Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 243

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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 13.
Not All Children Are Angels (13)
“What are you talking about!”
Among the onlookers, no one played chess better than Timon. They all wore bewildered expressions, unable to understand why the game had ended, merely stealing glances at Joshua. When Joshua’s eyes met Timon’s, he raised his eyebrows slightly and spoke.
“My skills are rather mediocre—I even lose to my sister sometimes.”
There was no further explanation. Leaving the confused spectators and his opponent behind, Joshua departed from Cookie Hall without so much as a word to Tomison. Tomison soon slipped out after him.
Now all the watching students’ attention converged on Timon. He stared desperately at the chessboard.
If it wasn’t checkmate and he’d been deceived by a child, he would be furious. But if he had actually lost, the shame was compounded by the ignominy of not even realizing he’d been checkmated. To call it finished now—how many moves ahead had the boy read? Five? Ten? Even five moves ahead made calculating the possibilities difficult enough…
Timon sweated, staring at the chessboard for a long time—nearly over five minutes. Only when the bored students began to leave did he suddenly clench his fist, but instead of striking the board, he lowered his hand beneath the table. His face bore an unmistakable expression of defeat.
Giles carefully asked from beside him.
“Well?”
Timon didn’t answer, instead staring at Joshua’s final move with bloodshot eyes. Then he suddenly swung his right hand, sweeping across the chessboard. White pieces, red pieces—all tumbled down with a loud clatter, scattering everywhere.
“Cursed Demonic…”
The students who had flinched back began to whisper among themselves.
“What’s this ‘Demonic’ thing anyway? A genius like a demon?”
“Does it mean he’s been smart since childhood?”
“But Joshua is just a kid who sings well, right? Does that even count?”
Soon Timon rose from his seat and looked around at the friends waiting for him. His eyes gleamed with nothing but rage.
“What’s a Demonic? Let me tell you about the cursed bloodline of House of Arnim. The first Duke Arnim made a deal with a demon, sold his soul, and received genius-level abilities in return. After that, once every four generations, such a child is born. But unlike the first Duke, they don’t live long—they die, go mad, or something like that. That’s why the family has never even treated such children as legitimate offspring from the start. Of course, none of them have ever inherited the title. Joshua will be no different. He pretends otherwise, but what choice does he have? Why would a ducal house put its only son in a dormitory and have him sing nursery rhymes? They’ve given up on him. That’s one fact Joshua can never change no matter how much pride he musters. A Demonic is a shameful blemish on House of Arnim.”
Timon’s words were logically full of holes, but they were sensational enough to capture people’s attention. The students who heard them glanced toward where Joshua had left. Everyone was conscious of his existence, yet he was absent from the room. The conditions for a rumor to be born were complete.
Around that time, Theo, who had been sitting on the staircase outside Cookie Hall, stood up.
Among all those who witnessed the commotion that day, only Theo understood. Joshua’s mood just moments before. And only he had noticed. Today, Joshua had made a decision about something.
This meant Theo’s plan was succeeding.
Theo also recognized from the start that Joshua had inherited a game he couldn’t win, and that he had used Timon’s rage to overturn that board. Angered by Joshua’s continued provocations, Timon lost focus on victory and tried to sweep away all of Joshua’s remaining pieces. The moment the opponent made even a single mistake, the Demonic Joshua would overturn the situation in an instant.
Few people had observed Joshua as long and carefully as Theo had. In his view, Joshua’s artistic talent was overwhelmingly dominant, and his personality was unpretentious and without ambition. That’s why he had thought Joshua wouldn’t be the political or strategist type of Demonic that was said to be rarest among all historical Demonics.
Had that been a mistaken assumption?
Coming down the stairs and stepping outside, Theo smiled at a student just about to enter Cookie Hall and spoke to him.
“I am a servant from House of Arnim. Young Master Joshua asked me to distribute these cookies among you students. Since I’m not a student, it would be difficult for me to enter, so if you don’t mind, would you be willing to take them and distribute them?”
4. The Pawns of Chess
We’re neither hostages nor prisoners, and certainly not spoils of war. What are we then?
Aren’t we merely pawns on a chessboard?
“Hey, Joshua…”
Joshua stood before an arched window where the western sunlight streamed in, standing on his tiptoes to look out. The garden was patchy with partially melted snow, hardly a sight worth seeing. When Tomison called to him, he turned around.
“What?”
Joshua’s tone wasn’t particularly warm, but it wasn’t the bleached voice he used with other students either. Tomison hesitated, thinking. Should he thank him, express admiration, or ask what was going on?
Then Joshua spoke.
“Never mind.”
“Huh?”
“I understand what you were thinking.”
Realizing that Joshua had answered the words Tomison had been deliberating over, Tomison’s face flushed red. It took him a long time before he could speak again.
“I’ve been curious about something for a while now….”
“What is it?”
When Joshua turned around, Tomison’s expression grew awkward.
