Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 160

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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 36. And So It Happened Again

From far away, Kale Heniatus heard the voices of people. High-pitched sounds mixed together—whether screams or commands, he could not tell.

Kale opened his mouth while meeting the gaze of the cat before him.

“Hilsman.”

The cat hesitated.

“Yes!”

In that instant, Hilsman approached the cat and extended both hands.
The cat hurriedly tried to change direction and flee. But the front paw it planted stumbled from the wound on its flank, and Hilsman did not miss that moment.

“I have it!”

The Vice-Captain could not grip the injured cat forcefully, and he approached while holding the struggling cat as gently as possible.

A low growl rumbled forth.
The cat bared its fangs and sharpened its claws. The exposed talons seemed ready to pierce Hilsman’s leather armor at any moment.

“Sigh.”

At that moment, a sigh echoed near the cat’s ears. Simultaneously, a cold liquid was sprayed onto the cat’s body.
It was a potion.

Kale Heniatus opened his mouth as he sprayed the potion onto the cat as a temporary measure.

“This knight was guiding my path, and I cannot simply ignore an injury.”

The cat froze. Vice-Captain Hilsman also froze. Kale Heniatus swallowed a sigh as he observed the Vice-Captain’s expression of wide-eyed realization, then studied the Cat Tribe Knight.

He had heard this knight came from the Slums.
The Imperial Palace and Royal Court fundamentally recruit a certain proportion of commoner-born knights. But if that commoner hailed from the Slums, one could say they possessed considerable talent and fortune.

He recalled what Hilsman had said.

‘Several of that knight’s brothers entered the Alchemy Tower fifteen years ago, it seems. And the parents appear to be purely human.’

Where had the brothers who were with me fifteen years ago gone?
Had they gone to the Alchemy Tower?

If so, the reason for attempting to kill the Sub-Tower Master made sense.

Kale Heniatus and the cat’s gazes remained fixed on each other, searching. The cat opened his mouth as he observed the empty potion bottle and the healing wound.

“…What are you planning to do with me?”
“You were captured without resistance, and now you ask such things?”

At Kale Heniatus’s response, the Cat Tribe Knight fell silent.

Was he trying to destroy Alchemy?
At that question, pain surged forward for a moment. Then the wound healed with potion, and the pain subsided.

He had grown up in the Slums and lived like walking a tightrope in the Imperial Palace, honing his instincts. Those instincts told him the answer lay with this one.
The Cat Tribe Knight heard the voice of Kale Heniatus, a nobleman from the Roan Kingdom.

“The Roan Kingdom came here to uncover what the Alchemy Tower and the Empire committed fifteen years ago.”

Fifteen years.
At that word, ripples spread across the Cat Tribe Knight’s face.
The composed figure of nobleman Kale Heniatus was reflected in his eyes.

“We seek to expose to the world the vile crimes that the Empire and the Alchemy Tower committed against the people of the Slums fifteen years ago.”
“…I heard you came because of the magical bomb terrorism.”
“Then why would I be trying to save and rescue you?”

The cat hesitated before opening his mouth.

“…Save?”
“Yes.”

Kale Heniatus slowly stepped from the dark blind spot of the garden where no light reached into the illuminated area. Then he gave an instruction to Hilsman.

“Hilsman, I’ll handle the rest myself. From now on, carefully make your way back to the Palace.”

Top-tier Expert.
Hilsman’s skills had now reached an elite level.

“Yes, I understand.”

Hilsman’s solemn response was reassuring. I turned my body. My gaze drifted toward the Sun Palace entrance, where knights and soldiers still moved about and nobles continued to emerge one by one.
But before I could take a step, the Cat Tribe Knight’s voice reached my ears.

“I cannot live.”

What?
I turned around. Then I saw a maid being dragged out from the entrance.

“Hahaha!”

The woman, dressed in the attire of an Imperial Palace maid, laughed as she was dragged out. The knights pulling her emerged, and one of them rushed toward the Crown Prince with a grave expression.

I sensed something amiss in the scene.

‘Why is a maid there?’

A servant was then dragged out as well.

A maid and a servant.
Unlike attendants and handmaidens who served nobility or performed visible duties, maids and servants handled all the unseen, menial work within the palace.

Though they were everywhere, they were people of a station that could never approach the banquet hall where nobles gathered.

‘Then why are they there?’

I immediately turned my gaze toward the Cat Tribe Knight.

My instincts felt wrong.
This was far from over.

“Young Master?”

Hilsman called my name with confusion as he quickly approached, but I lifted the chin of the cat resting its head in Hilsman’s arms.

“What are you trying to do?”

The Cat Tribe Knight opened his mouth without daring to meet Kale Heniatus’s gaze.

“I didn’t know the Roan Kingdom Delegation came with such a purpose.”
“…Speak properly.”

