The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me – Chapter 32

13.

 

Thud! Thud!

 

Horse hooves pounded the earth, kicking up clouds of dirt.

 

Dozens of torch-bearing cavalrymen galloped across the field.

 

At the end of the path they were pursuing was a lone knight in a black cloak billowing in the wind.

 

Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, he showed no hesitation. Instead, he accelerated, charging head-on toward the cavalry.

 

“Stop him! Hurry!” A man in a red cloak shouted frantically.

 

Bang!

 

Dozens of cavalrymen collided with the lone knight wearing the black cloak. A series of cracking and shattering sounds erupted as something broke and shattered.

 

“Aaaargh!”

 

“M-my a-arm…!”

 

The screams erupted from the larger group. In the wake of the black-cloaked knight’s passage, flesh and blood splattered, with crimson streaks swirling through the air.

 

“Aaaah!”

 

“B-block him! We can’t let him through!”

 

“He’s coming this way!”

 

With each flash of black-cloaked knight’s blade, another mounted soldier tumbled from his saddle, armor cleaved and bones severed clean through.

 

The black-cloaked knight emerged unscathed from the dozens of cavalrymen, spurring his horse toward the red-cloaked commander who had retreated to a safe distance.

 

“Y-you crazy bastard…!”

 

Terror flooded the face of the knight wearing the red cloak.

 

“D-do you know who I am?! This is treason, I tell you! Treason!”

 

14.

 

If the given task had only been to search for just one person named Marigold, no amount of time would have been enough.

 

However, following the trail left by the grand procession of Mary’s Merchant Guild proved to be surprisingly easy.

 

“You mean the salt merchant? It was incredible.”

 

In the first village, there had been talk of Mary’s Merchant Guild’s imposing grandeur.

 

“They stopped here for only a brief moment but had to set up camp in the fields—there wasn’t enough room in the village! It was quite a sight, I tell you! Those moneybags were paying four times the price for a single bottle of wine…!”

 

“Which way did they go?”

 

“Hmm? Just follow this road straight ahead. It leads to the plains. They said the merchant’s procession passed through there.”

 

In the second village, the talk centered on Mary’s Merchant Guild’s overwhelming mercenary force.

 

“That forest over there. It’s where the defeated soldiers from the Kingdom of Vellog gathered and committed so many robberies. Can you believe those fools dared to target that salt merchant?”

 

“What happened to them?”

 

“They were reduced to bones and scattered in a line in front of the village. Would you like to see? The stray dogs have dragged most of them away, though.”

 

By the third village, stories about Marigold finally began to surface.

 

“She was quite the anomaly. A young woman leading such a massive merchant guild? I thought she must be a noble.”

 

“Do you remember anything else about her?”

 

“The most famous incident was her clash with the castellan at the fortress over there.”

 

“The castellan? You mean the lord of the castle?”

 

“Who else would it be?”

 

“A noble fighting a merchant guild master?”

 

“That’s right. He’s a high-ranking noble, no less. But that guy’s got a temper worse than the devil. They say he demanded 20 gold coins as a toll.”

 

“That’s practically highway robbery!”

 

“She cleaned him out in a single gambling session and even walked away with 10 gold coins from him. I honestly thought it served him right!”

 

“…”

 

‘Are you fearless or just reckless? You must really have nerves of steel, Marigold.’

 

Lancel felt some of the fatigue from his long journey lift at the news. For better or for worse, Lancel recognized the Marigold in the stories he had heard from the third village. 

 

After passing through the fourth and fifth regions, they finally reached a village near the battlefield.

 

“Don’t even mention that salt merchant’s guild.”

 

Lancel sensed the shift in the atmosphere.

 

“Those people were branded as traitors not long ago.”

 

“Traitors?”

 

“Yes, traitors.”

 

He immediately recalled how the peddler they’d encountered on the road had flinched at the mention of the Mary’s Merchant Guild, immediately lowering his voice.

 

“Back when they were active in this region, they were raking in money like it was nothing. I nearly died of envy wondering how much silver I could have earned if I’d been there.”

 

“How much were they making?”

 

“Think of it this way: almost all the supplies flowing into the war zone passed through that salt merchant guild. The guild master, who is a woman, was truly remarkable. She really knew how to sell.”

 

“But what’s this about them being traitors?”

 

“Well, they sold so well that apparently, they even sold supplies to the rebels.”

 

‘Ah.’

