Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 230

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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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Ron’s cold gaze turned toward Kale. Kale quietly averted his eyes.

-Human, Grandfather Ron’s eyes are terrifying!

At Raon’s words, Kale’s shoulders trembled. There was no helping it.

I hadn’t given Ron advance instructions to take control of the Eastern Continent’s underworld. I’d simply brought him along, saying he knew the Eastern Continent well enough.

“…Young master.”

A voice stripped of its usual gentleness.
At the old man’s menacing tone, Kale reflexively opened his mouth and words tumbled out.

“You’re the only one I can trust and rely on.”

It was the truth.
Compared to Choi Han who couldn’t act, the pure-hearted Merry, and the strangely talkative Vice-Captain Hilsman, Ron was perfectly suited to be a ruler of the underworld.

But I couldn’t bring myself to look at Ron.
Because I was afraid.

Even as my strength grew, it was Ron—this old man—who frightened me more than Choi Han. Between someone who charges at you openly and someone who approaches silently to slit your throat, who would be scarier?
Obviously the latter.

And Ron Mollan was a master of silent throat-slitting.
I clamped my mouth shut and tried not to look at Ron.

But Ron was staring at me with piercing intensity. The atmosphere was so heavy that the Former Bandit Leader kept his mouth firmly closed and watched the tension between Ron and me. Meanwhile, Vicross in the corner pretended to be disinterested as he wiped dust from his greatsword, but all his attention was focused on Ron—his father.
And Vicross, who had been in one corner, wiped the dust off his greatsword while pretending to be disinterested, but all his attention was focused on Ron and Father.
The silence broke as Ron opened his mouth.

“A man who has lost everything once and fled has lost his venom and only grown old.”

It was Ron’s own story.
He had lost the Molan Family and his family, fleeing with only Vicross. And now he had lost the venom he once possessed and had simply grown old.

Like Choi Han or Merry, he was too old to grow.

Ron was offering Kale a dose of reality when he spoke of controlling the Underworld of the Eastern Continent. That was when Kale’s voice reached him.
It was a tone dripping with exasperation.

“Don’t speak lies.”

Ron’s body stiffened.

Conversely, Kale couldn’t bring himself to look at Ron, yet his exasperation was unmistakable.

Weak?
Without killer instinct?
Aged?

If Ron were weak, every assassin under the sun would need to retire. What kind of unbecoming false modesty was this?

Kale made no effort to conceal his exasperation, letting it bloom fully across his face.
Ron found himself speechless as Kale displayed his emotions so openly while refusing to even look at him.

‘Don’t speak lies, he says?’

Ron gazed at the young master who had long since grown too large to be called a puppy. A grumbling voice emerged from him.

“The boy’s been polishing his dagger every spare moment lately. What weakness? Every time he does, there’s such a chill to it. Truly.”

The smile faded from Ron’s lips. He looked down at his own hands. Kale’s words held truth. Lately, whenever a moment presented itself, I polished my dagger.
The reason was simple.

I never knew when an enemy might appear, and we were in the midst of war.
So I kept my weapon close, honing it constantly. Yet suddenly, one thought occurred to me.

‘Is that truly the only reason?’

I turned my head.
My son Vicross came into view, polishing his greatsword. He didn’t avert his gaze—he met my eyes directly.
Then, across that stoic face, a faint smile bloomed.

‘Father, you’ve been caught.’

That was the expression on his face.
Yes, I’d been caught.

A smile slowly began to form at the corners of my mouth. It was a cool smile, far removed from any kindness.

Watching Choi Han, Merry, and Hilsman fight, my hands and feet itched with anticipation. Unlike Sword Master Hana’s restless fingers, heat surged through my entire body in a different sense altogether.

Even knowing that he had less potential to grow than other young ones, I had never let go of the short sword from my embrace for a single moment. And every dawn, I trained with my prosthetic arm, then went to wake Kale in the morning.

What was the reason for this?

“Getting old? I still have decades ahead of me.”

My grumbling young master.
Kindness settled over the corners of my mouth once more.

“You are absolutely right, young master.”

Kale slowly turned his head. And the moment our eyes met, my heart nearly sank.

