Lout of Count's Family Vol. 4

One of the difficult things about giving my impressions on this series is that I genuinely don't know where it's going, or even what to compare it to. Since it's a long Korean webnovel (with at least 18 books of content), I know the story will only continue to build from here. But the content and tropes of the story don't fit into any story structures or overarching plots that I can identify right now. 

Cale Henituse is now well and truly past the point where his previous knowledge about the Birth of a Hero novels will help him navigate this world. However, he's navigating it well just with his "selfish" nature and scheming. We're aware that there will be a war in the future due to intelligence that the northern countries are building up their armed forces, so Cale has no choice but to help his country and his region build up defenses as well. 

Cale's main character ability (other than all the other random magic tools, skills, and ancient powers that he's picked up) must be persuasion, because he never falters in a single negotiation. The Prince of Rowoon, Albert, knows this, which is why he drags him in as part of his political entourage. As much as Cale hates this, he's really good at it!

Of course, people without knowledge of his internal thoughts continue to view him as a saintly nobleman who only cares about the good of his country (lol). He certainly cares about the people around him. His bleeding heart is obvious to everyone but him, especially when he can't ignore the two Saint twins of the Sun religion, one of whom was previously with the evil secret organization Arm, before defecting. We get their backstory, and Cale tries to help them out, even despite everyone else's misgivings. He also ends up helping the Tiger tribe and the Whale tribe get their revenge on Arm as well. 

Oh, I also can't forget about the other dragon that ends up joining Cale for the time being. He's just recruiting and adding people to his crew left and right, even when he doesn't want to. He's literally collecting weirdos in his family like Pokemon!

I've been enjoying the political machinations; it's still fun to see Cale prepare and then trounce people in negotiations. As much as I'm enjoying the various side quests that he chooses to take, I am curious about the bigger picture. 

Edit: I also forgot to add, we got a new cover artist this volume! I really like their style, Cale looks as regal as one would expect.