3.
Lancel dies.
Come to think of it, Lancel had died quite a few times. On battlefields, in cities, on execution platforms, and in Marigold's arms. While others struggled to die even once, he had met his end in a truly diverse array of ways.
Especially after ten years had passed, in Marigold's memories, Lancel had died almost invariably.
It was almost questionable whether he had ever lived to reach a ripe old age.
"You're going to die."
"Is that a curse?"
"You're already dead."
"...I don't quite understand what you're saying..."
"I said you're dead!"
"Ugh!"
Marigold clung to him again, her grip so tight that the sound of his back cracking echoed. "I can't breathe," Lancel gasped, trying to calm her down once more.
"Just don't die. If you don't die, then everything will be fine. Why not just evacuate to some safe place far away?"
As Lancel listened to her words, he tried to reassure her.
"We could take refuge on an island or something..."
He suddenly stopped speaking.
‘But I died on the island too, didn't I?’
And that had happened in the previous iteration.
Marigold's expression remained tearful.
"But... why am I dying?"
Marigold remained silent for a long moment, as if hesitating to speak.
After a long pause, she finally opened her mouth.
"It's because of the Demon King..."
"...?"
Marigold's expression turned slightly embarrassed, as if worried her credibility had plummeted.
It was understandable, really. The term "Demon King" popping up at a moment like this felt completely out of left field. Any normal person would have reacted with something like, "What's that, you dork?"
But Lancel was different.
He knew.
He knew that the Demon King actually existed in this game.
“So what exactly is the Demon King?”
“I guess he’s just some kind of dark entity.”
“.....?”
Neither Lancel nor his sister seemed to have a clear understanding of what it was, but its existence was undeniable.
His sister had stubbornly crammed the Demon King into the game. When asked why she'd include such a thing, her answer was always the same:
“Demon King, he’s handsome, villainous... it just sounds cool!”
Lancel hadn't expected a more reasonable explanation. From that moment on, he became certain of his sister's game design philosophy.
"Is the Demon King coming to kill me?"
"I... I don't know that much either. It's just what Sir Lancel said. The Lancel from my previous life... not me, but Sir Lancel himself!"
"Why are you emphasizing that so much?"
Marigold was swiftly shifting the focus of the story onto Lancel.
Demon King.
‘Demon King, huh?
If that bastard didn't kill me himself, what does it even mean to say I died because of the Demon King?’
In all of Lancel’s past lives—at least as far as Lancel could remember—there had never been any such thing as a Demon King. The only trace of the Demon King's existence was in the folk tales that circulated throughout the Empire.
"I'm going to make sure Sir Lancel survives. I have so many things I want to do with you, and I won't forgive you for leaving me first. In this life, I absolutely won't let you die!"
As Marigold spoke, she added, "And I'll never let anyone else have you."
A hint of resentment lingered in her tone.
Marigold’s arms tightened around him.
"...Mine."
"What are you talking about? I'm not an object. Just so you know, since you seem to be forgetting, it’s our first time meeting today, right?"
"Not for me!"
“Gah!” Lancel gasped for air again, quickly trying to calm Marigold down.
"So, Sir Lancel, please accompany me on my journey."
This time around, their journey together, it was only just beginning.
"What are you doing?"
"We have things to do."
Lancel's confidence in handling the situation was rapidly dwindling.
4.
"Have you been having trouble sleeping lately?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"Lady Mary looks as fresh as a daisy. Why do you look like you're half-dead?"
"I've had my reasons."
[Thursday: Swordsmanship training (Location: Dante family training grounds).]
The Dante family's guards and vassals rode out into the countryside on horseback.
Madam Dante and the maids climbed into carriages, laden with packed lunches.
"Now that we have a new member of the family, we must show them how wonderful our territory is to live in! We'll be staying here overnight, so make sure everything is properly prepared!"
Viscount Dante's declaration that he would spend the night outdoors threw the entire household into a frenzy of preparations.
"What glorious weather! Hahaha!"
"The Lord has already had a drink."
"He filled his water flask with wine."
Midsummer's lush greenery blanketed the hills and fields of the Dante viscounty.
