Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 403

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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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Where in this world could such a gift exist?

-Kale, are you alright?
“…A human?”

Erhafen and Raon regarded Kale with concern. Kale stared down at the black book, barely registering their gazes.

Fury blazed within me.
This god was utterly selfish—even more so than I was.

‘Why drag an innocent person into this?’

It was something I simply could not comprehend.
Erhafen gazed at me with pity. Because of my actions and thoughts, he often forgot that I was barely twenty years old.
But seeing me unable to suppress my anger at myself while witnessing a wounded comrade, he was suddenly reminded of my youth.

-Kale.

The Ancient Dragon spoke softly, as if soothing me.

-You must be bewildered, worried, and furious. I understand your heart. You must feel anger rising toward yourself for this situation.
“No. I’m not angry at myself. This isn’t my fault.”
-Huh?

I was angry right now.

If Choi Han saw Choi Jung-soo’s memories, he would naturally see Kim Rok-soo’s life as well. He might even connect Kale and Kim Rok-soo together.

Kim Rok-soo’s ability usage would be contained within Choi Jung-soo’s memories.
And whether it was Rok-soo then or now, our speech patterns and mannerisms were similar.

I would be exposed.
The truth that Kale Heniatus was actually Kim Rok-soo could be revealed.

‘Why would that happen?’

But that wasn’t the part that mattered most to me.
What did it matter if Choi Han saw Choi Jung-soo’s memories?

Of course, it could create conflict between Choi Han and me, or lead to misunderstandings.
So what?
Conflict or misunderstanding—either way, we could work through it.

Choi Han might feel hurt and angry that I said nothing and pretended to know nothing about Korea.
It might take a long time to resolve that hurt and anger.
But it could be done.

It wasn’t a thought I spoke lightly.
I knew that process could be easy or extraordinarily difficult. Of course, I had worries and concerns about it too.
But it could be done.

Why?
Because Choi Han was alive.

With the dead, there was no chance to resolve any misunderstanding or hurt.
There was no opportunity for conversation, not even a chance to face them again.

Having learned that truth painfully over more than thirty years of life, I would make the effort to repair my relationship with Choi Han whenever the opportunity existed.

And this wasn’t something to worry about now.
Once Choi Han woke up, we would have an honest conversation and think through it together.

But what infuriated me was something else entirely.

“Then why did you have to make him suffer?”

The situation where Choi Jung-soo’s memories were given to Choi Han.
Fine, I could understand that to some degree.

But why did it have to be done so painfully?

“I simply cannot comprehend this.”

I could not fathom the God of Death’s reasoning at all.

And.
And one more thing.

My face twisted.

‘Choi Jung-soo, that bastard—’

My memory of him ended with death.
And not just any death—one preceded by terrible, grievous wounds and an enormous loss of blood.
He died with a serene smile despite the agony.

Wouldn’t Choi Han witness and experience that same thing?

Moreover, Choi Jung-soo died alongside Lee Soo-hyuk, his team leader, at the very end.
He watched his comrades die one by one, one after another.

‘And.’

I raised my hand and wiped at my eyes.
My hand trembled slightly.

Choi Jung-soo’s memories would preserve everything—my expression, my gaze, all of it—as I died before him.
Kim Rok-soo had no record of what my face looked like at that moment. I could not see my own face, after all.
Yet the emotion from that time remained vivid in my memory. I could imagine what my face must have looked like bearing that emotion, how it must have appeared to Choi Jung-soo.
There was no need to see it to understand.

Choi Han would witness all of the despair and sorrow of a comrade watching Choi Jung-soo die.

That agonizing memory.
Why would he be made to endure it?

I knew Choi Han quite well.
Because of that, I could foresee how profoundly Choi Jung-soo’s end would strike him.

I could not possibly comprehend the thinking of this damned God of Death.

“…Human?”

But the moment the plump paw touched my knee, I withdrew my hand from my eyes.
My usual expressionless face returned to view before my companions.

“Choi Han will be fine soon.”
-…Yes.
“And please ask Kaige to examine Choi Han’s condition.”
-Kaige? The Priest of Death?

A flicker of surprise crossed Erhafen’s eyes before vanishing.
From the sudden mention of the Priest’s name from my lips, he seemed to grasp the identity of the unknown power he had failed to comprehend.
However, Erhafen refrained from questioning me further.

-Understood. I’ll ask Kaige to examine Choi Han’s condition as you say.

Since you said Choi Han will be fine soon.

-And Rosalind will proceed with the original schedule.
-That’s right. Young master, I’ll be departing shortly.

