You found Deuce near the back gardens, crouched low beside a half-ruined rose hedge with damp soil smeared across his gloves.

“Caught you red-handed!” Grim bristled.

Deuce recoiled violently and nearly tumbled backward into the thorns. “I-I’m not doing anything suspicious!”

“You’re kneelin’ next to a toasted bush,” Grim flatly said, unimpressed.

Stepping closer, you examined the damage; several blackened rose bushes sat at the edges of the garden, with their once-vibrant petals curled inward from the intense heat. Though the fire was out, the acrid tang of smoke still lingered in the air.

“Interrogation time,” Grim declared.

Deuce straightened and swallowed hard as his eyes darted toward the dorm windows, clearly calculating an escape route. When his gaze met yours, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Riddle said he was going somewhere,” Deuce quietly admitted. “Earlier today…”

“Where?” you pressed.

“He didn’t say. He just informed us that Trey would be in charge until he returned.”

That made sense, as Trey had been radiating the exhausted energy of someone forced to serve as a temporary authority.

Deuce rubbed the back of his neck, leaving a streak of dirt behind his ear. “Since he was gone, Trey and Cater decided to give everyone a breather from the crazy rules. Just until Riddle came back.”

Grim snorted, “In this place, less suffocating’ means chaos.”

“We thought,” Deuce continued, tripping over his words, “that if you came around asking questions, you’d report everything back to the Housewarden. So Trey told us to act normal, and Cater agreed.”

The forced smiles and hollow casual behavior from earlier made perfect sense. You gestured toward the scorched rose bushes. “And this?”

Deuce flinched and let out a nervous laugh, “Ace and I were practicing a fire spell. We wanted to improve our control…it was supposed to be a low-level spell…but it backfired. Haha….”

Grim stared at the remains of the charged hedge. “Backfire…literally.”

“The wind shifted! It spread faster than we expected, but we tried to stop the spell it. No one else saw it.” His voice dropped to a desperate whisper. “Please, don’t tell Trey or Cater. And definitely don’t tell Riddle. Please!”

You studied his face and saw fear along with a healthy dose of guilt, but it was the frantic anxiety that made you give in. He was trying hard, and if Riddle found out, there was a chance that Deuce would face a harsh punishment or be straight-up expelled.

“You think this is connected to what happened to Riddle?” You said to test the waters.

Deuce froze, his eyebrows furrowing. “What do you mean? What happened to Riddle?”

“He’s fine, but we won’t tell until we find the culprit,” you dryly said, while Grim nodded.

He looked genuinely distressed now, and Deuce was far from a good actor, so you believed him.“I swear, we haven’t seen him since he left. He said he had an errand. That’s all I know.”

“Did he seem like himself, or did something feel off?”

Deuce thought for a bit before shaking his head. “He looked…irritated, but that’s normal for Riddle. He gets easily irritated, not that I need to tell you…everyone knows.”

“Irritated how? Like ‘I’m gonna behead ya’ irritated, or ‘my tea is cold’ irritated?” Grim tilted his head, trying to mimic your actions.

“Like something was bothering him,” Deuce slowly said. “He wasn’t angry at us, specifically. He just seemed…like he had to do something he didn’t want to. He checked the time twice and muttered about Rule 153 before he walked out.”

You weren’t even going to pretend that you knew any of the rules or remembered a single one. “Rule 153?”

“The evening tea rule,” Deuce sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Only herbal tea is allowed in the evening.”

“Why would a tea rule make him grumpy?” Grim asked, confused.

Deuce shook his head. “I don’t know. He just looked frustrated, like the rule was getting in his way or someone broke the rule.“

“You’re certain he didn’t say where he was heading?” You asked once more.

“I’m certain,” Deuce said firmly. “He didn’t tell anyone, not even Trey.”

Grim narrowed his eyes and placed his paws on his hips. “You’re hiding something else. I can smell the guilt!”

“I’m hiding the rose incident!” Deuce nearly yelled in desperation. “That’s it! I promise!”

You closely watched him, but his breathing had steadied, and his panic was focused entirely on the burnt bushes, not on Riddle. He didn’t do it. You and Grim exchanged looks, both of you seemingly on the same page.

“Fine,” you said, offering some mercy to him. “We won’t mention the roses.”

“Thank you. We’ll have them fixed before the sun comes up, I swear.” Deuce said with a small smile before returning to the charred hedges.

“You’d better, or I’m tellin’ him you used the roses for a barbecue,” Grim grumbled under his breath.

As you turned towards the exit, you glanced back at the ruined hedge. The clues were mounting: burned roses, a dorm enjoying a rare moment of leniency, and a Housewarden who had vanished on purpose, annoyed by a rule he usually worshipped, and your headache was growing. But Deuce had given you a puzzle piece – Riddle hadn’t been taken and had left on his own terms.

“Now, what?” Grim asked as the two of you returned to the dorms portal area.

You looked around at the different dorm portals. “Who dislikes Riddle, or who does Riddle dislike?”

“Leona? But he dislikes everyone. Floyd? Riddle always gets mad at him. Rook? He creeps around Riddle once in a while. Maybe Azul? The guy’s always makin’ deals,” Grim frowned.

“So who do you want to see?” Grim asked.

“Let’s go see Rook,”