Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 7

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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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Chapter 3. Found

Late at night, Hans stood before Count Derth. As I began my report, he listened in silence until I finished.

“And currently, he is sleeping.”

When my report finally concluded, Derth opened his mouth.

“The coachman’s report that he visited the Tea Shop of Flynn Merchant Guild’s illegitimate son. And today he brought back a boy whose identity could not be confirmed. He drank, but with a clarity of mind unlike his usual manner.”

Hans’s report was brief. Derth savored the short account.

“Shall I assign someone to watch him?”

He waved his hand dismissively in response to Hans’s question. He had no particular desire to know what his son was doing outside or where he was wandering.

“Never mind. As long as it’s within the territory, whatever he does falls within my domain.”

Derth favored Hans among the younger butlers. He performed his duties well and conducted himself with integrity.

“Continue as you are now—watch over Ron within the mansion and simply report to me on his activities.”
“Understood, sir.”

Hans bowed his head without any objection to Derth’s words.

Derth—a man without any exceptional abilities, without a single powerful connection to grasp. Yet like his predecessor, he governed the Heniatus Territory and accumulated wealth through marble and wine. He was a man who protected his own domain well.

‘Ron has changed.’

Ron appeared the same yet different from usual. He hadn’t suddenly become smarter or stronger, but his demeanor was distinctly altered.

“Ah, Hans. One more thing.”
“Yes, Count.”
“Bring me information on Flynn’s illegitimate son.”

Bilos, the Tea Shop owner. Derth knew him as Flynn Merchant Guild’s illegitimate son. The Flynn Merchant Guild was the largest trading partner for the wine produced in the territory.

“I’ll be on my way.”
“Very well.”

Derth watched Hans disappear beyond the office door, then sank into contemplation in the solitude that remained. There was much to consider beyond Cale.

The atmosphere across the continent was unsettling.
It was like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Derth, positioned in a corner of the kingdom, felt it unmistakably. He had been watching constantly. And today, the royal dispatch that arrived from the palace only deepened his conviction of this ominous mood.

The Heniatus Count Family, who had preserved their wealth across generations and gradually expanded it. They had passed down a single maxim to each successive head of house.

‘There is no need to be recorded in history. Instead, live for happiness and peace.’

“The City Wall will need repairs.”

Though he lacked the cunning to seize power through conquest, Derth possessed an endless capacity for contemplating methods of defense.

* * *

There are times when the body overpowers the mind.

“Young master, I did not wake you as you were sleeping soundly.”

Cale had overslept. Moreover, his servant Ron had handed him lemonade instead of cold water since morning, leaving him feeling queasy. Yet he could say nothing.
Ron’s neck was wrapped in bandages.

“Are you injured?”
“…Are you concerned for me?”
“No, it’s just an eyesore.”
“It is nothing serious. I was scratched slightly by a cat with its claws extended.”

A cat with extended claws—what innocent human had met their end this time?
Cale was certain someone had met a different fate last night. He smiled while avoiding Ron’s gaze, which bore into him, and headed toward his bedroom door. The oversleep meant he had to move more hastily.

“Are you leaving immediately?”
“Yes, they’ll handle everything outside.”
“I understand. However, young master.”

At Ron’s call, Cale released the doorknob he had been holding and turned to face him. Ron wore an enigmatic smile.

“How is the lemonade?”
“Delicious. Very delicious.”

Ron’s voice dropped lower.

“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”

What a pointless question.
Since this was a man he couldn’t ignore, Kale gave a cursory response and immediately turned the door handle. The door swung open wide.

Bang. And then he shut it right back.

“…Ron.”

At his call, Ron stepped beside Kale and whispered with a benevolent smile.

“Young master, were you startled? The guest who arrived yesterday has been waiting outside the door.”

Startled indeed. The moment Kale opened the door, his heart lurched at the sight of Choi Han’s piercing gaze, and he slammed it shut. His hand moved toward the inner pocket of his jacket. The ten million gelons inside steadied his nerves.

Ron continued, watching Kale intently.

“I didn’t have the chance to inform you before you opened the door so quickly. Even when I told him to wait comfortably in his room, he insisted on seeing you and refused to leave.”

Didn’t have the chance—as if. There had been plenty of opportunities to speak, yet this old man with his wicked disposition had chosen silence. Kale could say nothing in response. He took a step back from Ron and opened the door again.

“What is it?”

