Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 665

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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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Kale couldn’t help but voice the conclusion he’d reluctantly reached, despite his lingering doubts.

“…Pass based on appearance?”
-My goodness!

The owner of that voice—someone who sounded to be in their mid-to-late teens—cried out in bewilderment.

-How adorable! You ask about passing based on appearance while making that pouty face! You’re absolutely precious, aren’t you?
“…My goodness.”

Kale exhaled in astonishment, though for entirely different reasons than the one he presumed to be Jur Temps from her teenage years. At that moment, the voices of Jjangdol and the other Ancient Powers echoed through his mind.

-…Ha. I’ve never seen one like that before.
-There’s discernment in those eyes.
-Remarkable. Truly remarkable in every way. To look at Kale Heniatus and see his face first—how amusing.

Even during his time as Kim Rok-soo, Kale had never been called precious based on his appearance. Not in nearly forty years of living, approaching his forties.

“Ha, ha ha—”

A somewhat hollow laugh escaped from Kale’s lips.
Someone snapped to attention at that laughter.
Ron Mollan. After a brief moment of shock at the sudden situation, he approached Raon with a hardened expression.

“Young master Raon.”
“Hm? Grandpa Ron, it’s good to see you!”

Despite Raon’s bright greeting, Ron couldn’t muster even a gentle smile.

“Young master Raon, how is it that a tree has grown in this place?”

The graveyard where Kale’s Biological Mother rested.
Simply finding this place had already complicated his heart. Yet for such a tree to grow through that grave—the tree was certainly beautiful, but Ron could not ease the tension from his expression.

“Ha, ha ha—”

Kale Heniatus, wrapped in beautiful crimson leaves. The bloodline of the tomb’s owner, erased because of this tree, was letting out a hollow laugh.
A laugh that seemed somehow empty, devoid of any substance. Ron slowly turned his gaze and surveyed the surroundings.

Raon, Lily, and Hong simply gazed at the tree and Kale Heniatus with curiosity. But starting with On, those older than her quickly moved past their initial shock, all regarding Kale Heniatus with expressions of incomprehensible complexity.

“Hmm?”

Then one figure caught Ron’s eye.

“Ugh, ugh! Ugh!”

The one whose face had been battered by Half-Shaved Dragon Rashil. Lion King Dorf stared at the crimson tree with wide eyes, his body writhing. His expression was a mixture of shock and impact.

“This bastard has no sense—why is he suddenly whimpering?”

Rashil raised his palm irritably.

Smack!
“Ack!”

Dorf took a heavy blow to the back of his head from Rashil and trembled with his head bowed. Rashil snorted briefly and smirked.

“This is my first time witnessing someone obtain an Ancient Power. Truly worthy of this one’s recognition—wait, that’s not right. Hey! Is he okay?”

Rashil’s eyes widened.

“Can Kale Heniatus even obtain another Ancient Power? Is his vessel sound?! Won’t it shatter again?”

Unlike the composed Ron, several faces hardened at those words.

“…The vessel… will shatter again?”

Basen asked quietly, and Rashil spat out the words as if to say he didn’t even know that, his expression annoyed.

“Kale Heniatus’s vessel is vast, but it’s already full to the brim. If he receives one more Ancient Power, the vessel will shatter to pieces, won’t it?”
“Then, what happens if it does?”

Lily suddenly interjected into the conversation. Rashil felt irritated by these bothersome ones, but soon suppressed it and answered curtly.

“What do you mean ‘what happens’? When the vessel breaks, you die. I’ve heard there have been quite a few close calls like that before, haven’t there? This time it’s really dangerous, isn’t it?”
“…Rashil.”

Ron tried to interject, but Rashil’s words had already been spoken, and both Lily and Basen’s faces had gone pale. Regardless, Rashil gazed down the hill.

“Who is it?”
“…The Duchess.”

Ron answered Rashil’s question while observing the pale face of Duchess Viollan, who had just appeared at this location.
If it were the Viollan that Ron knew, she would have avoided this place while Kale was here. But the vivid crimson tree visible even from that distance and the thunderous roar spreading from the hill must have made her rush over out of concern for Kale.
And she had come alone. There would have been many who wanted to accompany her, but she likely came by herself, fearing that bringing a large group might disturb Kale’s plan to quietly visit his biological mother’s grave.
Having rushed here alone, only to hear what Rashil was saying.

‘Tsk.’

Ron clicked his tongue softly in disapproval and gave a slight bow toward Viollan. The Duchess stopped in her tracks and disappeared behind the tree without approaching any further.
Then, Lily’s trembling voice was heard.

