Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 39

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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 9. I Don’t Know, I Don’t Know.

Kale offered the Crown Prince a gentle smile while repeating to himself internally.

‘I don’t know. I don’t know.’

The Black Dragon continued muttering about which dragon would waste such grand magic on this trivial human, never once reflecting on his own actions, but Kale was determined not to listen.

-Hmm? Even his eyes are dyed? This insignificant human seems to be scheming something. Weak human, be careful.

If you’d just stop talking, I’d be fine.

-Hmm? This human is not weak. Weak human, be especially careful. You will die.

Damn it. For the first time, Kale found the Black Dragon’s endless commentary terrifying. At the same time, his mind began to race with thought.
The Crown Prince’s mother was not the Queen. She was a concubine—originally a commoner maidservant who worked in the Royal Court. The Third Prince’s mother was the current Queen. And the Crown Prince’s mother had met a mysterious death when he was young.
Kale’s mind naturally began to wonder what the Crown Prince’s mother’s true identity might have been.
The Crown Prince was known to have ordinary martial prowess. But not weak? Even Choi Han had judged him as ordinary in the books. What was he hiding? How did the Dragon know that?

‘…No, it doesn’t matter whether he’s hiding it or not. It’s none of my concern.’

Kale refused to listen to the Black Dragon’s continued muttering. Whatever fascinated the Dragon so much, he kept talking about the Crown Prince.

“…It seems Young Master Kale might be somewhat similar to me.”

The Crown Prince said something, but Kale, whose mind was in turmoil, answered vaguely.

“It is an infinite honor of my life, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince released Kale’s hand with apparent bewilderment. Unaware of that confusion, Kale silently stepped back and positioned himself behind Eric. When things got complicated, using Eric as a shield was the way to go. Observing Kale’s retreat, the Crown Prince soon turned his gaze toward Eric.
Eric resumed his conversation with the Crown Prince.

Watching this, Kale reflected.

‘So there was a reason.’

Why the Crown Prince was wary of the Second and Third Princes, and why the King’s favor had suddenly shifted to the Third Prince—it was becoming clear.

‘Is he not the king’s biological son? Or is there another secret about his birth?’

As Kale Heniatus, a memory surfaced in his mind—back when he was Kim Rok-soo, after finishing his college entrance exam, working part-time at a restaurant to make ends meet, watching the melodrama his boss would put on at eight in the evening.
Naturally, the protagonist was Crown Prince Albert Crossman.

Kale made a silent vow to himself once more.

‘Stay quiet.’

From this moment on, I would remain silent. I had decided to know nothing more.
Kale kept his promise faithfully. He had not touched alcohol today, and because of that, young nobles from other regions seeing him for the first time began to approach. Each time, Kale would glance meaningfully at Eric, and Eric would spring into action.
After witnessing this pattern repeat several times, Kale muttered softly to himself.

“Oh, this is rather convenient.”

At his soft murmur, Gilbert and Amir froze. They exchanged a glance.

‘Something’s off about this, isn’t it?’
‘Indeed.’

The two subtly distanced themselves from Eric and Kale. But soon Kale’s gaze turned toward Amir, and she stopped her retreat.

“By the way, Amir.”
“Yes?”
“I hear the coastal scenery of your fiefdom is quite beautiful. Is it truly so?”
“Indeed. The towering sea cliffs are magnificent.”

Beautiful, perhaps. As Kale envisioned those cliffs, he thought it would be dreadfully difficult to obtain the third ancient power, ‘Voice of the Wind.’ During the Wipper Kingdom civil war, ‘Voice of the Wind’ was an ancient power possessed by someone from the Non-Mage Alliance. It might seem strange that a Wipper Kingdom person held an ancient power from the Roan Kingdom, but there was a long story behind that as well.
In any case, that power belonged to the Mage Slayer—the mad tyrant who appeared in the latter stages of the civil war—and it was not a particularly significant power for him.

‘The Magic Tower will collapse soon.’

In the ruins of the Magic Tower after the civil war, Rosalind was the most promising candidate to become the new master of the Magic Tower on the Western Continent.

‘Choi Han, the Mage Slayer, and the Empire’s Crown Prince.’

These three individuals were connected to all the incidents and accidents in the early central-northern Western Continent, emerging as heroes. Of course, the book’s early chapters hinted that the Queen of the Southern Jungle would unify the south and later become entangled with them.
Separate from the Secret Organization connected to Choi Han, this continent would break two centuries of peace and become a battleground for supremacy.

