Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 87

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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 19. A Gift, Nonetheless

Kale Heniatus slipped out of the bedroom and made his way to the mansion’s rear entrance, where he encountered Odeus.

“Odeus, you performed that commission quite satisfactorily.”

Odeus couldn’t decide whether to laugh or be bewildered by Kale’s words. Yet the outcome itself was certainly cause for laughter.

“Not at all. If anything, the compensation was more than generous. I’m quite pleased.”
“I imagine so.”

Even in jest, Kale never claimed the payment was insufficient.
After all, the compensation was erasing Benion from the underworld entirely.

“I’ll contact you next time.”

Odeus had no desire to see Kale again. His instincts—honed by years of survival in the shadows—screamed danger, promised hardship. Yet experience had taught him that such encounters were inevitable. Eventually, they would meet again.

“Of course. I’ll reach out occasionally.”
“Do that.”

Kale boarded the carriage with Odeus’s farewell. Vicross occupied the driver’s seat. The coachman who had driven the carriage from Sten Territory had already returned to the fiefdom.

“Odeus.”
“Yes?”
“The basement. You understand?”

Odeus’s eyes twitched slightly. He gazed toward the area near the mansion’s rear entrance where the basement entrance had been—now only complete rubble remained.

“…I’ll ensure the cleanup is thorough to the end.”
“Good.”

Before the basement was destroyed, Odeus had witnessed that space—drenched in blood, bearing the marks of meals consumed, littered with shattered torture implements.

‘Virtuous? Not a chance.’

There was no such thing as a noble with a spirit of sacrifice and kindness. Only ruthlessness and cunning remained.

“And I’d prefer if you didn’t tell Bilos about any of this.”
“Commissions thrive on secrecy, after all.”
“Right, I understand. Life itself depends on it.”

Odeus mirrored Kale’s gentle smile, but neither man’s heart was truly in it.

“Then let’s be on our way.”
“Farewell to you.”

Odeus’s parting words carried genuine finality—as if hoping never to meet again. Kale chuckled softly at the sentiment and closed the carriage door.
With a sharp click, the door sealed shut, and Vicross set the carriage in motion.

The carriage departed the Sten Territory and turned onto the western highway leading toward the Capital.
For days, save for their evening camps, the carriage maintained a swift pace.

“Bored?”

I turned from the window at Choi Han’s gentle voice. He was offering snacks to On and Hong with his characteristic benevolent smile.

“Not at all. I’m not bored!”
“I think lounging around is the best thing ever.”

Choi Han responded with an expression of admiration at their successive replies.

“You two certainly take after Kale.”

Was that a compliment or an insult? I regarded Choi Han’s ambiguous remark with displeasure before shifting my gaze to On and Hong.

The carriage was currently passing through the western regions of the Roan Kingdom—specifically, the midpoint between the Northwest and Southwest. While the Northeast Region, where the Heniatus Territory lay, was renowned for marble, the granite from the Northwest through West was equally famous, visible now through the window.
Consequently, the terrain was dominated by stone mountains.

Choi Han’s voice continued.

“I’ve been through here before, but it’s almost nothing but stone mountains.”

Had Choi Han passed through this region before? The question flickered through my mind, but I found the answer quickly enough.
Rosalind. He must have come through here when traveling to the Breck Kingdom with Rak for her sake.

“Did you pass through when heading to the Breck Kingdom?”

Kale Heniatus asked his question and, observing Choi Han’s face, felt an odd unease settle over him. The hesitation flickering across Choi Han’s expression left him deeply unsettled. The words tumbled from Kale’s lips with casual directness.

“Did something happen in the Breck Kingdom?”
“…That is not the case.”

Kale pressed no further. He had no desire to know. Hearing the results from Crown Prince Alberu was sufficient.
Yet there was one thing—a question that had just occurred to him.

“Then, when you passed through the Western Region, did you cross the Ten Finger Mountain?”
“Hmm? Is there a mountain by such a name? I have never heard of that geographical location before.”

Intrigued by the peculiar name, On, Hong, and Raon all showed interest. Their eyes gleamed with the silent plea for explanation, and Kale’s expression grew reluctant.

Tap. Raon placed his front paws upon Kale’s knee.

“Explain, human! I am curious!”

In the end, Kale relented and explained.

“The Western Region is abundant with granite—a stone of considerable hardness. Yet not everything is composed of such stone. However, at the point where the Southwestern Region of the Roan Kingdom begins, there stand ten granite peaks clustered together.”

Ten stone mountains rose in peculiar formations—like fingers or towers—at the threshold where the Southwestern Region commenced.

“Ah, it seems we did not venture into the Southwestern Region at that time, instead departing directly from the Northwest Region, so we did not see them. The same was true on our return journey. Had we witnessed such stone mountains, I would certainly remember.”
“Is that so? I was curious because I heard the scenery there was quite mystical.”

