The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

“First, we’ll circle the continent and head to the archipelago. To find the Demon King.”
“The Demon King, huh. Hearing that, it sounds like ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a hero’s travelogue.”
“If we search around, there might be some clues.”
Hero Marigold.
It was the official ending.

“And I want to take you to my hometown too...”
The territory of Marigold that burned to ashes.
Now that he thought about it, it was a place he had never been to.
The land soaked with all of Marigold’s memories and grudges.
The count family’s territory that disappeared from the map overnight.
“It’ll be a long journey.”
“It’ll be quicker than you think.”

.
.
.
When they returned to the campsite, the game they had caught was already sizzling and cooking.
“What took you so long?”

Viscount Dante called out to Ransell with a sly grin.
“I just washed up a bit.”
“So you must have had a good reason to wash up.”
“I just hunted a little more seriously.”
“We all know, but you’re still trying to get away.”
Marigold hung her head deeply.
She was holding onto Ransell’s collar with her hand.
Sitting in front of the campfire, Ransell suddenly became curious.
“Mary.”
“Yes, Lord Ransell.”
“I don’t think I’ve asked, but what were you doing alone before coming here?”
“...Well, to put it simply, I was preparing to become someone worthy of you, Lord Ransell.”

From Ransell’s perspective, it was three years, but for Marigold, it was different.
The time it took from when she opened her eyes and sought him out was a full eight years.
Eight years.

Not a short time at all.
What kind of time was it, spending eight years thinking of only one person? What had happened?
Ransell always lamented the five years he could not intervene in.

For Marigold, those five years must have been unbearably lonely. A time thrown into the world without anyone’s help, living alone. The fallen noble girl at ten was a too fragile existence to endure isolated time.
“How is a fallen noble girl at ten supposed to survive and become the empress? The game needs to make sense.”
So Ransell only blamed the person responsible for all this inside his head.

“It was okay.”
Marigold hugged her knees and gazed at the campfire as she spoke.
“But it was quite okay. It was hard too, but in the end, we met like this.”
“...Yeah.”
“Heh.”
“Put your hand down.”
“Hehehe.”

Even this time, Ransell had no idea how she had spent those eight years alone.
“The time Marigold lived after losing family, home, friends, and status at age ten. Eight years...”
While he was pondering the meaning deeply,

“Ha!”
The vigorous Dante family members were clashing wooden swords against each other.
After eating some meat, it seemed the boiling calories and male hormones were uncontrollable.

“Let’s see some skill after a long time, you bastard!”
“Don’t forget last time I won.”
The arena was quickly filled with the harsh breaths of men who had taken off their shirts and the groans from striking sticks.
Naturally, Viscount Dante and his eldest and second sons were among them.
“Hahaha! You bastards, come all at once!”

Only Ransell stayed far away, feeling like he didn’t want to be involved in the scene.
“Ransell!”
At that moment, the voice of Kyle Dante, the second son, burst out.

“I’ll leave some bruises on you for the first time in a while. Get up!”

“...”
There was some unspoken grudge in his tone.
“I didn’t like you bragging about having a good wife. I’ll carve chivalry into you again. Very blue and fresh.”
“Brother... Does Lady Dunk still not meet you well these days?”
“...Why are you suddenly bringing up my fiancée?”

He was caught off guard.
“Told you not to be fooled by looks when I said so.”
“Shut up!”
His fiancée Lady Dunk was a stunningly beautiful woman, known as a precious noble in the empire.

Every time they crossed paths, he would get goosebumps thinking about how his life would have turned out if he had married that woman.
Perhaps Lady Aisford from a good family might have been better in that regard.
“Anyway, bring out the wooden sword.”

There was no way to run away.
“Such a hassle, really. Yare yare.”
Just as he scratched his head to get up,

“I will.”
Marigold grabbed his shoulder and stood instead. Picking up the wooden sword dropped on the ground.
“May I step in instead, Kyle Dante?”

Saying that, she whipped off her coat and cloak. A sturdy blouse and leather pants were revealed.
Muscles well positioned between smooth curves supported her body appropriately.
A quiet cheer escaped from the maids’ mouths.

“I haven’t trained in a while so I’ve lost my touch... and more than that! I want to prove that I am someone worthy of the Dante family! Please allow me, Kyle Dante, Viscount Dante.”
All eyes turned to Marigold.
Her pupils glittered with resolve.

“Because I am now a member of the Dante family!”
 
Intervening in a duel between knights was not advisable.
Marigold stepping between Ransell and Kyle was also not exactly correct behavior by “chivalrous sensitivity.”

Yet no one stopped her, probably because everyone felt the same way.
They were curious about Marigold’s skill.
“I’m fine with it. Does father approve?”
“What are you asking? That’s your business. My knees ache so I’ll just watch.”

