Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 261

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

Episode 31.
Not All Children Are Angels (31)
10. A Belated Guest
The poison you prepared didn’t kill me, but it seems you’ve certainly killed your own shadow.
While Joshua rushed up to Windmill Hill at dawn, ignoring the blueprints and pestering the workers who tried to do things their own way, Theo and Ivnoa stayed at a villa built on a beautiful island in Hyacan.
It was a peaceful honeymoon. Since Ivnoa’s cousins lived in Hyacan, visitors initially came from nearby villas to pay their respects. But with no mistress of the house to receive them, the visits soon ceased, and each day grew quieter. Even the weather remained perpetually the same.
On the morning Anistan and another person arrived, the sky was a deep blue, and the entrance surrounded by flower beds was filled with the fragrance of blossoms and honey.
“The master is waiting inside.”
The servants at Jade Ring Castle had been stingy in treating Theo as one of the Arnim family, but these servants at the villa were not. After being shown in with proper courtesy, I saw Theo sitting in the reception room. Refreshments were already laid out. Theo, who had raised one hand upon seeing Anistan, suddenly stood up with delight upon seeing the person who followed him in.
“Aunt Anelli! How long has it been?”
The woman called Aunt Anelli was around fifty years old, with a crooked smile playing at the corners of her mouth. That expression was exactly as Theo had known it since childhood. Anelli Loeroen—Anistan’s aunt and the person who had taken on the role of a “kind relative” that young Theo could never have had.
Theo didn’t know it back then, but Anelli was also a mage. Even in this hot weather, she wore a green short cloak over her summer dress and carried a staff, which must have drawn considerable attention on her journey here.
After exchanging cheek kisses with Theo, Anelli spoke.
“Haven’t I always prepared an answer for such questions? Four years, two months, and four days have passed. First, congratulations on finally getting married. You’re truly a remarkable child. If I had your patience, I would have become a countess somewhere by now, or perhaps the chancellor of Nenyaple, or at least one of the two.”
“A position like countess is far too tedious compared to the latter, which suits you much better.”
“Right. I could never have the patience to tolerate a fool from a count’s family who can’t even memorize the names of all the villages in his own territory. Tell me your secret now. I need to start preparing for my old age soon.”
Anistan paused, his hand reaching for his teacup, and looked at Aunt Anelli. Depending on how one listened, it could have been offensive. But Theo simply raised an eyebrow without concern.
“You just let whatever anyone says pass through one ear and out the other. Think to yourself, ‘That’s how the world is shaped for them.’ Squares look round to them, blue looks red to them…”
Anelli waved her hand dismissively.
“I’m still far from preparing for old age. I suppose I’ll just have to keep living like this. It’s fortunate I don’t have any children to feed, a woman like me. But you two really grew up well without any helping adults.”
“That can’t be true. You took care of us a lot when we were young.”
“You two were very easy to care for. I like children like you. You’re smart.”
Anelli pointed at the two of them alternately with her finger and giggled, then picked up a piece of some unnamed fruit from the table with her finger and took a bite. A fork lay right beside it, but she paid it no mind.
The people from the village where Anistan’s family used to live often behaved in ways that deviated from general etiquette. Theo, who had gotten along with them for several years, had suffered a bit when first entering the Arnim Family Estate because of this.
“This tastes good. Is this tree potato? Anyway, you asked Ani about magic-related things, didn’t you? How could you press a child who just graduated on such matters? You should have asked me first.”
“Well, you didn’t come to the wedding.”
“I hate such troublesome affairs. Besides, what if I caused an accident? Be grateful I didn’t go.”
Anistan barely managed to speak.
“The wedding was splendid. You showed consideration for all sorts of guests. You even invited me to stay for a few days.”
“I nearly had a taste of Theo’s twelve years of prison life. It would be a good attempt to understand a friend, but I couldn’t last half a day. Do nobles really know the taste of bread while dressed up all fancy and worrying about the order of holding a fork? What exactly is a duke anyway? Oh, I heard you’re not a duke anymore? Or will you become one again eventually? Well, what do I know. It has nothing to do with people like us.”
“People like us,” as Anelli said it, referred to the residents of Belvedere, the village where they used to live. They were people ignorant of continental affairs, uninterested in others’ customs or trends, and seemingly capable of living in self-sufficient isolation for a hundred or thousand years if left alone.
Since entering the Arnim Family Estate, Theo had never returned to that village, but she still imagined they would never own more than five sheep per household, would expose newborns to the outside air immediately, would gather babies from each house to care for them from one or two years old, and would keep bees and silkworms in every home.
