Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 636
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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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My face had scrunched up so severely that I couldn’t seem to smooth it back out.
“Kale. Are you asking for my blood right now?”
Erhafen beside me regarded both Kale and Duke Fredo with considerable displeasure, his gaze alternating between them.
Then he spoke in fragmented bursts.
“…Your blood is… a cure-all?”
That was when it happened.
“Absolutely not, human!”
Raon came rushing forward from behind me, his wings fluttering vigorously.
Of course, Sherit was with him.
I had thought they would have a lengthy conversation with the Dragon Hybrid, but it seemed they had finished rather quickly.
“Human! Your blood is out of the question! You’re weaker than Yurie! No, honestly speaking, you’re weaker than Pastry! If anyone touches you, you’ll just crumble to pieces! So if we extract your blood, you’ll just crumble!”
For some reason, Raon’s concern for me sounded rather ticklish to my ears.
Erhafen pointed at Duke Fredo while looking at Raon.
“What about Duke Fredo then?”
“…I can’t just leave him be!”
Raon’s eyes rolled about in confusion before he extended one of his front paws.
“I-I’ll give my blood instead!”
I stared at Raon with an expression of utter speechlessness.
Who in their right mind would use the blood of a young creature?
The suggestion was so absurd that I found myself momentarily unable to speak.
Even Erhafen wore a dumbfounded expression, while Sherit shook her head with a faint smile.
Yet the silence that formed seemed to carry a very different meaning for someone present.
“…No… no, that won’t…”
Kale turned his gaze toward the fragile, thread-like voice.
Duke Fredo’s lips moved slightly, his eyes still closed as if dead, his expression utterly vacant.
“…Dragon blood… hate it… reptile blood tastes awful….”
In that moment, Kale understood.
“Hey.”
His expression darkened.
“Are you alright?”
Duke Fredo continued to mutter without opening his eyes, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever.
“…I’m not….”
Kale looked down at Duke Fredo’s hand gripping his wrist.
Right.
If he weren’t alright, he couldn’t muster such strength.
Accepting that reality, Kale came to a realization.
‘This bastard’s actually fine.’
With a sharp motion, Kale shook off Duke Fredo’s hand. Unlike before, the hand released his wrist without resistance.
“Why aren’t you opening your eyes?”
At Kale’s voice, his eyelids slowly lifted.
“When did you wake up?”
Fredo smiled at Kale’s question—a grin that was quite bright, though clearly lacking in strength.
“I woke up around the time the Necromancer left this room. He seemed to be leaving in a hurry, so I waited without saying anything, and here comes our son.”
Sigh.
I shook my head with a weary exhale, and in that moment, Raon placed his front paw firmly on Fredo’s forehead.
“Fredo! We can’t use our human’s blood!”
“…I suppose that would be the case?”
A brief but bitter glimmer flickered across Duke Fredo’s eyes as he answered with that cunning smile.
Noticing this, I spoke up immediately.
“Why do you need my blood?”
Duke Fredo fell silent for a moment.
But I didn’t need to hear his answer—I had already deduced it myself.
“You’re planning to rescue the Vampires?”
The Vampires and Dark Elves currently residing in the Endable Kingdom were being held captive as sacrifices for the White Star’s summoning.
Thanks to that, their safety was guaranteed until the summoning began, but the moment it started, their lives would be in grave danger.
“Yes, I have to rescue them.”
Duke Fredo had to go save those who had been taken captive immediately.
However, despite his outward appearance of recovery, his body’s condition was a mess internally, and he couldn’t engage the White Star in combat in this state.
I looked down at the pale-faced Duke Fredo and opened my mouth.
“Rest.”
“I can’t—”
“I’ll bring them all back.”
Duke Fredo’s eyes turned toward me.
“Just tell me.”
The corners of my mouth lifted.
“Where that White Star bastard is, and where the people of the Endable Kingdom are being held. Just tell me that. We’ll handle the rest.”
A short sigh that resembled laughter escaped Duke Fredo’s lips.
There was no other choice.
There was no other way.
“…she thought she had to run away to Kale Heniatus in order to survive.”
But then again.
But here’s the thing.
“You’re saying we’re going to rescue the Vampires and Dark Elves, right?”
Duke Fredo, struck by this sudden thought, regarded Kale with fresh eyes and opened his mouth.
Duke Fredo suddenly opened his mouth, regarding Kale with a fresh gaze as a thought occurred to him.
“…If it’s something important enough to leave without taking your life, it must be quite significant.”
“Yes. You should know this too, right?”
“Yeah. You know that too, right?”
A strange light flickered in Duke Fredo’s eyes.