Kale faced Choi Han as though he hadn’t just slammed the door in his face moments ago. He asked flatly while scanning Choi Han’s appearance.
Certainly, now that he was washed, his hair combed, and dressed in fresh clothes, he emanated an air of virtue and cleanliness. But looking into his eyes made such thoughts difficult to maintain.

They were twisted now. That’s why gazing into Choi Han’s eyes sent a chill down his spine.
Choi Han, too, stared at Kale before opening his mouth.

“Payment for the meal.”
“What?”
“I will repay the meal.”

Unlike the day before, casual speech flowed from Choi Han’s lips. But Kale’s eyes narrowed not at that, but at the word “meal debt.”

Meal debt? Who did he think he was, making someone’s skin crawl? Was he insane, trying to exploit Choi Han’s labor? Kale’s only wish was for Choi Han to leave this territory as quickly as possible.

Of course, if Choi Han made a request while mentioning meal debt, he would comply. That was the kind of person he was.
But Kale would never allow such a situation to arise in the first place.

“Forget it. I don’t need anything. Is there nothing else besides that?”

He hastily rejected the meal debt proposal and asked about other business. Choi Han’s gaze pierced through Kale even more intensely. Under that stare, Kale found himself imagining a scene where he was the one being judged, and goosebumps began to rise on his arms. Then Choi Han spoke.

“There is something I must ask of you.”

At the word “request,” Kale closed his eyes. I shouldn’t get involved. What else could Choi Han possibly ask for besides something related to Harris Village?

The Kale in the book had called the people of Harris Village vermin. Remembering the beating he’d received for that, Kale opened his mouth.

“Tell your request to Hans. He’ll handle everything.”

Opening his eyes again, Kale met Choi Han’s gaze as he stood there like a statue.

“He’s a capable vice-steward. He can resolve most requests.”

Kale placed his hand on Ron’s shoulder beside him. He felt Ron’s shoulder flinch, but Kale decided to dispose of both of them from his sight for now.

“Ron here is capable. He’ll help you well with your request. Ron, he’s my guest, so do your best to help him achieve his goals.”

After giving Ron his instructions, Kale removed his hand from his shoulder. Then Choi Han’s voice reached Kale’s ears.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

Kale turned his gaze away. He could still see Choi Han’s eyes fixed on him. Perhaps from seeing him several times, the eerie atmosphere had dissipated, and an unmistakable kindness shone through, no matter how twisted.

“Why should I know you? Do I need a reason to help someone inferior to me?”

At Kale’s words, Choi Han’s eyes contorted slightly. It was only for an instant, but Kale’s watchful gaze caught the entire scene. Was he displeased at being called inferior? Kale quickly continued speaking.

“You don’t seem like you’d ask for anything difficult anyway. Well, if it is a difficult request, Hans will just reject it on his own.”

He pushed Ron toward Choi Han, then turned his back on both of them.

“Well then, I’m busy, so I’ll be going.”

Cale hurried toward his father Derth’s office. He needed to receive a bit more pocket money today. Ron’s voice reached him from behind.

“Young master, I will diligently fulfill what you have instructed.”

Whether he did or not was irrelevant. The scheming and plotting would be handled by the protagonist and his companions, not by me. Since they had met four days earlier than scheduled thanks to me, wouldn’t the bond deepen even faster?

Ron watched Cale disappear into the distance, then looked down at the empty cup in his hand.

“Fascinating.”

That fearless pup dislikes sour things. He dislikes them now too. Yet now he drinks it.
Ron touched his neck. Though he had sustained a wound for the first time in ages, a far more intriguing opponent kept drawing his attention.

The fearless pup fears me.
What does he know?

“Show me the way.”

Ron turned his gaze toward the voice beside him. He saw Choi Han’s eyes brimming with deep contempt. It seemed this man had deduced from yesterday’s brief exchange that Ron was someone who killed people.

“Of course.”

This fellow reeked of blood himself, yet he pretended to be clean. Ron found such a twisted man rather amusing.
Last night, when he faced that man, Ron had caught the reek of the Dark Forest—that vicious, savage stench. It was a scent Ron could recognize.

Of course, it was not his own stench but something that had clung to him from someone else, and since he had washed afterward, that reek no longer lingered.

‘There’s no way they could have crossed over.’

Recalling last night’s events, Ron spoke to the man who seemed to carry many stories.

“Follow me.”

Ron took a step forward to obey his young master’s command, and Choi Han followed behind him. Choi Han’s gaze drifted momentarily toward the direction where Cale had disappeared, then returned to the path ahead.

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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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