Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 31

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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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I led Choi Han out of the Underground Training Ground.

“Hans, Ron. Please escort the two of them downstairs.”

I entrusted Rak and Rosalind to Hans and Ron, who stood by the first-floor entrance, then returned to my room where Choi Han awaited me.
With the untouched food growing cold on the table between us, I spoke to Choi Han.

“Tell me what happened.”
“Yes, sir.”

Without unnecessary preamble, we got straight to business. Choi Han straightened his posture and began.

“Meeting Rosalind went smoothly up to that point.”
“Continue.”
“I went to the city you mentioned. There, just as you said, I found a Merchant Guild heading toward the Capital. Though it was more of a small group of five people than a proper guild.”

It was indeed more accurate to call them a merchant’s entourage rather than an organized guild.

“They happened to be looking for two mercenaries to hire as escorts. Their original Guard Warrior had been injured.”

Choi Han and Rosalind filled those two vacant positions. That was how the story unfolded.

“And there was Rosalind, matching the description you provided.”

Rosalind had been traveling to the Magic Tower of the Wipper Kingdom, which lay beneath the Roan Kingdom, when she encountered assassination attempts within Roan Kingdom’s borders near the Breck Kingdom. Concealing half her true strength, she used magic to escape the danger. Rather than return directly to her kingdom without knowing who was behind it, she decided to head to the Capital of the Roan Kingdom first to gather information from the Information Guild.
She, who had been hiding about half of her true abilities, escaped that danger with magic. And rather than returning directly to the kingdom without knowing what the beast was, she decided to first go to the capital of the Roan Kingdom and obtain information from the Information Guild.

“And I’ll go to the Breck Kingdom and turn the whole place upside down.”

Choi Han, who had met Rosalind as a mercenary at the Merchant Guild, continued speaking.

“She was also heading to the Capital, and I thought it worked out well, so we became close.”

What?

“Yes, sir.”
Yes.

Choi Han spoke somewhat bashfully.

“I’m not one to initiate conversation, but still, wouldn’t it be better if we got along well?”
“No need. Just act naturally.”

Kale’s expression grew displeased. Rosalind and Choi Han wouldn’t grow close until they met Rak. With Rosalind’s wariness heightened, she wouldn’t be the first to befriend anyone, and after the Harris Village incident, Choi Han wasn’t the type to approach others for the sake of companionship.

Choi Han nodded at Kale’s words while smiling faintly and added his thought.

“It goes against my nature, but I wanted to earn my keep properly.”

Kale sighed and shook his head slowly. As if he’d expected this, Choi Han calmly brushed past the gesture and continued with a stern expression.

“That Merchant Guild stayed briefly in a village near the place you mentioned as where I would meet Rak.”

It made sense. That small five-person Merchant Guild was run by a merchant who had received a favor from the Blue Wolf Tribe. The injured Guard Warrior was a warrior of the Blue Wolf Tribe.

Rather than taking the short route from Pursulsi to the Capital, the merchant deliberately took a detour to deliver necessities to the Blue Wolf Tribe and obtained medicinal herbs from them.

Of course, traveling all the way to the Blue Wolf Tribe Village deep in the mountains to conduct business was a significant loss. Instead, the transaction took place quietly in a rural village at the foot of the mountain. The merchant was in his sixties, and it was a relationship that had lasted thirty years.

“Then, after arriving at that rural village, something happened.”

Kale’s attention sharpened. The story that was about to unfold was important.

“When we arrived at the village, I discovered that the Guard Warrior was a beastman. I also realized that the mountain village where they were supposed to conduct their transaction was the location you mentioned.”

Kale nodded at Choi Han’s words. He thought Choi Han was more than capable of discerning that much.

“So I thought that if I followed someone coming down from that mountain village, I would meet someone named Rak.”

But that mountain villager never came down.

“However, the mountain villager who was supposed to conduct the transaction never came down. At that moment, the merchant made one additional request of us.”

Kale recalled that request.
Go to that village with the Guard Warrior and come back.

“Whether I could make the trip to that mountain village with a Guard Warrior.”
“And you accepted?”
“Yes, I accepted. Rosalind as well.”

The narrative flow matched the original. So what had changed?

