Villainess Of Hearts

It was an odd arrangement. Julius Ginellevé sat beside the Queen of Clovers, the woman fidgeted as she inched to her King's side. Not strange that she was uncomfortable with the man's presence. The Joker had insisted on this arrangement, that there were three people on the right: The King and Queen of Hearts with the Prime Minister. And for Ginellevé to occupy the seat that was left by the Delegate of Clovers.

Three on each side and somebody in the forefront of it all.

It was probably some kind of hilarious joke to them.

The Knight didn't exactly squirm in his seat—what good would it be to be able to down enemies and tremble at seating a dinner table? Something like this wasn't enough to startle him at all. But he was afraid that the others might take it the wrong way, and perhaps they truly did.

Blyke Edelweiss was both affronted and terrified that the man sitting across from him was the Knight of the Queen of Hearts. When would the occasion rise that the Joker would ask a mere servant to sit and dine with them…? He sliced his carrots and lettuce, putting it to his lips and chewed quietly.

Although he thought of something like that, it didn't change the fact that he appreciated and honoured the King of Hearts—regardless of their own actual background.

Clear as a bell, the silence rang within the room if not for the furious accompaniment that played in the background. Without the usually genial Delegate of Clovers, even the Prime Minister was disinclined to say a word and the Joker himself seemed to enjoy the silence that surrounded the Royal Dining Hall.

"My, my—you have good table manners, Knight Ginellevé." The Joker suddenly pointed out. The man once again picked up his wine glass—they never touched the meal prepared for them, but not one of them was willing to point that out. "Do you not all agree with me?"

"Hmm…it seems to be the case indeed." Ivan Nordskov glanced briefly at the Knight's plate and nodded. He said nothing else and returned to his own meal.

Alexander Hartsmichdt raised a brow, "Yes, is something like this taught to all of the Knights in the Lockhart House?"

Rosalyn Lockhart did not know what motive the Joker had for such comments—what benefit did he have for pointing this out? Mere amusement. There was a tinkle in the man's eyes, a mischievous glint that beckoned others to speak. She glanced at her left, the King of Hearts' question and nodded slightly. "I suppose you could say something like that."

"What exactly does cutlery have to do with Knighthood?" The Joker asked.

His way of asking and the way he looked at her—it was the same manner to when she was but a child. The Traveller that had all the right questions, waiting for an answer from his spectators gathered to listen to him, but in the end, he would have his own response to such a question and say it words and prose that were more lyrical than hers.

The Queen of Hearts narrowed her eyes slightly, slicing the sauteed fish in her plate. "Is it because they both use sharp objects?"

Rosswall blinked and cracked a grin. He chuckled and sipped his wine before placing it down, "I was expecting a more mature answer, Your Majesty. A Knight is an elite force in Noble Houses, the Castle of Hearts has its barracks—a garrison to defend itself and so does each Noble Household. Knights are prized in the Noble Houses—does not Lord Duke have his own banner under him?"

"That still doesn't explicitly answer your question, Joker." She pointed out with a frown.

"The Castle has a multitude of Soldiers, perhaps not all stationed in the Castle—I did pass a garrison before heading here, but while Soldiers are one but many, Knights are the elite and well-respected in the Kingdom of Hearts. It makes sense that some Noble Houses invest in the education and knowledge of their Knights."

"Not only a meatshield." A soft mutter came from the King of Hearts.

Rosalyn Lockhart scrunched up her face—the mere terminology made her balk. She glanced back at her Knight, Julius Ginellevé who also ate his meal quietly. To think of her Knight as simply some 'meat' to act as her 'shield', it only frustrated her. And yet she didn't say a word about it and nodded, "Yes. I suppose that is one way to look at it."

"But that's enough talk about the military might of the Hearts—I believe that the Clover Kingdom has their own strategy in terms of battles and wars." The Joker glanced at the King of Clovers. A smile present on their face, "Strictly not talking about those unsurvivable battles in the past where your Luck has saved your Kingdom. Actual tactics if you will, Your Majesty of Clovers. It has been quite some time since I've met with the Royals there. Your great-great-great grandfather was a good but foolish man."