I could see Rosalind wearing a faint smile.

-Since neither you nor Choi Han can go, I have to.
“…I’m counting on you, Rosalind.”
-Counting on me? We’re doing this together.

Watching Rosalind laugh spiritedly, my mind grew tangled with practical concerns.

Originally, I had planned to overwhelm the enemy with magic by pouring vast quantities of mana stones, centered around Erhafen, Raon, and Rosalind.
Moreover, I had expected that if Choi Han grew stronger by acquiring Sirem’s power, it would help defend against the enemies’ attacks.

‘I’ll have to exclude Erhafen and Choi Han.’

But I needed to devise a new plan without these two.
With Choi Han’s awakening uncertain, I could only feel at ease with Kaige and the Ancient Dragon remaining by his side.

‘…This is troublesome.’

Overwhelming magic.
Rosalind and Raon participating in that plan were formidable, but Erhafen’s absence left a significant gap.

-Is the plan alright?

However, Kale answered Erhafen’s question readily.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

Regret flickered across Erhafen’s face.
After all, he wouldn’t be participating in the magic execution operation.
But Kale was truly unbothered.

“We’ll just buy or steal more mana stones.”
-Huh?
“Don’t worry. If all else fails, we’ll just beat them with mana stones, I suppose.”

Erhafen’s lips twitched as if he had much to say, but ultimately he nodded in understanding and ended the video call, mentioning he would contact me again if anything came up.

“Human.”
“What? Raon, hurry up and put it in.”

Kale returned his attention to his task with composure.

Tap, tap.
Yet I glanced at Raon as his front paws continued tapping against my knee.

‘What is it?’

And I saw Raon’s stern expression.

‘Why does he look like that?’

The moment Kale felt puzzled, Raon’s face grew solemn and he spoke in a low, grave voice.

“Human, when you saw Choi Han suffering earlier, weren’t you surprised and worried?”
“Of course I was surprised and worried.”
“We watched you suffer so much!”

In that instant, Kale felt a genuine chill run through him.
Raon placed his front paws on my waist and made the most fearsome expression he could muster.

“Human! Learn from what happened today! You must not be hurt! I am sad, and Grandfather is sad, and everyone is sad!”

Though the plump little dragon’s menacing words held no actual threat, this time Raon’s words struck me as genuinely frightening.
So I blurted it out.

“…I have foolish aspects to me.”

I realized that understanding something intellectually and actually experiencing it with your heart were two entirely different things.

“Ah, no! The human is not foolish! The White Star is foolish! The human is just tiny compared to me! Simply less magnificent!”
“Yes, yes.”

I stroked the back of Raon’s head as I spoke.
The smooth texture of his head felt quite pleasant.

“From now on, I’ll make an effort not to worry you.”

Raon’s lips curved upward.

“The human is indeed clever!”

With those words, Raon fluttered his wings and transferred the stones into the spatial pouches belonging to the Alchemy Tower.
Our movements were perfectly synchronized, and it was finished in an instant.

-…Money lump.

The excited voice of Destructive Fire, my power, reached me, but I ignored it. Since this fire-attribute power couldn’t use mana stones or magical force, it was simply amusing how it reacted to money.

-That’s not it?

Huh?
I paused.

Click. Click. Click.
Meanwhile, Raon closed the box containing the spatial pouches and seamlessly reapplied the locking spell as if nothing had happened.
There was no trace that anyone else had been here.
Probably not until someone checked the stones themselves.

Taking in that sight, my mind grew complicated at Destructive Fire’s words.

No way?
Cale’s Power can use mana stones too?

-When strengthening, it becomes both money and jewels, so why can’t it use mana stones?

Oh, that’s a fair point.
I nodded at Cale’s Power’s words.
It was certainly a reasonable argument.

‘But this time isn’t your share.’

It belonged to our side’s magical forces, with Raon and Rosalind at the forefront.

‘Ah, won’t I have a use for it? It should be enough just to use it for magic.’

I let Cale’s Power’s words go in one ear and out the other.
At that moment, a clear voice rang out.

-I need to strengthen too.

It was the Sky-Devouring Water.
My expression became complicated.

The Ancient Powers seeped into my body and left a pattern.
However, the Sky-Devouring Water and the terrifying Jjangdol did not leave patterns.

“Human! Aren’t you going?”

At Raon’s words, I decided to think about strengthening the Ancient Powers later and gripped the spinning top in my hand.
My body turned transparent again.

-Human!

Raon spoke to me in my mind again.

-Are we going to steal the map and coordinates now?

