Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 285

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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 55.
Finding the Cat in the Hearth (4)
“Ah, is that so? Then why don’t you prove it yourself!”
Mutia picked up a towel from the floor and handed it to Cardi. He took it and wrapped it carelessly around his eyes.
“Like this….”
Even though it was a part he had choreographed himself, it wasn’t his role, so there was no way he could have practiced it. Yet Cardi’s sense of direction was flawless. He counted the beats under his breath, changed direction twice, and arrived at precisely the spot where he needed to be.
Mutia bit her lip before speaking.
“…Start from the beginning. From the very beginning.”
Without answering, Cardi went to the position where Adriana would begin dancing with her eyes covered, then spoke to the orchestra.
“Violin accompaniment only.”
As the single melodic line flowed, three rotations began, and the dance commenced. The movement patterns were flawless, the choreography impeccable. Everyone watched with bated breath as Max Cardi executed Adriana’s dance—the one Mutia was supposed to perform—with the ease of routine, arriving at the exact position where he needed to meet the ensemble and stopping perfectly.
“….”
Mutia was speechless for a moment, but soon she approached Cardi. Then, suddenly extending her hand, she grasped his.
“What?”
The moment Cardi, still blindfolded, flinched, Mutia reached toward the towel and felt its surface. Her expression hardened, and she stepped back. Cardi, who had unwound the towel with his own hands, looked at her with bewildered eyes.
“What did you do?”
“Max, you couldn’t see at all just now, could you? You didn’t even notice when I took your hand, and besides, the hole you made in the towel didn’t align with your eyes. I can’t do what you just did even with a towel that only half-obscures my vision, yet you can do it all while seeing nothing. So that’s all you wanted to say, is it?”
“….”
Mutia glared at Cardi with a face twisted by shame and anger. Those around them held their breath, uncertain how she might explode. All eyes naturally turned toward Cardi.
Cardi did not wear a flustered expression. He did not apologize, nor did he attempt to smooth things over with laughter. He was not displaying arrogance as if to say “marvel at me,” nor did he seem ready to confront her dismissively, as if to ask why she was angry over such a trivial matter.
Everyone has mistakes they struggle to correct yet keep repeating, and in such cases, one is inevitably angry with oneself above all else. The people present had never seen Cardi wear such a sensitive expression. His face, always obscured by the mask, was difficult to read precisely.
“Let’s delete that part. I did something absurd.”
Cardi turned his back to Mutia and leaped down from the stage. He strode past Panyanna, the theater owner, and spoke curtly.
“I’ll fix the choreography. Let’s run through it again at four o’clock sharp.”
About a minute had passed since Cardi disappeared from the practice room when Mutia, standing alone on the stage, suddenly cried out.
“No, absolutely not!”
Panyanna turned, craning his neck.
“What’s wrong?”
“Fix it? That’s impossible!”
Mutia waved her hands frantically, pushing the supporting actors back, then returned to the spot where Cardi had begun dancing as Adriana. As people stood bewildered, she began to dance, and those who had lost their positions hurried out of the way.
Without her eyes covered, Mutia’s dance was also flawless. As the beats she counted internally aligned perfectly, unable to contain her frustration, she stamped her heel on the stage floor once more.
“Tell Max clearly: if he changes this choreography, I will absolutely not set foot on that stage! I will have it perfected by four o’clock, so don’t even think about making any changes!”
As rehearsal resumed, one of the supporting actors who had come down from the stage whispered to someone beside him.
“I’m exhausted, utterly exhausted. Whether Max Cardi is human or something else entirely, and whether Muchia Benevento is chasing after him—they’re both mad.”
On the night of the seventeenth, Panyanna returned to the theater and, while opening and reading letters that had been delivered during the day, let out a low groan.
“Hmm….”
Shortly after, an errand boy knocked and entered, speaking.
“Sir, a visitor is waiting for you.”
A sudden intuition whispered to him. Panyanna asked.
“Is it someone you’ve never seen before?”
“Yes. He appeared to be a young man around twenty years old. He’s been waiting for hours, insisting he cannot leave until he meets with you.”
The errand boy observed Panyanna’s reaction and decided to wait, uncertain whether to mention how the guest had refused to leave even when told to do so, and had even managed to secure dinner. However, the response came faster than expected.
“Bring him in.”
When the office door opened moments later, the person who entered was indeed a young boy. His eyes were sharp, but his appearance was shabby and unkempt, as if he hadn’t washed his clothes in a month, which made Panyanna second-guess his initial assessment.
Without greeting or waiting to be invited to sit, the young boy pulled up a chair and seated himself, then immediately introduced himself.
