The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 51

7. Summons: The Targeted Scoundrel

“There is a definite way to kill Henon. A way only the Marchioness can do. Does that pique your interest?”

A heavy, unsettling aura, like that of a swamp, emanated from the bowler-hatted gentleman.

Rosalyn felt an instinctive revulsion, but curiosity cautiously peeked through.

“Surely… you’re not suggesting I poison him? Slip something into Henon’s food? That’s impossible. Henon’s meals are handled exclusively by a maid named Zion, his confidante. Besides, if Henon were to be poisoned now, all suspicion would fall on me.”

The masked man waved his hand dismissively.

“I wasn’t suggesting poison.”

“Then what is it that only I can do?”

*Whoosh.*

A chilling wind blew.

The gentleman, with his hands clasped behind his back, gazed at the full moon through the window.

“Marchioness, what do you think humans are?”

“That’s a sudden question. And I don’t see what it has to do with our conversation.”

“The world is a place where light and darkness coexist. For every bit of light, there is an equal amount of darkness lurking on the opposite side, like two sides of the same coin.”

“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense…”

“In that sense, there is nothing as fascinating as humans. They possess both light and darkness simultaneously. One might even be mistaken into thinking that all things in the world fashioned an intelligent being most similar to themselves.”

Rosalyn couldn’t understand why the masked man was suddenly bringing up such philosophical topics.

She simply wanted to know a quick way to get rid of Henon.

However, his next words threw her into utter disarray.

“Perhaps that’s why the ‘curse’ that humans inflict upon other humans is more powerful than anything else.”

“!!!”

A curse.

A collection of negative emotions.

The intangible blade mixed with negative energies sometimes disregards the laws of physics and harms the targeted subject.

Of course, it’s not easily triggered.

There are thousands upon thousands of curses in the world, and the conditions for their emergence are all different.

However, one thing remains consistent.

That is the fact that they must borrow the power of those whom humans loathe and fear so much: [demons].

The bowler-hatted gentleman was advising Rosalyn to utilize the forbidden darkness writhing in the shadows.

“Are you crazy? What do you think will happen if I reach out to demons?”

“Are you not fond of the method I recommended?”

“Of course not! I may not be a follower of Bellanus [likely a deity or religious figure in this world], but I doubt he would approve either.”

The bowler-hatted man, seeing Rosalyn’s vehement rejection, shrugged and chuckled softly.

“Heh heh heh, how pathetic.”

“What did you say?”

“Then, do you have any other way to cleanly get rid of Henon besides using a curse? If you do, I’d love to hear it.”

“That’s…”

“Let me be blunt. There isn’t one. Even if you brought a Sword Master, the current Henon wouldn’t die easily. Not that it would ever happen.”

Annoyingly, the masked man’s words were all correct. But that didn’t mean she was comfortable borrowing the power of demons. Looking at it now, this man who came as a strategist from the Hilton family was also suspicious.

“Who exactly are you?”

“That part is not important. What matters is whether the Marchioness truly intends to make Prince Phillip the master of the territory.”

“Of course, I do.”

“No. You don’t seem very eager. I think I may have come to the wrong person.”

The bowler-hatted gentleman brought his face close to Rosalyn’s ear. A disgusting breath, laced with greed, tickled her earlobe.

“Imagine. Henon rapidly rising as the master of the Marquisate, and Phillip disappearing into the background. He’d be lucky to even save his life. And that would depend on Henon’s mercy.”

“That can’t be…”

“That’s what will really happen if you stand idly by. It’s time to face reality.”

The man, confirming the anxiety seeping into Rosalyn’s eyes, smirked and turned away.

“I’ll give you time to think. Come to the cabin in front of Heinz Lake at midnight a week from now. If you don’t come, I’ll take it that you’re not interested. Goodbye.”

The man jumped out of the window and disappeared without a trace, just like before. Rosalyn, left behind, continued to sit and stare at the full moon for a long time.

* * *

After returning to the Marquisate.

As Marquis Lloyd instructed, I received comprehensive training on the management of the territory.

No, originally, I was supposed to receive it.

“The quantities here don’t match?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

“Why is it organized like this?”

“It’s been done this way for a long time…”

“Is there a law that says the old ways are always good? Shall I tell you a more innovative and efficient method?”

The chief steward, who was in charge of the main administrative tasks of the territory, was sweating profusely in front of me.

Marquis Lloyd, who was observing my training on the first day, couldn’t bear to watch any longer and waved his hand.

“Chief Steward, you may step back.”

“I apologize.”

“There’s no need.”

The chief steward carefully backed away and closed the door behind him.

A period of silence followed.

The Marquis, having emptied his teacup, spoke.