But Anelli’s refined dress and hairstyle, having left the village and wandered throughout the kingdom for a long time, were quite different from the people of that village who only wore grayish-brown clothes in rotation. She seemed to know continental customs well enough by now, yet she appeared to be deliberately stubborn about it. Anistan awkwardly laughed and changed the subject.
“By the way, I noticed the scenery of this island on the way here. It’s really admirable, such a life.”
Theo smiled slightly.
“You’re probably saying that because of the nameless grass in the backyard rather than the blue sea or the shiny houses.”
“Really, I saw black bat flowers all over the place on the way here. I even saw parrot tulips. I should take some soil samples when I leave.”
“By all means. I didn’t even know the names of those flowers. Take them all if you want.”
“Really? These flowers only bloom in warm places like this, so they’re so hard to find. This place is really nice. Coming to this sunny resort after trembling every day in a cold laboratory—is this what heaven is like?”
As the two exchanged casual conversation, Anelli picked up another piece of fruit with her hand and ate it, then took out a monocle from her handbag and put it on. She placed a paper envelope on the table. It was the one Theo had given to Anistan.
Aunt Anelli tapped the envelope with her fingertip as she spoke.
“Anyway, regarding this matter—I don’t know what you’re trying to do, Theo, but to cut to the chase, it won’t work. It’s impossible.”
Anistan quickly interjected, catching the subtle shift in Theo’s expression.
“Aunt Anelli is right. Controlling a person is not only unethical, but….”
Aunt Anelli cut him off.
“I’m not talking about ethics and all that nonsense. You know I have no interest in the trivial notions that Continent people cherish. What I mean is, while you might be able to control someone for brief moments, sustaining it requires an astronomical amount of magical power. There may be someone capable of supplying such power somewhere, but Anistan won’t be able to, and neither will I. If you were to ask the Nenyaple Headmaster, I wouldn’t stop you, but as you know, those people are fond of ethics.”
Aunt Anelli withdrew a sheet of paper inscribed with magical formulas from the envelope and unfolded it. Spread across it in three colors of ink with sweeping, almost flying brushstrokes was an equation calculating the average human consciousness, the force required to suppress it, the force needed to overlay a new personality upon it, the completeness of that personality, and the side effects upon awakening—all combined to determine the power necessary for whoever would cast such magic.
Even without extending the casting time infinitely, merely attempting it for a month or two yielded astronomical magical power requirements. Aunt Anelli pointed to a specific section with her finger.
“Look here. For any magic worth using, someone would have found a way to compress the magical power required in this section, right? But humans are peculiar creatures—they seem insignificant, yet they demand endless energy. More than anything, human willpower varies entirely depending on mood and circumstance. So to obtain consistent, error-free results, there’s no choice but to apply relentless pressure with overwhelming force. That’s why these absurd numbers emerge. In short, this is utterly inefficient. So naturally, no one has bothered researching partial compression, have they?”
Theo merely skimmed the paper before looking at Anistan.
“Anistan, is that your opinion as well?”
Anistan momentarily floundered, glancing at Aunt Anelli. She gave them both a sidelong look, her characteristic crooked smile playing at her lips.
“Look at this. You’re suggesting I got something wrong, aren’t you?”
Theo’s mouth curved upward on one side as well.
“Surely not. I was merely wondering if there truly is no breakthrough method.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Anelli slowly turned her head to fix Anistan with a piercing gaze—far sharper than before. Anistan’s expression grew unstable, teetering on the edge of uttering something before she withdrew her attention and looked back at Theo.
“Fine. Then let’s go back to the root of the problem. Theo, why do you need such magic? Who are you trying to control? I hope you’re not about to spout some nonsense about not being able to tell us now that I’ve said it’s impossible.”
Theo did nothing of the sort. Instead, a smile played across his face.
“How could I? Our conversation is only just beginning. The person I intend to control is a ten-year-old child from House of Arnim.”
Though Anistan had anticipated something along these lines to some degree, the ease with which the words tumbled out caused his eyes to waver. Theo continued, still reclined at an angle, his tone unchanged.
“I was curious whether a younger age might make it somewhat easier.”
Aunt Anelli’s hand, reaching for another piece of fruit, froze.
“If it’s that family’s son, he’s a Demonic, isn’t he?”
“Ah, you knew.”
Aunt Anelli’s brow furrowed, and she suddenly crumpled the paper inscribed with magical formulas in irritation.
“What does it matter? You should have mentioned it from the start! If the target is Demonic, these calculations are worthless. Give up from the beginning. Even the Nenyaple Headmaster couldn’t do it. You need to know your limits.”
Children of the Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months of Books
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Months of Books.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, 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
—————