Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 157

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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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The Black Dragon Raon could see the stern expression on Kale Heniatus’s face.

“Raon.”

At the quiet sound of his name, Raon realized he had been hasty. The Black Dragon’s expression hardened as he opened his mouth.

“…Yes.”

Raon knew my strength quite accurately. The Black Dragon’s front paw tapped against my leg.

“Human, I spoke too hastily. I forgot that you not only have a weak body, but you’re also a human with power inferior to the Imperial Palace itself. So stay still. I will turn-”
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”

Unlike the serious Raon, I grabbed the box and diary, then announced a new plan.

“Let’s search starting tomorrow.”
“As expected, human! You truly are human! The Imperial Palace is but dust compared to a great dragon! Don’t worry! If we get caught, I’ll destroy everything!”

I ignored the five-year-old who was excitedly spouting violent words and headed toward the only window on this 15th floor.
I stood before the window.

Despite the window’s presence on the 15th floor, I had never considered infiltrating through here.
A narrow window barely the size of my face. Even that offered poor visibility due to the iron bars.

Yet beyond these iron bars, the entire Papal See spread out below. And beyond the Papal See, the Alchemy Tower was visible, and beyond that, the Imperial Palace.

Raon approached my side with eyes full of melancholy as I gazed outward. I spoke while touching the iron bars.

“The Saint must have suffered. To spend her entire life confined in such a space.”

At my rather sentimental words, Raon recalled the cave where he had once been imprisoned. The Dragon looked at me with a newfound sense of emotion.
This human truly is kind. To think such thoughts.

“Raon.”
“Yes, good human.”
“Let’s free this saintess Han.”
“Yes! Human, we can do this!”

Watching Raon nod vigorously, I drew a smile across my face. A deeply sinister one.

* * *

“Welcome back, sir?”

The moment I descended to the first floor, I nodded at Choi Han’s greeting and handed him a vial I’d been carrying.

“…Is that dead mana, sir?”

Dead mana liquid. A lethal toxin the instant one consumed it. A small vial I always carried with me just in case.
I pointed toward the area outside the Spire Tower’s entrance.

“Pull out all the grass in the Garden, then sprinkle just a drop or two of dead mana into the soil. We can’t have it contaminated.”

Choi Han struggled to grasp the sudden instruction, but one thing became abundantly clear.

“Sir Kale, should I leave traces of the Dark’s involvement?”

As expected—he’s sharp.
I knew Choi Han was an intelligent man, despite how he sometimes acted foolishly.

“Exactly. And I’ll give you the location of the fake Alchemist in the Slums. Go find him. He’ll understand if you say the Priest sent you.”
“What should I do to him, sir?”
“Spread rumors.”
“What kind of rumors, sir?”

After the war with the Northern 3 Nations, I had been preparing for a confrontation with the Empire. Therefore, I had anticipated clashing with them at least two years from now.

‘But circumstances have changed.’

Obtaining a divine artifact changes everything.
People believe miracles to be truth when they witness them.

‘Shake the Empire.’

I needed to plant seeds within the Empire.
Kale Heniatus issued his instructions to Choi Han, who watched him intently.

“The Empire has lost the one who would deliver the word of God. Evil forces will bring eternal night. Already, evidence of this has appeared near the Spire Tower where heretics dwelled.”

From his lips sprang rumors that would begin in the Slums and gradually spread throughout the Empire.

* * *

Crown Prince Alberu was in poor spirits upon receiving news that morning. And doubt had taken root. For this reason, he summoned Kale Heniatus.

Clink.
A teacup settled onto the table, and Alberu opened his mouth as he regarded Kale Heniatus across from him.

“Was it you?”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

Alberu became certain as he watched Kale Heniatus crunching cookies with an expression that screamed ignorance.

“It was you.”
“What was, Your Highness?”
“What did you do to the Papal See?”

Crunch.
A smile bloomed at the corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth as he chewed the cookie.

Early this morning, the Empire had issued a notice to the Roan Kingdom’s field investigation team to halt their inquiries temporarily.
The Crown Prince recalled the contents of that notice. The Empire had displayed overt pressure toward another kingdom, and while that displeased him, what troubled him most was that the Empire appeared too urgent to permit negotiation.
He opened his mouth as he looked at Kale Heniatus.

