Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 308

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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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‘How amusing.’

I merely smiled without responding, watching Alberu’s silence with a sigh before opening my mouth.

“Ritana.”
“Oh, yes.”

The ruler of the Jungle, Ritana, reacted with a slight start. She gazed at me and the Dark Elf of unknown identity with curious eyes as we discussed matters of family—older and younger siblings.

She was not alone.
Saint Jack, Hilsman, and even Rosalind. Particularly, Rosalind wore an expression of considerable bewilderment.

A Dark Elf whose skin tone existed somewhere between ordinary Dark Elves and the people of the Southern Jungle. Her identity was intriguing.
Especially since she appeared to be with me and Tasha, which suggested she was trustworthy in this matter, making it all the more ambiguous.

However, they soon realized from my words that they had no time to be curious about such trivial matters.

“You need only finish explaining the infiltration plan to Tasha, our Dark Elf representative here.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Have you decided when to infiltrate?”

When would we enter Sector 7?
At that question, Ritana smiled.

“Tonight. Right after Alberu Crown Prince’s announcement, we’ll launch the operation immediately.”

I glanced at Alberu before nodding.

“Perfect timing.”

It was indeed perfect.
With Rowan at the center, alongside Breck and several other factions, they would announce their fear of the emergence of black magic and declare its annihilation.
Naturally, the Empire would be thrown into chaos, and the Imperial Army stationed in Sector 7 would fall into confusion as well.

“Then speak with Tasha for now. I have somewhere to go, so I’ll step out first.”
“Ah, very well.”

Ritana immediately understood where Kale Heniatus intended to go and nodded readily. Kale headed toward the tent’s entrance and opened his mouth.

“Choi Han.”
“Yes, Kale.”

Then Kale paused before continuing.

“Come along, hyung.”
“Of course, our youngest.”

How irritating.
I led only those two outside.

-Human, human! The Crown Prince walks around like that, so I can’t recognize him! Of course, the great me knows!

Of course, Raon was with me as well.
I turned my head toward Choi Han, who had followed me out of the tent.

Choi Han was staring at Alberu with an odd expression. Then he murmured with considerable puzzlement.

“The aura feels familiar.”

A voice emerged, heavily subdued.

“Why? Do you want to be my younger brother too?”

A Dark Elf with slightly lighter complexion spoke with ease and laughter, and Choi Han’s face immediately crumpled. He shook his head vigorously.

“You’re in disguise.”

His casual speech shifted to formal.

‘Quite sharp, this one.’

Alberu watched Choi Han, who was always trailing behind Kale, without hiding his interest. In truth, overshadowed as he was by Kale, he was perhaps the stronger and more perceptive of the two.

‘Though he knows this appearance is “disguise,” of course.’

Even that magnificent Mage Rosalind didn’t know that Alberu’s usual appearance was a ‘disguise’, so how could this fellow Choi Han possibly know?
Rather, it was quite impressive that Choi Han had seen through the disguise with only this current appearance and pointed it out.

‘And at the same time, that guy is remarkable.’

Alberu’s eyes curved upward once more as he looked at Kale Heniatus, who had grasped the truth from the beginning.
Of course, Kale looked back at Alberu with a pathetic gaze that seemed to say, ‘Are you trying to expose everything by acting so carelessly?’
At that look, Alberu shrugged his shoulders. He approached Choi Han with a carefree gait and draped his arm across the other’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Don’t I still look handsome like this?”

Sigh.
That’s a reckless fool.
Kale simply turned away and spoke.

“Show us the way.”
“Yes.”

Choi Han quickly distanced himself from Alberu and moved forward with swift steps. As Alberu watched the two of them with a bewildered expression, Kale looked back with a sullen face.

“Brother, aren’t you coming?”

His tone carried considerable annoyance and irritation.
Unable to tell whether it was an act or genuine, Alberu chuckled and followed behind them.

“But why did you come?”

At the question thrown out so bluntly, Alberu answered.

“I felt I needed to experience it myself.”
“Experience what?”

Alberu’s gaze turned skyward. Beyond the distant trees, something stood tall and imposing.
It was a Golem.
Video footage alone could not reveal everything.

The morale of soldiers on the battlefield, the enemy’s strength and cruelty—these things could not all be understood through footage. Only by witnessing it directly could one truly comprehend.
It was felt even in this very air.
The suffocating tension, and the urgency of warriors and soldiers.