 

Lancel pressed a hand to his forehead.

 

“She wouldn’t have sold to them willingly, would she?”

 

“Probably not. She should know better than to risk her life.”

 

Even if Marigold was a remarkably resolute woman, she must have known that selling to the rebels would cost her her head.

 

“But if His Highness the Prince says she sold to the rebels, then she sold to them, right?”

 

“…The Prince?”

 

“You know, that hot-tempered one. The one famous for being difficult.”

 

Lancel knew then, without needing to be told, which prince was in question.

 

There was only one member of the royal family notorious enough for even a common peddler to badmouth:

 

The Sixth Prince, Karin Craig Freesia.

 

“In the end, the salt merchant was stripped of everything and left with nothing. What could she do? They claimed that it was treason if she refused to hand over everything.”

 

Mary’s Merchant Guild was no ordinary guild; it had powerful backing. Viscount Dante himself held half of its shares.

 

Yet now, everything was being confiscated.

 

Only the Sixth Prince would dare to pull off such a move.

 

He had always been the kind of man who didn’t care if the nobility gossiped behind his back. He had the temperament to do whatever he pleased, regardless of consequences.

 

“If you’re looking for the people with that salt merchant’s guild, you’re wasting your time. They’ve all probably returned to their hometowns by now. What else could merchants who’ve lost everything do? At the very least, they’ve kept their lives.”

 

“…And what of the guild master?”

 

“The guild master? Ah, that woman?”

 

The peddler, who had been gathering up his items that were spread out on the ground, replied indifferently.

 

“That woman… I heard she died?”

 

.

.

.

 

“D-do you know who I am?! This is treason, I tell you! Treason!”

 

Lancel grasped the hilt of his sword and raised its pointed blade towards the Sixth Prince, whose voice cracked with desperation.

 

“So what if it is treason?”

 

“…!”

 

The blade of Lancel’s sword pierced through the Sixth Prince’s heart cleanly. 

 

‘Somehow, this feels nostalgic. Even though he looks like this, his death has a satisfying feel. I might get used to this.’

 

The prince let out a gurgling sound.

 

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

—Event Lost! The route of Sixth Prince Karin Craig Freesia has been lost.

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

 

“How many more times must you die before learning, Karin?”

 

As Lancel withdrew his sword, blood gushed out. Leaving the Sixth Prince to fall from his horse with his eyes rolled back, Lancel quickly departed.

 

Though the incident involved dozens of imperial guards being annihilated by a single assailant and the Sixth Prince losing his life, the rumors spread with a more palatable narrative: 

 

“His Highness the Sixth Prince perished at the hands of rebel forces!”

 

15.

 

Months after sending the detestable man to his grave, Lancel found himself in a secluded rural territory.

 

It would be a lie to say he felt no regret. He hadn’t achieved the primary goal that had driven him to this remote place.

 

Yet dismissing even that regret without much emotion was the only option available to Lancel.

 

‘This leaves a bad aftertaste.’

 

Watching the setting sun, Lancel reflected on the events of the past decade:

 

Saving Marigold from being beaten, rescuing her from the gallows, finding her when she was falsely branded a bandit, and chasing after her all the way to the battlefield when her letters suddenly stopped 

 

Looking back, it became clear:

 

‘My vacation was utterly ruined.’

 

There was not much Lancel could do.

 

Sometimes things just go wrong.

 

‘If I need to, I can always just take one in another life.’

 

Lancel decided to take it easy.

 

As the dark night deepened, people began gathering in front of the inn—travelers, deserters, vagrants, and unsavory types.

 

“Alright! Place your bets and win big!”

 

It seemed to be a gambling scam.

 

Come to think of it, Lancel’s first encounter with Marigold in this iteration had felt exactly similar. The air, the smell, the atmosphere—everything was eerily similar.

 

A strange sense of nostalgia washed over him, and he turned his gaze toward the source of the boisterous noise.

 

“So close! Better luck next time!”

 

“What the…!”

 

A crowd of men surrounded the gambler.

 

“This cheating wench is trying to scam us!”

 

“Cheating? Where else would you find someone as fair as me?”

 

“I saw everything, and you’re still playing innocent?”

 

‘Ah, yes.

How peaceful.’

 

“There’s nothing more pathetic than someone throwing a tantrum over lost money. Pfft!” The street gambler spat.

 

“You filthy wench!”

 

‘Huh?’

