The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me – Chapter 16

The acrid scent of blood permeated the air.

 

Beside Marigold was a dead man.

 

“Master, I… I…”

 

“You did nothing wrong.”

 

Lancel pulled out a handkerchief and quickly wiped the blood off Marigold.

 

“This man… he’s a nobleman, Master.”

 

Lancel knew.

 

He was a member of the Imperial Knights, who followed the Sixth Prince around. The man, without a doubt, had the rank of a court knight. Yet Marigold had killed him with a single stroke of her sword.

 

Lancel ground his teeth as he stared at the powder made from an herb that caused blindness clutched in the dead bastard’s hand.

 

If not for Marigold’s quick reflexes, she would have become crippled with blindness. The thought ignited a primal rage deep within Lancel’s chest, a fury he could no longer suppress.

 

‘Just kill him.’

 

It was as if something whispered in his ear.

 

Kill him? Who? The Sixth Prince?

 

‘Should I?’

 

Ever since learning that the Sixth Prince was leading the imperial reinforcements, hadn’t he secretly considered this possibility?

 

‘What am I hesitating for? Just kill him. The first kill is the hardest, not the second.

 

Right. Even being burned alive hadn’t been so unbearable.’

 

Lancel reasoned that this was for Marigold’s sake too.

 

The only punishment for a commoner who murdered a noble was beheading. If he was unlucky, he would be executed immediately. 

 

‘I have to kill him, don’t I?’

 

A decision slowly began to solidify within Lancel’s mind.

 

‘After all, this life was just one of countless moments he had already relived dozens of times.

The one who annihilated the command staff on the train was Lancel Dante. Marigold will leave this place and hide far away to survive… Neat.’

 

The moment he finished calculating everything in his head, Lancel moved.

 

Clang.

 

He picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor and muttered quietly, “Stay in this room. I’ll make it like nothing happened within thirty minutes.”

 

‘That’s a good plan.

No, honestly, this is bullshit.

Besides, he’s the one who pulled a knife first.

Come to think of it, I have nothing left to lose, do I?

Okay.

Let’s kill him then.

So what if I get burned at the stake?

I can just start over from the beginning, right?’

 

That’s what he thought.

 

“Master!”

 

Until Marigold’s arms wrapped around him from behind.

 

“No, Master!”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I… I don’t know, but please don’t do it.”

 

Lancel could hear the fear in her trembling voice. He suddenly noticed the cheap necklace clattering against the back of her neck. 

 

‘She wears it even when she sleeps.’

 

“Let go, Mary.”

 

“No! I don’t want anything to happen to you, Master. I don’t want to.”

 

“What are you talking about? You’re not just thinking strange things to yourself, are you?”

 

“I… I wish it were just my imagination.”

 

The struggle continued, with a corpse lying on the floor.

 

Lancel couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Marigold’s uncharacteristic stubbornness, something he had never witnessed before.

 

‘I’m just going to die anyway, right? So, let’s just be done with it already.’

 

But Lancel couldn’t voice these thoughts. She’d think he was completely insane, even though he appeared so calm and composed.

 

“Don’t do it, Master. Whatever you’re planning, please, please don’t do it.”

 

Merigold’s grip felt unusually weak today. Her arms, desperately clinging to Lancel’s waist, trembled incessantly.

 

With just a little force, he could easily shake her off. But he didn’t.

 

Lancel remained silent for a long moment. Finally, he spoke again.

 

“Then will you die instead?”

 

To be honest, yes. He said it out of frustration.

 

“If the train stops now, we’ll be in the western part of the continent. Follow the river downstream, and you’ll reach a port city. From there, take a ship to the islands, and you’ll find the archipelago.”

 

Lancel recited the continental map he had already clearly visualized in his mind from a previous life.

 

“If you take a bundle of gold coins the size of your fist, you could live a life that would make anyone envious. The island has the most incredible fish, shellfish, and crustaceans.”

 

Originally, he had wanted to share this plan only after he had settled everything.

 

Lancel was laying out this plan solely to persuade Marigold.

