The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 168

20 Bloodline: The Scoundrel Visited

The name Sandy Empress uttered was not unfamiliar. That’s what made it even more surprising.

Pahel.

It was definitely a name I knew.

The mysterious informant I met in Marquis Lloyd’s office after the territory battle at Albus Castle. Later, I learned that he was working directly under Sloth.

He invariably appeared and confronted me whenever I dealt with a Twilight executive or had business with Sloth.

I suspected it might be a namesake, but Pahel’s hair and eye color were exactly the same as the infant in the memory recall.

White hair and amber eyes. Definitely not a common appearance. It seems Pahel is indeed the ill-fated First Prince.

‘I’ll have to visit Sloth.’

I decided to continue sifting through the memories for now.

After the child left, an assassin openly entered through the door. What on earth were the Imperial Knights doing?

“You’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting.”

Sandy Empress was calm even with the messenger of death before her eyes. I didn’t know if it was the unique character of a desert woman or the courage Sandy Empress herself possessed.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

A three-hit combo struck her heart. A line of blood flowed from the corner of Sandy’s mouth. Gasping for breath, she slightly opened her lips. I pricked up my ears, not wanting to miss a single word.

“Tell him… I love him.”

Thud.

Sandy Empress’s death. The assassin quietly retreated. I checked the direction he was fleeing.

With the assassin’s departing figure as the last, the memory recall ended. Opening my eyes, the old man who had been pacing anxiously next to me promptly asked.

“Did you gain anything? Did you find out what happened here?”

“Just a moment. Let me sort out my thoughts.”

Sandy Empress’s calm demeanor before her death bothered me.

Throughout the recalled memory, she knew the attack was coming. She had finished preparing her heart as well.

Besides, her last words.

Tell him I love him.

That meant she knew who the client was.

Who could Empress Sandy, here in the Empire, say she loved? Assuming she wasn’t having an affair, her husband, the Emperor, was the only one.

Therefore, the one who commissioned Sandy Empress’s death to the assassin was the Emperor…?

If the Emperor was the client, then the lax defense also made sense. With one imperial order, even an ironclad guard could be turned into an automatic door guard.

The most questionable point was the motive for the murder. Why would he do such a thing? Even to his wife who was about to give birth.

“Now tell me. I’m dying of anticipation.”

“If you promise to remain calm even after knowing the truth, I’ll tell you honestly.”

“I promise. Do I have to swear?”

“Yes.”

“I swear.”

I conveyed the scene I saw in the memory recall to Orneo as it was. The old man, his legs losing strength, collapsed. His trembling white beard represented the mental shock he had received.

“Even now, go to His Majesty and…”

“What are you going to say? That you found out about the past from a druid acquaintance from over a decade ago?”

“……”

Orneo became speechless.

“Besides, there is someone who wants to know His Majesty’s intentions much more than we do. At least, we should give that person priority.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Prince Pahel, who disappeared into history.”

“Wasn’t the child dead? How could he have survived in that chaos without a mother?”

“He is alive. Because I have actually seen him.”

Thud.

Orneo couldn’t handle the new information and collapsed. It couldn’t be helped, as it was a series of shocking information.

* * *

Olga is a thug from the back alleys of the Empire. With his unique fierce nature and broad shoulders, he brought peace to the alleys and caught the eye of the ‘s vice-master.

“You’re quite something. Join our guild.”

“Screw off.”

“Some education is needed.”

A man with mysterious hair and strange eyes. I underestimated him, judging only by his flimsy physique, and got beaten to a pulp on a rainy day.

After that, I joined Black Night half voluntarily, half forcibly, and met the master as well.

Turns out Black Night was a decent guild.

It gave decent jobs to those living at the bottom like me, and it was the only organization that cared about orphans whom the country ignored.

I diligently carried out the assigned tasks, and before I knew it, I became a bartender and manager of a decent pub. Within Black Night, I even held the position of branch manager.

I couldn’t help but feel proud. As a branch manager, people around me bowed their heads on their own.

There’s no chance I’ll ever meet the high-ranking officials of the Empire anyway. If I’m careful of only the master and vice-master, I’m the strongest, at least in this narrow alley.

…Or so I thought. Until I met the mysterious visitor.

The hooded man came in and immediately looked for the master. That scary master, that is.

“Is he crazy?”

The crazy one wasn’t the strange guest, but Olga himself. Only after his subordinates fell like scarecrows and the pub was half destroyed did the nightmare end.

Fortunately, the situation ended as Vice-Master Pahel took the strange man away.

However, the cost of repairing the ruined pub was entirely his responsibility. He futilely spent the money he had saved for years.

And now, Olga was being tested once again.

“Guide me to Night Spider.”

The opponents were two men who had deeply pressed down their hoods. One was a young punk with no beard on his chin, and the other was a decrepit old man.

‘No matter how I look at them, they don’t seem like much.’

I hesitated. According to the data learned in the past, it was right to guide them to the master, but… pride welled up from within my heart.

“Is the master anyone’s dog? Who are you nobodies to come and act up?”

Could they be super experts like last time again? Just give them a rough beating and send them away. Just as I was about to gesture to my subordinate, the opponent took off his hood.

“Don’t you remember me? I remember you.”

“What?”

I narrowed my eyes and sized up the opponent.

The guy who wrecked the bar last time had a face with thick lines and dark skin. On the other hand, the guy in front of me now had a much younger impression and white skin. He was a completely different person.

“Looks like you picked up some rumors somewhere, but you’ve got the wrong address. The master isn’t someone who meets just anyone.”

I made a decision.

There’s no way I’d be unlucky twice.

That guy must be a bluffer.

“Hit them all!!”

I gave the order to the burly men who were waiting in advance, and a fierce battle unfolded… no, they were unilaterally beaten up.

