For a moment, a heavy silence descended upon the Tea Garden as everyone stared at their dorm leader, expressions of shock and fear on their faces. A few Heartslabyul dorm members even trembled at his sudden outburst.
Poor Alice was so anxious she nearly collapsed from fright. She would've have fainted, but she then suddenly snapped out of her dizziness when she felt two strong hands grasp her own hand. She looked up and saw that Ace and Deuce were on both sides of her, clutching her hands.
Not too tightly, but rather firmly, that if someone were to grab her, it would be very difficult to pull her away from them. Both Kira and Ace then glared at Riddle. "Excuse you?!" Kira snapped. "Hang on a sec! Are you just pulling rules out of your butt by this point!" Ace angrily shouted at the Crimson Ruler.
Why couldn't he just accept the tart he made for him?! He had worked his heinie off to bake all those tarts and to see him just throw them away like garbage without hesitation had just upset him.
Of course, he was furious with Riddle from the very beginning, and while him throwing away the well-made chestnut tarts was part of it, seeing Alice being so terrified because of him was the setting point.
"Yeah! I'll eat it if you're just gonna toss it!" Grim shouted, angry at Riddle for wasting food more than anything else. He was ready to pounce of him for that, but then Kira quickly grabbed his pitchfork-like tail and pulled him away. "Don't try anything fancy, tuna breath!" she strongly warned him.
Cater and Trey quickly ran over to them and stood in between the six teens and their dorm leader. "My deepest apologies, Dorm Leader. I was the one who said we should make a Mont Blanc." Trey said, quickly looking back to give Alice a sincere apologetic glance.
"Yeah! We didn't think there would be a rule for something like that." Cater added, aiding Trey in defending their juniors. "The fact that you made them isn't the problem! My issue is the fact that you brought them here!" Riddle shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at the ruined Mont Blanc tart before them.
Alice gripped her friends' hands, embracing their warmth and support. She stayed close to her beloved friends, finding comfort in their presence. She took in a breath to calm herself down and stared back to Riddle.
As the words sank into her mind, Alice's eyes then narrowed, finding anger replacing her fear. Despite feeling concerned by Riddle's sudden rage, she also couldn't help but feel upset that Riddle would just toss away a nicely made Mont Blanc tart all because of a ridiculous rule. Something just had to be done about this!
She had promised herself that she would be strong for her friends. She had to protect and defend them. They're her friends, after all. "Mr. Rosehearts!" Alice exclaimed as she marched towards Riddle. Riddle turned his attention towards her.
"I cannot believe you would be so foolish for obeying such absurd rules like that!" Alice said, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at Riddle. That caught Riddle off-guard as he stared at her in shock. All the other Heartslabyul members gasped in horror as they stared at her in disbelief. "What?!" Riddle asked, wide-eyed.
Her friends also stared at her, impressed by how brave she suddenly became. "Everyone, including Trey-senpai, worked very hard to make those tarts for you, and this is how you say your thanks?!" Alice replied angrily. "How could you act that way?! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
Ace then stepped up. "She's right. All I've been hearing you spout since a while ago is all these weird rules. It's just idiotic." he added crossly. Riddle glared at both Alice and Ace indignantly. "Did you just call it...idiotic?" he asked, his tone suddenly becoming cool and calm.
His angry expression combined with that tone of voice struck Alice. It was the same. The very same expression that he had whenever he looked at her. Cater then whirled around and stared at Ace with eyes wide and full of fear.
"Wait, stop! That word is taboo." he shouted. Cater turned back to Riddle and gave his ruler a bright, albeit anxiety-filled smile. "Riddle, these guys are new students that are still trying to learn the ropes." he said in a cheerful tone, hoping to pacify his anger.
He hoped that they would get the idea, bow their heads to Riddle and apologize before things got even worse. Unfortunately, they didn't. "No, I'm not gonna say it. Throwing out a whole tart just because of a rule like that is stupid as heck. Shut up with your crap." Ace said.
"I do agree that rules are meant to be followed, but... This is way too bizarre." Deuce said. His patience for Riddle's behavior had already ran thin and he was not going to just sit by and allow this madness to continue.
"Yeah! Same here!" Kira exclaimed. Riddle narrowed his eyes at them, not pleased with their defiance. "You've got quite the nerve, talking back to me." he said, quietly seething. "Listen well. Even breaking insignificant rules leads to huge problems."
