The Rose Of The South
Chapter 20: La Reine des Glaces
Meanwhile, at the Nordhalbinsel Main Palace...
Leon had just set foot in the palace for the first time. In contrast to Schiereiland which only has one palace building whose breadth can encompass a whole city, Nordhalbinsel has a Palace complex consisting of four large buildings. The main palace is located at the front, the Queen's Palace on the right, the Crown Prince's Palace on the left and the Consort's Palace which is located further behind other buildings.
After the news of the Crown Prince's death circulated, the Main Palace remained filled by King Vlad who was still resting because of his health condition, while Queen Eleanor stayed at the Crown Prince's Palace and only went to the Main Palace for state affairs. The Queen's Palace, the place where Leon believed to be the place where Queen Isabella and Crown Prince Alexis lived before is now empty—or at least that's what he knows. Meanwhile, the Concubine Palace was still filled with the concubines of King Vlad as well as several princes, Xavier's half-brothers. Leon was not invited to tour all the palaces, but Elias Winterthur explained them all as part of the task given by Xavier.
That morning, after a night of being unable to sleep in one of the rooms in the Main Palace, Leon was finally reunited with Queen Eleanor.
Leon had already heard the rumors from everyone he knew both men and women, either, that Eleanor Winterthur was touted as the prettiest girl who could make the gods erect temples for her and the goddesses worship her. Leon disagrees. She looked like an undead wearing an expensive dress. Skinny and pale. Like not really alive. Is he sick?
Leon observed him like he used to observe his opponent. There was something from his walking manner that made him look haughty and powerful. But then his path came to a halt for a while, his body not as firm as it should be, looking like it was enduring the pain. Probably because of those high heels. Her Highness the Princess would at least like to wear such shoes, Leon thought. Then Leon realized, The Queen was wearing her shield. The haughty way, the various jewels she wore, the glittering fancy dress and the high heels, as if she wanted to be treated like a woman who ruled a kingdom. He wants recognition from those who see him.
It means he hasn't got the recognition he needs. Leon drew the conclusion.
Queen Eleanor looked back at him. The Queen forced a faint smile as if trying to be friendly to her guests. But from the gaze of those ice blue eyes it was obvious that he did not like his guests.
"I'm facing Queen Nordhalbinsel." Said Leon while lowering his gaze by lowering his head slightly without actually lowering down. Not really being submissive to the Queen before him. She's not the queen of my country. I'm not bowing to anyone here, he thought.
"Welcome to the kingdom of Nordhalbinsel, General Leon." Eleanor's voice was as cold and as sharp as ice. The typical speech accents of the northern people make his tone seem full of humiliation. His dislike of his guests was clear when his sentence seemed to pretend to be friendly.
"Originally you know, I did not come to serve this kingdom." Leon said directly without further ado.
Eleanor's pink lips curved to the side forming a smile. There were not many men who were arrogant towards him. "I know, General. Xavier sent you, didn't he?" Eleanor turned to Elias who had been standing beside her. "I know you won't tell me anything. But more or less I can understand it. You can go, Elias."
"Don't make a noise."
"I'm still Queen, Elias."
Elias did not obey his twin sister. Leon observed their resemblance. Both hard, cold and sharp as ice.
Eleanor sighed, massaging her temples. Knowing that Elias would not leave her side, Eleanor chose to ignore him. He looked at Leon before him with a judging look.
"How far do you know, General Leon?" Ask Eleanor.
"Just get to the point. I have no intention of lingering in your kingdom."
"alright. Let's get to the point." Eleanor sat on that single throne seat. There has always been one seat there for the past twenty-three years. Before he was crowned, the leader of the Nordhalbinsel kingdom was King Vlad, the only King without a Queen. Now the leader of the kingdom is only herself, the only Queen without a King. Eleanor crossed her legs, sitting haughtily before her arrogant guest.
But Leon is more careful in observing the opponent's movements. She realized the Queen was sitting down because she was getting dizzy. Then Leon remembered that the Queen was pregnant. His conjecture was confirmed after seeing Elias looking uneasily at his sister as if she could faint at any moment if she shifted her gaze.
"To break the magic—“ Eleanor took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the dizziness and nausea she felt, then she continued, "You have to face magic using magic."
"Then why don't you just do it, Witch?"
Elias, inflamed at Leon's tone, drew his sword toward Leon, "You speak before Queen Nordhalbinsel!"
"Elias!" Eleanor's voice echoed throughout the room. He threw a sharp look at his brother. Eleanor frowned, closed her eyes, refrained from falling. Leon noticed the Queen's face growing pale. "Remember the word Xavier. We needit. Keep your attitude."
"Xavier says we need it alive. He never said I couldn't get rid of one of his arms." Elias said, his sword is still drawn.
Leon did not even bother to draw his sword to give the same threat. He did not need to threaten to kill his country's enemies. He can do it quickly.
"Life, and whole." Now Eleanor seemed to be holding back the anger of her brother. "He can't break magic with just one arm. You can wait outside if you can't control your emotions."
Elias re-stretched his sword.
Eleanor looked back at Leon, her carriage calm. Apparently the Queen of the Ice Country was adept at theatrics, showing as if she was fine. "Well, General, you better be polite to me because no matter how you are in my kingdom, I'm still a Queen and you're a guest." Said. He took a deep breath slowly, seemingly struggling against the nausea and dizziness, "To break Selena's black magic, it takes King Zuidlijk's sword. But from what I've learned, only you can use that sword as a magic breaker. Others cannot. The law is like that. The thing is, you have no magic skills at all." In each sentence, Eleanor seemed to have trouble breathing. But he managed to say everything.
