"......"
Aldehar Ro Lucia.
Objectively speaking, he was an excellent marriage prospect.
Only his somewhat cold demeanor and the fact that he was an inscrutable man bothered Lancel slightly. Aldehar was set to become the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucia immediately after graduating from the academy.
Marrying Aldehar?
That meant becoming a queen. While it wasn't as prestigious as becoming the Empire’s Empress, it was still an extraordinary advancement in status.
It was likely closer to a "true ending" than any of the endings Marigold had ever created.
And yet…
"Yes... you did well," Lancel found himself saying, to his own surprise.
Logically, he should have told her, “Don't throw away your good fortune! Go back right now and confess first!" That would have been the best thing for her.
But he didn't say that.
It was almost instinctive.
"...Yes..."
Marigold nodded, her eyes trembling in the lamplight.
He felt her fingers fidgeting, tracing their way up his palm from below his waist.
‘Mary, you really have no taste in men.’
In this lifetime, all he'd done was follow and torment her. At least, that's how Lancel saw it.
Yet she had still chosen him.
She had grumbled and pushed him away, puffed up her cheeks like a pufferfish just because he sided with the knights, and even mumbled about "knight corruption"—a term he'd never heard before—with a tearful expression.
But as their time together lengthened, the walls between them crumbled rapidly. Before he knew it, she was the one closest to him.
"Th-th-then I'll be going now..."
Marigold disappeared outside the tent.
Ssshhh!
Only the sound of rain filled the air once more.
"Lancel."
Then he heard it.
A young voice suddenly called from below.
It was the Seventh Prince.
"You were awake?"
"Lancel, do you like that woman?"
"...I'm not sure."
"Really? You looked like you did."
‘Impossible.’
Lancel always wore an indifferent expression around Marigold. He even consciously tried to maintain that facade, so he was certain.
"I don't dislike her."
"Do you like her?"
"I suppose I do."
"Is that so?"
The Seventh Prince smiled faintly.
"Shall I let you marry her?"
"Huh?"
It was difficult to immediately discern how sincere the Seventh Prince's words were that day.
After all, a considerable amount of time passed before Lancel and the prince met again.
.
.
.
"The Seventh Prince has recommended Mary as the wizard for the Founding Festival."
"The Seventh Prince... Miss Mary?"
"That's not all."
A few days later, the school principal and Laura exchanged grave looks.
"He even recommended her as a candidate for Court Wizard! The Seventh Prince himself...! At this rate, Miss Mary might enter the Imperial Court even before Professor Laura herself!"
"Hup!"
From that moment on, Marigold's life began to unfold with remarkable ease.
23.
‘Is Marigold's life finally reaching its peak?’
Ever since spending a day and a night with Lancel and the Seventh Prince, Marigold's life had been a smooth, uninterrupted path, as if compensating for all the misfortunes she had endured over the years.
"Miss Mary pushed Young Master Aldehar aside to open for the Founding Festival?"
"They say Young Master Aldehar handed it over willingly, without a single complaint."
"Lies!"
‘Lies!’
Lancel wanted to shout the same thing.
Aldehar, the genius wizard who had practically been guaranteed the role, had stepped aside without a word of protest.
Why?
Was it because he had a crush on Marigold? Did he want to impress her? Date her? Marry her?
No, that couldn't be it.
He was the pride of the Kingdom of Lucia. He wouldn't surrender his top position to Marigold for such trivial recognition.
Moreover, he was skilled in diplomacy, capable of nullifying even the Seventh Prince's recommendation.
After all, he had been a Crown Prince candidate. Even at the lowest estimate, he was considered on par with a young, Imperial Prince far down the line of succession.
Yet he had stepped down.
For Marigold.
‘How unusual.’
Still, it was a good thing.
24.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
A week.
A month.
Six months.
‘Time flies.’
Lancel had always been adept at managing his time.
But the time after that day seemed to rush past him like an arrow.
Perhaps it was because there were no particularly stimulating incidents or accidents. Or perhaps it was because everything had gone smoothly without a hitch.
Whatever the reason, the crucial point was that time was passing far too quickly.
Indeed. It was almost unnatural.
* * *
[Playtime: 3 years]
"Mary is the top student in the Academy's Magic Department."
On the first day of the Founding Festival, Marigold showcased her magic before all the nobles and royalty of the capital.
It was a dazzling display, sending hundreds of firework bursts soaring into the sky. Marigold earned the admiration of everyone watching.
"Magnificent! My disciple!"
Baron Zenith abandoned all decorum and shouted his praise at the spectacularity that was the fireworks display.
Boom! Boom!
As Lancel watched Marigold's magic explode in vibrant colors, he was momentarily lost in memories.
[Playtime: 4 years]
"Success! I've finally succeeded!"
That year, Baron Zenith's airship soared through the skies above the capital.
For the first time in centuries, Lancel witnessed one of the baron’s research projects succeed.
Previously, they had always either crashed or exploded—Lancel wondered if perhaps this success was also due to Marigold's influence?
It was hard to tell.
[Playtime: 5 years]
"The Academy's Magic Department Valedictorian! Mary!"