Ace vigorously shook his head and threw out his free arm, motioning towards his fellow dorm mates. "Everyone else here refuses to speak up because they're afraid of getting their magic sealed, but I'm very sure they agree!" he shouted.
All of the students' faces paled, turning white as sheets as they stared at the scene in front of them. "Everyone!" Alice called to the other students. "You know this isn't right, don't you?! How can you all just stand by as your friends get their heads cut off?! Please tell Riddle-san the truth!"
Some were rapidly shaking their heads. Others were trembling with fear. One student was brave enough to speak against Alice and Ace's claims. "Ah no, we..." he started to say before Riddle glanced at him.
"Oh, is that so?" Riddle darkly questioned as he narrowed his eyes at him. The Heartslabyul student then quickly shook his head. "N-Not at all, Dorm Leader!" he quickly said. "Everything is based on your judgement!" another student added.
"Those guys...!" Grim exclaimed, not believing how easily the students were willing to submit to Riddle's maddening reign. Ace, on the other hand, stared at his dormmates in complete disappointment. "Tsk...Wishy-washy jerks. Lame." he scoffed.
"In the year that I've been dorm leader, there hasn't been a single student held back or expelled from Heartslabyul Dorm. The only one with the honor in saying that is our dorm." Riddle said, the tone of his voice gradually shifting from calm to controlled anger.
"In this dorm, I am the one with the highest marks. I am the strongest. That makes me the most correct! So all you have to do is follow my rules without talking back!" The six teens all gawked at him incredulously. How could he just say that?! "You're kidding!" Deuce exclaimed.
"I'm not cutting of your heads because I want to. It's because you all keep breaking the rules." Riddle said. Trey had fallen silent as he stood back. He lowered his gaze, turning away from Riddle. "If you won't obey me, then it's off with all your heads!" the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader shouted at them.
There was no answer. Just Ace, Deuce, the four girls and Grim were glaring back at the wine red-haired young man, who only glared back, his patience thinning out even more. "Well?" he asked irritably. "I'm waiting for your answer!"
Cater quickly turned the group and looked at them with slightly pleading eyes. "All right, everyone, this is where you say, "Yes, Dorm Leader~."" he urged pleadingly. But Deuce adamantly shook his head, as did everyone else. "...I can't do that." Deuce said in defiance, causing everyone to become tense.
"Me, neither." Ace said, openly speaking out his disdain for his dorm leader's cruel and hateful behavior. "Same here. No way I'm saying "yes" to a control freak." Kira said, crossing her arms. "Same goes for me." Jazmin replied. "Me too." Aria added. "Hmph! You don't act like a leader at all!" Alice said, her anger getting the best of her.
"Why, you act more like a selfish, rude, irritable tyrant!" Trey gasped silently as he glanced at Alice, then back at Riddle, who was glaring at her with irate eyes. Ace, Deuce and the other girls weren't really expecting that either, but for now, they just kept their eyes on Riddle.
"What did you just say...?" Riddle asked coolly. Alice let out a small yelp, her courage suddenly disappearing. His expression looked calm and collected, but Alice could tell that there was pure smoldering rage brewing beneath the surface.
She then tugged at her friends as she was planning to tell them that this has gone far enough and that they should just leave. Unfortunately, Grim had to go ahead and open his big, loud mouth. "We're saying you're a rude, hot-headed tyrant that wastes food for his own selfish whims!" he shouted.
"H-Hang on, we didn't go that far...!" Deuce shouted at him. Just like an explosion, Riddle's calm demeanor quickly vanished and his expression contorted with rage, anger and hate as his slate gray eyes narrowed.
"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!!" he screamed angrily. Alice's eyes widened as Riddle waved his scepter and the magic collars suddenly appeared and locked themselves around Grim and Deuce's necks. "Guuaaaahhh!!!!!" they both screamed.
"Guys!" Jazmin exclaimed. "Oh, no!" Alice cried out. "Again with this darn collar!" Grim questioned. Deuce gripped the ends of the collar and pulled at it with all his strength, trying to break it off. But no matter how hard he pulled, it refused to budge. "Crap, it won't come off!" he grunted.
Still enraged by their defiance, Riddle then turned towards the two seniors. "Trey! Cater! Throw them out!" he commanded. The two seniors both took a step back as they stared at him anxiously.
They were hesitant in their next actions. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. This wasn't what Trey had hoped. They wanted to say something, anything that could prevent all this. But... they couldn't. No words could quell him. Nothing could pacify his anger. All they could do was to just submit and obey.
