The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 48

6. Recapturing: The Entrance of the Scoundrel

Lord Albus was having a good dream.

A sweet dream where his territory, acting as a hub for trade between Hilton and Liang, grew in size and eventually became a great territory.

In that dream, he had swallowed the declining Lloyd family and become Marquis Albus.

In a palace where flower petals fluttered, he knelt on one knee, and the king tapped his shoulder with a sword, appointing him as a marquis.

The moment when everyone applauded and cheered, welcoming the new power of the Elden Kingdom, was so thrilling.

It should have been…

“Vice-Captain, is this bastard smiling?”

“Leave him be. Looks like he’s having a good dream.”

How did things end up like this?

To think it was all a dream.

Currently, he was kidnapped.

Even in his own backyard.

He still couldn’t understand.

“How on earth did they climb that cliff? Even experts shouldn’t be able to climb that.”

Before the lord, a handsome man with striking features sat leaning back in a chair, using the backrest as an armrest.

At first, he didn’t know who this man was, but now he knew.

It was Henon, famous as the scoundrel of the Marquis family.

“You, a traitor to the family, have no right to ask questions. You only have the duty to answer our questions and demands.”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

To think that just three people could enter the back door of an iron fortress and snatch away the leader.

As someone who had studied the history books of the Arnia continent since childhood to cultivate aristocratic virtues, it was a story he had never heard of.

It was so absurd that he doubted whether this moment was a dream.

“What about Lord Hormann? Did he just stand by while I was kidnapped like this? Or perhaps, is Henon connected to the Hilton family?”

The other party remained silent.

As a heavy silence settled, the lord felt an instinctive fear.

He started blurting out anything that came to mind, thinking he might die here.

“It’s not too late. I know you have outstanding abilities, so join hands with me. The fact that you don’t have a power base is widely known in aristocratic society. Now, I will become one of your backers. Even though our territory is…”

“Stop.”

Henon raised his palm to cut off his words.

“It seems you still don’t understand your situation. There’s only one thing I want from you.”

“What is it? Just tell me.”

“Tomorrow morning, in front of everyone, confess your crime of betraying the Lloyd family and mention my name. And tell the soldiers in the castle to open the gates.”

“Who would do such a thing!”

Lord Albus jumped up.

The reason he was still acting tough was thanks to the hundreds of soldiers and territory residents holding out in the distance.

The moment that castle fell, the lord would become a powerless scarecrow.

“That’s an unreasonable condition.”

“Condition? Do you think you’re in a position to negotiate with us? I can drag you before the Marquis right now. What will happen then?”

Without a doubt, he would be hanged immediately.

Marquis Lloyd was not a generous person who would forgive a betraying vassal.

“But… that’s too…”

Slap!

His head turned from the slap.

A burning pain rose from his cheek.

Lord Albus stared at Henon with a shocked expression.

“Are you finally grasping reality now?”

“To hit a noble! Promise me humane treatment!”

“You still haven’t come to your senses.”

Henon grabbed one of Lord Albus’s fingers and slightly lifted the nail.

“Kuaaaaa!!!”

A rare pain he had never felt before in his life.

Only then did the lord realize.

The guy named Henon in front of him was an irregular who deviated from common sense.

A madness was felt in his eerie eyes.

He properly grasped that he was not someone with whom compromise would work when all the fingernails on his right hand were gone.

The lord, who was drooling and panting heavily due to the pain, finally surrendered.

“Huk! Huk! I’ll do anything. So please, not my left hand!”

“That ended sooner than expected. How nice would it be if we could all get along like this?”

The smile that spread across his face was chilling.

Lord Albus had greatly miscalculated.

The Marquis family was not declining.

Rather, a crouching dragon beneath the surface was growing in size under the dazzling halo of Seven Star Marquis Lloyd.

What would happen as time passed?

The young dragon with sharp teeth would devour everything and surely soar into the sky.

‘I bet on the wrong thing.’

Seeing him with a hollow expression, Henon put his arm around his shoulder and coaxed him in a subtle voice.

“To be honest, as you well know, you are already a dead man. My father will not show mercy to a betraying vassal.”

“Ah…”

“But don’t be discouraged. Even if the sky falls, there’s always a way out, isn’t there? If you cooperate with me this time, I will at least spare your life.”

Afterward, Henon demanded exile to another country in exchange for sparing his life.

“Will you be branded as a traitor here and disappear as dew on the execution ground? Or will you live quietly for the rest of your life in a place where no one knows you, with some wealth and servants? The choice is up to you.”

Seeing him show a way to escape and drive him like a rat, it was clear that he knew how to handle people.

For Lord Albus, it was a choice he had no choice but to make.

In a way, it was fortunate.

In other territories, the limbs would be torn apart and thrown as food for crows the moment they lost the territory war, but at least here, he could save his life.

“I… will.”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

Henon patted him on the shoulder and was about to leave the room. Lord Albus asked him about a fundamental question from behind.

“Lord Henon.”

“Speak.”

“I heard you were originally a bastard [illegitimate son]. Why are you fighting such a disadvantageous battle? Why are you so obsessed with the Marquis position? I’m really curious.”

