Civil Servant Marigold

8.

Kaaaang!

Intense cracking sounds burst out incessantly. Just listening to it was enough to make one feel breathless.

“Young Master…”

Until the fight began, the knights had no doubt about Adelhart’s victory.

In fact, he was the one attacking every time, and Lancel seemed to be merely parrying and retreating.

But after one minute, two minutes, and then five minutes passed, the knights’ expressions began to crumble.

“Kuh-heuk!”

A groan escaped Adelhart’s lips. For some reason, his entire body was covered in wounds.

Each time he charged, small scratches accumulated, soaking his entire body in blood. Even though Lancel was still only defending.

“You’re certainly a genius, but you’re still far off, Adelhart.”

Lancel’s eyes coldly stared at him.

“Your sword is not even half of half of half complete yet.”

Lancel, surprisingly, seemed a little disappointed. He even seemed bored by the fact that his opponent was much weaker than he had expected.

Adelhart was consumed by a feeling he had never experienced before.

“Kuaaaa!”

A roar erupted from his mouth. It was a desperate attempt to blow away the resentment that had built up in his chest. It was at that moment that Magic Power began to boil fiercely within his body.

Adelhart’s blade vibrated and began to emit a bluish light.

“Adelhart!”

Count Lunter’s urgent cry could not stop him. He would cut down the opponent in front of him. That was his only thought.

Kaga-ga-gang!

The blades clashed once more.

That was the end of it. Adelhart’s grip tore, and the blade shattered into three pieces. The hilt, with only the handle remaining, fell to the floor with a thud.

Adelhart’s knees, stained with sweat and blood, buckled. He saw Count Lunter rushing towards him belatedly.

“Adelhart.”

The Count’s expression was filled with anger.

It wasn’t directed at Lancel.

It was directed at his son.

“To use Magic Power in a knight’s duel, it seems I have taught you poorly.”

“…I’m sorry, Father. I couldn’t control my momentary emotions…”

“You foolish fool. For a knight, passion is an act that invites death. And to dare to show hatred when chivalry is at stake, do you intend to tarnish your father’s name? Does the great name of Lunter still seem light to you?”

“…I have no excuse.”

“I will hold you strictly accountable for this. Be prepared.”

“…”

The knights seemed moved by the voices of the Lunter family, their eyes bloodshot.

‘Hmm.’

Lancel could only watch in silence, unable to say anything in the subdued atmosphere.

“Lancel Dante.”

Count Lunter said, his gaze fixed on his son.

“You have won. Take what you want.”

Acceptance.

Count Lunter acknowledged defeat.

He seemed more distressed by his son’s mistake than by the fact that he had lost. Lancel felt he understood a little how absolute ‘chivalry’ was to him.

Lancel silently raised his hand to his chest and bowed.

‘To think that such a person will become a traitor in the near future.’

The world is a strange place.

Though it wasn’t his concern.

“Lancel!”

“Congratulations on your release, Manager Mary.”

A little while later, Marigold, her eyes brimming with tears, was freed from the spire.

In her hands, she held the report returned by Count Lunter and, for some reason, a bowl of Oatmeal. Was it a lunch box?

“Hwaaaack!”

“What are you doing?”

Lancel quickly picked up the girl, who had collapsed to the ground because her legs had given out.

9.

As Lancel carried Marigold on his back and left the lord’s castle, dawn was already breaking on the distant horizon.

The two of them were silent for a while. All that could be felt was Marigold’s heartbeat through his back and the faint warmth of her arms wrapped around his neck.

Marigold clung to him very tightly.

“I must smell a lot like sweat.”

“It’s okay.”

She buried her face even deeper.

“Why did Manager Mary decide to become an Administrator?”

“Pardon?”

“Someone who graduated at the top of the academy would have had many easier options. Why did you specifically try to work at the Imperial Central Administration?”

It was a pure question.

He had never heard why she, who had walked the path of a barbarian in the last iteration, had suddenly become an elite Administrator this time.

“I have dreams.”

“Everyone has dreams.”

“Not those kinds of dreams. Something…”

Marigold paused for a moment before continuing.

“Once in a while… I dream that this world is becoming increasingly unhappy and being destroyed.”

“That sounds like a nightmare.”

“It is! I don’t dream it often, but I have the same dream every time. The exact same dream.”

Lancel agreed, and Marigold wrapped her arms around him.

