Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 24

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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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Late into the night, a small two-story house on the outskirts of Pursulsi. Light blazed from the first floor alone, spilling through the windows into the darkness.
Taylor Sten, the eldest son of Marquis Sten’s household and master of this dwelling, felt his expression grow grave.

“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, wait—ugh—just a moment. Don’t make me talk.”

Kaige, a priestess who served the God of Death, clutched her head and groaned.
Clang.
The beer glass in her hand clattered to the floor. Taylor and his three men rushed toward her.

“What is it? Is the god saying something again?”

Taylor gazed at her with concern etched across his face. At some point, the God of Death had begun occasionally conveying messages to Kaige. She had hidden this fact from the Temple, and only Taylor and his three trusted subordinates knew of it.

“Ugh, this is infuriating!”

After groaning for some time, Kaige suddenly sprang to her feet and rushed toward the back door of the two-story house. Her movements were urgent and frantic. She staggered, gripping her head, yet her gaze remained fixed precisely on the rear exit.
Taylor gestured silently for his men to remain still, then pulled his wheelchair along as he followed her.

‘Has someone infiltrated the house?’

Though small, the house was entirely protected by alarm magic designed to detect intruders. Without such precautions, Taylor could never sleep soundly.
In his own chamber at Marquis Sten’s Mansion—where assassins had shattered both his knees—he had learned that there was nowhere he could truly trust as safe.

“Kaige, what’s happening?”
“Just wait.”

She wrenched the back door open roughly. To Taylor, the small courtyard beyond appeared ordinary—quiet and modest as always. A few small lanterns cast their gentle light, dispelling the darkness.

Kaige disappeared into the small courtyard. Taylor followed. As he emerged from the back door and reached the wall, Kaige’s gaze lifted to the top of the barrier, and she let out a sharp gasp.

“Ha!”

There, atop the wall—precisely at the boundary where the alarm magic’s perimeter began—sat a small tower constructed from roughly five stacked stones.
It was a size that the house’s sole knight would inevitably discover during his next patrol rounds.

“…Insane. This is actually real.”

Rough words spilled from Kaige’s lips. Taylor, who had wheeled himself closer, gazed up at the stone tower perched on the wall—positioned slightly higher than his own head—with a puzzled expression.

“What is this?”

In response to Taylor’s question, Kaige read aloud the words written in chalk beside the stone tower.

“‘Destroy it. If you wish to fulfill your desires.'”

Naturally, doubt and suspicion bloomed across Taylor’s face. Kaige sighed at his expression and pressed her temples repeatedly with her fingertips.

“I recommend destroying it. No, it’s insane. The god says to destroy it.”
“…What?”
“For once, the god didn’t spout nonsense. Why is he acting like this lately? Usually I can barely hear his voice once a year.”
“What is this stone tower that warrants all this?”

Kaige met Taylor’s gaze.

“A turning point that will change our lives. That’s what he said.”

The god only visited Kaige when she slept. Death was similar to sleep. Therefore, sleep was a kind of passage. Yet she had heard the god’s voice while drinking.

Kaige had drunk so much beer that she thought the god had come to scold her. So she welcomed it. She had hoped the god would lose interest in her anyway. But the god conveyed something different.

“‘The choice is yours. But if you wish to live comfortably, do not destroy it.’ That’s what he said.”

She gazed at the stone tower. There was something beneath it.

“There’s a letter envelope lying under the stone tower. It seems the tower was built because of this letter.”

She turned her gaze back to her friend Taylor. Sitting in his wheelchair, he could see the stone tower, but the letter beneath it would be hidden from his view.

“There’s no unusual aura around the tower.”

Though not to the degree of a mage, Kaige was sensitive to peculiar auras through her use of holy power. She could detect ominous forces dwelling in most objects and places. After all, she served the god of death.
She waited for her friend’s answer.
Taylor, who had been gazing up at the night sky, turned his gaze toward Kaige.

“Destroy it.”

Kaige immediately knocked down the stone tower with her hand. Thud, crash, thunk. Stones tumbled from atop the wall. Taylor watched the scene with an impassive gaze.

‘Don’t destroy things if you want to live comfortably?’

I had never lived comfortably, not once. And I had no desire to live comfortably. I would repair this leg and continue moving forward. That’s why—

‘I have to bring down this damned Marquis Household.’

