Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 234

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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 boy hung his head. From behind Rak, I could see Rosalind watching him with concern.

A beastman unable to transform despite his first transformation having already passed.
Rosalind had never heard of such a thing before, so she didn’t know what to say in this situation. Especially since she had grown stronger over the past few months, she found herself at even more of a loss for words regarding Rak in his weakened state without his transformation.

So her expression as she looked at me and Rak was grim. That was when Rosalind’s body flinched.

Whoosh.
The tent flap opened slightly and a voice reached them.

“Commander, forces from the Rowan Kingdom have arrived.”

It was a title used to address Rosalind.
The commander in charge of all magical attacks for the Breck Kingdom.
She snapped to attention at her subordinate’s words from just outside the partially opened tent.

Forces from the Rowan Kingdom.
Not a large number, but comrades she could trust to have her back were coming. Joy and gladness welled up within her. At the same time, thoughts of the imminent war surfaced, and she realized she needed to hurry.

But Rak with his lowered head made her hesitate.
Then, a small sound reached them.

Tap.

“What kind of kid is nothing but skin and bones.”

Rosalind gave Rak’s back a light pat and saw me heading toward the tent entrance. I opened the tent flap wide and looked down at Rak.

“Let’s go.”

Rak hesitated and didn’t move.

“Raon, push him.”

At those words, Rak stiffened. Soon he felt small front paws gently pushing against his back.

“Everyone wants to see you! Rak, let’s go!”

Though cloaked in invisibility, Raon’s presence was unmistakable—felt through his voice and touch. Rak bit his lip firmly as he felt the small dragon nudging his back while the figure ahead waited, and he moved forward with measured steps.

Without the ability to transform, I was pathetically weak.
Not entirely powerless, but compared to my comrades, compared to my family, weak enough to only burden them.

That’s why I lacked confidence in facing those I hadn’t seen in so long.
When the boy’s footsteps finally halted directly before Kale Heniatus, Kale’s voice reached him.

“Watch my back carefully. Follow close behind me.”

Rak’s head slowly lifted. He felt it—the gentle tapping of small front paws against his back.
The cloth blocking the tent’s entrance was drawn fully aside.

Beyond Kale Heniatus’s silhouette, Rak could see the assembled forces of Breck Kingdom.

The Canyon of Death.
For days now, many had been gathering at various points along that long, treacherous gorge, their movements concealed beneath layers of magic.

Among all these gathering points, one held the greatest concentration.
It was where Rosalind and the other leaders of Breck Kingdom had assembled.

Through the tent’s fabric, Rak glimpsed the leadership and the forces they’d brought. They had all gathered here for one person.

The Northeast Commander.
Those who had been waiting for him.

Rak watched as Kale Heniatus stepped out of the tent. During his time in the Canyon of Death with several mages from Breck Kingdom, he’d heard countless accounts of the war.

Through those conversations, he’d learned of the extraordinary feats his comrades and Kale Heniatus had accomplished. Because of this, the back of Kale Heniatus—whom he hadn’t seen in ages—appeared towering. He seemed like someone from a world far removed from his own.

Yet Rak heard Kale Heniatus’s voice.

“Aren’t you coming?”

A back that waited without moving.
And Rak felt two presences nudging his back slightly. One was Rosalind, and the other—invisible but unmistakable—was the small dragon.

Rak moved forward slowly.
He didn’t look at the Breck Kingdom leadership outside the tent. He only watched Kale Heniatus’s back as he walked. So though his frame, taller than Kale Heniatus’s, hunched and shrank, his steps remained steady and unobstructed.

I walked forward while surveying my surroundings.

There were quite a few people gathered here, but the majority of Breck Kingdom’s forces were stationed in the city closest to the Canyon of Death, ready to mobilize at any moment.

I opened my mouth as I noticed Rosalind approaching my side.

“Have all the Mage Battalion units been relocated?”
“Yes. We’ve installed teleportation magic circles at key points throughout the canyon, and the knights and soldiers will all gather by dawn tomorrow.”

Information about the Indomitable Alliance was being transmitted through Clophe Seka.
The Roan Kingdom had determined it was best if Clophe and Paern’s betrayal remained hidden from the Indomitable Alliance until the very end.

For that reason, Breck Kingdom’s preparations against the Indomitable Alliance were being conducted with maximum secrecy.

Tomorrow at dawn.
That was when the Indomitable Alliance would launch their invasion, according to the information Clophe had provided.

“Your Highness, even if the Indomitable Alliance conducts reconnaissance on the current level of troop movements, they won’t find anything suspicious.”
“Indeed.”

As Rosalind said, the current movements of personnel to several key points appeared natural—routine repositioning rather than war preparations.

The Indomitable Alliance had not yet abandoned their war efforts.
Then where did they have left to turn?

To anyone’s eyes, it was clearly Breck Kingdom.
Of course, the presence of the Canyon of Death made people hesitant to accept that judgment, but it would seem perfectly reasonable for Breck Kingdom to relocate around a hundred troops to various positions near the Canyon of Death as a precaution against the Indomitable Alliance.

Rosalind opened her mouth.

“The Mage Battalions from both Roan and Breck will finally show their true strength.”

I let out a soft chuckle at the sight of Rosalind’s confident smile.
The practical commander of the Mage Battalion.
That person was Rosalind.

A supreme-tier mage with the qualifications to become the next Tower Master.
For the past several months, she had been honing her true magical abilities alongside her own power. Her mind was busy with thoughts of how to properly unleash that strength.

“I’m curious what kind of transportation method the dwarves created to cross the Canyon of Death.”

Kale Heniatus recalled one of the pieces of information Clophe Seka had shared with him.

