Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 438

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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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“Let us conclude the awards ceremony here.”

As Albert Crossman gestured to an official, the orchestra began playing music from that very moment.
The Crown Prince looked toward the video communication device and the nobles as he spoke.

“Today is a joyous occasion, so I hope that all of you—whether in the plaza or within this hall—truly enjoy this moment.”

The nobles, who had been bowing their heads, avoided Alberu’s gaze with expressions of speechlessness.

‘Enjoy? Truly? Does he think that’s even possible?’
‘…This is bad.’

Cheerful and refreshing music echoed through the hall, yet the atmosphere within remained strangely subdued.

“My presence would only hinder your enjoyment, so I shall take my leave.”

The Crown Prince told the nobles to be at ease as he headed toward the entrance of the banquet hall. All present attempted to see him off with their full attention, but Alberu declined them all.

Yet the nobles could not relax.
There was one person who followed behind the departing Alberu. Moving like a shadow as though it were the most natural thing, this person stood beside the Crown Prince as an equal at his gesture.

The fact that the Crown Prince permitted someone to stand beside him as an equal meant they shared an exceptionally close bond and that the Crown Prince was showing a form of respect toward them.

“…So that’s Choi Han.”

One noble frowned as he watched the Crown Prince and Choi Han standing beside him.

The Crown Prince and Choi Han, who would be known as his teacher from today onward, stood close together and conversed with one another.
However, their conversation was drowned out by the orchestra’s music, which continued even after the Crown Prince’s departure, and thus remained inaudible to the nobles.

Ilan Marquis, who led the Southeast Region noble faction of the Roan Kingdom, was also watching the Crown Prince and Choi Han. At that moment, a count from the same faction approached him and spoke in a grave tone.

“…The two of them appear to share a very close relationship.”

Choi Han had now become someone whom even nobles referred to as “that person.”
In Ilan Marquis’s eyes were reflected Alberu’s relaxed smile and Choi Han’s face bearing a calm yet faint smile.

They truly seemed close.

“Marquis, are you truly certain this is acceptable?”

The Marquis closed and opened his eyes slowly at the Count’s words.
It was not acceptable.
The Aylan Marquis House had gained nothing from this war’s outcome—how could it possibly be acceptable?

‘…Yet I lack grounds to refuse.’

The Aylan Marquis of the Southeast and Duke Orsena of the Central region had attempted in every way to oppose elevating the Heniatus Count Family to a Duchy.

‘…Already, the Sten Marquis House and the Geyler Duchy Family stood with the Heniatus Count Family.’

This was not a struggle between the Crown Prince and the nobility—it was fundamentally a battle of three against two.

‘No, perhaps this was truly a power struggle between the Heniatus Count Family and the Aylan and Orsena Houses.’

And they had lost.
The Aylan Marquis glanced at Duke Orsena, who could not hide his grave expression, and recalled the words Crown Prince Alberu had spoken to him in secret.

‘Marquis Aylan. Do you wish to abandon something greater merely to preserve power within this Roan Kingdom?’

The future king had called the power within the Roan Kingdom ‘merely this.’

‘The Indomitable Alliance, the Mogur Empire, the Caro Kingdom, the Breck Kingdom, and the news transmitted from the Eastern Continent. You understand, don’t you? Or are you ignorant?’

The Aylan Marquis had also heard the rumors spreading across the Western Continent.

That every incident occurring on the Western Continent this year possessed a hidden mastermind, and that this mastermind sought to plunge the Western Continent into chaos.
That Kale Heniatus was rushing about to prevent it.

‘Have you closed your ears, shut your eyes, and ceased thinking?’

The Aylan Marquis recalled those cold eyes that had looked down upon him. Those eyes had spoken.
Think clearly.

‘Kale Heniatus is not alone. He has already built his own faction—something neither the Aylan Marquis nor I could ever possess.’

Look at reality.
Do you still see Kale Heniatus of the Heniatus Count Family as merely a young master of a noble house?

‘If you wish to stake everything on preserving this petty power, then simply remain silent and still. You are quite an intelligent person, are you not?’

Ilan Marquis, whom the Crown Prince had called intelligent, now realized that Kale Heniatus had become someone beyond his ability to control.
Of course, if all the nobles were to band together and attempt to suppress Kale Heniatus, it might be possible.

But if that were to happen, Kale Heniatus might simply leave for somewhere else entirely.

“…We can’t let him slip away, can we?”

That was unacceptable.

“Marquis?”
“It’s nothing.”

He shook his head dismissively at the Count’s words and simply observed the intimate conversation between Choi Han and Alberu.

