Navy Marigold

6.

Soul Flower.

Colloquially known as the Emperor’s Flower.

Lancel recalled the name of the flower in the water bottle.

“It’s back.”

The bodies of Lancel and Marigold, which had been switched for a brief moment, returned to normal in exactly one minute.

Just a moment ago, Lancel was in Marigold’s body, and Marigold was in Lancel’s body.

It was a clear fact, unless he had been hallucinating.

That was the power of this flower.

The effect of this flower was to randomly mix the souls of all beings in the surrounding area.

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Item: Soul Flower.

Effect: Randomly swaps souls within a 2-meter radius for 1 minute.

※The effect is triggered once a year, the moment the petals receive light.

==========

Yes.

For exactly 1 minute.

“Lancel, what was that just now…?”

“Shhh. You didn’t know anything. You didn’t see anything, and nothing happened. Understand?”

Lancel’s voice was quiet.

Marigold quickly covered her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded her head vigorously. She seemed to have noticed that his expression was serious.

‘Why did something that should have been safely hidden in the Imperial Palace end up here as mere loot?’

Lancel frowned.

He was very concerned about how an item that should have been cherished in the Imperial report ended up as a plundered item.

“Lancel? It sounds like the navy is here?”

Marigold tugged at his sleeve.

Judging from the loud noises coming from the upper deck, reinforcements seemed to have arrived.

Lancel stared at the vase in his hand for a moment before putting it back in the box.

‘The flower’s effect only returns once a year. For the time being, it’s just an ornamental plant.’

He didn’t know.

He had never seen it before.

Marigold, the only witness, didn’t seem to think much about what had just happened. She didn’t even seem to know what had happened, which was a relief.

“Should we… take a little more before the navy comes?”

“If we get caught, it’s off to jail.”

“Just this one thing!”

Marigold managed to find a ring and put it on her ring finger.

It was a gold ring that looked similar to the one Lancel had.

.

.

.

“Lancel Dante! I heard you did a great job? You’re either perfect for the navy or a pirate. My predictions never fail!”

As they towed the captured pirate ship, Coral Baron, the garrison commander, greeted him, slapping him on the back.

“I heard the spoils were plentiful. Did you take some for yourself?”

“Yes, well, this much.”

Lancel raised both hands. The gold ring on his ring finger sparkled.

“A pair of rings? Tsk, tsk, how can a naval officer have so little ambition?”

He looked disappointed.

“I’ll set aside a few for your share later. Soldiers go to jail without exception if they’re caught, but officers should have some fun.”

Coral Baron lowered his voice and slapped him on the back again.

“Hahaha!”

The force was enough to make his eyeballs shake.

Not to be outdone, Lancel grabbed Marigold, who was loitering nearby, for no reason.

“Lancel? Ugh! Ack! Ugh! Keeng! Ugh!”

He slapped her back as hard as Coral Baron had slapped his.

“Lancel.”

“Yes, Baron.”

“Did you hear?”

“……?”

“The Third Princess, Your Highness, is coming to the archipelago. I guess you didn’t hear.”

“……Yes?”

Lancel let go of Marigold and widened his eyes.

“Is that true?”

“Of course. I heard it directly from Count Ruwen. She’s already on a ship heading here, so she should arrive by tomorrow evening at the latest.”

“What brings her here?”

Why?

Why?

Why the Third Princess of all people?

“I don’t know. But she wouldn’t come for no reason, would she? Your Highness of the Imperial Family, who is so busy, wouldn’t come all the way to this remote place just for a vacation.”

She was busy indeed.

They were people who didn’t have a day to rest, busy enjoying affairs, parties, pleasures, luxuries, and gambling.

Whether their children were failures or they were busy with official duties, it was certainly true that they were busy every day.

This was the first time he had seen her appear in the archipelago in the past dozens of playthroughs. It was just his luck that she was coming now.

“You know about the Third Princess, Your Highness’s reputation, right?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be an Imperial citizen.”

“Then that makes things easier. Take this opportunity to get a suit made, fix your hair, and make yourself presentable. Count Ruwen is being uncharacteristically generous and will lend you everything you need.”

“……Yes. But I’ll take this one with me instead of the maids.”

“Ugh!”

Lancel lifted Marigold by the scruff of her neck, who had been eavesdropping nearby.

She looked like a mouse caught stealing, helplessly lifted up.

“She’s been secretly eavesdropping since earlier. I’ll take her with me to keep her quiet.”

“It’s not like the Princess’s visit is a secret, but whatever. Hurry back. It’s your first shift this week, so be back by dawn at the latest.”

7.

“Is the Third Princess, Your Highness, a very scary person?”

On the way to the Count’s castle, Lancel paused to think about ‘that woman’ in response to Marigold’s question.

Third Princess Claria Arild Phrygia.

To sum her up in one word.

“You could say she’s a very famous face-obsessed person.”

“Face…obsessed?”

“In simple terms, it means she’s obsessed with people’s appearances. Pretty and handsome people, that is.”

“Ah!”

In the game, she was a character who openly took on the role of a villain.

She was a woman who didn’t want to lose any man she liked to anyone else.

Even if it was just a normal noble Miss managing her harem, it would be scary, but imagine what it would be like if she were a princess. It was truly terrifying.

Naturally, there were many scenes where she put intense pressure on Marigold, the game’s protagonist.

She was a textbook villainous heroine.

At a banquet in a certain Count’s territory where he first saw her, she even caused all sorts of trouble just because a servant looked unpleasant.

She wasn’t on good terms with Lancel either.

—Well, about 9 points. Lancel Dante.

—What’s the maximum score?

—Why, 100 points, of course.

Damn it.

He never imagined that that woman would be the Third Princess Claria from the game.

“Hmm……”

“Why did you suddenly get so serious?”

