Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 259

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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 problem was that making a living was dreadfully difficult.

“…Sigh.”

A deep exhale escaped from my lips.

‘Delicious.’

The moment I cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and placed it in my mouth, the juices flowed forth, melting away instantly on my tongue.

“Coming back from the brink of death makes everything taste incredible. Is it true that food tastes better when you’ve suffered for it?”

I voiced my admiration aloud.

Thud.
Clang.
Splat.

At the sounds that followed, I paused and turned my head.
On, Hong, and Raon.
The three of them, averaging nine years old, had simultaneously dropped their meat pieces onto the table, their dessert bowls onto the floor, and the knife they were holding onto the meat itself. Raon’s pupils trembled before he cried out.

“L-living itself is what’s great!”
“That’s right! You can only eat when you’re alive!”
“Merry said so too—that you can only not eat when you’re dead. To eat, you have to be alive.”

Hong and On chimed in agreement.
I nodded.

“That’s right. You can only eat and do things when you’re alive.”
“You have to keep living, right?”
“Of course.”

On wagged her tail at my indifferent response and resumed eating her meat. Unlike usual, I wiped the sauce from On’s mouth as she ate.
Hong and Raon got so much food all over themselves too.

I frequently wiped the mouths of the three nine-year-olds. Each time, the cats’ tails swayed and the Dragon’s wings fluttered, but I paid them no mind.

However, there was one being who found this sight deeply troubling.

The Ancient Dragon Erhafen. He too occupied a seat at the dining table. His gaze remained fixed upon Kale and Raon, unmoving.

“Kale Heniatus.”
“Yes.”

I accepted the glass of lemonade Ron offered me and answered offhandedly. Then Erhafen’s voice reached my ears.

“If your vessel shatters even once more, you will die.”
“Cough!”

I choked on my drink.

“Golden Dragon! Why would you say something so catastrophic?”

The wandering eyes of the nine-year-olds turned back toward me once more.
Vicross, who had been approaching with a fresh tray of food, and Ron, who had been patting my back as I choked, both contorted their expressions in distress.
In the midst of it all, the Ancient Dragon spoke his piece.

“Kale, your vessel has grown far too large. Should it shatter once more, there would be no recovery. So take care of yourself with utmost diligence.”
“I intend to do exactly that from now on.”

I steadied my breathing and answered calmly.
I truly meant it now. Having experienced such pain once, I had no desire to endure it again to such a degree.

Yet the light in Erhafen’s eyes as he regarded me was peculiar.

‘It has grown larger than Choi Han’s.’

That fragile glass vessel’s capacity exceeded Choi Han’s.
Among all the humans Erhafen had encountered thus far, Choi Han alone possessed the largest vessel.

That was why he accepted it even when Choi Han became a Sword Master. Because that man was one who could hold far greater things if he so desired.

But Kale Heniatus was different.

‘A fool rather than a mediocrity.’

A dullard who couldn’t even reach the level of mediocrity.
The moment such a fool harbored within his own body not merely the water he dominated, but the ‘water that devours the sky,’ the instant he truly gathered all five attributes, his vessel had grown far too immense.

‘But if Choi Han’s vessel is as solid as stone, then that one’s is fragile.’

Safety was the absolute worst of all drawbacks.
Erhafen turned his gaze elsewhere.

The little one.
Raon Mir would have sensed that Kale’s vessel had expanded, but he likely hadn’t yet grasped the extent of it.

‘The little one’s attribute is the present.’

Still merely about 1 meter 20 centimeters in stature, yet his interior had now taken on the complete form of a dragon. All that remained was growth. Once his third growth phase concluded, I would witness Raon as a mature dragon. Then the significance of this remarkably swift first growth would become apparent.

Whether he would become a king, or something else entirely.

“What are you staring at, golden dragon!”
“What a peculiar little one.”

The present is time.
I had never heard of a case where time itself was an attribute.
Erhafen spoke curtly to Raon, who was gazing at me.

“You truly are a peculiar and foolish little one.”
“No! Golden dragon grandfather!”
“A little one who doesn’t even know how to use his own attribute.”
“I can learn! I’ll figure it out!”

