Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 286

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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 56.
Finding the Cat in the Furnace (5)
“….”
Maximian suppressed a smirk, thinking the man was quite shrewd after all. He had neither admitted his fault nor fallen into either logical trap—instead, he’d found a clever escape route. Had he continued insisting he knew nothing of some minor duke, he would have forfeited the favorable terms Maximian offered. Had he meekly accepted, he’d have confessed guilt and squandered all the gains he’d accumulated through secrecy. Yet somehow, amid all this, the man had discovered such an elegant alternative.
However, from that very statement, one thing became certain: this theater owner was not, as he’d initially claimed, unrelated to Joshua. The kind of rhetoric that hoped the other party would understand without words—that was precisely it. Of course, it also made for excellent deniability should things go awry.
Since he’d revealed his desire to negotiate, I decided to show enthusiasm and draw him fully to my side. In any case, without this man’s cooperation, I had no way to find Joshua on my own.
“Ah yes, I suspected you were no ordinary person, but you certainly prove it. Well, I can roughly grasp what you wish to say. I don’t think we need letters or credentials or such things. Instead, please describe my appearance to Young Master Joshua. Then I shall take my leave—shall I call again tomorrow?”
Rising from his seat, Maximian offered a perfunctory bow—crude as always—and departed. Left alone, Panyanna immediately rang the bell to summon an errand boy.
“Find out whether that fellow who just left truly belongs to the House of Arnim. Check the villa first, and you know that person who used to manage the villa when the young lady stayed in Hyacan? Make some inquiries and ask about the villa. Find out if there’s a young man like that among the Duke’s close associates, and investigate whether he came alone or with others.”
After the errand boy left, Panyanna interlaced his fingers and rested them on his knees, lost in thought. After all, I couldn’t keep the Duke’s young master hidden forever. The reason he’d hinted at a desire to negotiate was that the success of the twentieth-day performance was all he wanted. What came after—well, that would be the young duke’s concern.
Yet as Panyanna reflected on Maximian’s demeanor, he found himself laughing. The boy’s audacity in treating a man more than twice his age like a child was presumptuous, but there was something oddly intriguing about it.
“That young fellow is no ordinary boy.”
But shortly after, Panyanna noticed something strange. The reason that impertinent attitude hadn’t seemed disagreeable was that it felt oddly familiar somehow. That demeanor of the boy called Maximian—hadn’t he seen it somewhere before?
Then, as he recalled the name Maximian and the violin protruding from his baggage, he slapped his knee and chuckled softly.
“Ah, now I understand.”
Of course, Maximian had already known Max Cardi’s true identity. Thanks to the Aquarian invitation he held in his hand.
Shortly after arriving on Blue Coral Island, he’d inquired whether Cardi’s performance had been cancelled. Yet posters still hung everywhere, and no such rumors had reached his ears. Max Cardi would undoubtedly perform on the twentieth.
Finding the theater to which Max Cardi—or more precisely, the runaway boy Joshua—belonged had been the right choice. From the theater owner’s demeanor, it was obvious he knew Joshua’s whereabouts, and I’d grown confident that he was protecting the boy without incident. It would be comforting to conclude that Joshua was safe at this point, but I simply couldn’t.
Then what, exactly, was the Joshua who appeared at Jade Ring Castle that day?
Whenever I thought of that Joshua, even my usual boldness faltered, and a chill ran down my spine. He was truly identical to Joshua. Not only in appearance, but in speech, behavior, and memory—exactly as I knew him.
Of course, since we’d been apart for so long, my judgment could be mistaken. But my family, including Grandfather, hadn’t doubted for a moment that the other person was Joshua. No matter how skilled at disguise, how could one deceive family members who eat and sleep together for days on end?
I’d heard tales of the Doppelganger—a supernatural being that appears in human form, identical to a real person. Though there were many conflicting accounts, it was generally believed that the appearance of such a ghost or monster was a harbinger of that person’s death. Of course, one couldn’t rule out the possibility that the real person, upon seeing someone with their identical appearance and personality, might die from shock.
Maximian had a practical nature and didn’t readily believe in ghost stories or legends. Even regarding ghosts that many claimed to have seen, I maintained an agnostic stance. Yet as long as a place called the Land of Mortals existed on this continent, ghosts and doppelgangers couldn’t be entirely baseless tales.