"Sir Lancel!"
In the distance, Marigold waved her hand. Her horse galloped across the sun-drenched field.
Her long, tied hair fluttered in the air, following the hem of her cloak. With each stride of the horse, sweat droplets scattered from her forehead, glittering like crystals in the sunlight.
"I'm here, Sir Lancel!"
She wore a bright smile.
"My daughter is too precious to be tied to someone like you. If she were mine, I'd never have sent her to you."
"How many times must you repeat that?"
Viscount Dante's words were sincere.
Yet, Lancel didn't deny it. In this iteration, he had lived like a complete wastrel until he met Marigold.
Even now, rumors were spreading, painting him as "a lucky young master who suddenly snagged a decent woman."
Just recently, a young territorial resident who worked as a farmer had earnestly asked him, "What's your secret to wooing such a fine lady, Young Master?"
"Alright, everyone halt!"
At the edge of the forest, near the river that served as the lifeblood of this region, Viscount Dante brought the procession to a stop.
"We'll set up camp here. Leo, Kyle, Lancel! Grab your gear! It's been a while since we've been out hunting."
"Of course, father. I knew you'd want to hunt, so I brought everything."
Kyle, the second son, grinned, raising his sword and crossbow in both hands.
"Excellent. There have been wolf packs prowling around lately, causing headaches for the pig and sheep herders. We'll take this opportunity to drive them off."
Leo, the eldest son, spurred his horse forward, patting Lancel on the back.
"Lancel, you stick with Lady Mary."
"There's a blind spot beyond that field, Young Master. Just so you know. Heh heh heh!"
"......"
Lancel dismissed the warning, but Marigold was strangely focused on memorizing the direction the guard had pointed out.
‘Surely not, right?’
"I'll borrow this for a moment, Sir Lancel."
"Huh?"
Marigold took the crossbow from Lancel's back. After aiming into the distant sky for what seemed like an eternity, she finally pulled the trigger.
The bolt arced smoothly through the air, piercing the body of a bird mid-flight in a single, swift motion.
"Got it!" Marigold clenched her fist in triumph.
The hunting dogs raced toward the bird that had fallen into the river, competing to retrieve the plump duck.
"Hoo."
"This...!"
"A knight is a knight, after all."
Viscount Dante approached and clapped Marigold on the back.
"Well done, Mary."
"Am I first place now, Viscount?"
"Huh?"
Marigold's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Viscount Dante grinned.
"You fools! Do you think I'd let Lady Mary take first place on our own land? Go fetch more game immediately!"
.
.
.
"Why do knights love hunting so much?" Madam Dante murmured, lifting her teacup as she sat on a mat by the riverbank.
Men swarmed the area, chasing rabbits, wild boars, and deer with reckless abandon.
"I got it!"
"Bullshit! That's my arrow!"
"Third place! I'm about to take first place!"
Their boisterous voices echoed as they brought their kills to be tallied, vying for the top spot.
"Don't they ever get tired in this heat?"
"Ah! It's Lady Mary!"
Madam Dante followed her maids' gazes.
Marigold and Lancel Dante rode up to the riverbank on horseback, splashing through the water as they pursued a single deer.
"Lancel!" Kyle Dante soon joined the chase, cutting in beside them.
"I'll take the prey you've exhausted!"
Just as Kyle Dante was about to plunge his sword into the deer…
Clang!
Sparks flew as his blade was effortlessly deflected.
"Ugh!"
Zing! The recoil surged through his grip, up his arm, and into his shoulder. His eyes widened in shock, as if he'd struck a massive boulder.
"Sorry, but we were here first, Sir Kyle."
Only then did he realize that it was Marigold's blade that had blocked him.
Bang!
Meanwhile, Lancel, who had already moved ahead, swung his pommel and struck the deer's head with a resounding blow.
The deer collapsed instantly, its momentum carrying it to a sudden halt.
"Sir Lancel, did you just knock it out?"
"Capturing it unharmed improves the meat's flavor. Plus, it's cleaner."
"So, are we going to eat this?"
"Why would we catch it if we weren't going to eat it? Deer tastes pretty good for wild game."