Henon stared at the lord silently.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

“The Marquis position… of course, it’s good. But is that the end?”

“!!!”

“People are complex animals, but sometimes they are very simple. Because I’m a bastard, I’m obsessed with the Marquis position that I’m not allowed to have. They can’t expect anything more than that. They are trapped in such narrow stereotypes and can’t escape.”

Kugugugugu

A heavy atmosphere swept around.

Henon’s hair stood on end.

It was truly an earth-shattering force.

How far had he achieved at such a young age?

Lord Albus couldn’t even dare to guess.

Just when he was suffocating and tears were welling up in his eyes, the terrifying force that had been strangling him disappeared as if it had never been there.

Henon, who had returned to being a handsome young nobleman, smiled at Lord Albus.

“I’m telling you because you’re leaving anyway. Watch quietly from somewhere. Wherever you go in the Arnia continent, my name will spread there.”

Even though it was an outrageous remark from the most outrageous scoundrel, Lord Albus no longer heard those words as a joke.

Everything was out of his hands.

From now on, he would only watch the great upheaval that the young ambitious man in front of him would bring to the Lloyd Marquis family, the Hilton Count family, and beyond, to the Elden Kingdom.

* * *

Rakan, the leader of the Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps, woke up as soon as the sun rose.

He lightly swung his sword as a morning exercise to warm up his body, and then stared at the Albus Fortress, which stood firmly today as well.

‘The promised three days have already passed.’

The meeting with the Marquis family’s bastard he had met a while ago came to mind.

At that time, the young man had confidently boasted that he would capture that iron fortress in three days.

Of course, it was impossible.

But why?

Perhaps it was because of his unique aura, but Rakan had taken out insurance on him [hedged his bets].

But as expected, it was as expected.

How could he capture Albus Castle?

Even the Hilton family’s reinforcements had come.

According to his calculations, either Sword Master Marquis Lloyd had to come in person, or there had to be 5,000 well-trained elite soldiers to capture that castle.

In any case, it was impossible with the 3,000 troops whose command was scattered and whose training was a mess, as it was now.

“Good morning.”

Rakan frowned inwardly at the sight of Prince Phillip walking arrogantly with his hands behind his back.

‘A foolish and selfish guy.’

Even after losing once on the first day of the territory war due to a frontal breakthrough, Phillip didn’t come to his senses and issued several more orders to charge.

The reason he gave reckless orders was purely to show off the fact that he had fiercely fought with Albus Castle, unlike Henon, who was playing somewhere.

He had felt it during the first meeting, but as time passed, it was clear that he was a narrow-minded and petty human being.

In the end, the serf soldiers dragged from the Molti family were shot and killed by arrows and slingshots in front of the Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps.

It was the unfortunate end of the soldiers who were under a commander who was obsessed with greed and only thought of his subordinates as pawns.

“Did you sleep well last night, Prince Phillip?”

Of course, he didn’t show it.

On the surface, he pretended to be indifferent.

Business was separate from not liking a person.

Inwardly, Rakan also had a heart that bled, so he wanted to work with someone capable and outstanding if possible.

“I would have slept deeply normally, but last night, Albus Castle was unusually noisy, so I had a restless night.”

As he said, Albus Castle was in a chaotic atmosphere even after the sun rose. Could something really have happened internally? Henon’s words flashed through Rakan’s mind.

‘Three days, I will capture Albus Castle within that time.’

There’s no way.

Maybe they’re just busy cooking rice for themselves.

Rakan, who had given up hope, dismissed it as an insignificant matter when,

“Why is that bastard here!”

Phillip pointed somewhere and gestured wildly.

A voice full of anger.

Wondering what was going on, he naturally turned his gaze to where the prince was pointing.

And then he was startled.

Because there was such an unexpected person.

“…Lord Henon.”

Lord Henon on horseback stood upright on the hill, bathed in the rising sunlight.

Next to him were the big mercenary and the purple-haired maid who were always with him, and the other one was wearing a hood, so he couldn’t tell who it was.

Was it because of his handsome appearance?

Or was it because the timing was good?

Henon, who was facing the wind and staring at Albus Castle, had an aura of a hero.

Others also felt this implicitly, and they stared blankly at him.

Except for one person.

Phillip, who had been deprived of attention, was furious and shouted loudly towards Henon.

“Why did a guy with no soldiers come here? If you’re planning to pretend to attack clumsily, get out of here right now!”

Hearing Phillip’s voice, Henon glanced down at him.

Despite the provocative words, he didn’t show any particular reaction.

His calm eyes gave the feeling that Phillip was not even a threat.

“That!”

Henon’s gaze passed Phillip and continued to Rakan.

Rakan clearly saw it.

Henon, who had made eye contact with him, nodded slightly.

It was as if it was a silent gesture asking if he remembered the promise, and Rakan also nodded in the sense that he remembered.

“Giddy up!”

That was the signal.

Henon and the people who followed him rode their horses towards Albus Castle.

What on earth were they going to do with four people?

As they watched quietly, they had already arrived in front of the Albus Castle gate.

Everyone watched them with sweaty palms because it was a precarious distance where arrows might fly.

