Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 485

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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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Before taking another step, I turned back and opened my mouth.

“Wait for me outside the door.”

Choi Han silently nodded and began closing the entrance door.

-Human! I’ll wait here with Choi Han!

Raon remained outside as well, cheerfully announcing his intention to stay.
Crreeeak—
The door slowly closed.
Thud!
It shut completely, revealing nothing of the outside world.

“Why are you standing there like a fool?”

At Alberu’s voice, I tore my gaze from the closed door and looked straight ahead.

“You’re not coming?”

At Alberu’s playful jabs, I gave a light shrug and took a step forward.

Tap. Tap.
With only Alberu and me in the space, my footsteps echoed loudly through the chamber.

“Did you deliberately clear everyone out?”
“Yes. Everyone’s on leave today.”
“Is that even allowed?”

I stood before Alberu, and he pulled a document from his pocket, waving it slightly.

“See the King’s seal?”

I let out a soft chuckle at the sealed document.

“Not leave—a no-access order.”
“Exactly. The guards are stationed ten meters outside the building.”

Kale listened quietly to those words before asking indifferently.

“It seems to be quite the secret?”
“…I suppose.”

Kale was still smiling, but I gazed at Alberu’s hardened eyes. Unlike usual, his sunken gaze carried an uncomfortable weight.
Alberu turned his head away from my piercing stare and shifted his steps forward.

“…It seems the people of this Royal Family consider it quite the secret.”
“Then it appears Your Highness does not consider it a great secret?”

Kale followed behind Alberu, watching his back, and heard a soft whisper from over the shoulder of the one ahead.

“You see it and judge for yourself.”

Alberu passed the choice of whether it was a secret or not entirely to Kale.

“I see. But Your Highness, it seems we’re heading in a strange direction?”

The Roan Grand Library within the Roan Royal Palace.
It was the library that held the most books in the Roan Kingdom and housed the greatest collection of rare volumes.

As befitted the kingdom that had endured the longest, the Grand Library had undergone several expansions, boasting an area that was the largest in the entire Royal Palace, spanning from Basement Level 1 to the Third Floor above ground.

“Just follow me.”

Since they had met at the library, Kale naturally assumed we were heading to a hidden space within it. However, Alberu’s steps led toward the center of the Grand Library’s first floor.

“Kale Heniatus. There is a rule that must always be observed when expanding this Grand Library.”
“What is it?”

Alberu came to a halt.
Kale gazed at the Crown Prince, bathed in moonlight pouring from the enormous window on the first floor of the Grand Library. The Crown Prince opened his mouth from the center of that luminous glow.

“Let the gaze of the sun always remain at your side.”

Kale recalled the structure of the Grand Library, which had an unusually large number of windows.

“And this place where I now stand.”

Alberu looked down at the ground beneath his feet. It was currently the center of moonlight, but originally, it was where the sun’s center would rest when the sun hung highest in the sky.

“Do not obscure this place with anything.”

Alberu withdrew a small wooden box from his embrace.
Click.
The box opened with anticlimactic ease. Inside lay a small seal—an iron stamp that appeared considerably aged.

“This is something only the head of the Crossman Family can possess, passed down through generations.”

Kale Heniatus faltered at Alberu’s explanation.
Noticing his reaction, Alberu chuckled softly and asked.

“What? Are you surprised I said Crossman ‘Family’ rather than Crossman ‘Royal Family’? Regardless, only the head can possess this.”

Alberu regarded the worn seal in his hand with an enigmatic expression.
Kale likewise observed him with an odd look before speaking.

“…Did you borrow it from His Majesty the King?”
“Borrow?”

Alberu’s expression grew cold as he gazed upon the seal.

“It is mine.”

The royal seal of the Roan Kingdom was still in Jed Crossman’s possession. From what Kale understood, even now the Crown Prince Albert still sought the King’s approval for important decisions.

And though Crown Prince Albert spearheaded most state affairs within the kingdom and even effectively led matters beyond its borders, he had never ascended to the throne, which sparked considerable speculation.

Kale had assumed Alberu refrained from taking the throne until he transformed the Roan Kingdom into a more powerful kingdom or empire.
He also believed that given the continent’s current turmoil, Alberu had postponed his ascension.

‘But that was not it.’

The corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth twisted upward.

“Your Highness was already the ‘head,’ then?”
“Well. I won’t deny your words.”

