The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

Kugugung, kugugung!
Hooves struck the dirt roughly.
Dozens of mounted soldiers holding torches galloped across the field.

At the end of the road they chased was a knight fluttering a black cloak.
Despite overwhelming numerical inferiority, he showed not a trace of hesitation. Instead, he increased his speed and charged straight ahead.
“Qu-quick, block him! Hurry!”

The man wearing a red cloak shouted frantically.
Bang!
Dozens of cavalry collided with the single rider. Cracks and shattering sounds burst out in succession.

“Gyaaaah!”
“M-my a-arms…!”
The screams came from the larger group.

Behind the path of the black-cloaked knight, chunks of flesh flew and a storm of blood swirled.
“Ah!”
“Block him! No!”

“He’s coming this way!”
Every time a blade flashed, a mounted soldier tumbled down without fail. The armor was sliced and the bones severed entirely.
The black cloak finally passed through dozens of cavalry without a single wound. He spurred his horse toward the red-cloaked commander who had withdrawn some distance.

“You, you crazy bastard...!”
The red cloak’s face drenched in fear.
“Do you know who I am? This is treason! This is treason!”
 
If it were just a matter of finding one person named Marigold, no matter how much time was given, it would have been difficult.

But following the traces left by the great procession of the Merry Trading Company was not so hard.
“Is this the Salt Trading Company? They were huge.”
In the first village, they talked about the grand presence of the Merry Trading Company.

“They stopped briefly in this village, and since there was nowhere to stay, they just spread out blankets in the fields. It was quite a sight. The money they had was so rotten, they paid a premium on a bottle of liquor, four times the price...!”
“Where did they go?”
“Hmm? If you keep going this way, you reach the plains. They passed through there.”

In the second village, stories arose about the overwhelming mercenary group of the Merry Trading Company.
“It's that forest. The remnants of soldiers from the Belog Kingdom gathered there and plundered relentlessly. They recklessly dared to mess with the Salt Trading Company.”
“What happened to them?”

“They were left as nothing but bones, strewn in a row in front of the village. Would you like to take a look? Although some were taken by wild dogs, not many remain.”
At the third village, stories about Marigold finally emerged.
“She was unusual. A young woman leading such a large company. I thought she was a noble.”

“Do you remember anything?”
“The most famous was when she fought with Lord Seonggwanbaek’s fortress.”
“Seonggwanbaek? You mean the lord?”

“Who else would it be?”
“A noble and the trading company leader clashed?”
“That’s right. Among nobles, he’s quite high-ranking. But that guy’s temper is no joke. I heard he demanded a toll of 20 gold coins.”

“He’s no different from a bandit.”
“She won that bet in a gamble and even took 10 gold coins from the guy. I secretly thought he deserved it.”
“......”

Fearless or thoughtless? Marigold sure has a strong heart.
Ransell felt some of his fatigue from the long journey fade upon hearing the news. It felt like her. For better or worse.
Passing through the fourth and fifth regions.

Finally, when they reached a village near the battlefield,
“Don’t even mention the Salt Trading Company.”
Ransell sensed the changing atmosphere.

“Those people, until recently, were called traitors.”
“Traitors?”
“Yes. Traitors.”

The merchant they met on the road lowered his voice abruptly when he heard the name Merry Trading Company.
“Those people once were here, raking in money with a rake. I almost died of envy wondering how much silver I could have earned if I were there.”
“How well did they do?”

“Almost all the supplies flowing into the battlefield went through the Salt Trading Company. The lady leading it was an amazing woman who knew how to sell things.”
“What do you mean by traitors?”
“They sold goods even to the rebels.”

Ah.
Ransell touched his forehead.
“They probably didn’t sell willingly.”

“Surely. She was a woman who knew the value of her life.”
No matter how strong Marigold was, she must have known that selling to rebels meant losing her head.
“But if the prince says they sold, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} then that’s what it is.”

“...Prince?”
“You know, that temperamental one. Famous for being eccentric.”
No need to say more.

If even common merchants talk badly about a royal, there’s only one.
The 6th Prince.
Karin Craig Frigia.

“In the end, everything was seized and they were left empty-handed. If you don’t surrender everything, it’s treason, so what else could they do?”
The Merry Trading Company had its own backing, after all. Half the shares were owned by Marquis Dante.
Yet everything was confiscated.

Only the 6th Prince could have done that.
No matter how much noble society whispered behind their backs, he didn’t care. A temperament that would do whatever he wanted.
“If you’re looking for the Salt Trading Company people, don’t bother. By now, they’ve all gone back home. What can merchants who lost money do? At least they kept their lives.”

“...What about the trading company leader?”
“The leader? Oh, that woman?”
The merchant who was gathering goods from the floor answered casually.

