Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 509: The Prince and the Father (14)

But the one whose mind had gone whitest of all right now was Alberu Crossman.

What did I just—

What had he just said?

Father?

He could not hide his confusion at the words that had slipped out without him realizing.

A-Alberu—

But the way that old man had called him.

Suddenly, Zed Crossman—his father—came to mind.

His face and voice are completely different—

So why had he thought of his father the moment he heard the look in that man’s eyes and that tone as he called him?

From the moment that old man called the great general looked at Alberu and stammered, “Ah, ah—” Alberu had somehow felt his father in that gaze.

What is this?

He could not explain it at all.

King Zed Crossman had never once called him in such a desperate voice.

But that gaze, at least—

King Zed Crossman had looked at young Alberu with eyes he could not explain.

That gaze his father had shown him in childhood, which Alberu had forgotten, suddenly came to mind the moment he saw that old man.

It was not affection for his son.

It was not pity for a son who had lost his mother.

It was a gaze that could not be described as anything.

So many emotions had been stacked upon one another that young Alberu could never have understood it.

And the older Alberu could finally understand the true meaning of that gaze he had seen in childhood.

The real feeling hidden beneath countless emotions.

...Misery.

And.

...Despair.

Ha.

A deep sigh flowed from Alberu’s mouth.

He suddenly felt as though he could not breathe. After his mother died, his father had come to see him a few times. But after that, he had been neglected.

If not for the Dark Elf Tasha, he truly did not know how he would have lived.

For a moment, Alberu remembered his childhood, when he had been alone in an almost empty palace, unable to fall asleep until late at night.

That emptiness.

The chill of a space from which all warmth had disappeared.

Even if he covered himself with a blanket, even if he went beside the brazier, he had been cold.

Each time, Alberu had read books.

He had endured that way.

Because he had believed that someday, a morning filled with brilliant sunlight, when the night was no longer frightening, would warmly heat him.

However, once he realized that he had inherited Dark Elf blood and could not proudly stand before the sun, even that morning sunlight was no longer something he could easily lean on.

That’s right. I had times like that—

Thud.

Alberu felt a hand settle on his shoulder.

When he saw the hand gripping his shoulder tightly without him realizing it—

“......”

Cale Henituse was looking at him without saying a word.

“Ah.”

An exclamation slipped from Alberu’s mouth.

“Good grief.”

Cale sighed, then took out the handkerchief Ron the attendant had packed for him, roughly wiped the sweat beading on Alberu’s forehead and face, and placed the handkerchief in Alberu’s hand.

“You looked even more frail than I do just now.”

After saying that, he struck Alberu’s shoulder hard one more time and stood in front of him.

When Alberu looked at Cale’s back, only then did the voices around him begin to reach his ears.

“Alberu? Father? What is the meaning of this?”

Asiprang, the great general’s youngest son, was striding toward Alberu with a deeply agitated face.

“What is going on?”

General Ferry’s tone was gentle, but she looked at them without hiding the wariness that had risen thickly across her face.

“Great General!”

“Your Excellency, are you coming to your senses?”

The physicians and attendants became busy.

They spoke to him, but—

“Ugh, uugh—”

The old great general’s body shook violently, and he could not hold himself upright. His pupils wandered aimlessly, and saliva dripped from his mouth, but he did not even seem to recognize that much himself.

The old man’s condition seemed to have suddenly grown severe.

Ah.

In the middle of that, Alberu realized something.

It was not concern for this chaotic situation. Rather, he realized that he had not yet escaped his memories of the past, and he understood what weak part still remained inside him.

“I asked what is going on!”

Asiprang’s voice rang out, but Alberu paid it no attention and focused on composing himself.

Because—

“Do you know why we tried to come to Island 1, where the great general resides?”

There was now someone beside Alberu to whom he could entrust what came next.

“Are you all right?”

At Choi Han’s cautious question as he approached, Alberu nodded and closed his eyes.

STEP, STEP.

In the meantime, he heard Cale Henituse step forward.

“His Highness Crown Prince Alberu Crossman here. His father is currently missing.”

Cale continued calmly toward Asiprang and General Ferry.

Wow. Is that really His Majesty King Zed?

However, Cale’s thoughts were quite complicated.

And urgent.

“A king? A crown prince? What does that have to do with anything?”

