Ace recoiled in both fear and shock when he realized that he was face-to-face with his Dorm Leader, Riddle Rosehearts. He was currently standing before a cowering Ace with a disapproving scowl on his face.
Cater, hoping to ease the tension between them, spoke up with his usual happy and carefree smile. "Oh my, Riddle! You look super crazy cute today~♪" he chirped. Unfortunately, Riddle wasn't here to play any games with his dorm members. He turned his gaze towards the leaf green-eyed teen and leered at him.
"Hmph. Cater. If you run your mouth anymore, I'll take it off together with your head." he said sternly. "Hey, now, gimme a break~!" Cater begged slightly as he stepped down a bit. Alice kept her head down so as to not make eye contact with him. She could now understand what the others had said about him.
He held this strong aura of authority and that of a powerful ruler. His tone spoke volumes, stating that he was a no-nonsense person and wanted things to go his way, the Queen's way, or else there would be severe consequences. Alice briefly wondered if the other dorm leaders were all this intimidating.
"Ffgna! This is the guy who put that weird collar on me during the entrance ceremony!" Grim shouted as he glared at the shorter boy. Alice almost flinched and quickly went to cover his mouth. "Grim, please be quiet...!" she softly begged.
Riddle then turned his attention towards the girls and sharpened his gaze, causing the blond-haired girl to shrink back. Of all things, he couldn't believe that the Headmaster would ever allow four girls to attend an all-male school. And none of those girls held even a single ounce of magic. How preposterous!
What an utter disgrace to the school's reputation to allow some common girls to attend. "Ah, I remember you... You're those girls and their pet cat who caused a commotion at the orientation ceremony, two nights ago..." Riddle said as he crossed his arms at them.
"And if memory serves, your two friends were also the cause of the Queen of Hearts' statue getting burned and destroying the cafeteria's chandelier." He then narrowed his steely eyes at Grim, who went stiff with fright.
"I must ask that you refrain from calling someone's Unique Magic a "weird collar." For goodness' sake. The Headmaster is far too soft. If you forgive rule breakers, the whole system will collapse. All he has to do is lop off the heads of everyone who doesn't follow the rules." he sighed.
"He may look innocent, but the words coming out of his mouth sure do suggest otherwise..." Ace quietly whispered to his schoolmates. Kira silently nodded in agreement. Riddle then turned to face Alice.
"The headmaster may have forgiven the five of you, but make no mistake, the next time any of you choose to break the rules, I will most certainly not." he firmly said. Alice meekly nodded. "Y-Yes, sir... We understand." she softly said, still hanging her head as she was too scared to look at him in the eye.
Ace, seeing Alice almost trembling in Riddle's presence, subtly scooted over to her and went in front of him, spreading a half-pleading, half-forced smile. "...Say, Dorm Leader, there's no way you could, y'know... remove this collar, is there?" he asked, pointing at his collar.
Riddle glanced at Ace. "I was prepared to do so had you learned your lesson, but judging from the way you were talking just a moment ago, it doesn't sound like that is the case, at all. Keep it on for a while longer." he said, making Ace's smile drop completely.
"There's no need to worry. As a first-year, you'll primarily be learning the fundamentals rather than actually using magic. If you can't use your magic, there's no risk of causing a scene like yesterday, either. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"But, surely, he didn't mean to—" Alice started to say, trying to defend Ace. "Silence!" Riddle barked, cutting her off as he glared at her. Alice immediately went quiet. "You should hold your tongue unless you are directly spoken to." he said firmly. Alice said nothing as she looked away with an angry pout.
Riddle then turned to his fellow dormmates. "Now don't just sit around chatting away. The moment you've finished your lunch, start preparing for your next class." he said strictly. "Law of the Queen of Hearts No. 271, "One should leave their seat within 15 minutes of finishing their lunch."."
"If you break the rules... Well, I believe I've made myself clear?" Ace let out an annoyed sigh as he rolled his cherry red eyes. "Aaand that's another weird as heck rule to add to the list..." he muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately, Riddle could hear him. "The answer is, "Yes, Dorm Leader!"!" he suddenly commanded sharply. The sharp tone of Riddle's voice made Ace and Deuce instantly sit up tensely like soldiers. "Yes, Dorm Leader!" they both responded clearly. "Very good." Riddle said.
At that point, Trey let out a small laugh and got up to walk to Riddle's side. "Listen, I'll look after them for you, okay?" he said reassuringly. "Hmph. You're meant to be the vice dorm leader, so I expect you to get your act together." Riddle sternly said as he turned to face Trey.
"Following the Law of the Queen of Hearts, No. 339, "Tea after a meal should always be lemon tea with two sugars." I must go buy sugar cubes from the school store, so I'll be on my way." With that, Riddle turned on his heel and left.