Taylor extended his hand, and Kaige placed a letter envelope into it. He tore it open immediately and found a sheet of parchment inside with handwriting obscured by magic—the kind nobles frequently used.

Taylor unfolded the letter without the slightest hesitation. Under the dim light of the rear garden’s lantern, the first two lines caught his eye immediately.

<The Crown Prince possesses an ancient power. A 'Healing Star' that he has no need for. A one-time ability capable of mending any affliction, once.
【He seeks a means and a bargain to check the Second and Third Princes.】

My fingertips trembled.

"What's wrong?"

Kaige's expression hardened as she observed Taylor's face and trembling fingertips. But soon her expression shifted to one of bewilderment.

"Ha!"

Taylor burst into laughter—whether a sigh or an exclamation, it was hard to tell. He handed the letter to Kaige.

"This will certainly be a turning point."
"What are you talking about?"

Kaige took the paper and read the letter. She paused at the mention of the ancient power and the Crown Prince, but when she read the passage below, she looked at Taylor.

【Your legs may not move, but your mind, your arms, your eyes, your voice—everything about you is alive.】
【The decision rests with you, Taylor Sten. The eldest son of Marquis Sten's House, it falls to you to decide.】

Taylor stared into the darkness of the rear garden's corner and spoke.

"Kaige."
"Yes."
"Leave this place to the butler and let's head to the Capital."
"Yes."

She had willingly chosen to follow the living Taylor's decision. Having experienced death more intimately than anyone, she understood the true value of being alive.

"You're clever enough to handle it yourself. You've always been decent at looking after things."

Kaige trusted in Taylor's brilliance.

"That's right. I was."

The past tense. Kaige studied him at those words.

"I should have been more careful."

Yet Taylor had grown careless despite needing to be cautious, and his leg had suffered for it.

He lifted his gaze toward the small two-story house. He'd already been staying here for months, clinging to a single ancient text of dubious authenticity, unable to uncover anything of value. The frustration had been mounting. Perhaps a brief excursion wouldn't be amiss. Why not trust the god's word once? The God of Death cherished his dear friend Kaige. There was no reason to lie. Taylor opened his mouth.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to believe the words of a god just once. The god of death cherished his friend Kaige. There was no way he would lie. Taylor opened his mouth.

"Good. Let's go quickly."
"Will you be alright? We'll have to face Temple people to enter the Capital."
"What can they do? Excommunicate me if they want. That would be fine. I'm worried about you."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Thanks, though."

The two of them, who had been smiling and looking at each other, cried out in unison the moment Kaige lifted up the letter.

"A benefactor."

Though it's unclear whether this person is truly their benefactor, both of their instincts somehow told them that the author of this letter was indeed their benefactor. If that's the case, they would have to find this benefactor and repay their kindness someday.

Two pairs of clear, sober eyes gazed quietly at the letter. It was the gleam in the eyes of those standing at a turning point.

And from the rooftop of another house, far away from all this commotion, the red baby kitten whispered to its older sister, On.

"Yeah. We're done. Let's go grab a late-night snack."
"Yay!"
"Wow."

Two cats leisurely crossed back and forth over the roof and returned to their quarters.

* * *

The next day, Kaige stood with her arms crossed, her expression distinctly displeased as her gaze swept up and down the figure before her.

Today, Kaige was dressed more neatly and elaborately than usual.

'Young master! No matter what you said about going without Hans, what if you come back covered in dirt?'
'This Vice-Captain should have accompanied the young master!'
'Oh dear, young master. This Ron's heart aches.'

Kaige had dressed more elaborately today out of irritation at the pitying gazes that had poured down on her when she returned yesterday looking like a beggar. Her vibrant attire complemented her striking crimson hair perfectly. She was the kind of person who held her own anywhere—if anything, she stood out. Kaige was undeniably striking.

Yet her expression now laid bare her profound displeasure.

"You're leaving like that?"

At the entrance of the inn where Kaige's party was staying, she stood with her arms crossed, looking down at Choi Han. He stood calmly, a small travel bag slung over his shoulder and his iron sword fastened at his waist as always.

"Yes."

There was no special farewell meal or send-off gathering for Choi Han's departure. Kaige wasn't the type to arrange such things, and Choi Han didn't seem to want one either.