Alberu smiled as he spoke to Kale Heniatus.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before nightfall.”

After that, even if he wanted to come, it would be impossible due to lack of time.

* * *

I stepped into a tent.
The outside of the tent was completely sealed by Rosalind’s magic, preventing anyone unauthorized from entering or leaving.

A space created solely to confine one person.

I approached that one person.
As the tent flap closed, blocking out all light, only a lantern illuminated the interior.

“I never expected to meet you like this, Sub-Tower Master.”

I sat in the chair across from the bound figure.

“Mmph, mmph!”

The Sub-Tower Master twisted her bound limbs, trying to shout something through the gag covering her mouth, but no sound escaped.

I gazed quietly at the bound Sub-Tower Master Metelona.
Only her eyes.
The intensity of my stare, fixed solely on her pupils, caused Metelona to cease her struggling movements.

Tap. Tap.
I tapped the armrest of my chair.
Metelona’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Choi Han standing behind me.

‘Aaaahhhhh!’

The moment Crown Prince Adin’s scream erupted and blood gushed from his chest—the one who had suddenly rushed forward, drenched in that blood, and seized his throat.
That was Choi Han.

She turned her head away from Choi Han’s emotionless gaze looking down at her. Then she saw the Dark Elf.
Metelona bit her lip.

‘I will absolutely say nothing. Not a word.’

That was Metelona’s resolve. Then it happened.

“Did you see everything?”

A voice tinged with amusement reached her ears. Metelona flinched and turned her head, only to see Kale Heniatus smiling at her.

Kale believed that Choi Han and Rosalind’s decision to bring Metelona to the Jungle was the right call.
If high-ranking officials from various nations gathered at Maple Castle in the Wipper Kingdom, they would certainly want to see Metelona, and it would become tedious for him to deal with her.
Because Kale had no time to follow procedures.

“Metelona, what should I ask you? Hmm?”

Metelona was determined not to open her mouth, even if it meant death.

Tap. Tap.
Kale stopped tapping the armrest and opened his mouth.

“Metelona, you’re going to die.”

The Sub-Tower Master’s body trembled slightly, but she said nothing.
She had already resigned herself to death.
Yet she felt an uncanny sense of déjà vu.

He was too relaxed.
He showed no intention of interrogating her.
Kale Heniatus was far too composed.
He spoke with an untroubled expression.

“You’re useless.”

What?
The Sub-Tower Master. Kale had just told her—known as the second-in-command of the Alchemy Tower, a woman among the five most powerful figures in the Empire—that she was useless.
In that moment, confusion flooded Metelona’s mind.

Then Raon’s voice echoed in Kale’s mind.

-They’re coming!

I waited.

-Our grandpa is coming!

Whoosh.
Platinum light began to materialize in the empty air within the dark tent. The luminescence faded, and a presence emerged.

Erhafen.
The oldest dragon currently living on the East-West Continent.
The dragon’s platinum eyes, distorted with emotion, turned toward me. Then slowly they passed over Choi Han and Alberu before finally settling on the Alchemy Tower’s Sub-Tower Master.

“Ugh! Ugh, ugh!”

Metelona’s body trembled.
This time, her eyes were truly filled with shock, leaving her at a loss for words.

‘The ancient dragon Erhafen! That dragon and Kale Heniatus are…!’

It was an unimaginable combination.
Simultaneously, fear washed over her. Platinum dust swirled around Erhafen, and with each luminous particle, an increasingly powerful aura radiated from the dragon.

It was not Dragon Fear.
He was simply enraged.

“Erhafen.”

Yet there was one who broke through that suffocating silence and fury.
I looked at the ancient dragon and asked calmly, as I always did.

“Who is it?”

Who is this person?
To Erhafen, who had heard from Raon about the Tower Master.
To the ancient dragon whose wisdom had accumulated over more than a thousand years, I posed my question.

Who is the Tower Master?
What manner of being can be inferred?

Erhafen slowly closed his eyes, then opened them.

A Golem.
Dark magic.
Honth—the being the Sub-Tower Master claimed to control.
Moreover, an attitude suggesting knowledge of the Necromancer’s demise.
Finally, dark magic prowess rivaling Raon’s.

His mouth opened.

“A dark mage.”

His lips remained parted.

“And likely one who escaped death.”

One who evaded death—or defied death’s natural order and chose another path.

“A Lich.”

