Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 625
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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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“Brother!”
Kale Heniatus moved with such urgency that Basen quickened his pace behind him, calling out his name.
“Young Master!”
At that moment, Hans, the deputy butler, approached from ahead and fell into step beside Kale. They exchanged no pleasantries of reunion.
“Hans, is this the alarm I was thinking of?”
“Brother!”
Basen stepped forward and spoke before Hans could respond.
“We are currently installing magical devices throughout the territory.”
Kale was already aware of this from Ron.
“Previously, the alarms were triggered by scouts or knights who detected enemy attacks. However, the magical devices we’ve installed now react when unusual forces—such as mana or aura—approach in abnormal ways.”
Mana, aura, or forces of similar nature.
“Of course, if a top-tier Mage or Sword Master or higher conceals their power, detection becomes difficult. But anything below that level can be detected even if hidden. And naturally, if such powerful individuals release their energy, we will certainly find them.”
Hans nodded in agreement with Basen’s explanation.
“Exactly! As the Young Master said, these are remarkably sensitive magical devices!”
Hans, breathing heavily despite his rapid pace, dutifully answered Kale’s questions.
“Furthermore, the alert level is determined by the intensity of the detected power!”
“Then we’re currently at the highest level?”
Hans swallowed hard at the question delivered with a chilling gaze.
“Yes, Young Master! It is the highest level!”
…What in the world has invaded our territory?
Flames flickered in Kale Heniatus’s eyes.
The White Star?
Or one of his subordinates?
Who could it be?
Who would be foolish enough to seek their own demise by coming here?
Yet Kale kept such thoughts to himself and asked calmly instead.
“Have magical detection devices advanced to such sensitivity?”
Given the unpredictable nature of threats to the Heniatus Territory, such a device proved invaluable.
“Young Master, where is this place?”
“Where indeed?”
At Hans’s question, Kale Heniatus responded curtly, prompting Hans to break into a knowing smile.
“The current strongest magical kingdom—Roan, is it not?”
Before the Magic Tower had been established, Roan harbored masters of the craft, including Rosalind.
And the nation’s magical support centered around the Crown Prince.
“Magical devices are developing in real time. Rosalind’s influence has been particularly significant.”
Hans and Basen remained unaware, but the moment Kale Heniatus mentioned Rosalind,
he recalled the three colleagues and mentor assisting her.
Raon, Erhafen, and Sherit.
Those three were surely supporting Rosalind’s research.
A wry smile twisted across Kale Heniatus’s lips.
“…So that’s why the Crown Prince hasn’t complained.”
With the White Star possibly advancing on Pursulsi,
Alberu would not have relied on Kale Heniatus alone.
He would have trusted the Roan Kingdom itself—trusted that they had the foundation to fight.
“Then this warning sound right now is reacting to a specific power?”
Whiiiing—whiiiiing—
The warning sound engulfed the mansion.
“Yes! Young master! There are currently five properly installed locations, and a messenger from the Lord’s Castle will arrive soon to tell us where it went off!”
It could even identify the specific area of intrusion.
Quite useful indeed.
Hans’s eyes gleamed with pride.
“Only someone with the wealth of the Heniatus Territory could accomplish this! It’s a magical device that costs an astronomical amount of gold, so you’d need to be able to pile money like mountains!”
Mountains?
Money like mountains?
Even in the urgency of the moment, Kale Heniatus paused briefly, but Basen moved ahead calmly and muttered.
“Not five mountains’ worth—just one mountain’s worth of gold isn’t even that expensive.”
Kale Heniatus wondered if Heniatus even had the wealth to create five mountains of gold, but he kept his focus forward on Basen’s command.
They had already reached the mansion’s main gate.
“Open the doors!”
At his command, the servants quickly opened the doors.
“Huff. Huff!”
Then a soldier came running from beyond the doors.
Hans pointed to that soldier.
“Young master, that’s the messenger— Wait! Young master!”
“Go ahead.”
Kale Heniatus brushed past him and shot forward at tremendous speed.
Only then did Hans understand why Kale Heniatus, who was weaker than him, was faster.
Whirlwinds swirled around both his feet.
“Me too.”
Meow, meow, meow!
Meow, meow!
-I’m going first too!
Choi Han and the average nine-year-old followed behind me.
Basen deliberately slowed his pace.
“Young Master! Shouldn’t we increase our speed as well?”
“My brother will.”
Basen felt an odd sense of relief at the urgency etched across my face.
“My brother will handle it better than I could. We should focus on internal defense rather than external intruders.”
“Yes! I will attend to the Acting Lord!”
“And contact the Lord in the Capital as well.”
“Yes!”
Basen trusted me.
Because I was the most reliable shield.
That’s why he chose to be the solid foundation upon which the shield could stand with peace of mind.
It was Basen’s way—choosing the pen over the sword.
