Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 126

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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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It was their condition, why the Jungle Queen’s name had come from the Saint’s lips, and why the Empire would use dead mana—something that could become a public enemy.

“…Brother.”

The Sword Master, Hana, called out to the Saint with a strained voice. Yet her eyes were fixed on Kale Heniatus, Choi Han, and Ron.
Kale, too, was assessing Hana’s condition.

‘Early stages of dead mana poisoning.’

Her body bore countless small wounds, each one darkened to black.
The dead mana bomb she’d endured appeared to be in liquid form. The liquid had seeped into her wounds, poisoning her.

‘She’s holding on because she’s a Sword Master.’

Sword Masters possessed remarkable vitality. She was likely using the aura within her body to suppress the spread of dead mana as much as possible.

But this Sword Master was weakened.
A gentle smile naturally formed on Kale’s lips. The woman grew wary at the sight.

“…Who are these people?”

Though she’d barely regained consciousness, she remained drenched in sweat and appeared to be struggling. Each word she spoke came with tremendous effort.

“I… *cough*… haah.”

The Sword Master lying down trembled at the shoulders before spitting up black blood. The Saint hurriedly brought his hand to her mouth.

“Hana! Don’t speak!”
“…Didn’t I tell you not to let just anyone in?”

The woman glared sharply at the Saint and attempted to sit up. At that moment, a pristine white cloth touched her lips.

“You’re bleeding. I’ll explain everything, so please, rest.”

A gentle voice reached Hana’s ears. Kale wiped away the black blood staining her mouth.

‘I should collect this black blood and ask the Dragon about it later.’

He decided to ask the Ancient Dragon Erhafen about this later, and spoke gently to his wary adversary.

“It was truly moving to witness how desperately you wish to save your younger sibling. So please, think of your health first.”
“Here is a potion, young master.”

Right on cue, Ron offered another fresh potion. Kale Heniatus marveled at Ron’s performance—the man who had worn such cold eyes moments ago now played the role of a benevolent elderly servant, his expression brimming with concern and care.

‘Our coordination is flawless.’

It was on an entirely different level from traveling with Choi Han, Rosalind, and those children who averaged eight years old.

Kale Heniatus handed the potion to the Saint with ease of mind.

Hana found herself bewildered by this sight.
On The Path of No Return, the presence of such a noble-like young master and his attendant seemed utterly out of place.

“…Who are these people?”

Then came her brother’s gentle reproach.

“Hana, don’t speak of them that way. These people are not like that.”

Hana looked toward him at the sound of his voice, as if he were chiding her. She worried about what this naïve, almost foolish brother of hers might have done while she was unconscious.
Yet the Saint’s expression was brighter than it had been in a long time.

“Hana, you know of this person. You’ve heard the name Kale Heniatus mentioned in Hoik Village, haven’t you? This is him, along with his attendant and knights.”
“…Kale Heniatus?”

Hana’s gaze shifted toward the red-haired man. The Saint continued with an excited tone.

“Yes. You explained that you knew his face. That great hero who stepped forward to protect the people during the Roan Kingdom terror incident!”

Hana’s eyes flickered with an indescribable light.
Kale Heniatus, feeling her piercing gaze upon him, lowered his head slightly in embarrassment. And he thought to himself.

‘A great hero can freeze to death. To this woman, I was nothing but an irritating adversary.’

From the perspective of someone belonging to the Secret Organization, Kale Heniatus was no hero of the Roan Kingdom—he was one of the primary culprits who had ruined their plans.
And from this information, Kale Heniatus grasped one crucial detail.

‘That Saint isn’t affiliated with the Secret Organization.’

There was no way she would act so recklessly otherwise.

“That’s why Young Master Kale Heniatus gave us potions, and now he’s asked the Knight to guard us as well.”
“…The real Kale Heniatus?”

I offered an awkward smile to her skeptical gaze.

“Yes, though it’s embarrassing to admit, I am indeed Kale Heniatus.”
“…The Silver Shield Young Master?”

It had been a long time.
After all these years, that mortifying and shameful epithet spilled from the Sword Master’s lips once more.

But I needed to earn her trust here.

