Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 501

—————

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

—————

—Don’t even think about collapsing the entire ceiling of the Maze!

Jjangdol’s voice rose in alarm.
Kale listened in silence, his gaze deepening as he quietly observed the impossibly distant ceiling above.

Jjangdol sensed the danger in that gesture.
This man was about to do something reckless!

—If you collapse something on that scale, I have no idea how long you’ll be unconscious! Do you understand?

Jjangdol’s voice quickened with urgency.

—Kale. The White Star is suspected of having made a contract with demons or having some connection to them! In a situation like this, you cannot afford to be unconscious for more than a month, let alone a week!
“Hmm. You’re right—that would be pushing it too far.”
—Exactly! Absolutely right!
Jjangdol expressed vigorous agreement.
Kale withdrew his gaze from the ceiling and looked toward the Black Tree.

‘If I collapse the ceiling, the palaces above on the surface would likely crumble in a chain reaction.’

The entire Maze was said to span the area of the Palace Ruins.
So if the Maze’s ceiling collapsed, the foundation of the entire Palace Ruins would give way, and naturally, the palace standing upon it would come crashing down as well.

‘If that happened, people in the palace would be injured.’

Causing such destruction because of the Fake World Tree would be far too reckless.

—P-please…

At that moment, the Black Tree trembled and spoke.

—P-please spare me.

Its voice was even more terrified than before. All of its branches except the one Kale held were curled up tightly, quivering with fear.

‘Why is it like this?’

Before, the fear had been directed at the current situation itself, but now that fear was being directed toward Kale.

“Why are you—”
“Kale Heniatus!”

Kale, who had been about to ask the Black Tree why it was acting this way, turned his gaze backward at the sharp voice calling out to me.

“Huff, gasp.”

Elisne, bearing cuts across her body, floated suspended in the air while gripping her bleeding right shoulder.

“…A horse?”

More precisely, she was riding atop a horse made of wind.

‘Where is Choi Han?’

The moment Kale’s eyes searched for Choi Han, who had been fighting Elisne.

Kwaaaang!
A massive roar erupted as a crimson tiger descended upon Choi Han.
It was fire.
Choi Han split the tiger apart with his black aura and retreated backward.

“My apologies.”

He then bowed his head slightly toward Kale.
Following that, an elderly shaman appeared, riding atop another wind horse. Two more horses materialized in succession, each carrying a shaman upon its back.

“Young master!”
“Commander!”

And Kale’s companions began arriving one by one.
The Dark Elves, who had been closest, reached Kale’s side first.
Tasha opened her mouth urgently, looking at Kale.

“Zit tried to intercept them, but they fled into the sky, leaving us with no means to pursue!”

There was one obstacle hindering Kale’s group in their current battle.

The ceiling.
The Maze walls. The illusions that unfolded upon ascending them were like binding Kale’s group’s hands and feet one by one during their battle.
Conversely, aerial combat proved to be a considerable advantage for the enemies.
If all else failed, they could simply flee into the air, and there would be no way for his group to pursue them.

Yet the Elderly Man’s expression, which should have been triumphant, was far from it.
Rather, he appeared urgent.

“…You bastard!”

He shouted toward Kale with such desperation that the veins in his neck bulged.

“If you wish to save your comrades, you must not perform that action!”

What?
Kale found the Elderly Man’s reaction slightly puzzling.
The Elderly Man himself, Elisne on horseback, and the remaining sorcerers—none of them had even stepped into the Flower Field where the World Tree stood, yet all stared at Kale with eyes that had grown intensely serious.
Their gaze was one that would not miss a single movement from Kale, yet despite that intensity, they made no move themselves.

‘What is this about?’

I recalled what the Elderly Man had said moments before.

‘If you wish to save your comrades, you must not perform that action!’

Once again, they were using my comrades as leverage for threats, which displeased me. But something else caught my attention.

‘Do not perform an action?’

What action am I performing right now?
I’m simply trying to speak with the Fake World Tree, aren’t I?
My gaze quietly turned toward my own body to see what action I was currently undertaking.
That was when it happened.

“Surround that wicked leader, all of you!”

Those who had been closest after the Dark Elf and Merry revealed themselves.
They were approximately fifty Knights of the Knights Order.

