The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

The Third Princess has gone missing.
Everyone who heard the news was stunned and unable to recover from the shock.

“Shh, be quiet. Behave, okay?”
Everyone was trying to calm the noisy bird—everyone except Marigold.
‘Third Princess Claria. Is this the first time something’s happened to her?’

Although royal family members often had troubles in Ransell’s previous loops, the Third Princess case was somewhat different.
She wasn’t the type to get involved in wars or political strife. She was a pure romance fantasy character, interested only in beauty, banquets, and love affairs.
Power was just a means for her to keep men of the capital on a leash and keep noble ladies in check. That was the Third Princess Claria.

And yet, she had gone missing.
“How long has she been missing?”
“Just over a year.”
Lady Iceford answered coldly.
“For reference, Her Highness’s last known whereabouts were on a merchant ship bound for the archipelago.”
“The princess was on a merchant ship...!”
“She’s very free-spirited. The royal family received the news two months ago and hurriedly assembled a fleet.”

Silence spread again.
“We don’t want to consider the worst case, but if this flower was found on a pirate ship...”
Lady Iceford looked around the frozen crowd and lifted a flower of souls.

“Her Highness the Princess might by now...”
Though Lady Iceford left the sentence unfinished, everyone understood.
They understood what it meant that an item belonging to the princess was found on a pirate ship.

‘That means...’
‘The princess is in the hands of pirates?’
Captured.
Or dead.
The latter was more likely than the former.

“From today, we will sweep all nearby areas to find news of Her Highness and rescue her safely. Surely the empire’s navy can handle this task?”
‘What about my vacation...?’
Ransell shuddered at the mere thought of it.

Having to take on royal duties was something utterly foreign to him, and he just wanted to grab Marigold and run to the mainland as soon as possible.
“Of course, I understand it’s a tiring task. I’m so «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» exhausted I have hives all over my body. But if you hear about the reward, you’ll change your mind.”
“What reward?”
“If someone finds Her Highness the Princess... the royal family promises to bestow the title of ‘Empire Hero’.”
“...!”
Shock rippled through the hall.

“That’s a generous reward.”
“Of course. The royal bloodline’s rescue deserves the title of Empire Hero. This was personally approved by His Majesty.”
The title of Empire Hero wasn’t just honorary. It came as a package of vast rewards—money, land, titles, servants, authority, and privilege.
Ransell, who had received it three times in past loops, knew its value better than anyone. It was one of the few times the usually dignified Dante Marquis had danced joyfully.

‘But she’s probably already dead.’
Honestly, the Third Princess wasn’t strong enough to survive capture by pirates.
Having lived her entire life sheltered in the royal family, it was hard to imagine her surviving long in such a harsh environment.
Yet, despite Ransell’s doubts, the navy officers gathered there had flames burning in their eyes.

“To succeed and return to the capital... to the capital...”
“For the family’s honor... please wait, Mother.”
“A hero. I will be the empire’s hero. The strongest I can imagine.”
The mere possibility of being called an Empire Hero set their hearts ablaze.
“Ransell.”

Marigold tugged at his sleeve from beside him.
“What?”
“What was that about? I didn’t hear.”
“You don’t need to know.”

“Ow!”
When Ransell pinched her nose, Marigold squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Why did I bring this one along?’
Then—
===============
[Game Guide]

The list of attainable endings has been updated!
Empire Hero Marigold. – S Rank –
The Princess’s Lover Marigold.

The Princess’s Maid Marigold.
The Royal Noble Flower Marigold.
???

Unachieved achievements discovered.
The Princess’s Benefactor. – A Rank –
The Princess’s Friend.

Navy Officer (Rank Up).
From Private to Noble.
???

※ S Rank ending discovered.
Ransell was momentarily speechless.
Seeing the guide’s content felt like his mind stopped.

‘What? Is she really alive?’
If the Third Princess Claria were gone from this world, that guide wouldn’t have appeared.
All of those achievements required the princess to be alive from start to finish.

Moreover, the ‘Empire Hero Marigold’ entry caught his eye. It was a famous ending marked S Rank.
The fallen noblewoman Marigold builds achievements and regains nobility, creating a new family.
That seemed like a truly happy ending. Wealth, honor, and status all restored, with little room for unhappiness.

