Sebek and Riddle

Riddle first exposure to Sebek is overhearing Sebek scold his fellow first-years for whispering during the opening ceremonies, saying they need to comport themselves “with dignity” and that their “indecent conduct brings shame down upon all freshmen, myself included! Ceremonies require a certain sobriety. We may yet be callow, but we are all mages in the making. Act like it!”

Impressed by Sebek’s ability to make the other students settle down Riddle says “At least there’s one sensible head in this year’s class. If he ends up in Heartslabyul, I may put him in charge of the freshmen.” Riddle is shocked by the “abrupt character turn” he sees when Sebek is assigned to Diasomnia.

(For the curious: No, Sebek did not say “awww yeah, baby! Woohoo!” in his original dialogue. He gave a stuttering response that is similar to “I-I-I did it!”, “I got in!”, etc. There is a pattern with Sebek of pretending to be wholly confident while, in reality, being very uncertain. His original response sounds more relieved; a rare moment where we see he had actually been worried. This is why the look on his face may seem kind of mismatched with his English line.)

During Riddle’s first interaction with Sebek, Sebek accuses him of being “a spy, sent to uncover Diasomnia’s deepest secrets”. Riddle responds with “I mistakenly believed you to be a man of diligence and decorum”.

Riddle also says that “Like all other Diasomnia students, your well-mannered facade belies your supercilious nature”, which Silver follows with “It is because of people like (Sebek) that Diasomnia’s reputation suffers”, which is some fascinating insight into Diasomnia’s reputation at the school.

Silver assures Riddle that “Diasomnia’s teachings have nothing do with this. Sebek is…a special case. Surely I wasn’t that bad.”

Sebek insists, “I will not be reprimanded by you, Silver! Indeed, I have done nothing wrong…If you have some sort of complaint, then state it!”

Riddle says that while he understand that “every dorm has its own customs and ways of thinking” Sebek will need to adhere to the ideology of the equestrian club if he is to join and obey upperclassmen, and Sebek vows “to obey any orders, within reason”.

Riddle says that he sees Sebek takes riding seriously, and Sebek explains that this is because riding “is an essential skill if I am to serve under Malleus”.

Sebek insists upon seeing the other club members’ skills before deciding to join the club, as “If I am to make myself maximally useful to Malleus, I would be better served by weight training than riding with a bunch of amateurs”.

Sebek submits his entry application for the club immediately after seeing Riddle’s riding abilities.

Much like Trey observed during Halloween, Riddle says that he sees Sebek is “single-minded and straight as an arrow”.

For Sebek’s birthday Riddle gifts him with “a special horseback riding lesson”. Sebek says, “That’s a rare thing indeed, and it made for a fine birthday memory.”

Sebek references his respect for Riddle’s riding ability in a Glorious Masquerade voice line where he says, “Riddle competed in an obstacle race on horseback against a Noble Bell College student. Who won? Need you even ask?”

Riddle apologizes to Rollo for Sebek’s lack of manners during the Glorious Masquerade vignette, and teases him about revealing to Malleus an embarrassing incident at the Equestrian Club where Sebek dug in his heels over a member of personal pride.

Malleus expresses interest in knowing what Sebek is like normally but Sebek insists, “You have it all wrong, my liege! I always comport myself in a way that befits my status as your guard!”

Sebek is one of few students (maybe the only student, besides Grim and Leona?) on the main cast that we see get collared by Riddle’s unique magic, after he threatens a nearby student with “a display of magical might” for talking nearby.

Riddle explains, “You will not do anything that beings disgrace to our club. Consider this a learning opportunity, Sebek. I’ll teach you how to behave toward those who are not in Diasomnia.”

Riddle takes Sebek down again during Beanfest, eliminating him with what Riddle describes as not even “a pre-teatime workout”.

Riddle praises Sebek during Vargas Camp for scaling a cliff for a lanternblossom, but expresses exasperation at Sebek’s response of “That is exactly to be expected of any guardian of Malleus!”

During the Vargas-monster attack at the camp we see Riddle sacrifice himself to save Sebek, to which Sebek responds with “I never asked him to do any such thing!…his assistance was unneeded and unwanted!”

We see Sebek seem somewhat unsettled by his inability to “easily protect one or two weak humans”.

When Ruggie suggests abandoning the camp to save themselves Sebek refuses to “leave Riddle to his fate…”, but quickly follows this with “If I were to turn my back on ANY enemy and flee, I would be the most pathetic excuse for a guardsman that ever lived!”, once again tying his convictions back to Malleus with, “I cannot bring shame upon Malleus’ name!”

At the end of the event Riddle compliments Sebek on his conduct.

Sebek responds with “Don’t hold me to your human standards. The outcome with inevitable by my own criteria….What you did was also worthy of merit, as far as human deeds go…thank you for saving me.” Riddle says, “I still can’t tell when you’re being sincere.”

Moved by the exchange, Silver says it would be nice if Sebek “could be so forthright with everyone”.

Sebek tells him to mind his own business.

On the subject of Silver, Riddle says that he and Sebek once had to carry him to his classroom after morning Equestrian Club practice.

Azul says he is surprised to hear that Sebek helped and Riddle explains, “Despite his demeanor, he’s highly ambitious and values decorum. I’ve heard he does exceptionally well in his schoolwork, too. He may act arrogant and stubborn, but he looks out for others in his own way.