Chapter Text
Time had clearly passed since the ‘incident’, as the Tea Garden was back to normal. By the decorations, it was easy to tell that the redo unbirthday party was in motion. With the blow of some sort of horn, a student announced the arrival of Riddle.
At the sight of Riddle, whole and uninjured, Trey relaxed. His friend didn’t seem to be suffering any side effects from his overblot. While they weren’t out of the woods yet, Trey was able to put his mind at ease.
Riddle, with Trey at his side, noted that things seemed to be in order for a proper unbirthday party. He began to wonder if there was a dormouse asleep in a teapot but stopped himself. Trey smiled at his side, reassuring him that things didn’t have to change overnight.
“I agree with my future self.” Trey nudged Riddle with his shoulder. “Baby steps.”
Riddle smiled, soft. “Right.”
Ace sighed from a table slightly further away. They were the ones that had to prepare the area for the party. Deuce was just happy that Riddle seemed to have made a full recovery from his overblot.
Riddle agreed with the future Deuce, it was nice to know that he’d be able to make a full recovery even if they weren’t able to prevent his overblot. There was still the risk of long-term difficulties but he seemed to be out of the woods for the time being.
Of course, Cater had already pulled out his phone. He was happy the garden was picture worthy once more. Grim interrupted his attempts at taking a photo of the table setting, he was hungry and he wasn’t wasting any time. Cater grinned, preparing to get himself something to eat as well.
“Wait a minute!”
“Oh no…” Ace put his head in his hands. Something went wrong and Riddle was fully recovered from his mental breakdown, meaning he wasn’t as emotionally vulnerable as he was after his overblot. It wasn’t hard for Ace to believe his housewarden was going to go back to his old ways.
Riddle pointed out multiple white roses, startling Cater. The ginger whipped his head towards the Heartslabyul freshman duo, as painting the roses had been their job.
Trey tried to calm down Riddle but stopped himself when he heard a quiet laugh. The housewarden chuckled, he wasn’t going to get mad over small mistakes anymore. Cater grinned, relieved.
Of course, though, nobody completely changed overnight, so Riddle still wanted the roses painted red. This time, however, he’d help them. Trey watched his friend, noting that he’d changed despite Ace’s claims to the contrary.
Cater was on Trey’s side, the old Riddle would not have laughed off any rule infractions.
Grim interrupted the moment, rushing them to paint the roses. THe sooner they finished, the sooner he’d get to eat. As they painted, Riddle mused that he hadn’t needed to paint the roses since he took on the mantle of housewarden.
A scoff escaped Ace. “So you painted roses for like…a week?”
With all the painting they did yesterday, Grim was confident he could do it better than Riddle. Of course, the housewarden was never one to back down from a challenge.
While painting, Riddle was strict with the freshmen. He nitpicked their work and Ace complained about Riddle being strict as ever. Cater noted, amused, that he wouldn't be Riddle if he wasn't a perfectionist.
"Of course, one must always strive for perfection." Riddle wasn't going to lower his standards, just loosen up the punishments for his standards not being met.
Vil hummed in agreement. "Yes, while it is for different things, I can agree with the sentiment." The model had his own standards to be met in his attempts to achieve perfection. While he wasn't going to cut corners academically, Vil's focus was more on his appearance and job.
Riddle used a single spell to paint a whole bush of roses red. The freshmen were all amazed at the feat, with Deuce admitted that Riddle led by example. The party could begin at last.
"I would never enforce standards that I couldn't meet, myself. That is the epitome of hypocrisy!"
The party back in swing, Ace asked Riddle about his apology tart. The housewarden grimaced but handed over the promised dessert. Trey examined Riddle’s creation. While the shape was off, the glaze had been done well. It was a fine job for a first attempt.
Ace could care less about the looks, he would judge the sweet by its taste.
Deuce could only roll his eyes at Ace. The guy really knew how to hold a grudge. Riddle clearly did his best, it wasn’t like he had any baking experience and he wasn’t allowed to get help from Trey.
Cater stopped the boy from cutting into the tart, wanting to get a picture of Riddle’s hard work. Ace frowned, noting that Cater hadn’t changed much, either.
Slices of tart served, everyone took a bite.
Riddle knew what was coming and sunk into his seat. Maybe if he was hidden enough, people would forget he was there.
“Salty!” The group announced in unison. Ace rubbed his mouth, gagging. He asked Riddle what he had even put into the tart.