But there was something he didn’t know.
My shield occasionally threw the first punch.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
The Messenger cried out urgently the moment he saw me.
“Young Master!”
“Where is the intrusion?”
“Gasp, gasp! It’s the west! The warning alarm from the western wall of Raincy’s western region!”
The west.
I immediately turned toward that direction.
At that moment, the Messenger’s desperate voice erupted from behind me.
“Lily is in the western outer region!”
“…What?”
“She was training with the soldiers, and I heard she was heading to the Western Gate to see you just moments ago! And then the warning alarm sounded shortly after-!”
Damn it.
My body shot forward like the wind.
The warning alarm was coming from the western section of the City Wall.
‘Definitely.’
Lily, who had been training outside, must have heard that I had arrived and rushed toward the castle as fast as she could.
I knew that Lily followed me quite closely. I had enough sense to notice that much.
‘And she’s weak.’
By the standards of myself and my companions, Lily in my records had talent but still lacked much.
“Everyone, prepare.”
I gave the command without even turning around.
Meow!
Meow!
Mist and poison began to rise slowly from On and Hong’s bodies.
-We can’t use magic while the device is being installed, but it’s urgent now, so let’s at least prepare!
And black mana began to gather in the empty space directly above me.
Whoooosh-
From Choi Han’s sword, a destructive black aura surged violently into the sky as if it could destroy anything.
Whiiiing-Whiiing-
“Close the gates!”
“Take shelter! Evacuate to the underground!”
“Move to the evacuation shelter!”
Despite the relentless warning sirens filling them with dread, the residents of the territory moved with swift efficiency.
It was clear they had conducted several drills.
“Oh! Young Master!”
“As expected, right away—!”
Those around them paused momentarily, their eyes turning toward me and my companions.
They moved too quickly to be seen clearly, but the crimson hair and the gleaming black aura were unmistakable.
That alone was enough to ease the residents’ anxiety.
“To think you would rush out like this the moment you returned from such a grueling trial…!”
“That person… they’re truly different. If a god were to descend into the human world, I wonder if they would be this virtuous.”
“Sob. As long as the Young Master is here, our territory, our shield, will never break!”
Words that would have made me shudder spilled from the mouths of several residents.
But I didn’t hear them.
Instead, my body had already reached the vicinity of the Western Wall.
Several soldiers were beginning to recognize me and open their mouths when—
“Miss!”
“Young Lady!”
I heard several Knights who appeared to be in charge desperately calling out to someone from the wall’s railing.
“…Lord Kale, I smell blood.”
The wind blowing from the west carried the thick scent of blood across the wall to me.
Lily. And blood.
Simultaneously, a cry echoed from beyond the wall.
“Please! Please save us!”
It wasn’t Lily.
But my body couldn’t help but react.
“Ugh! Wait! The blood—!”
Lily’s groans and urgent voice reached his ears.
“Damn it.”
Who was it?
What?
Just who—
“Just who is this bastard.”
His calm voice concealed a razor-sharp blade within it as his body surged skyward in an instant, riding the wind itself.
Simultaneously, brilliant golden light enveloped him, and the Destructive Fire seemed ready to rain down upon his enemy at any moment.
“Ah! Young Master!”
“The Young Master has arrived!”
Only then did the Soldiers and Knights notice him.
But Kale Heniatus paid them no mind, his gaze turning toward where Lily’s voice had come from.
-Human!
Of course, Raon was with him.
And then the enemy that had triggered the alarm in Kale Heniatus’s mind came into view.
-…Huh?
Raon’s head tilted in confusion.
“…What?”
Kale Heniatus tilted his head as well.
The battle scene came into focus before his eyes.
Yes, he could see it clearly.
The Elderly Knight beside Lily cried out.
“The Cat Tribe Soldiers are covert assassins! Do not let your guard down!”
“Yes, Master!”
And Lily’s greatsword stirred up a colossal gust of wind.
The larger greatsword compared to before seemed far too massive for Lily’s small hands.
No, a greatsword as tall as an average adult man was simply enormous to behold.
“Cough!”
And the gust from that greatsword struck down a man in assassin’s garb who had been attempting to flee.
-…Impressive. Quite strong.
Raon expressed brief admiration, but Kale’s eyes caught the faint luminescence emanating from Lily’s greatsword.
It was not the vivid aura that Choi Han possessed.
Only a faint wisp of aura rose from it.
That level was equivalent to standing on the threshold of a high-ranking knight.
“…Has she been wielding a sword for only about two years?”
What am I witnessing right now?
Confusion flickered through my mind for a moment.
-Two years is entirely possible! Am I not a magnificent six-year-old!
In that instant.
“Cough!”
Another successive attack from the massive greatsword felled what appeared to be an enemy in assassin’s attire.
-Cat Tribe Soldiers!
Their numbers were approximately ten or so.
