The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

Official.
A term for an executive of the Administration Bureau. From this point, nobles start to show a certain degree of respect.
High-ranking official.

Among officials, those of high rank—the managers of other officials. From this point, nobles finally begin to show some awareness.
Though not enough to reverse the hierarchy, it was truly rare for a commoner to make nobles uneasy.
In that sense, a high-ranking official was arguably the quintessential example of self-made success in this world. Among the pure elite tracks, it was the ultimate position.

Normally, this route was a dream unattainable even in one’s wildest fantasies.
But Marigold had become an administrative official.
‘Why not aim for the high-ranking official route this time?’

After lunch,
“Recorder Marigold?”
Ransell found Marigold. After the public humiliation in front of all the villagers and having her report confiscated, she was holed up in the inn all day, refusing to leave.

“Recorder Marigold? May I come in?”
No response even after knocking.
He gently opened the door and peeked inside.

He saw Marigold sitting at her desk, deeply absorbed in something. She was furiously moving her pen over sheets of paper.
‘Why isn’t the door even locked?’
Ransell approached behind her.

“Hmmmm.”
She didn’t notice his obvious presence, so focused was she.
‘Is she studying? Or rewriting the report from scratch?’
Ransell glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of an unexpected scene.

‘A drawing?’
And a very well-drawn one at that.
Marigold was delicately sketching the figure of ‘a certain man’ on the paper.

“What are you drawing, Recorder Marigold?”
“……!”
Startled, Marigold jumped up from her seat.

“Eek!”
The chair tipped over, the paper she tried to hide crumpled violently, and in her hurried movements, she stubbed her toe harshly on the desk corner.
“Ugh, aaargh...!”

Curling into a ball from the sudden pain, she silently whimpered. Tears welled in her eyes.
Ransell raised his hands as if to say, ‘I didn’t do anything.’ He simply stood still, watching the sequence.
At that moment, Marigold’s bag toppled from the desk, scattering dozens of sheets onto the floor.

‘What’s this?’
All those pages were densely covered with drawings.
It was astonishing how much time she must have poured into this to reach such skill and volume.

She had secretly been writing something while claiming to keep a diary—and it had all been drawings.
“Recorder Marigold, you have unexpected talent.”
“It’s nothing, really, just a hobby or something. Anyway, it’s nothing! Please give those back, Lord Ransell!”

Still reeling from the pain, Marigold hurriedly began gathering the scattered drawings.
Picking one up from the floor, something about it felt familiar.
The train’s interior, a man in uniform tilting a teacup, a slightly tired face, the imperial knight’s emblem pinned on the collar, even a hat placed on the table...

‘Is this... me?’
Though somewhat idealized, it was definitely Ransell’s likeness.
“Ahhh!”

Startled, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Marigold snatched the paper from Ransell’s hand.
“Uh... no, it’s not that! It’s not like that...!”
“You didn’t say a word, Recorder Marigold.”

“Anyway, it’s not that! Please forget it!”
Marigold gathered all the papers with a sullen expression and threw herself onto the bed. She completely hid under the blanket.
“Sniff... I’m done now. Done as an administrative official, and done as a human. I can’t do anything, lost my report... I’m just a worthless person. Please leave me alone forever. Please.”

Her voice trembling with sobs, Ransell scratched the back of his neck.
“Recorder Marigold.”
He poked the rolled-up woolen blanket with his finger. She flinched and backed away.

One poke, two pokes, three pokes. Each time, she wiggled away to avoid him.
‘An armadillo?’
A living, curled-up ball. Fascinating.

No, if he let his guard down, he might start playing with it endlessly.
Ransell pulled back his probing hand, sat on the bed, and rested his palm on the rolled-up blanket.
“I know you’re upset, Recorder Marigold. You worked so hard on your report, and it got taken away for such a ridiculous reason. You must be really hurt.”

“......”
“You stayed up all night making it. It must be tough. Painful. I know.”
The round shape began to tremble. He heard sniffles.

“The Lunter Count wasn’t a bad person. The real villains are those misleading you with strange rumors. Lords are like that. If you talk to them directly, they’re reasonable. But things get misunderstood when passed through several middlemen.”
From beneath the blanket, Marigold’s face peeked out. Her emerald eyes, glistening with tears, looked toward Ransell.
“...Then if I go ask for my report back...”

“Well, at least you’d have a way to resolve it through talk.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”

Ransell gave a thumbs-up.
“Dialogue. Yes, that’s it!”
Marigold, fully recovered, kicked off the blanket and sprang up.

