The Safe Marigold

“Finish all preparations by noon the next day and board the train?”

Lancel received the letter on the evening of his wedding day.

If it were anyone else, there would have been an uproar about making someone a widow right away, but this was a letter sent by the Emperor (fake), no less.

It was an overwhelming power to be dissatisfied with. It wasn’t even confirmed that he would actually die yet.

“War, huh. War at this time……”

War wasn’t surprising.

The Empire was a country that always had small and large wars going on.

Naturally, if you were a knight, you often had the opportunity to go to the front lines (either voluntarily or involuntarily).

The reason Lancel spent most of his early rounds in the borderlands was also because of this tiresome war. As if it wasn’t enough to be a great empire that had taken half the continent, the battlefield was incredibly wide.

He turned over the back of the letter. The imperial seal was stamped on the beeswax mixed with gold powder.

‘The imperial family is sending reinforcements.’

That meant.

There was a high possibility that a Prince would directly lead the troops.

“What are you planning to do?”

Hesti asked worriedly.

“I have to go.”

“Master.”

As soon as Lancel finished speaking, Marigold approached.

“Please take me with you.”

Her eyes were filled with determination.

“If Master goes, I’ll follow you. No. I’ll follow you even if I have to walk.”

She was clutching the necklace Lancel had given her tightly.

“Since it’s the imperial support army going, it won’t be that dangerous. But still, the battlefield is the battlefield. Are you really going?”

There was no need to hear the answer.

Marigold was ready to follow Lancel even if she had to force her way.

Bang!

“Lancel!”

“Count Palatine?”

The person who had rushed through the rain in the middle of the night threw open the door. He threw off his wet coat and walked towards Lancel.

“Knock……”

He hastily stopped Hesti, who was about to mutter something.

“Did you hear?”

“Are you talking about this?”

He held up the dispatch order.

The Count Palatine ran a hand over his face.

“I saw it. His Majesty decided this unilaterally, so there was no way for me to intervene. If I had known in advance, I would have done something.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I’m going to die, so what does it matter?”

“There’s no guarantee you won’t die.”

The Count Palatine said that and handed Lancel something. It was the Iceford crest.

“Wear this and get on the train. They’ll put you in the very back. Right next to His Highness the Sixth Prince.”

It was a request to receive protocol. Even in war, there was a relatively safe position.

“I wish you good luck. If you come back alive, I’ll treat you handsomely.”

The Count Palatine was in such a hurry, he only said that much and disappeared again.

“Knock……”

Hesti’s voice quietly followed after him. It was as if a ghost who died because he didn’t knock was attached to her.

‘So, I can finally see Marigold and the Sixth Prince in one place.’

What kind of person would he be?

There were a total of seven Princes in the imperial family. And all of them were potential matches for Marigold. At least, that’s how it was in the game.

Even excluding the Fifth Prince, who was already on the battlefield, there were as many as six candidates. Lancel briefly thought about who the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ were among them.

‘Ideally, the Second Prince, or if not, the Fourth Prince would be okay.’

The Second Prince, who at least had some common sense, or the Fourth Prince, who was sickly but mentally sharp, would be the best.

The worst was…….

‘Needless to say.’

Lancel frowned as he thought of one person.

.

.

.

“Question. Who exactly has the command of this unit?”

Lancel couldn’t control the twitching of his eyes.

“That’s me.”

==========

—Encounter Event Occurred. Marigold has joined the First Imperial Support Army commanded by ‘Sixth Prince Karin Craig Phrygia.’

==========

“The luckiest and most beautiful man in the Empire. Karin Craig Phrygia.”

Lancel was desperately trying to maintain a blank expression. Marigold looked worriedly at him from the side.

“Master, are you okay?”

“No. I feel like the alcohol I drank yesterday is coming back up.”

“That’s what happens when you drink too much……”

Marigold said, stroking his back, but the feeling he was feeling now had nothing to do with a hangover.

Lancel swallowed his bile as he looked at the Sixth Prince.

‘Why the hell is it that bastard?’

The worst.

“I think everyone knows what kind of person I am. I hope no one gets on my bad side.”

He was literally the worst candidate.

19.

“Why is the space so cramped? Change it right now. How can I spend ten days in such a stuffy place?”

As soon as he got on the train, the Sixth Prince’s voice was full of complaints.

Lancel, who was closest to the Sixth Prince thanks to the consideration of his great father-in-law, was unfortunately suffering even more because of it.

“The music is not to my liking! Play something faster and more cheerful! The food is cold, and the alcohol is not cold enough. Who made this?”

The imperial support army, which had gathered for the war, was being treated like servants. Even the knights were sweating and helping out.

If Lancel and Marigold hadn’t been wearing the Iceford crest, they would have been part of that group.

“Now I can breathe a little. Open the window over there. There’s too much dust flying around because of you guys.”

He was constantly full of complaints, and eventually, the train car he was sitting in was transformed into a party hall.

“Master, is it okay to have so much alcohol piled up when we’re going to the battlefield?”

“Would it be?”

Bottles and oak barrels piled up on one side.

Lancel already knew what they were for, and the next day, they began to be used.

“You, come here and receive my alcohol. You too over there.”

“Yo, Your Highness. Now is not the time for alcohol……”

“Are you refusing the alcohol that the Prince is bestowing?”

“I will accept it as a grace!”

