Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 538

—————

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

—————

Count Mok’s gaze shifted toward the documents slowly unfurling across the table.

‘Valuable information, you say?’

He tore his eyes from the documents to regard Kale Heniatus. Sensing his gaze, Kale lifted his head as well, and Count Mok opened his mouth to speak.

“…Does the Seca Estate involve itself in such matters?”
“Of course. Why else would I be a Duke?”

Ha!
Count Mok barely suppressed the exclamation that threatened to burst from his throat.

“Do you know of anyone else who gathers information like this?”
“You mean gathering intelligence in this manner?”
“Yes.”

Count Mok felt tension creep unbidden into his body.
The young man’s eyes reflected an indifference, as though the matter were of no consequence.

“Would there be?”

At that nonchalant response, Count Mok’s grip tightened on the armrest.

‘So Duke Fredo has been gathering intelligence behind the scenes without even reporting to His Majesty!’

Moreover, given that he had brought what he called premium-grade information, it appeared the Duke had established a system sophisticated enough to classify intelligence by rank.
Count Mok knew that Duke Fredo possessed the greatest martial prowess among the four Ancient Nobles currently alive.

‘I had thought him merely an eccentric whose thoughts were unfathomable, a man loyal to His Majesty!’

Count Mok could not conceal his astonishment at this newly revealed truth.
Simultaneously, a thought formed in his mind.

‘…To ascend to the rank of Duke, one must be capable of such things.’

Tendons bulged across the back of his hand as he gripped the armrest.
Count Mok’s gaze returned to the documents, gleaming with intensity—a reflection of his regret at failing to gather such intelligence himself, and his resolve to do so in the future.
Beyond that lay a fierce ambition: if he could do the same, he too might ascend to the rank of Duke.

‘Truly, what a complicated way for an old man to live.’

Kale Heniatus observed Count Mok’s state and suppressed a smile within himself.

Rustle.
And at last, a document containing “top-secret intelligence” unfolded in Kale’s hands.

“Take a look, if you would.”

Count Mok leaned forward instinctively at Kale’s words, his gaze fixed upon the document.

【1. Presumed Base of Operations for Kale Heniatus】

“The base of operations for Kale Heniatus…?”

Count Mok’s eyes naturally shifted toward Kale. The young man smiled and gestured.

“Continue reading.”

Mok returned his gaze to the document.

“Count, if you focus on the text highlighted in red first, that should suffice.”

Though the document contained numerous passages, the red text stood out distinctly, and Mok followed Kale’s suggestion, reading only the highlighted portions first.

【The Dark Forest—a mysterious region within the Heniatus Territory of the Roan Kingdom.】
【Confirmed: The families of Kale Heniatus’s associates reside there. Identified as the Black Castle, located at the center of the Dark Forest. (Verified from aerial reconnaissance).】
【The Tiger Tribe and other forces maintain constant garrison there; security is exceptionally tight.】

The Heniatus Territory.
For the leadership of the Endable Kingdom, it was a place heard of not just once, but countless times.
It was Kale Heniatus’s homeland—and the location where the Northern Alliance’s first operation had failed.
Among familiar place names, Mok discovered new intelligence.

“…There is a castle in the Dark Forest of the Heniatus Territory?”

And that place is where Kale Heniatus’s companions and their families reside?
Simultaneously, it is also where Kale Heniatus himself stays?
Count Mok’s gaze naturally shifted to the next sentence.

【Access is not easy due to Kale Heniatus’s companions and the Tiger Tribe staying at the castle.】

At the very bottom of the document.
The sentence painted in the deepest red.

【However, if this place were to be attacked and occupied, it would be entirely possible to inflict serious damage upon Kale Heniatus and his companions through the hostages held here.】

The sentence written at the very bottom was in Duke Fredo’s handwriting.
Count Mok, who presided over the grand conference.
He had reviewed the documents containing proposals from the Ancient Nobles many times, and thus their handwriting was familiar to him.

‘Then the sentence written at the bottom must be Duke Fredo’s opinion.’

The final red sentence could be interpreted as Duke Fredo’s assessment of this classified information.

‘…The probability that this information is genuine has increased.’

Moreover, Mok’s trust in the information had risen.
He was the Duke Fredo whom he had even visited to check his condition.
Duke Fredo had been in a state of unconsciousness, and there was no way such a person could write letters.

