The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 80

Chapter 11. Elf: The Prankster Scion

The Piento County was a family belonging to the Elden Kingdom and had long fulfilled its obligations as a vassal under the Lloyd Marquisate.

The head of the family, Count Piento, was a man proud of his family’s long noble lineage and traditions.

Fueled by this pride, he maintained amicable relations with other vassals of the Lloyd family, especially Count Molty, with whom he was particularly close.

Recently, he had been hearing gossip from Count Molty about the Lloyd family’s disappointing actions.

‘I can’t understand Marquis Lloyd’s intentions. What does he intend to do by favoring a person of lowly birth who isn’t even of noble origin?’

Count Piento had witnessed Rosalyn Molty, Count Molty’s daughter, become the legitimate wife of the Lloyd family and even attended the wedding.

At that time, he was so envious of the Molty County for forming a marriage alliance with the Lloyd family, which had produced a Seven Star [a powerful mage or warrior], that he was sick to his stomach.

‘To think they’re so concerned about a bastard who made a name for himself in the North!’

But now that he thought about it, Count Molty’s hair was falling out day by day, as if Rosalyn’s marriage to Marquis Lloyd had become a poison.

Watching Count Molty from the side, Count Piento felt a sense of schadenfreude [pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune], while also thinking that he was fortunate not to have a daughter to marry off.

‘That scoundrel Henon has become the official successor? Unbelievable!’

But that was it.

It was true that he was jealous of Count Molty.

However, he absolutely did not want to see a bastard without qualifications become the new Lloyd Marquis and rise above him.

At this point, he thought he should support the Molty family.

Of course, with appropriate compensation.

‘This can’t be… Demon summoning? Lord Lloyd?’

But time passed quickly, and huge incidents occurred in succession without any way to intervene.

Before he knew it, the lowborn scoundrel named Henon had become the de facto successor and even gained the reputation of a new hero.

As Count Piento, who believed that a person of low birth would always be a person of low birth, he could not tolerate it.

So he proposed to Count Molty.

Let’s all gather together and formally request Marquis Lloyd to strip Henon of his successor status.

However, even that last resort was completely thwarted by the Elven race that invaded Molty Territory.

“I don’t know if he’s lucky, or if Count Molty is unlucky…”

Count Piento, who was leading 2,000 troops and camping in the open field, muttered, tapping his finger on the desk.

The adjutant next to him opened his mouth.

“Would you like a smoke?”

The adjutant lit a cigarette.

Taking a deep breath, he soon felt comfortable and stable.

“This is the taste.”

Currently, tobacco was scarce in the Elden Kingdom.

He had heard rumors that a craze was sweeping the Calon Empire and that even ten-year-old children were smoking, and he thought that was just how things were there.

However, tobacco that had flowed in from the Empire had spread little by little to the capital of the Elden Kingdom, and Count Piento had also obtained a few cigarettes out of curiosity.

At first, he wondered why anyone would smoke something that only made him cough, but now he was an avid smoker who couldn’t live without tobacco.

It took about 15 minutes to smoke a cigar. Just as he was putting out the cigarette in the ashtray, the adjutant reported from outside.

“Guests have arrived.”

“Bring them in.”

Men armed with splendid armor opened the tent and rushed in to greet Count Piento.

“It’s been a while, Count.”

“Have you been well?”

“Welcome. Sit down.”

The visitors, like Count Piento, were vassals serving Marquis Lloyd.

They had been responding to the Lloyd family’s call for the war against the Elves, but after hearing new news, they had turned around and gathered.

“Have you heard the news? The person who will lead our allied forces is not Marquis Lloyd, but a scoundrel named Henon who no one has ever heard of.”

Baron Kante, young and full of energy, shouted in indignation, and dissatisfaction rose among the vassals.

Count Piento crossed his arms and silently watched the situation unfold.

“Does this make sense? The world has gone mad. A bastard is ordering you precious people around like subordinates.”

