Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 495

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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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Chapter 109. Such Ignorant Fools!

Upon entering the Molden Capital of Ranche, Kale folded the map in his hand and passed it to Sophies.
It was one of the two maps she had given him.
Kale squinted slightly as he opened his mouth.

“Infiltrating through the surface seems futile.”
“Indeed.”

Sophies’s furrowed brow showed no sign of relaxing.

“Kale.”

At the soft voice, Kale turned to see Choi Han approaching from where he had been concealed in the corner of the alley.

“I’ve confirmed it—the final entrance is also sealed.”
“…This has become troublesome.”

Tasha, her form concealed beneath a robe, let out a sigh.
Similarly cloaked in a robe, Sophies bit her lip as she stared intently at the map Kale had handed her.

“If this is the case, there’s no way to infiltrate the Molden Royal Palace covertly through the surface.”

Her gaze remained fixed on the small red dots marked throughout the map.

“Not only the secret entrances I excavated, but even the secret entrances passed down through generations for the Royal Family’s escape—all of them are sealed.”
“It seems Elisne has blocked every entrance.”
“…Unnecessarily meticulous bastard.”

Kale ignored Sophies’s crude language and examined his companions’ faces. They all wore serious expressions.
Observing the grave atmosphere, Kale spoke up.

“Still, we have the Underground Sewers remaining, so let’s wait and see.”

Among the methods to infiltrate the Royal Palace, the Underground Sewers remained as one option. Tasha nodded in agreement with Kale’s words.

“That’s right. Unless the Capital undergoes major reconstruction, it’s difficult to alter the sewers themselves. And ultimately, water must flow out to the River, so the end of the sewers should exist there.”

Several Dark Elf Warriors had been sent to scout the end of the Underground Sewers connected to the Royal Palace and the various entrances scattered throughout.

“Even if it’s a bit difficult, we should be able to infiltrate through the Underground Sewers.”

Tasha spoke cheerfully, as if the inconvenience was nothing to worry about. However, Sophies’ expression did not improve.

“…No. The Underground Sewers will be difficult.”
“What?”

Sophies shook her head at Tasha’s words.

“Elisne. If that bastard blocked off the Royal Family’s escape route, she would have fortified the Underground Sewers as well.”

At that moment, another figure cloaked in robes approached.
It was one of the Dark Elves who had gone to search for the Underground Sewers entrance.

“…Lady Tasha.”

His voice carried grim news.
He immediately spoke to Kale and Tasha.

“All the Underground Sewers entrances throughout the Capital of Ranche are sealed.”
“What?”

Tasha responded with a bewildered expression.

“Then how are they supposed to inspect the Underground Sewers? Where would they even enter?”
“The other sewer entrances are fine, but only the entrance leading to the Royal Palace is sealed.”

Sophies spoke calmly to Tasha, who was at a loss for words.

“Since inspections of the Underground Sewers leading to the Royal Palace can begin from within the palace itself, there would be no need for an entrance outside the palace.”

Tasha’s expression hardened.
She realized that Elysnet I had sealed off the passages leading to the Molden Royal Palace with meticulous thoroughness.

“In that case, the end of the Underground Sewers likely won’t be in an ordinary state either.”

The end of the Underground Sewers where water from the Royal Palace flowed out.
That end connected to the River.

“Young Master.”

Another Dark Elf returned after completing his reconnaissance. Kale and his companions waited for his report. He was the one who had gone to the River that connected to the end of the sewers.

“There are Knights guarding the end of the sewers.”
“As expected.”

Choi Han murmured softly, and the Dark Elf’s report continued.

“And it appears the Knights are carrying signal flares.”

They were likely carrying signal flares to immediately alert the Royal Palace if they discovered enemies attempting to infiltrate the Underground Sewers.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Kale, and his mouth opened.

“Subdue the Knights and infiltrate.”

* * *

A River that began in the North of the Capital Ranche and flowed toward the southeast.
Water was flowing out from the sewers located at the end of that River.

“Ugh. Even with the cold weather, the stench is terrible.”

One of the four Knights guarding the sewers covered his nose with his hand and shook his head repeatedly.

“At least the most foul-smelling waste isn’t flowing out of this one, right?”
“That’s true.”

There were three sewers in total that started from the Royal Palace and connected to the River, and the water flowing from this particular sewer consisted mainly of water discarded from the Kitchen, the Royal Palace Garden, and the cleaning of the Knight Training Ground.

“What do you mean ‘that’s true’? Where in this world would a Knight stand guard in a place like this? Right-, huh?”

The Knight, still holding his nose and complaining, widened his eyes as something black suddenly appeared before him.
In that fleeting moment.

“Kugh!”

He gasped as the blow struck the back of his neck, and his body went limp.
Thud. Thud.
Four Knights collapsed helplessly to the ground.

“Impressive.”

Tap.
Kale descended to the spot where they had been standing. The Dark Elves laughed sheepishly at his words.

“We’re simply quite nimble.”

Despite their embarrassment, the Dark Elf boasted quite confidently, then immediately reached into the Knight’s pouch—the one who had clutched his nose—and withdrew three signal flares.
They resembled fireworks or magical artifacts, and appeared to be quite powerful.

“We’ll keep these with us.”

Following the plan, he secured the signal flares in his pouch, and another Dark Elf took position beside him.
The rest of the sizable group, excluding those two Elves, gazed toward the end of the Underground Sewers.

Water flowed from a massive passage densely barred with iron gates. However, because the passage was so large, the water flowing through the sewers didn’t reach the walkable paths that existed on both sides.
Tasha opened her mouth, looking toward the iron gates blocking the passage.

