Riddle says that the Queen of Hearts “refused to turn a blind eye to even the most minor of details,” and this may also be true of Riddle himself: Malleus has an NBC voice line of, “I saw Rosehearts re-winding loose cloth strips for a townsperson covered in bandages. He’s as meticulous as ever,” while Vil says, “Riddle was making some paper decorations, but the way he worked was so painstakingly careful, it was maddening to watch.”
When Riddle finds a decorative bat tilted “roughly 160 degrees relative to the ground, but it should be at 180 degrees,” he insists on fixing it. Jamil observes, “It’s kind of incredible you even noticed that. There’s such a thing as being TOO precise…”
Riddle goes to Silver for help with how to peel onions during Master Chef, saying that he struggles to tell “how much of the onion is the outer skin.”
Silver tells him, “The outer skin is the topmost layer, the part that’s light brown If it’s white, it’s for eating,” and Riddle responds, “So just remove the brown parts? I’d rather not leave divots in it like some kind of barbarian.” A ghost chef observes, “Hm. You’re very detail-oriented, Riddle!”
We also have several examples of Riddle taking things very seriously: When Lilia is pleased to be on a deserted island for the Stitch even Riddle says, “This is a very grave situation,” and when Lilia asks, “An island with no one on it! Doesn’t that get you all sorts of excited?,” Riddle responds, “It most certainly does not!”
Riddle and Jack find common ground in wanting to not ruin their sleep cycles on the island, with Riddle saying, “We must reduce this sleep deficiency and live a properly regulated life.” Floyd responds, “It won’t kill ya to cut loose a little on a tropical island, you know.”
Lilia has a voice line of, “Riddle can be a bit too serious at times. Life on a deserted island might help him unwind a bit.”
In an an early, pre-opening-ceremony vignette Riddle tells Trey, “This is my first orientation as housewarden, and I WILL fulfill my duty,” and Trey responds, “Sheesh… That boy’s a handful.”
In a vignette where every student in his class failed to properly brew a potion Riddle explains the situation to Jamil, who says, “I must say, it’s rather…generous of you to share your insights on an exercise that you couldn’t solve yourself.”
Riddle explains, “…You think I’m up to something. Let me be clear: I’m not about to claim this is out of the goodness of my heart. Professor Crewel said that this year’s sophomores were a sorry bunch. He was quite vehement about it, too. I’ll grant that today wasn’t my finest hour, but I did nothing to deserve such abject humiliation!.” Jamil observes, “Riddle always takes everything so seriously.”
In Book 7, Ace describes Riddle of the real world to Riddle of his dream by saying, “He’s way over-serious and has zero sense of humor.”
In a birthday vignette Riddle talks about a time that Heartslabyul students told him that they had a message from Trein, which proved to be a misdirect to surprise him on his birthday. Riddle says, “I ‘repaid’ them properly for startling me the way they did. Regardless of their reasons, they did mislead me. It takes quite some nerve to do that.”
When Riddle uses Crowley’s “Hallowenders” name for the team sent to find the kidnapped students during Spectral Soiree, Ruggie asks, “Are you seriously using that Hallowenders name?” Riddle responds, “The headmage came up with it. I don’t see the problem.” Ruggie explains, “It’s not really a PROBLEM, per se. It’s just… bad. Cringe. Y’know? I guess that kind of stuff goes right over your head. If only Trey and Ace were here to make fun of it with me! But no, I got their housewarden instead.”
Trey takes Trey’s joke of adding oyster sauce to strawberry tarts literally in Book 1, to which Ace responds, “And you actually believed him?! How could you not tell that he was joking?!”
Jack comments on members of Riddle’s team working hard during Port Fest and Riddle explains, “The upperclassmen must impart the importance of order and discipline to the younger students. And naturally, they must adhere to strict standards as well, in order to serve as a role model for proper comportment. In other words, we’re just doing what we’re supposed to do.” (Grim: “Supposed to do? I’m pretty sure Class E’s the only one acting this uptight about the whole thing.”)
When a student misplaces some change but is unconcerned by it Riddle declares, “Inconceivable… This is a catastrophic accounting error!” (Savanaclaw student: “Isn’t that a bit of an overstatement? I mean, it’s such a small amount…”), calling all team’s members together to search for the missing money.
Later, Riddle does not scold Grim for eating food from his stall, saying, “He’s doing a taste test as part of the food stand inspection, isn’t he? I’ll allow it. After all, it’s the solemn duty of the Steering Committee to verify the taste, quality, and safety of our food. Here you are. Oh, wait, perhaps I should supply you with some photos of the chowder, first? Be sure your record reflects its size, weight, appearance, and aroma.”
Both Ace and Idia have lines about Riddle being impatient, with Idia saying in Book 7, “For the first time ever, I’m grateful for your impatience! Props to the guy who casts spells and becomes housewarden at breakneck speed!”
When Ace comments on how weird it is to see Jack in the Heartslabyul lounge and standing next to Riddle and starts laughing Riddle responds, “1, for one, see nothing amiss here. All that is required of Heartslabyul’s students is the same stringency the Queen of Hearts herself possessed.”
Ace is surprised to learn that Jack is from the Shaftlands, saying, “I thought everyone from there was all flashy and dapper and stuff,” and Riddle says, “You are making yourself sound quite narrow-minded,
Ace. A person’s hometown or upbringing has no bearing on their character. All that matters is what they are capable of.”
When Sebek is embarrassed by how he cannot drink black coffee Riddle asks, “Why are you so defensive? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. People have different tastes, you know,” and when Grim asks if he can someday join an elite team of fire and police organizations comprised entirely of mages Riddle says, “I haven’t heard of them taking in monsters before, but we do live in an age of increased diversity…I wouldn’t rule it out if you put in the work.”
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 