"Helloooooooooo? Can you hear me?" Grim's high-pitched voice asked.

Yuu felt like waking up from a trance when he found himself in the rose maze again. He was standing next to Ace and Deuce. Grim was at his feet, tugging his pants with one of his paws.

He blinked a few times and looked at them in surprise.

"You're finally back to your senses," Ace said.

"Good thing, I thought you were traumatized by the battle," Deuce sighed, relieved.

"What? Did I got distracted?" Yuu asked.

"You were still like a statue, and when I commented that you had not fallen to your knees after experiencing somethin' terrifying, you stood up and walked as if someone controlled you. Your eyes were wide open and you barely blinked. It was so creepy, yanno!" Grim explained. "We talked to you, but you wouldn't answer. What the hell happened to you?"

"I... I don't know," he stammered in response.

He wasn't exactly lying, he still remembered that strange encounter with Riddle and his memories, but he still couldn't find an explanation for that.

The atmosphere had returned to the blue and sunny day of that afternoon, with the difference that the garden had suffered destruction and havoc as a result of the battle. Trey was still kneeling next to Riddle's unconscious body, next to him stood Cater and the Headmaster, who had returned, holding their breath.

They noticed Riddle squeezing both of his eyes as if he were going to finally wake up. Trey gasped in surprise and gently shook his shoulder.

"Riddle!!!" He called again.

Riddle's eyes snapped open on a loud exhale.

"Oh, he opened his eyes!" Ace said with a discontent face, indicating that he was not going to put aside what had happened minutes ago.

Cater sighed in relief. "Ah, thank goodness! We didn't know if you were going to wake up or not!"

Between gasps, Riddle straightened and looked around him before narrowing his eyes in reaction to the mess in the garden. "I... What have I done?" He asked.

"What a relief," Crowley smiled. "At last he came back to his senses."

Trey put his arm around Riddle's back to help him lean on. "Don't think about anything now, just rest," he replied.

Ace was the only one who didn't seem happy with the situation and crossed his arms.

"Ah, come on! Of course, he's going to throw a tantrum like that when he's scolded if all you do is spoil him like this all the time." He gestured around him and Trey looked away. "The garden is a mess and we're in trouble!"

"It really was crazy," Deuce commented.

"Good grief, it's really not a good thing to swallow and bottle up stress," Grim sighed disdainfully.

Still standing on the ground, Riddle watched Ace with a look that reflected his weariness and despondency. "I..." He murmured after looking at him for several seconds in silence. "I really wanted to eat those Mont Blanc tarts..."

"What?" Ace asked, surprised by the confession.

"Roses are fine being white... And so do flamingos by being pink," Riddle continued. "I prefer adding honey to my tea rather than sugar cubes, and I like milk tea more than lemon tea." He closed his eyes in frustration. "I also want to talk with others while we eat..."

With that, Yuu finally understood why Riddle seemed frustrated the moment he had the tarts thrown out for being 'against the rules' and why he constantly repeated his insistence on following them.

"Riddle?" Trey called him, so surprised like the others.

Tears welled up inevitably in Riddle's eyes as he laid his head on Trey's shoulder. "I wanted to play with you much longer, Trey..." He moaned in a broken voice before sobbing and finally falling into a loud cry that relieved all the sadness and stress hidden for a long time...

Trey quickly pulled him against his body in a hug that Riddle didn't hesitate to return. They all stared at him in amazement to see him burst into tears.

"I can't believe it... Riddle is crying..." Cater whispered, dumbfounded at the unexpected scene.

"Hey, stop it!" Ace claimed, returning to his previous annoyed countenance. "We're not going to forgive you just because you start crying!"

Deuce sighed at Ace's callousness. "You can't read the environment, huh?" He asked.

"I'm sorry too... I knew you were suffering, but I pretended not to notice," Trey muttered regretfully when Riddle's cries subsided a bit.

Riddle pulled away from Trey to catch his breath between whimpers.