Riddle, of course, was in shock at their reactions. He had followed the directions perfectly and measured all the ingredients precisely. He wondered if the salty taste came from the oyster sauce.
Deuce coughed, asking if Riddle had really fallen for Trey’s oyster sauce prank. Ace was in disbelief that Riddle had fallen for the trick but Yuu was quick to remind Ace that he’d believed Trey at first, too.
Yuu had to suppress an eyeroll. “Really, Ace? First the Epel thing and now this? Stop judging people for things you’ve done, you hypocrite.”
Even if Riddle did fall for the joke, it was only supposed to be a little bit! Cater wondered how much Riddle had added to the tart to make it as salty as it was. Riddle frowned as he explained there was no measurement stated, he’d figured he’d need a lot since he was making more than one tart.
A huff of laughter interrupted any further hounding of Riddle’s choices. Trey clutched his sides as laughs were pulled from him against his will. He couldn’t believe someone had actually fallen for his joke. Riddle, finding the laughter contagious, began to laugh as well. “How foolish of me.” He noted between laughs.
Their laughter caused a chain reaction, Deuce and Ace laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation as well.
A smile tugged at Riddle’s lips. A foreign warmth filled his chest as he watched the group on-screen laughing without a care in the world. The fact that Riddle was the reason for such joyous sounds made the moment all the sweeter.
Grim took another bite of the tart, claiming that it was kind of good in a weird way. Cater grinned, agreeing with the sentiment. Deuce looked between the pair in shock, was Cater really agreeing with a creature who ate garbage off the ground?!
Cater waved a hand in front of himself. He admitted the tart wasn’t amazing or anything-”
“But you like it because it’s not sweet, right?” Trey interrupted. At Cater’s shock, he continued, stating that Cater wasn’t a fan of sweet things.
Yuu was confused. He’d read on Cater’s profile that his least favorite food was ‘anything sweet’ but he hadn’t given it too much thought before. Why did his upperclassman eat so many sweets when he didn’t like them?
Yuu tilted his head in confusion. He’d seen Cater eat multiple sweets in his few days of knowing the older boy.
Cater was surprised that Trey knew about his preferences. He hadn’t told anyone about his hatred of sweets. It turned out that Cater was always bringing up Trey’s unique magic whenever they ate sweets, so while he hid his dislike well, it was obvious to Trey.
“Oh!” Deuce shouted. “When we were eating the tarts earlier, Cater brought up Trey’s unique magic!”
“That makes a lot of sense. He even picked something spicy to replace the taste.” Epel realized. Wow, he had even been so casual about it, too. Cater was really good at acting.
Vil knew Cater was a skilled liar but a skilled actor as well? “What I don’t get is the reason he chooses to eat something he doesn’t like.” The ginger’s Magicam feed was flooded with various sweets from trending cafes.
Cater pouted, embarrassed that his secret had been exposed. He chastised Trey for not admitting what he knew, to which Trey responded by offering to make the ginger a quiche for the next party they had.
As long as it was as photogenic as the tarts and cakes Trey made, Cater would be satisfied.
“Sure thing, Cater.” Trey smiled. He was so used to keeping quiet about things, he hadn’t realized that his silence could be hurtful.
Cater huffed but didn’t complain, happy with the arrangement their future selves agreed on.
In the background, a body faded into view. Che’nya snatched up some of the food for himself, noting that Trey’s baking was as good as ever. Riddle gasped at the beastman’s appearance. He scolded his friend for crashing the party, as it was only for Heartslabyul members.
Che’nya retorted that Grim and Yuu weren’t Heartslabyul members.
“We earned our spots at that party!” Yuu argued. “You should be thanking us for even making the party possible!
Grim interrupted the argument, recognizing Che’nya from a few days prior. He asked what dorm the cat beastman was from, since they hadn’t gotten an answer the last time they saw him.
Trey informed the dire beast that Che’nya wasn’t a Night Raven student. In fact, the beastman was a student at Night Raven’s rival school: Royal Sword Academy.
“I still can’t believe our housearden is friends with the enemy.” Ace grumbled. He hadn’t been too pleased with Che’nya’s arrival, especially when he seemed to enjoy playing pranks and messing around with people. It was only during the flashback of Riddle’s past that he even began thinking of the cat beastman in a positive light.
Yuu’s fingers brushed through Grim’s fur. “I still don’t get why a school rivalry is that important? Like, losing sucks, but to treat all their students so harshly?” The reactions to Che’nya’s appearance were a mix of shock and outrage. The sheer amount of malice that had permeated the room had been startling.
