0.
Marigold opened her eyes to a dark void.
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[Would you like to use “Succession of Memories” x1?]
Select Succession.
Defer Succession.
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She thought she was dreaming.
Since leaving home five years ago, Marigold had dreamed countless dreams.
Nostalgic dreams.
Frightening dreams.
Pleasant dreams.
She didn’t know exactly what those dreams were. They were too fragmented, like pieces of a puzzle that couldn’t quite fit together.
But this time was different.
It was too vivid to be a dream, yet too strange to be reality.
‘Select Succession, Defer Succession?’
In front of two signs hung long ropes, each one different.
It looked as if they were waiting for her to make a choice.
“…?”
Marigold, without much thought, chose one. She simply followed her instincts.
—Select Succession.
With a slight tug, the darkness parted like a curtain being drawn.
A blindingly bright space filled Marigold’s vision.
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[The Corridor of Memories is now open]
—Time limit: 10 minutes.
—Available achievement points: 1500 points (per cycle).
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It was an exhibition hall made of gold and marble.
Everywhere she turned, lavish paintings and artworks were piled high.
Marigold’s gaze was stolen by the paintings lined along the walls. They felt strangely familiar.
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[Album of Memories]
What Kind of Life Is This, Marigold?
The War Victim, Marigold
There Are Many Ways to Die.
.
.
.
.
The Hedonist Tycoon Marigold.
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“…Me?”
In each canvas was a depiction of Marigold herself.
In different backgrounds and stories, with different fates, her likeness was captured in dozens of paintings.
She reached out to a nearby painting.
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[Bad Ending 2: The Pitiful Fall of Lady Marigold] Would you like to inherit the memories of this cycle? - 400 points.
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“…?”
It was a string of incomprehensible phrases.
How much time had passed as she looked around? Words suddenly appeared before her eyes again.
—1 minute remaining!
—Please use your points quickly!
“W-wait, hold on! Just a second!”
Marigold answered to an unseen presence, flustered.
“Give me a moment to think…!”
She understood one thing: she had to use these “points” somewhere.
Still, the questions remained: where? How?
Marigold knew nothing. She had no guesses. To her, this space was a labyrinth full of mysteries.
—30 seconds!
—10 seconds!
“Ugh, ughhh!”
—5!
—4!
—3!
“Wait, just a moment!”
—2……1……!
There was no time left. Marigold frantically chose whatever was within reach.
==========
—Inheriting the memories of The Hedonist Tycoon Marigold. 400 points used.
—Inheriting the memories of Noble Parasite Marigold. 400 points used.
—Inheriting the memories of The Bold Maid, Marigold. 400 points used.
—Acquired beginner level dark magic. 300 points used.
※ Remaining points: 0.
==========
She didn’t know what she was doing. She just grabbed at whatever was closest.
—”Succession of Memories” has ended.
Marigold awoke from her dream.
.
.
.
“Eek!”
“Ack, you scared me!”
She bolted upright, startled. The voice of Pina, equally shocked, rang out.
Chirp chirp!
The midday sun came down into the stable at an angle.
Only the clear sounds of birds chirping could be heard.
Marigold awoke on a pile of dry straw, blinking for a long time. Thump, thump, thump—her racing heart wouldn’t calm.
“Oh, what’s wrong, Miss? Did you have a sudden nightmare?”
“It’s…”
Marigold’s attempt to explain faltered.
‘…!’
Unfamiliar memories flooded her mind.
Memories of life as a maid.
Memories of life as a merchant.
Memories of life living as a parasite.
Memories of herself living different lives, in different places, at times.
Each once surged in like a tide, filling her mind entirely.
“...!”
Marigold had inherited the memories.
.
.
.
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[Notes]
—Do not worry or be impatient. All unused points are refunded! Memories from “Succession Cycles” are shared. Abilities not purchased will be reset after the ending.
※ Choose carefully, and enjoy the rest of your life!
==========
1.
The only way to end this game was by making Marigold an empress.
No matter how one looked at it, that was the sole goal of Lancel. Though it had been a bit of a roundabout journey.
The reason he headed to the Imperial Capital of Rodnis as soon as this cycle began was to meet Marigold.
All of Lancel’s plans always started there.
However…
“My name is Mary! I’ll work hard!”
This time, Marigold had come to him.
On her own two feet. Right before his eyes.
Lancel couldn’t help but be confused.
This had never happened before. Finding her was always his role, and he’d never imagined—let alone considered—that their positions would reverse.
In the end, Lancel sought out Baron Ibil Shen, the one who had hired Marigold as a maid.
When asked how he’d come to hire a new maid, the baron’s response was unexpected.
“Truth be told, I didn’t hire her because I wanted to.”
“Pardon?”
“She showed up out of nowhere, begging to be hired as a maid. At first, I thought, what’s this nonsense, and tried to send her away.”
