3.
[Epilogue, The Second]
"What kind of person was Baron Evil Shen?"
"Exactly what he appeared to be."
"I heard you were indebted to him."
The table was set with strong fruit liquor, cheese, and a few slices of ham.
As nineteen-year-old Marigold slept face down, softly snoring, Lancel gazed at the thoroughly intoxicated Viscount Dante.
When Viscount Dante drank, he would first become boisterously excited, then, under the pretext that it was good for digestion, he would start downing strong liquor until his eyes became half-closed and he grew less talkative.
"It wasn't much of a debt. I just extended the lifeline of a dying horse merchant."
Viscount Dante chuckled.
"With that personality, I thought he'd never make money in his lifetime, but fortunately he managed to succeed somehow."
"Isn't he known as a notorious miser in the capital?"
"The amateur got lucky and made good money. I'm thinking if he ever goes bankrupt, I might take him in."
"Bankrupt?"
"For example, if he lends money to the wrong person and goes under."
"Ahem!"
Lancel, who had been swallowing ham, hurriedly forced the food down his esophagus after it went down the wrong pipe.
—Just give me five gold coins.
—Huh? Five coins? What do you need that much for?
—I have my reasons. Hurry up and give it to me. Come on!
—F-five coins, you say?
Lancel quietly recalled how gold coins would clink-clank and fall out whenever he knocked on the man's pockets.
Evil Shen—someone like him probably deserved to have his happiness guaranteed by Lancel, right?
* * *
"That sounds good!"
On the day they headed to the capital, Marigold nodded in agreement.
"But I'm wondering how to help him."
"Couldn't we just help him make lots of money?"
"He certainly loves money the most."
But somehow it felt like that alone wouldn't be enough.
Money would definitely make him happy, but whether it would truly make his life fulfilling remained somewhat questionable.
As soon as they arrived in the capital, Lancel and Marigold began tailing Baron Evil Shen.
-He's over there, Sir Lancel!
"Let's go."
With a flutter of wings, a crow landed on Lancel's shoulder. It was Marigold, disguised using magic she had learned in this playthrough.
"No way, please leave! If I buy a horse of unknown origin and something goes wrong, I'll be ruined!"
"Baron Evil. Can you say that after seeing this condition? Even if it's a military horse, it's still a wandering horse. No one will know, I tell you."
"...Let me just hear how much you're asking."
"About this much..."
"No deal!"
"W-wait, alright, alright!"
A horse merchant did more than just raise and sell horses. He was someone who dealt with bloodlines.
Where would good bloodlines come from? They were either acquired through auctions for breeding, or quite often...
"We've never met before."
"I know. Do merchants really need to say such things out loud?"
"Ahem! Hmm!"
"Khm-hmm!"
A smuggling operation.
The crow perched on his shoulder whispered.
-Baron Evil is breaking the law, Sir Lancel. Should we report him to the knights?
"..."
Evil's day didn't end there.
"You fools! Look here, clean it like this, this, and this!"
"Ohhh."
He would work up a sweat scolding the stable workers.
"Wow, magnificent! As expected of a splendid knight, you look dazzling riding this one!"
"I like the golden mane. I'll take it with me now, and you can come collect the payment when you have time."
"I'll visit you soon!"
Or he would sell horses directly to nobles.
"Lord Evil, eat slowly. No one's chasing you... Where are you going?"
"Mmm! There! Th-there! Wait, wait!"
"Lord Evil?"
He was hurriedly dipping bread in stew on the street when he suddenly dashed toward a carriage. It seemed he had spotted something else that could make money.
-Baron Evil. He really lives a busy life.
"He lives for the joy of making money."
As the sun began to set, crow Marigold seemed somewhat deflated.
-Baron Evil might be happy becoming rich, but... he seemed somewhat lonely in his later years.
"That's because he has no family. Family."
-Family... hmm... ah!
That's when it happened.
Late at night.
Baron Evil, having changed his clothes, was entering a high-class inn.
After neatly combing his hair, he sat down at a certain table.
-Wow!
"A woman?"