“I was a little sorry for wrecking the bar last time, but seeing how you’re acting, I think I can wreck it again.”

Olga felt like he was dreaming. The subordinates who were beaten flew high into the sky. Furniture and fixtures were dismantled one by one. In the end, it was half destroyed again.

“I told you to guide me.”

“Who are you…?”

“Who am I? We met a year ago, didn’t we?”

“Don’t lie. I’ve never seen a guy like you.”

“Oh, right… I came as Khan back then. Would this make it easier to understand?”

The guy took something out and applied it to his face. And a face with thick lines appeared. It was that guy who made me jump up every time he appeared in my dreams.

“Why does this only happen to me…”

“If you know, call Night Spider yourself.”

Olga moved weakly.

In his heart, he vowed.

From now on, even if a passing cat came looking for the master, he would obediently guide them.

* * *

After coming out of the Imperial Palace.

I found the back alley with Old Man Orneo.

I went to the pub that Pahel had shown me last time, but the manager didn’t recognize me again and started a fight, so I gave him a little education.

Eventually, Pahel came. He looked around the half-destroyed pub and sighed.

“You’ve caused quite a stir.”

“That guy doesn’t recognize people.”

“How can he recognize you when your face is different from last time?”

“Well, he should be able to tell the difference himself.”

Leaving behind the branch manager with a lost-country expression, I was guided by Pahel. Like last time, I put on an eye patch and went around and around the narrow alleyways.

“May I ask what business you have with the master?”

“To be exact, I have business with both you and Night Spider.”

“How curious. It’s rare for someone to have business with me.”

The carriage stopped.

I took off the eye patch and entered the room.

Sloth greeted us in the same position as before, half-lying on the sofa.

The whole room was hazy with cigarette smoke.

The old man next to me coughed.

“Cough! Cough! This isn’t a good environment for an old man.”

“This place is far from a place that seeks knowledge. I hope the sage understands.”

As expected, Sloth knew that the old man who came with me was Sage Orneo.

“Henon Lloyd. It’s been a while. Exactly 3 years and 10 months left.”

Sloth’s gaze is directed towards the Heavenly Demon Sword. She is still thorough when it comes to contracts.

“What brings you here today? Tell me the information you want to know.”

“There is information I want to verify. Is it possible?”

“Of course. Tell me what information it is.”

I shifted my gaze from Sloth to Pahel next to her.

“Pahel, are you the Emperor’s son?”

The temperature in the room plummeted, and the atmosphere became chilly. A murderous aura that seemed to sting the skin filled the surroundings.

Normally, I would have been intimidated by the force and unable to say what I wanted, but the visitors happened to be me and Old Man Orneo.

Not to mention me, Old Man Orneo is also one of the Seven Stars. Moreover, he recently obtained the Tears of the Little Mermaid and became stronger than before.

As neither of us flinched, Sloth, who had been openly scattering her aura, lightly sighed and changed her posture.

“If you present the price first, I will verify the truth of the information. However, verification is impossible with ordinary prices.”

“I’ve already found out everything, what price do you want again? It’s just a verification process.”

“It’s not just general information, it’s the information you want. Either pay the price or leave.”

I opened a subspace.

I happened to have a pretty good item.

It was the Imoogi [a mythical Korean serpent] I caught in the underwater city.

I had prepared the corpse when I had time.

I took out a few scales and a fang and placed them on the table.

“This is the price you wanted.”

“What is this? I’ve never seen these scales and fangs before. I have no idea what kind of monster it is.”

“That’s because it’s so rare. I hope it’s enough as a price.”

It was a spoil obtained from a legendary monster that was over a thousand years old, so there’s no way they could figure it out. Pahel, who had been examining it for a long time with a hand wearing white gloves, shook his head.

“The quality itself is top-notch, but I have no idea what it is. Would you tell me? I’ll pay for the information.”

“It’s a legendary monster called Imoogi that lives in the sea. I don’t know the durability of the scales and fangs, but it’s probably similar to that of a hatchling.”

Pahel’s eyes widened. Sloth also seemed to be calculating with a complicated mind, rolling her eyes. Soon, Sloth, who had put the Imoogi’s fangs and scales in a secret vault, opened her mouth.

“The price is sufficient. The truth of the information you mentioned is ‘true’.”

Sloth acknowledged that Pahel was the Emperor’s son. At the same time, Orneo next to me knelt down towards him.

“First Prince! Please kill me. This disloyal old man did not recognize the true owner of the Empire!”

“Please don’t do this.”

“Please kill me… sob…”

Orneo sobbed. Sloth rested her chin with a blank expression, and I quietly watched the situation. Only Pahel was biting his lip.

“I am no longer a prince or anything. I’m just a thug living in the back alleys.”

“How can you say such a heartbreaking thing! As long as I, Orneo, am alive, it is a preposterous thing.”

“Please don’t do this. It’s burdensome.”

“The position of Crown Prince of the Empire should rightfully go to Pahel, the son of the First Empress. I will go to the Imperial Palace right now…”

“Stop it!”

Pahel, who shouted, looked at Sloth.

“Master, we’ve finished our business, can I kick them out?”

“Do as you please.”

As soon as Sloth’s permission was given, Pahel forcibly raised Orneo.

“Now leave. And don’t ever come back.”

A rough eviction order.

I could leave like this, but.

I still have business to do.

“I have information I want to give you.”

“I’m not interested. Leave.”

“I know who ordered the assassination of Empress Sandy.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Pahel’s figure flashed. He rushes towards me. If I wanted to, I could easily avoid it, but I deliberately stood still.

The blade that had already dug deep into the back of my neck. Pahel whispered in a voice filled with resentment.

“Who is it?”