“That’s right. After hearing this news, I looked through the history books of the Elden Kingdom. There hasn’t been such an absurd situation even during the final battle 20 years ago.”

“Frankly, the scoundrel Henon should also be held responsible for this Molty Territory incident. Count Molty was disturbed because of him, so he couldn’t cope with the Elves’ attack.”

It was all nonsense, but the conversation always ended with curses against the rootless scoundrel Henon.

And Baron Norn, one of the other vassals, began to criticize Marquis Lloyd, going beyond Henon.

“In the first place, the Marquis should have sorted this out a long time ago. Why did he let things get to this point… tsk tsk.”

Silence lingered in the tent for a moment.

This was because most of the nobles in this place did not have the confidence to criticize Marquis Lloyd, even though they could easily curse the easy target Henon.

Count Piento, who had been maintaining silence, recognized that it was time to intervene and opened his mouth.

“Time waits for no one. No matter how great a Seven Star may be.”

Everyone’s attention focused on the words of Count Piento, the tacit leader of the group.

“So, isn’t it the duty of a vassal who has sworn allegiance to inform the Marquis that his judgment is wrong?”

“That means…”

“It’s simple. We just need to check if the Lloyd Lord, whom we will meet for the first time this time, is qualified to lead us all.”

“Giving a chance to a lowborn whose mother is unknown is ridiculous in itself!”

To be honest, Count Piento felt the same way as Baron Kante. He was just putting on a dignified act, and he had no intention of acknowledging Henon at all.

“If we openly criticize him, the Marquis’s face will be damaged. We must resolve the matter wisely while saving face.”

“As expected of you, Count!”

“It would be great if Marquis Lloyd could learn even half of Count Piento’s wisdom.”

“Haha, you people. Don’t say such outrageous things.”

After that, they had a lively conversation about how to distribute the Molty Territory, which was completely overrun by the Elves and left undefended.

Loyalty, vassal contracts, and so on, but in the end, their essence was that of landlords who seized power based on their territories.

For them, this opportunity was just a festival to enjoy, laughing and joking in front of a large piece of land that had lost its owner.

* * *

Quite a long time had passed since the vassal summons was issued.

It had already been ten days since the deadline for the vassals who had received official letters from the Marquisate, confirmed the contents, gathered their troops, and were supposed to assemble.

Originally, there were countless cases where people couldn’t meet the set deadline in life, and I usually tried to be understanding.

However, it was suspicious no matter how I looked at it that none of the large and medium-sized lords among the many vassals who were supposed to bring hundreds or thousands of soldiers had come.

“They’re not coming again today. At this point, we can assume that they’re not coming on purpose.”

Usually, if it was this late, they would send a message explaining why they were late, but there was no response, as if they had made a group agreement.

We also sent messengers several times, but the only answer we got back was that they were not ready yet.

“What about the lords who have arrived?”

“There are fifteen in total.”

Fifteen seemed like a large number, but even if you combined all the soldiers they brought, it was only three hundred. It was fewer than the number that one medium-sized lord would bring.

Seeing how things were going, Campbell punched his fist and snorted.

“These guys are slacking off! Vice-Captain, just give the order. I’ll ride my horse right away, grab the guy with the most soldiers by the hair, and drag him up here.”

“There’s no need to do that. I expected this to happen.”

They may be holding out now, but they’ll be conscious of the Marquis, so they won’t be able to do that forever.

Just in time, a messenger appeared, raising clouds of dust over there.

It was the first messenger sent by the vassals since the summons was issued.

“Are you perhaps Lord Lloyd?”

“That’s right.”

“Count Piento has sent a letter.”

After checking the contents of the letter, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Sion, who was curious, asked.

“What does it say?”

“He says that everyone is gathered near Molty Territory, so he wants me to go there.”

“These sons of bitches!”

Campbell stomped his feet.

“Disobeying a superior’s orders. I couldn’t have imagined this in the North.”