 

“Ack!”

 

Lancel took a closer look at the woman who fell backward, blood streaming from her nose.

 

Short-cropped hair, a hat pulled low, tattered clothes, and a robe wrapped tightly to conceal her identity.

 

He felt a sense of déjà vu.

 

Lancel knew this kind of gut feeling was rarely wrong.

 

‘Marigold?’

 

He hadn’t recognized her at first.

 

But now he was certain.

 

“Give me back my money, you swindler…!”

 

“‘Hic!’”

 

The woman cowered as another fist flew toward her.

 

“…?”

 

When no blow came after a long moment, she cautiously opened her eyes.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Their eyes met, just as it had the first day they met. 

 

It was inevitable.

 

In this war-torn region, this was the only peaceful village. Meeting here wasn’t so strange after all.

 

If he’d known she was alive and wandering nearby, he would have searched this village long ago.

 

But he’d assumed she was dead, thinking it wouldn’t be surprising if Marigold had perished by now. That’s why he’d let her slip through his fingers, right under his nose.

 

“…Benefactor?”

 

Marigold’s eyes trembled.

 

There was no response.

 

An immeasurable amount of time passed.

 

“I-I mistook you for someone else!”

 

“…!”

 

She turned and fled.

 

Lancel stared at her retreating figure, dumbfounded by the unexpected reaction.

 

He instantly gave chase, grabbing Marigold’s wrist.

 

“Trying to run away?”

 

“S-Sir Lancel…”

 

Marigold’s tearful face turned toward Lancel under the moonlight.

 

“…I heard you were dead. What are you doing here?”

 

“W-what? I’m perfectly… alive, and I sent a letter to tell you…”

 

He hadn’t received it. Perhaps because he had already left home before such a letter could reach him.

 

“Then why…?”

 

“…”

 

Lancel waited in silence for her to speak.

 

The meaning behind his unspoken question—’Why didn’t you come back? Why are you here?’—was clear to Marigold. If she were alive, returning home would have been the natural thing to do.

 

After a long pause, punctuated by intermittent hiccups as she suppressed her sobs, Marigold finally spoke.

 

“Because I was ashamed…”

 

It was absurd.

 

“Is this some new thing? You being ashamed in front of me?”

 

“Still, I promised I’d return as a wealthy merchant…”

 

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I really didn’t expect much. I figured it’d be a miracle alone if you didn’t end up a beggar.”

 

“You’re being too harsh!”

 

“Well, you did end up becoming a beggar, didn’t you?”

 

“…The capital…”

 

“…?”

 

“I was going to recover the capital and return…”

 

“Did you really think you could do that? By running scams? Recovering that kind of money?”

 

The amount Marigold had that was confiscated by the Sixth Prince was truly enormous.

 

It was a grand caravan, with more than half of her earnings from years of work had been invested. Recovering it alone was impossible from the start.

 

“I said, do you think that’s possible?”

 

“Ughhh.”

 

Lancel grabbed Marigold’s head with both hands and squished it.

 

“Ugh, ow, owww!”

 

Only after kneading and stretching her face for a while did he feel somewhat satisfied.

 

“Come with me for now,” Lancel said, dragging Marigold by the arm and leading her back to his lodging.

 

That night, Lancel and Marigold shared every detail of what had happened over the past year.

 

“Sir Lancel… did you come looking for me?”

 

“Why else would I come to a place I have no ties to?”

 

Marigold’s expression was a sight to behold. She wavered between crying and laughing, and she couldn’t seem to settle on either.

 

“If you want to make money, come back to the family first. Get proper investments and rebuild step by step. You know running scams alone won’t get you anywhere, not even in a hundred years.”

 

“Y-you’re not going to kick me out?”

 

“Should I?”

 

If Lancel had just waited idly for a year, this wouldn’t even have happened in the first place. The sole reason he had come this far was simple:

 

‘I had a feeling things would turn out like this.’

 

This was exactly what déjà vu was. Marigold’s tendency to veer down strange paths when left alone was her defining trait.

 

“We’re heading back as soon as the sun rises, so be ready.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Marigold replied with her head bowed low, then rummaged and pulled something out.

 

“Here.”

 

“…?”

 

“Famous tea leaves from the Doverne region…”

 

“…”

 

‘She lost all her money but still kept that?’ Lancel let out a hollow laugh.

 

In the end, Lancel drank the tea Marigold had been so eager for him to try. It had a pleasant aroma that made him feel drowsy.

