Blossom (writer): Not romantic! If you want revenge on Riddle's mother, feel free to read on. If you think Riddle's mother is a wonderful human being... don't read this.
Scenario: Lisa is tutoring Riddle in history when she finds out about his mother.
"No, dear," Lisa said patiently, tracing her finger across a page in the textbook. "The answer is actually the year 850, not 750. Very close, though! Why don't we review this page again?"
At Riddle's distraught expression, she laughed and patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry, dear. You're doing very well already. You really can't expect to get everything right on the first try, you know."
Riddle clenched his gloved hands into fists. "I-I know."
They spent a few more minutes reading over the page.
"Okay, do you think you're ready now?" Lisa asked. Riddle nodded, so she continued, "Then let's test your knowledge a bit. In what year did the Thorn Fairy's soldiers march across the northern plains?"
"850."
"Very good, dear! Next, how many elder demons were there among them?"
"13 in total."
"Last question! What weapons did the 13 elder demons carry on their march across the plains?"
Riddle bit his lip and scoured his mind. What weapons, what weapons? Elder demons typically wielded swords, right? Or were they bows? Maces? Spears? Maybe just magestones?
"I-I don't know," he stammered. Lisa was surprised by the expression on his face. It wasn't mere disappointment. He looked almost scared. Scared of her?
She raised her hand to flip the page, and Riddle flinched away from her—as if he expected to be slapped for getting the answer wrong.
A sneaking suspicion entered Lisa's mind, but she kept her expression perfectly casual. "You've improved so much!" she congratulated him, clapping her hands. "The weapons question was a bit of a tricky one. You have to infer it from this paragraph, see? Where the text says 'they shot a volley across the trench,' that implies that the demons used bows and arrows."
Riddle ducked his head. "I should have been more careful. I'm sorry."
"Don't be! It's perfectly normal to get things wrong." Lisa exhaled slowly, unsure of how to breach this next subject. "There is something I wanted to discuss, though. You're usually so studious and focused, but today you seem a little... distracted. Is something wrong?"
No response.
Gently, Lisa laid her hand on Riddle's shoulder. "You know that you can tell me anything, right, dear? I'll always be here for you if you have any concerns. Especially if you want to take a break, feel free to ask. Okay?"
To her astonishment, when she looked up, Riddle's eyes glittered with tears. He clearly wanted to speak, but in the end all he said was: "I can't."
"Whyever not? Everyone needs a break sometimes," Lisa pressed.
"My mother would get angry."
Ah. It was as Lisa had suspected. "Your mother, hm? How do you think she would react if you asked her if you could take a break?"
"S-she'd get angry. She doesn't like it when I slack off." Before Riddle knew it, he was spilling all the details about his mother—like how she'd mistreated him as a child "for his own good" and forbidden him from playing outside. "If I say 'I don't know' to a question, she... she... punishes me."
"Oh?"
"She s-says things like 'This is unacceptable! How could you not know that? You foolish boy!'"
By the end of Riddle's story, Lisa felt fury crackle within her like lightning, though she kept it hidden well. Riddle hadn't even purposefully made his mother sound bad. He'd blamed his shortcomings on himself, rather than his mother's cruelty. However, Lisa was skilled at reading between the lines.
"I see," she said. "Thank you for telling me this, dear. Do you feel better now?"
Riddle nodded and rose to leave. Meanwhile, Lisa's mind was working quickly. She wasn't the Sumeru Akademiya's former top student for nothing, after all. "Dear?" Riddle turned. "Before you go, I just remembered something very important. At Night Raven College, there's a rule that a librarian, even an unofficial one, can't help a student with their homework unless the student's parent is notified."
Brow furrowing, Riddle said, "Pardon me, Miss Lisa, but I've never heard of this rule."
That's because I just made it up. "That's because it's not in the student rulebook, cutie. It's only included in the rulebook for librarians," Lisa lied smoothly. Riddle seemed to believe her. "I'm afraid we'll have to pay your mother a little visit."
Early the next afternoon, Lisa and Riddle arrived at the Rosehearts' house. It was a large, respectable house, though very boring-looking, without so much as a single flower in the garden—only trimmed hedges.
"Not a twig out of place," Lisa commented, running her hand over the top of the hedge. In her other hand, she held a covered basket full of muffins. Trey had baked them for her after hearing about her plans to visit Riddle's mother.
At her side, Riddle was unusually silent. "Don't be nervous," Lisa told him, and knocked on the door.
After a few seconds, a woman who must be Riddle's mother answered the door. Her hair was the same shade as Riddle's, except mixed with streaks of gray. "Yes, what is it? I'm very busy."
Lisa disliked her already. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lisa, the librarian at Night Raven College." She extended her hand to Riddle's mother. "And you must be Mrs. Rosehearts, Riddle's mother. He's told me all about you."
