Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 539

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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 117. You Wanted to See Me?

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

White Star scrutinized Mok as he posed the question, his gaze sweeping methodically across the man’s form.
Mok tensed at that voice, but he deliberately squared his shoulders and responded.

“I have brought you some useful information, sir.”
“Information?”
“Yes.”

A soft chuckle escaped.
A smile played at the corners of White Star’s lips.

“Information gathered without my knowledge, then?”

A tremor ran through him.
Mok’s shoulders quivered slightly. He slowly straightened from his bow and met White Star’s gaze.
The unmasked White Star’s cold, indifferent eyes were fixed upon him.
The indifferent eyes of White Star, unmasked, were fixed upon him.

“…I feel it every time, but we’re so different.”

Every time Mok faced White Star’s unmasked face, tension naturally coursed through his body.

Of course, it wasn’t as if we ran into each other often.

The third group.

A special moment that arrived at regular intervals. Visible only in those brief windows.
Today, that moment was now.
That moment was only now, today.

White Star’s presence transformed entirely.
Because of this, Mok dared aspire to the rank of Duke, but he could never covet the throne itself.
That is why Mok aspired to the Duke’s position at most, but dared not covet the King of Wiper’s throne.

A glance.
Mok’s gaze drifted momentarily toward the bathtub where White Star reclined.
Black liquid.
Immersed in that pool brimming with dead mana, White Star appeared serene.

‘A detestable creature.’

I ceased my contemplation of White Star—that detestable being—and bowed once more.

“My sincerest apologies.”

There was no need for further words. Excuses would only worsen matters.

“So then.”

White Star’s lips parted again.

“What weakness of Kale Heniatus have you brought me?”
“…Are you familiar with the Black Castle in the Dark Forest?”

The moment I uttered ‘Dark Forest,’ White Star’s pupils gleamed with sudden intensity—though I, still bowed, could not perceive it.

“No. I know nothing of the Black Castle.”

Still bowed, I extended a bundle of documents forward.

“This should suffice for your understanding.”

The information document Duke Fredo had compiled and which I had received from Nar.
A new document I had drafted based upon that foundation.
To claim it entirely as my own achievement.

“Bring it here.”

I approached White Star and extended the documents.

“Hmm.”

Rustle, rustle.
The pages of the documents turned slowly, one by one, and with each turn, a subtle smile played across White Star’s expression.
Mok could discern the faint stirring of fervor kindling within eyes grown weary from over a thousand years of repetitive existence.

‘It’s done!’

In that moment, he became certain that this operation could be executed.
It was the intuition of one who had served as his lord for countless ages.

Tap.
The documents were closed.

“Excellent.”

White Star handed the documents back to Mok with those brief words.
Mok accepted them carefully and stood in silence, his head bowed.
White Star gazed out the window for a moment, lost in thought.

“He is my destined rival.”

One from the Demon Realm. One from the Divine.

“Both recognized by transcendent beings of different natures.”

He rose from the bathtub.
Whoooosh—
The black liquid did not drip downward but swirled around his body in a vortex.

“But I am different from him.”

The weariness vanished from White Star’s eyes, replaced entirely by fervent intensity.

“I shall become a transcendent being itself. But he can never become divine.”

White Star’s lips curved upward.
He turned from the window to look down upon Mok.

“Proceed according to Count Mok’s plan. However.”

“It must not become an obstacle to my grand design.”

“Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty.”

Mok offered his gratitude with genuine sincerity.

“Then I shall take my leave.”

Mok turned toward the door. As he did, the White Star’s indifferent voice reached him.

“You mentioned drawing in Nar?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“See that he comes to no harm.”

Mok’s gaze shifted toward the White Star.
A remarkably tender expression was painted across his face.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”
“And ascertain whether he possesses the mettle to be of use.”

Mok’s shoulders stiffened. His eyes turned back toward the White Star.
The White Star maintained that same gentle expression, yet his voice fell upon Mok’s ears with unmistakable coldness.

