The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 28

4. Discovery: The Hound at Heel

You know those gym balls at the gym?

They’re round rubber balls with good elasticity, often used for stretching or Pilates.

Now, imagine making a gym ball with your bare hands and then standing on it and jumping.

Possible?

Usually, it’s impossible.

First of all, crafting a gym ball by hand—something typically made in a factory—is absurd. And unless you’re a skilled circus clown, simply maintaining your balance on a round ball, let alone jumping, is a monumental task.

“The problem is, what I have to do is similar to this.”

The wind kept swirling.

It tends to gather in a circle.

Even when I try to shape it into a pad, it doesn’t cooperate due to a lack of attunement.

I still haven’t received an alert that I’ve acquired a wind-related skill.

With the trees, I gained a skill called Wood Control, or Woodcon for short, which allowed me to manipulate organic matter with wood properties to some extent, but wind is different.

I thought that if I reached a certain level, I might gain an active skill called Windcon (short for Wind Control), but it’s still radio silence.

-Still, the red-haired woman taught you the most suitable skill.

“Why is that?”

-Why are we suffering in the cold North?

“To find the Golden Branch.”

-That’s right. But have you found it?

I was diligently searching for the World Tree branch.

Every time I went on patrol, I took Sion and searched every nook and cranny.

I only told her that I was looking for something.

Sion has seen me do so many strange things before that she just followed along quietly this time, thinking it was just another one of those things.

However, despite the long and repeated searches, we couldn’t find anything significant.

She said there was no place that felt like the Heavenly Demon [a powerful, often malevolent, spiritual entity].

The conclusion has been reached.

There is no Golden Branch in the territory pioneered by Black Castle.

-In the end, to find the Golden Branch, you have to venture outside the territory. Even if you have grown a lot recently, the area beyond our borders is still dangerous.

“You’re saying that Shunpo [a technique for moving faster than the eye can follow], a movement and evasion skill, will solve this problem.”

-Of course. If you master it well, it’s a skill that allows you to practically fly. In other words, you are completely free from the threat of ground monsters.

The Heavenly Demon recommended that I master Shunpo as soon as possible and search outside the territory.

I also thought his words were reasonable and was working hard.

And until this point, I didn’t know.

That a storm was brewing for me.

The wheel of fate often turns faster than expected, sometimes suddenly.

I was like the captain of a small boat facing a strong storm, rowing with all my might.

No one knew whether this adversity would end in sinking or the discovery of a new continent.

* * *

“I think I’ve finally caught the tail.”

It was Sion’s voice from behind when I was on patrol.

“The tail?”

“Victor, I mean.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Recently, I heard from Victor’s mistress, Erica, that her boyfriend Victor was acting suspiciously.

So I had Sion watch his quarters.

“Good job. You must be very tired.”

“It’s nothing.”

Sion reported the following.

Victor seemed to go on night patrols often, but there was actually a pattern to it.

He only went on night patrols on bright nights when the full moon was out.

And tonight was the full moon.

“According to Erica, Victor promised to drink alone with Anthony, the new recruit who just came in, in his quarters today. And today is the full moon, so…”

“He’s going on night patrol again. If our hypothesis is correct, anything could happen.”

I can’t miss this opportunity.

I patrolled faster than usual.

It was to conserve my stamina.

As always, I returned to the North Gate to applause [a customary greeting or farewell].

Campbell, who was walking next to me, put his arm around my shoulder with a good-natured smile.

“Vice Commander! It’s hard to catch your face these days? How about a drink at Black Honey [likely a local tavern or bar]?”

“Sorry. I have something to do today.”

“Tch! Then let’s drink tomorrow.”

“Let’s do that.”

I shook off Campbell and returned to my quarters.

And waited for the night.

The winter night came quickly.

The sun quickly set, and the sound of owls seemed to temporarily calm the fierce cold wind.

Sion and I were hiding near the Ranger quarters where we were assigned when we were new recruits.

Sion originally had abilities specialized in this area, and I was also sensitive, so I was good at hiding my presence.

How long has it been?

“Ugh, it’s cold. Damn North.”

A pockmarked man who spat out curses grumbled and came out.

It’s Anthony, the new recruit who just came in.

I heard that he was tired of farming and ran away from the manor, but was caught and dragged to the North instead of being executed.

Well, that’s not a very important story.

“Oh, that’s refreshing.”

Anthony, who nonchalantly urinated on the street, shuddered and headed to Victor’s quarters.

Perhaps because of the rumor among the Rangers that Commander Victor kept delicious alcohol separately, his face was filled with anticipation.

Knock knock

The wooden door opened immediately when he knocked, and Anthony went inside.

Sion and I pricked up our ears about 20m away from the quarters.

The plan was to wait and see, and if something seemed wrong, we would immediately break in.

An hour passed like that.

Only the cold winter wind hit my face, making the surroundings eerily calm.

While snow piled up on my shoulders, not a single scream was heard from Victor’s quarters.

Rather, laughter was heard from time to time.

“Young Master, did we guess wrong?”

“Maybe.”

Just when I was thinking about making an excuse and breaking in, even if it was a bit unnatural,

Clunk!

Victor came out as the door opened.