"Heh."
Lancel cheerfully hoisted the deer onto his back, with Marigold following beside him.
Kyle Dante stared blankly at her retreating figure.
His blade had been deflected with such ease, and the impact still stung, leaving his palm flushed red.
Lancel's fiancée, who had done this, was now disappearing into the distance as if nothing had happened.
"Mary Mary... is she more skilled than she looks?"
Kyle Dante finally snapped out of his daze and began searching for Lancel, but for some reason, he couldn't find him anywhere.
"Hey! Have you seen Lancel?"
"Huh? If you mean the youngest master..."
The vassals, caught up in the hunt, exchanged sly grins.
"Didn't the two of them go off earlier to bathe together? Heh heh."
"Heh heh heh... what could an engaged couple be up to, sneaking away from prying eyes? I truly have no idea! I couldn't guess even if you beat me to death!"
"Ah, to be young and in love!"
Kyle Dante's expression twisted into a scowl. ‘Already making such a fuss over a girl, kissing and carrying on like that, you little brat.’
Of course, he too had a fiancée.
Unlike Mary Mary, Kyle’s fiancée was a proper noblewoman from a count's family, steeped in courtly refinement.
She preferred perfumes and jewels to swords.
She enjoyed tea and pastries more than exercise or horseback riding.
She was the very picture of a courtly noblewoman—a delicately raised young lady from a count's family—who would grimace as if about to die at the slightest exposure to the sun.
"You came to see me without a gift? Do you still not understand the etiquette between nobles? What do you think my father will do if he finds out about this? Can you handle the consequences? Leave immediately! Now!"
“Haa…”
Kyle Dante sighed deeply, recalling the icy glare of his fiancée.
5.
Cold water enveloped Lancel.
Even in summer, the river flowing directly from the mountain stream through the Dante territory remained refreshingly cool.
Splash!
Lancel caught Marigold as she jumped in and lifted her up. Apart from their undergarments, they were practically naked.
"Hahaha!"
"You haven't been swimming much, have you?"
"A little... just the basics... Ugh!"
Lancel steadied Marigold as she sank.
"Try walking slowly. Your feet should touch the bottom."
They had come here to cool off for a moment.
The water play had started with a simple thought: “If I'm just going to dip my feet in, why not take a full plunge and come back out?"
But once they were in, all desire to leave vanished.
"Haaah..."
Marigold's expression softened completely in the cold river water.
"Haaah... It's so refreshing, Sir Lancel..."
"Don't go too deep. Stay over here."
As Lancel carefully guided Marigold, who was floating gently on the surface, his thoughts suddenly grew complicated.
‘How did we end up engaged?’
This was a first for him.
Starting his life as someone's partner right from the beginning.
Perhaps this was an exceptionally rare case?
"Sir Lancel?"
Their engagement had been entirely her doing.
Whatever Lancel had done in previous iterations, this relationship would never have formed without her. He would never have taken the initiative.
Having lived for centuries, his senses dulled by time, the idea of forming a bond with a partner destined to turn to ash and vanish one day was almost inconceivable.
But Marigold was different.
Her thoughts were different.
The regressor Marigold had willingly chosen Lancel, without the slightest hesitation.
"Mary."
Lancel turned Marigold's body toward him.
The river and forest reflected in his large, dark eyes. In this world scorched by the harsh sun, it felt as if only the two of them remained.
“Marriage to the Young Nobleman, Lancel Dante” was undoubtedly a bitter ending. It was the first ending Lancel had ever witnessed when he had finally met Marigold. He still remembered every detail vividly.
‘Break off the engagement. It's going to end badly anyway. Just break it off now.’
The trauma of that moment whispered in his mind.
Lancel slowly raised his head.
"Marigold."
"Yes, Sir Lancel..."
Marigold's trembling eyes met his. He saw her damp hair and the nervous swallow in her throat.
“I'll give you my entire life, Sir Lancel.”
"If what you've given me is your entire life..." Lancel wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "...now that I've taken it once, I'll never give it back."
Yes.
"Never."
Lancel resolved to truly become Marigold's partner.
At least, for this lifetime.
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