Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 456

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

On took in the entirety of the situation before her eyes.

“Sister.”
“Wait.”

Silencing her younger brother Hong with a quiet gesture, On amplified the flow of mist visible only to her own eyes even further.

“Aaaahhh!”
“Don’t push! Everyone’s collapsed in front—it’s a complete mess!”
“Cough. My legs…!”

The mist she amplified, laced with poison, spread ever wider across the landscape, and with each expansion, screams erupted from countless points.

She could not perceive everything occurring across the vast expanse of land. Yet through the mist she had dispersed, she attempted to discern the movements of the people as thoroughly as possible.

‘You two should return to the Eastern Continent for now.’

On recalled the words Kale had spoken to her and her brother.

‘I will make the Fog Tribe pay the price. That is my will, and I will do it without fail.’

The Fog Tribe.
On thought of her own tribe, from which she and Hong had fled. They had denied the existence of the two siblings as mutations, confined them so they could not belong to anyone, and taught them nothing properly. Everything the Fog Tribe should have taught, On and Hong had barely managed to learn through furtive observation alone.
On and Hong had to barely learn everything they needed to know about the Fog Tribe through furtive glances alone, holding their breath the entire time.

Then she heard Kale’s voice continuing.
Then she heard Kale Heniatus speak next.

“I’ll give you a choice. Do you want to witness the Fog Tribe paying the price alongside us?”

Kale Heniatus gave his younger siblings a chance to choose.

“The two of you need to put your heads together and think hard about what choice to make. By the way, it’s probably not going to be a very pleasant sight for young kids like you.”

Though she sensed that Hong wished to broach the topic hesitantly, On believed there was something she needed to do first.
Until now, On had kept her mouth firmly shut and hadn’t had any conversation with her younger brother Hong about that subject.
On noticed that her younger brother Hong seemed to want to bring up that subject, but she thought there was something she needed to do first.

‘I need to become stronger.’

Her eyes gleamed as she gazed into the mist.

‘I cannot return to that place in the same state as before.’

When On had faced the Fog Tribe at the Castle of Light before, she did not wish to return to her homeland—or what might be called hell—in the same condition as then.
As On’s thoughts deepened and her resolve hardened, her eyes grew more intense as she stared into the mist shrouded with screams, and her fur bristled sharply.

“Sister.”

Tap.
At that moment, she felt a warm body heat against her flank.
On turned her head, and Hong grinned at her with a soft chuckle.

“I’m going to do this with you!”

On felt Hong’s weak poison settling upon her mist. The paralysis poison—the weakest among all of Hong’s toxins—was what he had dispersed today.
As the mist spread, the poison seeped through it as well.
Hong looked at his sister with a bright yet resolute gaze as she observed his smiling face.

“I told you not to do this alone, so do it together!”

Another thing Kale Heniatus had said when he gave On and Hong a choice.

‘And if the two of you find it difficult to decide, ask me, Choi Han, Erhafen, Ron—ask any of us. We’ll think it through with you. I’m sure they’d all be happy to help if you ask them instead of me.’

Hong deliberately smiled even more brightly at his sister’s solemn gaze.
When he had faced the Fog Tribe again at the Castle of Light before, Hong had trembled behind On.
Everyone had fought. Even Raon, who was younger than him, had fought hard. Later, Hong had joined in as well, but he could not forget how he had cowered and leaned on his sister before that.

‘…I’m always hiding behind my sister.’

So he had spoken at length with the youngest, Raon, about this issue.

‘It’s okay! That can happen! I’ve been like that too! And the human was like that!’

Raon had said it with absolute confidence.

‘We’re young, so we’re allowed to hide and stand out! I’m great, but I’m young, so it’s okay! As long as we don’t do anything bad!’
‘Is that so?’
‘Yes! We can fight together later! If you’re scared, call everyone together like humans do with video communication! That’s how we overwhelm them with numbers! We have more people!’

Hong couldn’t entirely agree with Raon’s logic, but I felt considerably reassured.
Because now, thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t just my sister On anymore.

Back at the Castle of Light, I had instinctively hidden behind my sister when I saw the Cat Tribe Soldiers, my mind clouded with fear. But now there were so many reliable adults.