The Cat-Human slowly turned his eyes to meet Kale Heniatus’s gaze at the cold voice.

Hahahaha!

The Cat-Human heard his comrade’s laughter from far away.
It was too late anyway.

He opened his mouth.

“I was an abandoned Cat-Human in my childhood. By chance, my parents took me in, and I grew up with my siblings. Three of us were chosen by the Alchemy Tower fifteen years ago and entered the tower.”

The Cat-Human recalled his mother’s words.

‘You can eat delicious things there. And you might succeed too. So never reveal your cat form. If it gets hard, lean on your older sister and brother.’

The older sister, older brother, and the youngest—the Cat-Human—entered the Alchemy Tower together. And because I was a Cat-Human, a very small cat, I could escape. I barely made it out of the tower by crawling through sewers filled with filth.
And because I’m Cat-Human Race, being a very small cat, I was able to escape. I barely made it out of the Bell Tower after passing through a sewage pipe filled with filth.

My older sister and brother helped with that.

‘Yes. Do as sister says and get out. You can survive.’
“Fine. Like your sister said, you go. You can survive.”

The words spoken by his older siblings, who were merely two or three years his senior, never faded from his memory even as he grew into adulthood.

Having lived that way, his parents hid him away in an underground bunker. The youngest of five siblings, when he turned seven two years later, he became five years old again and lived as the youngest of six siblings.
“I, and we, never forgot our siblings and friends.”

No matter how much the tower promoted that those from the Slums had grown up well by parading a few of them, some of the children who had been sent there—now adults—continued to harbor doubts.

No matter how many people the Bell Tower paraded out to promote that those from the Slums had turned out well, some of the children who had sent their brothers and sisters still harbored doubts even now as adults.
It was the Cat Tribe Knight who taught them the truth and led them.

“I have moved to seek revenge from the filthiest place in the Empire.”

The Cat Tribe Knight recounted the events of the past in brief.

“As we grew stronger, we formed an organization five years ago. Then we scattered throughout the underworld of countless cities across the Empire, purchasing bombs from both fake and genuine alchemists.”

In that moment, Kale Heniatus recalled words he had spoken during his conversation with Alchemist Ray Stecker.

‘A drunken fake alchemist. He manufactures poisons and small-scale bombs that underworld organizations can use when they squabble amongst themselves.’

Kale Heniatus could now trace where some of the poisons and small bombs that Alchemist Ray Stecker had concocted had flowed.

‘They did this across the entire Empire.’

This is madness.

Kale Heniatus finally watched the puzzle pieces fall into place, one by one.
Right—it would be difficult for this Cat Tribe member alone to undertake something as dangerous as assassinating a Sub-Tower Master.

The Cat Tribe Knight’s words continued.

“Three years ago, I became a Knight. I had the talent, and I was the strongest.”

The strongest and leader among the organization’s members, the Cat Tribe member, took on the assassination.

“And the others entered as servants and maids.”

Coming from the Slums, the maximum they could rise to was servant or maid. The Cat Tribe Knight recalled the organization members who had lived such difficult lives.

“Even if we were poor, there was no reason not to seek revenge. We finally moved today.”

Kale Heniatus withdrew his hand from the Cat Tribe Knight and turned away.
The Cat Tribe Knight could hear the voice of Kale Heniatus as he turned.

“Small-scale bombs gathered from all across the Empire converged here today. There must be more beyond those already captured.”

Those currently captured and laughing were likely decoys.
A role to divert attention and make it easier for the others to move.

Kale Heniatus questioned the Cat Tribe Knight.

“Small-scale bombs created through alchemy lack firepower. They could never bring down the Sun Palace.”

Compared to magical bombs powered by mana, alchemical bombs relied on mimicking mana through natural forces, making them weaker in potency and lower in success rate.

The timer magic bomb using mana spheres that had been discovered last time was the only alchemical bomb with a one-hundred-percent success rate.

Naturally, the Cat Tribe Knight understood that the firepower was insufficient to completely demolish the Sun Palace. Still, he judged that destroying a portion of it was possible.

The banquet after the war with the Wipper Kingdom. Of all the banquets held thus far, this one would draw the most concentrated attention from the Empire’s people, making it impossible not to act.
Only then could the world learn of our revenge and the truth, he had decided.

Yet the Cat Tribe Knight had nothing to say to this man, a nobleman of the Roan Kingdom.

“…I’m sorry. These are bombs collected from across the nation over five years. For the past month, I’ve concentrated them all near a single pillar.”

Bringing down a single pillar.
Kale Heniatus understood perfectly what five years of effort could accomplish.

“I truly apologize to the Roan Kingdom. But the bombs will detonate very soon. It will be difficult to stop them.”

The Cat Tribe Knight had wounded the Sub-Tower Master but failed to kill him.
Then at least he had to exact revenge on the corrupt Empire. He had always felt sorry toward the Roan Kingdom Delegation, but that regret had only grown deeper.