Raon reacted to Kale’s words about his curiosity. The Black Dragon remembered what Kale had once told the Jungle Queen Ritana—that he enjoyed wandering about.
Let us go at once! Raon’s mouth opened to voice exactly this.
But Kale was quicker.

“I was thinking of visiting around a year from now. That is why I asked.”
“A year from now?”
“Yes.”

Kale absolutely had to visit the Ten Finger Mountain a year from now.

‘The final ancient power will reveal itself there.’

Kale needed to obtain the last offensive ancient power—that force resembling lightning, akin to a thunderbolt.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all traveled together?”

Kale Heniatus murmured the words absently, and the exhaustion etched across On, Hong, and Raon’s faces vanished entirely. A gentle smile settled at the corners of Choi Han’s lips.

“Yes, that would be lovely. Though there shouldn’t be any villages nearby to rest in around Stone Mountain.”
“There aren’t any. Well—no, there aren’t.”

Kale looked at Choi Han and the children, reaffirming his point with resolute finality.

“There are no villages in that area. Not that I know of.”

Dark, indeed there weren’t.

No villages where humans dwelled, at least.
The problem was that there existed an Elf Village—one that revered nature with terrible passion and worshipped dragons more than mages.

Elves.
A mystical race that concealed their villages with illusory magic, dwelling apart from humans. They were the second most nature-affine race after dragons.
Thus they wielded spirits as well, and their beautiful appearances made them perpetual objects of admiration across the Continent. Unlike the Dark Elves, who possessed equal beauty but bore the taint of darkness and faced condemnation.

When Choi Han, the protagonist of “The Birth of a Hero,” returned to the Roan Kingdom after handling Rosalind’s affairs with Rak in the Breck Kingdom, they would pass through Ten Finger Mountain.

It was then they would chance upon the Elf Village. And become entangled with one elf.

Fendrick, a healer.
An elf with the power to heal others—a gift distinct from my regeneration—Fendrick would appear. And he would join Choi Han’s party, moving alongside them.

Every protagonist’s party had exactly one elf, didn’t it? That was Fendrick.

‘The problem is that he dies.’

The catalyst for Rak’s first rampage. That was Fendrick’s death. He died protecting Rak, and as a result of that death, Rak experienced his first rampage and underwent a profound change in temperament.
In other words, if Fendrick never met Rak, if he never traveled with Choi Han’s party, he would have no reason to die.

‘I’ve already missed the timing of his recruitment.’

So far, Fendrick had remained completely uninvolved with me, Choi Han, and Rak. If things continued this way and a year passed, Fendrick would have lived longer than originally fated. It was the most significant deviation from the story of “The Birth of a Hero.”
This could be said to be the part that deviated most significantly from the “Hero’s Birth” narrative.

“…Yes, there’s no village.”

Kale Heniatus murmured once more, cementing his resolve.
When I visit Ten Finger Mountain a year from now, I’ll avoid the Elf Village at all costs.

How many burdensome entanglements had I accumulated by moving carelessly and comfortably until now? Kale was determined that such things would not happen again.

“I can’t wait to see it a year from now. The village doesn’t matter.”

Kale looked at Raon at those cheerful words.

Especially—I absolutely could not bring the Dragon to the Elf Village. He would surely be treated almost like a god. The very thought made my skin crawl.
Kale averted his gaze from Raon’s grinning face, which made him shudder. He made a firm vow that a year from now, before he went to obtain the final ancient power with the golden token the Crown Prince had given him, he would not set foot in the Western Region.

Kale opened a small window near the coachman’s seat and spoke to Vicross.

“Let’s pick up the pace.”
“Understood.”

The carriage departed the Western Region at tremendous speed and arrived at the Capital.

* * *

“It has been a long time, Your Highness.”

Kale Heniatus, dressed in neat yet refined garments with a gentle smile playing at his lips, immediately captured everyone’s attention.

“Yes. It’s good to see you again. Did your recuperation go well?”

Crown Prince Albert, with golden hair and blue eyes, possessed a handsome face that rivaled Kale’s own. He smiled brightly and embraced Kale.

Before the Crown Prince’s Palace. Crown Prince Albert personally came out to welcome the hero of the now-fading magical bomb terror incident.
Despite the incident having faded from prominence, the Plaza in the Capital was still under reconstruction, and knights continued their patrols. Moreover, many people were dissatisfied with the Royal Palace for not yet revealing the identities of the terrorists.

“Yes. Thanks to Your Highness’s consideration and the Royal Family’s care, I have rested well and regained my health.”

Kale’s smile seemed genuine, and his appearance was indeed quite healthy. Crown Prince Albert regarded this with genuine relief and gestured toward the interior of the Crown Prince’s Palace.

“Come in. It’s been a while since you’ve visited—we should at least share a cup of tea.”
“Of course. You must be busy with your duties, but I’ll only stay a moment.”

Raon’s voice echoed inside Kale’s mind.

-I don’t understand why he does this every time.

