The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 7

Marquis’s Family’s Failure is a Genius – Episode 7 (7/200)

Chapter 1: Possession: The Victorious Failure

Back to the past.

A few days before the sparring ground incident.

That day, like any other, I was sparring with Zion.

We fiercely exchanged sword blows, probing each other’s weaknesses, and when neither of us could gain an advantage, we paused to rest.

I took a sip of the cool water in the leather pouch and passed it to Zion, who also drank it down.

I was lost in thought, staring blankly into the air, when she asked me first.

“Young Master, don’t you find it strange?”

“What?”

“I am a maid of the Marquisate. I am exchanging swords with you, a noble, yet you have nothing to say about it.”

Of course, I know that Sebastian is a renowned assassin in the Empire.

I also know that Zion received rigorous training from her father.

However, from Zion’s perspective, she thinks I have no way of knowing this, so she is questioning it.

“Why should I be curious about the circumstances of a lowly maid?”

I deployed the invincible logic of ‘Why should I?’, and Zion nodded in agreement.

Not having any reputation to lose is convenient in times like these. Even if I act like a madman, people just let it slide.

It’s similar to how someone who always does well gets criticized for a single mistake, but someone who always does poorly gets praised for doing well once.

“You’ve changed a little.”

But now, my reputation is starting to improve slightly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Even if others don’t, I, who serve you most closely, can definitely feel it. You have changed so much in the past few months.”

Nice!

Zion has finally recognized me.

It was worth steadily building goodwill with Zion, the protagonist of this world.

I don’t know if wielding a sword to kill her is included in building goodwill, though.

“How boring. So what do you want me to do about it?”

“I like you as you are now. I hope you don’t go back to how you were before.”

“You’ve got some nerve. That was very presumptuous just now.”

“I apologize if I overstepped.”

I felt like Zion had opened up to me a little, so I took this opportunity to ask her something I was curious about.

“Zion.”

“Yes.”

“Do you think I can inherit the Marquisate [the territory and title of a Marquis]?”

Startled by my question, Zion raised her head sharply.

I deliberately looked up at the sky and lay down to avoid her gaze.

“Realistically… wouldn’t it be difficult?”

“Then I’ll change the question. If I were to fight Phillip one-on-one right now, could I win?”

Zion answered this question a little more cautiously.

“You have improved so quickly that it’s hard to believe you only recently started wielding a sword.”

“I know.”

“Perhaps, if you fought the knights of the Marquisate, you might be able to win against those with fewer years of experience or those who are less experienced, if you fight well.”

“What I’m curious about is Phillip. What do you think would happen if I fought him?”

“I’ve seen Phillip training while bringing bread to the knights. Based on that, I’d say… it’s ambiguous.”

So, it’s a no.

“You don’t have to be too discouraged. At your rate of growth, you’ll definitely be able to beat him later.”

“Am I not even a match for him right now?”

“If you don’t use mana [magical energy], you might be similar. Phillip is bigger than me, but his technical precision is somewhat lacking.”

“But if he uses mana, it’s a no-brainer?”

“That’s right. If you can’t solve this problem, the match will be one-sided.”

That was Zion’s conclusion.

Unless there are other variables, defeat is certain.

But if I can overcome the mana problem, I might be able to win.

I felt the weight of the acorn in my pocket anew.

“Good. Break time is over. You were quite rude today. If you don’t want to die, try your best to block.”

* * *

Back to the present.

“I want to become the official successor. Give me a chance to prove myself.”

The sparring ground was filled with a chilling silence at the words I had just spoken.

Hennon’s misdeeds had been atrocious, but no one had ever touched him.

He had only been tyrannical to those below him and posed no threat to those above him.

But now, Hennon had bared his fangs at those above for the first time.

He had crossed the line.

This was more dangerous than all his previous acts of being a failure.

Gulp.

The sound of dry swallowing could be heard from all directions.

The knights also felt that this was no ordinary matter.

No matter how much of a failure he was, the words he had just spoken could not be dismissed as a joke.

“…I must have misheard.”

“You heard correctly.”

The Marquis tried to save me by pretending he didn’t hear, but no way.

I jumped into the fire pit with a bundle of straw on my back [a metaphor for deliberately courting disaster].

“Crazy bastard.”

Phillip muttered beside me.

