Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 396

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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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“This is it.”

A tower stood a short distance from the center of the Roan Royal Palace, constructed without a single window.
An excessive number of knights and soldiers encircled the tower, guarding its only entrance.

Crown Prince Albert pointed toward that door.

“The underground prison lies beneath this tower.”
“Thank you for the guidance.”

Not a single person dared to openly stare at Kale Heniatus and Albert as they exchanged words with composed expressions.

-Human! They’re all sneaking glances at you!

Yet every soldier and knight present, along with those far within the palace itself, remained fixated on Kale Heniatus and Albert.
After all, this was a meeting between two men destined to become the true powers of Roan.

In that moment, Albert spoke as though it were nothing of consequence.

“Young Lord Kale, it seems everyone was curious whether you were alive and well. They certainly can’t stop stealing glances at you.”

The shoulders of a knight standing directly before the tower door leading to the underground prison trembled slightly.

While Kale Heniatus fought in the Jungle, rumors had swirled across the Western Continent—some claiming he was in critical condition, others that he was dead or in a coma—and within Roan, speculation about his status had run rampant.

Now that Kale appeared today alongside Albert at the Royal Palace, no less before the underground prison, it was only natural that people throughout the kingdom watched him intently.
In such circumstances, Albert spoke with ease.

“Just because someone works in the Royal Palace doesn’t make them my person, and soon news of you will spread throughout every noble house, won’t it?”

Though Albert spoke with a smile, Kale’s expression remained composed, but the knights and soldiers around them found his words deeply unsettling.
What Albert had said amounted to an acknowledgment that someone within the Royal Court was leaking information to other noble families.

The Crown Prince swept his gaze across the knights surrounding him, then spoke casually.

“Well, you’ll all handle it appropriately, won’t you?”

Alberu looked at Kale Heniatus with a radiant smile—the official Crown Prince smile for public consumption. Inwardly, I swallowed a sigh.

‘How troublesome.’

I barely restrained myself from shaking my head at Alberu’s behavior toward the Knights.

Albert Crossman currently commanded the Roan Kingdom’s finest Mage Battalion as his personal force. Moreover, despite being the First Prince with neither maternal relatives nor powerful backing, he enjoyed considerable support from the Knights as a superior swordsman.

That such a person would act this way clearly meant that someone among these Knights had connections to a powerful noble and was feeding information to them.

‘Still, he does his work well.’

Even while guiding me, not a single gap appeared in his conduct—he would make quite the meticulous king.

However, I offered Alberu, who was watching me, a humble smile and spoke.

“Of course. With Your Highness, the future sun, present, everyone will naturally do their best.”
“You and I truly understand each other well. Hahahaha.”
“I’m grateful to hear that. Hahahaha!”

Kale Heniatus and Alberu burst into hearty laughter.

-…Both of them laugh strangely.

Of course, I matched Alberu’s rhythm.

“Open the door.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”

At Alberu’s command, still wearing a smile, the two Knights hurriedly opened the entrance to the tower leading to the Underground Prison.

“Go well. I have my own matters to attend to.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”

I gave a slight bow in response to Alberu’s farewell and stepped through the entrance to the Underground Prison.

-I’m going too!

I was naturally accompanied by the invisible Raon.

Whoosh.
The moment I stepped into the tower, I saw torches burning brightly.

Creak, slam!

The door shut behind me.
I looked not upward toward the tower’s peak, but downward.

A staircase descended into darkness, its end invisible. Knights and soldiers stood at regular intervals along those steps.
They were the guardians of the Underground Prison.

I acknowledged their silent salute and began my descent into the depths.
Alberu’s explanation came to mind.

‘At the very bottom of the Underground Prison. There are five rooms there, and three of them each hold one prisoner.’

Three people confined in the deepest level of the Underground Prison.
They were the Red Stars of the Dark, captured during the war between the Indomitable Alliance and the Roan Kingdom. Captured from the Northeast Sea.

One of those three was the fake Dragon Slayer, Sirem.

Tap. Tap.
Only the sound of my footsteps echoed through the space.
I descended deeper into the darkness, where no end was visible.

* * *

The fake Dragon Slayer, Sirem.
His entire body was restrained. Of course, his eyes were covered, and magic sealed his mouth to prevent suicide.

Only his ears remained free.

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

All that came from Sirem’s mouth these days were curses.
It couldn’t be otherwise.

Early this year, I began by invading the Heniatus Territory, then attempted to strike the Roan Kingdom from the Northeast Sea, only to be captured by Kale Heniatus.

After that, Sirem simply waited for the day of his death.
To be honest, he had lost the will to live.

‘…Why won’t they just kill me!’

Yet he still had not died.
He could not know the state of the outside world. However, after being transferred to the Underground Prison beneath the Roan Royal Palace and falling into this condition, the fact that a guard came to find him every single day at mealtimes allowed him to infer that at minimum, Roan had won this war.

If that were the case, Sirem naturally believed he would die.

But why, why had they still not killed him?

In this underground prison, there was no distinction between day and night. He could not even guess how much time had passed. In such a place, merely breathing and waiting for death to come became an even greater source of fear for Sirem.

Of course, as nothing happened for quite a long time, a small hope emerged: ‘Could I possibly survive?’ Even if the White Star did not come to rescue him, an uncertain hope for life had taken root.

But he soon abandoned that hope.

One day.
When he heard the sound of someone walking alone through this utterly silent underground prison.

At that moment, Sirem could see the figure who approached him as the iron door opened, removing the blindfold from his eyes.
That man spoke to Sirem.

‘How could you possibly hold onto hope of wanting to live?’

That man was Albert Crossman. He was to become the future king of Roan.
Sirem could never forget the words Albert had delivered to him without any expression, without mockery.