With a sharp metallic ring, a shield of diminutive size materialized, gleaming with silver light.
A very small shield appeared along with a silver light.

“…Oh!”

Saint let out a blind exclamation of admiration, and the Sword Master seemed slightly relieved. Kale Heniatus spoke while looking at her.

“…Well, I suppose so.”
“Then, given your precarious condition, you should rest and recover.”
“Then you’re in a dangerous condition. Please rest and take it easy.”

Kale Heniatus spoke with a solid, reassuring expression.

“We will stand watch tonight. Though I don’t know the reason why, isn’t it the duty of the noble to protect those who are suffering and struggling?”

Saint exclaimed in admiration, and the Sword Master looked pleased. And Ron chimed in agreement.

“That’s right, young master. We are not like those heinous villains who committed terrorism in the Capital. We must strive to save people like this, and be different from those who seek to kill.”

The Sword Master nodded and agreed.

“…That’s right.”

Oh, I didn’t expect you to play along.
Kale Heniatus hadn’t anticipated that she would agree with Ron’s words. However, something about what followed felt peculiar.

“Such… the members of such organizations should have all their blood drained and be left to wither and die.”

…Bloodthirsty.
Kale Heniatus began to suspect that this woman had been betrayed by that organization rather than simply opposing it. But he asked calmly, feigning ignorance of everything he’d heard.

“By the way, how did you end up entering The Path of No Return? If you lose your way, it could be disastrous.”

And silence fell.
The Saint looked flustered and glanced at his sister’s expression, while the Sword Master gazed quietly at the ceiling.

From their reactions, Kale Heniatus could deduce one thing.

‘They’re heading to meet Ritana.’

The Jungle Queen. It was no coincidence that her name had slipped from the Saint’s lips.
It was obvious.

That deduction soon became reality.

Meow.

On, who had escorted Vicross to the forest’s entrance, trotted hurriedly into the cave. But instead of approaching Kale Heniatus directly, she began tapping his arm urgently and frantically.
At the same moment, Choi Han, stationed at the cave entrance, spoke to Kale Heniatus.

“A light approaches from the distance.”
“What?”

Kale Heniatus hurried to the cave entrance with a startled expression.

The rain intensified again in the dead of night. A light drawing closer to the cave.
Now Kale Heniatus understood why the Saint had lit a fire in the cave despite needing to hide with his ailing sister.

Then, Choi Han whispered softly, his voice barely audible beneath the sound of rain.

“I heard it during the Elf battle.”

Choi Han recalled what the Spear Master had said in frustration when they fought.

‘Because of those golden twins, my workload has increased! Why are they doing this?!’

He relayed this directly to Kale Heniatus. Kale patted Choi Han’s shoulder and turned around. His gaze shifted toward the two siblings.

“They appear to be your guests. Is that correct?”

The Saint glanced at the Sword Master, who struggled to rise to his feet, his face streaked with black mana in places as he looked up at Kale Heniatus.

“Yes, they are likely our guests.”

The moment those words left his lips, Kale Heniatus could see people approaching the cave.

“…Young Master Kale!”
“It has been a while, Ritana.”

The Jungle Queen Ritana stood there, clutching a brilliantly luminous orb. Rather than acknowledge her bewilderment, Kale Heniatus’s attention fixed on the pattern carved into that sphere.

It was the symbol of the Sun God Cult.
The light contained within it pointed like an arrow toward where the Saint stood.

Kale Heniatus slowly turned around and gazed at the Saint.

“That is the symbol of the Sun God Church. Why is it pointing to you?”
“Well, Young Master Kale…”
“Now that I think about it, the two of you seem to be siblings—no, twins.”

Kale Heniatus watched the Saint, who offered only a troubled expression without answering, and suddenly let out a sigh.

“Ah, now I understand how Ritana managed not to lose her way in this forest and arrive here. And who the two of you are.”
“…Young Master Kale.”

Ritana approached Kale Heniatus. His expression had hardened—a sight she had never witnessed before. As she drew near, Kale Heniatus spoke as if to himself, his gaze averted from her.
Without taking his eyes off the approaching figure, Kale muttered to himself.

