Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 23. I’d Forgotten

“You’re ignoring the festival, human?”

Raon stared at Kale. On and Hong looked up at him with similar expressions. Kale ignored Raon’s gaze entirely and spoke to Ron instead.

“We’ll visit the Count’s Mansion in two days.”
“Yes, Young Master. We should hurry if we want to show the children the festival.”
“Skip the unnecessary talk and bring Rosalind here.”
“Yes, Young Master.”

Ron left the room wearing a smile that blended kindness with mischief. Kale rose from the bed, turning away from Raon, On, and Hong, who were grinning widely.

“Human, are you preparing to leave?”
“Not going now.”
“Understood! I’ll go spread the word that we’re departing!”

Raon flew out through the open window. On and Hong vaulted over the windowsill after him. The three children headed toward the Dark Forest. Kale paid them no mind.

Shortly after, Kale relayed the news to Rosalind when she arrived.
He told her in sequence: that one of the Breck Kingdom Princes had asked Crown Prince Albert about Rosalind and about Kale, and that Albert and that prince were returning together from the Empire.

“I was asked to deliver these tidings to you, Rosalind.”

When all was said, I could see Rosalind wearing a gentle smile.

“It must be the Fourth Prince.”
“Is that so?”
“That brat probably left his manners at Dragon Lair.”

…Left what where?
I was experiencing Rosalind’s manner of speech for the first time.

“When he was young, he’d whine about everything.”
“Is that right?”

I offered my agreement for now.

“Yes. That’s why I’ve always nagged you so much. You might not have realized it because you’re a prince, but the world doesn’t work by simply asking or whining, does it?”

Rosalind smiled brightly.

“So I taught you about the world.”

What kind of world, I wondered. It sounded like it must have been a rather terrifying one.

“Anyway, whether it’s the Fourth Prince or anyone else who comes, I’ll send them away properly.”

For some reason, Kale found the phrase “send them away properly” rather frightening, but he decided not to ask about the details. He figured she’d handle it as she saw fit. That was when it happened.

Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of someone knocking on the door echoed through the room. At the same moment, a black mass came flying rapidly through the window.

“Open the door, human!”

Kale, watching Raon arrive covered in leaves and dirt from various places, swallowed a sigh and spoke toward the door. It was obvious which human the Black Dragon had brought.

“Come in.”

With the sound of the door opening, something even darker than the Black Dragon entered.

“Good morning. I hope you’re having a pleasant day.”

It was Merry. As always, she greeted them in her mechanical voice.

The Necromancer Merry. She had adapted well to Harris Village. At first, I had been quite concerned about her, constantly staring up at the sky whether it was day or night, but now she was living quite comfortably.

More precisely, she was getting along well with the Black Dragon.

“Human, listen. This good child and I discovered something!”

Rosalind smiled broadly and took a sip of the tea placed before her. Kale asked with a sullen expression.

“What? Did you discover another interesting stone or a leaf with lots of holes in it?”

The Black Dragon had been showing Merry around various parts of the Dark Forest. I felt a bit uncomfortable about Merry learning about nature above ground through Raon, but since it was troublesome, I let it be.
Raon would take Merry out and report to me every time they found an interesting stone or leaf. When the dragon first said he’d discovered something interesting, I was so excited thinking it might be treasure.

“No! I just found something ordinary!”

If it was more ordinary than stones or leaves, was it dirt? Kale nodded vaguely and pointed Merry to a seat. She approached, dragging her black robe, and settled into the chair. Rosalind offered her refreshments.
The Black Dragon cried out in the meantime.

“That’s it! I found bones!”

Bones?

“Looks like hundreds of them!”

Kale turned his gaze toward Merry.

“Approximately two hundred corpses were discovered in total. All were buried in the ground, and since most were interred as intact bodies, the bone preservation was excellent. It appears they’ve been there for at most two years.”
“Choi Han said they probably all killed each other fighting inside the Dark Forest!”

Whenever Merry found dead monsters or animals in the Dark Forest, she practiced necromancy with them. She never used human or elf corpses.

