7.
"......!"
The moment something soft and yielding flooded his mouth, Lancel was overwhelmed by a strange sensation.
He could see Marigold's emerald eyes, barely open, staring intently at him from mere inches away.
A fog began to cloud his mind.
His thoughts ground to a halt, and the sensations in his body grew increasingly faint. It wasn't an illusion; his vision was genuinely blurring.
‘Lancel.’
A voice echoed directly in his mind.
His body felt paralyzed, refusing to obey his commands.
‘Lancel.’
Marigold, not content with pinning him against the wall, wrapped her arms tightly around him. For some reason, he couldn't resist.
His consciousness grew increasingly hazy, as if he were about to lose consciousness entirely.
‘My Lancel.’
.
.
.
"Sir Lancel!"
"Ah...!"
Lancel jolted upright.
Before him stood 16-year-old Marigold, small in statue and holding a broom.
She was her usual self: barely over 150 cm tall, with a slender frame, long hair tied back, and an apron.
The body of the Marigold who chose the wizard route consistently remained the shortest in size across nearly all iterations.
"You should eat. How long are you going to sleep?"
"Marigold."
Marigold tilted her head slightly, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Why are you sweating so much? Just a moment."
Only then did Lancel realize that his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
Lancel leaned into Marigold as she wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, too weak to even take it from her himself.
"Marigold."
"Yes?"
"You didn't happen to come into my room yesterday, did you?"
"Of course not. You told me not to."
"Did I?"
"You did."
"Don't come in again."
"...I only came in to wake you up... Why would I even think of entering a knight's room in the first place...?" Marigold grumbled, her discontent audible.
One thing was certain: she hadn't been in his room last night.
Marigold rarely lied to Lancel, so her words were likely true.
‘But it was Marigold.’
Yes. Though her aura, presence, magic, atmosphere, voice, and even her appearance were all different, the woman from last night was undeniably Marigold.
‘A dream?’
Impossible.
A dream?
That?
It was hard to accept. There couldn't be a dream so vivid.
It felt as if the sensations left by the horned Marigold were still etched into every inch of his skin.
The firm embrace of her arms, the soft touch of her lips, the way her entire body pressed against him without a single gap.
When he closed his eyes, it all came back vividly.
‘I'm exhausted.’
He felt as if a demon had drained his vitality. What exactly had happened last night?
"......"
"What are you doing?"
"Huh?!"
Lancel subtly raised an eyebrow.
Marigold, who had been staring intently at his face from close range, startled and scrambled to her feet. She had been wondering what he was doing, given how quiet it was.
"D-dinner's ready, so please come quickly! You seem to have worked up quite a sweat, so I'll prepare a bath for you too! Th-then I'll be going now...!"
Marigold rattled off the words like a machine gun before darting out the door.
"Ugh." Lancel struggled to sit up, his body feeling heavy and limp.
‘My Lancel.’
He flinched.
He turned his head toward the window.
The wide-open window revealed nothing unusual. Only a few sparrows had flown in, chirping hungrily.
"This is driving me crazy."
His emotions were a complete mess.
8.
Regardless of the horned Marigold who had left Lancel's emotions in turmoil the previous night, 16-year-old Marigold's day was entirely devoted to magical training.
"Breathe calmly."
Baron Zenith had even set aside his own research to stay by Marigold's side.
"Gather your magic powers. Then slowly guide it along the path you desire. Keep drawing it in until it moves in accordance with your hand."
With her eyes closed, Marigold's hands slowly began to form a hand seal, as if sensing the gathering of her powers.
The tangled strands of magical powers gradually shifted direction in response to her hand movements.
This process continued until a spherical shape formed within her palm.
"Well done. Now compress the magic sphere tightly."
"Yes."
The spherical magical power gradually shrank in size until it became visible to the naked eye.
‘First-tier magic: magic power sphere.’
Lancel let out a silent gasp of admiration. Though it might seem unremarkable, it was a truly remarkable sight.
For ordinary magicians, this process would take weeks or even months. Yet, Marigold was accomplishing it in a single moment. How could one not be amazed?
"Magnificent," Baron Zenith murmured. His eyes blazed with pride, her gaze radiating absolute conviction that her apprentice was a true genius.
‘She truly is the protagonist.’
Knight and wizards.
While both manipulated magic, their methods were fundamentally different.
Knights specialized in concentrating magic powers stored within their bodies into their blades and armor, enhancing their offensive and defensive capabilities.
Magicians, on the other hand, specialized in delicately manipulating magic powers to shape and mold it into intricate forms.
Naturally, magic was the more challenging discipline. It required transforming an unprecedented force into physical energy, demanding far more refined senses and complex calculations.
Yet, Marigold was instinctively managing it, and on her very first try.
Whoosh!
A shimmering mass of magic powers began to spin rapidly from Marigold's hand.
The air in the laboratory swirled violently, causing the furniture to rattle and shake.
Candles flickered out, bookshelves creaked as pages flipped wildly, and objects on the shelves threatened to topple over.
"Marigold, stop! That's enough!" Baron Zenith urged urgently.
"Ugh... ugh..."
"Marigold?"
Baron Zenith tried to stop her, but Marigold's complexion had turned pale.
"G-g-g-g-g—!"
‘Oh no, something's wrong.’
"Damn it! Marigold!"
"What's happening to her?"
"She can't handle the magical powers. The amount Marigold captured far exceeds her capacity to control it. She's lost control!"
In short, the problem arose because her talent had surpassed her skill.
This was why the magic power sphere, condensed in Marigold's palm, had become so unstable, as if it were about to explode at any moment.
It was already too late for Baron Zenith to intervene.
