Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 25

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

Chapter 7. Who on Earth Are You

These three were far from ordinary. One was a sluggish dragon, one was a mad priestess seeking excommunication, and one was from the Sten Marquis House.

“Sigh.”

A deep sigh escaped from Kale Heniatus’s lips helplessly. He lowered his head, then raised it. In doing so, he could sense the atmosphere had grown quiet. Puzzled by this shift, Kale Heniatus glanced toward Hans.
Hans smiled awkwardly and gestured with his eyes toward Tom, a knight with a sorrowful expression, and Taylor, whose face appeared at the carriage window.

Taylor opened his mouth with a bitter smile.

“If it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll step aside.”

The eldest son of the abandoned Marquis House. Since his lower body became paralyzed, Taylor’s life had plummeted into ruin overnight, receiving only minimal support from his family. Everyone who knew that non-heirs of the Sten nobility faced death as their fate had turned away from Taylor and found him uncomfortable. Those trying to curry favor with Benion or his other brothers sometimes openly ignored Taylor. His station had become lower than that of a baron’s son.
Everyone who knew that being a non-heir Sten noble was a death sentence avoided Taylor and felt uncomfortable around him. Those trying to curry favor with Benion or his other brothers sometimes openly ignored Taylor. Taylor’s position was worse than that of a baron’s son.

Taylor realized the reality once more at the sound of Kale Heniatus’s sigh.
Taylor came back to reality at the sound of Kale’s sigh.
That was when it happened.

“Step aside from what?”

Kale Heniatus, his expression bland, strode toward Taylor’s carriage.

“This isn’t my land. We’re traveling together, so I won’t do something so childish.”

With the carriage window between them, Kale Heniatus faced Taylor. And he glanced subtly inside.

‘There she is.’

The Mad Priestess Kaige was staring at him intently from within the carriage. Her curse magic was said to be truly bizarre. Others who had seen curse magic for the first time called it the return of the cursed profession—a necromancer reborn.
Kale Heniatus turned his gaze from Kaige and extended his hand toward Taylor.

“I am Kale Heniatus of the Heniatus Count Family.”

Taylor looked at the hand Kale Heniatus offered from outside the carriage. Then he looked again at Kale Heniatus’s expressionless face.
Click. Taylor opened the carriage door. By etiquette, he too should descend from the carriage and greet him properly. That was the courteous thing to do.

“My legs are in poor condition, so it’s difficult for me to leave the carriage.”
“I understand.”

Taylor regarded Kale Heniatus, who seemed entirely unconcerned by such matters, for a moment before extending his hand for a handshake. Kale grasped it briefly, then released it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Kale Heniatus.”

Not at all. I felt no pleasure whatsoever. I had no desire to even hear an introduction to Kaige, so I turned to leave immediately. But Taylor was an excessively courteous man.

“This is Kaige, a priestess of my company. She serves the God of Eternal Rest.”

Eternal Rest. It was an expression referring to death. I suppressed a sigh threatening to escape and looked at Kaige. She greeted me with the sanctity of a model priestess.

“A pleasure to meet you, Prince Kale Heniatus. I am Priestess Kaige. May the comfort of night accompany you.”

The comfort of night. It was a greeting those who served the God of Death offered to ordinary people.

‘Damn it all.’

Far from experiencing the comfort of night, I doubted I’d sleep properly tonight either. Watching Kaige smile so kindly, I felt as though I were drinking lemonade.

‘She said she found pretending to be good and pretending to be a priestess so repugnant and bothersome that she wanted to be excommunicated.’

Her acting was flawless. I smiled at her—the smile of one who would be called a model priestess—with a smirk and spoke calmly.

“I don’t believe in gods.”

A peculiar light flickered across Kaige’s eyes. It was the look of someone questioning what kind of nonsense I was spouting so brazenly before a priestess, but I welcomed that gaze. I hoped she would continue thinking that way, continue viewing me as a reckless fool.

“You’re quite an interesting person.”
“I can be somewhat—”

I answered her vaguely while surveying Taylor’s carriage. For the eldest son of a Marquis, his appearance was rather shabby. A single knight, a servant who served as a coachman, Kaige, and Taylor himself.

‘His funds have likely run dry.’