“The Empire suddenly issued a notice that investigations would be impossible for three days.”
“I see. That is unfortunate indeed.”

Tap. Tap. The Crown Prince, who had been tapping the armrest of the sofa, opened his mouth.

“Something clearly happened at the Papal See last night, but the atmosphere isn’t one of blame or suspicion toward us. Rather, they’re actively trying to prevent us from investigating the Papal See.”
“So you accepted their terms?”
“Would I be mad to accept immediately? The investigation period is one week, and they’re telling us not to investigate for three of those days—I protested that it was unreasonable.”

In truth, Alberu hadn’t needed to protest.
The investigation was merely a pretext, after all. It wasn’t a particularly important factor in why he’d come to the Empire.

“Your Highness, then what if you requested that in exchange for those three days without investigation, they reduce the number of officials monitoring us during the remaining period?”
“I already said exactly that.”

The Crown Prince’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly. The two men’s eyes met, and they both let out quiet laughs.

With fewer Imperial officials watching, Kale and the Dark Elves would have an easier time ransacking the Papal See on the final day.

The Crown Prince picked up his teacup again and opened his mouth.

“You don’t seem inclined to speak.”

Kale Heniatus shrugged his shoulders. Normally, when he didn’t respond to the Crown Prince like this, Alberu should have been angered by his position as Crown Prince. But there was no need for that.

“Your Highness, it will be a gain for the Roan Kingdom.”

Kale Heniatus. He didn’t speak empty words. Though he’d caused several incidents, he’d never once brought harm to the Roan Kingdom.

‘Rather, he’s only helped.’

Kale Heniatus was the one who rushed about helping and protecting the Roan Kingdom.
That’s why the Crown Prince let it pass without another word.

‘…He is trustworthy, after all.’

Trust was gradually taking root. The Crown Prince regarded Kale with a more relaxed expression. Goodwill lingered in his eyes.
Then Kale called out to the Crown Prince carefully.

“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Then is it tonight?”

For a moment, the Crown Prince’s brow furrowed slightly.

“…What are you planning to do?”

Alberu posed the question, and I answered brightly.

“I thought I would read and take a walk.”
“Who?”

I pointed to myself.

“Myself.”

Inside the room was a disguised Dark Elf High Mage.
Yet the Crown Prince could not hold back and blurted out his words.

“…I’m going to lose my mind, seriously.”

I rose from my seat with composure, and the Crown Prince gestured for me to leave quickly. I offered a smile in greeting to the Dark Elf who was watching me with an odd expression, then headed toward the Imperial Palace Library for my reading.

But I could not go alone.

“Young master, it would be best if you followed the knight’s guidance.”

An escort from the Empire’s side attached himself to me.

A knight with crimson hair.
Yes, that Cat Tribe Knight.

“Where shall I escort you?”

The Cat Tribe Knight, standing as though between a young man and a boy, asked in a low voice. Yet the deliberately lowered tone, meant to display knightly dignity, felt utterly awkward.

“To the Imperial Palace Library, if you would. Foreigners can visit the first floor, can they not?”
“Yes, it is possible. I shall guide you.”

The Cat Tribe Knight led the way with measured steps.
I followed the Cat Tribe Knight, who walked a half-step ahead on my left, while Choi Han and the invisible Raon trailed behind me.

-Human, that one keeps glancing at you.

Right?
The Cat Tribe Knight continued his guidance while stealing glances at Kale, his gaze unguarded and deliberate—as though he desperately wanted Kale to notice his attention.

So I ignored him.

‘Why is he trying to talk to someone who came here to kill?’

Kale deliberately fixed his gaze upon the Imperial Palace Library in the distance, one of the Mogur Imperial Palace’s greatest treasures. Unlike the other ornate palaces, it possessed a modest yet dignified appearance that evoked memories of an academy.

At the thought of what awaited within, Kale’s footsteps grew lighter.
Then, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Um, Your Highness.”
“…What is it?”