 

As the night deepened, Marigold drew closer, pressing against him. Through Lancel’s cold arm, her warmth slowly seeped into him.

 

“Sir Lancel.”

 

Marigold’s swollen and bruised face drew closer to Lancel. Despite her disheveled appearance, a light had returned to her eyes.

 

“I…I’ll start over. This time, I’ll succeed and become a tycoon for sure. No, even more than that.”

 

‘Yes, yes.

Do just that.

Even though I’ll be regressing once more in just a few months.’

 

“I’ll become the wealthiest person in the Empire. And I’ll have you too, Sir Lancel!”

 

“…? Why would you want to have me?”

 

“Because that’s what a tycoon does.”

 

‘What a miserly remark.’

 

“When that time comes… you’ll stay with me, right, Sir Lancel?”

 

Marigold’s voice was filled with desperate longing. Lancel gave her the same answer he always did.

 

“I’ll think about it positively.”

 

The next morning, Lancel and Marigold set out on a months-long journey, circling the continent to return to the Dante family.

 

Feeling the encroaching summer heat, they occasionally strayed from their path to dawdle and relax. They didn’t have any particular goals in mind, but somehow, time slipped away quickly whenever they weren’t paying attention.

 

It was a leisurely journey.

 

“We’re almost there, Sir Lancel.”

 

She stood on a hill blooming with flowers.

 

Marigold, wearing a flower crown, flashed a bright smile.

 

It was already June.

The day Marigold turned twenty-five.

 

“Gahh! Bees! Sir Lancel, bees! Bumblebees! Eek!”

 

“Take off that thing on your head.”

 

“But it’s pretty…!”

 

And so, ten years passed.

 

.

.

.

 

[Playtime: 10 years, 0 days]

 

—Marigold turned 25.

—No marriage partner.

—Several achievements.

 

▶ First Experience (Target: Lancel Dante): +1000 points.

▷ Wealthy Status Achieved: +100 points.

▶ Allure Record: +50 points.

▷ Merchant Leader Title: +50 points.

 

—Total achievements: 1700 points.

—“Succession of Memories” x1 has been earned.

—Points remaining until the next “Succession of Memories” is unlocked: 200/1500 points

 

[Normal Ending 82: The Hedonist Tycoon Marigold]

 

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

—Album opening.

 

.

.

.

 

Welcome to the City of Hedonism.

 

Amid the war engulfing the Empire, Marigold earned countless gold coins, claiming the honor of the greatest tycoon.

 

Luxury.

 

Ecstasy.

 

Indulgence.

 

Gambling.

 

Loans.

 

A land where everything related to money converges.

 

In this vast city of hedonism, built on the outskirts of the continent beyond the Empire, there is nothing her influence doesn’t touch.

 

Even minor royals flock to borrow money. Welcome to Marigold’s City of Hedonism.

 

‘Hehe, the Dante family already owes me so much. What will you do, Sir Lancel? You can’t do anything without me now.’

 

Marigold’s eyes burn with desire once again today.

 

‘That’s right. Forget the crumbling Empire. All you need to do is live with me, Sir Lancel, on this land forever…!’

 

The burning gaze of a beast.

 

A desire to possess everything she wanted.

 

It engulfed her long-time benefactor.

 

‘Hehehe, come here.’

 

She no longer seemed to be in her right mind.

 

[Normal Ending 82: The Hedonist Tycoon Marigold – FIN.]

 

—Game restarting.

—Would you like to use “Succession of Memories” x1?

 

.

.

.

 

“What the hell is this?” Lancel couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

 

The absurd ending was nothing new, he’d grown used to such ridiculous conclusions. Her allure had shot through the roof, and he’d seen it coming.

 

The problem was that strange “First Experience” achievement. Lancel was absolutely certain he had no memory of it.

 

‘Seriously?’

 

If there was such a thing, it had to be Marigold’s doing. Lancel had no doubt that she pulled something.

 

That wasn’t the only thing bothering him.

 

‘Memory Succession?’

 

The phrase evoked an ominous feeling, sending a chill down Lancel’s spine. 

 

And then…

 

“Young Master, that girl over there is the new maid. Her name is Mary.”

 

“…?”

 

Marigold had come to find him.

 

[End of Marigold the Wealthy]

 

[NEXT – Succession Cycle 1: Lancel Behind the Scenes]