Rosalyn Lockhart blinked at the Joker's words.

His presence was unheard of in the recent past, there was no mention of it to her when she was a child. She had hardly heard of it but now they truly seemed to be taking part in a more active discussion. Albeit the conversation about war made her spine tingle—talking about Knights was general information but the tactics of Clover Kingdom? That was perhaps too much.

Especially with the jab given by the speaker.

And she didn't even mention the fact that this Joker mentioned meeting His Majesty of Clover's ancestor. That enough was too much information on the dinner table. If he was that old—how old was the Time man? Time-less? 

She didn't exactly smile at her own bad sense of humor.

If anything, she wished to hang her head—somewhat distracted by such a number. 

Ivan Nordksov's face twitched slightly, "Luck does play a grand way into our battles—an enigmatic component that perhaps can't be explained but has always been there, regardless of circumstances in the past centuries. But please remember that we often take a neutral position during recent wars."

"Ah, yes neutrality." The Joker traced his fingers around his wine glass. "What a beautiful term, I would say that silently supporting one Kingdom isn't neutrality, but our terms and definitions might not be the same." He chuckled and glanced at the people at the table. "Am I the only one who remembers this? Yes...no? Ah, how much time flies. Perhaps dusting an old history book will do everyone here some good."

The Queen of Hearts clicked her tongue, as useful this information might be—

"I don't think this is a matter to be discussed during dinner, Joker." The Queen of Clovers spoke up. She had placed her fork and knife down, glaring slightly at the Joker. Her vexation was apparent in her tone. She breathed through her nose and let out an audible sigh, "Isn't this supposed to be a conversation for lighthearted subjects? One's stomach will ache if you eat while speaking of such things."

Was this her method of speaking up for her Kingdom?

The Joker's lips quirked and he picked up his wine glass, "That is the very reason why I'm not eating at all, Your Majesty of Clovers. What an insightful thing to say."

It really didn't make sense—the two were unrelated.

But it didn't matter to the Joker.

After taking a sip, the man dabbed his lips with a napkin. "If all of you do not wish to discuss war and also refuse to speak while dining—I am worried about this current generation. Quite peculiar. Maybe I am doing something right?" A thoughtful look appeared on his face until it vanished. "May I ask if Her Majesty of Hearts had recovered from her so-and-so illness for the past days?"

"Yes." Rosalyn Lockhart frowned and eyed the speaker with a look. Should she be upset at him or at the man on her left that gave the excuses? The Queen of Hearts had used that excuse on far too many occasions. "I've needed some time for myself, thank you for graciously staying here until my arrival, Joker. I am not exactly sure what has inspired you to stay here for such a great amount of time. The Gathering of the Suits had already ended, did it not?"

It was a risky thing to say, but alas, she could not hold her tongue.

And the Joker did seem to appreciate people with a canny way of words—it only made sense to point out something obvious. There was no harm in asking questions, the underlying tone might have been a tad offensive, but someone like them didn't even blink.

He chortled. 

"Ah, were you asking me to leave already?" Mister Rosswall's eyes gleamed and he folded his hands together, resting his chin atop of it. His elbows were on the table, bad manners at its worst. "You haven't even given me my box of tarts if you can recall, Your Majesty. How could I possibly leave without that?"

The Queen of Hearts blinked.

She had recalled promising Delegate Dimitri a box of tarts for his curiousness to eat the best ones—but this man also ended up asking for it, didn't he? And that was the sole reason why he hadn't left? Rosalyn Lockhart didn't remember the man being this… petty? Childish? She sought more appropriate words and found herself shaking her head. "Very well then, Joker. Tarts it is."

"You haven't given anything to the King of Spades when he left, did you?" The man grinned.

Rosalyn Lockhart paused.

Due to the time constraints, she hadn't exactly given them a parting gift. Especially with the trial that happened, she had completely forgotten about it and the King of Spades didn't even bring it up. Unlike a certain somebody.

"This will certainly be something I can brag about then when he returns."

Wait.

"You're not leaving yet, Joker?" The Queen of Hearts blinked. She did away with less straightforward remarks in lieu of getting answers.

He smiled, "I didn't exactly say when I'll leave, did I?"