Kale checked his watch as he observed Eric bustling about restlessly. The banquet would be ending soon. Of course, many young nobles were likely anticipating the conversation time that would follow.

‘Not my concern.’

It truly wasn’t my concern.

“Prince Gilbert, may I leave once this time is over?”

Gilbert nodded as he watched Kale leisurely eating fruit as if he were on a casual outing.

“Yes, we will be meeting with the Crown Prince after the banquet, but you don’t intend to join us, correct?”
“Indeed. What purpose would my presence serve? The three of you would understand the investment matter far better than I.”

Gilbert’s expression shifted at Kale’s words. He looked somewhat surprised.

“…You’ve read the documents.”
“Well, just casually.”

Kale answered dismissively and could see the Crown Prince rising from his seat again. It must be signaling the end of the banquet. I hadn’t understood the full intention behind this gathering today. Yet I felt no regret about it. There was no reason to become entangled in such matters.

But my face darkened at the Crown Prince’s next words.

“Today’s banquet has been delightful. I’ve prepared a simple wine party after this gathering, so those who wish may enjoy themselves. Ah, and I’ve arranged seating for all of you at the birthday celebration ceremony. I do hope you’ll all come and share in this joyous occasion.”

Crown Prince Albert spoke with a rather pleased expression.

“I would be delighted if everyone would join us to celebrate together.”

I swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape. His words said “enjoy,” but it was no different from a command to attend.

‘…I’ll be at the Plaza when the bomb goes off.’

It was roughly what I’d anticipated, but I wasn’t pleased about it.

“Then let us conclude the banquet.”

I rose from my seat at those words. Most would want to attend the wine party with the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince, but those who hadn’t been granted an audience with the Crown Prince couldn’t attend even if they wished to.

My gaze briefly shifted to the side as a wheelchair passed by me. Taylor had passed, and Kaige, who was pushing his wheelchair, whispered something in a voice only I could hear as she passed.

“See you later, my dear brother.”

I didn’t want to be called a younger sibling. Kale fixed her with a pointed stare, making his intention crystal clear, but Kaige simply approached the Crown Prince with the innocent demeanor of a virtuous priest, as if she understood nothing.

“Prince Kale, allow me to escort you.”
“Amir.”

Amir approached, intending to accompany me on my way. I regarded her—her verdant hair and composed, refined bearing—and asked casually.

“Are you worried I’ll cause trouble on the way?”
“Unfortunately, Prince Neo also left early.”
“Ah.”

So she was accompanying me to prevent any confrontation. Without further question, I headed toward the entrance and exit of the Banquet Hall, with Amir at my side. We reached the carriage in relative silence, where Ron was waiting.

“Prince Kale, you’ve had a trying day.”

I nodded at Amir’s words.

“Indeed. Though you have an even more demanding road ahead, Amir.”

Amir’s lips curved into a faint smile as she spoke.

“I must achieve favorable results, after all.”

Yet beneath her words lay a palpable desperation. The Northeast Coastal Area—truly a worthless land. It was dominated by coastal cliffs with no special water resources to speak of.
Worse still, the whirlpools near the coastal cliffs posed a serious problem. Seasoned residents could navigate the waters skillfully, but for the inexperienced, it was treacherously dangerous.

‘Of course, that’s because of the “Voice of the Wind.”‘

Amir and Gilbert would desperately seek investment in this useless sea. I studied her. She spoke with a resolute expression.

“And I believe I’m fully capable of achieving such results.”
“Amir.”
“Yes, Prince Kale.”

I thought it wouldn’t be amiss to offer some assistance to Eric, Gilbert, and Amir—those I’d wielded like extensions of myself today. The Northeast faction needed to remain solid. Besides, according to the intelligence on noble heirs, Amir was someone who kept her counsel.

“His Highness will likely be quite interested in this investment.”
“It seems that way.”

Amir agreed with Eric’s words. The Crown Prince had already remembered this matter without Eric needing to bring it up first.

“Lady Amir, you proposed the tourism investment, correct?”
“Yes.”

The tourism project utilizing the coastal cliffs. In Kale’s view, it was a trivial endeavor. He leaned closer to Amir and whispered.

