"One day, the Crown Prince will realize that the person he's looking for have always been by his side. But so long as Viola Adelais has her shadow…that day will never come. I trust you'll make sure of it."
-Rosanna Castus to Leonardo Cassius; Secret Route
***
It was one of Leo's wishes to be able to see his lady perform in class.
In their past lives, Leo never really dared to interfere with Viola's time at Cyrilla, knowing full well that his lady valued time away from the mansion and anything that reminded her of it. It wasn't until their recent lifetime that Leo made the decision to accompany Viola everywhere she went (a questionable decision, really, but he has BASIS, okay?) that getting into the Academy became a priority, no matter how ill-prepared he was for it.
He'd been prepared to manipulate and blackmail his way if he had to, but thanks to Rosanna's suspicious intervention, he now had the honor of sharing the same classes as Viola Adelais, going as far as being able to sit next to her. He wasn't the only servant to ever get into the Academy, per se, but he was the only one with enough merits to be put in the same room as the elites. Here, aside from his lady, he got to sit with royalty, heirs and heiresses, and geniuses - basically the best that their empire has to offer.
It was an honor he never imagined experiencing in any lifetime, so perhaps Rosanna Castus deserved his gratitude in this regard.
But then again, she was also the cause of their troubles. If only Rosanna Castus wasn't such a thorn in their sides, then maybe Leo wouldn't have to be reborn over and over again just to get it right. He swore on his lady's name that he would never, ever thank or apologize to that girl.
"Make no mistake," he'd said. "I will never, ever fall in love with you, Rosanna Castus. Never in a thousand lifetimes."
He never bothered to see her reaction after he said those words. They had gone their separate ways since then, and Leo intended for it to stay that way. It was good that the classes were arranged according to grades, which meant that Rosanna would be far, far away from his mistress.
That had always been the plan, anyway.
"The Imperial Family has many branch families," Viola Adelais recited, her clear voice echoing with the four walls of the classroom, "...most who unfortunately perished after the Great Expansion. This leaves the last surviving members to be His Majesty the King and the Empress, the Second Prince, and First Princess, and most of all, His Highness the Crown Prince…"
Leo sighed. Of course, Viola will always find a way to turn the discussion on that person. Pardon his lady, but he should've been the one to answer their teacher's questions instead — he could probably discuss Calixian History and Founding History better than anyone else. The textbooks didn't even cover the whole story behind the so-called "expansion", how the empire became the way it was, much less hold an inkling of the Imperial Family's web of lies.
"No other royal family has been more involved with the empire's development than the Vespera family, who united the noble houses and reformed the trade, education, and justice systems we know today…."
United is a funny way of putting it. They promised the nobles elevated power and status once His Majesty was put on the throne, only for it to come with a leash once the dust settled down. Then we have traded for the rich, education for the rich, and justice for the rich.
Viola continued, "The success of the empire can be heavily attributed to His Majesty's leadership and steadfastness in quelling uprisings that came after the war. Thanks to him, we can expect to live more prosperous years…"
…at the expense of the commoners. This was one, irrefutable fact that persisted since the beginning of time, rebirths included. Aside from growing up as a beggar in the streets of Rumpia, he had experienced several lifetimes in poverty too — if not to join his lady, then it was to take the fall for her. These uprisings had always been no more than petty excuses to spend money from the treasury.
And then they blame it on their predecessors, claiming that the system was rotten from the start. As always, history is written by winners—
'And buried by losers' another voice added. It was a long forgotten memory surfacing from the depths of Leo's mind, begging to be let out. The voice was as pompous as its owner, no matter how much she pretended to an innocent little flower.
Still, that voice - Rosanna Castus, that is - had a point. Leo was, in many ways, a loser in his previous lives. Time and time again, he'd watched others stomp all over him and mistress, and even though he had the means to change it all...he had allowed the truth to be buried.
"…Leo." His lady's face appeared in front of him, concerned. Leo blinked.
"I-uh, hello, my lady." He stammered, leaning away from her. Her face was close, too close. He shifted his gaze all around them, where students have already finished packing up. "What-it's over already?"