He must have spent considerable money installing magical devices in the mansion located in Pursulsi. Since the Sten Marquis House wasn’t providing proper support currently, he couldn’t even touch his emergency funds. With money perpetually scarce, he would be cutting expenses to the absolute minimum.

As I surveyed the carriage, Taylor closed his eyes tightly, suppressing his shame, then opened them again. I observed his expression without particular interest, lost in thought.

‘It seems like they’re heading to the Capital because of me.’

Their destination was obvious. The Capital, and naturally, the Crown Prince.

“Hans.”
“Yes, young master.”

Kale Heniatus gave Hans a casual set of instructions as he approached.

“Lend them your support.”
“Yes.”
“Prepare separate meals for them. Set up a campsite next to ours.”

I had no desire to share meals with them, nor did I want to use the same campsite.

“And don’t seek me out. Help them at your own discretion.”

I didn’t want to create unnecessary opportunities for entanglement. Of course, I sensed that circumstances might not unfold as I wished.

“Yes, I shall attend to them as I would to you, young master.”
“Do as you see fit. And bring me some wine.”

Why had Hans suddenly become so enthusiastic? Kale Heniatus regarded his fervent demeanor with mild displeasure, then offered a slight bow to Taylor in greeting instead.

“Then we shall depart, Young Master Taylor.”
“Yes. Thank you for your consideration, Young Master Kale.”
“It’s nothing to thank me for.”

Kale Heniatus turned away from Taylor without hesitation, offering only an enigmatic expression in farewell. He then proceeded directly toward his carriage, his gaze fixed ahead without wavering. Of course, he issued instructions to the Vice-Captain who followed at his side.

“It appears they have only one knight. Vice-Captain, you’ll manage the night watch for them as well.”
“Yes, young master.”

Before boarding the carriage, Kale Heniatus confirmed that the Vice-Captain was speaking with Taylor’s knight. It must have been about the night watch. After observing the knight’s face brighten considerably, Kale Heniatus promptly boarded the carriage.

With a crisp sound, the carriage door closed. Those nearby glanced briefly at the door bearing the golden turtle emblem before returning to their tasks. Only Kaige and Taylor, who had nothing particular to do, continued to stare at the closed door.

And inside the carriage, two cats welcomed Kale Heniatus.

“I know those people.”
“Hong, they’re people you’ve seen before too.”

The cats, who had been observing the situation from the window, approached and settled beside me quietly, conversing amongst themselves. It was a conversation they weren’t directing at me, yet it was a question meant for me.
Still, I spoke to the perceptive cats.

“Pretend you don’t know them.”
“Like the Dragon?”
“Yes.”

The cats nodded in understanding. I confirmed their response, then closed my eyes with my arms crossed.

‘The Healing Star.’

That was the name of the ancient power I had revealed to Taylor and Kaige. I had learned of this power because of the Crown Prince and the Plaza terror incident.

The Healing Star. A one-time ancient power that could restore any wound or illness of a single person to their previous healthy state. The Crown Prince possessed this power. It was a gift from his deceased mother.

The moment the royal family revealed themselves in the Plaza, the Secret Organization carried out their terror attack. Magic bombs detonated throughout the Plaza and the Capital.

At that time, Choi Han could only stop half of the terror. Though it was an extraordinary feat and the kingdom regarded him highly for it, Choi Han nurtured his hatred toward the Secret Organization as he recalled those who had died in the remaining explosions.

‘The Secret Organization had installed bombs on several people back then.’

Choi Han, working alongside the genius mage Rosalind, first prevented the bombs installed on people, then helped others evacuate. At that time, there was one elderly man Choi Han had been unable to save.
The elderly man’s right arm and leg had been blown off as he tried to remove the bomb, and Choi Han suffered greatly because of it. Then, witnessing the elderly man’s injuries, the Crown Prince recalled the Healing Star, and at that moment, the Healing Star was mentioned in a book.

Naturally, the Crown Prince did not use that power on the elderly man. Instead, he merely comforted Choi Han, who carried guilt upon seeing the dead elderly man, and elevated him as a hero.

‘Perhaps it was only natural.’

I did not think the Crown Prince’s judgment was wrong. It was his own possession, his own decision to make—what right did I have to criticize? Of course, if it were Choi Han or Rosalind, they would have used that power.

“But the Dragon is following us, isn’t he?”

At Hong’s question, I nodded dismissively.

‘Since things have come to this, I should make good use of the Dragon too.’

