11.
The Third Princess had gone missing.
Everyone who heard the news was stunned into silence.
“Shh, be quiet now, okay? Good girl.”
Everyone, that is, except for Marigold, who was busy calming a noisy, restless bird.
‘Third Princess Claria. Is this the first time something like this has happened to her?’
In Lancel’s previous lives, incidents involving the Imperial Family going wrong were common enough.
But the Third Princess’s case was different.
She was not the kind of woman who particularly got involved in war or conflict. Her interests lay solely in beauty, banquets, and romantic entanglements—a pure romance fantasy archetype.
For Third Princess Claria, even power was merely a tool to manage the men in her harem and keep the noble young ladies in check.
For a woman like that to vanish…
“How long has she been missing?”
“A little over a year,” Lady Iceford replied coldly.
“For reference, Her Highness the Third Princess’s last known whereabouts were on a merchant ship bound for the archipelago.”
“The Third Princess on a merchant ship…!”
“She’s always been rather unconventional. The Imperial Court only received this news two months ago and hastily assembled a fleet.”
Another silence fell over the room.
“We don’t want to assume the worst, but if this flower was discovered on a pirate ship…”
Lady Iceford surveyed the frozen faces around her and raised the flower of the soul, contained in the bottle.
“Her Highness the Princess may already be…”
Though she deliberately trailed off, everyone understood the unspoken conclusion.
The fact that an item belonging to the Imperial Family had been found on a pirate ship meant
only one thing.
‘So that means…
Her Highness the Third Princess is in the hands of pirates?’
However, was she just captured or…
Dead?
The latter possibility seemed more likely than the former.
“Starting today, our primary objective will be to scour every inch of this region for news of Her Highness the Third Princess and ensure her safe rescue. This shouldn’t be too difficult for the Navy, right?”
‘What about my vacation…’
Lancel considered running. ‘Is this considered desertion?’
Lancel shuddered at the mere thought of the trouble this mission would entail.
Forced to undertake Imperial Court duties that were never meant for him, he felt an overwhelming urge to grab Marigold and flee to the mainland.
“Of course, I understand how tiring such a mission as this can be. I’m so exhausted myself that I’m breaking out in hives. But I think the reward will change your mind.”
“Reward? What kind of reward are we talking about?”
“If someone finds Her Highness the Third Princess… the Imperial Court has promised to personally bestow the title of ‘Imperial Hero’ to whoever finds her.”
“……!”
Shock rippled through the hall.
“You’re being quite generous.”
“Indeed. Rescuing a member of a royal bloodline deserves no less than the title of Imperial Hero. And for the record, this was personally approved by His Majesty the Emperor.”
The title of Imperial Hero wasn’t just an honorary title. It was a comprehensive package of rewards, including a massive cash bonus, land, a noble title, servants, authority, and preferential treatment.
Lancel, who had received this honor three times in previous iterations, knew its true value better than anyone. After all, it was one of the few memories he had of Viscount Dante, his usually dignified and reserved father, dancing with unrestrained joy.
‘But she’s probably already dead, right?’
Frankly, the Third Princess didn’t seem like the type of woman who could survive being captured by pirates. It was hard to imagine someone who had spent her entire life as a pampered darling of the Imperial Court enduring such a harsh environment for long.
Contrary to Lancel’s expectations, however, a fiery glint began to ignite in the eyes of the naval officers gathered around.
“Success… and a trip to the capital… the capital…”
“The honor of my family… Wait for me, mother.”
“A hero. Me. The Imperial Hero. I imagine it now, me, the strongest.”
The mere possibility of being called the Imperial Hero set their hearts ablaze.
“Sir Lancel,” Marigold said, tugging at his sleeve.
“What is it?”
“I didn’t hear what you were saying.”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Ouch!”
Marigold squeezed her eyes shut as he pinched her nose.
‘Why did I bring her along?’
Just then, a notification appeared.
===============
[Game Guide]
—The list of obtainable endings has been updated!
- Imperial Hero Marigold. -S-Rank-
- Lover of the Third Princess Marigold.
- Handmaid of the Third Princess Marigold.
- The Imperial Court’s Noble Flower Marigold.
- ???
—Unobtained achievements have been discovered.
- Savior of the Imperial Princess. -A-Rank-
- The Third Princess’s Friend.
- Naval Officer (Promotion).
- From Common Soldier to Noble.
- ???
※S-Rank ending discovered.
===============
Lancel fell silent for a moment.
The moment he saw the game guide’s contents, his mind seemed to freeze.
‘What? Is she really alive?’
If Third Princess Claria were truly dead, such a guide would never have appeared. After all, every requirement, from beginning to end, could only be achieved if she were alive.
Moreover, the entry titled “Imperial Hero Marigold” immediately caught his eye. Marked as “S-Rank,” it was clearly a renowned ending.
The ending described how the fallen noblewoman Marigold achieved great deeds, regained her noble status, and founded a new family.
Wouldn’t this be considered a sufficiently happy ending? Having reclaimed wealth, honor, and status, it would be difficult for misfortune to intrude.