“You’re just a commoner, destined to live and die as a mere mercenary at best. Isn’t this success enough? Just accept it. There’s no other choice anyway.”

 

“I refuse. Happiness gained by exploiting the Master has no meaning.”

 

“…I told you, there’s no other way! Why are you being so stubborn today?”

 

“One day…”

 

Marigold’s muffled voice vibrated against Lancel’s back.

 

“One day, the last day I spent with Master was at the guild was the last time. Another… the last day I spent walking through the marketplace was the last time.”

 

‘What is she talking about?’

 

Lancel was momentarily speechless.

 

“One day, the last time we walked through the market square together was the last time. Another day, the last time we bought snacks and ate them while walking through the streets was the last time.”

 

“What are you trying to say?”

 

“Master, every moment I’ve seen and heard while with you is my last.”

 

Lancel understood then that what she was saying was a reminiscence of a time long past. 

 

A girl who lost her entire family and was exiled at just the age of ten A fallen noble who lost her status and suddenly found herself wandering the streets.

 

This was the sentiment of a woman who had lived such a life—one who had lost many precious things.

 

Lancel faintly sensed it through their touching skin.

 

“Don’t think I will be happy if I survive by using you, Master. Please let me decide my own fate.”

 

Marigold’s voice trembled fiercely, yet it was filled with unwavering resolve.

 

“You’re the one who needs to make it out of here safely, Master.”

 

Lancel rubbed his tired eye. To be honest, this was unexpected.

 

“I’ll go and turn myself in now, Master.”

 

He briefly considered what he would do if their positions were reversed. There was no need for lengthy contemplation. If he were in Marigold’s place, Lancel would have prostrated himself without hesitation to save his own life.

 

But Marigold was different. He honestly hadn’t anticipated for their bond to be so deeply rooted within her. 

 

Lancel felt a chill seep into his very bones.

 

At the same time, he had to admit it: he had acted uncharacteristically, letting his emotions get the better of him.

 

“No. There’s no need for that.”

 

Lancel lowered the sword he was holding.

 

He then retrieved a dagger from the waist of the corpse lying on the floor. Though decorative, its blade had been sharpened.

 

“Mary, don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of dying.”

 

“Huh? Master?”

 

Lancel swiftly and brutally hacked at his own limbs with the dagger.

 

“M-Master!”

 

“Be quiet.”

 

“Master… why? Why are you doing this! Master!”

 

Only then did Lancel notice that Marigold’s face was streaked with tears.

 

Her eyes seemed to believe her guild master had gone mad and was mutilating himself.

 

‘This is still manageable. My regenerative abilities are exceptional.’

 

Lancel composed himself, taking deep breaths.

 

If he was going to do this, he had to do it properly. If he hesitated, they’d find a loophole.

 

Lancel plunged the blade straight into his own abdomen. The sharp edge avoided his vital organs, piercing through the peritoneum. To an untrained eye, this would appear to be a critical injury.

 

“Agh!… ugh… ugh!”

 

Blood rushed through his veins, his teeth clenching so hard they ground together. He barely managed to stop his eyes from rolling back in their sockets.

 

His breath caught in his throat.

 

“Why… why did this happen…!”

 

“C-call for someone… quick!”

 

“Huh? H-huh?”

 

Marigold, who was at a loss, stood frozen.

 

Lancel groaned in pain, forcing out the words through clenched teeth.

 

“Wake up everyone who’s sleeping! Some crazy bastard broke in and… stabbed me! Hurry!”

 

22.

 

“…What?”

 

“Y-you should go there quickly, Your Highness!”

 

A commotion had erupted in the middle of the night.

 

The Sixth Prince’s drowsiness vanished instantly.

 

As he entered the command room, which had been used as a party hall, a cacophony of voices greeted him.

 

“Where the hell did all the guards go? Tell me the truth right now!”

 

“W-we didn’t do it… Your Highness…”

 

“How dare you betray my name?”

 

The first thing the prince saw was the guards, cowering under the commander’s furious tirade. The prince had ordered them all to different posts the previous night.

 

He had planned to seize Marigold the moment no one was watching.