"So I'm going to say this now, Riddle," Trey added. "Your way of leading and doing things was wrong, you have to apologize to everyone in the right way."

Without opening his eyes, Riddle sniffed and wiped away his tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed.

From his place, Yuu gave him another compassionate look. "I forgive you..."

For a moment, Ace seemed to put his anger aside and looked at Riddle calmly. "You know? It's true that I really wanted to hear you apologize..." He said before frowning again furiously. "But now AS IF A SIMPLE APOLOGY WILL SOLVE ALL OF THIS!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "DEFINITELY, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!"

Everybody there looked at him in horror at his lack of sensitivity.

"Eeeeeeh?!" Cater asked, stunned. "Are you really saying that at a time like this?!"

"Of course I do!" Ace replied angrily. "We've been in danger because of him, remember? And he also threw away all the Mont Blanc tarts that we all worked hard to make. I'm not going to forgive him with just a simple, tearful apology."

"This guy has a grudge for food stronger than me..." Grim commented, narrowing his eyes in disdain.

Riddle looked at him in distress. "It can't be..." He muttered. "Then what should I do...?"

Ace thought about it for a moment. "You know? It won't be my birthday for a while yet," he finally said.

"Eh? Where do you want to go with that?" Deuce asked him.

"That's why I demand we have a revenge Unbirthday Party," Ace insisted with determination. "Last time we couldn't even participate in it, and this time you have to bring a tart made by you. You can't get any help from Trey! You must do it yourself, understand?" He looked away. "If you do it, I may forgive you."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Yuu snapped. "You got a lot of help from Trey and all of us."

"You shut up!" Ace demanded before turning to Riddle again, Yuu grunted in response. "Well, do you understand?"

Riddle got up with Trey's help and looked at Ace in silence as he considered the condition he had to meet in order for his apology to be accepted. "Got it..." He murmured.

Crowley managed a smile. "Oh, what a beautiful result," he said, relieved. "I'm glad everything ended well."

Cater looked around again. "Well, I think we should start cleaning now. The photographic garden I worked in so hard is ruined... Boo..." He complained.

"I'll help you," Trey offered after helping Riddle stay upright without losing his balance.

"No, Trey. You should take Riddle to the infirmary," Cater insisted. "He just got into Overblot, so make sure the doctor sees him."

"Diamond is right," Crowley said. "I will accompany you."

Before they left, Yuu looked around for something and returned to the place where Riddle had lost consciousness after the monster's disappearance.

"Wait!" He exclaimed while running in Riddle's direction and handed him something golden. "Here, you dropped it. A queen shouldn't leave her crown behind, right?"

Riddle involuntarily put a hand to his head to realize that he did not have his little crown on. "Thank you..." He said shyly as he picked it up.

"Okay, I won't stop you here anymore. Get well soon!" He said before returning with the others.

"Hm. Using that much magic made me hungry..." Grim said wearily before noticing a coal-black stone near where Riddle's crown fell out. "Eh? That's...? It's just like the black magic stone we saw on the Dwarfs' Mine!" He recalled.

Ace, Yuu, and Deuce leaned out to see. Cater, out of curiosity, did the same.

"It's true," Deuce confirmed. "Where did it come from?"

"Probably from the monster, like last time," Yuu guessed.

"Don't eat it this time," Ace warned him, remembering the scene without much encouragement.

But Grim ignored him completely. "This is a flavor that I can't forget! So... Thanks for the food!" He exclaimed before eating the dark stone in one bite.

"Nooooooo!" Yuu yelled, but it was too late to stop him.

"He ate it!" Ace exclaimed in disgust.

Deuce, far from shocked, shook his head in disbelief.

Cater's eyes widened and he stepped back.

"Eh, do you like to eat this kind of thing, Grim?" He asked him with the same expression as Ace.

Grim simply savored the strange stone with excitement as if it were the richest dessert in the world. "Mmmm~! It has a very sweet taste, although it has a slightly bitter touch. It's a different flavor than the last one I ate!"

