Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 365

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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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Raon tilted his head repeatedly, confused.

Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded fiercely.
It wasn’t pain.

Tension? Fear? Joy?

I couldn’t understand why my heart was racing.

“What are you doing?”

I could see Kale Heniatus grabbing my front paw as I thumped my chest.

“Youngest, I’m curious what you’re doing!”

Hong was already floating in the air directly below me, looking up.
My lips curled into a grin.

“No! My heart is just pounding! It’s because I’m the great Raon Mir!”

At that moment, I could see Kale Heniatus’s pouty expression.

“Do you have a cold?”

That question reminded me of when I caught a cold long ago after visiting the Whale Tribe Village. I’m a great dragon, but I did catch a cold.
I puffed out my chest confidently and spoke.

“No! It doesn’t hurt! Not a cold! The great me only catches a cold once!”

Sigh.
Kale Heniatus shook his head in disapproval. I cast a body-temperature maintenance spell on On, Hong, and my companions.

“Oh! It’s not cold at all!”
“I am great!”

Between the falling snow, Hong and I hopped and flew about, treading on white granules. Kale Heniatus finally turned his gaze away.

“Hmm!”

Then I stopped short.

“…Erhafen?”

Erhafen had closed the distance until he stood mere inches from Kale’s face.
Erhafen wasn’t looking at Kale. His gaze drifted past Kale’s shoulder toward Raon Mir with an odd glint in his eyes, before he turned his attention back to Kale and spoke with casual dismissal.

“…That’s strange.”
“Pardon? Strange, you say?”

Kale realized that Erhafen’s gaze had just been directed at Raon Mir and hastily opened his mouth in alarm.

“Are you referring to Raon Mir?”
“No. You.”
“…Me?”

The Ancient Dragon spoke with conviction to the bewildered Kale.

“That crown in your hands.”

At that moment, Mercenary King Burd Illis interjected into the conversation. He had left his colleague, the supreme-level mage Gren Puff, behind to handle cleanup and had come along with Kale’s group alone.

“Right? Now that Erhafen mentions it, I’ve been feeling the same way—something about what you’re holding looks off. What is it?”

Burd’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Upon seeing that expression, Kale found himself answering on impulse.

“I’d rather not say.”

Seeing that fellow’s sparkling eyes, I simply didn’t want to answer.
Heh. Burd laughed.

“Then don’t!”

…What an odd fellow.
Kale couldn’t quite figure Burd out. Regardless, Burd opened his mouth again, and the rest of the group gathered around him.

“You came here because I mentioned there might be a Dragon Slayer Village in this place, didn’t you? Isn’t that right, Erhafen?”
“That’s correct.”

As Erhafen nodded, Bud’s excitement intensified, his energy rising as he spoke.

“This place!”

He lifted white granules in both hands. The white particles slipped through the gaps between his fingers.

“This place has nothing at all!”

…What?
Kale Heniatus’s gaze shifted toward Bud’s eyes.

“This is a space where only white sand grains, white trees, and white snow exist.”

Ron, who had been silent, joined the conversation.

“It is a land where life cannot flourish.”

Dead mana flickered through Kale Heniatus’s mind.

“It is not because of dead mana.”

However, at Ron’s continued words, Kale Heniatus erased his own thoughts and grew puzzled.

“Why can’t life flourish here?”

Ron and Bud answered readily to that question.

“I don’t know.”
“No idea!”

When Kale Heniatus’s expression turned sour, Bud shrugged and answered.

“Because we don’t know, it’s one of the Three Forbidden Mysteries! This place is perfect for those who wander in without knowing to lose their way, lose the path, and starve to death.”

Bud’s finger pointed toward Kale Heniatus’s crown.

“So this thing that shoots out beams of light and points in a direction is fascinating, isn’t it? Is there really something on this empty land? Hmm?”

Curious eyes observed the crown intently. Kale Heniatus felt oddly unsettled by that gaze and wondered if he should find some alcohol to place in Burd’s hands.

“There is one more thing that is absent,”

At Erhafen’s voice, Kale Heniatus looked toward the Ancient Dragon, following the direction his finger pointed.

“Ah.”

Kale Heniatus immediately grasped the meaning behind Erhafen’s words.
The Ancient Dragon’s finger pointed skyward. Kale Heniatus’s expression shifted subtly as he gazed upward.

A sky where snow fell.
Clouds and mist hung thick and heavy.
Thus, the sun was not visible.

Erhafen’s voice reached his ears.

“This place has neither day nor night.”

