Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 444

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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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“An, an attack!”

The Lord of Dubori Territory’s eyes reflected the crimson flames. The fire surging up and undulating over the city wall resembled a colossal serpent, threatening to engulf the territory at any moment.

In that instant, Kale Heniatus and White Star’s eyes met.

A soft chuckle.
Beneath the white mask, lips twisted into a smile.

‘What?’

Kale Heniatus’s eyes wavered slightly. The White Star’s expression, which had seemed flustered moments before, instantly became composed—as though the panic had been mere theater. Kale Heniatus’s mind raced as he processed this revelation.
At that moment, a voice filled with fury echoed through the hall.

“How, how dare you—!”

The Lord’s steps gradually directed him toward the western window. The moment his hand touched the window frame.
The window burst open, and the Lord’s wrathful cry pierced the air.

“How dare you attack my territory! What are those things!”

The flames and the whirlwind nearby were visible, but those who had orchestrated the attack remained completely hidden from view.

“Ahhhhh!”
“What, what is this fire?!”
“A curse! A calamity from the Land of Death!”

The residents of the small city, who had returned home after an exhausting day, rushed outside in horror at the sight of the flames, or huddled deeper within their homes, trembling with fear.
An elderly man could not tear his eyes from the fire.

“The, the vengeful spirits of those who fled and perished! Their wrath has finally come to destroy this rotten territory!”
“Death, death is coming!”

Those who reacted to the elderly man’s words turned their angry gazes toward the Lord’s Castle. Yet such anger never reached the Lord within.

“Daring to threaten my land, my possessions?”

There was no trace of fear in the Lord of Dubori’s eyes as he gazed upon the inferno. The territorial badge hanging from his formal attire gleamed with a shallow crimson radiance.

“Berrow!”

His body moved swiftly toward White Star.

“Bring me the one who started that fire—immediately!”
“My Lord, but—”

I could see hesitation etched at the corners of the mouth visible beneath the white mask. The Lord’s gaze snapped toward a single point.

“Knights! Seize those two rats who snuck into this banquet hall and throw them into the Underground Prison!”

The Lord of Dubori pointed accusingly at Kale and Choi Han standing atop the chandelier.

“How dare you attempt to disrupt the banquet of the master of Dubori Territory!”

Clatter, clatter, clatter.
As the banquet hall doors swung open, servants quickly returned the confiscated swords to the knights.

“These two must be the ones who brought those enemies to our doorstep!”

Ching! Clang!
The knights immediately drew their blades and surrounded Kale and Choi Han. Surrounded, Choi Han turned his gaze toward Kale, and he could see Kale slowly surveying the entire banquet hall.

‘Hmm!’

A glimmer of interest flickered across Choi Han’s eyes.
Slowly, Kale unfastened the topmost button of his shirt. Meanwhile, the Lord approached White Star with an expression brimming with fury and confidence.

“Of course! You were right, Berrow! There are those who covet our territory!”
“Indeed, my Lord. These are infiltrators seeking to target Dubori Territory.”

White Star’s finger pointed toward Kale.

‘Me?’

Kale regarded White Star with irritation and bewilderment, but White Star paid no heed. At that sight, I grew tense.

‘There’s definitely something going on. That’s why he’s acting so composed.’

My thoughts grew increasingly tangled. Then, the Lord’s voice reached my ears.

“Sayehr, burn those bastards with your sacred light arrows!”
“Yes, my Lord. I shall gladly obey your command. Those wicked ones deserve punishment.”
“That’s right, exactly right!”

Bear King Sayehr grinned wickedly as he aimed light arrows at me and Choi Han. His expression was one of pure delight at the bewilderment in my eyes.
Meanwhile, the Lord, now brimming with confidence, triumphantly shouted at me and Choi Han.

“If you wish to live, extinguish that fire outside at once!”
“I’d rather not.”

In that instant, everyone in the hall—including the encircling knights—fell silent. Their gazes shifted to the brown-haired man standing atop the chandelier.

“…What did you just…?”

He opened his mouth once more to respond to the Lord’s question.

“I said I’d rather not?”
“You insolent bastard—! Extinguish it at once—”
“No.”

I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at the Lord with an expression of irreverence that far surpassed even the disrespectful smirk I’d worn before Crown Prince Alberu.