He then placed a hand on his head as he began to look even more upset by the second. "Not ensuring the sugar pot is topped up is a huge offence, for goodness' sake..." he whispered harshly as he left the cafeteria, Alice gazing at his retreating form. He seemed to grow even more agitated as he stormed through the hallway.
....Drip!.... drip!.....
Inside the crystal on Riddle's magic pen... two drops of black liquid appeared and converged into one.
Ba-bump! "Aah!" Alice gasped when she felt a sudden pulsation shoot through her heart. A sharp pain suddenly rushed through her like a blade, and she grabbed her chest as she leaned on the table, gasping for air. The Heartslabyul boys and the other girls immediately noticed her pain and rushed to her side.
"Alice!" the girls exclaimed. "Alice-chan, you okay? What's wrong?" Ace asked as he held Alice with concern. "Are you alright?" Trey asked worriedly. Alice let out a breath and nodded as the pain subsided as quickly as it came. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry." she said with a smile. "Are you sure?" Jazmin asked with concern.
Alice nodded. "Yes, I'm fine." she replied. Even though Alice claimed that she was fine, she couldn't help but wonder why she suddenly felt that unexplained sharp pain in her chest. "That was so strange. Where did that sudden pain come from?" she wondered.
"Whew, that was a close one." Cater said, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding while Grim slumped down on the table and placed his paws on his hips, glaring at Riddle until he was out of the cafeteria. "That guy is so obnoxious, y'know." he said.
"Hey, that's rude!" Deuce scolded him. While Alice was trying to understand the pain in her heart she had just felt, from the corner of her eye she noticed that several students from the Heartslabyul dorm were cautiously peeking over their shoulders and seeing if Riddle had truly left.
Only then did they felt safe to speak. "Did the Dorm Leader leave...?" one Heartslabyul student asked fretfully. "I broke the Law of the Queen of Hearts No. 186, "One must never eat a hamburger on Tuesday." I was terrified of what would happen if he found out I did." another student said nervously, his knees shaking with fear.
A third Heartslabyul student let out an exhausted sigh. "At least let us eat whatever we want..." he moaned. Alice looked at them. "They're all... afraid of him." she thought to herself. She looked down at her notes and read the section of Heartslabyul and the Queen of Hearts.
How she placed strict rules and severe punishments to keep her subjects in line, to always obey her and her laws. Trey had mentioned how Riddle was more serious about holding up the rules in comparison to the previous dorm leaders, so did that mean he's also trying to become more like the Queen herself?
Alice looked up to ask her seniors this but found that they were silent as they stared at their nervous dorm members. Their eyes held a glimmer of sympathy and... regret. Trey turned back to his juniors and gave a smile again, only this time, it appeared to be more half-hearted.
"The dorm leader wrestled the seat from the previous dorm leader in his first week here. He can be a little harsh, but that's just him trying to make the dorm better. He's got good intentions at heart." he said, defending Riddle's cold attitude.
"Someone with good intentions doesn't randomly collar people." Grim pointed out, causing the two seniors to laugh quite awkwardly. "Well, you were the one who caused a scene during the ceremony, tuna breath." Kira replied, rolling her eyes. "Grrr... But that collar just suddenly cuts off your magic. It hurts and it sucks!" Grim protested, glaring up at her.
Oh, dear... this atmosphere has gone down to depressing levels. Quick, think of something fun to talk about. An idea then popped into Alice's head, and she shyly raised her hand. "U-Um, excuse me. May I ask what this "Unique Magic" is?" she asked.
"Hm? You mean Riddle's unique magic?" Cater asked, his smile returning to his face. "If it's unique, does that mean that it's magic that only he can use?" Deuce asked with some thought.
"Leaving aside the question of if only one person in the whole world can use it or not..." Trey said as he adjusted his glasses. "...generally, it's indeed a very distinct magic that only that person can use, hence Unique Magic. You'll probably learn about it in class pretty soon."
Alice made a sound of interest and wrote that down in her notebook. Cater nodded his head in agreement. "Riddle's Unique Magic lets him seal off another person's magic for a fixed amount of time. It is called..." he started to say when Grim spoke up.
"Off With Your Head!" Just hearing the name of Riddle's Unique Magic sent chills running down Grim's spine as he went ghostly pale. "Eek! Just the name is terrifying!" he shrieked.
"Having your magic sealed as a mage really hurts as much as losing your own head, after all! And that's why you should try and avoid breaking Riddle's rules inside the dorm." Cater said. "On the other hand, he isn't scary at all if you just follow them." Trey added.
"He isn't scary...?" Alice murmured as she tried to understand where Riddle stood, trying to understand him as a person. Was he really a bad person or was he just someone who genuinely wants what is best for his dorm as their leader?
"So you're saying is I have to go buy a tart or Cater will kick me out again?" Ace asked Cater, recalling how he basically fought him, and then kicked him and the others out of the dorm for not having a tart in hand to begin with. All this trouble over a dumb strawberry tart!
