The red noose of fate (Part II)

"It was going to end one way or another."

-Rosanna Castus to ???, Secret Route

***

Leo was a man on a mission.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself, as they made their way to the next building. Otherwise, he wouldn't be stuck here carrying Rosanna's books, which he can bet his life on that she probably doesn't even read. This mission was more important than the stares he'd been getting since standing next to her, the pain of being away from his lady, and whatever it was he'd just witnessed earlier.

His lady had dismissed him to repay Rosanna for her service, and not because she wanted some alone time with the Crown Prince. Or so Leo kept telling himself. Being the faithful butler he was, he had no choice but to follow his lady's orders, who only wanted to show goodwill to a newfound friend. Leo definitely did not lie to Vincent about the Crown Prince asking for him so he could get back at them. Not at all.

"I want you to be honest, Leo." Rosanna suddenly spoke up, causing him to almost drop the books. He was about to curse at her, but the serious expression on her face made him hold it back.

Thousands of possibilities ran through Leo's head. It could be anything — from Leo's motive in enrolling for Cyrilla Academy, the suspicious contents of the apology letter, to countless unspoken reincarnations. Leo didn't have to answer her, but there was no telling how much Rosanna's leverage can do, given that she also had something on him.

He braced himself for the worst.

'Does she remember?'

"Was there something on my hair?" She asked instead, with a complicated expression on her face. Leo wished he could throw the books at her, or throw them on the ground, in a show of protest.

He swallowed down a series of curses. "Your hair is fine, Miss Castus."

"Call me Rosanna."

"Your hair is fine, Rosanna."

"Not a hint of emotion!" Rosanna clasped her hands in delight. "I guess your route really isn't possible."

'My route?' Naturally, Leo had no idea whatever it was she meant, but he thought it sounded rather ominous. "Please don't make fun of me, Miss Castus. I may have been tasked to assist you, but without my lady, you....you're just another schoolmate to me."

Just another pretty face, he'd almost said. Good thing he caught himself before he contributed more to Rosanna's already inflated ego.

"Seriously? After all that we've been through?"

Leo felt a prick in his back at the question.

"We're not even classmates!"

"But I've seen you at your lowest. You've seen me at mine. That's way more than what usual friends see from each other."

Rosanna stayed a few feet ahead of him, prancing around, without a care for her words or their implications. She didn't even seem to notice that Leo had frozen in his tracks.

But when she did, her eyes had gone wide, taken aback by the sudden change of atmosphere.

Mind games had always been too complicated for someone like Leo. He had done his best to behave thanks to his lady, but to him, anything that could be resolved in the shadows needed only to stay in the shadows, unbothered by the courtiers and liars that played in the light. If Rosanna truly remembered everything, and she suspected that Leo did too, then it was only natural for her to wait until she caught him slipping up first.

This innocent act was exactly what made her so dangerous back then, but too bad it won't work on Leo now.

"If you truly saw me at my lowest," he said, walking past her, "then you should know who exactly had put me there."

You.

"That, I don't know." Rosanna easily caught up, lining beside him like they were simply discussing the weather. "I thought you came here of your own volition?"

Leo sighed. It was a good try as any. He did decide to go to Cyrilla Academy by himself — but that was only to protect Viola from Rosanna Castus and whoever it is she'd chosen to romance this time. He was lucky that the Crown Prince of this life had different priorities, but word about Rosanna Castus has spread across the campus already — which means that she would meet the other two soon.

Since waking up in the streets of Rumpia, Leo had resolved not to take any more chances, as he never knew which life would be his last. So maybe Rosanna did end up offering the olive branch to his lady this time. She still managed to earn Damian's suspicions instead of his love, wrapped Leo in a leash, and had the empire's future most decorated knight as her errand boy. At the very least, Leo hoped that he can rely on Vincent's loyalty toward the Crown Prince.

After all, in their most recent lifetime, Vincent had been the one to lead the coup d'etat against the evil empress, dragging her down the steps of the Caelis Palace by himself.

"Death to the black rose that poisoned our empires" He screamed. "Death to the traitor who killed the Crown Prince!"