“…Then why…?”
“But she was so persistent. I’d never seen someone so desperate to work in my house.”
“…”
“So when she came back for the third day in a row, I just hired her. What’s the harm? It’s not like hiring one more person will leave me bankrupt.”
Baron Ibil Shen shrugged as he spoke.
‘It took three visits to persuade him?
No, it could just be a coincidence.’
Lancel brushed off the ominous feeling rising within him. Nothing was yet certain.
It was possible that Marigold had arrived at the capital by pure chance, stumbled upon Baron Ibil Shen’s mansion—someone she had no connection to in this cycle—decided she liked the idea of being a maid, knocked on his door three times, and got hired.
It wasn’t entirely impossible.
‘It’s like rolling a die a hundred times and getting the same number every time.’
The Infinite Marigold Theorem.
It must have been something like that.
But soon after, Marigold’s eccentricities began to be noticed everywhere.
“Mary, where have you been loafing off this time?”
“I J-just took a quick nap…”
“A nap? Did you say a nap?”
“N-no, Miss Hesti! I misspoke!”
First off, she was lazier than she seemed.
Lancel had often seen Marigold being diligent but rarely ever lazy.
“‘Zzzzz…’”
Lancel quietly observed Marigold, fast asleep in the shade of the garden.
She was hugging a stray dog from who-knows-where, snoring ungracefully.
‘Sleeping like this, so carefree.’
She’d work diligently on a task for a while, but soon enough, she’d be off somewhere, napping, eating snacks, or otherwise slacking.
She employed various methods to shirk her duties.
Yet, despite all that, it wasn’t as if she was bad at her job.
“Laundry’s done, Miss Hesti!”
“Already?”
“Miss Hesti! Cleaning’s done, so can I rest a bit?”
“Really?”
“Miss Hesti! I took out all the baked bread!”
A veteran maid.
Marigold seemed like someone seasoned in the art of being a maid.
From simple chores to removing stains or repairing household items, she was astonishingly skilled.
“Good evening, Young Master Lancel.”
Finally, the day came when she had to clean Lancel’s room.
“Young Master Lancel, I’m going to clean your room now, so don’t come in until I say I’m done. Absolutely not! Never, ever come in!”
“I won’t come in. How many times are you going to say that?”
“It’s a promise, Young Master. If you come in, it’s a million gold coin fine.”
“Even breaking into the Emperor’s room wouldn’t cost that much.”
Marigold’s eyes gleamed as she entered Lancel’s room.
‘What is she up to?’
Lancel peeked inside.
Sniff sniff.
Marigold was burying her face in something, sniffing it intently.
‘What is she doing?’
Lancel easily recognized it as the coat he’d taken off earlier that day.
“Hehehe…”
Half of her face was shown, a giddy smile playing on her lips.
After a while, she finished cleaning, her face glowing, as if all her fatigue had vanished.
“All done, Young Master. It was delicious.”
Lancel sensed something was off.
Marigold’s behavior.
Though she had been strange before, she was never quite this strange from the start. It was as if her initial settings were off-kilter.
“Did you finish your training, Young Master? Come here, and I’ll help you change.”
“No need. I can do it myself.”
“No way! As a maid, I can’t let you do that. I’ll help you. Come on, hurry.”
“Hey, hey!”
Lancel pushed her face back as she lunged at him with fiery eyes.
Knock Knock.
Hesti entered just then.
“…”
“Hesti.”
Lancel rubbed his face and gestured for Hesti to come back in.
She was closing the door, as if she’d seen something she shouldn’t have.
“I see.”
After a brief explanation, Hesti asked with a puzzled look.
“Just to be sure, but have you and Miss Mary known each other before?”
“Of course not. You’ve been with me all this time, Hesti. What are you talking about?”
“It’s just… you two seem oddly familiar with each other, so I thought I’d ask.”
‘Did it look that way even to a stranger?
How do I explain this?’
As he pondered for a moment,
“My…” Marigold spoke up.
“We shared… my first experience.”
“…?”
The air seemed to freeze.
A short yet long silence descended.
Lancel sensed something ominous as Marigold cupped her flushed cheeks with both hands.
“…Young Master…”
Her voice was low and heavy.
He quickly turned his gaze to Hesti. Her eyes were somehow cold.
“Hesti, it’s not true.”
“…If rumors spread that you laid hands on a maid, the Dante family’s reputation…”
“I said it’s not true. Do I look like that kind of person?”
Lancel, who was sweating nervously, could only deny it vehemently.
By now, he had already sensed something.
Yes.
Marigold.
This girl now had fairly clear memories of their “previous cycle” resurfacing.
The cause of it could only be one thing.
‘The Succession of Memories.’
Lancel thought about what he should do about this.
There was only one conclusion.
“Mary, can we talk for a moment?”
The only way was to probe directly.
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