"That's right~. As decided by Law of the Queen of Hearts, No. 53~. I should also let you know that Riddle really looks forward to having the first slice of a tart, so he probably won't forgive you unless it's whole~." Cater confirmed with a big happy smile.
"Weren't you just talking about getting along, like, two seconds ago? Just turn a blind eye!" Ace fumed, narrowing his eyes. "That is that, this is this~." Cater said nonchalantly. "But aren't whole tarts pretty expensive?" Deuce asked. Ace let out a groan and slumped over, nearly banging his head against the table.
"Ugh. It's not like my pockets are overflowing with Madol here, you know." he moaned. Great. This was just wonderful. How the heck was he expected to replace what he ate if he doesn't even have the money for it?!
Alice shared a similar thought but then came up with a simple solution. She patted her friend's head to comfort him. "Well...I-If it makes you feel better...I can..." she attempted to say. "Then why not try your hand at making your own~? All those tarts you saw in the fridge were made by Trey~." Cater suggested.
This greatly surprised his six cute juniors as they quickly shot up from their seats, staring at Trey with wide eyes. "Oh my, I had no idea you had such a talent! That's wonderfully unexpected!" Alice exclaimed.
"You made that tart, Trey-senpai?! Holy crap! If you told me they were bought from a patisserie, I'd have believed you." Ace said, praising Trey's stunning baking talents. He knew he had eaten it less than a day ago, but Ace could still taste that utter perfection of that strawberry tart on his tongue.
Trey let out a modest laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Haha, thank you." he said modestly. Ace then slid over towards Trey and gently massaged his shoulders. "Come on, senpai. Won't you lend me your cookware?" he asked sweetly as he gave Trey a puppy-eyed look.
"I'd be sooo happy if you'd teach me how to make them!" Trey just smiled in amusement. "It's true that I have all the seasoning and utensils that you need, but... asking for my help won't come cheap." he said with a cheeky smirk. "Eh?! You're making me pay for it?!" Ace shouted in shock.
"U-Um, I'll be happy to—" Alice began to say when Trey let out another laugh. "Pfft, don't lose your head now. I'm not gonna go around squeezing money out of the new kids. If we're going to make the tart Riddle wants to eat next, we need a lot of chestnuts. Could you gather them for me?" he asked.
"Ugh, either way is a pain...! Well, how many do you need?" Ace asked him. "To make enough for the Unbirthday Party, we'll need about... two, three hundred, I think." Trey replied. "Huh?!" the girls all gaped at Trey while Deuce and Grim screamed in shock. "That many?!" they exclaimed.
"After that, I'll need you to roast, peel, and purée them. I can do the rest after that." Trey said, already handing them the assignments as if they all agreed to offer their services. Even so, having to do all that stuff sounded like one big hard chore. Not that the blonde-haired girl minded it or anything.
"Can I go home?" Grim immediately asked. "Me too." Deuce said. Ace glared at them. "Traitors!" he yelled at them. "Come on, now~! Nothing tastes more delicious than food that you make together with your friends~!" Cater said cheerfully.
"You get to make some fun memories~. Never know, might even be your debut as a food blogger~." Alice gave a soft giggle at the idea. "It does sound like a lot of fun. I can help you bake them... if that's alright with you." Alice said with a soft pink blush on her cheeks.
Ace let out a sigh of relief and grasped her hands. "Yes! I knew I could count on you, Alice-chan!" Ace said as he brought her into a tight hug. Alice's blush deepened but she still gave a smile as she hugged him back. Deuce's eyes widened slightly. "W-Well, if Alice-chan's going to help out, then..."
"I'll help out, too." Kira said. "Don't tell the Dorm Leader, but Mont Blanc tastes most delicious when it's freshly-baked. Only the one who bakes the tart gets a piece of that." Trey said.
"Oooh, ooh, ooh! Let's get a move on! We're gonna pick chestnut after chestnut after chestnut!" Grim declared, excited about getting to eat a tart. Kira sighed. "You sure change your tune quick, huh, Grim?" she deadpanned. Typical, but still an easy tactic. Simply bribe Grim with food and you can make him do anything.
"Is there any place where we can find chestnuts?" Alice asked. "There should be plenty of chestnut trees in the forest behind the school's botanical garden." Trey replied. The girl's sky-blue eyes lit up when she heard the word 'garden'.
"Wait! You guys have a garden here?" Kira asked in surprise. A botanical garden? They have a garden here?! Oh, how Alice could hardly wait to see it! "Alright! Then we meet after class in front of the botanical garden." Ace said. "Aria-chan and I will go help Trey-san out in the kitchen." Jazmin said.
"Go! Go! Chestnut picking~!" Grim happily exclaimed.