The Queen and the Lion - Chapter 52
Lysian immediately launched a thorough investigation to find out who had tampered with Aslan’s food. She already knew there were those who opposed Aslan. The purists, who argued that someone of Aslan’s bloodline couldn’t be part of the Florean royal family, and the opportunists, who had marriageable daughters and were eyeing a chance at power, were the most prominent anti-Aslan factions. Though their goals differed, their stance was the same.
So, which group had poisoned Aslan? The culprits, despite trying to conceal their identities, couldn’t escape the queen’s relentless investigation.
The culprits turned out to be a group of young nobles. Slightly younger than Aslan, they were all eligible to marry the queen and were infatuated with her. In fact, most of them came from good families and secretly dreamed of becoming the queen’s consort.
In a gathering, they had discussed becoming the queen’s consort. They shared what they knew about Aslan from their fathers or what they had heard, expressing their disgust at his barbaric behavior, which they believed made him unworthy of being a king. They concluded that if Aslan were gone, Lysian would regain her senses. However, they knew that at night, Aslan and Lysian shared the same bed, and during the day, no one had the skill to confront the “Black Lion” under the bright sun. So, they resorted to a less direct method: poisoning.
Tampering with the palace’s food was a serious crime.
It was a maid, who admired one of the young noblemen, who had put the poisonous plant in Aslan’s food. She bowed her head so low it almost touched the floor, confessing that she would never have dared to do such a thing to the queen’s food. Dandelion recalled the servants openly slandering Aslan in the corridors. With such sentiments prevalent among the lower ranks, it was easy for the maid to be swayed by the idea that she was doing a service to the queen.
As the head servant, Dandelion felt responsible for not managing the servants properly. He clenched his fist.
Faced with the possibility of execution, the fathers of the young nobles stepped forward. They pleaded with the queen, begging for her mercy, claiming their sons had acted out of youthful folly.
“They all admired the queen…”
“Love! You were so consumed by your own love that you wounded mine. Did my love seem so insignificant to you?”
Lysian’s command echoed through the courtroom.
Lysian’s eyelashes trembled with fury. Though only eighteen, she showed no sign of backing down, even when facing ministers who were more than twice her age.
The older nobles, who could have been her grandfather or father, saw in Lysian the clear imprint of her foremothers, the queens. Overwhelmed by the sense of obedience ingrained in their blood, they remained silent, offering no rebuttal.
Lysian glared at the foolish ministers who bowed their heads before her, desperately pleading for mercy.
Trying to poison Aslan in the palace was a grave crime that could have led to the queen’s murder. Lysian thought of Aslan, who was lying in bed, drenched in sweat. If she had her way, she would feed them the same poison Aslan had ingested, so they could truly understand the gravity of their actions.
But Lysian was the queen of Florea, and they were her subjects. She couldn’t punish them with her own hands. Lysian closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
After a long moment, Lysian opened her eyes. The anger in her violet eyes had cooled, replaced by a cold, intellectual clarity. She opened her lips, her voice as delicate as a primrose. All eyes in the courtroom were fixed on her.
“I will banish you to Heiban.”
“Your Majesty!”
Several nobles involuntarily raised their voices at Lysian’s unexpected verdict. The accused looked at each other in bewilderment. One of the culprits’ fathers stepped forward, ignoring the rules of etiquette.
“Those in Heiban have resentment towards Florea. How can you send them to such a hostile place? Please, impose a different punishment.”
“Resentment?”
Lysian scoffed lightly.
“Isn’t that something Aslan has felt for a long time?”
Her cold reply left them speechless. Lysian looked at them with disbelief.
“You were so eager to please Prince Kaplan when he visited, but now you harbor such feelings towards Heiban? Are the nobles of Florea so shortsighted and narrow-minded?”
Prince Kaplan was an exception to the Floreans’ view of Heiban. His temperament and disposition were more similar to the Floreans, making him seem less like a Heiban. That was why Heiban had sent Prince Kaplan as an envoy. But now that Florea and Heiban had made peace, they couldn’t rely solely on Prince Kaplan. Lysian lifted her chin and spoke with arrogant confidence.
Florea and Heiban have made peace, and that peace will be solidified by Aslan and my marriage. Heiban is a place where people live. There must be much to learn there. You have dismissed Aslan’s attempt to adapt to Florean customs. That proves that your sense of superiority has clouded your judgment to such an extent that you cannot see the essence of humanity. I will make it your punishment and your mission to go to Heiban and learn about their culture.”
With this solemn declaration, everyone in the courtroom had no choice but to accept their fate. The atmosphere was such that even the slightest objection was not permitted. Thus, the case of Aslan’s poisoning was concluded.
