Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 53

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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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Kale Heniatus had no desire to see Tunka’s smirking face. Yet Amir explained calmly and earnestly.

“Pae is from the Wipper Kingdom, they say. A tribesman from a small coastal village who set out to fish but somehow drifted off course.”
“Yes. A man living modestly by catching small fish. Ha ha ha, how did such a thing come to pass?”

Modestly, indeed. It was absurd. Amir continued, unaware of my inner thoughts.

“So last night, he boarded the ship with us and helped with our search.”

Amir’s gaze toward the tribesman was pure and clear. I glanced around subtly. Unlike Amir, I caught disapproving looks directed at Tunka from several others.

A tribesman from the Wipper Kingdom. The gaze of those who saw him as a savage. I swept over those looks casually until my eyes met Tunka’s. He was grinning.

“I heard that the Young Master deployed a great shield in the Capital and saved everyone. I’ve heard you’re a strong person, so I asked the Young Lady if I could come along to meet you once.”

Tunka’s eyes narrowed in a way that belied his massive frame. In that instant, I sensed it.
Danger.
My mouth opened immediately.

“So I’m convalescing.”
“…Convalescing?”
“Yes, I’m not that strong. I’m weak.”

Amir chimed in.

“That’s right. You overexerted yourself, so you’re traveling while recovering.”

Amir looked at me with a mixture of pity and admiration, but Tunka was different.

“Ah, is that so?”

His expression turned utterly disinterested. He gave me a cursory once-over before turning his gaze away.

‘Yes, that’s how Tunka should be.’

Sacrifice for others? Heroism? He had no interest in such things whatsoever. He clung only to strength, and he despised the weak—even his own allies—sometimes killing them without hesitation.
That was precisely why he was a tyrant.

“Shall we go then?”

I nodded at Amir’s words. At that moment, Tunka’s murmuring voice reached my ears.

“Strange. There’s a strong scent nearby.”

As expected, the man had uncanny instincts. I gazed into empty air.

-I don’t smell anything.

The Black Dragon’s voice echoed in my mind—he was currently invisible. Tunka possessed instincts even sharper than those of the Whale Tribe. I resolved to play the weakling more than ever today.

* * *

“We’re currently investigating how the Whirlpools suddenly disappeared. Father and the mages from the Fiefdom will be arriving soon as well.”

I stood on the Central Island, gazing at the now-calm sea, and nodded along with Amir’s words.

“Is that so? That’s fortunate. I do hope you discover the cause quickly.”

-You lie well.

I dismissed the Black Dragon’s comment lightly. With an impassive gaze, I surveyed the sea. It was utterly chaotic. The village fishermen had all emerged, and those who’d come for the Naval Base construction were conducting investigations and discussions.
The sounds from the surrounding Whirlpools mingled with human voices, creating a cacophony. Observing this, I added:

“I do hope the other Whirlpools disappear soon as well.”

-Another lie. Didn’t you say you’d maintain the Whirlpools for another year?

I dismissed the Dragon’s words again. Amir nodded with a determined expression at my statement.

“Yes. I will identify the cause and eliminate the other Whirlpools as well. Since so many have helped and I’ve been given this opportunity, I must seize it.”

Seeing Amir’s passionate demeanor, I felt a pang of guilt and opened my mouth.

“You and the Ubar Family will surely accomplish it.”
“…Thank you. Your words give me confidence, Young Master Kale.”

Amir’s warm gaze, carrying a serene smile, turned toward me. To her, I spoke with a serious expression.

“My head is spinning a bit from the sun. Would it be alright if I rested in the shade for a while before returning?”

From one side of the ship, I felt Tunka’s gaze—he stood with the Fisherman and the investigation team. From that distance, Tunka kept glancing toward me, still searching for that potent scent. But there was no way Tunka could discover the Black Dragon. It was the limitation of one who could neither sense aura nor mana.

“Of course. Since you’re convalescing, please don’t overexert yourself and rest well.”
“Yes, then.”

I made my way leisurely toward the forest of the Central Island. Amir watched me silently as I headed for the shade. Even while convalescing, I continued my work—I was certainly different from my past self. Though I spoke of being unwell, my appearance bore no sign of frailty. I merely looked fatigued.

“That’s what makes it remarkable.”

Amir, who dreamed of becoming the next lord, thought she too must cultivate such unwavering resolve. Passion gleamed in her calm eyes, and she approached the investigation team members.

Meanwhile, I headed toward the opposite side of the Central Island. There were no investigation team members there, and it was a good place to kill time.

-There’s a corpse over there. Aren’t you frightened? You’re not exactly cowardly.

I pretended once more not to hear the Black Dragon’s words and arrived at the opposite coastline. Then I stopped in my tracks at the sight before me.

“What is this?”

-It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!

The Black Dragon vehemently denied any involvement. But this time, I had no leisure to hear that voice. I approached the rock where the mermaid’s corpse had been. Yet I could only stop near where the rock had been.

‘…Was this Paseton’s doing?’

The rock was shattered into fragments.

“The mermaid’s corpse has…”

And the mermaid’s corpse had been reduced to powder. Because I knew the corpse had been there, I could recognize it; had anyone else witnessed this, they would have thought it merely rock dust.