“I’ve seen you wielding a sword, but you seemed far from scholarly pursuits. I worried for nothing.”

Unlike Phillip, who was recognized as the de facto heir as the eldest legitimate son, I, as an illegitimate child, had never received any education related to the management of the territory.

In the first place, I was a scoundrel who drank and caused trouble every day, so I would have kicked away any opportunity even if it had been offered.

So, the Lord must have thought I was completely ignorant when it came to using my head and putting ink on paper.

‘No way. I’m a test taker who experienced the hellish entrance exams of South Korea, you know.’

Even if I only received a moderate amount of compulsory education, I’m still a top-tier intellectual in this Zion-like world.

Perhaps that’s why the chief steward, who brought me ledgers and approval documents full of holes and showed me a Tang Dynasty-style [referring to outdated or inefficient methods, like those from the Tang Dynasty in China] operation, was severely beaten by me.

“Indoor education won’t be necessary. Let’s go outside.”

The Marquis suddenly rose from his seat.

Wondering what was going on, I followed him and arrived at the training grounds.

The Marquis, who stopped first, suddenly drew his sword and aimed it at me.

“I heard in a letter that Karina often sparred with you.”

“That’s right.”

“I became a father but couldn’t even give my son swordsmanship lessons. I’ll be busy, so I can’t do it often, but I’ll spar with you whenever I have time.”

As with Karina, the opportunity to cross swords with a Sword Master is the best opportunity for a swordsman.

As soon as the sparring began, my gaze naturally turned to the Marquis’s wooden leg.

A wooden prosthetic replaced his right knee.

Can he even do swordsmanship without a leg?

The question arose in my head.

Marquis Lloyd seemed to have noticed my thoughts and let out a heavy voice.

“Do your best. If you want to gain anything, that is.”

The Marquis slowly approached.

I gripped the Heavenly Demon Sword tightly and tried to aim for his weakness.

But there was a problem.

I can’t see any openings.

‘Damn it.’

Clearly, the Marquis is a ground-based fighter.

He can’t show the agility like Karina.

He’s just an old man waddling with one leg.

But why does it feel like my neck will be cut off even from a distance of ten steps?

-······

The Heavenly Demonic Navigation didn’t activate.

It tells me the direction of the attack in case of emergency, but it seems that it deliberately kept its mouth shut because it judged that now is the time for me to learn.

In the end, that means I have to spread out my senses and recognize it myself.

Stagger, stagger.

The Marquis is still far away.

But I was sweating and backing away.

I didn’t know why I was being pushed back, but I soon put my sword away.

“I lost.”

I didn’t even cross swords.

But I admitted defeat.

Unexpectedly, the Marquis didn’t scold me for not having the will to fight or for not attacking properly.

Rather, he scanned me with surprised eyes.

“Excellent. I don’t know if you have good eyes or good instincts.”

“The Marquis is far away, but for some reason, I felt like he was right in front of me. What’s the principle?”

“Find that out. I’ll spar with you in the same way in a few days. That’s all for today’s sparring.”

As soon as the Marquis sheathed his sword, he turned and left the training grounds.

‘So, a Sword Master is a Sword Master, huh?’

The more I went up to Expert and learned about swords, the more vividly I felt how big the gap between Sword Master and Expert was.

When I was a user, I only recognized them as overwhelmingly strong, but now I can estimate the height of specific hurdles.

That means I’ve improved that much, which is good, but on the other hand, the thought of having to overcome that high wall makes my mind dizzy.

-Youngster, you’ve finally witnessed how true masters fight.

The Heavenly Demon, who had been silent throughout the fight, spoke to me.

“Why were you silent? Why didn’t you tell me where the attack was coming from as usual?”

-Heh heh heh, what’s the point of telling you? You don’t know how to avoid it.

That was certainly true.

The feeling of having my life threatened right in front of me, even though I could see him far away, was very unfamiliar.

-But you have pretty good instincts. Even if I didn’t tell you, you didn’t step inside the boundary. That’s amazing.

“Please tell me what the principle is.”

I could figure it out on my own, but there’s no reason to go around when I have a good teacher like the Heavenly Demon.

Above all, I don’t have time.

While the end is approaching every moment, I might become a Sword Master by the time the continent is destroyed if I only meditate all day.

Let’s thoroughly use everything we can.

-It’s a domain.

“A domain?”

-Yes. You must have realized the importance of distance before you reached Expert.

The Heavenly Demon was right.

What’s the point if the opponent is strong and has a good weapon?

It’s meaningless if you can’t control the distance.

Thus, the biggest difference between users and experts, and between beginners and skilled players, comes from the ability to control distance.

-The Sword Master’s domain is a slightly more advanced application of the Expert’s distance. If distance is a line, then the domain is a more developed form of a plane.

