Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 661

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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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And Kale Heniatus felt as though the pain might drive him mad.

‘I’m going to lose my mind…!’

This was supposed to be just a little pain?
A mere sting?
It was infuriating—absolutely maddening.

-…Are… you… okay?
-Hang in there! Just a bit more, just a bit more and it’ll be over!
-Kale, stay strong.
-Truly a merciless dragon.

The murmuring voices of the Ancient Powers echoed through my mind.
Unlike their encouragement, I had no strength left to respond.

‘Why—why does my mind become clearer as time passes!’

I would have preferred to lose consciousness. Yet as the moments dragged on, my senses only grew sharper and more acute.
Touch, sight, smell—every sense I possessed was vividly, agonizingly alive in real time.

I’m healing.
The vessel is being mended.

Without even looking down at my own body, I could sense it.
Because of this, each second felt like an eternity. Even through the agony, I turned my head and my eyes met Mila’s.
I opened my mouth slightly.

‘That I trust the dragon—’

No words came. But Mila smiled gently, as if she understood everything without me needing to speak.

“Teacher, it will be over soon.”

True to her words, the beige mana that had enveloped my entire body like a spider’s web, filling every gap, was now mostly absorbed into me. Only traces remained around my neck and face.
At her assurance that little remained, I clenched my lips and found what small comfort I could.
Then Mila spoke brightly.

“Your head will hurt a bit more. Just a tiny bit more.”

Damn it all—!
I cursed inwardly, unable even to manage a grimace, and gazed desperately at Mila. But she informed me kindly.

“Right now.”
“…Ugh!”

The bed I was lying on lurched. My body trembled uncontrollably from the sudden pain.

“Y-you human!”

Finally, Raon poked his head out from behind Mila at the sound of my strangled voice.

“Huff. Gasp.”

What Raon saw was me, sprawled face-down on the bed, breathing heavily. I had my hair clutched in both fists, my face buried in the pillow.

“Human, are you alright?!”

Alarmed by my sweat-drenched appearance, Raon hurried toward me. Then, as the sweat cleared, his eyes sparkled as he got a better look at me.
Soon after, catching a proper glimpse of Kale Heniatus’s appearance, which she hadn’t been able to see clearly due to the sweat, her eyes sparkled.

“Huff, huff. It’s okay.”

Her breathless voice sounded somewhat weary as she answered, but her face was smooth and unblemished, without a single wound or crack.

“Human! You seem to have gotten fluffy!”

My gaze drifted toward Mila.
His gaze quietly turned toward Mila.

“A scary dragon.”

As Kale gazed at Mila with the realization that the most fearsome and brutal Dragon was Mila herself, she offered him a gentle smile.

“Teacher, the bowl has been joined together so cleanly and perfectly without a single flaw, so you don’t need to worry about the bowl anymore.”

The Ancient Powers reacted to those words. Jjangdol poured out his emotions in a passionate voice.

-It’s true! Kale, there’s not even a trace of the seams. It’s absolutely pristine!
-Yeah. That’s right. The Dragon may be fierce, but her skills are genuinely impressive. Yeah, I like it.

Voice of Wind chimed in enthusiastically, her admiration flowing without pause.

“My power is quite effective in that regard—the seams are joined so cleanly that there’s no trace of them at all. However.”

But Mila had something she needed to tell Kale, who had regained his composure.

“However, I cannot use the same power twice on the same subject.”

Those words meant that if my vessel shattered again, her ability could no longer be used.

“Your vessel is large in capacity, but it’s quite fragile—like glass. So please be careful.”

She spoke with all traces of warmth erased from her expression.

“There will be no next time.”

Her cold voice filled the office. The beige mana-infused breeze had already dissipated, leaving behind a space of profound silence.
At her final words, Raon clenched both his fists tightly.

‘Never! I will never let the human reach such a state again!’

Raon made a firm resolve, one that mirrored the feelings of all those watching him.

“You look like a mess.”

Kale’s gaze turned toward Alberu, who was stepping into the office.
Alberu regarded Kale with a deeply furrowed brow and disapproving eyes.

“Your Highness doesn’t look much better yourself.”

This was because Kale had spoken with a slight smirk.

“Sigh.”

With a heavy sigh, he turned away from Kale and approached the two orbs that sat in one corner of the office.

“Ron.”
-…Yes, sir.
“Stop gawking and come over here, will you?”

