Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 424

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

Raon’s pupils trembled.
With his mouth agape, he fluttered his wings blankly. Hong was no different. His eyes wide as saucers, he remained perfectly still.

Not a single soul dared to speak first.

‘…Good heavens.’

Rosalind found her hand rising to cover her mouth.

Without warning, Kale Heniatus opened his eyes.
With a vacant expression, he pushed himself upright and leaned against the bed frame, then suddenly tears began streaming down his face.

Tears fell in droplets, one after another, quite literally.

His expression remained blank, as impassive as always, yet tears fell one by one. Rosalind wondered if she were dreaming.

Kale Heniatus.
What manner of person was he?
Rosalind had never imagined he would display such a sight.

Even if he were to cry, she would have expected him to do so in anger or irritation. That was the image she would have conjured.

‘…But this—!’

Such a sight!
Rosalind lowered her hand from her mouth, only to realize her fist had clenched tight. She felt compelled to say something.
That was when it happened.

“…Why am I crying? I’m not sad.”

Kale spoke thus, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he offered a smile.

Rosalind’s fist rose to cover her mouth once more.
The smile he had forced upward appeared sorrowful.

A man whose complexion was already ashen, smiling with such melancholy while tears streamed down his face—it left her speechless. She glanced around at the others.

On, Hong, and Raon all went rigid, their pupils trembling visibly—they appeared quite startled. Erhafen, seated on the sofa, wore an equally shocked expression, while Merry froze mid-action, her cookie suspended before her lips as she had been saying “one must eat,” her words left unfinished.
Servant Ron abandoned his benevolent smile, his face hardening instead.

And finally, Choi Han came into view.

‘Hmm?’

His expression was distinctly different from the rest of the group.
With a face that was considerably complex and burdened with thought, Choi Han stood with his arms crossed, quietly observing Kale.
That was when it happened.

“D-did you, human, have a nightmare? Did you have one?”

Raon stammered as he hurried to Kale’s side and settled onto the bed.

‘What?’

Rosalind could see Choi Han exhale softly at the word nightmare. He shook his head slightly, then let out a small, helpless chuckle.
Then his gaze met Rosalind’s.

‘What is it?’

Her lips moved in silent question, and though Choi Han waved his hand as if to deny it, Rosalind was certain something was amiss.
Yet she had no opportunity to press him further.

“One must eat.”

Holding a basket of cookies, the figure in the black robe swept past Rosalind with a whoosh, heading straight for the bed.
Thump.
The basket, brimming with cookies, was placed upon the bed.

“When one is sad, one must eat. Eating is what remains. When hungry, one becomes sad. When sad, one becomes hungry.”

Merry rattled off these words in rapid succession, then pressed a cookie into Kale’s hand. Rosalind had never witnessed such proactive determination from Merry before.

“…I’m not sad, though?”

Kale blurted out flatly, his expression as stolid as ever.

“I’m not falling for it! You stupid human!”
“Don’t fall for it! You can’t cry!”

Raon and Hong shouted urgently at Kale Heniatus.

“…Sigh.”

Kale was exasperated. That was when it happened.
Pat, pat.
I could see On’s expression as she gently tapped the back of my hand that wasn’t holding the cookie. The way she nodded as if she understood everything made my face contort even more.

‘No, I’m really not sad, I’m telling you.’

I meant it sincerely.
To the point where I felt I could gradually unearth the buried memories now, my heart had found peace.

I looked down at my hand, sticky from the melted chocolate embedded in the cookie, and opened my mouth.

“Rosalind, how much time has passed?”

Then I lifted my gaze to look at Rosalind but stopped short when I saw her clenched fist.

“Raon.”

But Rosalind called out calmly to Raon, and Raon fluttered his wings excitedly as he shouted.

“A new record! He was unconscious for 20 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 19 seconds!”
“…What?”
“He was unconscious for almost 3 weeks!”

…What?
3 weeks?
Hadn’t my longest unconsciousness so far been around 2 weeks?
But 3 weeks?

A sudden thought struck me, and I immediately spoke.

“What happened to the airship and the Capital?”

And what about the other matters? What about cleaning up after the Northern Alchemy Tower?
He looked urgently at Rosalind before stopping short.

“Ah, it seems Young Master Kale quite enjoys this work.”
“What? I don’t like it at all?”

Rosalind opened her mouth with a sigh.

“The Capital airship is—”

Click.
But the moment her lips parted, the door swung open and two figures appeared.
One of them was Vicross.

“Choi Han, I tried making that pajeon you mentioned, but is this right…?”

What?
What did he just say?
Pajeon?
…There’s scallions here?
Kale doubted his own ears, and Vicross, whose eyes met his, couldn’t finish his words properly. He held a plate containing a dish he’d never made before in one hand while rubbing his eyes with the other.

“Am I seeing things?”

Young Master Kale Heniatus with tears on his face.
No tears had actually fallen, but anyone could see it was the face of someone who had been crying.
It was a sight he hadn’t witnessed since Kale was very young.

“I should probably wash my face first.”

With those words, Vicross left again, plate in hand. Kale stared after him in bewilderment, but soon he could see a pure, innocent face approaching with what looked like genuine tears forming.

“Oh! Young Master!”

It was Saint Jack.
He approached the bed where Kale lay without even properly adjusting his fluttering priest’s robes, and clasped his hands tightly together.

“Are you awake? These tears—could it be that you’re in pain?”

Kale Heniatus found himself momentarily speechless when asked with such genuine sincerity. He much preferred dealing with someone like Vicross.

“No, my body is not in pain.”
“I see. That’s a relief. And Young Master, thank you so much!”

Saint Jack bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Fortunately, we arrived at the Capital in time, and thanks to Rosalind and Erhafen, we were able to raise a shield. After that, we managed to destroy the airships one by one from outside the shield!”