“That was a dangerous place where life and death came and went every day. Besides, the commander was Karina.”

“Even so, this is an excessively rude act. They seem to be taking you too lightly, young master.”

I thought that nobles, who were nothing if you took away their pride in their bloodline, would regard me, who was born out of wedlock, as a thorn in their side.

But it was rather comfortable for me that they were provoking me so openly.

It was a hundred times better than those who treated me well on the outside and stabbed me in the back.

I can beat them up to my heart’s content without any guilt.

“Since I’ve been invited, I have to go.”

“There’s no need to go. A lord responding to the summons of a vassal is strange.”

“Anyway, even if we gathered here, we were planning to say hello and move to Molty Territory together. It’s a good thing that they arrived in advance.”

I shrugged my shoulders and gave the order to depart.

The troops I had were one hundred standing troops who usually worked as guards of the Marquisate.

It was my consideration not to put a burden on the territory people by drawing additional soldiers in a situation where I was already facing the Hilton County.

Here, a total of four hundred small troops, including three hundred brought by small and medium-sized vassals, marched towards Molty Territory.

* * *

Border of Molty County.

In the plains that we arrived at in three days, military tents were spread out like ants.

Numerous flags with various family crests fluttered in the wind.

“Everyone was gathered here.”

How many people are there?

Even at a glance, it was a large army of over 5,000.

As we approached, a messenger with the Piento family crest on his back rode up on a horse.

“Stop for a moment. Identify yourself.”

The situation itself, that I am facing the messenger, is funny.

Originally, all the vassals should have run out barefoot to greet me.

Campbell, who was watching from the side, became uncomfortable and glared at the messenger.

“If you get hit a few times, you’ll remember who we are.”

Even though he got off the horse, Campbell, who was about the same size as the messenger on the horse, strode up, and the messenger hesitated as if he was frightened.

“That’s enough. Campbell, stop.”

I stopped Campbell and stepped forward.

“I am Henon Lloyd, the second son of the Marquis of Lloyd, the eternal companion who serves the great King of Elden and the savior of the Arnia continent, and the rightful ruler of this land in the future. Tell them this inside.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Was it because he was overwhelmed by my spirit?

The messenger sweated profusely and went inside.

Not long after, the door opened.

Me and four hundred soldiers joined the Allied Forces.

“This is the place. I feel like I’ve entered enemy territory.”

Campbell muttered.

That’s because the 5,000 troops, more than ten times the number of 400 soldiers I brought, took the form of surrounding us in a circle.

This was nothing more than a siege, except that they didn’t aim their arrows at us.

The vassals’ intentions to pressure me and win the fight were clearly visible.

“Who is this? Isn’t it Lord Lloyd? Nice to meet you.”

A group of men rushed closer from the front.

The middle-aged man at the very front introduced himself with a fake smile, spreading his arms wide.

“Nice to meet you for the first time. I am Count Piento.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Lord Henon Lloyd.”

Usually, in this case, the vassals salute the lord, or the lord reaches out to the vassals.

However, Count Piento stiffened his neck, and I didn’t feel the need to treat him well, so an awkward atmosphere was created for a moment.

“Well… shall we go in? You must be tired from coming a long way, so we have prepared warm bread and a small amount of alcohol.”

I went inside the tent.

As soon as I saw the scene inside, I burst into laughter without realizing it.

“Hmph.”

Inside, there was a round table instead of a rectangular one.

A rectangular table has a head seat in some way, but a round table has no distinction between the head and lower seats.

I couldn’t help but smile because of the vassals’ shallow and petty intentions to eat in the same place, whether it was the lord or the vassals.

Anyway, since it was a round table, I chose any seat and sat down, then quickly grabbed a piece of bread and put it in my mouth, and rinsed my mouth with wine.

“Ahem!”

“Hmm…”

Surprisingly, the nobles frowned and shook their heads, seeing that I didn’t show any reaction and acted comfortably.