Many eyes were watching those two.
One of them belonged to Kale.

“When did those two become so close?”

No matter how I looked at it, the atmosphere between Choi Han and Alberu seemed quite good.

-Human! That’s not Choi Han acting! If Choi Han were acting like that, I wouldn’t be able to overlook it!

So then.
I figured the two of them would manage their conversation on their own and turned my gaze away.
At that moment, Choi Han and Alberu were engaged in a quiet conversation.

“Master, you should enjoy the banquet at your leisure as well.”
“But shouldn’t I see off my disciple who is departing first?”

Alberu smiled gently, and Choi Han’s expressionless face was graced with a faint smile.

“Hmm, a teacher?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I heard our teacher can’t act.”
“So it seems.”

Alberu fell silent with a smile before turning to Choi Han with a question.

“Will you really take me on as your disciple?”
“…Please accept it.”

Choi Han withdrew a small bundle of paper from his uniform and offered it to Alberu.

“What is this?”

Alberu regarded Choi Han with genuine bewilderment, and Choi Han erased the faint smile from his face, speaking in a blunt tone.

“I teach swordsmanship quite well.”

Alberu’s smile vanished, replaced by an expression of utter astonishment. He glanced through the paper bundle carelessly.
A few basic sword forms were sketched upon it—drawn by Choi Han’s own hand, it seemed.

‘Is he truly going to teach me?’

Does he genuinely intend to become my sword master?
Alberu had never actually had a teacher before. The closest thing to one was Tasha, but she was family.

A blunt voice reached Alberu’s ears.

“You should at least know how to protect yourself, shouldn’t you?”

Alberu tore his gaze from the paper and fixed it upon Choi Han, scrutinizing every nuance of his expression to discern the intent behind his words.
As he observed, Alberu finally let out a soft chuckle.

“Teacher, I’m quite skilled with a sword, you know?”
“Not as much as I am.”
“So you want me to learn?”
“Learning is worthwhile. Living long without injury is best.”

Alberu burst into genuine laughter. The nobles standing at a distance watched him even more intently, yet he paid them no mind, his gaze fixed upon Choi Han.

“Birds of a feather flock together, it seems.”

He tucked the bundle of papers into the inner pocket of his jacket.

“Well then, Master, do stay and enjoy some pleasant time with my younger brother.”

Choi Han gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

“…I will convey all the messages you wished me to deliver.”
“Yes, yes. Master, teach me some swordsmanship later, will you?”

Choi Han and Alberu’s eyes met.
A radiant smile bloomed across Alberu’s face as his voice flowed forth.

“Truly.”
“Of course, my student.”

Choi Han offered a wry smile, and Alberu departed the banquet hall alone with a parting remark about how “we’re quite the family, aren’t we?” The Knights and Servants waiting outside followed in his wake.

Choi Han watched him go, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
He caught sight of the eyes of the nobles fixed upon him.

‘A plaything? No. A treasure, perhaps?’

Despite the covetous gleam in their eyes—as if they beheld some newfound treasure—Choi Han’s expression remained utterly unmoved.
He exchanged nods with Merry, Tasha, and the Mage Battalion Commander before seeking out one particular person.

And there, at last, he spotted someone shuffling along with a plate heaped full of desserts cradled in both hands.

Choi Han quietly followed in that direction.

* * *

-Human! Once I finish all of this, it’s mine, right? Mine?

Yes, yes.
Kale Heniatus nodded and made his way toward the terrace in the corner of the second floor.

“…Um—”

I turned my gaze toward the voice. In that instant, the nobleman who had been reaching toward me fell silent.

‘Why does this person’s aura feel like this?’

He involuntarily shrank back under the weight of my gaze as I stared at him.
It was the kind of feeling one might experience if they were facing a dragon’s cold, piercing eyes—an aura so formidable that it was difficult to approach me casually.

‘…Just moments ago, he looked like a nobleman with nothing to do!’

Yet now that he was face-to-face with me, I truly embodied the legendary ‘Silver Prince’ and ‘Silver Hero’.

“Is something the matter?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”

At the sound of my cold, sharp voice—as if I were pressing a dagger against his throat—the nobleman hastily withdrew his extended hand and retreated.

I then released my icy gaze and continued on my way.

-Human! You look a bit more intimidating today too!

Cloaked in a commanding aura, I moved forward at a leisurely pace, letting Raon’s words pass through one ear and out the other.

Once I had departed, the nobleman finally noticed his fingertips trembling and exhaled in relief. A friendly nobleman approached him, patted his shoulder, and offered reassurance.

