Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 676

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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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Yet for those watching, this moment felt nothing but cruel—a convergence of despair.

“Your Highness!”

The Knight Commander abandoned all thought of the forces under his command and rushed toward the falling Crown Prince.
With each step closer, as the distance narrowed, the Crown Prince’s dire condition became unmistakably clear.

White armor and helm, forged by Roan Kingdom’s greatest master craftsman and his artisans.
Though devoid of ornamental flourish, they bore Roan’s emblem—and in their very existence, they were works of art. Many had believed them befitting of the Crown Prince.

Roan Kingdom.
A realm that had endured through ages, yet had grown weak, no longer counted among the great powers of the Western Continent.
Neither knights nor mages. A kingdom lacking in all distinction.

That had changed.
To whom did they owe this transformation?
Ask any citizen of the kingdom, and more than ninety in a hundred would answer thus:

“Kale Heniatus, the former commander, was the one who kindled Roan’s radiance in the world. The Crown Prince is the one who has fortified the kingdom’s foundation so it may continue to shine.”

Both were still young, and so the people of Roan believed without doubt in a future ever more luminous.
Yet now one of them lay gravely wounded, absent from the battlefield. Though voices across the Western Continent proclaimed that only Kale Heniatus could overcome this crisis, he remained unseen.

Still, it had been bearable.
The people of Roan felt less dread.

Kale’s Group was here, and the Crown Prince was here.
There existed one who came without hesitation to fight in the most perilous of cities—Pursulsi.

But now even the Crown Prince was falling.
A shock incomparable to the Gold Dragon’s descent engulfed Pursulsi.

“Ah…”

The Knight Commander exhaled a sigh.

“…Choi Han.”

It was Choi Han in black armor who caught the falling Albert Crossman.
Perched atop the black Bone Dragon, he snatched Albert from the air with effortless grace.
Though relieved by the sight, the Knight Commander’s chest tightened as he beheld Albert’s armor hanging limp and lifeless.
That was when it happened.

“This is absurd!”

Boom. Boom. The earth trembled beneath thunderous footsteps, accompanied by a cry of outrage.
Turning his gaze, the Knight Commander saw General Tunka approaching, his face etched with profound shock.

“Good heavens….”

Behind him came Ritana, the Jungle’s sovereign, riding her black panther Ten.
These pillars of their respective kingdoms had come to support Roan, yet the astonishment and horror written across their faces caused the Knight Commander to bite his lip hard without thinking.

“Silence—!”

In that instant.
A resolute voice, amplified by magic, swept across Pursulsi.

“Do not act recklessly! Soldiers, hold your positions!”

The Knight Commander’s gaze shifted swiftly toward Pursulsi City Hall. There stood Duke Derth Heniatus.
Their eyes met. Duke Derth Heniatus nodded, then turned his gaze upward.

“Choi Han!”

The Knight of the Helmet nodded in acknowledgment.

Uuuuu—uuuung—
And the heavens cried out.
More precisely, the mana unleashed by the Beige Dragon caused the very air to vibrate.
Only then did the people recognize the Beige Dragon locked in confrontation with the Monster Lion Beast.

Fwoooosh-!
They soon realized that the mana which had set the sky trembling was a teleportation spell.

“Hah!”

The Dragon vanished without a trace.
Along with it, the Bone Dragon, Choi Han, and Alberu all disappeared as well.

“Duke!”

The Knight Commander called out to the Duke without thinking.
In response, the Duke nodded as if to say there was nothing to worry about.

‘They must have gone to a safe place.’

With that thought, the Knight Commander considered what he believed to be the best course of action and turned his gaze toward the only being that remained on the battlefield.

The Monster Lion Beast.
Once those who had been fighting disappeared, the creature ceased its attacks, just as it had when the Gold Dragon fell.

‘It’s different from before.’

Yet unlike before, the Monster Lion Beast’s crimson eyes remained fixed, as if nailed to the spot where the Crown Prince had vanished moments ago.
Though the Knight Commander, Ritana, and General Tunka were too far away to hear, the creature was clearly muttering something.

“…An existence beyond exception… must… be eliminated….”

But soon even that murmuring faded, and the Monster Lion Beast fell silent, its gaze fixed upon the last place where the Crown Prince had vanished.
Continuously.
Endlessly.

“That’s strange.”

And there was one who found the situation peculiar, observing it intently.

“The monster’s behavior is quite different from before.”

Kale Heniatus swept his crimson hair back with his hand, his brow furrowing. He turned around and asked.

“What do you think?”

Kale Heniatus approached the silent figure. Crouching before the one who sat collapsed upon the straw, he reached out his hand.
Scrape.
The helmet came free, and he spoke.

“Your Highness. Did you fail to detect any abnormal reactions from the monster?”

Albert Crossman hung his head low.
His dark brown hair, drenched with sweat, hung limply downward. Kale Heniatus’s brow furrowed.

“Crown Prince! Are you in much pain?”