Whiiiii—
A gentle breeze enveloped the group. The Ancient Dragon’s wind magic was transmitted to them.
With platinum-hued wind swirling at his feet, Erhafen kicked off the ground. As he moved forward, he spoke to Kale Heniatus and the others.

“Follow me. This path is one I know.”

The direction he headed matched the direction the white crown indicated. He glanced back slightly and spoke as if tossing the words aside.

“The path to the Last Dragon Lord’s Graveyard and the direction the crown points are the same.”

The Last Dragon Lord.
At those words, Burd, Ron, Choi Han, and Vicross all kicked off the ground and followed in his wake.

“The Castle of Light. I shall show you the truth of that place.”

With those words, Erhafen turned his head forward once more and advanced ahead.
Kale Heniatus gestured to Raon and Hong to hurry along. The two of them eagerly followed suit, crouching low as they moved.

“On.”

He cradled On in his arms, noting the complex expression clouding her features.

“What’s wrong?”

While Raon and Hong had been darting about with unbridled enthusiasm earlier, On had remained eerily silent, her gaze fixed solely upon the sky.

“…It’s nothing. Really, it’s nothing.”

On shook her head and leaped from Kale Heniatus’s embrace, breaking into a run. He kept pace beside her, catching the faint murmur that escaped her lips.

“…Something feels off.”

Kale Heniatus pressed forward without a word, his eyes fixed ahead.
Yet he remembered clearly.

Raon and On.
The moment the two children had entered this place, they had spoken of something being amiss.

Kale Heniatus placed considerable trust in what the children said. His dark brown eyes began to sweep rapidly across the surroundings.
Simultaneously, he noticed another anomaly.

Uuuuuung—

The white crown had been vibrating intensely since moments ago.
The expression on Kale Heniatus’s face as he observed it was peculiar.

It was wailing.

—…I will kill.

Words spilling forth from within Kale Heniatus’s mind, uttered in anguished cries.

—I will surely… kill… that bastard who stole everything precious from me. I will surely… kill.

That voice was familiar.
Why?

A dominating aura.
It was identical to that voice which had taught Kale Heniatus that this arrogant, boastful power was excellent for deception.

Kale followed behind the group, bringing the crown he clutched in his hand close to his mouth. Then he whispered.

“Shut up. Before I destroy you.”

The crown fell silent.
Only then did Kale increase his pace with a satisfied expression.

It didn’t matter what the crown said. From the moment it had targeted Raon, this crown was nothing but a useless object that would eventually need to be destroyed.

Whoooosh—
A refreshing wind wrapped around his cheek as he cut through the air at tremendous speed.

* * *

They ran like this for an entire hour.
Finally, the group reached the place where the beam of light pouring from the crown ended.
There, Erhafen stopped in his tracks.

“There’s nothing here?”

Burd Illis looked around with a puzzled expression. Choi Han and Vicross also turned their heads, scanning their surroundings.

Still, only white granules and snow, along with white trees scattered here and there, were visible.
That was the moment.

“That’s how it would appear.”

Erhafen was letting out a laugh. He brushed back his hair and casually scanned the surroundings.

“When a dragon dies, it returns to nature. It becomes part of the natural world and disappears without a trace.”

He pointed to himself.

“When I die, I will probably become dust and scatter across this world. That is the death I desire.”
“Death is still far away! You’ll live a long life!”

The red kitten Hong glanced around cautiously before offering his opinion in a hushed tone.

“Ahem.”

Erhafen cleared his throat and continued speaking.

“Dragons consider such a death to be the most beautiful death of all.”

That was why dragons grieved when a corpse killed by murder could not decay and return to nature, and they raged as well.

“But here’s the thing.”

One corner of his mouth rose. It was a sneer.

“This place displays the death of a dragon that could not return to nature before everyone’s eyes.”

Choi Han asked.

“Is that dragon the Last Dragon Lord?”

Then Burd, with a peculiar expression, posed a question.

“…Before everyone’s eyes?”

Erhafen nodded and answered firmly.

“Yes, before everyone’s eyes. You can all see it, can’t you?”

Erhafen extended his hand. White granules surged upward from his palm. Erhafen clenched them in his fist.
White granules trickling through the gaps between his fingers.

“The Last Dragon Lord.”

Erhafen’s gaze turned toward the Black Dragon. The little one’s round eyes were fixed upon him.

“That White Dragon’s attributes have been passed down through generations.”

The White Dragon who was the Last Dragon Lord.

“He was quite famous.”

A dragon that embodies some aspect of nature.
Erhafen was dust and powder, while Raon was the present.