This meant the information had been written before Duke Fredo lost consciousness, and unless Duke Fredo had gone mad and written nonsense, the likelihood of it being genuine was quite substantial.

Mok soon composed his expression and, feigning indifference, looked at the Young Prince and asked.

“…What is this?”
“You’ve already seen it all.”

The Young Prince smiled playfully.

“I have seen it, but I do not understand why you would present this to me.”

Count Mok could see the playfulness vanish from the Young Prince’s face at his words.

“Count.”

The Young Prince leaned forward toward Count Mok.

“Currently, the Tiger Tribe—the core forces guarding the Black Castle located in the heart of the Dark Forest—have departed to the Roan Kingdom Capital alongside Crown Prince Alberu.”

Tap. Tap.
The Young Prince tapped lightly upon the document as he continued.

“And where, pray tell, are those other renowned forces of Kale Heniatus?”

Count Mok’s eyes met those of the Young Prince.

“Count. They are scattered across all the locations where the four-way battle we prepared unfolds.”

The Lake of Despair in the Northern Western Continent.
The Northern Snowy Mountains of the Eastern Continent.
The Molden Kingdom of the Eastern Continent.
The Sten Territory and Capital of the Roan Kingdom in the Western Continent.

“Finally, our intelligence unit has ascertained the whereabouts of Kale Heniatus.”
“…Where?”
“He has gone to the Lake of Despair in the north, according to our intelligence operative who infiltrated the Sten Territory.”
“…So he went to the World Tree.”
“Indeed. From Kale Heniatus’s perspective, would the World Tree not be his greatest concern?”

Count Mok nodded silently in affirmation.
Simultaneously, he felt his mouth growing dry. Tension began to settle gradually within his body.
Count Mok understood the reason.
Yet he did not voice it aloud. The Young Prince before him would speak it first.

“Count. The Black Castle is currently empty.”

Count Mok’s heart began to pound with increasing intensity.
A scheme naturally took shape within his mind.
The Young Prince’s voice fueled it further.

“To be precise, there are no powerful individuals there. There are a few magical formations, but no one guards them. If we go and clash with them a few times, we should be able to destroy those formations.”

We can destroy them.
That sentence embedded itself deeply within Count Mok’s mind.

“Count Mok. Instead, that place contains the weakest of what Kale Heniatus possesses—those he must protect.”

From the intelligence gathered thus far, Count Mok understood that Kale Heniatus held his comrades in the highest regard.
Moreover, he was consumed by the heroic impulse to shield the vulnerable.

Ignoring the violent hammering of his own heart, he asked with measured calm.

“…But surely Kale Heniatus would not leave that place unguarded indefinitely, would he?”
“That is precisely why it must be now!”

The Young Prince’s voice rose with fervor.
Count Mok’s heart thundered in response.

“Count Mok, Kale Heniatus believes we have not discovered this place, and thus he may judge it safe to leave the castle temporarily! But given his nature, he will surely dispatch forces swiftly to protect those weak and precious to him!”

Boom!
The Young Prince’s hand crashed against the table.
Count Mok and the Young Prince’s eyes locked upon one another.

“Count Mok, which is why we must act before then!”

The Young Prince’s eyes burned with intensity.
Kale, the Young Prince, spoke each word with deliberate force, his resolve to strike from behind crystalline and unwavering.

“You and I, Count Mok. And the chosen ones among the 96 Nobility Candidates. We shall seize this castle.”

We.
That singular word enveloped Count Mok in its conspiratorial embrace.

Count Mok’s blood ignited. He slowly lifted himself from the chair’s back, organizing his thoughts.

‘Since this is neither open warfare nor large-scale invasion, His Majesty will likely grant approval.’

No.

‘This brilliant stratagem that Nar has brought is precisely the kind of strategy His Majesty would covet.’

The more he considered it, the more brilliant the strategy became.
A means to quell the discontent of the Nobility Candidates hungry for glory, while simultaneously delivering a blow to Kale Heniatus.

Count Mok asked bluntly, staring at Kale Heniatus in Nar’s form.

“Taking Kale Heniatus’s Black Castle—is that enough for you?”
“Not in the slightest.”

The young prince laughed.
Fury seethed beneath that laughter, and Mok interpreted it as rage directed at Kale Heniatus.

