The family library is large, wide, with numerous books that cover many genres, ranging from art to dances and singing to academics and novels.

In a strange yet beautiful contrast to the medieval modern theme of the household, the library is full on medieval, beautiful wooden bookshelves with vines and flowers carved in the sides, paired with large windows and dark oak tables with lamps at the center of each one.

But even with everything that is described, not many characters would come in here. There would be the occasional servant sent to tidy the place, but other than them, only Rolan would be found here more often than not.

And now that I see the place, I can kind of see his reason for staying here most of the time.

Making sure the doors are locked, I went to find a secluded area with no windows before calling XiaoChi.

[What is it this time?] The child calls out, and I turn to see my surroundings, looking for them.

No one else is here.

[I can just talk to you like this, you know, without showing myself to you.] They answers with a slight laugh in their voice. [It isn't a necessity for me to show up in front of you if you want to ask me something.]

"Oh..." I trail off, proceeding to sit down on one of the chairs.

[So?] They starts. [What is it? If you called then that means you want something answered.]

Though he probably couldn't see my actions, I give a nod.

"Uhm, about the OOC system..." I start, unsure if it was necessary to ask this, or if this was something that I could manage to find out for myself. "Would there be Progress Points taken if I acted out of character, yet no one saw me?"

A small moment of silence makes me question my decision more before they answer.

[No? Not really?] They answer, uncertainty clear on their voice,

"Pardon?"

[I think the OOC mechanic only takes points when someone is there to see your actions, though I'm not quite sure about it.] They continue [I'll go to the others just in case. In the meantime, keep up the act to keep the rest of your points.]

I felt some sort of thread break, and when I called out to XiaoChi, I received no answer.

Deciding that he might have went somewhere to find an answer to my question, I stand up and look around, picking books off the shelf and looking through them for a moment before putting them back.

[Intelligence: +2 points]

I blink rapidly at the screen. 'So skimming books can give me some Intelligence points? What if I read a whole book? How many points would that add?'

I couldn't mainly rely on the game mechanics of 'Garden of Roses', since it seems to be pretty clear that the mechanics of that game and this one are completely different, along with the fact that the game itself is a 'Dating Sim' and this one is...

The book in my hand closes shut.

'If my situation right now is a game, though with everything it has, it feels like one of those Virtual Reality ones, what genre would it be?'

I shake my head. That isn't important right now. Let's ponder on that later, right now, I should prepare for the actual start of the game.

It dawns on me that I don't know what day it is today, and I resist the strong urge to smack myself with the book in my hands.

I immediately move to leave the library, hoping to go to my room and find out how much time is left before the beginning of the game.

As I opened the door, I come face to face with Joanna, who has a hand raised for a knock, surprise coloring her face as she slowly puts the hand down.

"Mother."

"Rolan." She says in return with a soft smile, reaching a hand out to pat me on the head before hesitating and taking it back.

I stomp down the disappointment bubbling in me and take a deep breath.

"Is there anything mother needs?" I ask, clutching the book near my sides.

She looks surprised for a moment, before she fiddles with her fingers, hesitating on the spot.

I wanted to wait for her to talk, but I still hadn't gotten an answer for the question I asked XiaoChi, and I'm not sure when would he be back. "If there isn't anything," I start. "then I shall leave. Excuse me, mother."

I quickly passed by her, rushing to go to my room, though I didn't miss the sad look she had.

She always wanted to bond with her only child, but he never gave her the time of day.

I was halfway across the hallway when she calls out.

"Rolan!" I turn around, and there she stood still, seeming surprised at the fact that she called out, steeling her features and placing her hands on her sides, voice softening to that of a request. "Can we... can we talk?"

Now it was my turn to hesitate, deciding in the end that it would be easier to hear what she had to say and then ask her about the day today.

I look at her, making sure none of my emotions showed on my face, and released a tired sigh before walking back.

A look at her face showed a happy one, yet fear crept to the edges of her caramel eyes.

"Is something the matter?" I ask and she shakes her head as she releases a small laugh.

"Let's talk inside?" She says, gesturing to the library before looking back at me expectantly. "I'd rather not have anyone running into us here."

