#acefacts

Ace may have a closer relationship to the prefect than any other character.

He has an impressive number of voice lines that reference the prefect, inviting them out to eat, to visit Heartslabyul, to his birthday party and inviting himself over to Ramshackle dorm for card games.

Ace’s first meeting with the prefect involves Ace mocking both them and Grim for not being admitted to the school and being forced to work as janitors.

When he is ejected from Heartslabyul for stealing a piece of tart Ramshackle Dorm is possibly the first place he goes, encouraging the prefect to let him share their bed for the night (“I’m real slim. I won’t take up much space.”)

Ace offers to share a bed with the prefect again in Book 3 and when they refuse he claims, “I was kidding anyway.”

When Grim runs off in Book 1 Ace offers to help “the worst prefect to ever set foot on campus” in exchange for a chocolate croissant (Deuce requests an iced latte).

In the EN adaptation Ace asks for the Prefect’s Magicam ID so that they can keep in touch during winter break in case the prefect gets bored, but his original line is, “if you get lonely.”

The Prefect does contact Ace and Deuce for help during Book 4 but they are unable to reach the campus in time, having been forced to take public transportation.

(NRC is difficult to reach when not traveling by mirror, requiring at least one train, two bus trips and two ferries.)

Ace brings snacks to Ramshackle in Book 5 “to share some with (Prefect) and the others” and when he learns of the prefect’s nickname for Malleus he says, “Do you have a death wish!?”

The Prefect calls both Ace and Deuce over late at night during Book 6 after being attacked by Grim, and Ace insists on patching up the prefect’s hand.

When Deuce fails to make a convincing argument about whether or not they should trust Grim, Ace asks the prefect what they would like to do, and volunteers to join the hunt to find him.

In a flashback we see Ace playing basketball with the prefect against Deuce and Grim and asking, “Ever think about joining the basketball club?”

We also see Grim steal an omelet from Deuce that Ace offers to replace, as he has already stolen part of the prefect’s Salisbury steak.

Ace also offers to do the prefect’s makeup, do homework together and tells them that he worries about them because they “seem slow on the uptake sometimes.”

Ace 1 - Family

Ace 2 - Ace and The Prefect (pt1)

Ace 3 - Ace and The Prefect (pt2)

Ace 4 - Ace and Epel

Ace 5 - Ace and Riddle (pt1)

Ace 6 - Ace and Riddle (pt2)

Ace 7 - Ace and Riddle (pt3)

Ace 8 - Basketball and Mimicry

Ace 9 - Ace, Malleus and Trey

Ace 10 - Standing Up

Ace 11 - Ace and Cater

Ace 12 - Wind Magic, Pranks and More

Ace 13 - Phantom Bride (pt1)

Ace 14 - Phantom Bride (pt2)

Ace 15 - Lying (pt1)

Ace 16 - Lying (pt2)

Ace 17 - Ambition

Ace 18 - Ace and Deuce (pt1)

Ace says he has a hard time taking Rook’s compliments and asks for the Prefect’s opinion during the Phantom Bride event.

When the Prefect compliments him he says, “Well, I guess I HAVE to believe it now.”

In addition to late-night card games, it seems that Ace also uses Ramshackle for movie nights: in a vignette it is referenced that he and the Prefect are watching a horror movie together with Grim.

During Halloween Grim and the prefect thank Ace for realizing that they wouldn’t have costumes and going out of his way to bring it up.

Ace responds, “Don’t read into it TOO much…if you wanna thank anyone, thank the ghosts.”

While both Ace and Deuce go to the ghosts, we never see the prefect thank Deuce for his role; only Ace.

At the beginning of Spectral Soiree Ace is the only person who is worried about (or remembers) the prefect and Grim, going to Ramshackle Dorm despite the emergency to find them.

When he realizes that they went into the Spectral Realm willingly as Malleus’ guests Ace responds, “Do you guys have ANY idea how worried I was!? Seriously!? Okay, after this, we’re gonna have a nice, long chat where you can explain it all.”

During the party Ace says he feels “like a total chump” for rushing to rescue the prefect and Grim, when they were never in any danger from the start.

Ace becomes frustrated with the prefect, Grim and Deuce equally after Spectral Soiree, asking Deuce if there “was anything else you wanted to say” after he compliments the Halloween party when speaking with Malleus.