“We need to destroy this—”

Clang!
The sound of a sword being drawn and swung rang out, and Tasha couldn’t finish her sentence.

Click.
Choi Han calmly sheathed the sword he had drawn and wielded.
Then he reached out and gave the iron gate a light push.

Screech—Clang!
The iron gate was cleanly severed and fell to the ground. Kale subtly gave Choi Han a thumbs up, then winked at Sophies.

“Let’s go.”
Boom!

Starting with Boosuli, they began entering the sewers one by one.

“Here.”
“The map—?”
“We don’t need it.”

Sophies handed the map to Kale and entered the Underground Sewers without hesitation.

“From what I can see, the sewers are unchanged. So there’s no reason to hesitate. Follow me.”

Boosuli and Sophies moved forward swiftly. Kale followed behind them.

And after some time had passed, he exhaled a sigh.

“…This is damn exhausting.”
-Human, are you alright? Crouching and walking like this must be difficult!

Just as Raon said, crouching and walking was indeed difficult for Kale.
Sophies, leading the way, spoke to him soothingly.

“The Molden Royal Palace is directly above our heads right now.”
“Have we entered?”

At Choi Han’s question, Sophies nodded.

“Yes. You can consider us to have entered the Royal Palace grounds from the moment the path forked and the passage narrowed earlier.”

The large Underground Sewers revealed multiple branching paths after they walked a certain distance, and the passage became extremely narrow.
This was because these passages connected to various locations within the Royal Palace.

“This place is narrow, but at least there’s no water on the floor, so that’s a relief.”
“Indeed.”

Tasha and Choi Han spoke as they crouched and walked through the dry Underground Sewers without a trace of moisture.
Sophies continuously ran her hand along the ceiling of the narrow passage and opened her mouth.

“When the Molden Kingdom was founded, there existed a massive Central Garden in the center of the Royal Palace.”

At her sudden remark, the gazes of Choi Han, Tasha, and the rest of the group turned toward her.

“With such a vast garden existing, even if the soil could retain water, sewers were necessary.”
“Is that sewer the place we’re walking through right now?”

Sophies nodded at Kale’s question.

“Yes. This is it. But there’s no water flowing through it now.”
“I see.”
“Several decades ago, the King at that time had the entire garden completely removed.”

The Central Garden of the Molden Royal Palace, which had possessed its own distinct beauty throughout the seasons, had vanished.

“Instead, they laid expensive marble in its place and erected a massive statue at the center. A statue of the First King.”
“That’s rather meaningful.”

The moment Tasha spoke those words, Sophies, who had been leading the way ahead, stopped and turned around.
An elegant smile graced her lips.

“Indeed. Quite meaningful. That statue is one of the two entrances to the Maze.”

Hmm.
Choi Han swallowed softly.

“Beneath the Central Garden existed a massive Maze. That Maze is the same size as the entire grounds of the Molden Royal Palace.”
“You mean there’s a Maze as large as the Royal Palace itself?”
“That’s correct.”

Sophies affirmed Tasha’s words, and Boosuli approached Kale.

“Woof!”

Kale, who had been watching Boosuli with his tongue out and tail wagging, opened his mouth as he looked at Sophies.

“It seems we’ve arrived.”
“…You catch on quickly, as expected.”
“Well.”

Kale shrugged his shoulders and waved the map he held in his hand.
A large red dot marked his estimated current location on the map.

It meant the destination point.

Sophies turned her entire body to face the group. Normally, the passage would have been shrouded in darkness, but thanks to the spirit fire conjured by several Dark Elves, it remained illuminated.

“This passage is one of the routes I once used to secretly escape from Elisne in the past.”
“Where is this place?”

Kale opened his mouth in response to Tasha’s question.

“It appears to be a place that was once called the Central Garden but is now known as the Central Square.”
“…Do they use the term ‘square’ within the Royal Palace?”
“It’s a designation that reflects its vast size.”

Kale glanced at Sophies as if to confirm his words were accurate. Sophies offered an elegant smile and spoke.

“Correct. And in the center of that expansive space stands a statue.”

A huge ‘ㅁ’-shaped square within the royal palace.

“To the east, west, south, and north—in each direction lies the conference chamber for the King’s executive council, and four palaces where administrative, military, and legal conferences are held respectively.”

Four palaces, each dedicated to different domains where the Administrator and the King held their conferences, surrounded the square in all four cardinal directions.

“Impressive. To think they would place an entrance to the Maze in the center of such a place.”

Sophies answered Tasha’s remark as though it were nothing remarkable.

“It remains empty when no conferences are being held.”

Ah.
As Tasha let out a small exclamation, Sophies extended her hand toward the ceiling.

“Since only high-ranking administrators and above gather for conferences, not just anyone can enter this square. And because it is such an important location, the King himself oversaw its management.”

Click. Click.
Soft sounds echoed through the passage.
Sophies’ hand movements grew increasingly busy, yet her voice remained composed and dignified.

“During the day, this place hosts meetings regarding the Kingdom’s major affairs, so official security measures are quite stringent. However, after the meetings conclude, it becomes completely empty, making it ideal for the Royal Family to move about discreetly without drawing attention.”
“Those guarding this place are the King’s trusted hands, so there would be no concerns about secrets being leaked.”

Choi Han’s remark earned a nod from her.
Since these palaces were under the King’s direct administration, he had subtly stationed capable individuals here as guards.

“So when night falls, Knights stand guard around these four empty palaces, and the Royal Family moves about in secret. The palaces where actual work takes place remain lit throughout the night due to overtime, but they’re located in the opposite direction from the Conference Hall.”
At that moment, Kale’s lips parted.

“Which is why we came in the morning.”

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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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