Rosanna had only escaped persecution by making Sebastian Verde her scapegoat, offering up her most loyal lover of many lifetimes to the gallows. Try as he might, Leo would never forget how Sebastian Verde greeted death with a smile, as if that too, was a confession of his love. As the man faced the ropes, Leo was reminded of the time he went in there too and was hanged himself — all for Viola.

A lot of things had changed. At the same time, some things won't. In a way, Leo could understand why Rosanna's previous lovers had been willing to enable her until the very end.

"Rosanna."

"Yes?" The lady perked up, delighted at Leo finally using her first name as intended. Leo would have preferred if it was viewed as a serious offense.

Truth be told, he wanted to ask many things. Like where did it all go wrong — did Rosanna tire of her lovers, that she decided to cast them away? Or had they done something that angered her somehow, which led her to turn against them at the last minute? If revenge was what she had been after, why are there times when he and Viola had been spared? What game was she playing this time?

'Is it too late to change your mind?'

The two of them arrived at the room where Rosanna was supposed to serve out her detention for the next few days. His Lady Viola had made such a big deal that one would think Rosanna was heading for execution, when in fact, she had been the one handing down the order in their past life.

"Tell me," he asked her, "You haven't met any Sebastian Verde in the Academy, didn't you?"

Rosanna's hand froze at the doorknob.

"Come again?" She asked, eyes wide, and Leo searched for any hint of recognition in there — for any chance that this might be the same Rosanna inside.

"I asked if you knew anyone by the name of Sebastian Verde," Leo repeated, "Or Oswald Mirande." He enunciated the names carefully, keeping a close watch on her face the whole time — observing any twitch of the eye, the shifting of gaze, and the smallest micro-expression that would betray what she knew.

A beat of silence passed.

Too long.

"Who's that?" Rosanna asked innocently. "Friends of yours?"

She knew the real identity of the Crown Prince without Leo telling her. Her admittance at Cyrilla Academy is proof enough that there are bigger forces at play, ones that Leo never caught despite living the same life over and over again.

He still had no idea how these strings connect to Rosanna Castus herself, but maybe their fates would change if Rosanna walked a different path. A road that doesn't lead to the sky throne…or in the arms of troublesome men.

"They're not my friends," Leo admitted out loud, much to his surprise. "They shouldn't be yours, either."

Rosanna raised her eyebrow comically. "Are you afraid they'll steal me away?"

Really, he'd be doing those men a favor, by keeping this thing away from them.

"I'd ship you far away from me if I could," he said honestly, opening the door for her. From where he stood, he could see those pathetic excuses of noblewomen sitting in the corners, whispering among themselves. Their eyes went as wide as saucers as soon as they saw Leo.

Lowlives as they were, at least they learned their lesson. The girls immediately straightened up from their seats, ceasing their chatter. It's almost funny how being held at knifepoint fixed their behavior better than in this pricey institution.

Rosanna snickered. "Look. THIS is how you assert dominance."

Says someone who was currently hiding behind him.

He scanned the room for any more familiar faces and was relieved to find none. With Rosanna stuck here for every after-class in the next few days, he should have enough time to find the other two before her and prevent them from meeting each other. He could use this opportunity.

He only needed to find a way to weed out Rosanna's past lovers without anyone knowing. He had to nip them in the bud before they grew and cause trouble for him and his lady.

"Hey Leo," Rosanna waved a hand in front of his face. "Is something wrong?"

Leo couldn't answer her for a while. A part of him still couldn't believe that this was the so-called black rose of the empire. Still too young to order someone to be executed on the gallows, too young to kill even the people she loved for the sake of power.

It was a small bit of hope, but perhaps he wasn't too late.

"If you're asserting dominance, then why haven't you still gotten in?" He gestured at Rosanna. At this, Rosanna immediately stepped inside the room to prove him wrong but fell short when she realized she had no idea where to sit.

Rosanna crossed her arms at Leo. "Well, I'm in," she said. "What, you're going to join me for detention next?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "You wish."

Of course, what Rosanna didn't know was that while she was being punished for doing the right thing (saving his lady was always the right thing!), Leo would be too busy scouring the campus for weeds.

Better nip the problems in the bud, so as the saying goes.