“Why should I?”
“…What? How dare you speak to me—”

Whoooosh—
In that moment, I extended my hand, and wind spiraled forth from my palm, engulfing the Lord.

“Ugh, ahhhhh!”

His body shot upward into the air. His new formal robes became disheveled and unsightly. Regardless, as if his confidence had never existed, the Lord reached toward White Star with a face twisted in fear.

“Put me down, put me down! B-Berrow! Put me down!”

However, White Star glanced at the Lord once before turning his gaze toward me.

“That fire isn’t magic, is it?”

At the words pointing toward the towering flames and swirling winds beyond the city wall, I nodded readily in affirmation.

“That’s right. It’s the power my friends wielded.”

To be precise, the Wind Spirits beside me had conveyed my message to the spirits in the desert.

‘Wow! We’re friends? Hehe! Hearing it from your own lips feels wonderful!’
‘Hehe, chaos, destruction, and friendship blooming between them.’
‘Actually, we didn’t do much! The Dark Elves did almost everything!’

Upon hearing that news, the spirits conveyed the message to their contractors, the Dark Elves, and thus the Dark Elves launched their assault on the territory.

“Remarkable. You certainly have a talent for pulling off these unexpected moves no matter what.”

The White Star shook his head as if his head ached.

“Berrow, what are you doing? Put me down at once! Hurry!”

Hearing the lord’s cry, the White Star’s lips curved upward. He gestured toward the lord as he spoke to me.

“But if you lay hands on the lord, won’t relations with the Caro Kingdom become awkward? This fellow has more backing than he appears. Well, I know you’re on quite good terms with Prince Valentino, but…”

The White Star looked at the lord as one might regard trash. A man who treasured only his own possessions and considered his own body most precious.

“Prince Valentino can’t even touch someone who’s this lord’s relative. He’s also someone who controls the political circles of the Caro Kingdom. Who exactly will protect you? I suspect Prince Valentino would simply turn a blind eye?”
“So what?”
“…What?”

I made no effort to hide my weary expression. What was he going on about—whether that lord had backing or not?

‘My backing is Albert Crossman, after all.’

No matter how powerful a Caro Kingdom noble might be, could they compare to the future king of the Roan Kingdom, which had risen as a great power after Mogur fell?
And above all else.
I shrugged my shoulders as I spoke.

“It’s fine. Prince Valentino will believe my words.”

Shouldn’t you have listened to me instead?
A smirk played across Kale’s lips.

Whoooosh—
In that instant, wind enveloped Kale’s entire body. Neither the knights nor the mage could approach easily.

“Damn it, if it’s like this, we can’t get close to those two!”
“Still, surround them! They have nowhere to run!”

Kale paid no mind to the urgent voices of the knights, the wind swirling around him, or the territory administrators who startled once more and hid themselves in the corners of the banquet hall. His gaze remained fixed solely on White Star.

“And what exactly have I done? I haven’t done anything to the territory.”
“What?”

White Star’s eyebrows rose slightly, forming an arc.

“Did those flames consume the territory? Did I attack? I’ve done nothing.”

Kale smiled brightly as he looked at White Star and Sayehr. The Bear King let out a scoff in response.

“Soon those flames will engulf the territory. In the end, it’s your invasion. We are those who protect the lord and the territory. This time, we hold the position you’ve always had.”
“As expected….”

Heh.
Kale spoke with a laugh.

“It seems you didn’t plant rats in Yengen City.”
“…What?”
“Good thing you didn’t.”

Kale found himself laughing. He was curious about how extensively White Star had planted the Illusionist’s rats. But that very statement had answered his question.

Yengen City.
If the Illusionist’s rats were there, they couldn’t have put the lord forward to fight like this.
So the lord has powerful backing?
Even so, it’s still just backing.

White Star, who had been watching Kale, stepped forward and opened his mouth.

“What are you doing, you bastard—”

That was the moment.

Boom. Booom— Boom.

The sound of a drum echoed from outside.
It came from the east. The moment White Star and Sayehr’s gazes turned toward the eastern window, a cry erupted from someone in the hall.

“Why is the kingdom’s drum sounding?”

What?
Sayehr’s pupils trembled.

‘So fast!’

