Rozenfall(1)

'A message?'

Moris handed him a letter with an unreadable expression.

"Read it when you arrive at the academy. Some gifts have been prepared for you and the two swordmaiden."

'A gift from the duke?' There was a fifty-fifty chance that it's a gift to the afterlife or a really good gift. The duke was one of the strongest bosses in the game, just like Carmillia. What makes him different is the scale of conditions the players need to meet in order to defeat him.

With this message, it meant the duke is aware of his existence, making him feel apprehensive.

"… Thank you."

But why would Xian feel fearful?

The duke's plans are elaborate and accurate, as shown in the game scene's when the player starts crossing with his schemes. Every actions he made have a deeper meaning and intentions that couldn't be easily interpreted.

While he knew the future and what actions the duke took, in Carmillia's route, he didn't know anything. The attention of an existence like him is unwelcome to Xian.

Xian felt a soft thump in his shoulder.

There, someone he didn't expect was coming with them to the academy at the head butler's order. Miri with dark circles under her eyes had fallen asleep. She'd been unable to sleep properly ever since the chief maid's death.

[BLUE HEART: 36]

At first, he thought Miri was about to bid them farewell, but Moris told them that the duke required Carmillia to have a trusted maid accompany her. In the game, all the maids serving her were of the academy's staff or sometimes even the swordmaidens.

'Is this also part of the duke's plan?' He was taking it to a stretch, but he couldn't be more careful from now on. Everyone in the academy must be doubted and not a single sentence must be believed.

Even the heroines. There's a reason why Rozenfall isn't just about romance but also ruin, and why players have something called 'Ruin End'. Compared to the truly happy 'Romance Endings' there was more than one version of bad endings for each route and heroine.

There are even endings outside those route's, such as dying as a convicted criminal at the hands of the kingdom or empire, or tragic endings where the heroine left the protagonist for another rival.

All in all, despite being a dating sim game, there was more dark aspects detailed throughout the players gameplay.

It's ironic that he's going to destroy the life of the character he once played, should he exist and get in the way.

'The academy…'

Once he steps foot in there, Xian wondered if he will be able to take a rest.

His calling made him want to focus on knowing Carmillia better. Why her actions led to such extreme decisions of execution and what kind of life she had lived. As a sub boss, she only existed without much backstory in the game.

Just her the bad ends and antagonistic encounters as if the game is screaming that she's a villain.

At the same time, the other heroine's he knew too well and similarly liked now exists in reality.

Right now, Xian felt torn on whether he will continue playing on the side of the villainess or forge his own route.

There was one more thing he wanted try. An arrogant notion that punished players for their greediness with a guaranteed Ruin End.

'A harem route…' Smirking, he wondered if that will be possible now. With his power of regression backing him, he could try it as many times as he liked. Furthermore, he can make more flexible choices unlike when he's behind the screen.

Xian shook his head to clear his thoughts. Right now, he was waiting for something.

'When is it appearing?'

The skill window. Another function of the system that players enjoyed. A list of skill's the players possess. Upon stepping in the academy, the window is supposed to appear and guide the player.

There are skills that can be obtained by training, skills that one were born with and those skills are classified into technique and spells. If it's martial arts, then technique is the term used to coin the skill, if its magic, then spell is used.

If one learns a dark spell, they build up mastery over dark affinity as a passive. Same goes for someone who starts training with a sword. In this case, the naming makes it pretty explanatory, labeled as mastery if it was something they trained for.

Some technique's and spell, resulted in a passive trait, acquired not through inheritance but training. Meanwhile his [Defiance] is a special case. The [Defiance] for bosses didn't have a berserk like description similar to him.

Meaning, this body had lived a life embroiled in madness of battle. There was no noticeable scars in his body or maybe he just didn't look enough? The description of the skill often reflect the characters characteristic itself.