Marigold finally graduated from the academy as valedictorian. At the same time, Lancel stepped down from his position as a temporary professor.
"Sir Lancel!"
Lancel simply patted the head of the girl who was beaming brightly, holding a bouquet of flowers.
"Well done."
[Playtime: 6 years]
"New Court Wizard, Mary. I look forward to working with you."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
This was the year that Marigold, having fully mastered Fourth Rank magic, entered the Imperial Court.
Appointed as a Court Wizard on the strong recommendation of the Seventh Prince, she began to lead a busy life, filled with research, experiments, study, meditation, training, and specimen collection.
"I love magic... love it... love it..."
"Where did all your passion go?"
Each time Lancel saw Marigold return, her eyes were weary.
[Playtime: 7 years]
That year, Marigold began learning Fifth Rank magic.
She had truly reached the stage of a high-ranking wizard. Now, no one in this land could afford to ignore her.
"Congratulations, Mary. Or should I call you Baroness Marigold now?"
The Seventh Prince himself came to congratulate her, bearing a congratulatory gift.
The world would now refer to her as "Baroness Marigold." Though her title wasn't hereditary, she had officially joined the ranks of the nobility.
"What do you think, Sir Lancel?"
"Mm-hmm. It suits you, it suits you."
"Look closer!"
Marigold proudly displayed her imperial court robes adorned with golden tassels. Lancel felt a pang of nostalgia as he gazed at her.
[Playtime: 8 years]
"There's nothing more I can teach you now, Marigold. You're now fully qualified to learn Sixth Rank magic. I'm so proud of you."
Marigold had finally surpassed Baron Zenith.
Sixth Rank.
She had become one of the top ten wizards in the entire Empire.
"Should I be the master from now on?"
"Heh heh heh, you cheeky brat."
Baron Zenith immediately began preparing for retirement.
Watching the airships soar through the capital's skies several times a day and observing his brilliantly grown disciple, Zenith basked in the feeling of having achieved everything he had ever desired.
"Even if I never return, please take good care of Marigold, Sir Lancel. Looking back, perhaps our meeting truly was destined."
"Are you writing your will already, when you still have so many years ahead of you? Save it for later."
"Who knows? These might actually be my last words. People don't always die when they're supposed to, do they? I have no regrets. That thing floating in the sky will etch my name into the Empire's history."
Baron Zenith shared a brief embrace with Marigold before boarding the train.
His final words were a promise to spend the rest of his days quietly practicing magic.
[Playtime: 9 years]
"You two should get engaged soon."
"Huh?"
That year, under the Seventh Prince's arrangement, Lancel and Marigold became engaged once again.
Just as it had happened on the day he married Lady Iceford, one of the capital's three great beauties, Lancel's engagement to Marigold was swiftly arranged by those in power, leaving him no room for refusal.
Even Aldehar attended the ceremony.
With a slightly bitter expression, he simply clapped in silence and departed. There had been nothing more from him.
"May neither good nor evil, death nor time, nor even eternity itself ever separate these two!"
Marriage.
Engagement.
Was this their second ceremony already? Or was it the third? If you counted loosely, maybe even the fourth?
Who cared?
"The couple may now kiss."
Lancel exchanged yet another engagement with Marigold, losing count of how many times they had done this.
"Ah! Now that I think about it, does this mean I'm officially a member of the Knightly House, Sir Lancel?"
"...Could that really be what's bothering you now?"
"J-just a little?"
"......"
‘When will this knightly aversion finally disappear?’
Lancel let out a hollow, self-deprecating chuckle.
[Playtime: 10 years]
Lancel followed Marigold into the Imperial Palace.
From knight and wizard to professor and academy student, and then back again to Court Knight and Court Wizard.
In the capital, storybooks depicting Lancel and Marigold's unusual relationship began to sell. To an outsider, their bond would certainly seem peculiar.
"Sir Lancel."
Their busy schedules left them with few opportunities to meet.
Yet Marigold always seemed happy.
Indeed. She seemed happy.
Everything was going smoothly, and the world seemed to embrace her warmly. Never in all her years had she experienced anything like this.
There were no wars, no rebellions, no tragedies of any kind.
In the fleeting moments of time, Marigold felt a small but distinct happiness.
‘This is how this playthrough ends.’
And so, Marigold reached her tenth year.
[Playtime: 10 years, 1 day.]
Then, Lancel's regression came to a sudden end.
"Huh?"
Just like that. The long, endless centuries of regression had finally ended.
It was anticlimactic—gone in a single, fleeting moment.
"You're joking, right?"
"Huh?"
The 25-year-old Wizard Marigold, still possessing a youthful appearance, tilted her head in confusion before him.
"What are you talking about, Sir Lancel?"
Before her, the 28-eight-year-old Lancel, who was utterly bewildered, clutched his head. Every thought in his mind had ground to a halt.
"You should be more moved! I stayed up all night preparing this birthday feast. It was incredibly difficult to manage while I was so busy."
"No."
Lancel was flustered.
"This... wait, what?"
"...Yes?"
‘What the hell? Is this for real?’
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