Trash of the Count's Family - TCF Part 2 - Chapter 85

Terms used in this chapter:
Murim world – the world/society of martial artists. I realized I’ve been talking about murim yet never explained what it was about.
Supreme General – Aka top general or commander-in-chief. It is the highest ranking general of the imperial army. Can also act as the emperor’s bodyguard.
Government-Murim Non-Aggression Rule – A common setting in murim novels which dictates that government officials and murim people should not meddle or intrude into each other’s society or affairs.
***
The air was tense. Cale had just given a simple bow and raised himself afterwards. A palace guard remarked that his bow was wrong. Cale and the man’s gaze met. The middle-aged palace guard looked to be the emperor’s guard, and was the most heavily armed here. Cale thought that it was interesting.
They were in a large space that was like a huge conference room. It was probably the widest place in the Moon Flower Palace. At the end of the room sat the ED and the emperor on top of a slightly higher platform. And along the red carpet below stood the palace guards on both sides. There were also eunuchs and court ladies, but the presence of the palace guards created tension in the air.
Cale presumed the palace guard who spoke to be a general rather than a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The palace guard then said, “When you see the sky, you must kneel.” Cale just silently stared at the palace guard who continued, “His Majesty never said that you could raise your head or that you could stand up.”
(The emperor is referred to as the ‘son of heaven’ in Chinese/Japanese/Korean dynasties. So the sky/heaven in the palace guard’s statement referred to the emperor. Imperial etiquette dictates that one must prostrate themselves when greeting the emperor, and should only raise their head and stand up once the emperor gave his permission.)
Cale grinned and asked the ED if this was her doing. The palace guard frowned, but Cale did not want to waste his time on that guy. He wanted to quickly find CJS and deal with the Blood Cult. So he had no time to fall for such blatant tricks. Mok-hyeon and Chief Eunuch Wi stood under the platform and looked uncomfortable.
(Recall that when Cale first met the ED, she was fine with Cale not properly bowing to her. Yet this palace guard reprimanded Cale again for his improper greeting, so Cale asked the ED if she had instigated this.)
The palace guard stepped forward and shouted, “How dare you address Her Majesty the Empress Dowager like that!” Cale looked at the ED and stretched his hand to his side, telling CH to stay still since CH was about to move. Cale’s group consisted of Cale, CH, Sui, and the invisible Raon. But then, someone laughed out loud.
The ED slightly shook her head when she met eyes with Cale, but Cale ignored it. She glanced at the one who was laughing. It was the emperor who was slapping the armrest as he laughed and muttered, “It can happen.” The emperor was young and appeared to be in his late twenties. Cale thought that the emperor was the ED’s puppet, but he realized that was wrong.
(‘It can happen’ is an expression in Korea when you or another person makes a mistake. For example, you made a mistake on someone else. The other person could say, “Well, it can happen” meaning they were fine with it and tolerated it or forgave you. But if you made a mistake and said “Well, it can happen,” it could be seen as shamelessly rationalizing your mistake. In this case, Cale made a ‘mistake,’ and the emperor tolerated/forgave him.)
The emperor’s eyes had a distinct look. Cale had presumed the emperor to be an upright person based on his filial son reputation, but that did not seem to be true. If Cale had to choose someone who resembled the emperor, it was LSH. Cale could immediately tell that the emperor was like LSH from the way he lazily sat on the chair and looked down as he propped his chin with the back of his hand.
Despite that posture, the emperor had a piercing gaze. Cale was aware that the emperor was provoking and testing him. Cale noticed that the ED did not seem to be in agreement with her son’s behavior. The emperor stared at Cale and questioned if he did not know how to give a proper greeting because he was from another world.
The emperor studied the Messenger. He found it hard to believe that the Messenger was a being from another world. However, the testimony that the Messenger had suddenly appeared with a black light made him believe it. He did not care if the Messenger was in the Unrestrained or Profound Realms. He was simply curious on what kind of being the Messenger was.
His mother had advised him not to play pranks, but he could not help his curiosity. He wanted to check everything himself. Cale then spoke, “I do not know the etiquette of this place.” He stared straight at the emperor and added, “But my sky is not here.” The emperor laughed out loud again as he recalled the words of the palace guard, ‘When you see the sky, you must kneel.’ 1
(Cale is simply pretending to not know imperial etiquette, and the emperor was aware of that. And when Cale said that his sky was not here, it meant that Cale had no intention of bowing or serving the emperor. As for who Cale’s sky was, it’s obviously our sun, right?) 2
He remarked with a grin that the Messenger was interesting and arrogant. The moment he said the word ‘arrogant,’ the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard gripped their weapons. But the emperor did not mind what was going on and just observed the Messenger’s companions. He uttered that the Messenger’s companions were of the same breed as him.
(The Korean word for ‘breed’ here has several meanings. One is a derogatory one like you are insulting their bloodline, lineage, or race. The second meaning is ‘subordinate,’ or ‘servant,’ though this does not have an offensive tone.)
The Messenger’s companion was also looking fearlessly at the emperor. Thus, the emperor asked those fearless breed.
Emperor: So, this world is presently in danger?
Cale: That is right.
Emperor: The Great War between Good and Evil might happen, and the Blood Sect are a threat to this world?
Cale: Yes.
Emperor: And my mother- no, the imperial family has to help you, is that it?
Cale: Yes.
Emperor: *smiles* You’re going to use the help of the imperial family to search the murim world?
Cale: Yes.
Emperor: *grips his armrest* You want to make use of me?
There was silence in the place. When one referred to the imperial family, it also referred to the emperor himself. So the ED’s expression hardened, and Chief Eunuch Wi was sweating. The members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were emitting a vicious aura. Even Mok-hyeon whose expression did not change throughout the conversation had now stiffened when the emperor had spoken about being used.