His lady laughed. "You were staring at the board like you were going to kill it, I didn't imagine you were simply zoning out."
He looked up at Viola Adelais. Technically, this person was one of the nobles whom he very much despised. When they grew up, who knows if she would stand against him or behind him…but one thing was certain.
He stood up and offered her his hand. "Apologies, my lady. Allow me to escort you to the next class?"
Viola sighed. "You do understand that there's no need for that, don't you? After all, we're also classmates—"
"And I'm also your loyal servant." Leo finished.
For one, brief moment, Viola looked like she was about to object, but ended up taking his hand anyway. Leo smiled.
It didn't matter who she chooses. When the time comes, even as a mere servant, Leo would be content just by being able to stay by her side.
***
That was a lie.
Once, in one of his many lives, Rosanna Castus had called him a selfish man. She had stood on the balcony of the Sinceritas Hall, dressed up in her blue gown, while her partner searched for her desperately within a sea of masks. Leo thought it was funny how the Crown Prince still couldn't find Rosanna, even though Leo could recognize her at a glance.
"Came to escort your lady, butler?" Rosanna Castus asked, her piercing eyes seeing straight through his mask and newly-tailored suit.
There was no use hiding it. After all, breaking into the Academy's official activities was illegal, and Rosanna Castus, the Academy's top student, saw him do just that. He had only wanted to escort his lady just in case she didn't have a partner yet and perhaps see her dance in that beautiful red dress she requested from the estate.
"Do as you see fit," Rosanna Castus said as if reading his mind. She didn't seem to be particularly interested in the ball — or anything else, for that matter.
"Let me warn you, though. She's dancing with the Crown Prince right now, so she might not take any intervention kindly. She even had the guts to kick out the Prince's actual dance partner." A small smile appeared on the corner of her lips. "Talk about dedication."
The gift weighed heavy on his chest, much like the sinking of his own heart.
"And you didn't stop her?"
"Why should I?" Rosanna replied nonchalantly. "She can have him for the night. I'll have him for the rest of his life—"
"You're evil. You're a rotten person beneath that saintly act." Leo said, a lifetime's worth of anger seeping out of him in one go. He'd spent many lifetimes watching his lady pine for the Crown Prince, just for Rosanna Castus to crush their feelings like ants to her feet. "You don't care for anyone but yourself—
"And you," she interjected. "You've always loved Viola, didn't you?"
Silence.
"That's why you're so keen on helping me get together with the Crown Prince even though you knew she loved him." Rosanna Castus smiled, a cruel twist of the lips, as if she too, was finally beginning to crack from their decades' worth of charades. "Working behind you lady's back, helping her rival even though you knew how much she hated me…what would Viola say, hm?"
She wouldn't have anything to say if I threw you off the balcony right now, Leo thought, but ultimately decided against it. Rosanna Castus would probably only find another way to blame it on the lady, and if she got so much as a scratch from Leo, Viola would be on the receiving end of her wrath.
"Face it, butler." Rosanna removed her mask, revealing that angelic face that fooled the entire Academy. "Underneath that mask, you're just a selfish man."
***
Leo would rather die than admit it out loud, but Rosanna Castus was right.
If he had his way, he would most probably get rid of the Crown Prince faster than he did to Rosanna — because, between the two of them, the Crown Prince posed a bigger threat than that double-faced bitch. Rosanna Castus' reputation-damaging antics had nothing on the Crown Prince's hold on Viola's heart, and in Leo's opinion, his lady's heart takes precedence above everything else, even Leo's lifetime-long grudge.
This was why he intended Rosanna Castus to stay silent about the examination's fiasco. Across many lifetimes, their classroom arrangements have always been arranged by grades, and getting the top spot meant a guaranteed spot in his lady's classes. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince could simply just go and fuck himself. It didn't matter if he got into their classes or somewhere else, because as long as Leo stood beside his lady—
"Please, Miss Viola! You need to help me! There's a suspicious person in my class, and she knows who I am!"
The Crown Prince clung to his lady like she was his lifeline, much to his lady's exasperation. Leo's rival, Damian Vespera, was hugging the love of Leo's life.
