The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 165

20. Bloodline: Incompatible Scoundrel

Arnia Continent, Southern Region.

The desert.

Dry sandstorms that stung the skin. A murderous daily temperature range with extreme differences between day and night. And, above all, irregular oases that appeared only sporadically.

In many ways, it was the worst environment for humans to live in.

But humans were said to be beings of indomitable intellect. Even in the face of harsh adversity, a small number of survivors managed to live on.

Overcoming the trials of nature, they formed groups and built communities, eventually establishing a nation.

The Desert Kingdom of Bernus.

A nation of the strong was born.

The Bernus Kingdom was a tribal confederation. Due to the nature of the desert, settlement was impossible, and they moved throughout the year, following the oases designated for each tribe.

The king was no exception. He was in a ger [a traditional Mongolian yurt or tent], a mobile tent, shirtless, gulping down rum.

“Ah, it’s hot.”

A specimen of Menschen beauty stood out in his thick chest hair, shaggy beard, and deeply tanned brown skin. His name was Gazelle. He was a Seven Star [a title denoting a powerful warrior] who had participated in the final battle a full 20 years ago.

“Your Majesty, please take care of your health.”

The court lady attending the king wore a troubled expression. Regardless, Gazelle did not stop drinking.

He hadn’t always been a fan of alcohol. When he was younger, he was a renowned warrior and even held the title of the youngest Sword Master.

Neighboring countries were wary of his martial prowess, and after the battle with the Demon King’s army, the Calon Empire even proposed a political marriage to the Bernus Kingdom.

Hundreds of forces wanted to establish ties with the imperial family every day.

Considering this, the fact that the Empire wanted the marriage first was a clear example of the desert kingdom’s power.

In any case, as a result, Gazelle sent his younger sister, Sandy, whom he wouldn’t trade for the world, to be the Emperor’s first Empress.

Afterward, she became a symbol of peace on the continent. Until she died of an unknown illness.

“Hahaha, look at Sandy. You never know when life will end, right? You have to enjoy it while you can.”

Poor Sandy.

Was it the climate that didn’t suit her? Was it a local endemic disease? Or was she just unlucky?

A few months ago, her face, full of excitement, boasting that she was healthy in the crystal ball and looking forward to her soon-to-be-born baby, remained vivid in Gazelle’s memory.

In the end, nothing came of it. The mother died, and, of course, the baby died too.

From then on, Gazelle drank regularly. He needed to be at least slightly drunk to forget the sense of loss from losing his sister, even for a moment. That’s how much Gazelle loved Sandy.

“Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“Foreign guests are requesting an audience with Your Majesty.”

“Just chase them away. I don’t have any appointments.”

“I was going to, but… they’re not ordinary.”

The subordinate’s report piqued Gazelle’s interest.

“Let them in.”

The foreigners who entered shortly after were a group who concealed their identities with hoods and masks, and they all exuded a dangerous and ominous aura.

Gazelle stopped the guard warriors from instinctively reaching for their swords.

“We greet the great and mighty Overlord of the Desert.”

“Enough with the greetings. Why don’t you take off those gloomy masks?”

“We apologize. If not for the masks, it would have been difficult to meet the Overlord.”

“What if I order you to take them off by force?”

“If such a situation were to occur, Your Majesty would miss out on information related to the person most precious to you.”

“Are you threatening me now?”

“Who would dare to threaten you? I’m just stating the facts.”

The air in the room was thick. Gazelle, like a warrior of the hot desert, overflowed with yang energy [a concept in Chinese philosophy representing masculine, active energy].

On the other hand, the mysterious group showed no particular agitation even when facing the master-level expert’s murderous intent head-on. It was as if they didn’t care if they died. That made Gazelle uneasy.

Gazelle, who had withdrawn his energy, rested his chin on his hand and lowered his voice.

“Alright. You have some manly spirit. I’ll give you exactly 10 minutes. You’ll have to spit out information that interests me within that time.”

“We don’t need 10 minutes. 10 seconds will suffice. It’s about Your Majesty’s sister, Empress Sandy.”

The moment Sandy’s name was mentioned, a fierce glint shot out from Gazelle’s eyes.

“Think carefully before you speak.”

“There’s nothing to think about. We’re only telling the truth. Empress Sandy’s death had nothing to do with illness. Rather, she was assassinated.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Swords drawn from all directions were pointed at the visitors’ necks. Gazelle’s face also changed colors frequently. Barely suppressing the anger that seemed about to explode, he said.

“Are you wearing masks and visiting the desert to insult my already deceased sister with nonsense? Do you have multiple lives?”

“We can offer this life several times over for the truth. But it’s truly pitiful to see Your Majesty closing your eyes and ears and rejecting the truth.”

Gazelle’s bright yellow gaze and the masked man’s dark gaze collided in the air. A silence like death fell around them.

The mysterious visitor’s statement was that dangerous. It could potentially trigger a continental war.

