The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 3

The Young Master of the Marquisate is a Genius – Episode 3 (3/200)

1. Possession: The Changed Scoundrel

‘The scoundrel has changed!’

That’s the rumor circulating among the maids of the inner residence these days.

The scoundrel, who used to hurl insults at the slightest eye contact, hasn’t even raised a hand lately.

They even say he’s been training in the practice yard these days.

Of course, Sion didn’t believe in Henon’s change.

‘He’ll eventually revert to his old self.’

She even suspects this might be a setup for an even bigger perversion later on.

A madman is more than capable of such things.

‘If it weren’t for Father’s orders, I would have slit that guy’s throat in an instant.’

Sion’s father was Sebastian, the head butler of this marquisate and Marquis Lloyd’s most trusted right-hand man.

On the surface, he was a handsome middle-aged butler with a dignified air, but Sion knew her father’s true colors.

‘An assassin. And a highly skilled one at that.’

That’s right.

Her father was a killer accustomed to getting his hands dirty with blood.

Thanks to her father’s unique background, Sion had to learn how to dispose of people from a young age.

Sion, who had wanted to live as an ordinary maid, didn’t like it at first, but now she thought it was good that she had learned.

It’s just frustrating that she can’t kill the target she wants to kill right in front of her.

‘Father, I want to kill that pig.’

‘The master hasn’t let go of Henon yet. Just be patient a little longer.’

While Sion was lost in thought.

Henon, who was running until he was out of breath, was dripping with dirty sweat like broth.

“Hah, hah! I think this is enough for a warm-up.”

Muttering to himself, he now awkwardly wields the longsword that was in the corner of the training ground.

Whack! Whoosh!

Sion watched the scene with disdain.

‘What is he trying to do now?’

A sword isn’t a weapon you can master just by picking it up now.

She, who had slept with a knife in her arms since she was a child, wondered what he was up to.

Was Sion’s gaze a little too obvious?

Henon, who was wielding the sword, suddenly turned his head towards Sion.

Surprised, she quickly averted her gaze, but she was already in his sight.

“What are you staring at like that? Do you think my swordsmanship is pathetic?”

‘Here we go again.’

“How could that be? I was just admiring how well you were doing.”

From here, the scoundrel’s route splits into two.

On a good day, it’s the development where he goes, ‘Right? I’m good, aren’t I? It’s me, after all,’ and moves on.

On a bad day, it’s the development where he goes, ‘Are you making fun of me right now? Do I look easy because I let you off the hook?’

Which choice will today’s scoundrel make?

“Don’t lie. I know you don’t think much of me. How dare you deceive me.”

Unfortunately, it’s the second development.

What kind of insults and humiliation will she have to endure this time?

Her vision blurred slightly, but she endured it and knelt down.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong, so I will accept the punishment.”

Even though he’s changed a little recently, his scoundrel nature will still be there.

He might hit her.

Thinking about the self-esteem that would be chipped away, she couldn’t help but feel depressed.

“Hmm… that’s right. If you did wrong, you have to be punished.”

Sion closed her eyes tightly.

Preparing herself for the physical and mental pain that would soon come.

But this time, her expectations were wrong again.

Clang.

When she opened her eyes slightly at the metallic sound, there was a longsword in front of her.

“What is this…”

“Did you think you could deceive me and still live?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You must repay that sin with death.”

‘Finally, it’s here.’

She thought that one day, that scoundrel would kill her.

“But it’s no fun to just kill you, so let’s add an interesting rule.”

‘What kind of nonsense is it this time?’

“I’m going to try to kill you sincerely until sunset today. If you can block my sword with that longsword until then, I’ll pretend that today’s rudeness never happened.”

“…Pardon?”

“But if you can’t block it, well… you’ll die, right? That’s none of my business. Shall we begin?”

Henon swung the longsword vertically at Sion, who was kneeling.

At first, she thought the scoundrel was joking.

But the approaching sword contained killing intent, though not as much as her father’s.

She was sure when the sword was right in front of her nose.

That scoundrel is really trying to kill me!

‘Crazy bastard.’

Sion, who cursed inwardly, instinctively rolled on the ground to avoid Henon’s attack.

Her pure white apron was covered in dust, but it was better than having her head split in half.

At the same time as rolling to the side, Sion skillfully picked up the longsword that had fallen on the floor and stood opposite Henon, pointing her sword at him.

Henon, whose attack missed, tilted his head and grumbled.

“Oh, you avoided my attack? You’re quite nimble.”

“Really?”

“What is it?”

“If I avoid or block your attacks until sunset, will you pretend that today’s sin never happened?”

“Didn’t I say that? Have you been living being deceived all your life?”

‘You’ve deceived me so many times that it’s faster to count the times you haven’t deceived me.’

Even if that word is a lie, Sion has no choice but to rely on it.

“Then, shall we begin?”

Henon collided fiercely with Sion.

Sion also gritted her teeth and responded.

The swords danced fiercely.

The training ground was soon filled with rough breaths and sweat.

* * *

The inner garden of the marquisate.

Flowers of various colors bloomed in full bloom, showing off their various beauties.

The subtle fragrance makes people feel comfortable.

The highlight was, of course, the large oak tree standing tall in the middle of the garden.

When the sunlight is strong, it provides shade for squirrels and rabbits to rest, and it provides space for sparrows that fly in from somewhere to build nests.

The tree, like a mother, warmly embraced everyone and shared everything generously.

A man with a cane was standing blankly in front of such an oak tree.

His graying hair gave off a sense of age, but his sturdy physique and muscles that filled his body made one guess that he was no ordinary man.

Above all… the man was missing one leg.

