"Little was known about the Crown Prince outside the Imperial Palace, save for his aversion towards social gatherings and interactions with other nobles. Rumors called the prince a shut-in, disabled, going as far as labeling him illegitimate.
The Empress insists that rumors are just that: rumors. After all, it's easier to dismiss them when there's no one left to question their validity."
-About Damian Vespera; Tales of the Black Rose Wiki
***
"My name is Rosanna Adeline Castus, 15 years old, eldest child of the Castus household. It's my pleasure to meet everyone in this class."
The girl flashed the whole class a winning smile as if she was expecting everyone to erupt into a wild cheer after doing the bare minimum. No such thing happened.
Their teacher sighed. Pompous, self-important nobles we common in the Academy, but it's his first time seeing someone radiate so much...audacity that it burned. "Very well. It's nice to meet you, Miss Castus. How do you prefer to be called?"
"Simply Rosanna would do."
"Alright, noted." The teacher adjusted his glasses and turned to the rest of the class. "Does anyone have questions for Miss Rosanna?"
A moment of silence fell over them, as it would to any class on their first day of meeting each other. Everyone knew it was for formalities' sake - the teacher was only making sure that every student was given a chance to ask and be asked whatever the fuck it is nobles liked to know from each other. He wasn't expecting anyone to actually inquire, much less give a fuck. The teacher arranged his desk and cleared his throat.
"Very well, Miss Castus. You may —"
"Excuse me, sir!" A hand shot up from the back row. "I have a question!"
The teacher squinted in the direction of the voice, obviously meaning to scold the disruptor who rudely cut him off. However, as soon as he recognized the student, all the anger seemed to float out of his body, replaced by a saccharine smile and a gentle tone.
"Oh, if it isn't Mister Octavio! Go ahead."
The Octavio household was prominent among the nobles' social circles. Aside from their direct affiliation with the royal family, they also shared connections with the Verdes — who ruled over the High Court.
Given their network, it was only natural that a child from the Octavios would be a gossipmonger.
"Miss Rosanna, is it true that the Headmaster caught you on a tryst with that servant boy?"
A gust of wind blew from the windows and into the class — not a single soul breathed as soon as the boy dropped that bombshell of a question. There was simply too much information loaded in that single sentence: first and foremost, being caught in an actual 'tryst' would most likely guarantee suspension, being caught by the Headmaster is a surefire way to get expelled, while doing it with a servant was just…inconceivable for most people in this room.
The teacher, finally coming to terms with its implications, broke out of his silence and cast the young boy an affronted look. Family names didn't mean anything when it came to protecting a young lady's honor. "Mister Octavio, you can't just—"
"It's okay, sir." Rosanna Castus held up a hand. "I'll answer his question."
The entire class straightened up from their seats. The young girl certainly didn't look embarrassed — rather, her lips were caught in a smirk, as though she found the entire situation amusing. Even the young boy, Terrence Octavio, raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Rosanna Castus elevated her voice, a huge contrast to her demure, almost timid appearance.
"Allow me to make a few things clear," she said. "First, that servant boy is Leonardo Cassius, the top student in our grade. Second, the Headmaster didn't catch anything. He just found us. Third, and most importantly, it was NOT a tryst, because you can count that I won't hide somewhere if I want to kiss someone. I would just kiss them on the spot. Comprende?"
The whole class stared at her slack-jawed. Even the teacher dropped his pen.
"You—" the young boy stammered, "T-that's unbecoming—!"
"Would you like a free trial?" Rosanna challenged until the young boy's face burst into flames. She was obviously joking, but the young boy was too embarrassed to look her in the eye, and chose to fall back into his seat with a solid thump!
The girl winked at the class. She seemed to have the solid confidence that everyone will go through with her antics regardless of their opinion of her — a fact that these rooms filled with pompous, overprivileged kids found more amusing than the actual joke.
In the end, the teacher had slam the desk to calm the class down. Rosanna Castus was ordered to sit in the corner of the room, right next to the boy who had the gall to sleep in the middle of the class.
Unknown to her, the boy was awake the whole time.
***
Rosanna's high school debut was going great.
So far, she managed to charm the entire class with her protagonist halo, going as far as turning a poor boy's own bullying attempt against himself. It was a low blow, sure, but better than letting everyone think she was a victim, unlike what the old Rosanna did. Amelia Sola may have lived a different life, but she was Rosanna now! Everyone bows down to the protagonist!
Make no mistake. I will never, ever fall in love with you, Rosanna Castus. Never in a thousand lifetimes, a certain butler's voice echoed in her head. Said butler had run off and joined his mistress, but no matter. In the game, Leonardo Cassius didn't even have any significant impact on the main story. All he had to do now was keep his mouth shut about the examination incident, and never cross Rosanna's path ever again.
The only reason she swapped their papers was to avoid being lumped in the same class as the main cast — that is, the villainess and the other male leads. Rosanna had wanted to avoid passing if she could help it, but now that the Headmaster had pulled some strings and still allowed her to make the cut, she could at least revel in the fact that the classes were sorted by grades, not by names. And Rosanna, being the last placer, was grouped with the least performing students — the third cluster of first years.
She had never fallen so low before, which makes her new setup quite the challenge. It still hurt, but Rosanna could definitely climb her way to the top, and that was more fun compared to having the top spot being handed down on a silver platter.
"Miss Castus?" The teacher called out. "Have you been listening?"
"Yes sir!" She perked up. "What were you saying, again?"