‘This might be alright.’
This was definitely an opportunity.
Usually, the Empire Hero ending was not something easy to aim for.

It required great effort and time to make achievements on the battlefield and gain fame—many died screaming along the way.
But this time?
All you had to do was find the missing person.
‘Isn’t this basically free?’

Yeah. Compared to the usual way, this mission was overwhelmingly simple.
“All search expenses and support will be covered by the royal family. Turn the archipelago’s seas upside down if you must to find Her Highness the Princess. I want to finish quickly and return to the capital myself.”
Lady Iceford’s last words were sincere.

.
.
.
A year passed like that.
“Just what are you all doing!”

Lady Iceford, her skin tanned from long island life, was hysterical again today.
 
“There are mountains of work back in the capital, yet these incompetent navy officers are just wasting time!”
In a high guest room of the White Pavilion overlooking the sea, attendants fanned Lady Iceford who lay reclining.

“You can’t even find one thing! Tsk tsk...”
Even as she spoke sharply, Lady Iceford stuffed tropical fruit into her mouth.
On the outside, it looked like she was enjoying her vacation, but her anxiety was genuine.

Having been immersed in the capital’s extravagant and decadent parties, this archipelago felt suffocating to her.
Even though small consolation banquets were occasionally held for her, they were nowhere near the scale of the capital’s.
“What will you do if something happens to Her Highness the Princess?”
“We’re searching diligently, but it’s not easy...”

“No excuses. Bring results. Right now! Tsk tsk, tsk.”

“That’s what he said.”
Baron Corral’s words made the officers scratch their heads and sigh.
The problem was that the archipelago’s seas were too vast.

“It takes at least three ships to move at once, so searching isn’t easy.”
“If we move far, supply logistics become difficult...”
Splitting the fleet increased the risk of falling prey to pirates.
That’s why the search had only covered the surrounding areas for the past year.

But it wasn’t a complete failure.
“There have been pirates who claimed to have seen someone resembling Her Highness. We must not lose hope yet.”
This information was extracted by capturing pirates and removing their fingernails and toenails for interrogation.

—A beauty with blue hair and eyes was once sold at high prices among pirate leaders!
The Third Princess was a legendary beauty known throughout the empire, so rumors inevitably spread.
It was becoming accepted that she was somewhere in these seas.

“What are your plans, Commander?”
One year without results.
Lady Iceford’s patience was wearing thin.

The answer was only one.
“...We must hope the expedition parties bring back results.”
Baron Corral stared out at the distant sea, waiting for news of those who had left to find the Third Princess.

“Any news from Ransell Dante?”
“The last report was that he was stranded after encountering a storm...”
Baron Corral sighed deeply.
“Must we prepare to send bad news to the Dante family?”

 
“I’m hungry.”
“Me too.”
—Beeeeep!
“Looks like Piado’s hungry.”
“Didn’t we give him a piece of bread earlier?”
“He seems tired of bread, so he won’t eat well.”
“A picky bird.”

A small boat rocked on the waves under a blue sky.
Ransell and Marigold lay side by side, drifting in the vast ocean.
“How many days has it been?”
“Half a year since departure, about two weeks adrift.”
“Time flies.”
“I’m almost seventeen.”
“Happy early birthday.”
“Thank you.”

They spoke in voices as lifeless as the sea around them.
They hadn’t expected things to turn out like this at the start.
‘How did it come to this?’

Ransell and Marigold had left as one of eight warships to search for the Third Princess Claria.
A voyage to make her an ‘Empire Hero.’ At first, they had been sweeping away pirates, gathering news and spoils about the princess, and things seemed to be going smoothly.
But even Ransell couldn’t handle natural disasters at sea.

Their ship was literally cut in half passing through the archipelago’s rough straits.
“I’m definitely a land person.”
The only things saved from the sinking ship were Marigold and her bird.

Honestly, it was a miracle they hadn’t died that day. Ransell almost got the ‘Marigold: Fish Food’ ending.
===========
—Empire Year 818, May 19th. Weather very clear.
—Marigold has now been adrift at sea for 15 days! She’s starting to get tired of eating sashimi often.
※ Morality, Faith, Condition UP!!

“I’m just glad Ransell was with me at the end.”
“At the end...”
Certainly, the end might not have been far away at that point.