“Show me the evidence. If you can’t, you will be tortured until you die and forced to cough up the evidence yourself.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Clap!

With a light clap, another masked man who had been waiting outside the tent entered.

Next to him was an old man, bound from head to toe, his face battered as if he had been beaten.

“For the record, he wasn’t listening, so we gave him some prior education.”

“I don’t care about that. Who is that guy?”

At Gazelle’s words, the masked man nodded. Then, the frightened old man babbled and told his story.

“I, I was commissioned to kill Princess Sandy, the assassin, ten years ago… sob, please just kill me now!”

The ger buzzed at the old man’s confession. Gazelle raised his hand to calm the situation.

“Nothing is certain yet. Don’t act rashly.”

Gazelle spoke to the masked man again.

“Surely you didn’t bring a guy like this as evidence? I can kidnap an imperial citizen right now, torture him, and make him say these things.”

“That’s right. But Your Majesty has the ability to judge the truth, don’t you? Summon the famous ‘Eyes of the Desert’.”

Eyes of the Desert.

A term referring to the highest shaman [a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits] of the Bernus Kingdom, meaning they see through all truth.

Gazelle was displeased that a stranger he had met for the first time was mentioning an internal member of the tribe, but he wanted to find out the truth as quickly as possible.

“Bring Grandma.”

Before long, an old woman with totemic ornaments dangling all over her body appeared, leaning on a cane.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

“Grandma, find out if that guy is telling the truth.”

She removed the eyepatch from one eye. Then, a hidden, iridescent eye was revealed. It was the Eye of the Desert, which judged the truth.

“Look at Grandma and say the same thing you said earlier.”

“I, I…”

“Don’t stutter. Before I kill you.”

“I was commissioned ten years ago to assassinate Princess Sandy, and I was half successful.”

“It is the truth.”

Everyone was shocked at the shaman’s judgment.

“Is it possible that he was brainwashed?”

“My divine eye also detects brainwashing and delusion. The man I see is only consumed by fear, but his mind is clear.”

It seemed that the old assassin in front of him had indeed killed his precious sister. Gazelle suppressed his rising anger and asked.

“How?”

“I received a commission and entered the Imperial Palace. The story had been arranged in advance, so the defense forces were minimal. I killed the Empress in the inner palace with one blow.”

“Tell me why it was only half successful.”

“It was right after she had given birth. I was commissioned to kill both the child and the mother, but I unfortunately missed the child.”

“It is the truth.”

Each time the word truth came out of the shaman’s mouth, Gazelle’s heart was shattered. His head was dizzy, and his vision was spinning.

“The child… my sister had a nephew?”

“The Empress couldn’t escape because she had just given birth. That’s why the assassination was easy.”

“It is the truth.”

“Aaaaaah!!!”

The shamshir [a curved, single-handed Persian sword] drawn from Gazelle’s waist emitted a red aura. The furnishings inside the tent were smashed indiscriminately. After venting his violent anger for a while, he barely calmed down after a few minutes.

“Hoo… right. I didn’t ask the most important thing. Who commissioned you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Your death is already certain. If you want to die comfortably, tell me willingly.”

“I really don’t know.”

“It is the truth.”

Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could see his sister’s face, happy that the baby was coming soon.

No matter what, it was a foreign land, so there must have been difficulties. Even if she didn’t express it, she must have been struggling inside. He was always anxious and worried about that part.

He thought it was fortunate that she would have a place to settle down once she had a child… but.

‘Everything is ruined.’

His beloved sister was brutally murdered, and who the culprit was is still a mystery.

But there is one clue. The assassin testified that the defense forces of the Imperial Palace were minimal at the time of the mission.

In short, the culprit is a person with real power in the Empire who can arbitrarily move the soldiers of the Imperial Palace. If you narrow down the people with that much power in the Empire, there aren’t many.

The rest is to meet them in person and check.

“Brothers, listen.”

“Speak.”

“Issue a summons to all tribes.”

“Could it be…”

“That’s right. We are now heading to Osdin. The wrath of the desert will continue until we find the culprit.”

The spark of war ignited. In a few days, strong desert warriors would gather like clouds. It was a moment when dark clouds were gathering over the entire Arnia continent.

* * *

I returned from the underwater city.

After returning, I was allowed to stay at the Tower of the Sages thanks to Orneo-nim’s consideration.

As the name Tower of the Sages suggested, there were many mysterious instruments. A few days passed quickly while looking at research materials, papers, and inventions. Orneo-nim himself was a smart person, so there was a positive effect of gaining a lot of miscellaneous knowledge when talking to him.

I spent most of my time in the Tower of the Sages, but I used the teleportation device I received from Pilgrim Tom to travel around quite a bit in my spare time.

I first visited Lloyd Estate to report my survival to my father, and I visited Fontano Palace to see Queen Rebecca’s face after a long time. If I had time, I would have gone to Liang and Albus Castle, the Northern Mountains, and the Eastern Great Forest to see the faces I missed, but I was busy, so I promised to do so next time.

