Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 252

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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 22.
Not All Children Are Angels (22)
With that realization, I found myself growing considerably more lenient toward the other party. Joshua smiled brightly as he spoke.
“So if I release you, you’ll tell me everything, is that it?”
At Joshua’s words, the young boy’s tone softened as well.
“That’s right, so just let me go already. Come on, hurry.”
“Alright, so….”
Joshua genuinely attempted to release him. He turned in the opposite direction from before, but the net only became more tangled. Had he turned it wrong? He tried the opposite direction again. This time it wound even tighter. As Joshua grew flustered, the boy inside the net began shrieking as if he couldn’t bear it any longer.
“What are you doing! Are you trying to squeeze the life out of me?”
“That’s not it. I’m trying to untangle it right now….”
He turned it several more times—the boy inside felt his head spinning—but now Joshua couldn’t determine which direction was correct anymore. When he tried belatedly to examine the knots, the ancient net’s mesh had become so hopelessly entangled that it was impossible to discern anything by sight.
Joshua had no choice but to be honest.
“It seems to be too tangled. Um, I can’t undo it quickly, so could you wait while I work through it carefully?”
The young boy was truly someone whose attitude changed easily.
“What? You can’t undo it? You’re saying that now? Hurry up and untangle it! It hurts! You worn-out piece of candy!”
7. Bread and Fish
It happened to be raining at the time. I saw him standing in the doorway then, his gaze so detached that I didn’t even realize he was lost.
“I’m Maximian Lipkne.”
“I’m Joshua von Arnim.”
At that, Maximian suddenly began speaking indignantly.
“What, von? You’re nobility? Don’t tell me you’re planning to speak formally to me? Wait, so that old man is nobility too? No way, you don’t expect me to believe that, do you? If that geezer is nobility, then I’m the Chancellor of Anomarad.”
Joshua, eager to resolve the situation quickly, gave the most effective answer that came to mind.
“Just because ‘von’ is in the name doesn’t mean everyone with it is nobility.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Fortunately, he’d gotten past it without lying.
The two of them were now sitting beside the net bed—which Joshua had painstakingly untangled in the only way he could manage, leaving a gaping hole in one side—and exchanged a few words about what they’d meant to discuss. But determining whether the old man Maximian spoke of was actually the Grandfather Joshua was searching for proved unexpectedly difficult.
First, Joshua knew nothing about his Grandfather. So no matter how much Maximian explained, there was no way to verify it. And second, the grandfather Maximian described was vastly different from the image Joshua had imagined. For example, like this.
“Your Grandfather? Then that means the old man never married. Well, that’s a relief! I was deeply worried that some poor woman had gotten tangled up with such a stubborn old codger.”
But Maximian adjusted his glasses roughly on his nose and examined Joshua carefully before saying this.
“But you do look a bit like that old man. Especially around the eyes.”
This much at least matched what Stilton, the Grandfather’s secretary, had said. It was truly confusing.
“So this is definitely the Grandfather’s House, right? But you don’t know where he went?”
Maximian tried to fix his broken glasses frame, but grew tired of it and shoved them roughly into his pocket. Then, with an attitude suggesting everything had already become tedious, he began to answer.
“He wanders about as he pleases. No one knows when he’ll return. There’s nothing valuable in this house anyway, so there’s no need to worry about thieves even if it’s left like this. I just come here occasionally to take naps on that net bed because I like it. All the land around here belongs to him too. I’m not sure if this should be called a Pasture, but in any case, he doesn’t raise a single sheep, and all that exists here is a decaying house, so it might be appropriate to call it a rotting Pasture. Anyway, since he doesn’t raise sheep, the grass grows well, so the neighbors occasionally sneak their own sheep in, but the old man doesn’t mind. Anything else you’re curious about?”
Having asked if there was anything else, Maximian seemed to think he’d answered enough. He picked up a book and shuffled outside. Joshua followed a few steps and asked.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“…Where is home?”
“Over there in the Village.”
Maximian seemed to think he had no obligation to answer anything else in detail. He’d already made it outside the yard. Somehow Joshua ended up following him that far.
“Where are the other houses?”
“See where the sun is setting? If you go far in that direction, you’ll find them.”
“Are you heading that way?”
“Why? Do you want to follow me?”
Maximian’s face broke into an amused smile, the kind that said *of course you do*. Looking at that expression, in that moment, all practical calculations fell away, leaving only one possible answer.
“No.”
“Really? Then take care.”
Joshua stopped, too embarrassed to follow any further, and Maximian vanished in an instant. By the time Joshua looked up, he was already out of sight.