“If investment is urgent, I think it would be worthwhile for you to consider the value that Lady Amir’s coastal location holds between the Wipper Kingdom and the northern kingdoms.”
“Pardon?”

Kale shrugged his shoulders as he added to the bewildered Amir.

“Of course, I would prefer if you kept my words to yourself, Lady Amir.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind for now.”

Kale boarded the carriage, satisfied with Amir’s expression as she closed her lips while remaining puzzled. In response to his light wave, Amir offered a slight nod in greeting.

Kale spoke to Ron, who was closing the carriage door.

“Let’s depart.”
“Yes, Young Master.”

The carriage soon set off. As Kale watched Amir lost in thought through the window, he pondered the Northeast Coastal Area.
The Northwest Coast was mostly sandy beaches. In contrast, the fiefdoms of Amir and Gilbert had complex coastlines with many small islands. Moreover, they were surrounded by towering cliffs.
Additionally, several stable locations existed where ships could anchor. Of course, the fishermen there were veterans skilled enough to navigate around whirlpools while conducting their trade.

‘With peace continuing, she only thought of tourism.’

However, the Crown Prince would surely know that the end of peace was approaching.

‘Regardless, I just need to obtain the ancient power before the mage slayer drifts ashore.’

Kale decided not to dwell on that matter any further. That night, after the banquet ended and he returned, two pieces of news reached him.

“We discovered four magic bombs.”

Five per person. Five per location. That was how it had been in ‘The Birth of a Hero’.

“They were all near the Plaza.”
“Show me the map.”

Kale extended his hand toward Choi Han. Choi Han had left the Black Dragon at the magic bomb location and come alone. Sweat glistened faintly on his face—evidence of his hurried sprint here.

“After finding one, I ran while carrying the Dragon and searched the surrounding area thoroughly. I found three more in total, and there were no others. I’ll need to search beyond the Plaza vicinity as well, but there were none in the areas I covered.”

Tap, tap. I drummed my fingers against the map. So four locations this time? Six people? Or was there another variable at play? I rose from my seat, lost in thought.

“We’re safe until the festival day after tomorrow, so don’t rush.”
“But it’s better to remove dangerous things quickly.”
“Let’s steal them at dawn the day after tomorrow.”
“…Pardon?”

The magic bombs I knew of required the developer to send a signal before they detonated. However, those who transcended the ordinary mage category—like the Black Dragon or Rosalind—could sever the signal connection with relative ease, though it took some time. That must be why Rosalind had disarmed the bombs attached to the people.

‘That has to be done on the day itself.’

Only then would that blood-crazed mage with the active signal connection still believe everything was safe.

“You mean steal them rather than destroy them?”

I handed the map back to Choi Han, who looked bewildered, and spoke.

“Why destroy something so useful?”

While the bombs themselves were useless, the finely concentrated mana within them was quite a valuable material.

“I’ll use them.”

My smile struck Choi Han as decidedly sinister. I spoke to him casually as he accepted the map with a bewildered expression.

“Keep searching in case there are more. And check regularly whether the bomb locations have shifted.”

From now on, Choi Han and the Black Dragon would have to remain hidden near the Plaza, continuously scouting the area. It would likely be exhausting, tedious, and nerve-wracking work. But that wasn’t my concern.
I also relayed instructions to On and Hong, who had just woken up.

“Earn your keep.”

I said the same to Choi Han.

“Go work.”

The two cats rubbing the sleep from their eyes and Choi Han departed at my command. I leisurely watched them leap from the Terrace window before finishing the wine I hadn’t touched at the Banquet Hall and drifting off to sleep.

While I slept, news reached me. The moment I opened my eyes, I heard it.
Bilos had finally arrived in the Capital on the eve of my birthday. I immediately headed to the Inn where we had arranged to meet—the place with ten werewolves.
Of course, On, Hong, and Rak accompanied me. I recalled what Rak had just said and asked.

“You want me to look after your siblings?”
“Yes, that is the terms of my deal.”
“What can you offer me?”
“It is not something only I can provide.”

Rak spoke without hesitation this time.

“If not just you, then who?”

Rak answered brightly.

“My siblings will join as well. Together, we become stronger.”

A chill ran down my spine. Surely not? Rak delivered the blow I’d been dreading without mercy.

“The Blue Werewolf Tribe has a history of being renowned as a Knights Order. That history—”
“That is something I do not know.”

I turned away from Rak, who sat across from me in the carriage.

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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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