"A-are you really going to be okay?" Yuu asked awkwardly. "I hope you don't get a stomach ache from eating weird things..."

"Well, he's a monster. I guess his stomach is different from ours." Ace sighed.

"Still, I don't think it's good for him to eat that kind of thing," Deuce commented and Yuu nodded to show agreement.

"Hmm! It has a smooth and refreshing taste, yanno?" Grim insisted cheerfully.

"Hey, stop it!! That's not for eating!" Deuce scolded him energetically.

"Come on, come on..." Cater tried to calm them down gently and looked at them tenderly in silence for a few seconds. "Guys... thank you very much."

He had whispered very softly, but it was enough for Yuu to hear him.

"Did you say something?" Ace asked him.

Cater got startled and waved his arms in denial. "Nope, I didn't say anything!" He insisted cheerfully.

"Hey! I'm going to see if I can find more stones like this!" Grim exclaimed before running around on all fours.

"Don't you even think about it!" Deuce roared while running after him. "Get back here, raccoon!"

"Deuce! If you're going to use magic, don't make the garden worse than it is!" Ace exclaimed, quickening his pace.

Yuu suppressed a laugh and shook his head as he saw them wreak havoc once more.

"Should we stop them?" Cater asked.

"Leave them for a while, they will get tired quickly," Yuu sighed. "By the way, Cater, thanks to you too."

Cater's cheeks reddened a bit after realizing that his sentimental side hadn't been as low-key as he intended. "Why?" He asked, surprised.

"You've helped us a lot in the battle." His smile increased at the thought of what he was going to add. "Well, your clones too," He laughed. "You could have left, but you decided to stay and team up with us to save Riddle. I also want to thank you for that."

Cater closed his eyes. "Come on, don't go on! I mean, you're welcome and all that, but if you keep going like this I'm going to get emotional..."

"Ok, ok. I got it," Yuu laughed before looking around. "So..." He arched an eyebrow. "Speaking of helping, do you think you're going to need more 'manpower', as you say? I could volunteer for cleaning up around here."

Cater's face lit up again. "Really? That would help me a lot!"

"Yuuuuu! Save me!" Grim yelled from afar. "They're attacking me with maaaaaaaagiiic..."

"Come back here!" Ace's voice sounded.

Yuu inhaled deeply to try to stay patient. "But we will end up working double if those three don't stop now, I'll be back in a moment." It was his turn to run after them. "Hey, guys! Stop before you make things worse!"

Cater sighed and watched the situation with amusement.

Heartslabyul's dorm decided to organize the next Unbirthday Party for next Friday, an exact week after the duel. That way they would have time to fix the garden, organize the preparations, and Riddle could take his time to recover more calmly.

Tuesday afternoon after class, Trey and Cater were in the Heartslabyul's kitchen.

"Are you going to prepare the desserts for the party, Trey? Isn't it a bit early for that?"

"Not quite. I was checking if we have the necessary ingredients for the desserts. We still have a lot of sugar, but we are a little short on flour. Riddle will also need to buy strawberries for the tart that he has to make for the party."

"Remember you can't help him," Cater replied jokingly.

"I still remember that, Cater," Riddle said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Riddle, how are you feeling?" Trey asked him.

"The nurse insisted on not making great physical efforts in the next few days, but now I feel much better."

"Glad to hear that," Cater said. "Have you come to make the tart for Ace now? It's a bit early for that, isn't it?"

"Not exactly," Riddle replied. "I wanted to look up the recipe book, I'm going to read it first to make sure I get it right."

"Oh, you can ask for that book at the library," Trey informed him. "It's a pastry book with clear instructions, so it won't be difficult for you to prepare tarts with that. Come, I'm going to show you the title, it's one with the red cover."

"Trey ~. Remember that you cannot help him!" Cater repeated in a sing-song voice.

Trey laughed. "I can't help him prepare it, but Ace didn't say anything before that. We are just talking about finding a book."

"Got it, thanks Trey," Riddle told him before turning his back on them.