Clang!
The Knight Commander immediately drew his sword toward Kale, and naturally, Kale met his gaze.

“Death alone awaits traitors! You vile wretch who dragged the former princess Sophies into Molden and sowed chaos—do you not fear being torn limb from limb?”

The Knight Commander’s presence was commanding and dignified.

Woof!

However, the moment a dog’s bark echoed through the chamber, his shoulders stiffened. Immediately, the Knight beside the Knight Commander spoke in alarm.

“They’ve arrived!”

A man dressed as a servant entered alongside two puppies and opened his mouth to speak.

“Surround them.”

At Ron’s command, assassins who had been concealed within the shadows cast between the maze’s walls burst forth and began encircling the knights.

At this action, the Dark Elf and Merry, along with the knights beyond them who had been forming a formation to surround Choi Han and Kale, froze in place.

“You wretches! Do you not fear death!”

Yet the Knight Commander remained resolute.

“All of you, follow His Majesty’s will and repel these vile rebels! Raise your blades of justice!”

His voice was grave and solemn.
The knights bit their lips and tightened their grips on their swords with hardened expressions.
Yet among them, several gazed at the Black Tree with wavering eyes. Among them was a knight who had gone to report to Elysnet I about the intruders and Sophies.

He was the one who had guarded the entrance located at the statue in the Central Square of the Molden Royal Palace for years.

‘…What I was protecting was that grotesque tree?’

Even as the knight came here to rescue Elysnet, he had found this maze strange—it emanated an eerie and somehow oppressive aura.
The knight’s gaze turned toward the skeletal monsters. He could see royal children eyeing Elysnet nestled within the tree’s hollow, cradled protectively by the two skeletal guardians.

‘…They were certainly the ones who followed Elysnet the most faithfully.’

Something was amiss.
A sense that something had gone terribly wrong filled his mind completely.
Because of this, the strength gradually drained from the hand gripping his sword.
Then it happened.

“Your Majesty! Trust only in me! I shall slay that wicked villain!”

The Knight Commander shouted toward Elisne suspended in the air, his face more resolute than ever.
Then he leveled his blade at the man near the Black Tree.

“Advance! Take the enemy commander’s head!”
“Silence!”

A sharp intake of breath.
The Knight Commander’s shoulders flinched involuntarily as he lowered the sword he had been wielding with such force.
He turned his head to look behind him.

“…Finance Minister, sir?”
“You fool!”

The elderly Finance Minister was venting his fury upon the Knight Commander.

“Don’t provoke that creature! You idiot! Keep that rotten mouth of yours shut! Useless wretch!”
“…What do you—”

The Knight Commander stammered, too shocked to form coherent words.
A flicker of suspicion crossed the watching Knight’s eyes.

‘This truly is strange.’

The Finance Minister was not naturally kind, but he was known to be dignified and broad-minded.
Even within the Royal Palace, he was treated as an elder, a mentor figure.
Yet this man was actually a sorcerer who spoke with such frivolous diction?

At that moment, there was another besides that Knight who sensed something amiss in this situation, his eyes flickering with recognition.

“Oh.”

It was Kale.
His eyes gleamed with intensity.
He gazed down at his own form slowly.

Except for his hand and arm gripping the branch, his entire body was still engulfed in roaring flames.
And the fire was becoming increasingly vivid in its crimson hue.

Kale could now understand why the Fake World Tree, which had been pleading for salvation, was trembling more and more in terror.

He opened his mouth as he gazed at both the enemies and allies surrounding him.

“Are you afraid I’ll burn this whole thing to cinders?”

The expressions of the three sorcerers and Elisne hardened visibly.
Kale also observed his allies’ expressions.

‘Of course you’re going to burn it, aren’t you?’
‘That’s why you’re holding it like that, right?’

The expressions of Choi Han and Tasha conveyed exactly that meaning.

-Human! I know everything! I already figured out that you were holding the tree to burn it to ashes!

Heh.
The corners of Kale’s mouth curved upward.
He had been thinking of saving the tree, but it seemed everyone else thought he was going to burn it completely.

“I’m… not that terrible of a person.”

A soft, gentle smile played at Kale’s lips.

