Civil Servant Marygold (8)
“Gueeeeh……”
“You’re on the wagon starting today.”
Every time their horse crossed through the thickets, Marygold let out another groan of nausea.
Lancel wanted nothing more than to stop right there and let her pull herself together, but the situation wasn’t cooperating.
“Grab them quick!”
“Cut them off—flank the path!”
Dozens of cavalrymen were hot on their tail.
If they stopped now, that number would swell to hundreds in no time.
Even for Lancel, taking on that many right away would be tough. These weren’t some ragtag mob—they were all trained knights.
“Hyah!”
He spurred the horse again.
Whoosh!
Something whistled past him with a sharp crack of air. In total, seven crossbow bolts thudded into trees and the dirt path.
“Fire at will!”
“Aim around the woman! His Highness ordered us to secure her unharmed—no scratches!”
Handy tip, huh?
In that case.
“Miss Marygold, your turn to shine.”
“Hiiiaaak!”
Lancel hoisted Marygold up and swung her behind him.
She ended up wrapped around his waist from the back, clinging tight.
“Hold on tight, shield! Er, Miss Marygold!”
“Wh-what do you m-mean…… ugh……”
He propped a wooden shield behind her bewildered form. It was the last courtesy he could offer.
“Using a woman as a shield……!”
“D-don’t shoot!”
“Th-that crazy bastard!”
“You call yourself a knight?!”
Lancel glanced back and shouted.
“Never thought I’d get a lecture on chivalry from rebels! See ya!”
He urged the horse into a full gallop.
Fallen leaves kicked up by the hooves showered their pursuers, blinding them for a split second.
Lancel seized the moment, yanking the reins hard. They vanished from sight in an instant.
“What the—where’d they go?!”
“We lost them!”
“Damn it……!”
—Gueeeeh!
All that echoed faintly in their ears was the sound of wretched retching.
……
“Just one person.”
The 5th Prince’s face hardened at the report.
“You’re telling me you came back empty-handed because you couldn’t catch one person? Is that what I’m hearing right? You expect me to just nod along while you idiots screwed everything up over one lousy target? You useless trash!”
The knights couldn’t lift their heads. The 5th Prince’s tirade had been raging for over an hour now.
“You brain-dead morons!”
“If I may, Your Highness.”
A low voice cut in.
“Count Runter.”
The elderly lord approached, and the 5th Prince ran a hand through his hair, calming slightly.
“Why do we need to capture the administrator alive, anyway?”
“Because I need her. She’s someone I need by my side, unharmed.”
“I see.”
Count Runter asked no more.
“Then I’ll order the troops to guard the perimeter at once. Lancel Dante will have to show himself eventually. There’s only one way out of this forest—the granary plains.”
“You mean……”
“Wait for them to emerge onto the open fields. No place to hide out there. You’ll secure Miss Marygold easily.”
“……Yeah. That’ll work. No need to rush. Even that guy can’t outrun us on the plains.”
Reason seemed to return to the 5th Prince. This was their territory—a de facto new nation guarded by hundreds, thousands of troops.
No matter how skilled a knight Lancel Dante was, escaping unscathed would be no easy feat.
“We’ll catch them soon. Unless Lancel Dante plans to live in this forest forever, he’ll have to hit the plains……”
……
“So, wanna hole up here for a while?”
Lancel muttered, stretching his back.
……
19.
“This is a rebellion, Sir Lancel.”
“Now you mention it?”
It was the day Marygold shook off her hangover.
The second day of their forest hideout life, and she suddenly dropped the bomb with a serious face. At least 30 hours had passed since the 5th Prince had purged the imperial forces.
“Rebellion! It’s definitely a rebellion! Block the train route and the mountain pass to the plains, and the empire’s cut off. Perfect strategic base, right? That’s why bandits were crawling around before. Long story short, it’s hard for imperial troops to project power here.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Marygold chewed on the stew Lancel had slapped together, rambling on.
“They’ll probably send troops west after winter to seize the whole imperial west. We gotta report this ASAP before it’s too late. The capital’s gonna flip! And I’ll get another promotion!”
Her ambition burned bright, but right now, she was stuck in Naturalist Marygold Loop 2. Trapped in the woods, no way out.
A quick scan of the forest edge revealed two or three guards on horseback patrolling lazily, as always.
The 5th Prince was dead set on waiting them out, eyeing the moment they stepped onto the outer plains.
Lancel didn’t know why he was going this far, but one thing was clear: the prince meant business.
5th Prince Erwin Kol Phrigia's favorability has increased.
Current stage: Attachment
Day 1.
5th Prince Erwin Kol Phrigia's favorability has increased.
Current stage: Possessiveness
Day 2.