"Oh, by the way," Trey said, remembering something. "You might find Yuu there."

Riddle gave a soft gasp and looked back at him. "The prefect?"

"That's right," Cater said. "He was around here until a moment ago, helping to restore the garden. He wanted to leave a little earlier to research something in the library and to make sure Grim was still at Ramshackle without causing mischief."

Riddle looked away with some discomfort. "How nice of him," he simply said.

"He also asked about you," Trey added. "He was glad to know you were okay."

Riddle had not forgotten that strange experience in which the young student without magic had watched with him his memories without explanation.

"Yes, he's so kind! I find it almost unbelievable that he would forgive you without having to put a condition on you as Ace did. You said things to him that really hurt him, I don't even know how he doesn't even hold a grudge against you."

Trey's face frowned immediately. "Cater! This isn't the moment!" He reproached him.

Realizing what he had said, Cater covered his mouth with one hand. "Uwaa! Sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Easy, Trey," Riddle soothed him with a look of regret. "It's true I said a lot of things to all dorm students and other people. But... did I hurt him that much?" He asked with concern.

Trey and Cater exchanged a look.

"I guess there's no choice but to tell you now..." Trey sighed. "Do you remember calling him 'pathetic' and 'inadequate for Night Raven College' for being raised by magic-less parents?" He wondered for a moment whether it would be wise to say the following. "He told us that his father died when he was a child."

Riddle's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat as he realized what he had really done.

"I remember he also told us that he and his twin sister grew up with their mother," Cater commented. "I don't even want to imagine how hard it must be to be away from your family without a form of contact, like him."

"What do you mean?" Riddle asked, still shocked.

"Yuu comes from a different world where magic doesn't exist, his family must still be there. He is unable to see them or make phone calls. Didn't the headmaster tell you? I thought he would have explained to the dorm leaders why someone without magic accompanied by a monster can be here."

The young redhead gulped. "The headmaster told us something about that shortly after the beginning of the year in a meeting... But I didn't quite believe it," he confessed. "I thought he meant by 'another world' that he was different from all of us." He shook his head. "Then that means that I... I didn't think what I said would affect him so much, it was not my intention!"

"He doesn't seem to be like Ace, he seems to have forgiven you," Trey told him to calm him down.

He remembered the comforting sensation of that strong embrace, of the warmth of his hand as he held him, and of the kindness of returning his crown so he would not lose it. All in the most sincere way anyone could imagine.

"Still, I didn't say sorry for that... I feel like I owe him an apology."

"If you think it's still necessary, I would do it if I was you," Trey said. "Tell him what you think so you can reconcile with him properly."

"You should also thank him," Cater advised. "He gave us good indications in the battle to save you. To think that someone as adorable and super nice as him could have so many nerves of steel and such a fighting spirit! That was a big plot twist for me!"

"Then I will," Riddle said decisively. "If I see him, I'll tell him."

"Just be honest," Trey advised. "Find an opportune moment to tell him."

"Understood."

On his way to the library, Riddle tried to think of what he should say to apologize. In addition to apologizing to a person who was in a difficult situation, he was going to deal with a sensitive topic such as the death of a family member, so it was important to follow Trey's advice to find the right moment. He also had to choose the order of themes and organize a structure in which they escalated in the smoothest way possible.

He also had to take into account the possible reactions of the prefect. On one hand, he might appreciate the consideration and accept the apology; on the other hand, he ran the risk of him remembering how hurt he was by the insult and holding a grudge against him. And despite what Trey and Cater said, Yuu might demand something more than words, like Ace.

In his rambling, he hadn't realized he had reached the doors of the library. He sighed to concentrate and go in for what he had come for: to find the recipe book.

If he happened to meet Yuu there, he would come over to talk to him.

He pulled out his phone, put it on silent mode, and checked the title Trey wrote him down to find it later on the computers that featured the library's catalog.

The book was not difficult to find, he went to the hall where he could find the book and picked it up; he flipped through it to find the recipe he needed. As he approached the counter, he took a quick look around and... he saw him.