“The White Dragon created this Castle of Light. This White Land and the white snow. All of it bears his mark.”

His foot lifted slightly before pressing down against the ground.

Boom!
A tremendous vibration began radiating outward from Erhafen at its center.

“Ugh!”

Burd’s body swayed.
Choi Han had already steadied himself while cradling On and Hong in his arms. As Ron and Vicross stumbled for a moment,
they witnessed an enormous platinum-hued whirlpool erupting from Erhafen. Platinum-colored dust swirled violently, forming the vortex.

Boom!
Erhafen stomped his foot against the ground once more.

“…Huh?”
“Ah.”

Burd and Vicross both let out exclamations of wonder.

Whoosh—
The platinum whirlpool dissipated. It had struck something and vanished.

And in the space where it had disappeared.
A colossal shield appeared before their eyes.

No—it was a City Gate.
A massive white City Gate shaped like a shield.
And beyond that gate, a vast landscape revealed itself to their view.

“The Last Dragon Lord’s attribute was protection.”

Erhafen spoke with a smile.

“Do you see the shield?”

His hand pointed toward the Main Gate. And beyond it.

“And do you see that tall and beautiful castle?”

A brilliantly white castle materialized before the group’s eyes.

“…Castle of Light.”

Burd Illis murmured the name of this place anew.
He seemed to finally understand the meaning behind the name Castle of Light.

A beautiful and sacred-looking white castle.

A trace left behind by the Last Dragon Lord.

Burd Illis found himself captivated by its beauty and unconsciously drew closer to the white castle. But his steps were forced to halt.
A massive gate stood in his way.

“I cannot enter.”

Burd Illis turned his head.

“After the Dragon Lord died, all dragons attempted to enter that castle. Because the next Dragon Lord had not yet been determined.”

Erhafen recalled the Ancient Dragon who had conveyed to me the circumstances of that time. Those circumstances had been passed down from generation to generation among dragons, mouth to mouth.
It could not have been otherwise.

“But that castle opened its doors to no dragon.”

The gate would not open.
No dragon could destroy that gate.
The power of the Dragon Lord was that formidable.

Based on this, the dragons quickly grasped one truth.
Within that castle.

“It was being protected.”

The Dragon Lord was clearly protecting something.

“The Last Dragon Lord built this castle to protect something. A castle that no one could invade. Even in death.”

Over countless ages, many dragons had attempted to destroy this Castle of Light.
Yet none could breach it. Not even that shield.

“The Last Lord took his own life, leaving behind this Castle of Light.”

That was when it happened.

“Kale Heniatus!”
“Youngest!”

The voices of Choi Han, On, and Hong cut across the group.
The rest of the party’s gazes snapped urgently toward Kale Heniatus and Raon Mir.

“Ugh!”

Kale Heniatus’s left hand trembled violently. He contorted his face, trying to suppress the shaking. But what erupted instead was a rough voice.

“This… this damned crown!”

He gripped his left hand with his right.
But his left hand, clutching the crown, was trying to move of its own accord, beyond his control.
The white crown was attempting to manipulate his left hand.

In that moment.
Two voices echoed in Kale Heniatus’s mind.

A dominating aura, and the white crown.

-Open the castle gate. I must honor my dear friend’s final request.

The dominating aura spoke first.
Then came the white crown.

-Open the castle gate.

That voice continued in a sorrowful tone.

-There will be nothing inside it.

Ultimately, Kale Heniatus’s left hand slipped beyond his control, moving steadily toward his head. The crown was about to rest upon it.
That was when it happened.

“Youngest!”
“Raon!”

The moment Hong and On’s cries pierced the air.
Kale Heniatus’s head snapped around urgently. Raon came into view.

“…ugh… ah….”

I saw Raon clutching at his chest, groaning in distress.

“Raon!”

Smack!
Kale Heniatus struck his left hand down with his right. Then he took a step toward Raon.

In that instant, everyone’s movements froze.

Screeeech—

An unfamiliar sound echoed out.
A sound no one here had anticipated.

The group turned their heads.

A door was opening.
The Castle of Light.
Its massive door was swinging open.
And Kale Heniatus saw it.

Inside the City Gate.
A translucent figure came into view.
A small white dragon, no larger than Raon Mir.
The dragon with its deep blue eyes spoke toward the other side of the gate.

“Welcome, my child. And you who carry on the will of my dear friend.”

The Young White Dragon’s gaze was fixed in the direction where Kale Heniatus and Raon Mir stood.

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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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