Some mobsters are after Alice because they think she's important to Blood, but Elliott and Boris save her. Boris and Ace clash, and Boris tries to convince Alice to move out of the Hatter Mansion, knowing that they're using her for their own ends. I'm pretty sure Alice still hasn't asked Boris if she can move in – now she's afraid he'll think she's only asking because she's in danger. Only half the volume is set in the Country of Clover. The other half is devoted to a short set in the Country of Hearts, back when Alice and Boris barely knew each other. Ace convinces Boris that Alice and Julius are a couple, making him jealous.

Ace flat-out says that the Alice he loves is “miserable and doesn't know what to do with her life.” He's happiest when she's unhappy, which...makes me like his one-shot (which I read prior to Cheshire Cat Waltz) even less. I can understand why the bit at the end was added – it tried to make Ace's terrible words and actions seem like something Nightmare directed him to do in order to keep Alice in Wonderland. Even so, I liked him more in the Country of Hearts than I do in the Country of Clover.

This volume is very meh. I could barely remember what happened in it, even right after finishing it. I disliked that only half of the volume was devoted to the main story – it made me especially glad that this was a library checkout.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

More lovely artwork. Now that their relationship has moved to the next level, Alice and Boris must relearn how to relate to each other. Also, Alice's life may be in danger if she stays in Hatter Mansion, and the danger may come from within.