The Cat Tribe Knight watched as Kale slowly turned around. His gaze fixed back on the Cat Tribe Knight. The Cat Tribe Knight felt a sudden chill.
Kale’s mouth opened.

“You madman, what crime did the people of the Roan Kingdom commit?”
“…It’s for the greater cause.”
“What greater cause.”

When the Cat Tribe Knight saw Kale’s lips curl upward, he could only lower his head. Then he opened his mouth.

“That’s why I have no intention of living.”
“That’s nonsense.”

The Knight hesitated.
Kale Heniatus. The righteous and courteous nobleman had become a rather frequently mentioned figure among the Roan Kingdom Delegation within the Imperial Palace of late.
The Knight glanced back at Kale upon hearing his rough tone, but Kale was not looking at him. Wind swirled around Kale’s feet.

“Hilsman.”
“Yes.”
“Keep him from dying.”
“Yes.”

Kale’s body surged forward. Behind him came the Cat Tribe Knight’s voice.

“…It’s already too late. The bomb must have been ignited.”

Then Raon’s voice echoed in Kale’s mind.

-Human, we will save them!

Kale moved with urgency.

There were still many things I needed to ask the Cat Tribe Knight, many questions that remained unanswered.
How they had managed to bypass the Imperial Palace’s security and concentrate the bomb on a single pillar, and how they planned to cover their tracks afterward.

But there was something more pressing to do before asking such questions.

The entrance to the Sun Palace came into view.

“Young Master Kale!”

Diplomat Daltaro, the highest-ranking official of the Roan Kingdom Delegation, waved his hand with surprise and delight upon seeing him approach rapidly.
The Crown Prince was visible beside him.

“…You!”

Crown Prince Albert opened his mouth in astonishment as he watched Kale approach rapidly before gradually coming to a halt, but his lips closed again at Kale’s words.

“…Damn it!”

Kale moved again.
The Crown Prince followed his gaze and his eyes widened.

The chaotic entrance to the Sun Palace came into view.
Many members of the Roan Kingdom Delegation were visible as well—some conversing with Imperial officials while conducting business, others emerging from the entrance after undergoing identity and attire inspections.
Most were lower-ranking administrators.
The higher-ranking officials had evacuated first.

The Crown Prince’s gaze fixed upon one of the Sun Palace’s pillars.

“What—!”

A servant who should have been gathered for questioning was pressed against the pillar.

Flames erupted violently.
Fire consumed the servant’s body.

“Ahhhhh!”
“Gasp—what is that?”

Screams pierced the air once more.
The figure ablaze—not a servant at all, but an impostor wearing stolen servant’s garb—clung to the pillar as a small, ignited bomb slipped from their grasp and plummeted downward.

Kale recalled the Cat-Human Knight’s words.

‘…It’s already too late. The bombs must be ignited by now.’

He was right. The bombs were already lit.

—Human, it is not too late.

Raon was also correct.
Kale extended his hand. Wind shot forth like an arrow from his palm, carrying Raon’s magic that had been following invisibly alongside it.
This was the only way to conceal Raon’s magic from the Empire’s Sword Master and Sub-Tower Master.

“Ugh!”

The impostor clinging to the pillar was torn away by the wind and tumbled across the floor.

Thud.

Kale heard the sound of the floor cracking beneath him.
One of the massive pillars supporting the Sun Palace.
He could see the ground trembling beneath that pillar where the servant had been stationed.

The explosion had already begun.

-Human, can I use magic on my own right now? If I do, they’ll know someone’s beside you! The Sword Master will recognize my magnificent magic!

The Crown Prince entered Kale’s field of vision. The Sword Master Hutten appeared as well. The Crown Prince Albert came rushing toward him, with Daltaro following behind.
Kale looked at Crown Prince Albert, Daltaro, and the delegation.

At that moment, a single voice echoed through Kale’s mind.

-Are you going to sacrifice yourself?

Sacrifice? What nonsense.
That’s ridiculous.

Boom, boom!
Dozens of explosions detonated, shaking the very foundation of the pillar.
Those scrambling desperately out of the Sun Palace entrance presented a scene of utter chaos.

Kale’s mouth opened.

“Help me.”

I spread both my hands wide.
A wave of power emanated from my body. And for the first time in ages, the shield that had wrapped around my heart stirred to life.

Crack.
The middle section of the trembling pillar snapped. From the break, the ceiling that had been touching the pillar began to collapse downward.
Kale spoke.

“I’ll hold it.”
-Understood.

That was when it happened.
The Crown Prince Albert, who had been approaching Kale, stopped in his tracks. Kale’s name spilled from his lips.

“…Kale Heniatus.”

Night.
A colossal silver radiance emerged from the darkness onto the earth.
That silver light originated from Kale.

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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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