Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 344

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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 want to live, and I want to kill.
Kale fell silent at the contradictory combination of words.

Then, someone interjected into the conversation.

“Are you saying that the White Star is targeting the Mercenary King?”

It was Ron, the servant. The Mercenary King nodded readily, confirming it.

“Indeed.”
“…May I ask the reason why?”

For a moment, Ron caught sight of the Mercenary King’s lips curling upward.

“I should tell you. He was the last patriarch of the Molan Family.”

Kale’s eyes turned toward the Mercenary King, Burd Illis.

Ron Mollan.
Once the leader of one of the five great Assassination Families in the Eastern Continent’s underworld. However, after his family was annihilated by the Dark, he was the one who came to the Western Continent with his son.

-Human! The Mercenary King doesn’t seem like a simple fool! He’s clever! He reminds me of that mad Clophe!

Kale did not contradict Raon’s assessment.
How had he learned about Ron’s information?
Knowing Ron’s background, why had he specifically come to this inn?

The answer to that question came not from Burd Illis, but from Ron’s lips.

“You must have seen the roster.”

The roster.
At that word, Kale’s eyebrows rose slightly before falling. Ron then spoke to him.

“The terror of the Mercenary Guild is that mercenaries exist wherever you go on the Eastern Continent.”

Even in small city taverns, there was always at least one mercenary. Wherever people gathered, incidents inevitably occurred, and most of those who resolved such matters were mercenaries.
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth.

“You must have excellent information networks.”

Burd Illis nodded.

“Mercenaries don’t discriminate between the Underworld and the light. As long as the conditions match, they’ll take on any commission.”

Neither good nor evil.
A world that moves only according to standards they set for themselves.
In a sense, those who act according to the most thorough business principles.

“That’s why information is crucial. Especially information about the strong.”

The Mercenary King spoke while looking at Ron.

“That’s why the Mercenary Guild keeps records on the strong. We call it the ‘Registry.’ There are records on Ron Mollan as well.”

Face, name, birth. Mercenaries scattered throughout the world meticulously gathered and recorded even the smallest details about the strong.
Because mercenaries, whose bodies and lives were everything, had to avoid the strong.
And thanks to that information, the strong—the world itself—feared the Mercenary Guild.

“Those records were from at least a decade ago. I never expected you to infer my current appearance from how I looked back then.”
“Well, luck played a big role.”

The Mercenary King jabbed the Mage beside him in the ribs.

“…Hey.”

Despite the ominously low voice, Burd ignored it and continued with a bright smile.

“This friend here is a survivor from one of the Five Great Families.”
“…The Five Great Families?”

Surprise colored Ron’s voice for the first time in a while.
His gaze turned toward the Mage whose face was hidden beneath a deeply pulled robe. Kale Heniatus did the same. Then, a voice echoed in his mind—Raon’s voice.

-Human! Do you remember the Mercenary Guild branch master’s vault?

Of course I remember.
How much money we stole from there.

-Do you remember that magical vault?

Remember…?

-The mana signature of the person who created it is emanating from that Mage!

Just as Rosalind’s mana glowed red, and the two dragons’ mana shimmered with platinum and black respectively, all mana possessed its own unique essence.

-That Mage is definitely the one who created the magical vault! How wonderful! I want to greet them!

…Greet them? This is going to be a disaster.
I quietly averted my gaze from the Mage. Memories of blowing up the Mercenary Guild Master’s office and causing chaos came flooding back.

-Let’s greet them later! That magical vault was created by a top-tier Mage!

…I refuse!
I quietly ignored Raon’s words.
And the Mage also gave Ron a slight bow before turning his head in another direction.

“…It is a past I wish to forget.”

At those words, Ron asked nothing further.
After all, they had discovered my identity and sought me out. And the head of the Molan Family had at least been famous in the Underworld.
Now, after so much time had passed since the family’s fall, I was merely an old man whom no one remembered.

The Mercenary King became the center of conversation once more.

“The incidents between the Ribensi Underworld and the Mercenary Guild seemed to overlap curiously with when this inn opened. So I did a bit of investigating, and my goodness! My friend here said he recognized the face of the Molan Family head from somewhere!”

Burd Illis continued speaking as if recounting an exciting legend.

“This friend is quite clever, you see. So I immediately checked the registry. And lo and behold! The Ron Mollan, head of the Molan Family, drawn in the registry—if he were to age, he would look exactly like this person right now. So here we are.”

Servant Ron did not avoid the Mercenary King’s probing gaze directed at me, and Burd Illis spoke with a calm smile.