The Cat Tribe Knight faltered beneath the gaze of the nobleman with hair even more vividly red than his own. Yet he soon asked carefully.

“Do you perhaps keep a cat?”

Kale’s heart sank.

“What makes you think that?”

The Cat Tribe Knight spoke with disarming gentleness, his demeanor shy as an innocent youth.

“Well, it’s just that I smell cat on you.”

His freckled nose twitched, his expression appearing genuinely innocent. Yet the Cat Tribe Knight, lifting his gaze, could see Kale’s face remain utterly expressionless.
The knight hesitated, wondering if he had misspoken. Then Kale’s lips parted.

“Isn’t it you who keeps the cat?”
“Pardon?”
“The cat seems to be something you keep.”

A flicker of confusion crossed the previously innocent face. Then Kale’s hand came to rest upon the knight’s shoulder.
Pat. Pat. As Kale brushed off his shoulder, the knight’s muscles tensed. Their eyes met—Kale’s and the Cat Tribe Knight’s.

“Animal fur got stuck to my uniform.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. A red cat, perhaps? Same color as your hair?”

Kale Heniatus posed the question with a gentle smile, and the Knight shook his head.

“It must be hair. I don’t keep any animals.”
“Is that so?”

I could see the Knight’s resolute demeanor.

“Yes. If it’s an animal, I find it dreadful and detestable.”

He appeared to mean it sincerely.
I continued forward without further comment, and the Cat Tribe Knight resumed his guidance. Raon’s voice echoed in my mind.

-He seemed excited when you asked if he kept a cat earlier, but when he said he dislikes animals, he looked like he really hates them! How strange!

Indeed.
A peculiar fellow.
However, as I left the Cat Tribe Knight waiting before the library and stepped inside, Choi Han’s whisper near my ear made me reaffirm my resolve once more.

“Lord Kale Heniatus, that Knight’s level is far beyond what a guide should possess. He is a warrior in disguise.”

I would feign ignorance.
As always, an assassin’s thoughts were none of my concern.
Yet several pieces of information that Vice-Captain Hilsman had gathered about that Knight surfaced in my mind.

‘He is said to be a Knight from the Slums.’
‘Raised faithfully beneath poor parents and several siblings, he is quite popular among the impoverished and commoners, called a dragon risen from the gutters.’

The last piece of information kept nagging at me.
The Knight was twenty-three years old.

‘Several of that Knight’s siblings entered the Alchemy Tower fifteen years ago, it is said. And his parents appear to be ordinary humans.’

Fifteen years. The Slums.
The Alchemy Tower came to mind.

What had the Cat Tribe Knight come here to kill?

I didn’t dwell on the question for long. Instead, I followed the Librarian’s guidance as he led me through the first floor of the Imperial Palace Library.
The Librarian’s expression was welcoming yet curious.

“It’s been quite some time since we’ve had a foreign visitor interested in the history of the Imperial Palace.”
“Is that so? I simply wished to learn more about an empire with such a profound and ancient history.”
“I see.”
“Shouldn’t one understand the history of a nation that has extended an invitation?”

The Librarian nodded at my question. My respectful demeanor had earned his approval.
The Librarian stopped before the Imperial Chronicles section on the first floor—a collection made publicly available to all Imperial Palace visitors—and began explaining it to me.

“This section contains records of the Imperial Palace’s history and the achievements of successive emperors.”
“Ah, I see. I shall examine it carefully.”
“Of course. Should you require any assistance, please visit the desk.”

The Librarian nodded approvingly as he watched the young nobleman begin reading immediately, then turned to leave.

‘He understands the Imperial tongue—he must be quite fond of the empire.’

That was the source of the Librarian’s favorable impression.
Though the first floor had been opened to foreign delegations, all the texts were written in the Imperial language. In essence, it was open in name only—unless one learned the Imperial tongue, one could not truly access it.

But I had Raon.

-Human, the founding of the Papal See is three shelves further down from the one you’re currently examining.

I examined the books methodically.
Rustle. Rustle.

Raon’s bright, eager voice echoed in my mind.

-At the time of the Papal See’s founding, a new palace was constructed.