Viscount Dante shrugged his shoulders, and Kyle Dante smiled.
“So he says.”
Sensing the mood, the family members slowly backed away.

In the center of the clearing, only Marigold and Kyle Dante remained.
“But know this. From the moment you draw your sword, I will treat you as a full knight. If you intend to appeal for mercy with your hands, retreat now. If you’re okay with that, I’ll gladly duel.”
“Yes! That’s exactly what I want.”
“Alright. Let’s see your skill.”
In the minds of the watchers, the outcome was already decided.

Kyle.
The second son of the Dante family, though he looked like that, he was already a recognized knight with experience in minor battles at the border.
Any knightly order, except for the royal guard, would accept him immediately if he wished.

Compared to him, Marigold was only an eighteen-year-old young female knight who had just reached adulthood.
There was no point in debating who would win if they fought. It wasn’t even a contest.
This was truly a match between an adult and a child...

Clack!
“Huh?”
On the first strike, the wooden sword flew through the air.

Spinning as it flew, the wooden sword plunged deep into a patch of the field.
The hands left empty were not Marigold’s but Kyle Dante’s.
“...?”

Questions popped up in the heads of the watchers.
“Did he... lose? Lord Kyle?”
“Th-That can’t be... huh?”
It happened so suddenly that no one could react.

Marigold moved her feet and immediately disarmed her opponent. That was all.
Kyle Dante could only stare at his empty hands without any resistance.
“You idiot. You spaced out and got caught. Didn’t I tell you not to underestimate your opponent?”

Viscount Dante clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Ahem.
Kyle Dante, his face flushed, picked up the fallen wooden sword again.

“I-I messed up, Mary. One more time, please. I didn’t even say we started yet.”
How pathetic, Kyle Dante.
Ransell only gave a bitter smile listening to his petty family member’s request.

“You okay?”
No one objected to Kyle’s words.
In fact, not many understood what had just happened.

They could only conclude it was a careless mistake.
Tsk tsk.
Only Viscount Dante and Leo Dante, the eldest son, looked displeased and clearly understood the difference in skill between Marigold and Kyle Dante’s match.

“Understood! One more time, please.”
With the consent of both parties, they faced off again.
This time, Kyle Dante was fully alert. He still believed his defeat had been due to carelessness.

Hoo.
Kyle Dante slowly composed his breathing.
His body, calculating the narrowing distance to Marigold step by step, suddenly moved like lightning.

“Now!”
The wooden sword sliced through the air, rushing forward.
From his side, without giving her a moment to react, he aimed to strike Marigold at once.

Just before the blade was about to pierce her neck.
‘...!’
Marigold’s figure flickered and then vanished like an illusion.

“Hup!”
Kyle Dante noticed too late that she had cleverly moved to the outside of his body.
Clack!

With a crisp sound, the blade was deflected again.
“...Damn it...!”
The wooden sword flew again toward the defenseless Kyle Dante’s body.

“Ugh!”
He twisted his upper body backward hastily but it was already too late.
The wooden sword stopped just in front of his neck.

“...”
“...”
Silence without a single breath.
“Thank you for the match, Kyle Dante.”

Only Marigold’s clear voice echoed quietly.
 
“Dueling your fiancé with your own hands...”
“And even winning...”
Marigold glanced around at everyone’s dumbfounded looks, looking slightly embarrassed.

Her hair tied back without a drop of sweat, Viscount Dante spoke.
“Well done, Mary Mary. I’m proud you came to our family.”
“Thank you, Father!”
Marigold’s face lit up.

“From the moment I first saw you, I knew our Mary was no ordinary person. What is it, Kyle? Accept your defeat and pay respects.”
“Yes, Father.”
Kyle Dante, who had collapsed, got up with a bitter face.
“I accept my defeat.”

Kyle Dante silently stepped back.
“Mary, may I ask who taught you swordsmanship?”
The question came from Leo Dante, the eldest son.
Marigold hesitated a moment and looked at Ransell.

“I learned from the town master alone, and then from my master...”
“Master?”
A nostalgic title.
Master. The word Marigold had called him.

The image of Marigold fighting alongside him on the battlefield briefly flickered in his mind.
Even the words she first said to him when she came to him as a servant came back.
“Please give me a move, Lord Ransell Dante!”

That bold-eyed Marigold, asking him for a duel.
“Hm?”
“Please give me a move!”
Marigold’s burning eyes met Ransell’s.

“Miss Mary... to Lord Ransell?”
“She fought instead of her fiancé...?”
“Is this a marital quarrel?”
In the stunned arena, only Marigold’s gaze flashed fiercely.