“White Star is imperfect.”
Kale Heniatus nodded at his words.
“White Star never obtained the power of the earth. That’s why his vessel is currently imbalanced. No matter how sturdy White Star’s vessel is, the continued imbalance will limit him from using his full power.”
Therefore, if White Star had something urgent to do, it was only one thing.
That’s why if White Star had something urgent to do, it was Hana.
“Yes. He seemed to be searching for the power of earth, or something to substitute for it. Of course, that’s my deduction. White Star might have left to do something else.”
“Yes. It seemed like he was going to find the power of the earth, or something to replace it. Of course, that’s just my inference. White Star might have left to do something else.”
Kale crossed his arms and murmured.
Kale Heniatus muttered while crossing his arms.
If even one of them occurred, the East-West Continent would fall into tremendous chaos. White Star was trying to fill the last remaining gap to dominate that chaos.
If either of them happens, the East-West Continent will fall into tremendous chaos. White Star tried to fill the last remaining gap to dominate that chaos.
“The fact that he left without hesitation in such an urgent situation means he must have already had some kind of clue.”
Perhaps I needed to account for the possibility that White Star possessed the power of the earth as well.
As much time as Kale had to prepare, they would be accumulating their strength on the other side.
“Human! Even so, we now have six dragons! Seven if you count the Dragon Hybrid!”
“Well, the little one’s got a point.”
“Gold Dragon Grandpa! I’m not a little one anymore! Dodori said so! She said I’m not a little one but a young person!”
“…Good grief. Getting along so well with someone just like himself. Sigh.”
Kale, who had been silently listening to the conversation that had just begun between Raon and Erhafen, gave Duke Fredo a meaningful glance.
“Where?”
The place where the Dark Elves and Vampires from the Endable Kingdom were imprisoned.
Duke Fredo closed his eyes and then opened them as he spoke.
“…The Cat Tribe Lands.”
In that instant, Raon’s brow furrowed.
“On the Eastern Continent, there’s a place where the Fog Tribe holds dominion and where several Cat Tribe members gather.”
The Fog Tribe.
The place that had branded On and Hong as mutants, forcing the siblings to flee.
“At its center stands a great Stone Mountain, fortress-like in its majesty. It’s guarded by Cat Tribe members skilled in mist and assassination.”
“And the hostages are in that Stone Mountain?”
“Yes.”
A grave expression settled over Duke Fredo’s face. But soon he paused and looked toward Kale.
“Is that so?”
The corners of my mouth lifted.
When Duke Fredo’s expression naturally soured at what appeared to be a rather wicked smile.
“Heh.”
“Human! You’re smiling wickedly! Don’t do that!”
Listening to Raon’s voice, I spoke with considerable clarity.
“I was planning to overturn that place anyway, so this works out perfectly. Very, very well.”
My eyes gleamed as I muttered repeatedly that things had worked out well.
I vividly remembered the Cat Tribe Soldiers who spouted absolute nonsense every time they saw On and Hong.
Duke Fredo carefully opened his mouth as he watched me grinning like a con artist.
“…You’re going to overturn the Cat Tribe?”
Despite his cautious inquiry, anticipation glimmered in Duke Fredo’s eyes. I responded to that anticipation with a cheerful answer.
“Yes. We’ll have to overturn them.”
At my added words, everyone in the room turned to look at me.
I spoke.
“Bringing down the White Star should begin with the Cat Tribe.”
Bringing down the White Star.
My eyes reflected Fredo, Raon, Erhafen, and Sherit. I shrugged my shoulders toward my companions who were concentrating on my words.
“There’s no need to wait for them to attack first, is there? We can strike first instead.”
My expression, painted with a deep smile, was truly peaceful.
* * *
Lieben City, a free city located on the Eastern Continent.
There was always one inn bustling with people.
The name of that inn was the ‘Inn of Hope and Adventure’.
However, today was different from usual—it was quiet, with only staff members present.
A man who once engaged in bandit activities on Riven Mountain, close to Lieben City, swung a feather duster while wearing an apron today as well.
“You lot! Dust here! Dust there! It’s nothing but dust everywhere! Are you cleaning properly or not?”
He was the bandit leader, Chae Ju.
Yet now he swept his index finger across the table and erupted in fury over dust smaller than a grain of sand.
“You fools! Do you want to get beaten when the Head Chef arrives?!”
“We apologize!”
“We’re so sorry!”
Head Chef.
The moment that title was mentioned, the hands of the former bandits—now employees—moved with swift precision.
The Head Chef was Vicross Mollan, after all.
The Former Bandit Leader watched the scene unfold, and rather than smiling with satisfaction, he rubbed the back of his head.
