Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 76

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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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The groundwork was being laid perfectly.
The gazes directed at Kale Heniatus, who had entered the cave with fluid movements and settled into a corner, were peculiar.

“Thank you for providing us shelter.”

His tone was courteous yet warm. Naturally, the voice belonged to Kale Heniatus.
Ritana shook her head at the red-haired man who bore the typical appearance of a Central Continental native.

“It’s only natural among travelers. You’ve been caught in the rain and must be cold—please warm yourself by the fire.”

Yet she and her subordinates maintained a clear boundary with Kale Heniatus. Regardless of how pitiful he appeared from the rain, he remained a stranger.

-Rain? Not a drop! And we used warm water!

Raon refuted Ritana’s words.
Kale Heniatus and On had torn their raincoats near the cave entrance and entered using Raon’s warm water and body-heat protection magic.
Kale Heniatus patted the back of On, who had performed the act quite convincingly.

Meow.

On looked at Kale Heniatus with an expression of bewilderment.
Ritana observed the two of them with a keen, penetrating gaze.

‘They don’t seem like ordinary people.’

When her subordinate had leveled the spear earlier, she hadn’t noticed, but now the man before her exuded an aura distinctly different from that of a common adventurer or traveler.

Though his physique was good, his posture, gait, and other details suggested he was not trained in martial arts. Yet he didn’t appear to be a Mage or any other type of powerful being either.

Her intuition was precise.

-Today again, he looks only as strong as a claw, Raon assessed.

A subtle, commanding aura enveloped Kale Heniatus’s body, just as Raon had evaluated.

While Ritana probed him, Kale Heniatus likewise observed her in passing.

The people of the Southern Jungle. Commonly called Southerners, they were characterized by their bronze-toned skin and physiques specialized for athletic prowess. Possessing the vast wilderness of the Jungle, they naturally developed a strong affinity for nature.

An affinity for nature.
That inclination clearly diverged in two directions—one developing into the culture of the Wipper Kingdom Tribal Warriors, the other into the culture of the Southerners.

Among the Wipper Kingdom Tribal Warriors, nature’s immutable truths of “survival of the fittest” and “struggle” were distinctly developed. In contrast, the Southerners cultivated concepts of “coexistence” and “leader and collective.”

An awkward silence settled between them. It was broken by a voice that drifted as if nothing were amiss.

“The rain’s fiercer than yesterday. Looks like we’ll need to head into the Forest tomorrow. Right, On?”

The man spoke to the cat with such warmth that his figure seemed as comforting as a campfire. On regarded him with an expression of utter exasperation.

-…What’s wrong with him?

Raon voiced his confusion.
And Ritana and her subordinates fixed Kale Heniatus with rigid expressions. From what the man had said, Ritana could infer something.

“Um, you there—”
“You may call me Kale Heniatus.”
“Yes, Kale Heniatus.”

Only now did Ritana truly take in the man’s appearance. He wore a magical pouch, but carried no sword or weapon—his attire was casual, as though he’d merely stepped out for a stroll. And his bearing suggested familiarity with this place.

Finally, an extraordinary aura.

A single thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

‘…Could he be a Dragon?’

A legend came to mind. The Dragon who grants wishes. The legend said nothing of his appearance or how he manifested. Even as Ritana recognized how absurd her thoughts were, an inexplicable tension rose within her.

That was when their eyes met—Ritana’s and the man called Kale Heniatus.
The corners of the man’s eyes curved upward.

“I’m not a Dragon.”

A sigh escaped her lips even as she felt a sting of embarrassment. Ritana watched as Kale Heniatus brushed aside the wet crimson strands of hair clinging to his face.

“But I know the way.”
“…How?”

The Jungle. That chaotic, unpredictable place where I and my subordinates moved as freely as through our own home, yet even we could not find a path here. And this man before me had managed it?
Kale Heniatus smiled at Ritana, whose doubt was written plainly across her face, and spoke.

“This child is from the Miao tribe.”

