5.
[Lancel’s Mercenary Guild]
Marigold's heart had been pounding strangely since she arrived at the guild headquarters. The closer she got, the more intense the feeling became.
“Wow, even this early in the morning there’s already a thick crowd of sweaty mercenaries. I feel like I’ll get contaminated if I even get close. Huh? Miss? Miss?”
Before anyone could stop her, Marigold squeezed through the crowd.
“What the hell? This is a mercenary guild, women don’t belo—… Aaagh!”
Marigold twisted the wrist of the man blocking her path and shoved past..
“It’s rude to cut in line, Miss.”
"Ah."
When she finally reached the front of the crowd, Marigold's mouth fell open slightly.
“Lancel Dante…….”
The man from her dreams.
He was leaning casually against the reception desk.
Thump, thump.
Her heart was pounding harder than ever before.
“Who on earth is he that you are so fixated on him, Miss? He’s just another nobleman.”
Marigold had no proper answer to that question. What she felt was not something that can be expressed with simple words such as “like” or “dislike,” or even “love” or “hate.”
“You’ve never even met him before?. So who exactly is he?”
"Hmm."
After much thought, Marigold tilted her head and answered Pina.
“My ex-husband?”
“……?”
It wasn’t entirely untrue.
Even though it had only happened in a dream.
“We will begin now! Candidates must enter one at a time!”
Then examination commenced, and Marigold's turn approached. The opponent she would clash swords with had already been decided long ago.
“I humbly request a match with you, Sir Lancel Dante.”
* * *
Marigold’s acceptance into the mercenary guild was practically a done deal. Having mastered basic swordsmanship meant that she possessed the minimum skill level to work as a mercenary.
The improvement in her posture and bearing were also impressive, even surpassing some of the mercenaries.
“I humbly request a match with you, Sir Lancel Dante.”
Above all, it was her eyes.
Those fiercely burning eyes. sparkled like emeralds and seemed ready to unleash bolts of lightning at any moment.
Though Marigold spoke sparingly, Lancel could sense the unprecedented passion stirring within her.
‘… Wasn’t this our first meeting in this life?’
Lancel was speechless for a moment.
As far as he knew, Marigold was not a regressor. She was a human with no memories of the previous iterations. That much was certain.
‘So why…?’
“Grant her request. Since she wants it so badly.”
The Third Prince, who had been watching from the side, spoke up. The corners of his lips were slightly curled up in amusement. He was enjoying the situation.
‘Hmm…What the hell is going on here?
“What are you doing? He’s the guild master, not an examiner. Get back here immediately……”
Lancel raised his hand to silence the examiner who spoke. Without another word, he pulled out the wooden sword from his waistband.
"Young Master?"
“It’s fine. The examinations are for everyone to see. It was getting boring just standing around anyway, so this is good.”
“Are you sure you’re alright with this?”
“Do not make me repeat myself.”
"Yes, Young Master!"
The examiners stepped back and a crowd encircled Lancel and Marigold, their eyes fixed on the unexpected spectacle.
The arena was in an uproar as the situation unfolded unexpectedly.
“A nobleman dueling a girl who worked at a nearby inn? I’ve lived long enough to see all sorts of strange things, I guess.”
“A countryman and an inn maid?”
“But he’s supposedly a knight?”
“He’s skinny as a twig! What kind of knight is that? He probably received the rank by choosing the right hole to come out of.”
The mercenaries' mouths moved incessantly.
“No matter how soft mercenaries have gotten, it’s still too much for a girl working at an inn to be trying to fight.”
“What are you talking about? That woman is no ordinary woman. There must have been at least a dozen foolish men who got hurt trying to mess with that woman at the Western Inn.”
"What?"
“Is that the Marigold?”
The mercenaries' gazes toward Marigold began to shift.
Everyone seemed to have heard a rumor somewhere.
“You know that Robin guy who couldn’t make it here today?”
“That guy lying around with a sprained back? Yeah, I know him well.”
“That’s her doing.”
“Huh. So the story about him slipping in the bathhouse was a lie?”
Lancel walked towards Marigold, lightly twirling his wooden sword.
“Let’s make a deal. If you can even graze my clothes, I’ll give you the bronze insignia.”
It was a rank above the mercenaries who started out with iron insignias.
“If you manage to touch my body even just once, you get a silver insignia. If you draw even a single drop of my blood, you get a gold insignia. What do you think?”
“And if I win?”
“If you win……”
Lancel smiled, savoring the sight of Marigold's face flushed with a competitive fire.
“Then I will grant you any wish you desire.”
“That’s a promise.”
With that, one of the examiners raised his hand.
“Ready, go!”
As soon as the signal dropped, Marigold's wooden sword flashed.
