Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 443

—————

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

—————

The raven fixed its gaze upon the unconscious small mouse held in Choi Han’s hand. The raven that had been perched on Kale Heniatus’s shoulder drew closer to examine it carefully.

“The Illusionist seems to be controlling the mouse.”

The moment Gashan’s confident voice reached his ears, Choi Han set down the unconscious mouse and drew his sword.

Screech, screech!
The ground within the alley was torn asunder. Choi Han furrowed his brow with each thrust of his blade into the earth. When his sword penetrated the ground beyond a certain depth.

‘…There’s a passage!’

A small underground passage. He sensed an empty space large enough for small creatures like mice to traverse. Choi Han frantically overturned the earth. He pushed all his senses to their absolute limit.

Squeak, squeak—
A faint sound reached his ears.
Choi Han turned his head. The dark alley. In that shadowed corner of the wall where even Choi Han, concealed within the darkness, would have overlooked it.

Squeak, squeak, squeak!
He caught sight of a small mouse fleeing, its eyes meeting his.
His gaze swept not only across the ground he had been examining, but across the alley, over the walls, and throughout the Dubori Territory.

‘…I’m in the White Star’s palm!’

That small mouse could be anywhere else.
He could not know where it was hiding, observing them.

‘From where? From when have I been under surveillance?’

Choi Han felt his skin crawl.

Had he been watched by that mouse since arriving in the Dubori Territory?
Or had he been observed even earlier, before arriving in the territory?

‘Yengen City, where I met Prince Valentino. Could that western vibration I felt there also be the work of the Illusionist?’

Until now, Choi Han had known the White Star was powerful, yet strangely, the White Star had not seemed so terrifying. It had felt like an enemy he could capture at any moment.

‘Why did I ever think that way?’

The White Star and his subordinates were never opponents to be taken lightly.

Until now, the White Star had clashed with Choi Han’s group quite frequently, yet it always felt as though he kept himself submerged beneath the surface.
Even the matter with Mogur—he had merely positioned Imperial soldiers at the forefront.

But now, here in Dubori of the Caro Kingdom, the White Star made no attempt to conceal himself, revealing his presence without restraint.
His power, influence, and abilities had surfaced from the depths, weaving a suffocating web around Choi Han.

‘…This is troublesome.’

Only now did Choi Han feel the weight of genuine danger.

‘I didn’t realize I was caught in the web until I was already ensnared.’

From the moment I stepped into this small city where the Lord’s Castle stood—no, from the moment I arrived in Dubori Territory, in the Caro Kingdom—I had been caught in the White Star’s web, moving within his grasp.

Caw, caw.
Choi Han realized that amidst the crows’ cries, not a single human voice could be heard.

‘Even Kale Heniatus is silent.’

When neither Gashan nor Kale Heniatus spoke, the danger of the situation became palpable. His gaze turned toward his silent lord.

“…Kale Heniatus?”

Choi Han saw Kale Heniatus smiling silently. Their eyes met.
In that moment, Choi Han understood why he had underestimated the White Star. Whenever he felt alarmed by the White Star’s power, there was always someone smiling as if nothing were amiss.

“Choi Han, there’s no one around us now, correct?”

At Kale Heniatus’s question, Choi Han closed his eyes. A swordsman’s keen senses expanded to their fullest, and soon he opened them again.

“There is no living creature besides us.”

Not beneath the ground, not in the alleys—nowhere did the Illusionist’s rats exist.

“Is that so?”

Only then did Kale Heniatus squat down on the ground. The soil that Choi Han had thoroughly overturned. Kale slipped his hand into the soft earth between the dirt particles.

Caw. Caw.
A few crows circled around Kale Heniatus and Choi Han.
When a tiny space emerged where the White Star’s gaze could not reach, Choi Han’s pupils dilated.

Words in the Western Continent’s common tongue were etched into the ground.

【Choi Han, Gashan. They won’t be able to see this.】

There are no rats nearby. Then they won’t be able to see these characters.
Swiftly. Kale Heniatus’s hand erased the characters he had written in an instant. Then he began carving new words into the soil.

