WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
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◈ The Protagonist of a Romance Fantasy Only Likes Me ◈
Chapter 12: Warrior Marigold. (7)
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Lancel already had an idea who the person was. There was only one person in the imperial palace who could impersonate the Emperor without any repercussions.
Someone from the past.
Someone with whom he had almost formed a very deep connection.
Of course, he had no intention of revealing even that much.
No matter how reckless he was, completely disarming the "fake Emperor" would be no different from suicide.
“Are you bold, or simply an idiot?”
Beyond the veil, the Emperor quietly perched on their chair.
“Even the royal families of vassal states would offer anything to meet me. Even their hearts. Yet you ask me to offer more.”
“You know they are all talk. They would not offer anything close to their hearts, let alone their hearts.”
“...”
Instead of answering, the Emperor clicked his tongue.
“Fine. You truly are not suited to be a Court Knight. I will change your gift.”
“Your Majesty...!”
The knights looked utterly dumbfounded.
They apparently did not like the thought of someone who had talked back to their lord receiving what he wanted.
“Quiet.”
The Emperor had already made up their mind.
“If you reject this gift as well, I will not let it slide, Lancel Dante.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
Lancel smiled faintly.
The Emperor was taking back the position of Court Knight and offering another gift instead. It had to be worth at least as much.
“Iceford.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Court Count snapped to attention when his name was called.
“If I recall correctly, you have a daughter who will soon hold her coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Yes. She is the blessing of my life, Your Majesty.”
“It would not be strange for marriage proposals to start arriving soon.”
“...That is true, but...”
Unease gradually spread over the Court Count's face.
“I hear she is one of the Empire's Three Great Beauties. Fortunately, she did not take after her father.”
“I hear that often, Your Majesty. But why bring that up all of a sudden...?”
“It must be difficult, with so few decent men her age.”
“N-No, it is fine, Your Majesty. My daughter does not seem to be thinking about marriage yet...”
“I say it because it pains me to see it. What an ungrateful thing to say.”
Cold sweat. Lancel watched cold sweat bead across the Court Count's face.
“Count Iceford is my old friend and family. I would like to personally match her with a good man.”
“With whom...?”
“With whom, you ask?”
The Emperor abruptly turned their head toward the person standing right beside the Court Count.
“A man bold enough to kick aside even a gift bestowed by the Emperor because it did not satisfy him.”
Lancel felt the stares drilling into him.
“Y-Your Majesty, perhaps I should first ask my daughter what she thinks, then decide...”
“No. There is no need to drag this out. Hold the engagement ceremony four days from now. I will send a statue from the imperial collection as a gift.”
Hm.
What was this?
“Do not worry. I do not know exactly what he is, but one thing is certain. He is an exceptional man.”
Three minutes? No, two? The marriage arrangement had been decided in a ridiculously short time.
“Master, what are they talking about right now?”
Marigold whispered to him.
“They're marrying me to that man's daughter.”
“What?”
Marigold's face stiffened.
“S-Shouldn't you refuse?”
“How am I supposed to refuse the Emperor twice?”
“B-But still, Master...”
“If he tells me to do it, I do it. If I complain again, my head really will end up on the floor.”
It was not particularly unusual.
Using marriage arrangements to secure loyalty was common in this world.
This was a medieval world, after all.
Moreover, the Court Count was a traditional pro-Emperor noble who served as the chief chamberlain.
The moment Lancel became connected to him by marriage, Lancel too would become part of the noble group classified as the pro-Emperor faction, or perhaps the imperial faction.
More precisely, House Dante itself would.
‘Hm, perhaps this is actually for the best.’
A connection to the imperial family was good for him, and it was practically a joyous occasion for House Dante as well.
Their son had run away to the capital and landed the chief chamberlain's daughter. For a provincial noble house on the Empire's outskirts, it was practically a rise in status.
‘Now Marigold and I won't end up getting married, either.’
Seen that way, it was a good thing.
A good thing.
Hm.
Yes.
That had to be it.
“Marriage should be with someone you like...”
“Are you satisfied now, Lancel Dante?”
Marigold's faint voice was buried beneath the Emperor's next words.
“My father and mother will be jumping for joy, Your Majesty.”
“They should be. You have gained Miss Iceford, one of the Empire's Three Great Beauties, who has spent her life receiving the courtship of all men, overnight. Naturally, you should be pleased.”
The Emperor ended the matter firmly, as if they would accept no objections.
