Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 291

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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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Chapter 63. Beating the Drum and Playing the Janggu

-What’s the matter?

Crown Prince Albert’s radiant smile appeared through the video communication screen.

-It’s quite serious.
“…Sigh.”

He spoke of serious matters while laughing—clearly enjoying himself. I dragged both hands down my face. That expression was unmistakably one of amusement.

In contrast, Sir Rex and the merchant Bilos had turned ashen pale.
Their gazes were fixed on the Black Dragon, who was patting my leg.

“Human! Don’t you want to see the Crown Prince? Cheer up!”

Pat, pat.
Plump front paws tapped against my leg. Sir Rex and Bilos turned away in shock, refusing to acknowledge the scene.

“…A dragon, after all. I really should have used that golden rope-”

Bilos muttered to himself, but no one paid him any attention.
Instead, the Crown Prince grinned and shook his head with amusement.

-This is quite serious. The Crown Prince is requesting you personally. You’re practically an honored imperial citizen with a medal to your name—shouldn’t you go?

Damn it.
I swallowed the curse that threatened to escape my lips.

-My, the Empire’s Crown Prince must be in quite a hurry. He needs you to extinguish the flames.

That was it.
The reason the Empire sought me was because of ‘fire.’

A pillar of flame created by my Destructive Fire still blazed fiercely before Maple Castle.
Moreover, the Empire possessed information about the pillars of fire in the Breck Kingdom and the Canyon of Death.
Since Rosalind, who had been present at that location, was now in the Wipper Kingdom’s mage encampment where the Fire Barrier had been erected, they must have feared that the scene from the Canyon of Death would repeat itself.

So they were searching for Kale, who had extinguished the Jungle’s flames back then.

“I can’t exactly refuse to go.”

I exhaled the words like a sigh.

“But, why can’t you refuse, sir?”

Sir Rex carefully interjected into the conversation. I shrugged at his question and answered.

“If I refuse the request, they’ll grow suspicious. They’ll think Roan is supporting Wipper.”

The Mogur Empire was already applying pressure to the Breck Kingdom as well, or so I’d heard.
Even though Breck claimed that Rosalind was an exiled member of the Royal Family with no connection to them, the Empire only deepened its suspicions.
Of course, suspicion alone made official pressure difficult.

“Hmm, it’s quite ambiguous, isn’t it?”
“Exactly.”

It was just as Sir Rex, I, and the pale-faced Bilos were nodding in agreement.

-You don’t have to go.
“…Pardon?”

Crown Prince Albert spoke cheerfully.

-Rosalind had some valuable materials.
“Valuable materials?”
-Yes, I have them too. When I showed them to the Crown Prince, he was convinced.

What is this?
For the first time in a long while, a chill ran down my spine. Yet Crown Prince Albert remained composed.

-When you were bedridden at an inn on the Eastern Continent, Rosalind had kept records of it.

…Ah.
My expression became hollow.

Life in a bed at an inn on the Eastern Continent.
It was that same bedridden existence I had endured after obtaining the Sky-Devouring Water, coughing blood and trembling uncontrollably.
Servant Ron had briefly shown it to Rosalind during a video communication.

‘When did he save that? No, why did he save it?’

As my face filled with bewilderment, Raon cried out.

“I didn’t see it! I had my eyes closed, so I didn’t see it!”
-Young Master Raon, it’s been deleted. Unfortunately.

The deletion.
Both Rosalind and Alberu still possessed the video, but since it was hardly a sight fit to show even a six-year-old dragon, the Crown Prince smoothly glossed over it. At that time, Raon had only heard the audio, so he hadn’t properly seen my appearance.

“What a shame, Crown Prince!”

I watched the conversation between the Crown Prince and the dragon with exasperation. Then, the Crown Prince whose eyes met mine spoke cheerfully.

-I told the Crown Prince that I’m currently recuperating because I’m in such poor condition. He was quite shocked and said he hopes to see me recover safely and smiling.

Alberu disliked that video immensely, but he couldn’t forget the Crown Prince’s shocked expression. Indeed, it was a video shocking to anyone who saw it.

‘Now I understand what sacrifices Roan’s hero made to protect Roan.’

Crown Prince Adin spoke with sorrow etched upon his handsome face, and Alberu responded.

