The first and the last (Part I)

"Viola Adelais respected hard work, above all else. This was why, when she found out that Rosanna Castus had aced the most difficult entrance exam in the empire, she reached out first and tried to befriend her, hoping to get some of her wisdom. What she cannot forgive was the girl's response. At that moment, young Rosanna simply stared at Viola's outstretched hand, with her gaze lowered in disinterest.

'It was nothing, she spoke. And Rosanna meant it: ranks and status meant nothing to an outcast like her.

However, what Viola heard was: 'it was nothing to me, yet everything to you.'"

-Rosanna Castus and Viola Adelias; Relationships; The Black Rose Wiki

***

Rosanna would be lying if she said she wasn't eager to go back to school.

Years of corporate work and a loveless past life can do that to people — after all, most people tend to live once. Luckily for Rosanna, she had the blessing of being reborn in another world and a beautiful, young body at that.

She only realized this now as she tried on the Academy's pristine white uniform, with blue accents that somehow complimented her entire appearance. Praise the game developers who decided on the ice-queen aesthetic for Rosanna Castus. Then to Headmaster Pryor's on-point selection of jewelry — he may be a little suspicious, but at least the man had an eye for these things. The silver chain had fit snugly into her neck, and the sapphire definitely complimented her eyes.

She gave her reflection another once over. Fixed an invisible crease down her collar. Another twirl. Perfect.

Amelia Sola, who never had the honor of having a proper high school debut due to her teen years being spent run-ragged by extra-curricular and the pressures of getting into a good college, will finally get to live her life to the fullest. Who cared about grades? Who needs to study when you were the literal center of the universe, the heroine that made the world spin, the protagonist that held fate in the palm of her hands?

***

Later:

"What the fuck?!"

Rosanna's shriek echoed throughout the Humilitas Hall, where the rankings of all exam passers were posted for everyone to see. A sea of white and blue uniforms flooded in front of the bulletin board, Rosanna included.

All heads turned to see the rabid student barking at the bulletin board, looking like she wanted to pick a fight with whoever came up with it. Her fists were clenched, and for a moment, she looked like she was about to cry — or rip the results into shreds.

They couldn't be further from the truth.

In a matter of months, Rosanna had already grown proficient in reading Calixian characters, having spent all her spare time reading books (see: smuggled erotica) from the Maure's library. How they got there or who owned them first, Rosanna would never know, but it was enough to engrave the characters in her mind to the point that she can recognize them at a glance. She didn't have high expectations for the results, but seeing the truth in front of her face was an entirely novel experience.

After all, Amelia Sola never placed last. She can accept an average performance, second place, or even second to the last.

Never the bottom of the barrel.

Rosanna had been so wrapped up in her own shame that she didn't notice the arrival of another attention-stealer. While she grits her teeth and cursed the top placer in high heavens, the gods responded and brought a familiar face — one she'd seen on her way to the examinations long ago.

A young woman with red hair and green eyes stepped forward, emanating a murderous aura that had every student within a mile radius scrambling to get out of her way. She glared at the bulletin board like she was imagining a thousand ways to kill everyone on the list.

Then, the hostility melted into genuine surprise.

"Oh heavens! Look who scored the highest!" She gasped, pulling at the young boy that lurked behind her. She pointed at the name placed at the top of the list. "Congratulations, Leo!"

Rosanna's head snapped up at the word "highest".

The young boy tried to silence the lady in front of him, but it was too late. The students around them were quick on the uptake, and soon they mobbed the young boy who apparently aced the toughest entrance exam in the whole empire. However, while the rest of them were busy asking questions about how the hell had he done it, Rosanna had one thing in mind:

It's him. That rude crying boy, Leonardo Cassius. And if that's Leo, then the person that came with him had to be…

"They're flocking to him because they think he's a noble," a voice said behind her, with a little note of sarcasm. "Wait until they find out he's a commoner, and a servant, at that."

The green-eyed girl kept her gaze straight ahead as if all the world's trifles meant nothing to her. Between her and Rosanna, this girl made the Academy's white dress uniform look like a queen's robe, and anyone standing beside her was a non-playable character.

But instead of being mad at her for stealing the thunder of Rosanna's high school debut, a wave of awe rushed over her, as though an idol had stepped off the stage and handed her an exclusive backstage pass. This was none other than the villainess, Viola Adelais! And she was every bit of regal as Rosanna imagined her to be!

Finally sensing Rosanna's lack of response, Viola Adelais finally turned to face her. She held out her hand. "My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself first. My name is Viola, from the Adelais household. My father is the Duke of Rumpia. That boy right there — " she gestured at the mop of black hair lost in the crowd " — is my butler."

