Navy Marigold

11.

Third Princess Claria has gone missing.

Those who heard the news were all in shock.

“Shh, be quiet. Good girl?”

Except for Marigold, who was busy calming down a noisy bird.

‘Third Princess Claria. Is this the first time something like this has happened to her?’

It wasn’t uncommon for members of the Imperial Family to run into trouble in Lancel’s previous lives.

But the Third Princess was a bit different.

She wasn’t the type to get involved in wars or conflicts. Her only interests were beauty, banquets, and romantic affairs – a pure romance fantasy character.

A woman who used even power as a means to manage the men of the Imperial Capital and keep the noble Misses in check; that was Third Princess Claria.

For such a woman to go missing…

“How long has she been missing?”

“A little over a year,”

Miss Iceford replied coldly.

“For your information, Your Highness’s last known whereabouts were on a merchant ship heading to the archipelago.”

“The Princess on a merchant ship…!”

“She’s always been a free spirit. The Imperial Family received this news two months ago and hastily formed a fleet.”

Silence spread once more.

“We don’t want to assume the worst, but if this Soul Flower was found on a pirate ship…”

Miss Iceford looked around at the frozen crowd and raised the Soul Flower.

“Perhaps Your Highness is already…”

Miss Iceford trailed off, but everyone understood.

The meaning of finding an item that the Princess should have been carrying on a pirate ship.

‘Which means…’

‘Your Highness is in the hands of pirates?’

Captured, or dead.

The latter was more likely than the former.

“From today, our first goal will be to search all the areas in this vicinity for news of Your Highness and rescue her safely. This shouldn’t be too difficult for the Imperial Navy, right?”

‘My vacation, what about it…’

Should I just run away? Is this desertion material?

Lancel shuddered at the thought of how troublesome it would be.

Having to take on an Imperial Family mission that was not meant for him, the thought of grabbing Marigold and running away to the mainland swirled in his head.

“Of course, I understand it’s a tiring mission. I’m so tired that I’m breaking out in hives. But you’ll change your minds when you hear the reward.”

“What kind of reward are you talking about?”

“If anyone finds Her Highness, the Imperial Family has promised to bestow the title of ‘Imperial Hero’.”

“……!”

Shock swept through the room.

“You’re being generous.”

“Of course. We must bestow the title of Imperial Hero upon those who rescue a member of the Imperial bloodline. This was personally approved by Your Majesty.”

The title of Imperial Hero wasn’t just an honorary title. It was a package deal of merit, including a huge reward, territory, title, servants, authority, and treatment.

Lancel, who had received it three times in his past lives, knew its value better than anyone. How could he not, considering it was one of the few memories he had of seeing our Viscount Dante, who usually pretended to be dignified, dancing with joy.

‘But she’s probably already dead, right?’

Honestly, the Third Princess wasn’t the type of woman who could survive being captured by pirates.

It was hard to imagine that a precious flower who had lived her whole life in the Imperial Family could have endured such a harsh environment for long.

Of course, contrary to Lancel’s thoughts.

The eyes of the naval officers gathered here began to burn with fiery passion.

“Succeed and go to the Imperial Capital… to the Imperial Capital…”

“The honor of the family… please wait, Mother.”

“Hero. Me. Imperial Hero. Imagining the strongest me.”

The possibility of being called an Imperial Hero was enough to set their hearts on fire.

“Lancel.”

Marigold tugged at his sleeve from the side.

“What?”

“I couldn’t hear, what were they talking about?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Ouch!”

Marigold squeezed her eyes shut as he pinched her nose.

‘Why did I bring this kid?’

It was then.

==========

[Game Guide]

-The list of obtainable endings has been updated!

1.

Imperial Hero Marigold. -S Rank-

2.

The Princess’s Lover Marigold.

3.

The Princess’s Maid Marigold.

4.

The Imperial Family’s Noble Flower Marigold.

5.

???

-Unacquired achievements have been discovered.

1.

The Princess’s Savior. -A Rank-

2.

The Princess’s Friend.

3.

Naval Officer (Status Upgrade).

4.

From Soldier to Noble.

5.

???

※S Rank Ending Discovered.

==========

Lancel was speechless for a moment.

As soon as he saw the contents of the guide, his mind seemed to stop.

‘What? Is she really alive?’

If Third Princess Claria wasn’t in this world, such a guide wouldn’t have appeared.

Because everything from beginning to end could only be achieved if the Third Princess was alive.

Moreover, the phrase ‘Imperial Hero Marigold’ was enough to catch his eye. It was a famous ending, marked as S Rank.

An ending where the fallen Miss Marigold makes achievements, becomes a noble again, and starts a new family.

