The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around
Chapter 119: Seraphina is Dirty

Chapter 119: Seraphina is Dirty

...

"Announce publicly that the second son of the Marquis is dead." Cedric Announce with a cold tone.

"...S-Sir?!" Elbow’s jaw dropped. He didn’t expect that.

Seka said nothing, her arms folded, expression unreadable. But Leon, standing quietly in the back, clenched his fists behind his back, his face darkening.

"Sir, you can’t be serious!" Elbow protested. "He hasn’t even been confirmed as—!"

"We don’t need confirmation," Cedric snapped, cutting him off. "Just announce it. Whether that brat is alive or not can be figured out later."

"But, sir—"

"But what?" Cedric’s sharp gaze locked onto Elbow like a dagger. The man instantly stiffened, struggling to get his words out.

"T-the Marquis... your father... he won’t be pleased."

"..."

The elder son fell silent. A heavy pause weighed over the room.

Finally, he sighed and muttered, "I’ll handle my father. You don’t need to worry about that."

He spoke like he was reassuring him, but Elbow wasn’t worried about the Marquis. He was worried about the missing young master.

"But... isn’t this too cruel?" Elbow murmured under his breath, though everyone heard it.

Cedric’s frown deepened as he looked at the desk in front of him. His fingers tapped it slowly.

Then, Seka finally chimed in.

"I don’t see a problem with that plan."

"Seka!" Elbow turned to her in disbelief.

She simply shrugged, arms still crossed, and continued. "Come on, Elbow. The boss has a point. It’s already been a month, and we still haven’t found a single clue about the young master’s whereabouts."

"Not to mention, we’ve spent a ton of money hiring skilled Awakeners with tracking abilities—yet none of them could find even a trace of him."

She paused, then added in a lower tone, her expression darkening,

"...and let’s not forget that a lot of nobles are already making moves behind our backs."

Elbow blinked. "What?"

Seka narrowed her eyes. "The Marquis has poured a fortune into the search. Because of that, our forces are spread thin, with knights pulled away from their regular duties. Our borders are weaker. Our businesses are unprotected. And guess what? The rival families are starting to circle like vultures."

And it was true. as some nobles are using this situation to suck up to the Marquis by trying to ’find’ his son themselves. Others are taking advantage of the reduced defenses to poke holes in Valmont territory and undermine their trade.

She clicked her tongue.

"They’re all waiting for us to make a mistake."

"But that still doesn’t make it right to abandon a fifteen-year-old kid out there in the wild!" Elbow snapped. "He’s not strong enough to—!"

"Oh, stop pretending to care, four-eyes." Seka rolled her eyes. "You heard what the kid did. He’s an Awakener now—a self-Awakener, no less! He even fought a level 5 monster all by himself. He’s clearly got the power to survive on his own."

"And what if he dies?!"

Seka paused for a moment. Then, with a small shrug, muttered flatly, "...Then that’s too bad."

"Seka!!"

While the two argued in front of him, Cedric remained silent, eyes shifting toward Leon, who stood stiffly at the back of the room, his expression full of unease.

Leon was conflicted.

He understood why Cedric made the decision. The two brothers were known to not get along, after all. He’d heard plenty of rumors before—how the second young master was a lazy, spoiled, useless disappointment to the family. Even he believed that once.

But that was before he joined the training trip.

Before he met the real Eren and getting to know him.

And before he saw him fighting some monsters, and even helping the knights during the Thunderclaw’s subjugation, even helping him level up in the process.

Eren wasn’t just some weak, lazy noble kid...

Well yeah, the boy is very lazy, but that’s because he is sick. And he was also strong, brave, clever, and surprisingly dependable.

"Sir Leon." Cedric’s voice snapped Leon out of his thoughts. "You’ve been quiet. Got something to say?"

Both Seka and Elbow turned toward him as well.

"Huh?" Leon blinked, confused. Why are they all looking at me?

"Speak your mind. You clearly don’t agree. I can see it on your face." Cedric’s voice was calm, but sharp.

Leon hesitated, his hands tightening behind him. Then he looked down and took a deep breath.

"I... I believe that—"

—BANG!

The doors burst open with a loud crash.

"Boss!"

A short, panting female knight ran into the room, her long black hair tied in a high ponytail. Her brown eyes were wide and shining, sweat dripping from her forehead. She wore the same black Wave uniform as the others.

It was Ino—one of the Waves, the team’s tracker, and the one with a powerful special skill.

"How many time have I said not to burst-in like that into the room and knock!" He barked, clearly annoyed.

Ino quickly bowed several times in rapid apology.

"Yes! Sorry, sorry—but this is urgent!"

Cedric sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Haaah... Speak."