Cold sweat threatened to bead across his skin.
‘…I can’t make sense of how any of this works!’
The true owner of the Inn of Hope and Adventure. Kale Heniatus.
And his subordinates Ron Mollan and Vicross Mollan.
The two were brothers, each overseeing the inn’s operations and cooking respectively.
‘Something’s off. The situation on the Eastern Continent feels ominous.’
Troop movements were occurring throughout the Eastern Continent’s kingdoms, and unease was blooming in the hearts of its people.
Though he couldn’t discern the details, whenever such things happened, he noticed the Molan Family growing busier—and that alone made him grave.
Because he oversaw the secret military organization that Kale had established in Riben City.
“Dust, again!”
Of course, he also doubled as the cleaning supervisor. His gaze turned toward the signboard.
【Inn of Hope and Adventure – Branch One】
That’s right.
This was Branch One.
The ruthless brothers of the Molan Family had rebuilt their house and begun establishing inns throughout the Eastern Continent.
Of course, the world knew nothing of this being a Molan Family enterprise. They simply understood it as a kind space, welcoming even to novice adventurers.
He furrowed his brow and muttered to himself.
“…Kindness and affection can freeze to death!”
“What froze to death?”
“Gasp!”
At the gentle voice that suddenly reached his ears, he went rigid as stone.
Tap. Tap.
“You have dust on your shoulder.”
Ron brushed the dust from his shoulder with a gloved hand, then passed by him without a second thought. The Former Bandit Leader understood in that moment.
He had realized it.
‘They’re coming!’
Last night. The very person who had rented out this entire inn.
Ron must have known that person would arrive at the inn soon and appeared at precisely the right moment, as if by supernatural intuition.
Meow!
Meow!
The moment the Cats’ cries echoed through the air.
Every former Bandit straightened their posture, their faces adorned with the smile of a courteous employee.
Creak—
“Welcome!”
“Welcome, Young Master!”
The door opened, and the employees offered a resounding greeting.
Chae Ju also bowed in greeting.
“Welco— Ahhhhh!”
But he soon cried out and clutched his hair with both hands.
Whoosh—
An arrow flew into the inn.
Crash!
A picture frame shattered as it was struck.
“You insolent curly-haired brat!”
“Go to sleep! Junior!”
“Why am I your junior?”
“Because you’re the last subordinate to join, that’s why!”
“Subordinate? Ha! Then are you a subordinate too?”
“No! I am a great comrade!”
“Hah! You ridiculous curly-haired fool!”
The sight of small furnishings shattering filled the employees’ vision—pink hair and a half-shaved head clashing violently against one another.
The inn’s main hall, meticulously cleaned in anticipation of the master’s long-awaited return, descended into chaos.
Two cats.
And pink curly hair alongside a half-shaved head.
-Human! Are we really going to charge at the Cat Tribe like this?
The transparent Dragon Raon, invisible to ordinary eyes.
“Young Master.”
And finally Ron, approaching Kale with leisurely composure as if nothing were amiss.
The employees stared blankly at Kale’s companions before watching their master’s lips part.
Kale took the lemonade Ron offered and spoke to Dodori and Rashil.
“Out.”
His other hand pointed toward the exit of the inn.
“If you’re going to fight, take it outside.”
Rashil and Dodori paused their quarrel and looked toward where Kale’s hand pointed. Then they glanced at each other.
Both opened their mouths simultaneously.
“Fine! Let’s go, you curly-haired fool!”
“Hmph. So you don’t fear my arrows. I’ll make you regret that!”
Rashil and Dodori immediately headed outside.
-Human! Can I come along and watch?
Meow meow meow.
Meow meow!
The average nine-year-old followed behind with an expression that screamed unbridled curiosity.
Kale Heniatus, left alone, took a sip of lemonade.
The tartness jolted his senses awake.
“Young Master. Is that really all the people you’re taking with you?”
At Ron’s gentle smile and question, Kale Heniatus nodded with a reluctant expression.
“…Yeah. I did bring them along like this.”
I had a feeling I’d brought the wrong group.
Kale Heniatus swallowed his next words, but Ron spoke softly.
“It seems like the perfect combination for breaking everything and turning everything into chaos.”
A grin spread across his face.
Kale Heniatus’s lips curved upward.
“That’s certainly true.”
Three Dragons and two Cats.
Along with Kale Heniatus and the Molan Family.
A sharp sound echoed.
“Oh! There you are! I matched up perfectly, didn’t I?”
And finally, the Mercenary King Bud entered last.
It was more than enough—it was an overwhelming force to turn the Cat Tribe Lands upside down.
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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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