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English
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Part 5 of Alice, heart & soul|RSA Ace AU
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Published:
2026-06-17
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812
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1/1
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32
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Dearest Little Card Soldier

Summary:

Riddle, Trey and Cater converse on Friday

Work Text:

"Mister Rosehearts. May I ask you to tell Mister Trappola that his presence is needed in my office tomorrow?"

"...Pardon?"

"It is nothing you must worry about. I just simply wish to speak with him."

"I'd like to think I have the right to know if my card soldier is in trouble."

"He is not in trouble, Mister Rosehearts."

 

"And that was all he said." Riddle sighed in frustration, running a hand down his face. Trey and Cater both shared a look of concern with one another, the former making a face and the other keeping a frown and a thin line for lips.

"He didn’t say anything else?" Cater asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No. Nothing at all." Riddle shook his head "I worry that something happened kver the course of this week, but Ace just hasn’t exactly... been himself." he sighed, taking a sip of his tea to calm himself.

"I know!" Cater groaned "The nurse said there was nothing wrong with him when I brought him to the infirmary, but Acey's definitely not okay." he nodded.

"Not to mention the fight Deuce started." Trey sighed "It's like the Seven specifically wanted himmto have a bad week, or something."

"What fight?" Riddle asked, placing down his tea cup with furrowed brows. Nobody notified him of a fight. Especially not between his freshmen. Cater blinked.

"Trey. Did you not tell him??" the ginger asked. The clover suit sat in silence, his expression morphing to an awkward one.

"Trey."

"I. May have forgotten." Riddle stared at his best friend with a deadpan, seeing him avoid eye contact. Cater facepalmed.

"Oh my Sevens."

"I thought you were going to." Trey hissed quietly, nudging Cater lightly.

"I was with Acey in the infirmary!" The diamond suit exclaimed "You think I could've left him alone?! He had my full attention, I couldn't have messaged him!"

"Ehem." Riddle cleared his throat. The two juniors sweatdropped.

"Sorry, Rids."

"Sorry, Riddle."

"It is fine." Riddle sighed, shaking his head "If anything, I'm more concerned about the fight itself. What happened?" It wasn’t unnatural for Ace and Deuce to butt heads with one another. He knew that well. They were both, unfortunately, stubborn idiots. But they were always just small, insignificant verbal arguments that get resolved on the same day or the next, and never escalated. But a fight? Now that was a different thing.

"Deucey accused Acey of stealing his mom's photos, so he lunged at him. Their roommates called us both to try and get them away." Cater explained "Deucey said some really hurtful things to Acey. He... Acey teared up." Riddle's eyes widened.

"He did?"

"Yeah." Trey nodded "He looked defeated as he cried, too. I couldn’t really decipher what was going through his mind." he rubbed the back of his neck, his glance apologetic "We couldn’t chase after him immediately, because Deuce was still trying to lunge at him, so we had to calm him down. Then Cater and I went to look for him." 

"I found him in one of the bathrooms on campus. Took him to the nurse 'cause he said he threw up." Riddle frowned. Oh, not good. That was not good.

"If he was sick, I would've asked the Headmage for permission to go to the doctor." the second-year sighed "But I suspect that is not the case."

"Huh?" Cater let out.

"I don't think he's been... taking care of himself." Riddle admitted "I collared him on Wednesday for picking out a rose. He didn’t even attempt to protest. He simply accepted it looking utterly sullen." he told them. Both third-years looked worried, sharing a glance with one another.

"Everyone has their bad moments, but an entire week..?" Trey murmured "I feel bad. He's probably been dealing with a lot if he looks like that."

"Same." Cater said "And I don’t think the fight with Deucey helped at all. Might have been his last straw." he hummed.

"If only there was something we could do..." Riddle murmured, brows furrowed together into a tight frown. As Housewarden of Heartslabyul, it was his task to look after his card soldiers. They were as important to him as he was to them. To have one of their own struggling would not do.

"I could bake him his favourite." Trey suggested "Leave some cherry tart for him on the fridge, maybe."

"Ohhh! That sounds like a good idea!" Cater beamed "That'll sure cheer him up!"

"I agree." Riddle nodded "Perhaps I could coax him into showing me more of his tricks." the redheaded hummed.

"Yeah! Operation: Cheer up is a go!" Cater nodded "Alrighty! I'll go pick up Acey from the Headmage's office once he's finished there!" he smiled.

"Then I better get started now." Trey chuckled, getting up from his seat.

"Yes. I'd like to cheer him up as soon as possible."

 

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