Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 2

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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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I examined each plate laid before me one by one. My fork drifted toward a salad composed of unfamiliar fruits. Having already filled my belly with meat, soup, and bread, I found myself drawn to something new.
I placed a fruit resembling an orange in shape but colored like a green grape into my mouth and bit down gently.

“Mm.”

In that instant, sweet juice flooded my mouth. I had always despised sour fruits, but this flavor represented the very pinnacle of sweetness—so much so that I found myself drooling without realizing it. That was when it happened.
My eyes locked directly with my father Derth’s, who had been watching me.

“Kale.”

He called my name but then hesitated, unable to form words. His brow furrowed, and his lips merely twitched. Finding this subtle atmosphere awkward, I tossed out my impression as casually as hurling a stone.

“It’s delicious.”
“Yes, the taste is garbage— wait? Delicious?”
“Yes. Everything tastes wonderful.”

This time I picked up another fruit and ate it, smiling as the sweetness bloomed across my palate once more. After all, I was Kale, a reckless fool who knew nothing of noble etiquette.
Father, surely such behavior during a conversation with the family head was improper. But what did it matter? I was a reckless fool, after all.

‘Being a reckless fool truly is the best.’

Everyone overlooks it anyway. As long as I don’t clash with the protagonist, life is quite pleasant.
Just as I had anticipated, no one reproached my lack of manners. Instead, Derth smiled awkwardly and nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, it is delicious. It brings me such joy to see you eating with such relish.”

Truly, this was how a father who cherished only me should behave—embracing even my rudeness. In truth, if one truly cared, one should correct such behavior first. But now that I was no longer Kim Rok-soo, such thoughts seemed meaningless.

“Yes, Father. Please eat plenty as well.”

My second brother Basen sighed with a “Tch,” and hearing this, I shifted my gaze back to my plate. Basen, fifteen years old—my younger brother by three years in this body I now inhabited—was a troublesome presence in many ways.

Unlike the reckless fool Kale, Basen was intelligent, serious, and deeply responsible—the one the family pushed as the next family head. And I, now as Kim Rok-soo in Kale’s body, believed that judgment to be correct.

‘Why burden myself with managing a territory when I could simply loaf about in some quiet corner of the domain as the lord’s older brother?’

I didn’t needlessly provoke Basen. I could hear him sighing as he looked at me, his tone dripping with disdain, but what could I do about it?
Later, when Basen became lord, his nature wouldn’t drive him to kill me, but if I wanted to avoid injury and live quietly in the countryside, I had to refrain from testing his patience.

‘If worse comes to worst, I’ll just pocket what I can beforehand and disappear to somewhere the war won’t reach.’

I pretended not to hear Basen’s sigh and continued eating. When all the meals were finished, my father Derth rose from his seat first. His face was full of smiles, as if the breakfast had satisfied him completely.

‘It really was delicious.’

If every breakfast was like this, I’d have to come down and eat every day, even if it meant sacrificing sleep. Derth watched his family members rise from their seats to follow him, and finally his gaze met mine—his eldest son.

“Cale, is there anything you need?”

I was puzzled by Derth’s sudden kindness, but I answered honestly nonetheless.

“Please give me some money.”
“Of course. I’ll give you plenty.”

The answer came back sharp and immediate.

Truly a wealthy household.
Since the territory primarily mined marble and produced wine, they were accumulating money greedily these days before the war, when resources were most abundant.

“Yes, please give me as much as possible.”

I could feel my two younger brothers’ gazes fixed on me, but I felt no shame. Asking for money was nothing compared to getting drunk and causing trouble.
Besides, I needed money for my future plans. An opportunity to gain considerable power without pain. That opportunity would require some funds.

“Very well. I’ll give you as much as I can.”

I smiled with satisfaction at my father’s firm promise. But when I returned to my bedroom and saw the check that Hans handed me, I was left speechless. The check issued jointly by the Kingdom Treasury and Magic Ministry made my heart race.

‘Why so much?’

Did this household have not just some money, but an enormous amount?
The book had mentioned that my allowance was generous, but I hadn’t known the actual sum. Now, seeing the number written on the check, the reality of my generous allowance truly sank in.

‘Ten million Gelons.’

It was equivalent to ten million Korean won. With this amount, my plans had shifted dramatically. My mind began racing through the possibilities.

“Young master, then I shall take my leave.”

The butler handed over the check and bowed, but I didn’t even acknowledge him. Hans, the deputy butler, accepted this with a resigned expression and turned toward the door. But he stopped abruptly.
I had risen from my seat.

“Ron, come to the study with me.”

Hans was taken aback by my words. Ron was equally startled.

“…T-the study, sir?”

I was puzzled. It was rare for this sinister old man to question me in such a flustered tone. Was there something wrong with going to the study?

“Yes.”

I needed to go to the study and formulate my plans. The bedroom had neither a proper desk nor writing materials. Though it certainly had plenty of what appeared to be rare liquor bottles.

“Um, young master.”
“What is it?”

I looked at the troubled butler.

“The study hasn’t been cleaned this morning yet.”
“Is that so? Well, it doesn’t matter if it goes a day without cleaning.”
“That simply cannot be, sir.”

