The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 109

14. Selection: The Expected Scoundrel

The reason I said I would compete with Charlie Hilton in swordsmanship was simple.

I thought that winning a duel between the potential royal consorts would give the pro-imperial nobles a reason to reconsider Henon Lloyd.

And, incidentally, it would also crush the perpetually sarcastic Charlie’s ego since we met in Fontano.

“Come up if you wish. If you have the confidence, that is.”

I properly provoked him, scraping at his pride.

Any man would have to accept, if only for his pride.

“Alright…”

As expected, Charlie, enraged, grabbed his sword and tried to get up from his seat.

That was exactly what I wanted.

According to Chun Ma, Charlie’s skill level was barely past the Expert stage.

He must have put in some effort, but more than that, he was a master who had risen through the ranks on the back of precious elixirs he had consumed since childhood—a so-called internal energy boost.

He had never fought for his life in the North like me, nor had he experienced actual war. He was clearly a hothouse flower.

In short, the probability of me losing to Charlie Hilton in a duel was zero, unless he suddenly underwent a ten-thousand-year regression.

“Just a moment.”

However, a disturber appeared here.

Duke Arnold stopped Charlie, who was about to step forward in excitement.

The Duke whispered something to Charlie, and Charlie’s flushed complexion returned to normal.

Regaining his composure, he waved his hand with his characteristic sarcastic smile.

“That’s also a good method, but isn’t competing with swords for the position of royal consort a rather crude way of thinking? We are educated people and the privileged class. Don’t push it too hard. It’s embarrassing. Hahaha!”

Too bad.

He almost took the bait.

Duke Arnold helped him regain his senses.

But this is a sufficient harvest.

In any case, I was the one who challenged him first, and Charlie was the one who backed down.

Whether they are pro-imperial or anti-imperial, everyone who saw this scene will have something to think about.

“I was too hasty. I’ll step down now.”

I returned to my seat, receiving Hornet’s greeting.

With this, the appeals of all the royal consort candidates were over.

According to Andre, the royal family will deliberate on the content of today’s appeals and announce the royal consort within a week.

The King rose and announced the end of the banquet.

“I express my gratitude to the stars of the kingdom who came here today. I hope to see you again next time.”

The King left, followed by Princess Rebecca, and the nobles also left one by one.

Andre and I returned to the mansion and told Zion and Campbell what had happened.

Campbell crossed his arms and grumbled.

“Too bad. If the Bread-Taste noble and the Vice-Captain had fought, we could have pretended it was an accident and taken his head.”

“Would that have been possible?”

“Why not? The Vice-Captain is capable enough.”

“It’s not about strength. If we openly kill him, the aftermath will be difficult to handle.”

“Anyway, the ecosystem of nobles is a headache the more you know about it.”

We ate the refreshments Zion had prepared and chatted.

Andre asked.

“What are your plans for the future? Your actions today were good enough to be called a reversal, but Charlie Hilton still holds sway over more than half of the nobles, and the royal family cannot ignore this.”

I have the same thought as Andre.

But there was someone I was waiting for.

If the message I conveyed at today’s banquet was delivered, there was someone who had to come.

Knock knock!!

He doesn’t seem to be a nobleman.

Someone knocked from outside the house.

The familiar presence I felt last time.

“I have a guest with business for me, so I’ll go out myself. Everyone, please relax.”

I opened the door and stepped outside, and as expected, Count Hornet stood there in golden armor.

“You come often.”

“Sorry to bother you.”

“It’s okay. Let’s go.”

As I stepped forward as if it were natural, Count Hornet looked bewildered.

“Do you know why I came here?”

“Of course. Isn’t it because Princess Rebecca summoned me?”

Count Hornet looked dumbfounded when I accurately guessed not only the royal summons but also who specifically had called me.

“Aren’t you going? The wind is quite chilly.”

“Ah… yes.”

I got into the carriage and we set off.

A private meeting with Princess Rebecca for the first time.

What we needed to talk about was clear.

* * *

‘I am cursed.’

This was the thought that Princess Rebecca had when she was only five years old.

The curse was nothing else.

The fact that she was a woman.

The fact that she was different from men was an unbearable weakness for her.