*Thud!*

It’s like being hit in the back of the head with a blunt weapon.

Because it was a new way of thinking that I was experiencing for the first time.

Is it possible to create a space that is advantageous to oneself with just a single sword?

“Is that really possible?”

-Well, it depends on you.

According to the Heavenly Demon’s advice, Marquis Lloyd must have activated the domain to the extreme and put pressure on me.

I instinctively felt that death would come if I stepped into his domain, and I kept being pushed out of the domain.

That was the reality of the sparring that ended without even swinging a sword once.

“Are all Masters like this? I don’t think Karina unfolded her domain when she sparred with me.”

-In the old days, you wouldn’t have been able to recognize the domain, nor would you have had the ability to block or avoid it, so the red-haired woman would have held back.

“I see.”

-That’s not all. Does the river only flow in one stream? Even if they start in the same place in the upper reaches, they are divided into thousands of tributaries.

The Heavenly Demon’s words, comparing the realm of a martial artist to a river, were vaguely understood.

-In the end, they all gather in the sea… but anyway, it’s true that they diverge in various ways. Even among Sword Masters, there are masters who don’t bother using domains. On the other hand, there are those who actively use domains. Marquis Lloyd seems to be the latter.

Perhaps he focused more on domain training than other masters in order to overcome his physical weaknesses — added the Heavenly Demon.

The old pervert, who always asked for a sword whenever he saw a young woman, looked a little new today.

Seeing him easily unraveling the difficult and mysterious world of swords, it seems that he was indeed the Heavenly Demon, once called the best in the Eastern Continent.

“I still have a long way to go.”

The act of training the sword is like traversing a dark path where you can’t see an inch ahead with only a candle called a sword.

I have a goal to create my own unique domain before the dark ages come to the continent.

* * *

Kalon Empire.

Capital, Verdion City.

Various groups of people live in the ultra-giant city with a population of nearly three million.

Among them are wealthy merchants who hold the continent’s economy in their hands, and the imperial family who reign above everyone based on absolute power.

Of course, the Empire doesn’t only consist of such great people.

The nobility and greatness are a Tower of Babel built on the sacrifices of countless poor people beneath the surface.

The marginalized formed forces to protect themselves in the shadows where the light doesn’t shine.

And people began to call the growing group of the weak the [Thieves’ Guild].

The eyes and ears of the Thieves’ Guild were always open.

Less wealth than the nobles.

Less force than the knights.

Their own strengths to replace these were a mindless number of heads and the overflowing information that came from them.

They were specialists in information warfare, espionage, and assassination.

There were several Thieves’ Guilds.

It was truly a group that anyone could create.

But there is always a guild that takes the overwhelming first place.

The name of that guild is [Black Night].

It unified the back alleys of the vast empire.

It wields more influence than a small kingdom in the shadows.

The scale alone is this much, so the guild leader of Black Night was truly an amazing person.

“Is it true?”

Such a big shot is now lying diagonally on a fluffy sofa, rolling grapes around on her tongue.

Her hair color was a sparkling purple, as if it were a color match with the grapes.

Her outfit was excessively loose.

Perhaps because of the exposed skin due to the unnecessary exposure, the subordinate kneeling opposite her didn’t know where to look and was restless.

“I’m asking if it’s true.”

“Y-Yes, Night Spider.”

The master of Black Night.

Commonly known as [Night Spider].

This woman, who appeared like a comet more than a decade ago, assassinated all of her existing rivals and rose to become the emperor of the back alleys.

In the Empire, defying her will without any backing is not enough even with ten lives.

No matter what, this woman’s skills were real.

“I confirmed with a soldier in the North. Henon summoned tree trunks and stones to massacre all the Owlbears.”

“Does that mean…”

“That’s right! Henon must be the Druid the Order was looking for!!”

And another secret.

Night Spider’s hidden identity is one of the Twilight’s Seven Apostles.

[Sloth].

“We must tell this fact to the Lord. Then, Black Night, including the Apostle, will receive a great reward!”

Sloth stared blankly at the subordinate who was excitedly ranting. Then, she asked a completely irrelevant question.

“Just in case, are you the only one who knows this fact?”

“Of course! Because it was important news, I didn’t tell anyone and rushed here.”

“Good job.”

The subordinate was happy.

Since he brought such S-class information, Night Spider would surely give him a lot of money soon.

How much will I get?

10 gold? 20 gold?

At least it’s not in silver units.

And then,

*Slash!*

The subordinate’s vision, which had been fluttering with excitement, spun around.

He couldn’t understand.

Why his torso and head were separated.

The last memory before his consciousness faded was the chilling expression of Sloth looking down at him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have any particular feelings.”