“It’s nothing.”

Marigold suddenly looked troubled.

While he was wondering why she was like that, the two arrived at the Count’s castle.

“Nice to meet you, Sir Lancel Dante. I am Anselo, Count Ruwen’s hairdresser.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Is that naval officer…?”

He could feel it.

The hairdresser was looking back and forth between the rings on Lancel and Marigold’s ring fingers.

He was clearly imagining a complicated secret relationship.

“Ahem.”

Marigold pretended to look away, emphasizing her ring finger even more.

“…She’s just a subordinate, so don’t get any strange ideas.”

“Ah, yes…”

His reaction seemed unconvinced.

“Oh, my… It seems you haven’t had your hair done in quite a while. You must have been too focused on your knightly duties. I’ll give you a clean trim on this occasion.”

“Please do.”

Lancel closed his eyes.

He could only hear the sound of the waves in the distance, the sound of scissors trimming his hair, and the sound of the hairdresser occasionally holding his breath in concentration.

When he felt a strange sensation and opened his eyes, feeling drowsy from the breeze blowing through the window, Marigold was right in front of him, sticking her face close.

“What are you doing?”

“Lancel.”

Snip, snip.

As his hair fell, Marigold said with a worried face.

“Am I also a face…obsessed person?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sigh.”

So that’s why she had been so quiet.

She seemed to be seriously contemplating it.

“Are you satisfied, Sir Lancel?”

“Of course, he’s the hairdresser the Count assigned.”

“You flatter me. If you go to the next room, a tailor will make you a suit.”

As his clothes were changed into a neat outfit, Marigold’s worries deepened even further.

“I’m a really terrible person, Lancel.”

“I don’t know why you’re saying that, but aren’t you mistaken?”

It wasn’t necessarily bad to be face-obsessed. More than that, Lancel had often heard that he was handsome, but in the Princess’s standards, he was only 9 out of 100 points. In the Princess’s standards.

‘No, maybe I have a pretty decent appearance, right?’

Yes.

Maybe the Third Princess had a unique taste, and he had a pretty high charm score by this world’s standards.

‘Yes. I’m pretty good. I work out and my body is trained.’

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[Game Guide]

-Undiscovered achievements have been found.

1.

Doesn’t care about appearance at all.

2.

Experience with only one person (30 playthroughs). -A Rank!-

3.

Lover of only one person (30 playthroughs). -A Rank!-

4.

In-house romance naval couple.

5.

???

※Diversification of gameplay is required.

==========

“What…?”

“Yes?”

“No. I wasn’t talking to you.”

Doesn’t care about appearance ‘at all’.

‘Mary has eyes, so it can’t be that bad, honestly.’

.

.

.

“You have a face like a crustacean that sticks to the beach. Lancel Dante.”

The next day, a cold voice fell upon Lancel.

8.

“They’re coming in like crazy.”

That afternoon, the archipelago’s harbor was bustling with ships that seemed about to burst.

The sailing ships that had arrived from the Imperial Palace filled the pier to the point where they were docked in two or three rows.

A spectacular scene unfolded as the navy, laborers, and residents were all mobilized to unload supplies from the ships.

“Unload the light stuff first!”

“Careful, careful! Be careful not to spill anything!”

“Don’t go on ship number 1! How many times do I have to tell you that’s an Imperial ship!”

Marigold was also a member of that group.

“Hec, hec!”

She rushed down below deck with busy steps.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, her eyes sparkled with life.

-Chirp!

A small birdcage caught her eye.

It seemed to be a bird that the sailors were raising. Bread crumbs that had been scattered as food were spread on the floor.

“A bird!”

Marigold put her finger into the cage.

Just as she was about to carefully stroke its head feathers, its beak opened wide. Her fingertip was ruthlessly bitten.

“Ouch!”

Blood welled up.

Tears welled up.

-Chirp!

“Okay, okay, don’t get angry, I won’t touch you. I’ll just look. I’ll just look… Hehe.”

It was a pretty bird.

Blue wings, an orange body, and a beak that sparkled like obsidian. It stared at Marigold with its head held high.

It was a bird that was so pretty that it couldn’t be compared to the terrifying seagulls that flew around this archipelago.

“Ah.”

Marigold, who had been staring as if possessed, soon lifted the cage.

While calming the bird, which was flapping its wings in surprise, she said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Sergeant! Should we take this down too?”

“What’s that?”

“A bird! A pretty bird!”

“Just take everything down for now!”

“Yes!”

.

.

.

“You have a face like a crustacean that sticks to the beach. Lancel Dante.”

Around him, he could hear the muffled sounds of partygoers trying to hold back their laughter. Everyone had been taking turns being insulted, and now that even Lancel, who had been receiving some attention, had been insulted, everyone seemed resigned.

Up to that point, it was fine because it was a common tactic for the Princess to intimidate people upon first meeting them.

“I don’t need a gift, so please disappear from my sight.”

A woman wearing a veil.

Third Princess Claria Arild Phrygia.

After hearing her voice, Lancel was certain of something.

‘It’s a little bland?’

The Third Princess’s insults were somehow less powerful than usual. Something was lacking in the Scoville scale.

Most nobles would have felt that this was stinging enough, but that was what the young nobles of the archipelago, who hadn’t yet been tainted by the Imperial Capital, would have thought.

—I’d rather look at a sand hopper that’s been crushed on the beach.

The tone, the content, the power in her voice, even the contemptuous emotion. None of it was the Third Princess’s.

Lancel felt that something was unlike her, starting with the fact that she was covering her face with a veil.

The Third Princess’s obsession with appearance was based on her confidence in her own beauty.

But to cover her face.

It certainly wasn’t like her.

‘A stand-in?’

What kind of Imperial Palace can’t function without a stand-in?