The reason he disappeared was because the sun had dipped low. Only then did Joshua realize he was hungry. But what could he do? There was nothing to eat anywhere.
He turned back toward the house and went inside. Without much hope, he searched the kitchen out of courtesy. Of course, he found nothing. In truth, Joshua didn’t even know which parts of the kitchen to search—he’d never prepared food himself.
Exhausted, he sat in a chair and stared blankly at the empty wall, lost in the imagined scent of roasted onions drifting from somewhere.
At the same time, the absurdity was unbearable. A demonic genius, they’d called him, yet the moment he stepped outside, he couldn’t even manage a single meal. He wanted to summon all those people who feared his abilities and show them this pathetic state.
As he sat meaninglessly, the sun completely disappeared and the surroundings darkened rapidly. His body grew cold as if by illusion. Joshua went around closing all the doors and windows, but it didn’t help. He remembered there was a bed in the next room. At the same time, he recalled there was a Warehouse in the house. There might be food in the Warehouse.
But without even a single candle, the rooms were already pitch black. Joshua quickly shook his head to dismiss the thought of the Warehouse and went to the room with the bed.
He couldn’t tell if there was dust or not—it was too dark. He had no clean clothes to change into, and it was too cold to undress. Joshua gave up entirely, crawled into bed, and pulled the sheet over his head. Various thoughts crossed his mind, but exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep.
Morning came.
Joshua woke up and immediately had to sneeze. The sheet was, as expected, covered in dust.
“Achoo, achoo, achoo!”
While searching for a place to wash, he found a large water basin that seemed to have been left there long ago. After barely splashing water on his face, he peered into the murky water where unidentifiable things floated, and saw himself looking like something that would have shocked his family or Mona Sid’s students.
He’d forgotten that his hair tangled easily and that his mother or the servants would groom it every morning. He considered wetting his hair to tame its round, unruly tangles, but decided against it, fearing it would only make him look more pathetic. With just water on his rough face, his hair askew from sleeping on one side, and his clothes wrinkled from sleeping in them, his appearance was utterly deplorable. But fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one to see him. Joshua suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Ahahaha….”
The refined version of himself was merely a fragile mask that crumbled in a single night. Joshua found himself amusing in this awkward state. Now that he felt there was nothing left to worry about, he had the urge to do all the things that once seemed forbidden. But what were those things again?
After stretching, he turned away from the house and saw blue, gently sloping terrain extending into a distant Valley. The fresh morning air of the countryside felt invigorating, but at the same time, his hunger began to intensify.
Turning back, before him stood the same dilapidated, barren house as yesterday. He’d abandoned hope of finding anything, but now he remembered one place he hadn’t searched: the Warehouse.
Since it was daytime, he didn’t feel the strong aversion he’d had last night. Joshua opened the Warehouse door and peered inside. It was dark, but he soon sensed something strange.
The smell of food.
His stomach twisted with hunger. Joshua threw the door wide open to let in as much light as possible, then stepped inside. He descended about a dozen Staircase steps and reached the floor. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out his surroundings. But there was nothing there.
It was just a narrow, empty space. There was no food anywhere. And strangely, the food smell had faded, making it unclear where it was coming from. Had he imagined it?
Joshua anxiously circled the Warehouse. Creak, creak. Empty buckets, empty wooden boxes, hooks as if something had hung there, twine for binding onions and garlic, broad marks where potatoes might have sprouted—that was all.
Realizing it was another dead end, anger finally surged up. He didn’t know who to direct it at, but… yes, Grandfather! If he’d lived here, why did he abandon his grandson in this state and disappear without a trace?
As Joshua turned around, he nearly tripped over a wooden box. He kicked it away—the first time he’d ever committed such a violent act.
Then, a familiar voice came from behind him.
“What are you doing crawling around in a place like this?”
Joshua spun around immediately.
Maximian was crouching at the top of the Staircase, scratching his head with an expression that said he’d seen every ridiculous thing. White powder scattered from his brown hair, which seemed haloed by the sunlight streaming in from the side.
Since Joshua hadn’t expected to see him again, the face that had been an unwelcome visitor yesterday now seemed welcome—though he was embarrassed at being caught in his anger. It was obvious that Maximian understood exactly why Joshua was angry.
“Why did you come back?”
“I just happened to pass by. Did you think I came looking for you?”
Joshua decided to ignore him and walked past Maximian, heading out of the Warehouse. As he entered the house, Maximian called from behind him.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Children of the Runes – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: Books of the Fourteenth Month
The copyright of this book belongs to the author and Books of the Fourteenth Month.
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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