The corners of my mouth rose.

“Yes.”

The voices of the Wind Spirits came through the spinning top.

‘We just saw them having a meeting on the 9th floor!’
‘There was a map spread out there!’
‘We confirmed where the troops are hidden. We saw documents with the coordinates of the East-West Alchemy Tower. Destruction, annihilation.’
‘Stop talking so strangely!’
‘No way. Chaos, destruction, annihilation! Kahahahahaha!’

I gazed at the closed door.
Beyond that door on the 8th floor corridor were guards, Knights, and Alchemists moving about.

-Human, where are we going?

At Raon’s question, I slowly reached out my hand.

Click.
The lock disengaged.

Creak.
And the window swung open.

-Oh! Right! We just need to go out the window and climb up!

I peered out through the window, which was just wide enough for one person to slip through.
The Southern Alchemy Tower, ten stories high.
The beautiful landscape outside filled my vision.

I stepped onto the window’s railing and took a step into the empty air below.

Whoooosh—
A gentle breeze swirled around my feet.
At the same time, magic enveloped me.

-It’s flight magic!
‘If we fall, destruction and annihilation. So we must survive.’

Raon and the Wind Spirit’s voices came in succession.
I carefully closed the window.

“Please.”

As I spoke, the Wind Spirit’s voice came from within the closing window.

‘I’ll lock the window! I can lock it with just a little breeze!’

Click.
The closed window was locked from within by the Wind Spirit left behind.

‘I’ll follow you later when the door opens!’

At the Wind Spirit’s words, I nodded and looked up.

The 9th and 10th floors.
Places I had yet to visit came into view.

The 10th floor was said to be where the Tower Master of the Southern Alchemy Tower resided.

I slowly ascended to the height of the 9th floor first.
Through my transparent eyes, I could see the landscape within the windows. There were alchemists working diligently, seemingly quite busy with something.

‘The third window to the right. There’s a map and coordinates in that room! But the window was locked!’

I moved to the right at the Wind Spirit’s words.
I passed the first and second windows.

And then the third window appeared.
The moment I could see inside that glass pane.

‘Damn!’
-Human!

I was startled and quickly pulled away from the window.

Click.
The window opened.
I pressed myself urgently against the wall beside the window.
And I covered my mouth.

“The breeze is lovely.”

A voice reached my ears.
The man leaned his face slightly out the window and wore a leisurely smile, as if pleased by the cool wind.

It was him.
The Mage who stood beside the White Star!

The one with a poison-coated dagger lodged in his right ankle by Ron and one wrist severed.
When his face suddenly appeared, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest in shock.

‘That Mage wasn’t here before!’

I couldn’t properly hear the Wind Spirit’s voice.
I turned my head to the side while holding my breath.

The Mage with a somewhat pallid complexion came into view.

‘He hasn’t fully recovered yet.’

It was certain that Ron’s attack and the poison hadn’t been completely treated.
The corners of my mouth lifted.

‘His body isn’t in normal condition. That’s why he can’t detect my invisibility.’

This is quite valuable information.
I realized I had just learned something rather significant.

Then, someone dressed in an alchemist’s robe approached the Mage and opened his mouth.

“Tower Master, since this area has many mountains and is close to the Jungle, the breeze is truly clean and pleasant.”

Tower Master?
That White Star subordinate mage is the Tower Master?
I found it strange.

“Tower Master, you say.”

The mage frowned at the title and shook his head. Yet the mage was smiling. As if understanding that, the Alchemist continued smoothly.

“Aren’t you destined to become the greatest Magic Tower master of the East-West Continent, the one who will lead both continents in the future? Therefore, you are indeed the Tower Master.”
“Not yet.”

Interesting.
The corners of my mouth twisted upward.

-No! The Tower Master is Rosalind! You foolish mage!

Raon shouted, but I listened to their conversation without saying much.
The Alchemist’s voice continued.
At that moment, my eyes widened.

“Has your liege gone to the Northern Region?”

Liege.
The White Star.
That bastard.

The mage continued speaking.

“From what I’ve heard, your liege was deliberating between the Whale Tribe Land, the Southern Caro Kingdom, and the Northwestern Roan, seeking to gain power.”

Unexpected valuable information.
The Roan Kingdom. A place where I suspected there might be the power of another land.

But the Northwestern Roan?
Isn’t that where Marquis Taylor’s fiefdom is located?
The White Star was deliberating between those three locations to find the power of a land?
The Southern Caro Kingdom? Merry’s territory was also a candidate?

Wow.
This is a jackpot.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————