Ace decides to take some time away from the group to come to terms with the situation (“Those guys aren’t taking this seriously at all. And here I was sweatin’ bullets when they disappeared.”) only to come face-to-face with Malleus and Lilia.

Ace insists that he is not in the mood to be teased and Lilia says that Ace must have been lonely without Deuce, Grim and the prefect.

Ace says that he only, grudgingly, lets the three follow him around, and Lilia mentions seeing the four shopping together at the school store, while Malleus says that he has seen Ace both shopping with them and showing them magic tricks. Ace says, “Again, we’re just in the same class. You don’t have to read anything into it!”

Ace seems to get along better with Grim than most other students, possibly because they have so much in common. The two are often bickering, and Ace expresses concern that Grim has caught a cold, though this was changed to “Got a fur ball or somethin’?” on EN.

Both Ace and Deuce express frustration with the lighthearted way that Grim and the prefect greet them when they return at the end of Book 6.

After the rescue from Eliza Ortho encourages Idia to thank Ace and the others for their efforts, but Ace is less than pleased with Idia’s reaction of, “Would’ve been nice if they hadn’t cut it so close.”

Idia resorts to self-degradation and Ace shifts gears to complimenting him, leading Riddle to respond, “What’s your angle?” Ace explains “I’m just stating the facts. Doesn’t Idia look cool today?…Also, the whole day culminated in him getting dumped at the alter. Who wouldn’t feel sorry for the guy?”

After receiving a wealth of compliments Idia’s mood improves to the point that he agrees, “People did call me a ‘promising prodigy’ when I was a kid. And I’ve only gotten better, so I guess it’s no surprise.”

Ace observes, “Well, you really are cool, Idia. So long as your mouth is shut.”

In the wake of the wedding the first year students are left behind to clean up the dining hall and Epel asks Ace if he has ever had feelings for anyone. (Ace responds, “What, you think I’m some kind of flirt?”)

Ace explains that he had a girlfriend in middle school and they’d go out to movies and the amusement park together, but she wouldn’t ride the rides he liked or watch the movies that he wanted to see and hanging out with her “was just plain boring,” so he ghosted her.

Ace says the worst part was “One day, a bunch of girls called me completely out of the blue. I didn’t even know who they were…they gave me the third degree! What’s up with THAT? That’s when I learned a valuable lesson: romance is way more trouble than it’s worth! It’s way more fun just chillin’ with my buds.”

(Grim follows with, “I just learned a valuable lesson too: you’re a big baby.”)

Ortho thanks Ace for saving Idia and Ace insists that he “wasn’t exactly invested. I was more caught up in the moment after escaping all those ghosts.”

Grim agrees with Ace, saying, “There ain’t no way Ace is some shining white knight at heart,” but Ortho says that “every possible data metric points to Ace having been sincere.”

Ace insists “I don’t got a romantic bone in my body! That was pure improv! I just said whatever I thought the ghost lady would buy,” but Ortho assures him that “You’d unquestionably win anyone’s heart!”

Epel says he wishes that he could have been there for Ace’s monologue and Ortho offers to send him a full recording.

Deuce says that they all should watch it together despite Ace’s protests: “None of that was the slightest bit sincere. Honest! Why’s everyone gotta mess with me like this! Seriously, can’t we just move on already?”

Rook has a voice line about Ace being “a passionate soul” who wishes that Rook wouldn’t praise him.

Ace mentions his brother often, finding a way to reference him during the opening ceremonies, Wish Upon a Star, the main story, Halloween and multiple vignettes.

His older brother is his only sibling, seven years older, a former Heartslabyul student and NRC graduate.

Ace explains that it was his brother who taught him how to lie convincingly.

It is possible that there is a picture of Ace’s brother at the school: Ace says that he led a card soldier parade at the Spelldrive opening ceremony when he was a student, and Cater says there is a photo hanging in the hall by the teacher’s lounge.

The brothers seem very close: Ace says that he thinks his brother was happier than his parents when they found out he was accepted into NRC, and Ace falls asleep during an awards ceremony for Deuce, saying, “I was chatting with my brother until the wee hours this a.m., so I gotta catch up on sleep.”

During Halloween it is insinuated that Ace might not very good with children: he is impressed with how Jade, Floyd and Jamil interact with the campus’ younger visitors, and Floyd says that “it’s nothing special.” Jamil says that he will get the hang of it eventually. This may be because Ace is the youngest in his family.