“Shouldn’t we be stopping him?”
“I’m not sure.”

Rashil stood quietly with a peculiar expression, unlike moments before when he had been asking if Kale was alright.

“Kale Heniatus isn’t unaware of his own body’s condition. If he’s made this choice, then for now we should simply observe.”

As the great Rashil, I was concerned for Kale Heniatus, with whom I could communicate reasonably well, but I had no right to stop him.
However, Lily and Basen were different. Basen unconsciously moved toward the crimson tree.

“That can’t be. This cannot continue. If your brother’s body could be in danger, then not doing it would be-”
“But what if it’s something that must be done?”
“…What?”

He stopped in his tracks at the voice he heard and turned around.
Dodori, with her pink curly hair, stood with her arms crossed and a stern expression.

“Kale Heniatus must be fully aware that this will strain his body. If he’s made this choice despite knowing that, it’s because he believes this is the only way to achieve victory, to win.”

Basen’s mouth fell open as a small sigh escaped him.

“I respect that choice made by Kale Heniatus.”

Dodori spoke those words and closed her eyes slightly.

A hero.
That title was not bestowed upon a being at the moment of their birth.
The path they walked. The countless choices they made. The many deeds they accomplished. When all of these things converged and manifested as a result, people granted that existence the name of ‘hero.’
In that moment, a hero is born.

“If one cannot comprehend the burden he carries, then one must at least respect his choice.”

The instant when Dodori’s eyes—which had seemed so innocent—revealed the depth of her own thoughts.

“Will our human be alright?”

Raon’s puzzled voice reached my ears. The gazes of Rashil and Dodori, the siblings, fell upon the bewildered faces of Hong and Raon, while On shook her head in denial.

‘Hmm?’

The very moment Dodori sensed that confusion.

“!”

The gazes of Dodori, Rashil, and Raon turned toward the crimson tree.

“What is this…!”

Rashil unconsciously rubbed his own arm with one hand, goosebumps rising across his skin.
Thud!
In the process, Lion King Dorf’s face collided helplessly with the ground, but Rashil paid it no mind. Pressing down on Dorf with one foot as he lay prone, Rashil wet his lips with his tongue.

‘It’s twisting.’

A dragon.
Even I, a being of such greatness, could not comprehend the bizarre distortion occurring silently in one place.
That place was in the midst of the gleaming crimson leaves—where Kale Heniatus stood.

‘What is this? What kind of distortion is it?’

Rashil knew something was happening, but couldn’t discern what it was. Dodori was in the same predicament.
Yet neither of them stepped forward.

‘…A trivial force.’
‘Insignificant.’

Though its nature remained unknown, the distortion and magnitude of this power were minuscule.
Rashil and Dodori chose to observe for now.

Yet one being—the Black Dragon, with fists clenched so tightly that sweat beaded upon his front paws—instinctively grasped what was stirring now.

‘Time is…!’

Neither sky nor earth. More ephemeral than air itself, yet undeniably flowing—a force whose laws were as absolute as nature’s own.
Raon sensed time itself twisting around the crimson tree at its center.

‘No! This isn’t time!’

Raon realized that this magnificent presence was far more than mere time.
Hidden infinitesimally within that distortion lay something transcending time itself.
Something more inexorable than time.
A single word crystallized in Raon’s mind. The essence of this distortion—imperceptible to anyone here, even to other dragons—he could dimly perceive.
Still young, still immature, he couldn’t fully comprehend it, yet the word burned itself into his consciousness like a brand.

‘…Destiny…!’

The force now directed toward Kale Heniatus was destiny itself.
Minuscule and feeble though it was, I sensed it was more perilous than anything else.

‘If that force reaches the human, it will be catastrophic…!’

Thump. Thump. My heart thundered. Something within me stirred. Like a spark clinging to a handful of dry grass. Something small yet ferocious enough to consume the withered stalks awakened deep within me.
Consumed by the thought of Kale’s danger, I failed to notice.

Thump. Thump-thump. Yet that power, unbeknownst to me, gradually fixed its gaze upon the infinitesimal force perched upon the crimson tree.
As if it were the sole power capable of annihilating the absolute.
The moment to shatter the shackles binding a life—only ‘now,’ the present, could do it.

Shwoooosh–!

In that instant, a crimson light engulfed the eyes of everyone, including Rashil and Dodori.
As if the world were submerged in blood, everything tinted red, when a gust of wind suddenly blew through.
The scarlet radiance faded in the wind like blood washing away from obscured vision, and they could see Kale Heniatus hovering above the red-leafed tree.