The butler became oddly insistent. He smiled broadly and held up one finger.

“Just one hour, please! I shall devote myself entirely to making the study pristine—as if it were entered and left yesterday, not a study abandoned after being used once ten years ago!”
“Well, suit yourself then.”

I could wait an hour.

“Yes, then I shall report this matter to the lord.”
“No need for that, really. But if you wish to, go ahead.”
“Yes, young master. I shall go now.”
“Very well.”

Like a properly trained vice-butler, he closed the door soundlessly and disappeared, his retreating figure bearing an air of grim resolve. I’d heard that three vice-butlers were currently competing for the butler position, which explained his passionate demeanor.

“Ron.”
“Yes?”
“What is it? Why are you so lost in thought?”
“My apologies.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”

Ron’s expression grew peculiar once more, but I carefully placed the precious check into my inner pocket and asked a question. Now that I thought about it, I’d been too distracted to ask what today’s date was.

“What is today’s date?”

It was a question that would have seemed strange coming from anyone else, but my butler Ron answered in his gentle voice.

“It is the 29th of March, Pelis Year 781.”
“Hmm, that’s quite serious then.”
“Sir?”
“Never mind.”

I clutched the ten million gelons in my inner pocket once more. Money was the only thing I could trust.

Not today, but yesterday. The 28th of March, Pelis Year 781.
Harris Village—where the protagonist Choi Han had escaped the Dark Forest and rediscovered human warmth, where he’d met those he could call family and friends. Yesterday, the people of that village were slaughtered by an unknown organization.
This was the work of a Secret Organization that even I, having read up to the fifth volume of the early story, did not know about.

Someone might look at this situation and say something.

I thought he was supposed to be incredibly strong. What was Choi Han doing while the village was being massacred?

Yes, one could think that way.
But this “Birth of a Hero” had its title for a reason—not “The Hero’s Power” or “War of Heroes,” but “Birth of a Hero.”

Birth.
It was the story of one person overcoming countless hardships and transcending past pain to become a hero. Through that journey came friendship and love, and distinctions between allies and enemies.

What could never be absent in such a narrative was “awakening.” Choi Han possessed explosive talent, had lived for decades in the Dark Forest, and yet remained unable to kill humans—a pure and virtuous soul. He could slay monsters with ease, but when it came to humans, he was weak.

To transform him into a hero, the story employed one desperate measure. Choi Han had ventured into the Dark Forest to find precious medicinal herbs to cure the illness of an elderly woman who had cared for him like a son.

When he finally returned from the depths of the Dark Forest with the medicinal herbs he sought, all that remained in the village were the corpses of the slaughtered villagers, burning houses, and the assassins preparing to depart.

It was then that Choi Han’s eyes went mad, and he committed murder for the first time. Of course, his targets were members of the Secret Organization, an entity that would appear sporadically in the chapters ahead and clash with Choi Han repeatedly.

After slaughtering every member of the Secret Organization, Choi Han regained his senses only to fall into profound despair, having gleaned no information from them. In that moment, as he buried the villagers’ remains, he made a vow.

‘I will kill them all. Every last one of those who made me this way.’

It was then that Choi Han first understood murder and the sorrow of death, his spirit withering in the aftermath. Of course, he would later meet his companions and, through rekindling his affection for humanity and experiencing profound emotions, grow into a true hero.

“…Ron.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Could you fetch me a glass of cold water?”
“…Of course, sir.”

As Ron left the bedroom, I found myself alone and covered my face with both hands.

The problem was that this spiritually devastated Choi Han, upon leaving Harris Village for the first time, arrived at Western, the central city of the Heniatus Territory.
There, I happened to become entangled with Choi Han by chance, provoked his nature, got beaten, and thus gained Vicross—a dependable chef who would become my first subordinate and companion.

‘…I had intended to go ahead and help.’

The best scenario where I wouldn’t get beaten had slipped through my fingers. Truth be told, I harbored a small desire to save those villagers who had comforted Choi Han rather than simply avoid the beating, but what could I do about it now?
All that remained was to act in such a way that I wouldn’t get beaten by Choi Han, who would arrive in Western tomorrow, moving at a frenzied pace fueled by rage.

‘Avoiding the protagonist isn’t a good strategy either.’

Only by becoming entangled with Choi Han would Vicross and Ron become entangled with him, and only then would the three of us leave the territory for the true journey to begin. Thus, there was only one answer.

‘Bring them together, then slip away.’

If possible, leaving a good first impression.

“Young master.”
“Ah, thank you, Ron.”

I immediately took a sip from the glass Ron offered me. My brow furrowed.

“Not cold water?”
“Lemonade, sir.”

That cunning old man. He knew perfectly well that I, like Kim Rok-soo in my original life, despised sour things, yet he deliberately brought lemonade instead of plain cold water. I wanted to rage at the sourness, but I was terrified of that assassin of an elderly servant, so I simply drank the lemonade without protest.

“My, you drank it all so well.”
“Not at all, young master. It would be best if you moved to the study shortly.”
“Very well.”

That benevolent smile sent shivers down my spine, so I clutched the ten-million-gelron check tightly in my hand. In the end, money was the only thing I could truly trust.

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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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