Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 40

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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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But Rak, despite his outward hesitation, nodded to himself before stammering out his words.

“If you don’t mind, would it be alright if I explained?”

His demeanor was certainly passive, yet he seemed determined to say what needed to be said. Kale Heniatus shook his head without emotion.

“There’s no need.”
“But still.”

Kale Heniatus fixed his gaze upon Rak.
He wanted me to take ten Blue Werewolf Tribe children and form a Knights Order with Rak included? Rak, who trembled alone at the sight of the Whale Tribe, yet would charge at their chieftain for his comrades’ sake. He wanted me to command subordinates so blindly devoted that even pseudo-religious cults would pale in comparison?

“Stop spouting such nonsense.”

At Kale Heniatus’s cold voice, Rak’s shoulders sagged. Kale Heniatus, paying no mind to such a display, continued with what he had to say.

“A Knights Order for mere children? You asked me to protect those children, yet the conditions you’ve proposed contradict that very request.”

If I trained them as knights from childhood, given the nature of werewolves, they would become something far worse than any pseudo-religious cult—a group that would burn through death itself without hesitation. It was far too horrifying.
And above all else.

“What of those children’s wishes? Why did you decide for them?”

Kale Heniatus posed the question to Rak, who had made the decision alone. Rak’s expression went blank for a moment before he lowered his head deeply and spoke.

“I apologize.”
“What is there to apologize for now?”

As Rak timidly raised his head, Kale Heniatus tossed out his words curtly.

“I understand what you wish to ask of me now, so let me consider what I wish to receive from you.”

Of course, I had already considered what I wanted to receive. Not now, but in about three months’ time, an ancient power buried deep within treacherous mountains will emerge. Afterward, that valuable ancient power will exist for approximately six months, and transformed werewolves would be perfect for scaling such perilous terrain.

‘If I sell that ancient power to the Jungle Queen, even if the Count’s Household falls, I’ll have enough to live comfortably for a lifetime.’

Of course, I wouldn’t simply sell it—I’d package its value quite generously. The Queen would have plenty of money, so why not extract some from her?

“Is there anything you need me to do?”

Kale Heniatus sighed as Rak scrunched up his face again with the question. When Rak cowered even further at that reaction, Kale asked back.

“Don’t ask such obvious questions. Of course I need you for something.”

Ah. Rak let out an exclamation, then nodded his head vigorously.

“Yes, if you tell me what the task is, I will do it right away, no matter what it is.”
“Good.”

Kale Heniatus replied and pulled out a small pouch of money from his pocket, tossing it to Rak. Then he spoke to Rak, who caught it.

“You’ll be seeing your siblings today after a long time. Go sightsee around the Capital and then come back.”
“…Sightseeing?”
“Yes. Isn’t this your first time in a city like the Capital? Eat some delicious food while you’re at it.”

I needed to send all the children away to have a comfortable conversation.

“On and Hong will go with you too, so you won’t get lost.”

Meow.
Meow.

At my words, On and Hong, who had been quietly in the corner of the carriage, revealed their presence and approached Rak. Then they tapped his legs with their front paws.

“Stop it, On, Hong. That tickles.”

Rak petted On and Hong’s heads as if they were cute, but from my perspective, the cats were in the middle of a serious front paw assault. Watching them, I thought.

‘I’ll have to leave the wolf children with Hans later. Or maybe I should hire a nanny.’

It would be nice if they were good at cooking and neat. As I was thinking of someone who could be a nanny besides Hans, Vicross, the Second Kitchen Head and Ron’s son, suddenly came to mind. At the same time, my expression became subtly displeased.

Vicross was good at cooking, neat, normally well-behaved, and known to have proper manners among the household members. But what good was that when he was a lunatic who loved torture? I couldn’t ruin the character of innocent wolf children.

‘And I’ll have to send him with Choi Han.’

It wasn’t strictly necessary, but Vicross had to go to the Breck Kingdom with Choi Han and Rosalind to torture the Grand Duke. As I pondered who would be suitable to take responsibility for and care for the wolf children, I got out of the carriage that had arrived at our destination.

“Follow me.”

Kale tapped Rak’s shoulder, who stood tensely, and Rak entered the inn while cradling On and Hong in his arms.

“Welcome! This place is filled with the scent of grapes! Do you have companions with you?”

At the Young Clerk’s greeting, Kale nodded and immediately headed toward the opposite door. Those whom Choi Han had brought were currently staying in the Annex Building behind the inn.
Blocking the Young Clerk from following, Kale proceeded unhesitatingly to the Annex Building. The moment he stood before its entrance, he gestured to Rak.