“Lord Ransell. I, Marigold, records officer of the Imperial Central Administration Bureau, will never perish like this! I won’t tolerate the dishonor of ruining my first mission from the start! Watch me. I will become the most capable official in this empire!”
Her heart blazing like hot water after cold, Marigold grabbed her coat with resolute eyes.
“Let’s go! To get my report back!”

“Ah, I have some business to attend to briefly. If you go ahead, I’ll catch up, Recorder Marigold.”
“Understood. By the time you arrive, I’ll have finished all negotiations, so come with a light heart, Lord Ransell. That’s all!”
Ransell quietly watched Marigold’s back through the inn window as she hurried toward the distant lord’s castle.

A few hours later.
===========
—Urgent event! Marigold has been imprisoned in the Lunter Count’s dungeon. Rookie official, you bit off more than you could chew, Marigold!
“So it has come to this.”

Only after watching the expected unfold did Ransell move.
‘Hold on a little longer, Marigold!’
Ransell clearly pictured Marigold in the dungeon, eyes dead, receiving porridge.

“The Lunter Count wasn’t always so harsh. He used to be a good man.”
“Really? What was he like?”
“For example, he didn’t tax households in trouble.”

“A true saint, then.”
“Indeed.”
Whenever Ransell heard tales of the Lunter Count from the villagers, he felt conflicted.

When Ransell was rampaging the borderlands and battlefields, his only perception of the Lunter Count was:
‘The lord who first sided with the rebel forces.’
No matter how much the empire was a bandit state full of scoundrels, joining the rebellion first was hard to forgive.

Rebellion was a sin.
Later, when the empire fragmented into warring states, rebellion would become a mere joke.
But for the empire’s intact era, attempting rebellion first was plainly abnormal.

One day, the fertile Lunter plains would burn, and corpses would pile like meat beneath the feet. It was to be one of the sparks that ignited the great war engulfing the empire.
“You know how great the Lunter County was and how famous for chivalry. Everyone wanted to settle here. Traveling merchants all said so.”
“Then why is he like this now?”

“About ten years ago, I guess. He’s probably gone senile with age... Ah!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear.”
“Oh, thank you.”

After hearing all this, Ransell sent Marigold to meet him.
Ransell easily saw that the villagers’ stories were not exaggerated. The man who had allowed Marigold’s reckless inspections to be met only with a day in the stocks was no cruel lord.
Ransell had half-expected she’d spend about a week imprisoned. This was far milder than he imagined.

Besides, a knight family similar to the Dantes.
“Shall we go?”
Ransell put on his cloak and headed for the lord’s castle.

To see Marigold now eating porridge and sniffling.
To make her the greatest official this empire has ever seen.
 
“What business do you have here?”

“I came to see the Lunter Count. If I say I’m here to get Recorder Marigold, they’ll understand.”
After a moment, two guards opened the door and appeared.
“They say there’s no business. Please leave.”

They carried clubs — clearly ready to beat him if needed.
Ransell easily subdued the two in front of the lord’s castle and entered.
“What’s this?”

“What’s the meaning of this noise?”
Hearing the commotion, dozens of armed soldiers quickly surrounded Ransell.
Taking a deep breath, Ransell opened his mouth at that moment.

“Your Excellency, the Lunter Count!”
His thunderous voice shattered the night’s silence.
“I am Ransell Dante of the Marquis Dante family, here to prove chivalry!”

The startled guards exchanged uneasy glances. They knew he was a knight but hadn’t realized he was the Marquis’s son.
“I know you pretend not to hear, but I can hear everything! Come out at once! Ransell Dante of the Marquis Dante family is here to prove chivalry!”
How long he shouted, no one knew.

The guards began to part.
The elderly lord and the knights lining up around him appeared before Ransell.
“A reckless rookie knight entering the territory, and he turns out to be the youngest son of the Dante family.”

“Nice to meet you, Your Excellency, the Lunter Count.”
Ransell placed his hand on his chest for a brief bow, then raised the sword in his arms.
Those startled immediately put their hands on their sword hilts.

“What are you doing...!”
But Ransell’s action was unexpected. He immediately threw the sword hilt to the ground.
Clang!

The heavy metal clattered noisily on the floor.
The knights, who understood the meaning of this better than anyone, could not hide their shock. Their eyes wide open, they alternated glances between the sword hilt rolling at their feet and Ransell.
“You... now...”

The Lunter Count’s face twitched.
Ransell’s expression remained unchanged.
“Recorder Marigold’s honor, and my chivalry.”

His voice was calm.
“I stake them both.”