Kale shared the sentiment entirely.
But what could be done about it?

Click. The moment we entered the Crown Prince’s Palace study and closed the door, Kale and Alberu—who had been walking in cordial familiarity—separated from each other.

“Your Highness, you must be exhausted.”
“You look the same way.”

Alberu sighed and gestured vaguely toward a table set to one side of the study. But Kale had already approached the table and settled into the plushest-looking sofa.

“Anyone watching would think you’ve been here four times already.”
“This is my first time, but somehow the space feels familiar.”

If only he wouldn’t speak. Alberu watched Kale sit on any sofa while deliberately leaving the seat of honor empty for him, then settled into the sofa positioned at the head.

“I believe I told you to come as quickly as possible.”
“That’s why I rode through the night, Your Highness.”

Alberu snorted at that. Whatever he’d been doing, someone from the Northeast Region’s Heniatus Territory had arrived from the western approach to the Capital.
And what was happening now in the west—specifically in the Northwest Region?

“You’re a suspicious character, aren’t you?”

Alberu sipped the tea his attendant had brought and observed Kale quietly until the attendant departed. There was much to discuss with him today. And much to ask of him.

-That Crown Prince’s gaze is sinister.

Agreeing with Raon’s assessment, I pretended not to notice Alberu’s eyes. They held the look of someone trying to extract something from me, but perhaps today that dynamic would reverse.

Click. With a soft sound, the attendant vanished from the study. Alberu’s mouth began to open. But someone was faster.

“Your Highness.”

Why? Kale Heniatus met Alberu’s questioning gaze head-on. Within his mind, Raon was already speaking.

-Having experienced both now, I can say with certainty. He’s a truly peculiar existence.

Kale Heniatus withdrew a magical pouch from his breast.

“I have prepared a gift for you.”
“…A gift for me?”
“Yes. The shining star within our kingdom’s heart—”
“Stop.”

Alberu showed no joy at the mention of a gift. Instead, his gaze toward Kale Heniatus grew more suspicious. Given everything he had experienced with Kale Heniatus thus far, such caution was warranted. Yet the word “gift” stirred within him a tentative hope.
Weeks ago, Alberu had received a gift from Kale Heniatus under the name of a merchant from the Flynn Merchant Guild.

“Very well. Let me see the gift.”

With Alberu’s permission, Kale Heniatus slowly opened the magical pouch. Raon’s voice resonated within his mind.
A small glass vial emerged from the pouch.

-It bears the attribute of darkness.

Thunk.
With a dull sound, the glass vial was placed upon the table.

“…What is this?”

Rather than answer Alberu’s question with words, Kale Heniatus demonstrated through action.
Click, click. The vial’s stopper slowly unscrewed.

A small glass vial brimming with black liquid.

The stopper came free entirely.
Then, something invisible began to seep forth from within.

-This scent is familiar. It’s the smell I encountered in the Black Swamp.

The fragrance of dead mana drifted out gradually.

One of the items I had received from the Whale King we encountered on the sea heading toward the Wipper Kingdom.
Unlike the other vials Kale possessed, this black water contained only dead mana—stripped of all toxicity.

One-third of that black water was now contained in this small glass vial.

“…You—”

Watching the Crown Prince struggle for words, Kale slowly sealed the vial shut once more.

“Your Highness, of course this is not a gift without cost.”

There was no reason to give something this precious away freely.
To humans, it was poison—utterly worthless, something that needed to be disposed of.

Kale still remembered what Raon had said while observing the Crown Prince.

‘Why did this pathetic Crown Prince dye his hair with magic? Only a great dragon would notice something at that level. Did another dragon dye it for him? Or is it something else entirely?’

Something else. Raon, being a dragon, understood that this power differed from ordinary natural mana, but couldn’t pinpoint its exact nature.
He couldn’t have—he’d never encountered it before.
But now I had.

Dead mana.

Kale murmured to myself as if thinking aloud.

“Not demonic magic, not black magic. Not necromancy either.”

Dead mana.
It was the power used by those of dark attributes when wielding magic. Naturally, its direction differed entirely from the natural magic system. Even magical devices designed for natural mana couldn’t detect dead mana. Especially not among higher-tier races.

“I heard the late Concubine was supposedly an ordinary woman, though her complexion was somewhat dark, leading to misunderstandings that she carried southern blood.”

Raon had said the Crown Prince possessed ordinary brown hair.
His hair and eyes were unremarkable, yet he was recognized as a handsome man throughout the kingdom. I heard his mother, the Crown Prince’s mother, was truly beautiful.

“Dark elves possess black skin, but half-dark elves have complexions similar to those of the southern regions, or so I’ve heard.”

Kale continued murmuring while gazing at Crown Prince Albert.

“Then, what if the child were of Dark Elf mixed blood?”

The Crown Prince answered with surprising composure.

“I’m going mad.”

Kale Heniatus let a smile play at the corners of his mouth.

“It seems I’ve guessed correctly.”

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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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