Dueling Queen in a Villain's World

Unreasonable Means

That day, Y/N led Ace, Deuce, and Grim to the library where Trey should be.

"Trey-senpai." Y/N said getting his attention as she saw him.

"Ah? Oh, Y/N. How was your interview?" He asked.

"Went fine and I got the job. Then I saw the collars on the trio. They said Riddle refused the marron tart because of another rule?" Y/N said with a frown.

"Ah, right.....apparently there was a rule about not taking a marron tart to an Unbirthday Party. To be honest, I didn't even consider a rule about tarts." Trey shook his head. "Though he did accept yours in that white box. Apparently he said the Queen of Hearts loved strawberry tarts, so there are no rules about them." He continued as he gained a look of realization. "Oh right." He pulls out an envelope with the Heartslabyul insignia. "Riddle wanted to thank you for the strawberry tart you sent him, he wanted to invite you to a private tea party."

"What?! We get collared for offering a marron tart, but she gets invited for a strawberry tart?!" Ace complained.

"We're missing the point of this meeting. Trey-senpai. We were told by someone named Che’nya that you knew Riddle since you were kids." Deuce said.

"Yeah, what's your connection with him and why is he a stickler for the rules?" Grim asked.

"Che’nya…? Oh, him. Yeah, I knew Riddle since childhood. Since he was young, he was raised to follow strict rules." Trey started.

"Eh? Strict?" Deuce asked.

Trey continues. "Back in our homeland, his parents were famous Magicians. There's no one in town who doesn't know them. Especially Riddle's mother. However, she wished for Riddle to be the same. Ever since he was born, everything from what time he wakes up to what time he goes to sleep, and even what academic programs he’ll do was decided for him."

"Geh… Everything…?" Grim winced.

"What he can eat, what he should wear, and what sort of friends he can make were all decided for him as well. In order to answer his parents’ expectations, Riddle kept quiet and did his best. And by the time he was 10 years old, he had perfected that unique magic of his.
It’s been determined that he should get continuously 1st place in school ever since he was in elementary.
To be honest, I can’t even imagine how difficult that could be." Trey added.

"So he treats the others so harshly because of his parents' rules?" Y/N asked, a little disturbed.

"Because of how he was raised, Riddle thinks that being harsh will benefit everyone in the long run. He believes that being bound to harsh rules and obeying them out of fear will make people grow. And he thinks that breaking the rules is a bad thing because…" Trey trails off.

"Because if he overlooks the rule breakers, it’s as if… As if he’s denying everything that he was made to be… Right…?" Ace asks.

Trey nods as he continues. "… I understand why you’d think of him as a tyrant, and I understand that the way he does things is a little wrong, too. But, I… I still can’t find it in myself to go against him at all."

'He's hiding that he'll be collared, even though he's the vice dorm head. How stupid.' Y/N thought as she remembered her own family.

She lost her own mother at a young age and did everything she could help her father as an only child. M/N was prim and proper, but she raised Y/N with a firm but gentle hand. Everyone in town loved her mother not because she was a great Duelist herself, but because of her mercy towards her friends and even her enemies. She was even admired for her wisdom beyond her years when someone needed advise. Her dad was lucky to meet someone like her. D/N always told Y/N that was looking more and more like her mother as she grew up, which made him cherish his daughter more.