Saint Jack continued speaking rapidly, his words brimming with gratitude and emotion.

“And then, just in time, you, Choi Han, and Raon arrived, and suddenly all the airships began to retreat. I considered pursuing them for a counterattack, but the enemies dropped one airship over the Capital and detonated it, so I had no choice but to focus on protecting the Capital rather than giving chase!”

Oh, Jack really does explain things well?
Besides, even if I wanted to pursue them, with Rosalind and Erhafen maintaining a shield over the Capital to withstand the explosion of the airship, it was better not to chase recklessly.
Pursuing without a mage would have been far too risky.

I listened quietly as Saint Jack explained the situation in the Capital.

“After focusing on defending the Capital for about another day, I went to the Northern Alchemy Tower and found everyone had fled. Ah, but judging by the wreckage of airships and golem remains scattered about, it seems we certainly dealt them a significant blow!”

Yes, I see.
His explanation, delivered with such genuine joy, was quite pleasant to hear.

“And we completely destroyed the Four Directional Alchemy Towers. Of course, we salvaged what we could, including alchemy-related documents.”

As I nodded, I noticed Saint Jack’s eyes glistening with tears.

“It’s all thanks to your help and sacrifice, Young Master, and everyone else’s. While you were unconscious, how much… how much I…”

Hmm… this is awkward.
I found it difficult to face Jack when he was like this.

“Really, I’m so glad you’ve awakened. Now I can finally get some rest!”
“Well, yes. Thank you for your concern, Jack.”

I quickly ended the conversation with Jack. Behind him, I caught sight of Rosalind grinning widely.

‘No explanation needed, is there?’

At that look, Kale Heniatus nodded and opened his mouth.

“But if three weeks have passed—”
“Are you worried about the North?”

Kale’s eyes met Erhafen’s as he sat on the sofa. Erhafen took a sip of tea before speaking.

“Clophe went to the North. I’ve also made contact with the Whale Tribe. Those children, Taylor and Kaige, discussed the future with Ron, and they said they would complete the ancient documents.”

Kale recalled what Erhafen had said last time.

‘Come to the Capital quickly, in your right mind.’

But unfortunately, far from being in his right mind, he had set a record for the longest unconsciousness. With dimmed eyes, Kale absently bit into a cookie.
Crunch.
The cookie crumbled, and Erhafen continued.

“Tasha doesn’t know exactly why she was called, but after hearing about the ancient document forgery case and the events that will unfold in Whale Tribe Land, she has a rough idea and said she would return to her hometown to prepare.”

Kale felt a peculiar sensation.
That feeling flowed directly from Erhafen’s words.

“You don’t need to do everything yourself. There are many capable people.”

Kale could feel Erhafen’s intent clearly—that he shouldn’t create situations where he collapsed alone.
Crunch, crunch.
Silently, Kale ate only the cookies. Then he opened his mouth.

“I should head to the North.”

Erhafen, Rosalind, and Ron all nodded at those words.

They had missed the Bear King and the Lion King, and in a sense, they had taken a blow.
Now, conversely, they needed to land a blow against the White Star.

That opportunity would unfold in the North soon.
Though Kale’s unconsciousness had cost them three weeks, leaving only one week of the month he had originally planned.

‘The others have prepared well too.’

That would be the way to go.
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth.

Let’s head north.

Those were the words he was about to say.
But he couldn’t.

“Kale Heniatus.”

Hmm.
Kale Heniatus’s mouth snapped shut.
Choi Han approached and spoke to Kale Heniatus.

“Don’t you have something you wanted to discuss?”
-That’s right, human! You said you’d tell me too! You forgot for a moment because the human was crying!

Ugh.
An awkward smile played at Kale Heniatus’s lips.

-Human! Why are you smiling like that again? Oh, right! I’m researching pajeon with Vicross for Choi Han! He said it’s similar to pie, and I’m curious about the taste!

Damn it.
As Raon’s cheerful voice echoed in my mind, Korean dishes lined up one after another in my thoughts.
But there was an even more unavoidable situation right before my eyes.

In Mogur, Crown Prince Adin’s bedroom where Kale Heniatus always stayed.
Kale Heniatus looked around the bedroom and spoke to his companions.

“There is something I need to discuss with Choi Han alone.”

* * *

Kale Heniatus quietly observed Choi Han, who sat in a chair he had brought near the bed.

‘No one nearby can hear us!’
‘The Black Dragon’s soundproofing magic is amazing! No one outside will be able to hear!’
‘Unless you’re like me and can hear the Wind Spirits’ voices, it’s impossible. I have something to say. For destruction.’

Only after receiving confirmation from the Wind Spirits did Kale release the golden spinning top from his hand.
Raon tilted his head in confusion, looking between Choi Han and Kale. Now only the three of them remained in the bedroom.

Choi Han lifted his gaze from the floor, as if uncertain what to say. His eyes met Kale’s, and Kale’s mouth opened.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Rok-soo, a friend of Choi Jung-soo, sir.”

And he bowed respectfully.

Choi Han’s mouth fell open, and Raon’s eyes widened.
A brief silence settled over them, and Choi Han slowly spoke.

“Such formal greetings feel awkward and unnecessary… you know.”
“I understand.”

Kale, with his usual blunt expression, spoke curtly—though his eyes seemed somehow clearer than usual.

“I just felt like I needed to do this once.”

Right, exactly. No matter how rude people say I am, I’ve always been naturally courteous.
No matter how rude people say I am, I’ve always been the type to greet people cheerfully.

“Ha, ha ha-”

With Choi Han letting out a dumbfounded laugh, a conversation between Kim Rok-soo and Choi Han began for the first time.

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