Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 315

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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 69. I Am in Pain

It felt good to laugh so heartily.

Kale Heniatus watched Rosalind laugh boldly alongside him, Erhafen chuckling softly, and the others looking bewildered, and he found himself laughing with unbridled joy.

“Hahahaha—ha!”

But then Kale Heniatus’s hearty laughter abruptly cut short.
In that instant, his body bent forward.

“Ugh.”

Kale Heniatus drew in a sharp breath without thinking.
No blood, no groan escaped from his gaping mouth.

-Human! What’s wrong? Are you alright?

Raon’s urgent voice reached him. At the same time, Rosalind rushed to support Kale Heniatus.

“Young master! Are you—”

Rosalind’s gaze, which had been examining his complexion, fixed on one point, and her urgent words stopped abruptly. Her eyes immediately shifted beyond Kale Heniatus’s shoulder.

Night had passed, and dawn was now breaking across the sky.
The pale blue heavens had brightened enough to render the massive black wooden tendrils filling Sector 7 even more vivid and distinct.

Rosalind bit her lip.

‘There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.’

Sector 7, blanketed by massive black wooden tendrils twisted and interwoven upon one another. Yet not a single building had been destroyed by those tendrils.
They had merely occupied the spaces between buildings, people, and trees.

She tore her gaze from the scene that had unfolded in those brief seconds and supported Kale Heniatus once more.

“…Young master.”

Kale Heniatus’s hand came into view.
The tips of his pale fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Rosalind’s lips quivered.

‘Yes, the young master always paid such a price.’

She gripped Kale’s body tightly as it threatened to collapse weakly. But her strength alone was insufficient. In that moment, his eyes that met hers were wavering.
His lips moved as if he were trying to say something, but no words escaped—his strength had abandoned him.

How he had laughed so brightly once, yet now his figure was utterly pathetic.
No—it was pitiful.

“Rosalind, I’ll take him.”

Choi Han approached and extended his hand to support him.
Rosalind was about to transfer Kale’s support to Choi Han with a sigh when she saw someone intercept her.

“…Erhafen.”

The Ancient Dragon Erhafen effortlessly supported Kale.
No—he hoisted him onto his shoulders.

“Erhafen! Young Master Kale is in a dangerous state right now!”

Choi Han’s startled cry reached both enemies and allies alike.
Ritana approached Kale with a face drained of all color.

“I should carry him. It is the duty of his guard.”

When Choi Han spoke with solemn resolve tinged with sorrow, and when the Dark Elf Tasha squeezed her eyes shut with a bitter expression before opening them again.

‘Have I lost my mind? Why did he carry me?’

I’m not in danger!
Hoisted upon Erhafen’s shoulders, Kale tried to shake his head vigorously in protest. But he trembled, and his head drooped weakly.

‘Ugh, how irritating.’

Irritation surged through me.
Kale Heniatus’s lips barely parted, but he couldn’t form proper words. Only a few fragments escaped between shallow breaths.

“I’m… hun…gry….”

And that feeble voice reached the Ancient Dragon’s ears with perfect clarity.

“Tsk, poor wretch. Your vessel finally stabilized, and now some starving ghost has latched onto you.”

Truly a Dragon!
Kale couldn’t help but marvel. The Ancient Dragon had grasped his condition instantly.
A starving ghost had indeed attached itself to him.

-Hungry. So very hungry.

Meokbo continued speaking to Kale Heniatus with her characteristically slow but forceful insistence.

-We spent all our strength making those wooden tendrils grow. I have no power left.

True to her words, my body had no strength whatsoever.
And I was starving. It seemed I’d need to eat something to regain any energy to move.

-Human! I have lots of apple pie!

Kale Heniatus ignored Raon’s words. He’d eat what the child offered, but right now he craved something fatty.

“…beef….”
“Yes, beef.”
“…pork-”
“Yes, I’ll prepare pork as well.”

Ah, truly the power of time.
Kale Heniatus marveled at Erhafen, who understood him even better than words could express, and bowed his head deeply.

Rosalind and Choi Han looked at Erhafen. Their eyes asked for an explanation. The Ancient Dragon nodded and answered.

“We need to clean up.”
“Pardon?”

When Rosalind asked, Erhafen smiled broadly across his beautiful face and spoke calmly.

“As dawn breaks, I must finish what remains to be done.”

Kale Heniatus hung his head in thought.

Indeed, experience.

As Erhafen said, what needed doing now was cleanup.
Pat. Pat. I felt a hand tapping my back.

“Rest. You fortunate bastard.”
-That’s right! Human, rest as the golden Dragon elder says!

…No.
I wanted to shake my head.

No… first, give me some food.
I’m starving.
Damn it.

I closed my eyes. I needed sleep above all else.
With capable people around and the Dragon here, wouldn’t everything else take care of itself?
I fell asleep in an instant.

Because of this, I missed seeing the Jungle Warriors reflecting on the meaning of victory in a solemn atmosphere rather than cheering for it.

Warriors who always lived fiercely within nature.
Their eyes all passed over me once, as if I had lost consciousness in a pitiful state.

