Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 260

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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 30.
Not All Children Are Angels (30)
The people began to grow increasingly confused. There were no troublemakers here, yet those children had testified that Joshua’s expression inside the Windmill House—when he’d said he would kill them all—had been terrifying, like that of a madman. But when they laid eyes on this supposedly deranged child, he looked as small and adorable as an acorn, making such accusations seem utterly absurd.
Moreover, his demeanor shifted constantly—one moment shrieking defiantly, the next subtly provoking anger, then suddenly becoming endearing—so erratically that no one could discern which version was genuine. Finally, one man voiced what everyone was thinking.
“Regardless, Maximian isn’t even dead, yet the Windmill House burned to the ground! And this child shows not a shred of remorse. Isn’t this maddening? Please, bring his parents here at once! I’m exhausted from quarreling with such a small child!”
Only then did the Abbot speak, his words measured and slow.
“Child, you did set that fire, didn’t you?”
Joshua answered with the face of a well-behaved boy.
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I had no choice. At first, I thought it was just as these gentlemen said—a simple fistfight between children—so I stayed quiet. But when Dimango seemed like he might lose to Maximian, he brought out a dog he’d hidden beforehand. You can see from the bite marks that the beast was larger than Maximian and absolutely savage, as if starved. The shed was pitch-black, and when Maximian became tangled with the dog and fell, I grew terrified for his safety. I shouted for them to stop.”
“Look here! How could you possibly know those children brought that dog!”
Joshua’s expression hardened instantly, his gaze fixed on the man who’d spoken.
“If it wasn’t their dog, why were they egging it on from behind, shouting ‘Bite! Tear him apart!’ And all of them together, no less?”
As the man tried to respond, a Monk stepped between them. The Abbot, speaking in his characteristically drowsy tone, asked again.
“But the children didn’t stop, did they?”
“Not only did they refuse to stop, they mocked me. In my desperation, I told them I would set a fire if they didn’t cease—and they dared me to do it.”
Then Joshua’s eyes suddenly glistened with tears. Everyone in the Reception Room was startled. The child who had moments before been shouting that he could burn down the entire Monastery had vanished entirely.
“I truly had no choice. My friend was being mauled by that dog, about to die, and those demonic children were laughing, screaming for it to tear him apart! What could I have done? I couldn’t abandon my friend to death and run away, could I?”
The demon had shifted—now it was the other children. Several people clicked their tongues in disgust. In their eyes, Joshua, speaking with tears glistening, appeared genuinely pitiful and innocent, like a blameless little child.
Could a child be acting like this? Some actually began to believe Joshua’s account, and arguments broke out among them.
“So you set the fire?”
“In the end, I threw the lamp and caused the fire. That’s my fault. I won’t lie or make excuses.”
“If these people demand you pay for rebuilding the Windmill House, what will you do? Do you have parents with money?”
Joshua answered without blinking.
“I plan to answer that question after Maximian’s leg has healed completely. If something goes wrong with him, I won’t let this pass lightly. I’m genuinely curious how those children will compensate for it.”
Thus he had deftly escaped the most difficult question. Though some still wore grim expressions, unable to suppress their anger, others let out hollow laughs at the audacity of the small child’s response.
Then the elderly man standing by the window suddenly spoke.
“That Maximian boy will recover soon enough.”
Joshua turned to look back.
“How do you know?”
“That one heals like a monster.”
Joshua stared at the man, uncertain what he meant, when the elder burst into hearty laughter and spoke again.
“So what’s your plan? If Maximian recovers without incident, will you somehow raise the funds to rebuild the Windmill House? How exactly?”
Joshua was momentarily flustered, but his expression quickly shifted as he replied.
“That’s a problem we can discuss after it happens. There’s no rush.”
An irritated voice came from beside him.
“What money could a child possibly have? It’s absurd to press such matters on a youngster. What’s your name, anyway?”
“Joshua.”
“Not that—your family name! What are your parents’ names?”
“Well, that’s….”
Joshua’s eyes rolled around before meeting the Mysterious Elder’s gaze once more. Sensing that the old man awaited his response, Joshua’s lips curved upward slightly.
“I’ll explain that after Maximian has fully recovered.”
But the old man burst into laughter again—a sound that filled the entire Reception Room.
“Your scheming is laughable. You don’t want to tarnish your parents’ honor, yet you lack the funds in your pocket to build a Windmill House. If you had them, you wouldn’t be making excuses like this, would you? Isn’t that so? But there’s one solution—your friend becoming a cripple! You need him to remain disabled to escape your predicament. If he recovers, you’re in real trouble. Isn’t that right? Hehehehe!”