Riddle sighed, as he was of a similar sentiment, “Unfortunately, the many consecutive losses have caused much anger in our student body. It’s been this way for as long as I’ve known.”
Deuce was shocked by this information while Ace was clearly annoyed by the fact that Che’nya went to Royal Sword Academy of all schools. Yuu, uninformed of the school rivalries, was just in awe of there being multiple magic schools.
A random student had overheard their conversation, wondering if he'd heard correctly. Another one looked around, shocked that one of their rival school’s students was there. A third spotted Che’nya and prepared to chase him out of the dorm.
“This seems like overkill. Though, if it were me, I’d kick him out for the sheer crime of stealing our food.” Brown eyes focused on Che’nya, who wore an amused smile.
Disappearing using his unique magic, Che’nya prepared his escape. He hummed as he ran off, chased by a bunch of the Heartslabyul students. The freshmen were the only ones shocked by the new development.
Riddle explained that a lot of Night Raven students treated Royal Sword students as enemies. It was no surprise, Trey added, since they’d been losing all sorts of competitions to their rival school for a hundred years straight.
“A hundred years!?” The freshmen, sans Sebek, shouted.
Jamil crossed his arms, his many basketball losses to RSA flooding his mind. “Yeah. We haven’t won a single game against them in basketball.” He directed a glare towards Floyd. “Maybe we’d have a chance if a certain someone stopped getting himself benched.”
Ace had to think for a moment to realize what Jamil was talking about. Earlier on, Foyd had mentioned being in the basketball club. “Wait, why does he keep getting benched? Wouldn’t he be a super scary player on the court?”
“Only when he’s in the mood.” Jamil explained with a scoff. “I can’t count the amount of times he just ditched practice because he was bored.”
Unwilling to allow bad vibes, Cater kicked the party back into full swing. Grim was happy about this development and prepared to eat until he exploded. They all smiled at his antics, the screen going dark.
Many assumed that would be the end, but were proven wrong when the screen lit up once more.
Leona’s room came into view, showing the beastman himself laying on his bed while Ruggie sat on his desk. He mourned the loss of food, as Heartslabyul was throwing one of their parties, wishing their dorm had a tradition that involved lots of food.
The prince scoffed. He wasn’t the type to care for such things, being a beastman of a carnivorous species. “Anyway, Ruggie. About that thing I asked you for…”
With a chuckle, Ruggie announced that ‘thing’ was proceeding smoothly. “Just leave it to me.”
Leona grinned, sharp yet amused. Nobody, especially Malleus, would know what hit them. “Be prepared.” His laughs echoed through the room as the screen went dark.
Leona, who had been feigning sleep the whole time he was on screen, was being stared at by many curious, confused, and angered students. Ruggie, as his accomplice, was also the target of some of their ire.
“Leona.” Vil’s voice cut through the air like a knife. The prince’s ears twitched but he gave no other response. “Would you care to explain what your future self meant?”
A groan escaped the man as he sat up. “How am I supposed to know? That’s the future.”
“By only a few days. Less than a week after the start of term.” Riddle retorted. “That’s hardly enough time to come up with a plan, especially for you.”
Ruggie shrugged, as he had no idea what was going on either. “I’ll admit that I have no clue what this plan is. If he’s made it already, he hasn’t told me.”
A frown donned Lilia’s face. “And yet your future self seems all too happy to go along with it.” Ruggie shivered at the bat fae’s eyes bore into his soul. “I will not allow any schemes against Malleus.”
Silver nodded at his father’s side. As one of his prince’s guards, he’d prevent any sort of plots against him. Sebek glared at the pair of beastmen, yet kept his mouth shut. Leona was a prince, so if Sebek wasn’t careful he could cause an international incident.
“I doubt I’d go along with the plan if it was that bad.” Ruggie defended himself. Was it a lie? A little. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for the right price so if he deemed the reward worth it, he’d likely agree to whatever Leona was plotting, even if it risked earning the ire of Malleus.
‘Before continuing the future, you will react to Riddle’s vignette. After it is finished, you will be given the rest of the day to relax. As usual, a profile of the vignette’s subject will be shown beforehand:’
Ruggie, who’d been about to defend himself further, growled. “I’m really getting sick of these!”