“She... I heard she’s dead.”
...
“Do you know who I am? This is treason! This is treason!”

Ransell raised his sword against the hoarse voice of the 6th Prince.
“What will you do if it’s treason?”
“...!”

The blade pierced through the 6th Prince’s heart entirely.
It was a strangely familiar sensation. This guy looks like this, but his grip feels good. This will become a habit.
“Guruk...!”

===========
—Event lost! 6th Prince 'Karin Craig Frigia' route lost.
“How many more times must you die before you learn, Karin?”
Blood poured out as Ransell drew his sword. With his eyes rolled back, the prince fell from his horse. Ransell quickly left the scene.

Though dozens of the royal guards were annihilated in a single surprise attack, and the 6th Prince’s life was lost, rumors spread with a more pleasant version:
“The 6th Prince was killed by the rebels!”
 
A few months later, Ransell came to a quiet rural territory.

It would be a lie to say he felt no regret, having failed to achieve the purpose for which he came so far.
But even that regret was the only choice left to him, swallowed without much emotion.
“The aftertaste is bitter.”

Watching the setting sun, Ransell recalled what had happened over the past ten years.
Saving Marigold from being beaten, rescuing her from hanging, finding her when she was accused of being a bandit, following her as the news abruptly stopped, even drifting into the battlefield...
Looking back, it became clear.

“My vacation was fucked up.”
What can you do?
Sometimes things just go wrong.

“If necessary, I can take another trip.”
Ransell decided to think lightly.
As the night darkened, people gathered in front of the inn—travelers, deserters, vagabonds, and bad sorts.

“Come on! Put your money and double or nothing!”
Yabawi, huh.
Come to think of it, the first time he met Marigold in this cycle was just like this. The air, the smell, the atmosphere—it all felt the same.

A strangely nostalgic feeling welled up. He turned his gaze toward the noisy place.
“Too bad! Next time!”
“No, what the...!”

Men surrounded the shell game hustler.
“You scammer, who are you trying to fool now?”
“Fool? Where is a fair person like me?”

“I saw everything, yet you’re pretending to be innocent?”
Yeah, yeah.
Peaceful.

“There’s nothing more pathetic than complaining about losing money, tsk!”
“You fucking bitch!”
Huh?

“Clang!”
Ransell watched once again a woman collapse, bleeding from the nose.
Short hair, hat pulled low, shabby clothes and robe. Wrapped up tight, hiding her identity.

Déjà vu.
Such intuition is usually accurate.
“Marigold?”

At first, he didn’t recognize her.
But he was certain.
“Give me back my money, you scammer...!”

“Hik!”
The woman crouched against the repeated punches.
“...?”

When the shock didn’t subside after a while, he slowly opened his half-closed eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Their eyes met.

Just like the first day they saw each other.
That’s right.
Since this was the only quiet village in the war-torn region, meeting like this was not strange.

If he had known she was alive and wandering around, he would have searched the villages much earlier.
Of course, since he thought she was dead, it wasn’t surprising to lose her right in front of his eyes.
“...Benefactor?”

Marigold’s eyes trembled.
There was no response.
How much time passed?

“I-I must have been mistaken!”
She suddenly turned and fled.
Ransell stared dumbfounded at her back.

He immediately chased and grabbed Marigold’s wrist.
“Trying to run away?”
“B-Benefactor...”

Marigold’s face, now tearful, looked back at Ransell under the moonlight.
“...I heard you were dead! What are you doing here now?”
“I-I’m alive, I sent a letter to say so... but...”

He never received it. Perhaps because he had already left home before the letter arrived.
“But why?”
“...”

Ransell waited for her to speak.
The meaning of ‘Why aren’t you returning and why are you here?’ was not hard for Marigold to understand.
If alive, it was normal to return.

Her hiccuping sobs were finally broken by her voice after a long time.
“I’m ashamed...”
Ridiculous.

“Is this just a day or two? Are you ashamed to me?”
“Still, I said I’d come back as a tycoon...”
“Sorry, I never expected that. Whatever you did, I thought it would be lucky just if you weren’t a beggar.”

“You’re too harsh!”
“You actually became a beggar.”
“...Principal...”

“...?”
“I only wanted to recover the principal and come back...”
“Do you think you can? With yabawi? Recovering such a huge amount?”

The money Marigold lost to the prince was truly enormous.
More than half of what she had earned over the years was invested—literally a ruinous investment. Recovering it alone was impossible from the start.
“Do you think so?”

“Ugh.”
Ransell squeezed her head with both hands.
“Ugh, aah, ughh!”

After rubbing and flattening her face for a while, she seemed to relax a bit.
“Follow me for now.”
Ransell dragged Marigold’s arm and took her to the lodging.

