Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 242

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 12.
Not All Children Are Angels (12)
No one could remember when Joshua first appeared at Cookie Hall. His small frame made him easy to overlook. For a nine-year-old, Joshua was remarkably diminutive.
Though Joshua commanded everyone’s attention, his expression remained serene. When Tomison’s eyes met his, the words caught in his throat. Joshua spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I’ll take over.”
“But…”
Tomison glanced at Timon. He feared that retreating now would mean admitting defeat.
When Timon saw Joshua, heat crept into his cheeks. Gazing at the child’s peaceful countenance, he felt a sudden shame at having quarreled with his junior over the honor of this small, young boy.
Yet he quickly regained his composure. Defeating Joshua would be infinitely more advantageous than defeating Tomison. Joshua’s reputation would plummet dramatically, while his own value would soar immeasurably. If everyone said that despite all the talk of genius, Joshua was no match for him—Mona Sid’s chess champion—in chess, what could be more satisfying?
Moreover, Joshua hadn’t asked to start fresh; he’d volunteered to continue from the current position. The board before them was one Timon had been toying with Tomison on—essentially already won. There were three or four ways to checkmate within a few moves. Could even Joshua reverse such a position? The thought genuinely intrigued him.
“I don’t care who plays.”
The moment Timon answered, Tomison rose from his seat. Without any particular ceremony, he carefully pushed the surrounding students aside to make room for Joshua to sit comfortably.
As Joshua took his seat across from him, a smile bloomed on Timon’s lips.
“You actually know how to play chess?”
“I used to play sometimes with my sister at home.”
Joshua, seated across from his senior, didn’t bother with formal speech. But before Timon could dwell on the casual tone, laughter burst from him.
“Your sister? The one everyone says is an idiot? Don’t tell me you’re confidently challenging me with the skills you picked up against someone like that? I’m worried you don’t even know the rules properly.”
Joshua, who had been studying the board, lifted his head and fixed Timon with an expressionless stare.
“Please refrain from disrespectful remarks. Whether my sister has skill or not, you’ll find out if you play me.”
Timon’s laughter ceased.
“Ah, of course. Your sister must be a Demonic like you, right? Maybe she’s actually a very special Demonic pretending to be an idiot! Haha!”
“You certainly know the term ‘Demonic.’ You’ve done your research on my family. I must have been quite bothersome to you.”
It was true. None of the other students gathered around the board understood what that word meant. Timon, who had let the term slip from his lips without thinking—one he’d been rolling around in his mouth for some time—suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Timon had learned the term months ago from someone claiming to be Joshua’s relative who had visited the school. That person had shared other things too: that children born as Demonics didn’t live long, had never inherited a family line, and often went mad before reaching adulthood. Though they possessed genius-level talents, they were pitiful enough to warrant sympathy.
Yet thinking about it, Joshua excelled in music but not so remarkably in other areas. Certainly he was intelligent and studied well, but he seemed somewhat ordinary for someone called a genius. At least, that’s how it appeared to Timon, who had never seriously applied himself to studies. Grinding his teeth, Timon continued.
“Ah, is that so? If you’d like, I can cancel. I thought you were hiding something, acting like you could take over this board and win. If you’re not that Demonic thing or whatever, how will you handle this pathetic mess?”
Timon began pushing over Tomison’s captured pieces one by one. Tomison’s cheeks twitched with barely concealed anxiety. But Joshua remained unmoved.
“You don’t seem to understand what a Demonic is, senior.”
“What, is it some rotten secret of your family that others wouldn’t know? Don’t you think those who need to know already do?”
“A Demonic isn’t necessary for something like this.”
The meaning of those words wasn’t clear to anyone at that moment—except Timon. His brows furrowed with intensity. Giles, unable to contain himself, interjected from the side.
“Your tone is appalling. Your manners are appalling. Do you still think it’s an era when people bow their heads before you as a matter of course?”
Normally, Joshua wouldn’t have responded to such remarks. But today was different.
“I’m too young to remember that era.”
“What I was pointing out was your arrogant tone! Did you forget your senior is speaking to you?”
Joshua glanced at Giles. It was the first cutting remark to spill from a Mona Sid student since Joshua’s arrival.
“How can I show respect and speak formally to people who say my very existence is harmful? Don’t overestimate my patience.”
The watching students had apparently heard from latecomers what was being said. Because the target was a nine-year-old, those words stirred shame in many of them. Neither Timon nor Giles spoke further.
Timon moved a piece.
Joshua’s response was immediate. He seemed barely to think at all. It was entirely different from Tomison, who had been struggling to read the position despite understanding nothing.
Timon’s eyes widened in alarm, and he glanced at Joshua’s face before looking back at the chessboard. Yet the young face bore no trace of deliberation or concern.
“Are you even thinking, or are you just moving pieces randomly?”
When Joshua didn’t answer, Timon spoke again.