“I am Maximian Lipkne. I have come from House of Duke Arnim.”
Panyanna cleared his throat once before responding.
“House of Duke Arnim… you mean from Anomarad? Well, you’ve come from quite far away. But what brings you here?”
Maximian tilted his chin slightly and cast an insolent gaze.
“Since I already know everything, let’s not waste time with roundabout talk.”
“Know everything? Know what?”
Panyanna, being an experienced man, did not fall easily for the young boy’s provocation and merely showed a puzzled expression. Having already sensed that this was no ordinary schemer, Maximian remained unflustered and twisted his lips into something resembling a smile.
“The Duchess is searching for her son.”
“And?”
“I must take him back at once.”
“When a mother searches for her child, the child goes home—that’s only natural. But what does that have to do with me?”
Maximian leaned back in his chair and asked.
“Where is he?”
“Who?”
“Look here, Panyanna. I told you from the start not to make this complicated.”
Panyanna also leaned back in his chair.
“Since I don’t understand what you’re talking about, I can’t possibly grasp what’s so complicated. If you want to find the young master, you should go to the villa. What kind of outrage is this, coming to the theater with such demands?”
“You’re not a quick study, are you? Can’t you tell the difference between fishing for information and speaking with full knowledge? It seems you don’t know much about House of Arnim.”
Maximian himself had no idea what House of Arnim was truly like. His vague insinuations had made it sound almost like some criminal organization, but he didn’t care—what did it matter?
“Hmm…”
Panyanna did not answer quickly and maintained his silence. It seemed Maximian’s bluffing had had some effect. Of course, there was no need to wait for the other party to come up with an excuse. When the opponent hesitated slightly, the best strategy was to press the advantage.
“Do you understand the situation now? I’m merely a messenger, but as you know, people from Anomarad—especially those from Keltika—think they live at the very top of the world, don’t they? I’ve seen enough of that sort to know it only upsets my stomach without any gain. If this matter is resolved quickly, I was thinking I might spare you the trouble of having this theater’s name mentioned to the Duchess. What do you say?”
There was no immediate way to determine whether what Maximian said was true or false. Even if he wanted to investigate immediately, news from Anomarad—and specifically from Keltika where House of Duke Arnim resided—took months to travel. What if the boy really was sent by House of Duke Arnim? Because of that possibility, Panyanna could not simply dismiss the young man and had no choice but to hesitate.
Panyanna’s thoughts were these: after all, he had been harboring the young master in a state of absence for two months. He could not hope that such a matter would remain hidden forever. Originally, since the young master had done this of his own volition, he had expected him to smooth things over from his end. But if word reached House of Arnim first in such a clumsy manner, he had no idea what calamity might befall him months from now.
Who could say whether the proud Duke and Duchess of the great nation Anomarad were the type to throw a mere theater owner into the sea for having spirited away their son? Judging by the young master’s somewhat peculiar nature, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.
So when the matter would inevitably be revealed, it would be best if, according to the other party’s proposal, the name of Colzetti Theater could be kept out of it. Of course, that was only if the other party wasn’t merely sniffing around and making grand threats like some spy from a rival theater trying to uncover Cardi’s secrets.
“Listen here, young man. I am someone who has no desire whatsoever to offend the sensibilities of nobility. Especially not if they are from a ducal house of Anomarad. You work under nobility, so you’ve surely seen plenty—don’t you know what kind of filthy treatment one receives if they fall into disfavor with such people? If they say there is wrongdoing, then wrongdoing exists even where there is none. Even if I have never laid eyes on their young master’s shadow, if they say I hid him, then I hid him. For that very reason, I have been terrified since the moment you came to me with such questions. Tell me, what should I do? If I say I don’t know, you’ll accuse me of hiding him. If I say I do know, then I must now find this person with my own hands and send him away. I’m in quite a bind. So let us do this instead.”
Maximian furrowed his brow. This was clearly an attempt at persuasion through insinuation. But he had to hear the proposal.
“Let’s hear what you have in mind.”
“Give me some letter or token that this young master would recognize. Since I’ve been suspected, it seems I now have no choice but to search for this young master myself. If I find him first, I will show him this and send him back with kind words. In exchange for my trouble, I would appreciate it if you would show some generosity and ensure that the name of our theater does not reach the Duchess, as you mentioned earlier. Once such powerful people take a disliking to you, the damage is considerable regardless of the truth. I trust you understand my difficult position, young man.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Month’s Books
The rights to this book belong to the author and 14 Month’s Books.
To reuse all or part of this book’s contents, 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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