We get a lot of information about Ace’s brother during his birthday vignette: Ace says that his brother once blew out his birthday candles on purpose, and one year he pranked Ace by presenting him with a box containing a watch that he had bought for himself. “Then he goes, ‘No, that’s mine. This is yours.’ AND HE HANDS ME THE EMPTY BOX.”

Ace talks about his brother with Riddle and Cater, saying that “he built up a whole repertoire of magic tricks” as a student at NRC, and Ace taught himself how to perform them by memorizing what he did, as his brother refused to give away his secrets.

Ace says that it was actually his father who first got him into sleight-of-hand, however, as his father is not a mage (unlike his sons) but can still do illusions and old-fashioned magic tricks.

Ace says that he thinks their father is who inspired his brother as well, and “Whenever I visit home, we show off what we can do and challenge each other to spot the trick.”

(Having a magic-less father possibly played a part in enraging Ace to the point of punching Riddle, after Riddle mocks both him and Deuce for being “born to parents with no great magical capability”).

Ace mentions his grandmother who both knows what a ghost camera is and would caution him about overusing his magic, insinuating that she may be a mage as well.

The Phantom Bride event begins with Ace laughing at the idea of Idia being a “perfect prince,” only to be harassed by Crowley about the impending public relations fallout until he agrees to help.

Ace provides a sample of the proposal he intends to make to a ghost guard who says, “I could sense how much you want to make your partner happy. What a genuine display.”

Riddle also compliments Ace on his proposal, saying, “That was absolutely from the heart."

The guard tells Riddle he is too short to be allowed to see Eliza and Ace tries to talk him down (“He doesn’t appreciate what a swell guy you are” Talk about a rube, am I right? Ha ha ha…”) to no avail.

In a line that was rewritten in the EN adaptation Riddle claims that he still has a whole year to grow and Ace points out, “Sounds like you looked up that factoid yourself.”

Ace’s group loses its members one by one to Eliza’s guard ghosts until Ace, alone, reaches the wedding venue and saves Idia, just in time.

Ace explains to Eliza that “No partner’s gonna meet your every ideal! That’s just common sense,” and goes after her grandparents for enabling her misunderstanding.

In reference to Riddle’s overblot Ace explains, “You might feel sorry for her, but treating the princess with kid gloves isn’t doing her any favors! Looks to me like you’re a buncha enablers who’d rather take the easy way out than have a tough conversation!”

Trey comments, “Feels like being called out all over again.”

When Eliza asks what she should do Ace asks, “How about someone you can laugh and cry with? Someone who’ll stick with you through all the hard times?”

He then follows up with her grandparents again, asking how they could have never taught her something so basic after spending 500 years with her and “you haven’t done anything that actually benefits her!”

Idia marvels at Ace’s ability to give the monologue with a straight face and Riddle appears and says, “Ace is right.”

Ace describes Deuce as “a boar who charges headfirst into everything. His internal breaks are busted. I feel like he sees me as a rival. I’d wipe the floor with him if he ever wanted to throw down, of course.”

Ace’s bullying is a theme throughout Book 5: Ace forces a piece of apple pie into Deuce's mouth (breaking Vil’s rules about snacks), and when Deuce gets lectured by Vil for trying to stand up for Epel Ace says, “You’re not exactly smart about this stuff.”

Deuce gets frustrated with Ace constantly insulting his intelligence and runs off, but Ace doesn’t seem to understand that he has done anything wrong.

Grim says that he should really start thinking about other people’s feelings before he speaks and Ace responds, “Why should a guy with his act together walk on eggshells around a guy slowing down the team? We’re doing the same rehearsals. Not my fault he can’t do the moves.”

This is followed by a scene of Deuce revealing how much Ace’s comments really do bother him, and he and Epel make a pact to win the VDC and prove themselves to both Ace and Vil.

Deuce follows up afterwards and Ace says, “You’d better not be expecting an apology.”

Deuce responds, “I’m not letting you outshine me” and Ace becomes confused, asking, “Did he just declare war on me? Is he nuts? That knucklehead wouldn’t outshine me in a million years.”

When Deuce learns his unique magic at the end of the story Ace mocks it, at first, as “just a way to get payback for when you get in fights,” but soon admits his shock at Deuce mastering the spell before him.