【Bring your friends here right now.】

Friends?
The crow looked at Kale Heniatus with a bewildered gaze, but Kale Heniatus shook his head. Choi Han, whose face bore an incomprehensible expression, was also visible, but Kale Heniatus continued writing the characters.

Bring your friends here at once.
And.

【Go to the Desert and tell your friends about our situation.】

Choi Han’s hand moved.

【Kale Heniatus, to whom are you giving orders?】

Who are you instructing right now?
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth while meeting that gaze.

“The White Star was quite clever.”

Swiftly. The characters on the ground vanished instantly, covered by soil.

“He created fire through illusion and made us rush over in surprise. He separated Raon and me with mana disruption, and hid his ears in various places.”

Both my location and Choi Han’s, and Gashan’s existence as well.
Everything had been discovered by the White Star.

“Hmm.”

Yet there was one power of mine that the White Star did not know about. My grip tightened around the golden spinning top.

‘Yes! I’ll be back soon!’
‘I’ll leave one behind. I think it’s better to keep this one by your side.’
‘Chaos, destruction. I am beside you.’

A gust of wind swept past me and shot skyward.

“Choi Han, you heard what the soldiers said earlier, didn’t you?”

Our eyes met.

“Yes, I did.”

The soldiers had said, ‘Today the Lord will be hosting an honored guest, and a magnificent banquet will unfold!’

“What will you do?”

Gashan’s voice came from the raven.

“First—”

I closed my mouth. My gaze turned toward Choi Han. Just as confusion flickered across his face, I quickly wrote letters on the ground again.

【Gashan, with an Illusionist this strong, enchanting people would be child’s play, wouldn’t it?】

Once I confirmed the raven nodding, I immediately wrote new letters below.
As the raven read through the letters, it took flight from my shoulder into the sky.

Caw caw.
The ravens all departed from my side at once.
Choi Han swiftly covered all the letters I had left with dirt, erasing the traces. I gestured in a direction, and the two of us moved with careful steps.

That direction led toward the Lord’s Castle, where the magnificent banquet was to be held today.

* * *

Dubori Territory.
Situated beside the Land of Death, one of the mysterious regions, it was regarded as an unremarkable fiefdom that people from other areas rarely visited.

“Hahahaha! Who would have thought such a day would come!”

The Knight raised his wine glass high, dressed not in armor but in an elegant formal robe.
Clink!
The glass collided with another, producing a clear, crystalline sound.

“Indeed, sir. It’s wonderful not having to stand guard for once! And getting to wear new formal robes!”

The subordinate Knight’s mouth stretched wide as he gazed at his new formal attire. He continuously adjusted his newly acquired robes. A golden badge bearing the Dubori Territory insignia was pinned to his collar.

“Exactly! I wonder where the Lord found such exceptional people.”

The Knight nodded in agreement with his subordinate’s words and took a sip of wine. His gaze drifted subtly toward the center of the hall where they stood.

He could see those standing beside the incompetent Lord—a man full of greed with no intention of actually leading the territory. They were talented individuals the Lord had brought several days ago, and today was the banquet held to welcome them.

“Goodness, such a magnificent banquet being held in Dubori!”

And it was a banquet where all the Knights, Mages, and territorial administrators participated!
Elaborate chandeliers, expensive wines, and exquisite food that was both beautiful to behold and delightful to taste!

“Heh, to think I’d experience such luxury after endlessly guarding the entrance to the Land of Death.”

His subordinate nodded in agreement at his words.
The two men were Knights who guarded the City Wall at the entrance leading toward the Land of Death.

“Summoning everyone for a banquet like this—the Lord must be quite generous!”

The man listening to his subordinate’s words let out a dry chuckle. The Lord generous?

“…It’s not the Lord’s generosity. It’s these newcomers who are truly generous.”

Greed gleamed in the eyes of the Knight observing the three figures standing beside the Lord.

Not only had they funded the entire banquet, but the new soldiers and Mages protecting the territory were all brought by these three people standing beside the Lord.

