Real Or Fake?

Rafael was halfway into a curtsy when Valentina unexpectedly took hold of his hand and performed a handshake with him. Rafael lifted his face to look at her. "I'm not used to your etiquette," she said. Rafael smiled, straightened up, and said, "It's my miscalculation. I apologize, Miss Ricardo, for any offense." Valentina shook hands with him: "It's okay." His hands had no calluses, suggestive of someone who hadn't wielded weapons much, but Valentina clearly wouldn't judge the cunning, sharp-minded old trickster, Jack of Diamonds, based on that alone. Blade and Parker had been lurking in the king's palace all this time, having spotted Rafael a few times in the past few days. They hadn't been able to detect a hint of Jack of Diamonds or his kind from Rafael just like Valentina. Aside from the royal feast, where William had bumped into someone in the dark who confirmed there was indeed someone from the Shadow in the palace, no other evidence was found so far. Everyone took their seats ag