12 A Jumpy Rabbit

It shouldn't have been a surprise to find a certain man running down the hall. No one batted an eye when he did, neither soldiers nor servants paused at their frazzled appearance.

A young man dressed finely in a waistcoat was running as if he had run out of time. He held a pocket watch in his hand and was muttering to themselves. "Oh dear! Oh dear, I'm terribly late!" Blyke Edelweiss knew he shouldn't have been late at such an important gathering but he already was.

But the man stopped in his tracks when he saw His Majesty coming from another direction. They were dragging themselves through the hall, a practically gloomy aura around them as they soon met in the intersection.

"Your Majesty, My Sire!" He greeted them with a respectful bow and hid the pocket watch. Did His Majesty already notice he was late?

"Ah, Prime Minister Edelweiss, good to see that you are finally here." The King chuckled amiably.

Blyke adjusted his spectacles and noticed something at last. Alexander Hartsmichdt was still completely drenched. "What happened to you, Your Majesty? Is there anything I can do?" His brows furrowed. When did they decide to take a bath with their clothes on?

The blond man simply laughed at the reaction, "Ah you are too kind, my friend. The reason why you see me in a state like this is because I saved Her Majesty from drowning at the Gazebo of Dreams."

"Is that so? Are you regretting your choice?" He tilted his head and then blinked, "Ah forgive me for speaking out of turn!"

The King cocked a brow at him. "Regret what?"

"Of saving Her Majesty, I mean." Blyke Edelweiss averted his gaze. It was a bad thing to bring up about, but then again, who else would talk about it? Certainly not the King and Queen together.

The King of Hearts guffawed at that, "Do you jest, Sir Blyke? Why would I regret saving my wife."

Still, as one of the people in charge of the Kingdom and the closest thing that the King could have as a confidant, Blyke Edelweiss pressed forward. "I mean no harm but you look terrible, Your Majesty. And I do not only mean that you look like a drenched cat." He scratched his cheek, maybe this wasn't really the best choice either?

And he really was showing his bias towards the King over the Queen. If anybody were to hear of this—he shuddered at the imagination of the Knight of the Queen striking him from behind.

He looked around him just to be sure, hoping that his voice didn't echo around or anything similar.

The young man waved at him dismissively, completely unaware of the thoughts that ran through his ward's mind. "Just feeling a little down… I may have spoken a bit out of anger. It's a little silly considering that Her Majesty hadn't been angry yesterday and now it was I who had blown their top off."

"His Majesty is capable of wrath?" He quirked a brow at the confession.

"Aw come on, it's not only her—" King Alexander cleared his throat, "It does not make sense that she'd be the only one who has the right to get mad. But I have placed too much burden on her anyway..." A rueful expression was on his face.

The King had too kind of a heart, Blyke Edelweiss cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, it is her honour to become your Queen. She should be thankful."

"If I wasn't here, she could have probably become an Empress of Hearts or something." Alexander Hartsmichdt rolled his eyes.

Blyke Edelweiss shuddered at the declaration, "If that were the case, then I wouldn't have been here, Your Majesty. You know her tendencies…"

"Indeed, I'm not sure why she really thinks that cutting people's heads off is a solution—but then she suddenly stopped cold yesterday. I'm concerned what led to that change." Alexander Hartsmicht scratched his cheek. "I visited her at her tea party to ensure that she was alright… but she and Lady Catherine Duke were simply having tea. I couldn't believe myself either."

"Do you think she had started to change?"

"...She still detests my presence, but on other aspects—there's something about her. I wish I could understand what happened."