“It seems I am too ambitious to become a retired elder just yet.”

Why did the old man’s eyes look so fierce?
Kale clutched at his shirt above his chest, which nearly shriveled, and swallowed hard. Regardless, I turned my gaze toward Chae Ju and opened my mouth.

“Kindness repaid a hundredfold, and vengeance answered with death.”

I had always believed that everyone carries a candle within their heart. And as one grows old, the flame gradually shrinks, the wick that burns away grows shorter, until eventually the light goes out and one lives in a cold world.

But there was something I had misunderstood.

It was not the shortening wick that extinguished the candle in my heart, but the wind I myself had blown out. And it was I who had turned away from that flickering small flame.
Now I truly understood.

I rekindled the dying flame within my heart.
And then I felt it properly. Within my heart lay a long and steadfast wick that would not end even if a lifetime passed.

“Thank you, young master.”

He expressed his gratitude to the one who had rekindled the flames within his heart.
Kale Heniatus, on the other hand, was bewildered.

‘What’s with suddenly saying “revenge through death” and then thanking me? What is all this?’

Confused about what was happening, Kale felt his anxiety ease when Ron’s gaze softened and a benevolent smile settled on his lips. My shrunken heart began to beat normally again.
Just as I was reassuring myself with that steady rhythm, a voice reached my ears.

“By the way, Bandit Leader.”

The Former Bandit Leader opened his mouth carefully, looking at Kale Heniatus. Kale regarded him with a questioning gaze, and the Bandit Leader continued.

“To dominate the Underworld, wouldn’t you need quite a bit of money? Military strength seems like it would be sufficient with these great individuals here.”

Kale Heniatus’s expression became peculiar.

‘Certainly not like Tunka.’

Tunka would never think about money or such things—he would only think about smashing everything to pieces. From that perspective, this Former Bandit Leader was quite cunning and sharp-minded.
That’s probably why, despite being a slave, he had managed to escape and become the leader of a bandit gang. And since Kale Heniatus favored those with some intelligence, I spoke freely.

The dirtier the place, the more money and power one needed to climb upward.
As the Bandit Leader said, in the early stages of establishing a foothold in the Underworld, money would be more useful than military strength.

“Use your money.”
“…My money?”
“Yeah, your money. You must have accumulated quite a bit from doing bad things, right?”

Kale Heniatus intended to squeeze this bandit group dry.

“…I don’t have any.”
“What?”

In response to Kale Heniatus’s question, the Former Bandit Leader awkwardly scratched his head and answered.

“I live only for today. I only have enough money to eat and play for about a week, hahahaha!”

The Bandit Leader laughed even more heartily, sensing the atmosphere turning deadly. His back began to soak with sweat.
He swallowed hard as he watched Kale Heniatus sigh deeply and wipe his face with both hands. For some reason, it felt like tremendous danger was approaching him.

At that moment, a rather calm voice rang out.

“Then I’ll provide it.”
“Pardon?”

Chae Ju watched as Kale Heniatus pulled a pouch from his bosom and tossed it onto the table. The rather large pouch landed with its opening gaping wide.

Clink, clink, clink.
And jewels came cascading out.

“Wow, wow. This—”

Chae Ju couldn’t find the words to continue.
He had plundered quite a few Merchant Guilds in his time, but he’d never seen jewels of this caliber, nor had he ever witnessed someone casually toss them about like this.

Chae Ju’s gaze shifted toward Kale Heniatus, the owner of that jewel pouch.
Before coming to the Eastern Continent, Kale had converted some of his auction profits into jewels and brought them along. He spoke to the bandit staring at him, his tone almost dismissive.

“Well, I can get you hundreds of times more than that, so you needn’t worry about money.”

To the Former Bandit Leader, Kale seemed to be radiating light itself.
Yet simultaneously, dread washed over him. Who exactly was this person—wielding such power, commanding such subordinates, and possessing such wealth?

Then Kale rose from his seat. The Former Bandit Leader, who had been kneeling, immediately sprang to his feet as well.

“First, we head to a nearby city and begin. Understood?”
“Yes, understood, sir!”

Chae Ju answered with vigor, and Kale passed by him, stepping outside while speaking in a low voice.

