Inheritance Round 1: Lancel's Backstage Maneuvers (1)
0. Marygold opened her eyes in the black space.
Would you like to use Memory Inheritance '1 time'?
1. Select Inheritance.
2. Postpone Inheritance.
She thought it was a dream.
Five years ago, after leaving home, Marygold had dreamed countless dreams. Nostalgic ones. Terrifying ones. Joyful ones. She couldn't quite pinpoint what any of them were exactly. They were too fragmented, mere snippets pieced together.
But this time was different. It felt too vivid for a dream, too bizarre for reality.
'Select Inheritance, Postpone Inheritance?'
Two signs hung before her, each with a long rope dangling down, as if awaiting her choice.
'……?'
Marygold picked one without much thought. Her body just led her to it.
-Select Inheritance.
With a slight tug, the darkness parted like a curtain. A blindingly bright space filled her vision.
Hall of Memories opens.
- Time limit: 10 minutes.
- Available achievement points: 1500 points (per use).
It was an exhibition hall of gold and marble. Luxurious paintings and artworks piled high in every direction she turned.
Marygold's gaze was drawn to the paintings lining the walls. They felt strangely familiar.
Album of Memories
-1. What kind of life is this, Marygold?
-2. War's Victim, Marygold.
-3. So many ways to die...
. . . . .
-25. Revelry Prime Minister Marygold.
"……Me?"
Every canvas depicted Marygold herself. In different backgrounds and stories, facing varied fates—dozens of her own images rendered in paint.
Curiosity drew her hand to a nearby painting.
Bad Ending #2. Pitiful Fallen Lady Marygold
Inherit this round's memory?
- 400 points.
"……?"
A string of incomprehensible phrases. She glanced around, wondering how much time had passed, when new text appeared before her eyes.
- 1 minute remaining!
- Please use your points quickly!
"W-Wait, hold on! Just a second!"
Marygold flailed, responding to the invisible something.
"Give me a little time to think……!"
One thing was clear: she had to use these 'points' somehow. But where? How? She had no idea. The space was nothing but a labyrinth of mysteries to her.
-30 seconds!
-10 seconds!
-5!
-4!
-3!
"W-Wait!"
-2……1……!
No time left. Marygold grabbed whatever was within reach, selecting wildly.
- Inheriting Revelry Prime Minister Marygold's memory. 400 points used.
- Inheriting Noble House Moocher Marygold's memory. 400 points used.
- Inheriting Diligent Maid Marygold's memory. 400 points used.
- Acquired Beginner Black Magic. 300 points used.
※ Remaining points: 0 points.
She had no clue what she was doing. Just blindly touching what was nearby.
Memory Inheritance ends.
Marygold awoke from her sleep.
. . .
"Ugh!"
"Whoa, you scared me!"
She bolted upright in shock. Pina's startled yelp followed suit.
Chirp chirp-!
Midday sun slanted into the stable, birdsong ringing clear. Marygold blinked atop the dry straw pile, heart pounding relentlessly.
"Aigoo, what's wrong, miss? Nightmare?"
"It's just……."
Marygold's complaint trailed off.
'……!'
Foreign memories flooded her mind. Memories of life as a maid. As a merchant. As a freeloader. Lives in different places, different times—her own.
They surged in, filling her completely.
"……!"
Marygold had inherited memories.
. . .
1. Don't worry even if you fuss—unused points are fully refunded!
2. Memories from rounds using 'Inheritance' are all shared.
3. Abilities reset after the ending.
※ Choose wisely and enjoy the rest of your life!
1. Make Marygold the empress and end this game. No matter how it twisted, that was Lancel's sole goal.
It had taken a roundabout path this time, but the moment he started this round, he'd headed straight to the capital to meet her. All his plans always began there.
But.
"I'm Mary! I'll work hard."
Marygold showed up. On her own two feet. Right before his eyes.
Lancel felt considerable confusion at the fact.
This had never happened before. He was always the one seeking her out. The idea of roles reversing? He'd never even imagined it.
In the end, Lancel sought out Baron Ivil Shen. The man had hired her as a maid.
When he asked how he'd ended up recruiting a new maid, the answer was unexpected.
"Truth be told, I didn't exactly seek her out."
