The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 52

7. Summons: A Spoiled Brat as a Gift

A sea of blood filled the room.

Sloth showed no emotion even after beheading her subordinate.

Behind her, a young man with white hair and tanned skin appeared.

“You finally did it.”

The man spoke briefly and efficiently cleaned up the messy floor and the corpse. That subordinate, who knew Henon was a Druid, was quietly erased without a trace.

The room became clean again.

The man asked Sloth,

“I’m curious why you’re protecting Henon. Is it because of Zion?”

Sloth, flicking her purple hair, took a deep drag from her long pipe, exhaled the smoke, and replied,

“I can’t break my contract with Sebastian. After all, he’s the one who brought me to this position.”

“I see. I was excited, thinking Master had developed some maternal affection for Zion.”

“Hmph, how could that be? You know I can’t feel emotions.”

That was right.

Sloth, one of the Twilight executives.

She was an empty person inside.

“You won’t be able to hide it forever. Especially if the Twilight Leader finds out, even Master will be in danger.”

“My intuition still says it’s okay. If necessary… I’ll just abandon Twilight. I’m not interested in resurrecting demons anyway.”

As Sloth casually popped another grape into her mouth, the man gave an additional report.

“And Greed is constantly loitering around the Lloyd family. It seems he’s planning something.”

Sloth’s hand, which was about to put a grape in her mouth, stopped. Soon, the grape burst in her hand.

“That greedy bastard can’t stay still. He’s going to cause trouble again. Pahel, go and watch him directly.”

“If Zion is in danger, do I save her?”

Sloth was silent for a moment.

“…Do as you please.”

“Yes, Master.”

A deep smile spread across Pahel’s lips.

Soon, his figure blurred.

It was a high-level Water Lizard Step [a movement technique that allows for extremely fast and agile movement].

* * *

4 AM.

It was still a long time until sunrise, but I always woke up at the crack of dawn.

The Druid’s passive skill, Tenacious Vitality, allowed me to maintain full condition without sleep.

Still, I usually took about two hours of sleep to organize my thoughts and refresh my mind.

As soon as I woke up, I meditated for an hour.

In my consciousness, I accurately calculated my capabilities and showed off my powerful attack power by utilizing them in various ways.

On the other hand, I also researched the domain expansion I learned from the recent battle with the Marquis.

It was still vague, but as the meditation lengthened, the image became more concrete, and I felt like I was getting a clue.

Normally, meditation would continue until 6 AM, but I finished a little earlier today.

I had something else to do.

“This is really amazing, no matter how many times I look at it.”

I took out the white gourd hanging on my waist and placed it on the table.

This gourd, obtained from the Dragon Lair at Kyle’s request, was an incredible subspace pocket containing all the treasures of the lair.

But to me, the gourd that could hold it seemed more precious than all the gold combined.

[Ancient Artifact — Subspace Gourd]

Moreover, even the system reacted to the ancient artifact, so what secrets were hidden here?

When I grabbed the gourd, I could see at a glance what was inside! It was connected to my consciousness and accurately presented what I wanted to take out.

What I took out of the subspace was an egg the size of my forearm. Inside was the hatchling that the dragon Kyle had asked for.

“It doesn’t seem to be waking up.”

Since escaping from the lair, the Dragon Egg had remained motionless, just like the first time.

Just in case, I kept the Dragon Heart, a mass of mana, next to the egg.

It was definitely absorbing the mana from the Dragon Heart, a semi-permanent mana crystal.

However, seeing that there were no major changes, it seemed that hatching the hatchling required more mana than imagined, a special trigger, or simply required a significant investment of time.

“Let’s wait.”

I put the Dragon Egg back into the gourd.

Then, after a long time, I looked through the mountain of gold.

It was called a mountain of gold because it shone with a golden light, but the mountain of gold wasn’t actually made of gold coins alone.

From the highest quality weapons to ornate accessories, dazzling jewels, and sparkling formal wear, various precious items were mixed in.

Among them, what caught my eye was a mandrake in a small box.

Some people find it unpleasant because the leaves look like hair and the roots look like a human torso, but the mandrake is actually a great spiritual herb.

Simply consuming it can rapidly increase the mana in the body.

The quality of the mandrake varies greatly depending on the mana saturation of the buried land and the growth period.

However, the mandrakes in the Dragon Lair, as treasures collected directly by Kyle, emitted tremendous spiritual energy, ranking among the highest quality even among the same spiritual herbs.

