Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 22

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Of course, I planned to secretly deliver new hope to them. It was a lesson I’d learned from the dragon.

‘Unless God himself reveals who I am, there’s no way they could recognize me.’

It was impossible for them to discover my identity.
What a comfortable situation this was. I should have done this secretly from the start. Kaige stepped into the Ancient Ruins with a light, buoyant gait, my mood lifted with pleasant anticipation.
Humans engaged in prayer were visible throughout the site.

That’s when Hans approached me subtly and whispered in my ear.

“I just spotted the eldest son of Marquis Sten’s House.”
“…How do you know that person?”

I was genuinely surprised. Hans grinned and pointed to his eyes.

“I have information about virtually every major noble’s heir stored in this head of mine. I saw a man in a wheelchair being escorted by only one attendant, which seemed odd, but the red serpent emblem painted on the wheelchair confirmed it.”
“Hans.”
“Yes.”
“You’re more capable than you appear.”
“I’m somewhat—”

Hans shrugged his shoulders and finished his report with a satisfied expression. Then he asked.

“What shall we do?”

My left cheek grew warm, and I turned my gaze away. Choi Han was watching me. I shook my head and spoke to both of them.

“Ignore it.”

Both men nodded without complaint. Only then did our proper sightseeing begin. And I was left speechless by the sheer scale of the stone tower.

“More than I expected—”

My expression grew displeased.

“There are quite a few bizarre-looking structures.”

Kaige couldn’t fathom the aesthetic sensibilities of ancient peoples. She’d expected stone towers stacked like mountains, yet here stood towers of every conceivable shape imaginable.

One might call it somewhat grotesque. They hardly appeared beautiful. Kaige’s gaze drifted sideways toward the cats nestled in Hans’s arms. Their expressions registered considerable disappointment.
Yet there was one person far more earnest than the rest. Choi Han bowed his head like the others, murmuring something in prayer.

‘No doubt he’s wishing to return home.’

Choi Han had been raised in a happy household. Unlike me and Kim Rok-soo. A person nurtured by wholesome influences in a loving family. That’s why he survived even in desperate circumstances and could remain virtuous.

I watched Choi Han with expressionless eyes. Then he lifted his head and looked at me.

“Kaige.”
“Mm.”
“I have something I’d like to ask you, and something else I’d like to show you.”

I felt an odd sense of foreboding.

“Ask first, then.”

Choi Han gazed at the stone towers scattered across the vast plains as he spoke, as if lost in thought.

“Don’t you make wishes, Kaige?”

What was he asking now. I answered matter-of-factly.

“I don’t make wishes.”
“Why not?”
“Because it breeds expectations.”

Choi Han, Hans, and the cats all looked at me. I gazed at the stone towers just as Choi Han had done.

“Living without expectations is easier on the mind.”

If you scratch a lottery ticket expecting a hundred won and win five hundred, you feel good. But if you scratch it dreaming of first prize and only win five hundred, the world feels hollow and frustrating.
Tap. I felt Hans nudge my arm, and when I turned, the vice-captain grinned and spoke.

“You understand well, sir. The world truly has neither dreams nor hope.”
“…Just go sightsee.”
“Yes, sir!”

Hans answered energetically and led the way, taking the cats—who wore expressions of vague emptiness—ahead. Kaige followed leisurely behind them, when Choi Han sidled up beside him and spoke in a low voice that Hans couldn’t hear.
Choi Han hadn’t made his report yet.

“The dragon actually entered the city.”
“Pretend you didn’t see it.”
“Understood.”

Kaige glanced around casually. The dragon was nowhere to be seen—perhaps it had turned invisible. All his eyes could detect were people praying before the peculiar stone tower. Though the Stone Tower Festival was still distant, quite a crowd had gathered.
Soon, Kaige’s gaze turned in the opposite direction from where the stone towers stood across the vast plain.

The Wealthy District—where Pursulsi’s richest inhabitants dwelled. And behind that district lay a Small Mountain.
Somewhere on that mountain rested the grave of one who had lived a full natural lifespan of one hundred and fifty years.

* * *

The next day, I intended to set out for that grave. Of course, I had to shake off all the humans and non-humans trying to cling to me, so I designated only one person who wouldn’t raise objections.

“I’m taking only Choi Han.”

Choi Han—the strongest and most upright-seeming of them all. Once I assigned him as my escort, neither the Vice-Captain nor Hans had anything more to say.
The Vice-Captain merely furrowed his brow and drove the knights toward the Training Ground, insisting they needed to train. As I watched them head there from early morning with a weary expression, Hans left behind a parting remark before disappearing.

“I’ll take care of the cats for you.”

Ignoring his excited, bouncing figure, I headed out of the inn. Choi Han followed behind me.