And with that, she turns around, sneaking glances back at me to see if I was following.

The door shut closed behind me as I was led to the table at the center of the room, Joanna sitting on one side and me sitting directly in front of her.

Uncomfortable silence then washed over the room, and Joanna was clearly hesitating to continue speaking, looking at the table instead of me.

I let it go without a word, letting her take the time she needed.

"Thank you."

I look at her, eyes narrowing in confusion, forgetting the OOC penalty for a moment.

"Excuse me?"

She laughs, and I don't know whether it was my face or her nervousness.

"Thank you." She says again, eyes sparkling in contentment. "For taking care of Rosalyn."

Realization dawns on me. It was about what I did and said at the table.

"She- I- We- " She stutters, face now scrunched up in irritation at her own inability to speak before she took in a deep breath. "Me and your papa found her on the streets. She was just there, sitting next to the wall. She looked so tired and so skinny. That was half-a-year -well, I think it was half-a-year- after you left.

"When she saw us, she was afraid, crawling away while still facing us. It hurt."

I knew Rosalyn was an orphan on the streets, but I didn't know it was this bad. The game never went into detail about her life before the Del Rosarios.

This wasn't mentioned in the game.

"So we took her in, but she was still afraid." Joanna continues, looking like she was on the brink of tears. "It feels like we took her in just yesterday."

I wanted to comfort her, but knew that I couldn't

"And?" I say with a tone of indifference, holding back a flinch at how harsh that sounded.

She straightens up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Right, I'm being so silly..." She trails off with a weak laugh, looking sadly at the table before looking back at me. "Though I don't agree with the way you said things, thank you for looking after her."

I sigh. "It was needed, eventually. If she didn't know how to act, the attacks from the media."

I stood up, placing the book I had on the table before turning to leave.

"Rolan?" She calls out once more and I turn my head. "Would you mind watching over her once we leave this Thursday?"

A small sigh escapes past my lips as I answer.

"I have no choice, right? Someone has to teach her how to handle herself and not make a fool out of our family."

'If I do teach her, maybe I can slowly remove her asset of letting others fight her fights for her.' I thought as I went out of the library.

[Joanna Del Rosario: +10 Relationship Points (♥)]

I walk through the corridors with something heavy in both my chest and my mind, paying no attention to whoever passed by me, thoughts stuck on what she said about Rosalyn's past.

This was never mentioned, and it's about the heroine even.

If that's the case, what other information is held back?

Once I reached my room, I locked the door close and immediately lied down on the bed, releasing a sigh of relief as I did so.

I lie there for a few moments, listening to the silence as I take deep breaths before standing up and sitting on the computer chair.

It seems that nothing was touched, since the tabs I had were still there.

Immediately, I look to the bottom right corner of the screen.

It was the second day of June, Tuesday.

The Del Rosario couple leaves on Thursday, Rolan was supposed to wake up on Sunday, June seventh.

I search up the class opening for St. Anne's.

The school year for high-schoolers was set in June 16, approximately two weeks away.

I lean back on the chair and look at the ceiling.

Two weeks to prepare for the beginning of the game... doesn't sound like much time...

-----

Everything's dark.

Where am I?

Slowly, I stood up, patting my legs free of dirt.

Am I... dreaming?

"It's you."

I turn to the source of the voice, only to see my body, blue eyes now seemingly looking lifeless.

I stood there staring at- at me? At the person who now had my face?

"Huh," he starts, brow rising and his voice a slow, condescending drawl. He had a hand poised underneath his chin as he tilted his head. "despite having my face, you don't really seem like much, do you?"

A malicious smile forms on his face, not unlike the ones I would see before.

"Good luck."

I jolt as the image suddenly disappeared and I woke up, still seated on the chair, with the computer in front of me in what I presumed was sleep mode.

Immediately I stood up and headed to the closet, pushing the door open and standing in front of the mirror.

Black eyes filled with confusion stare back at me, hair in a frenzy, tanned skin slightly pale.

I close my eyes and lean on the wall, sliding down onto the floor with my hand pressed onto my head.

'What was that?'