(✔︎) ❝𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐑❞

33 | Che'nya

*currently embarrassed because of the last chapter

- Heartslabyul Dorm, Rose Maze -

(Name) removed the juniors from her hold, Ace was stomping his feet and Deuce is curling on the ground about how he was kicked out by the dorm leader. She gave the Mont Blanc tart to Grim, who's happily eating it with the hedgehog. Yuu was comforting the angry Ace and (Name) knelt to Deuce's height, trying to remove the collar of his neck...

     "You guys look cool with your meow-ching collar~!" A voice came from behind Yuu. It's a floating head, it's weird, short purple hair matches his cat-slit and yellow eyes stand out from his features, "A floating head!" Grim gasped, hiding behind the demoness.

     It giggled, "Oops~! I fur-got my body~!" After a blink of an eye, its body appeared. He doesn't seem to be a student in this school, looking at his attire. Deuce blinked, checking if he was hallucinating, "Whoa, so you have a body. Who are you?" He asked the mysterious person.

     "I'm Alchemi Alchemivich Pinka. I'm a hybrid~, a human and cat combined capable to use magic, like you guys~!" He introduced himself. Ace bit his tongue when he tried to say the name of the said hybrid, "Everyone calls me Che'nya~!" The hybrid giggled.

      "Another weirdo..." Yuu murmured, which probably perked the interest of Che'nya towards him. "Really? I thought it's normal around here~," Che'nya said, sniffing Yuu.

     "In any case, I'm in a bad mood because of that tyrant dorm leader. Stop blocking my way," Ace demanded, pushing Che'nya out of his path. "Riddle's a tyrant, you say? I mean, you're not wrong about that. Purr say that he acts like one~," Che'nya stated as he grinned like a cat.

     "It seems like you know him," (Name) said, looking at the hybrid. Che'nya went towards the woman, facing her directly, "Maybe, I do. Maybe, I don't," he teased the demoness.

     "You do, don't you?" She guessed. Che'nya placed a hand above his mouth, grinning, "Oh, dear. Do you wanna know something about Riddle?" He asked.

     "Hell, yeah!"

Before the demoness could ask another question to Che'nya, a beep came from her pocket again. The unknown sender must've sent something, "Don't ask any more questions. Let your juniors ask instead," they said. She's not lying that this unknown sender is getting on her nerves, but they seem reliable in hopeless times. She just watched the first years talk to this hybrid until he said that Trey and Riddle are childhood friends...

     "That guy! He disappeared before we could ask more questions!" Ace complained. Deuce sighed in dismay, "We can't afford to have these collars on our necks forever. Let's go ask Trey about Riddle and—"

     "NO, I WON'T APOLOGIZE TO RIDDLE!" Ace yelled at Deuce.

- Hallway, Library -

     "What's wrong, (Name)?" The dorm leader of Pomefiore asked the demoness, who was mindlessly staring in front of her. She flinched when Vil grabbed her arm, "Oh, Diavolo!" She gasped. "Sorry, Vil-san. I'm just busy thinking of something," she smiled at him.

The dorm leader of Pomefiore doesn't seem to believe what she said. Rumors already spread about the chaos that happened in Heartslabyul's dorm, caused by the demoness and her juniors. Everyone in Heartslabyul gave her a dirty look, except for Ace and Deuce of course...

     "If I may ask, what are you thinking about?" Vil asked, grabbing her arm again. The demoness stared at the beautiful dorm leader, "It's nothing, Vil-san. You don't need to worry about your humble classmate," she smiled at him.

     "Roi de Poisons, we must go!" Rook came running to Vil, he glared at the demoness before grabbing Vil from her. (Name) gave a small wave to Vil before he disappeared from her sight, "His assistant sure has a grudge against me..." She whispered to herself, opening the library doors.

There on the corner, Deuce and Ace are talking to Trey. Yuu and Grim called for her to come where they are, which she obliged to do so. Once she went near, Trey touched his chest in fright because of her presence. He's probably terrified of what she did earlier...

     (Name) chuckled at his reaction, "As you can see, you'll suffer the consequences Riddle-san experienced earlier if you won't do anything to his tyrant attitude," she warned the vice dorm leader. Ace nodded, "What do you exactly see him as? Have you been his servant your whole life to the point you won't even do anything about his wrongdoings?"

     "What do you mean?" Trey looked at Ace, bewildered by what he just said. "From a guy named Che'nya," Deuce replied.

     Trey nodded, seeming to know who are they talking about. It was silent for the meantime until Grim interfered with the tension in the air, "Aren't you older than him? You're older than him, you should be able to discipline him! I don't see anything wrong about getting angry with him!" He yelled.

     "Of course, I would be angry with him, but I just can't bring myself into stepping up..." Trey told them, his tone being a mix of fear and guilt. The juniors aren't pleased about this, throwing mean remarks to him, "Wait, calm down, you guys. Riddle grew up in a strict family—His parents are famous magicians. Everyone in our hometown knows the Rosehearts family, especially his mother who wants him to grow up like her. Every minute, his actions are decided and that means everything related to his daily doings, from the smallest to largest chore, it's part of his Mother's absolute parental care."

     "What...?" Yuu was terrified by what he just heard. "That's terrible..."

     Trey nodded, "Indeed. Riddle is devoted that if you're bound to strict rules, it's for your benefit and he's convinced that living in fear with proper discipline is what makes people strong. He believes in it because he's the living example," He explained Riddle's situation. (Name) placed a hand under her chin, "So what you're saying, he doesn't see anything more gruesome than breaking the rules? But if you're aware of his doings, why not talk to him about what's wrong and what's right? That way it can open his eyes from the rules he was bound to follow—"

     Trey shook his head, "I'm aware of that, (Name). I'm not just into telling him that he's wrong about it..." He said. She just let the tired Vice Dorm Leader snuggle in her arms, earning a scoff from Ace, who said, "Thanks for saying that, but I'm sure of one thing. Everything that has happened in our dorm, it's all your fault!"

     "Ace!" Yuu tried to stop the salmon-haired from punching Trey. Ace angrily pointed at Trey, "I know it's not Riddle's fault he has parents like that, but you, who's very aware of what's happening to him, didn't care about it and just let him free from continuing the way his Mother taught him."

     "He's right, Trey-san," (Name) agreed. Trey looked at the smiling demoness, "I know it's hard, but you're his friend. You have a chance to correct him for what he's done, and that way, everyone won't turn against him at the point he'll be alone and hated," she advised.

     "Nah, he's not friend, (Name)-senpai! He's being a coward because he's aware if he tried to scold Riddle, it's off for his head!" Ace yelled. "Don't claim to be his friend if you're not acting like one!"

     "Hey, you lot! You're in the library! Be quiet!" The Headmaster yelled at them.

     "You're the loudest here," Grim and Yuu stated. The Headmaster coughed, "My bad, children. Goodness gracious, the library is meant for students who are studying and reading. Not for giving lectures," he stated in the quiet way possible.

     "We're so sorry..." They all said in unison. The Headmaster smiled, satisfied with their apology, "Now, what's with all of the commotion? You all have such a sour look on your faces..." He commented.

     "About that, Headmaster..."

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(バルバトス)