Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 534

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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 116. If You Truly Desire It

The Grand Mansion where Duke Fredo resided.
In its first-floor hall, all the vampires associated with the mansion had gathered, conversing amongst themselves.

“What’s this about?”
“No idea. They told everyone to gather, so here we are.”

A palpable tension hung over their faces.

From those responsible for cleaning and food preparation to those handling security, and even the retainers managing all matters great and small concerning the Izerun Family—all had been summoned.

“…But the warriors aren’t here?”
“That’s right. Looks like everyone except them was called.”

With all personnel except the combat forces gathered, the spacious hall felt inadequate for their numbers.
In fact, it truly was insufficient.
Several of them stood in the adjoining rooms connected to the hall, peering about cautiously.

“The Butler didn’t come either.”
“The Butler must have gone to attend to Young Master Nar!”

Young Master Nar.
The moment those words left someone’s lips, the mouths of the surrounding vampires fell silent.
The reason tension lingered on their faces.
That reason spilled from one vampire’s mouth.

“…Does the Duke have something to say regarding Young Master Nar?”

Anxiety saturated his voice.
He whispered to his silent companion beside him.

“Just now, didn’t you see the healers rushing in? Something, something must be wrong—”
“Hey, be quiet!”

Only then did he find the composure to glance around.
Seeing the anxious eyes of the other employees like himself, he sealed his lips shut.

After Nar Von Izelern returned yesterday, the White Star and other nobles came and went from the mansion.
After that, peace settled in.
Everyone felt reassured that with the Duke unconscious, at least Nar Von Izelern remained here.
So today, I began the day with a somewhat lighter heart.

‘Yes, I felt a bit relieved.’

The Vampire, who had just closed his mouth at his friend’s rebuke, squeezed his eyes shut.

But just moments ago, guided by the Butler, the healers hurried toward Duke Fredo’s bedroom.
Nar Von Izelern hadn’t been seen all day, and neither had Solena.

‘I’m uneasy.’

Was something happening?
Anxiety began to fill the hearts of the Vampires in the Grand Mansion, including him.

To them, the Izerun Family estate—or rather, Duke Fredo—was far too precious a lord.

That was when it happened.

The staircase descending to the first-floor hall.
Nar Von Izelern appeared there.
He descended the stairs slowly, accompanied by Solena and Butler Melrndo behind him.

The expressions of the three Vampires descending the stairs were more serious than ever before.

The Vampires stationed in the hall straightened their posture and pressed their lips firmly shut.

‘I’ve never seen this before.’
‘Young Master wearing such a grave expression…!’

Nar Von Izelern, who always wore a gentle smile at the corners of his mouth.
His face was hardened today, unlike usual.
Thump. Thump.
The Vampires’ hearts began to beat louder, one by one.

Tap!
Nar stopped mid-staircase.

‘There are quite a lot of them.’

Nar—no, Kale—slowly surveyed the vampires gathered in the hall below the staircase.
Not just the hall, but the surrounding rooms and kitchen as well.
Everyone within this grand mansion had assembled here.
Excluding the guards and other military forces stationed outside.

At this moment, Kale recalled a particular piece of information.

‘The Endable Kingdom was founded roughly twenty years ago.’

It was information Duke Fredo had shared with him.
He had added something as he spoke those words.

‘Which means the White Star has just barely crossed twenty years of age in this lifetime.’

Kale could discern that the Endable Kingdom had begun alongside the White Star’s current life.

Of course, the preparations for the kingdom’s construction had begun much earlier, during the White Star’s previous lifetime, roughly fifty years ago.
In other words, the Endable Kingdom possessed a history spanning approximately seventy years when accounting for the preparation period.

Kale opened his mouth.

“Thank you all for gathering here despite your busy schedules.”

At his words, those assembled in the hall lifted their heads and gazed upon him.
Observing their eyes, Kale recalled a portion of the conversation he had shared with Duke Fredo before descending to this place.

‘My son.’
‘Kale.’
‘Yes, my friend. Do you truly intend to fight against Kale Heniatus?’

At Duke Fredo’s casual question, Kale gave a slight shrug.

‘Fight? Why would I fight?’

At Kale’s words that he would not fight, Duke Fredo nodded with a languid smile.

‘That’s right. Then, my son, do as you wish. This father will support your dreams!’
‘You’re going to stop acting, aren’t you?’
‘It’s rather entertaining, you see.’