“They’re your siblings, so you open the door first.”
“Yes, yes!”

Rak approached hesitantly, set the cats down, and grasped the door handle. These would be his siblings, whom he was seeing for the first time since losing consciousness during his rampage. Kale quietly retreated backward. For some reason, he found the scene inside distasteful.
Click. Rak turned the handle, and the door opened. Finally, the interior of the Annex Building revealed itself. The moment the entrance opened, the living room came into view—a comfortable space.

“Sigh.”

Yet Kale took two more steps backward. It was an instinctive movement.

“Brother.”
“Big brother.”
“Older brother.”
“Rak, older brother.”

Ten children rushed toward Rak, and Rak threw himself into their embrace, holding them all at once. A touching reunion unfolded before Kale’s eyes, yet he turned away, unable to bear the actual sensation of ten children surrounding him.

Among them, someone Kale was glad to see approached.

“…Young Master.”
“It’s been a while, Bilos.”

It was Kale who had instructed Bilos to come to this Annex Building. Kale noticed that while Bilos’s face wore a smile, there was a slight tension to it, and his gaze shifted to the man approaching from behind Bilos.

“It is an honor to meet you, Young Master Kale.”
“Are you the Merchant Guild Master who came with them?”

A man in his sixties. This person with a kind expression and a warm, sturdy build was the one who had commissioned Choi Han regarding the Blue Werewolf Tribe.

“Yes, I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Choi Han. It’s an honor to meet you, Young Master.”
“Honor, you say? There’s nothing remarkable about seeing a reckless fool’s face.”

Kale extended his hand to the man, who grasped it and introduced himself.

“Odeus Flynn.”

The corners of Kale’s mouth lifted slightly.
Odeus Flynn. Once a promising heir to the position of Guild Master of the Flynn Merchant Guild, he had abandoned that path to run a modest merchant operation.
He was Bilos’s great-uncle.

The man who had brought Choi Han and Bilos together, and awakened the hidden greed that lay dormant within Bilos.

‘A far more sinister character than Ron.’

He posed as the operator of a small merchant guild, but in truth, he moved through the underworld wearing a new mask. To some, he was virtuous; to others, infinitely cruel. That was Odeus.
And I was the only one who knew both sides of him.

I exchanged greetings with Odeus as though I knew nothing.

“Flynn, then. So you’re connected to Bilos. How fortunate.”
“I was quite surprised myself. I never imagined you knew Bilos, Young Master. It’s been so long since I last saw him as a child—I’m delighted to reconnect. It seems I’ve been blessed with many fine relationships of late.”

Bilos gazed at Odeus, unable to conceal the turbulent emotions churning within him. The man who had left the Flynn Merchant Guild to live modestly. The great-uncle known for his virtue. The only person Bilos remembered fondly from his childhood.

‘Well, he’s a good man to Bilos, at least.’

I released Odeus’s hand and spoke to Bilos.

“Let’s head upstairs and share a drink.”

The Annex Building had two floors, and the upper level housed a small bar. Of course, I had already informed Odeus of this.

“Choi Han and Rosalind should arrive soon. We can catch up properly once they do.”
“Yes, I’ve long hoped for an opportunity to share a drink with you, Young Master.”

I smiled and spoke to Odeus.

“We’ll do so soon enough.”

Kale Heniatus tapped Bilos on the shoulder as he stood with a complicated expression, intending to head toward the second floor. However, ten children blocked his path.

“Thank you! Young Master.”
“Thank you.”

Kale Heniatus gazed at the ten children offering their gratitude. And he thought to himself.

‘This is troublesome.’

Ten children who emanated an aura suggesting they would become considerably strong. Despite having lost their parents, relatives, and siblings, these ten children possessed sharp, resolute eyes and still retained their innocence and gratitude.
And there were no very young children among them. Most appeared to be between ten and thirteen years old.

‘They’d be suitable for a combat instructor rather than a nursemaid.’

However, resolving not to assign a combat instructor, I gestured dismissively for Rak to leave. Then I turned around and headed toward the second floor. Though I gave no answer and ignored them, I could still hear the werewolf children’s voices behind me, continuing to express their gratitude. My scalp prickled with an uncomfortable chill.

As soon as Bilos entered the second-floor room with me, he asked.

“Young Master, what exactly are you doing?”

Kale Heniatus answered lightly without hesitation.

“I’m working toward my comfortable retirement, aren’t I?”

Bilos made an expression of disbelief as he retrieved a bottle of liquor and glasses from the cabinet. Then he sat across from Kale Heniatus and filled his own glass, downing it in one gulp.