“What are you doing today, then?”
“‘Today, then’? The way you say it, anyone would think I’m causing trouble every single day.”

Choi Han didn’t answer. I paid no mind to his response and continued toward the mountain behind the Wealthy District.

“There’s something I need to do on that mountain ahead. You can wait at the base of it.”
“Understood.”

Choi Han simply acknowledged without further comment. I found this aspect of him convenient.
Choi Han never expressed particular curiosity about me.
Though he followed me, he didn’t pry into the one he followed.
Perhaps it stemmed from his confidence that he could uncover anything if he truly wished, and his certainty that he faced no danger regardless of what I did.

Passing through the Wealthy District visible in any city, Kaige arrived at the Small Mountain and came to a halt at the mountain’s entrance upon hearing Choi Han’s call.

“Kaige.”
“Yes?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“I know. Didn’t I tell you to go then?”

Choi Han met Kaige’s gaze as he stood at the mountain’s entrance in a casual stance. This was someone who claimed that he alone was sufficient as an escort. Lately, Choi Han had been constantly thinking about protection.

“I’ve been troubled about this since yesterday, but there’s something I must tell you.”

Yesterday’s report about the dragon wasn’t truly what he’d wanted to convey. He hesitated briefly before meeting Kaige’s eyes directly. Choi Han’s gaze was fixed on a tree at the mountain’s entrance, beyond Kaige’s shoulder.

“Ron is a dangerous man.”

Caught off guard by this sudden declaration, Kaige hesitated for a moment. Should I pretend to know, or pretend not to know?
The answer came quickly. Though Kaige hadn’t anticipated such a question, he responded calmly.

“Is that so?”
“Aren’t you surprised? He carries a dangerous scent of blood. A man who has shed much blood and lived through it. At first, I thought you knew this and kept Ron by your side anyway.”

But if you had known, you would have brought Ron when rescuing the dragon. Yet you didn’t.
This meant either you didn’t know Ron’s strength, or you didn’t trust him. But it was impossible not to trust someone you’d spent thirteen years with and continued to keep by your side.
The only conclusion was that you didn’t know Ron’s strength.

“However, it seems you and everyone else don’t know about Ron.”

Choi Han had given this considerable thought. In truth, when you said yesterday that you expected nothing, I couldn’t bring myself to speak of Ron. But seeing how you chose me as your escort today, my conscience weighed on me.

“So I felt I had to tell you.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know Ron was strong.”

Choi Han pressed further at Kaige’s indifferent response.

“Will you continue to keep him by your side? He possesses a sinister power.”

Kaige let out a scoff at Choi Han’s words. Keep him by my side? Once I reach the Capital, I plan to send him directly to Choi Han.

“You’re no different from Ron.”
“Pardon?”
“You say he possesses dangerous power, so why do you leave Ron alone?”
“That’s obviously because—”

Choi Han found himself at a loss for words.

“Because he’s done nothing to you, hasn’t he?”

He couldn’t refute Kaige’s follow-up. There had been a misunderstanding at first, a brief exchange of blows, but it was Ron who had procured a sword for him afterward and helped resolve the matter in Harris Village.

Kaige regarded the silent Choi Han with an unwavering gaze.
Ron had done nothing to anyone, really. He merely gave Kaige lemonade from time to time, played with rabbit meat—trivial things at most.

“Ron has been my attendant for thirteen years.”

Ron had faithfully fulfilled his role as an attendant regardless. The Vice-Captain, who possessed a strong sense of authority, never objected when attendant Ron walked confidently beside me with his shoulders squared. Even Hans, the head butler, harbored no resentment when Ron handled his duties in his stead.
Because he was capable and devoted to the household.

“Do you dislike Ron?”

After a brief moment of deliberation, Choi Han shook his head.

“No, I don’t.”
“Then?”
“I merely thought it would be prudent to inform you of the fact that he is a dangerous person.”
“You’re no different from Ron.”

At the identical statement repeated once more, Choi Han looked toward Kaige.

“To me, you’re the same. By that logic, you’re dangerous too.”

Kaige spoke while regarding Choi Han with an expressionless face.

“You’re strong as well.”
“Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped Choi Han. Though I didn’t know the reason for it, I continued speaking.

“They all look the same to me anyway.”

Ron, who had crossed over from the Eastern Continent, lived concealing his identity for reasons unknown. And he was laying hands on the Count’s son? It would cause quite the uproar in the kingdom.
Ron. A man devoid of warmth, thinking only of himself and his son—what possible reason would he have for doing such a thing?
Kaige was simply terrified of this dangerous old man. He merely wanted to dispose of the matter quickly for his own peace of mind.