This tremendous force.
It was undoubtedly the work of a whale.

And the power of an enraged whale at that.

Splash, splash. Suddenly the sea surface began to ripple. The Black Dragon’s voice reached me.

—Something is rising from the seabed. Very quickly!

I lifted my gaze toward the sea. Then, startled, I stumbled backward.

With a tremendous crash, something massive burst through the water’s surface. A grayish-black form. It was a living creature. Its eyes fixed upon me.

A whale.
A humpback whale, no less.
The humpback whale—called the guardian of the sea, protector of the weak. For generations, the kings of the Whale Tribe had been humpback whale humanoids.

Thump. Thump. Thump. My heart pounded. The whale’s gaze blazed with killing intent and scrutiny, instinct and reason intertwined, piercing directly into me. In this world, this was the first time I faced a superior being’s gaze as the inferior. The stronger creature bore down upon me, examining me piece by piece.

That was when it happened.

—Is that thing insane!

The Black Dragon’s furious voice thundered through my mind. Simultaneously, an invisible force rippled through the air. The whale’s eyes shifted toward that disturbance.

—How dare you look at my weak human like that!

Mana shimmered in the air as the sea’s surface began to churn. Yet the humpback whale remained unmoved. Instead, the 15-meter creature raised its tail and brought it crashing down upon the water. With a thunderous roar, the sea erupted.
From that action, I understood.

This is definitely a whale humanoid.

Thump. Thump. I steadied my racing heart. The vitality of crisis surged through me, and my unbreakable shield responded in kind. The ancient power prioritized its master above all else, perpetually ready to unleash its full strength.

I turned my head toward the shimmering air where the Black Dragon dwelled. I opened my mouth. But another voice reached me first.

“I’m not looking for a fight.”

The voice was beautiful, like a siren from legend. I shifted my gaze. The humpback whale slowly lifted its face completely above the water’s surface.

“Wow.”

Admiration escaped my lips. It was enormous. Terrifying. If that whale’s head alone rammed into me, I would surely perish.

—Why are you raising your head then? Everything you’ve done screams for a fight! Pathetic whale!

I sighed at the voice echoing in my mind and reached toward the rippling mana. An angry four-year-old was terrifying, after all.
The mana, which had been roiling as if ready to destroy everything, parted before my hand. A flicker of surprise crossed the whale’s eyes.

Something round touched my fingertips. The Dragon’s head. I patted it absently, without ceremony.

“Don’t be angry. You’ll hurt yourself.”

The rippling of mana began to subside rapidly. A small voice reached my ears.

-I won’t get hurt. I’m strong.

“I know. I know well. Still, you must be careful.”

Soothing a four-year-old was difficult. Yet the Dragon seemed to understand my words well enough.

-You weak human, you be careful instead.

The mana fluctuation settled. Only then did I turn my gaze toward the whale. The massive creature slowly lowered its enormous head toward me. I flinched at its sheer size but remained still. The murderous intent had vanished from the whale’s eyes.
The humpback whale’s colossal mouth opened before me.

“Let me ask one thing-”

That was when it happened.
From far along the horizon, a smaller whale came tearing through the sea surface like a madness, rushing toward us.
Compared to the 15-meter whale, it appeared quite small and fragile.

The whale approached with tremendous speed. And it cried out.

“Sister, you can’t bite her to death!”

The humpback whale before my face spun around in panic. The roiling seawater crashed down upon me with a thunderous splash. My clothes were soaked.

But I had no time to concern myself with that. I closed my eyes.

‘So it was that humpback whale after all.’

The whale approaching now—small for a whale though it was—would be Paseton. If so, then there was only one being who could call him sister.

The current Whale King’s daughter, and the one destined to become the next ruler.
The one who stood foremost alongside Choi Han in the battle against the merfolk.

Kale Heniatus turned around and caught sight of the X-shaped scar etched across the humpback whale’s back.

Witira.
It had to be her.

The colossal whale’s visage contorted. I shuffled backward cautiously, unwilling to intrude further upon the reunion of these humpback whale siblings.

That was when it happened. The small whale cried out once more.

“You absolutely cannot kill her!”

The Black Dragon spoke within my mind.

-We’re not fighting. What is that small whale going on about?

Indeed. I listened to the small whale’s thunderous voice and felt grateful that the opposite side of this place was far more chaotic, with everyone’s attention concentrated there. Otherwise, that booming cry would have drawn every soul in the vicinity to this very spot.

The reunion between the humpback whale and the small whale was drawing near. That was when the Black Dragon spoke with utter indifference.

-By the way, one more is coming.

One more? What do you mean?
I halted my backward shuffle and spun toward the forest.

“Kahahaha! I smell it, I smell it!”

A madman with hair as wild as a lion’s mane burst forth from the trees.
It was Tunka. His eyes gleamed with ravenous hunger. He tore through the forest at a frenzied pace, bellowing as he came.

“A powerful scent!”

In that instant, I crouched down. Thanks to this, Tunka and the humpback whale’s gazes locked directly. Before the situation could explode like a shrimp’s back, I shuffled sideways in a crouch, retreating inch by inch.

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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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