The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

“Happy twenty-eighth birthday, Lancel Dante! Why the long face on such a lovely day?”

Clap, clap, clap!
“Happy eighteenth birthday, Lancel Dante! Why the long face on such a lovely day?”
Clap, clap, clap!

And with that round of applause, Lancel Dante was once again flung ten years into the past.
The first time it happened, he had thought, “Is this what they call regression?”
It didn’t shake him much.

Having been transmigrated overnight from 21st-century modern society into this world, he had already accepted plenty of insanity. Regression? Sure, bring it on.
But from the second time onward, things started to change.
“Happy birthday, Lancel Dante! Why the long face on such a lovely day?”

Third time.
“Why the long face on such a lovely day?”
Fourth.

“Why the long face?”
Fifth.
“Long face?”

Sixth.
“?”
It was only then that Lancel understood.

“This isn’t regression. It’s a prison.”
A prison.
He woke up at eighteen.
And returned every time he turned twenty-eight.

A life caught in a ten-year loop, spiraling endlessly in circles.
It was, quite literally, a prison of time.
“What number is this now?”

He had, frankly, lost track.
He remembered counting up to the tenth time—but after that, the number had blurred into irrelevance.
What have you even been doing for over a hundred years?

If anyone asked, he wouldn't have much of an answer. Lancel hadn’t led some grand, illustrious life.
“Lancel, now that you’re an adult, you will serve the Empire.”
The Dante family was a traditional house of knights.

Here, every child—son or daughter—was granted a knighthood upon their coming-of-age ceremony.
“Come now, speak. What is the duty of a knight?”
“To root out the criminals and monsters hidden in the corners of the Empire, and to purge the rebels and heretics that run rampant.”

Forget career counseling or self-exploration—this wasn’t the 21st century.
Be recognized as a noble knight.
Bear children and raise them to be noble knights.

That was the one and only mission in life for anyone born into this family.
A knight.
They lived with that single word etched into their bones.

“Lancel, your talents are exceptional. You will undoubtedly become a great knight. Be someone who brings no shame to our family name.”
“Yes, Father.”
For his first three lifetimes, Lancel lived as a faithful knight.

There wasn’t much else to do. And truthfully, being a knight wasn’t such a bad fit. By the end of that third life, he had earned the title Knight of the Dawn, his name ringing out across the continent.
From the fourth to the eighth, he coasted. Lived like a layabout, doing just enough to get by.
In the ninth, he wandered. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Drifted through fishing villages and farmlands, lending his sword where it was needed and scraping together coin for the road.

Starting from the tenth, he kept a writer by his side—a man he’d met in a previous life. He wanted to document a travelogue called “The Islands and the Sea.”
Why?
Because the seafood from those parts was phenomenal. What else was he going to do?

And from then on...
“Whatever. I’ll just do as I please.”
Lancel started living however he felt like.

Maybe a little too freely.
“L-L-Lancel Dante…! Do you even realize what you’ve done?!”
The uproar erupted in a grand hall during a party in a certain duke’s territory.

The color had long since drained from the faces of the nobles present.
“Yes. I lost my temper and killed him.”
Blood dripped from Lancel Dante’s blade.

“You lunatic! The man you slew was His Highness, the Sixth Prince of the Empire! That’s high treason!”
“I know. But his voice was so vile, my hand just... slipped.”
“Vile…?”

Lancel stared down silently at the corpse.
The ballroom floor was slowly soaking red. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Still, it’s oddly encouraging, don’t you think?”

“What…?”
“To know that even a noble prince of a mighty empire dies from just a single swing of a sword.”
“…Hah…”

“Royal blood blessed by the gods? Funny. He was just another miserable creature bleeding to death on the floor, wasn’t he, Your Highness?”
“…You’re completely insane, Lancel Dante.”
“I’m glad you think so.”

“Seize him! He murdered a prince!”
Lancel was subdued without a fight.
“Easy, easy. I’m not running.”