“From what I observed this time, he bears the bearing of one who might become a formidable force—perhaps on par with Duke Fredo. So when the moment is safe, put him forward now and then to test his worth.”

Mok reflected.

“Is Nar not the future of Endable?”

Not the future of Endable, but rather a need for a powerful subordinate—was that it?
Among the Ancient Nobles, Mok alone bore the appearance of an elderly man.
He had lived that long.
And thus he possessed a certain depth of experience.

“I shall bear it in mind, Your Majesty.”

He bowed to the White Star, yet he did not trust him in the slightest.

“I will ensure you receive results that are absolutely satisfactory.”
“Very well. You may go.”
“Yes.”

Count Mok carefully opened the door and stepped outside.
Click.
The door closed with a soft, barely audible sound.

White Star gazed at the closed door before sinking back into the bath.

“Priest.”

At his call, a section of the wall shifted, revealing a passage. From it emerged Priest Gersei, carrying a white mask wrapped carefully in white cloth in both hands.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Count Mok’s idea was quite sound, was it not?”
“Indeed. If we proceed with the Count’s plan, we should be able to quell the discontent among the Nobility Candidates.”

Gersei’s gaze met White Star’s.
A gentle smile graced the Priest’s lips.

“The festival will proceed without any complications.”

Gersei spoke with unwavering conviction.

“There will be no obstacles to the grand undertaking.”

White Star closed his eyes at those words, sinking deeper into the bath.
Gersei quietly withdrew, speaking as he did.

“I will present the mask when the time comes.”
“Very well.”

White Star remained submerged in the dead mana liquid, eyes closed.
And so the night wore on.

* * *

Kale felt an inexplicable tightness in his throat and adjusted his collar with his hand.
In the mirror before him, a boy with violet eyes was frowning deeply.

“My son.”

And beyond that boy’s shoulder, Duke Fredo lay upon the bed, his sickly pallor unmistakable.
When Kale offered no response, Fredo spoke again.

“My son.”
“What is it?”
“Are you heading to the Grand Conference Hall now?”
“Yes.”

Fredo watched the back of Kale—now wearing Nar’s form—and shook his head slowly.

“My, how our son gives such cursory answers.”

Kale dismissed the remark lightly and moved toward the bedroom door.
Though he had spent the night tending to his father’s bedside, he now presented himself as a son who had completed all preparations for the proposal he had initiated, departing for the Royal Palace.

Before Kale could turn the doorknob, Fredo’s voice reached him from behind.

“Do not underestimate the White Star.”
“…What do you mean?”
“That mask he always wears—it is an artifact from the Demon Realm. As for its purpose, only Priest Gersei among us knows it, aside from the White Star himself.”

So the mask was indeed an artifact from the Demon Realm.
Kale, still facing the door without turning, recalled the excommunicated Priestess Cage.

“However.”

Then Fredo’s words continued.

“When the White Star removes his mask, his presence becomes entirely different from when he wears it.”

Fredo’s gaze upon Kale’s back grew distant and grave.

“Unmasked, he bears the unmistakable countenance of one who has lived ceaselessly for a thousand years.”

Those weary, indifferent eyes only revealed themselves completely when the mask was removed.
And the true aura of White Star as well.

“Of course, he said that before becoming a demon, that mask cannot be removed often. It can only be removed at specific times. This is something only White Star, Priest Gersei, and the Vice High Priest know.”

And it was information that Fredo also knew.
In other words, since the Vice High Priest, who was in a cooperative relationship, knew about it, Fredo knew as well.

Kale Heniatus’s gaze toward the door sharpened for a moment before relaxing, and his lips parted.

“I don’t take anyone lightly.”

After learning a new side of Duke Fredo yesterday regarding a matter involving a Ranger Unit member, I no longer entertained complacent thoughts about anyone.
I turned my head to look at Fredo.

“In any case, remember what you’ve said.”

Fredo laughed helplessly as I answered in a light tone, seeing me off.

“Yes. Son, have a safe trip.”

