Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 89

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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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“Things simply unfolded this way.”

Ron’s benevolent smile remained unchanged. Yet his complexion was ashen, and his face bore countless small wounds. And as one drew closer to him, the stench of decay intensified.

Where his left shoulder and left arm should have been, there was only emptiness.

“Hans.”
“Yes.”
“Leave.”
“Sir?”

Kale spoke while looking at not only Hans but also the Count’s Household employees surrounding Ron and the subordinates of his father, Count Derth.

“All of you, leave. Vicross and Choi Han stay.”

Hans hesitated briefly, but upon seeing Kale’s expression, he promptly gathered the remaining people, leaving behind those Kale had designated, and exited. On and Hong, who had also received Kale’s gaze, quietly withdrew as well.

Meow.
Meow.

The young kittens On and Hong cast bewildered glances at Ron repeatedly before leaving the bedroom.
As the people departed, the spacious bedroom seemed to grow even larger.

“Do you have the strength to speak?”

Kale’s calm question was directed at Ron. Ron maintained a gentle smile on his lips. He appeared not at all like a wounded man.

“I do, young master.”
“Then explain. Why have you returned in this state when you were supposed to be hunting foxes?”

Ron averted his gaze from Kale and looked toward his son, Vicross. Vicross knelt beside the bed, staring at his father’s empty left shoulder.

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have come.’

Yet this was the only place that came to mind. If I was going to die anyway, I wanted to see my son’s face and a few others before the end.

“I crossed over from the Eastern Continent when Vicross was very young.”

Ron began his story. He needed a place to entrust his son.

“As you know, I am an assassin. On the Eastern Continent, there are five renowned assassination families in the underworld. I was the heir to the Molan Family.”
“Father.”

Vicross called out to Ron.

“Our family was destroyed by an organization called Dark. Fleeing from them, I brought my son across to this Western Continent and lived in hiding.”

Ron exhaled deeply, his complexion pale.

“You see, Dark dominates the underworld, but they are merely a subordinate organization. The true center of power lies elsewhere. I felt terror before that incomprehensible magnitude of strength. So I merely played the role of a servant, nothing more.”

Deep furrows etched themselves across Ron’s brow.

“Then, after more than a decade, I caught their scent.”

Vicross flinched. Ron’s gaze fixed beyond Kale—upon Choi Han, who stood with an expression of disbelief, twisted yet fundamentally good.

“When Choi Han arrived at the Lord’s Castle, I detected the scent of Dark upon him.”

The reason Vicross and Ron had offered their blades to him when Choi Han came to the Lord’s Castle after the Harris Village incident.
They had smelled Dark upon him.
Choi Han’s pupils trembled.

“…Could it be that those I killed in Harris Village were…?”
“Yes, there was a high probability they were Dark.”

Choi Han looked toward Kale. Ron continued.

“When I investigated in the Capital, I discovered they had extended their influence to this Western Continent as well, so I decided to act. In truth, it was less like hunting a fox and more like a single stray dog entering a tiger’s den.”

What confidence had driven me forward? Even as Ron entertained such thoughts, he knew that given the moment again, he would have moved. He had to know. What were they plotting?

“Then I clashed with one of Dark’s assault teams and learned what they were doing.”

In the end, I eliminated one of the assault squads and gained a small victory.

“But somehow, I lost my left arm in the process, and barely managed to escape alive.”

Ron let out a bitter laugh. At his age, what was this mess? For someone who wielded dual short swords as his primary weapons, it was a grievous wound.

Then, Kale, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“Have you still not discovered the true identity of that Dark organization?”
“No. Unfortunately.”

Ron had yet to grasp the substance behind it.

“Ron.”

Ron looked at Kale. In the time since they last met, Kale’s presence had grown even more formidable. An overwhelming pressure emanated from him, as though Ron would naturally bow his head in deference.

“Who severed your arm?”
“…A young mage. He cut off the arms of everyone who saw him.”

Choi Han’s shoulders trembled slightly as he glanced at Kale.

“A madman.”

Crude words spilled from Kale’s lips.

Dark. That organization was likely the Secret Organization Kale knew of.
Harris Village, handing Raon over to the Marquis Household, the Capital Square terror attack, the Blue Werewolf Tribe assault.
All of it orchestrated by them.

And Kale suspected he knew who had severed Ron’s arm as well. Choi Han likely thought the same.

The mage who had directed the Capital Square terror attack.
It was likely Redikail, the mage intoxicated by blood.

The one who had lost his left eye and left arm to Choi Han. How he managed to cast spells with one hand while severing the arms of others remained a mystery. But it was likely Redikail.

“How, how could such a thing happen.”

Choi Han stood bewildered, his fists clenched tightly. But Kale had one more thing to verify.
Ron was strong, his specialty assassination and concealment. He was stronger than Redica. There had to be a clear reason why he had to flee with his arm severed.

“What is this rotten stench?”

The foul stench that permeated the bedroom—I needed to identify its source.
It was the smell of rotting flesh.

Ron responded with a gentle smile instead of words. That smile ignited my irritation. I immediately approached and stripped away the blanket covering Ron’s body.

“Ah.”

Choi Han’s sigh escaped, and Vicross’s face contorted grotesquely.

“I was exposed to poison somewhat.”

Ron’s thigh and a portion of his flank had been poisoned, the flesh darkening to black. A viscous liquid clung to the affected area—a sticky substance mingled with potion. Choi Han had never witnessed anything like it.

But I had.

“Mermaid poison.”

Ron looked toward me.

“…Those who aided the mermaids were them.”

A sigh escaped my lips along with the words. I covered my eyes with one hand.

In truth, I had suspected it all along.