‘After everything I’ve endured!’

But Kale was awakening something far deeper—his wrath toward the White Star.
He continued.

“Seizing that castle will be merely the beginning. I’ll draw Kale Heniatus himself into this conflict. And—”
“You’re prepared for all-out war?”
“Precisely. A single spark can burn an entire mountain, can it not?”

Mok posed the question with measured restraint.

“His Majesty would not desire such an outcome.”

A thin smile spread across the young prince’s face.
Mok saw through it instantly.

‘This wretch!’

Mok realized that what Nar truly desired was nothing short of total war.

‘He’s utterly unrestrained.’

Was it because he lacked worldly wisdom?
Or had his innocence only recently begun to tarnish?

Either way, it posed no disadvantage to Mok.
He watched as the document slid forward across the table.
He could see the document being pushed toward him.

“Here, take this.”

Kale Heniatus spoke to the elderly man brimming with greed.

“Make it your achievement.”

His voice was calm, yet carried a subtle suggestion.

“And choose. Draw them in.”
“…Draw in what?”
“Only a handful of the ninety-six will be able to participate in this operation. It’s not something that can be done on a large scale.”
“…!”
“Select those who will be chosen with your own hands. Then they will follow you, Count.”

Count Mok’s lips began to curl upward, bit by bit.

“You will have your own faction, Count. When Endable becomes known across the continent.”
“Ha, hahahaha—”

The elderly man finally burst into laughter.
He could not contain it.
Then, the boy’s composed voice reached his ears.

“I need nothing if I can only avenge my father.”

Count Mok’s laughter ceased abruptly.

“Is that truly all?”

This boy doesn’t seem naive enough to pass up such a golden opportunity, to yield it to me like this.
Count Mok’s sharp gaze turned toward Kale Heniatus.

A thin smile.
Kale Heniatus smiled.

“My father will be bedridden for quite some time, so I must demonstrate my capabilities as well. I plan to deploy more than half of the Vampires’ full strength in this operation.”

Thwack!
Count Mok struck his own knee with his hand.

“So you plan to demonstrate your leadership among the Vampires.”
“Indeed. To wage war, one must first secure their position as leader, must they not?”

Khkhkhkh—
Count Mok made no attempt to conceal the laughter that continued to pour forth.

“Excellent!”

He rose from his seat. Nar stood as well, facing him directly.

“This old man shall lend you his aid.”
“Thank you, Grandfather.”

In that moment, Count Mok and Kale Heniatus had once again become a doting grandfather and his cherished grandson.

“Then I shall await your assistance with confidence.”
“Yes. Trust only in this old man.”

Count Mok escorted the hooded boy to the main gate of the Grand Mansion.

“Then I shall take my leave.”

Click.
The worn, ordinary carriage door closed, and Nar and Solena slipped away from the Grand Mansion as discreetly as they had arrived.
Count Mok watched until the carriage vanished from sight, then issued a command to his butler.

“Prepare a carriage. I must depart for the White Castle.”

His gaze turned toward the White Castle.
It still gleamed with light.
Its master knew no sleep.

“…This time!”

A towering inferno of ambition blazed within the old man’s eyes.

And shortly after, Kale hid himself within the shadows and fixed his gaze upon a single location.
Clop clop.
A carriage emerged from Count Mok’s mansion and rushed swiftly toward the White Castle.
Kale heard Solena’s voice beside him.

“He’s fallen into the trap.”
“Yes. Though he doesn’t realize it himself.”

Kale finally rose from his crouched position and made his way toward the carriage he had concealed nearby.
He spoke as he climbed aboard.

“I’m curious how Count Mok will persuade the White Star.”
“He will certainly succeed in persuading him.”

Kale and Solena’s eyes met.
She spoke with a subtle smile playing across her lips.

“For the sake of his desires.”
“Indeed.”

Soon the worn and ordinary carriage began its journey homeward.

* * *

“Count Mok. What brings you here?”
“Your Majesty. I apologize for visiting at such a late hour.”

Count Mok bowed deeply toward the White Star, who was immersed in a bathtub filled with a dark liquid.

“Your Majesty. I have discovered a weakness of Kale Heniatus.”

The White Star’s gaze turned toward Count Mok.

—————

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

—————