This was undoubtedly the drum announcing the arrival of an important figure dispatched from the kingdom.
The person sent from the kingdom had arrived far sooner than Sayehr had anticipated.

‘It should have taken at least another day or two!’

What was the purpose of installing the mana disruption device? To prevent the kingdom from learning the true situation in Dubori Territory as much as possible, and in the meantime, to draw in Kale and Choi Han to manipulate events.
Yet nothing had been accomplished properly.

‘That means—!’

His gaze immediately shifted to Kale.

‘What trick did that bastard pull!’

Kale, receiving that stare, deepened his smile as he observed Sayehr.

‘There were no illusionist’s rats in Yengen City!’

Because neither White Star nor Sayehr had noticed my meeting with Prince Valentino.
If they wanted to escalate this into a fight, then I could escalate it too.

‘At a timing you never saw coming.’

Could the lord’s backing truly be stronger than the Crown Prince who arrived faster than they anticipated?

‘If you’ve drawn in Choi Han and me, then I shall draw in the Royal Family.’

Boom— thump, thump!
The drum sounds grew steadily closer. Simultaneously, whispers reached my ears.

‘Found it! Strange pillars have been erected at the boundary of Dubori Territory!’
‘Other Wind Spirits told us! There are strange golden pillars at regular intervals along the boundary of Dubori Territory, and red light is emanating from them!’
‘They seem to be creating illusions! That’s what made the desert fire visible from outside Dubori Territory!’
‘There are dozens of massive pillars! But most are buried deep in the ground with only some protruding, so they’re hard to spot!’

The bait that had driven me to rush toward Dubori Territory was an illusion created by dozens of pillars.
In that moment, I had a thought.

The vibration I felt earlier in Yengen City must have been caused by driving those enormous pillars into the ground all at once.

‘But since those pillars were all wrapped in vines, they barely found them! They had to look carefully!’

If dozens of massive pillars were driven deep into the earth simultaneously, wouldn’t that naturally cause tremors in the ground?

‘Or perhaps not? Maybe vibrations of that magnitude wouldn’t occur from something like that?’

Boom— thump!
The drum sound reached my ears once more.
The increasingly closer drum beats reached the eastern City Wall, and the soldiers standing guard began to tremble in both hands.

“…W-why is the Royal Knight Order here?”

The soldier’s pupils reflected the fluttering flag of the Caro Kingdom. The armor pauldrons of the knight bearing that flag gleamed with the emblem of the Royal Knight Order.

“Open the gates at once! It is the command of the Crown Prince!”

At the center of that knight order, Prince Valentino of the Caro Kingdom sat mounted on his horse, his gaze fixed upon the City Wall. His pupils rippled with fury.

“…The desert fire was fake.”

Prince Valentino’s pupils shifted to the side.

“Kale Heniatus is being held captive inside?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”

Prince Valentino turned his gaze away from the elderly man adorned in peculiar garments and symbols, fixing his eyes upon the City Gate.

Creeeeak—thud.
The sealed City Gate swung open with ease, and the Royal Knight Order advanced through it. The sound of hoofbeats echoed toward the Lord’s Castle. The elderly man riding beside Prince Valentino lifted his head.

Caw, caw, caw.
Night had fallen completely, darkness consuming the sky. Crows concealed themselves within the shadows, moving in unison toward the Lord’s Castle of Dubori Territory.
The elderly man—the Tiger Shaman Gashan—opened his mouth.

“Capture every rat.”

Caw, caw, caw.
Hundreds upon hundreds of crows throughout the region began their hunt for rats. Gashan’s gaze turned westward.

Boom! A massive explosion erupted, and towering flames surged skyward.
Beyond the City Wall leading toward the Land of Death, a raging inferno twisted like a crimson serpent across the heavens, hurtling toward the Lord’s Castle.

“Ahhhhh!”
“Run, run! The flames—that fire serpent has engulfed the territory!”

The territory’s inhabitants, who had been hesitating between flight and stillness, erupted into panicked flight at the sight. The flames cutting through the dark night were utterly terrifying.

“Huh?”

Yet several of them halted their desperate flight, gazing upward with bewilderment.

“What are those dark figures?”
“…Who is that—the one guiding the flames?”

Before the fire serpent, a dark figure wrapped in wind appeared to be guiding the serpent forward. Though darkness obscured them from casual notice, those with exceptionally keen eyes could discern the figure passing overhead.

