Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 82

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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 journey from Heniatus Territory to the Sten Marquis House, the heart of the Northwestern Region of Roan Kingdom, would take considerable time.

“Human, why can’t we go faster with teleportation magic?”

And so the Black Dragon Raon was itching to use magic. Having spent quite a bit of time with Rosalind lately, he had grown accustomed to human magic and his abilities had grown tremendously.
Kale recalled what Rosalind had said.

‘The Dragon is truly exceptional, even without entering his first growth phase. His abilities and learning capacity are both terrifyingly impressive.’

Dragons lived for an extraordinarily long time. Because of this, Raon still had quite a bit of time before his typical first growth phase. Of course, if he experienced shock or desperately desired power, the first growth phase could arrive sooner.

Dragons underwent transformation three times in total. During the first growth phase, external physical changes were minimal. It was during the second and third growth phases that explosive growth occurred, transforming them into mature dragons approaching twenty meters in length.

Conversely, the first growth phase involved internal bodily transformation. It laid the foundation for the second and third growth phases. Kale gazed intently at Raon, who was rolling a rather large spherical glass orb in one corner of the modest yet spacious carriage.

Sensing that gaze, Raon cried out once more.

“Human, teleport!”
“Even if we go now, we’ll still have to wait.”

At Kale’s indifferent response, Raon snorted and observed the seed inside the glass orb he had been given. It was the glass orb and seed brought from the Magic Tower. Raon had been shrinking the size of the glass orb and carrying it with the seed daily, diligently nurturing and studying it.

“By the way, Kale.”
“Yes?”

Kale, who had been thinking about extracting the seed once it sprouted, turned to look at Choi Han at his call.

“Do you think that plan will be possible at the Sten Marquis House?”

Like Kale, Choi Han had been forced to listen to Raon’s revenge plan instead of lullabies over the past few days. Though only four years old, Raon was still a dragon, and his plan contained brutal words like confinement, violence, and torture.

But all of it was what the four-year-old Raon had endured over four years.

“Why? Is the plan problematic?”

At Kale’s question, Raon’s head whipped around to stare at Choi Han. However, the answer that soon flowed from Choi Han’s lips was simple.

“No. I think the plan itself is sound. I’m just wondering how we can touch Marquis Sten and Benion Sten.”

Raon’s brow furrowed at the word “sound.” Unaware that Raon’s concerns were deepening as he yearned for something more dramatic, I opened my mouth.

“Right now, the Sten Marquis House is seeing its influence expand through Taylor Sten, the eldest son who was once cast aside.”

With the Crown Prince backing him and his legs restored, Taylor Sten was expanding his power at a terrifying pace. While the Crown Prince’s support played a significant role, it was only possible because the once-weak Taylor had gained resolve and cunning.
And Taylor had done something Benion could never imagine—he had even counted days against Marquis Sten, the current head of the Sten Marquis House.

“His influence extends far beyond the family itself.”
“Several nobles from the Northwestern Region have decided to support him?”

Choi Han was indeed sharp. I nodded at him, impressed by how quickly he grasped the situation.

“And among the vassal families of the Sten Marquis House, even the cadet branches—more and more of them are beginning to prefer Taylor Sten.”

Under Taylor, life would likely be more comfortable for them.
In the past, they would have worried that his weakness compared to others might diminish the Sten Marquis House’s prestige. But now that his weakness had vanished and he had even drawn in the Crown Prince, those who had lost faith were slowly beginning to believe in him again.
Of course, I didn’t yet know the details of that process. I hadn’t been in contact with the Mad Priestess Kaige or the eldest son Taylor during this time. But through the Crown Prince, I could hear the rough outline of how things were progressing.

“And the Marquis allows this?”
“If he stops it, he ceases to be the head of the household.”

Doubt crossed Choi Han’s face. I explained to him the reason why the Marquis House had earned a reputation for being cruel and cold-blooded, yet capable.

“Survival of the fittest is practically the family motto of the Sten Marquis House. The successor must be the strongest. And that successor must kill their own siblings.”

Strength didn’t mean martial or intellectual prowess. It meant survival. The one who survives is the strong one. When Benion crippled his older brother’s legs, the Marquis did nothing.

“But would the Marquis kill someone he deems strong? Taylor Sten has never even openly tried to kill the Marquis.”

