Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 64

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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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“But my lord, what about your escorts? I heard that the Vice-Captain and the children remained in Harris Village to handle matters.”

Kale Heniatus frowned at Hans’s relentless barrage of questions. Regardless, Hans continued speaking while cradling On and Hong in his arms.

“The Vice-Captain said he would investigate the Dark Forest, correct?”

The explosion that occurred in the Dark Forest—the Vice-Captain knew its cause from Kale, but since it was a secret from the others, he had decided to remain there under the pretense of conducting an investigation.

‘My lord, I will handle these trivial matters. However, I will not remain in this position forever.’

Hilsman’s solemn expression flashed through Kale’s mind, and he immediately dismissed the thought. It was pointless to dwell on it.

“The escorts are no longer needed, so we parted ways at the City Gate.”

The Whale Tribe siblings departed at the City Gate. Of course, the bottles containing the swamp liquid were entrusted to their hands. However, half of it remained in Kale’s possession.
Hong’s tail swayed gently. Hong would soon grow stronger. And On as well.

“Hans.”
“Yes.”
“When did the Crown Prince say to contact him?”

Kale asked leisurely. But Hans answered with absolute certainty.

“Immediately. Those were his exact words.”

The corners of Kale’s mouth lifted. He must have been quite urgent. Kale spoke at a relaxed pace.

“Then let’s go.”

* * *

Kale reclined on the sofa with his legs crossed. The Mage responsible for the Territory’s video communication glanced nervously at him.

“Is everything ready?”
“Ah, yes, yes!”

The Mage swallowed hard and continued.

“You can establish a video communication with the Crown Prince right away.”

The Mage looked at Kale Heniatus, the person the Crown Prince sought. Unlike the Mage’s nervousness, Kale spoke with remarkable composure.

“Then step outside.”

At the clear command, the Mage bowed hastily while glancing back several times out of curiosity before leaving the video communication chamber. Kale Heniatus wasted no time activating the communication, and soon a face materialized in the empty space above the translucent sphere.

Kale Heniatus opened his mouth immediately.

“What an infinite honor to behold the countenance of the Crown Prince, the guiding star in the hearts of our people—”
—that’s enough.

The Crown Prince’s voice came through the screen at once.
Crown Prince Alberu rejected Kale Heniatus’s greeting with an expression of visible discomfort. Kale Heniatus accepted the rejection with a subtle smile and fell silent.

Alberu on the screen stared intently at Kale Heniatus. Observing him sit with perfect propriety yet at ease, the Crown Prince spoke bluntly.

—You’ve completely overturned the Breck Kingdom?

Kale Heniatus’s smile deepened. This was the topic he’d been waiting for. Why else would he have sought out the Crown Prince directly? It wasn’t as though they were close.

‘The Crown Prince’s intelligence network is more accurate than Hans’s.’

Kale Heniatus remained still, simply smiling as if nothing were amiss. That was all it took to resolve everything.

—Since you’re saying nothing, I suppose you’ve already heard the details.

See? Sitting in silence solves it all.

—Princess Rosalind seems to have made a firm decision. How could she annihilate an entire ducal house overnight?

At the word “annihilate,” Kale Heniatus’s heart lurched, but he revealed nothing. He could see the probing glint in Alberu’s eyes. The Crown Prince was testing him.

—She’s even renounced the throne.

So Princess Rosalind had indeed renounced the throne. Now she would reveal herself as a Mage.

—But I hear there were two extraordinarily powerful beings at her side. While others may not know who they are, I do.

The Crown Prince explained things quite well.
Crown Prince Albert’s sharp gaze turned toward Kale.

-Aren’t those your subordinates?

Choi Han and Rak. Kale told the Crown Prince Albert, who was pointing at the two of them, the truth.

“My subordinates?”

They were not his subordinates. Choi Han was merely an outsider, and Rak was nothing more than a business partner. Kale could see the corners of the Crown Prince’s mouth rising on the other side of the screen. He too leaned back against the sofa like Kale and spoke bluntly.

-You cunning bastard.

Kale didn’t particularly deny it. Alberu shook his head at such a Kale and spoke as if tossing the words aside.

-What about the Magic Tower?

The Crown Prince no longer bothered to dress up his words or speak smoothly in front of Kale. Kale looked at the Crown Prince with a serious expression.

“Your Highness.”

He straightened his back from the sofa he had been leaning against. At that action, the Crown Prince also straightened his back from the sofa, showing interest. Kale continued.

“I sometimes think that Your Highness and I are quite similar.”

The Crown Prince’s face crumpled.

-That’s a horrible thing to say.
“It certainly is.”

Kale brushed past the Crown Prince, who was openly displaying his disdain for those of his own kind, and continued immediately.

“Isn’t the Roan Kingdom a kingdom with nothing to its name?”

A sudden silence fell. It was a remark that would have shocked the Mage outside the video communication room if he had heard it. But Kale could see Crown Prince Albert smiling as expected.
The Crown Prince now showed an expression of genuine interest.

-Are you going to speak bluntly?
“Your Highness is laughing right now, isn’t he?”
-Well. It’s the truth.

The Crown Prince did not deny it.
The Roan Kingdom. A place where neither knights nor mages possessed great strength. Though it boasted a long history, it was merely mediocre in every regard.
Yet Crown Prince Alberu understood that in times of chaos, mediocrity would not suffice. He believed the kingdom needed at least one exceptional quality to distinguish itself.

But such things could not be built in a short span of time.
Kingdom-level endeavors typically required decades at minimum, often centuries. So he made a decision.

Seize it.