“…Am I invisible to you right now?”
“…My heart is troubled. My apologies, Young Master.”

Bilos drank nearly half the bottle in successive gulps, then stared intently at Kale Heniatus. No—he scrutinized him. A man who had once been a reckless fool but now claimed he would live differently. Bilos had never imagined he would come to meet such a person only to encounter his great-uncle instead.
I blocked Bilos’s gesture as he reached to refill his glass. I picked up the bottle and filled his glass myself.

“Whatever troubles you, won’t your heart ache if you drink like that alone?”
“…Young Master.”

Kale Heniatus answered as I filled Bilos’s glass.

“Yes.”
“Odeus Flynn is my great-uncle by blood.”

Odeus Flynn. Since Bilos wasn’t permitted to bear the Flynn name, he couldn’t even properly address his uncle. Yet Odeus had been the only warm adult in Bilos’s childhood.
In ‘The Birth of a Hero’, Odeus tells Bilos:

‘I think of you as my nephew, as family. You have the qualifications for it.’

Those words became both a starting point and a catalyst for Bilos. And through Odeus, he learned of Choi Han—captivated by his power, Bilos followed Choi Han and threw himself into the succession competition for the position of Merchant Guild Master.

“Young Master, aren’t you curious why Odeus Flynn, despite bearing the Flynn name, runs a separate smaller merchant guild?”

Curious? I already know. Odeus has the underworld of the Northwest Region and Central Region firmly in his grasp. Kale Heniatus filled his own cup and answered indifferently.

“Should I be curious about the Flynn name?”

And as Kale swallowed the wine from his filled cup, he could see Bilos’s smiling face.

“I see. The Flynn name isn’t quite so lofty, is it?”
“Right. You and Odeus both. You’re Flynn too.”
“…I’m illegitimate, though.”

Kale scoffed and responded to Bilos’s words.

“Being illegitimate doesn’t make you any less Flynn, does it? Everyone else thinks you’re Flynn.”

Though the family never granted Bilos the Flynn name, everyone outside thought of him as Flynn. So there was no outsider who looked down on him for being illegitimate. The name Flynn, one of the three great merchant guilds, carried considerable weight. That was the truth of it.

Bilos stared at Kale intently, then snatched his wine bottle and refilled Kale’s cup.

“Young Master.”
“What?”
“You seem quite good at saying the right things.”
“I do have that quality.”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
“Mm.”
“What exactly did you steal with all those borrowed tools?”

In that moment, Bilos could see the smile forming at the corners of Kale’s mouth. Kale picked up his filled cup and spoke with ease.

“One thing I already stole. The rest, I’ll steal soon.”

The Dragon had been saved, and everything else could wait until tomorrow.
Bilos’s lips twitched upward. No noble would openly speak of theft, yet here one stood before me.

“May I not do the same?”

Kale Heniatus shook his head at Bilos’s question.

“I’m afraid not.”

With a soft clink, Kale set his glass down on the table and answered him.

“The positions are already filled.”

My mental roster of people and races to exploit was already complete.

“Ha, haha.”

Bilos laughed for a long while, then drained his glass in one gulp and set it down with a sharp clink before speaking.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to steal something else.”

Bilos had already decided what to steal. The position of successor to the Flynn Merchant Guild—that seat would become his. His greed ran deepest and widest. To such a man, I simply said,

“Do as you wish.”

At those words, Bilos burst into laughter once more.
Whether Bilos laughed or not mattered little to me; the purpose of this meeting was accomplished the moment he encountered Odeus Flynn. I savored my drink at leisure.

Of course, with tomorrow’s work looming, I indulged only briefly before returning to the Mansion alone. Since I needed to move starting at night, I decided to rest early that evening. Yet sleep eluded me.

“Ron?”

Ron bowed deeply before me.

“Young Master, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor?”

Ron raised his head and spoke to me.

“Please look after my son.”
“Your son? You mean Vicross?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”

For the first time, Kale Heniatus witnessed the kindness drain from Ron’s face, replaced by his true visage—the face of an assassin. Ron spoke in that guise.

“Because I have a fox to hunt.”

Even in his elderly years, he remained an assassin. Ron lifted his gaze to Kale Heniatus, his expression blank save for the slight upward curve of his lips—a smile both eerie and unsettling.

“You know I’m a man who kills people, don’t you, Young Master?”

Kale Heniatus felt a sudden rush—as though intoxication had struck him despite having consumed no alcohol. A chill crept down the back of his neck.

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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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