I let out a scoff at Fredo’s words and asked, tossing the question casually.

‘You don’t like fighting?’
‘I don’t like fighting.’

It was a resolute answer without a moment’s hesitation.
I found myself momentarily bewildered and inadvertently pressed further.

‘Why?’

And to that question, Fredo posed one in return instead of answering.

‘What did you see on your way to this mansion?’

I was about to answer immediately, but the moment I caught sight of Fredo’s gaze, I chose silence instead.
His eyes held a gravity unlike any before.
Responding to his earnestness, I answered honestly after the silence.

‘It was all the same.’

It was identical.

‘Here and Rowan. Everything was the same.’

The sights I witnessed in the Heniatus Territory and those in the Enderble Capital 1st District were all identical.
Upon realizing this, I smiled and spoke to Fredo.

‘You deliberately had Solena arrange for me to pass through that way to show me that sight, didn’t you?’
‘Our son is quite clever.’

Fredo also smiled as he opened his mouth.

‘It was a father’s desire to impart a lesson to his son. So I showed you the path leading to this grand mansion.’

Fredo turned his gaze toward the window and continued speaking.

‘You’re right—it’s all the same. Here or out in the world.’

Up close, each life differed; from a distance, they all blurred together.
They shared the common thread of simply living.

‘We Vampires have lived for generations in hiding, never truly settling anywhere.’

Fredo spoke, his mind drifting back twenty years.

‘When I established myself here, I told the Vampires this.’

That moment remained crystalline in his memory.

‘I will give you a homeland to return to.’

He had wanted to create a home for them, a place to call their own.

‘By giving the Vampires a place to settle, a place to return to, I believe I have fulfilled my purpose.’

His gaze shifted from the window back to Kale.
Fredo met his eyes and spoke with unwavering resolve.

‘I have no desire to shed any more blood.’

Only then did Kale finally understand what Duke Fredo truly desired—the suspicion that had haunted him crystallized into certainty.

Why he coveted the throne.
Why, despite holding the rank of Duke, he had chosen to live as a twelve-year-old boy.
Why he had attempted to show warmth toward Kale, his companions, and even Alberu.

Now it all made sense.
Kale fell silent, and Fredo continued, observing his reaction.

‘And this is merely my intuition, but the White Star does not truly cherish the Endable Kingdom.’

Conversely, Kale could sense that Fredo genuinely treasured the Endable Kingdom.
Fredo gazed southward through the window of his mansion in the North.
There stood the White Palace.
The heart of the 1st District—the palace where the White Star dwelled.

‘The White Star, Priest Gersei—I can sense it from both of them. They don’t cherish this place.’

A bitter chuckle escaped.
A wry smile played across Fredo’s lips.

‘The Elderly Dark Elf and the Knight—I’ve observed them as well. They may be consumed by greed, yet their attachment to this kingdom runs deep.’

Among the four founding nobles, two harbored desires for power and strength.
Fredo did not despise them.

‘I don’t dislike them. Because I can sense that, for them too, this place is home.’

In that moment, Kale understood something.

I could trust this man, at least somewhat.
And now was the time to speak.

Kale’s mouth opened.

‘The White Star is cursed.’
‘Ah yes. A curse of repeating lives, is it not? Though it may be a blessing to him.’
‘That’s not it.’

Kale continued, and for the first time, Fredo’s expression twisted.

‘The White Star cannot possess anything precious. The moment he gains something dear, he loses it. That is his other curse.’
‘Ha!’

A sigh escaped Fredo.
After a long moment, he spoke.

‘…So Endable was merely a means to him. Everything was merely a means.’

Kale ceased his contemplation of Fredo after that moment, letting the thought slip away.
Instead, he addressed the Vampires watching him.

“My father is currently unconscious.”

Ah.
Someone’s sigh echoed through the space.

“And it remains unclear when he will awaken.”

In that instant, the atmosphere trembled violently.
But before anyone could speak, Kale opened his mouth first.
The boy’s voice, which had always sounded gentle, now commanded the space with composed authority.

“My father once said.”

The master of this house.
The son of that master spoke to them all.

“I will create a homeland for you to return to.”

Silence descended in that moment.
The vampires’ eyes wavered.
All except those barely twenty years old—newborns among vampires—remembered these words.

They recalled Duke Fredo.
The reason all vampires across the East-West Continent followed Duke Fredo and cherished him was abundantly clear.