Asiprang could not hide his impatience as he frowned.

However, General Ferry closed her mouth with a strange expression and waited for Cale’s next words.

It was strange.

In truth, Ferry had been unable to fully understand why Cale’s group wanted to help her and the great general. If it was because they wanted to seize the Oceanic Alliance, their direction of action had been quite moderate.

Cale’s voice continued.

“So we gathered information across the continent in order to find His Majesty.”

The God of Death had said it.

King Zed connected to the virtual-reality game NaSoJeol for fixed periods of time and appeared here, but outside of that, it was impossible to pinpoint him, as if he were crossing multiple dimensions.

“During that process, we obtained information that His Majesty was on Island 1, where the great general resides.”

Because of that, they had postponed dealing with the Transparent Blood in the Third District and come here first.

“That is why we absolutely had to come to Island 1, and while doing so, we wanted to help settle the current chaos in the Oceanic Alliance and build a cooperative relationship with the Oceanic Alliance.”

“W-what does that—”

Asiprang realized from Cale’s serious demeanor that this was not a lie. He opened his mouth in confusion, but Cale first continued with what he had to say.

“His Majesty King Zed, whom we are searching for, has less than seven days left to live. To be precise, not even five days. Once we learned that, we had to find His Majesty urgently.”

“!”

“...Hah!”

At his words, Asiprang’s pupils shook rapidly. The physician inhaled sharply as well.

“...Why did you react that way?”

General Ferry looked at Asiprang as if she had guessed something.

“...Physician.”

Asiprang called the physician, and the physician briefly took his eyes off the great general, whose body was trembling violently, then opened his mouth with a grave expression.

“In truth, the time during which his heart stops has been growing longer.”

Half a day with his heart stopped, and half a day awake.

That had been a lie.

The period during which his heart stopped was gradually increasing.

“After identifying the pattern, we judged that within a week, the great general’s heart would stop forever.”

Unlike Asiprang’s gloomy face, the physician relayed the information in a fairly businesslike, calm manner.

“So if the madness cannot be treated before then—”

But he could not continue.

STEP, STEP.

Cale was approaching the old great general.

The trembling of his body was so severe it was almost a seizure, and the attendants were trying to hold the old man down. When Cale approached, Asiprang grabbed his arm.

“What are you—”

“Do you not suspect something?”

At Cale’s words, Asiprang could not answer.

“Asiprang. Does it seem like I am lying?”

Asiprang was at a loss for words at Cale’s question. If he wanted to ask what country they were from, what their king looked like, there were many things he could ask.

However, at the very least, he knew that Cale’s eyes were not the eyes of someone lying.

“There is no time.”

With those words, Cale moved again, and Asiprang could no longer hold him back.

Because, at the very least, he instinctively understood that in this situation, finding out even one more small piece of the truth was the right answer.

“Ugh, ah—”

The old man was having a seizure.

Cale approached his side and held his face.

The old man, whose body was being held down by the attendants, did not try to escape Cale’s touch. On the contrary, he tried somehow to look at Cale.

That was why Cale opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty King Zed.”

If he had heard Cale’s voice, then he must also have understood Cale’s words saying the king would soon die.

However, the old man’s eyes showed no sign of reaction to those words.

He merely tried to speak.

“Ugh, ah—”

However, he could not speak properly.

As if something were binding him.

It was then.

“Cale. Move aside for a moment.”

Alberu had come over at some point.

Seeing him, Cale stepped back. The only word that King Zed—no, since they could not confirm it yet, the old man before them—had spoken was Alberu.

“Father.”

Alberu knelt on one knee and took the hand of the old man seizing on the bed.

“Ugh, ah, ah—”

The old man somehow tried to look at Alberu, to keep his head fixed in that direction even after Cale let go.

Without realizing it, Alberu gripped the old man’s hand tightly.

He asked the old man, whose face and voice he had never seen or heard before.

“Father. Who is it?”

Who was the one who had made all of this happen?

Who on earth had done this?

He did not ask whether he knew a way to survive, when death was so close.

“Ugh, ah, aaah—”

The old man’s mouth opened and closed.

To that man, Alberu brought out the words that would move King Zed somehow.

To the man who had shown misery and despair.

“We will eliminate every last hunter. We can do it.”

“......!”