He was carrying the leather pouch that Erica had mentioned on his shoulder.

The size of the pouch was quite large, but not too big.

About the size of a small travel carrier?

As soon as Victor came out, he looked around.

Sion and I held our breath, and Victor left without noticing us.

He was heading towards the North Gate, so it seemed certain that he was going on night patrol.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

I went into Victor’s quarters with Sion.

There was nothing particularly unusual.

Empty bottles and leftover rabbit meat on the table. Disheveled bedding. A candle burning with faint smoke.

There wasn’t even the smell of blood that Erica had found strange.

It was literally clean.

Too clean… and Anthony was gone.

Everything was normal except for that.

“Sion, did you see Anthony leave?”

“No.”

“Then Anthony should be here.”

“That’s right.”

It was as if he had evaporated.

Where did he go?

Sion began to search the surroundings.

But it’s not just an object, it’s a person.

And Victor’s quarters were not that big, with only the bedroom separated into a two-room structure.

“Should we chase Victor first?”

“Just a moment.”

I rubbed my temples with both hands and quickly turned my thoughts around.

Let’s try a change of perspective.

Victor can’t evaporate Anthony unless he’s a god.

In the past, Erica said she smelled a suffocating amount of blood here.

On the other hand, there is no smell of blood at all today.

Then…

“There’s a high probability that there’s a hidden space somewhere here. I’ll look for it for 3 minutes.”

I touched the few books on the bookshelf, moved the table, and lifted the carpet on the floor.

And I found it.

“Bingo!”

There were obvious traces of dragging on the floor under the bed.

When I turned the bed clockwise according to the traces, I saw a door with a handle on the floor.

Thump!

Perhaps because he didn’t expect anyone to find it, there was no separate lock on the door.

When I opened the door, I saw a space leading down…

“It’s terrible.”

Sion covered her nose.

A foul smell of blood wafted up from below.

The blood scent that Erica smelled must have been the smell from here.

The door was open at that time, and the door was closed when we came.

When I stepped down the stairs, a small space of about 4 pyeong [a Korean unit of area, approximately 3.3 square meters or 35.5 square feet] appeared.

In the center, there was an operating table where one person could lie down, and the top of it was all soaked in blood.

There was hardened blood in the bucket, and human skin and dried intestines were hanging on rusty iron hooks on the wall, creaking.

It was not difficult to guess what Victor had done here and what had happened to Anthony.

Victor, that crazy bastard, had dismantled Anthony.

It wouldn’t be just Anthony.

Starting with Erica’s hometown friend, Leon, many of those who had deserted or disappeared may have met a terrible end in the dark basement.

“Young Master, look there.”

Sion pointed up with her finger.

When I looked up, there was an ominous symbol embedded in the ceiling.

A 7-pointed star painted with blood and a red eye engraved in the center.

It was the mark of Twilight [likely a cult or organization].

To think that a Twilight cultist was openly active in Black Castle, where Karina, a Seven Star [a high-ranking member], and current Sword Master, was located.

The darkest place is under the lamp [a common idiom meaning the most obvious place is often overlooked].

“Sion.”

“Yes.”

“Tell Karina about this.”

“What about you, Young Master?”

“I’m going to follow Victor now.”

Sion objected.

“It’s too dangerous.”

“There’s no chance if it’s not today.”

Sion and I left all sorts of traces, including footprints, when we entered this place.

Since Victor is a cautious person, he will immediately realize that the existence of the basement has been discovered as soon as he returns.

In that case, even if we capture him, he is likely to commit suicide or not reveal any information.

He is a religious person who moves according to faith, not a mercenary who moves according to money and greed, so it was likely.

So, if I want to find out exactly what Victor is up to, tonight was the first and last chance.

Sion didn’t argue separately because she thought my words made sense.

Instead, she said she would go with me.

“I will follow you too.”

“No. If something goes wrong with both of us, this will be buried forever.”

“Then I’ll chase Victor, and Young Master will report to the Commander.”

Sion is willing to take the risk instead of me.

I still remember the look in her eyes when she glared at me as if she would kill me when I possessed this body as a failure.

It was a realization that a lot of time had passed.

“Sion, you’re being presumptuous.”

So I said coldly on purpose.

She is a woman who has suffered all kinds of hardships with me so far.

I didn’t want to entrust her with the dangerous task of chasing Victor, who has reached the level of an expert.

Above all, the covert activities of Twilight are the main stream that heralds the crisis coming to the Arnia Continent.

In order to save the continent and end the story, I will inevitably clash with Twilight.

Today was just the first moment that had come.

“Know your place. You’re a maid. Follow my orders.”

“But!”

“Since when have you been so worried about me, who was a failure of the Marquis family? Tell me honestly. You wanted to kill me, didn’t you?”

“That’s…”

“Just do one thing. Don’t be indecisive.”

Sion’s mouth became pursed.

Her big eyes became moist and her lips trembled.

She lowered her head and muttered.

“Young Master is really a bad person.”

“I know. So follow my orders. I’ll chase Victor. You meet Karina. The story is over.”

I didn’t hear a separate answer.

I burst out of the basement.

It will be difficult to track Victor if it takes too long.

I hurried my steps before the pouring heavy snow erased all traces.

The direction was north.