Fredo Von Izelern.
He had always kept every word he spoke to the vampires.

To vampires whose specialty lay in deception, concealment, and escape, Duke Fredo had always spoken with truth and created a place where deception, concealment, and escape were unnecessary.

They had come here trusting Duke Fredo more than the White Star.
And they had gained a peaceful life.
A life so precious beyond measure.

“From this moment forward, I, Nar Von Izelern, as acting head of this house, command you.”

And now his son speaks to the vampires within this mansion.
No, that is not quite right.
The vampires sensed it.
These words were not meant only for those within this mansion, but for all vampires.
They could instinctively understand this.

The boy, who had always seemed delicate, spoke with quiet composure today—yet with a confidence that surpassed everyone else’s.

“Until my father awakens.”

A precarious situation.

“Trust me and follow my lead.”

Cooks, cleaners, guards—the Vampires living in Endable, regardless of their station, clenched their fists.

“Troubling events may occur. Chaos may descend upon us.”

Kale Heniatus spoke, observing the Vampires who fixed their gaze upon him.

“Yet trust in the Izerun Family and follow us.”

He spoke with sincerity.
Duke Fredo was someone worthy of trust.

‘Kale Heniatus. You may act as you wish. But you must remember that this place is the same as Rowan.’
‘Isn’t that obvious? One place is much like another.’
‘Yes. A natural thought.’

Fredo spoke.

‘I despise the thought of this peace crumbling to the White Star’s desires. He will wage war toward the East-West Continent. But before he established himself here, the races of this kingdom—Vampires foremost among them—have already suffered greatly. Most ordinary citizens welcome this peace and find happiness in it. One need only walk the streets to see it.’

Because Fredo could exist as the young, gentle Nar, he had been able to roam this kingdom freely, drawing close to its citizens and witnessing their lives.
Vampires. Dark Elves. Other races.
Without exception, their lives were ordinary.

‘I must protect this ordinary peace. That is my mission to those who trust and follow me.’

Fredo’s voice echoed in Kale Heniatus’s ears.
Kale spoke with his own sincerity, not Nar’s.

“I will block with these hands anyone who disturbs your peace, so do not waver even if chaos comes.”

The Vampires clenched their fists.

This is it.
This is what the Izerun Family is.

“Remember these words today and go about your day as usual. Then it will all pass.”

With those words, I crossed the hall and headed toward the mansion’s main gate.
Creeeeak—
The door opened slowly, and I stepped through it.
A black carriage bound for the Royal Palace awaited in front of the mansion.
I climbed into the carriage.

“Young Master.”

I turned my gaze.
Solena climbed into the carriage beside me and whispered softly.

“Thank you.”

Gratitude toward me resonated in her voice.

“Don’t mention it. I’m about to cause quite a mess.”

According to the plan, Duke Fredo would remain unconscious for quite some time, and troublesome matters would unfold on the White Star’s end.
War would not break out in the Endable Kingdom, but unease would certainly spread.

I had merely offered the obvious reassurance that the Vampires, who would be more anxious than others with their leader also unconscious, should not cause chaos.

Smile.
A gentle smile graced Solena’s lips.

“Young Master, it is fine. We will not waver and will spend our day as usual.”

She paused briefly before closing the carriage door.
Solena could see the Vampires moving forward into their daily routines.
Their steps carried far less concern for the patriarch’s wellbeing.

Thud.
The carriage door closed, and she spoke to me in Nar’s form.

“And that’s why I’m grateful.”

Because I felt your sincerity.
There was genuine conviction in Kale’s words about blocking those who would disturb the peace.

“…I haven’t really done anything worthy of gratitude, though?”

At Kale’s bewildered expression, as if asking what nonsense that was, Solena smiled and gently opened the carriage door toward the driver’s seat.
Then she spoke to the coachman.

“Let’s head to the Royal Palace.”
“Yes!”

With the coachman’s spirited reply, the carriage carrying Kale set off toward the Royal Palace.

* * *

The heart of the 1st District of Endable Capital.
This place, called the White Castle because the White Star resides here.

The Grand Conference Hall at the center of the palace, where 101 individuals occupied their positions.

‘Shall I begin soon?’

Kale surveyed his surroundings discreetly, like a hunter with prey within arm’s reach.
Of course, his demeanor was that of an innocent young boy still unaccustomed to such conferences.

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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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