“I am tired of my personal and private affairs being broadcasted to a bunch of people I do not trust to keep what they learn to themselves.” Riddle’s sharp gaze made Yuu remember the saying ‘if looks could kill’.
‘Riddle Rosehearts’s Profile:
Grade/Class: Sophomore/Class E (No. 26)
Birthday: August 24th (Virgo)
Age: 17
Height: 160cm
Dominant Hand: Right
Homeland: Queendom of Roses
Club: Equestrian Club
Best Subject: Practical Magic
Hobby: Hedgehog Tending
Pet Peeve: Rulebreaking
Favorite Food: Strawberry Tarts
Least Favorite Food: Junk Food
Talent: Fast at Crossword Puzzles’
“Very in-character for Rids!” Cater’s fingers brushed his pocket, where he usually kept his phone. “I didn’t know about the crossword puzzle thing, though.”
Riddle examined the profile created, he couldn’t find any inaccuracies and he wasn’t particularly embarrassed by anything it revealed. “Crossword puzzles were my only form of entertainment for years.” In fact, he’d done so many crossword puzzles that he had begun creating his own. Last he counted, he had about three thousand in his collection.
At some point, his boredom led him to start creating crosswords for Trey and Che’nya to solve. Perhaps he should have found the idea sad, continuing to make puzzles for people he likely would never see again, but he never stopped.
Sebek took note of the club Riddle was in. If he was remembering correctly, Silver was also in the equestrian club. He doubted the housewarden had much to offer in the club but he decided to give it a look once they returned to Night Raven.
Floyd was never one to miss an opportunity to tease Riddle. “I knew Goldfishie was small but I didn’t know he was that small. He’s so tiny I’m surprised he can even pick up the little hedgehogs.”
Trey and Che’nya had to hold Riddle back from attacking Floyd for his insolence. Despite his lack of magic, he believed he could still find a way to send the eel flying if he so desired. Floyd was only saved from his fate by the screen lighting up and starting the vignette.
The scene started off with Cater and Trey in the Heartslabyul Dorm Lounge. The former was hunched over some textbooks, complaining about not understanding the material. Trey seemed to be helping his friend with his studying. The ginger’s struggles were a little shocking, since he was usually a decent student.
“If you are struggling with studying, Cater, I’d be happy to assist.” Riddle offered.
Cater grinned. “I don’t know what I’m struggling with but thanks in advance, Rids!” The nickname caused the redhead’s eye to twitch but he said nothing. He was used to Cater’s incessant use of nicknames. At least ‘Rids’ was better than Floyd’s choice of ‘Goldfish’.
Cater complained that there were some things people were good at and some things they were bad at.
Trey revealed that Cater would fail his Practical Magic class if he didn’t pass the upcoming exam, to which Cater pouted. He was doomed if he wasn’t able to memorize all the formulas, though he was scrolling on his phone as he said it.
“Then why are you scrolling on Magicam?”
Red pooled on Riddle’s face. “I’m sorry, WHAT?!”
“Uh-oh.” Cater was quick to hide behind Trey. “I promise I’ll study so this doesn’t happen next time! I’m usually pretty good about keeping up good grades!”
A few deep breaths were required to calm down Riddle. “Fine. I’ll stay silent on the matter. If this happens again in our own future then do not expect me to be lenient with you.”
Cater didn’t take the offer for granted. He was going to study like crazy to avoid Riddle’s wrath in the future. He silently thanked whoever was controlling the viewing, as they had given him the chance to avoid a future beheading.
With a pout, Cater complained that he wasn’t ‘feelin’ it. If the assignment was to memorize the menu of a trending cafe or the sale date of a new trendy outfit, then he’d have no issue remembering it.
“Perhaps you should rethink your priorities.” Riddle muttered. It baffled him that someone could hold onto such unnecessary information and yet the essential information went over their head.
The click of heels on tile echoed, announcing the presence of Riddle. The housewarden observed the grim expressions on his friend’s faces and asked to know what was wrong. Trey explained the situation, to Riddle’s indignance and Cater’s dismay.
“You’re really gonna out me like this, Trey?!”
Trey shrugged. “Riddle could probably help. Plus, failing Practical Magic could be really bad.”
Cater huffed, sinking into his seat. “I won’t forget this betrayal.”
Trey warned Cater that since Practical Magic was a required course, he risked being held back a year if he were to fail it. Riddle warned Cater what would happen to him if he failed and demanded to know if he was really failing, red marks covering his assignments.