“I helped them with good intentions, but those I helped—”

Anguish descended upon Kale Heniatus’s face.

“Of all people, those who committed terrorism against the Sun God Church. How could this happen to me?”
“That’s not it!”

At that moment, the Saint’s voice resonated through the cave.

“Brother, calm yourself.”

The Sword Master soothed the Saint, and Kale Heniatus met the Saint’s gaze. Observing the injustice and indignation burning in his eyes, Kale turned his attention to Ritana.
Looking at her, Kale opened his mouth.

“There must be circumstances, surely?”
“…Your Highness.”
“If the Ritana I know is who I believe her to be, I don’t think she would consent to the terrible things I’m imagining.”

Kale Heniatus extended his hand toward the siblings.

“And I believe—no, I want to believe that siblings who care for each other so deeply could never have done such a thing.”

The Saint’s pupils trembled. It was emotion.
Ritana felt the same. She nodded vigorously and spoke.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I am exactly the person you believe me to be.”
“That’s right, Your Highness. We didn’t come with malicious intent.”

Ritana’s loyal subordinate added his words. Kale Heniatus responded with a strained smile and a nod.
At that gesture, Ritana seemed reassured and approached the siblings.

In that moment, the gazes of Kale Heniatus and Ron collided.
Ron, the attendant, subtly raised his thumb with a pleased expression. And Choi Han stared at Kale Heniatus with a blank face.

‘This much should suffice.’

Kale Heniatus sent a look to his companions suggesting this was manageable, then turned his attention to Ritana as she spoke.

“Come listen with us too, Your Highness.”
“…That won’t be necessary. It seems like a burden too heavy for a mere noble.”

I declined once. As if it were too much for a young nobleman to bear.

“It is not a matter that requires the Duke’s assistance. It is simply information I intended to share upon meeting the Duke.”

Hearing that no help was needed, Kale Heniatus nodded.

“Is there something I should know?”
“Duke, do you remember the fire in the Jungle?”

Why would the fire suddenly come up in conversation?

“…I remember. It was dreadful.”
“Yes. We have discovered who was responsible for that fire.”

I could guess what pretext the twins had used to approach the Jungle Queen.

The Crown Prince had set the fire in the Jungle.

They must have summoned the Queen with this fact.
But Kale Heniatus pretended not to know.

“Surely the culprit is not these two siblings?”
“Yes. It is as the Duke suspected. They told us who the culprit was.”

Kale Heniatus stared at the twin siblings in disbelief. At that moment, the Spear Master spoke to the Saint.

“Brother, tell them everything.”
“Very well.”

The Saint, his expression resolute, began to speak.

“Though we are known as the Saint and Saint Maiden, I was born as a Saint with only half the holy power, and my younger sister Hana is not a Saint Maiden. She simply has talent with the sword and grew up as a swordmaster.”

The Saint also revealed his anger toward the Church.

“The Church used us both and propagated that we were both born with holy power, forcing us to live only as the Saint and Saint Maiden. Because of this, we never properly experienced the world.”

Kale Heniatus barely suppressed a bitter laugh. Never experienced the world, indeed.
Watching the Spear Master Hana sitting against the cave wall in an upright but pained posture, and observing the natural acting of the Secret Organization member’s expression, I was astounded.

Meanwhile, the Saint’s words continued.

“A certain organization detonated a magical bomb at the Church, reducing it to rubble. In the chaos, the Empire branded us as accomplices to that organization and began hunting us down.”
“You didn’t orchestrate the terrorism yourselves?”

The Saint nodded firmly in response to Ritana’s question.

“No, we did not. But the Empire likely did this because they wanted us eliminated.”
“Why?”

The Saint fell silent for a moment before speaking.

“Because of information the Church intended to announce during that festival. Everyone except the two of us who knew of it died in the terrorism.”
“What information?”

Ritana seemed to have been waiting for this very information, gently prompting the Saint. But the answer came from the Sword Master’s lips instead.

“The Empire uses alchemy to create bombs from dead mana. And that massive fire that occurred in the Jungle—that was the Empire’s doing.”

The Saint continued.

“The Church intended to use that announcement to suppress the Imperial family.”