“Without assembling the bones, precise deduction will be difficult, but it appears to be a conflict between ground monsters and a minority race of flying monsters.”

At that moment, Rosalind noticed it. Kale’s expression suddenly shifted, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

“Human, can that good child use these bones?”

Rosalind’s expression became peculiar. Every time Raon and Merry reported their findings from the Dark Forest to Kale, they asked if they could use them.

“I’ll use them cleanly!”
“I will not damage them.”

Kale did not answer the black dragon and black robe—the black set’s words—and instead lifted his teacup. He attempted to leisurely take a sip of tea.

‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

But the corners of Kale’s mouth kept twitching, and he couldn’t even drink his tea as he suppressed his laughter. He eventually abandoned the tea and asked Merry a question.

“Are the flying monster bones usable?”
“Yes. We’ll need to assemble them and repair the broken sections here and there, but they should be quite sturdy.”
“How many?”
“Fewer than terrestrial monsters. I’d estimate around seventy skeletal frames.”
“What about size?”
“They appear to be mutant variants—”
“Smaller than wyverns?”
“Somewhat smaller, yes.”

The conversation had suddenly shifted to wyverns, but Merry answered with unwavering composure. Kale’s heart quickened at her seamless responses.

The Wyvern Knights of the North.
Every time Kale contemplated them, he found himself wrestling with the same dilemma—should we counter with lightning and magic? But that would leave us heavily damaged as well.

“Merry.”
“Yes?”
“Are you grateful to me?”
“I’m truly grateful.”

Though Merry found his question sudden and unexpected, she didn’t dwell on it and answered sincerely. Her voice was measured, but her gratitude was genuine.
Though she didn’t live in a human village or in the Caro Kingdom, he had occasionally sent her to the Lord’s Castle and allowed her to experience the beauty of the surface world in comfort.

She suspected that someday she would miss this night sky, this azure expanse, this vast wilderness, and this home.

“Then, should I find myself in dire straits later, I’d like to repay that gratitude?”

Kale smiled gently. Yet Rosalind, observing from the shadows, felt uneasy. She alone harbored such doubts.

“Yes, that’s right. I would like to repay you.”

A bright, genuine smile graced his lips for the first time in ages.

“Then come to my territory whenever I call upon you.”
“Yes. I would like to return here whenever I can.”

Kale’s mind was already weaving a particular vision. He spoke to Merry while holding that image close.

“Practice with monster bones as much as you’d like. Just remember you need to return them before you leave, right?”
“Of course. I’ll return them in perfect condition before we depart.”
“That’s humans for you! I knew you’d be reasonable!”

Rosalind watched with an expression that seemed to ask, “What kind of deal is this?” but Kale added one more thing to Merry as she prepared to leave with Raon.

“If it’s a flying monster corpse, could you actually fly through the sky?”
“Yes, that would be possible. However, since this is my first time with a flying monster, I’ll need considerable practice.”

The Wyvern Knights.
If they existed in the North.
Kale’s imagination conjured a single vision.

A skeletal flying squadron.

Wasn’t that a magnificent name?
Kale’s heart thundered in his chest. There was one more thing that amplified his excitement. He suppressed the tremor and spoke gently to Merry.

“Merry, once you’re comfortable with the flying monster, let me know.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll be going then.”
“See you soon, human!”

Merry and Raon left the room. Kale watched through the window as Raon soared into the Dark Forest and contemplated.

A dragon would utterly crush wyverns, wouldn’t it?

A dragon corpse. Moreover, the bones of an ancient dragon were in Kale’s possession.
That corpse discovered in the Dark Forest, in the Black Swamp.
The thought of dragon bones and flying monster bones displaying their magnificent forms soaring through the heavens made Kale’s heart race. Even mere imagination filled him with a blissful sense of security.

“Rosalind.”
“…Yes.”

Rosalind answered with a reluctant expression at Kale’s sinister look. He was truly a good person, yet occasionally harbored the most extraordinary ideas.

“What is the military strength of the Breck Kingdom?”
“Pardon?”
“What I’m about to tell you is classified information.”

Rosalind watched as the expression gradually faded from Kale’s face.