* * *

Ritana, the ruler of the Jungle.
She moved urgently and asked the Dark Elf.

“The young master has regained consciousness?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”

One hour.
Kale Heniatus opened his eyes just one hour after losing consciousness.

‘…He lost consciousness so suddenly, but how much must he be worried about the battlefield to open his eyes again after just one hour?’

The weight of Commander Kale Heniatus’s concern for the battlefield pressed heavily upon Ritana.

She quickened her pace toward the tent where Kale Heniatus and his companions were staying. Since the Royal Palace was in chaos, it was a tent hastily erected nearby.

‘…A Necromancer?’

A figure in a black robe crouched near the black wooden tendrils came into view, hand pressed against the stem.
For a moment she wondered what they were doing in that position, but since she was in a hurry, she brushed past Merry.

“…My stomach-”

Ritana let Merry’s murmur fade into the background as she reached the tent.

“Hmm?”

The moment she stood before the tent, Ritana’s expression became peculiar.
Then, an unfamiliar sound reached her ears from behind.

Creak, creak.
At the sound of wheels rolling, Ritana turned around.

“Have you arrived?”

Sword Master Choi Han approached, pulling a tray behind him.
It was piled high with food.
The aroma matched what was wafting from inside the tent.

“Let’s go inside.”

Choi Han smiled brightly and guided Ritana into the tent.
Ritana stepped hesitantly inside.

“Oh, Ritana!”

Kale Heniatus elegantly greeted them while stuffing a large piece of beef into his mouth.

“…Commander, are you alright?”
“Yes, it’s excellent.”

Answering thus, I continued to shovel food into my mouth without pause.
Quite elegantly eating in haste, I might add. Choi Han, Vice-Captain Hilsman, and Saint Jack assisted me from beside.

-Hehehehe, I’ll need to cover the food expenses.

At the hollow laughter that drifted through, Ritana turned her head.

“…Crown Prince Albert.”
-It’s been a while.

Crown Prince Albert was laughing with an exasperated expression on the video communication screen. He spoke to Ritana.

-I heard news of your victory. My congratulations.
“It is not my doing. It is thanks to your assistance.”
-Don’t mention it. Allied nations must help one another, after all. I was just about to inform the other allied nations of this joyous news, but I find myself unable to do so.
“…You have not yet informed them?”

When the battle ended, Ritana had informed Crown Prince Albert of the news first through the Dark Elves.
Since he was essentially the center of the alliance, she believed the news would reach the other leaders at Meifel Castle, Wipper Kingdom through him.

Yet he had not informed them?
Why?

As if answering her question, Crown Prince Albert continued.

-Commander Kale Heniatus stopped me.

Commander Kale Heniatus?
Was he not the one who desired victory above all else, who wished to save the Jungle?
Why would such a man ask that the news not be spread?

Ritana’s gaze, and Crown Prince Albert’s gaze, turned toward Kale Heniatus. He wiped away the food sauce from the corner of his mouth roughly and looked at them both.

“I am currently unconscious and wandering between life and death.”

-What?
“Pardon?”

The moment Alberu and Ritana questioned me, I continued while absently patting my still-hungry stomach.

“The airship exploded, and I tried to block it with a shield, but I had to move hastily and only managed to block part of it. As a result, a portion of Jungle Zone 7 was destroyed.”

I could see the corners of Crown Prince Alberu’s mouth rising.

-And you’ve overused ancient power, lost consciousness, and are now hovering between life and death? In a state where you could drop dead at any moment?
“Precisely.”
-Trembling and coughing up blood like in that video we saw before?
“Excellent.”
-In that case, Kale Heniatus won’t be able to set foot on the battlefield for quite some time.

The corners of my mouth began to rise as well, but soon my expression turned serious.

“A spy has been discovered in the Jungle.”

I had to speak of something that was both a wound and a source of shame for the Jungle, so I offered Ritana an apologetic expression. She nodded and gestured for me to continue. I spoke immediately.
Kale Heniatus continued immediately.

“I cannot guarantee that such spies don’t exist among our other allies, including Rowan and Wipper.”

I had relied solely on the story of the “Birth of a Hero” and given no consideration to the Jungle’s spy.
Now that I understood the “Birth of a Hero” was not the answer, I decided to move forward based on the time and experiences I had spent as Kim Rok-soo and Kale Heniatus.

Covertly.
And in a way that would crush my enemies.

Alberu immediately grasped the meaning behind my words.

-So you’re saying we deceive our own allies and the Empire as well?

Without needing my response, a rumor to spread across the Western Continent suddenly came to Alberu’s mind.

-Kale Heniatus hovers between life and death. Would spreading this rumor work?

He continued immediately.

-And I should claim that rumor is false and threaten to wage war against the Empire immediately?

If rumors spread that Kale Heniatus is ill, but the Crown Prince denies it and instead acts even more recklessly…

-The Empire might actually believe you’re truly ill?

Rather than answering Alberu, Kale Heniatus looked toward Ritana.