‘…Why did those people come to Dubori Territory? I can’t understand what the Lord showed them that made those three want to serve under him. It’s strange.’

Keeeee—
A sharp ringing sound suddenly pierced the air, and the Knight clutched his ears.

“Ugh.”
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“No. No, it’s nothing.”

The Knight shook his head. The Dubori Territory badge on his formal attire flashed red for a moment before fading. In that instant, his pupils grew hazy, then quickly returned to normal.

“Are you truly all right, sir?”
“Of course. We’re holding such a grand welcome celebration in our territory—shouldn’t we enjoy it? Kahahaha!”

As the Knight laughed, all thoughts of the three newcomers to the territory had vanished from his mind.
He raised his wine glass.
Tink.

“Hmm?”

A small stone fragment fell into his wine glass. The Knight furrowed his brow and looked up. Behind the ornate chandelier, he could see the dilapidated ceiling of the banquet hall.

“Tsk, we really should have the ceiling repaired. Where are these fragments coming from?”
“I’ll have a fresh glass brought to you at once, sir!”

As his subordinate quickly replaced it with a new glass, the atmosphere brightened once more.

‘That was close.’

Above the dilapidated ceiling, the shoulders of the hidden figure tensed.
The one who had drilled the small hole to observe the hall froze, then flinched.

‘Can’t you do this properly?’

Kale Heniatus, crouched in the darkness, glared at Choi Han with a fierce expression. Choi Han, who had been drilling the hole, erased the aura from his fingertip and offered an awkward smile.
Kale Heniatus shook his head slowly, his mouth twitching. A small candle flickered in the darkness.

‘Choi Han, there are no rats, right?’

Choi Han nodded.

‘Yes, there are no rats in the ceiling.’

Phew.
Kale Heniatus finally let out a sigh, stretched his legs, and sat down properly.

‘These… rats!’

Kale Heniatus looked absolutely dreadful.
He was covered head to toe in dust and dirt as if he’d rolled through every speck of grime in existence.

‘I never knew avoiding rats could be this exhausting!’

Infiltrating the Lord’s Castle while evading the rats scattered throughout Dubori Territory had proven to be an arduous task for me.

‘Raon… Raon was truly remarkable.’

If only I’d had Raon’s invisibility magic, I could have moved freely—whether by flying through the air or walking through the front entrance.
Kale Heniatus grimaced as he recalled those grueling hours spent crawling around like a new recruit named Kim Rok-soo. His expression twisted even further as he looked at Choi Han.

‘…Why! How is this possible!’

Choi Han looked absolutely immaculate.
Only now did I truly grasp the stark difference between my physical abilities and those of this formidable swordsman.

Tap. Tap.
Choi Han tapped my shoulder and pointed toward a small opening in the ceiling. There were two holes, and I swallowed my sigh before pressing my body flat against the floor.
Then I peered down through one of the openings.

‘Ha!’

A gasp of exasperation nearly escaped me involuntarily.
A lavish banquet was underway below, filled with people reveling in its splendor. I recalled the various chambers I’d passed through in the castle before arriving at the banquet.

‘The Video Communication Room, the magical research chamber, the war council chamber, the teleportation circle.’

All of them were empty.
And the Black Mages were wandering freely throughout the castle.

‘With things having come to this, Prince Valentino won’t be able to reach me, and he’s probably just sitting there happily oblivious.’

All means of contact had already been severed, and with mana disruption blanketing the area, Prince Valentino had likely abandoned any hope of using magic and was now rushing here with the Knights Order.

“Come now, everyone raise your glasses!”

Through a small gap, I could see the Lord lifting his glass.
The Lord of Dubori was openly displaying his joy with a powerful tone.

“Today is a joyous day for Dubori Territory! Look here! These are the talents who will elevate Dubori Territory to the next level!”

The Lord pointed to three people.

‘Heh.’

I let out a dry chuckle.

‘The White Star and the Bear King—’

The familiar white mask and the seemingly frail Bear King were both laughing, dressed in splendid formal attire. My gaze sharpened.