Wouldn’t this be considered a happy ending? She regained all her wealth, honor, and status, so it wouldn’t be easy for unhappiness to creep in.

‘Not bad.’

This was definitely an opportunity.

Normally, the Imperial Hero ending wasn’t something to aim for easily.

It required great effort and time to wander around the battlefield, make achievements, and make a name for oneself. It would be fortunate if one didn’t die a meaningless death in the middle.

But this time?

All you have to do is find the missing person.

‘Isn’t this practically free?’

Yes. Compared to obtaining it through the standard method, it was an overwhelmingly simple mission.

“The Imperial Family will pay for all the costs and support needed for the search. Turn the archipelago’s sea upside down to find Her Highness. I want to finish this quickly and return to the Imperial Capital.”

Miss Iceford’s last words were sincere.

.

.

.

That’s how a year passed.

“What on earth are you doing!”

Miss Iceford, whose skin had tanned brown from living on the island for so long, was having another tantrum today.

12.

“Even as we speak, there’s so much work to be done in the Imperial Capital, but these incompetent navy officers!”

In the high-rise VIP room of the Count’s castle, overlooking the sea, the maids were busy fanning the reclining Miss Iceford with large fans.

“You can’t even find one person! Slurp…”

Even as she spewed out sharp words, Miss Iceford was stuffing tropical fruits into her mouth.

On the surface, it looked like she was enjoying a vacation, but her anxiety was real.

For her, who had been living in the glamorous and licentious parties of the Imperial Capital, this archipelago was a bit stifling.

Even now, small banquets were held from time to time to comfort her, but they were not enough to keep up with those of the Imperial Capital.

“What are you going to do if something happens to Her Highness?”

“We are searching diligently, but it’s not easy…”

“I don’t want to hear excuses. Bring me results. Right now! Slurp, slurp.”

“…she said.”

The officers scratched their heads at Coral Baron’s words. Sighs spread.

The problem was that the archipelago’s sea was too wide.

“It’s not easy to search because we need at least three ships to move at once.”

“We also need a lot of supplies to move far…”

But if they split up the formation, the pirates would be more likely to attack them.

That was why they had only searched the surrounding areas for the past year.

But it wasn’t as if there were no results at all.

“There are quite a few pirates who say they’ve seen someone who looks like Her Highness. We shouldn’t give up hope yet.”

It was information obtained by capturing pirates from time to time and detaching their fingernails and toenails.

—A beauty with blue hair and eyes was traded at a high price among the pirate leaders!

The Third Princess was such a great beauty that no one in the entire empire didn’t know her, so considering her appearance, the rumors couldn’t help but spread.

It was slowly becoming an established fact that she was somewhere in this sea.

“What are you going to do, Commander?”

A year of fruitless time.

Miss Iceford’s patience, which was beginning to run out.

In the end, there was only one answer.

“…we have to hope that the ones who went on the expedition will bring results.”

Coral Baron thought so and looked at the distant sea.

Waiting for news of those who had left to find the Third Princess.

“Is there still no news from Lancel Dante?”

“The last news we had was that he was shipwrecked in a storm…”

Coral Baron let out a deep groan.

“Do we have to deliver bad news to the Dante Family like this?”

13.

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

-Chirp!

“Pia must be hungry too.”

“Didn’t you give her a piece of bread earlier?”

“She doesn’t eat it well because she’s tired of just bread.”

“A picky bird.”

A rowboat rocking in the waves. Blue sky.

Lancel and Marigold were lying side by side, drifting in the vast ocean.

“How many days has it been?”

“It’s been half a year since we set sail, and about two weeks since we were adrift.”

“Time flies.”

“I’ll be seventeen soon too.”

“Happy birthday in advance.”

“Thank you.”

The two exchanged words in dead voices.

They didn’t know it would turn out like this when they first set sail.

‘How did it come to this?’

Lancel and Marigold had set out as one of the eight warships to find Third Princess Claria.

A voyage to make her an ‘Imperial Hero’. At first, they were collecting news and spoils about the Third Princess while suppressing pirates, and it seemed to be going smoothly without any problems.

But even Lancel couldn’t handle the natural disasters he encountered on the sea.

His ship, which was passing through the archipelago’s rough straits, was literally cut in half.

“I’m definitely meant for land.”

The only things they salvaged when the ship sank were Marigold and the bird she was carrying.

Honestly, it was a miracle that they didn’t die that day. They almost saw the fish food Marigold ending.

==========

—Imperial Calendar 818, May 19th. The weather is very clear.

—Marigold has been drifting on the sea for 15 days! I’m tired of eating sashimi so often.

※Morality, Faith, Condition UP!!

==========

“Still, I’m glad Lancel was with me at the last moment.”

“The last moment…”

Certainly, at this rate, the last moment might not be far off.