Kale Heniatus now understood why the Sun God Church had sought to hold the festival honoring the Sun God alongside the festival celebrating alchemy.
There had been an ulterior motive.

“But then the bombing suddenly occurred, and we were framed as the perpetrators. Before the announcement, no less! The Empire clearly knew we possessed that information! That’s why we’ve been unjustly hunted, why Hana was injured! This is unbearable!”

Indignation welled up within the Saint, and his eyes reddened with emotion.

Kale Heniatus listened to all of this quietly. Yet his mind raced.

‘On the surface, this appears to be a matter between the Empire and the Church, but why is the Secret Organization caught in the middle?’

Was one of them connected to the other?
Then what about that woman?

Kale Heniatus’s gaze turned toward the woman. The Saint continued pouring out his accumulated grievances.

“We were merely used! This is far too unjust!”

The Sword Master, Hana, murmured calmly.

“Yes. I’ll use them all. Everyone used me. I thought of them as family.”

Everyone.
Kale Heniatus caught the implication in that word—the Sun God Church, the Imperial Family, and one more entity besides.
Then Ritana spoke.

“So you’re asking us for protection in exchange for this information?”

The Saint nodded.

“Yes. I have information about the Alchemy Tower. I’ll give this to you, so please allow us to depart for the Eastern Continent.”

Originally, the Sun God twins’ escape plan was to leave together for the Eastern Continent and live there.
Then Hana’s voice echoed through the cave.

“Take only my brother.”
“What are you saying! Hana, you—!”

The Saint stared at his sister with a bewildered expression. But the Sword Master’s face remained composed.

“I’m already a dying woman.”

Unlike the original plan, Hana had become addicted to dead mana. She would die crossing the Eastern Continent at this rate.

“Don’t say such things! I’ll save you, Hana!”

Despite the Saint’s desperate voice, she kept her lips sealed, staring only at the cave ceiling. Ritana regarded the siblings with complicated eyes.
Then a measured voice resonated through the cave.

“Why not take revenge instead?”

It was Kale Heniatus.
The Sword Master’s gaze, which had been fixed on the cave ceiling, shifted toward Kale Heniatus. Seeing her expression, he continued calmly.

“You have the face for it right now.”

The woman let out a soft laugh in response.

“Then what?”

She didn’t deny it. Though her body was dying, her eyes burned with fury and betrayal.

“Hana! Revenge against the Empire? You told me never to do such a thing.”
“That’s right, revenge against the Empire. You mustn’t do that.”
“You said I mustn’t, so why are you—!”

Hana closed her lips again.
But Kale Heniatus could discern her true intention. It was possible because he knew her identity.

That woman wasn’t seeking revenge against the Empire.
She was seeking revenge against someone else entirely.

Kale Heniatus recalled Choi Han’s words once more.

‘The Spear Master said that the golden twins have been causing him trouble. It seems they’re the ones being referred to.’

That woman had been betrayed by the Secret Organization as well.

“Hana, say something! We have to survive together. Otherwise, there’s no meaning to any of this!”

Despite the Saint’s anguished voice, Hana kept her lips sealed and closed her eyes. Then, Kale Heniatus’s voice reached her ears once more.

“Excuse me. Um, Miss Hana?”

The Kingdom’s hero, virtuous and courteous—Kale Heniatus.
She had intended to ignore his voice.
But she found she could not.

“Would you not consider carrying out that revenge more effectively?”

Kale Heniatus smiled as Hana opened her eyes in surprise and looked at him.
Yesterday’s enemy need not be tomorrow’s enemy for all eternity.

“…What do you mean?”
“A body already dying from dead mana. I’ll help you live longer.”

Silence fell over the cave. Only Hana responded to Kale Heniatus’s words.

“…What in the world are you talking about?”

I deepened my smile as I watched her confusion deepen.
I threw out words that neither the Jungle Queen Ritana nor that Saint would understand—words only she, the Sword Master, could comprehend.

“You can’t die like some blood-crazed Mage, can you?”

Hana. Her pupils trembled.
I didn’t miss that tremor.

Yesterday’s enemy couldn’t be taken as an ally, but they could certainly be put to use.

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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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