Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 175

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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 knights hidden in the shadows approached Clophe, the guardian knight who had been watching Kale disappear into the distance.

“Commander, shall we investigate who that person is?”

Clophe did not answer his subordinate’s question. Instead, he fixed his gaze upon the Priest walking toward a secluded area.

“Commander.”

When called upon once more, Clophe nodded his head.

“Just get a rough idea of who they are.”

A rough idea?
At those words, two of the knights—excluding the loyal subordinate—hesitated. The person was undeniably mysterious, yet suspicious to anyone’s eyes. Given Clophe’s usual temperament, they had expected him to order a thorough investigation, which made them question his instruction.
However, the loyal subordinate immediately bowed his head.

“Understood, sir.”

The subordinate grasped the meaning behind “rough idea.”

It meant simply to discover who they were.
That was what Clophe meant by “rough idea.” For him, a thorough investigation meant uncovering every weakness and trauma of the target.

Thus, the subordinate resolved to focus solely on identifying who this person was. Yet even as he gave the order, Clophe felt uneasy.

‘…Could this be a sacrilegious act?’

He worried that investigating the identity of this extraordinary individual might lead to something amiss. On the other hand, even Clophe himself could not discern what that “something” might be.

He issued orders to the two knights, excluding his loyal subordinate.

“Follow them.”

The white-haired Priest had vanished into the forest east of the lakeside. At Clophe’s command to pursue them, the knights moved swiftly.

Yet mere minutes later, Clophe could only receive a peculiar report from his knights.

“Commander, there’s nothing.”
“What?”
“The footprints grew fainter from the forest entrance, and soon disappeared without a trace.”

Clophe’s expression became peculiar.
The knights opened their mouths with grave expressions.

“Could it be a Mage?”
“Wasn’t it a Mage disguised as a Priest who used flight magic?”

Clophe shook his head firmly.

“No, I didn’t sense any mana either. They weren’t at a level high enough to use flight magic. They were weak.”

Because these words came from the Sword Master Clophe, the knights believed him, yet their suspicions deepened. For someone described as weak, the atmosphere surrounding them had been distinctly unusual. Clophe felt the same way.

‘I didn’t sense any powerful presences nearby either.’

Clophe, who couldn’t even perceive Choi Han’s level—let alone detect Raon’s very existence—began to entertain a different theory about the Priest’s identity.

One being came to mind.

A messenger of God.
Could this be someone who came to deliver God’s word?

“What should we do?”

At his subordinate’s question, Clophe swallowed his true thoughts. The fact that he believed in legends so deeply was a secret from everyone. Rather, people thought he was atheistic and believed in nothing.
Clophe issued instructions in a cold voice.

“First, let’s get the list of people who entered the Lake and think about it.”

Despite his cold exterior, his heart was racing. He immediately headed toward the Temple.

The Temple, its entrance restricted due to festival preparations. At its center stood a monument.

【God has always been close to mankind. Appearing in the form most resembling this Northern land, He has bestowed warmth upon us in our suffering.】

The Northern Region is a land where snow perpetually falls—a landscape that most closely mirrors the white earth itself.
Clophe read and reread the inscription carved upon the monument, and in doing so, recalled a certain person.

And then he was able to hear the report.

“Commander, it appears a white-haired Priest entered and exited the premises. Those in robes were his companions, and they left a single note at the inn where they had rented a room before disappearing entirely!”
“…What did the note say?”

His trusted subordinate produced the note.
The moment Clophe’s eyes fell upon it, a tremendous ripple coursed through him.

【To one who seeks to transform the legends of the past into the legends of the present: identical legends can never be forged. Only new legends shall emerge to inherit glory.】

The Guardian Knight’s heart raced.
He was the one attempting to transform the legends of the past into reality. Moreover, this was a goal he alone had conceived in his heart. The others merely believed this to be a war for unfrozen lands.

For him, it was far more than mere war.
He wished to inherit the legend itself.

‘A new legend, you say?’

The corners of Clophe’s mouth rose.

He was certain the Priest was a mysterious being.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to write such a note. Surely, he had written it knowing it would reach him. His mood brightened considerably.

‘The protagonist of a new legend. Not a bad prospect.’

Clophe harbored no doubt that he would become the hero of glory.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rosalind swept back her crimson hair and posed a question to Kale Heniatus.

“Young Master, what does the note mean?”

Kale leisurely chewed the morsel of chicken in his mouth, swallowed it, and dabbed the corner of his lips with a napkin before speaking.