Lucky for Cater, he was passing all his other courses. He was simply having trouble with a specific assignment in Practical Magic. Riddle told him that he should be more concerned at failing even one class, but still asked what Cater was having issues with.
Cater, nervous, explained that he was struggling with ‘automatic cleaning via implementing magic infusion’. Riddle recognized the subject, having read about it, but hadn’t learned it in classes yet since he was only a sophomore.
Ace didn’t know why he was surprised to learn Riddle was reading books more advanced than his grade implied. Of course he knew junior-level subjects!
The ‘auto’ part of the spell was what tripped up Cater. He compared the formula to coding. The spell would fail at any point if the steps weren’t in the proper order and he just couldn’t seem to get it right.
Trey agreed that it was a difficult spell, as it needed to avoid fragile objects and if too intense could ruin a carpet. That said, those spells would need to be placed on the cleaning objects first before the main spell could even be casted.
Riddle was shocked that something like that was what stumped Cater, as his unique magic required him to create and keep track of his clones.
Lilia agreed with Riddle’s assumption. “I, too, would have assumed Cater would have found such a task easy.” Split Card was advanced magic and required a lot of skill to perform with the ease Cater showed.
With a tug of his stray strand of hair, Cater explained that he was good at keeping track of it all at the same time but when it came to preparing in advance, no dice.
The conclusion that Riddle came to was that Cater had a good grasp of the fundamentals but had difficulty putting them into practice. He offered to assist his upperclassman in his studies, shocking the pair.
“I guess that makes sense. With Split Card, Cater doesn’t really need to think about it, much. His clones are copies of himself so they’re all on the same wavelength.” Meanwhile, with the cleaning supplies, much more preparation was needed to get each object to do what they were supposed to. Riddle hummed as he tried to think of ways to help the concept stick with Cater.
Trey wondered if Riddle was up to the task, as the class was a year above his grade level. With a huff, Riddle confidently stated that any respectable housewarden should be able to solve his dorm member’s issues, regardless of what year they were. Nobody in Heartslabyul had failed or flunked out since he became housewarden and he wasn’t going to let it happen now, either.
“Leave this matter to me. I’ll ensure you pass with flying colors.”
A nervous chuckle escaped Cater. “Why am I lowkey scared?”
The scene changed to show the library. Deuce was shown looking for the grimoires, heading in Riddle’s direction. The housewarden was skipping the shelves and he considered the best way to go about his task to help Cater.
Neither boy realized the other was there before they collided, sending Riddle’s books to the ground. The pair exchanged apologies, with Deuce offering to help pick up the books that had scattered on the floor.
Fear filled Cater’s eyes at the sight of all the books. Riddle didn’t expect him to read all of those, did he?!
The sheer amount of books threw the younger boy for a loop. He wondered if Riddle was really going to read them all. There were at least twenty spellbooks in the pile, each one bigger than the last.
Riddle informed his underclassman that he was assisting Cater with his studies, so all the books he had compiled were for note taking. It was his responsibility to assist all his dorm members with any problems they were facing, after all.
The amount of effort Riddle was putting in to help him made Cater smile. “All that effort for little old me? I’m flattered, Rids!”
RIddle huffed, a red flush gracing his cheeks. “Well, it's like my future self said. It’s a housewarden’s responsibility.”
Floored by Riddle’s determination to help, Deuce offered to help carry all the books. Grateful, Riddle accepted the offer. A smile graced the housewarden’s lips as he mused, Cater would have no trouble passing if he used the information Riddle compiled.
“Thanks a ton, Riddle!”
“Explain yourself, Cater!” Riddle was in Heartslabyul, standing in front of an apologetic Cater. “You mean to tell me that you can’t memorize a simple three hundred page textbook?!” Cater was on track to lose his head.
“What–? Three hundred pages?! I can’t memorize all that!” All warm feelings drained out of Cater’s body. Riddle glared at Cater, effectively silencing him.
Cater backed away from Riddle. He couldn’t expect the ginger to memorize all three hundred pages in just a couple of days! They were all written in such small print, too! There was no need to get all red and yell.
Trey held his hands in a placating gesture as he requested Riddle to calm down. A testament to how much he’d grown, Riddle was quick to calm himself and even apologized for his loss of composure.
“O-M-S. Rids has grown so muuuuch!” Cater would have ruffled his housewarden’s hair if he thought he could get away with it. “I’m so proud!” Even Riddle’s responding glare couldn’t dull his mood.