‘We must never forget such noble sacrifice. Therefore, Roan wishes to focus on Commander Kale Heniatus’s recovery and protect him.’
‘I understand. I fully accept Roan’s intentions.’

Alberu conveyed his meaning toward my frowning face.

-So don’t worry about the Crown Prince. You probably can’t even imagine helping the Wipper Kingdom.
“But I can.”

Crown Prince Alberu paused and looked at me.
My lips were curling upward as if to ask when I had been frowning. At that expression, Alberu found himself asking bluntly without thinking.

-Go?

Are you going to see Crown Prince Adin on the Empire’s side?

“Yes.”
-Hmph.

A voice tinged with exasperation reached my ears, but I remained composed.

“If I go to aid the Empire after overcoming such pain, what will the Empire think of me?”

They would believe me to be not merely an honorary citizen, but an Imperial subject through and through.

-Cunning bastard.

I brushed past that gaze without reaction and looked toward Bilos. Though he flinched in surprise, I posed my question with cold precision.

“Bilos, when did you say the Alchemy Tower’s Sub-Tower Master and Crown Prince Adin would move?”

Bilos recalled the intelligence he had gathered and answered swiftly.

“It seems they will move within a week. They were preparing supplies to align with that timing.”

He had obtained this information by utilizing the merchant network’s intelligence and bribes to uncover details about military supply provisions. It was not classified.

“It’s already been decided, and they will make an announcement soon. They need to calm the hearts of the Empire’s people, after all.”
“So only the Alchemy Tower’s Sub-Tower Master is moving?”
“Yes, of course the alchemists will move as well.”

My gaze and Crown Prince Albert’s collided.

-The Tower Master hasn’t been seen in ages.
“Indeed.”

Since that time when the Alchemy Tower’s Tower Master had introduced his disciple from the Slums, he had never once appeared publicly before the people.

-In any case, isn’t the Sub-Tower Master the one effectively in charge of the Alchemy Tower now?
“That’s right.”
-So that person will be absent from the Capital during the war.

I responded.

“It’s an empty house.”

I didn’t know where the Tower Master was, but the Crown Prince and Sub-Tower Master—the ones actually running things—had left the Capital.
Of course, the Emperor was still there.

My gaze shifted toward Sir Rex.

“An empty house needs to be cleaned out.”

A flinch.
Sir Rex’s body trembled without his realizing it.
That was when it happened.

“Again? Every time we come to the Empire, we tear things apart! Let’s just strip it all!”

The six-year-old Dragon’s cry brought silence. I swallowed a sigh and shook my head.

“That’s not what this is.”
“It’s not, human?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”

I placed my hand on Sir Rex’s shoulder and patted it gently, speaking softly.

“Let’s make some people kneel.”
“…Pardon?”

What did you say?
Sir Rex’s eyes wavered. But my gaze remained resolute.

“Gather some people for me.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll send you a signal within a week. When I do, just gather a few people willing to kneel.”
“What—?”

We must strike when those who believe themselves masters of the Empire are absent.
The moment ordinary, impoverished citizens of the Empire kneel before the Alchemy Tower, the first step toward toppling that tower will have begun.

“And you know the way, right?”
“The way?”

Sir Rex looked bewildered by the incomprehensible turn of conversation, but this time Kale spoke with a serious expression.

“The way you escaped from the Alchemy Tower.”

Sir Rex’s face hardened.

That way.
The filthy, terrifying path he had taken in the form of a kitten, abandoning his sister and brother.
The underground sewers of the Alchemy Tower.
Countless corpses lay in those depths.

“You definitely know that path.”

A way to secretly enter the Alchemy Tower.
Rex certainly knew it.

From the moment he hid in a burrow at a Slums dwelling, resolved to avenge his siblings and reveal the truth to the world—before he ever decided to become a knight, he had sought out that passage.

But guards had been stationed to watch the sewer passage, and the corridor had been further narrowed with iron bars.
Having grown over the years, he could no longer fit inside. He had hated himself then. If only he had acted sooner. Perhaps he could have seen his sister’s and brother’s faces one more time.

“…I cannot enter it now, even in cat form.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…The two Cat-Humans beside you, sir, would also find that passage too narrow.”
“That’s fine.”

