14.
The boat, which had been drifting aimlessly, arrived at an uninhabited island just as Lancel sensed the end of this playthrough.
“An island! A deserted island!”
“We’re alive, Sir Lancel!”
Lancel had just barely finished embracing Marigold in relief when he seized the oars.
He poured the last of his strength into rowing, finally reaching the shore.
“Ugh…”
“No, Sir Lancel!”
As soon as Lancel collapsed from exhaustion, Marigold leaped from the boat.
She swiftly climbed a nearby coconut tree and began dropping the fruits one by one to the ground.
“Stay conscious, Sir Lancel! You can’t die yet!”
“…Mary… I think this is the end for me.”
“Don’t speak so softly, Sir Lancel! It’s not like you!”
Lancel closed his eyes.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, something soft touched his lips.
As his lips parted, sweet fruit juice surged into his mouth.
Gulp.
“……!”
A wave of euphoria coursed down his spine.
The sensation of vitality spreading through his body radiated along his esophagus, reaching his
peripheral nerves.
Moisture, sugar, calories—things he hadn’t had in ages.
Gulp. Gulp.
“Phew! One more for you.”
“……Marigold? Ugh!”
Only then did Lancel realize how the coconut juice was entering his mouth, but it was too late to stop her.
The continuous influx of calories made Lancel feel energy surging through his body.
“Haa, one more!”
Slurp.
“Stop.”
“Hmm?”
Lancel urgently stopped Marigold, whose mouth was full of something. The coconut juice slid down his own throat.
“I’m awake now. That’s enough.”
“Sir Lancel!”
Marigold clung to him, tears welling in her eyes.
“I almost had to live with Sir Lancel’s corpse! Sniff…”
“You should have buried it, not lived with it.”
Pia, the bird perched on her head, met Lancel’s gaze steadily.
‘This is the first time I almost died of starvation.’
Regaining his strength, Lancel immediately began surveying their surroundings.
A vast white-sand beach stretched before them, backed by a dense jungle. Countless seabirds flapped their wings as they flew toward the island’s center.
The island seemed to have everything they needed.
“Let’s stay here until a ship passes by.”
“Do you think any ships will come this way, Sir Lancel?”
“Well, one will come eventually. It’s not like there are only one or two ships sailing through the archipelago.”
Lancel dismissed Marigold’s worries with a wave of his hand.
As they waited for rescue, Lancel, Marigold, and their feathered companion began their life as castaways.
* * *
———
[Fallen Noblewoman Simulation]
Schedule for the first week of June:
Monday – Build temporary shelter (Location: deserted island beach).
Tuesday – Gather clams and oysters (Location: deserted island beach).
Wednesday – Find freshwater (Location: deserted island beach).
Thursday – Hunt animals (Location: deserted island beach).
Friday – Spear fishing (Location: deserted island beach).
Saturday – Free time (Location: deserted island beach).
Sunday – Make dried seafood (Location: deserted island beach).
※ Stranded in an unfamiliar land, in an unfamiliar region, yet somehow this feeling isn’t entirely unpleasant. Why is that? I’ll work hard to survive each day! Strength, Stamina, Charm, and Allure have gone up!
———
Life on the deserted island was monotonous.
- Repair their temporary shelter.
- Find food and water.
- Repeat.
The makeshift shelter, hastily constructed at first, gradually became sturdier over time. In just a week, it had transformed into a proper hut complete with a bed and cooking facilities.
“Got one! A wild boar!”
“Let’s roast it all and eat it!”
“That’s wasteful. We’ll dry and smoke it instead.”
“Ooh!”
A month later, a food storage shed had been added, and strings of smoked seabirds and fish began to hang from the rafters.
Other additions included a dew-collecting system, animal traps, wooden spears, and stone axes.
Demonstrating human adaptability, Lancel had established a complete settlement in a remarkably short time.
“Mary, it’s hot.”
“I’m hot too.”
“Then get off.”
“I don’t want to.”
“That’s an officer’s order. Go away.”
“There are no officers or soldiers on a deserted island.”
“……”
“Heh heh.”
The two lay side by side on a bed made of stacked bamboo.
Nothing in particular happened between Lancel and Marigold.
They simply clung to each other often as they fell asleep, as if to confirm each other’s existence.
In a world where the only visible things were the island, the sea, and Marigold, Lancel was growing more accustomed to her presence with each passing day.
Another year had passed.
“Sir Lancel.”
Marigold, now eighteen and an adult, approached Lancel.
To prevent their naval uniforms from wearing out, they had stripped them off entirely. They lived with only animal hides covering their vital areas.
“I don’t think living like this is so bad. We have plenty to eat, no worries, and Pia has finally started to like Sir Lancel.”
===============
[Game Guide]
—The list of obtainable endings has been updated!
- Desert Island Lovers.
- Marigold, Mistress of the Island.
- Gold D. Mary, Pirate Captain.
※ Stranded: In other words, paradise for two.
===============
‘No, this isn’t paradise…’
It wasn’t that extreme.
But it was true that things weren’t bad.
Perhaps Lancel was finally experiencing true relaxation here.
Boom!
“Eek!”
On a stormy day, Marigold huddled down, her shoulders trembling.
“Mary.”
Lancel quietly drew her closer. Now that she was an adult, Marigold’s presence, slightly larger, nestled into his arms.
He felt her trembling subside and her breathing even out.
Thump thump!
Lancel slowly recalled every moment from their first meeting until now.
Marigold, arguing with a homeless man in the last car of the train. Marigold, seeking to become a mercenary. Marigold, blinded in both eyes. Marigold, traveling through rural territories, running a shell game.
