Rosetta-sama, You're Overdoing It! - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Prologue

I, Hiroko Koshiba, used to be an office worker.

Used to be, not anymore. To be precise, I’m still in that state, but it won’t be for much longer.

Honestly, I don’t really understand how I ended up like this.

Just a while ago, I was working overtime.

As it was ending, an office lady who was still around, unusually made tea for me, saying, “Good job.”

Without any suspicion, I drank it. I gulped it down because it didn’t seem hot since there wasn’t much steam rising.

Then, I didn’t just spit it out. No, I vomited. It would have been fine if it had been a simple bout of vomiting, but inexplicably, it transformed into a red liquid.

When I realized it was blood, my body lost its strength, and I had a vague sense that I was about to die.

I’ve been desperately trying my best even like this.

Finally reaching the milestone of my 40s this year, obtaining the prestigious title of the office queen, even as nearly all my peers quit in their 20s, and the few who stayed eventually left, I found myself struggling alone.

Consequently, the age gap between me and everyone else became substantial.

Of course, I tried to bridge the gap. I earnestly tried various trendy things, devoured media for young people from TV to magazines, and put in the effort to connect through conversations.

However, the gap between me and them was too vast, and without realizing it, I found myself excluded from gatherings and the like.

As a result, I gradually threw myself into work, desperately trying to guide the newcomers and adopting a stern approach to ensure they learned.

Despite being treated as the office queen, I was disliked, and it was tough.

I genuinely wanted to form connections and get along with everyone.

I even cleared the otome games that everyone was talking about and made sure I was well-versed in popular pop songs for any occasion.

But somehow, despite my efforts to fit in, I was labeled as trying too hard and acting young for my age… Ah, it’s painful.

It’s always been like this for me. Trying to do my best, but ending up spinning my wheels because I try too hard.

When I tried to match conversations with everyone, I ended up knowing too much and pushing them away.

Why is it just me…?

“What on earth is this? What did you make me drink!?”

“I-I don’t know, I just wrung out a cloth as a little prank…”

Abruptly, the voices of two individuals reached my ears.

Oh, there was another person. It doesn’t matter anymore. I bid farewell to the self who was once an office worker. It’s probably impossible now. It seems like they haven’t even called an ambulance yet…

By the way, I’ve never witnessed that cloth being properly washed. Didn’t someone wipe away the bleach that spilled on it a while ago?

Haha, perhaps it’s transformed into some potent poison due to a lack of washing? I can’t deal with this.

I somehow manage to turn my body face up.

The dim light bulb becomes a blur in my eyes.

Unaware, I reach out my hand.

The light bulb blurs even more. Slowly, rapidly, the world reflected in my eyes blurs away…

…

…

… If only.

If I could be reborn, I would prefer not to experience this kind of life again.

Please, one more time, this time, a life without regrets…

…

“Ugh…”

What is it…?

I hear someone’s voice.

I slowly open my eyes.

Am I… alive?

In my faint and hazy field of vision, I discern something.

A person, a silhouette?

What was I doing?

Oh, right. I was poisoned by my junior office lady…

I’m dead!? I’m totally dead! I got killed by a junior who held a grudge against me!?

I jolt awake and sit up.

I bump my head into someone in front of me.

Ouch!? That hurts a lot…

“Ow…”

I gaze ahead while holding my head.

As if the world is regaining its color, the scene in front of my eyes comes into view.

…Huh?

A vast expanse of green land extends before me.

A vast blue sky unfolds above. Birds are gracefully soaring through the sky. Oh, they got devoured by a giant bird.

Am I outdoors?

Suddenly, the scent of the open air, the sensation of the wind brushing against my cheeks, and the feeling of the grass under my buttocks and legs become apparent.

Why? If I were transported in an ambulance, it would be a hospital, and if I’m still alive, I should be at the office.

Why outdoors?

There’s a huge house, and in the corner of my vision is a garden-like place surrounded by walls. Because it’s enclosed by walls, it qualifies as a garden, right? Is this Heaven?

“There it is… Rosetta, you’re in pretty bad shape.”

Huh?

A clear and beautiful voice, and it belongs to a young boy.

I tilt my gaze toward the voice, and there… There was a boy with a face so beautiful that I forgot to breathe.

Silky silver hair, dressed like a prince.

Pumpkin pants. Prince, a prince. That’s the funniest part.

The way he holds his head is so adorable it sets my heart racing.

Acknowledging that after four decades of life, I’ve inexplicably developed a fondness for young boys, I’m in trouble. Yet, there was this charming boy, as if he leaped out of a fairy tale, or rather a BL game. With blood flowing from his forehead…

Wait, blood!?

“W-Wait, are you okay!?”

“Huh? What? What’s wro… no, Rosetta are you okay!?”

““B-Blood is pouring out!””

He and I simultaneously spoke the same words.

“Wha…?”

Both of us widened our eyes in surprise.

At the same time, we placed our hands on our foreheads. I groan at the slimy sensation and pain.

Am I also bleeding?

Or rather… is there something off about my body? No, not off, but petite?

Huh? Wait? Am I Rosetta? No, I’m Hiroko… No, I’m Rosetta. Yes, Rosetta Berningstadt.

The moment I recognize it, eight years of the life I’ve lived until now flow into my brain. No, in terms of acknowledgment, the one called Hiroko is not me. I am Rosetta. Who is this Hiroko?

No, that’s not it. The original memories flashback, what is this feeling?

That’s right. I am originally Rosetta. Rosetta Berningstadt, not originally Hiroko Koshiba.

…No, that’s not right. I actually was Hiroko Koshiba. Right?

I am Rosetta. In my previous life, yes, in my previous life, I was Hiroko Koshiba. The solitary office queen poisoned by her junior in her forties. Yeah, in the end, I perished as an office queen and remained a virgin. I upheld it for 40 years. In vain. I wished for someone, even if not a prince.

…Oh, I see.

I… in the end, died.

Died and then was reborn.

Is this akin to those isekai novels, manga, or light novels commonly employed for reincarnation into another world? He truly has a face reminiscent of a prince. The boy before me.

I look at the boy once more. He’s the type of boy you’d wish to gaze at endlessly. Oh, it’s spinning. The boy becomes double, then four–?

…Huh? I’m starting to feel a bit dizzy…

“Ah, Rosetta. Rosetta! Oh, come on, someone—!”

As I hear the boy’s voice loudly shouting, my consciousness gradually fades away.