"I-I promise to do everything in my power to assist you, Your Highness!" Viola choked out. Her face was growing redder by the second, and Leo feared for a moment that she might combust.
The Crown Prince had dragged them into one of the vacant rooms while they were on their way to the next class. There was nothing he could do to stop him.
Damian Vespera, or Damian Primus, according to his alias — was the empire's Crown Prince posing as a regular noble, to prevent the other students and faculty from giving him special treatment. He had wanted to experience regular high school life, he had said, and now it was the problem of anyone who knew his real identity to solve his regular high school problems for him.
Unfortunately, the list of those people was very small and Viola occupied the top spot on the list.
"Your Highness, pardon this servant for the intrusion," Leo bowed. "But may I ask exactly what happened?"
The Crown Prince shifted his teary eyes at Leo and chose than an opportunity to cling to him. His Royal Highness draped his noodle arms all over Leo's shoulders and sniffled at his uniform, much to Viola's ire.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here, Leo! It was terrible! She harassed one of my classmates after they tried to make fun of some servant boy, and then—and then she told the class about my secrets! She knew I couldn't bake! She called me hot! She also knew about my singing—"
"Wait, wait, back up, Your Highness." Leo pried the Crown Prince off him. "What do you mean, she—"
"Who called you hot, Your Highness?" Viola roared.
But Leo wasn't finished: "What do you mean servant boy, what did she say—"
"What did she say about your singing?" This time, his lady was shaking the Crown Prince's shoulders, completely disregarding their ranks. "What other secrets? Did she also try to harass you—"
"Both of you, please calm down!" The Crown Prince raised his voice, finally calling upon his authority. Viola and Leo stared at each other as if both of them thought of the same person at the same time.
"Your Highness…" both of them began. This flustered Leo, and like any good servant, he conceded. "Please go first, my lady."
Please. I hope it's not what I think it is.
Viola cleared her throat. "Is this girl, by any chance, Rosanna Castus?"
The Crown Prince gasped. "How did you know?"
Viola Adelais cast a knowing look at Leo. "Well…"
"For the last time, she is not my anything!" Leo almost slammed the table, much to the surprise of his lady and the Crown Prince.
He had spent hours trying to explain to them the rumors circulating the campus, all while meticulously dodging the topic of the examinations. He explained to Viola how the two met during the exams, and that Rosanna had been the one to misunderstand the whole thing as something else.
His lady sighed in relief upon hearing all this. "Well, that explains a lot. No wonder she tried to intimidate me right off the bat. Perhaps she was, uhm…"
"Jealous?" Leo supplied, except his own addition didn't fit his lady's context. Rather, he was more interested in what his lady thought about the two of them. Was SHE jealous? How did it feel, to have her most trusted servant on the verge of being snatched (albeit jokingly) by someone else?
"Yeah, that." his lady murmured, unable to look him in the eye. "I was actually the one who approached her. Then, after I introduced myself, she called me—she called me…"
"It's okay, my lady." Leo offered, already consoled by the fact that his lady might've been jealous about the rumors. He knew how much she hated that s-word. "You don't have to finish."
The Crown Prince watched the two of them intently, remarkably calm despite his initial hysteria. Like this, with his body facing the backrest and chin propped up with his elbows, he looked just like any other student hearing his fellow classmates rant.
"Something must be wrong with her if she dared to insult Miss Viola to that extent." The Crown Prince murmured. In the corners of his vision, Leo caught his lady stifle her blush with a cough.
This can't be good. Without Rosanna, the Crown Prince will have no choice but to stick to Viola. And annoying as that girl was, nothing beat the feeling of being the third wheel, especially towards the girl he liked.
"Your Highness," Leo bowed again, "If I may ask."
"You may."
"Rosanna Castus. Do you, uh, have any idea where she is right now?"
Something seemed to shift in the atmosphere between the three of them. Just like that, gone was the crybaby Crown Prince that urged Viola to sneak out and let Leo play with them from time to time. In his place stood Damian Vespera — son to the most tyrannical monarchs in history — with the same purple eyes and his mother's corn-silk hair.
"Well, since I thought she was a spy, I had the royal guards take her away."
Oh shit.