[Xian Level 14 Trainee]

[Montagne Specialized Butler] [Conqueror] [Dedicated One] [Transmigrator] [Regressor] [Shackled One(Sealed Traits Locked: ??? Lvl 18, Defiance Lvl 28 Stage I 20/100, ??? Lvl 38]

Age: 18 

HP 793

MP 127

Strength - 18[+23]

Agility - 21[+25]

Stamina - 15

Endurance - 12

Mana - 7

Luck - 0

Blood Rating D(Traits) - [Strong Blood] [Conqueror's Eyes][Defiance Stage I]

Magic - Low. Circle 4 Limit.

Bonus Points: 0

REGRESSION COUNTER: 5

He looked at his starting stats with a satisfied smile. With this, he's definitely stronger than the protagonist and starting characters.

He needs to put his guard up though. The growth rate of the protagonists party is no joke. Compared to the villains, they leveled up like crazy.

Xian wondered how the exp distribution worked in this world and if someone's going to explain it. The professors seldom had any glimpses of lectures despite being an academy based game, instead it focused more on their activities and other interactions, with lores like that being brushed over.

He's aware of the existing concepts like Mana and Aura, Magic and Martial Arts, Spells and Technique's. But he had never tried using it so far, only relying on his strength. Xian was a little nervous when it comes to learning all of that.

It's a concern he didn't really think of until the academy was at his doorsteps. Explaining his strength and strange state was the least of his problems.

An hour quickly flew by, the most peaceful Xian had ever been apart from sleeping in his room.

They entered what seemed to be the inner walls of the academy city, the gate guards briefly peeked inside the first carriage and let them through without a problem. 

The streets were wide enough like highways in his home, but was made of expensive looking brown brick pavements. Similarly, the houses were made of beige colored bricks and dark themed chiseled metals for the window frames and street lights.

It was the very same scenery he saw in the game. Row's of houses with exquisite craftsmanship, tiled roofs of houses, bustling with people full of vigor. Lantern posts filled the streets, making a beautiful vista of the academy's main road.

'What time is it? It's almost past midnight.' But the people in the academy city were still busy. Perhaps, because there was much to prepare for the arrival of new students.

"Hoho, it's a rather peaceful night isn't it? I thought for sure that I'm going to step out in the middle of the forest." Moris, with a rare chuckle stroked his mustache and seemed pleased.

They stopped in front of a several storey Inn that might as well be a hotel in Xian's eyes. Inside there was a bit commotion, because only two rooms remained available.

He thought for sure that Carmillia would order execution one of the tenants, but it seemed that every entrants with special background had similarly check in on this place. Nothing of the sort happened in the end.

'She's surprisingly not as aggressive as she was portrayed. Does she only go crazy for the protagonist?' Xian clicked his tongue, wondering what was so unique for the protagonist to earn both her ire and attention.

Moris went back to the estate with the caravan. Xian then realized, that he's in a rather awkward situation. A situation that others would find awkward to be precise.

"U-uhm…" Miri, with dark circles under her eyes, was blushing unable to speak and kept stammering.

Probably because they shared a room. Xian forgot because of the sudden surge of killing intent he felt from Serika. It seems his skill doesn't block it but rather keeps him calm under that pressure.

"Hey. You, butler. Don't you dare do something weird right next to our room." With bulging veins on her temples, Serika uttered as such, leaving him speechless. Recalling that made him smirk sinisterly, even though he just found it funny.

'Just what does she think is going on between us?' Xian mused at her active imagination.

"Sir Xian… Why are you smiling like that?…"

"Oh, right. You can sleep on the bed Miri." Xian stood up nonchalantly and headed for the living room.

"I can sleep on the sofa. Sleep comfortably." He was about to leave when Miri grabbed the hem of his clothes.

[BLUE HEART: 50]

"Hm?"

"I-I don't mind if it's with Sir Xian! Ah! No! I mean, sleeping together… Ah!" Miri was confused and unable to handle her own reactions. Xian realized that she's that easily embarrassed and cutesy type of heroine.

