[center][h1][b][color=9354FF][abbr=1.) a state of disorder or disrepair; broken 2.) peaceful ruler]
◆◆◆◆◆[/abbr] "△△△"[/color] [abbr=1.) son of Hendrick 2.) ruler of the home; estate ruler 3.) lord’s manor][color=9354FF]◆◆◆◆◆[/color]◆◆[/abbr][/b][/h1][color=9354FF]Location:[/color] Vikena’s Estate
[color=9354FF]Time:[/color] 12:00
[color=9354FF]Interactions:[/color] Lady Charlotte Vikena [@princess]; Lady Thea Smithwood[@Tae][/center]
Lady Vikena’s update, while concise and intended to assuage the count’s concerns, only sprouted more questions. He made sure to say, [color=9354FF]“What a relief to hear that,”[/color] and to a certain extent, he wasn’t lying. Duke Vikena‘s return was welcome news. What troubled him now was how “safe and sound” the duke truly was.

△△△ cocked his head to the side. [color=9354FF]“Lady Charlotte, if you don’t mind, can you give me,”[/color] Lady Smithwood caught his attention, [color=9354FF]“us, the details?... What precisely happened?”[/color] Perhaps a fresh pair of eyes would prove beneficial.

The longer and more detailed recounting of the events that transpired happened over tea. Lady Vikena did most of the talking, with the occasional commentary from △△△, Delilah, or Nathaniel—who briefly stopped by to check if the guests were properly tended—interspersed throughout. △△△ and Delilah took over the talking to fill in the gaps in the story Lady Vikena missed or wasn’t present for. △△△ conveniently omitted his encounter with Peter in the garden from his account. They had decimated the rationed cookies and tea by the time they reached the end.

Delilah left the room to remake the tea and bring in the chocolates along with a deck of cards, at △△△’s request. After deliberating whether they should have a proper meal for lunch instead of snacks, he steered the conversation back to Duke Vikena.

During the entire recounting, △△△ could not shake the feeling of doubt in Lady Vikena’s tone. A subtle shade, not opaque enough to disregard the possibility that her father was right out of hand, but nonetheless present. She may eventually accept his explanation as the truth.

One more voice. One more voice could tip the scales. All △△△, a third-party who was there with her most of the night, had to do was agree with her father and the tale would become fact: Duke Vikena was in the garden the entire time.

[color=9354FF]“He said he was in the garden, under the shade of an oak tree.”[/color]

△△△ would not, however, be that voice.

He fixed his eyes on Lady Vikena’s. [color=9354FF]“But he wasn’t. We searched the garden. You, Ms. Delilah, Mr. Nathaniel, Mr. Benjamin.” [i]Peter and Wayra’s owl.[/i] “Everyone in the house searched every inch of the estate. He wasn’t here. You are not wrong, Lady Charlotte.”[/color] △△△’s firm expression softened as he added, [color=9354FF]“Not taking your father at his word isn’t a betrayal.”[/color] As much as he loved his family and as much as he would do anything for them, not even △△△ believed every word they said. Especially not the ones passed down through the generations, eroded and glorified by the passage of time. [color=9354FF]“Intuition is not a skill to be overlooked, detective.”[/color]

Delilah reentered the room with the requested items. She handed the deck of cards to △△△ and began serving the tea while he shuffled the cards with a practiced flourish. He asked what card game they, staff included, should play to win their right to eat mouthwatering chocolate—chocolates, if luck favored them.  

As he continued to shuffle the cards, △△△’s mind wandered to the conversation he had with Dr. Williamson not long ago.

[color=9354FF]“Do you recall the party I mentioned in the library? The very exclusive, invite-only, secret party? Well, it turns out,”[/color] △△△ paused, [color=9354FF]“and you didn’t hear this from me, as it seems the Crown wants to keep this incident a secret to avoid public embarrassment... Well, it turns out two of the royal children took a number of the ball guests to this party.”[/color] He placed the deck of cards on the table and slid them to the side, leaving behind a trail of cards in its wake. △△△ picked up one end of the trail to create a wave with the cards. He rode the wave with his thumb, passing it to his other hand when it reached the midpoint. He pushed the cards back and forth while he continued to talk. [color=9354FF]“What’s very interesting about this particular party is that every single person who attended—…”[/color] A slow domino effect rippled down the ribbon spread to completion, the end result showing that there was nothing unusual with the standard suit. All 52 cards were accounted for. [color=9354FF]“Now suffer from varying degrees of amnesia regarding the events of last night.”[/color]

He reassembled the evenly dispersed cards into a deck before reshuffling them. [color=9354FF]“I cannot claim with confidence that your father participated in this party. However, this incident brings up a… possibility you should take into consideration.”[/color] He took the top card from the deck and, after showing it to his spectators, he flipped the card over to look at what he chose. Ace of spades, upside down.

[i]‘Ace of swords, reversed,’ his grandmother whispered. She leaned in to inspect the card, her dark eyes twinkling with keen interest.

[color=9354FF]But for whom?[/color]

‘Did you ask the Cards beforehand?’

‘Oh love,’ △△△’s grandfather leaned in from the other side. His lighter brown eyes regarded the card with far more skepticism. ‘I think you’re asking a bit much from regular old playing cards. I mean, if it were that easy, everyone would make a fortune gambling. Don’t you agree, lad?’[/i]

△△△ flipped the card again. [color=9354FF]“The possibility that magic is involved.”[/color] He noted the others’ reactions as they realized that the card he held was no longer an ace of spades, but a blank card. Before they could jump into any hasty conclusions involving transmutation, he revealed the second card hidden behind the blank card. [color=9354FF]“And not of the parlor trick variety.”[/color]