It was obviously absurd.

He wasn’t born of nobility like Phillip.

He didn’t have any power.

Did he have a lot of wealth?

An unemployed man living off his father’s castle.

In short, he was penniless.

Marquis Lloyd stroked his chin and looked me up and down before asking cautiously.

“Have you been drinking?”

“I’m perfectly sober.”

“Are you cursed or something?”

“How could that be?”

“Then you’re serious…”

“Yes, I’m serious.”

“Stupid bastard.”

The Marquis spat out a curse and tapped the ground with his cane before saying.

“A chance to prove yourself. Frankly, I’m too busy managing the territory to indulge in your antics. So you should prove it right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Prove that you are worthy of me investing my precious time to see your potential.”

Prove it right here and now.

It was as I expected.

I drew the sword I was holding and pointed it at Phillip.

“If I spar with my brother and win, will you consider me?”

“What?”

Everyone was shocked.

Phillip had been wielding a sword and training since he was a child.

Everyone in the Marquisate acknowledged his skill.

It wasn’t just a bubble created by his name as the Marquis’s son, but genuine skill.

Phillip was so taken aback by the absurd challenge that he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Brother, you must be mistaken because you won by luck earlier. I’m not a kid like Ivan. If you apologize now, I’ll pretend it never happened.”

“Why? Are you afraid? Is that why you cowardly aimed for my back earlier? Are you not confident in facing me head-on?”

“What? This crazy bastard has finally lost it!”

Phillip, who was furious, looked at Marquis Lloyd and said.

“Father! I implore you. Please give me, as his brother, the opportunity to educate this reckless fool of a brother.”

A troubled look crossed the Marquis’s face.

The situation had become too big.

This was already the first competition for the position of successor.

Of course, there was a difference.

Even if Phillip lost, which was unlikely, he would have another chance.

But Hennon had to win unconditionally and always, a disadvantageous competition.

All self-inflicted.

Marquis Lloyd seemed to have made up his mind and opened his mouth.

“Alright. However, the weapons will be unified as wooden swords. Of course, you mustn’t kill each other, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

The duel was finally set.

The knights became spectators and surrounded Phillip and me in a circle.

Sebastian had already brought a chair, and Marquis Lloyd sat there comfortably to watch.

Both of them were so expressionless that I couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

Zion also watched me from a corner of the sparring ground.

She was fidgeting and clenching her fists.

But didn’t she hate me?

It was an unknowable thing.

A chilling wind blew between Phillip and me, who were facing each other with wooden swords.

Phillip was shorter than me, but he had a solid build that was incomparable to Ivan.

His balance looked good, and his flexibility seemed decent as well.

If he was skilled in using mana with that body?

There was a reason why Zion had highly praised him.

“Should I end this in one go? No. You need to get hit a bit. You need to be beaten properly so you realize you’ve been having a delusional dream.”

I grinned at Phillip, who was warning me in advance that he would beat me up.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’ve been fighting since earlier, so I’m a little hungry. I need to eat a snack.”

“You’re doing all sorts of things.”

I took out an acorn from my pocket.

To others, it looked like an ordinary acorn.

But it was a special item to me.

I crunched the acorn!

[You have consumed an acorn.]

[Passive skill is enhanced.]

[Stamina greatly increases.]

[You gain consumable mana.]

[Effect only applies to Druids.]

[Time limit: 5 minutes]

“Hoo…”

White smoke flowed out as I exhaled deeply.

So this is what it feels like to have mana.

My body feels as light as a feather, and I feel like I can do anything.

It was a feeling of being temporarily freed from the gravity that had always weighed me down.

My five senses became extremely sensitive.

If I concentrated, I could even see the snails crawling on the leaves in the corner of the sparring ground.

The whispering voices of the knights, the opponent’s hostility that stung my skin, the faint smell of soil and wood rising from the floor of the sparring ground.

[Time limit: 4:50, 4:49, 4:48…]

There was no time.

If the match with Ivan was a battle of endurance until the opponent’s mana was exhausted,

The match with Phillip was a battle to finish the opponent within the time limit.

“Hmm? The atmosphere has changed.”

Phillip also noticed that something had changed in me and straightened his posture.

Since I had shown what I could do, it would be difficult to catch him off guard like I did with Ivan.

I could only collide with him with all my strength.