I had planned to rescue them and stop them, but unlike the magpie or tiger who repaid kindness, I needed to put the dragon that followed me around to proper use. I had already spent two nights planning how to employ it.

Kale Heniatus knew the locations of the five magical bombs that Choi Han had discovered, but he had no precise knowledge of where the remaining five bombs had detonated without being found.
As for the five bombs that were discovered, Choi Han had barely managed to locate them one by one through Rosalind’s genius-level mana sensitivity.

Yet following me like a duckling that had lost its mother was a being whose mana sensitivity far surpassed even Rosalind’s.

“I should put it to work.”

The cats flinched, but Kale, unaware of their reaction, methodically organized tasks for the dragon to complete once he returned to the Capital.

The dragon, equally unaware, delivered wild boar meat to the campsite early the next morning.
Kale, who had overslept while planning in the Capital, went out to check on the wild boar meat and sensed an odd atmosphere as he surveyed his surroundings.

Last night, he had eaten and slept inside the carriage, deliberately keeping his distance from Taylor’s group. Because of this, he could not understand the strange, somewhat gloomy atmosphere that now permeated the air.

“Hans, what’s going on?”

Hans greeted Kale with an awkward smile. He and the rest of Kale’s group were gradually setting aside their suspicions about the meat and fruits.
Whatever Ron might think, the others accepted it readily enough because Choi Han and Kale had approved of it. Moreover, the cook Vicross had definitively declared them to be top-grade ingredients.

“Ha ha, Young Master. You’re awake?”

Hans glanced cautiously toward Taylor’s group before approaching Kale.

“It seems Young Master Taylor has developed a misunderstanding of some sort.”
“A misunderstanding?”

Kale could see the wild boar, Taylor sitting in a wheelchair nearby, and Kaige holding the wheelchair. He walked toward the dead boar and stood beside the wheelchair before speaking.

“What is the matter?”

As always, the size of the wild boar the dragon had brought was enormous. It was larger than a tiger, a boar that would delight Vicross.
And beside the boar, as always, there was a drawing. A knife drawing instead of a fork, apparently because the dragon had grown tired of drawing forks.

“…Young Master Kale, my apologies.”

What nonsense was this so early in the morning?
Taylor turned his head away, unable to bear looking at the boar, a hollow smile hanging at the corners of his mouth.

“It seems my actions have been completely exposed.”

Actions? As Kale Heniatus tilted his head in confusion, he heard the Mad Priestess Kaige muttering under her breath. She was clearly irritated.

“I came in secret, yet how could this happen? An existence with power I couldn’t even detect. This is too much.”

How could I possibly detect a dragon with your level of strength? Kale had already grasped the situation.
The clean kill of a massive wild boar that couldn’t be caught by ordinary power. The secrecy with which I’d left it without being noticed by Priestess Kaige. The display of tremendous skill, and the crude sword drawing beside it.

What had been a small knife to Kale Heniatus appeared to them as a massive blade. I averted my gaze from Taylor, whose face was painted with a mixture of despair and remorse.

“…Young Master Kale, this matter—”
“Vicross.”

And I called for Vicross.

Benion, the second son of Marquis Sten’s House, must be quite busy right now. So why would he focus all his attention on his abandoned eldest son, paralyzed from the waist down? He didn’t even know that the Capital had a “Healing Star.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Vicross arrived holding a kitchen knife that gleamed in the morning sunlight, and despite his taciturn expression, his excitement was evident.

“We should make steak this morning.”
“Young Master, it seems we’ll have premium steak again this time.”

Taylor’s mouth fell open as he watched in bewilderment.

“…Again?”

Kale Heniatus nodded and spoke.

“There is someone in our group who handles food deliveries.”
“…Who might that be?”

I let out a scoff, answering as if exasperated.

“Despite appearances, that one is quite shy. You cannot see them.”

I shook my head as I watched the leaves of a tree behind the campsite rustling. And at that gesture, both Taylor and Kaige’s faces flushed crimson.

“Ahem. Ah, yes, I see. It appears we may have misunderstood something.”
“That’s possible. Since Vicross is an excellent cook and skilled with food, why don’t you enjoy a steak before you go?”

Vicross paused mid-stroke of the wild boar and glanced at Kale Heniatus. But Kale couldn’t meet his gaze—distracted by what Taylor had just said.

