Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 246

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

Episode 16.
Not All Children Are Angels (16)
Joshua’s analogy was so cutting that it seemed impossible for a child to speak of his own family in such terms, yet every word rang true. House of Arnim was a duchy as ancient as the kingdom itself, but lacking territorial holdings on the Continent, they had long been spared conflict with commoners. Moreover, they possessed ancestors who had stood at the forefront during crises, protecting the citizens of Keltika. The reason Franz’s actions during the revolution were not dismissed as deception owed considerably to the legacy of those forebears.
That Dansburg allowed Duke Arnim to survive—he who possessed the second-largest castle after the royal palace—was likely because the Republic wished to demonstrate its capacity to embrace even the nobility. Yet it was equally because citizens, and even figures within the Republican Faction itself, held him in favor and aided him.
“The second advantage is intelligence. Which nobleman understands the affairs of the Republican Government best? Would it not be Father, residing here in Keltika? No one could pinpoint more precisely than Father when the Royalists should advance into Keltika. Even if there were information he lacked and sought to investigate, he would possess an absolute advantage compared to any nobleman outside the city.”
At this point, it was less accurate to say he was trapped in Keltika than to say he had infiltrated the very heart of the enemy. Franz found himself increasingly drawn into his son’s seemingly specious reasoning. Simultaneously, he realized Joshua was speaking with greater fluidity than usual—as though he had been performing the role of a child until now. With that performance stripped away, an equal or perhaps even superior being seemed to burst forth from within that shell.
“I understand the advantages well enough. But what will you do with them?”
“We must find a buyer willing to pay dearly.”
Franz hesitated slightly.
“A steep price, you say. For those advantages to prove useful, there must be a faction eager to seize Keltika immediately. Would the two Royalist factions, who eye each other’s backs far more than Keltika’s, truly find such an offer appealing?”
Joshua, having placed another bitter candy in his mouth and rolled it about, answered while making a grimace of resignation.
“Ugh, how bitter. Father is right. Those who would recognize the advantages our family possesses are not the two Royalist factions, but a third force.”
“A third force? Who?”
“The nobility watching from the sidelines. Among them, there is surely someone who wishes to join hands with Father. An ambitious man—a clever one with keen insight into the political situation. Such a person would immediately perceive the favorable conditions Father possesses and consent to an alliance.”
“Yet whoever it is cannot become king. Should someone without royal blood attempt to seize the throne, the two Royalist factions would unite to stop him, and the other nobles would not permit it either. Most importantly, it would be difficult to convince the people of the necessity of such a person becoming king. If someone harbors such hopes, the only conclusion is that he is a fool.”
Joshua shook his head.
“One lacking legitimacy would need someone of high repute like Father all the more. Such a person would especially desire a strategy capable of overturning his position in a single stroke—like the conquest of Keltika. It is precisely such a person who most wishes to know when that conquest will occur.”
Though the logic was sound, Franz still refused to acknowledge the possibility of a change in the royal house. Nevertheless, he intended to hear Joshua’s reasoning through to the end.
“Very well. Then who is this person?”
“I suspect it narrows down to a few candidates. If you pressed me to identify them…”
Joshua glanced upward at the ceiling for a moment. Beyond the door, loud footsteps drew near, then faded away. Who it was seemed obvious enough. Quieter footsteps followed in their wake. At last, a name emerged from Joshua’s lips.
“Duke Fontina.”
Duke Fontina was a great nobleman possessing vast territories in the central regions. The ducal title had come through the maternal line several generations prior, so one might say a trace of royal blood flowed through him, yet no one regarded him as royalty. It had been long since he involved himself in politics.
Yet his territories yielded abundantly, affording him considerable wealth, and his private forces were said to be substantial. Moreover, he was known to be a cautious man, one who did not readily bare his heart to others.
“I have heard that both Royalist factions made considerable efforts to draw Duke Fontina to their side. But he merely declined politely and remained in his place. In the meantime, many others completed their deliberations and joined one faction or the other, so Duke Fontina missed the most advantageous moment to ally himself. Yet the problem is—that man is clever. Why would someone of such strategic brilliance remain motionless for years on end?”
Franz pondered briefly, then shook his head and spoke.
“Fontina is not so blinded by ambition as to attempt to become king himself. He is not ignorant of its impossibility.”
Joshua likewise shook his head in agreement.
“Nor do I believe he seeks to become king.”
“Then whom does he support?”