Raon approached Alberu from the Subspace, holding a cookie made by the Roan Royal Palace’s dessert chef in his left front paw, while a slice of apple pie dangled from his right front paw.
Of course, a slice of apple pie hung in his right front paw.
That was when it happened.

“Hey.”

Rashil, the dragon who had just teleported Alberu here moments ago, removed his black helmet.
Mila and the Dragon Hybrid had teleported elsewhere, leaving only Rashil here with Alberu.
An indescribable, peculiar expression painted Rashil’s face.
He raised his index finger and slowly pointed at Alberu, whom he had placed upon the hay.

“This guy… something’s off about him.”

It was the same expression Kale wore when observing Clophe. Perhaps because of this, Kale’s expression shifted from concern to an unsettling unease.

“Kekeke.”

In that instant, Kale heard what sounded like the laughter of some petty villain, and he doubted his own ears.
He turned his gaze toward the source of the sound. Then Rashil muttered.

“This guy’s been muttering strange things to himself since earlier.”

The very person who had brought Alberu here found the Crown Prince, who was muttering incomprehensible and bizarre words to himself, rather terrifying.
After all, isn’t a madman always frightening?

What is AS? I’m not a thief. Are you EX-rank? What is a president and what is video call? What is a video conference?
The Crown Prince spouted all manner of strange utterances.

“Kekek.”

Alberu’s laughter echoed once more.
Ultimately, Rashil made a decision.

“Hey. Kale Heniatus.”
“Yes?”
“I’m not needed anymore, right? Should I go rest with the curly-haired one?”
“Ah. Yes. You may do so.”
“Mm.”

Sigh.
Rashil glanced at Alberu once before shaking his head in disapproval.

‘Kale Heniatus—that human is unusually kind for a human, I suppose. He’s surrounded by nothing but lunatics. Poor fellow. I should drop by often to keep an eye on him. Tsk, tsk.’

Rashil, thinking to himself that he had grown older and that his own kindness was truly magnificent, unfurled a teleportation spell.
Then.

“Hm?”

Choi Han stepped forward, blocking his path.
And extended his hand.

“Ah.”

Rashil’s face contorted as he casually unfastened the scabbard at his waist and handed it to Choi Han.
Choi Han accepted it carefully, then slowly drew the blade from its sheath and examined the cross-section.

‘Sigh. That madman.’

Indeed, there was more than one lunatic here.
He swallowed his sigh and quickly departed this place.
Whoosh.
As the teleportation spell unfolded, a grey light bloomed in one corner of the stable, yet none of the three—Raon, Kale, or Choi Han—spared it a glance.
Instead, the two people and one dragon kept their eyes fixed on Alberu, who remained hunched over, muttering to himself.

“Heh! So I really am… destined for greatness?”

What’s wrong with him?
I thought as much and quietly shuffled backward into a crouch.

“Human! Why do you have that expression? You look just like Choi Han when he’s staring at Clophe!”

Kale found himself looking at Choi Han without realizing it. Choi Han was also gazing at Alberu with a somewhat displeased expression.
Normally, this gentle soul would have rushed over in a panic to support the Crown Prince out of concern. Yet that kind-hearted fellow was now hesitating as he looked at Alberu.
Regardless, Alberu lifted his head.

“Ha!”

He raised his hand and swept his brown hair back.
Then he spoke.

“Indeed, I am such a being.”

A smile bloomed across the Crown Prince’s face—radiant and luminous as a rose at the heart of a fully blossomed flower field.

“Ar-”

Are you insane?
In that moment, Kale barely managed to stop the words from spilling out of his mouth.

“Younger brother.”

As the rose blooming at Alberu’s lips seemed to blossom even further, Kale found himself wanting to simply pretend he hadn’t noticed—though it was hardly something one should say to someone who had just endured such hardship.

“Do you know someone named Anroman?”

Anroman?
A question mark floated through Kale’s mind.

“You don’t, do you?”

It was a name Kale had never heard before. Yet one thing was clear.

“It sounds like an Earth-style name, sir.”

More specifically, it sounded like a Korean name.

“Hehe. Anroman is, like me, an exceptionally brilliant person with whom communication flows naturally—a truly proper human being.”
“Ah… I see.”

Choi Han offered an awkward agreement.
Raon tilted his head and placed a cookie in the Crown Prince’s hand.
Crunch. The Crown Prince bit into the cookie and opened his mouth.

“I’m from the 3rd Continent.”

A sudden silence filled the stable.

“…Isn’t that where Tae-rang was created?”

My expression hardened.
The 3rd Continent. I had already heard of that place.

The Unbreakable Spear. The AI Tae-rang within it.
It was something the Sun God had given to Alberu, an item from the 3rd Continent.
The 3rd Continent was the place that had finally eliminated the Lion Dragon after enduring seven nights and eight days of alternating darkness and light, and had forged the “Unbreakable Spear”—a weapon capable of piercing the Lion Dragon’s scales using the creature’s own bones.

“How do you know about someone from the 3rd Continent, Your Highness?”
“AS.”
“Pardon?”