"...Yes, Dorm Leader." Trey and Cater both said in a reluctant soft tone. The group stared up at the two in shock, not believing any of this. "S-Senpai... W-Wait, weren't you on our side?!" Deuce asked. "Cater-senpai...Trey-senpai... Please, don't...!" Alice begged, her eyes filled with betrayal.
"Real sorry! But we can't go against the Dorm Leader's orders~☆" Cater said, his smile not reaching his eyes. More so, his smile looked more strained and apologetic. He really didn't want to do this. And no one expressed that more than Trey. He refused to do this.
He didn't want to hurt them. But there was no way he could go against Riddle. "...Forgive me." he said quietly, looking incredibly guilty. He glanced down towards Alice. He could see the look of sadness and hurt in her beautiful sky-blue eyes.
Seeing that made his heart twinge painfully. She was so happy the last time he saw her...but now... "I'm truly sorry...Alice..." Trey apologized again. "Oh, I see how it is! Fine, then! Do it, you jerks!" Ace shouted as he bravely, or rather foolishly, rushed towards Trey, trying to score a punch.
But the ivy green-haired teen easily dodged Ace's fist and kicked at his foot, causing Ace to lose his balance and Trey flipped him towards the ground. Deuce tried to fight against Cater as well, but it was all pointless.
Neither of them were able to defend themselves as the two seniors grabbed hold of them and forced them out of the Tea Garden with the girls, Alice holding Grim in her arms, following behind them miserably. Alice then looked over her shoulder to steal a glance towards Riddle.
She wanted to say more to him, but quickly held her tongue when Riddle shot an icy glare at her. Eventually, the group of seven was thrown out of the Tea Garden. And they were given a half-heartedly good farewell.
"Well then, kiddos, we'll see you later~!" Cater said. "We'll work on calming Riddle down so you guys can apologize and make it back in." Trey said. He gave them another apologetic glance before they turned and left, returning to the party. At that point, Ace was shaking with anger at all the absurdity he had experienced.
Deuce and Alice had to hold him back as he tried to march back towards the dorm. "LIKE HECK!! I'm never apologizing, you hear me?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. His words fell on deaf ears as the garden's gate slammed shut in their faces, locking them out until next time.
Back at the Tea Garden, Trey and Cater were both staring down at the ground in shame. As for Riddle, he was sitting in his throne casually sipping his tea, smiling as if nothing was wrong. He then let out a sigh.
"My goodness. Let's put that behind us and get back to the party We must get to the croquet match." Riddle said to his subjects. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out an ornate gold pocket watch, opening it and looking the time. "Ah, we're already 15 minutes behind schedule! This is terrible!" he fumed.
"Y-Yes, Dorm Leader!" the students all declared, still shaken by what had happened. "Yes, Dorm Leader..." Trey echoed in a soft tone. He was more distant from Riddle than before. He hung his head low so he wouldn't look at him in the eye.
Cater glanced sympathetically towards his friend. They both frowned guiltily as they remembered the sad, pleading expression on Alice's face. She was really counting on them to be on her and her friends' side... but instead, they just resigned themselves to obeying Riddle without any question.
"You really good with this...?" Cater quietly whispered in Trey's ear. Trey could only shake his head. "...........Not much more I can do." he sadly whispered back. What else could he do about this?
.... Drip...drip...! More drops of black ink appeared within Riddle's magic crystal... The small puddle inside grew even larger.
Ba-bump! Alice gasped as she felt that sudden surge of pain pulse through her heart. She then doubled over, gasping in pain as she gripped her aching chest. She would've collapsed from the pain had Ace not caught her in his arms. "Whoa! Alice-chan, are you okay?" Ace asked worriedly.
Alice nodded as the pain then subsided. "Yes, I'm fine." she said, panting a little. "Just a little dizzy spell, but nothing serious." Ace, Deuce, Grim and the other girls glanced at her worriedly. "Are you sure?" Jazmin asked. Alice nodded again.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Really." Alice said as she removed herself from Ace's embrace. Now this was troubling. This sudden surge of pain has happened three times. "What's wrong with me? Am I suffering a heart attack?" she asked herself worriedly. "No! I couldn't possibly be!"
Since they were no longer allowed to set foot inside the Tea Garden or the Heartslabyul Dorm, again, Alice and the others walked through the Rose Maze, collecting their thoughts of the mess that had occurred.