Inside, he was conversing with a well-dressed woman. He was nervously trying to please her, which was quite different from how he usually talked about business.
"Mary, go in."
-Caw!
"Speak like a human."
-Yes sir!
The crow Marigold, who had eavesdropped up close, soon returned with fluttering wings.
-He likes her! She's Lady Wick!
"Really?"
Baron Evil Shen had lived his entire life as a bachelor. To think he had once liked a woman. Lancel hadn't known because he never took interest in the man's personal life.
Moreover, Lady Wick was...
"A famous landowner in the capital... come to think of it, she lost her husband."
-Hehe, Baron Evil has quite high standards.
"Too high. She's an incredibly wealthy tycoon."
-If things go well, we might see them get married... eeeek!
"Is that something to be so shocked about?"
-This is no time for that, Sir Lancel! We need to quickly prepare the best proposal for him! Baron Evil deserves to find a partner just like us. Living his whole life just scratching his own thighs, smelling like a bachelor, and cleaning up horse dung is too cruel! It's pitiful!
"...That was quite harsh just now, Mary."
From that day on, Marigold began following Baron Evil Shen as if obsessed with something.
"I saw everything, Baron Evil."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Lady Wick...!"
"Urgh! Quiet! Quiet! H-how did you see that, Miss Mary?"
"I have my ways."
"Keep it secret from others..."
"Hurry up and confess, Baron Evil!"
Baron Evil Shen running away.
Lancel and Marigold following him.
"Ahem, do you really think it's possible, Miss Mary? It doesn't make sense that someone like me could end up with such a fine woman..."
"It's possible, I tell you! Baron Evil, I guarantee you're a good person."
"Oh, really? That's touching. Specifically, which part..."
"You give us money!"
"Ah..."
After a week of persuasion, unfounded courage began to build up inside Baron Evil Shen.
"Right. You're right, Miss Mary."
Lancel continued to just observe. The persuasion was the task of the enthusiastic Marigold.
"Getting a good partner is the right of the brave! Thank you, Miss Mary. I'll try to be courageous too! I should see my own children before I die, shouldn't I?"
"That's exactly it. Your life is still too full of potential to spend it just watching horses mate with each other."
"I'll do it! I certainly will!"
.
.
.
"I'm sorry, Baron Evil."
He was rejected.
"I've never thought about marrying Baron Evil. I hope you find a good match."
A nicely arranged private party for two. All that remained was Lady Wick's apologetic smile.
"Haha, as expected. I knew it, my lady. I just crudely tried to be brave once, so please don't worry about me..."
"You'll find a good match, Baron Evil."
Lady Wick.
"You're quite a good person. Enough to make me waver for a very brief moment."
As rumored, she was a kind-hearted woman.
.
.
.
"Don't you think he'll find someone eventually, Sir Lancel?"
Marigold shrugged, sweating nervously.
"They say even birds need to fall to the ground once before they can fly. Aha... ahaha..."
"You encouraged him and now you're playing innocent, Marigold."
"Y-you agreed too, Sir Lancel!"
"Did I?"
"Yes, you did. Hmph. Don't make me the only bad person here. We're accomplices."
That's when it happened.
"Good morning, Lancel my boy! Miss Mary!"
The two whispering people simultaneously looked toward the stairs.
There stood Baron Evil Shen, leaving the mansion early as usual. He wore a somehow refreshed and bright expression.
"Well now, let's work hard today too! Money is truly the best! I've married gold coins now, Lancel my boy! Miss Mary!"
"..."
"My life is too precious to waste even a day before becoming the capital's greatest rich man! Don't you agree? Uwahahahaha!"
"..."
After lying around the mansion for a few days, he suddenly recovered and headed toward the stables.
"I've decided, Sir Lancel. I'm going to find Baron Evil a match no matter what."
"...I'll help you. Let's work together, Mary."
"Of course. We're accomplices."
Well, what relationship ever works out perfectly the first time? Even Lancel and Marigold had their many trials and errors.
Someday, a marigold flower will bloom in his life too.
They just need to wait for that day.
That's all.
"You fools! Look here, clean it like this, this, and this!"
"Ohhh."