6.
The general compartment was illuminated by the scorching midday sun.
Countless eyes turned toward Lancel at his entrance.
Unlike the nobles’ private compartment where they could lie down alone, the general rooms had no space to even set foot.
‘Marigold. She’s somewhere here.’
Lancel pushed his way through the curious onlookers.
“Hey! There’s no room here! Who’s pushing?”
“Ugh! Who stepped on me!”
“This bastard! What are you trying to sneak off to? Don’t even think about touching my luggage!”
“What the nonsense are you on about! When did I ever touch your stuff?”
“This little punk!”
Shouts and fistfights erupted as Lancel passed through.
After thoroughly searching the chaotic first general compartment, Lancel went straight to the next compartment.
He repeated this process a total of eight times—checking the second general compartment, then the third, the fourth, and so on—until he reached the last car of the train.
‘Just how much money was she trying to save?’
He arrived before the luggage compartment of the train’s car, it had no windows, making it the cheapest seat available.The loud noise of the train wheels, the musty smell of mold, the humidity mixed with sweat and breath, and even the slightly nauseating odor of alcohol filled the space.
Lancel walked in, his eyes questioning whether he truly belonged here.
“Where the hell does this damn brat get off with her nonsense!”
Just then, a loud commotion erupted from the distance.
“I said you could shine my shoes, not that I would pay you! You ridiculous brat.”
“You promised me one copper coin!”
“Do you have any evidence?”
“Everyone else heard it too!”
“Did you guys really hear that?”
“You told her you would give it to her, you old geezer. Are you so stingy that you would cheat a child out of a copper coin?”
“What? These brats are ganging up on me…”
“Did you hear that? Hurry and give me the coin!”
“Get lost, you little beggar!”
Slap!
A small shadow fell across the floor as the old man’s hand struck the girl’s cheek.
“You insolent brat! If all it took was a copper coin to shine some shoes, then I would have polished them! And they’re not even that clean!”
Lancel turned towards the girl, who remained slumped on the ground.
She was small, with her golden hair tied tightly into a bun, and her worn clothes peeked out from beneath a tattered, old cape.
Tears glistened in her emerald eyes, but the girl did not let them fall.
Instead, clutching her reddened cheek, she threw a swift punch.
The drunken old man, not expecting a counterattack, took the full force of the blow to his groin.
“Gah…!”
“Ouch.”
There was no mistaking it.
“Give me my money!”
Those features…
Lancel had not recognized the filthy appearance of the girl at first glance, but his memories gradually surfaced.
“You flea … you will pay for that.”
“Oh, uh-oh!”
“That crazy old man…!”
Panicked voices began to spread like waves.
A sharp and shiny object shot out from the drunkard’s arm, who had turned red with pain and fury.
The girl’s face hardened.
“Why? Do you think that someone who survived twenty years in a brothel would hesitate to spill blood, you damn bitch!”
Just as the drunk old man was about to thrust his knife, someone grabbed his arm.
“What the hell!” The drunk old man exclaimed.
It was Lancel.
The blade swung backwards and tore a long slash across Lancel’s cloak.
“Right. I wasted ten years on this.”
“What—ack!”
With just the flick of his palm, Lancel twisted the drunkard’s jaw. The man collapsed to the ground.
With his other hand, Lancel had snatched a pouch from the pocket of the drunkard.
He took out a wad of money from inside the pouch.
“It’s silver!”
The drunk old man who looked as though he had nothing turned out to be carrying quite a lot.
Lancel handed it all to the 15-year-old girl standing before him.
“Just because something is right, doesn’t mean it’s always good. Sometimes it’s necessary to just let things slide, even if it seems dirty to do so. Now, take this.”
“Th-thank you…”
The girl, who had hesitated for a moment, carefully picked out one copper coin from the pile and took it.
Lancel stared blankly at the coins left in his palm before putting them back in the drunkard’s pocket.
“What is your name?” Lancel asked the girl, meeting her gaze directly.
The loud sound of train wheels clattering erupted. Sunlight streamed in through a crack in the splintered wooden wall, briefly illuminating the two of them before sweeping past.
The girl slowly opened her mouth, breaking the momentary silence that had seemed to stop time.
“Mary”
Marigold.
Lancel had finally met Marigold.
7.
At the station, Lancel briefly spoke with Marigold. Their conversation was of no particular importance.
“Mary, where are you from?”
“Huh? My hometown is…”
“Where exactly did you come from? Why did you take the train? Who else came with you?”
It sounded a bit like an interrogation. Marigold began to feel suspicious, and Lancel could sense the flicker of wariness in her expression.
Lancel awkwardly cleared his throat. He seemed to have gotten ahead of himself, having asked Marigold too many questions before she could even begin to feel comfortable around him.
“I ask because you seem young. It’s quite strange for you to be travelling alone.”
“…I’m not that young. I turn fifteen this year.”
Even in this world, fifteen was still considered to be a young age. Moreover, Marigold appeared even younger because she was shorter than her peers.
It was the effect of the game system, where even physical growth was directly influenced by the amount of nutrition consumed.
“Come with me.”
“Huh?”
“You’re looking for work, are you not?”
Marigold’s eyes widened.
“Oh… how did you know that?”
“Anyone could tell. You were even polishing the boots worn by drunk old men—it’s quite clear that you need a job.”