'I really need that glimpse lens.' He was so excited to see what exactly is up with Miri falling for him so hard. He was just casually nice but even that brought her affection level to 50.

At this rate, she might reach [RED HEART] one week into the academy.

'There's also her yandere tendencies, induced by the potion.' Xian didn't forget that crucial fact.

He's truly living in a dating sim world.

He reached out his hand to the maid who flinched and closed her eyes, as if waiting for something. Even that reaction confused Xian. Usually, those would appear at the purple or even pink level.

Even the warning that Serika gave, can be taken as some form of jealousy or consciousness on him. The reality is really veering off from the mechanics he relied on.

Xian patted Miri on her head. The best he can do is, make sure her affection can only go up higher, to the point that she's willing to give her life to save him.

Perhaps, she might even be his first time. He didn't mind polishing his skills before Carmillia's turn. After all, wasn't he here in this world to be punished doing what he loved?

He stroked her head for a bit and spoke. "I know what you meant. There's no need to be jumpy."

Then he touched her cheek, feeling his rough hand brush her soft skin. Had she drank the potion of the chief maid, she would've fallen over to him, listless. But her state right now was no different anyways.

"You've been unable to properly sleep right? Sleep comfortably today. I'll stay with you."

"… Mm. Okay." Miri buried her face in his chest. At this point, his intentions and treatment were pretty clear and the maid isn't resisting it. Whether this turns into poison or a boon is something to find out in the future.

As Xian said, he slept with Miri, without any happenstance. The maid woke up just as flustered as before, but with new found trust towards him.

[BLUE HEART: 69]

'Nice.'

He could've just gone all the way through and did the deed with her all the way. Certainly, her affection would shot up that way and tie down their relationship. But, the same could be said once he starts paying attention to other heroine's.

It's another screw around and you're screwed up move by the devs. Affection levels that increased faster, also went down easier, like a flimsy foundation. Raising it in small amounts consecutively was much better.

He didn't know the game parameters that made it that way but he's certain. Since, he experienced it himself during his greedy attempts.

After preparation, they took a different and much grander carriage to the academy. This time, it bore the heraldic family crest of Montagne family. 

It depicted a lion's head, looking up on the crown.

Some even said that the Montagne's family crest was disrespectful, as it can be interpreted to be eyeing the crown position itself.

Despite so, oppositions could only bark at them. Almost half of the kingdom basically heeded their call. 

Xian saw the glorious gates of the academy, gilded in gold and quartz, towering over them like a gateway to a kingdom from fairy tales. 

In the game, this is where the opening song would begin, with each of the heroine's silhouette teased in flashes, on their journey to the academy.

The carriage had to stop in front of the academy.

Past this point, the academy claimed to strip away status. Students walked as equals, noble or common, servant or heir. But reality was always messier than ideals. Student's who willingly joined faction and acted as their servants were not unheard of. 

Just like right now.

Servants still walked in their masters' shadows. Not because they had to, but because they were paid to. Bought and placed like chess pieces. Even now, entire retinues of maids, knights, and robed magicians followed behind students like personal courts on parade.

It was plenty easy to differentiate who sat from their lofty backgrounds and those who came alone.

The academy premises was luckily, more than enough to hold them all.

And Xian, was already spotting several familiar characters from where he stood.

The feeling of nostalgia hit him, as a rush of excitement coursed through his body.

'Finally.'

[Skill Window Unlocked]

'I'm here, once again.' Like the many times he had done before. But this time, he was here in the flesh.

Carmillia walked passed him, followed by Lucinelle in her usual dark armor. Serika, in uniformed step, paused only to pat his shoulder, as if telling him to come along already. She effectively spoke less when wearing her armor.

Finally Miri stood and waited by his side, even though the woman she's supposed to serve had walked ahead.

"Let's go." With an exhale, Xian took his first step into the academy.