Trey pat Riddle on the shoulder. “He’s right. I can tell that you’re trying your best.”
Riddle blushed, covering his face with his hand. “Well, it wouldn’t do for me to go back on my word.” He was clearly embarrassed by his upperclassmen’s praise.
Riddle cleared his throat before calmly explaining that all three hundred pages of notes he’d made had all the information Cater would need to know. If he were to memorize it all, he’d have no trouble on his exam; there was no need to concern himself over how complicated things were if he were to do so.
Cater sighed, Riddle had the right intentions. He just wasn’t able to memorize so much reading material. “I appreciate the thought, Riddle, but it's just not possible for me! I fall asleep so fast when I try to read textbooks!”
The effort was appreciated, but Cater just wasn’t capable of such a task. Whenever he tried to read a textbook, though, he always ended up asleep by the third page. Angered, Riddle replied that if what the ginger said was true, he wouldn’t have even gotten past the table of contents!
Riddle was red-faced and prepared to use his unique magic on Cater, but Trey stepped in to stop him. Despite still being angry, the housewarden held himself back from making any rash decisions.
Deuce and Ace shared surprised looks. Riddle really was changing. The old Riddle wouldn’t have hesitated to use his unique magic on Cater. They tried to sneak looks at the present Riddle to see if he was reacting the same as his future counterpart.
Riddle’s finger tapped his armrest to the same rhythm of his foot tapping on the floor. His expression grew irritated but he made no move to yell at Cater. He had promised not to say anything on the matter so long as Cater did his best not to allow his grades to slip in the future.
Addressing Cater, Trey told him to try new ways to stay awake, such as reading the contents out loud. Riddle had gone through a lot of trouble in his efforts to help, after all.
With an apology, Cater swore to take his studying more seriously. He had a week before his exam. Riddle reminded the older boy that he would definitely be collared if he were to fail the exam.
“Yes, sir. Duly noted.” Cater smiled, though there was clear anxiety in his eyes. Phone out, Cater even posted on Magicam about his intentions to study before logging off.
“Cater? Without his phone? How shocking.” Vil couldn’t hide his amused grin. The ginger was likely to suffer greatly with that decision, the Pomefiore housewarden wouldn’t be surprised if Cater cracked within the day.
Rook held a hand over his mouth. “Oh, dear. Monsieur Magicam without Magicam?”
With a picture of his notes and tags quickly chosen, the diamond posted his declaration of intent. He thanked Trey and Riddle for their help before heading off, presumably to study.
Sometimes, Riddle noted, Cater was just as troublesome as the others. He wondered how the ginger was able to pass the rest of his classes when he spent all his time on Magicam.
Cater pouted. “How could you talk about me behind my back like this, Riddle? I thought we were friends!”
Riddle was too smart to fall for such an obvious ruse, so he simply huffed in amusement. “Cause me less trouble and perhaps I’ll be willing to admit I am friends with you.”
“Harsh, Rids. Even for you.” His words earned laughs from Trey and Che’nya, causing him to pout even more.
Trey sympathized with Cater’s unwillingness to study and his desire to avoid it, to which Riddle quickly retorted that students couldn’t just avoid studying. “Well, I can’t argue that, but…” Trey’s expression turned thoughtful. “Riddle, are there any foods you hate?”
The question threw him for a loop but he answered it anyway: Anything over seasoned or seemed unhealthy. Trey then asked how Riddle would go about eating food that was too pungent.
There were multiple options: If it were soup, he’d water it down. He could eat the dish on bread or rice. There was also the slow and steady route, so as not to overwhelm himself. He could also eat it with something he did like.
As he thought of his various solutions, recognition flashed in his eyes. “Aha!” He got what Trey was trying to say. An idea popped into his head, something he thought could work on Cater.
“Oh, I do believe I know what my future self is thinking. I thank you for the idea, Trey.” Riddle’s grin was a little too pleased for Cater’s liking.
“No problem, Riddle.” Trey smiled back, though his was much less sinister in Cater’s eyes. Who could tell with Trey, though?
“Trey, I need you to teach me something.”
As usual, when an idea was brought up, the screen skipped it so that the plan could be revealed later on.
Yuu buried his head in Grim’s fur. “I’m so sick of this! Just tell us the plan! This much curiosity is unbearable!” He internally cursed his curious nature. In a place like Twisted Wonderland, his curiosity really could get him killed. What was the saying from his world? Curiosity killed the…dog? Or was it a cat? He wondered if the sayings were the same in both worlds or if they had different ones in Twisted Wonderland.
