Succession Round 1, Behind the Scenes with Rancel. (2)

2.

“Excuse me… why did you call me?”

Lancel immediately turned Marigold, who was trying to sit next to him with a gleam in her eyes, to face him from across the table.

“It’s nothing much. It’s already been two months since you came here, and I was just wondering if you’re finding the work manageable. Originally, this is Lord Ibil’s job, but he’s a bit busy right now.”

“Ah, I see…”

Why is she so disappointed?

Lancel glanced at Marigold, whose tension had noticeably dropped.

The reason he called Marigold to this place, even pretending to be a strange noble who consults with maids, was for one reason only.

‘I need to confirm if Marigold really has the memories from the previous playthroughs.’

Lancel fixed his gaze on a nearby flowerpot and opened his mouth casually.

“Miss Mary, how old are you this year?”

“Twenty…”

“Twenty?”

“Se-seventeen! I’m seventeen!”

“Not sixteen?”

“Sixteen! It was sixteen! Yes!”

She’s already confessing without even being interrogated.

“Okay. How is being a maid? It’s hard work.”

“…Are you perhaps trying to send me away?”

“Don’t overthink it, it’s not like that. I’m just asking out of curiosity.”

“If it’s because I stole Master’s clothes before…”

“…Return them to their place when I’m being nice.”

“Ah, a-ah, yes.”

Lancel rubbed his throbbing head for a moment.

“Hesti said that even though you’re a bit sly, you do your job well, so I was just curious.”

“Did you call me to praise me?”

“Yeah. Let’s just say that.”

“Could it be…! Are you going to give me a reward…!”

“I take back what I just said. I didn’t call you to praise you. I just asked for no reason, so answer properly.”

Marigold shrunk back and cautiously watched him.

“Well, I used to work for a while before.”

“How long ago was ‘before’?”

“I don’t remember well… about eight years?”

Eight years ago was when Marigold was still a noble Miss.

“Okay.”

After that, Lancel continued with trivial stories, while his mind wandered elsewhere.

Because after only a few questions, it became clear without needing to ask further.

‘It seems certain that Marigold has inherited the memories of the previous playthroughs.’

How much, how, and from where to where she inherited the memories was still a mystery. What was clear was that she remembered the past.

‘I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.’

Lancel’s goal was to have Marigold connect with the Prince. He had to see the ‘Queen Ending,’ the regular route of this game, no matter what.

But what if she remembers the past? Would it be a plus or a minus in the process of becoming Queen?

Lancel couldn’t quite grasp it.

‘Should I reveal my information and ask for Marigold’s cooperation at this point?’

For example.

-Let’s work together, fellow returner, and become Queen, Marigold!

What if I said that?

Would it be helpful or a hindrance?

It was a moment when Lancel’s worries deepened.

“Okay. Good work. You can go now.”

“Ah… is it already over?”

“What else did you want?”

“Nothing…”

Marigold went back dejectedly.

‘What should I do? Open up completely? Or not?The long worry was resolved that night, just before Lancel fell asleep.

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—Congratulations! Marigold has mastered Beginner Black Magic! You can purchase Intermediate Black Magic from the next ‘Inheritance.’

※Memories from playthroughs that used ‘Inheritance’ are all shared. However, stats are all reset after the ending. Please purchase and use again.

==========

“……?”

Lancel, who had been lying down, jumped up from his spot.

Instinctively, he picked up the quill that was on the table.

He quickly moved it onto the paper, lest the memory disappear. He kept repeating the phrase that had just appeared before his eyes.

The news that he had suddenly mastered Black Magic didn’t even register.

What was important were the two lines at the end.

“Memories from playthroughs that used Inheritance… are shared?”

Lancel listed the most recent endings of Marigold.

-Warrior.

-Beggar.

-Freeloader.

-Saintess.

-Merchant.

-Memory Inheritance First (Current).

‘Memories are shared between playthroughs that used Memory Inheritance. That means.’

Lancel moved the pen again.

-Memory Inheritance First (Current).

-??? (Inheritance X)

-??? (Inheritance X)

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-Memory Inheritance Second (2nd playthrough of the current).

‘Is it something like this?’

Inheritance.

As Lancel remembered, a special condition was required for this Inheritance to be activated.

The condition was to accumulate a certain amount of achievement points.

When you reach 1500 points, a ‘Returner Marigold’ who has inherited the memories of the past, like now, appears… isn’t that what it means?

And the memories from ‘Returner Marigold 1st playthrough’ are passed on to ‘Returner Marigold 2nd playthrough’ that will appear in the future.

“In this case, it’s right to see the 1st and 2nd playthroughs as essentially the same person.”

-Linked.

If we were to guess the meaning of the phrase ‘memories are linked,’ it would probably be something like this. Literally a returner.

…Is that right?

Lancel frowned as he looked at the scribbles that had already filled the paper.

‘If I tell this Inheritance’s Marigold that I’m a returner… the next Inheritance’s Marigold will also appear with that memory.’

He made up his mind.

He put down the quill.

‘Let’s not tell her.’

Yes.

The variables are too big and irreversible.

Once he says it, ‘Returner Marigold’ will remember his words forever. He will never be able to undo it again.