Ron’s expression as he faced Alberu held neither kindness nor a hint of amusement.
Ron surveyed his surroundings.
On, Hong, and Dodori lingering near the video communication device, unable to approach. Vicross drawing closer to Ron’s side as his complexion grew grave. Beyond them, Gashan and the Ranger Unit members. And finally, Rashil sitting with a sullen expression.

Ron turned his gaze back to Alberu and opened his mouth.

-I’ll head out right away.
“Good. And Mercenary King—I can trust you to handle the Eastern Continent?”

Alberu’s eyes shifted to Bud, who stood beside Ron. The Mercenary King, his gaze distant and unfocused, had been staring toward the bed where Kale lay. He nodded shortly after.

-Don’t worry. We have sufficient strength here—myself and Princess Sophias’s forces. The Sezes Kingdom will stand with us as well.

That was when it happened.

“Dodori and Rashil cannot come right now.”

Alberu turned his gaze toward the voice coming from behind him, his brow furrowing. Kale, slipping on his jacket, was clearly preparing to move immediately.
Kale slowly rose from the bed and approached Alberu and his companions.

“The Monster Lion Beast reacts when a powerful presence appears. If Mila, Dodori, and Rashil were to gather in one place, the beast might stir. For now, let’s have Mila and Dodori stand by near Pursulsi.”

As Kale continued speaking, an odd sensation made him glance at Alberu.

“…Why are you—?”

Alberu was regarding me with a considerably displeased expression.

“Going to fight right away?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You.”

Alberu’s gaze fixed upon me, pointing at myself with a bewildered expression. His heart was complicated.

I had just witnessed Kale’s suffering moments before.
So no matter how the vessel had been pieced back together, I wanted to tell that fragile body’s owner to rest.
But given the current situation, Kale Heniatus had to fight alongside us.

I felt sorry, grateful.
And furious at this damned situation.

Alberu’s heart was turbulent with conflicting emotions.

‘He’ll definitely insist on fighting. And if that vessel breaks again—’

The horrifying thought made him shake his head, desperate to banish it. That was when it happened.

“I won’t be fighting, though.”
“…What? You won’t fight?”
“No.”

This time, Alberu stared at Kale with a bewildered expression. But Kale had no time for that—he needed to move, so he continued speaking.
He was glad for this. He could explain his plan to both Alberu and the Eastern Continent in one go, cutting his work in half.

“Our objective is to make the White Star appear before the Lion Dragon. For that reason, it’s crucial that Erhafen and I appear to be in a state of combat incapacity. Given such circumstances, it’s better that I don’t show myself on the battlefield.”

It was sound logic, so Alberu nodded. Yet he voiced his doubt.

“Then where are you going?”

Wouldn’t it be better to remain in the office, discuss strategy, command operations, and conserve strength for when the White Star appeared later?
Alberu wanted to ask that, but Kale’s immediate response left him momentarily speechless.

“I’m going to my mother’s graveyard.”

A different kind of silence fell over them.

“…Uh—”

Alberu, who knew about Kim Rok-soo, found himself momentarily at a loss for words as he tried to comprehend who Kale meant by “mother,” his mind growing complicated.

“…Hmm.”

Dragon Mila shed tears as she covered her eyes with her hand.

-….

Inside the Jewel of Eternity, Lee Soo-hyuk, Kim Rok-soo, and Choi Jung-soo couldn’t comprehend what was unfolding, so they chose silence and kept their mouths shut.
Even if they had wanted to speak, the sight of Kale undergoing something similar to treatment just moments ago was far too shocking for them to open their mouths easily.
Finally, the video communication device.

-…How absurd.

Mercenary King Bud exhaled a sigh.
Ron beside him kept his mouth firmly shut and averted his gaze elsewhere. Though his pupils wavered, Bud sitting next to him opened his mouth without even noticing it.

-You, what were you thinking— no, wait?
“Huh?”

Kale looked at Bud with a puzzled expression, wondering why he was acting so strangely at the tremor in his voice.
Regardless, Bud covered his mouth with one hand and contorted his eyes.

-Kale. You absolutely must not harbor any reckless thoughts.
“What?”

Watching Kale ask back as if he understood nothing, Bud’s heart burned with anguish.

‘Do you think I wouldn’t know what you’re thinking just because you’re pretending not to know?’