She slid across the floor, closing five steps in an instant, and thrust her wooden sword forward.
Lancel slightly turned his head to avoid it.
He wasn’t bothered by her movements being much faster than expected. The problem was the strange energy he felt emanating from her wooden sword.
'……Magical powers?'
‘No, that was impossible.’
It was only possible to imbue a sword with magic powers when one mastered the “supreme swordsmanship,” a level far beyond Marigold’s current capabilities.
Yet, magic powers were not only oozing from Marigold’s wooden sword, but from her entire body as well. Even indoors, where the air remained still, her hair was fluttering slightly.
‘How can someone suddenly jump five levels in rank? It was impossible, even for the main character.’
There is only one explanation.
‘Yuri. That bastard.’
Lancel glanced back. There stood the Third Prince, his lower face concealed by a fan spread open. He was watching the two of them dueling with his eyes curved like crescent moons.
As Lancel focused on the flow of magical power, it became clear. The magical powers were flowing from the Third Prince directly to Marigold.
============
—Sudden event! The Third Prince is cheering for Marigold. He casts the 5th rank magic spell, “Blessing.” Marigold’s abilities will be significantly enhanced until the Third Prince’s magic powers are exhausted.
※The Third Prince wants to see the mercenary guild master, Lancel Dante, in a tight spot. Give him what he wants!
============
Blessing.
The blessing of a high-ranking wizard had pushed Marigold’s abilities to the extreme. The magical powers she now possessed were essentially Third Prince Yuri’s powers.
‘Anyway, none of the princes of this Empire are normal.
It's a shame that Marigold has to marry one of those guys.'
Lancel sat up straighter, thinking so.
“Don’t misunderstand, Marigold. I hold no ill will toward you.”
He was going to take it easy.
6.
Lancel already knew the Third Prince's intentions: he was trying to gauge Lancel’s capabilities.
The Third Prince wanted to see just how skilled Lancel was, and how much hidden strength he possessed.
Lancel had no intentions of playing along. He gathered all the magical powers within his body, using only his physical strength to guide his movements.
Swaaaak!
Marigold's wooden sword flew toward him with a sharp sound that tore through the air.
Lancel stepped back, deflecting the force. The destructive power coiled within the sword could shatter anything it struck head-on.
Countless exchanges unfolded between Lancel and Marigold in an instant, their speed becoming too difficult to follow for the eyes of those watching.
“……That’s…….”
The faces of the onlookers were filled with shock.
Of course, Marigold's strikes, delivered with terrifying force, were undoubtedly impressive. But even more astonishing was Lancel, who deflected every attack with just one hand.
“You have the strength, but it’s still not enough. You have a long way to go.”
Lancel wore a leisurely smile on his lips.
“Your waist is exposed.”
“Ouch!”
“Quit your theatrics. This time,our shoulders are unguarded.”
"Ack!"
Occasionally, Lancel would tap the tip of his sword against Marigold's unguarded spots.
There was no one present who could comprehend how such a thing was possible.
All they could sense was that Lancel Dante was someone who had attained a level of swordsmanship far beyond their understanding.
“Hmm.”
As the situation unfolded, the smile gradually faded from another person's expression.
Lancel felt the shift in his opponent’s mood and let out a laugh.
‘Did you think that just boosting her abilities would solve everything, Third Prince Yuri?’
Marigold's abilities are enhanced by the magical powers of the Third Prince, which meant that as the duel carried on, it was the prince’s magical power that would be depleted.
Of course, from the perspective of the Third Prince, who was a renowned magical prodigy, the magic he had left was practically limitless. The Third Prince might only feel unpleasant but the effects wouldn’t be noticeable immediately.
Lancel found satisfaction in that fact.
Whoosh
That was until a red ring appeared in Marigold's eyes.
“……I can go again.”
The weariness disappeared from her face. The beads of sweat that had been dripping down her skin evaporated into the air, leaving behind a mist.
============
—Event updated! The Third Prince refuses to let Marigold lose. He casts the 7th rank magic “Overflow.”
※The Third Prince's magical powers are rapidly depleting. Marigold's vitality and mental power are draining. Condition is drastically decreasing.
※From now on, all damages sustained by Marigold will be converted into by the Third Prince’s magic power. (Magical powers remaining: 98%)
============
As expected.
Long ago, in another life, Lancel had experienced the effects of overflow firsthand. It was awful, to say the least.
“Ugh!”
Marigold convulsed under the force of magical powers pouring in.
The warmth disappeared from Lancel's eyes.
He had considered giving her a good fight before losing, just to make her look good to the prince. If it meant that would be the first step toward becoming the future empress.
But now, he changed his mind. This bastard the Third Prince needed to be taught a lesson before he came to his senses.
‘Yuri, you crossed the line first.’
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