I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 220

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#220

The issue Kalian had been focusing on lately was about slaves.

When he had taken Leilah to the black market before, seeing her feel sorry for the young slaves had weighed on his mind.

As he looked into various matters regarding slaves, he found more unreasonable aspects than expected and felt the need for improvement, so he was working on it.

What Kalian was most concerned about were still the young slaves.

Poor children who were branded as slaves from birth because their parents were slaves.

Children who at least spent their early years under their parents were in better situations, but most were sold elsewhere around age 5 to fill their masters’ pockets.

Kalian had tried to devise ways to prevent newborn children from being branded as slaves, but it was useless.

Unless the status law that followed parental status was abolished, there was no way to prevent children from being branded.

Then, as he pondered if there was at least a way to prevent the selling of young children, Ber, who was helping him work, said:

“I’ll be leaving work now.”

At those words, Kalian checked the time.

9:30 PM. It was quite late.

“A carriage?”

“I can just ride a horse.”

“It’s dangerous to ride a horse at night, so I’ll provide a carriage. Take the carriage.”

“Thank you.”

Since riding a horse would have been tiring anyway, Ber accepted Kalian’s kindness.

Kalian reached out to pick up the bell to call an attendant.

Clang, crash—

“Oh no.”

In doing so, he accidentally dropped the gift Leilah had given him. The blue snake that fell to the floor with a loud noise was completely shattered into pieces.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“I’m fine.”

What wasn’t fine was the blue snake. Kalian stared down at the broken bead fragments.

It was natural for it to shatter after falling from such a height, but somehow it bothered him.

It bothered him even more because it was a gift from Leilah. An ominous feeling lingered at his feet.

“I should contact Leilah.”

More precisely, he was going to contact Hilltain. Kalian took out a magic messenger bird from his drawer and wound the spring.

Normally he would have received contact before the spring made three turns, but for some reason, Hilltain didn’t respond until the spring stopped.

The ominous feeling that had been lingering at his feet began crawling up his ankle.

Kalian immediately called an attendant and gave an order.

“Bring me a magic messenger bird connected to Rahalbha Castle—no, bring me a magic communication device.”

It seemed he could only feel at ease if he confirmed with his own eyes that Leilah was safe.

Kalian anxiously waited for the attendant to bring the magic communication device.

Because of this, Ber, who had missed his chance to leave work, said with dissatisfaction:

“They probably can’t respond because they’re attending the welcome party. Aren’t you overreacting?”

“I’ll call a carriage for you right away, so you can leave work now.”

Kalian immediately understood what Ber’s complaint was about and rang the bell again.

“Your Majesty!”

But instead of an attendant, some man burst through the door. It was the Communications Department Manager.

The fact that he entered without even knocking meant there was something urgent.

“T-The Stella Kingdom Army has invaded the Rahalbah Estate!”

“…What?”

At worst, he had thought maybe a riot had broken out somewhere in the capital, but this was more serious than that.

Not only Kalian but Ber also widened their eyes and stared at the Communications Department Manager.

The Communications Department Manager reported breathlessly:

“They were attacked during the welcome party, and there must have been a spy inside the castle because they couldn’t even properly defend and opened the castle gates!”

That meant the enemies had already entered the Rahalbah Estate.

At this absurd news, Kalian frowned and shot up from his seat, stepping on the broken bead fragments.

Come to think of it, Leilah was currently in the Rahalbah Estate.

But the Stella Kingdom Army had invaded there, and Hilltain couldn’t be reached.

Snap, Kalian’s thread of reason was half severed.

“Leilah—is she safe?”

“P-Pardon?”

Since he asked only about Leilah rather than the overall situation of the Rahalbah Estate, the Communications Department Manager looked at Kalian in confusion.

“Answer me right now. Is Leilah safe?”

“Ah, well, we haven’t checked that far…”

Bang—

“What have you been doing without checking such things?”

Kalian slammed his desk hard and shouted.

Under the terrifying pressure, the Communications Department Manager shrank his neck like a turtle and just repeated apologies.

“Right now, Leilah…!”

“Your Majesty!”

Ber, who noticed that Kalian had half lost his reason, grabbed his arm.

Only then did Kalian come to his senses and grit his teeth.

Right now, rather than confirming Leilah’s safety, the priority was to assess Rahalbah’s situation and send reinforcements to defeat the enemy forces.

‘And Leilah is safe.’

If something had happened to Leilah, the magic bracelet would have activated.

But since no signal had come, it was certain she was safe.

Moreover, Leilah had Hilltain and the Crowd Knights by her side.

With their skills, they should be able to keep at least Leilah safe.