“As long as Ron is my retainer, he is nothing but a retainer. Just as Choi Han earns his keep.”

Kaige checked his watch. The wind in the cave varied with the hour. He needed to hurry.

“You have nothing more to say, do you? I’m leaving. Don’t follow.”

Choi Han answered with silence, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgment instead. Without so much as a backward glance, Kaige headed toward the Small Mountain.

It was only when Kaige’s figure vanished from sight that Choi Han opened his mouth, his gaze fixed on the tree at the foot of the mountain—the one he’d been stealing glances at for some time now.

“You heard, didn’t you?”

Ron descended lightly from the tree. He glared at Choi Han, his lips twisting into a smile. A gruff voice spilled from Ron’s mouth.

“I raised that brat.”

It was a truth that needed no further explanation.
Choi Han stepped forward, blocking the path Kaige had taken, and spoke to Ron.

“From here on, Kaige said not to follow.”
“I know, you brat.”

Ron turned away from the mountain without hesitation. Since Kaige was going alone with only Choi Han, leaving the cat children behind, Ron had come on a whim.

“Came for nothing.”

They say the old grow nothing but capricious. Caprice was a wretched thing. Unlike when he’d arrived, Ron walked at a leisurely pace back to the lodging. Choi Han watched him go, then settled onto a nearby rock, intending to wait there until Kaige returned.

* * *

Kaige stood before a cave located off the mountain trail—a hill more than anything else. The cave’s entrance was obscured by vines, invisible to any who didn’t look carefully.

“Ugh, seriously.”

Kaige’s brow furrowed.

The cave entrance was considerably narrow. He surveyed his clothing. Though he’d dressed lightly, the fabric hung loosely about him.

“Sigh.”

With a deep exhale, Kaige crawled into the cave. Whether it was the Man-Eating Tree or anything else connected to ancient power, I was certain that nothing about it possessed even a shred of sanity.
Kaige’s crawl marks remained etched in the earth at the cave’s entrance. Moments later, the tiny footprints of a small reptile were left in that same spot.

After crawling for roughly five minutes, I could sense the cave gradually widening around me.

‘Taylor must have been quite desperate. To crawl through here despite being paralyzed from the waist down.’

The eldest son, Taylor, had to come here because he needed to build the stone tower with his own strength. What took me five minutes must have been an eternity for him.

Kaige rose to his feet in the expanded space and ventured deeper into the cave. As I progressed, sounds reached my ears.

Whoooosh. Whoooosh.
It was the sound of wind. The deeper I went, the louder the sound of winds colliding became. Soon, I discovered what appeared to be the ground and pillars of a former shelter.
Kaige dismissed it with a single glance and pressed further inward.

Whoooosh.
The wind’s howl intensified. Boom, boom. The sound of wind battering the cave like a colossal fist echoed through the space. Kaige’s pace quickened.

‘Wind. If I acquire the “Voice of the Wind” later, will it sound like this?’

A shield, then healing, then swift feet—that was my plan. Contemplating the next ancient power I needed to obtain, Kaige finally came to a halt.
Not by choice, but forced to stop.

“Wow.”

This is beyond what I imagined.
A colossal underground chamber materialized before Kaige’s eyes. Simultaneously, a vicious wind vortex consumed my entire field of vision.

Boom, boom!
Stones from the cave walls were being gradually dislodged by the wind vortex. The floor was piled high with accumulated debris, and from this I could discern that the space continued to expand.

Kaige gazed at the boundary between the vast underground chamber and the passage I’d traversed. Stepping into the chamber would mean being pushed back by the wind. No—being caught in that tempest wouldn’t merely push me back; I’d be hurled against the cave walls and suffer severe injuries.

It was a wind fierce enough to match that intensity.

“Hmm.”

Of course, the center of the vortex would be calm like the eye of a typhoon.

‘Without Kaige’s help, Taylor would have been impossible.’

Now I understood the situation of the two-person team who had struggled for a week. But my lips curved upward in a smile. From this point on, it was a race against time.

I stepped forward without hesitation into the underground cavity, into the massive vortex of wind. My red hair began to whip around, and my clothes fluttered wildly.
And at that same moment.

“No, wait! You’ll get hurt! You’re incredibly fragile!”

The dragon appeared from behind the passage, crying out urgently.
And then.

“…Huh?”

Before the dragon’s eyes, an enormous shield large enough to shield a body appeared, and massive silver wings enveloped me protectively.
Surrounded by silver light so radiant it seemed holy, I was shielded as the great shield blocked the wind, and a pair of wings extending from the shield curved around me in a protective embrace.

I turned to look back. The Black Dragon stood there, eyes wide and frozen in shock.

“What are you?”

The Black Dragon couldn’t say anything.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————