“Your name, I mean…. Why is it Joshua and not Yoshua?”
Joshua suddenly burst into laughter—a sound that startled Tomison. He had never heard Joshua laugh like that before.
‘Joshua’ and ‘Yoshua’ were spelled identically, but pronunciation varied by region. People bearing central-style surnames like ‘von Arnim’ typically pronounced it as Yoshua. Joshua stopped laughing and answered.
“My family hails from the Southern Region. We existed long before House of Arnim, you could say. My name follows the Southern tradition, so it became Joshua.”
“Then your family originally had a different surname?”
“No. Originally, we had no surname at all.”
“Wait, no surname means….”
Tomison faltered mid-sentence. The absence of a surname belonged only to the lowest classes among commoners—the destitute and enslaved. Otherwise, perhaps in foreign lands like Lugran or Recordable. Yet House of Arnim was an ancient and venerable clan that had played a role in founding Kingdom Anomarad itself, was it not?
At that moment, Joshua finished his thought for him.
“Right. We weren’t nobility at first.”
“I’m shocked. I had no idea. But that must have been ages ago, right?”
“Ages ago, no one was nobility.”
Joshua turned his gaze back toward the window. He spoke while looking out.
“I know you’ve suffered because of me all this time. I apologize.”
Tomison’s eyes widened and he quickly waved his hands in protest.
“No, no. It’s not because of you. I’m just stupid. I keep spouting whatever I want without thinking, so people dislike me. I won’t do it anymore. I really won’t. Seeing what happened to you today made me realize what I’ve been doing all this time. I should be the one apologizing. I’ll make sure nothing troublesome happens because of me ever again.”
The beginning was no one’s fault. But problems of this kind in school never simply vanished on their own. Nor did responding as they had today make them disappear. Rather, it was obvious they would only fuel the flames further. Still, Tomison believed he could endure it. It was the consequence of his own words, and he had no intention of breaking his resolve.
But why had Joshua abandoned his usual demeanor and involved himself in that chess game? Had he been aware of what Tomison was enduring all along? Had he finally lost patience and stirred the pot?
Joshua turned his head and gazed at Tomison intently. His eyes seemed to peer into Tomison’s very soul, and Tomison’s face flushed red. Yet the answer that came was unexpected.
“I appreciate your words, but from now on, neither you nor I will cause each other trouble.”
“I… what do you mean by that?”
“I’m going home today.”
Tomison’s face went blank as he mulled over the words, then suddenly he was startled.
“You’re quitting school?”
Joshua nodded. Tomison couldn’t comprehend it. Just until this afternoon, he had attended classes as usual, and now suddenly, today, he was making this decision entirely on his own without consulting anyone? Could one simply withdraw like that?
“Wait, when did you decide this?”
“When I started playing chess.”
“So, today?”
Joshua nodded again. Tomison fumbled for words, unsure what to say.
“Um, well, so, uh, it’s not because of me, right?”
“No.”
Of course it couldn’t be. They had only spoken once, or rather twice. But Tomison was still a boy his age, so he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe Joshua’s words.
“Still, even though Timon spoke too harshly just now, and it’s natural to be angry, not everyone thinks like him, so couldn’t you just ignore it from now on? I know it’s not my place to meddle, but it seems such a waste to suddenly quit…. And what about the Choir? Without you, who will sing the solo part….”
Joshua listened to what Tomison was saying, but he seemed to have no opinion, as though he were hearing of something that happened long ago or in a distant place. It was as if the very thought that any of this concerned him had vanished.
His expression was so strange that Tomison fell silent of his own accord after a moment. Then Joshua nodded.
“Yes. Thank you for thinking of me.”
Joshua stepped back from the window and took a step toward the Staircase, then looked back at Tomison.
“Don’t bother searching for a reason. That’s all.”
Joshua descended the Staircase, leaving behind only the briefest of farewells. Tomison watched his retreating figure in a daze, wondering if Joshua’s words meant that the answer lay beyond the reach of his comprehension—that any effort would be futile.
Moments later, Tomison realized something and rushed to the Arched Window, peering outside. Only then did he understand what Joshua had been observing all along. A figure stood beyond the snowy expanse.
Joshua crossed the snow to stand beside that person. As they exchanged words, a shared carriage arrived and stopped. The man boarded first, and Joshua followed, but paused to glance back.
Though distant, it felt as though their eyes had met. Joshua then raised a hand to his eyes before lowering it—a gesture like a farewell.
The carriage door closed.
Unable to comprehend anything else, Tomison recalled the only thing he knew with certainty: the light in Joshua’s eyes as they had spoken. It was neither quite friendship nor pity, yet held an unmistakable warmth.
Perhaps it was mere illusion, but he believed Joshua had truly seen him one last time and held him in memory. After all, Joshua was clever enough that he would never forget his face.
With that thought, he watched the carriage disappear into the distance.
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Month Books
The copyright of this book belongs to the author and 14 Month Books.
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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