It had been a week since the Overblot episode with Riddle. During that time, Hazel took the time to help fix up Heartslabyul's garden along with Riddle.
Right now, she and Grim were at the Heartslabyul with something that Hazel made for Riddle, as a gift. She was dressed in a red version of her after school outfit with the Mortishackle insignia on the collar.
"Hey! Hazel-chan~ Hey, is that a gift for someone?" Cater asked as he saw Hazel.
"Yes, its a gift. And no, its not for you Cater." Hazel said as they got the garden in time as a student announced Riddle's arrival.
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT A: Make way for our leader, the Red Ruler: Prefect Riddle!
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENTS: Three cheers for Prefect Riddle!
RIDDLE: Indeed. The roses are red and the tablecloths are white. Truly a perfect Unbirthday Party. And the Dormouse is inside the teapot like planned... Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now.
TREY: You don't have to change so suddenly, you know? And we can just use the jam on the scones, if you'd like. We don't have to stop altogether at once. We can take things slowly.
RIDDLE: Yes, you're right.
During the party, Riddle did make some strawberry tarts like he promised, though they ended up salty! Apparently, he actually took Trey's 'secret ingredient seriously, but everyone got a laugh out of it, even Riddle.
"Fufufu~ All of Trey's sweets are so delicious no matter how much I eat~ Munchiemunchie~" a familiar cat boy said appearing out of nowhere.
"Che'nya!? What are you doing here?" Riddle pointed at Che'Nya.
"Hm~? I came to celebrate your Unbirthday Party~! Congratulations, Riddle~"
"The Unbirthday Party is a tradition exclusive to the Heartslabyul Dorm. It doesn't concern you, does it?"
"The same goes for those guys, y'know~?" Che'Nya asked pointing at Hazel and Grim.
"They are guests. I invited them here." Riddle defended.
"Ah, it's you! The nya-nya guy from last time! Speaking of, what dorm are you from anyway?" Grim asked.
"Grim, he doesn't attend this school. Remember?" Hazel reminded Grim.
Trey added to Hazel's claim. "Hazel's right. Che'nya's not a student of our school in the first place. He's a student from Royal Sword Academy, Night Raven College's fated rival of old."
This took Deuce and Ace by surprise.
DEUCE: Eh?! He's a student from another school!?
ACE: And from Royal Sword Academy to boot!?
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT A: Did he just say Royal Sword Academy?
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT B: Some of those guys are here!?
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT E: What'd you say!? Where is he!? I'll chase him out!
"Whoopsies~ I already had my tart, so I'm outta here~ Fufufufun~" The cat boy said as he vanished.
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT A: He got away!
HEARTSLABYUL STUDENT B: After him!
A lot of the Heartslabyul students ran trying to find the cat boy.
"Everyone just kinda uh... up and left..." Grim trailed off.
"Night Raven College students basically treat Royal Sword Academy students like enemies." Riddle shook his head.
"It's a rivalry that's been going on for 100 years, after all..." Trey signed.
"Well, well~ Let's not talk about something gloomy on such a happy day~! Let's just enjoy our own Unbirthday Party~!" Cater said to lighten the mood with Grim agreeing.
"Nyaha! I'll eat my fill until I drop! Hooray for Unbirthday Parties!"
Hazel smiled at their antics and then saw Riddle smiling and decided to give him her gift.
She walked up to him and gently took his hand, gesturing him to be quiet since she felt like he had something to ask her.
They found themselves in a secluded garden in the Rose Maze and Hazel decided that this was the time to give him the gift.
"I put a lot of work into this, so I hope you like it." Hazel said handing the red-haiered prefect a small box and he opened it.
It was a strawberry-vanilla tart big enough for two people to share and it had the Heartslabyul insignia on it as well.
"Wow! Did you actually make this?! You even got the detail just right!" Riddle said amazed.
"Yep!" Hazel said as she took out two forks. "You wanna try first?" She asked as she let Riddle take the first bite.
And as she expected, he fell in love with the taste.
As they ate the tart, they exchanged a few things about each other.
Aside from Hazel learning about Riddle, he learned that Hazel was an only child, and the last of her bloodline. She was already a godmother to a distant relative's son. She loved lilies because they reminded her of her mother, and that people used to say she looked like a female version of her father with her mom's eyes.
But what surprised him was that she confessed one thing whaen he said:
"They must've been proud when you got accepted here." It was clear he knew of Hazel as a 'hero' and such, but he didn't know the whole story.
"I think they would. But...they died years ago. When i was still an infant." Hazel confessed.
That made Riddle pause. And he felt really bad for bad-mouthing her parents at the day his episode happened. But Hazel still forgave him and said he apologized enough a week ago.
Then Riddle realized he still had something to ask.
"I had found a mark on my body that was similar to your dorm's insignia. Why did i get that mark?"
Hazel looked surprised and like she realized something.
"I think that was at the same time i had a mark as well, but it was that of a rose in the shape of a heart. It's a rough guess, but, where i come from, that's how we find our soulmates." Hazel said taking Riddle's hand.
"Soulmates?"
"It's different for every person, but it would be a sign of who was most likely to be our soulmate. When we find our soulmate, we get a warm feeling that makes us as if we finally have a place to be, like nothing else can fill an empty spot within us."
Riddle realized that he did feel warm and comforted in Hazel's embrace, then he saw Hazel looking as if she wanted to say more and let her continue.
"Though there are also cases where a single person can have more than one soulmate. But they are very rare. I happen to have six others on my person, but they will be colored once I made contact with them. Meaning you'll have to share me. I...I never done anything like this, but do you think we can try?" Hazel asked.
Riddle looked like he may faint any minute, but he wanted to be with Hazel, and if that meant having to share her with these other soulmates...Well, if he was willing to relax on the rules, he'll learn to tolerate this new development.
"AW! How cute! But Boo boo~ You never told me she was your girlfriend~" A familar cat boy popped up out of nowhere.
"CHE'NYA!!!!"
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Meanwhile
[LOCATION: Savanaclaw Dorm – Leona's Room]
RUGGIE: Ah-ah~ Must be nice. Looks like Heartslabyul's having an all-you-can-eat party. I wonder if Savanaclaw has a filling tradition like that, too~
LEONA: Hmph. What's so fun about a party where you just eat cake until the sun goes down? It's a good recipe for heartburn.
LEONA: More importantly, Ruggie. About that thing I asked for...
RUGGIE: Leave it to me~ It's moving forward smoothly~ Shishishishi~
LEONA: Let's start that revenge plan on Malleus while those guys are busy with their afternoon tea. He better be ready...
But then his sight drifted to the orange Mortishackle symbol on his right shoulder, wondering what it was before shaking his head. He had more important things to worry about.
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Here's the next part! I hope you all liked it!
This concludes the Heartslabyul episode. Next is Savanaclaw!
Stay tuned my faithful readers!