“You do understand what happens if you lose, don’t you?”
Still receiving no response, anger crept into Timon’s voice.
“If you’re going to treat this as a joke, stop now. I take chess as seriously as I love it. I don’t have time to play with a child who can’t even read the Capital.”
Joshua then rested his chin in his hand, as if bored with waiting, and spoke.
“You didn’t seem so serious when you were playing with Tomison.”
The remark struck home. Timon’s face flushed crimson as he suddenly became a man whose words and actions contradicted each other.
“What would you know! Can you even read the board? You were so busy with all your fancy studies that you never bothered to learn chess, did you? Why didn’t you hire a tutor for chess too? Everything you’re good at now—you must have learned it all day long with expensive tutors brought in for you. If you grew up in such an environment and there’s something you can’t do, that’s just laughable, isn’t it?”
Having become sensitive to Joshua’s retort, Timon let spill all the inferiority he had harbored toward Joshua for so long. Joshua, who had never had tutors, offered no response. As Timon spoke more, he felt increasingly diminished, and his voice grew more heated.
“Why won’t you answer? Is it because none of it matters to you? Your privileges will remain intact, and your life will be smooth sailing regardless of what I say, right? Wrong! The day we wipe out you fake nobles clinging to the Republican Government isn’t far off. Once the revolution sweeps over Anomarad, who do you think will spare the likes of you? Your very existence taints the purity of the revolution! Those pathetic Royalist Faction trash can’t even muster the resolve to march on Keltika without tearing themselves apart—soon they’ll destroy themselves in their own petty squabbling. That’s what I’m telling you!”
What Timon said was a vision the Republican Faction wanted to believe in so desperately they would hypnotize themselves into accepting it—in other words, a fantasy so divorced from reality it barely deserved the name. The Royalists’ power had already grown several times greater than the Republic’s. It was true, however, that they remained divided over who to crown as the new king. And it was no lie that this division was delaying the grand siege of Keltika.
“You might think that if the Royalists seize Keltika, your world will return. But that’s a childish delusion. Do you really think the Royalists will welcome you parasites who survived by clinging to the Republic? You’ll be branded traitors and treated far worse than you are now. You scrap nobles—no matter which side wins, destruction is all that awaits you. You need to understand that!”
Timon had said nearly everything he’d always wanted to say. His chest felt lighter, and a smile even seemed to bloom on his face. Then Joshua released his hand from his chin.
“You’re a noble too, senior.”
“What… what did you say?”
Timon’s eyes widened.
“A Republican noble. There’s no place in the world without nobles, so it’s nothing strange.”
“What nonsense! What, a noble? What are you trying to say?”
Joshua gave a slight shrug.
“I have nothing to say. I just wish you’d make your next move quickly.”
“Explain what you just said! Now!”
“Senior.”
Joshua combed his hair with one hand while looking up at Timon with cold eyes.
“What I said has no meaning in the current situation. Noble is merely what the word literally means. But the future that’s coming is far more diverse than you think. Among the possibilities, there are more than one or two paths where the Arnim family lives long in peace and safety. That’s why your analysis holds no interest for me whatsoever. Just play chess. Or worry about your own future instead.”
The nine-year-old Joshua’s tongue grew sharper with each word, and even the watching students swallowed hard. Though they’d attended the same school for over a year, no one had ever heard Joshua speak like this. They’d known he was somewhat unchildlike, but now they realized it was far more than that.
“What would you know! Do you even understand what your family’s situation is like? Unable to choose either side, fearing destruction no matter which way things go, trembling while watching both sides—I’m curious why poor Arnim doesn’t ask his nine-year-old son for a way to survive. I could give you a clear solution. Ha!”
Joshua gave a slight nod.
“Even if you’re curious, just hold back. If I explained why, would you even understand? Anyway, senior, if you keep making me wait, I’ll win by default.”
Everyone around them saw Timon’s mouth twist and his fists clench. His friends grabbed his arm and shook their heads. At Mona Sid, where many students played instruments, violence meant immediate expulsion, regardless of the reason.
Joshua simply looked up at Timon, then lowered his gaze to the chessboard. The gesture meant “make your move,” but even that expression was arrogantly overwhelming.
Timon gripped the white Knight, blinked several times, then slammed it down on the board so hard he nearly shattered it, capturing one of Joshua’s pawns. Joshua paid no mind to the fallen piece and immediately made his move. Timon responded quickly. Then, on his third move since taking over the board, Joshua moved his piece and placed it with a decisive click.
“Will you continue?”
“What?”
“It seems to be over.”
Joshua stood from his seat. The onlookers stared blankly at the chessboard as if they hadn’t heard. Timon did the same. Joshua hadn’t said “check,” but his last move amounted to checkmate.
Children of Ron – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Month Books
The copyright of this book belongs to the author and Fourteen Months Publishing.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, written consent from both parties is required.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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