‘All three of us are still young, so it’s okay for weak humans too! Even when we grow up, it’s still okay for us!’

Raon accepted and acknowledged those words so easily. But I smiled as brightly as I could toward my sister On, who couldn’t do the same.
Then I pressed my body even closer to my sister. I wanted to be beside her now, not behind her.

Only then did I slowly see my sister On’s eyes become peaceful, and a faint smile bloom across her face. I just wished everyone could smile like this.

At nine years old in human age, the small kitten pressed its body flat against its older sister and opened its mouth while looking straight ahead.

“Sister! Ron and Grandmother Baker are here!”

Through the fog, I could see Ron and Vicross advancing ahead in my sister’s eyes.
My lips naturally curved upward as I watched their retreating figures.

‘My sister already knew!’

Before I could even speak, the fog was already parting the path so that poison wouldn’t touch Ron and Vicross’s way.
I felt proud of my sister On’s superior abilities, and as if in response, I watched Ron and Vicross rushing forward.

“Aaaahhh!”
“The fog—the fog won’t disappear!”

But those who couldn’t see even one meter ahead through the fog couldn’t possibly notice the slightly parted path meant only for Ron and Vicross.
Instead, screams and cries engulfed everything around them—a scene of absolute chaos.

That spectacle was enough to chill the spines of those watching from afar.

“I didn’t know those bastards had abilities of this level?”

Kale Heniatus silently gazed at the distant battlefield despite the voice beside me. Though the fog obscured the forward view, from the way the Mercenary King Bud at the fog’s edge was rapidly issuing orders to his mercenaries, the situation didn’t seem to be going badly.

‘And there’s nothing bad about that either.’

By now, Ron and Vicross should have moved forward, so there was even less reason for anything to go wrong.
Just then, a voice came from beside him again.

“It seems you really don’t intend to show mercy this time.”

When Kale turned his head, he could see the Dragon Hybrid with a pallid complexion between the folds of the hood. His face had grown even worse since they last met.
Yet his sunken eyes remained composed. No—there was even a faint glimmer of vitality in them.
Kale responded to him.

“Why would I show mercy?”

What position was he in to show mercy to Am?
Kale believed he was not in a position to show mercy or withhold it. This battle seemed destined to continue unless one side was completely finished.
Above all else.

“This matter isn’t my responsibility. It’s not something I should be involved in. You think the same way, don’t you?”

Kale’s gaze turned toward Choi Han, and Choi Han, who had been standing silently behind Kale, looked at the building on the cliff from which Vicross had just leaped down and answered.

“I agree with that assessment.”

Kale nodded at Choi Han’s response and turned his attention back to the front.
He had decided to entrust this entire matter to Ron.
It was what needed to be done.

Because.

‘…It’s home.’

Ron and Vicross were returning to the place where they were born and raised for the first time in over a decade.
Kale had resolved to quietly watch over that process.
His gaze gradually expanded its scope, reaching toward the fog that stretched all the way to the Third Perimeter.

And within that fog, the one running forward stared ahead.
Vicross gazed upon his father’s back.

“Krraaagh!”

A scream pierced the air as blood sprayed upward, then fell uselessly through the void.
Crimson droplets dripped from Ron’s dagger. Father pressed forward without sparing a glance at the blood.

It was like that time.
Like when we were fleeing.

Back then, Father had also run forward without looking at anything around him.
Behind him, the family banners hanging from the Main Gate were burning and tearing apart. Some buildings were ablaze and crumbling.
Beside his rushing footsteps lay the cold corpse of a fallen family member.

Yet Father only ran forward.
Vicross, following behind him, understood the reason all too well.

He had to save me.
He had to preserve my life—the promise he made with Mother as she was dying.

That was why Father looked only ahead and ran.

Vicross watched his father’s back once more, running forward with eyes fixed ahead. Unlike before, now I could see what lay beyond Father’s shoulders even as I ran behind him, yet strangely, I could not tear my gaze from Father’s shoulders, which seemed somehow smaller now.