“Cautiously speaking, I believe he possesses a third alternative.”
“What do you mean?”
“Another—someone descended from the old royal house.”
Franz started in surprise, then furrowed his brow.
“I have never heard of such a person. If I searched, perhaps one exists, but mere descent means little without supporting forces. And as you can see, no such forces exist.”
“That is precisely what Duke Fontina is doing. As you know, he has spurned several excellent opportunities to join with either Royalist faction. If we fairly assess Duke Fontina’s abilities, we cannot conclude his judgment suddenly clouded. It seems he has chosen to nurture a seed to grow into a king. The forces a newcomer requires can be built from scratch.”
How could he speak with such conviction? Joshua, who had never once met Duke Fontina. Contrary to his father’s suspicion, Joshua continued with a faint smile playing at his lips.
“So then, who is this person? If House Fontina has intermarried with the old royal house within recent decades, we need only find a descendant over twenty years of age with an impressive bearing. He is the answer. But if no such marriage exists, there must surely be a stranger of unknown origins who married a key figure of House Fontina after the Republican Revolution. Does Duke Fontina not have a younger sister?”
He did. Anliche da Pontina. Though long past marriageable age, she had rejected every marriage proposal until there were no more to be heard. After that, he had heard no wedding announcement. Yet if she had pursued the plan Joshua described, she would have held the ceremony quietly in her territory, away from gossip.
“Supposing such a person exists, how long does Duke Fontina intend to keep him hidden?”
“Even when Count Parinac’s eldest daughter married earlier this year, Duke Fontina didn’t attend. Given how unusually quiet things have been lately, the debut of the person in question must be drawing near. I estimated the Republic had at most three years left, but it seems Duke Fontina sees it as even shorter. So where will the curtain rise? Ah, the Rozen region of the Lemme Borderlands would be ideal.”
“Rozen? Why somewhere so distant?”
Joshua raised his eyebrows.
“Rozen’s lord died in Keltika during the revolution, so Count Parinac initially claimed it. But when he moved south to counter Duke Amicen, he entrusted it to his younger sister, Ellen. Ellen defended against Lemme’s relentless assaults on the Rosenberg Gate so remarkably that she earned the nickname ‘Ellen of Ambush.’ Now Count Parinac intends to summon even her to his Territory. With Ellen, he’d have roughly eighteen thousand troops, enough to match Duke Amicen’s twenty thousand, but who would that benefit?”
Lemme had shown no recent movement, but that was likely because of Ellen de Parinac. If the gate were left undefended and Lemme seized it, Count Parinac would face accusations of neglecting his defensive duties. Dividing his forces to resolve that would expose his back to Duke Amicen. Yet if he held firm, he’d lose his claim to the throne by surrendering land to a foreign power. The only remaining choice was to strike Duke Amicen first.
The conjecture slowly took on the shape of reality. Both Duke Amicen, who understood that controlling Keltika was necessary to claim the throne, and the arrogant Count Parinac knew this, but they’d held back from fear of betrayal. What if the two Royalist factions began to battle? Keltika would become spoils for whoever seized it first. Who was eyeing that prize?
Joshua smiled faintly, as if peering into my father’s train of thought, and spoke.
“You see, Duke Fontina will want to time ‘Ellen of Ambush’ vacating the gate and Lemme’s invasion of it perfectly with the conquest of Keltika. But if Republican resistance proves fierce and drags on, the Royalist factions will stop fighting each other and converge. So the key to conquering Keltika is speed. But if you knew the moment when Republican resistance would be broken in half?”
The moment they wished to know was something Franz already knew—the death of Dansburg, the Republican leader. They didn’t yet know that Dansburg’s death was in its final countdown. With that information in hand, I was an existence that could even set the date of the decisive battle as needed.
“The location of Pontina Territory is perfect too—it backs onto Rozen and borders the Bluet River. Crossing the Bluet River at its middle course takes only four days to reach Keltika. Just four days, and everything will be overturned. It will be a blitzkrieg for the history books. Four days of lightning.”
A smile appeared on Joshua’s small lips—one that hadn’t shown even when he won at chess.
“If Duke Fontina doesn’t take this bait, I’d say his reputation for strategic brilliance needs revision. So show him that you know his true intentions, and propose that you both become kingmakers.”
It was a perilous gamble. A desperate all-or-nothing move that could invite ruin. Had there been a way to simply endure as things were, I would have chosen it even without gain. But Franz understood too. There was no future for House of Arnim as things stood. Maintaining the current state, declining further, or some combination thereof—who would call such limited choices a strategy?
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Moon Books
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Moon Books.
To reuse all or part of this book’s contents, written consent from both parties is required.

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