“Of course, it’s a grace. It’s alcohol from the bloodline of the divinely blessed royalty. This is truly a grace.”

Lancel, who had even swung a sword at him in the past and burned brightly at the stake, wasn’t actually a terribly bad or evil person. That is, compared to a real ‘evil person.’

The problem was that he just liked to play around to the point of being ignorant, and that his direction was eccentric.

“Bring the ceremonial sword.”

The Sixth Prince, who was drunk, threw two swords in front of him.

Clang-!

The thin rapier-shaped sword rolled across the floor, scattering metallic vibrations.

The Sixth Prince’s words didn’t end there.

“Look at this. It’s a gold coin. An imperial gold coin.”

Chwa-reureuk, more than ten imperial gold coins were thrown onto the floor again.

The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard from all over. Even for nobles, ten imperial gold coins were not a small amount.

For the soldiers, it was an amount that could literally change their lives.

“Let’s make a bet. The one who wins the fight gets to take this. How about it?”

“Yo, Your Highness, it’s not really the time to do something like that……”

“Why? I’m not telling them to kill each other. Surely a person won’t die from just a ceremonial sword like this?”

As if to prove his point, the Sixth Prince took one of the swords he had thrown in front of him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he ran it across his palm.

“Heeik!”

“Yo, Your Highness!”

Not only Lancel but even Marigold frowned.

‘Sixth Prince, you crazy bastard.’

Showing the blood that had formed on his palm, he grinned.

“Look. It’s dull.”

Lancel barely suppressed the urge to say, ‘You died because you got hit by that sword.’

“It’s a warm-up before the war, and you can make money. Wouldn’t you be a fool not to do this? Isn’t that right, Lancel?”

The arrow turned to Lancel, who was next to him.

“I heard you got one of the three great beauties of the empire with your swordsmanship? That woman was the one I had my eye on, and I was almost dying of regret.”

The Sixth Prince came over and started massaging Lancel’s shoulders. He opened his mouth as if to be heard by everyone.

“Look at this. If you use your sword well, you can get a beauty, a title, and wealth. Everyone should emulate someone as reliable as Lancel. So, I’ll count to 10 from now on.”

A battle of wits began.

“10……9…….”

Before the number 8 could come out of his mouth, two soldiers jumped out like lightning. They picked up the ceremonial swords at the same time.

“Eek……!”

“I was first……!”

A smile spread across the Sixth Prince’s face.

“The first one to bleed loses, start!”

The two soldiers looked at each other and began to swing their swords. Clang, the sound of metal clashing and harsh breathing erupted.

“Lancel, who do you think will win? Let’s bet. I’ll go with the one on the left. He’s more agile. He looks like he’s good at fighting.”

“Then I’ll also go with the left one.”

“You can’t bet if you choose the same one.”

“Why would I bet on a losing bet?”

“……Is that so?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

The Sixth Prince suddenly shifted his gaze to Marigold, who was guarding Lancel’s side.

“Is that your lover? How can a married man already be going around with a lover? The Iceford Heiress would be sad if she knew.”

“Don’t misunderstand. She’s my bodyguard and aide.”

“That’s just another word for lover.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie when there’s no reason for me to deceive Your Highness?”

“A bodyguard, huh. Hmm, she’s a bit tall, but she doesn’t look like a skilled fighter…….”

“Mary is stronger than any soldier here.”

“Hoo.”

The Sixth Prince looked at Marigold with a strange look in his eyes.

As if rejecting his gaze, Marigold took another step closer to Lancel.

The Sixth Prince’s eyes widened.

It was because of Marigold’s attitude, which coldly glared at him once and then lost interest.

It was a chilly attitude that he had rarely seen since he was born as a Prince.

“Hmm.”

The duel ended not long after.

“Kkeuaak!”

The soldier whose shoulder was stabbed by the rapier screamed and fell backward.

Even though it was a dull sword, it dug into the flesh and caused an injury the moment it stabbed.

“I, I won. I won.”

The Sixth Prince slowly walked over and raised the winning soldier’s hand.

“Give the winner a round of applause!”

Ten gold coins were handed over to him.

“Mo, money! Gold coins!”

“Yes, yes. It’s a real imperial gold coin, winner! When the war is over, go and live your life with ten women.”

“Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you! Long live the Sixth Prince! Long live! Long live!”

Seeing the prize money actually being handed over, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became steamy.

Regret and greed flashed through the eyes of the soldiers who were watching. There were even sighs of, ‘I should have gone out to fight first!’

“Then, shall we all raise the stakes and play around a bit?”

-Are they fighting again?

-I have to jump out and fight this time.

Just as the soldiers’ eyes were about to roll back in their heads.

The Sixth Prince’s pupils turned towards Lancel. No, to be exact, they were fixed on Marigold, who was next to him.

“Was it Mary? Sir Lancel’s aide.”

“……That’s right. Why do you ask?”

“Listen up! From now on, exactly one week!”

The words that flowed out of his mouth afterward overturned everyone’s expectations.

“I will bestow three hundred gold coins……to the one who seduces that woman before me.”

“Th, three hundred……!”

“Heo-eoo!”

It wasn’t just the soldiers.

Even the nobles and knights who were on the train were speechless. The value of three hundred gold coins was truly that great.

A confident smile settled on the Sixth Prince’s face.

“Of course, I’ll win.”