Crown Prince Albert was not the sort of man to move alongside a foreign prince without compelling reason. Especially not when someone whose identity as a Dark Elf must remain hidden would be taking such a risk by traveling with a prominent figure from another nation.
He was likely testing the waters right now—gauging whether the Breck Kingdom and its prince were trustworthy.
Unable to divulge critical information carelessly, he would be observing the Breck Kingdom Prince carefully. And if the assessment proved favorable, Alberu would act. He was a man for whom the greater cause and his kingdom came before personal gain.

“The three northern nations have formed an alliance.”
“…Pardon?”

And Kale prioritized himself and his people first. Safety and comfort.

“And this is a secret, of course. Only a select few know.”
“Prince Kale, what do you—”

With a soft clink, Kale set down the teacup he’d been holding untouched, placing it back on the table.

“Miss Rosalind, but here’s the thing.”

Rosalind could see Kale’s smile.
He regarded her as one of his companions, much like Rak. Yet he had not forgotten her former position.
This was also a message for her—she who had abandoned the royal family yet still spoke of her younger brother with a smile.
Kale spoke to Rosalind, the princess who had renounced her title but still had family in the Breck Kingdom.

“There’s no law saying an alliance must stop at just those three nations, is there?”

Rosalind’s eyes gleamed with new understanding.
After that, their tea time ended without further conversation. And that night.

“Your Highness, the Fourth Prince is coming here?”
-You’re uncanny, missing nothing. Yes, the Fourth Prince is coming.
“Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince’s face appearing through the communication orb looked far from pleased. He regarded Kale with a searching gaze.
Kale had not told the Crown Prince that he knew about the northern alliance. The moment simply hadn’t come. But now it had.

“The three northern nations have formed an alliance, haven’t they?”

Alberu did not answer Kale’s question, merely regarding him in silence. Then, a soft smile played at the corners of his mouth.

-So you were pretending not to know after all. That’s why you helped smuggle out the Mage and assisted with the Coastline military base.

Kale didn’t deny it. Crown Prince Albert, as if he hadn’t expected a response, immediately asked him another question.

-So what do you think should be done about this situation?
“Rosalind is meeting with her younger brother.”
-So she’s aware of this information as well.
“She’s my colleague.”

Alberu let out a deflated laugh at that response and continued speaking.

-Confidentiality. You understand that security is the most important thing, right?
“That’s why I haven’t mentioned it to Your Highness until now.”

At the sly, grinning expression on his face, Alberu ended the video communication with a look that suggested there was no more disagreeable expression in the world.

-Then I’ll see you next time.
“Yes, Your Highness.”

The video communication ended.

* * *

The carriage bearing the golden turtle emblem of the Heniatus Count Family passed before the Lord’s Castle and continued toward the Count’s Mansion beyond.

“It’s starting to feel real that the festival is coming soon.”

Kale nodded in agreement at Choi Han’s words and gazed out the carriage window. The castle was decorated in various places and bustling with activity.
In particular, the area before the Lord’s Castle, which had been quiet and rigid, was now crowded. Long lines of people stood before the castle gates.

“I’ve never seen so many people gathered in front of the Lord’s Castle before.”
“That’s right! I’ve never seen it either!”

Kale could see Choi Han was excited, no less than Raon, On, and Hong. After all, this would be his first time truly enjoying a proper festival.

“I’ve never seen it before either! I want to get in line too!”

Kale chuckled softly at Hong’s words as he gazed at the long line, gently patting the small head.

The Heniatus Territory held numerous special competitions whenever festivals took place.
Cooking contests, painting competitions, sculpture exhibitions—all organized under Countess Viollan’s direction, with prizes substantial enough to draw considerable interest.

“Weak human! But why is everyone lined up like that?”
“Looks like they’re all gathered to register for the festival competitions or participate in the preliminaries.”

Choi Han let out a soft exclamation of admiration, his attention piqued.

“I see there are quite a few skilled warriors among them!”

Wait, what?

“So there’s a martial competition too!”

That’s not right.
We only have cooking, sculpture, and painting competitions.

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