Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 26

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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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“Come in.”

At Kale’s gesture, Kaige wheeled Taylor inside. Once the three of us were seated around the table, I didn’t spare a glance at the alcohol before speaking.

“What brings you here?”

My voice was cold and colorless—exactly as one would expect. Taylor was now certain of it. This man was no reckless fool. If anything, he was far more shrewd than appearances suggested.

Taylor hadn’t come merely to drink. Alcohol was something to be savored in comfort with trustworthy companions. Otherwise, it was merely a tool for reconnaissance and conversation.

“What manner of person do you take me for, Lord Kale?”

At the question, I studied Taylor in silence for a moment, then approached the bed and retrieved a pouch from atop it, placing it on the table.

Clink. The metallic sound echoed through the room. The pouch’s opening gaped slightly. Gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins gleamed into view.
My measured voice filled the space.

“I don’t know why you seek the Capital at this very moment when all eyes—those of noble scions and commoners alike—are upon you. But those who walk into the tiger’s den come to me with but one purpose.”

I had anticipated this from the moment they said they were following me, from every glance cast my way whenever I ventured outside.

“The wealthy Heniatus Family. Your business is money, is it not?”

Ha. A sound close to admiration escaped Kaige’s lips. Taylor was someone who had fallen from the heights of high society into the depths, but Kaige had always dwelt in the gutters. To her, I was a peculiar man.

He constantly asks his attendant for alcohol whenever opportunity permits.
He pays no mind to what his subordinates do, always consuming only the finest cuisine.
The finest inns, always at ease. And his words flow without restraint.

Yet he is no reckless fool.
His close friend Taylor understood this better than she did.

“You knew, then.”
“Of course I knew.”

I spoke as though it were nothing of consequence.

“Looking at your appearance, you seem to lack funds, and to stay in the Capital—especially discreetly—money would be your greatest necessity, wouldn’t it? Perhaps you never intended this, but with a golden turtle accompanying you, isn’t it something any person might attempt once, to extend a hand for aid?”

Taylor could not refute Kale’s words. He was right. Kale Heniatus, who did not turn away from him despite being an abandoned eldest son. If he made this request and obtained money, that alone would be a gain.
Even if Kale refused, it seemed unlikely he would mention Taylor’s request to Benion. He appeared to be someone who disliked complicated matters.
A talented individual who voluntarily concealed himself. That was how Taylor perceived Kale.

“Young Master Kale, thank you.”

Kale did not offer polite words of modesty in response. Instead, he sought to execute a thought he had harbored since anticipating their arrival.

“Will you depart at dawn tomorrow?”
“Yes. I considered leaving discreetly, which is why I came here. Now we must proceed on our own.”

The eyes of Taylor, seated in his wheelchair, were sharp and clear. Yet Kale, confronted with that clarity, could not offer a positive response.

“Will you enter through the Temple?”

When Taylor’s expression clouded with admiration at how Kale could have known this, Kaige stepped forward.

“Yes, we will enter through the Temple.”

They intended to enter disguised as Temple personnel. In doing so, Kaige would reveal her location to the Death Temple. She was assuming such risk for Taylor’s sake.
Yet even entering that way would not guarantee complete concealment. Kale identified the flaw in their plan.

“Even so, within three days it will reach the ears of Benion or the Marquis Household. There must be those who engage in politics even within the Death Temple.”
“…You truly understand much.”

Kaige’s lips curved upward. She had discerned one thing about Kale.

“Young Master Kale, the fact that you are so curious about our affairs must have a reason behind it, yes?”

Tap. Tap. Kale’s index finger drummed against the table.

“Young Master Taylor and your party will stay one more day. Use this money for the reservation.”

Kale raised his index finger, pointing to both of them.

“And the two of you will ride in my carriage. The rest of Young Master Taylor’s party will arrive a day later.”

With a scrape of the chair, I rose to my feet. I placed an object I’d retrieved from the magical box onto the table.

“A magical device that renders all living creatures in a designated area transparent for five minutes.”

The second item I’d needed to borrow under Bilos’s name.

‘Young Master, what are you going to steal?’
‘Steal? I’m going to destroy it.’
‘…Destroy it?’

I’d prepared this device for use during the plaza terror incident, but now I needed to deploy it early. I was grateful it wasn’t a one-time use item.
As I fell silent, stillness descended. Kaige and Taylor stared at the object and me, their mouths moving soundlessly, unable to form words. The silence stretched on for quite some time before—

“Why—”

Taylor’s lips slowly parted after a long stretch of silence.

“Why go this far? You gain nothing from it.”

Why do it? Because I started this mess, so I should help to some extent. It’s not as though it harms me. Besides, if Taylor takes control of the Marquis Household, then in future wars with foreign powers, I won’t have to deal with the headaches caused by Marquis Sten’s ambitions. That way, the Heniatus Territory will remain peaceful, and my remaining years will be comfortable.

“Must I answer?”
“Yes, I’d like to hear it.”

Taylor wanted to hear my answer. To him, I responded in a flat, emotionless tone. My voice was cruelly cold.

“Out of pity. An abandoned eldest son with a broken leg, uncertain of when death will come—I wondered what he could possibly be thinking. Watching the Marquis Household’s eldest son earnestly begging the Count’s Household rogue for money, striving, struggling… it was pitiful.”