Now, in the midst of fighting with a brief lull in the battle—what reason would Kale have to visit his mother’s graveyard from childhood?
Bud inferred Kale’s heart from what he had seen and heard around him.

‘…He’s definitely going to steel his resolve.’

Mercenaries, when facing a great war or a dangerous mission ahead, especially when entrusted with a mission bearing an absolute sense of duty to complete—they would visit their homes or the graves of their departed families to steel their hearts or make great decisions.

‘For him to have gone to his mother’s grave, he who was always so indifferent—!’

It surely meant there was a great change in Kale’s heart.
Bud couldn’t fully understand the heart of this boy who was barely twenty years old, nor could he know all the burdens upon his shoulders, but his heart ached.
Bud calmed his surging emotions and opened his mouth.

-We have to survive. We absolutely must make it through this.

Why are you suddenly saying this? What nonsense is that?
Kale Heniatus regarded Bud with a bewildered expression.

“Of course we have to survive. I’m someone whose goal is to spend a comfortable retirement in a healthy body.”
-Yes. Let’s do exactly that.

Bud nodded at Kale Heniatus with sparkling eyes and affection. The moment Kale Heniatus saw that, he wanted nothing more than to shut off the video communication device.
But Bud disconnected first after leaving one final remark.

-I’ll inherit that firm resolve of yours and find strength in it! Let’s overcome this together!

Click.
The video communication device disconnected.
And so Kale Heniatus could not know.

“Let’s go.”
“Yes. Lord, stay strong.”

Ron, On, Hong, and Vicross. Along with the Dragons and several others who had departed for the Western Continent, the space they left behind.
Bud looked at the remaining members of the Molan Family, the mercenaries, and the Ranger Unit members who were watching him.
The allies, perhaps due to a single victory, appeared somewhat at ease. Bud felt the need to convey urgency to them.
He gathered only the key leaders among his forces and informed them of Kale Heniatus’s resolve.
Since Kale Heniatus had to be known as incapacitated, he could only share his will with a select few, but Bud believed this was sufficient.

“We will surely win!”
“The war is not yet over. Perhaps it is only beginning. Let us end this matter on the Eastern Continent with our own hands!”
“We must demonstrate our resolve!”

The eyes of the leaders changed.
Like Bud, their pupils wavered with intensity.

“Yes, let’s do this!”

Bud carried forward this momentum and resolved to completely erase every last remnant of the White Star from the Eastern Continent in his absence.

“Hmm.”

Unaware of this, Kale Heniatus stared at the darkened video communication device with a dissatisfied expression before turning around and approaching Raon, who was glancing at me.

“Raon and I will make a quick trip and return, so please contact us regularly through the video communication device.”
“…Alright.”

Kale offered no explanation to Alberu, whose face was full of questions.
The conversation I had shared with the real Kale Heniatus could not be revealed hastily. I intended to visit Kale’s mother’s grave, confirm something there, and then explain everything.

“Are we leaving right now?”
“No.”

Kale retrieved a robe from the spatial pocket and put it on.
His hair color gradually shifted to brown under Raon’s magic.

“I plan to visit Father first.”

Before heading to the real Kale’s mother’s grave, I had to see Duke Derth’s face.
After meeting the real Kale Heniatus, I could finally accept in my heart that I was the one who needed to look after this family.

* * *

“You’ve arrived.”

Unlike other mountains used as marble quarries, there was a particularly lush forest covering a small mountain.
In truth, it would be more accurate to call it a hill.
Kale gazed for a moment at that hill located directly behind the Heniatus Duchy Mansion.

“Human! This place gives me the creeps!”

Raon fluttered his wings beside Kale.
And behind Kale.

“Brother.”

Basen stood with a rigid expression.
It seemed he had planned to go to Pursulsi as well, as he was dressed in leather armor.
He glanced at Raon and spoke with hesitation.

“Are you going alone?”

A voice filled with concern.
Kale gestured to Basen, though time was of the essence.

“I’d rather not go alone.”

I didn’t know the location of my mother’s grave among the countless tombs of my ancestors. It would take considerable time to search for it one by one.
Basen would surely know where it was.
Of course, setting aside such reasons, I couldn’t help but say something to Basen, who was worried about me suddenly wanting to visit my mother’s grave in the middle of battle.

“Come with me, brother.”

Basen looked startled, his eyes fixed on me as I gestured to him.

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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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