“Young Master Kale, I heard you’re heading to the Capital. If it’s not too much trouble, might I follow along the way?”

As expected. This was exactly what I’d anticipated.

“Do as you wish.”

They had no way of knowing that I was the one who’d sent that letter to the Capital. Since things had come to this, I might as well escort them safely to the Capital and clear a debt—it could prove useful.
After all, if they handled themselves well, they were the sort of talented people worth having indebted to me.

“Yes, I’ll only impose on your kindness until we near the Capital.”

Kale Heniatus’s lips curved slightly upward at Taylor’s words.

‘He’s perceptive.’

Near the Capital. Taylor had tactfully suggested they part ways at a location where it wouldn’t be problematic if Benion and Marquis Sten’s House discovered that Kale had traveled with them. Entering the Capital together would create far too many complications.

“We’ll decide once we see how things unfold.”

Of course, my thoughts differed from theirs. The magical box still held many items awaiting their useful application.

“Understood. We’ll accompany you only as far as you’re comfortable with, Young Master.”
“Very well.”

Taylor and Kaige regarded Kale Heniatus with an enigmatic expression as he answered plainly. But Kale ignored their gaze and spoke to Hans.

“We’ll dine in the carriage.”
“Yes, sir.”

Kale Heniatus turned back toward the carriage. That was when someone called out to stop him.

“Young Master Kale.”

It was Kaige. She approached with her brow deeply furrowed as if troubled by a headache, and watching her draw near, I felt an inexplicable unease.

“Why do you ask, Priestess?”
“Do you truly have no god you believe in?”

What was she talking about now?

“No, I don’t.”
“…I understand.”

At Kaige’s acceptance of this, Kale Heniatus quickly made his way toward the carriage. Taylor approached her as she watched him depart.

“What’s wrong?”

Kaige rarely stepped forward except among those close to her and the Temple staff. It was peculiar that she would approach Kale Heniatus with a furrowed brow.
She shook her head, her expression distinctly uncomfortable.

“Something feels off.”
“What does?”
“I don’t know, exactly.”

Kaige touched the back of her head.

“It’s like the God of Death is gazing at the back of my head with pitying eyes. That unsettling feeling.”
“…What kind of feeling is that? Didn’t you just sleep poorly?”
“Perhaps.”

She continued to feel this way whenever she looked at Kale Heniatus. It was the same sensation she’d felt long ago at the Temple when they’d forced her into exhausting labor to construct a new building, and the God of Death had gazed upon her as she collapsed after completing it all.

‘There’s no way Young Master Kale Heniatus would exploit Taylor and me like some corrupt Temple.’

Kaige dismissed the feeling, convincing herself that Taylor was right—she simply hadn’t slept well.

Thus Kale Heniatus’s party grew in number, and they journeyed toward the Capital with comfortable ease.
Whenever Kale Heniatus stepped out of the carriage to stretch his stiff body, Taylor’s group would glance at him, but neither they nor Kale Heniatus engaged in any particular conversation.

Continuing their journey, the night before they arrived at the Capital, they lodged at an Inn for the last time.

“Young Master Kale Heniatus, you do enjoy alcohol, don’t you?”

Taylor and Kaige came to find Kale Heniatus.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

Kale Heniatus asked the reason for their late visit, though his expression showed no particular bewilderment. At his composed demeanor, Taylor smiled.

“Kale Heniatus, the wastrel who cannot survive a single day without alcohol.”

During his days as a promising candidate for a provincial lord, Taylor had committed information about every noble heir to memory. The details about Kale were so distinctive that he could not have forgotten them.

“Yet it seems there is more to you than that.”

The Kale Heniatus he met in person differed from the rumors.
He possessed a thoughtfulness that led him to always remain in the carriage for their sake, treating them with the utmost consideration, and his subordinates trusted and followed him faithfully.
Most of all, he treated them as ordinary people.

“You are different from the rumors.”

With the Capital now within sight, Taylor and Kaige would need to move cautiously and discreetly from dawn tomorrow. Of course, they would need to enter the royal palace with confidence, but before that, there was much to investigate in hiding and much to prepare.

Yet they had resolved to act differently from their original plan.
Kale Heniatus, whom they had observed for over a week. This man had taken root in Taylor and Kaige’s minds.

“Young Master Kale, surely one drink before we depart would be acceptable?”

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