5th Prince Erwin Kol Phrigia's favorability has increased.
Current stage: Obsession
Next week.
Even as Lancel lingered in the forest, the 5th Prince’s feelings toward Marygold grew stronger by the day. Whether it was true affection or not, his fixation on her was real.
Only goes this far when gunning for the empress ending.
The guards and patrols thickened with each passing day. Ten days in, and Lancel was still roughing it primitively in the woods with Marygold. No rush. He had a plan.
“Sir Lancel! Look! Winter berries! Hehehe!”
“Nice score. Where’d you find these?”
“Heehee, winter berries grow on vines over moss in shady spots. Easy to spot if you look.”
“Good girl. C’mere!”
Lancel ruffled her hair wildly while popping berries into his mouth one by one.
Their hideout was a pit dug under tree roots, camouflaged so cleverly that patrolling guards never noticed.
A bit cramped, though.
“Why’re you lying so far over there? Space is tight as it is.”
“I-I might smell…… it’s been over a month since I bathed.”
“My nose gave up ages ago. It’s fine.”
“……What’s that supposed to mean, Sir Lancel?”
“Use your imagination.”
“That’s mean!”
Food was limited to carried rations, jerky, and foraged raw stuff. Fires had to be sneaky.
Life was full of discomforts.
But neither Lancel nor Marygold complained much.
Two weeks passed.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You mutter to yourself sometimes. What’s up with that?”
Lancel probed, playing dumb.
The spirit Pina was visible only to her, so knowing would be weirder.
“It’s…… like a friend only I can see……”
Marygold twirled her hair, trailing off.
“Weird, right?”
“Kinda is.”
“Ahaha…… No, Pina! Don’t say mean things to Sir Lancel…… Ah! It’s nothing! Yeah!”
“……”
What the hell did that fly-speck say? Lancel felt a twinge at the invisible spirit’s unheard slander.
……
5th Prince Erwin Kol Phrigia's favorability has increased.
Current stage: Very Strong Obsession
A month like that.
Finally, Lancel spotted lines of torchlight sweeping the entire forest.
Hundreds, by rough count, combing through with flames held high. The acrid stench of burning wax and oil stung his nose.
Hunting dogs barked relentlessly from all sides—who knew how many they’d unleashed. The 5th Prince was pulling an all-nighter to flush them out. Or rather, her.
Showtime.
Lancel and Marygold prepared to abandon their cozy pit.
“Time to go?”
“Yes, Sir Lancel.”
Half a year and a month into the campaign. Lancel sensed the moment he’d been waiting for had arrived.
“Enemy attack! Fall back to base camp! Enemy raid—return to base!”
Shouts erupted in chain reaction soon after. Soldiers who’d entered the forest withdrew in confusion.
Then they noticed the night sky ablaze with unexplained lights.
“Miss Marygold.”
Lancel turned to her.
“How high can an administrator climb for helping quash a rebellion?”
……
20.
“If no report arrives after half a year, send a second relief force…… Today’s the day. What do you think, chamberlain?”
The voice from beyond the curtain made the court chamberlain bow.
“Your Majesty’s judgment is wise.”
“Spare me the obvious.”
The figure beyond crossed their legs.
“I want your honest opinion as chamberlain. If you were me, how would you view this impudent young knight and administrator’s letter? Believe them? Ignore?”
“……If it were me……”
The chamberlain paused, then continued.
“All messengers to the imperial west gone silent is concerning. I’d trust their letter but hold the Dante family accountable if it’s a false alarm, Your Majesty.”
The figure uncrossed their legs and stood.
“Same here. That cocky knight knew as much when he wrote it.”
A chuckle came from beyond.
“Send the second relief force. Roughly a month to arrive?”
……
“E-enemy!”
“Imperial army! Why are they here……?!”
The 5th Prince’s rebel forces.
The second imperial relief army.
On the vast plains of Count Runter’s domain, the two camps faced off. Weapons drawn the instant they spotted each other as foes.
“Charge!”
“Hold the line!”
The clash erupted in seconds.
No sooner had war begun than the fertile granary fields of Runter County went up in flames. The pitch-black night sky swallowed by red inferno, bright as late afternoon.
The war had commenced.
“What a shitshow.”
Lancel didn’t care who won.
It wouldn’t end tonight. The fighting would drag on until this land became a graveyard.
Just needed to slip away in the chaos.
“Let’s bounce!”
“Y-yes!”
He and Marygold bolted from the forest. Now to punch through the war-torn Runter Plains.
5th Prince Erwin Kol Phrigia's favorability has changed.
Current stage: Deep Attachment, Deep Hatred
※ Count Runter's elite knight order pursues Marygold.
What the hell is this now?