Act 3:
The Unseen Relationship Chart
After the first Survey Meeting, things went back to normal in Hatter Mansion. Elliot, the twins, and most of the other mobsters went in and out of the place as they dealt with dangerous “jobs.”
Still, it felt like the raids on the mansion had let up a bit. And when Alice was organizing the books in the reference library one time period, she asked her assistant maid a question about it—and received an unexpected reply.
“Well, sure~! Battles are basically banned during the entire time of the Survey Meeting~.”
“Really? I heard fighting’s prohibited during the meeting, but I thought that restriction only applied to the area around the Coliseum?”
“The Survey Meeting isn’t like that~. Even if the first round is over, the second one will start up soon~. The Survey Meeting goes on until all rounds are over~.”
“So one meet-up isn’t the Survey Meeting—that’s the collective name for all the meetings?”
In the Country of Hearts, the Ball had only lasted one night. But it was true that in the Country of Clover, the Assembly had occurred several times…maybe the Survey Meeting was more like that.
“You know how the Survey Meeting itself works now, right~?”
“More or less. The leaders of each territory choose one of five national forces and compare strengths.”
“You got it~. In other words, the contest between the leaders is decided by the numbers, and if there’s a battle, that changes the numbers. So if they kept fighting during the Survey Meeting, it wouldn’t be an accurate survey~.”
“Oh. That makes sense, I guess.”
Alice knew the main reason for the “entertainment event” was to put people in close proximity for discussions. But the Survey Meeting was also a competition that pitted forces against forces—any fight between leaders would have a direct effect on the strength or size of those forces.
Especially with how violent people are in this world. She wouldn’t put it past Elliot to raid the other territories if he thought it would help Blood win. And Dee and Dum would brave just about anything to increase their winnings.
Alice rose on her toes to slide a book onto a high shelf. But as she stretched her arm up, someone snatched the book out of her hand.
“Hey!”
“She’s correct,” Blood said evenly. “It’s an aggravating rule, but it’s still a rule. We can’t ignore it.”
Alice sighed and turned to the man, who flipped open the captured book.
This was another “fun” feature of the Survey Meeting—Blood was actually spending time in the reference library. He no longer just sent a servant. Alice was ready to suggest that he start doing that again to preserve more of his time.
“I asked you to gather some books for me last time period,” he muttered as he flipped through the pages. “Where are they?”
“I put them in a pile here… Huh?”
Alice tilted her head in confusion. A pile of completely different books lay in the spot where she’d placed her own.
“Oh, those~? I took them with some other books to the warehouse~…”
“What?” Alice blurted.
The maid swiftly apologized. “I’ll go get them now~,” she declared as she rushed out of the room.
Alice was left alone with Blood. He glanced up from the pages to lock that blue-green gaze on her.
“I know you work hard here,” he offered. “So I believe that you didn’t misplace them. And if they were all together, the maid will probably find them quickly. Don’t mind me—just go on with what you were doing.”
Alice let out a breath. “Okay. But if you need anything, just ask me.”
He hummed an affirmative.
Although she’d never said it to Blood directly, she was really grateful to have the work of organizing the reference library. It housed a wide variety of tomes, including some blissful books from other collections that weren’t about violence. Alice loved books and enjoyed the job.
The moment she started concentrating on her work, she stopped worrying about other eyes that could be in the room. This was a place where she could ignore the fact that she still lived under surveillance.
She was using a ladder to reach a high shelf—a crafts book hidden within the culture category—when Blood suddenly spoke again, reminding her he was in the room.
“Do you like books?” he asked simply.
“Hm? What did you say?”
As she descended the ladder to answer Blood’s question, she realized that he had stopped reading the book in his hand at some point. His eyes were on her.
“I asked if you liked books. You seem to perk up when you’re in this room.”
Alice smiled. “Yeah. I enjoy organizing them, but what I really love is reading.”
She let one hand fondly trace down a book’s spine. This particular bookshelf had been a disaster when she’d started—now it was neat and organized by title, with only a few empty spots.