“That’s not it!”
Joshua tried to protest, but the old man continued with a chuckle.
“I heard from people earlier that you boasted you’d burn down the Monastery itself for your friend’s sake. But hearing what you just said, it all sounds like lies. You, who creates escape routes while hoping your friend’s legs won’t heal—I simply cannot believe you set fire to the Windmill House for your friend’s sake. What do you make of that?”
Joshua’s words caught in his throat, his face turning pale. He’d been subjected to an absurd misunderstanding, and his poor choice of words left him no way to defend himself.
“So, what will you do? Once Maximian recovers, will you raise the funds to build the Windmill House yourself?”
“….”
My last resort was, of course, Keltika. But the thought of what expression Father and Mother would wear upon hearing such news sent a chill down my spine like ice.
Here, misbehaving alongside Maximian and acting shamefully brought no embarrassment, but the moment I recalled the young Demonic of Jade Ring Castle, everything changed. There remained a glass doll there, one that would shatter if touched carelessly—still standing transparent, wearing a smile whose meaning I could not fathom.
Not yet. I lacked the confidence to shatter that glass doll. The glass doll that the people of Jade Ring Castle believed to be Joshua was still very much like myself.
Then what choice remained?
I looked directly up at the old man who had cornered me. In that moment, it occurred to me that this was a problem I would have had to solve eventually, even if the old man hadn’t pointed it out. He was right. Buying time with clever words was merely a matter of days. For someone who believed Maximian must recover, it was nothing but meaningless wordplay. Why had the old man pointed this out? Merely to corner me?
As I thought that far, something gleamed in my mind. The essence.
“This entire argument has been wrong from the start. Whether Maximian recovers or not has nothing to do with this problem. It was all my misunderstanding.”
I leaped from my chair and walked out among the crowd. I positioned myself where, if they wished, the adults could easily lay hands on me. It was my way of taking responsibility for my words.
“I will do nothing for the Windmill House.”
“What?”
Surrounded by adults, I appeared far smaller than before. Yet the composed and unflappable demeanor ingrained in my body had returned. Like the glass doll, so was I.
“From the beginning, it was an action I believed to be just. Since it was not wrong, I will offer no compensation. Whatever you do to me, I acted according to my sense of justice. Even if I had money, I would not give a single coin.”
“….”
The people were bewildered, stirred. Of course, some were indignant. But they stood before the Abbot, and more than that, the sight of a child stepping forward without fear of violence and speaking plainly made them hesitate.
Yet Joshua added one more thing that swept away their hesitation in an instant.
“Moreover, if Maximian’s legs do not recover, I intend to demand compensation from those children.”
“What are you saying!”
“Have you ever seen such an insolent brat!”
One man raised his fist and grabbed my shoulder, while another snatched my arm from the opposite side and pulled. In an instant, I was on the verge of being beaten, but I did not resist. I merely struggled to remain standing upright.
Then the old man strode forward and forcefully pushed the men’s hands away. And he lifted my small body up with ease.
“Truly a difficult one to handle.”
With those words, the old man placed me lightly upon his shoulders. The people were left bewildered.
“What… what’s going on?”
“Who is that old man?”
As the people murmured, the old man spoke.
“This mischievous rascal is my elder brother’s grandson. Therefore, I shall repay all of your losses, down to a single brick and grain of wheat. Curious about who I am? I am the owner of the Blue Roof House, whom some of you may have heard of.”
The Blue Roof House was merely an old Farm, yet the people were greatly interested in who owned it. This was because, as Maximian had told Joshua, the entire Pasture nearby belonged to that house. Not a single shepherd who raised sheep failed to frequent what Maximian called the “rotten Pasture.”
The old man then sighed and glanced down at Joshua on his shoulders with a shake of his head.
“Look at the trouble he causes after being let loose for just one month. If I let him go another month, he’ll truly burn down the Monastery.”
“Pardon?”
“Joshua.”
The old man extended one hand toward the gathered people and continued speaking.
“Your justice toward those responsible for what happened to Maximian is righteous. But those who did nothing wrong yet lost the use of the Windmill House overnight—they are innocent, are they not? Therefore, you must compensate them for the indirect harm they’ve suffered.”
“….”
Joshua didn’t answer immediately. The reality that this man who had suddenly appeared was the Grandfather I’d been searching for so desperately at first hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
“So you will design the new Windmill House.”
The people blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend why a child was being given such a task. But the two Demonic were not. Joshua stared at Grandfather’s face for a long moment before finally answering.
“As long as Maximian recovers completely. I’ll make it far better than before.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Month Books
The copyright to 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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