“You fool! Don’t think you’ll die easily! You’ll be burned alive! Tied to the stake and set ablaze!”
“Well, that’s a bit…”
He regretted it—but far too late.

Bound head to toe, Lancel was hauled off to the capital: Rodnis.
“Come to think of it, this’ll be my first time in Rodnis, huh?”
Born in the countryside.

Lived in the countryside.
Spent all his days on the frontier.
And now, for the first time, he was heading to the heart of the Empire.

He had always figured he’d go one day, but not like this.
“Damn, they weren’t kidding. This place is massive.”
And then—just as he passed through the gates of Rodnis—

“…?”
========================

— Imperial Year 822, July 1. Clear skies.
— Emergency Event Triggered! “Traitor Lancel Dante.”
What the hell?

Lancel stared dumbfounded at the glowing text that floated before his eyes.
This… this had never happened before. Not once in over a hundred years.
Fallen Noblewoman Simulation?

Why did that sound familiar?
Even as he stood trial…
“For high treason. For regicide. For defaming the royal family. For desecrating the court. For blasphemy. Lancel Dante is sentenced to death by burning! Every citizen of the capital shall bear witness to your end! Tremble in fear, Lancel Dante! May you suffer eternal torment in Hell!”

Even as he was dragged up the scaffold…
“Bring forth the criminal!”
Even as he was tied atop the pyre…

What was it?
The name tugged at the edges of his memory.
“Light the fire!”

The torches were thrown. The fuel caught instantly.
Flames roared upward.
Pain ripped through his feet, searing his skin—and then—

Snap!
A jolt shot through Lancel’s brain.
“Ah.”

He remembered.
That overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
“My sister’s otome game!”

—“Well? Isn’t it fun?”
—“Eh… it’s fine, I guess.”
An indie game made by his very own sister.
He hadn’t had the heart to trash it, so he’d mumbled some vague praise and moved on.

The title of that game?
Fallen Noblewoman Simulation.
Exactly what had appeared in front of him at the gates of Rodnis.

“…Shit.”
The worldbuilding.
The city names.
The characters.
The convoluted systems and dense lore.
All of it came flooding back.

All the things he had seen and heard in this world slotted perfectly into place.
He trembled—not from pain, but from realization.
Even the agony of burning was forgotten in that moment.

If only he’d come to the capital a little earlier…
WHOOSH!
And with one final unanswered question, Lancel was consumed by flame and reduced to ash.

“…Wait. Wasn’t the MC of that game… a girl?”
Yes.
The protagonist of that game—

A fallen count’s daughter.
The one fated to captivate the prince and become empress.
The ultimate branch point that would determine the Empire’s ruin or peace.

Her name was—
[Fallen Noblewoman Simulation]
— The third week of February, Year 21 in Marigold has passed! —

Charm: 35 → 36
Morality: 42 → 43
Grace: 21 → 29

Sensitivity: 33 → 38
Seductiveness: 12
Magic Power: 3

Strength: 26
Stamina: 11 → 10
Faith: 65 → 54

Condition: 37 → 25
Karma: 0 (Penalties trigger at 50+ points)
— You placed 32nd in court etiquette class.
— You were praised for cleaning the mansion of a wealthy noble. Your pay increased to 8 denari.
— You broke a wine bottle while working as a server. 3 denari deducted. You were scolded. Condition decreased slightly.
— A beggar accosted you in the street. You gave 1 denari to get away. Condition decreased slightly.

— You greeted Captain Ortmann of the City Watch. Affection increased!
— Captain Ortmann introduced you to the Sword Academy. You can begin training next week.
Lancel Dante, Slayer of Royalty, has perished at the executioner’s stake!
TIP: Condition is very low. Consider taking a picnic to lift your spirits. (Costs 1 silver crown)

…
[Play Time: 10 years, 0 days]
— Marigold is now 25 years old.
— No marriage candidate.
— No notable achievements.

[Normal Ending #17: Spirited Maid Marigold]
— Ending has been archived in “Memory Album.”
— Would you like to start a new game?