The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

“Cough, hack!”
“Why is this woman trying to die before even being executed?”

Pitiful, Merigold.
Her figure hanging from the gallows was nothing short of miserable.
The rope choking her neck made her eyes and nose already streaming with tears and snot.

Lancel grabbed one of the people gathered before the gallows.
“What’s the reason for her death?”
“Just rotten luck, that’s all.”
The villager answered curtly, then lowered his voice and continued.

“They say the merchant ship those people invested in changed flags and caused a huge ruckus right after leaving the port. Common occurrence.”
“Oh.”
“Even more, the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) young lord who survived a raid by that ship is somehow related to the local marquess’s household, the steward’s family, and even their in-laws.”
“A noble by birth then.”
Though the genealogy was complicated, the gist was that he was from a noble family, if somewhat distant in rank.
‘So that’s how it is.’

It wasn’t just bad luck. This was among the worst cases in shipping investment.
Finding such a rare case on the first try was almost a talent.
“Execute!”
“Yes!”
“Aaah!”

The guard’s sword slashed through the rope holding the gallows floor instantly.
Bang!
A dozen people fell simultaneously, hanging from the gallows.

Their final struggles were futile flails of the body.
Merigold was among them.
“Ughhh!”

Yes.
She was dying.
“Wait, wait!”
Lancel rushed forward.
“So, Lancel Dante... are you saying you’re the guardian of this girl?”
“That’s right. The money I lent for the shipping investment was mine, wasn’t it?”

Merigold nodded vigorously, tears and snot streaming so fast the wind seemed to blow through.
With dead bodies hanging on either side, she clung to a hastily set-up platform beneath her feet to survive. Had she been any heavier, her cervical spine would have snapped and she’d be joining the others.
“Ha, what to do.”

The guard captain scratched his head.
“No need to be so formal. Meri was tricked. Look at the people who died here—they’re all old foxes. Meri was just fooled by their sly tongues while trying to get investments to grow the shipping business.”
“I heard that this Meri collected the investments herself?”
What?

Lancel turned his gaze to Merigold. The color drained from her face as she shook her head violently.
“That’s a misconception. How could a child not even an adult gather money from so many people?”
“Well... I was a bit skeptical about that too.”
“Write a letter in the name of the Dante family. That should do it.”
“Can’t be helped.”
The guard captain brightened as if waiting for that line. The Dante family was among the highest-ranking nobles in the region.

“Release the girl—no, Merigold!”
“Yes!”
Soon Merigold was freed by the guards.
Lancel wiped the sweat off his brow as he noticed her pants were a little damp as she slumped weakly to the floor.

‘Not long ago, she was praised as a saint. Now she’s just a petty criminal facing hanging.’
Such a cruel fate.
Merigold.
“Alright, disperse! Leave the bodies on the gallows until they turn to bones!”
“Yes!”

The sun set.
As the spectators left, Merigold remained alone under the gallows, head bowed. Minutes passed with no movement.
“Hey, you okay?”

Lancel approached and poked her.
Merigold suddenly spread her arms and lunged at his pants leg.
“Benefactor! Waaah!”

Merigold, who had nearly died, wept loudly.
 
“Phew!”
Merigold downed the cold fruit drink in one gulp.

Her appearance was pitiful—swollen eyes, bright red nostrils, and a clear rope mark on her neck.
“...I didn’t want to see you again like this, benefactor.”
Burying her face in the dining table, those were her first words.

“Dangerous investments lead to this.”
“But... but...”
“But is but.”
Lancel lifted her chin with his palm.
“Explain what you’ve been doing these past two years.”
“...”

After a pause, Merigold recounted her activities.
Reselling animal fat from passing merchants to earn gold.
Selling bread she baked to docked sailors.
Reporting fraudsters and claiming rewards.
Giving all her investments to a famous captain rumored to be a pirate.
She had lived busily.

“They were bragging about returning 150 times the investment, but suddenly turned pirate, and I thought my life was over.”
Merigold muttered with hollow eyes.
“I heard you gathered the investments?”
“That—no way. I had no such money...”
“Hm.”
“I swear it’s true! I won’t lie to my benefactor.”
“Hmm.”

Merigold averted her gaze. What was the truth? Lancel chose not to pry.
‘Making money isn’t easy.’
Lancel had also tried to make money once.