“Just nonsense.”
“…Nonsense?”

Rosalind simply watched as the man with hair even redder than hers spoke so casually.

“Yes, I just scribbled down words that seemed plausible enough.”

Kale had returned to his usual appearance, no longer dressed as a priest, and leaned back against the sofa in the lodging. Rosalind exhaled a long sigh.
She glanced around the room.

This was a secret annex building constructed behind the Flynn Merchant Guild’s first and only branch in the Paern Kingdom. It made no sense that the Flynn Merchant Guild—one of the three major merchant guilds in the Roan Kingdom—would have no building in the Paern Kingdom.

Although they had to take a boat to another Northern Kingdom and cross the border again to reach Paern, for merchants, money made even such borders insignificant.

Rosalind, observing someone as meticulous as such merchants, posed a question.

“Young master, did you secure separate lodging because you anticipated meeting the guardian knight?”
“Not at all. I simply prepared it so that later, when I create trouble and need to erase traces, it would be convenient.”

At Kale’s composed response, Rosalind shook her head.
In her hand were two identity documents—a forged one created by Crown Prince Albert, and another proving her affiliation with the Flynn Merchant Guild.
The merchant’s identity document was one Kale had handed over moments ago without the slightest hesitation.

‘How can someone seem so careless yet be so meticulous at the same time?’

Rosalind abandoned any attempt to understand Kale’s thought process. Rather than trying to fathom the mind of someone extraordinary in one aspect, it was better to excel in the field where she herself had a role to play.

“What will we do next?”

Instead of Kale, Raon answered her question with enthusiasm.

“The duchy next!”

Rosalind, as well as Paseton who had revealed the duchy’s location, both flinched.
However, Choi Han simply murmured calmly.

“So that’s where we’re headed this time.”

Kale nodded and stood up.

“Let’s just take a quick look around for now.”

Choi Han and Raon approached. Kale beckoned with his finger toward the two children rolling about in the corner.

“Meal payment.”

Meow.
“It’s been so long!”

On and Hong immediately came bounding over, their tails swishing. Their stealth now nearly matched that of Servant Ron. That should be enough to evade Clophe’s notice.

Kale led them straight toward the Seka Duchy, located just beside the Paern Royal Palace.

* * *

On the second floor of a quiet tea shop nestled among the densely packed noble mansions, Kale sipped his tea while gazing at a residence perched upon a distant hill.

“…Quite ominous.”

A white mansion on the hill.
That was the Seka Duchy.

Beside the iron gate, ominous statues commanded attention.

-Human, do those statues look ominous to you?

I nodded at Raon’s question.
Statues depicting wyverns in all their terrifying glory stood menacingly at the entrance of the white mansion on the hill.
Their sheer size was imposing enough to be felt even from below the hill.

Raon’s curious voice echoed in my mind.

-Human, they’re cuter than that rabbit you gave me that resembles the guardian of hell.

That’s true.
I recalled the sculptor and assassin Frigia, whom I had nearly forgotten.

‘Next time I get the chance, I should ask Frigia to carve some statues for the front of the Count’s Mansion.’

Most people would likely be frightened and avoid such a place.
Kale Heniatus rose calmly from the tea shop, contemplating something that would astonish the Count if he knew.

“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”

Kale Heniatus and Choi Han stood from their seats.

The Cats were already leaping across rooftops, heading toward the white mansion on the hill. On and Hong would map out every alley and street in this quarter where the noble families gathered.

Whiiiii—
My hair, now grown long enough to brush past my shoulders, swayed back and forth in the wind, but I paid it no mind.
The magically-altered brown hair whipped about with increasing intensity as wind gathered around me.

‘Quite the commotion.’

The Wind’s Sound was raising an absolute ruckus.

I stopped a short distance away from the Seka Duchy on the hilltop. The transparent Raon’s voice reached my ears.

-There are Knights everywhere here. But there are very few Mages!

Of course there were.
This was the Paern Kingdom, a nation of Knights.
Moreover, it was the household of the ‘Guardian Knights.’ Here, the sword reigned supreme over magic.

Whiiiii—

I opened my palm.

The winds were poised to assault the Seka Duchy at any moment.

“…Something feels off.”
“What troubles you, sir?”

I shook my head at Choi Han’s question. And I pondered.

‘Does the Guardian Knight know there’s a priest in the Duchy?’

It was strange if I thought about it.
Why would someone trying to create a legend simply bury it in the Seka Duchy?