"Mary!"
Lancel rushed to the window, flung it open, and pointed to the garden.
"Throw it!"
"Y-yes...!"
"What? No, that's my garden...!" Baron Zenith panicked, but Marigold acted first. She thrust her hands, still clutching the magic power sphere, out the window.
"Haaah!"
Boom!
The magic power sphere shot out with a deafening roar, arcing through the air like a cannonball. It plunged straight into the grassy lawn of the garden.
Kuuuung—!
There was an explosion.
The floor buckled upward in a fan shape, sending dirt and gravel raining down. Had anyone been standing there, they would have been crushed into a bloody mess.
"Haa..."
Exhausted, Marigold collapsed onto the floor. Her face flushed crimson, as if she had drained every ounce of her strength at once.
"No need for bombs," Lancel remarked.
"My... my garden! What happened to it?"
Lancel and Baron Zenith rushed to the window, leaving the distressed Marigold behind.
A massive crater marked the center of the garden, the unmistakable aftermath of a magic power sphere explosion.
"What do you think, Lord Zenith? Do you truly believe this is the power that mere first-tier magic should demonstrate?" Lancel asked.
"Absolutely not. This is at least second or third-tier level. It's far beyond what a newly initiated wizard apprentice could control. And as we've seen, she clearly couldn't handle it."
"Roughly one or two tiers higher in power... You must be pleased to have such a talented disciple."
"Was it that obvious? It's the first time I've ever felt pleased after seeing my garden in such a state, Sir Lancel. To be honest, I suspected she was no ordinary mage from the moment she started manipulating magical powers, but I never imagined she'd reach this level."
"At this rate, Miss Mary might graduate as the academy's valedictorian."
"That seems unlikely. I've heard this year's cohort is filled with exceptional geniuses. Compared to them, Mary has only just taken her first steps... Achieving valedictorian status will be exceedingly difficult."
‘Indeed.’
Baron Zenith's words ultimately rang true.
This would be precisely the time when the academy would be filled with its "golden cohort."
The academy was teeming with potential suitors: the still-young Seventh Prince, a foreign prince, the Duke's heir, brothers from renowned knightly houses, a magical prodigy, and many other prominent romanceable characters from the game.
It was common for students to fall in love within the academy and even reach a marriage ending.
‘The academy is certainly the most convenient setting for nobles to pick and choose their spouses…’
Of course, Lancel had no intention of actively pushing Marigold toward anyone the same way he had done in the past.
If a man within the academy were to become drawn to Marigold, and if she reciprocated his feelings... then Lancel wouldn't interfere. That was all.
There are some decent people at the academy, after all. Maybe Marigold would find a decent ending with them.
"......"
Anyway…
"Mary."
Lancel approached the exhausted Marigold. He ruffled her hair absently before leaving the mansion.
"Sir Lancel?"
"See you at the academy."
"Huh? What do you mean...?"
Only Marigold's bewildered face, blinking blankly, stared after Lancel's retreating figure.
From there, Lancel headed straight for his hometown, the Dante family’s territory.
9.
"You want to become a professor in the Department of Knight Studies?"
"Just for about three years, I think."
"You? A professor? Out of nowhere?"
"Yes. So, could you write me a letter of recommendation?"
"......"
Lancel's father, Viscount Dante, looked momentarily stunned before bursting into hearty laughter.
"Bwahahaha! You lunatic! You want to become a professor at the academy at your age? What kind of nonsense is that?!"
"Well, there's no reason that I can't."
Lancel had originally intended to become an instructor.
But as soon as he saw that the qualifications for the position of an instructor included "Academy graduate," he immediately changed his goal to the higher-status position of professor.
"You fool! You think you can just waltz in and say, 'I want to be a professor,' and they'll welcome you with open arms? There are a limited number of professor positions. There's no room for you, got it?"
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that."
"...Why?"
"Because a position will be opening up soon."
"What?"
Viscount Dante blinked in disbelief.
"Baron Onis, who was originally a professor, recently suffered a severe leg injury. He'll need time to recover, so he'll be taking a leave of absence for several years. I'll be filling his position temporarily."
"How did you find out about that?"
"It's just a rumor, nothing more"
Lancel shrugged, feigning ignorance.
"I heard a rumor that some bastard broke into Baron Onis's mansion and shattered his ankle. That's all I know."
"Suspicious," Viscount Dante said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Well, if that's the case, I'll write you a letter of recommendation. But if you fail the examination disgracefully or tarnish the Dante family's reputation, I will never forgive you. Do you understand?"
"Of course, father."
.
.
.
By the time Lancel had returned to the capital after collecting letters of recommendation from his father and various other nobles, the academy’s entrance exams had already concluded.
============
—Marigold has been accepted into the Academy's Magic Department! Until the day she becomes a great wizard, she must dedicate herself to her studies!
※ I hope she makes many good friends!
============
"Good friends, huh?"
Lancel broke into a cold sweat at the sight that greeted him as soon as he entered the academy.
He had come to submit his application as a temporary professor, but through the window of the building, a familiar face suddenly caught his eye.
‘Marigold.’
There was no mistaking it.
It was her.
The blonde woman carefully gathering scattered items from the garden pond was unmistakably Marigold.
Books, pillows, outerwear, underwear, shoes, handkerchiefs, writing utensils, hair ties, a lunchbox, and more.
She was meticulously collecting these items, none of which looked like they had been deliberately thrown into the water, while standing knee-deep in the pond, her skirt soaked through.
‘A good... friend...?’
The semester hadn't even started yet.
To be in this state already after having just been assigned to a dorm…
Lancel sighed as he watched Marigold sneeze.
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