My eyes grew cold.
Cat Tribe assassins. And Lily’s group was locked in a standoff against them.
Lily stood at the forefront, with an Elderly Knight and several other knights positioned beside her, forming a formation to protect and support her.
I murmured,
“There’s no way an alarm would sound for mere Cat Tribe Soldiers like that.”
Not just a warning—this was the highest-level emergency alert that rang only when the entire fiefdom was in critical danger.
His lips curved upward in an eerie smile.
“Kale Heniatus!”
One of the Cat Tribe Soldiers spotted him.
“What?!”
Lily’s eyes widened as she looked up.
Unlike Basen, whose skin grew increasingly pale as he resembled Kale more and more, Lily possessed healthy, bronzed skin, and she unconsciously lowered her greatsword to the ground.
“Lily! I told you never to let your guard down!”
The Elderly Knight rushed to her side.
“I’ll kill you!”
In that instant, one of the Cat Tribe Soldiers closed the distance with a swift, concealed movement, appearing right before Lily’s face.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
And it was sent flying.
Gulp.
The Elderly Knight, Lily’s mentor, swallowed hard.
The idol of all knights.
The Sword Master’s black aura had sent the Cat Tribe Soldier flying in an instant.
Choi Han had appeared before Lily without warning.
And he faced the Cat Tribe Soldiers.
Tap. Tap.
On and Hong descended to the ground from Choi Han’s shoulders.
“A mutant!”
“How dare you, you abandoned creature!”
A couple of the Cat Tribe Soldiers, including the fallen one, drew their blades upon seeing On and Hong.
“Hmph.”
On let out a scoff.
Hong laughed just as Kale Heniatus did.
“I have no idea what possessed you to come this far, but now you’re rats trapped in a cage!”
“Hong. That language is a bit crude.”
“That much is fine to say!”
On and Hong exchanged words with perfect composure.
“Curse it! How did things come to this!”
The one who appeared to be the commander of the Cat Tribe Soldiers furrowed his brow.
He tried to discreetly survey his surroundings in search of an escape route.
A shadow flickered.
But from within the forest shadows in the opposite direction from the City Wall, an elderly man’s eyes gleamed as he fixed his gaze upon him.
It was Ron.
Moreover, hidden figures emerged from the forest shadows all around, cutting off any path of escape for the Cat Tribe Soldiers.
They were all people from Mollan who had come to the Western Continent with Ron.
-You can’t escape! Humans are here now, so we’ll catch you all! Magic is allowed outside the castle!
“Damn it! When did you—!”
Hundreds of black arrows materialized around the Cat Tribe Soldiers, their tips aimed directly at them.
The intruders felt as though their bodies would be pierced through by those hundreds of arrowheads.
But in the end, they all looked toward Kale Heniatus.
Kale Heniatus, enveloped in golden light, descended to the ground with his hair billowing in the wind.
And he approached Lily.
He did not spare the Cat Tribe Soldiers a single glance.
Wiiiiing— Wiing—
The warning alarm continued to sound.
“It has been a long time.”
He approached Lily, whose face was blank, and casually ruffled her hair. The short-cut strands resembled chestnuts—quite adorable.
Lily couldn’t say anything and simply looked up at Kale Heniatus.
“You worked hard. Let’s go to the Mansion and eat after a bit.”
Lily nodded vigorously, her face trembling with emotion.
Kale Heniatus stroked Lily once more before stepping past her and the Knights.
The reason Lily and the Knights stood at the forefront.
It was to protect someone.
‘Ugh! Wait! The blood—!’
What Lily had cried out moments ago was not about herself, but about another.
In my eyes appeared a figure drenched in blood, barely breathing.
And the one carrying that person on their back spoke with a strained voice, their neck wounded.
A throat injury—a voice unfamiliar to me because of it.
“Please, please save them, Young Master!”
The one calling me Young Master.
It should have been a familiar voice.
I knelt on one knee beside her, who was barely standing, and met the gaze of the man on her back.
And I locked eyes with the man she carried.
Whiiiiiing—Whiing—
A magical device that responds to aura, mana, and certain other forces.
Moreover, judged as a dangerous power, its alert level was set to the highest.
The magical device was reacting to this man’s power.
The barely breathing figure was still pouring out every ounce of strength he possessed.
The reason was obvious.
I have come, so please recognize me.
This man would not have known about the Territory’s magical devices.
He must have done this expecting Raon or Erhafen to arrive.
Kale Heniatus’s lips slowly parted.
“…Duke Fredo.”
The leader of the Vampires.
The man who always seemed to embody what nobility should be, now appeared in a wretched state.
He barely clung to life, supported on the back of his right-hand subordinate.
Duke Fredo, who had suddenly lost contact with Alberu during their last video communication.
The one who had remained in the Endable Kingdom.
“…Duke Fredo, what on earth have you endured?”
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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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