Kale Heniatus stroked On gently. His eyes held an infinite tenderness, like those of a saint.

“I happened to meet this child in the Slums, and came to be with her on a rainy day like this.”

He gazed out beyond the cave. His eyes were tinged with melancholy, as if recalling that rainy day. On remembered that moment. It had not been a time to be so melancholic. Yet On kept her mouth firmly shut. Her tail swayed uneasily.

“On, this child can manipulate mist.”
“A precious ability indeed.”

Ritana let out an exclamation as she thought of the mist covering the Rainforest.

“Quite so. After leaving my Territory and wandering many places, I learned of this location. Then, quite by chance, I discovered an ancient document that mentioned this place is controlled by mist.”

She turned her gaze from On to Kale Heniatus. The more one observed him, the more refinement emanated from his bearing and manner of speech. He appeared to be at least a nobleman.

“So this child and I came to this place together.”

Between the soft flickering light of the campfire, Kale Heniatus’s eyes gleamed. Ritana and her subordinates saw it. Kale Heniatus’s calm yet passionate voice seeped into the Cave.

“I thought perhaps, with our strength, we could offer hope to the secrets of this place, to those who have lost their way, and to those who wait endlessly for them. That is why I came.”

-…This isn’t it.

Raon muttered in confusion, and On resigned herself to it. She simply wagged her tail quietly.
Kale Heniatus saw Ritana’s eyes change and wore a subtle smile.

“Fortunately, just as I thought, when the mist is manipulated, the path becomes visible.”

Soon he explained the secret of the mist to her. How it was structured to cause mental confusion and distort mana so that one could not discern the path—he explained it all, piece by piece.

“I see.”

Ritana could not hide her bitterness.

“Then the legend must be… nothing but a fabrication.”

If it was merely the work of mist and mana, then the legend of the Dragon’s power was no different from a lie. Disillusionment settled over Ritana and her subordinates’ faces. Yet, on the other hand, Ritana thought it was for the best.
The situation was better than worrying about whether she should set fire to the forest.

“Then, would it be possible to ask for your guidance when you leave tomorrow?”
“Of course. Those in need of help should naturally be assisted.”

Ritana’s gaze toward Kale Heniatus grew softer and warmer. He was indeed as virtuous as his appearance suggested. With such a disposition, it made sense that an extraordinary aura emanated from him.
Kale Heniatus regarded her with a sympathetic expression.

“You must have harbored a desperate wish.”
“It’s alright. There’s nothing to be done. I was considering setting fire to the forest to escape, but this is better than that.”

Fire. At that word, a peculiar gleam flickered in Kale Heniatus’s eyes before vanishing in an instant.

“Fire… truly a frightening word. I can sense how dire a crossroads those from the Southern Region, who cherish nature, must have faced.”
“Do you know of the Southern Region?”
“Not well—I’ve simply encountered much about it through books. I enjoy traveling to various places and have a deep love for diverse and beautiful landscapes.”

-Hmm, I see. A weak human.

Kale Heniatus felt a chill at the back of his head from Raon’s reaction, but he spoke as brightly as possible.

“I’ve read much in books about how beautiful the mountains and rivers of the jungle are—all of it. Now that I’m leaving this rainforest, I intend to visit those places when time permits.”
“I see.”

Apology, sympathy, and bitterness welled up within Ritana. She could not bring herself to lie to or feign ignorance before this person who spoke of the jungle’s beauty, who awaited the magnificent vistas that would greet him once he left this rainforest.
Her subordinates’ expressions darkened.

“Unfortunately, the jungle you will encounter after leaving this rainforest will not be beautiful.”
“…What do you mean?”

Beyond the rainforest, after traveling another day or so, the jungle terrain would unfold. The jungle that comprised most of the entire Southern Region. Its expanse was considerable. But why would Ritana have come here, to this rainforest, of all places?
Because it was close to where the fire had broken out.

“There’s a fire in the Jungle.”
“What? Then shouldn’t we extinguish it immediately?”
“…It’s a fire that neither extinguishes nor spreads.”