"Then what do you want, Your Majesty?" Leon asked, now more polite than ever. She inevitably remembered Queen Isabella in the early days of pregnancy while pregnant with Crown Prince Alexis. Queen Isabella also had such difficulties. Leon felt a bit of sympathy for Eleanor.
"Learn it."
"What?"
"You must learn magic, General."
"I'm sorry, I heard wrong. Is it that easy to learn magic?"
Leon clenched his hands at the side, refraining from yelling at the pale-looking Queen. He can't bear. "I don't have that much time, Your Majesty. I must return immediately to Princess Anastasia."
"of course. I know it. But you will be able to learn magic faster than anyone, even faster than me. Because you'll have the best teacher."
Leon raised his eyebrows, "Who?"
"I'm alone."
Leon laughed cynically.
Leon had used to learn things quickly and had always managed to master all the lessons in the Palace. While Queen Isabella had not yet given birth to Crown Prince Alexis, the lessons that the King's first son should have learned were given to her. Language, history, political, social and economic lessons. Same with the sword training in Westeria. Leon can always master everything easily and quickly.
But this time, magic will be learned. It is obviously impossible to learn magic quickly even from the best teachers if he is not born a witch or does not have witch parents.
"I'm serious." Eleanor said firmly. "And you should be able to master the lessons from me in a matter of days. Five days should be enough. We start today."
Hearing Eleanor speak like that, Leon understood why Xavier believed the fragile girl who looked like she was about to fall down at any moment to occupy her throne. Eleanor Winterthur has a strong mentality and believes in her own abilities. After all she was the daughter of the Wolf King and one of the strongest Grimoire witches. She was formed to be a Queen from the day she was born.
"alright. Let's get started." Leon said, as serious as Eleanor.
"Not here, General. Soon Prince Yi of the Orient will be coming. I heard you're quite famous. So I'm assuming those easterners will recognize you. We can't take any chances, they'll be suspicious if they see you in this Palace." Eleanor turned to Elias, giving wordless orders as Leon had seen Xavier do. Elias nodded obediently this time and walked out of the room. "Elias is preparing everything. We're going to the Winterthur residence, my home. You can go pack."
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Leon walked towards his room in the Main Palace. Back in Schiereiland, he had a room in the Palace, but he rarely slept there because he would often stay in Princess Anastasia's room or sleep in a tent during the war. His room at the Nordhalbinsel Main Palace looked as big and luxurious as his room at the Schiereiland Palace. The King's son's room, not just a guest room. The difference is, the room he occupied in Nordhalbinsel felt cold and gripping. He can't wait to leave the palace and hopes the Winterthur residence looks more like home.
Just as he was about to turn towards one of the corridors leading towards his room, he heard the voice of a girl.
"I've said it many times! I don't want to!" From her tone of voice, the girl sounded angry. Leon had no intention of eavesdropping on the conversation, but the girl was wearing the uniform she had seen worn by Princess Anastasia while being Xavier's personal bodyguard. So he stopped, watching from afar.
"You're in no position to resist, Miss Welsh." That's Elias' voice.
It was Elias, Leon just realized it. Elias cornered the girl in the bodyguard uniform. Leon notices the girl doesn't look like a northerner. She was probably the same age as Princess Anastasia, the same height. His long black hair was tied to a ponytail. Leon could not confirm the color of his eyes from that distance, but when viewed from the color of his skin that was not as pale as the skin of the people of the north and not as dark as the people of Westeria, he said, he knew the girl was eastern. Leon wondered why the girl from the Orient could work as a bodyguard at Nordhalbinsel Palace.
"It's a disrespectful act on one of the Queen's bodyguards. I'll report it." Say the girl. This time his tone threatened as if he was not dealing with the twin brother of the Queen as well as the son of a Grand Duke.
Elias laughs. "You may forget, so let me remind you again, I am the Queen's twin sister."
Leon decided to continue his steps. He stopped not far from them. "Am I interrupting something?" Ask.
Elias turned his head towards her, and at that moment, the girl seemed to take advantage of Elias's negligence by twisting her hand and making Elias fall to the floor. Leon realizes he saw the martial move on Princess Anastasia when she dropped Xavier in their practice. Leon never taught the movement to the Princess, so he suspected Princess Anastasia of learning the movement while working as Xavier's personal bodyguard.
Perhaps all the girls working here were taught such martial techniques. Her thought.
The girl said to Leon without glancing a single bit at him, "Thank you Sir, but you don't need—“ Her words came to a halt once her eyes met Leon. He looked surprised as if he were seeing a ghost. "For the Dragon..." The girl covered her mouth with both hands as if holding back a shout, she got up and looked at Leon from top to bottom then up again, observing every detail on Leon's face, she said, making sure that the one in front of him is really not a ghost. He completely forgot Elias who had freed himself from him. "More handsome than the one in the painting..." The girl muttered to herself. But Leon can hear it.
"I'm sorry?" Leon raised his eyebrows.
She's an Orient girl. Leon confirmed after seeing his eyes. The eyes belong to the east. But his style of speech was very similar to that of the northern people.
"He bothers you?" Ask Leon.
The girl nodded quickly.
"You okay?" Leon asked again because now the girl looked pale.
Before Leon could ask anything more, the girl had already run away from him as if afraid of him.
"He why?" Ask Leon to Elias.
"You're the reason!" Elias. "He's Honey Welsh. The Orient girl Xavier said probably knows something about Princess Seo-Hwa's whereabouts. I asked her to come to my team to look for the missing Princess. I finally got to meet him after days of him avoiding me. But you're even—It's over!" Elias snorted angrily, then left Leon who was still confused by the behavior of the Orient girl.
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