So there was no need to worry, and for Leilah’s sake, they should drive out the Stella Kingdom Army as quickly as possible—thinking this, Kalian calmed his churning heart.

“What’s the current situation in Rahalbah?”

“As I mentioned, the Stella Kingdom Army succeeded in invading the Rahalbah Estate, and because of that, the city has become a mess.”

The Communications Department Manager reported in response to Kalian’s question.

“Fortunately, the castle hasn’t fallen, but with insufficient troops, it will be difficult to hold out for long.”

“Why? Did that many Stella Kingdom troops invade?”

“It’s not that, but because more than half of the troops stationed in Rahalbah were sent as reinforcements to Casiwood, they’re short on manpower.”

At the continued report, Kalian’s brow furrowed. They had said there was a spy inside, and it seemed that spy had reported everything about Rahalbah’s situation.

Otherwise, there was no way the Stella Kingdom Army would have invaded at such perfect timing.

“First, send communications to the surrounding estates requesting reinforcements. Also recall Rahalbah’s support troops that went to Casiwood.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Communications Department Manager, having received Kalian’s orders, hurriedly left.

Kalian left his study without even properly putting on his outer garments and headed to the Marshal’s Office.

Ber and numerous attendants followed behind him.

“Where is Count Grace?”

“Since it’s late, he probably went home.”

“Call him immediately.”

At those words, one attendant disappeared.

Kalian continued giving orders all the way to the Marshal’s Office, and the attendants who received his orders disappeared one by one.

When Kalian finally arrived at the Marshal’s Office, only Ber was following behind him.

The Marshal’s Office was also in a state of confusion after receiving communication from the Communications Department.

“Your Majesty!”

The Marshal’s Office administrators, who had been moving frantically without noticing Kalian’s entrance, belatedly discovered Kalian and hurriedly greeted him.

“Let me hear the situation report first.”

“First, we’ve sent support requests to the surrounding estates, and in preparation for the Stella Kingdom Army capturing Rahalbah and advancing…”

Near the end of the report, Count Grace came rushing in breathlessly. Whether he had ridden a horse to get there, Count Grace’s hair was disheveled and flying about.

“A-An invasion from the Stella Kingdom? But that kingdom is a friendly nation, so why…”

“We’ll find out once we grab the King of Stella by the collar.”

At Kalian’s words, not only Count Grace but also other Marshal’s Office administrators, and even Ber, widened their eyes.

“Are you planning to attack the Kingdom of Stella?”

“Of course? They attacked first, so should we just sit still?”

“That’s not what I meant, but…”

“I’m going to eliminate them.”

Kalian’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“I’ll erase the name of the Kingdom of Stella from the continent’s map, so everyone prepare.”

* * *

Drip, drip. I felt something cold falling on my cheek. As my distant consciousness returned and I lifted my heavy eyelids that felt like stones were placed on them, I saw a stone ceiling. It looked like a cave ceiling.

That means this place is a cave, but why is there a bed here?

And why am I lying on that bed?

“…Right. You succeeded in occupying the castle.”

As I was recalling what happened before I lost consciousness, I heard Fillen’s voice.

“You’ll move on to the next plan right away?”

“Yes. We’ve already executed the next plan.”

I heard another person’s voice. They seemed to be a foreigner as their accent was peculiar.

But what plan are they talking about?

No, more than that, I had lost consciousness after Fillen struck the back of my neck.

What Fillen had said before I lost consciousness came flooding back.

Those words about having dealt with Count Hiltain.

‘Could it be true?’

Did Fillen really kill Count Hiltain?

Just thinking about it made me dizzy. It seemed even more maddening that his reason for killing Count Hiltain was because of me.

“…As long as we hold the cards, even the Emperor won’t be able to move recklessly.”

“Still, it’s better to be careful. The Emperor is unpredictable.”

Moreover, I was concerned that the Emperor they kept mentioning in their conversation seemed to refer to Kalian.

I can’t hear their conversation well from here, so I should get closer.

I carefully got out of bed.

Although I wasn’t wearing shoes, there was a soft rug laid on the cave floor, so it didn’t matter if I walked.

Thanks to the rug muffling my footsteps, I was able to approach nearby without being caught by Fillen.

I hid behind the cave wall to avoid Fillen’s notice and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“The necklace?”

“It’s been delivered. They probably believe with absolute certainty that we have that woman.”

“Good.”

By necklace, do they mean the necklace Fillen took from me?

“And…”

After that, Fillen continued to have various conversations with the man.

They mixed in coded language, so I couldn’t understand everything they were talking about, but one thing was certain.

It was the fact that Fillen had betrayed the Empire and joined hands with the Kingdom of Stella.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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