Watching the confusion flicker across Kale Heniatus’s eyes, Ritana began to explain the flames currently raging in one corner of the Jungle.

“From a certain point onward, the Jungle in Zone 1—that is, the Jungle that appears when you leave this Rainforest—flames erupted there. We tried everything: water, magic, sorcery, every method imaginable, but the fire wouldn’t go out, so we were deeply concerned. However, it only consumed Zone 1 and didn’t spread any further.”

She muttered with a bitter expression.

“I’m not sure whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate.”

It was an unusual fire.
But I knew the truth behind these flames.

A fire that magic and sorcery couldn’t extinguish.

The answer was alchemy.

Alchemy—more scientific than magic. There was one nation where alchemy had developed most extensively, and one could say it was the only thing that truly flourished there.

The Mogur Empire.
The empire that possessed the Alchemy Tower had orchestrated this.

‘To be precise, the Crown Prince.’

It was something the Crown Prince had secretly carried out, concerned about the unified forces of the Jungle that Ritana had consolidated across all fifteen zones, both large and small.
But secrets cannot exist in this world. Later, Ritana would realize the Crown Prince’s involvement in setting the Rainforest ablaze, and around the fifth volume, she would prepare to face Tunka, who introduced a different concept of survival of the fittest, and the Crown Prince of the Mogur Empire.

The queen, riding a black panther instead of a horse, led her warriors to defend the Jungle.

‘That’s none of my concern.’

I had no intention of getting involved in this matter. My plan was to resolve this Jungle fire incident, collect payment, handle a few other affairs, and then remain confined to my Territory.

Because I didn’t particularly want to see the Crown Prince.

‘We don’t get along.’

Albert Crown Prince and the Empire’s Crown Prince were similar individuals. Because of this, Kale could be considered of the same ilk, yet they differed in crucial ways.
The Crown Prince fundamentally adhered to principles of greater good. This made him easy for Kale to approach and manipulate.

But the Empire’s Crown Prince possessed no such conviction.
He calculated only his own gain.
And he was far more sinister and cunning.

Similar to me yet different. I pushed the image of that Crown Prince—who sought to control everything from the center of the Western Continent—into the darkest corner of my mind, and moved the muscles of my face accordingly.
My expression turned mournful.

“Is the fire very large?”
“…In all my years, I have never witnessed flames of such magnitude. Day and night, they surge skyward as though erupting constantly—it appears as if explosions occur every single day.”
“Then approaching it must be difficult.”
“Indeed. Neither animals nor people can venture anywhere near it. The heat alone is so intense that one would suffer severe burns merely by drawing close.”
“How dreadful, truly… absolutely dreadful.”

Ritana felt grateful as she watched Kale genuinely lament and grieve over this tragedy. It was rare to encounter someone from the central regions who could empathize so deeply with the plight of the Southern people and the forces of nature itself.

“But we shall do everything in our power to extinguish those flames.”
“I see.”

She watched as Kale, who had been nodding at her words, suddenly fell into deep contemplation, as though troubled by something. Yet that moment did not last long.

It was brief. And determination kindled in his eyes.

“Allow me to—ah.”

He trailed off, exhaling a heavy sigh as he drew his hand across his face. Then, almost immediately, he fixed Ritana with a resolute gaze.

“Please, take me into those flames.”
“Pardon?”

The Ritana I knew was endlessly merciful to the weak and yearned to give even more to the virtuous. She was a woman who repaid betrayal tenfold and kindness a thousandfold.
I painted my face with an expression more virtuous and resolute than ever before. I deliberately let my voice tremble slightly as I spoke.

“I believe I may be able to extinguish those flames.”
“What do you mean?”

Black Dragon screamed inside my mind.

-Weak human, what’s wrong? You’re acting very strange today! You’re weak! Why are you like this?

Regardless, Kale Heniatus maintained his resolute expression.

“I believe I can manage it with my own strength.”

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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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