Villainess Of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts stepped back into the Castle of Hearts and left Lady Duke all by herself—she clicked her tongue and walked past the corridors unrelentlessly. She could hear the footsteps of her Knight following after her, but the man was at least able to read the atmosphere. She needed the silence.

Luck.

She was lucky. It was a silly concept—if there was anyone unlucky then it would be her. Catherine Duke didn't know a thing about what she had gone through and her simply saying that being a Queen was all because of luck, that she was beyond blessed to have been born in the Lockhart House? The Queen of Hearts fought back the urge to sigh loudly and stop herself from shaking.

Luck.

What a funny thing to say. She was beyond unlucky—multiple lives all over and not once had she been able to keep her life for herself. The Queen of Hearts passed through a new corridor and nearly had a door in her face. 

"Y-Your Majesty!" The Knight's voice cried out.

Rosalyn Lockhart reached a hand to her face and rubbed her forehead, and it had been pretty close to the door. She heard the sound of a short gasp along with something green and black coming to her field of vision, the Queen of Clover's eyes widened. "Y-Your Majesty of Hearts, are you alright?"

A sardonic smile curled on her lips, "If I had any other thoughts right now that bordered on paranoia, this would seem premeditated by your Kingdom to attack the Queen of Hearts. But I'll consider this as an accident instead, Queen Anasthasia." 

The woman in front of her was grimacing. Their black hair and small stature somewhat made Rosalyn feel as if she was bullying a child. Neo Anasthasia bowed quickly before she raised her head, her eyes looking straight back at her. "T-That is not true, Your Majesty. My apologies for almost hitting you. Please don't take offense in it." The Queen folded her hands and looked genuinely apologetic.

It was a stark contrast to their earlier quiet and even cold demeanor when they had met. Was this her true personality underneath their exterior? She raised a brow and waved a hand, "Think nothing of it."

She had never considered height differences before, most of their time together was spent sitting down but now she could see the Queen of Clovers upfront. Long dark hair that fell straight across her shoulders and eyes that matched. She had a cute button-like nose and fair pink lips, she could understand why the King of Clovers might have wanted her to be the Queen. Or readily accepted her.

And yet it didn't match her image of a victor from the Card Trials.

Someone like her… they were surely saved by Alexander Hartsmichdt at a time like that? Just the thought of it was enough to make her stomach coil inside, and to some extent—her dislike of the man colored her vision of the smaller woman. But she wasn't going to do anything.

Rosalyn Lockhart bit the inside of her cheek and stepped around the Queen of Clovers. 

All she needed was to get away and—

"Your Majesty of Hearts?" Queen Neo Anasthasia's voice once again came again. 

She looked back over her shoulders, "Yes? Is there anything I can do for an honored guest, like yourself, Queen Anasthasia?" To say it without any gritting of her teeth was a skill in of itself and she even plastered a smile to add to that. 

"...I uh, well there's something I wish to converse with you—"

The Queen of Clovers wanted to talk with her? "Ah, can I perhaps surmise what it is? Is it related to the King of Hearts?" Someone like them would come into the defense of the King of Hearts wouldn't she? They seemed like the type to do so. Would they criticise her for slapping the man in the face?

"N-no, not at all." The Queen of Clovers coughed and waved a hand, "That might be necessary—but ah, I wish to know if I can follow you around as you perform your duties as a Queen here?"

Rosalyn Lockhart eyed them, the other Queen's movement was unsightly. "Would it not be better to have your Delegate or another person from the Kingdom of Clovers to tutor you? There are customs that may not work well for the Kingdom, the management of each Kingdom differs." She didn't expect to hear those words come from the other Queen at all—but she squashed the surprise in her heart. If she didn't know any better… "Do you wish to spy on me and my whereabouts? What if this is perchance an opportunity to know my schedule better in order to strike me—"

"This request of mine may seem suspicious—but I only have good intentions!" A frown finally crossed on the Queen of Clover's lips. Their dark eyes flashing for a moment, a leap in their emotions from the usual detached self they were in the earlier conversations. "I do not think that any kind of person would like to be judged for something that they haven't done at all or even from the initial meeting, Your Majesty of Hearts."

