2.
"We're meeting for the first time... right?"
"No, it isn’t."
That evening, Lancel received a resolute response from Marigold as she strode over to where he had been on his bed.
"I've known you for a long time, Sir Lancel. We have gone through countless cycles of time to arrive at this moment. It's our destiny."
"A long time ago?"
"Please listen, Sir Lancel. I actually remember my past lives. We've met countless times in each one. It might be surprising to hear, but it's true."
"Are you being serious?"
"Look at my face. I'm completely serious."
‘This girl... she never intended to hide it in the first place.’
As Marigold crept closer, eventually straddling him above the waist, Lancel broke into a cold sweat.
"We lived together, shared love, and promised each other forever. You vowed to live only for me... I remember every moment of that life. You may not believe me now, but you will."
"...?"
‘Did that really happen?’
"Please believe me, Sir Lancel."
Lancel had kept his identity as a regressor a secret from Marigold for a reason. Once revealed, there would be no turning back. That was why he had reserved it as a last resort.
"I swear it, here and now."
But Marigold...
"Just as Sir Lancel gave me my entire life, I will give him my entire life in return."
Marigold's body, honed through sword training, had grown significantly in this iteration. She had become so tall that even most maids had to look up slightly to meet her gaze. This explained why her presence felt more intense than ever as she straddled him.
"Sir Lancel."
As she slowly leaned forward, her face drew closer. When they were so close he could feel her warm breath, Lancel saw a new emotion in Marigold's eyes, one he had never seen before.
"Shall I tell you a secret?"
———
[Fallen Noblewoman Simulation]
Schedule for the first week of August:
Monday - Tour the mansion (Location: Dante family mansion).
Tuesday - Rest at the mansion (Location: Dante family garden).
Wednesday - Stroll through Dante viscounty (Location: Dante territory).
Thursday - Swordsmanship training (Location: Dante family training grounds).
Friday - Part-time job (Location: Dante family training grounds).
Saturday - Rest at the mansion (Location: Dante family garden).
Sunday - Rest at the mansion (Location: Dante family garden).
※ This marks my first week as Lancel Dante's legitimate and rightful fiancée! Enjoy this leisure while it lasts, as things might get busy soon!
———
[Monday: Tour the mansion (Location: Dante family mansion).]
For some reason, Marigold had become the object of fervent attention from the maids at the Dante viscounty.
"We'll do it! Lady Mary Mary!"
"I was going to clean Sir Lancel's room myself..."
"Rest comfortably, Lady Mary Mary!"
Marigold, having been chased away while searching for Lancel's belongings, wore a look of disappointment.
In her hand, she held a handkerchief Lancel cherished, which was still unwashed.
"Can't we leave some of Sir Lancel's things untouched...? Just a few! A couple more...!"
‘What was her real motive for trying to clean things herself?’
Lancel, overhearing from afar, broke into a cold sweat.
[Tuesday: Rest at the mansion (Location: Dante family garden).]
"Lady Mary looks cool even when she’s taking a nap!"
"A female knight, a destined romance, an engagement... I want to be like Lady Mary too..."
Marigold lay sound asleep in the shade, snoring softly. The maids clustered like bees at the window to watch her.
"She's snoring!"
"How cool!"
‘Is that cool…?’
Lancel, who had been passing by, couldn't hide his bewilderment.
[Wednesday: Stroll through Dante viscounty (Location: Dante territory).
"I told you, Pina's words are always so extreme. Soon, I'll take Sir Lancel around and do as I initially planned... What? What are you talking about? I don't exactly... Well, it's not like I haven't considered that at all...!"
"Lady Mary looks so cool arguing with herself!"
"They say nobles engage in verbal sparring at social gatherings. Maybe she's practicing!"
"Ah!"
"I thought Lady Mary was simply talking to herself...!"
"Everything she does has a reason."
Even Marigold's occasional grumbling at thin air drew admiration from the maids.
“Huff! Haah!”
When Marigold practiced her swordsmanship, nearly all the young maids in the mansion would gather to watch her.
Whoosh!
Heavy iron weights, wrapped in cloth, hung from the blade, making it look from a distance like she was swinging a massive bludgeon.
Boom!
The sound of the blade slicing through the air echoed menacingly.
“Hngh...!”
The weapon was so heavy that even most adult men couldn't lift it. Yet Marigold swung it effortlessly, maintaining a perfect form without the slightest waver.
"Three thousand!"
Having reached her target, Marigold stretched her arms out and yawned.
Her hair, glistening with sweat, shimmered in the setting sun.
"Haa, this is exhausting. I'll stop here for today..."
As Marigold, drenched in sweat, sheathed her sword, the maids rushed forward as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Lady Mary! Here's a towel!"
"I have one too! Mine's a wet towel!"
