Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 269

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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 39.
Not All Children Are Angels (39)
I hesitated, unsure of what to say, and finally managed these words.
“Do as you wish, Father.”
As I reached the entrance to the Study, a servant opened the door for me. I noticed there were more servants in the house than before.
“Your opinion matters too. We cannot tell the people, but you were the first architect of the grand plan that has brought our family back to glory. You deserve to be the first owner of all that glory.”
My head felt strangely dizzy. The political disputes and strategies I had discussed with Father that day seemed like shadows that had died long ago in the distant past. I found myself wondering once more where the “Glass Doll” was. If she was hiding, why hadn’t she come out yet?
“Why aren’t you coming in?”
Collecting myself, I realized Father was already seated in the Study. As I followed him inside, the door closed behind me.
With no one watching, Duke Arnim drew me close and embraced me. I felt somewhat relieved that Father’s arms were the same as before.
“Your room is still being prepared. For now, stay in your old room.”
Feeling strange once again, I asked.
“My room is changing?”
“Of course. You’re not a little boy anymore. You’ll use the large room with a sitting area next to my chambers.”
Until now, my room had been in a secluded tower at the far wing of the Castle. People often wondered why a son would be made to live in such a place, but I myself had never found it inconvenient.
“There was no need for that. I won’t be staying long anyway.”
An odd light appeared in Duke Arnim’s face.
“You won’t be staying long?”
“If I stay away too long, Grandfather will be waiting for me, won’t he?”
I felt something was going wrong. At my words, the Duke’s expression shifted to one of bewilderment.
“My, why would you return to the Countryside? Keltika has been restored, and the Republic is gone. And your father now has the power you spoke of. You will stay here and help your father, living with the dignity befitting a Young Duke. When I think of how we were forced to part, how fortunate this is!”
“But… the letter said…”
This wasn’t it. I hadn’t returned here intending to live. The Republican Government had collapsed, and I could now visit Keltika freely, so I had come to see my parents whom I hadn’t seen in so long. My life was in the Meadow of Kotzboldt. Jade Ring Castle belonged to the “Glass Doll,” not to me.
When I left, Hispanie had said the same thing. Return soon. Don’t stay too long. He had even made me promise. Had there been some misunderstanding between Father and Grandfather? But one of the two letters I received four days ago was addressed to Grandfather.
Seeing my expression, the Duke smiled broadly.
“What are you worried about? You’ve been there long enough. How can the heir of the family leave the Castle vacant for so long? Your uncle will understand perfectly. I’ll write him a letter. Besides, aren’t you my son?”
It was strange. Father was treating me like any ordinary son. As if he had forgotten the moment two winters ago when he realized his son was Demonic.
As if suddenly remembering something, the Duke smiled again.
“Yes. There’s more good news. In a few days, Ive and Theo will return from Hyacan. How about that? You must have missed your sister.”
Another shock. I couldn’t collect myself and asked in a dazed voice.
“My sister… is coming back?”
As summer drew to a close, there was much wind in Kotzboldt.
The nearby Meadow had been grazed bare by sheep throughout the summer, with bare earth showing in places. Yet in Old Man Hispanie’s dilapidated Pasture, hair-like grass still swayed in the breeze. Though neighboring sheep still came and went, the owner’s constant presence meant people were more cautious than before.
It looked like rain.
Lying on an old net bed, Maximian looked at the unstable clouds forming where sky and earth met and thought so. If it rained, I’d have to bring in the laundry, but as always, everything felt tedious. Without thinking, I almost shouted, “Joshua! Bring in the laundry!” but caught myself and closed my mouth.
They said the Republican Government had collapsed in Keltika. Joshua’s father… yes, just as the Old Man always said, Joshua’s family, such a distinguished clan, had now become a Duke. Or rather, “again” would be more accurate.
For Maximian, who was naturally distant from nobility, it made no difference either way. But along with that news came a letter telling Joshua to return home.
“Well, now you have to go back and become a Young Duke. Right?”
Speaking casually, Joshua seemed melancholy. That boy’s heart was easily hurt by trivial matters.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Why are you coming back? You’ve become a great nobleman—you should be living in splendor. What glory could you possibly find in this backwater?”
It was true enough, though I wasn’t sure if I meant it sincerely. Yet I spoke the words aloud anyway. Joshua shook his head and firmly denied it.