Rosanna instantly forgot about her beef with the results. She couldn't understand why Viola was suddenly talking to her. Was it the protagonist halo? Or the fact that she was the only one who didn't join in the flock?

'I have to respond. I have to say something that will get her to like me. Something nice. Something that won't get me bullied, but won't mark me as a weakling, either. Queen to queen shit!'

She shook Viola's hand.

"So you're the second placer," Rosanna said, flashing her trademark human-resources department smile. "Not bad."

And she meant it — after all, Leo only got high marks thanks to Rosanna's intervention. If she hadn't swapped their papers, then Leo would be the one sitting at the bottom of the tank, while Rosanna placed at the top. Not that it counted for anything, considering how the Headmaster had given her the answer sheet beforehand.

This made Viola Adelais the true topnotcher — the real ace if Rosanna had to call it. Now that she'd seen the exams firsthand, she couldn't help but admire the villainess even more. Beauty, brains, pedigree…what else didn't she have?

"Excuse me?" The lady suddenly swatted Rosanna's hands away, as if they were dirty.

"Huh?"

Hostility was back on Viola's features. "You have some nerve, insulting me like that. So what if I'm in second place? What was your ranking, then?"

Rosanna blinked. This was all happening too fast. "W-wait, I didn't mean to-"

She didn't mean to offend, was what Rosanna intended to say, but it was too late.

Viola Adelias stepped closer, looming over Rosanna. Her green eyes flashed. "What's your name."

Rosanna gulped. It was an order.

She glanced around, only to find out that the mob of students have moved on from their token ace and shifted their attention to the two girls "duking it out" in the corner. It was horrifyingly similar to the original plot of Tales of the The Black Rose, where Viola Adelias immediately targeted the original Rosanna Castus for taking the top spot.

Rosanna didn't want to tell Viola her name. She didn't want to be anyone's target. Most of all, being involved with her would only get Viola in trouble!

"Rosanna Castus?" An idiot answered for the villainess. Behind Viola stood Leonardo Cassius himself, looking very much like he'd finish off Rosanna by himself.

***

In the game, there was a route where Leonardo Cassius actually tried to kill the MC.

If Rosanna remembered correctly, that should be in Sebastian's route, which was considered the darkest route of them all. Rosanna had received a confession letter supposedly written by Sebastian Verde, the eccentric genius of their class, telling her to come by the rose gardens, all alone. At that point, their relationship had progressed past strangers who were mutually fascinated with each other's talent for the arts, and Rosanna, being Sebastian's subject for sketches as of late, already had an inkling of where the two of them were headed.

It was the only time in all the routes where Rosanna had broken a rule by sneaking out past lights out. Amelia thought it was rather overdue, but the anticipation for a midnight tryst made up for whatever critique she had in mind. After all, Amelia never received a confession letter in her life, much less had somebody she could meet up late at night with.

Imagine her surprise when she found Leonardo Cassius waiting instead, roses in hand. The boy actually cleaned up nicely, she thought, with his long hair tied loose and his purple eyes dark in the moonlight. She remembered this one rabid fan in the online forums, the one that kept petitioning for a Leo route, and immediately understood what the fuss was all about.

Leonardo Cassius IS handsome. Perhaps even more than the three male leads, but in a brooding, dark prince sort of way. He looked like the type to keep his feelings bottled up and support his beloved from the shadows, something that he had already been doing for Viola. At that moment, it was as if the game itself had frozen in time — the original Rosanna Castus had no words for an unexpectedly sweet gesture — with glitching dialogue options to match.

That was until Sebastian Verde popped up behind him, and stabbed Leonardo Cassius through the stomach.

Later on, it was revealed how Leo planned to kill Rosanna with a knife, and how Sebastian foresaw this with his genius instincts. Naturally, he got away with the murder and even managed to connect Viola Adelais as the instigator. It should've been Rosanna's cue to run far, far away from Sebastian Verde. But no - she even thanked him for it, feeding the man's delusions. Sebastian Verde eventually set forth to eliminate anyone and anything that dared pose a threat to Rosanna…including the other boys.

Of course, that doesn't mean Sebastian's route was all about bad endings. But that was beside the point.

Where Leonardo Cassius failed in-game, he might actually succeed in real life — given that Rosanna didn't have Sebastian Verde or anyone's protection yet. As the current Leo grabbed Rosanna's hand and whisked her away from the Humilitas Hall, Rosanna's short-lived second life flashed before her eyes — a montage of Felicia Maure's punishments, Maxmillian's daily crying sessions, and Rosanna's numerous attempts to break into the Maure's wine cellar.