“The kingdom is shaking. His Highness is getting sick more often.”

“The succession is unstable, so this is…”

“Isn’t there Princess Rebecca?”

“Still, a princess is a princess. There are limits to what a woman can do.”

“That’s right. It’s a meaningless assumption, but what if the princess was a prince?”

“I know. It’s a shame.”

Did she want to be born as ‘her’?

She wanted to learn forbidden black magic to change her gender.

Above all, she was an ambitious woman.

The blood of the Elden royal family, which had ruled the country for hundreds of years, flowed through her body, and she wanted to become a better and wiser ruler than anyone else.

‘It’s unfair. Why should I be excluded just because I’m a woman?’

If she lacked strength, she had to have more knowledge.

She believed that she could overcome her limitations through effort and studied everything she could get her hands on.

If there was anything she didn’t know, she would ask the ministers who were known to be smart.

She was only nine years old at the time.

‘If I show that I’m trying, people around me will eventually recognize me.’

But her wish was shattered.

When she went to a scholar to ask about a difficult concept, he tilted his head and instead asked her a question.

“This is knowledge that the princess doesn’t need to know. Is there a reason why you’re wasting your time delving into this?”

“I’m just…”

“There are more interesting things in the world than the princess thinks. You seem to not know because you’re still young, so ask the maids.”

She was disappointed.

In the meantime, she talked to the maids just in case.

She wondered if it would really be fun.

“Do you want to try this? It’s a popular cosmetic these days.”

“There’s a new cake shop in the alley in front of the castle…”

“The hairstyle that’s popular in the Empire is…”

“Did you hear the news? Mary and Orlan, the son of the Baron, well…”

None of it is fun.

That’s when it started.

She borrowed books from the library.

Fortunately, the library was open to her as a princess, and the librarian Walter was a man of few words.

She secretly brought books without the maids knowing and read, wrote, and studied on her own.

For seven years.

The maids who witnessed her actions were afraid that they would spread rumors and even reading books would be prohibited, so they kept it a secret.

She stayed in her room throughout her adolescence and never let go of her books.

‘When the time comes, I’ll show everyone how capable I am.’

Every time she went to bed, she dreamed of herself wearing a crown and ruling the country.

She really thought it was possible.

Until her father’s health deteriorated rapidly.

‘I still need more time.’

Her seventeenth birthday was already approaching, and the royal consort selection ceremony was just around the corner.

She was old enough.

Only then did she realize.

That there are walls in the world that cannot be overcome.

“The royal consort will be Prince Charlie Hilton, right?”

“Of course.”

“The history of the kingdom will soon come to an end.”

“It may be a development in a better direction.”

The future of the royal family, which she had grasped with her good head, was in a worse state than a candle in the wind.

Even if she were a man, it would be difficult to guarantee, but she was a woman who had to entrust all major and minor affairs to her royal consort immediately after her accession.

She felt like she was falling into hell, and dark clouds gathered in her heart.

She could clearly see her future.

Not a monarch with a crown and scepter, but an ordinary consort of the Elden Duchy, which had been demoted from a kingdom to a duchy.

A fate to wither and die lonely in a corner of the room, not loved by the royal consort who only sees her as a tool.

If she were ignorant, she would at least confront it head-on, but the fact that she had so much in her head made it difficult for her to move easily, and she only felt frustrated.

Then came the day of the selection ceremony.

She had no expectations at all.

She has eyes and ears.

All the nobles had already sided with Charlie Hilton.

There was no news of what happened to the anti-imperial faction.

“Princess Rebecca enters!!”

The selection ceremony began.

The royal consort candidates came out one by one and registered.

It was boring.

The result was already decided, so why do such useless things?

She felt a sense of self-disgust for the powerless puppet royal family and disappointment in herself, who had no decision-making power.

콰아앙!!

That’s when it happened.

The door opened roughly.

A man she had never seen before came in.

A man who held his head high with dignity even though he was late in front of all the nobles and royalty.

His handsome appearance and subtle eyes were impressive.

‘Who is he?’

While wondering about his identity, the man approached her uncle Hornet and registered as a royal consort candidate without hesitation.

“Lord Henon Lloyd. I’m registering as a candidate.”