‘Is that person the Illusionist?’

A woman with jade-colored short hair stood between the Bear King and the White Star, smiling.

‘Nothing.’

My expression hardened.

‘…No staff, no talisman, nothing visible!’

Unlike the sorcerer Gashan, no staff was visible. The presumed Illusionist held only a wine glass in their hands.

‘…Did they leave the medium in the underground chamber?’

I hadn’t yet ventured into the underground chamber that the Wind Spirits had shown me. Not only was security overwhelming, but being discovered by the rat would be problematic.
As I bit my lip, I saw the Lord pointing to the White Star.

“Now, before we drink, let our knight Berrow say a few words on behalf of everyone!”

Berrow?
Kale Heniatus recalled the First Dragon Slayer Choi Jung-gun and Neran Berow. When he realized that the White Star, who had abandoned his position as a Dragon Slayer to become the Ancient White Star, was using that name, Kale found it rather amusing.

“Then allow me to say a few words.”

The White Star stepped forward without hesitation.
He raised his glass high and surveyed the audience around him. His gaze swept slowly across the hall before coming to rest on a single point. Then his mouth opened.

“My lord, it seems a rat has arrived.”
“What? What are you talking about!”

Before the lord could even properly react in his surprise.
Two beams of light erupted from the hands of Bear King Sayehr.

Boom! Crash!
The arrows of light pierced through a point on the ceiling where the chandelier hung and exploded.

“Ahhh!”
“What is this!”

People shielded their heads with their hands and fled from the ceiling where the light arrows had struck.

Screech—Crash!
One chandelier snapped instantly and plummeted to the floor.

“Gasp, huff.”
“We… we survived.”

Fortunately, everyone had escaped the falling chandelier and steadied their nerves.
That was when it happened.

“There are two rats, it seems.”

Along with the laughter-filled voice of a woman with short jade-green hair, two figures descended onto the chandelier.
A man with brown hair and a man with light beige hair.

“Ha, haha—”

The White Star laughed and took a step toward the chandelier.

“Kale Heniatus, you look absolutely wretched.”

Dust-covered and grim-faced, I met the White Star’s gaze. My lips had been trembling, but finally I opened my mouth and spoke to him.

“…How did you find my location so easily?”

A sinister smile spread beneath his mask, and someone else answered my question.
Sayehr spoke with amusement coloring his voice.

“You know, there are always rats in the ceiling no matter where you go. But why is there not a single rat in the ceiling here?”

With an expression of pure delight, he pointed at Choi Han and me with his finger.

“You two cleared out the ceiling so you could hide up there, didn’t you? Kuhaha, kahahaha!”

Sayehr’s boisterous laughter filled the banquet hall. The White Star took another step toward Choi Han and me.

Clang!
Choi Han drew his sword and pointed it at him. The White Star looked at Choi Han for a moment, then turned his gaze to me and spoke.

“How does it feel to play in the palm of my hand? I didn’t expect you to actually hide in the ceiling I left empty.”

That was the moment.

“I knew.”

A sinister smile spread across my face.
My rigid expression melted away in an instant.

“I knew you bastards deliberately left the ceiling empty, so I hid up there. Did you think I wouldn’t realize that?”
“…What?”

A golden spinning top was held in my hand.

‘They’ve arrived!’
‘I brought all my friends from the desert!’
‘Chaos and destruction. Now it begins.’

I could see the White Star’s smile beginning to freeze.

“…You deliberately hid yourself?”
“Yes.”

The moment I heard that calm response.

BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!

A tremendous explosion thundered violently against everyone’s ears.

“What is this!”
“Where is that sound coming from…!”

Everyone’s gaze snapped toward the source of the deafening blast. Through the windows of the Banquet Hall. Eyes turned westward.
I turned my head as well.

“They’ve arrived.”

The Wind Spirit’s whisper reached me.

‘While bringing the spirit friends, I also brought the Dark Elves contracted with them! I did well, right?’

To the west.
Massive flames and whirlwinds erupted from the City Wall where the entrance to the Land of Death lay.

—————

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

—————