-Human! You really look like a villain right now!

Raon spoke cheerfully, and the Middle-aged Man with Glasses cried out.

“Y-you wicked bastard—!”
“Who are you calling wicked? I’m kinder than you! You’re the one I should rip apart!”

It wasn’t Kale who had spoken those words.
He turned his gaze in surprise, only to find Sophies tending to the injured Royal Boy with elegant grace and warmth, as if she hadn’t just said something so remarkable.

For a moment, Kale found himself at a loss for words, but he quickly regained his composure.
And he lifted one corner of his mouth into a smile.

“To dispose of this fake, it would be best to burn it without leaving a trace, wouldn’t it?”
“What?”

The Middle-aged Man with Glasses looked ready to attack Kale on the spot. However, Kale pointed toward the Knights.

“Stand down.”
“You bastard—!”
“Enough. Do as Kale Heniatus says.”

The Finance Minister spoke thus and turned his gaze toward Elisne. She, gripping one shoulder and furrowing her brow, nodded and opened her mouth to speak.

“All Knights, fall back and come this way.”

At the order to withdraw, the Knight Commander, though bewildered by the situation, had no choice but to obey and slowly retreated.
He looked around him.
Now that he had fallen back, the rear was filled with Assassins and Elves who had arrived at some point, while the front was occupied by Dark Elves and Merry.

“Lord Kale.”

Choi Han approached Kale’s side, the only one still gripping the tree. Of course, Raon was already at Kale’s side.
Kale did not look at him.

Kale was watching.

“Raon, go protect Sophies.”

Elisne kept glancing at Sophies.
As if eyeing prey.

In that moment, the eyes of Elisne and Kale met.
Both of them realized it simultaneously—they had been observing the same thing.

Elysnet I’s mouth opened.

“Seize Sophies!”

Three sorcerers mounted on Wind steeds suddenly unleashed tremendous power.
They too had been waiting for this moment.

“Go!”
“Attack!”

A deep rumbling echoed—
A colossal fire tiger and countless feathered arrows surged toward the skeletal monsters led by Merry.
Simultaneously, the Wind steed conjured fierce gales, intensifying the flames and accelerating the arrows’ flight.

“Merry! Tasha!”

Kale called to his companions, and the Dark Elves and Merry sprang into action.

“Choi Han!”

And he summoned Choi Han.
Choi Han was already moving toward Elisne in the sky.

-I’ll help too! I’ll bring down that Wind steed!

Raon rushed toward Choi Han, ready to assist him.
There was no other choice.

A deep rumbling echoed—
Elisne’s eyes turned crimson.
Her left hand, which had been gripping her right shoulder, released it and began forming hand seals.

“Ugh!”
“Gah!”

Several knights staggered. But most of them, their eyes now hollow and vacant, drew their swords without hesitation.

“Execute the traitor.”
“Execute the traitor.”
“Execute the traitor.”

With emotionless voices, half of the knights rushed toward where the skeletal monsters were.
The remaining half moved to block Choi Han.

Choi Han drew his sword against them, and at that moment, Elisne spoke to him.

“They are innocent people. Is it acceptable if they get hurt?”

As she said this, Elisne smiled.
At the same time, Choi Han’s pupils dilated. Something had caught his eye.

“…Could it be—”

A medium?
A small staff had appeared in her drooping right hand.
It was black and possessed a grotesque appearance.

For an Illusionist to wield such an object, it could only be a medium.
Yet her bracelet medium—the one Choi Han had destroyed—was unmistakably shattered.

How could this be?
But Choi Han recognized the true identity of that black staff before he could dwell on it.

‘That’s the Fake World Tree!’

It had to be a branch of the Fake World Tree!
It was pure instinct. And that staff was directed toward Kale Heniatus.

“Kale Heniatus!”

Choi Han twisted his body instinctively and looked toward Kale Heniatus.
Only then did he realize that neither Raon nor he was beside Kale Heniatus right now.
They had all left—some to protect Sophies, others to attack Elisne.

Then what remained by Kale Heniatus’s side was the water serpent he had created and fire.
And one last thing.

Choi Han suddenly realized one crucial fact.

The last one remaining beside Kale.
It was the Fake World Tree.