-The time has finally come. Eat one.

The voice of the Heavenly Demon echoed in my consciousness.

Until now, I had deliberately avoided eating the mandrake, even though it was there.

The reason was clear.

The Heavenly Demon had not allowed it.

-It’s not good to eat a lot of elixirs and spiritual herbs. As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little. If you consume too much without the right timing, it will damage the mana circuits in your body.

-You should refrain from consuming elixirs and spiritual herbs before establishing the foundation of your body or gaining proper enlightenment. Even if you do consume them, be selective about the types you eat.

I had been listening to these words and not eating the mandrake, even though it was available.

However, recently, my physical condition had improved rapidly, and I had gained a lot from the consecutive sparring sessions with Sebastian and Marquis Lloyd, so I felt that the time had come to take a leap forward.

The Heavenly Demon, who had walked the path of a swordsman first, also accurately recognized where I was and recommended consuming the mandrake that was sleeping in the subspace gourd.

[Consuming Mandrake.]

[Mana greatly increases.]

As soon as I chewed the spiritual herb, a refreshing and invigorating fragrance filled my mouth.

I quickly sat in a lotus position and began the process of fusing the newly acquired mana of the mandrake with the Dragon Blood that had been staying in my dantian [an energy center in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine].

To be honest, it was much easier than when I opened my energy channels to rise from User to Expert.

Perhaps it was easier than usual because it was a development within the same Expert level, rather than crossing the boundary of Master.

Flash!

I opened my eyes wide after the meditation.

For a moment, a brilliant light overflowed between my eyelids.

I felt much lighter and my vision was clearer.

-Congratulations. In the language of this continent, you have risen to the intermediate level of Expert.

How long has it been since I became an Expert, and already intermediate? It’s an incomprehensible growth rate that is hard to find anywhere on the continent.

This was all thanks to the help of the Heavenly Demon, the experience of fighting through life and death with enemies, and the harvest through frequent sparring with Sword Masters and masters of comparable skill.

“Now that it’s like this, I should take another mandrake while I’m at it.”

-Stop it. Didn’t I tell you that consuming elixirs in succession is a bad move? Besides, not just any elixir, but the same elixir?

“Is it not good?”

-It’s not just not good, it’s like throwing the elixir on the ground. Especially for someone of your level, the results you get from the same elixir are negligible.

The Heavenly Demon’s advice in this regard is reliable.

So, even if it’s the highest quality mandrake, it’s no longer very useful to me…

Suddenly, a good idea came to mind.

The person consuming it doesn’t have to be me.

‘Let’s feed it to Zion. She must be thirsty for opportunities, blocked by the wall these days.’

I made up my mind, put the mandrake in my arms, and got up.

Come to think of it, it’s about time for Zion to come, but she’s not here.

She always knocked on my door at exactly 6 AM to wake me up like a machine, but today there’s no sign of her.

Could something be wrong?

She’s always come to me first, so it wouldn’t hurt if I visited her in reverse for once.

Zion’s bedroom was quite close to my room.

Originally, the servants of the inner castle lived together in a separate dormitory, but she packed her bags and ran out.

When everyone tried to stop her, Zion stubbornly insisted on using an empty warehouse near my room as her bedroom.

When I asked why, she replied like this.

‘If the Young Master is attacked by assassins, it will be difficult to respond if the distance is too far. I will always protect you from the side.’

Who is protecting whom?

Still, her heart to care for and consider me is commendable.

I didn’t regret the mandrake in my arms at all.

She deserved to eat the spiritual herb.

Knock knock

“Zion.”

I knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

I listened carefully, and I could hear even breathing inside.

Just in case, I opened the door.

“…Oh.”

Zion was sleeping soundly, unaware of anything.

All sorts of books were scattered around.

I looked at the contents.

Most of them were swordsmanship books and mana cultivation books.

It seemed that Zion had been researching ways to improve her skills until late at night and had fallen asleep as if she had fainted.

A maid who does housework and trains all night.

She’s not like me with unlimited stamina.

It’s only possible because Zion is the protagonist of this world.

But even she seemed to have reached her limit and overslept today. It’s the duty of the owner to help his subordinates in trouble.

‘Let’s let her sleep a little more for now.’

I felt sorry to wake her up because I could see she was getting a good night’s sleep. So I covered her with the blanket up to her neck to let her sleep more, but Zion opened her eyes wide, feeling an unfamiliar sensation.

“…Huh!?”