This sent the class into another bout of laughter. Ah, what joy it is to be the heroine. The protagonist's halo worked like a miracle — everything she did was well-received, and she could get away with anything. How the hell did the old Rosanna Castus not take advantage of this?
"I asked you if you can give us an introduction about the Imperial Family," her teacher clenched the chalk so hard it broke. "Since you know, Miss Castus, this is Calixian History and Founding History."
This shook Rosanna awake. Her registry definitely stated that, but she didn't think it would be an actual subject with actual lessons.
"I…uh…only know about the Crown Prince, sir."
At the mention of the Crown Prince, her seatmate jerked upwards. Probably had a nasty dream.
"Alright then," the teacher deadpanned. "Tell us what you know about the Crown Prince."
Rosanna stood up, fighting back the urge to pump her fists in victory. She was well-versed — no, practically an EXPERT at this topic. She had played Damian's route many times, simply because it was the route that had the most Viola Adelais screentime.
"Crown Prince Damian Charles Vespera was born under the Regulus star — ruling the empire had always been his destiny. However, because of this, he faced a lot of pressure and many expectations. He had to be perfect in every way, but we all know this was impossible."
In the story — at least in the main plotline — Rosanna would meet the Crown Prince during a precarious time, right after he had just received the news of his father's passing. It was meant to be a secret — partly to keep the public from panicking, and mostly to give the prince more time to prepare for his new role. But the prince was no less overwhelmed upon knowing this. He had fled his room, feeling cornered, until he found a spot in the Academy's rose gardens and cried his eyes out.
How the original Rosanna Castus happened to be in the right place and at the right time was the jurisdiction of the game developers. She had wiped his tears, offered comfort, and after extracting the game-changing secret straight out of the grieving prince's mouth — she had offered her support and told him it was okay to be imperfect.
If the weight of the crown is yours to carry, one of the dialogue options said, then allow this one to at least carry a bit of your heavy heart.
"His strict upbringing resulted in someone who never properly experienced the simple joys of childhood. He can ride horses, but not a bike. He can play all sorts of instruments, but he can't sing to save his life. He can't cook, bake, and he's terrible at making friends, especially when they're all inclined to suck up to him."
Rosanna definitely had a hard time finishing his route because of the prince's conflicting personality. He wanted to be the perfect prince for Rosanna, yet at the same time, he wanted her to accept his imperfections.
The whole class had gone silent now, completely enraptured in Rosanna's recitation. "He claims he doesn't want the responsibility, but it's all he's ever known. The Crown Prince is a mess of contradictions. However, despite all this, there was one, absolute truth about him that cannot be changed…"
Everyone sucked in their breaths.
"…he was hot. " Rosanna said solemnly. "He was stupidly, ridiculously, and unfortunately very —"
"ENOUGH!" An eraser went flying straight towards Rosanna, hitting her forehead straight on. Rosanna effectively shut up her tirade, taking cover from her own desk. "Ouch! That's teacher abuse! That's not allowed!"
Some of the students snickered at this — the Octavio boy included. But they all kept their giggles to themselves in fear of being the teacher's next target, or worse, catching the attention of the deviant Rosanna Castus herself.
"Slandering the Crown Prince can get you executed, you imbecile!" The teacher shrieked. "You can get us all killed just by hearing your delusions of His Highness!"
"It's not a delusion!" Rosanna defended. "It's the truth—!"
"NEXT!" The teacher slammed his hand onto the blackboard. He pointed at the person next to Rosanna Castus. "You! Same question! But please, for the love of God, no fictional renditions!"
Rosanna slumped back in her seat, defeated. The teacher wasn't exactly wrong by calling her statement a fictional rendition, but then again, Damian Vespera is fictional. At least, to Rosanna.
As if to mock her even further, the person next to her just happened to be awake when the teacher called him. He even walked up to the front of the class and picked up a piece of chalk.
"The Imperial Family is composed of His Majesty the Emperor, Augustus Charles Vespera, Her Majesty the Empress, Nathalia Vespera." The boy answered while scribbling, each word punctuated with chalk grinding against the board. "They have three children — first, the Crown Prince Damian Vespera, then the Second Prince Dominic Vespera, and lastly, the First Princess Emmaline Vespera."
This caught Rosanna's attention. She'd never heard of the Crown Prince's siblings before.
"His Highness Prince Dominic and Princess Emmaline are twins, and three years younger than the Crown Prince. Both have made their public appearances. As for the Crown Prince…"
The student's voice lowered. In a short period, he was able to map out the Imperial Family tree, branch families included.
"I believe no one outside the Imperial Palace has seen his face yet, much less met him. This might be the reason why he is the subject of many rumors." The last part was thoroughly emphasized, as though he was sharpening the tip of a dagger. "I can only imagine his reaction upon hearing them, though, seeing how wild they can be."
"Thank you." The teacher acknowledged, with a hint of satisfaction. "Everyone, let's give a round of applause for Mister Primus' thorough recitation."
The boy finally faced the rest of the class, with his royal blue uniform sprinkled with chalk dust. There was no mistaking his expression — he was scowling at Rosanna, as though her existence was the most annoying thing since morning classes.
Rosanna's blood ran cold.
He gave a small bow, before walking back into the seat right next to Rosanna's. At this point, It didn't matter if his name was Primus or whatever alias they can come up with.
She could recognize those purple eyes and mop of blond hair anywhere.
What the hell is he doing in this class?