“Damn it!”

And I realized it immediately.
My hand released the branch of the Fake World Tree.
In that instant, I heard the faint voice of the Black Tree.

-…Being controlled… This isn’t my will… I’m sorry… I don’t want to die… I don’t want to be ridden…

The timid voice laden with anxiety and despair grew fainter.
At that moment, Elisne’s eyes, which had been fixed on me, turned crimson as she moved her staff.

“Move.”

What she was looking at was neither me nor Sophies.
It was all merely an act.

Craaaash—
The colossal Black Tree rushed without hesitation toward the human engulfed in flames.
Controlled, moving not by its own will but by Elisne’s, the Fake World Tree advanced without restraint.

“Tch!”

The moment Elisne drew out a new medium, I released the branch, but I couldn’t evade the one already at my face.

Sizzzzle—
The branch burned away.
The black branch produced golden ash.
It certainly seemed to be a tree that absorbed dead mana.

-Hey, hey. What do we do about this? Really burn it? Isn’t that one being controlled?

The bewildered voice of Destructive Fire, my power, rang out.

“Ugh! Damn it!”

Even as the branches burned without fear of fire, they relentlessly constricted around me, and I couldn’t help but let out a groan.
That was when it happened.

“Master Kale! Let me cut it!”
-Human!

Choi Han and Raon rushed toward me in an instant.
Raon had already conjured a massive mana hand, attempting to seize and tear away the branches strangling me.
But I opened my mouth.

“Get back! Step away!”

I prevented Choi Han and Raon from approaching.
Toward the bewildered Choi Han and Raon, I cried out.

“It’s not the tree!”

What Elisne was seeing was neither Sophies, nor me, nor the tree.
It was all deception.

“It’s the sky!”

I cried out with my head raised.
Only then did Choi Han look up, and he suddenly grasped a single truth.

The ceiling of the Maze. That distant ceiling was a trap that Elysnet I had ensnared us in with illusions.
That ceiling was her domain.
No matter how much we moved within the Maze, we were all beneath Elysnet’s domain.
He belatedly came to understand this truth anew.

“Ah.”

A sigh escaped from Choi Han’s lips.
What Elysnet had said—’move’—was not the tree.
It was the sky.

Choi Han saw a brilliant light.

That was the end of it.
The moment I realized that fact, the light came crashing down.

“Drop it!”

At the same time as Kale’s shout, Choi Han could see the stone Imoogi pushing me and the invisible Raon away.

As he was shoved by the Imoogi, he watched the light—the lightning—strike down.
It was so blindingly white that for a moment, he could see nothing at all.

Yet that light struck down precisely at Kale.

Boom—
A tremendous explosion erupted.

In that instant, Elisne’s voice rang out.

“No matter how you thrash about on the ground, you remain beneath my sky.”

She appeared before him, laughing with ease as if this were her true form.
Yet Choi Han’s expression showed no reaction whatsoever to her mockery.

-Choi Han, did you hear?

A small voice that only Choi Han and Raon, standing nearby, could hear the moment the white light descended.

“Elisne cannot use magic. It must be an illusion. You’ll come to your senses soon.”

The owner of that voice was Kale.
Choi Han waited for Kale to appear as the roaring and white light gradually faded away.
He only needed to wait a few seconds.

“…Lord Kale.”

And there he saw Kale, unconscious.

* * *

The world turned white, and then its end turned dark.

“Ugh.”

But my swaying body made me dizzy, forcing my eyes open.
Then I saw white light.

‘A light fixture.’

…Wait?
…A light fixture?
It was fluorescent lighting.
I felt my body being held and shaken by someone’s hands.

“Team Leader, Team Leader! Won’t you wake up?”
“…Who are you?”

Why are you here?
I grabbed my throat.

“What do you mean! Your vacation ended, and you didn’t come to work, so I came by in a panic!”
“What?”

I turned my head.
Right beside me, a book lay face-down.

【The Birth of a Hero Volume 5】

I stopped shaking my body and looked at the calendar on the desk while my subordinate busily tidied the room.
It was the day after I had finished reading ‘The Birth of a Hero’.

What I faced was the time as Kim Rok-soo that should have continued.

—————

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

—————