Taylor’s mouth opened in silent laughter. He stroked both his knees with his hands. Yet he felt nothing from them.
But Taylor himself—his eyes, nose, mouth, hands—everything was still alive. He smiled brightly.

“Thank you for your pity. I needed such pity.”
“However, there is one condition attached to all of this.”

I paid no attention to his words of gratitude.

“What is it?”
“Forget it.”

Kale Heniatus slid the pouch of coins toward him and spoke.

“Forget everything that has happened.”

An attitude of helping but refusing further entanglement. Taylor had anticipated as much. Kaige stepped forward. This was the reason she had come.

“I swear that neither I nor Prince Taylor will disclose anything. You understand that breaking an oath sworn before the God of Death results in death itself, yes?”
“I understand. Swear it.”

Kale Heniatus smiled at her words. An oath sworn before the God of Death—a promise of legendary weight. Because he believed in such an oath, he could entertain the thought of helping them.

The priestess Kaige. Seeing Kale Heniatus smile at the mention of staking one’s life on an oath, she finally burst into laughter.

“You won’t be swearing, will you, Prince Kale Heniatus?”
“No, I have no intention of it. If this matter becomes troublesome later, I plan to reveal everything on our side.”
“To Benion?”
“Yes.”

Kale Heniatus answered calmly to her question, which carried a hint of amusement. Witnessing this exchange, Taylor felt oddly reassured. In fact, Kale Heniatus’s willingness to expose everything if disadvantaged pleased Taylor.

“Kaige, let’s do this.”
“Yes.”

Taylor and Kaige—the two had already dropped their formality before Kale Heniatus. It was a signal that they would lay bare everything to some degree.

“I’m beginning.”

A dark night. The new moon, when no light graced the sky, was when the power of the God of Death grew strongest.
Kaige closed her eyes and brought her hands together before her. It was a different form than prayer. Her palms faced toward Kale Heniatus and Taylor respectively.

A low hum resonated through the air. Simultaneously, black smoke flowed like threads from her fingertips, enveloping the three of them.

‘Is this divine power?’

Kale Heniatus felt that presence and was seized by a peculiar sensation. It was distinctly different from ancient power, yet despite its dark hue, it radiated warmth.

“I, Kaige, daughter of the eternal night, wish to swear an oath alongside Taylor Sten, borrowing the name of night. An oath is a covenant of life itself—those who break this oath shall be consumed by eternal darkness.”

Kaige opened her eyes and continued, gazing upon the two before her.

“Tonight, everything shared in this place—Kaige and Taylor Sten swear to keep it as a lifelong secret, never to reveal it to anyone except our witness, Kale Heniatus.”
“Never to reveal it.”

Taylor echoed the final words. Kaige heard his voice and closed her eyes once more. Black smoke curled from her hand, enveloping all three of us. And finally.

A low hum resonated through the air, and the smoke vanished. The oath was complete.

“Quite simple, really.”

I spoke my observation while sensing a peculiar energy hovering around my hand. It resembled the power of ancient times. Instinctively, I felt the nature of the oath itself.

“The sensations you’re feeling now are the power of the oath. Should we break our vow, it will inform you, our witness, of our destruction.”
“I see.”

I acknowledged her explanation simply. The force behind it was unmistakable. I felt the energies within my body, exploring the difference between divine power and ancient power.
At that moment, Taylor placed the bottle of liquor he’d brought at the center of the table. The soft clink of glass echoed through the space.

“Lord Kale, would you care for a drink?”
“A drink?”

I concealed my desire to leave quickly and asked in return. Taylor nodded at my question.

“Yes, a drink. On a good night, nothing suits better than spirits.”

Taylor wished to share a drink with Kale, though his thoughts differed from his words—a man he still could not fully trust. Noticing this, Kaige let out a knowing laugh, then thrust her hand deep into the wide sleeves of her priestly robes.

“Voilà!”

Three drinking cups emerged from her sleeves.

“Huh.”

I stared at the cups, the bottle, and the priestess with genuine astonishment. She carried drinking cups in her sleeves.

“Priestess.”
“Yes?”
“You’re remarkable.”

A true drinker indeed. I accepted the cup she offered, and Taylor filled it. When all three cups were brimming full, Kaige turned to me with a question.

“Prince Kale, isn’t it strange for a priestess to drink alcohol?”

I tilted my head slightly to one side as I asked.

“Why should that concern me?”

Whether she drank or not was none of my affair.

“Oh, I really like this one.”

Kaige exclaimed with admiration, tapping her knee with the hand that wasn’t holding the wine glass. Then she casually asked me a question.

“Prince Kale, wouldn’t you like to know a good-natured older sister?”
“I wouldn’t.”

I answered firmly, and Taylor quietly posed his own question.

“…What about a good-natured older brother?”
“Even less so.”

Rather than being disappointed by my response, the duo of Kaige and Taylor burst into giggles. I couldn’t fathom what was amusing about my words, but I raised my glass and spoke.

“A toast.”

Clink. Three glasses met. The new moon hung absent from the sky, yet the wine—deeper than moonlight itself—wove a bond between the three of us.

And the next day.

“My lord, shall we depart?”

Whether bold or simply amused, my valet Hans—who had discreetly overheard the gist of everything—pretended not to notice the two figures nestled in the corner of my carriage as he asked cheerfully.

“Yes, let’s go.”

I, too, gave the signal to depart with ease.
Two hours. In just two hours, we would arrive at the City Gate of the Capital.

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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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