You ensured the tea room was perfect. The sun shone, casting the elegant decor in light and making the room feel dreamy. The tea was a special blend from Chenyu Vale, which had a lovely, calming scent. The cakes were fluffy and not too sweet. You checked your appearance in the window. Perfect. Make-up done, not a single hair out of place, perfect dress. All for your monthly meeting with the Knave.

Now all that was left to do is wait.

Strange. The Knave is late. You were just about to leave the room when you heard the front door open. You heard your servants greet her and hurry her along to the tea room. You sat back down.

"Good afternoon, Arlecchino." You keep your tone light and airy. A smile directed towards her as she hands you a bouquet of white roses. It falls when you notice the scratches on her hands. "Oh my, what happened?"

Arlecchino used a napkin to wipe the blood off. "It's nothing. The florist gave me a hard time so I ended up making the bouquet myself."

"You didn't have to, Arlecchino." You said, even as inside you were drunk with glee at the thought of your precious Knave going to such lengths to gift you some flowers.

Arlecchino took a sip of the tea while you made a mental note to deal with that florist.

"This blend is quite good." Arlecchino said, humming with contentment. Then her eyes filled with worry, for you. "Be careful. Someone found the severed head of a gentleman in the river today. I suspect it's one of the missing people."

You pause, putting on an act of surprise and slight fear. Like you didn't cut that bastard's head off yourself. You made a mental note not to dump bodies in the river in the future. "How terrible. I heard even one of the fatui agents went missing."

Arlecchino sighed. "Yes. It wasn't one of mine but it was a fatui agent nonetheless. I sent the children to investigate but they've found nothing. No clue of the killer."

You wondered if that fatui agent had starved to death yet in your basement. It's been a month. The rats probably got him already. You made sure there was no way anyone could figure out the killer. You didn't want to hurt Arlecchino's children, that was a line even you couldn't cross. They were precious to her. Even though she sends them on dangerous missions and doesn't cry when they crawl back barely alive or dead. Your fingers drummed along the teacup. Poor, little Knave. It must hurt her greatly to have to do that.