At Raon’s confident demeanor, Erhafen let out a deflating chuckle. He wouldn’t be able to use his breath until his second growth phase concluded, but now that his first growth had finished, he should be able to wield the inferior version of that power.

‘Even after I depart, he will protect himself.’

The ancient dragon with roughly a year remaining methodically prepared for the future ahead.
Of course, there existed someone harboring thoughts contrary to his.

‘Whether I discover one of the ancient powers or find some other means.’

Kale pondered deeply on how to execute the ancient dragon Erhafen longevity project, while simultaneously searching for words to speak aloud.

“Contact from the Caro Kingdom?”
“Yes, sir.”

The Mogur Empire was preparing to reclaim Maple Castle, which had been seized by the Wipper Kingdom.

Rosalind had conveyed this intelligence to Ron, but tracing it back to its source, it originated from Prince Valentino of the Caro Kingdom, who had informed Crown Prince Alberu of the Roan Kingdom.
While I needed to investigate how the Caro Kingdom had obtained such information, there was one aspect that particularly astonished me.

“Faster than I expected.”

For the sake of imperial prestige, reclaiming Maple Castle from the Wipper Kingdom was a natural course of action.
Yet the war between the Northern Indomitable Alliance and the other kingdoms had not yet concluded.

The Empire was preparing for war at such a time?

‘Their true objective isn’t Maple Castle—it’s the Wipper Kingdom itself.’

Had they merely wanted Maple Castle, they would not have chosen this moment.

The pretext would be Maple Castle, but their true ambition lay in devouring the Wipper Kingdom entirely.
Thus, they sought to exploit this chaos to expand their territory while drawing less attention from the other kingdoms.
And the likelihood that such a desperate gambit stemmed from a sense of urgency was high.

‘The other kingdoms proved stronger than anticipated.’

The Roan Kingdom, the Breck Kingdom, the Caro Kingdom—
all had triumphed over the Indomitable Alliance. Faced with such results, Crown Prince Adin of the Mogur Empire, who desired control, must have concluded he needed to devise a new strategy.

The prey that caught his eye was the Wipper Kingdom and Tunka.

“A foolish choice, wouldn’t you say, Ron?”
“Indeed, sir. The Empire has made a grave miscalculation.”

The Wipper Kingdom.
The Wipper Kingdom, which oppressed mages, was currently ‘ostensibly’ isolated from the world.

It was known that no one engaged in trade or relations with that kingdom.
Thus, during the war with the Wipper Kingdom, the Empire must have been astonished to discover that the kingdom possessed far more food supplies and other war resources than anticipated.

‘Of course, all of that had been sent secretly by the other kingdoms.’

Breck Kingdom and the Jungle had especially provided considerable assistance.

Unaware of this, the Empire concluded that Wipper Kingdom must have depleted its resources significantly in the previous war, and decided that now was the time to devour this weakened kingdom with empty coffers.

The corner of Kale Heniatus’s mouth twitched upward.

“Raon.”
“What is it, human?”
“Video communication device.”

Raon Mir grinned and pulled out the video communication device.

“Ta-da!”

I watched the six-year-old pull out the video communication device with such enthusiasm, letting out a sigh at whatever had gotten him so excited since earlier.

“Connect to Jjangdol Mansion.”

Ron, Vicross, and even Erhafen paused, their eyes turning toward me.
Based on the flow of conversation so far, wasn’t it supposed to be Rosalind or Crown Prince Albert?
Or perhaps Tunka.

But why Jjangdol Mansion?

Yet I continued.

“After Jjangdol Mansion, we’ll connect to the Jungle.”

The Jungle?
Queen Ritana of the Jungle?
Why would she suddenly come up now?
As Ron’s brow furrowed, I smiled. The moment that smile appeared, the video communication device connected to Jjangdol Mansion, and I could see three people.

-It’s been so long! I pray to the Death God every day that you all remain safe.
-It’s been a while.
-It has been quite some time, Young Master. You’re positively radiant today, as always.