Making soap, writing tools, paper—no need to mention. All had failed in the end.
“Benefactor... the gold coins I borrowed...”
Merigold nervously wiggled her fingers, watching Lancel’s reaction.

“Pay back triple within five years.”
“R-really?”
She dropped to her knees again, like two years ago.
“I swear! This time I will succeed, benefactor! Not triple, but tenfold! Or maybe you could come with me...!”
“Ah, no.”

Lancel flatly rejected.
This cycle was a vacation. Though briefly caught up, that fact hadn’t changed.
But Merigold didn’t give up. She leaned in close, eyes blazing.

“If I succeed, what will you do then? Will you come with me?”
“That depends on how much you succeed.”
“If I become the richest here?”
“There are plenty that rich in the territory.”
“If I become the richest in the entire territory?”
“You have big dreams...”
“If I become the richest in the empire? The richest on the continent? A magnate with mountains of gold? Will you stay by my side then?”
“Why are you so enthusiastic?”
Lancel gently pushed her back as she drew close enough to feel his breath.
“Just watch, benefactor.”

Merigold knelt on one knee and gazed at Lancel. Her emerald eyes filled with resolve.
“I’ll become rich. Really, truly rich enough for you to stay by my side.”
=========
—Merigold’s determination fills her! Her heart swells with a vow towards young noble Lancel Dante.

※Merigold will remember today’s resolve forever. Charm, morality, dignity, and sensitivity UP!!!
“When the time comes... you’ll be with me, won’t you, benefactor?”
Merigold’s voice was desperate. Lancel chuckled lightly.

“I’ll think positively about it.”
“...You said yes!”
She dashed out of the dining hall as if afraid Lancel would change his mind.
“Just wait and see!”

 
———
[Simulation of a Fallen Noblewoman]
Schedule for Week 1 of August:
Mon — Shopping (Location: Harbor City, Harbor)
Tue — Business (Location: Harbor City, Market)
Wed — Business (Location: Harbor City, Market)
Thu — Baking durable bread
Fri — Cooking sweet and bittersweet fruit jam
Sat — Business (Location: Harbor City, Harbor)
Sun — Business (Location: Harbor City, Market)

※Work diligently and earnestly!
———
While Lancel stayed in the harbor city, Merigold truly worked hard.
Sleep at 2 a.m.
Wake at 6 a.m.

Whenever news came of wagons arriving from other regions, she was the first to run, basket on her back.
“I’ll buy everything! Give it all to me!”
Whenever a ship arrived at the harbor, she hurried with bundles of food she’d prepared, though no one knew when.

“Only three silver coins per jar! Cheap, cheap! Bread and jam that won’t spoil for ten years!”
Passing through the market, one could easily hear her voice.
It gave Lancel a small sense of relief.

‘She’ll manage to live well.’
At least, she wouldn’t starve anywhere.
She wouldn’t become the richest in the empire, but...

.
.
.
“Benefactor! Benefactor!”
Not long after, Merigold came to Lancel with a bright face.

“Look at this! A guild!”
She showed a metal badge proving her membership in the local merchant guild.
“You joined the guild?”
“Yes! Now I’m part of a trade association, so I can do mobile trading. I’ll make much more money than before. What do you think?”
“Good... for you.”
“Yes!”

She smiled as if she had gained the whole world, but Lancel felt something odd.
‘Mobile trading, huh.’
It wouldn’t be easy.

“In a few years, I’ll settle in the territory, so please stop by, benefactor. I’ll make sure to meet you with lots of money. Promise.”
The following week, Merigold joined a large trade caravan. A journey lasting eight long months.
“Benefactor! I’m off! See you again!”

A hood pulled low, robe fluttering in the sandy wind.
That waving gesture with a bright face was the last thing he remembered of her.
After that, Lancel put Merigold out of mind for a while.

Two years later.
Lancel unexpectedly came across Meri’s name.
At a baron’s estate in the western provinces, where a harvest festival was in full swing, he was momentarily distracted by a wanted poster pinned to a shabby bulletin board amidst the drunken laughter and chatter.

=========
—Wanted: Bandit leader Meri.
—Reward: 25 gold coins.
“...That can’t be.”