“…Sector 7 was destroyed by explosions and fire, and Commander Kale Heniatus suffered severe critical injuries. That is the truth. Is that sufficient?”

Kale Heniatus smiled and nodded.
Indeed, Ritana was quite sharp-minded. She had immediately decided what needed to be done.

“Don’t worry about the Jungle keeping quiet. I’ll maintain thorough surveillance over the border with the Empire, the skies, and everywhere else.”
-I will deceive my allies and the Western Continent.

Alberu followed up and asked Kale Heniatus.

-Then what will you do?

In that moment, the voice of the Young Dragon reached my mind.

-Human! A message has arrived from the Empire!

There was only one place from which a message could come from the Empire.
The Empire Capital. The small butterfly I had planted there.

-A message from the Assassin who carved a rabbit resembling a hellhound! A message!

Assassin Frigia. Currently the one in charge of information under Servant Ron.

-She says, ‘Young Master, when will you come to the Empire?’ She also says, ‘Sir Rex and Miss Hana are waiting for you!’

The butterfly planted in the Empire.
Butterflies that would flap their wings to stir up a typhoon.

My Information Network centered around Frigia, operating in the Slums under the guise of the Priesthood.
Sir Rex, the Cat-Human, and Ray the Drunken Alchemist.
And Crown Prince Valentino of the Caro Kingdom.

Finally, there was Hana, who didn’t know she was the ‘true Saint’.

She was the awl hidden in their pocket—something neither the Crown Prince nor Dark knew about.

They would only expect enemies to strike from the outside.
Wipper, Rowan, the Jungle. They would only guard against external threats.

But the enemy was already within.
A sharp awl that had secretly slipped into their pocket would pierce their lifeline.

‘And I am the only one who can move that awl.’

I was their connection point.
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth as he looked at the rulers of the Jungle and Rowan.
What I had to do.

“I will destroy the Alchemy Tower and return.”

At the expected answer, Ritana squeezed her eyes shut. Kale Heniatus continued speaking.

“Black magic and dead mana are quite dangerous forces in large-scale battlefields. Therefore, moving in small numbers to collapse the enemy’s core in one swift strike is the most efficient approach.”

Ritana thought of the word ‘sacrifice’ hidden behind efficiency.
He was saying he would feign illness while heading to the most dangerous place himself.

‘…The Crown Prince is silent too.’

Crown Prince Alberu was also silent.
Only Albert Crossman had the authority to approve or oppose Commander Kale Heniatus’s operation at this moment.

No one spoke first.
Ritana opened her eyes and looked around. She could see the light in the eyes of those standing behind Kale Heniatus.

The eyes of those who would enter the Empire with Kale Heniatus.

Ritana opened her mouth.

“…Kale—”

Kale Heniatus.
Before I could even call his name.

“Cough!”

Kale Heniatus suddenly coughed.
No, it seemed like he had choked.
Then he abruptly shot to his feet.

“Kale Heniatus?”
-Commander?
“Young master?”

While those around him called out in alarm, a voice echoed through Kale Heniatus’s mind.

-Looks like he’s purifying now.

It was Meokbo.
The only thing that needed to be purified here right now were the black wooden tendrils.

“Just a moment!”

Kale Heniatus spoke urgently and rushed out of the tent. Then I saw someone hurrying toward the tent entrance.
Visibly flustered, the figure in the black robe didn’t care that it caught on her feet several times as she ran.

Kale Heniatus faced the approaching figure.

“…Merry.”

The figure in the black robe bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

“My apologies, young master.”

Merry apologized with a bow, her voice startled rather than her usual navigation tone—a rare occurrence. Kale Heniatus’s gaze fell upon the wooden tendril behind Merry.

Unaware of this, Merry remained bowed and poured out words rapidly.
She too was flustered. She hadn’t wanted to cause trouble while Kale Heniatus was unwell.

“I didn’t mean to do it on purpose, it just suddenly—”

Merry paused for a moment before speaking honestly.

“I felt strangely hungry. That’s why.”

Kale Heniatus’s voice reached Merry’s ears as she rambled on.

“Merry.”
“Yes, Young Master. I’m sorry—”
“You did very well.”

Merry lifted her head.
I could see Kale Heniatus’s face, smiling benevolently.

—Human! That expression doesn’t suit you at all.

Kale Heniatus cleanly ignored the six-year-old Dragon’s remark and opened his mouth.

“Merry, you were hungry?”

The black wooden tendril.
On its surface, the black color the size of Merry’s small palm had vanished, replaced by a new hue.

“…Yes, I suddenly felt empty inside.”

The flustered Merry spoke hesitantly, a rare occurrence. Her black robe trembled with her bewilderment. Kale Heniatus pointed to the entirety of Sector 7 with a deeply satisfied expression.
Kale Heniatus pointed to all of Sector 7 with a very pleased expression on his face at Merry like that.

“You eat it all.”

No—the dead mana.
No, I saw dead mana.

“It’s yours.”

She looked at Kale Heniatus again.

“Do as you please. Do whatever you want.”

Kale Heniatus’s gift was delivered to Merry.

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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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