That night, Ransell and Marigold exchanged the full story of what had happened.
“Benefactor, did you come to find me?”
“If not, why else would I come all the way here?”

Marigold’s expression was comical. It flickered between crying and laughing.
“If you want to make money, return to your family first. Get proper investments again and restore things step by step. No matter how much you scam alone, even after a hundred years it won’t be enough, you know that, right?”
“You won’t kick me out?”

“Should I?”
If she had waited just one year quietly, none of this would have happened. The one reason he came such a long way was one thing only.
“I had a feeling it would be like this.”

This is what they call déjà vu. If left alone, Marigold’s characteristic is to immediately go down the wrong path.
“I’ll leave as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”
“...Okay.”

Marigold bowed deeply and then pulled something out.
“This.”
“...?”

“Dovern region specialty tea leaves...”
“...”
Although she lost all her money, she still had this. Ransell let out a bitter laugh.

In the end, he drank the tea she had insisted on drinking. It was a pleasantly fragrant tea that made him sleepy.
As the night deepened, Marigold’s body moved close and clung to him. Through Ransell’s cold arm, her warm heat slowly transferred.
“Benefactor.”

Marigold’s swollen and bruised face approached Ransell.
Though her appearance was shabby, her eyes shone brightly.
“I’ll start again. This time, I’ll definitely succeed and become a tycoon. No.”

Yes, yes.
Do just that.
Though in a few months he would reset.

“I’ll become the richest person in the empire. And I’ll get you in my hands too!”
“...? Why would you want to get me in your hands?”
“Because that’s what a tycoon does.”

What a miserly statement.
“When that time comes... you’ll stay with me, right, benefactor?”
Marigold’s voice sounded desperate. Ransell gave the same answer once again.

“I’ll think about it positively.”
The next morning, Ransell and Marigold began the long journey back to the Dante family, going all around the continent.
Feeling the approaching summer, sometimes wandering off track and dawdling. Not really wanting to do anything, but time flew by before they noticed.

It was a leisurely trip.
“We’re almost there, benefactor.”
A flower-covered hill.

Marigold, wearing a wreath on her head, smiled brightly.
It was already June.
The day Marigold turned twenty-five.

“Ahh! Bees! Benefactor, bees! Hornets! Eek!”
“Take off what’s on your head.”
“It’s a shame...!”

Ten years passed that way.
.
.

.
[Playtime 10 years 0 days]
—Marigold has turned 25 years old.
—No marriage partner.
—Achievements unlocked.

▶ First Experience (Target: Ransell Dante) +1000 points.
▷ Achieved Tycoon +100 points.
▶ New Lust Record +50 points.
▷ Trading Company Leader Title +50 points.
—Total achievement points: 1700.
—Memory Succession ‘1 time’ accumulated.
—Points remaining until next Memory Succession: (200/1500).
[Normal Ending 82. Pleasure Minister Marigold]

—Ending recorded in ‘Memory Album.’
—Viewing album.
.
.

.
Welcome to the City of Pleasure.
Amid the empire’s war, Marigold earned countless gold coins and gained the honor of the greatest tycoon.

Luxury.
Joy.
Pleasure.
Gambling.
Magnate.
A land gathering all things related to money.
In this huge city of pleasure built on the continent’s edge outside the empire, there was no place Marigold’s hand did not reach.

Even minor royal families of small kingdoms came rushing to borrow money. Welcome to the City of Pleasure of the Merry Trading Company.
‘Heh heh, the money the Dante family borrowed from me has already grown this much. What will you do, benefactor? Without me, you’d be nothing.’
Marigold’s eyes burned with desire today as well.

‘Yes. Just forget the crumbling empire. Benefactor, just live with me. Here, forever…!’
The burning eyes of a beast.
A desire to have whatever she wants.
It engulfed her old benefactor.

“Uhahaha, come here.”
She clearly seemed out of her mind.
[ Pleasure Minister Marigold — fin ]

—The game will restart.
—Would you like to use ‘Memory Succession’ 1 time?
.

.
.
“What the hell is this?”

Ransell couldn’t hide his astonishment.
The ridiculous ending wasn’t a new thing, so that was fine. The lust reaching the sky was just as expected.
The problem was that strange achievement called ‘First Experience.’ Ransell definitely had no such memory.

Seriously.
If it existed, it must be Marigold’s doing. No doubt she did something.
What unsettled him was not just that.

“Memory Succession?”
Ransell felt something ominous in that phrase.
And then.

“Young master, that child over there is the new maid. Her name is Mary.”
“...?”
Marigold came to find him.

[Tycoon Marigold — END]
[NEXT — Succession Cycle 1. Behind the Scenes Ransell]