"I found him!"

Her next words shocked everyone in the room as they all fell in silence.

"...."

"...."

"...What?"

"I said," she repeated, this time lifting her hand to show what she held. A silver ring glowed brightly in her palm.

"I found the second young master!" she declared with a wide, triumphant smile.

....

....

....

Somewhere in the Dry Forest

Both Eren and Seraphina trudged through the thick greenery on foot, weaving between twisted tree trunks and tangled bushes as they tried to find their way back to the main road. It had been two days since they got out from the Aberration Dungeon, and they had spent that time camping under the stars, surviving by hunting wild beast for food.

Of course, Eren could’ve just asked Useless—for directions or simply bought food from the system shop. But he refused. He needed both himself and Seraphina to look worn down and ragged.

"GRAAAAAA!"

A sudden roar echoed from ahead.

A monstrous tiger-like beast burst from the underbrush. Its red crimson fur was laced with streaks of red flame, making it look like a beast born from both flame and fire. It lunged with burning claws toward Eren—but was swiftly intercepted.

–SLAP!

Seraphina blocked the swipe effortlessly with her bare hand, slapping the monster’s paw aside with a powerful thud. In one smooth motion, she leapt into the air and delivered a crushing kick that sent the beast hurtling backward, crashing through trees and igniting several in its wake.

But before the flames could spread, Seraphina raised her hand, and a stream of water magic burst forth, dousing the fire in seconds.

"Remember you can’t use magic on it," Eren reminded her casually from behind.

"I know. So shut up," she growled back through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed.

With a sharp dash, she reengaged the monster in close combat. The beast she fought was a Level 5 monster known as an InfernoClaw—a rare fire-elemental tiger that could manipulate flames at will.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Seraphina unleashed a flurry of strikes—punches, kicks, spins—all while dodging the creature’s wild, flame-laced swipes. Although she was a Level 6 Awakener and clearly stronger than the beast, as she can easily end it in a second, the battle was dragging on longer than expected.

The reason? The ridiculous restrictions Eren had placed on her!

"Tch! Just die already!" Seraphina yelled as she spun midair, delivering a brutal axe kick that slammed the creature’s skull into the ground.

—BANG!

The monster let out one final screech before exploding into a cloud of black dust, leaving behind a glowing red magic gem in its place.

Seraphina scoffed, snatched the gem, and tossed it toward Eren without a word. He caught it effortlessly using Invisible Hand, then stored it into his inventory like tossing a snack into a drawer.

While he did, his eyes scanned a floating holographic screen that only he could see—projected by his system. It displayed Seraphina’s battle data: movement speeds, strike angles, evasion timing, damage output—everything, all in streams of numbers and glowing blue code.

Noticing her "master" staring into space again, Seraphina crossed her arms and scowled.

"Hey, human. What’s even the point of this?" she demanded, irritation heavy in her voice.

Ever since they left the dungeon, Eren had made her fight every monster they encountered—but under strict werid conditions:

No magic.

No demonic aura.

No claws.

And absolutely no getting injured.

And due to the slave mark contract on her back, she had no choice but to obey. If she broke the rules, she’d be electrocuted instantly. Needless to say, she wasn’t thrilled.

Without looking away from the data stream, Eren replied in his usual stoic tone, "I’m analyzing the EXP-to-effort ratio of your combat output under restrictive conditions to calculate how much leveling efficiency increases when handicapped."

"...What?"

Seraphina blinked, looking even more confused than before.

Realizing she didn’t understand a word, Eren let out a tired sigh and rephrased.

"I’m trying to figure out how to make you level up faster."

He closed the screen with a swipe and resumed walking through the forest. Seraphina stood still, momentarily stunned. She honestly didn’t expect her new master to actually be serious about helping her regain her former strength. She thought that the heartless evil human was lying about it just to cheer her up.

And yet... he was.

A faint, almost invisible smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she quickly followed after him.

"By the way, human," she said, brushing dirt from her skirt, "can you give me new clothes? These are already torn to shreds."

Eren stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

Her once-pristine commoner dress was now ragged and filthy—torn in several places, covered in dried blood and dirt. Her light-purple hair, while somehow still tidy thanks to fantasy logic, was stained and dull. Her face was smudged with dust and monster gore.

Not to mention, she no longer looked like a demon fox-wolf. Due to a forced illusion spell that she casted on herself, adding and extra illusion layer from Eren’s illusion magic, her wolf ears and tail were hidden, making her appear like a very unfortunate farm girl who had been lost in the forest for weeks.

Eren stared at her blankly for a moment.

"...No."

Seraphina’s eye twitched as a vein pop on her forehead.

...

...