“…An Elf! A Dark Elf!”

A single Dark Elf was guiding the fire serpent with wind. Behind that serpent, more Dark Elves could be seen rushing forward in succession.
And the people realized that the fire serpent was heading toward the Lord’s Castle.
The fire serpent and Dark Elves tore across the sky, yet not a single building within the damaged territory was harmed. They advanced relentlessly, their target solely the Lord’s Castle.

Meanwhile, those at the Lord’s Castle, the destination toward which the fire serpent was heading, also witnessed the massive flame creature.
Additionally, the sound of the Royal Family’s war drums echoed through the air.

“How troublesome. I’ve been caught off guard?”

White Star’s gaze turned toward Kale. The smiling face of Kale was fully reflected in White Star’s eyes.

“B-Berrow!”

The Lord’s desperate cry rang out, and in that instant, White Star swept his hand through the air.
With a sharp crack, the wind extending from White Star’s hand instantly consumed Kale’s wind in a single moment.

“Ugh!”

Thud! The Lord crashed to the ground, his attention consumed by checking his own body. White Star, who had been watching this intently, opened his mouth.

“Begin.”

In that moment, I clenched my fists.
White Star appeared completely at ease. There was definitely something more to this. That’s why, even though I had drawn the Crown Prince into this situation, I couldn’t help but remain tense.

“Kale.”

Choi Han approached close to me and pointed his sword toward White Star.

Clang.
In that moment, the sound of a sword falling rang out. That was the beginning.

‘What is this?’

All the knights in the hall dropped the swords and weapons they held in their hands. The weapons clattered across the floor. Yet they paid no attention.
It wasn’t just them.

“…I have to capture it.”
“…Capture it… capture it.”

The territory administrator, the mage, and even the Lord himself all moved with vacant expressions, identical to the knights.

“Kale.”
“…What is this?”

The Knight, Mage, Administrator, Lord, and Servant all rushed toward Kale and Choi Han, attempting to seize them.
At that moment, the Illusionist’s voice reached Kale’s ears. Red smoke enveloped a woman with a short, jade-colored bob.

“This man is the one who devised this wicked invasion plot.”

That man was me.

“And his companion, regrettably, has been seduced by that villain’s honeyed words and now stands alongside him.”

That companion was Choi Han.

“Righteous people of Dubori, I implore you—save this good man from that wicked one.”

The Knights, Mages, Administrators, and Servants of Dubori had all gathered, making their numbers considerable. They turned toward Choi Han.

“W-we must save him.”
“…We save him. We must… save him.”

I saw not only Knights and Mages, but even a young Servant extending his hands toward Choi Han. A frail Elderly Man approached, insisting that Choi Han must be saved. Everyone surged forward to overwhelm him.
People rushed at Choi Han from all sides.

Choi Han’s bewildered expression reflected in my eyes.

“Kale, shall we make a wager?”

At that moment, the White Star’s voice, tinged with amusement, reached my ears.
Simultaneously, a wall of wind extending from the White Star’s hand filled the hall.

Boom. Boom—
North, south, east, west. Massive walls of wind blocked every window and door. The moment Choi Han and I were trapped, the White Star, looking toward me, continued speaking.

“You are good, so you understand Choi Han’s goodness well. Now then—can Choi Han evade these outstretched hands without letting the frail child and Elderly Man, and all these people, come to harm?”

My face contorted.

“These people are innocent. They were simply deceived by me?”
“No. They fell for my magnificent illusion.”

The Illusionist spoke with a laugh.

“Those people won’t lose consciousness. In an illusory state, unconsciousness is useless. Even if they’re injured, even if their limbs are severed, they’ll keep trying to hold onto him to save Choi Han. So, Kale Heniatus and Choi Han, what will you do?”

I could see the bewilderment in Choi Han’s eyes as they turned toward me. The Illusionist’s voice, tinged with amusement, reached my ears.

“Will you injure them to tear them away? Or will Choi Han surrender himself willingly?”

White Star added his voice.

“One of my objectives this time is Choi Han. I must obtain him. So, what will you do? Kale Heniatus, who even tries to save enemy soldiers.”

My face contorted. I could see Choi Han’s sword wavering helplessly, unable to bring himself to attack the servants and officials.

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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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