She was living a life surrounded by books again. She never would’ve guessed that organizing and delivering books for a publishing house in her old world would come in handy in a place like Wonderland.
“You said you wanted to borrow a book before, young lady. Have you finished reading it?”
“Oh, you mean that misshelved mystery novel? I had it finished before my next work shift.” She shrugged, but she heard her voice bounce a little. “I found the killer’s trick predictable, but the detective had an interesting character and backstory.”
Blood inhaled. After a long moment, he said, “But it wasn’t enough for you.”
“Huh?”
“It’s written on your face. You wish I had a wider variety of books. Not satisfied with the selection in my house, hm?”
Alice furrowed her brow. “That’s not what I mean. I just…”
She was organizing a reference library—not exactly the place for pleasure reading. And even though she received a more than decent salary for it, she was also working for a Mafia organization in the middle of a turf war. It wasn’t like she could leave and pop over to town to buy some pleasure reading, like she’d done when working at Heart Castle.
“You let me read whatever I want here, and I like the job. Besides, I’ve never been picky about genre—I can enjoy whatever books are in front of me.”
As Blood stared at her, she superimposed a memory of the old Blood over him. Books in this world always made her think of Blood in the Countries of Hearts and Clover. He’d always recommended and lent books to her, to read between work shifts at Heart Castle. He usually handed her books about tea or roses, granted, since they seemed to be his biggest hobbies—they weren’t as formal as technical manuals, but she learned a lot of new things from them. Even if they were (probably) part of his strategy to manipulate her.
That was always a little frustrating, but she liked aspects of it. A little nonfiction was good for the soul. And learning about what he loved was like learning more about him.
She liked that memory.
“When I think you’re coming,” he would say, “I find myself wondering what book is worth choosing for you. I’m just happy for the distraction.”
They’d both been busy people in Hearts and Clover, but they’d always maintained an oddly unhurried relationship. They’d never been apart for long. Considering he was a fearsome Mafia boss and she was a powerless Outsider, she imagined they made an odd pair.
And probably still did in Diamonds.
“If there’s any book you want,” Blood said at last, turning back to the tome in his hands, “just tell me. You work hard and you have decent taste. Just tell the maid, and I’ll see if we can get it.”
That took Alice by surprise. “Uh…what?” she blurted. “But this is a reference library. I can’t just order things that I think are fun.”
“It doesn’t have to be for here—we can leave it in your room. I’m sure you have space there for some books.”
“Well, yeah, but…are you sure?”
She was slightly more welcome in the mansion now, but that didn’t make her a pampered guest. And she didn’t know if she’d suddenly vanish from Diamonds someday, just as fast as she’d appeared—so she didn’t keep many personal possessions. Had Blood noticed that?
“You’re living and working in my house, and I don’t care if you have a few books in your room. You’ve barely touched your salary, so you can use that to pay for them.”
Alice frowned. “You’ve kept good tabs on me.”
“All you talk about in this library is work,” he murmured, a teasing edge to the words. “It’s a shame.”
Alice rolled her eyes to the ceiling. How could I forget what kind of man this is? she mused. Watching her from the shadows, cutting in with surprising insight. That level of intelligence fueled his bad attitude, after all.
“You don’t dress up like other girls your age,” he went on. “And you don’t spend money on hobbies. It isn’t hard to figure out that you don’t know what to do with the money you’ve made so far.” He shrugged. “If you don’t feel any material desires, there’s nothing I can suggest. It’s just not a bad thing to invest yourself where your interests lie.”
“……”
Alice was surprised at how much he was pushing it. She hadn’t expected Diamonds Blood to talk like that, considering they weren’t exactly friends here. Maybe they were finally shedding the cold formality between a boss and subordinate.
After a moment of silence, she nodded. “Okay. Um…thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything worth thanks.”
He hadn’t turned his eyes up from the book in his hands. She cleared her throat.
“Should you really be here?”
“Yes. If I take the book with me, it’s a pain to return it afterwards. I just needed to quickly check something.”
“Oh. Uh…” While Alice tried to formulate an answer, Blood slid the book back onto the shelf and grabbed another. He picked book after book and flipped through the pages.