‘The Flame Dwarf Tribe has insisted on taking a strong role in this Indomitable Alliance attack. They claim to have created a means of freely traversing the Canyon of Death.’
‘However, they said they would reveal this transportation method only right before the attack. It seems they’re trying to make up for the Caro Kingdom ships being completely destroyed last time. They appear to be planning to showcase their power by revealing this hidden trump card belatedly.’
‘But regardless, I’ll report it to our Rowan immediately upon learning of it, so there’s no concern, right? Hahahaha!’

Recalling even Clophe Seka’s mad laughter, Kale Heniatus furrowed his brow. He now only half-believed what that madman said.
Rosalind, unaware of Kale Heniatus’s expression, pointed toward a specific location.

“Ah, Commander. You know Count Ecrus, right?”

Kale Heniatus’s gaze turned toward where Rosalind was pointing.
Count Ecrus.
A disciple of the court’s chief mage, he could be considered the second-ranked mage in the Breck Kingdom. Of course, Rosalind was an exception to that ranking.

Kale Heniatus clearly remembered Ecrus, whom he had subtly disregarded and looked down upon while working in the Canyon of Death.

Count Ecrus hesitated when his eyes met Kale Heniatus’s. He unconsciously swallowed hard.

Kale Heniatus.
Ecrus clearly remembered Kale Heniatus, who had brought the Tiger Tribe to the Canyon of Death in early spring. Though the Kale from back then and the commander now wearing his uniform were the same person, the impression they gave was entirely different.

He had heard everything Kale Heniatus had accomplished in the meantime.

The battle at Heniatus Territory, the battle at the Northeast Coastal Area of the Rowan Kingdom. And finally, the battle at the Caro Kingdom.
Having heard of all these accomplishments, Count Ecrus felt a chill recalling his own past behavior, yet simultaneously felt reassured by Kale Heniatus’s presence here to aid the Breck Kingdom.

“It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, Commander Kale Heniatus. It has been a long time.”

Count Ecrus unconsciously spoke to Kale Heniatus with formal language, but neither Kale Heniatus nor Count Ecrus noticed this shift from their previous dynamic.

-I knew it would be like this!

Only Raon noticed, but Kale Heniatus had no time to pay attention to that voice.

“Commander.”
“Kale Heniatus.”

I could see a group approaching me from the opposite direction.
The Royal 1st Knight Order of Rowan and the Mage Battalion.
Finally, I spotted Choi Han and Merry along with the rest of our party.

Count Ecrus took a subtle step backward upon seeing the architects of Rowan’s victory. People who had triumphed in at least two wars. The aura they emanated was fundamentally different from his own.

I opened my mouth as I looked at the people around me.

“Let us proceed with the meeting.”

The dwarves’ means of transport, the Lion Tribe and Bear Tribe, and the enemy forces and strategies that would accompany them.
I needed to hold all of it in the palm of my hand and craft meticulous plans to orchestrate every detail.

I headed toward the tent with Rosalind and the other staff officers and commanders, passing Rak behind me. As I brushed past him, I left a word.

“Let’s share a meal together this evening.”

I saw Choi Han, Merry, and the others who weren’t participating in the meeting gathering around Rak, and I proceeded to the meeting place without hesitation.

* * *

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you eating?”

The tent prepared for me.
In the fairly spacious tent with soundproofing magic applied, a decent evening meal was laid out.

I ate the food placed before me while glancing sideways at the person across from me.

“Didn’t they feed you in Breck Kingdom?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it.”

Rak startled and waved his hands frantically. But my expression remained displeased.
I had once lived through hunger. I hated seeing children wasting away. Rak had always been lean with his tall, slender frame, but now he was even thinner than before.

I held my fork and looked at Rak’s hunched back as he sat motionless, then shifted my gaze to my plate and opened my mouth.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly and eat.”

Rak hesitated and looked at me.
At the dining table sat only Raon, myself, and Rak. The others were eating together elsewhere. Rak understood why I had arranged this table for just these three. He slowly opened his mouth.

“…I really, truly trained so hard. I wanted to live up to your faith in me, so I trained with all my might.”

I believe in you.
Wanting to repay those words I had spoken, Rak trained in the Canyon of Death again and again. He pushed himself so hard that bitterness rose in his throat.

Otherwise, a single day in that canyon would have felt unbearably long.
And beyond repaying my faith, he did not want to fall behind his companions.

“When I heard about Choi Han’s accomplishments and the deeds of others, I trained even harder.”

The story of defending the Heniatus Territory.
The story of victory in the naval battle of the Roan Kingdom.

Hearing those tales, my heart raced with pride.
‘My family accomplished such things!’ I felt so proud and joyful I wanted to shout it to the entire neighborhood, and I was relieved at their safety. Then I whipped myself forward, alone as I was.
And I drove myself harder with each passing day.

“…I read the diary of the Wolf King that you gave me.”

The diary was excellent material for self-motivation.
The journal you had given me.

A diary written in someone’s blood.

I had read that diary. I looked at Rak.

“It was written there.”

The reason I had left Rak alone was also in that diary. The boy’s words flowed from the pages of the journal.

“A wolf must know loss and loneliness. When left alone, he comes to understand the value of those he cherishes, and only then does the wolf truly become strong.”

Rak did not deny those words.
An ancient diary. Words written in dried blood upon its pages.

I too experienced my first rampage when I lost my Blue Werewolf Tribe family and those precious to me. In that moment, I obtained the means to become stronger for the first time.

The Wolf King’s words were truth.

“I will shed my own blood before I allow the blood of those precious to me to be spilled.”

Rak resonated with those words from the Wolf King.
His own blood was preferable to that of someone precious to him. Truly.

“I trained hard just by seeing those words. And yet.”

Rak clasped his own hands together as he watched the hand holding the fork tremble.

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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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