‘This might actually work.’
This was undoubtedly an opportunity.
Normally, achieving the “Imperial Hero” ending was no easy feat. It required immense effort and time spent wandering battlefields, earning military merits, and establishing a reputation. Surviving the process without meeting a violent end would be considered fortunate.
But this time? All he had to do was find a missing person.
‘Isn’t this practically a free win?’
Indeed. Compared to the conventional methods of achieving such status, this mission was overwhelmingly simple.
“The Imperial Court will cover all expenses and provide full support for the search. Turn the archipelago’s seas upside down if necessary, but find Her Highness the Third Princess. I want to finish this quickly and return to the capital as soon as possible.”
Lady Iceford’s final words carried genuine sincerity.
.
.
.
A year passed.
“What on earth are you all doing?!”
Lady Iceford, her skin tanned brown from her long island stay, was throwing another fit.
12.
“Even as we speak, there’s a mountain of work waiting for us in the capital! Honestly, these incompetent naval officers!”
From the high-rise VIP room of Count Ruin’s castle, which offered a panoramic view of the sea, servants frantically fanned Lady Iceford as she reclined languidly.
“Can’t even find one measly thing! Tsk, tsk…”
Even as she spat out her sharp words, Lady Iceford continued to stuff tropical fruits into her mouth.
On the surface, she appeared to be thoroughly enjoying her vacation, but her anxiety was genuine.
For someone accustomed to the lavish and decadent parties of the capital, the archipelagos must have felt stifling. Even now, small banquets were frequently held to comfort her, but they couldn’t compare to the grandeur of those in the capital.
“What will you do if something happens to Her Highness the Third Princess?”
“We’re searching diligently, but it’s proving quite difficult…”
“I won’t accept excuses. Bring me results. Now! Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
* * *
“…so he says.”
Baron Coral’s words prompted the naval officers to scratch their heads vigorously. Sighs rippled through the room.
The problem was the archipelago’s vast, sprawling sea.
“We need at least three ships for each search operation, making it difficult to cover much ground.”
“And long-range missions require substantial resupply…”
Splitting up the fleet would leave them vulnerable to pirate ambushes. This was why their sea patrols over the past year had been confined to nearby waters.
Still, their efforts hadn’t been entirely fruitless.
“Several pirates have reported seeing someone resembling Her Highness the Third Princess. We mustn’t lose hope yet.”
This information had been extracted from captured pirates through the use of persuasive methods involving fingernail and toenail removal.
“A blue-haired, blue-eyed beauty had once been traded for a high price among the pirate leaders!”
The Third Princess was renowned throughout the Empire as an unparalleled beauty, making it inevitable that rumors would spread about her appearance.
It was now widely accepted as fact that she was somewhere in these seas.
“What do you intend to do, Commander?”
A year had passed without any progress.
Lady Iceford’s patience was wearing thin.
In the end, there was only one solution.
“…We can only hope that the expeditionary forces return with results.”
Baron Coral gazed out at the distant sea, waiting for news from those who had set out to find the Third Princess.
“Still no word from Lancel Dante?”
“The last we heard, his ship was wrecked in a storm…”
Baron Coral sighed deeply.
“Must we deliver such tragic news to the Dante family?”
13.
“I’m hungry.”
“Me too.”
Chirp!
“Pia must be hungry too.”
“Didn’t you give her a piece of bread earlier?”
“She didn’t eat much. Maybe she’s tired of just bread.”
“A picky bird, indeed.”
The rowboat bobbed gently on the waves under the azure sky. Lancel and Marigold lay side by side, adrift on the vast ocean.
“How many days has it been?”
“Half a year since we set sail, and about two weeks since we were shipwrecked.”
“Time flies.”
“I’ll be seventeen soon.”
“Happy birthday in advance.”
“Thank you.”
They spoke in voices as lifeless as the sea itself.
When they first set sail, they never imagined it would come to this.
How did they end up like this?
Lancel and Marigold had been aboard one of the eight warships sent to find Third Princess Claria.
The voyage was meant to transform her into an “Imperial Hero.” Initially, they had sailed smoothly, clearing out pirates, gathering news of the Third Princess, and collecting loot. Everything seemed to be progressing without incident.
But even Lancel couldn’t withstand the natural disasters that struck at sea.
His warship, navigating the archipelago’s treacherous straits, was literally split in half.
“I’m definitely better suited for land,” he muttered.
As the sailing ship sank, the only survivors were Marigold and the bird she had with her.
To be honest, it was a miracle they hadn’t died that day. They had narrowly avoided an ending in which Marigold became fish food.
============
—May 19, 818 of the Imperial Calendar. Weather: Exceptionally clear.
—Marigold has been adrift at sea for 15 days! Even sashimi is getting tiring.
※Morality, Faith, and Condition have gone up!
============
“Still, I’m glad Sir Lancel is with me ‘till the end.”
“…’Till the end…”
Indeed, if things continued this way, the end might not be too far off.
Let me guess, Lancel has the flower, and its gonna happen again