Villainess of Hearts

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Little Foil In Her Plans

A certain Knight soon found himself given orders by His Queen. It was something he wasn't expecting—no matter how much she had said that he was used to covert orders. Visiting her privately in her chambers was one thing but this request had more trouble than he was willing to stake himself for, he enjoyed himself when he visited her.

Bringing another man to Rosalyn Lockhart... something bitter filled up in his throat.

It was a vile thing.

And yet she had requested it of him. But it wasn't as if she had taken on another lover, he was confident about that. No matter how strange of a wish it was—she said she wanted friends. That was a very different thing.

Sir Julius Ginellevé had to admit this to himself too, the Hatter did save his Queen. He shouldn't have left her side but somehow Rosalyn Lockhart still got in trouble and at the end of the day...there were debts to be settled.

But did it really have to be paid this way?

She could have sent gold or offered something else of value to gain a beneficial relationship with that Hatter? Did she really need to thank them personally?

"Argh!" He fought back the urge to smack his face. She expected him to sneak in the Hatter inside this place without anybody knowing. Well it was still a better order than inviting them into the castle for no special reason.

Still he struggled with such requests.

"Has the Queen fallen ill?" He muttered to himself as he walked among the corridors in the castle. He wasn't out yet to fulfill her orders but was instead contemplating if they were to be followed. "She said invite and so if the man refuses then I can rest at ease...but nobody will reject an invitation from such an important person and even more so from her."

And it wasn't because he thought of his Queen as a very charming woman.

Well to him, she was the loveliest rose on a summer's day but to other people—her ferociousness was known. If the Hatter wanted to have his life spared, he'd follow his Queen's orders. However he was still unsure if this was the choice to be made.

There were other methods to repay the Hatter and gain his friendship. But was that person even worthy of being called the Queen's friend?

Did she not have any other prospects?

He rubbed his face for a moment, it would be so much easier to simply heed her words but her protection and safety was even more important than pleasing her. He was her sworn Knight—and they have even sworn during their childhood. "And that's why I'm here." He sighed and finally ran his fingers through his hair, "It doesn't matter to whom the Hatter is affiliated is with, as long as I stay at her side, no harm shall come to her."

Sir Julius Ginellevé looked around the empty corridor for a moment. His eyes searched and listened for any person who would come.

And there was none.

All it took was a quick whisper of a secret phrase as a hidden passageway opened and the Knight quickly disappeared.

. . .

Needless to say, once the Queen of Hearts had left the house of Mallory with her Knight—a certain Hatter was lambasted by his friends.

Well only one of them.

Harold was more content to dig into his bed covers and they hadn't even seen the Knight of the Queen. Nicholas Hatter wiped the cold sweat off his brow, even now that a day had already passed—he still couldn't get over that day.

And yet Mallory had given him an earful about it after the incident.

"Out of all the people what were ye doing with the Queen of Hearts?! Have ye lost ye'r mind?!" She had shouted at him while they all held a tea party together.

Harold was drinking his tea by that time and agreed with her, "D-Didn't she want your head lopped off?"

"Then what do you think I should have done? Let a helpless woman fend for herself?" He sighed. Even a cruel woman would look like a helpless fawn in dire situations. Or maybe he had just been hallucinating such an image...

"Helpless? She could have yapped those men's ears off or something!" Mallory's teacup shook as she thumped it down its saucer and glared at him.

Nicholas Hatter raised a brow and sipped his tea, he chuckled. "Are you referring to yourself, Mal?"

"Very funny, Nicholas." The young woman was small but had a terrible temper. He wondered if they would have been like the Queen if they were in the same position.

He managed a smile and wished he could tip his hat, "Why thank you, I am a man of many talents after all."

"It would have been better if the Queen got kidnapped or something though." Mallory frowned.

He raised a brow, "Seems quite different from when you were so willing to let her in your safe spot and hide her."

"Well, it's better than getting involved in the fiasco." Mallory munched on her biscuit. "But think about it, if the Queen is gone then somebody else could step up."

The Hatter shrugged and placed his cup down, "Can you imagine the mess when other Noble Households start competing to be the new Queen if the current one dies? That's bad for business."

"I'm sure that as one of the people she had ordered beheaded, you understand what I mean." Mallory sniffed at him. "And even the King could get some replacing, if ye weren't quick on y'er feet, I was afraid that ye would have been a goner."

That much was true.

Escaping the castle had been one of his greatest feats. But he sighed and stopped to ponder. Despite all of that, in the short amount of time they've been together that day and when she turned to him one last time to utter her thanks.

'You have my gratitude, Sir Hatter...I will pay my dues in good time, but for now, I must head back to the castle. Farewell.'

She hadn't seemed as bad as he assumed her to be...

People can change, couldn't they?

He shook his head and placed his attention on his current tasks. One of the representatives in the Kingdom of Clover had made a bulk order of his hats, he may need to contact—

The door to his shop slammed open.

And before he could even look up, the Knight already had the tip of their sword underneath his chin. He couldn't even gulp, "Ahaha... welcome to Mad Hatter's shop, what can I do for you?"

"The Queen of Hearts promised you something didn't she?"

Maybe he really had been wearing rose-colored glasses, his poor heart that couldn't ignore a helpless damsel was now turned against him.

"Speak unless you prefer that I make sure that you'll remain silent for as long as you live." A cruel smile formed on the Queen of Heart's Knight.

Nicholas Hatter still had his craftsman tool, a small hammer, in his hand. He measured his chances of a well-trained Knight with a sword.

They weren't very good chances.