“Right. Until then, we start with a reformation of your mindset.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve done wicked things, so we need to reform that rotten spirit of yours first.”

Kale watched as Servant Ron gathered the jewel pouch, ignoring the bewildered gaze of the Former Bandit Leader—who would now have to live in constant anxiety, unable to spend even ten gelons freely. Then, as he glanced toward Vicross, Vicross rose from his seat, pulling on white gloves.

Caught in that atmosphere, the Former Bandit Leader found himself asking without thinking.
Why did he need a reformation of his mindset? That was his question.

“Don’t you need to become even worse to rule the Underworld? Shouldn’t you possess a more corrupt mind?”

Kale answered that question with perfect clarity.

“It’s my choice.”

The words caught in Chae Ju’s throat.

“And starting today, if even one of you commits banditry, you’ll get beaten. If you steal, rob, or hurt anyone, it’s over.”

Chae Ju had much to say, but couldn’t say it.
Rule the Underworld? Yet if they lived by Kale’s words, wouldn’t they just become good people?

But he clamped his mouth shut at Kale’s cold expression. As Kale stepped toward the door first, he left one final warning for Chae Ju.

“And if you make a statue of yourself, you’re dead.”

Ignoring Chae Ju’s hollow expression, I slipped out of his house. I could see the bandits lowering their heads and moving aside as our eyes met.

Then Raon’s voice echoed in my mind.

-Weak human! This is strange! Why are you giving everything away for free? Jewels are expensive, and Grandfather Ron will use them well, but still—you’re spending way too much money!

At the confused tone in the child’s voice, I answered leisurely.

“I’ll earn more. It’s a kind of investment.”
-…What are you talking about, weak human.

I gazed toward the city in the distance, quite far from Lib Mountain. The bandits said it was where they sold their stolen goods.

If that were the case, the Underworld must be quite developed there.
The corners of my mouth lifted.

To control the Underworld, I’d need to absorb the Underworld organizations in that city one by one. Then naturally, their money would become mine as well, wouldn’t it?

“I’m going to take all the money from the bad guys.”

Of course, I only planned to take money from the Dark and the truly wicked.
Taking money from bad guys doesn’t make me worse than them, does it?

‘I should live as a proper scoundrel.’

With no one knowing who I was, I decided to make my living by preying on the wicked.

-So human, you’re saying we steal money from bad people and keep it for ourselves?
“Exactly.”
-… I absolutely love this way of making money!

I could almost hear the sound of Raon’s wings fluttering.
Raon and I exchanged silent, wicked grins.

Erhafen, who had been examining the stone pillar and was returning, witnessed this scene, and he felt unease in my expression.

“…Why is this unlucky human smiling like that?”

At those words, the cats On and Hong, who had followed Erhafen, muttered.

“Sister, I don’t know what it is, but it sounds fun!”
“…The probability of this not being fun seems quite high.”

The sigh of the silver cat On went unheard by Erhafen and everyone else.

I watched the Former Bandit Leader stumbling out to undergo his mental restructuring and asked him a question.

“What’s the name of the nearest city from here?”
“It is Ribe City, sir.”
“What is it famous for?”
“It’s a free city where many adventurers and mercenaries gather.”

Upon hearing those words, the corners of my mouth lifted, and the Bandit Leader hesitated.
A free city.
A place without a ruling noble house. A city run by a few powerful individuals. And one with many mercenaries at that.

So what would inevitably be famous there?

“Then the Underworld would be famous there too, wouldn’t it?”

At my question, the Bandit Leader wore a cunning smile.

“I’m quite well-known in the Northwest Region of the Eastern Continent.”
“Then there should be plenty of people eager to exploit you.”

Kale Heniatus had decided where to establish his base on the Eastern Continent.

* * *

A few days later, Erhafen and the Ancient Dragon exhaled a deep sigh.

“…Now I understand what it means to be cursed with misfortune. He truly has a gift for tangling his own fate into knots. Good heavens.”

Yet no one heard his weary mutterings. Everyone was too busy with their own tasks.

Meow, meow.
Meow!

The two cats bounded up the rickety wooden stairs with remarkable speed, hopping toward the second floor.
Creak, creak. The weathered wooden planks groaned and shifted with each step of the cats.