“I wondered if perhaps the Molan Family, Ron Mollan himself, had submitted to the White Star and was stirring up trouble in the Underworld and the Mercenary Guild.”

A crooked smile played at Ron’s lips.
Bow down to the White Star? Me? After losing my family, my wife? After witnessing my own people die?

“…How ridiculous, you brat.”

The formal tone vanished from Ron’s speech as he called the Mercenary King a brat. In eyes that had always maintained cold composure, the flames he’d kept locked away began to flicker through.
At that moment, Burd Illis lowered his head.

“My apologies. Now that I’m here, I realize I’ve made a grave misunderstanding.”

Burd Illis offered his apology immediately, then continued.

“However, one of the Five Great Families voluntarily bowed down to Dark.”
“…What?”

This was something Ron didn’t know.
Until now, he had believed all five Assassination Families were either annihilated or destroyed like the Molan Family.

“It’s about my family.”

Kale shifted his gaze away from the Mercenary King and Ron. The robed Mage spoke without looking at anyone.

“The Puff Family. My uncle, who held the second position there, crawled into Dark of his own accord, bringing his people with him.”

Kale clearly remembered hearing that this Mage was the sole survivor of his family.

“And then that uncle’s faction and Dark’s faction annihilated the Puff Family. Everyone except me, who was hiding.”

The Mage who called the second-ranked member his uncle.

“My mother, my father, my siblings—they all died.”

The Puff Family was annihilated yet not annihilated.
The Mage said nothing more after that. Yet even in his silence, his fury toward Dark, the White Star, and his uncle’s faction was palpable.

A brief silence descended.
It was broken by Kale.

“It seems like you still have more to say?”

Burd Illis’s smile deepened.
Though he was over thirty and knew Kale was younger than him, he paid no mind to the other’s demeanor.
Instead, he spoke directly.

“Do you know why the White Star wants to kill me?”
“You just said that a moment ago.”

Kale answered while taking a sip of his drink.

“Either because he despises that power of yours—the ability to recognize others’ abilities—and wants you dead.”

The ability to perceive another’s power.
It was an extraordinarily dangerous yet captivating force. Kale’s impassive gaze turned toward the Mercenary King’s face.

“Or because he covets it.”

The White Star must want either to eliminate that power or to possess it for himself.
Burd Illis opened his mouth.

“I possess an Ancient Power.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Kale’s eyes.
Aside from those connected to the Dark, this was the first time he had encountered someone wielding an Ancient Power.

At the same time, a question arose.

Roughly speaking, and with limitations, but still—a power to perceive others’ abilities.

“What attribute does it have?”

Suddenly, Kale recalled his dominating aura.
That power had no distinct attribute to speak of. Could Burd Illis’s power be similar?

Yet the Mercenary King’s power did possess an attribute.

“Wind.”

Wind?
That’s the power of wind?
I recalled the Voice of Wind that I possessed. Even as I did, Burd Illis continued speaking.

“I smell it.”

His expression grew secretive as his nose twitched slightly.

“And I hear it.”

His rough fingers brushed against his ear.

“Very faintly—that person’s scent, their aura, their power.”

Burd Illis stared at me. My scent, my aura, my power.

“It reaches me on the wind.”

It was detected by Burd and heard.
Carried on the wind.

That’s why he was mistaken.
Between the White Star and this friend before me.

“Those who possess Ancient Powers emit a scent according to their attribute.”

Burd Illis stroked his nose.

“Do you know the biggest reason I could tell you and the White Star apart?”
“What is it?”

I asked calmly, and Burd Illis spoke with delight brimming in his voice.

“You and the White Star each emit a scent the other doesn’t have.”

Each one missing something the other has?
The corners of my mouth lifted.

His gaze met Erhafen’s.
The Ancient Dragon had told me before coming to the Eastern Continent.

‘The White Star is incomplete.’
‘Unlike you, that creature failed to achieve balance among the elemental attributes.’

The balance of natural attributes.
It had not been achieved.
My lips parted.

“Then I wouldn’t have the scent of the sky, would I?”
“Correct, yes.”

Burd Illis opened his mouth immediately, reading the urgency in my eyes.

“The scent that the White Star lacks—there’s one fragrance you emit. The faintest one.”

The faintest fragrance?
I recalled the ancient powers I possessed, excluding my dominating aura.
Water and fire—the White Star already had those.

“What is it?”
“Earth.”

…Earth?
Jjangdol?

-Why are you calling me?

I ignored the fearsome Jjangdol’s solemn voice.