Cater was outside the dorm, near the rose bushes. The lighting indicated that it was some time in the early morning. A loud yawn came from the, clearly sleep deprived, ginger. With a day spent offline, he finally cracked. He pulled out his phone and opened up Magicam.
If only he could do the same as his future self. Too bad his Magicam loss wasn’t due to any decisions of his own. Cater held back a frustrated noise as he jealously watched his future self scroll on Magicam without a care in the world.
His luck wasn’t on his side, as Riddle approached him as he had just started scrolling. The housewarden noted that he was yawning so widely he could be mistaken for a walrus ready to gorge himself on oysters.
“Do– do walruses eat oysters?” Yuu turned a baffled gaze towards Ace and Deuce. “I’ll admit I know nothing about walruses.” How did such a saying even get created? Did it exist in his world, too? He wished he could remember.
Ace and Deuce both shrugged in response to the question. Riddle gained their attention by clearing his throat. “Walruses tend to eat a wide variety of soft invertebrates found on or below the seafloor. This would, obviously, include clams and oysters.”
“Oh, cool.” Was Yuu confused as to why Riddle would know that? Yes. Was he going to question it? Nope.
The diamond fumbled for a reply, the sudden appearance of his housewarden startling him. He called Riddle cute before denying going on magicam. Funnily enough, Magicam was what Riddle was there to talk about. The previous day, he had decided to make an account of his own.
Not registering the words at first, Cater nodded. As the information finally clicked, he shouted in surprise. Riddle? Using Magicam?
Such a reaction shocked RIddle, who wondered if Cater took issue with his signing up. Cater denied having any problems with it, he was just surprised since Riddle had always said he had no interest in it.
Silver had heard Riddle say something along those lines before and wondered what prompted the change of heart.
Riddle explained his sudden decision away with the excuse of ‘changing his mind’. Since he had an account, he figured he should ask Cater for his Magicam handle so they could be friends.
“He’s planning something and needs Magicam to do it.” Leona correctly theorized. Nothing else would explain the sudden interest in the app. Riddle was probably going to use Magicam in his attempts to help Cater study for his exam.
None to wiser to any of Riddle’s true intentions, Cater was happy to oblige. He looked forward to seeing what kinds of pictures Riddle would post.
With a scheming grin, Riddle told the ginger to keep an eye on his account. Cater wouldn’t want to miss any of his posts.
“That’s definitely the face of someone plotting something. R-I-P Cater.” Idia, despite wanting to avoid anything to do with the number one SSR extrovert in school, felt bad for whatever Riddle had planned for him.
Cater was shown in a classroom, clearly later on in the day. His Magicam notification tone went off, prompting him to check his phone. Riddle had posted! The post was a picture of a broom with some hashtags that Cater wasn’t able to recognize. He found it cute watching Riddle try something new.
Riddle couldn’t help but notice the amount of time Cater called things cute. During Cater’s vignette, he had admitted to ‘make it cute’ being burned into his brain but Riddle hadn’t expected it to be so bad. Cute was always the default compliment Cater had for everything.
Remembering the ginger’s room, Riddle wondered if all the cute stuff with faces were even things his upperclassman liked or if he had simply picked them out of habit.
The scene switched to show Cater’s room. It was night, so Cater was likely getting ready for bed. A ding from his phone distracted him from what he was doing, Riddle had made another post on Magicam.
At first, Cater thought the picture was of a towel but it turned out to be dust cloth instead. He frowned at the choice, Riddle should have been posting selfies or food! Things that actually got likes!
Reading the hashtags aloud, Cater began to notice the meaning of the tags. He went to like the post before the scene changed.
Cater’s face lit up in recognition. “I get it! O-M-S. Rids, you’re a genius!”
“Of course I am!” Riddle’s huff was replaced by a satisfied smile. “With my help, you’ll pass your exam. I refuse to allow any other alternative.”
In Riddle’s room, the housewarden was preparing his next post. This time, he was going to post about the magical formula for brushing the carpet. With a picture of a carpet brush taken, he carefully selected his tags. Mere moments after he posted, he got a notification that Cater had ‘liked’ it. He gave his upperclassman a ‘like’ as well.
“It’s so cute watching you try something new! I know my future self said it already but he’s right!” Riddle’s brows scrunched as he thought of the tags he’d use for his post, and his tongue stuck out a little as he took the picture. Cater found it adorable.