-Human! I’m following along too!

Of course, Raon flew alongside On and Hong.
Vicross, his brow furrowed, wiped the table with a finger clad in a white glove.
Dust came away in abundance.

“…Sigh.”

Unlike Vicross, who exhaled another deep sigh, Kale spoke to Ron and the Former Bandit Leader with evident satisfaction.

“This is quite excellent, wouldn’t you say?”
“Indeed it is, young master.”

Ron gazed at the Former Bandit Leader with an approving gleam in his eyes. The Former Bandit Leader squinted at his bruised eye sockets before speaking.

“Despite appearances, I know Ribe City quite well.”

Ribe City.
The city closest to Lib Mountain, where Chae Ju had always fenced stolen goods.
A city with a considerable underworld presence, and one of the free cities as well.
A place where countless mercenaries and adventurers passed through.

Creak, creeeeak.
Kale Heniatus looked down at the floor that sagged beneath his footsteps.

“Goodness, it’s completely dilapidated.”

An abandoned inn so ramshackle it looked as though it would blow away in the wind—a three-story building that Chae Ju had procured in Ribe City.
Kale’s expression was satisfied as he surveyed the interior of the inn. He spoke to the bandit with casual bluntness.

“Hey, the basement.”
“Yes, sir!”

The former bandit leader moved with surprising speed toward the inn counter.
He removed the table beneath the counter and grasped the ring hidden in the floor beneath it, pulling it upward.

Creeeeak—

The basement door, which had remained closed for so long, slowly swung open.
Chae Ju spoke with a servile smile playing at his lips.

“This place used to be an illegal gambling house in the past, and its owner was a friend of mine.”
“And this friend?”
“He took the money and fled to another city.”
“So the inn was abandoned?”
“Yes. It’s been abandoned for five years.”

With a soft thud, the basement door opened completely.
Stairs became faintly visible through the darkness.

“A small three-story inn above ground, and below, facilities capable of accommodating at least three hundred people.”

Kale smiled as he followed Chae Ju, who was grinning at me.

“You’re surprisingly easy to work with.”
“Hehe, I do my best.”

Chae Ju scratched his head and answered sheepishly.

“This place would be perfect as a secret base for doing bad things.”
“Smart fellow.”
“I’m just… hehe.”

Kale Heniatus left the man to his laughter and grasped the door handle of the dilapidated inn.

Creeeeak—

As I stepped outside through the open door, my ears filled with noise. The voices of numerous people drifted toward me.

“Where are you headed today?”
“Someone asked me to catch a wild boar that’s been destroying the fields. I’m heading there.”

“I heard someone discovered an old site beyond that mountain. Apparently it’s a place with history.”
“Oh, then I should hurry and check it out!”

“Travel robes for cheap! We have lots of other equipment too!”
“The Inn of Flowing Dreams! Grand opening special discounts! Long-term guests welcome!”

Kale Heniatus stood outside the inn door and smiled.
Countless mercenaries and adventurers, along with the people of Ribe City, were beginning their morning energetically under the morning sun.
Street artists could be seen scattered throughout.

It was as if all the bright aspects of Ribe City had gathered in one place.

A sense of satisfaction washed over me.
Chae Ju had chosen the location perfectly.

“Bright energy flows abundantly here.”

I turned my head.

Far in the distance, the eastern part of Ribe City appeared dark and quiet despite the morning hour. That was the place famous for entertainment and known as the Underworld.
I turned my gaze away from that place, which would come alive when night fell, and looked at the new inn nameplate I had hung.

【An Inn That Loves Hope and Adventure】

It was the name Kale Heniatus had given to the inn.
A weathered three-story inn. From this day forward, it would live up to its name—a space brimming with hope and love for adventurers and travelers alike.

Of course, in the basement below, dreams and hopes of squeezing the wicked would unfold, accompanied by thrilling adventures of storming the villains’ lairs, forcing them to their knees, and bringing them under control.

What a splendid name it was.

“You know, you’ve chosen a fine name.”

The light in Kale Heniatus’s eyes as he gazed upon the weathered inn was genuinely warm.
The beginning was auspicious.

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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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