The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

“Young master, everything is prepared as you instructed.”
Lancel followed behind Hesti, who spoke with a bright expression.
“You’re going to be surprised.”

“How much of a surprise?”
“You’ll see when you look.”
Her voice sounded somewhat excited.

“Merigold, I’m coming in.”
“Ah, just a moment!”
“It’s already too late.”

Hesti opened the closed door.
“Oh.”
Lancel’s eyes widened.

The first thing he saw was Merigold’s face hurriedly covered by her palm. Light makeup was applied on her skin. The small scars caused by the harsh mercenary life were now completely gone.
Next was the outfit she wore.
A transparent veil, pure white fabric, and golden decorations that glittered in the sunlight. It was a lavish and luxurious costume unlike anything she had ever worn before.

“How do I look, young master?”
“Pretty. It suits you well.”
He meant it sincerely.

After all, the protagonist is the protagonist.
“If you keep staring like that…”
Merigold twisted her body awkwardly, trying to avoid Lancel’s gaze.
“Hmm, maybe I should have just gone all out on the charm route instead.”

“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
The emperor had called.

Upon hearing that, Lancel was already determined to take Merigold there.
Why?
Because from here on, they were headed to the famous Secret Garden (祕苑) map.

A secret retreat for only the royal family. A place where encounters with the princes were almost guaranteed. The empire’s most clandestine location… that was the Secret Garden.
Not taking Merigold there was out of the question.
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—Merigold was uncomfortable wearing the ‘Royal Palace Noble Dress (rental),’ but ironically, it suited her very well.
※ Charm, sexiness, dignity greatly UP!!
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“Even on the warrior route, this much…”
Lancel scrutinized Merigold’s flushed face without rest.
“I think I now understand why more mercenaries have been asking Meri to marry them recently. Don’t you think so, young master?”

“What? Those bastards?”
Lancel reacted with shock.
How dare mercenaries flirt with a woman destined to become empress?

Just thinking about it stirred his anger.
“There was one just yesterday, wasn’t there?”
“Yes. Uncle Godman.”

“That crazy old man.”
Lancel was dumbfounded. Godman was a mercenary well past forty. Compared to Merigold, who wasn’t even twenty yet, there was easily twice the age difference. That man proposed marriage?
“Godman, you picked the wrong one.”

Lancel vowed to keep an eye on his hands once he got ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ back. He’d make an example out of him so he’d never even dream of it again.
Besides, the warrior route had a nasty trap ending involving ‘marriage to a mercenary.’
“So, what did you do to Godman?”

“I knocked him out!”
That was a relief.
But did she dislike him that much?

“Uncle Godman is a good person, but I don’t love him. Marriage is for people who love each other.”
Merigold smiled slyly, raising her fist for emphasis.
“You agree, Master?”

“Well, generally speaking, yes.”
“Me too.”
Merigold took Lancel’s answer as affirmative and flashed a charming smile.

Dressed in pure white court attire, her smile was so dazzling it left one speechless for a moment.
“Merigold, you’re an empress now. Your life has truly blossomed.”
Lancel planned to seize a solid opportunity when meeting the emperor.

Yes. To firmly establish the inevitable fact that the Fifth Prince and Merigold would be joined.
“You must depart soon, young master. Count of the Court is waiting.”
“Let’s go.”

Outside, the count’s carriage had already arrived.
“Why are you so late?”
“You can’t appear before His Majesty covered in dust, Count of the Court.”

Prompted by the count, Lancel and Merigold quickly got into the carriage.
‘I wonder what the emperor looks like.’
Lancel’s memories of the Fallen Noblewoman Simulation were quite vivid, but information about the emperor was limited.

‘There wasn’t even a single illustration of the character.’
From the start, Lancel’s sister, who made the game, had little interest in the emperor. For her, the emperor was just the emperor — nothing more was needed.
Thanks to that, the emperor’s presence and screen time in the game were almost nonexistent. He was basically an extra.

But that was the game.
This was reality.
In this world, the emperor was an absolute ruler.

The royal family of the old empire had fallen, and the current empire’s supreme leader filled that void.
“Depart.”
“Yes!”

The carriage started moving along the widest road in the island.
 
As the huge imperial palace came into view, Lancel finally felt that they had entered the heart of the empire.
“Now I will blindfold you. The fewer people who know the way into the Secret Garden, the better.”

“Understood.”
A black cloth covered Lancel and Merigold’s eyes.
Perhaps to disorient their sense of direction, the carriage spun several times before finally heading straight toward one place.

“I feel nauseous.”
“Endure it.”
“I think I’m going to vomit.”

“Don’t dirty your clothes.”
“I’ll try. Ugh.”
Lancel could feel Merigold’s complexion worsening. It was the perfect situation to get motion sickness.

“We’ve arrived.”
The blindfolds were removed, and the carriage was parked in the middle of a garden decorated with flower bushes.
“This place…”

“All I see are flowers, Master.”
A low sigh escaped Merigold’s lips, who had been groaning just moments ago. The colorful blossoms filled her view, making her feel as if she had stepped into a fairy tale world.
Royalty indeed.

