Trash of the Count’s Family Vol 1

“If there are people who can’t say things because they have a lot of things, there are also people who can’t say everything because that is the only thing they have.”

She could see the corners of the red-haired man’s lips starting to go up.

“Then how about we discuss a subject we can both talk about?”

“…I wonder what you mean by that.”

Jopis held the teacup in her hand and only focused on Cale even as the tea was cooling down.

Cale started to speak at that moment.

“Did you not fall for the Illusionist’s illusions because you are a shaman?”

The smile disappeared from Jopis’s face.

“Which Illusionist?”

“I see that you are feigning ignorance even though you know everything. I am talking about your older sister. Elisneh the First.”

“Aha.”

Jopis’s reaction was so amazing it could have belonged in a play before she turned toward the Mercenary King.

“He said you needed the Molden Kingdom’s secrets, but you already knew everything about that crazy bitch before coming here.”

‘…Hmm?’

Cale flinched before asking a question.

“…I heard the two of you were close to each other.”

“What’s wrong? Is it because I called my older sister a crazy bitch?”

Click.

She put the teacup down and continuing to speak.

“A bitch like her who uses her family is no family of mine. That is why she is a crazy bitch.”

Click, click.

Ron emptied the cold tea and replaced it with a new cup of hot tea.

Jopis stared at the tea and started to speak again.

“I was trying not to say anything about myself if possible, but it looks like I have no choice.”

She recalled the past.

“One day, I realized that I had a special power.”

“Ruff, ruff!”

She petted the head of the dirty puppy that had been by her side since earlier.

“That realization about my shaman powers came as I became this child’s mother and friend. The moment I acknowledged that I was a shaman, I also realized that I was looking at an illusion.”

The fog that filled her mind had dispersed, revealing the truth to Jopis.

‘You can snap out of an illusion right away just by acknowledging that you are a shaman? Are there no other shamans in the Kingdom?’

Cale had those questions but decided to focus on her story for now.

“Furthermore, I also realized that my family, the royal court, and even the entire Molden kingdom was being tricked by that motherf*cking bitch.”

“Are you saying Elisneh the First is showing an illusion to the entire Molden Kingdom?”

Choi Han interjected into the conversation.

“No. There was no need to do that. She acted as a benevolent monarch and covered her horrible deed.”

“Is that horrible deed the dead mana inside the palace?”

Jopis sighed after hearing Cale’s question.

“Oh my, sir, you really know pretty much everything.”

She nodded her head and sat up straight.

“That’s right. I saw the dead mana river once I pushed the illusion away. I saw that river that flows in a zigzag pattern. I attempted to stop Elisneh the First ever since that moment.”

“Why didn’t you tell other people the truth that you discovered?”

Jopis started to laugh after hearing Choi Han interject again. She looked elegant even as she laughed.

“Everybody in the palace, the royal family, administrators, servants, and maids are under the illusion. Furthermore, Elisneh the First has pretended to be a benevolent monarch to the citizens of the kingdom.”

Elisneh had continued to develop the kingdom.

Who would realize her inner mask?

“Nobody believed me. Even the people in the village below who followed me until the last moment could not get rid of the brainwashing if they had been in the palace for even a short duration of time.”

There was a bitter smile on Jopis’s face.

“The reason they chose to follow me was not because they realized Elisneh’s true nature, but because they trusted me more and loved me more than the others did.”

“Ruff, ruff!”

Jopis petted the puppy that was rubbing its head on her leg.

“Of course, these children believe me.”

There was something Cale could not understand as he heard Jopis’s story.

“Why did Elisneh keep you alive?”

She was the only person in the palace who had realized the illusion. Why did Elisneh keep such a dangerous person alive?

Because she was her younger sister? Because of affection for her family?

Smile.

Cale saw a smile appear on Jopis’s face.

He could also see the corners of her eyes curl up.

“She said she wanted to see me go crazy.”

Her family was in the palace. The brainwashed people were in Elisneh’s hands, pretty much being held hostage in Jopis’s eyes.

Furthermore, nobody even tried to believe her.