Ace and Deuce seem to be considered as something of a set by the other students, with Trey attempting to tempt Ace into a study session by offering to call in Deuce as well. Ace insists, “We’re not a married couple, you know!”

Ace does seem to know Deuce very well: during Wish Upon a Star he comments that “If I know Deuce—and I think I do by now—he’s gonna be so freaked out he’s frozen stiff,” and the scene cuts to Deuce looking terrified by his imminent performance.

When Deuce disappears during Spectral Soiree Ace says, “I’m not exactly worried about Deuce, but I guess it is too quiet without him.”

During Phantom Bride we see Ace manipulate Deuce into volunteering by telling him that Trey is waiting for him “to swoop in and save the day.”

Cater comments, “Oh, Deucey. You can’t even see how he’s playing you.”

Ace is extremely confident going into Beanfest, telling Deuce that “horsepower alone doesn’t cut it” and “you gotta have brainpower to make the right calls."

Deuce says he won’t let Ace capture him, if nothing else, but then the game begins with Ace and Sebek setting up an ambush that Deuce walks right into (after being tricked by Cater).

Deuce manages to outrun them to the point that he reaches Riddle, who takes out both Sebek and Ace.

Deuce reflects that Ace was correct about not being able to depend on horsepower alone but Riddle points out, “At least Ace got knocked out of the game a few minutes ago,” not specifying the fact that it was he who took him out.

Despite the bickering and competitiveness, however, when Deuce gets into trouble with three Heartslabyul upperclassmen Ace is quick to save him by pretending that Vargas is approaching, which sends the bullies running.

Deuce reacts with “Where’s Coach Vargas? Did he leave?”

Malleus says that he is glad he came to NRC because he was able to meet an interesting person who is not afraid of him. When Ace asks if he is means the Prefect, Malleus responds that he also means Ace himself.

This is possibly a reference to Spectral Soiree when Ace tells Malleus that the act of kidnapping 600 students and pretending to be possessed by a ghost as a form of entertainment was “not cool.”

Ace tells him outright that he needs to “PLEASE try to show some awareness of how overwhelmingly powerful you are. You’re THE Malleus Draconia.”

Lilia says he is surprised by Ace voicing a complaint to Malleus directly and Malleus observes, “Most students at school keep their distance. And rather a few of them flee at the sight of me. But not you. You spoke your mind openly and honestly, and without the aid of others.”

One of Ace’s earlier interactions with Trey involves Trey convincing him to add oyster sauce to a strawberry tart, and then mocking him for believing it. We learn in a voice line that—much like how Cater invited Deuce to join the Pop Music Club—Trey has invited Ace to the Science Club, but Ace turned him down because it sounded boring.

In a vignette Ace lies to Trey’s face in an attempt to learn answers to an upcoming exam saying that he he didn’t want to ask directly as all Trey would tell him to do is study. Trey offers to tutor him and Ace agrees, saying, “At least you’ll be a lot nicer of a tutor than Riddle.”

Ace causes trouble for Trey in another vignette where he asks Trey to bake a cherry pie for an upcoming Unbirthday Party instead of his usual cakes, inspiring other Heartslabyul students to start submitting requests as well.

Ace insists, “But you’re a pro, Trey. You could improvise!…I know I’d love to have a different type of cake every time.”

Trey decides to let the first-years make their own cake. Deuce calls Ace out for complaining about Ace’s cakes but Ace assures him, “Trey’s a chill guy. It’d take more than that to get him mad. If he got made over that, he’d never be able to manage our short-fused housewarden.”

The first-years’ cake is a disaster, they blame Ace for the mess they make and Riddle threatens everyone with collars.

Trey interrupts just in time with a proper cake for the party and says, “That’s why things are done in a certain, ‘samey’ way. Maintaining the peace is no easy task’ and Ace asks, “Uh, just to be clear, you ARE talking about baking, right? ‘Cause it sounds like you’re talking about the housewarden.”

Trey refuses to let any of the first-year students share his cake until they have eaten all of their own culinary disaster and Ace responds, “So much for Trey being ‘kindhearted and mature’.”

In a different vignette Ace tries to get away with brushing his teeth only once in the evening, contrary to a Queen’s of Heart’s rule, and Trey appears behind him to force him to follow through.