A being who abandoned their mortal form, imprisoned their soul within a Life Vessel—a crystalline sphere—and persisted as a skeletal husk.
One capable of enduring eons until that Life Vessel shattered.

“Am I correct?”

Erhafen regarded Metelona with a calm question, yet his expression brimmed with certainty—as if no answer was needed. Why?
Though the White Star’s true strength remained unknowable, if his subordinate was a Lich, it made sense.
Only one as formidable as that—only the White Star commanding a Lich—could stand at such heights.

“He would have been capable of slaying Dragons.”

Not merely one, but many.
Erhafen’s face twisted. The Sub-Tower Master could not meet his gaze. In that instant, Erhafen spoke.

“I will involve myself in this matter.”

He saw Kale hesitate, but his resolve would not waver.

Beings that defied nature’s order continued to emerge.
A false Dragon Slayer, a Chimera Dragon Hybrid, a Golem.
The problem was that most of these entities were born from suffering and anguish. How could he simply overlook this?

‘Since my life is running out anyway, I should finish this matter one last time.’

Erhafen recalled the invisible Raon and Kale Heniatus, along with the other young ones, and simultaneously thought of his deceased friend Olien, steeling his resolve.

Even if I die.
At least I should leave behind a better world before I go, shouldn’t I?

‘I’m their grandfather, after all.’

Still, I was the grandfather of that disrespectful brat, so I had to do at least that much. He cut off Kale Heniatus, who was about to say something, and continued.

“Of course, I don’t wish to be revealed. Since you’ve been leading this all along, this should be recorded as humanity’s history—your history. Do you understand?”

Kale Heniatus was bewildered by Erhafen’s serious expression as he looked at me. It couldn’t be helped.

‘This is perfect.’

I was about to ask for this anyway, so having him bring it up first was absolutely perfect.
At that moment, Erhafen’s voice reached only Kale Heniatus’s mind.

-However, I cannot purify the materials created by dark magic. Keep that in mind.

Yes, of course.
You can just split the Bell Tower in half with a single spell, or better yet, reduce everything to powder or dust with that magnificent power of yours.
Kale Heniatus held back the words that were about to burst out and simply nodded.

Erhafen smiled as the pale-faced one nodded as if the purification part was fine, but his heart felt heavy.

Dragons were strong, but they were not omnipotent.
That was the natural order of things.
There was no such thing as all-powerful in this world.

As Erhafen contemplated the natural order once more and grasped his final goal in his twilight years, he could see Kale Heniatus clapping his hands together.

“Well then, it’s over now.”

Hm?
Erhafen pointed at the Sub-Tower Master with a puzzled expression.

“Aren’t you going to interrogate him?”
“What’s the point? There’s no need.”
“…No need?”

I nodded.

“That’s right. I’ve already deduced who the Tower Master is. Destroying the Alchemy Tower and the Imperial Family is something I can simply do. Why waste time on this Sub-Tower Master? He’s already made up his mind to die without talking.”

Something felt off.
The Kale Heniatus that Erhafen knew was not someone who would let things pass so easily.

“Hmm.”

I turned my gaze to Metelona with a contemplative expression. Right now, the most bewildered person here was Metelona.

Just die? Like this?

No matter how prepared she was for death, this situation felt strange. Then, a chill suddenly ran down her spine.

‘…What?’

What was this?
An intangible aura began pressing down on her from the air itself. A presence that made her skin crawl.

It was different from the Dragon.
Different from the aura the Dragon had emitted in anger.
A deeper, more viscous presence. Simultaneously, an aura radiating absolute power.
Like the force of Dragon Fear itself.

As her body froze under that aura, a voice reached her ears.

“How should I make you suffer before you die?”

What?
It was Kale Heniatus’s voice.
At the same time, she saw his eyes—cold and composed.
But his lips curved upward. Like someone devoid of emotion.
Like Crown Prince Adin.

The moment her lips curled upward, Metelona’s breath suddenly caught in her throat.

“Gasp!”

There were no hands.
No hands strangling her neck.
Yet she found herself suffocating as if compressed by something invisible—a pressure that emanated directly from Kale Heniatus.

“Ugh… u-”

The Sub-Tower Master’s body trembled involuntarily, gasps escaping her lips.
Desperate to survive, to breathe, she could only expel labored, whimpering breaths while curling inward.

This oppressive force. This aura.
It resembled Dragon Fear, yet it was fundamentally different.

‘What in the world is this power?’