I murmured softly, concealing my lips behind the book.

“Tell me more.”

Kale opened the book.

-There is no record of the Burned Palace in any historical documents written before or after the establishment of the Papal See. However, looking at the history of this Mogur Imperial Palace, there is one palace that was uniquely built during that time.

There is no trace of burning anywhere in the Imperial Palace.

-And next to that palace, a garden was created.

A palace and garden built to coincide with the establishment of the Papal See.

-Those places are called the ‘Sun Palace’ and the ‘Garden of the Sun,’ respectively. These names were reportedly given by a prince who was a strong candidate to become the next emperor, along with the Pope.

Rustle. Rustle.
Kale flipped through the pages rapidly. Of course, Raon read through them quickly as well. After standing for three hours straight, turning pages, Raon spoke to Kale.

-That was all from before.

Thud.
Kale closed the book. He spoke to Choi Han.

“Let’s go.”

There was no reason to read anymore.

The Sun Palace.
I know where that is.
I also know the famous Garden of the Sun beside it.

It was a banquet venue.

Kale left the library and began walking. Before his eyes appeared the most splendid palace, and beside it, an equally beautiful garden.

A place that shines like the sun.
When he drew somewhat close to that place.

Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded.
And my palms tingled.

An invisible wind swirled around Kale Heniatus.

* * *

The final day of the investigation team’s field survey.
The Crown Prince spoke to Kale before stepping down from the carriage.

“Let’s meet at the banquet once this is finished.”

The Crown Prince intended to create an opportunity for Kale to slip away to the East Annex by touring the building alongside the Imperial administrators while playing the part of an enthusiastic Crown Prince.
The number of Imperial administrators had already been halved. However, investigating the Garden and the Spire Tower was now impossible.

“Ah.”

The Crown Prince, who had mentioned the banquet, suddenly opened his mouth as if remembering something.

“A Sword Master will be attending the banquet, I hear.”
“The Empire’s Sword Master?”
“Yes.”

A Sword Master.
On the Western Continent, one existed in the Empire, one in the Caro Kingdom, and one in the North.

That was what was publicly known.

“Hmm.”

Kale’s expression darkened. Seeing this, the Crown Prince opened his mouth as if he understood what Kale was thinking.

“You don’t need to worry. The Empire likely intends to reveal the Sword Master’s presence at the banquet to gain the upper hand with other nations. He arrives tomorrow and participates in the banquet immediately, I’m told. We don’t need to concern ourselves with it.”

The existence of a Sword Master served to elevate a nation’s prestige and boost the morale of its knights.
The pinnacle of the blade.
That realm held great significance.
Thus, the Crown Prince, seeing Kale’s hardened expression as he worried about the situation of the Roan Kingdom, which lacked a Sword Master, opened his mouth.

“They are our enemies, but there is no need to panic rashly at this moment.”
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Choi Han is a Sword Master, but if I bring him to the banquet, won’t you both recognize each other’s level?”

The Crown Prince’s mind went blank for a moment. I added one more word.

“And Vice-Captain Hilsman is also a top-tier Knight. That should be fine, right?”

I felt a pang of regret at the Crown Prince’s dazed expression. It seemed the exploration of the divine artifact at the Sun Palace would have to be just Raon and me.

‘Should I bring Erhafen? I’ll need to tell Raon to hide his presence.’

I looked at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince uttered a single syllable.

“…Ha.”

At his expression, I called out to Alberu.

“Your Highness?”

Alberu spoke after a long moment.

“You madman.”

Of course, those words were directed at me.
He pulled out a magic pouch from his breast and tossed it to me.

“Bring back everything.”

I grinned as I pocketed the magic pouch.

Shortly after, at the East Annex of the Papal See.

“This is a library too.”

Before the closed library door, I extended my hand toward it.

“I beseech you, Young Master.”

As I heard the voice of the High Mage—the disguised Dark Elf—I opened the library door.
The secret chamber within.
And the secret table within it.

There lay treasure.

Creeeeak—
The library door swung open.
In that moment, I heard it.

—Are you willing to sacrifice?

What?

The terrifying rock spoke.

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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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