 

But now, the situation was strange.

 

“Sir Lancel is in poor condition, Your Highness.”

 

“What is Lancel’s condition? Suddenly? What happened?”

 

“It would be best if you saw for yourself.”

 

As they approached the group of soldiers, they saw Lancel, his body heavily bandaged. The severe wounds on his arms, legs, and torso were immediately apparent.

 

“He was stabbed while stopping someone who tried to kidnap Miss Marigold last night…”

 

The Sixth Prince’s expression hardened.

 

He didn’t even notice the injured Lancel. All he saw was the corpse lying beside him.

 

“He was holding a blinding herb. Where on earth did he get such a rare poison? This is suspicious. Shouldn’t we investigate further?”

 

“Stop wasting your time on such useless things!”

 

The Sixth Prince sensed the situation taking an unsettling turn.

 

“Sir Lancel’s condition is critical. We should urgently return him to the capital for treatment.”

 

When the Sixth Prince heard that Lancel and Mary were being urgently evacuated to the capital for treatment, he finally took stock of the remaining troops around him.

 

The Imperial support army was about to face the battlefield, yet their demeanor was as disorganized as that of defeated soldiers. They hardly looked ready for war.

 

Before the prince’s eyes lay a demoralized army.

 

“Your Highness, perhaps we should request additional reinforcements now…”

 

“Silence.”

 

The Sixth Prince had gone into battle seeking military glory himself. No commander wanted to return empty-handed.

 

23.

 

“You… what on earth happened to you?”

 

When Lancel arrived at the capital in a carriage, familiar faces were already waiting for him.

 

Count Iceford, who first heard of the news by letter, rushed forward. He likely never imagined his own son-in-law would be on the verge of death before even reaching the battlefield.

 

“What’s this about a ‘capable knight’ nearly dying before even seeing the battlefield?”

 

The Count of the Palace was beside himself with worry as Lancel was escorted away. The mere thought of his daughter becoming a widow was a nightmare.

 

Lancel limped out of the carriage, supported by Marigold.

 

“Please take me to Your Majesty. I have much to tell him.”

 

“What do you intend to do?”

 

“I must return. To the battlefield.”

 

“In your condition?”

 

Lancel’s face, pale from the grueling forced march with a body riddled with wounds, had long lost all its color. Yet his eyes still burned with unwavering intensity.

 

“His Highness Prince Karin’s forces will soon be annihilated. We must gather reinforcements and set out anew.”

 

“…Choose your words carefully. Do you truly believe what you’re saying?”

 

Lancel’s words carried weight.

 

Why?

 

Because he had already witnessed it on his journey here.

 

============

—Event Lost! The route for the Sixth Prince, Karin Craig Freesia, has been lost.

—Event Lost! The route for the Fifth Prince, Erwin Cole Freesia, has been lost.

============

 

‘Ah, so that’s what happens.’

 

A lost route could mean one of three things: death, capture, or disappearance.

The imperial reinforcements had headed straight for the battlefield, but the princes were more likely to have been taken hostage than killed in action. The exorbitant ransom demands for the princes would then drag on for years, or even decades, through endless negotiations. Naturally, that meant their routes were effectively over.

 

‘Tsk. This run’s a bust.’

 

The Sixth Prince’s fate—whether death or capture—didn’t concern Lancel. But the Fifth Prince was different. Hadn’t this entire run been dedicated to reaching the Fifth Prince? To end without even catching a glimpse of his face…

 

Lancel received the news of the Fifth Prince with a sense of hollow resignation, letting out a sigh.

 

‘Still,’ he thought, ‘I have to do what I have to do.’

 

He glanced at Marigold, who was supporting him. Their eyes met, and Lancel saw her face etched with worry and concern.

 

For Lancel, this world was an endless prison of time, where death held no consequence. He had lost count of how many times he had simply smashed everything to pieces and reset it all. 

 

It didn’t matter; death was just a temporary inconvenience. He would always open his eyes again.

 

But Marigold was different.

 

‘For me, every moment is my last.

For her, every moment truly was her last.