Alberu also offered a wry smile before opening his mouth.

“The Roan Grand Library’s collection of ancient documents contains nothing about the ‘Gate of the Demon Realm.’ I investigated whether similar materials existed, but found nothing.”

Alberu had conducted thorough research not only into the name ‘Gate of the Demon Realm’ itself, but also into the three great prohibitions of the Eastern Continent.
However, the ancient documents held no such records, and only scattered mentions of the ‘Gate of the Demon Realm’—one of those three prohibitions—remained in more recent texts.

“Still, I’ve found several ancient documents concerning the Demon Realm and its inhabitants, which I’ve organized separately for you to take and review. Take the recent information about the Gate of the Demon Realm as well.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need for such gratitude.”
“…What are you doing?”

My expression crumpled.

“…That irreverent look of yours truly never ceases to amaze me.”

Alberu said this and closed his eyes.
Then he bent forward, simultaneously extending his hand to feel along the floor tiles.

“It’s somewhere around here.”
“Are you looking for a place to stamp?”
“Yes.”
“Shall I help?”
“You’re the type who only creates more work, so just watch.”

I wore an aggrieved expression. What more work could there be in finding a place to stamp?
But with his eyes closed, Alberu couldn’t see my face, and he concentrated intently, delicately running his fingers across the floor.

“Found it.”

He then opened his eyes.
And he spoke.

“…You were surprised, weren’t you?”
“Why?”

Alberu looked at me crouching directly before him, his face contorting momentarily before he adopted an expression suggesting he’d drop the matter, moving his hand holding the seal.

“Kale Heniatus.”
“Yes.”
“Let me tell you the final rule of this library.”

He closed his eyes again and brought the seal from his right hand toward the minute flaw he felt beneath his left fingertips.

“This place where the sun’s gaze touches all.”

The ancient seal made contact with the flaw, barely discernible to the naked eye.
Alberu rotated his right hand.

“Close your eyes.”

Click.
The moment the soft sound reached Kale Heniatus’s ears, he turned his body backward.

“…This is.”

Kale Heniatus understood why no one else could enter this place today.

The bookshelves began to move.
All the bookshelves on the first floor slowly shifted and relocated. In that moment, Kale Heniatus turned his body again at the sound of Alberu’s voice, looking toward him.
Alberu opened his eyes and gazed at one point, then spoke.

This place where the sun’s gaze touches all. Close your eyes.

“Then you will be able to reach a place where the curse cannot touch.”

Kale Heniatus followed his gaze as well.
A space created by the shifting bookshelves came into view.

“It is darkness.”

A space had been created where no light—not even moonlight, nor any light seeping through the windows—could reach.
Even if day came and the sun rose, its rays would never touch that place.

Alberu walked toward it, and Kale Heniatus followed behind him.

“Come, let us descend.”

Behind the bookshelves lay a concealed staircase descending into the depths below.

“It leads to Underground Level 2.”

Alberu spoke those words and descended without hesitation, with me following silently in his wake.

Tap. Tap.
The ancient stone steps leading downward creaked beneath our feet.

Whoosh— Crackle—
As Alberu and I descended the darkened staircase, magical torches embedded in the walls ignited one after another.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Alberu’s voice reached me as I trudged along behind him.

“You’ll explain everything anyway, won’t you?”
“Good grief.”

Alberu shook his head with a wry smile.

“You heard the word ‘curse,’ didn’t you? Aren’t you curious?”
“Not particularly.”
“…Really… what an adorable younger brother.”

He sighed before continuing.
We still had some time before reaching our destination.

“Since the founding of the Roan Kingdom, there have been countless records about the Crossman Royal Family.”
“That’s true.”

Being the oldest dynasty in existence, records pertaining to them were abundant not just throughout the Roan Kingdom but across the entire Continent.

“But the Crossman Family’s own internal records are quite scarce.”

I could tell that Alberu had been distinguishing between the Crossman Royal Family and the Crossman Family from the start.

“Most records about the Crossman Family are passed down orally. Moreover, those records are transmitted only to direct descendants and never to collateral branches. That’s the rule.”

The more Kale listened, the more he realized there were truly many rules.

“And to be honest with you.”

Tap.
Alberu’s footsteps came to a halt.
Before him stood a single stone door.

“None of us know the beginning of the Crossman Family.”
“…The beginning?”
“Yes. There are no records of the first leader. Only stories passed down through oral tradition remain.”

