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Riddle Rosehearts was a tyrannical puppet, pulled by his mother's strings of discipline. He followed legislation without hesitation. The headwarden never dared to think beyond the 810 rules of Queen of Hearts. That was his life for the longest time… what he was trained for his entire childhood.
Riddle thought rules and structure equaled perfection.
But it was all a lie.
And it hurt.
Riddle didn't know how to accept it.
The truth was terrifying, and far from what he's been taught.
“Off with your head!”
Droplets of onyx ink filled his crimson, jeweled magic pen.
Riddle Rosehearts lost himself. Not that there was much of him to begin with.
He was a perfectly pretty picture.
He hated it.
Riddle's well-built armor of discipline crumbled that afternoon at Night Raven College and swallowed him whole. Despair and misery overtook the seventeen-year-old, and he succumbed to overblot.
Blackest darkness corrupted him: the kind that came from his own heart.
Yet Riddle Rosehearts was not destroyed.
“I'm not giving up till I hear him say, ‘I was wrong and I'm sorry!’” Ace Trappola, the fiery, ginger-haired first-year, didn't give up on him.
Someone cared enough.
“This is the only way we can think of to snap him out of this!” Deuce Spade concluded.
“Ugh, I do NOT like or subscribe to this, but fine!” Cater Diamond was doubtful but loyal as he pushed through, duplicating himself.
Someone saved him.
“I don't want to lose him.” Trey Clover, his childhood friend, reached out at last, voice trembling. “There're too many things I've left unsaid!”
And then there was Yuu.
After that life-threatening endeavor, Riddle changed.
Well, the second year tried to repent of his actions.
It was all because of the love and the honesty that spilled from his first-years' lips and their fervor to save him even though he had been vile, a tyrant.
Whether it was the power of friendship or God—or both—Riddle was grateful. The redhead still struggled with accepting his newfound freedom. Breaking out of his old habits was a daily battle, but he wasn't alone.
He knew that well now.
He had Trey, his second-in-command, best friend, and favorite baker.
His new troublemaking cards: the first-years' Ace and Deuce.
Heartslabyul.
They were all family.
“I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me,” Yuu thought of the book of Numbers 11:14–15, how Moses felt in the desert. “If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
Yuu could say the man was on the brink of overblot too but God stepped in.
“I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone,” Numbers 11:17.
When things became too much for Yuuken Enma, even now, the words in the Bible anchored him. When he didn't feel strong, Jesus gave him strength. It was something he shared with Riddle on at the latest unbirthday party.
“Carry each other's burdens,” Yuu said firmly, eyeing the dorm leader across the white-clothed table. “I know it can be hard, change is scary. But let your friends help you. You've got people who care. Lean on them. I know it's hard but learn to give yourself grace. And if it gets too much, try to pray. It worked for me. God hears all prayers, even in this world.”
There was a beat of silence.
Riddle’s lips were in a thin line.
He looked faraway for a moment.
The headwarden of Heartslabyul knew about gods, but he didn't know much about Yuuken Enma’s God—not anything aside from what the Ramshackle student told him.
Riddle didn't despise the idea, no matter how strange it was.The seventeen-year-old loved literature. He was sceptical about Yuu's beliefs but still inquisitive enough to know more. The boy would have to read up on it in the Bible Yuu mentioned earlier if it existed in their realm.
“I might consider it,” the redhead raised a perfect brow. “Why does that sound like a farewell speech?”
Yuu shrugged, looking hopeful.
“It might be. I'm not from this world, remember? I miss my home,” he sighed and glanced at the red roses on the trimmed bushes. “Professor Crowley said he found a way for me to return.”
“I'm glad.” Riddle raised the teacup to his lips and took a sip. His porcelain plate, decorated with a fat slice of strawberry tart, was set before him. “Ever since you were summoned, things have become unruly.”
The redhead hadn't decapitated so many heads since entering Night Raven College.
It was a new record.
Yuu leaned back in his seat and waited patiently for the ‘but.’
“Tradition, chaos, and rule-breaking increased—” The boy's left eye twitched as if the next sentence was hard to admit. “I am grateful.”
Riddle set the tiny cup down with a soft clink. He lifted his head and gazed fondly at his chattering peers in the background. “It's thanks to that—to you and my first-years. It showed me... who I was turning into.”
The second-year didn't feel so heavy anymore.
“You showed me I can be redeemed,” Riddle’s large grey eyes glossed over, sparkling with something painful and sweet alike. He swallowed, furrowing his red brows. “I can be a little more free,” he looked at the decorated space in the garden with a hum. “You have my thanks.”
“Housewarden!” Ace protested, sounding like a whining child. It made Riddle’s lip twist upwards in a playful scoff. “Why is Yuu getting thanked alone? No fair! It was a team effort—”
“Hey!” Grim, the black cat, yelled, glaring daggers at a smirking Cater, who stole his dessert. “That's my slice of cake! I saw it first.”
“No need to fight you guys,” Trey piped up, adjusting his glass. He shook his head at the two with a small grin. “There's enough for everyone.”
Riddle Rosehearts felt something warm bubble within him.
A nostalgic emotion etched into his heart—something he remembered from his childhood.
Something good.
Back when he, Trey, and Che'nya were eight.
When the little Rosehearts was happy.
Riddle’s grey eyes widened in realization.
He was happy now.
A tear nearly slipped past his cheek.
He let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
Was this what healing felt like?
He liked it.
“Carry each other's burdens.”
Riddle cleared his throat and stood up, holding his staff. “Thank you all for your support, House of Heartslabyul.”
The students of his dorm cheered gleefully. “Housewarden Riddle we salute you!”
Che'nya, the purple-haired Cheshire Cat boy, crashed their unbirthday party, stole Riddle’s crown while he was talking, and disappeared with a mischievous giggle.
Ace and Deuce got in a fight right after.
‘Off with your head,’ was at the tip of his tongue. “This is a violation of the rules!”
The vice dorm leader, Trey, got Riddle’s crown back.
Cater squeezed the redhead’s shaking shoulders, sensing his clear change of demeanor.
“I'll stop them,” Yuu called out, rushing over to the boys while Grim stuffed his face until he passed out. “Ace! Deuce!”
Too slow.
“Off with your head!”
𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮
Hello there! It's my 1st Twisted Wonderland fic, what'd ya think? Sorry about any typos. I just recently got into the anime/manga and I like it! The game is unavailable in my region 🥲.
♔ I've got a Riddle Rosehearts x Reader finished, and ready to post! 😉
NOTICE 🚨
I copied the direct quotes (what they said in the flashback scene)—from the actual digital Book 1 • The Rose-Red Tyrant (you can google it if you wanna read it, I incorporated into the FIC to keep it canon-ish). I don't claim those (4?) sentences but I did write everything else per creativity, and memory.
The images aren't mine either, found on Google, Pinterest, Screenshot and cropped it (edit).
♔ Comment your favourite character 🤚🏼
✍🏼 25. 04. 2026
Jesus loves you! 🌹