Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 526

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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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Waaaaaah–
As the cheers continued, I glanced sideways.

‘…Sigh.’

Alberu wore a benevolent smile, gazing warmly upon the kingdom’s people.
Choi Han, who was carrying the Crown Prince, looked at them with equally warm eyes.

“Cough!”

At that moment, Alberu let out a shallow cough, and a handful of black blood spilled from his lips once more.
Instantly, the cheers vanished and silence descended.

“Your Highness! You must return to the castle at once!”

The Knight Commander, who had been standing quietly in the back, quickly approached Alberu’s side.

“I’m fine.”
“…Your Highness!”

As the Knight Commander stared at Alberu with an anguished expression, I caught his eye and noticed something.

‘He really does seem fine.’

Before, he had looked quite unwell, but after coughing up the black blood, his complexion appeared somewhat more settled.
However, to the others, his words of reassurance did not sound like genuine reassurance.
Alberu continued speaking with a faint smile.

“How could I enter the castle when the kingdom’s people are still trapped here?”
“…Your Highness.”
“I won’t feel at ease until I see all the people freed.”

The Knight Commander understood the Crown Prince’s resolve.
He issued orders to the knights.

“What are you all doing? Did you not hear my words? Open the prison door at once!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”

The Knights rushed toward the prison carriage attached to the wagon.
The Knight Commander wanted to join them, but he could not leave the ailing Crown Prince unattended.

“I shall remain here.”

At the quiet voice, I turned my gaze to find Kale Heniatus standing beside Choi Han, who carried Alberu, his expression serene.
He gestured to the Knight Commander to go ahead.

“…Thank you, Young Master.”

The Knight Commander found himself naturally using respectful speech toward Kale Heniatus, who had relinquished his commander’s position after the war with the Indomitable Alliance.

‘To stand so steadfastly at the Crown Prince’s side even in such an exhausted state…’

He bowed to Kale Heniatus and Choi Han before heading toward the scattered Knights at the prison carriage.
Kale Heniatus watched this quietly.

“You too?”
“I’m tired.”

I dismissed the Crown Prince’s words lightly.
The Knights who approached the prison carriage first examined the area around its entrance, which was secured by locks.

“We have all the keys!”
“The keys are on the driver’s seat!”

The keys were deliberately placed in a conspicuous location to make opening the prison door easy.
Though the enemies’ intentions remained unclear, the Knights seized the keys from the driver’s seat and opened the prison.

Click! Click!
With light sounds, the prison door holding the Kingdom citizens near Sten Territory swung open.

The Kingdom citizens carefully followed the Knights’ guidance, emerging one by one.
Relief and overwhelming emotion painted their faces as their feet touched the ground.

Creak, creak—
At that moment, the sound of the City Gate opening echoed out.
The eyes of the kingdom’s people turned toward the opening gate.

Following Taylor at the front, administrators, healers, and priests were rapidly approaching.
Taylor issued orders to those standing behind him.

“Hurry and load the wounded onto stretchers!”

Those who came following his command swiftly moved toward the kingdom’s people. Taylor briefly confirmed their movements, then approached Alberu.

“Your Highness, please go inside first. I will handle the rest here.”

Kale Heniatus flinched upon seeing Taylor’s face and his shoulders trembled.
His complexion was poor. The signs of severe emotional strain were evident.

And Taylor had to straighten his crumpling expression as he looked at Alberu.

‘…He’s a complete mess.’

Alberu’s condition, seen up close, was far more serious.
Yet in this moment, Taylor thought that this Crown Prince’s appearance was far closer to that of a true king than the magnificent figure he had witnessed at the Roan Royal Palace.
At that instant, Taylor’s eyes met Alberu’s.

“You truly seem like someone who knows exactly what your role is.”

Taylor was momentarily at a loss for words.
In the brief time he had left the City Wall, he had summoned healers and fiefdom administrators to assemble personnel for cleanup operations.
He took a moment to compose himself before speaking.

“…Thank you, Your Highness.”

Then he gestured toward the back.
Healers carrying stretchers approached at his signal.

“Not necessary.”

However, Taylor had to stop the approaching healers at Alberu’s words.
Alberu lightly patted Choi Han’s shoulder and dismounted from his back.

“I’m fine now. I should walk on my own feet.”
“…Your Highness.”

Taylor looked at Alberu, who claimed he was fine despite being clearly anything but, with an expression of utter bewilderment.

And Kale Heniatus furrowed his brow.