So the parting was sparse.

Only Kaige, the cats, Hans, Ron, Vicross, and the Vice-Captain had come to see him off. The Vice-Captain's presence was puzzling, but he too had come with a furrowed brow, just like Kaige.

"Sigh."

Kaige exhaled and pulled a pouch from her bosom, tossing it to Choi Han. He caught it lightly. It was a familiar pouch to him—the magical pouch she had given to the Black Dragon. Exactly that size.
Choi Han opened the pouch. Inside were potions reduced in size by magic and various other items. He looked up at Kaige, and she spoke bluntly in response to his gaze.

"What? Why? What do you want? If you don't like it, throw it away."

Choi Han said nothing, but Kaige rambled on regardless. Then she turned around and headed back to her room.

"Go well."

She left with a brief farewell, her expression blank. There would be no reason to see Choi Han again. In the Capital, she planned to send Ron and Vicross to give him a few instructions, then simply let the relationship fade away.

"I'll be going."

At Choi Han's words, which seemed to carry a hint of amusement, Kaige felt goosebumps rise on his back, but he absolutely refused to turn around. Choi Han found that unturned back to be quintessentially Kaige. His gaze shifted to the rest of the group.

"See you later in the Capital!"
"Ahem, I'll have honed my skills by then. In the Capital, I'll be standing as the Young Master's escort knight."

Following the vice-butler Hans, the Vice-Captain spoke with a voice full of irritation.

"I'll sharpen my blade."
"Go and return safely."

Vicross said curtly, while Ron offered his farewell with feigned kindness. Of course, the cats also tapped Choi Han's legs with their front paws in greeting.
Additionally, the dragon—who had been cloaked in transparency in the inn's courtyard and crouched outside Kaige's window each night as if standing guard—sent transparent mana flowing toward Choi Han as a farewell.

"I've received so much, and yet I keep receiving more."

Choi Han drew a genuinely pleased smile as he tucked the magic pouch into his breast. Kaige couldn't see that smile, but it was a bright expression none of the others present had ever witnessed before.

"I shall see you in the Capital."

Choi Han bowed respectfully and left the inn. For one who had lived for decades in a loneliness deeper than death itself, a place to return to had finally emerged. People whose debts of gratitude he must repay had also appeared.

'I must earn my keep properly.'

Choi Han departed Pursulsi alone, separated from Kaige's group.

And the next morning, Kaige's group also boarded the carriage and prepared to depart Pursulsi.

"Young Master, we're ready to depart."
"Mm."

At Ron's words, Kaige nodded, and soon the window Ron had opened closed as the carriage began to move. The moment of another grueling journey had begun.

"What are you looking at?"

Kaige gazed indifferently at the brother and sister cats fidgeting as they watched his expression. The cats flinched and shook their heads. Kaige let out a soft chuckle.

"What, did you meet a dragon or something?"

A gasp escaped someone's lips, but I paid it no mind. Choi Han had left, and now the dragon would follow. Yet I had no time to dwell on that fact.

After we departed Pursulsi City Gate and selected our first campsite to settle in for the evening.

"If you don't mind, would it be acceptable for us to set up camp nearby?"

A carriage pulled up to a spot near our campsite, and a figure who appeared to be a knight descended from the driver's seat, approaching the Vice-Captain.

"Who are you?"

The Vice-Captain posed the question, but the moment he glimpsed the crimson serpent emblem etched upon the knight's pauldron, he already knew the answer. The knight bowed his head to the Vice-Captain and beyond him to me, introducing himself.

"I am Tom, a common knight of the Sten Marquis House."

Damn. I swallowed the crude curse threatening to spill forth and gazed at the shabby carriage bearing no emblem. As the carriage window opened, the face of Taylor Sten appeared.

"I am Taylor Sten. Upon seeing the Heniatus Count Family crest, I took the liberty of making this request."

Taylor had reasoned that camping near the powerful Heniatus Count Family would ensure safety for the night. It was a poor judgment for me.
I had encountered Taylor, the eldest son of the Sten Marquis House, and the Mad Priestess Kaige. As I thought of the dragon, who by now was likely hunting wild boar or deer to present to me, I contorted my face in frustration.

'Damn it all.'

One leaves, and three arrive.

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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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