Father, who had lived as the head of the Molan Family, had gone to the Western Continent and done all manner of things, eventually even becoming a Servant.
Yet as a child, I knew Father would go out every night, and following him, I could see him cleaning his dagger.

Naturally, Father caught me.
Even now, I was not strong enough to hide my existence from Father. When our eyes met then, Father said to me:

“Go inside and sleep. You’ll be just as tired tomorrow as you are today.”

At that time, I was just beginning to learn Kitchen work and was struggling with chores. Each day was exhausting and grueling.
But back then, I had a strange feeling that the “tiredness” Father spoke of was not referring to the work I did at the Heniatus Count Estate.

And now, I was beginning to dimly understand what Father meant by “tiredness.”

“I’m not tired at all today.”

Vicross had not slept properly in days, yet I felt no exhaustion. My body was weary, but my heart was trembling more fiercely than ever before.

The Battlefield, shrouded in toxic fog and chaos.
Few existed who could catch the two figures moving swiftly yet discreetly through it.

‘There aren’t many strong ones.’

Just as the Dragon Hybrid had said, I felt no presence of powerful individuals in this Secret Base.

‘The Secret Base where the Molan Family once was primarily served as a place where middle management and lower-level operatives discreetly shared continental intelligence and requests, rather than being a hub for the highest echelons.’

Vicross’s lips twisted upward.
Back then, he hadn’t given it much thought when the Dragon Hybrid said ‘where the Molan Family once was,’ but now, as he returned to the Molan Family Estate, those words grated on him.

‘Once was.’
That couldn’t be right.

Vicross heard his father’s voice from ahead.
It was a voice like a sigh.

“…Finally.”

At the words that escaped unbidden, Vicross’s gaze turned forward.
Following the path the fog had cleared, the Main Gate came into view.
The sturdy wooden door that would normally have been firmly shut with the Molan Family crest engraved upon it now bore the White Star embedded in place of that crest.

Ron, who had been running forward with eyes fixed ahead, felt his breath catch sharply at the sight of that door.

Could I return here again?
I had rehearsed revenge endlessly, yet strangely, I had never once allowed myself to imagine that I could actually return to this place.
I had never even dared to dream it.

And yet I had returned.
Just a little further now, and I would reach the Molan Family Estate.

The place where I was born.
Where my father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, cousins, relatives, countless comrades, and so many others had lived together.
Where I had spent time with my wife, and where my son was born.

Ron’s expression grew increasingly rigid.
He pushed forward once more, gathering strength in his toes.
That was when it happened.

Tap!
Ron watched the figure advancing ahead of him.
It was his son.

“Enemy! An enemy has reached us!”
“Cast magic!”
“We can’t! The fog is too thick—we can’t see where our allies are!”
“Arrows won’t even aim properly! Damn it!”
“Never mind that—just stop that one charging toward us!”

The enemies atop the City Wall watched in bewilderment as Vicross charged toward the massive Main Gate.
Ron stopped in his tracks and gazed at the sight.
For some reason, it felt necessary to witness this moment.

“…Ha!”

And he burst into laughter.
Vicross drew his greatsword. He swung it in a wide arc, aiming it toward the obstruction blocking his path.

Boom!
A tremendous crash echoed out, and Ron saw the White Star shatter beneath his son’s blade.
A gaping hole appeared in the center of the massive Main Gate.

Vicross pushed the Main Gate open with the flat of his sword, its central lock now destroyed.

Creeeeak—
As the gate swung open, Ron caught sight of enemies approaching with expressions mingling desperation and resolve.
Yet above all else, he saw his son’s face first.

Vicross offered a stoic smile and gestured beyond the Main Gate toward Ron.

“Father, I’m home.”
“…Yes.”

Ron answered while gazing at the Central Building’s roof, still standing despite the flames that had once consumed it.

“You’ve come home.”

At last.
At last I had returned home.
I had come to my own home.
I had returned to a place I thought I would never see again.
Over fifteen years, half of Ron’s hair had turned white, and his lips trembled faintly as he watched the approaching enemies and spoke to his son.

“Let us go inside.”
“Yes, Father.”

Ron and Vicross.
The two of them stepped into the Secret Base of Dark—no, into the home they had lost.

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