Lancel’s neck felt like it was being strangled.

“I just didn’t want the world I live in to become like that. But there’s nothing I can do, right? Even if I go to the Imperial Capital, I can’t do anything with just my body.”

“You could have cleaned at an inn or something. Since you’re a commoner.”

“H-How did you know?”

“There’s a way I know everything.”

“…Anyway, as soon as I saw that the academy was recruiting people, I just went straight in. I thought being an Administrator would be different.”

“So you became an Administrator because you wanted to change the world, what a tremendously grand ambition.”

Lancel chuckled.

“It’s hard for a mere Administrator to change the world, Manager Mary. It’s better to abandon such big dreams early.”

“I know that too. I just want to do as much as I can.”

This time alone, she would have been detained for a long time if it hadn’t been for Lancel.

No, she would have already gone astray when she was caught by the Militia before that.

‘So why did she keep her distance from me at first?’

Just as Lancel was about to ask that question.

“Just you wait, Lancel.”

Suddenly, Marigold’s voice, full of determination, rang out.

“Wait for what?”

“Even though I’m like this now, I’ll rise to a high position someday and become someone so amazing that even Lancel will be begging me.”

“…I don’t think there’s any chance I’ll be begging Manager Mary…”

“You never know. If I become the highest-ranking Administrator in the Empire, that might happen.”

Was this a declaration of her will to become Senior Administrator Marigold?

“If that happens, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Really!”

“Yeah. Anything.”

“A-Anything…!”

Marigold’s voice trembled.

“Really anything? Really?”

“That’s what I said.”

“You can’t take it back later!”

“…Hearing you say that makes me want to take it back.”

“Hic! No! You have to keep your promise once you’ve made it!”

It was just an empty promise anyway, but Marigold seemed to be in a good mood.

The events at Count Lunter’s castle were concluded just like that, overnight.

A little while later, Marigold, who had returned to the Imperial Capital, safely submitted her report. It was a report on the violation of Imperial Law by Count Lunter.

“Don’t send it to the Administration, send it to the Imperial Family. That’ll be faster.”

Following Lancel’s advice, Marigold’s report was delivered at high speed to the Emperor (fake), skipping all intermediate steps. It was the result of Lancel intervening in the middle.

The Imperial Central Administration was in an uproar for a while due to Marigold’s blunder, which had disrupted the reporting system at once. It was hard to stay quiet when a newly arrived Administrator had submitted a report to the Imperial Family without any confirmation from above.

Of course, that chaos soon subsided.

“Record Keeper Mary has been awarded a commendation from His Majesty the Emperor!”

The Emperor (fake) had been waiting for an opportunity to set an example for the local nobles, and he immediately awarded Marigold a prize and a medal.

“From today, Record Keeper Mary will be promoted three ranks to Record Manager in the Administration. His Majesty has also ordered that ten gold coins and an Imperial shoulder badge be bestowed upon her.”

Not long after, an investigation team was formed in the Imperial Family.

They headed to Count Lunter’s territory and, over several months, proved that Marigold’s report was all true.

The measure taken against Count Lunter was a light warning.

“His Majesty asks that you take good care to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again, Count Lunter.”

It seemed like nothing, but it was significant. The lord’s honor had been diminished. There was nothing more important to a noble than that. Especially to Count Lunter.

In any case, Marigold began her path to success from that day on.

“The Record Keeper is being promoted to Record Manager in less than a year…?”

“That’s an incredible success.”

“It’s only natural since she caught His Majesty’s eye.”

It was also the beginning of a difficult road.

After becoming a Manager, Marigold began to suffer from overwork every day.

10.

“Baron Dirk is insisting that my garden is his land, does that make any sense! Immediately relay to the Imperial Family that they need to mediate this! I can’t take it anymore!”

“P-Please, calm down for a moment…!”

“Have you finished talking! Why is that your garden! My butlers have already taken measurements, are you still going to insist!”

“Now, now, let’s talk a little more…”

“Oh, you’ve met your match. Set a date right now! Let’s settle this with a duel!”

“Hiiiik! You can’t take out a sword here!”

“That’s what I wanted, old man. I’ve been counting the days until I could put a hole in your body, this is perfect! Manager Mary, just arrange a place for us right now. We’ll settle it with swords, no need to make it complicated!”

“Stop, stop! Stop it, everyone!”