“No. I like it here. If they told me to go back and live as I did before, I don’t think I could do it. Besides, the letter only said to visit for a while. I’ll go for just a few days and come back.”
“Please. If I were you, I wouldn’t come back to a place like this. Is it fun dealing with worries about how to get through each evening and listening to an old man’s endless nagging?”
Joshua smiled at that.
“You’re different from me. I’d be happy living here even if I ate that foul-smelling mutton stew every single day.”
“That’s why you’re just a child who doesn’t understand the ways of the world.”
Of course, Maximian knew Joshua was no ignorant child. He was far too exceptional to be treated as one. But his heart—his heart was truly that of a child. Wanting to bury himself in the countryside to live? If Maximian were in his position, he would never do such a thing.
As I was leaving, stepping out of the Blue Roof House’s yard, Joshua spoke with an expression of firm resolve.
“I’ll be back soon. Well… at most, I’ll be back in ten days.”
“Why do you keep insisting you’re coming back? I’m telling you not to come.”
“No. I’m coming back.”
His expression was resolute. And so… I found myself thinking that he really might come back. After seeing that expression.
Whoosh, pitter-patter.
The wind grew fierce, and the sound of raindrops began to fall. The air, tinged with blue, swelled rapidly with moisture. White laundry fluttered like flags at the corner of the blue sky.
There was a leak in the living room, so I’d need to put out a basin, and above all, I had to hurry and gather in the sheets. The old man had gone out somewhere, so as always…
“Joshua, bring in the laundry.”
There was no answer.
It was exactly ten days after that boy—who had insisted he would definitely come back—had left.
When the driver of the first carriage announced it belonged to Lord Moro, the servants tilted their heads in confusion, clearly wondering who that was. The number of servants guarding Jade Ring Castle had doubled from before. It meant there were now many servants unfamiliar with the household’s affairs.
Then the door of the second carriage opened, and a dazzlingly beautiful young lady, barely past twenty, leaped out. Completely lacking caution, her voluminous skirts immediately caught on the carriage door, and just before they tore, a hand from inside the carriage quickly freed them. The young lady looked toward the castle, broke into a radiant smile, and cried out.
“I’m home!”
The servants examined the young lady carefully. From the way her hair was pinned up, she didn’t appear to be unmarried. An elderly servant approached, rubbed his eyes, and suddenly exclaimed.
“No, it’s Miss Ivnoa!”
Not to recognize Ivnoa von Arnim, the only daughter of Duke Arnim, who had been born and raised in Jade Ring Castle—it was no small oversight. The servants belatedly remembered that the man Ivnoa had married and left with years ago had been named Dalmore, and they struck their own foreheads. With profuse apologies, the carriage was swiftly allowed through.
There was no need for the usual procedures to prepare quarters for a visitor, but already several servants had rushed toward the manor. It was the arrival of the young lady the Duke had been eagerly anticipating these past few days, so everyone was eager to be the one to announce the news.
As Ivnoa, back in the carriage, gazed out while crossing the garden, her eyes suddenly widened.
“What is that?”
In the garden spread with blue grass stood a peculiar structure. White, square boxes were stacked in such a chaotic manner that it seemed utterly haphazard. Madame Bwaju, sitting beside Ivnoa, also looked out and wore a puzzled expression. The nursemaid, who had been lost in admiration of the refined garden, was equally bewildered.
Madame Bwaju, who had cared for Ivnoa since Hyacan, had a practical nature and assumed someone must have carelessly left luggage scattered about. Yet it still remained incomprehensible who would dare throw boxes about so freely in the Duke’s family garden.
Of course, this thought arose only because she had no idea what kind of person Ivnoa’s younger brother was. A moment later, Ivnoa cried out.
“That’s a house!”
Then she began to giggle with delight.
“Joshua did that! Let me down! Let me out! I want to go there!”
Madame Bwaju looked at the pile of boxes once more in deep thought, but it still didn’t look like a house to her. She lacked the vision to comprehend this structure where regularity and irregularity mingled in a strange harmony. Like a small palace in the making, the boxes stood in magnificent disorder, harmoniously stacked and connected to incomplete corners.
As the driver stopped the carriage, Ivnoa leaped down in a single bound and ran toward the white structure. Hearing the footsteps, the young architect of the unfinished palace lifted his head. For a brief moment, hesitation flickered across his face, then it brightened.
“Sister!”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months of Books
The copyright of 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.

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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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