The emperor was weak. He did not properly learn martial arts. His life was in constant danger ever since he was a child, so he did not have many chances to become strong. But no one could directly say to the emperor that he was weak. The emperor was the emperor. He had an aura and an air to him. A temperament that seemed self-centered, but could make everything go his way in the end. These were all natural qualities that an emperor should have.
After a moment of silence, Cale calmly replied, “Yes.” The moment the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard heard that, their grips on their scabbards strengthened. However, Cale used his Dominating Aura, and everyone hardened. Mok-hyeon gulped, and the guards’ grip on their scabbards weakened.
Fist King Mok-hyeon could see that the Messenger looked weaker than the emperor, but the Messenger’s body was a strange existence. Mok-hyeon wondered if it was Rejuvenation or Martial Body Reborn. Someone whose body underwent Martial Body Reborn after reaching a certain level would look like an ordinary person.
But their musculature and inner parts were in the best shape. And those who transcended the age of their body and became young experienced what was called Rejuvenation. Mok-hyeon studied the Messenger and concluded that he did not experience either of the two. He could not deny that the dominating aura made him sweat though.
The emperor raised his hand, and the guards released their grips on their weapons. The dominating aura around Cale also disappeared. The emperor smiled as he stared at Cale. Mok-hyeon was in awe of the emperor who was not oppressed by the aura of the Messenger. But the ED could see the goosebumps on the emperor’s hand as he gripped his armrest.
She looked away, and the emperor declared that the Messenger was very arrogant and disrespectful. His smile was gone, but he added, “But I like it.” The emperor stood up and walked down the platform, heading towards Cale. He called out to the palace guard, who had yelled at Cale earlier, as ‘Supreme General,’ and the man knelt in response.
The emperor commanded the supreme general to give the Messenger as many troops as they wanted. The man was surprised, but accepted the command without hesitation. The emperor asked for his mother’s opinion, saying that it would be good to do whatever the Messenger wanted. The ED expressed her agreement with her son’s will, making the emperor give a sincerely innocent-looking smile.
The emperor returned his gaze to the Messenger and said that the imperial family might not be able to help with all of his work in the murim world. Cale asked if he was talking about the Government-Murim Non-Aggression Rule, and the emperor nodded, explaining that the government and the murim world must not intrude into each other’s territory.
But he shrugged and said that was only on the outside. In reality, the two were closely linked. Cale agreed as he knew about that unspoken rule. The imperial family (the government) had to watch over the powerful murim world. If the murim world did not want to be obliterated, they could not carelessly treat the government.
It was an unspoken rule for the murim people to not touch the government. The government tended to sit on the sidelines unless the murim world touched it. The emperor then drew closer, one step away from Cale, making the supreme general and the palace guards nervous. The emperor asked with a grin, “You know about the Government-Murim Non-Aggression Rule, but not the etiquette of this world?”
Cale smiled back and calmly replied that he did not know. The emperor tapped the shoulder of Cale once before leaving. He said that he had a fun time here. After glancing at CH and Sui, he asked what the name of the Messenger was. Cale had two names: Cale Henituse and Kim Rok Soo. He was in the form of KRS now.
Cale met eyes with Sui who smiled and nodded at him. His hesitation disappeared and he replied that he was Cale Henituse. That was his name now. The emperor muttered, “Hmm” and tilted his head to one side as if he was having trouble pronouncing it. Eventually, he spoke, “…Gale Heinidoosk?”
Cale’s expression stiffened, and the emperor tilted his head to the other side and spoke with a strange expression, “…Gale?” Cale then heard CH going “Pfft” and holding back his laughter. Sui had covered his face with both hands. Raon was quite confused. Cale could only close his eyes tightly.
The emperor remarked that it was an unusual name before leaving the room. Although Cale got what he wanted and managed to push around the emperor, he still felt like he lost at that moment.
(Gale Heinidoosk is a mispronunciation of Cale Henituse. The Gale (개일) word is pronounced ‘gae-il.’ But the ‘gae’ in ‘gae-il’ has multiple meanings:
▪︎ dog – as in dogs and puppies
▪︎ someone who behaves badly or poorly – commonly used to insult or curse someone
▪︎ someone who does the bidding of another – like a pawn, lackey, minion, or dog of someone
▪︎ when used as a prefix:
– fucking – a vulgar intensifier. Ex. ‘Fucking awesome!’ or ‘That’s fucking sick!’
– wild, worthless, or of inferior quality
As you can see, the emperor was subtly calling Cale a dog, a lackey, and someone who behaves poorly. Being Koreans, CH and Sui understood what that meant. They are laughing because Cale brought this upon himself.)
Cale: *acts disrespectful and stubbornly pretends to not know about etiquette*
Emperor: *pretends to mispronounce Cale’s name and subtly gets back at Cale for disrespecting him*
Cale: (Why do I feel like I lost?) 1
***
Accompanied by two eunuchs who seemed to be from the Eastern Bureau, Chief Eunuch Wi politely handed Cale a golden plaque. He said that the current location of the Sword Demon was estimated to be near the Anhui Province. Cale immediately remembered the two powers representing the Good Faction: the Nine Great Schools and the Five Great Clans.
There was a family famous for its swordsmanship in the Five Great Clans – the Namgung Clan. Cale asked if the Namgung Clan was in Anhui Province, and the chief eunuch replied yes. CJS got the title of ‘Sword Demon’ when he defeated the Sword Saint, the current head of the Namgung family. So Cale clutched the golden plaque and declared that they must go to Anhui Province first.