The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around-Chapter 41: The d’Armand: Knights (1/4)

With the preparations complete, Eren bid farewell to his parents and climbed into his carriage, accompanied by his personal maid, Marie. As the carriage started moving, Isadora waved her handkerchief, tears brimming in her eyes, while Edric stood beside her, offering silent comfort.

Eren watched the overly dramatic scene with half-lidded eyes, feeling secondhand annoyed. It was as if his mother believed she would never see him again. To keep up appearances, he smiled brightly and waved back at her from the carriage window. However, as soon as they turned past the mansion gate, his expression shifted back to its usual dull, lazy stoic look. Leaning back against his seat, he exhaled in exhaustion.

His thoughts soon drifted to the situation in the city. With his father sending one hundred elite knights and the commander away, wouldn’t that weaken the city’s defenses?

As if sensing his concern, Useless responded immediately.

[Don’t worry, Master. The Marquis has already hired a hundred high-ranking adventurers from the guild to replace them. There will be no difference.]

’Really?’ Eren thought, slightly amused, his eyes dull yet intrigued.

It seemed like the Valmont family was even wealthier than he had imagined. If Useless wasn’t exaggerating, then their power truly did rival that of the royal family.

(Side Story)

Within the walls of the d’Armand household’s grand castle, in one of the training grounds echoed with the sharp sound of a sword slicing through the air. In one corner, away from the other knights, a lone figure was relentlessly swinging his blade, sweat dripping down his face, his arms moving with both discipline and desperation.

That knight was Bolder—the same man who had been humiliated during a duel just a few weeks ago by none other than Eren Valmont.

News of his defeat had spread like wildfire throughout the entire household. Every knight knew the story. And how could they not? It wasn’t just gossip whispered between guards. The Count himself, Gregor d’Armand, had given direct orders to the knight commander, Carlos, to spread the tale of Bolder’s embarrassing loss.

Defeated by the second son of Valmont—a fifteen years old boy, a child who can’t use Aura. It was disgraceful. And for Bolder, it was punishment enough. The Count could not officially discipline him further, as the Marquis Valmont had personally requested in his letter that both his daughter and the knight involved in the incident be spared of formal consequences. He asked for the matter to be forgotten, and had sent a generous compensation of one hundred thousand gold coins to ensure that happened.

Gregor d’Armand, though satisfied with the money, could not hide his dissatisfaction. Unable to demote Bolder or sentence him to months of stable duty, he instead chose a crueler path—humiliation.

And so, the story of Bolder’s defeat became public, turning him into the laughingstock of the knights.

....

A group of five knights watched him now, clustered near the fence of the training ground, whispering among themselves, their eyes full of mockery.

"Look at him. He’s been at it for two hours straight," one knight said with a sneer.

"He does it every day now. Maybe it’s some secret punishment from the commander," another snickered.

"How pathetic. Defeated by a fifteen-year-old kid. I’d be too ashamed to even show my face at training after that," a third added with a scornful chuckle.

Their leader, a tall knight with blond hair and piercing blue eyes, smirked as he spoke. "He must’ve gone easy on the Valmont boy. No way some noble brat with zero sword training could beat a full-fledged knight like him."

The others turned to him with interest. That was Sever—Bolder’s long-time rival and fellow knight of equal rank. He had always harbored resentment toward Bolder, and hearing of his humiliating defeat had delighted him. At first, Sever hadn’t believed the rumors. But after seeing Bolder’s withdrawn expression and learning of his punishment—cleaning the horse stables—he was convinced. And he made sure to mock him at every opportunity.

But despite their snide comments, Bolder didn’t even glance in their direction. He continued to swing his sword, focused and relentless. The humiliation he had suffered at Eren’s hands still haunted him. Each movement of his blade was a silent cry of frustration, a desperate attempt to push past his shame.

Finally, after what must have been over a thousand swings, Bolder’s body gave in. He dropped to his knees, completely drained, sweat soaking his uniform as he gasped for breath.

A fellow knight rushed toward him, carrying a towel and a bottle of water.

"Thanks," Bolder murmured, accepting the help from Harry—his only real companion among the knights. Harry, a man with a gentle demeanor and a tendency to stutter when nervous, had always stuck by his side during training and expeditions. While not the strongest, Harry had proven himself time and time again in real combat.

"You need to stop pushing yourself this hard," Harry said with concern, handing him the water as Bolder wiped his sweat.