Whenever Lancel went to the Administration, he witnessed the dark circles under Marigold’s eyes getting deeper and deeper.

The Record Manager was someone who supervised administrative issues in the Imperial Capital… but that wasn’t the reality.

An Administrator suffering among nobles.

A shrimp caught between whales.

“Manager Mary. I think His Highness the Prince has feelings for me. The atmosphere was good at the last banquet. But for some reason, he doesn’t approach me first.”

“Ah, yes, I see.”

“Could Manager Mary send His Highness a signal on my behalf? I want to get along with His Highness too.”

“…”

“It’s a little awkward if I say it first. If I seem too easy, His Highness might not find it interesting. You understand, right? Please, Manager Mary.”

From trivial romantic problems.

“Adel is gone! Adel! Manager Mary! Quickly call the Administrators and guards right now and find Adel! Hurry!”

“Adel? Who is Adel?”

“My family!”

“Yes? Is it your child?”

“I raised it like a child!”

“Like… a child?”

“A mouse, a mouse!”

“Eueh?”

To trivial errands.

Marigold had become a punching bag, easily swayed by the malicious complaints of the nobles.

“Are you alive?”

Lancel visited her in her office one night, where she was sitting with a blank expression.

“Hey.”

“…”

Marigold’s eyes were like those of a dead fish, and she was half-conscious. Even pinching her cheeks and gently lifting the tip of her nose elicited no response.

Lancel had to hold back his laughter as he watched her suffering.

‘Do you understand now? That the Administration is a black company.’

There is no labor law in the Empire.

In this Imperial Capital, where many nobles regarded the Administration as half a servant or Thieves’ Guild, Marigold had no day to rest.

What could she do? The other party was a noble and a member of the Imperial Family. She just had to do as she was told.

120 hours of work per week, 7 days a week. Only work, work, work without holidays.

“Ugh-huh-heuk, Lancel, I just want to quit!”

“Where did the eighteen-year-old Administrator who was going to change the world go?”

“Hwaaaaaaaa!”

“My ears hurt.”

“I need a break too, heuuuk…!”

“Just take a vacation.”

“It was rejected.”

“Oh dear.”

“Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

1 year.

2 years.

3 years.

When Marigold was already twenty-one years old.

“Lancel, have you heard?!”

Baron Ibil Shen came to Lancel with a face covered in sweat.

11.

“War! It’s war, war!”

“War?”

Baron Ibil Shen’s face was full of excitement, as if he had seen something outside.

“Something must have happened in Count Lunter’s territory. Imperial troops are pouring in there one after another. It looks like a big war will break out for the first time in a while. That means the price of the horses I raise will go up! Ehehehe!”

“…”

‘Has it already come to that?’

Lancel thought, but he was quickly jolted awake by Baron Ibil Shen’s next words.

“Oh, Manager Mary is going too, right?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Earlier, I saw Manager Mary among the support troops. She’s close to you, Lancel, right? Or am I wrong? I think I’ve seen you two together often.”

“…That’s true, but why is she suddenly going there?”

“That’s what’s a little strange.”

Baron Ibil Shen shrugged.

“The commander is Fifth Prince, and he specifically called out Manager Mary. It seems he likes her.”

What was this again?

“Thinking about it, Manager Mary is going to be successful, isn’t she? I should start being nice to her now. Was there a reason why Lancel was so friendly with her all along?”

Lancel felt like his brain had stopped.

Why did Fifth Prince suddenly appear?

Why was he suddenly involved with Marigold?

Lancel had been exchanging greetings with Marigold every day for the past three years, but he had never heard of any connection between the two of them.

When he went to the Administration, the same news came.

“Have you seen Manager Mary?”

“The Manager has gone on an urgent business trip to Count Lunter’s territory. She asked me to tell you the news…”

What on earth was going on?

Lancel didn’t understand the situation until that afternoon.

==========

—Favorability Event! Fifth Prince Erwin Cole Phrygia is showing interest in Marigold. The current favorability stage is ‘Friendliness’.

※You have been asked to accompany the suppression of the rebels. Isn’t this a golden opportunity to build achievements?

==========

“This bastard?”

The concubine Marigold route?

So suddenly?

‘I can’t stand to see that.’

He would rather abandon the iteration than make Marigold a concubine. Now that he knew that it would make her unhappy, it was a way to never end this regression.

Lancel finished his preparations and immediately left the mansion.