Zion, looking at me with bloodshot eyes, was stiff for a moment. It seemed she needed time to figure out what was going on, with the Young Master in her bedroom.

“How long are you going to lie down? I’m confused about who’s the master and who’s the servant.”

When I spoke in a deliberately cold voice, Zion finally woke up and raised her upper body.

“I’m sorry, Young Master.”

“Wasn’t diligence your only advantage? You can’t even do that.”

Zion’s face turned red. She’s not the type to sulk because I scolded her. She must be angry at herself for not doing her duty and being lazy.

“You have to show your efforts by staying up all night if you see shortcomings, but you’re lying down in front of me even though the sun is high in the sky.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Have you become comfortable just because you’ve gotten a little closer to me these days? Have you forgotten what nickname I was originally called in the family?”

That’s right.

Even if I’m treated like a hero these days, Zion, who has seen me from the beginning, knows my essence better than anyone else.

In the end, the man in front of her, who is scattering seductive eyes, is the family’s spoiled brat.

“I’m disappointed, Zion.”

Her pupils dilated when I directly mentioned the word disappointment. The shock seemed very great. She got off the bed and knelt on the floor.

“I’m sorry. I will never let this happen again.”

“Impossible. You must be punished.”

She looked at me with anxious eyes. I kindly explained to her what punishment I would give her.

“Don’t come out today. You are grounded. Think carefully about what you did wrong in your narrow room.”

“…I understand.”

She lowered her head, dejected.

Now is the time.

“Still, you should eat at least one meal a day.”

I took the mandrake out of my arms.

The refreshing spiritual energy that filled the room made Zion’s pupils dilate.

In front of her eyes, a spiritual herb the size of a carrot was showing off its presence to its heart’s content.

“Slurp!?”

Slurp was too much.

Zion, who was drooling, realized that she couldn’t control her salivary glands and blushed in embarrassment.

Still, it was clear that her body instinctively wanted elixirs or spiritual herbs.

In the meantime, Zion had followed me and fought battles that crossed the line between life and death, and in the process, she had accumulated enough experience and enlightenment.

However, the martial arts learned by assassins were unfavorable for mana accumulation, so she was unable to move on to the next stage.

“I’ll leave a snack for you, so do whatever you want with it.”

It’s a little too expensive for a snack.

I tossed the spiritual herb on the ground as if giving a cookie to a dog.

For the next 24 hours, she will not be able to leave the room by my order.

In name, it’s a punishment, but in reality, it’s giving her the rest she needed.

Today, she will replenish her stamina by sleeping off the sleep she has been lacking.

When the time comes, she will eat the mandrake on the floor.

And then, using the power of the spiritual herb as nourishment, she will open her mana circuits and rise to a new level.

I believed that Zion, the protagonist of , could do it.

“I hope you will be different tomorrow morning than you are today.”

On the way out, turning my body.

Zion urgently calls me.

“Young Master!”

She is teary-eyed.

I guess she’s upset because she’s being punished.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Zion, unable to speak easily.

She lowered her head and muttered in a small voice.

“Thank… you.”

“That’s trivial. Reflect properly.”

With those words, I closed the door.

A day passed quickly.

The very next day.

Zion appeared as an Expert.

* * *

Near Marquis Lloyd’s castle, there is a scenic lake called Heinz.

This place is a valuable water source for the residents of the Marquis’s castle and a place for water play on warm days.

On a night with a waning moon.

Two people were approaching an old cabin located around Heinz Lake.

These people, who were wearing hoods deeply, looked around, turning their heads left and right as they moved, as if they were uneasy.

“Madam, it’s late and I don’t have a good feeling about this. Shouldn’t we go back now?”

The young maid who came with her was trembling at her fingertips, feeling uneasy. Rozalyn also had the same thoughts as the maid several times while coming, but she steeled her heart.

‘I can’t stand seeing Henon become the successor, even if dirt gets in my eyes.’

She was reluctant to borrow the power of the devil, but the strategist of the Hilton family had repeatedly assured her that nothing would ever harm her.

From her point of view, this was something she only had to turn a blind eye to just this once.

After that, Henon would die and Philip would take over the family on his own.

Creak

The rusty hinges screamed, announcing that Rozalyn and the maid had arrived at the cabin.

The strategist of the Hilton family was inside.

Today, as always, an unidentified man wearing a bowler hat and a mask.

He looked at Rozalyn and gave a sticky smile as if he knew it would happen.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”