"Pardon?"
"She showed up out of nowhere, begging to work as a maid. At first, I thought it was some joke and tried shooing her off."
"……Then why……?"
"But she was so persistent. First time I'd seen someone that eager to work in my house."
"……."
"So on the third day she came knocking, I just hired her. What's the harm? It's not like adding one more person would bankrupt me."
Baron Ivil Shen shrugged as he spoke.
Three visits and pleas? Like a classic tale.
'No, it could just be coincidence.'
Lancel shoved away the ominous hunch bubbling up. Nothing was certain yet. Marygold could have truly arrived in Rodnis by chance, truly stumbled upon Baron Ivil Shen's estate—unconnected this round—by chance, truly fancied being a maid enough to knock three times, and truly gotten hired.
Possible, right? Not impossible.
'Like rolling dice a hundred times and getting the same number every time.'
Infinite Marygold theorem. Something like that.
But soon after.
Sightings of Marygold's odd behavior cropped up everywhere.
"Mary, out playing again?"
"J-Just a quick nap……."
"A nap? Did you say nap?"
"N-No, Hestie! Slip of the tongue!"
Lazier than she seemed, for starters. Lancel had seen diligent Marygold plenty, but lazy? Rarely.
"Hurrrr……."
He spied her sprawled in the garden shade, dead asleep, clutching some random puppy, snoring messily.
'Sleeping so carefree.'
She'd dive into a task with gusto at first, then vanish to nap, snack, or slack off somehow. Yet she wasn't incompetent.
"Laundry's all done, Hestie!"
"Already?"
"Hestie! Cleaning's finished—can I take a break now?"
"For real?"
"Hestie! Bread's out of the oven!"
Veteran maid. Marygold handled everything from simple chores to stain removal and repairs with startling skill.
"Good evening, Young Master Lancel."
And finally, the day she came to clean his room.
"Young Master Lancel. I'm going in to tidy up now, so absolutely do not enter until I say it's done. Absolutely! No entering, ever! Promise!"
"I won't. How many times you gonna say it?"
"You promised, young master. Enter and it's a million gold fine."
"Even the emperor wouldn't charge that for barging in."
Her eyes gleaming, Marygold slipped into his room.
'What the hell is she doing.'
Lancel peeked in.
-Sniff sniff.
Marygold was buried face-first in something, inhaling deeply.
'What're you doing?'
He easily recognized it as the jacket he'd left out that day.
"Hehehe……."
Her face half-melted in bliss, a dopey grin plastered on.
When she finally finished cleaning, her face glowed. Fatigue utterly gone.
"All done, young master. Thanks for the meal."
Something was off. With Marygold's state. She'd been weird before, but never off from the start. Like her initial settings were glitched.
"Did you finish your workout well, young master? Come here, I'll help you change."
"Nah, I got it."
"No way! A maid can't let her young master do that. Let me help. Come on."
"Hey, hey."
Lancel pushed away her eager, fiery-eyed face. That's when Hestie knocked and entered.
"……."
"Hestie."
Lancel waved her back in, rubbing his dry face. She'd shut the door like she'd seen something she shouldn't.
* * *
"I see."
After a brief explanation, Hestie asked curiously.
"Just to check, have you and Miss Mary known each other before?"
"No way. You've been with me the whole time—what're you saying, Hestie."
"You two just seemed…… oddly familiar somehow, so I wondered."
Even to outsiders? 'How do I explain this.'
Right then.
"We……."
Marygold spoke up.
"……shared my first…… experience."
"……?"
The air froze solid. A short, endless silence fell.
From the moment Marygold cupped her flushed cheeks, Lancel sensed trouble.
"……Young master……."
Her voice low and grave. He quickly turned to Hestie. Her gaze was chilling.
"Hestie. It's not."
"……If word spreads that you laid hands on a maid, the Dante family's reputation……."
"I didn't. Do I look like that kinda guy?"
Lancel sweated bullets, denying vehemently.
By now, he knew. Yeah. Marygold. This girl clearly remembered past rounds vividly.
Cause? Obvious.
'Memory Inheritance.'
What to do? One answer.
"Mary. Wanna talk a sec?"
Test her directly. No choice.