“Ah.”

Raon let out a shallow gasp upon seeing Kale’s face with the corners of his mouth curling upward in a grin.
Then a small power that had bloomed without Raon’s own notice gradually subsided and sank deep within.

“Human!”

Raon called out to Kale without thinking.
At that moment, the blood-red lights surged toward Kale.
The crimson radiance crashed down like a tidal wave, like an angry sea.

“How strange.”

Yet Kale sensed something different.

‘It’s warm.’

Despite its destructive appearance, the scarlet light bearing down upon me emanated a warmth I had never felt before.

Whiiiii—
I gradually withdrew the whirlwind that had enveloped me and moved toward the wave of crimson light, toward the wood-attribute Ancient Power ‘Life’s Growth Rings’.

“No—!”
“This can’t be!”

The cries of several voices beneath the tree barely reached my ears.
I simply closed my eyes and concentrated, awakening the power that existed within me.
In that moment.

-…How adorable, so you are my bloodline?

The voice of Jur Temps, tinged with an enigmatic tone, resonated, and soon she continued as if somewhat pleased.

-I just need to enter here, right?

Kale’s eyes opened at that moment.
A diary rested in his hand.
A keepsake left behind by Jur Temps.
A diary.
Kale’s ‘Embrace’ ability had been activated through that diary.

“Yes. You may enter here.”

Kale, who lacked sufficient vessels to receive any more Ancient Powers.
He had contained his newly acquired power within the diary through his Embrace ability.

-Fortunately, it passed through despite being a bit cheeky, but still, only someone from the Temps Family can properly wield this power.

A plain brown diary. Red light washed over it, and Kale squinted slightly before opening his eyes again. It had been an incredibly brief moment, but through the hand gripping the diary, he felt the power being contained within it.
Though the time was fleeting, he sensed the strength accumulating inside.

“It’s changed.”

When Kale opened his eyes again, he could see the diary in his hand, now turned red and gently wrapped in crimson leaves. Jur Temps’s voice no longer echoed in his ears.
Kale gazed at the diary’s cover with an enigmatic expression.
By now, the powers he had gathered through his Embrace—including the earth power from before—had accumulated to quite a considerable number.

‘There was also the Black World Tree.’

When visiting the World Tree this time, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to discuss the future of the Fake World Tree he had gathered from the Molden Royal Palace Underground Maze before.
Kale organized his thoughts.

“Hm!”

At that moment, Kale faltered and his eyes widened.

Whoooosh—

The diary slipped from his hand and turned its pages on its own.
A blank page unfolded, and red letters appeared upon it.

【…Is this diary’s contents real?】

Kale realized that the author of these letters was the power of Jur Temps he had just embraced.

“Yes. It’s true.”

For a moment, nothing came to mind in my diary.
I watched the diary quietly, and as if sensing my gaze, small letters soon appeared on its pages.

【…It seems I really am alone now.】

It was a sentence I couldn’t quite understand. Yet despite being written text, it carried no strength—only sorrow.
From what I knew, Jur Temps, whom Duke Derth had mentioned, had already seen his family collapse around the time Derth met him at the academy, with all direct descendants dead and only he remaining. I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.

It was to ask slightly about the Temps Family—a matter I had absolutely tried not to concern myself with.

【How cunning.】

But Jur Temps conveyed his meaning in writing before I could speak.

【…I’m actually grateful you’re a soul possessed by a possessor rather than a single-life being.】

And the sentence that followed.

【If you were a single-life being, you would have been hunted the moment you were discovered.】

My expression hardened.

“Human, is it all finished?”

Raon fluttered his wings and approached my side. But I couldn’t answer his question, instead staring at the diary as if trying to pierce through it.
There was one person who suspected I was a single-life being.
It was Choi Han.

* * *

“Choi Han.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”

Tap. Tap. Alberu tapped his index finger on the long round table situated in the Pursel City Hall conference room and spoke curtly.

“Shall we try?”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

Choi Han and Alberu’s gazes met.
Alberu’s lips curved upward in a lopsided smile.

“Play dead.”
“…What?”

Choi Han’s expression grew openly displeased rather than gentle, but Alberu flashed a radiant smile.

“The first is Kale Heniatus.”

Those currently known to be wandering at death’s door.

“The second is the great Gold Dragon Erhafen.”

Alberu’s finger pointed to himself and Choi Han.

“And the third is me. The fourth is our teacher.”

Seeing Choi Han’s expression shift subtly, Alberu spoke with cheerful clarity.

“Choi Han, want to try dying once?”

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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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