‘He’s obviously not fine yet. Why not just let me carry him?’

Did he really have to walk?
Kale Heniatus regarded Alberu with a look of profound distrust.

“Sigh.”

It was then that Kale Heniatus caught sight of Choi Han exhaling a long breath.

‘Why?’

He opened his mouth to ask, and Choi Han shook his head. Choi Han swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say to Kale Heniatus.

‘They’re not even blood relatives, yet they’re so alike—older brother and younger brother indeed.’

Alberu and Kale Heniatus behaved in remarkably similar ways.
Choi Han kept this observation to himself, knowing that Kale Heniatus would scoff if he said it aloud.

Kale Heniatus regarded Choi Han with a puzzled expression before turning his head at the sound of Alberu’s voice.

“Kale Heniatus.”

Alberu offered a gentle smile.

“Will you walk with me?”

The moment Kale Heniatus heard those words, his eyes answered for him.

‘I’d rather not.’

His gaze conveyed his true feelings.

‘Your Highness, will you go alone? If the Crown Prince and I enter together like this, I fear the attention will be so intense that we’ll be burned by those fervent gazes.’

The Crown Prince drew a benevolent smile.

“Indeed. I can tell from the light in your eyes.”

He placed a hand on Kale Heniatus’s shoulder.

“Let us go together.”

Kale Heniatus was ignored.
Alberu ignored him while understanding his true intentions.
Just as Kale Heniatus’s face began to contort in response to this realization—

“Our people will find strength in seeing us walk back to the castle on our own two feet, with our heads held high.”

At Alberu’s words, Kale Heniatus simply swallowed a sigh and lowered his head.

There was no point in refusing.
If he refused after such words, it would damage the Crown Prince’s dignity.
Kale Heniatus resigned himself to it.

“Let our teacher come with us as well.”

Choi Han watched the exchange between Kale Heniatus and Alberu with amusement, then nodded at Alberu’s words.

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

A heavy sigh escaped him.
Kale Heniatus stared at the exchange between Choi Han and Alberu with exasperation, then followed the two of them forward.

Whoooosh—
A cool autumn breeze swept across the land.
Those on the City Wall, those near the City Gate—
Those within the castle—
Upon hearing that the battle had ended, they all craned their necks and directed their gazes outward beyond the castle as much as possible.

The enemies had all vanished.
In truth, it mattered little to them why the enemies had disappeared.

What mattered was that I had survived, and my territory still remained.

They moved their bodies as much as possible to catch sight of those who had protected this land.

The Crown Prince, clad in dented armor scorched black in places.
And following behind him, Kale Heniatus in a black uniform and beside him the youngest Sword Master, Choi Han.
The Royal Palace Knights who had fought to the very end. And the Tiger Tribe Warrior still boasting an imposing physique despite having released his berserk state, and the Wolf Tribe boy who had wielded a massive shield.

They slowly entered through the City Gate.
There were no cheers.
The closer they drew, the more grave their condition became apparent, making cheers impossible.
The Crown Prince was naturally in poor condition, and Kale, who had appeared late to confront the enemy, looked terribly pallid as if he had already endured a major battle.

In the silence, only the footsteps of those who had driven back the enemy echoed as they passed through the City Gate.

Those who appeared before the Crown Prince at the vanguard.
They were the Crown Prince’s retainers, and the two standing foremost were the Magic Captain and the General who had been issuing orders from atop the City Wall.

Alberu spoke to them with a warm voice as they gazed at him with trembling eyes.

“You’ve worked hard. With you here, I had no need to look back.”

The Magic Captain and the General bowed deeply in salute.
Kale observed this scene with an impassive expression.

‘With this, the Crown Prince will be completely recognized not only in politics and administration, but also in military might.’

Then his eyes met with the Magic Captain and General as they raised their heads.
Upon seeing Kale, they startled slightly before offering a respectful bow.

‘…Ah.’

Kale barely managed to suppress a sigh.

This was truly troublesome.
This was not how one treated a commander or a prince.

‘…They treated Saint Jack like that.’

No, his gaze seemed even more intense than when he looked at Saint Jack?

My eyes shifted backward.
The Knight Commander was engaged in an intense conversation with other officials.

‘This is bad.’

I wanted nothing more than to disappear somewhere.

Then Alberu placed his hands on both my and Choi Han’s shoulders, raising his voice.

“How strange!”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the Crown Prince.
A grin spread across his blood-stained lips.
A cool smile spread across the Crown Prince’s blood-stained lips.