Kale answered Sir Rex’s anxious expression calmly.

“Rats can get through, can’t they?”
“…Yes, they can.”
“Then that settles it.”

I knew one timid but obedient member of the Rat-Human race.
Mueller, a Rat-Human hybrid, could still transform into rat form.

Then Alberu joined the conversation.

-So you are Sir Rex.
“Your Highness—”

Alberu, who knew Rex’s face perfectly well, pretended not to recognize him. Rex still held the proposal from Roan in his hands.
Crown Prince Alberu offered a typical, radiant princely smile.

-Don’t feel pressured. Think about it at your leisure. There’s no coercion involved.
“…Your Highness.”

Faced with such a radiant yet warm demeanor, Rex’s expression grew complicated. Then he lowered his head deeply and spoke.

“…Setting aside other concerns, the Imperial Family troubles me.”

Rex lifted his gaze again, staring at Alberu’s hair within the video communication channel.
A brilliant golden hue reminiscent of the sun itself.

“I fear the imperial people may not accept someone without that golden radiance.”

A subtle smile played at the corners of Alberu’s mouth.
The Crossman Royal Family of Roan, long known to be beloved by the Sun God Cult—their symbol was blonde hair. That golden radiance was the mark of a king.

-The Mogur Empire places significance on gold as well, after all.

The Mogur Empire, too, had the Sun God Cult as its state religion, and possessed a symbol remarkably similar to Roan’s.

【Golden eyes that gleam brilliantly beneath the sun—the bloodline of the imperial family.】

That was the symbol of the Mogur Empire’s Imperial Family.
Golden eyes that shine only beneath sunlight. Their natural color mattered little otherwise. Yet because they gleamed only beneath the great Sun God, this symbol became a formidable pillar of support for the Imperial Family.

Then, Bilos’s quiet voice emerged from the silence.

“Yet isn’t that symbol far more ancient in Roan?”

The Kingdom of Roan, possessing the longest history.
Thus, citizens of Roan like Bilos believed the symbol of the sun originated with Roan, and that the Empire had stolen this symbol from them.

-Sir Rex.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
-Appearances matter little. And history is written anew. Do not dwell in the tales of yesterday.

Rex bit his lips hard at Alberu’s words—that his appearance was unimportant, insignificant. The sincerity in the prince’s gentle tone, spoken by someone who looked every bit the royal and belonged in that position more than anyone, kindled hope within him.

…Do not dwell in the tales of yesterday.

Rex turned these words over in his mind.
Meanwhile, Alberu’s eyes met mine, and he shrugged his shoulders. After all, he was the one who cared most about appearances—the very one who concealed the marks of the Dark Elves Quarter.

I gave Alberu a slight nod.
The words he had spoken to Rex were words he had spoken to himself.

I opened my mouth as silence settled over us.

“Then let us end this here. I have much to attend to.”

There was much to do.
I needed to prepare quickly and return to Maple Castle.

* * *

A brilliant light flashed.
I descended from the teleportation circle.

“Young master!”
“Kale Heniatus.”

Rosalind and Choi Han appeared before me. Chief Advisor Herrol was with them as well. Naturally, Raon remained in his invisible state.
Rosalind opened her mouth with an urgent expression.

“Young master, we heard that Crown Prince Adin and the Sub-Tower Master are coming. But are you really going to the Empire’s side? Will you help the Empire?”

Rosalind hastily closed her mouth as she met my gaze. His eyes were grave.
Even with white hair, those crimson locks—the blood-red hair—still shimmered before her eyes.

“Yes, I am going to the Empire.”

Rosalind’s lips twitched at my calm tone before she spoke.

“You’re saying you’ll show the Empire a sea of fire?”

The more she spoke, the more absurd it all seemed to her.

“And then you’re going to extinguish that same sea of fire?”

I was the one igniting the inferno.
I was the one extinguishing it too.
Rosalind found the situation bewildering. Choi Han didn’t voice his thoughts, but his eyes wavered with uncertainty.
Even I found it absurd when I thought about it, but there was no helping it, so I answered after a long pause.

“…Yes, I’ll handle it all.”

Playing the drum and the janggu both.
It was shaping up to be quite the whirlwind performance.

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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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