She remembered who he was.

The new successor of the Lloyd Marquisate, the leader of the anti-imperial faction.

Her father trusted Marquis Lloyd so much that she also had some goodwill towards that family.

However, recently, the family has been in turmoil due to the succession structure, and the new successor is said to be from an illegitimate background.

It was their first meeting, so she couldn’t make a definite assessment, but from his actions so far, he seemed to be a very unique person.

‘Why did he register as a candidate? If he inherits the Marquisate anyway, he won’t be able to become a royal consort.’

With a doubtful mind, curiosity peeked out from one corner of her heart.

The candidates’ appeals began.

Another boring time passed.

To be honest, she had to pinch her thighs to avoid falling asleep.

In the meantime, it was Charlie Hilton’s turn.

In fact, he was the internal candidate who had been nominated as the royal consort.

The man she would have to spend the rest of her life with approached her and knelt on one knee.

“Please accept my flower.”

She had a feeling that the royal family would be ruined the moment she received the flower.

On the other hand, she wondered if it was really right to do something that would make her future husband dislike her.

Various thoughts collided and created a rough whirlwind in her consciousness, when she saw a man.

Lord Henon Lloyd.

The leader of the anti-imperial faction and eccentric noble.

He was looking straight at her.

Why?

Her hand, which had been reaching for the flower, stopped.

It was like an instinct.

Even she was surprised by her own actions.

“I’ll accept it when I become the royal consort.”

A subtle yet polite refusal.

Anyway, a refusal is a refusal.

“Of course.”

Nobles and royalty are a race that takes pride in every single one of these trivial results and keeps them buried.

But she had already made her choice, and the result was irreversible.

Following Charlie Hilton, Lord Lloyd, who was the talk of the town, stepped forward.

Perhaps because he was the man who had acted strangely earlier, Rebecca was slightly excited.

She stared at him, hoping that he wouldn’t say flattering compliments and obvious comments like the other participants.

“Rebecca is surprisingly brilliant and smart. Moreover, she has the effort to work hard towards her goals. She is an explorer who tries to break the limits set by people and pioneer a new world. I want to support the princess purely as a human being, apart from the position of royal consort.”

She was shocked.

She dropped her wine glass without realizing it.

How did that man know about the efforts she had made so far?

Or was it just a guess?

Lord Lloyd’s bizarre behavior didn’t end there.

It was just the beginning.

“How will you rule the country? I have no intention of ruling. Princess Rebecca will do better than me, so why would I interfere? I’m going to let the princess do it herself.”

A second shock.

At this point, she wondered if he had come into her room and watched her secretly.

It was an absurd suspicion, but that’s how surprised and out of her mind she was.

The show of force by Lord Lloyd at the end of the banquet was truly a masterpiece.

He proved in front of many people how he was able to stand out as the successor of the Marquisate.

She was in awe of how strong he could become at such a young age with so much effort.

Rather, she felt ashamed and her face flushed when she thought that the efforts she had made so far were insignificant compared to the efforts that man had put in.

“That’s all.”

The banquet ended and the selection ceremony was over.

Now, the royal family must announce the final candidate from among the royal consort candidates within a week.

Usually, the royal consort is decided by agreement between the royal family and the king, and the opinion of the princess herself has little effect, but she couldn’t stand it now.

Her head was full of the green-eyed man who had shown a shocking appearance at the banquet.

A mind-reading man who seemed to be sitting on top of her head and reading all her thoughts.

She felt like she would be impatient if she didn’t meet him as soon as possible.

“Uncle Hornet. I have a favor to ask.”

Originally, the act of meeting the royal consort candidate separately around the time of the selection ceremony was strictly prohibited, so Uncle Hornet was embarrassed.

She was able to get over it by begging with cuteness.

In the end, Rebecca achieved what she wanted.

Lord Henon Lloyd was standing in front of her.

She calmed her pounding heart.

Lord Lloyd was radiating the same relaxed smile and subtle eyes as when she saw him earlier.

The first words that Lord Lloyd said to her in a space where only the two of them were present were these.

“I knew you would call me, Princess.”

Only after hearing these words did she know.

That she had made the right choice.

He was also waiting for this moment.