47 Never Ending Hatred For Red

When the Meeting ended at the Royal Conference Room had come to an end, all the Kings and their men returned to their private chambers for some rest. It was a chance for them to review the documents regarding a better trade agreement that the King of Hearts had done. A chance for rest? It was nonsense. 

To this person, only a headache would arrive for them as they gently drew back the curtains to the master bedroom that they had been offered to.

Once again they were given the sight of obnoxious red from the roses that filled the garden and to the structure of the room, it was only by miracle or luck that they had been given a room that weren't pastel red and instead was a cream beige instead. Drawing the curtains back, a sigh escaped their lips.

"If this place must be red then it should be with their blood." 

Taking a glance at their surroundings, the person first ascertained that there was nothing questionable in sight—no spells, items or objects that could record or take note of what was about to happen. They ran their fingers down the walls of the room and sighed heavily. Soon enough, they drew out a crystal of magic, it sparkled and shimmered within the room.

An invisible line would connect it to their desired speaker, a fellow holding the same crystal as well. And it was there that they began to speak, a fake smile on their face.

"I would be asking if I were to expect good news from my men but seeing that the Queen of Hearts is still present with us in the meeting says otherwise. It means that nobody is doing their tasks properly, don't you agree with me?"

If the crystal could tremble and shake in their hands it would, except that they were holding it tightly in grasp. Instead a voice shook as they answered from the crystal, "Your Majesty, I beg for forgiveness—"

"Did I say anything about you speaking?" They cut them off. Irate was but one word they were feeling.

Soon enough a silence came after.

It was what they had desired.

The person sighed and plopped down their bed and watched a vase of red roses that were on the bedside, eyeing it with slight vexation, they raised a hand and slapped it towards the floor. The vase crashed with an enjoyable and delicious sound as rose petals strewn themselves on the floor along with shards.

Recalling the meeting itself only brought on more headache as they recounted the last minutes where the Queen had stolen the majority of the spotlight. And so far, it even seemed like that luck was working in their favor. "Tell me, why is the Queen still alive today?"

The crystal paled if it were possible as the voice hesitated, "We are incompetent—"

"That's not the right answer. Are you telling me that I hired wrongly and that my judgement is wrong? I didn't get men who are pathetic enough so surely there's interference and I'm sure that you can name them."

"Your Majesty, it was a man… a Hatter. The Queen of Hearts had visited the place and then chased after the man. Since the Knight had not been present, we began to pursue them until they reached an abandoned area."

A sigh escaped their lips as they rubbed their face, "You're telling me that a Queen escaped judgement because of some Hatter arriving and saving the day? There were several of you, how could you guys not use your heads? Wouldn't it be better to lop them off if that had been the case? Perhaps the Knight of hers would be glad to hear of this—"

"Y-Your Majesty!"

"Silence."

Whatever could they possibly do now? It was a silly question. There was no other answer as they traced the crystal's sharp tip that it drew some blood across their fingertip. The person laid down on their bed and stared at the blank ceiling, "I'll give you guys one more chance to do the job if my ally's plan doesn't work—so stay hidden in the shadows. I have no doubt that her Knight is already tracing and tracking you down. Now begone."

The line soon disconnected.

And it was there that they reconnected to another crystal, their 'ally''s voice came rushing in with apparent glee, "You've seen her didn't you? What do you think, isn't she the reddest of roses?"

"You know that I don't appreciate any references like that. But yes, we've seen her—are you that impressed and astonished with that woman? Is it enough for you to fall head over heels and perhaps turn your back against me?"

A snort came over from the end of the other crystal.

"Is there any chance that you are jealous of the Queen of Hearts? Why am I not surprised when it's you."

"Watch your tongue before I consider it insolent enough to be cut." Their praise on the Queen of Hearts was grating their nerves. If they could crush the crystal now, they would do so. But a matter still needed to be discussed.

"How frightening, I would like to see you try for it. But I'll get serious with you, don't you agree that it would be a shame for a polished jewel like her to be discarded so easily? And before you say anything, I've already heard of some ' unfortunate accidents' happening in this Castle of Hearts." The voice from the other receiver sighed. "It would have been better to attempt it on Alexander Hartsmichdt himself."

"...this person, and I am referring to the latter. They will be difficult to accidentally clean up unless you want to do the honors?"

"It's a risky move."

"And here I thought that you were a person who wasn't afraid of such things. An all-out war would expend too much resources and even if the third Kingdom was to stay neutral, the Card Trial's rules would have to be implemented."

"Which is why I insist that we get the Queen herself to get on board with our plans. Who else can do a better job of relinquishing the power of the man if not for the person closest to their side?"

"Try. But I tell you that a Queen wouldn't also do something as dangerous as that, it would upset the power and authority balance of the Kingdom… but if you wish, try. And when that fails, we'll go ahead with my plans."