From the moment I first encountered the Whale Tribe and heard their mention of the Dark Forest. And when they spoke of how mermaids grew stronger from materials discovered in the swamp within that Dark Forest.

Perhaps the Secret Organization was involved. Such suspicion had crossed my mind.
But I had chosen not to dwell on it.

It was too troublesome.
And I didn’t want to become entangled. If I were to uncover their identity, I would have to inform Choi Han, and it would inevitably become complicated.
So I simply let it pass. It was none of my concern.

“How infuriating.”

But that didn’t mean they had the right to encroach upon my domain, my territory.

The assassin Ron.
This sinister old man had always unsettled me. Yet witnessing his current state, I understood the truth—Ron was subordinate to me.

I, Kim Rok-soo, harbored an intense attachment to the wellbeing of myself and those within my sphere. It was precisely this obsession that had allowed me to endure and survive.

Vicross, Ron, and Choi Han all fell silent at the unfamiliar expression crossing my face. I draped the blanket I’d been holding back over Ron’s body.

“The sea?”
“An island, sir.”

Between the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent lay countless islands. There were many—some exceedingly small.

“Choi Han.”
“Yes, sir.”

I looked at Choi Han. His gaze remained fixed on Ron’s arm—tormented by the knowledge that the blood-crazed mage Redica had done this, and that Redica had severed the arm because of what I had done to him. Choi Han was suffering.

“What are you doing?”

My calm voice cut through his anguish. Choi Han’s eyes shifted toward me. I spoke to him.

“Stop dwelling on useless thoughts. Bring Mueller here at once.”

Useless thoughts. Choi Han realized I had discerned what he was thinking, and he bit his lip hard.

“Should I bring Mueller here, sir?”
“Yes. Tell him to bring the ship blueprints and come immediately.”

I showed no anger whatsoever—merely issuing instructions in an even tone.
Yet Choi Han left the bedroom faster than ever before, moving in complete silence.

Ron found it strange that I suddenly mentioned a ship.

“Young master?”

I spoke to Ron, who was watching me, with indifference.

“You’ll be coming with me. Remember that.”

With an impassive expression, he grumbled.

“What am I supposed to do if an assassin shows up injured?”
“He is still alive, at least.”

Kale recalled the contents of the letters Ron had always sent.

【I am still alive. You are still living, are you not?】

Kale let out a soft laugh.

“Your mouth certainly hasn’t died, Vicross.”
“…Yes.”

Kale gripped Vicross’s shoulder firmly as he answered weakly.

“Go quickly and pack everything again. Summon the entire group.”

At his following words, Vicross turned his head in alarm to look at Kale.

“Shouldn’t we cure the Siren poison first?”

A toxin of darkness attribute—the Siren poison, most lethal to humans. There was no known antidote. Vicross, versed in torture and assassination, knew this better than anyone.

Ron was no different. Why else would he have come to see his son’s face? Before death claimed him, he wished to see his child once more—to return home, to his second homeland.

Ron’s natural poison resistance and the Count’s Household’s relentless application of supreme-grade potions to the poisoned area had managed to prevent the toxin from spreading further.
Thanks to the supreme-grade potions, the pain had diminished and he could maintain his strength. It was a method only possible for the wealthy Heniatus Family.

“A-an antidote method?”

Vicross stammered, unlike himself. Kale issued a clear directive to him.

“Move quickly.”

Originally, it was a method discovered by the Mage Rosalind, but Kale had already employed it once before. The method he had used to save the Whale Tribe hybrid.

“Do not worry. Your father is destined for a long life.”

The words sounded impossibly light, yet they carried no such impression whatsoever.
Contrary to his tone, Kale’s expression had grown more rigid than ever before.

‘Damn it.’

I had intended to rest comfortably, but that wasn’t the issue at all.
I found myself facing a situation I had never anticipated. The conversation had twisted in an entirely unexpected direction.

It was then—after Vicross had departed, leaving only Ron and myself in the room.

“Young master.”
“Yes.”
“It appears that organization—Dark—is targeting the maritime routes alongside the merfolk.”

Ron relayed the crucial information he had barely managed to uncover. I answered immediately.

“I know.”
“Sir?”
“It’s obvious.”

It was obvious. Especially given that they had crossed over from the Eastern Continent, it seemed all the more transparent.

“Ron, I know you’re exhausted, but might I ask one more thing?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Did anyone see your face?”
“…Only that mage saw my face.”

Ron’s expression darkened as he confessed to a grave oversight for an assassin. Meanwhile, a glimmer of intrigue flickered in my eyes.

“Young master.”
“Yes.”
“You won’t be engaging that organization in open warfare, will you?”
“What do you think?”

Despite the poison weighing heavily on him, Ron’s lips curved upward. What I would do was painfully obvious.

“However it unfolds, things will work out favorably—to your advantage.”
“You know me well.”

Kale had no intention of creating burdensome or troublesome situations for himself.
He would achieve the necessary objectives and slip away swiftly. Of course, he also planned to deliver a resounding backstab on his way out.

Raon’s voice echoed through Kale’s mind, resolute and solemn.

-Weak human, do not worry.

Kale was acutely aware that he lacked the power to create the kind of chaos a high school student who had crossed dimensions might unleash.

‘Irritating bastards.’

Whether it was the Secret Organization, Dark, or mermaids.
They would certainly be formidable. A direct confrontation with them would be difficult.

-I, the great Raon, am with you.

At the very least, Kale understood the capabilities of those around him—the Black Dragon, Choi Han, and Rosalind.

He had devised a plan.
A method to protect the safety of himself and those within his circle—both in body and spirit. This was necessary for the comfortable life he sought.

“Rest until we depart.”

Kale exited Ron’s bedroom and headed directly to the video communication chamber. He needed to reach the Ubar Territory, to the Northeast Coastal Area.

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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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