In ‘The Birth of a Hero’, Choi Han and Rosalind arrived at the Blue Wolf Tribe Village deep in the mountains with the Guard Warrior, only to witness the devastated settlement and encounter the fleeing Secret Organization’s Assassination Unit by sheer coincidence.
The sight triggered memories of Harris Village in Choi Han, and he immediately launched an attack on them. The Guard Warrior who accompanied him also lost all reason and unleashed his blade upon the assassins. In the chaos, the Guard Warrior—already wounded—sustained grievous injuries and ultimately perished.

‘That was when Rosalind would discover Choi Han’s true power.’

At that moment, Rosalind had been masquerading as a novice mage, concealing her strength. Upon witnessing Choi Han’s abilities, she formally commissioned him to escort her to the Kingdom, offering an astronomical sum.

‘And she would discover Rak hiding in the ruins of the village.’

The cowardly wolf boy, Rak. Following the Tribal Chief’s orders, he remained hidden and silent until Choi Han found him. At that point, Rak embodied the role of a timid, fragile, somewhat dim-witted character—the type readers found frustratingly helpless.

Yet he possessed innate divine power and physical strength that ranked among the top five in his domain, awakening that potential after his first rampage.

“Kale.”
“Hmm.”

But why had that rampage occurred ahead of schedule?

“I witnessed something familiar at that location.”
“What did you see?”

At Kale’s question, Choi Han nodded. Cold food lay scattered between them, yet tension began seeping through the air. Choi Han’s lips parted.

“A white star with five red stars.”

Kale’s expression hardened. His heart sank. Were Regular Members of the Secret Organization—not the Assassination Unit—sent there? Why?
In ‘The Birth of a Hero’, the Blue Wolf Tribe had been marked for annihilation.

Choi Han recalled that moment as he observed Kale’s chilled expression. His fists clenched involuntarily. Rage made his hands tremble.
The homes built in the village nestled deep in the mountains had seemed modest and cozy. Yet everything lay in ruins, and worst of all, the Wolf Tribe corpses lay blackened as if charred by flame.
Blackened corpses. The acrid stench of burning. Crimson blood seeping from gaping wounds. Most of the Wolf Tribe lay dead with their eyes still open.

“The mountain village was already devastated. Moreover, when we arrived, countless Wolf Tribe members were already dead.”

The Blue Wolf Tribe possessed formidable physical strength. How had the Assassination Unit managed to kill them?

Wolves cherished their families, their packs, their companions more dearly than their own lives.
Before their first rampage, they were weak young werewolves. The Assassination Unit took them hostage, used artifacts imbued with divine power to weaken the adult wolves, and slew them. Afterward, they killed the young ones as well. Against several adult wolves that attacked with frenzied desperation, they employed holy water.

The Wolf Tribe, forsaken by the gods. The Secret Organization, exploiting this fact, was a formidable force possessing even divine artifacts. And they were cruel enough to take children hostage and slaughter mothers, fathers, and elders before their eyes.

‘The nature of that divine artifact used then was never revealed.’

If I knew that, I could take a step closer to uncovering the Secret Organization’s true identity. Unfortunately, the book only described the weakened state of the werewolves caused by that divine artifact. The Secret Organization’s identity remained a mystery.

Kale asked quietly.

“Were they all dead?”

Choi Han shook his head. Kale’s expression hardened. Seeing that rigid expression, Choi Han continued.

“They were attempting to abduct the surviving young werewolves.”

Abduct? Wasn’t the original intent extermination? Why specifically young werewolves? Kale’s mind began to spiral into confusion. Choi Han met Kale’s gaze, appearing lost in deep contemplation.

“When we arrived at the entrance of the Blue Wolf Tribe Village, the Tribal Chief was dying.”

The Blue Wolf Tribe numbered fewer than one hundred.

“There were ten young werewolves in total who were about to be abducted.”

…This story is taking a completely different turn.

“And the moment the Tribal Chief collapsed, a young man appeared before those attempting to take the children.”
“…Rak?”
“Yes, it was Rak.”

Why did that boy, who had remained hidden even when the young ones were dying, reveal himself this time? Did he consider abduction different from death? A wolf unable to witness the deaths of those weaker than himself—his family, his siblings, his friends. What had stirred the wolf’s true nature within Rak?

“I stopped them. Rather, I tried to kill them.”

Choi Han spoke those words while looking at Kale. Kale’s expression remained unchanged as he pressed forward.

“Continue.”
“…I realized that the assassins in black garments without stars—those I encountered in Harris Village—were the same as them, from the black power they wielded.”