The Marquis had no choice but to stand by and watch while expanding his own influence. Of course, he would subtly help Benion from behind, but if discovered, it would violate the Sten Marquis House’s principles, so he couldn’t help much.

“…That’s difficult to understand.”
“Don’t try to understand it.”

There was no need to understand such things. I continued speaking to Choi Han, who was staring at me intently.

“We just need to do our part.”
“Then what should we do first?”

Hong, who stood beside the Black Dragon Raon, cried out.

“Kidnapping!”

Kale quickly spoke to Choi Han, who was about to nod as if that made sense despite the brutal word.

“We need to prepare first.”
“Prepare?”
“Yes. We’ll need a location and someone’s help.”
“Who is this person?”
“Someone you know too.”

At the mention of someone Choi Han also knew, he recalled the nobles who had been beside Kale when he blocked the bomb in the Capital last time. He also remembered that Taylor Sten had been there as well. Would they be meeting him right away?

Then Kale’s voice reached his ears. A name he had never expected flowed from his lips.

“Odeus Flynn.”
“…Pardon?”

It was a name both unfamiliar and familiar. Choi Han immediately recalled the moment he first met Rak, and at the same time, he remembered the Merchant Guild Master who had hired him.

“The Merchant Guild Master?”
“Yes. We need to see him.”

Odeus Flynn. The grandfather of Bilos, the illegitimate son of the Flynn Merchant Guild, and the man who had renounced his position as successor to the Flynn Merchant Guild. Moreover, the person who currently controlled the underworld of the Northwestern Region in secret.

To Choi Han and the others, he would simply be a good person who looked after and cared for Rak and the Blue Werewolf Tribe. Kale intended to meet that good person first.
That way, good things would come.

“Well, it’s not a long relationship anyway.”

Choi Han pressed his lips shut at the sinister smile spreading across Kale’s face. He had now come to realize that when he wore such a cunning smile, it was easier to simply follow along quietly.
A modest carriage, the kind that moderately wealthy commoners would ride, had just left the Northeast Rowan Kingdom and entered the Northwestern Region.

* * *

Tap. Tap. The wind knocked gently against the window. It was a night when the wind blew with unusual intensity.
He, who would only begin his work once night fell upon Sten Territory, reclined leisurely on the sofa as he always did. A pleasant, affable smile graced his face—the kind he occasionally displayed.

“I must say, I’m curious.”

For some reason, the man found himself wondering about it. He tapped the armrest of the sofa.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As if matching his rhythm, the window rattled. The wind howled with fierce intensity. Just as he was about to pause and listen to that sound—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A knock sounded at the door. At that sound, he rose from the sofa.
Odeus Flynn. He approached the door and immediately turned the handle. A bright smile spread across his lips.

“My goodness, Young Master. And Choi Han as well. I never expected to see both of you here. I was quite startled when I received word from Bilos.”

Kale entered the room, welcomed by the affable Odeus as expected.

“Nothing surprising about it.”

Kale answered indifferently, and without even glancing around the room, he approached the sofas and settled into one. Odeus watched this scene quietly before turning his gaze toward the open door. Choi Han stood there.

“I’ll remain outside.”
“Choi Han won’t come in?”
“No.”

Choi Han stood like a doorkeeper before the entrance. Beyond the door lay a corridor, and past the corridor’s railing, the raucous drinking establishment below was visible. The second floor of an inn that doubled as a tavern, located in Sten Territory. Whether day or night, this place was always crowded with people—it was where Kale had arranged through Bilos to meet Odeus.

“If it becomes difficult, please come inside.”
“Yes, Odeus. Please, have your conversation.”
“Very well.”

Odeus closed the door slowly without concern. Now only Kale remained in this room, and naturally, Odeus approached and sat across from him. Seated with his back to the door, he began conversing with Kale in a relaxed, flowing manner.

“Young Master, it’s truly wonderful to see you.”
“Is it?”
“Yes, I never dreamed you would visit me like this.”
“Is that so.”
“Indeed. Even Bilos didn’t know where I was, so how did you know I was here in Sten Territory?”

Kale didn’t answer Odeus’s question immediately. Instead, he straightened from where he’d been leaning against the sofa and leaned forward slightly. He met Odeus’s gaze directly—that searching, analytical look. Kale had no intention of wasting time on such scrutiny.

“Odeus, I have a commission for you.”

At those words, Odeus’s lips curved upward in an instant.