Crazy Priestess Kage.
And the Fake Saint—a Sword Master Hana intoxicated by blood.
Finally, the half-Saint Jack.

As they spoke in turn, each of them reacted differently to Kale’s smile.
Saint Jack offered a gentle smile in return to Kale’s radiant one, while Crazy Priestess Kage’s expression grew increasingly uneasy.
And lastly, Sword Master Hana spoke without hesitation.

-Are we finally going to destroy the Empire?

Silence descended upon the room where the dining table was set.
Through that stillness came Kale’s voice.

“Yes.”

All eyes converged upon me.

I recalled everything I had done thus far concerning the Empire.
These Sun God twins.
And Sir Rex, the Cat Tribe Knight, along with the Alchemist from the Slums.
Beyond that, there were truly many cards I could still play.
The question was when to use them—the timing was what mattered.

But now the moment had come.

-How?

Sword Master Hana’s excited voice reached my ears.
I spoke gently, with the benevolence of a Priest.

“From the bottom up, I intend to write a new history.”

First, from within the Empire itself.

“Jack and Hana.”

The Fake Saint and the half-Saint.

“The two of you will become the protagonists of a new chapter in the Sun God Church’s history.”

History is shaped by the few who wield great power, yet it is equally transformed by the countless weak who suffer in silence beneath them.
Kale Heniatus had chosen the path of the weak—by them and for them.
He continued speaking as he gazed upon the three individuals who would become the crucial keystones of this imperial project.

“And soon you will meet them. The hero who will become the new ruler.”

A future existence, one who would languish in the Slums, holding their breath.
Kale would transform that person into a hero.

-You’re overturning the Empire?

To Hana’s question, Kale answered with apparent lightness. Yet the words that left his lips carried a weight that was anything but light.

“We are preparing for rebellion.”

Rebellion.
Rebellion against the religious order and rebellion against the Empire.
As the expressions of all present hardened, a single woman—the Fake Saint—smiled with her lips curled upward and posed a question to Kale.

-Is it possible?
“It is possible.”

How could it possibly be?
Beyond the video communication channel, eyes burning with fervor and madness posed the question to Kale.
Kale answered that question willingly.

“The Empire is about to be struck from all sides.”

The Wipper Kingdom to the east, and the Caro Kingdom to the west.
Above lay Roan and Breck, and below lay the Jungle.

“Crown Prince Adin will likely be too overwhelmed to think straight, taking blows from every direction.”

That two-faced schemer, grinning as if playing the good person, would have his head struck so relentlessly that sensation itself would fade.
As a bonus, Dark would lose yet another allied force.
Sword Master Hana wet her lips with her tongue. Her voice trembled faintly.

-When the Empire cannot regain its senses.
“Yes, at that moment.”

Kale declared it as though pronouncing a verdict.

“I will devour it.”

Kale’s gaze fixed upon the half-Saint Jack—a face brimming with complex thoughts. Observing that gentle countenance, I recalled the artifact resting within my possession.

The divine relic I had obtained during my journey to the Empire.
‘Condemnation of the Sun.’
As I summoned the memory of that sacred object, said to banish the night itself, I opened my mouth to speak.

“The Condemnation of the Sun shall illuminate the night. Such is the name of the history we shall create.”

Another myth would be born within the Empire.

“Prepare to depart at once.”
-Where to?
“First, you will join me.”
-And then?

The first destination I would take these twins and the Mad Priestess.

“Wipper.”

We would head to the Wipper Kingdom’s front lines.

“After stopping there, we infiltrate the Empire.”

After relaying those words to the three at Jjangdol Mansion, I connected with another person via video communication and spoke similarly.

“Ritana, the opportunity for vengeance against the Empire—those who created the pillar of fire in Jungle Zone 1—has arrived.”

I informed Ritana, the ruler of the Jungle, of the same location.

“Come to Wipper.”

After concluding the conversation with Queen Ritana, I wiped my satisfied lips and spoke.

“Let us depart as well.”

A mess—the Western Continent.
I had to go there and make it even more of a disaster.

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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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