Vil hummed as he realized what was going on. “I applaud your ingenuity, Riddle.” Using Magicam to teach Cater the formulas he needed to know? Vil didn’t know if he’d be able to come up with such an idea.
“Oui! The idea is simply merveilleux!”
‘A few days later’
In the Heartslabyul Lounge, Cater happily bounded over to Riddle and Trey with a large grin on his face. Riddle could probably guess how the older’s exam went but still asked, anyway. With his signature pose, the ginger announced he had gotten an eight five on the written portion and an A on the applied portion.
“Nice!” Cater reached for his phone before his empty pocket reminded him of its absence. “I wish I could take a commemorative photo of my achievements. Too bad our phones were taken from us. Hey, Ortho! Does your regular camera work?”
Ortho frowned, his lack of a proper mouth preventing him from properly pouting. “Unfortunately, I am unable to take photos or videos. I apologize, Cater Diamond.”
“No sweat, buddy!” Cater waved off the apology. “It's not your fault.”
Riddle’s initial reaction was a little more enthusiastic than expected, so he quickly composed himself. He and Trey both congratulated Cater for his success. Cater, in turn, thanked Riddle for his help.
Cater held back another comment about Riddle being cute. He glanced to his side to see a similar excited expression on the present Riddle’s face. Trey looked almost nostalgic as he watched Riddle attempt to cover up his outburst.
Crossing his arms, Riddle explained that the outcome was only natural after the lengths he had gone to. Trey admitted that he was shocked when Riddle had asked him how to set up a Magicam account. He definitely wasn’t expecting the boy to use the app to teach Cater the magical formulas.
Azul took a mental note of the idea. Perhaps he and Riddle could think of a similar method when they tutored Kalim. The Scarabia housewarden had similar issues when forced to study.
Cater had found the idea genius. The hashtags for the spell formulas were super useful! Usually when he tried to memorize notes, he’d doze off, but doing it via tags helped it stick in his brain. As thanks, he offered to take Riddle to a pancake cafe that was trending on Magicam.
The idea was enticing. Cater was usually thorough in his research of trending locations. If it had the ginger’s stamp of approval, it was likely to be good. “I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to go there once we are able, though you won’t have to treat me this time, as I am not the one who provided assistance.”
“Really?! Awesome! I can totally get us in!” Cater could already imagine all the pictures he’d take. His fingers brushed his pocket, a reminder of his lack of phone. It had been a few days and he was beginning to get a little restless without it.
“You’re already resting on your laurels.” Riddle reminded Cater that his assistance was a one time thing. If he found himself in a similar situation, it would be off with his head! Cater was quick to promise that he’d study properly from that day on.
“Good answer. Then, to start with…” There was a loud thud before a large stack of books, all with multiple tabs inside, was placed on the table where they were sitting.
“What the?!” The blood drained from Cater’s face.
“What’s with the stack of books?!” Cater looked overwhelmed while Trey’s expression was one of pity.
The Magicam study method was just the beginning. Cater was to read all the books Riddle provided in preparation for the next exam. Cater stared at the imposing stack of books. “Seriously? Are you for real?”
“R-I-P future me.” Cater pretended to pray. “His free time is all but gone. Goodbye Magicam, you’ll be missed.”
“I told you before. As long as I’m the Heartslabyul housewarden, nobody from Heartslabyul will get held back!”
‘The Rose-Red Tyrant: Complete
Next Up: Section 2: The Usurper from the Savannah’
Leona yawned once the screen had darkened for the last time. Various stares bore into the back of his head but he paid no mind to them. Ruggie fidgeted at his side, clearly wanting to say something to him. “What, Ruggie?”
The hyena’s ears flattened. “Should I be worried? After Riddle’s overblot…and the title for the next segment…”
“You think I’m next, right?” Ruggie nodded. A pang of frustration stabbed through Leona at the concerned look in Ruggie’s eyes. He wasn’t some cub who needed coddling. “You’re probably right.” He shrugged in a ‘what can you do?’ way. “Nothin’ to worry about. Knock some sense into me and I’ll be right as rain, just like little red over there.”
“I don’t think you’re taking this as seriously as you should.” Ruggie frowned. “But fine. I’ll leave it alone.” The hyena could tell when Leona wasn’t up for talking. It wasn’t worth the back and forth. The only thing he could do was hope Leona would be freed from the overblot like Riddle had been.