Each and every memory of Marigold remained locked within his mind. Perhaps Marigold on this deserted island would meet a similar fate—forgotten by all, her existence confined solely within Lancel’s memory.
‘…A happy ending…’
Someday, the Marigold in this regression will come to an end too.
Even if Marigold were happy at that moment, would it truly be a happy ending? Would it be the outcome Lancel had hoped for? Would everything be alright simply because the regression had ended?
The countless versions of Marigold that had lived within him for ten years, only to vanish, continued to haunt his thoughts.
“Sir Lancel, I’ve come of age this year,” Marigold whispered, her eyes trembling in the storm.
He could feel her body burning with fever.
“……?”
Lancel hesitated, unsure how to respond.
Beep!
Pia, the sleeping bird, squeezed between them, as if she knew what was about to happen.
“Shall we go to sleep?”
“Pia!” Marigold glared at Pia with resentful eyes.
Beep!
“How could you ruin this chance…!”
Beep! Beep!
“I’m the one who should be angry!”
‘Phew. That was close.’
Lancel took a deep breath to calm himself, narrowly avoiding being swept up by Marigold’s intensity.
He’d almost gone straight to the ending.
“Tomorrow… I’ll definitely… I’ll definitely catch him… and lift him up…”
‘What is she even saying?’
Watching Marigold mutter and make some kind of resolution, Lancel quietly closed his eyes.
As the storm that had raged through the night subsided, a dazzling sun rose.
“What’s that?”
It was then.
Lancel opened his eyes at the sound of a human voice.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he had heard a voice that wasn’t Marigold’s.
‘A rescue team?’
Could it be a rescue team from the Navy? Lancel and Marigold exchanged glances.
“Over here! There’s a house!”
“What’s this? A real house? Did you guys build it?”
“Why would we waste our time building a house in a place like this?”
“Look! Women’s clothes! There are women’s clothes hanging here!”
“A woman? Where? Where is she?!”
“What a stroke of luck!”
“We should grab her and sell her to the slave market right away!”
“Someone’s inside!”
“Get in there now!”
Of course.
Lancel retrieved the stone axe from under the bed. Marigold quietly raised her wooden spear.
Bang—!
“The lord of this house is here, you bitch!”
The stone axe crashed into the head of the man who burst through the door.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
“Who is the man that dare calls himself the lord of this house?”
The man’s face caved in instantly, blood splattering everywhere.
Lancel glared coldly at the dozen or so men behind him. Each clutching a sword, their identities obvious without even looking: pirates.
“A man…!”
“K-kill him!”
15.
“What have you been doing for the past three years?! You incompetent bastards!”
Lady Iceford’s shrill voice rained down on the naval officers.
“Ah, there, yes, that’s good.”
Lady Iceford lay prone on silk draped across the beach, her back diligently massaged by no fewer than four attendants.
Having fully acclimated to life in the archipelago and embraced a more liberated lifestyle, Lady Iceford’s attire left little to the imagination—she was practically naked, in fact.
“A-are you alright, Lady Iceford?”
“Hehe. What a cute little thing. Keep going.”
Three years had been more than enough time to transform Lady Iceford, the noblewoman of the capital.
“Ah, a little more, there, yes! Mmm!”
“……”
Anyone could see that she was thoroughly enjoying her vacation. Cold sweat trickled down the foreheads of the naval officers.
“Anyway!”
Still, she doubled down, her eyes blazing with renewed intensity.
“Do you realize the consequences if something happens to Her Imperial Highness, the Third Princess? Rumors will spread among the capital’s nobles, claiming the archipelago’s Navy was incompetent and missed the rescue window.”
“That’s…!”
The naval officers broke into a cold sweat.
For officers secretly eyeing opportunities to rise in the capital, this would be a devastating stain on their honor.
“In any case, I’ve issued my warning. Bring me results, whatever it takes.”
“…Understood.”
Baron Coral bowed his head, inwardly cursing under his breath.
Despite her seemingly delicate demeanor, Lady Iceford was a daughter of the Count of the Palace and a lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court. Even a count wouldn’t dare treat her lightly.
There was no choice but to follow orders.
“Commander! Commander Baron Coral!”
It was at that moment.
A naval guard came sprinting frantically across the sandy beach from the distant shoreline.
“They’ve found her!”
“Found who?”
“H-Her Highness, the Third Princess!”
“……!”
Everyone on the white sandy beach looked up.
Even Lady Iceford, who had been reclining on her massage bed, abruptly sat up straight.
“…Is that truly confirmed?”
“Yes, Lady Iceford! It’s certain! The pirates captured today… they all confessed! Lord Rox Ruin just received the news and has already set sail!”
“Where is she being held?”
The naval guard, panting heavily, took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again.
“An island… their base is on an island disguised as a deserted island… I heard it clearly!”
“A deserted island?”
“Yes! The pirate captain has a woman he treasures there… and she happens to look exactly like Her Imperial Highness, the Third Princess! This is confirmed information!”
This was real.
The intuition struck everyone’s minds like a bolt of lightning.
This time, the information felt undeniably true.
“Prepare the fleet immediately! We will follow!” Baron Coral roared.
The officers sprang into action.
A single thought raced through their minds:
‘If it’s truly Her Imperial Highness, I must rescue her first!’
‘I won’t yield the title of Imperial Hero!’
‘Rox Ruin, you cunning bastard!’
Ahh yes, Gol D Mary, so what next? Monkey D Lancel?