Villainess Of Hearts

How could one explain the situation that the King of Hearts was in? He was similar to a sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves in sheep's clothing. Yes, that was the appropriate remark. He might have not been that well-versed in the political and nobility intrigue, the show and play performed by each noble, but he could at least tell when a person was being sincere.

And these were the four largest Noble Houses in the Kingdom, each one with an extensive amount of land and varying resources. The Marius House was said to grow numerous crops, bountiful, and had even orchards filled to the brim with abundant fruits from oranges to grapes. The sprightly older man bowed and gave him a smile, "Long live to the Kingdom of Hearts—besides the usual tribute of our House, I have also brought additional numbers of the best and first of our harvest."

Soon came the Eris House. The lord of the house had a number of beautiful daughters that were known for their looks, grace and charm. Some were even said to have been visited by minor lords and royalties from small kingdoms that bordered their lands. The lord of the house looked around and smiled, "Your Majesty—it seems that the Queen of Hearts is not at your side. It is a shame that the Lockhart House is not yet here either. If the occasion arises, it would be an honor if His Majesty would meet and greet my daughters. They had insisted on visiting here."

Alexander Hartsmichdt could only hide his frown, but nodded his head. "Thank you, I hope your daughters enjoy their stay here, albeit I'm afraid that it may be dull." How many did this old fool bring? He then turned to the other two leaders of their houses, the Lorie and Hawthorne House.

If the Eris House could boast about the number of daughters that were comparable to fair roses, the Lorie House was one with brilliant sons. Their sons led the knighthood and garrison, and they also took care of the widow of the deceased patriarch. His wife now arrived in his place and curtsied. "Greetings to His Majesty of Hearts, and long live to the Kingdom! My sons and I have brought some of our knights that may be of use to you as additional soldiers, Your Majesty."

The King of Hearts blinked, this time surprised at the sudden gesture. "Lady Lorie, I appreciate the thought—but I think it might be uncomfortable with these knights to become soldiers." It felt like someone getting into their dream place to work but to be appointed below their rank.

"It would be their honour, Your Majesty! The safety and security of the crown is our utmost priority." the older woman would remark. And there seemed to be a knowing tone in her voice and even in her choice of words.

Alexander managed a smile, "Very well—but I'll leave it up to the commander of my soldiers to assess each one before admitting them. It is also a good time considering that Lord Duke is here already."

Some exchange of looks happened, a susurration sounded as Lord Jericho Marius spoke up. "Your Majesty has summoned the Lord Duke prior to us?" It was a known fact that the Lord Warth Duke was farther than them.

The King of Hearts rested a hand underneath his cheek, "Not particularly. But it is well known that Her Majesty of Hearts and Lady Catherine Duke are good friends, and the Lord has come to pick up his wife. But since our meeting was about to occur, I insisted he stayed while his wife took care of their duties back in their territory."

It was a slip of the tongue, but the man would have popped up regardless of his words. The Prime Minister was beside him and so far hadn't thrown him a nervous look, so this much conversation was fine. Addressing the first of the many that would arrive, inform them of the changes in the agreement and be done with it.

He had already managed this before.

However, he really could have wished that the Queen of Hearts was with him. If that was the case, at least these Nobles wouldn't be giving such hungry looks. While the ordinary people loved him, it was obvious that they saw this as a chance to influence his own decisions. Especially Eris' House tactic. Even he could see that him meeting up with this Lord's daughters was a ruse for his heart to be swayed with one of his daughters.

Perhaps take one of them as his concubine, even take them to bed or anything to have him favor one House over the other.

But he would never, for he had already chosen the moment that he had met his Queen.

. . .

It wasn't hard to say that the Queen of Hearts was like many other Nobles; it was an inevitable thing from growing up in a station that was above others. Nicholas Hatter was keenly aware of it. He had interacted with some Nobilities before by chance, whether it had been providing these people's hats or even performing, but listening to her speak of her worries was something else.

The Hatter did his best to listen, albeit, truth be told—it was a lot.

Her Majesty of Hearts had a lot to say, which was possibly something normal with girls. He had listened to Mallory nag Harold for an entire afternoon once and had made the man cry. But if there was anything that made him stare at her and listen, it was her vulnerability in this moment. The Queen was beautiful no doubt, even as she spoke.

But to hear about what bothered her, the Queen who had been known for being so cruel… well, she actually had a heart. However, it was only reserved for those who she found worthy of receiving her affections, honesty and loyalty.

The first and foremost were of her family.

"The Lord of the Lockhart House is a title that is respected throughout the land, the makers of good swords and weapons along with powerful Knights in our order. It is a matter of pride. But he was supposed to be far greater than that. He had been raised to become King and so the position of the Lord and his excellence in it, it's all natural."

A shadow clouded her face for a moment.

"I do not know what to do about this situation." She smiled, but the light did not reach her eyes. "We believed the Card Trial was easy to resolve, the other Nobility Houses had already decided to give way for the eldest son of the Lockhart House to reach the proper age and reign over the Kingdom… and yet the hearts of the people were swayed. The other Nobilities then separated and insisted that the ruling of the Card Trial was above that of the agreement reached."

Nicholas Hatter could only listen, and though he could have said a word… for the look on Her Majesty's face was painful to watch, he understood that this might be the first of the occasions where she had finally admitted it aloud. Such things like this had been kept under wraps, severely under wraps. Those who had revoked the Card Trial's ruling had been—

"War and bloodshed. Every Kingdom knows of it, surely that cannot be avoided, Nicholas. And even people in the same Kingdom could be divided in opinion. That was natural and so the only option reached back then, with both parties unwilling to back down, was the tearing down of each other's throat." Rosalyn Lockhart said it all with a rather calm face, even a tiny smile. "It was an inevitable thing. We have our pride and honor. What else were the Nobility supposed to do? We speak with one another with smiles on our faces, but there's poison in our lips and daggers in the back of our hands."

Nicholas Hatter had to put his own opinions away for a moment and listen. The current King of Hearts had brought peace and was adored by a great majority of the commoners. But this was important to her. He was only a little afraid that she might become hysterical and that his suggestion would have done more damage than good.

"I did not know who the Joker was back then, we were kept in the dark… I had never thought that the one who had visited my family when I was a child was the same man in charge of this." A bitter smile crept up on her face, "But I knew that despite all the bloodshed that would occur, what would happen next was undeterminable. Even if we won the first battle against the opposing side, who was to say that the other Nobility would keep to their word and crown my brother as King? Too much blood has been spilled for it to pass peacefully. I had to find another way for my family to survive."

She promised not to delve into details, but the look in her eyes was as if she was envisioning each scene in her mind. Vivid and clear as day.

The young Lady of the Lockhart House departed from her House on horseback, without even telling a word but to a single Knight. The young woman knew that the idea in her mind had been brazen, crazy and could have even been treacherous. What a terrible idea it was! 

"If my brother could not be King then at least I…"