Mrs. Rosehearts didn't take Lisa's hand, nor did she hear the menace in Lisa's tone. Coolly, she replied, "My apologies. I have to work with patients, so I can't touch anything that might be contaminated. I am a renowned magic doctor, you see." She looked Lisa up and down, her eyes lingering on Lisa's witch hat and low-cut top. "And you're a librarian, you said? Your outfit is entirely inappropriate for such a position. I can't believe Night Raven College even hired you."
Riddle turned bright red and looked at Lisa apologetically, but Lisa's smile only grew wider. "Actually, I'm self-appointed."
"You're not even official?" Mrs. Rosehearts gasped. "I can't believe I sent my son to the 'most prestigious' magic school in the land, only for him to spend time around people like you. It's no wonder his grades are slipping!" She bent towards Riddle. "At this rate, you're going to fail. Is that what you want, huh?" She jabbed her finger in Riddle's face.
Eyes widening, Lisa stepped between Riddle and his mother. "Oh my. I must have misheard, Mrs. Rosehearts. For a moment there, it sounded as if you were blaming me for your son's grades!"
"I never said anything of the sort."
As Riddle glanced between Mrs. Rosehearts and Lisa, tension crackled between the two women. Noticing Riddle's nervousness, Lisa broke the tension: "I almost forgot! I have a gift for you, Mrs. Rosehearts." As she spoke, Lisa pulled the cover off the basket of muffins. "Organic bran muffins with low-caloric value and no added preservatives. Your favorite, or so I'm told."
Mrs. Rosehearts's expression softened just a little. "Hmph. At least you have decent manners."
"Shall we enjoy these inside?" Lisa suggested.
In response, Mrs. Rosehearts opened the door a crack wider. "You may come in." She glared at Riddle. "Have you forgotten your manners, Riddle? Thank the librarian for her gift."
"T-thank you," Riddle said to Lisa, refusing to meet her eyes. He started to follow Lisa indoors, but Lisa had seen enough to know that Riddle should stay away from his mother.
"Just a moment, please, Riddle dear." Lisa held out her hand to stop Riddle from entering. "Why don't you have a walk around the neighborhood while I talk to your mother? Che'nya!"
A heartbeat later, Che'nya magically appeared in front of the door. "Nya! You called, Miss Lisa?" Riddle's mother scowled when she saw Che'nya.
"Would you be so kind as to take Riddle for a little stroll around the neighborhood? It'd do him some good to catch up with a friend."
"Sure, nya. C'mon, Riddle."
Riddle still looked a little hesitant, so Lisa reassured Riddle, "No need to worry, cutie. Your mother and I are just going to have a little...chat. From one lady to another, right?" Before Mrs. Rosehearts could protest, she steered Mrs. Rosehearts into the house and shut the door behind them.
Clearly oblivious to the menace in Lisa's voice, Mrs. Rosehearts shook Lisa off and huffed, "Who are you to say what's best for my son? He shouldn't be spending time around that little stray cat! Why did you send him off?"
Lisa paused. "Well, Mrs. Rosehearts, you're a—er, how did you put it?—renowned magic doctor. You must be rather smart yourself. Why do you think I sent him off?"
Mrs. Rosehearts thought hard and shook her head in frustration. "I don't know."
"You don't know? Why, that's simply unacceptable." Lisa reached into the basket of muffins and pulled out a book—her catalyst, Lost Prayers to the Sacred Winds. Mrs. Rosehearts blanched at the sight. In a low voice, Lisa continued, "You foolish, foolish woman. I think I'd better teach you a little lesson."
"Y-you can't do this! I'm a renowned magic doctor!"
"In that case, I'm sure you'll be able to heal yourself from a little shock." Lisa smiled. "But before we get to that, I have something to tell you. I know a rule that can make anyone obey what you say. They won't even question you."
Unable to resist such a crucial secret, Mrs. Rosehearts's eyes grew wide with greed. "Impossible! I memorized all the rules for effective discipline! Tell me, what is it? It can't be true!"
Invisible sparks danced at Lisa's fingertips as she charged her elemental skill. "Oh, but it is true," she laughed. "Come a little closer, and I'll tell you the secret..."
When Riddle returned from his walk, Lisa was waiting for him outside the house. Mrs. Rosehearts stood outside as well, looking pale and shaky.
"Did you have fun, dear?" Lisa asked, brushing a stray lock of hair from Riddle's face.
With a quick, nervous glance at his mother, Riddle replied, "Y-yes!"
"I'm glad. That's all I want, really." Lisa folded Riddle into her arms. To a trembling Mrs. Rosehearts, she whispered, "Stay away from Riddle. I don't care if he's your son; you haven't done a good job of taking care of him. Don't lay another finger on him; don't scold him... if you know what's good for you."
Blossom: You can give suggestions for what you want to see next in the comments! And don't forget to vote ♡