I kicked off the ground with all my might.

Bang!!!

My figure became blurred with the sound of air splitting.

Everyone was surprised by the movement that could not be seen without using mana.

Marquis Lloyd was so surprised that he even stood up.

“This can’t be!”

“He could use mana?”

“He was hiding his strength.”

“There was a reason why Ivan lost.”

Leaving behind the murmurs of the spectators, I shot towards Phillip.

Phillip seemed flustered by my speed, which was far beyond his expectations, but he calmly blocked my attack since he was on guard.

Clang!!!

“Ugh!”

Phillip, who groaned, took three steps back.

As expected, under the condition that we both used mana, my basic strength surpassed Phillip’s.

Phillip, angered by the tingling sensation rising from his fingertips, gritted his teeth.

“You! What kind of sorcery are you using?”

There was no time to answer.

The time limit was decreasing even at this moment.

The time was already in the 3-minute range.

Have I ever concentrated this much in my life?

I drove him relentlessly with bloodshot eyes.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sparring ground was as quiet as a mouse, except for the sound of Phillip’s and my breathing and the sound of the wooden swords colliding.

Everyone expected Phillip to unilaterally beat Hennon.

Even Zion, who had trained with Hennon every day.

“Ughhhh!!”

But the scene that unfolded was completely different.

Hennon wielded his sword like a mad beast.

People instinctively flinched at the madness he exuded.

Phillip, who was facing him, was sweating profusely and was barely able to block.

But only for a moment.

As the attack pattern repeated, Phillip, who had a talent for swordsmanship, regained his composure at some point.

Then, he began to see things that he couldn’t see before.

“You… something’s wrong.”

After blocking a few more attacks, his suspicion turned into conviction.

“You’re in a hurry. Right? You can’t maintain these reckless attacks forever. Then the solution is simple.”

Phillip, having come to a conclusion, didn’t bother to confront me head-on.

He dodged and ran away annoyingly, just like I did when I faced Ivan earlier.

He skillfully parried only the vital strikes.

In the meantime, the time limit was decreasing rapidly.

The remaining time limit was 1 minute.

Once 60 seconds passed and I could no longer use mana, it would be a one-sided game.

What if I lost here?

I’d probably die.

I would definitely die.

Even if Phillip spared me, my stepmother, Rosaline, wouldn’t let me off the hook.

Even my father, Marquis Lloyd, couldn’t stop it.

Because it would be clear that I had lost the competition.

‘Was I a little hasty? No, it’s not too late to regret it later.’

There was still 1 minute left.

It was enough time to change something.

I desperately lunged at him.

With the feeling that if it wasn’t now, it would never be.

“Haaaat!!”

I put strength into my sword with a powerful shout.

I kept attacking.

I waited for a weakness to be revealed.

‘Please, if you just show a little opening!’

It was a situation where I was just hoping for Phillip’s mistake.

The balance was not easily broken because we were so focused on each other.

There seemed to be no variables.

[Time limit 10, 9, 8…]

Countdown 10 seconds.

It was almost over now.

Phillip seemed to have sensed it implicitly.

“Hahaha, there’s nothing to it!”

Phillip smiled in victory.

I desperately lunged at him, even with the remaining 10 seconds.

The moment when the joy and sorrow of both sides diverged,

Letters floated in the air.

[The skill Power of Nature is activated.]

[You receive help from the surrounding environment.]

The passive skill was activated.

At first, I wondered what it was.

What was I supposed to do if it activated now?

My attack was already at its end.

[Time limit 5, 4…]

But that was a misjudgment.

I clearly saw it.

A pebble suddenly popped out on the flat sparring ground.

The pebble was in a perfect position to block Phillip’s escape route.

Phillip, who was busy blocking my attacks, couldn’t even imagine that there would be a pebble on the sparring ground that the servants managed every day.

In the end, the pebble accurately hit his back foot.

Thud!!

“Huh?”

He lost his balance and staggered, making a sound like air escaping.

That was enough.

A minor variable had intervened, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I squeezed out all the remaining mana, wrapped it around my body, and pounced like a beast.

“Damn it!”

Phillip hurriedly tried to regain his balance, but he was already within my range.

“Ughhhhh!!!!”

With a powerful shout, I swung the wooden sword horizontally.

Thwack!!