“It seems the White Star lacks the power of earth among the ancient powers. Of course, that was three months ago, so I can’t be certain.”

Earth and sky.
These were the powers that I and the White Star either possessed or lacked.

Once more, my gaze and Erhafen’s met.

Ancient Powers collide with one another due to their conflicting properties.
Since this places strain on the body, the five natural attributes are balanced to overcome it.

Sky is not one of the five natural attributes spoken of in common understanding.
White Star. The final piece needed for him to achieve balance.
Earth.

“In any case, White Star has coveted my power for some time now. I suspect he desires my strength precisely because he seeks the power of earth.”

The Mercenary King had grown composed.

“So I’ve been openly fleeing while searching for a way to kill White Star.”

Worry filled his eyes, from which all traces of mirth had vanished.
From some point in the conversation, he had not taken a single sip of alcohol.

“Because if White Star comes to control both the Underworld and the Mercenary Guild, the balance will shatter.”

The Underworld, and the ordinary world of the Eastern Continent.
The Mercenary Guild existed between them.

If the balance were disrupted by Dark, it could endanger countless places across the Eastern Continent.

“And mercenaries must not be slaughtered mercilessly.”

Mercenaries who moved alone or in teams.
The Mercenary Guild was the only place they could truly trust and rely upon. The Mercenary King bore the responsibility of protecting that guild.

“…Sigh.”

The Mercenary King reached toward the bottle.
Heat rose within him, and he craved the drink. Drinking would only make his insides churn more, but there was no help for it.
Alcohol flowed from the bottle into his mouth.

“Friend.”

Kale Heniatus spoke.

“I am Kale Heniatus, a reckless fool of the Heniatus Count Family from the Roan Kingdom of the Western Continent.”

Oh, I’m a reckless one too.
The Mercenary King didn’t answer while drinking, only nodding as if urging me to continue. Kale spoke to him.

“I’m about to make two proposals.”

Recalling Kale’s words about killing the White Star, Burd Illis nodded.
It was a signal to continue.

Kale spoke to him, who was still drinking.

“First, the personnel roster.”

…The Mercenary Guild’s personnel roster?

“Show it to me.”

Kale added.

“All of it.”

Show me the entire personnel roster.
Burd Illis pulled his mouth away from the bottle.

“…The personnel roster spans nearly a thousand years of records.”

In that moment, Burd Illis saw Kale smiling brightly.
He looked sinister.
Genuinely so.

“Ah.”

Burd Illis turned his head.
The black-haired Sword Master was letting out an exclamation. At the same time, Erhafen’s voice reached Kale’s mind.

-Clever.

Kale spoke the thought that had crossed his mind.

“Burd Illis.”

The Mercenary King looked at Kale.

“The White Star.”

The White Star. He is a reincarnator.
One who has lived countless lives.

“I need to know his history.”

The reincarnator must have been born somewhere across the East-West Continent. So he would traverse both the Eastern and Western Continents.

And he is a powerful one.
Surely his records would have been left behind in some form.
Across nearly a thousand years of history, all with different appearances, in different forms.

‘A weakness.’

I would find his weakness.
Sifting through the registry, I would meticulously search through the White Star’s hidden past and traces within it.

“…And the second?”

The Mercenary King asked quietly. And Kale answered.
Very calmly.

“Save the Dragon before you.”

What?
Save the Dragon?
The Mercenary King’s gaze turned toward Erhafen.
A pale-skinned man with platinum hair. Yet he was the one with the most commanding presence in this place.

Tap. Tap.
Burd Illis, who had been staring at the Dragon, turned his head at the sound of tapping on the table.
Kale tapped the table lightly as if telling him to look at himself.

“Then I’ll make it so you can live in peace.”

Without fear of death.

“And clean up the Dark as well.”

Kale Heniatus glanced at his servant Ron, then smiled as he spoke to the Mercenary King.

“I’ll eliminate the White Star for you.”

The Mercenary King recalled the White Star.
Simultaneously, he gazed in turn at the empty space where Kale Heniatus, Choi Han, Erhafen, and Raon would be standing.
Was it even possible for such overwhelming power to move together as one?

Kale Heniatus slowly raised the wine glass to his lips.

“Friend, take my hand.”

The Mercenary King found the curve of Kale Heniatus’s eyes as he swallowed the crimson wine to be wickedly sinister.

“Hm? You said you wanted to live?”

Kale Heniatus whispered softly.

-Human! You just smiled more wickedly than the White Star! Humans truly are amazing! Next time, let’s smile like that for the White Star!

Kale Heniatus’s face crumpled.

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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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