Was this man truly human?
Multiple ancient powers. An aura rivaling Dragon Fear itself.
Metelona’s pupils began to quiver as she stared at Kale.

A dominating aura.
Kale’s gaze, having unleashed this aura to its maximum intensity, fixed solely upon the Sub-Tower Master. Metelona felt like a solitary human standing before a colossal tidal wave.

Words reached her ears.

“That’s right, isn’t it? Metelona, black mages despise pain, don’t they?”

Yes.
When she first became a black mage, she had to endure the agony of dead mana once. How terrifying that had been.

“Shall I find a way to reawaken that same pain as dead mana and let you suffer unto death?”

The Sub-Tower Master’s pupils trembled.

Her pupils quivered even more violently. Bloodshot from the suffocating pressure, her eyes darted aimlessly through the void.

Unlike a Mage, the moment a Dark Mage accepts dead mana, they can easily achieve intermediate dark magic.
They also don’t suffer pain from dead mana, maintain a normal human appearance, and feel no pain even in death.

That’s why she had resolved herself to die.
Because it wouldn’t hurt.
Of course, she would have to pay the price in return, but for her, death was not suffering.

‘…But to experience that horrible dead mana pain again?’

Kale Heniatus, whom I thought was righteous and courageous. His words were not righteous. He spoke just like Adin.
With leisurely laughter. Using rational logic, he cornered his enemy.

In that moment, she recalled that it was Kale who had seized Adin by the nape of his neck.
It was also Kale standing before her eyes who had rushed at Honth.

“Or should I tell the Sun God’s Saint to use holy power? Hmm? It’s been a while. It’ll hurt, won’t it?”

In that moment, she realized.
No, the Sub-Tower Master, receiving extreme pressure alone and unable to judge rationally, had misunderstood. She had taken this atmosphere and these words at face value.

“Sub-Tower Master.”

So that’s it.
This person.
Kale Heniatus.

“I want to kill you, but I don’t know how to do it.”

From the start, since you’re something that must be killed, I didn’t need you.
Cold sweat broke out on the Sub-Tower Master’s face and body. Her entire frame trembled. A vision of dying in agony played before her eyes.
In her eyes, she saw Kale speaking with an expressionless face.

“Now, if you want to die gracefully, speak.”

Kale crouched before Metelona and met her gaze.

Metelona wasn’t needed?
That couldn’t be. She was very much needed.
Because she held information in her hands.

So Kale Heniatus mimicked Adin’s presence and wielded his dominating aura.

The Sub-Tower Master had been a pivotal force in killing countless people to create black despair and golems—surely his resolve wouldn’t waver under mere interrogation?

There was something I wanted to ask while going this far.

Just one thing that had been nagging at me.
No matter how much I thought about it, the puzzle pieces wouldn’t fit.

Black magic.
Why would such a being that should remain hidden—

“Why did you disguise yourself as the Alchemy Tower and sneak into the Empire?”

Why specifically position yourself at the heart of the Western Continent?
What were you aiming for?

Why go through all this trouble?
To devour the Empire?
Then why keep Adin alive?

“Sub-Tower Master.”

Flinch.
The Sub-Tower Master opened his mouth without realizing it.
At that moment, the cloth that had been sealing his lips came loose.
Thud. As the cloth fell from my hand to the ground, the Sub-Tower Master made a sound from his now-open mouth.

“G, god—”

God?
As I stared more intently, the Sub-Tower Master hurried to continue.

“God’s—”

Ah.
I understood immediately.

Divine artifact.
An object of the gods.

The Sub-Tower Master spoke, crushed beneath the oppressive aura, trembling with extreme terror. He didn’t want to suffer and die. Especially not from dead mana.
I’ve experienced that pain once before.

‘Aaaaaargh!’
‘Ugh, gaaaah!’

And hadn’t I witnessed countless experimental slave subjects dying, addicted to dead mana?
I didn’t want to die like those test subjects had. There was no reason for me to meet such an end.
So I spoke in panic.

“I-I need to find a divine artifact of the Sun God. That’s why I went to the Empire-”

Oh.
Kale Heniatus let out an exclamation.
He recalled the spatial pocket within the inner pocket of his shirt.

A divine artifact of the Sun God?
I have that.

In that instant, Kale Heniatus forgot he was in the middle of an interrogation and broke into a bright smile at this new lead.
To the Sub-Tower Master’s eyes, it looked like the smile of a demon.

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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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