‘And is that really God’s Tear?’

Was God’s Tear truly what this wind thief desired?
Why would it be in the Seka Duchy?

It was strange.

But what was even stranger was Choi Han’s reaction.

“Kale Heniatus.”
“What is it?”
“Would it be alright if I got a bit closer to the Seka Duchy?”
“Well, there’s no reason it wouldn’t be.”

Kale Heniatus and Choi Han approached the Seka Duchy discreetly, without drawing attention. Choi Han kept tilting his head in confusion.

“It feels familiar somehow.”

Familiar?
Kale Heniatus wondered what could feel familiar to Choi Han.

The scent of blood?

The word that suddenly came to mind made Kale Heniatus shudder, and he took a step back from Choi Han. Then Choi Han asked him.

“Kale Heniatus, if it’s alright with you, would it be acceptable if I entered the mansion alone tonight to look around first?”
“First?”

It was the first time Choi Han had volunteered to do something ahead of the others.

“I just have a familiar feeling about this. Of course, I will move without being detected at all.”

Choi Han waited for Kale Heniatus’s answer, and Kale Heniatus responded immediately.

“You don’t need to ask about things like this. Just be careful and come back safely.”
“Understood.”

“Human, should I go too?”

Ignoring Raon’s question, I entrusted On and Hong to Choi Han and returned to my lodging. There, I leisurely enjoyed a steak paired with wine, then drifted to sleep in an exceptionally plush bed.

A peaceful night had arrived.

However, I jolted awake in alarm.

Crash, bang!

The sound of the window shattering pierced the air.
My eyes snapped open.

Gasp.
I drew in a sharp breath.
Choi Han was right in front of my face. Startled beyond measure, I shoved his face away with my hand.

“Kale!”

But Choi Han was urgent.

“What?”

My face contorted in irritation.

Why use the window when a perfectly good door was right there?

“Human, were you frightened?”

Raon’s tiny paw gently patted my shoulder. I ignored Raon’s paw—he had known all along but hadn’t bothered to warn me—and turned my attention to Choi Han, On, and Hong.

“We saw something incredible!”
“It was seriously amazing!”

On and Hong bounced excitedly up and down.
I felt an odd chill at the back of my head and rubbed the nape of my neck.

“…What happened?”

His voice, just woken from sleep, was hoarse.
Choi Han opened his mouth.

“Kale Heniatus, it’s the Dark.”

Words tumbled immediately from Kale’s lips.

“Those bastards are here?”

Hong answered.

“The Dark was handing over some object to the Duchy people! It looked like something important!”

Could it be?
Kale asked Choi Han.

“Was what felt familiar the Dark? Can you sense their aura too?”

Choi Han shook his head at Kale’s question.

“No. What felt familiar was simply… well, you could say it was the scent of blood I recognized.”

So it really was the smell of blood.
Kale found it absurd that strong warriors could detect all manner of scents and presences, but he waited for Choi Han to finish speaking.

“So I went to search in advance to see if anything dangerous was happening inside the mansion. It would be difficult if there were variables when I went to steal it later.”

That is correct.

“But ‘Am’ secretly handed over a small box to a duke family member. The items in that box seem to be valuable.”

Choi Han, who was speaking seriously, stopped when he heard a strange sound.
Choi Han, who had been speaking seriously, stopped mid-sentence at the strange sound.

“Choi Han.”
“You see, originally I was planning to wear Priest robes and summon pillars of fire to cause absolute chaos?”
Yes.

How cruel would it be if a white-haired priest laughed in front of a pillar of fire?

“But I couldn’t do that.”

The plan became useless as it remained as Clope’s wonderful new temple.
With Clophe becoming a splendid Priest, that plan had become pointless.

‘no way?’

One thing suddenly occurred to Choi Han.
A sudden realization struck Choi Han.

“I brought ‘Cancer’ agent clothes?”

Clothes that look reasonable but are crudely imitating a secret society.
Garish yet crudely fashioned costumes that mimicked a Secret Organization.

“I brought just 5 pieces. How are you feeling?”

Cale, Choi Han, Rosalyn, and two whale people.
Kale, Choi Han, Rosalind, and two members of the Whale Tribe.
Precisely five people.

“Human, good!”
“Human, that’s wonderful!”
“It’s so cool!”

Cale answered the children with happy eyes.

“I’ll buy you something delicious during the festival.”

Until the end, Choi Han couldn’t say anything. After the night passed, the first day of the festival arrived.

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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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