“Up close, the hero is certainly different.”
“Indeed. That aura is… just like—”

Just like a sovereign.
But pride prevented him from voicing such words. His colleague, sensing the need to shift the mood, pointed elsewhere.

“Let’s not waste energy on someone we can’t possibly approach. Instead, let’s target those we can actually reach.”

In the direction pointed by his close friend’s hand, people from the Heniatus Count Estate—no, the Seca Estate—and the Northeast Nobles came into view.

“Let’s aim for others instead of recklessly provoking the hero and inviting trouble. What do you think?”
“Sounds good.”

The two nobles headed toward the Northeast Nobles, who were at the center of the banquet.
The same applied to the other nobles, so they failed to notice Merry and Tasha gradually slipping out of the banquet hall.
Only the people in the Plaza watching the video communication relay noticed this situation.

Most simply lamented Merry and Tasha’s departure without paying much attention to it.

“Let’s enjoy ourselves and eat to our hearts’ content today!”
“Right! The Crown Prince gave us free food, didn’t he?”
“Hahahaha! What a wonderful day! I never thought such a day would come!”

Everyone was too busy savoring this moment.
Yet there were those who quietly slipped away from the Plaza, the very center of this jubilation.

Two figures with hoods pulled deep over their heads weaved through the passing crowds, heading toward the outskirts.

“Berow.”

One person whispered to their companion beside them.

“What do you think?”

The eyes of Bear King Sayehr beneath the hood turned toward the White Star, whose face was concealed by the hood.

“I’m not sure.”
“You’re deliberating between Northwestern Roan and the Caro Kingdom right now, aren’t you?”

The White Star said nothing, and Sayehr fell into contemplation as if no answer was needed.

They had hurried to the Roun Kingdom Capital today after hearing that the merit ceremony would be displayed on video in the Plaza.
Of course, evading the gaze of Roan Kingdom soldiers was nothing to them.

Sayehr muttered to himself, organizing his thoughts.

“Hmm, Kale Heniatus would definitely think we’d find a way to watch this video communication relay no matter what. But we’re revealing ourselves in Roan?”

It was strange.

“…It seems like they deliberately orchestrated this to turn our attention toward Roan?”

At that moment, Sayehr and the White Star’s eyes met.
The White Star opened his mouth.

“The Land of Death. You’ve sent an illusionist to the entrance of that desert, haven’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Then we should head there as well.”

Sayehr asked with a sly smile.

“Why?”
“You saw it yourself.”

The White Star turned his head toward the location of the video communication device screen as he spoke.

“Choi Han, the Dark Elves, the Necromancer, even Kale Heniatus. They’ve all left the banquet. They summoned us to Roan—”
“So they’re planning to reach the Caro Kingdom first while we’re distracted and gain strength there?”

Soon, Sayehr and the White Star vanished from the Capital.
And on the second floor of the palace where the banquet hall was located.
A secluded corner where the video communication device couldn’t reach.

Thud.

-Huh? Human! It seems someone is trying to enter!

Raon hurriedly wiped the chocolate cream from his mouth with Kale’s handkerchief, and I pulled back the terrace curtains while unlocking the door.

Whoosh.
As the curtains parted, Choi Han slipped through the gap of the opened terrace door.

“Kale Heniatus.”

He looked into my eyes and asked.

“Will the White Star come to the Land of Death?”

Crunch, crunch.
I nodded while eating a cookie.

“Yes.”
“Then shall we go as well?”

Scrape.
I rose from my chair. On the table placed on the terrace, besides the desserts I had brought, there lay other things as well.

A map of the Northwestern Region of Roan Kingdom and materials on the Northwestern nobles.
And finally. A letter from the Dark Elf Market Leader that Tasha had delivered this morning with an urgent expression.

【This is an urgent report!】
【In two days, starting tomorrow, that period will arrive in the Land of Death for four days.】
【We only observed it today. Since it is urgent news, I am delivering it directly through Tasha.】

That period.
The reason the Dark Elves established their settlement underground in the Land of Death.
In the desert covered by black sand, dead mana in the form of smoke rose irregularly once or twice a year.

In two days, the Land of Death will be shrouded in dead mana smoke.

【We have evacuated all residents and completed all preparations, but will it be possible to execute the plan?】

I tucked the letter into my breast pocket, committing the Dark Elf Market Leader’s final sentence to memory.

【As you know, those without dark attribute cannot even breathe freely in the desert during that period.】
【Young master, will you be able to fight?】

I looked at Choi Han and opened my mouth with a gentle smile.

“Shall we sever the White Star’s right arm?”

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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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