They really just splurged money here.
“I didn’t expect the Secret Garden — supposedly made for secretive and sinister things — to be this lavish.”
“Sinister things?”

Merigold tilted her head at the careless muttering.
“Stop spacing out and hurry up.”
“Yes, yes.”

They walked along a path lined with blooming flower beds. Soon, their view opened wide.
A lake.
A tranquil garden.

Someone stood there.
‘The emperor?’
A large veil surrounded the emperor, so all that was visible was his blurry shadow.

Lancel thought, No illustration here either. He knelt on one knee.
Merigold, sensing it, followed suit.
“Your Majesty, as instructed, I have brought Lancel Dante of the Dante Marquis family.”

He could feel the shadow beyond the veil looking at him. The sticky magical energy brushed over him briefly. The imperial family of this empire was truly suspicious.
“Are you Lancel Dante?”
The voice was old and frail as if it could break at any moment. But Lancel felt tangled magical energy from around the emperor’s lips.

‘He’s disguising his voice with magic.’
How desperate to hide himself.
“One of my sons took a liking to you. That is why you are here, Lancel Dante.”

He knew who it was without being told.
‘There’s no one else but the Third Prince.’
In any case, he was a blabbermouth.

“I don’t recall meeting you, but if you think well of me, I am honored, Your Majesty.”
Bowing deeply, Lancel replied mechanically.
“That will suffice. The reason I called you today is to bestow a gift upon you accordingly.”

A gift?
Suddenly?
Money?

Confused, Lancel was nudged on the elbow by the Count.
“What are you doing? Didn’t His Majesty say he would bestow a gift?”
“I didn’t think I came to receive a gift today.”

“Since he’s giving it, just accept it.”
“Since it’s free, why not?”
“Are you planning to refuse?”

“You two, I can hear you.”
A whispered conversation passed quickly among Lancel, the Count, and Merigold. Eventually, Lancel bowed his head deeper.
“I am deeply grateful for your boundless grace, Your Majesty.”

The emperor paused briefly, then spoke.
“I appoint you as a court knight, Lancel Dante. This is the gift I have prepared.”
A bigger gift than expected.

For a knightly family, having their son enter the court knights was definitely an honor.
It was also good news for Lancel. It was practically a license to enter the palace.
“To a good knight, I bestow an honor so that you may serve by my side. Take pride in it.”

But.
Hmm.
“Your Majesty.”

Lancel still had one more thing he wanted.
“Could you write a little more?”
The eyes of the Count, Merigold, the emperor’s attendants, and knights all opened wide in shock at once.

 
“...What?”
Lancel repeated without hesitation.
“Could you write a little more, Your Majesty?”

“I heard that correctly.”
It seemed they thought they had heard things wrongly. Perhaps everyone, including the emperor.
One knight beside the emperor started trembling uncontrollably.

“How dare you speak so rudely to His Majesty...”
That was it. Over the past 200 years, through deaths, injuries, and even being dragged to the execution platform and burned alive, one thing had changed drastically for Lancel.
He had lost his fear.

“You, now.”
The emperor’s figure beyond the veil was stiff. He looked very surprised.
Lancel did not stop speaking.

“You said you would bestow a gift on me, but honestly, I don’t understand, Your Majesty.”
“...What don’t you understand?”
On the right, the Count kept poking Lancel’s shoulder, mumbling urgently (mostly curse-laced pleas).

On the left, Merigold tugged on his collar, looking half-lost in thought (her murmuring wasn’t quite formed into words and was hard to hear).
Lancel ignored them all cleanly.
“I have no memory of doing anything worthy of receiving a gift, Your Majesty.”

“Until now, I have often given gifts without reason, but this is the first time someone has questioned me like you, Lancel Dante.”
The emperor looked dumbfounded beyond shock.
“Maybe it was stranger for those who just accepted gifts blindly, Your Majesty.”

“Well, your words themselves are flawed. You say you haven’t done anything deserving a gift, yet you demand even more?”
The Count and Merigold, who tried to stop Lancel, momentarily agreed with the emperor. It was indeed contradictory.
“I understand this gift as meaning you will want many things from me in the future.”

“Is that a complaint? That a knight becomes the emperor’s man? That I would ask something of you?”
“If you want to make me Your Majesty’s man, then I will expect more.”
A chain of shocks.

“You dare to make a deal with me, Lancel Dante?”
“All things in this world are weighed on scales, Your Majesty.”
“Even if I were to behead you right here and now?”

The emperor’s voice trembled with quiet rage. They probably thought he would back down by now.
“If you wish, do so.”
The emperor’s mouth hung open in stunned silence, then stiffened again.

There was no fear at all.
Because.
‘After all, this guy isn’t even the real emperor.’

Lancel already knew his true identity.
Before it was just a guess, but after seeing his reaction earlier, he was certain.