“Congratulations on becoming the Court Count's son-in-law, Lancel Dante. I will personally preside over the ceremony at the imperial palace.”
15.
After the audience ended.
Lancel took Marigold around the Secret Garden for quite some time, but they never encountered the prince.
He was not disappointed. It was probably for the best. Marigold was acting very strangely.
She blankly trailed after him, her mind seeming to have drifted far away.
Beside her, the chief chamberlain, who would soon become Lancel's father-in-law, was no different.
“Master is getting married...”
“My daughter... to a man like this...”
If they had met the prince in that state, something strange would surely have happened.
“We should be going now. Um, should I call you Father-in-law?”
“...”
By the time they left the imperial palace after wandering around the Secret Garden until sunset, the capital's marketplace was visible in the distance.
“Should we look around before we go?”
He stopped the carriage at the entrance.
Lancel walked silently into the middle of the market. Marigold quietly followed one step behind him.
Loud cries from the stalls, drunken people shouting, children running about.
After walking for some time, Lancel suddenly stopped at one stall.
“Mysterious gems from the eastern continent! Only one silver coin! Gems said to make your life bloom just by carrying them!”
They were supposedly gems, but it was merely a stall covered in oddly colored stones.
Lancel picked up a necklace strung with blue stones.
“You have an eye for quality! That stone is said to bring luck and happiness!”
Before the vendor could grow any louder, Lancel tossed them a silver coin to shut them up.
“Mary.”
He approached Marigold, who had been following behind him.
“Come here.”
Lancel placed the necklace around her neck himself. Her wavering eyes trembled.
They were still a brilliant emerald green, just like when he had first seen them.
“Master.”
“What is it?”
Her voice was low and husky.
“Are there... usually many people who marry even when they don't like each other?”
“Why worry about something like that?”
Looking at Marigold's thin, trembling lips, Lancel spoke again.
“A bond doesn't have to be inevitable. Some relationships are formed overnight. I didn't ask for this either.”
Marigold was the same.
There was nothing particularly inevitable about her life. She was a character who reached very different endings each time because of the smallest triggers.
This time was no exception. She became a mercenary simply because she learned swordsmanship. Could that truly be called inevitable?
If she had learned to read and write, she might have become a scholar. If she had learned singing, she might have become a minstrel. If she had learned cooking, she might have opened a restaurant.
Was any of it truly inevitable?
Becoming an Imperial Consort was the goal within the game, but he still did not know whether that was the right answer.
If he was lucky, this tiresome regression would stop. If he was not, he would continue wandering through a ten-year eternity, going mad without end.
That was all.
“Then at least let me stay by your side, Master.”
Lancel felt Marigold's arms wrap around his waist.
Her body had already grown so much, and when she pressed herself tightly against him, Lancel could only freeze in place.
“Please let me keep living by your side. That's all right, isn't it?”
“You do leave quite a lot of scraps for me to pick up.”
“I'm not joking.”
Marigold's voice was tearful, but Lancel smiled all the more openly.
“Just use me as a maid, Master. I'll only follow you around.”
“It would be a waste to use someone as trained as you as a maid. That is a waste of talent.”
“I don't think so.”
As he patted the head of the girl clinging firmly to him, Lancel felt secretly relieved.
‘If I left her like this, she might end up marrying me again.’
This was not him being conceited or narcissistic. He had sometimes wondered if he was being too full of himself, but now he was certain.
‘We've already spent quite a long time together as mercenaries.’
Lancel could not get Marigold to let go of him until the entire evening had passed.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the wedding arrived.
* * *
“Waaah, I'm marrying such a worthless man... a pathetic noble who does nothing but run a mercenary guild... Waaaaah!”
“...”
Lancel's eyebrow twitched as he watched the young noblewoman sob.
“My life is over. It's over, completely over! I've only just come of age! And that noble from a poor family whom I don't even love is my fiancé... Sob, oh God, how could you do this to me!”
There were only about two hours left until the wedding.
Iri Wiz Iceford. A woman called one of the Empire's Three Great Beauties.
In other words, Lancel's fiancée was despairing over the entire world.
“...How dare she speak of Master that way...”
“Stop. Don't do that, Mary.”
Lancel calmed Marigold, who was growling right beside him. Her hand had even started moving toward the hilt of a decorative sword.
“Master, I am the sort of person who despises those too blessed to recognize their fortune.”
“Calm down. What are you talking about?”
It was the first time he had seen Marigold with such a cold expression.
“Oh, God!”
“...Shall I kill her, Master?”
“Hold back.”
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