"Umm... th-thank you?"
The maids' eyes, fixed on Marigold's awkward smile, seemed to burn with the fervor of devotees gazing upon their idol.
No knight or heir in this mansion had ever received such lavish treatment.
Lancel, the family's precious son, was no exception. The servants and maids often talked back to him without hesitation.
“It's because Sir Lancel is so easygoing, hehe.”
‘Hmph.’
Simply because he had lived a somewhat lazy life, his treatment within the family had become utterly disgraceful.
"Honestly, Lady Mary might be too good for this place."
"I can hear you."
"I-I'm so sorry!"
The young maids scurried away in a flurry.
"Sir Lancel, you know I didn't mean it, right? Here are the madeleines I baked for you. Yes."
"...Alright."
Though anyone could tell she meant every word.
Lancel accepted the maid's apology without incident when she came to serve tea that late afternoon.
In all honesty, he wasn't offended. After all, Lancel had been living rather carelessly in this iteration.
A loafer. A gambler. A restless wanderer. A kleptomaniac. An idler...
"Still, it's a good thing."
The eldest son of the Dante Family.
Leo Dante chuckled beside him.
"It just means your fiancée is a truly good person, doesn't it? Honestly, even I agree that Lady Mary is too good for you."
"...Yes."
"Thanks to Lady Mary, both my father and I have one less worry."
He set down his teacup and continued, sounding relieved.
"When I heard you were constantly running off to squander the family fortune, I thought we finally had a prodigal son in the family. But since you've brought back such a fine woman, you might finally grow up a bit."
As if someone who's lived for centuries without maturing would suddenly change now.
Lancel closed his eyes, letting his father's nagging wash over him.
"By the way," Kyle Dante, the second son, spoke up from where he was perched on the terrace railing. "Aren't you curious whether this 'Mary' is truly skilled or not?"
"Didn't you hear the maids talking? They said she swings a heavy sword thousands of times during training."
"No, training and real combat are different. Why don't you ask father to arrange a sparring match? Lancel, you must be curious about how skilled your wife is with a sword, right?"
"Not at all."
"I'm curious, though."
"Too much trouble."
"Then, brother, you should create an opportunity. Even if it's not just for Mary, the Commander of Knights of the Duchy’s Order has returned to his homeland for the first time in ages. It's only right that we assess the sword skills of the family members, don't you think?"
The Dante family's guards and retainers were all knights or elite soldiers of comparable skill.
The family was expected to be ready to join any battle and achieve military glory at a moment's notice.
Kyle Dante was now using this very expectation as his pretext.
"I'm here to see your swordsmanship too, you brat. Do you even train regularly?" Kyle Dante jabbed Lancel's forehead. "When was the last time you even held a sword, you idiot?"
In the past, Lancel had loathed Kyle Dante for constantly getting on his nerves. But now, he felt nothing. After repeatedly crushing Kyle with his superior skill, he'd long since purged any lingering resentment.
‘It’s okay, I've beaten him enough. As a man of character, I'll let it slide.’
Still, as brothers, he didn't want to treat Kyle too harshly. That was all.
"If you're worse than your wife in a duel, that'll be quite a sight, Lancel! Bwahahaha! The whole Empire will hear about it—a knight husband getting beaten by his own wife! Bwahahahaha!"
‘Should I beat him one more time?’
Lancel barely managed to suppress his rising anger by taking a sip from his teacup.
"Why bother with such a tedious inspection? We might as well just gather and go hunting."
"Aww, that's no fun."
"Still..."
Leo Dante looked at Lancel.
"Hunting trips always lead to interesting events, don't they? Don't you think so?"
Lancel grimaced at Leo’s wink. ‘What sinister scheme is he plotting now?’
"Speaking of which, is it true, Lancel?"
"What is?"
"The rumor about you and your fiancée leaving home together next year. They say you're planning to travel around the continent before heading to the capital."
"Ah, that..."
Lancel recalled Marigold's voice from just a while ago.
Her earnest whispers, revealing her "secrets" to him.
.
.
.
"Shall I tell you a secret?"
"What kind of secret?"
Marigold's expression was more serious than ever. Her eyes seemed to shimmer, and her lips trembled slightly.
It wasn't just his imagination. He realized this when Marigold hunched her shoulders and spoke in a trembling voice.
"If we stay like this, Sir Lancel will... Sir Lancel..."
"Me?"
"Sir Lancel..."
Marigold suddenly threw her arms around Lancel, hugging him with such force that he gasped for breath.
This Marigold was thoroughly following the physical route in this playthrough.
Lancel's confidence in handling her on the bed was rapidly dwindling. If he had known it would come to this, he would have trained beforehand.
After patting her back for a long time to calm her down, Marigold finally spoke.
"...Sir Lancel will die."
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