If the moment comes when he has to say it, it will be the last resort.

Also.

There was even a risk of making Marigold feel an unnecessary sense of destiny or connection.

-No way! You were a returner too! Let’s put everything aside and just live together!

What if she came out like that? What if she didn’t leave him alone?

It would be quite a headache.

If someone who is going to be the Queen sticks to a mere young master of a remote noble family, the game will never end.

Lancel didn’t want to waste all the playthroughs where ‘Returner Marigold’ appeared like that.

Yes.

He was only Marigold’s Queen maker, not a target for romance. He could never be a target for capture, a normal ending was just right for him, he was just an extra.

Didn’t it end badly after they actually got married?

‘……’

Lancel, who was looking at the paper full of scribbles, tore it to pieces and threw it away.

3.

-Whirr.

The sight of the execution platform set up in the square engulfed in flames.

-Add more fire!

-It’s burning brightly!

What are they burning? It was hard to see because it was obscured by smoke and flames. The black shape that was vaguely visible through the flames only suggested that it was a person.

Burning at the stake was rare. It was a sight that could only be seen when a heinous criminal, someone who had insulted the imperial family and divinity, appeared. Even Marigold, the busy maid, stopped and was captivated by the sight.

-Everyone, look! At the appearance of the sinner!

Marigold narrowed her eyes and focused on the flames. The shape burning black seemed to be caught in her eyes.

-The last appearance of this sinner who wielded a sword against the Empire’s Prince!

Thump.

Her heart was constricted.

-The last appearance of this demon burning in this place for daring to blaspheme!

The wind blew.

The flames cleared for a moment.

In a fleeting moment, the facial features of the sinner were visible.

A hallucination as if she was making eye contact with the charred corpse.

-The last appearance of this historical sinner who committed the Empire’s greatest crime!

Her heart began to pound.

Thump.

-Traitor…!

Thump.

-……Lancel Dante’s appearance!

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“No!”

“Eek!”

Marigold woke up from her nap.

“Ugh, why do you keep doing this, Miss! Are you doing this on purpose to scare me? Tell me honestly, I won’t get angry if you tell me. Is it on purpose?”

Pina, who was startled and woke up as well, raised her eyebrows. Marigold quickly wiped the drool from her mouth.

“I can’t go on like this, Pina.”

“What do you mean? Running away from work?”

“That’s not it… no, I didn’t run away, I finished my work and I’m resting, Pina.”

“Yes, yes. So, what can’t you do?”

Marigold clutched her head. She tried to shake off the dream she had while napping, but she couldn’t.

Her body trembled. It was as if it was being engraved in her memory.

“……My benefactor…!”

When Marigold first saw that sight, when she was living as a maid. She briefly thought, ‘A bad person got punished.’ But that wasn’t it.

Considering what kind of people the Empire in her memory were, and what kind of person Lancel was, it was by no means such a simple matter.

“Pina. It seems like I’m the only one who can protect my benefactor in this world. No. Maybe that’s why I’m here.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Are you still half asleep?”

“I can’t go on like this.”

“……?”

Marigold jumped up from her seat.

“Pina. Even if the continent is torn apart and fighting and becomes a battlefield like before, even if you are falsely accused and unfairly cornered, there is only one way to live without losing anything.”

“Is it that story again?”

“Become a big shot. Become such a great person that you can’t die even if you want to die…”

Pina yawned and listened absentmindedly, but Marigold’s eyes sparkled.

“Become such a big shot that you can survive any event and spend the rest of your life together… a big shot… so great that even the Emperor and the imperial family have to be aware of…”

“Yes, yes. I know, so let’s go to Hesti before we get scolded. Do you know what time it is?”

“Huh?”

“It’s been a long time since lunch.”

“……!”

Marigold did the punishment cleaning that day.

4.

That evening.

“What is this.”

Lancel woke up from sleep by the existence that was intermittently tapping on the window.

‘A bird?’

A crow was sitting on the windowsill.

When he gently stroked it with his hand, it nodded its head and kept pointing at its ankle.

He saw something that looked like a letter tied to its ankle.

Lancel narrowed his eyes.

‘It’s not a bird.’

He could feel the Magic Power covering its entire body.

It was a Familiar, a creature called a type or servant horse. A kind of summoned beast and alter ego that magicians were said to use.

Lancel already knew who the magician who would do this to him was. There was only one magician he had encountered in this playthrough.

‘The senses of a summoned Familiar are connected to the owner.’

He poked the crow’s eye with his finger.

-Hiaaaak!

A scream echoed from somewhere. It was a sound that came from beyond the hallway of the mansion.

-Mary! It’s late at night, you shouldn’t make loud noises!

-I’m, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!

-Quiet!

“……”

The flustered crow eventually dropped the letter tied to its ankle to Lancel, and then flapped its wings and disappeared into the distance.

Lancel scratched his head.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

What on earth is written in it? Lancel brought the letter closer to the lamp and unfolded it.

A phrase he had never imagined greeted him.

[From the secret organization ‘Darkhood’ that follows the great Lancel Dante]

“……?”

Lancel sensed that something was wrong from the very beginning of the content.