“Father. Trust this son of yours.”

Alberu showed the particular smile that always made Raon ask whether he was conning someone.

Here, Alberu created the image of the crown prince loved and cherished by all the citizens of the Roan Kingdom.

A confident, radiant smile.

Our prince, beloved by all Roan.

The prince spoke as if he had no shadow whatsoever.

“Even the Sun God acknowledged me. Trust me.”

So speak.

Who is it?

“......!”

For an instant, focus returned to the old man’s eyes.

He looked straight at Alberu.

However, the words coming out of his mouth were still unclear.

“Ah, ugh, ee, ee—”

He spoke somehow.

Alberu felt the old man grip his hand tightly.

And at last, the old man spoke.

“Se, Se, co, con—”

His pronunciation was unclear.

However—

“Second?”

Cale’s expression hardened.

Alberu said calmly.

“Is it the second Emperor?”

Cale recalled the information he had heard from the Wanderer Cho and the Wanderer Ryeon siblings.

The third Emperor’s individuality is widely known to be the sea, but the second Emperor’s and first Emperor’s individualities are unknown.

And they say the second Emperor’s individuality is not an ordinary natural attribute, but has a special ability.

However, the title used to refer to her is a little unusual. It is ‘Oath of the Soul.’

Oath of the Soul.

Cale’s expression continued hardening as he looked at King Zed, who seemed bound to the great general’s body.

Was the hunter target King Zed had tried to deal with the second Emperor?

“Ugh, uuuugh—!”

Then.

“Ugh, ugh......!”

After saying that much, the old man’s whole body lost strength as if that had been the last of it, and he went limp.

The old man somehow tried to keep his eyes open and say more, but soon, his eyes closed.

He fell asleep as if dead.

“...His pulse is not beating.”

At Alberu’s words as he held the old man’s hand, Cale realized that the old man had not fallen asleep as if dead.

His heart had truly stopped.

“Originally, according to the records, this is indeed the time when he should fall asleep.”

The physician mentioned the gradually shortening time he remained awake and informed them that this was the proper time for him to sleep.

“Haa.”

Alberu let out a deep sigh as if he had never smiled radiantly and simply sank down where he was.

Cale watched him for a moment, then met the eyes of Asiprang, who was approaching.

“...Did you just say the second Emperor?”

Seeing Asiprang return to a half-formal tone now that his agitation had subsided, Cale studied his expression and bluntly asked.

“Is that a name you have heard before?”

“......”

Asiprang hesitated for a moment, glanced at General Ferry, and eventually opened his mouth.

“...I heard it when I secretly went to my eldest sister’s quarters.”

“What do you mean! Are you speaking of the Seventh General?”

General Ferry, who had been staying silent, could not hide her shock. The Seventh General was the person she had intended to request as an ally.

The great general’s eldest daughter. The Seventh General was known to be neutral along with Ferry.

“No, more importantly, secretly? Why would you secretly go to the Seventh General—”

As General Ferry spoke, her face gradually went pale, as if she had realized something.

Asiprang clenched his fists as if he had made a decision and opened his mouth.

“On the night my eldest sister saw Father, after that, Father collapsed.”

“What? I never heard that the great general met with the Seventh General. I only heard that he was suddenly found unconscious in the morning—”

“That is how it was made known. But I! °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° I clearly heard Father say he was going to see my eldest sister!”

Asiprang’s voice rose higher. He trembled with unease.

His body was wrapped in fear as he brought out the secret he had been unable to tell anyone until now.

It was at that moment.

Bzzzz—

A vibration sounded, and General Ferry and Asiprang stopped speaking and turned their heads toward the direction of the sound.

“?”

“......?”

Their faces filled with confusion.

Because Cale had suddenly taken out a rather elegant, antique, and beautiful mirror from his clothes and was looking at his own face in it.

Tap, tap. He was even tapping the mirror.

Grin. On top of that, he was smiling.

<I’m in a hurry! Is there really no body I can descend into?>

<Actually, I’m not that urgent. I’m hiding right now.>

<But I think I’ll be found within about three days.>

The God of Death.

He had contacted the bastard who knew more about death than anyone else.

The great general and King Zed Crossman.

Cale looked down at the old man whose heart had stopped.

It felt as if he might somehow be able to find a way to resolve the current situation.