I ignored that greeting and left the bedroom.
Click.
The bedroom door closed shortly after, and Fredo murmured while looking at that door.

“Hmm. I wish he would remember it.”

White Star with a mask and White Star without one.
The difference between the two could not be known unless experienced directly.
How different they were.

“It feels like the very essence changes.”

Fredo resolved to explain that feeling in detail once Kale Heniatus returned, then rose from the bed.
After stretching lightly, he approached a wall without a mirror.

Click.
Following his finger, one section of the wall depressed inward.

And there was someone watching this scene in secret, cloaked in invisibility.
That presence recalled what Kale Heniatus had said early this morning.

‘I just can’t bring myself to trust him. He seems like a good man to his subordinates, but I don’t get the sense he’s a good man to me.’

The invisible, plump front paw quickly covered its own mouth.
The owner of that paw—Raon—swallowed back words that were about to spill out unbidden, and spoke only in his mind.

‘That’s right! Our human’s mind really does work brilliantly!’

Kuuuung—
The moment Fredo’s hand touched the wall, a circular arched passage materialized.
Tap. Tap.
Fredo descended the staircase within the passage.

‘Human! The great me has figured it all out!’

Once Raon saw Fredo completely disappear down the passage, he quietly approached the mirror.

Tap.
He knocked very softly.
It was a sound so faint that only someone with hearing beyond the ordinary could detect it, and only with deep concentration.
After that, Raon carefully followed Fredo toward the underground chamber.

‘Raon. Of course, your safety comes first.’

Raon remembered Kale Heniatus’s words clearly, so he prepared magic to escape at any moment before heading down the passage.

And shortly after.
Ssssssh—
The mirror opened.
From beyond the mirror, someone with hearing beyond the ordinary—concentrating more deeply than ever before—crossed through the mirror passage into the bedroom.

‘Raon gave the signal properly. There’s no one here.’

That person was Choi Han.
Choi Han confirmed the empty bedroom and gazed quietly at the open passage before beginning to move with utmost discretion.

‘Choi Han. You search the bedroom when you get the chance. Gather any information that might be useful.’

Choi Han silently ransacked the bedroom according to Kale Heniatus’s orders.
His movements were so discreet that even the butler outside the door remained unaware.

Meanwhile, Kale Heniatus boarded the carriage under Solena’s guidance, Fredo’s loyal subordinate.
Leaning back against the familiar carriage seat, I listened to Solena’s voice.

“To the Royal Palace.”

Solena commanded the coachman, and the carriage immediately set off toward the White Castle.

Clop, clop.
I leaned back against the carriage seat and gazed out the window.

‘With the mask removed and without it. The difference is that great?’

I was turning over Fredo’s words in my mind.
Fredo didn’t know it, but for me, “etching something into one’s mind” meant remembering it with the utmost care.

It meant recording it.

‘An artifact of the Demon Realm.’

The White Star and his white mask.
I would need to investigate this.

I recalled Priestess Cage, the excommunicated priestess I was scheduled to have a video call with this evening.
She would surely know something.
As my mind methodically pieced together plans and sketched out the full picture, my carriage drew ever closer to the White Castle.

* * *

“I will now announce the results regarding the proposal put forth by Nar Von Izelern!”

Count Mok spoke in the Grand Conference Hall with a more forceful voice than ever before.
The moment one hundred gazes converged upon him.

“The result is the ‘Black Castle Destruction’ operation.”

The Grand Conference Hall erupted into commotion.
Everyone struggled to conceal their bewilderment at this sudden operation announcement, which seemed incongruous with the agenda’s conclusion.

Yet those who knew of last night’s events fixed their gaze upon Count Mok’s lips with distinctly different expressions in their eyes.
Once this conference concluded, there would be no further gatherings, and a festival would unfold in the days to come.
The final conference before the festival.

“The operation is quite straightforward.”

Count Mok announced the festival that ninety-six people had been anticipating—a celebration bearing the name ‘Battle’.

“We shall destroy Kale Heniatus’s stronghold.”

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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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