The Land of Mortals, which had become a wasteland when an ancient kingdom was destroyed by calamity, was said to be haunted by the spirits of those who died during that catastrophe. Because those spirits didn’t spare even a single mouse, no one could approach the Land of Mortals.
The Land of Mortals began at the northern boundary of Recordable, the mercenary nation to the north from here, and occupied roughly a third of the entire continent—an enormous wasteland.
Having come from Keltika through countless procedures and months of travel to reach Hyacan, that distance didn’t seem close to me. But if there were a doppelganger with a human face, wouldn’t that be the only place such a thing could wander?
Maximian shook his head. This was no time for aimless speculation. I could think about why that fake was so identical to the real Joshua after confirming his safety.
Of course, the opposite possibility couldn’t be ruled out either. Max Cardi here wears a mask. Wouldn’t it be easier for him to be the fake instead? Since there was no evidence yet as to which was real and which was false, my rejection of the Joshua I saw at Jade Ring Castle was merely intuition.
But it was that intuition that brought me here.
As I reached that thought, I heard the sound of a door latch scraping—click-clack. Soon the theater’s back door opened, and a man emerged. A familiar face. I’d been watching the people moving about inside the theater earlier, when he was making a fuss about getting dinner. It was worth the effort of pretending to leave and then waiting.
The man, who appeared to be an errand boy, looked around before heading down an alley that led to the main street. Maximian waited a moment, then began following at a discreet distance.
3. Until Peaceful Days Became Tangled
You’ve managed to slip in quite well. But don’t expect a warm welcome. You’re an intruder, an uninvited guest, a stranger.
Everything you say is true. But you’ve overlooked one thing. We were originally brothers, branches from the same root.
It’s amusing to speak of already-forgotten history as if it were some great secret. Then what of this? We are traitors who pretended not to know of your crisis.
Then let me add one more thing. Your descendants and ours will henceforth live together.
It was a peaceful afternoon—at least at Mirangette Atelier it was. Since Mirangette herself had declared the twentieth day a holiday to watch the Shapel Festival, the atelier stood empty except for Riche.
Today, Max Cardi’s “Aquarian” performance, the highlight of the Shapel Festival, would feature an abundance of garments made by Mirangette Atelier. Mirangette had received an invitation and gone to see the performance. In truth, most of the costumes appearing today had been cut, sewn, and embroidered directly by Riche, yet she hadn’t gone. The excuse was that she’d seen them thoroughly during work, but the real point was the emergency fund she’d raised by selling two admission tickets.
The seamstresses had all worn expressions of admiration or disbelief. But thanks to the tickets Riche had sold, Millar and another person would get to see the performance—so it was certainly a good thing for them. One could say it was a conclusion where everyone was happy.
So why was Riche at the atelier? She wasn’t the type to do unpaid overtime to earn points with her teacher. Besides, the Grand Square and major streets would be packed today with people enjoying the festival’s final days, and Riche quite enjoyed wandering through bustling crowds. Yet today, she’d decided to execute a plan she’d made beforehand, so she’d postponed savoring the festival’s pleasures until next year.
Throughout the morning, I indulged in leisure—brewing tea, sipping it slowly, and rummaging through garments I’d crafted long ago. But once lunch concluded, I set my plan in motion.
The Mirangette Atelier maintained a warehouse where fabric scraps, buttons, thread, and remnants accumulated—casualties of mistaken orders, scheduling mishaps, or capricious clients. The materials stored there lacked any semblance of organization, necessitating frequent transfers to the main warehouse. Yet the seamstresses, and even Mirangette herself, found the task so tedious that they deliberately feigned ignorance and let it languish.
Years of such neglect had transformed the space into a mountainous heap of miscellaneous materials. Everyone spoke of organizing it eventually, but no one actually moved to do so. I’d glimpsed the warehouse once before. As expected—a chaotic tangle so thoroughly jumbled that the loss of a few items would escape notice entirely. In other words, a treasure trove.
“Truly, our atelier must be drowning in wealth.”
I lifted a piece of fabric, its surface blooming with mold from prolonged exposure to the heat, and twisted my mouth wryly. I mused that perhaps the atelier preferred keeping even rotten apples in its own warehouse, just for peace of mind.
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Books
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Months Books.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, you must obtain written consent from both parties.

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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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