“The enemy fled! But why is it so quiet?”

And that was the beginning.
And that was the beginning.

Soon a tremendous roar shook the Sten Lordship Castle.
It was a cheer brimming with joy. At the center of that jubilation, I closed my eyes.
It was a shout full of joy. In the center of that cheering, Kale Heniatus closed his eyes.

This is bad.
It’s over.

However, Kale Heniatus had not yet given up on his dreams for the future.

* * *

He could see people moving about busily.
I could see people moving busily.

“Hmm.”

Alberu, who had moved his body to glance out the window for a moment, swallowed a groan and leaned his back against the headboard of the bed.

“Your Highness. You mustn’t overexert yourself.”
“…Very well.”

He answered the Magic Captain’s words, but a sense of frustration gnawed at him.

Currently, he was seated upon a bed in a bedroom located within Sten Lordship Castle.
The interior was in disarray, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“…Your Highness. Are you truly certain you need neither a healer nor a Priest?”
“Yes. Didn’t the healers already treat the external bruising?”
“But the internal injuries—”
“I’m fine.”

At Alberu’s resolute response, both the Magic Captain and the General who had visited the bedroom fell silent.

Alberu understood the concern burning in the eyes of his two loyal retainers, yet he could not grant their request.

‘I cannot let them discover anything about the Dark Elves or the dead mana.’

Thus, he had summoned a healer rather than a Priest, allowing only the external bruises to be treated while preventing any examination of his internal condition.
It was an unavoidable choice for him, but it had become a source of worry for those around him.

In that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to Alberu, and he voiced it aloud.

“Kale Heniatus must have endured tremendous hardship all this time.”

The first battle.
The suffering that came in its aftermath was far greater than he had anticipated.

‘I’ve experienced it once, yet Kale Heniatus has endured it countless times.’

His heart ached.

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, the Magic Captain’s voice reached him. Alberu turned to face him, and as their eyes met, the Magic Captain’s lips trembled several times before he seemed to reach a decision and opened his mouth to speak.

“Your Highness. But what the White Star said about Young Master Kale Heniatus—”
“Captain.”

Alberu interrupted the Magic Captain.

“I believe what my younger brother said. Not the White Star’s words.”
“That’s true, but—”

Alberu shook his head.

“He is a man without greed. Once matters concerning the White Star are resolved, he wishes to go to a quiet place and live a simple life. If it is not my brother, then it is not so.”
“….”
“If he says he has no connection to gods, then that is the truth.”

The silent Magic Captain and General nodded at Alberu’s words, yet they could not shake off what the White Star had said.
No matter how much they thought about it, the White Star’s words seemed to be the truth.

‘Someone who has done such great deeds simply wishes to live quietly? I truly cannot believe it.’
‘…Could it be that precisely because he is so free of greed, he was able to accomplish such remarkable things under the will of the gods?’

The White Star’s words kept echoing in their ears.
And Alberu could sense that the two of them were in such a state.

‘How am I supposed to help him with this?’

Although Alberu had spoken truthfully about Kale Heniatus, the atmosphere showed no sign of acceptance.
It seemed he would be unable to help Kale Heniatus.

“Um. But, your highness.”
“What is it?”

The General opened his mouth with a look of dismay, his face slightly contorted.
He spoke hesitantly.

“We did impose a gag order, but it seems the words the White Star spoke about Young Prince Kale Heniatus are spreading rapidly.”

What?
In the meantime?

“It appears to have started from a few knights who were on the battlefield and several among the hostages with keen ears. The rumors are spreading explosively, it is said.”

The White Star’s declaration of “Kale Heniatus, inheritor of divine will.”
Word of it was spreading to more and more places, they said.
While focused on post-war cleanup, they had imposed a gag order, but small cracks had formed, and rumors were spreading rapidly as a result.

The Magic Captain asked cautiously.

“Will this be alright?”

No. Not at all.
Kale Heniatus would throw a fit.
Wasn’t he drowning himself in drink because his dream of an ordinary life had gone up in smoke?
This was the thought crossing Alberu’s mind.

Knock, knock. Knock.
A feeble knocking sound echoed.
The knock on the bedroom door carried no strength whatsoever.

“Brother. It’s me.”

Beyond the door came Kale Heniatus’s voice, drained of all vigor.

Poor fellow.
Alberu opened his mouth with a look of sympathy in his eyes.

“Come in.”

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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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