Take the exceptional qualities of other kingdoms and make them our own.
And before him, fortune delivered the perfect opportunity.

The Wipper Kingdom—once a nation of mages.

Kale and the Crown Prince’s eyes met. The Crown Prince spoke.

-You’re perceptive.

Similar smiles played at the corners of both their mouths. This time, Kale spoke.

“I have the Magic Tower. And Your Highness has-”

Kale and the Crown Prince opened their mouths simultaneously.

“Mages.”
-Mages.

A brief silence fell. But soon the Crown Prince covered his eyes with his hand and burst into laughter.

-Ha ha, truly. I thought I hated the idea of another person like me existing, yet here you are.

After laughing for some time, the Crown Prince lowered his hand and gazed at Kale.

-I will support you in everything.

The Crown Prince waited for Kale’s response.

“Thank you.”

Not a word more, not a word less. Despite uttering only a single phrase, the Crown Prince felt it land precisely in his ears. There was confidence in his bearing. So he asked.

-But why do you covet the Magic Tower?

Kale noticed the Crown Prince studying him anew, as if probing for secrets. He was not an easy person to deal with casually. Yet there was no need to make it difficult.

‘He must suspect I’ve caught wind of something about the North.’

Through Volume 5 of “The Birth of a Hero,” there existed a presence frequently mentioned as a danger factor heading toward the Roan Kingdom. It was the land of the Northern Knights. Crown Prince Alberu was wary of them, and simultaneously, he awaited and prepared for their invasion.

War is an age of chaos, and chaos becomes a golden opportunity for those prepared. One such opportunity was the Mages fleeing the Wipper Kingdom.
The Crown Prince, lacking a proper faction, would use them to build his own power and expand his influence within the kingdom.

Kale—Kim Rok-soo—sometimes thought that had he read beyond Volume 5 of “The Birth of a Hero,” he could have known of two emerging forces rising as new heroes. One would surely be the Northern Knights.

‘The other would be the Crown Prince before me.’

Especially with the Black Dragon’s words that he was not merely human, the pieces fell into place. Kale smiled. Even now, the Crown Prince was likely probing whether Kale knew of the North’s movements and desired the Magic Tower, or merely fishing for information.
Kale’s lips parted.

“I simply want to possess the Magic Tower.”
-…I should have kept quiet.

Alberu, shaking his head, could see the sinister smile playing at Kale’s lips.

“Then, Your Highness, why do you need Mages?”

A smooth, well-oiled smile graced Alberu’s lips.

-I simply wish to embrace them, you see.

Pure artifice reigned. Yet neither of them called out this truth. The two figures, seated on the sofa like a painting, simply exchanged words with ease.

-When will you depart?
“In a month. That’s when I plan to leave.”

A month later, Kale had planned to complete all preparations and head toward the Wipper Kingdom. By the time he arrived there, the civil war would be drawing to a close. In his memory, Tunka’s foolish face seemed to gleam with gold.

-How will you travel?
“By ship.”
-What about your escort?

Escort. At that word, Kale smiled. Alberu noticed his slip.

-A pointless question. Young Master Kale, your body is frail, so arrive safely, understood?
“I’ll bring everything necessary.”
-Remarkably, we understand each other without effort.

Kale and Alberu. Despite their starkly contrasting appearances, their smiles were eerily alike.

Three weeks later. Kale slowly opened his eyes. Then he rolled across the bed. He yawned while sprawling across the spacious mattress.
3 PM. He had just woken up. He rubbed his eyes drowsily and stared blankly at the ceiling.

“I won. I woke up an hour later today!”
“The youngest won again. I don’t understand why he keeps waking up later.”

The Black Dragon and Hong exchanged glances between the clock and Kale as they conversed. Kale rubbed his stomach with his right hand. He had woken up hungry. He muttered drowsily.

“…The life of a wealthy idler.”

Pure bliss.

Three weeks. During that time, Kale had not worked.
He had named the Dragon, but asked the Black Dragon for another month’s time, delegated all other preparations to others, and spent his days sleeping late and waking late, lounging and eating within the Count’s Mansion. His family insisted he needed rest and recovery, so they kept telling him to relax—which suited Kale perfectly, and he indulged himself.

But Kale’s happiness was shattered.

“Human, it seems Choi Han has arrived.”

The Black Dragon whispered near Kale’s ear and grinned wickedly.

“I’ve been bored. This is perfect.”

Kale sat up in bed with a reluctant expression.

Choi Han’s group was scheduled to arrive today. Since it was already three in the afternoon, they had probably already arrived and were waiting for me.

I stretched languidly and rose from the bed. After three weeks of idle living, the desire had only grown more acute.

‘I should save money and live as a man of leisure.’

A yearning gleam flickered in Kale’s eyes. He resolved to settle both the Wipper Kingdom matter and the Jungle Queen matter in one go, then enjoy himself. Kale entered the bathroom, and the Black Dragon, who had been watching the closed door, approached On and Hong.

“Indeed, it seems weak humans only gain that spark in their eyes when they’re out and about.”
“That’s right. Still, it’s a relief. This time, I’ve grown stronger too, so I won’t get hurt.”

The silver cat On, listening to the Black Dragon and Hong’s conversation, wore a peculiar expression. She recalled Kale rolling lazily across the bed with a drowsy smile, then murmured softly.

“Is that really what you’d call a spark?”
“Yes. That’s what it is.”
“Right, big sister. That’s what it is.”
“Mm, I see.”

On soon nodded in agreement and groomed her fur. The fur of both On and Hong had become even more vivid in color. The three huddled together cozily, waiting for Kale to emerge. They both looked forward to this outing after so long.

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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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