The Queen of Heart's gaze fleeted past them to her Knight. Julius was simply standing around patiently and he wasn't alarmed by the Queen of Clovers' presence. She somewhat trusted his instincts but this time he wasn't offering any advice or insights? Was she really just paranoid and connecting points that didn't exist? 

Rosalyn Lockhart shook her head and smiled, "Your Majesty of Clovers—it may not come across to you, but every second that you show yourself to the crowd is when the people gaze and look at you. Your actions are measured by them, every movement is timed to their whims accordingly and each misstep is taken into whatever context that they desire. If you carelessly say things and wish that people do not see any ill-intent in it, then you must be very naive."

"I…is this truly how the Royals operate it?" The Queen of Clovers hands clutched her gown, her knuckles white.

This was the reaction that she wanted. 

Rosalyn Lockhart tilted her head, "I'd like to believe that everyone is judged with the same critical eye—but as a Royal, the lenses on you are magnified. One must always act dignified, Your Majesty." She was explaining things to them, as a senior—this was what was needed wasn't it? The Queen of Clovers didn't need to follow her around, they only needed to keep these things on her mind.

"... what about that slap."

The Queen of Hearts almost hadn't caught those words. The Queen of Clovers mumbled it quietly underneath her breath that maybe Rosalyn Lockhart could have pretended not to hear it and go on her merry way. And yet she didn't do that. It flicked something in her. She eyed the other Queen and smiled again, "That slap? He deserved it."

Neo Anasthasia looked up at her with widened eyes before they narrowed at her, "He made a mistake, that was an accident—"

"What if I accidentally lopped your head off?" Rosalyn Lockhart tilted her head at the Queen. She watched the other Queen's expression still and it made her chuckle, "Yes, what if I had done that, grab my Knight's sword right now and make a bloody mess of your neck and I go approach your King and say—ah, my apologies, I thought she was the assassin and defended myself. I could get away with that, couldn't I?"

She didn't wait for any answers.

The scenarios were vivid in her mind. Visceral. She folded her hands together and sighed, "Not to mention that I am in my Kingdom and you are nothing but a Queen that's staying here as a visitor. I do not even see you without a Knight or some protection. Even if the King of Clovers become upset, will they even be able to retaliate? Honestly, it would be so easy to do that right now."

"...are you threatening me?" To the Queen of Clover's credit, their gaze was hardened.

Perhaps a testimony to their experiences in the Card Trial?

She did not have a clue at all.

"Oh, goodness no." Rosalyn Lockhart waved a hand at her, "I was just giving you an example or illustration to how the King of Hearts, your friend, Alexander Hartsmichdt's tiny error can have repercussions. There is no room for mistakes, Your Majesty. Either you do it right or you pay the price. What if the King of Hearts killed the man on the trial, something like that is unforgivable do you not agree? The man was innocent but they were treated unfairly."

Neo Anasthasia swallowed a small lurch in her throat, "Do you need to give such a brutal image?"

"It gives you a clear image of how heavily they've made a mess of things, Your Majesty of Clovers." Rosalyn Lockhart crossed her arms over her chest. "Do not expect me to be kind to him as you do, I am simply acting as a proper Queen should be. We are not at the height of power, it was given to us and one small mishap can end it all. All it takes is one person, Queen Anasthasia and a Kingdom can end in flames. Do not commit that error in judgement."

The Queen of Clovers fell silent and she could even notice how heavily her Knight's gaze was on her right now. She had said too much, didn't she? Rosalyn Lockhart turned around, "Very well, now that I have explained it to you—I will now leave you, Your Majesty of Clovers. Take my words into consideration and you may turn into the Queen that you wish to be."

Rosalyn Lockhart left them.