“Ah.” Marigold nodded with an embarrassed look on her face.
She hurried to catch up to Lancel, who was walking ahead, and suddenly spoke,“No, no. It’s true that I need work, but I’m not so desperate to just take any job. I have standards and won’t do just anything.”
Doubt churned within her as she wondered whether she could trust this man enough to follow him.
“You won my sympathy. I wouldn’t have the nerve to order some kid I just met to do just about anything either. So enough with the nonsense and follow me.”
“I’m not a kid! I’m 15-years-old…Ugh!”
Marigold struggled to keep up with Lancel, weaving her way through the crowd with all her might.
By the time she reached the second general compartment, she was nearly exhausted.
“Ugh… how much further are we going?”
“Almost there.”
They reached the first general compartment. Marigold sagged against the wall and tried to catch her breath.
“Hah, hah… I really didn’t think we’d make it this far……”
“What are you doing? We still have a long way to go.”
“What?”
“Follow me.”
Marigold, with a dazed expression, turned to follow but suddenly grabbed Lancel by the collar.
“Wait! Wait, that’s not it! That’s the compartment for nobles!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Now that I look at you, you look a bit…”
“Well? A bit what?”
Lancel chuckled dryly. He reached for the door leading to the nobles’ compartment.
“Eek!”
Marigold could not hide her shock, fully aware of what it meant for a commoner to recklessly open a noble’s compartment on the train.
Such an act could result in one’s immediate death by a knife thrown by a security guard, and no one would pity her for it. After all, thieves and assassins would often sneak into the nobles’ compartment under the guise of being a mere passenger.
“Who dares…”
An armored guard glared menacingly through the open doorway.
Marigold’s face turned a deathly pale. She frantically tugged at Lancel’s waist. If she pulled away now, there might be a chance she could slip away or even be treated with leniency.
At least that was her plan.
“Sir Lancel.”
The guard’s fierce gaze softened in an instant.
“Please refrain from entering the common compartments, Sir Lancel. If anything were to happen, we would be held responsible.”
“If you were so worried, why didn’t you follow me?”
“What do you mean? if we abandon our post, we’ll truly lose our heads.”
“Then I’ll be more careful next time.”
Marigold looked back and forth between the guard and Lancel, a blank expression on her face.
“Sir Lancel, who is that kid trailing behind you?”
“I picked her up.”
“Oh?”
The guard simply shrugged in response to Lancel’s answer.
In his private compartment, Lancel approached the room adjacent to his bedroom, where the maid who had accompanied him was staying.
As soon as he knocked, a maid appeared, quickly straightening her clothes.
“Is there anything you need, Young Master?”
“Give this girl some work for the time being. She is yours to use as you need until we arrive at the capital.”
The maid asked no further questions. She nodded slightly and took Marigold’s hand.
“Mary, starting today, I will give you five copper coins each day to help with the work. If you prove to be useless, I will discard you immediately. Keep that in mind.”
Of course, Lancel had no intentions of letting Marigold go. Rather, he would hold on to her.
Marigold, with a bewildered expression, nodded her head as if a strong wind were blowing it. For someone who had been scraping by shining shoes in the train’s rear compartment, this opportunity must have felt like a windfall.
The maid smiled and patted Marigold’s head.
“That’s good. Five copper coins is quite generous. You’ll have earned six silver coins by the time we arrive.”
============
—June 21, 816 of the Imperial Calendar. Weather: Clear.
—Special event triggered! “Temporary Maid Employment!” Starting today, you will earn 5 copper coins!
※The grace of the nobles has been bestowed upon you! Meals are provided free of charge while working as a maid on the train. Save on food expenses starting today!
============
‘I didn’t say anything about giving you meals.’
Of course Lancel intended to give Marigold free meals anyway, but he felt a little strange seeing the game system make a fuss of matters on its own.
‘The servants are likely provided with basic food supplies on the train, that must be it.’
‘What would happen if I refused her meals?’
Lancel thought about it for a moment but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. He simply didn’t feel like saying anything more.
8.
That night, Lancel lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.
The image of Marigold, whom he had finally met after thirty long years, kept running through his mind.
A child who had lived as a noble until the age of ten, only to suddenly become a commoner, or perhaps even something lower, and end up here.
‘I wonder if Marigold is the one who can save me from this endless cycle of regression.’
There was no way for Lancel to know the answer.
All that was certain was that there could be no other candidate.
After all, the nature of his infinite regression, which he had already endured for over a century, now nearing two, was a phenomenon that occurred due to Marigold “restarting” the game, was it not?
If that was the case, it was a simple matter.
All Lancel had to do was prevent Marigold from restarting the game.
‘The question is, how do I do that?’
Lancel considered if he should tell her this directly.
‘No, was it even right for Marigold to make this decision on her own in the first place?
I don’t know.’
He lay there for a long time, tangled in these complicated thoughts.
Suddenly, the door to Lancel’s bedroom slowly creaked open. A small shadow could be felt creeping in through the gap.
Even without seeing, Lancel could sense who it was.
‘Marigold?’
The fallen noble lady, Marigold.
She was sneaking into Lancel’s bedroom.
“Why do you keep trying to stop me? Ugh… that nagging voice. I told you I would handle this myself.”
It was the sound of some unseen presence exchanging words.