“As expected, you came knowing. Bilos is serving quite a formidable person.”

Odeus’s eyes sharpened at his own words. How had he found out? Did he possess such ability?
But Odeus didn’t attach great significance to such matters.

Kale, observing this, felt it most acutely.

‘He truly is different.’

Odeus was distinctly different from all those whose identities had been exposed to Kale before. He showed no surprise whatsoever. He remained composed, as though this fell entirely within his expectations.
The sixty-something merchant of the underworld, seasoned by every conceivable hardship, posed his question to Kale.

“What commission do you wish to place?”
“As expected, we understand each other well.”

Kale appeared entirely at ease, as though this were his own bedroom. A laugh escaped Odeus—the kind that deflates like a punctured balloon. But the laughter vanished just as quickly.

“You want to eliminate the Sten Marquis House?”

Instead, a genial smile settled at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“To be precise—you want complete control of the Northwestern Region’s underworld, and the Sten Marquis House is in your way?”

Odeus merely smiled silently. Yet that smile was gradually fading from his lips. Kale spoke with unhurried ease, conversing as though discussing something trivial, his composure unshaken.

“Ordinary citizens of the kingdom would be shocked if they knew. If they discovered that someone from the Sten Marquis House—so prideful, so obsessed with their noble status—commits such filthy deeds in the underworld. Wouldn’t they?”
“Young Master.”

Yet the experience accumulated over decades didn’t fade. Odeus remained formidably composed.

“What is your commission?”

Kale answered without hesitation to the question posed with perfect composure.

“My attendant.”
“…Pardon?”

This time, bewilderment flickered across Odeus’s face. An attendant? Did he mean that literally?

“Exactly as I said. Serve as my attendant. Handle all the aftermath and preliminary arrangements for everything I do in the Sten Territory, and manage everything necessary. Where I sleep, what I eat—everything.”

The corners of Odeus’s mouth lifted. He asked with perfect calm.

“Now that you know my identity, you think you’ve found leverage to treat me like a servant?”

Yet the atmosphere had grown sharp, cutting like a blade. Odeus’s eyes blazed with fury beyond mere bewilderment. Kale spoke to him then.

“Do you know what I’m capable of?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Do you know what I can do?”

Knock, knock, knock.
At that moment, Odeus heard someone knocking on the door behind him. Yet he could not turn around. Kale had begun to speak.

“By the way, there are three people in this conversation.”

Someone else was coming. The door creaked open slowly, though no one had invited them in. Odeus rose from the sofa and turned around.
The door swung wide with a prolonged creak. A robed figure stepped into the room. The moment their feet crossed the threshold, they removed their hood.

“Ah!”

A gasp escaped Odeus’s lips. This was one of the figures at the center of the intelligence he had been most vigilantly tracking of late.
Unlike the startled Odeus, Kale, reclining against the sofa, offered a greeting to the newcomer.

“It has been a long time, Priest.”

Taylor Sten, the abandoned eldest son now seeking to seize the future of the Sten Marquis House. There was always one who stood beside him.
A woman with short hair, dressed in priestly robes though bearing no emblem of the god she served. Today those robes were concealed beneath her cloak.
She was the Mad Priestess Kaige.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Kale corrected his greeting.

“You’re no longer a Priest now, are you? It’s been a while, Kaige.”
“Yes, Young Master. It’s good to see you.”

Kale met the gaze of Odeus, who was studying him intently. His eyes gleamed with unbridled greed.

In the book “The Birth of a Hero,” when the Black Dragon episode appeared, there were a few lines of explanation about the Sten Marquis House and Benion Sten. Among them, there were two lines describing how Benion Sten had become exceptionally stronger compared to the other heirs of the Sten family.

【Benion Sten, despite his aristocratic appearance, committed all manner of unsavory deeds behind closed doors. Because of this, he was inseparably bound to the underworld of Sten Territory.】

From these two lines alone, I—Kim Rok-soo—had understood Benion Sten during my reading: the man who had crippled the eldest son’s legs and assassinated him, and who had surpassed his other siblings.

My plan this time had begun from those two lines. Just two lines of text, yet they contained countless chains of causality and history within them. I asked Odeus a question.

“So? Are you curious about my request?”

Odeus answered nothing and sat back down across from me. He then took the seat Kaige had vacated. Now the moment had arrived for us to have a proper conversation.

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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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