Instead of muscles, blood, and flesh, the right leg, which plays an essential role in supporting the human body, was replaced by a wooden prosthetic leg.

The man, who was meditating with one hand on the oak tree, muttered to himself in a low voice in an empty space.

“You’ve come.”

Then, an amazing thing happened.

It was clearly an empty space, but one side of the bushes shook, and before he knew it, a middle-aged man in a neat butler’s uniform appeared.

“I wonder when I’ll be able to deceive you, master.”

“It will be possible after I die.”

“Please don’t say such things, even as a joke.”

Butler Sebastian.

He, who is also Sion’s father, was a well-known assassin in the empire.

His skill, ‘Water Lizard Steps,’ is so stealthy that even mediocre knights don’t notice it until a knife is at their throat.

But it has never worked on the master he serves.

“I knew you’d be here.”

“Isn’t this where I always come?”

The marquisate’s garden was Marquis Lloyd’s special personal space.

After finishing his work, he would always come here to look at the oak tree and immerse himself in thought.

After his legal wife, Rosaline Lloyd, entered the garden in the past and the marquis got angry, only Sebastian was allowed to enter.

“What’s going on? I told you not to come unless it’s urgent.”

“It’s about Henon.”

“Henon?”

The marquis’s voice rose slightly.

Sebastian could feel some anxiety from the marquis.

“I heard he came back to life after almost dying a while ago. Did he cause another accident?”

“No. It’s the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s training in the training ground.”

Twitch.

The marquis’s fingertips trembled slightly.

“It’ll be a momentary amusement. That guy always pokes around here and there. When he gets tired of it, he’ll come back to the way we knew him.”

“There have been too many big changes for that. Both in appearance and ability.”

“······”

“You should meet Henon once. I didn’t know Henon was such a handsome man. Now that I see it, his appearance resembles you, master.”

At Sebastian’s words, Marquis Lloyd couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hey, even if you want to flatter me, you shouldn’t make up things that don’t exist. You know I don’t have that kind of appearance, right? If that child’s appearance is outstanding… it must be because of her.”

Sebastian couldn’t answer this.

As someone who has seen Henon’s biological mother, to be honest.

As someone who has met all kinds of beauties in the empire, he had never seen a beauty as good as Henon’s mother.

The marquis, who was stroking the oak tree without saying a word, said to Sebastian nonchalantly.

“Sebastian.”

“Yes, master.”

“Keep a close eye on Henon.”

“Aren’t you going to meet him in person?”

“It’ll only get complicated. I don’t want to irritate Rosaline.”

“I understand.”

The head butler of the marquisate disappeared as quietly as he had come.

Even after Sebastian disappeared, the marquis continued to stroke the oak tree.

* * *

The swordsmanship training disguised as Sion’s punishment continued even after that day.

I went to the training ground every day and didn’t let go of the sword in my hand even when sweat poured down like rain.

I also properly combined strength training and diet control.

Fortunately, I had been to the gym a lot, so I knew the basics of building a body.

Rather, in the uncivilized medieval background, my training method was a fairly high-level physical training method.

‘I’m glad I was born into the marquisate even if I’m a bastard. If I had been born as a serf, I wouldn’t have been able to eat properly and would have been dragged around doing farm work.’

One month became two months.

Two months became three months.

Before I knew it, the sturdy fat layer that had been flowing and piled up was roughly gone, and sturdy muscles that were pleasing to the eye took its place.

What I felt while training Henon Triss’s body was this.

‘Muscles build up quickly even if I exercise a little. This is really crazy genetics?’

When I thought about it, it made sense.

Henon Triss’s father, Marquis Lloyd, was a member of the Seven Guardians of the Arnia Continent [a group of powerful protectors].

If it weren’t for his injured leg, he would have been considered the kingdom’s best power.

Like father, like son.

The fat came off quickly, the muscles built up quickly, and above all, his swordsmanship skills improved day by day.

Clang! Clang!

His strength had surpassed Sion’s a long time ago.

Now, when Henon attacked, Sion had to use her skills to block him.

‘Henon was also a character who played a mid-boss in this world. If he didn’t have the talent, he wouldn’t have become a boss in the first place. He was quite talented.’

“Ugh!”

When the swords collided head-on, Sion’s purple eyes shook greatly at the tingling sensation that came up through the sword.

It seemed that Sion was also embarrassed by the dramatic changes I had shown recently.

Of course, her distrust of me was still there.

That was not something that could be forced, so I waited for time to solve it.

“Let’s stop here. You have blocked my sword until sunset, so I will forgive your rudeness.”

“…Yes.”

As soon as I put away my sword, that hallucination started to be heard again.

‘Hehehehehe.’

‘Whisper whisper whisper.’

At first, I dismissed Henon as just a scoundrel, but after tossing and turning several times in my sleep due to the whispering sounds, I sympathized a little with why this guy went crazy.

But there was the biggest difference between the previous Henon and me.

That was whether or not he was aware of being a druid [a person believed to be able to use magic powers].

‘Poor Henon believed that the whispers in his ears were the voices of demons. Because he didn’t know he was a druid. On the other hand, I know very well that I am a druid.’

As soon as I finished my swordsmanship training and returned to my bedroom, I opened the window and felt the air.

The whispering sounds were heard more clearly in the darkness.

In the past, I would have done everything I could to stop the sound, whether it was drinking alcohol or hitting people.

I didn’t do that.

Rather, I focused on the sound.

I tried to understand what they were saying.

I tried to become one with them in any way possible.

I have been doing this every night.

Today was a day when the full moon was rising and a cool breeze was blowing.

I had a good feeling.

It’s a day when the whispers are heard louder.

I pricked up my ears and concentrated as much as possible.