Trash of the Count's Family

The crow observed the fainted rat in Choi Han’s hand. The crow on Cale’s shoulder approached the rat and thoroughly observed it.

“The Illusionist seems to control rats.”

Choi Han put the fainted rat down and picked his sword up again after hearing the certainty in Gashan's voice.

Slaaaaash, slash!

The ground underneath the entire alley was flipped over. Choi Han frowned every time he stabbed his sword into the ground. Once the sword stabbed a certain length into the ground…

‘…There’s a path!’

He felt a small underground path that small animals such as rats would be able to cross. Choi Han quickly flipped the ground over. He then raised his senses to become as sensitive as possible.

Squeeak, squeak-

He then heard a quiet noise. Choi Han turned his head. Somewhere in the dark alley… A shaded spot in the corner of the wall that even Choi Han who was hiding there had ignored…

Squeeak, squeak, squeak!

Choi Han made eye contact with a rat that started to run away. He looked around at the ground, the alley, on top of the wall, and then across the Dubori territory.

‘…We're on top of the White Star's palm!’

He had no idea where else those small rats might be hiding. He had no way of knowing where they might be hiding and observing them.

‘Since when…since when were we being observed?’

Choi Han got goosebumps on his back.

Had they been observed by those rats as soon as they entered the Dubori territory? Or were they being observed long before they even arrived at the territory?

‘The rumbling we felt in Young-en when we were meeting with crown prince Valentino. Was that rumbling from the West we felt the Illusionist's doing as well?’

Choi Han had known the White Star was strong this whole time, but for some odd reason, he had not been afraid of the White Star. He felt as if the White Star was an enemy they could defeat at any moment.

‘Why did I have such thoughts?’

The White Star and his subordinates were not people they could look down upon.

The White Star had clashed with Choi Han and the others many times, but it had been as if he had been hiding himself every time. The situation in the Mogoru was something he did by making the Empire's people move.

But now, the White Star was revealing himself without hiding at all in the Caro Kingdom’s Dubori territory. It felt as if the White Star’s power, influence, and abilities were coming out of hiding and surrounding Choi Han.

‘…Shit.’

Choi Han finally started to feel a sense of danger.

‘I didn't think I’d only realize I was stuck in a spider web until after I was already stuck.’

Since they entered this small city with the Lord’s Castle, no, since they entered the Dubori territory or even the Caro Kingdom, they had been caught in the White Star’s web and had been moving on top of his palm.

Caw, caw.

Choi Han realized he could not hear anybody speaking through the crow's cawing.

‘Even Cale-nim is quiet.’

He felt the weight of this dangerous situation even more after seeing that both Gashan and more importantly, Cale, were quiet. His gaze headed toward his silent liege.

“…Cale-nim?”

Choi Han could see the silently smiling Cale. His smiling gaze met Choi Han’s eyes. Choi Han then realized why he had not been scared of the White Star until now. Every time he was about to be shocked because of the White Star’s strength, there was someone who was always smiling as if it was nothing.

“Choi Han, there's none left around us now, right?”

Choi Han closed his eyes after hearing Cale’s question. His sensitive swordsman’s senses were activated again and he soon opened his eyes.

“There are no living creatures other than us here.”

The Illusionist's rats were nowhere to be found.

“Is that so?”

Cale then crouched down on the ground. The ground that Choi Han had overturned earlier… Cale put his hand inside the now soft dirt.

Caw, caw.

A few crows surrounded Cale and Choi Han. Choi Han's eyes opened wide as this small area outside the White Star's gaze was created.

The Western continent’s common language was being written on the ground.

< Choi Han, Gashan. They won't be able to see this. >

There were no rats nearby. That meant that they would not be able to read these words.

Shh.

Cale quickly erased the words he had just written. He then started to write something else in the ground.

< Go call your friends over right away. >

‘Friends?’

The crow looked toward Cale in confusion but Cale shook his head. Choi Han also looked confused but Cale kept on writing.

Go call your friends over right away. And then…

< Tell your friends in the desert about our situation. >

Choi Han started to move his hand.

< Cale-nim, who are you talking to? >

Who was Cale giving this order to? Cale looked at him and started to speak.

"The White Star used his head very well.”

Shhhhh.

on the ground were

shock. He separated Raon and I with the mana disturbance and hid

and his location, as well as Gashan's existence. They were all revealed to the

had something the White Star did not know about. Cale tightened

We’ll be

I think it’ll be better to leave this one by

destruction. I

Cale and

Han, you heard the soldiers earlier,

them made eye

I heard

soldiers had said the

luxurious feast today for

are you planning

Gashan’s voice through

“First.”

closed his mouth. He looked toward Choi Han. Cale started to write on the ground again as Choi Han was about to question

Gashan, an Illusionist this strong can probably bewitch people

more things. The crow read what Cale was writing before leaving

Caw, caw.

of the crows left Cale’s side

Shhhh.

rid of the evidence. Cale then motioned toward a direction with his head and the two

heading toward the Lord’s Castle where the luxurious feast was to

terrible territory that nobody would visit because it had the Land of Death, one of the Forbidden Regions, next to

I never expected

instead of his armor raised his wine glass into

Clang!

glass clinked against a different glass in the air, making a clear

have to stand guard for the first time in a long

looking at his suit. He continued to touch this new suit of his.

the lord found such talented people

his subordinate and took a sip of the wine. His

greedy lord who had no thoughts about taking care of the territory. Today

feast to

the knights, mages, and the territory's administrators all got to enjoy! There were beautiful chandeliers, expensive wine, and food that was both beautiful to look at and delicious

after guarding

agreement. These two were people who guarded the city walls

extremely giving by calling everyone

who was listening to his subordinate

‘The lord’s giving?’

Lord-nim but those new

eyes were filled with greed as he looked

and had brought over the new soldiers and mages to protect

did such people come to the Dubori territory? I can’t understand what they saw in the lord to want to

Screeeech-

covered his ear after

“Ugh.”

“Sir, what’s wrong?”

“No. It's nothing.”

moment before returning to normal. His eyes clouded over for a moment before returning to normal as

are you really

a grand welcome feast is taking part

had disappeared from

Plop.

“Hmm?”

up. He could

ceiling or something. There are things falling

you

replaced the wine glass and the

‘That scared me.’

in the old ceiling

person who had created a small hole in

‘Do it properly.’

at Choi Han with a vicious glare. Choi Han who had made the hole

as he mouthed silently. A small candle

are no rats,

nodded

are no rats in

“Haaaaa.”

sigh before

‘These… rats!’

completely dirty as he was covered in

it would be this hard to move around

difficult for Cale to infiltrate the Lord’s Castle while

is great and

walk in freely. Cale frowned as he recalled how he had to roll around in the dirt as

‘…Why! How?!’

finally felt the difference between his physical

Tap. Tap.

shoulder and pointed toward the holes in the ceiling. There were two holes

looked through one of the

‘Ha!’

see people enjoying themselves. Cale

video communication room, the magic research room, the

were all empty. Only black mages were walking

crown prince Valentino's calls and are

which probably meant that crown prince Valentino gave up on magic and was probably rushing over here

everybody raise

the territory lord raise his glass through the small

territory! Look over here! These are the people who will help the Dubori

lord pointed

‘Aigoo.’

Cale sighed.

White Star, the

Bear King were smiling while wearing fancy suits. Cale’s gaze turned

person the

with short green hair was smiling while

‘It’s not here.’