Kale asked back with a startled expression.

“The same power as those who massacred Harris Village?”
“Yes.”
“…This is troubling.”

Kale sighed, pressing his head with one hand. His expression was one of shock, as if hearing this for the first time. Of course, it was all an act.

“Among them, there was only one with five red stars carved upon a white star on his chest. That man killed the Guard Warrior.”

Choi Han’s eyes narrowed.

“And he was a wretched creature who drank the blood of that Wolf Tribe member.”

Kale closed his eyes.
The Blood-Drinking Mage. That insane executive currently orchestrating the terror incidents in the Capital. He kept his eyes shut as he listened to the rest of Choi Han’s words.

“In the end, I could neither capture nor kill them. Those I captured took their own lives, and the rest were spirited away by the one bearing six stars through teleportation magic.”

Why would the Blood-Drinking Mage, a supreme-level mage obsessed with blood, attempt to take away the children of the Blue Wolf Tribe that he had sought to massacre?

‘…Did something go wrong because I rescued Dragon?’

The only variable Kale could consider was what he himself had done.

“That mage said something.”

Choi Han’s voice came through, grinding and measured, yet brimming with barely contained rage.

“What a shame. They would have been perfect as seeds. The young ones would have tasted even better.”

Seeds. Kale didn’t understand the meaning, but he etched the word into his mind, then opened his eyes and asked Choi Han.

“So what happened to those children?”

The Guard Warrior, the Tribal Chief, all the elders of the Wolf Tribe—dead. Only ten children remained.
Choi Han subtly averted his gaze from me. It was the first such gesture since we’d faced each other at the dining table. From that movement alone, I intuited the truth. Choi Han reported in a quiet voice.

“They’re at the inn.”

I’d suspected as much. Choi Han’s lips moved several times before he added softly.

“Rosalind brought them with her magic.”

At this rate, I’d be running an animal farm. My head throbbed. I could have entrusted them to that Merchant from the guild. He was a capable merchant, even if he’d distanced himself from power for now.

“By the way, Kale, that Merchant who came with them is also at the inn.”

So this is how the conversation flows. That singular thought crystallized in my mind.
I fixed my gaze on Choi Han. Only after confirming the conversation had ended did he lean back against his chair and exhale a shallow sigh. I posed a question to him.

“Curious?”

Choi Han answered while looking at the cooling food.

“Yes, I’m curious.”

There was no need to specify what he wondered about.

Who they were.
Why they did such things.
And why I knew them.

He would be curious about all of it. I observed the intensity in Choi Han’s eyes as he gazed at the food.

‘This one is furious.’

It wasn’t anger directed at himself. Choi Han was sharpening and honing his fury toward the Secret Organization like a blade, grinding it again and again. His anger was directed at Harris Village, at the sight of the abused Dragon, at the matter of the blue Wolf Tribe. Given Choi Han’s nature, he would rather confront things head-on than avoid them.

I picked up a piece of bread that remained delicious even when cold, tore off a bite-sized portion, and opened my mouth.

“I intend to tell you two facts.”
“…Not three, then?”
“That’s right.”

Kale spoke indifferently to Choi Han, whose gaze remained fixed upon him. He rose from his seat, bread still in hand. The chair slid silently across the carpet.

“Get up.”
“…Where are we going?”

As Choi Han rose to follow, Kale checked his timepiece. Evening had long passed; night was descending. That place would shine even more brilliantly once darkness fell.
Kale walked toward the door and answered Choi Han’s question.

“The Temple of Death God.”

Kale intended to go there with Choi Han at the hour when night had fully settled—when that place shone most luminously.

The Temple of Death God housed priests unlike those found in other temples.
Deaf priests.
They could not hear. That was why the followers of the Death God sought them out. Though I was no follower myself, I would visit them as most nobles did.

Only when I reached the door did I turn back. Choi Han still stood before the dining table, motionless. I smiled at him with a slight smirk.

“I intend to tell you two truths.”

Yet the words that followed carried no lightness.

“Staking my life on it.”

Choi Han’s pupils trembled slightly. But unlike him, I continued to speak with a smile on my face.

“Follow me.”

Choi Han slowly passed the dining table and approached the door. By then, his eyes had grown calm, and his expression had hardened. I turned the doorknob and spoke.

“I will tell you the truth, staking my very life upon it.”

I headed toward the Temple of Death God with Choi Han.

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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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