After meeting my acquaintances, I once again immersed myself in training. I had to stabilize the master level I had newly reached, and I practiced various skills as a top-level druid until they became second nature.

While I was training fiercely inside, the outside was noisy.

This was because Henon Lloyd had survived, risen to Sword Master, and become the eighth star of the continent, which was announced at the Tower of the Sages.

At first, the public was skeptical, but when Orneo put his name on it, many people believed it was real. To satisfy their curiosity, many crowds flocked to the Tower of the Sages every day.

Fortunately, the Tower of the Sages was originally a place where many people gathered. The system for preventing unnecessary riff-raff from rushing in was very well established. Thanks to this, I was able to use the Tower of the Sages as a shield and focus on training diligently from behind.

In the meantime, I also kept a close eye on the movements of Twilight. I didn’t know what unexpected actions they would take after learning about my survival. I had made full preparations in case they attacked Lloyd Estate.

But they were disturbingly quiet. I would have preferred them to show a reaction openly. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out easily.

Today, as usual, I finished training and had a short tea time with Grandpa.

Perhaps because I had been to the underwater city and stayed in the tower for a long time, I became quite close to Grandpa. Was it thanks to that? A topic different from usual came up.

“I want to see His Majesty the Emperor after a long time.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never talked about His Majesty. What kind of person is His Majesty?”

When he mentioned the Emperor, Orneo’s eyes were filled with faint longing.

“Even ten years ago, I used to meet His Majesty often. Even if you’re in that position, your vision can be narrowed, but he was a person who always kept his eyes and ears open.”

“He must have been a good person.”

“He has somewhat lacking talent to lead the country’s heyday, but where else can you find someone who isn’t a tyrant or a dark ruler? He will be sufficiently evaluated as a wise ruler in later generations.”

“Judging from your story, it seems that there haven’t been any recent meetings. Is it because the Sage is busy with personal research? Or is there another reason?”

A slight shadow fell on Orneo’s face.

“I didn’t know I would tell you this story.”

“You don’t have to if it’s a difficult story.”

“No. What story can’t I tell you, who will save the continent in the future? It’s just that it’s an old man’s shame, so it was ambiguous to talk about.”

The Sage’s confession continued.

“Do you know the family tree of the Empire?”

“I know the Elden Kingdom, but I don’t know the family tree of other countries.”

“That’s natural. The current family tree of the Calon Empire is like this.”

Under the King are the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.

The current Crown Prince is the 2nd Prince, who was promoted to Crown Prince after the 1st Prince, who was originally the Crown Prince, died suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

The 1st Empress, the mother of the 1st Prince, and the 2nd Empress, the mother of the 2nd Prince, also died mysteriously several years ago.

“The members of the Imperial Family really die a lot of mysterious deaths.”

“Isn’t that everyday life? The important point to note here is this.”

“What is it?”

“The 2nd Empress was originally the 3rd Empress, and the existing 1st Empress was originally the 2nd Empress.”

“Does that mean… there was another 1st Empress in the past?”

“That’s right.”

The 1st Empress who disappeared into history.

She was a woman named Sandy from the Desert Kingdom.

A political marriage made to secure peace between the Desert Kingdom of Bernus and the Calon Empire. The bride’s appearance was so outstanding that rumors spread.

“The relationship between Empress Sandy and His Majesty the Emperor was also very great. The Empress conceived a fetus less than three months after her marriage.”

“That’s a celebration.”

“It was a celebration for me too. She was the only one who reached out to me, who couldn’t build a force and was just floating around.”

Orneo’s eyes stared at the distant sky. In it, many emotions such as regret, longing, and remorse were entangled like a spider web.

“If only I hadn’t left to find research materials.”

The incident that happened while he was away was too big. The sudden death of Empress Sandy.

“From then on, His Majesty secluded himself. He only met the minimum number of people. He must have been so heartbroken… hehe…”

Naturally, the 2nd Empress and the 3rd Empress were promoted to the 1st Empress and the 2nd Empress, and Sandy Empress was gradually forgotten in the memory of the imperial citizens, a tragic story.

“I have a feeling that other factors are intertwined in Empress Sandy’s death. It’s rare to die suddenly at a young age.”

“His Majesty the Emperor cherished her so much that he sent his own doctor. What kind of daring guy would have attempted poisoning or assassination?”

“It could have been the work of the 2nd Empress or the 3rd Empress who felt jealous.”

“The 2nd Empress and the 3rd Empress are already in the afterlife. Too much time has passed. It’s a period where both evidence and witnesses can disappear.”

Old man Orneo, who is blaming himself, seems to have deeper wrinkles today. Is there a way to relieve the burden in his heart? While I was thinking about it, one method came to mind.

[Life Control]

[Memory Recall]

I have a skill that can convert the short clockwork of humans into the vast clockwork of nature. Wouldn’t I discover something if I used this? Curiosity poked its head out.

“Sage, do you want to know the truth?”