Today.

Tomorrow.

Every day before.’

 

Lancel wondered why this fact brought him a strange sense of comfort.

 

Perhaps it reminded him of something he had long forgotten.

 

‘Hmm. I don’t know.’

 

* * *

 

After revealing the truth to the fake Emperor, Lancel immediately gained command of a small detachment within the second Imperial support army, putting a total of eight hundred soldiers under his command.

 

Wandering across the war-torn continent, Lancel had devoted every day to fighting. Now, with nothing else to occupy him, he figured it was his way of honoring his father-in-law, Count Iceford, and his parents.

 

Having the Empire’s war hero as their son and son-in-law would surely boost their prestige. 

 

While it couldn’t compare to his third life, where statues of him stood in every corner of the Empire, this level of success was still quite remarkable.

 

However, he never managed to properly meet his fiancée, Lady Iceford. There were countless battlefields across the land where he could prove his worth, and she, for her part, didn’t seem particularly eager to see him. 

 

As a result, they had no reason to meet.

 

By now, she’s probably found some strange man to eagerly kiss and make out with. 

 

Whether she did or did not was none of Lancel’s concern.

 

Only one person mattered.

 

“Master.”

 

Only the warrior Marigold remained by his side.

 

.

.

.

 

[Playtime: 10 years, 0 days]

 

—Marigold turned 25.

—No marriage partner.

—Several achievements.

 

▶ First Imperial Wedding Ceremony: +300 points

▷ Advanced Swordsmanship Mastery: +10 points

▶ Knight Rank Attainment: +10 points

▷ Goddess of the Battlefield: +30 points

 

—Total score: 350 points.

 

[Bad Ending 3: The Cheap Jewel Necklace and Dark Knight Marigold]

 

—This ending was added to the “Album of Memories.”

—Album opening.

 

.

.

.

 

Marigold served her Master faithfully for five years, fighting in countless battles and earning numerous military honors.

 

Now, having been granted the title of Honorary Knight by the Imperial Court, a bright future surely awaited Marigold.

 

But the sudden death of her Master plunged her back into loneliness.

 

Without him, the world held no meaning.

 

“Don’t cry. We will meet again someday.”

 

Marigold never forgot the first lie he had ever told her.

 

There was no way to meet a dead person in this world.

 

Loneliness.

 

Solitude.

 

Loss.

 

Marigold spent her days mired in a swamp of grief, seeking vengeance against everything that had caused his death.

 

Tonight, the dark night with a cheap jewel necklace roams the streets once more.

 

[Bad Ending 3: Cheap Jewel Necklace and Dark Knight Marigold – FIN.]

 

—Would you like to restart the game?

 

※Massacre Penalty: +200 Karma points accumulated.

 

.

.

.

 

‘What…what was that?’

 

“Didn’t I end things smoothly this time?”

 

Lancel sweated as he watched the heartbreaking ending. A bad ending. Literally a bad ending.

 

‘What on earth went wrong?’

 

It was definitely his fault for not connecting her with the prince. But he hadn’t expected a decade to end in such a damp and gloomy way. Hadn’t the atmosphere been decent enough?

 

‘Why did I even die in the first place?’

 

He couldn’t have just kicked the bucket for no reason. So why did things turn out this way?

 

‘Hmm.’

 

At this point, Lancel was determined to give her ending a clean, satisfying finish, no matter what it took.

 

This time, he desperately hoped she could finally end up with a prince. At the very least, he wanted to see her find a proper marriage partner. A marriage partner that was anyone but Lancel.

 

‘What can I do?’

 

Their own marriage hadn’t exactly ended well.

 

“What am I supposed to do with this yandere protagonist?”

 

The next regression began.

 

From the very start, Lancel was confronted with a shocking message.

 

============

—Permanent Damage: Marigold has lost sight in both eyes.

 

※Marigold’s Karma has reached 200 points.

※Permanent damage will continue to occur each time until the karma is resolved.

============

 

“Is this for real?”

 

 

[End of Warrior Marigold.]

 

[Next – Saintess Marigold.]