Succession Round 2, Lord Ransel.

20.

“Aaaaaaack!”

“Q-Quickly, evacuate Her Highness the Princess!”

“Who is it! Stop them now!”

The encampment was in chaos in the middle of the night. Shouts and screams erupted incessantly.

The brazier had fallen, flames were soaring, and a dozen or so knights, helplessly sprawled out, were groaning as they crawled on the ground.

It was all caused by a single intruder.

“Kkeuaaaack!”

With a single slash, another knight’s arm flew off. It was difficult to even realize what had happened to them.

The moment the hem of a black cloak fluttered before their eyes, a knight invariably collapsed, removed from the battlefield.

Some were dead, some had lost limbs, and some were lucky enough to only be knocked unconscious.

“Do you know who stands before you! Do you know who this person is! This person is…!”

The man kicked up the chin of the one who was struggling on the ground. The man rolled back his eyes and lost consciousness like a dead frog.

“…This is…treason…!”

It was hard to believe that they were members of the Imperial Knight Order, each trained to the extreme; they were helpless.

“As much as the royal family suffers from treason, wouldn’t the heart of a poor, wise one of the empire who had to commit treason also be in pain?”

“What, such, nonsense…!”

The man in the black cloak.

The traitor who attacked the royal family’s hidden encampment.

He had now walked into the center of the encampment.

“Of all times, why did this have to happen when the main force is away…!”

“Ah, that’s what you call a surprise attack. It means attacking when the main force isn’t there. You still lack war experience.”

“Kkeueuk!”

He struck the last remaining knight’s chin with the sheath of his sword. The knight’s knees buckled, and he collapsed.

When the knight order, which had numbered nearly twenty, was all dealt with, the encampment became eerily silent.

Only one large tent remained, the one they had risked their lives to protect.

“You are skilled.”

“You flatter me, Your Highness the Princess.”

“If you don’t mind, may I ask your name?”

“…Are you asking a traitor who came with a sword in the middle of the night to give his name?”

“I can’t stand not knowing what I’m curious about.”

Beyond the tent, a shadow reflected in the candlelight chuckled softly.

“I don’t know whose man you are, but I like you. If you live under me, I will cover up all your mistakes you have made until now.”

The man in the black cloak smiled. He muttered to himself, “As ever.”

“I am the one who will ascend to the most noble position in this empire. I promise you will not be treated unfairly.”

“Even though I pointed a sword at you?”

“The sword belongs to the one who wields it. If you are a sword, I will take you into my hand and handle you carefully. I promise, knight. Once you come under me, you will never point it at me again.”

The man knew that her words were not false.

She was not a frivolous person who would utter immediate lies for the sake of deception.

The man in the black cloak already knew that her words about covering up tonight’s events and her promise not to treat him unfairly were all sincere.

“Knight. Tell me what I must do to obtain you.”

Her words always resonated. That must be what had captivated him for so long.

“Violet Rune Phrygia. You are indeed skilled in speech, as the rumors say. I almost fell for it.”

“That’s a good sign. Does that mean I’m almost there? Actually, I wanted to go back to the Imperial Capital and eat the cheesecake made by the Imperial Palace patissier one more time before I die.”

“…”

“I suddenly remembered that I left a bite when I came here. Hehe.”

She laughed.

The man laughed along.

“May I ask a question?”

“As much as you like.”

The man in the black cloak paused for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“The hidden daughter of the Marigold Family. What exactly is that woman to you?”

“The imperial family’s nemesis, the Emperor’s ghost, a trophy for the empire’s next power…”

The answer came immediately.

Except for the last word, which left a lingering echo.

“And to me, a danger that must be killed.”

21.

“What are you doing, Kyle?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kyle Dante kept feeling strange as he looked at the women being sent to the Imperial Capital this time.

Among the dozens of women, there was a face that seemed familiar.

‘I think I’ve seen that woman somewhere…’

As he subtly approached to see her face, for some reason, the woman kept turning her head away, avoiding his gaze.

‘Hmm?’

Kyle Dante crept closer and examined her appearance once more.

“It’ll probably be a waste of time again this time. Anyway, this is a battlefield now. It’s not the time to be looking for women. It’s time to wrap things up and leave. Kyle!”

“Ah, yes, Captain.”

“What are you looking around for?”

“There’s a familiar face among the women…”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kyle quickly replied and turned back to the women. Had she changed her position in the meantime? The woman had disappeared somewhere, out of his sight.

“What is your brother doing these days, Kyle?”

“I heard my brother went to the Imperial Capital.”

“The Imperial Capital? Why?”

“Isn’t there an Imperial ball coming up soon?”

“Tsk tsk, just like the Birdnia Knights, a bunch of bookworms. Are they even taking care of social gatherings in this situation? Your brother must be a busy man.”

Snickers flowed from the knights’ mouths.

War was unfolding silently in the frontier, but in the Imperial Capital, they were preparing for an untimely feast and getting all excited.

Even though it sounded absurd, none of the knights were surprised.

Everyone knew that in this empire, festivals and parties would continue until the very brink of ruin. Even if the empire were to fall tomorrow, there would be those who would spend today at a party.