Alberu turned around and looked at Kale.

“Among those records, there is this saying: ‘Wander the world again and again. When I send you a revelation, go to the Land of Stone.'”

The land called the Land of Stone, along with the legend of the Stone Guardian.
The Roan Kingdom, built upon that land.

“Go there, establish a kingdom, and rule it.”

Alberu pressed his seal against the groove in the stone door.

Click.
With a soft sound, the stone door slowly opened on its own.
Alberu stepped aside, and as Kale watched the door open, he could hear Alberu’s voice.

“The leader of the Crossman Family ruled the Roan Kingdom. Always remembering one thing.”

Ah.
Kale let out a sigh.

Creak—Thud!

Beyond the open door.
A very narrow stone chamber appeared.
It was a desolate and chilling space, much like a prison.

And on one wall of that stone chamber.
There stood a massive boulder in place of the wall. I could see characters carved into its surface.

【Descendants of the cursed blood.】

What? Cursed blood?
Not a family blessed by the Sun God Cult?
My gaze shifted rapidly toward Alberu.
Alberu pointed at the boulder.

“Read the rest.”

I turned my head.
The remaining characters on the boulder came into view.

【May the touch of the Sun God forever remain at your side.】
【Never dare to reach beyond the heavens.】
【The sun will always rise.】
【The moment darkness is planted within your bodies.】
【When the one who harbors that darkness becomes the leader, the heavens shall crumble and the earth shall overturn.】

Click.
I turned my gaze at the sound that reached my ears once more.
There stood the Dark Elf quarter Alberu Crossman, his magic dispelled.

“The Crossman Family has always prioritized the appearance of the leader across generations. This was out of concern for other attributes that might mix in.”

He pointed to himself.

“So that darkness attribute wouldn’t mix in like it did with me. That’s why I hid myself.”

He offered a twisted smile.

“So. This is the damn absurd secret of the Crossman Royal Family.”

That contorted smile carried sorrow and self-reproach, yet it also held an unyielding pride.

“…Ah.”

Alberu let out a soft chuckle at the sight of Kale staring blankly into empty space as if his soul had left his body.
Was he also thinking that he shouldn’t become king?
Alberu had never believed in such records. He was someone who had lived by whipping himself to prove otherwise.

“Um, brother—or rather, Your Highness?”
“What? Are you very surprised?”

To see Kale Heniatus looking so vacant and dazed.
Alberu couldn’t hide his bitterness.

But Kale had no time to concern himself with Alberu’s bitterness.
A voice had reached his mind.

-Now that I think about it.

Jjandol spoke casually, as if tossing the words aside.

-The more I look at that Crown Prince, the more he resembles the White Star.

What?

-The Ancient White Star, I mean. I’m the only one on our side who saw his face. He looked like this. Different eye color, though. As for hair color, I’m not sure. We were covered in each other’s blood when we fought.
-Oh, you saw his face? I never could because he always wore that white mask.
-Well, I fought until the very end, didn’t I? When the Ancient White Star died, I died too, and I saw his face then.
-Oh, impressive!

Destructive Fire and Scary Rock exchanged a warm conversation.
Meanwhile, Kale’s mind raced rapidly.

A descendant of cursed blood.
Do not covet the heavens.

And one who embraces darkness.
This could typically be interpreted as darkness attribute—like Dark Elves or Black Mages. But thinking about it differently, something new came to mind.

‘Darkness. What if I interpret that as the Demon Realm?’

Wasn’t Kale currently speculating that the sky attribute Ancient Power possessed by the White Star was actually a power that came from the Demon Realm?

Furthermore, the Sun God Cult sought to bind the Crossman Family within their gaze. They called them descendants who inherited cursed blood and attempted to monitor them.

‘This, this—’

Absurd thoughts kept welling up inside me.
In that moment, Jjandol spoke.

-You know, the more I look at it, the more that Crown Prince resembles the Ancient White Star. Of course, the Crown Prince is better looking. Why didn’t I notice that before?

Damn it. Why are you telling me this now?
Before I knew it, I opened my mouth.

“Your Highness.”
“Yes? What? Do you think I shouldn’t become king?”

My voice reached Alberu, who wore a self-deprecating smile.

“Your Highness’s ancestor appears to be a villain.”
“Huh?”
“Pardon?”

The two of us stared at each other blankly.

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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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