Henon first drew his sword and shouted in a majestic voice filled with mana.

“People of Albus! Humans who were protected under the Lloyd banner!”

Thundering!

The echo reverberated.

He could feel the spirit even from afar.

“As you all know, everything is over. Open the gates willingly!”

Rakan couldn’t understand.

What on earth was over?

But what was even more surprising was the reaction on the castle walls.

Instead of shooting arrows and chasing them away right away, the soldiers were confused and wandering around.

“Are you still hesitating? Then I’ll help you make a decision easily.”

Henon took a step back.

The person who came out instead was a man who covered his face with a hood.

Rakan watched with curiosity.

Eventually, the hooded man took off his hood and revealed his identity.

“It’s Lord Albus. Open the gates.”

Shock. And more shock.

Phillip, Rakan, the family’s soldiers, and the Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps.

They couldn’t even grasp why the enemy’s leader, who should have been on the innermost side, was urging them to open the gates next to Henon, even after seeing it.

But this is not the end.

The lord’s following words were even more shocking.

“I, Evra Albus, violate the vassal relationship that is more important than life and feel a deep sense of responsibility for betraying the Lloyd family, which has been so gracious to me. Therefore, from today, I will give up all governing power of the Albus territory and transfer it to Henon Lloyd, the second son of the Lloyd family!!”

Rakan felt like he was dreaming.

Was what he was hearing right?

Lord Albus officially gave up everything he had in front of everyone and handed it over to Henon.

Even though it had only been three days since the territory war began.

After a while.

The castle gate, which had been firmly closed no matter what they did throughout the territory war, opened with a loud pulley sound, so easily that it was absurd.

The sight was so surreal that Rakan kept pinching his cheeks.

Drrrrrrr Kung!!

Squeak

To a third party, it seemed that they had captured the iron fortress with just one word without a single battle.

Everyone who witnessed this scene thought to themselves.

It was the birth of a new hero.

‘As Henon said, it has become true.’

Rakan was impressed.

At first, he thought it was just a reckless delusion of a young man who didn’t know the world.

But it wasn’t.

The man named Henon was someone who accurately recognized the weight of his words and knew how to take responsibility for them.

Now it was Rakan’s turn.

Because they had made a contract.

“Why are you all standing there so dumbly! The gates are open! It’s a golden opportunity! Go and let’s occupy Albus Castle and capture the lord!”

Phillip shouted loudly.

In the meantime, the shameless guy was trying to put a spoon on the table that Henon had already set [take credit for Henon’s work].

Henon was the one who had actually captured the castle, but he was fully revealing his intention to lead the soldiers and boast as if he had occupied the castle himself.

And Rakan was once again chilled by Henon’s arrangement, who had even anticipated that Phillip would be greedy and had set himself up as a contingency plan.

‘He’s someone you should never have as an enemy.’

At this moment, Rakan decided.

In the future, the Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps’ long-term excellent customer is Henon Lloyd.

Now that he had decided on a route, it was time to move.

Rakan stopped Phillip, who was jumping around and trying to advance the soldiers.

“This is the end.”

“What are you talking about? You should prepare right away too. We have to rush into the castle quickly now.”

“Unfortunately, Prince Phillip will not be able to enter Albus Castle. It seems that only our Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps will be able to enter.”

“What nonsense…!!”

Phillip wasn’t a complete idiot, so he realized what Rakan was saying.

His expression twisted like a demon when he realized that the Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps had turned their backs on him.

“How dare you betray me? You’re doing business very badly.”

“I will pay all the penalty fees. I will also send a formal apology. So please go back now.”

“What is a rootless bastard telling me what to do! I don’t need you! I’ll go with my soldiers alone.”

“Unfortunately, you can’t do that.”

Rakan raised his hand high.

The Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps, who had been waiting only for the commander’s order, moved in unison and blocked the army that Phillip had brought.

It had become a situation where they had to break through the Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps to advance to Albus Castle.

Naturally, Phillip was furious and jumped up and down.

“You won’t move? If you don’t move, I’ll consider you enemies too.”

“Try it.”

“What did you say?”

“I said try it if you have the confidence.”

Swish

A cool breeze swept across the plains.

Phillip was glaring as if he would kill him, while Rakan had a calm look.

The Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps with 2,000 soldiers and the family’s army with 1,000 soldiers held their breath and faced each other.

The mercenary corps had 1,000 more soldiers, and compared to the family’s army, which was mostly serf soldiers, this side was a territory war-specialized force, so the training status and equipment were different from the start.

This was an obvious match where the victory or defeat was determined no matter who looked at it.

Grinding

Phillip, who had been grinding his teeth so hard that they were breaking, eventually turned his body.

“Keep an eye on it. I will definitely pay the price.”

“As you wish.”

In the end, Phillip’s army, which had only repeated meaningless sacrifices as soon as they arrived, retreated without any harvest.

The Blue Falcon Mercenary Corps leader, who had stopped Phillip, now turned his head and stared at Albus Castle.

Henon, who had already entered the castle, was watching this situation with a noble gaze on the castle walls.

Seeing that figure, Rakan muttered to himself.

“The game has been turned upside down.”