Reading a book, the prefect was sitting several meters from where he was standing. Another book lay on the table to his left, as if he were going to read it later. He didn't notice him, his blue eyes were too focused on reading to want to look away.

Riddle considered whether he should approach him, he seemed busy and didn't like the idea of interrupting him. However, he noticed that Silver was also sitting there, at the same table, his half-closed eyelids indicated he was going to fall asleep at any moment.

He decided to take advantage of the fact that someone he knew was there and sit down, it was the perfect opportunity to get closer in a subtle way, but he was thwarted by a voice that made him pale: "Ah, Goldfish~!"

"Oh, no... Not now!" He murmured to himself as the tall figure of Floyd approached him.

"How glad I am to see you, Goldfish! Azul and the Sea Turtle told me what happened to you, I was so worried! Don't you ever hurt yourself like that again, got it?"

"Floyd, keep your voice down!" Riddle whispered insistently. "We are in the library!"

He gave a complained groan. "Come on, Goldfish... I haven't seen you for days and I didn't know how you were. Don't be so cold!" He looked at the book he was holding. "Hey, what did you get?" He asked before taking it from his hands.

"Eh?! Give it back!" He exclaimed as he tried to retrieve it, but Floyd held it up to enable him.

"Let's see..." Floyd murmured as he looked at its pages. "How curious, it's not common of you to read recipe books. Are you going to bake a cake?"

Riddle looked around in shame, some of the students who were there were looking at them, some with curiosity and others with intrigue. Among them were Yuu and Silver, the first one was looking at the situation in amazement and the second one seemed to be alert, in case he should have to intervene in the situation, after all, he had some awareness about the relationship they had.

"It is none of your business!" He answered sternly, trying to get out of the situation quickly. "I'm just going to make something for my dorm, so please return that to me and stop bothering others."

Floyd heard him, but he wouldn't listen. "Are you going to prepare something for your dorm? If you're going to bake something, could I come by to try it too? I'm curious to see how you would bake a cake. Or better yet, cookies! Those are crisper."

Riddle flinched when he saw that Yuu had gotten up and was approaching the counter to order the two books he was reading. His chance to approach cautiously had been completely thwarted...

"What are you looking at?" Floyd asked curiously when he realized that.

At that very moment, Riddle had an idea. "Did you say something about cookies?" He asked calmly in turn. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea, could you point me where it is in the book?"

Floyd managed a big smile. "Well of course!" He handed him the book. "Look, they're right by..."

Riddle seized the moment and snatched the book from his hands before running off. "I have to go!"

Before reaching the exit, he glanced back to make sure Floyd wasn't following him and headed out the door. He gasped after finally stopping and sighed in frustration, he had been able to take the book, but couldn't approach the prefect.

He felt like a coward for being chased away by Floyd and his antics, but he knew that even if he hadn't seen him, it would have been just as IMPOSSIBLE to be able to apologize with him around.

He remembered that Yuu seemed wanting to leave, so he thought about waiting outside for a while to talk to him.

But after thinking about it better, he preferred to leave, since the prefect had seen him in that shameful and chaotic scene, and on top of that in the library, a place where silence and calm should be maintained... He did not feel fully capable of looking him at the face after all that.

He took it as a sign to look for a better time and started to leave.

He tried to forget the hard time he had had with Floyd on his way back to the dorm to calmly read the book in his bedroom. Deep in thought, he did not watch the road, stepped on a small stone, and stumbled awkwardly.

He managed to break the fall with both hands and thanked for wearing gloves to avoid scratching them. The book had escaped from his hands in the stumble, but he saw it had not suffered any damage.

Before he could even get up, the sound of a person running quickly resounded right behind him. Not having turned around yet, Riddle winced at the thought that it could be Floyd, determined to chase him out of the library.

The person stopped right behind him. "Hey, are you okay?" A friendly voice with a tone of concern asked.

[Published on 12/11/2022]