“A ball. Sounds fun.”

“Can’t we go too?”

While knights, Mercenarys, and wise ones were being ground down on the battlefield, and the royal family was fighting among themselves, turning the entire region into a wasteland, the nobles of the Imperial Capital were, as always, indulging in social parties and romance, living day by day.

“Kyle.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Let’s gather a few of us and go down to the Imperial Capital.”

“Oh!”

“Are we allowed to go and have fun?”

“Nonsense!”

The captain of the Orleans Knights sneered at the knights who were suddenly excited.

“Even if the Birdnia mongrels are just bookworms, they wouldn’t have gone down there without anything to do. Kyle, take a few men and go check it out.”

.

.

.

“A danger that must be killed.”

The knight in the black cloak.

Lancel was momentarily speechless at the words that came from the First Princess’s mouth.

“I didn’t know that Her Highness Princess Violet, the first in the imperial family’s hierarchy, would be afraid of anything.”

“You have a strong prejudice, knight. Even though I look like this, I am a very fearful person.”

He knew it well.

She was a cowardly princess.

“My father, the late Emperor, who is no longer in this world, did something ridiculous to this empire. What do you think?”

Lancel already knew.

—The Emperor…told all the members of the imperial family to distribute the empire fairly. I found out about that just a month before I ran away.

“I already know about the inheritance issue.”

“…Which loose-lipped fellow was blabbing about it?”

She was surprised.

Unlike the Third Princess, the First Princess had never revealed this secret, even with a knife to her throat.

“Since you know, there’s no need to hide it. The late Emperor said that he would also bequeath the empire to the one remaining child of the Marigold Family.”

He knew that much.

“In terms of shares, a quarter of the empire’s land.”

“…”

But he didn’t know it would be that much.

‘25% of the empire’s land.’

There was a limit to being generous when you’re about to die. Lancel couldn’t even grasp how much 25% of the empire’s land was.

It was more land than was given to each individual member of the royal family.

“He must have wanted to clear his conscience about the old empire he had destroyed. Was he most worried about not being able to go to heaven after death? Or was it just for fun? I don’t know. Who knows what was in that man’s sinister heart.”

“So, you were trying to kill her. Miss Marigold.”

“You are a quick-witted knight.”

The First Princess replied in a low voice.

“Even if I do nothing, the empire will soon fall into my hands. But what if that woman goes to another child and gets married? What if even my innocent siblings, who have no ambition, get strange ideas?”

“…Marriage…”

“So I told them to kill her. To Delphi.”

It was a calm tone, but the content within sent shivers down Lancel’s spine.

The First Princess, Violet, was the one who ordered the First Prince to move and kill Marigold.

“Unfortunately, I was born a woman, and my brother Delphi already has a woman of his own.”

Even if a meeting with the Prince led to marriage, the aftermath was as clear as day.

In the face of greed to seize the empire’s power, the continent would suffer from war for decades.

Even if Marigold were to become the Empress, she would not have a happy ending.

But.

‘Marigold becomes the Empress.’

Lancel was realizing that it was not as impossible as he had thought.

Thinking about it, it was strange. In the game, the Prince who married Marigold always became the Emperor. Yes. Thinking about it, it was really strange. In the game, he just thought it was because it was a game, but it didn’t make sense in reality.

But to think that it was intertwined with such circumstances. To think that the Emperor’s will was the reason.

That’s right.

Marigold could become the Empress.

If a Prince appeared who found out that her existence was 25% of the empire’s shares, it would be entirely possible. No, rather, she would receive active courtship from the Princes.

Lancel’s efforts to make Marigold the Empress were all in vain. She was an existence meant to be the Empress in the first place. She was the key to determining the empire’s successor. Damn it.

Even Delphi Aaron Phrygia, who already had a fiancée, didn’t know what would happen in the future. If he was seduced well, he might abandon his beloved fiancée like a worn-out shoe, as he did in the game. Marigold might boldly step into that empty spot.

Empress Marigold.

Yes.

That was definitely what Lancel had wanted.

At one time, he had thought that was the only way for Marigold to have a happy ending.

Even if that wasn’t the case, he had thought that it might be an ending worth seeing at least once.

There was a time when he helped her with the sole purpose of making Marigold a person suitable only for the Prince. Lancel thought that he would only be satisfied if he saw her become the Empress.

For Marigold?

No, only for himself.

Because he thought that was the way to end the regression.

In the first place, wasn’t this game about making Marigold the Empress?

The perspective Lancel had when he first looked at her was exactly like that. At least, he didn’t think she was a woman who suited him. The young noble Lancel Dante had not made her happy. He thought that fact had already been proven.

But.

‘…’

If.

Really if.

‘If Regressor Marigold…has the memory that I wanted that in the past…? If the current Regressor Marigold knows that I wanted Marigold to become the Empress?’

It was as if time had stopped.

He felt the scattered puzzle pieces fitting together.

==========

—Don’t look for me.

—To my Lancel.

—’Marigold Curtain Marigold’.

==========

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

‘Marigold. Was this what you were planning from the start?’

Lancel felt something pounding fiercely in his chest.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about, knight?”

The First Princess’s silent voice pierced his ears.