"I know what I’m doing. So don’t worry," Bolder replied quietly as he stood up, his body aching.

He turned and began walking toward the exit, intending to take a shower and rest. But just as he reached the gate, a familiar voice rang out behind him.

"Hey, loser! Leaving already? Why not stay a bit? We’d love to hear more about your glorious defeat!" Sever called with a mocking grin, his friends chuckling in the background.

Harry’s expression tightened. He had seen this scene many times in the past—Sever provoking Bolder, and Bolder snapping in response. Fights between the two were common, loud, and often ended with both being reprimanded by the commander.

Expecting an explosion of anger, Harry turned to look at his friend—only to be surprised.

Bolder didn’t react.

He didn’t stop, didn’t turn around, didn’t even flinch. He kept walking, his face calm, almost cold.

Sever and his group looked stunned. This wasn’t the Bolder they knew. They had expected the usual—a shouting match, a brawl, something. But today, Bolder simply walked away.

The air shifted. Everyone felt it.

If it had been the old Bolder, he would’ve turned around, stormed up to Sever, and grabbed him by the collar, shouting in rage. But not anymore. Something had changed in him.

And that’s because, after returning back to the d’Armand household, Bolder had submitted a full report to his teacher, Knight Commander Carlos. about what happened to him and Lady Mereoleona in the Valmont household. Upon reading it, Carlos was beyond disappointed.

---

"I taught you to stay calm in every situation—to never lose your cool. And yet..."

—SLAP!

A sharp crack echoed through the office as Carlos’s palm struck Bolder’s face. The knight stood there, red-faced, eyes burning with shame.

"Not only did you lose control, you raised your sword against a noble," Carlos said coldly.

"From now on, I will not give you any private training. You will train like every other knight."

His teacher’s words hit harder than the slap. In the past, the man had received special treatment—private lessons and guidance—because of a promise Carlos had made to Bolder’s father, a friend from long ago. But now, Carlos believed that favor had spoiled him. His disappointment was clear.

---

Those words stung deeper than any wound. Since then, Bolder’s mind had spiraled—lost in chaos, doubt, and frustration. His confidence was shattered. The punishment, the rejection from his mentor, the public humiliation... it had all carved into him.

But then, the very next day, Bolder was unexpectedly summoned to the commander’s office. He thought it would be another punishment or lecture, but instead, he was informed that his punishment to clean the stables had been revoked. Moreover, he wouldn’t be demoted from his current rank.

It was then that his teacher, Carlos, explained the reason behind the sudden change. Count Gregor d’Armand had received an official letter from the Valmont household, specifically requesting that neither Bolder nor Lady Mereoleona be punished for the incident. The letter also asked for the matter to be forgotten altogether—and even came with generous compensation.

What surprised Bolder even more was learning that the letter had been sent at the request of the Valmont family’s second son—Eren Valmont himself. The young man had personally asked for the issue to be resolved quietly and without consequence, apparently to avoid making a big deal out of it—for the sake of his fiancée, Mereoleona.

But for Bolder, this only deepened the sting of his defeat. He didn’t take it as mercy. Instead, he saw it as another form of humiliation—like Eren was looking down on him by not demanding punishment, as if Bolder wasn’t even worth the trouble.

Not long after, whispers began to spread like wildfire throughout the household. Rumors about his loss to the Valmont boy in a duel reached every corner of the d’Armand estate. The other knights looked at him with disdain, mocking him for bringing shame to the d’Armand name. Even the servants, who once respected him, began to treat him with subtle looks of pity or amusement.

This situation pushed Bolder into a downward spiral. He became angry, frustrated, and consumed by despair. For two whole days, he locked himself in his room, too ashamed to face anyone. The idea of giving up on his dream of becoming a knight crept deeper into his heart. He was terrified of bringing further disgrace to the d’Armand, his name, and to his parents who had always believed in him.

Then, on the day he finally decided to visit Carlos and resign from knighthood, he overheard something that stopped him in his tracks.

While passing through the corridor, he heard two maids whispering—about Lady Mereoleona.

Apparently, the Count’s daughter had been training relentlessly in the elite section’s training grounds. Unlike Bolder, who was a standard knight, Lady Mereoleona held the rank of an elite knight.

He even learned from fellow knights—and his friend Harry—that Lady Mereoleona had been frequently requesting sparring matches with Commander Carlos himself, pushing herself harder than ever.