The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 1

Prologue

Deep night.

Even the crescent moon was hidden behind thick clouds.

Only a flickering torch illuminated the pitch-black darkness.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

In the meager light, two men in tattered clothes were digging.

Sweat trickled down their chins as they continuously scooped up dirt.

How long had it been?

One of the workers, growing bored with the repetitive task, spoke to his companion.

“Let’s just do a quick job and get out of here. It’s not like anyone’s going to reward us for working hard, right?”

“True enough.”

Before the man’s eyes lay a corpse, half-buried in the pit.

The face was buried in the dirt, and the exposed torso disgustingly displayed layers of belly fat.

Even for a dead person, it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

His companion seemed to feel the same, casting a disgusted glance and saying,

“I’ve buried countless corpses, but I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve thought someone deserved to die as much as this bastard.”

The man nodded, agreeing with his companion.

And for good reason.

The corpse before them was Henon Triss, the most notorious scoundrel in Lloyd County.

Listing the misdeeds he had committed would take a week.

Causing a ruckus simply because he felt like it was commonplace.

He would randomly grab passersby by the collar and assault them.

He once went to a bar, chased all the customers away, drank his fill, and then smashed all the tables and chairs when the owner asked him to pay his tab.

He was perpetually drunk.

Someone asked him about it, and he said he couldn’t bear it unless he was drunk because he heard voices.

Those around him called him ‘Madman’ Henon.

Nevertheless, the residents of the castle couldn’t touch this madman.

Because this man’s father was Earl Lloyd, the ruler of this territory.

Some strong men in the village once tried to teach Henon a lesson, but the guards were immediately dispatched.

“Damn it, even if he’s a bastard, a son is still a son. I wish I could be born as a noble’s son, even if I was abandoned.”

After that, no one dared to touch him.

Everyone endured, hoping that the scoundrel would one day receive divine punishment.

Then, one day…

Perhaps everyone’s wish came true.

The pig, who had been eating and hiccuping, suddenly collapsed.

Whether it was poisoning or not, no one knew.

But what if it was poisoning?

I’d rather praise the one who poisoned him.

Just now, the man and his companion had been celebrating at the bar, drinking until they were tipsy before carrying the corpse here.

Even if he was a bastard, the Earl’s son was as good as a quasi-noble, yet he was being buried in a pit without even a coffin.

It was clear how Henon was viewed by the family members living with him in the castle.

While lost in thought, the pit was completely filled.

The companion wiped his sweat and slung his shovel over his shoulder.

“Hoo, I need to go back and have another beer.”

“Will there be any left for us to drink?”

“I asked Rosa to save some for us.”

“Hehe, well done.”

The two workers, chuckling as they looked at each other, quickly disappeared with their torches.

Darkness returned.

The sound of insects chirping only served to soothe the awkward silence.

It seemed like they would greet the approaching dawn like that, but…

Thump!

One side of the dirt the workers had packed down twitched.

A subtle movement that anyone passing by would have rubbed their eyes and dismissed as a trick of the light.

But what followed was a clear tremor.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Cracks formed on the flat, neatly packed dirt surface, spreading gradually.

Then…

BOOM!

Surprisingly, dirt shot up like a fountain, and a person’s upper body burst out of the ground!

The one who revealed himself was none other than Henon, the Earl’s scoundrel.

“Agh, damn it! I almost died!”