fiery golden eyes were as clear as jewels, but they held the heat of a wild beast. Blinking like a lion on the savannah, he seemed to be recalling the past before finally speaking.

“What they said wasn’t entirely wrong.”

His slightly muffled voice sounded like the growl of a wounded beast. Dandelion realized that although Aslan had seemed indifferent, he had actually been thinking about what had happened.

“After all, Florean standards don’t fit me like a glove. I can’t say they were wrong. I couldn’t say I was better than those men they considered superior.”

Aslan sighed softly.

Dandelion felt a pang of guilt. Honestly, he had also thought Aslan was lacking compared to the other men. But as he said, it was simply a difference between the two countries. They simply valued and excelled at different things.

“The queen is already so busy. I didn’t want to trouble her with such a trivial matter.”

Aslan shrugged and smiled. Trivial matter? The words ‘that’s no trivial matter’ echoed in Dandelion’s mind.

In the past, he would have thought Aslan was lying, just making excuses that sounded good. But now he realized Aslan wasn’t the kind of person to say such things. And he also understood that Aslan truly loved Lysian.

“You shouldn’t be so casual about it from now on.”

Dandelion’s gaze changed. There was a palpable authority in his eyes, the result of over thirty years serving as a steward both to Lysian and her mother, the previous queen.

“Lord Yilmaz is the one Her Majesty has chosen. It is the choice of the highest authority in Florea. Please, have more faith in yourself and Her Majesty.”

Steward Dandelion had accepted Aslan Yilmaz as a candidate for the consort of Lysian. If before he had merely accepted him because Lysian liked him, this time it was out of pure admiration and recognition of Aslan himself.