For a moment, I faltered at a word both strangely familiar and utterly foreign. Alberu, however, paid no mind and continued speaking.

“Tae-rang’s internal systems were damaged in the Lion Dragon’s previous attack. When the damage exceeded ninety percent, it established an AS connection.”
“…Could the AS operator be Anroman…?”
“Yes. The AS operator and the previous owner, apparently.”

A breath escaped me.
An exclamation slipped from my lips.

“Wait, an AS connection is possible? The 3rd Continent and here are different worlds, aren’t they?”
“Who knows.”

Alberu’s response was peculiar.
“…What does that tone imply?”

The moment my eyes widened with intrigue, a smile bloomed across Alberu’s face—not merely one rose, but a hundred.

“Listen carefully, little brother.”

But the words that followed made Choi Han’s expression harden.

“On the 3rd Continent, there is neither Kim Rok-soo nor Choi Jung-soo, or so I’ve heard.”

Kale’s eyes widened.

‘I don’t exist? Then why is it even called a continent?’

Alberu added one more thing.

“Korea doesn’t exist there at all.”

At that moment, Choi Han interjected urgently.

“That cannot be. Surely you said that the young master once mentioned Seoul through Tae-rang, did you not?”

That was true.
Tae-rang had spoken thus while explaining about the Lion Dragon.

‘Seven nights and eight days. After enduring seven nights and eight days, I was able to slay the Lion Dragon. As a result, casualties numbered in the thousands, and an area ten times the size of Seoul was laid to waste.’

Alberu remembered this as well.

“Yes. A nation with Seoul as its capital does exist there. Only the name is different.”
“What is the name?”

Kale asked, and Alberu answered.

“Rowan.”

And what followed.

“A nation called Rowan with Seoul as its capital exists, and Anroman is said to be that nation’s president. He is currently in his third term.”

What was this supposed to mean?
Without realizing it, Kale felt heat rising in his head.
Choi Han muttered under his breath.

“It’s almost as if this place is a mixture of Earth as we know it and our world.”
“Right. If the world where Kim Rok-soo and Choi Han lived is white, then this place is black. Anroman’s world could be called gray.”

I pondered this observation.
There was something remarkably elegant about it.
If I were to place all worlds on a single line, Anroman’s world seemed to occupy the midpoint between Kim Rok-soo’s world and my own.
As if each parallel dimension bearing the name “Earth” had developed into different worlds when arranged in a straight line.

“Kale. After visiting Earth, I’ve come to realize something.”

Since learning of Earth’s existence, Alberu had harbored a particular question.
He spoke in a hushed tone.

“This land where you and I stand now. What is the name of this planet?”

Earth 1, Earth 2, Earth 3 exist. But here, this planet—what do we call it?

“We have no name for our planet. We simply call it this world.”
“…Perhaps—”
“Yes. This could be the nth Earth as well.”

Our eyes met.

“Complicated, isn’t it?”

Alberu let out a soft laugh.

“But there’s another matter I should discuss. While the previous Earth issue is something to ponder in the future, what I’m about to tell you strikes far more directly at our present circumstances.”
“What is it?”
“Anroman said something to me.”

Albert Crossman understood why Anroman had called him a thief.

“To take this Tae-rang, one must pass through an extraordinary number of security measures.”

There existed a total of ten gates descending ten levels underground, and before nine of them—all except the final gate—stood security personnel of considerable skill who would thoroughly verify the identity of any new visitor through nine separate checks.

“Furthermore, to pass through those gates, one must scan a barcode card bearing a cipher that only Anroman in this entire world knows into a recognition device.”

Moreover, the cipher required for each gate was different, necessitating a total of ten ciphers.
And naturally, only Anroman could create those ciphers.

“But someone stole it from Anroman in secret. And they did so after passing through the security personnel’s verification and all ten gates. That’s why Anroman discovered the theft so late.”
“Was the identification the security personnel verified a forgery?”
“Of course it was.”

I thought I knew who the culprit was.

“Wasn’t it the Sun God who stole it?”
“No. It doesn’t seem to be the Sun God.”
“…It wasn’t?”

Alberu shook his head firmly.

“Anroman told me the name on the identification that the security personnel verified.”
“What’s the name? Surely it’s an alias anyway?”
“The name is strange.”

A strange name?
Confusion flickered across my face. But at his next words, I wore a blank expression.

“Choi Jung-gun.”
“Pardon?”
“The name was Choi Jung-gun.”

The name of the culprit who stole Tae-rang, as spoken by Alberu, was ‘Choi Jung-gun’.

I knew the author.
I also knew his other name.

The author of “The Birth of a Hero”—Neran Berow.
And the First Dragon Slayer.
Moreover, he was a member of the Choi Clan who came to this world before Choi Han.
In ancient times, he fought alongside Jjangdol and survived.

He was also presumed to be a Single-Lifer.
And when a Single-Lifer dies—

“…Celestial Race, Demonic Beast, or….”

A being with a soul that could become a Celestial Race, a Demonic Beast, or even a god.

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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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