‘Do you truly have any possibility of surviving?’

The moment he heard those words, Sirem abandoned any possibility of survival.
After that, Sirem was left alone.

‘It was foolish to have even thought I could survive.’

What kingdom would allow an invader who sought to destroy their nation to live?
Especially one with no value as a prisoner.

If anything, keeping him alive would provoke significant backlash from the kingdom’s citizens.

‘I should just kill him quickly!’

That was the moment.

Tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps echoing from deep within the Underground Prison corridor reached Sherit’s ears.

Tap, tap.
Sherit’s body tensed with anticipation.

Only one person.
Just like when the Crown Prince came last time.

Tap, tap.

The owner of the approaching footsteps was a single individual.
What could this be about?
Who could it be?
Sherit’s mind raced with countless possibilities.

Had the Crown Prince come to inform me of my execution?

Sherit let out a hollow laugh, dismissing the notion as absurd. Why would someone of the Crown Prince’s stature personally come to inform a wretch like him of his execution date?

But it wasn’t a guard.
Normally, at least two guards and a Knight would come together to visit Sherit’s cell.

‘Then who could it be?’

He couldn’t fathom it.
Yet simultaneously, a presence long buried in the depths of memory surfaced.

‘Whether you speak or not—I’m the one who decides that.’

Kale Heniatus, drawing forth that white crown. As those words echoed in his mind, Sherit shook his head slightly.

Tap, tap.
The footsteps drew closer and closer.

‘Forget it.’

I had to forget about him.

Screeeech.
Sirem heard the iron bars of the prison cell where he was held creak open.

Tap, tap.
The footsteps grew even closer.

Thud!
The footsteps stopped directly in front of Sirem.
Sirem suddenly felt an inexplicable, eerie sensation, and goosebumps erupted across his entire body.

That was the moment.

Whoosh.
Very slowly, gently, the blindfold covering Sirem’s eyes came undone. Even as the blindfold fell away, Sirem remained perfectly still, showing no reaction.
But when he neither heard the other’s voice nor sensed any movement, he slowly opened his eyes.

The dark underground prison was dimly lit by a small torch, which stung his eyes slightly at first, but he quickly adjusted and could see his surroundings clearly.
Yet Sirem had no time to examine his surroundings.

A white mask.
He saw a white mask.

And he saw red hair and brown eyes.

“M-my liege?”

In that instant, the name escaped his lips—the White Star.
Only the White Star wore a white mask, possessed red hair, and had brown eyes.

The corners of the masked figure’s mouth curved upward.

At that moment, Sirem felt his heart sink with a heavy thud.
It was dark.
The brown eyes were not the bright brown of the White Star, but a deep brown.

‘Then that means—!’

In Sirem’s memory, there was one other person with red hair and brown eyes like this.
That person was one who did not wear a white mask.

But this time, the man standing before Sirem while wearing the white mask opened his mouth.

“Long time no see?”

Kale Heniatus.
The moment Sirem heard his voice, his face contorted as if something had crumbled within him.
Sirem drew in a deep breath.

Soon after, he saw the eyes of the Dragon glaring at him from beyond Kale Heniatus’s shoulder.
Those were the eyes of the Dragon that had glared at Sirem during their battle in the Heniatus Territory.

A soft sound.
Sirem’s head moved by Kale’s hand.
Sirem had to shift his gaze from the Dragon to Kale. Kale’s mouth slowly opened.

“The time when I need you has come.”

Kale watched as Sirem slowly bowed his head at his words.

The fake Dragon Slayer, Sirem.
He was someone destined to die anyway.

Even if I softened my heart and decided not to kill him, the Roan Kingdom Nobility Council would seek to end his life.
The anxious nobles who had not performed adequately during the war would do such things to demonstrate their own presence.
Sirem would likely not even die peacefully. The probability of that was very high.
The nobles would want to erase the seeds of war by any means, showcasing their presence and ensuring the complete end of the war with their own hands.

I met Sirem’s gaze—he was bound by a restraint spell that prevented him from speaking.

“Soon, the Roan Kingdom Nobility Council will set a date to execute you. You won’t die gracefully.”

Sirem’s eyes wavered.
Kale Heniatus spoke to him.

“But I have the power to at least give you a peaceful end.”

The trembling focus sharpened and turned toward Kale Heniatus. His lips parted once more.

“My—”

Kale Heniatus hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“My friend will find you.”

Choi Han had asked Kale Heniatus with a gentle smile.
It was when Kale Heniatus, Raon, and Choi Han were leaving the Dragon Slayer Village and returning to Sherit’s Castle.

‘Lord Kale Heniatus, I will take the Ancient Power of the fake Dragon Slayer, Sirem.’

The fake Dragon Slayer, Sirem.
The Ancient Power he possessed was a half-baked, counterfeit Dragon Slayer power created by the White Star.
It could never surpass the true Dragon Slayer power of the White Star.

Yet Choi Han spoke his resolve with an unwavering expression.

‘And I will become a new Dragon Slayer with my own power, by my own hand.’

A Dragon Slayer.
There was no need for such a being to exist only as one.

‘Is it not said that the strongest among humans is a Dragon Slayer? I can do it.’

If it was Choi Han, he would surely accomplish it.

‘Lord Kale Heniatus, I will cut down the heavens myself.’

This time, I decided to fully support Choi Han’s resolve. Because that was what he wanted. I had to trust someone determined to achieve something through their own will.

I stepped back from Sirem and spoke.

“A sword will arrive soon.”

It would be the greatest sword.

In that moment.
Tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the prison corridor.
When those footsteps ceased, I turned my head.

“You’ve arrived?”
“Yes, Kale Heniatus.”

Standing outside the prison with his usual gentle smile was 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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