I guess they were hoping that I would get angry and show a disheveled appearance.

If that had happened, they would have used that as an excuse to make a fuss, saying that I had a personality that was not suitable for a successor.

“What are you all doing? Come and have a meal together.”

But I sat down at the round table without a second’s hesitation and drank the wine, which might have been poisoned, coolly.

Of course, this was possible because I had the overpowered complete immunity skill called Self-Purification, but it seemed like a generous act to others.

It was then.

The sound of one of the vassals muttering softly caught my ear.

“I guess he doesn’t have any pride because he’s from the streets…”

The spoon I was about to eat the soup with stopped.

He spoke softly, but it wasn’t a whisper or a murmur, and honestly, it was impossible not to hear the decibel.

“What’s your name?”

“I am Baron Kante.”

Judging from his crooked and frivolous posture, it seemed that even if this guy wasn’t the one who led the lords, he was the leader of the action team.

“What did you just say?”

“I didn’t say anything?”

He pretends not to hear and seeks agreement from the other lords.

“Did you hear anything?”

“No, I didn’t hear anything.”

“What did you say?”

The lords all become one and pretend not to see what they saw and pretend not to hear what they heard.

Kante, who had become elated because everyone was on his side, said proudly.

“I think you misheard, Lord. You’re already hard of hearing even though you’re so young. Heh heh ha ha!”

“Hah ha ha ha!!”

The lords continued to laugh.

I calmly took a sip of wine and looked at Baron Kante.

“How long are you going to stand there? Come and eat.”

Kante, who snorted and remained still even after hearing my words, looks at Count Piento.

“Shall we have a meal then?”

Count Piento sat down first.

Only then did everyone sit down.

The leader is Count Piento.

The leader of the action team is Baron Kante.

Then I have to destroy Kante first.

[Stone Control]

[Stone Lance]

Sharp stones like awls rose from under the four chairs where Kante was sitting.

It was so subtle that it was hard to notice unless you observed carefully.

Then, I activated Wood Control as a linked skill.

[Wood Control]

[Bind]

As I became a mid-level druid, the proficiency of Bind increased explosively.

Therefore, it became possible not only to simply bind the opponent but also to grab and swing them, or to strike the opponent with the tree roots themselves becoming whips.

Now I plan to grab the target with Bind and destroy it. And that target was the chair that Baron Kante was sitting on.

Swish—!

The tree roots rising from the ground tightly tied the four chair legs that Kante was sitting on.

The lords, who were busy checking me, did not find the tree roots that tied Baron Kante’s chair.

In the first place, it was difficult to notice because the chair was also made of wood.

That way, the chair was completely tied up.

It will be shattered with just one signal from me.

Below are sharp stone awls.

Finally, I give Kante a chance.

“By the way, Baron Kante, as the commander of the Allied Forces, I would like to ask you, did you really not say anything earlier?”

“Haha! Are you talking about that again? It’s troublesome if you keep hearing things and catching innocent people.”

I clearly gave him a chance.

He’s the one who threw it away.

Crack—!

At the same time as the tree roots pulled, the chair legs flew in all directions.

Some legs rotated in the air and hit the wall, some rolled on the floor, and some collided with the table legs and bounced off, hitting another lord’s face.

“Ouch!”

“What is this!”

The last leg flew towards Count Piento, but the Count slightly twisted his head to avoid it.

And the grand Baron Kante.

He, who never dreamed that all the legs of the chair he was sitting on would disappear, was completely unguarded and was led by the force of gravity to fall on his butt.

There was exactly a stone awl waiting in the seat where he was sitting.

The sharp stone awl easily pierces the wooden chair floor and stabs the baron’s private part.

Stab—!!

“Kuaaaaaaa!!!!!”

Oops.

It hurts just watching.

Baron Kante’s tunnel expansion project was successfully completed, and starting today, poop diapers have become a necessity for Baron Kante.