Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 287

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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 57.
Finding the Cat in the Furnace (6)
A seamstress ought to practice cutting fabric as well as sewing, but Mirangette was the type who begrudged her seamstresses even a scrap of cloth for personal use. Fabric could only be used generously when making commissioned garments. Yet she still expected her seamstresses to improve their skills naturally—a woman whose logic simply didn’t add up.
Especially expensive materials like silk or mother-of-pearl buttons were absolutely forbidden. Having endured such petty treatment countless times, I resolved to look after myself appropriately. I had already decided to pilfer materials I’d been planning to use for several garments of my own design.
“Since the wages are so meager anyway, I have no choice but to make up for the loss myself, right?”
I rationalized freely as I eagerly selected materials. Lacquered buttons, silk scraps cut at awkward angles that were inconvenient to use, gold and silver thread that could only be obtained with an order form—I cleverly pocketed just enough of each. Then I examined the remaining stock thoroughly. In other words, I memorized the layout in case I needed to take more later.
Once I finished my inspection and locked the Warehouse door, I felt an enormous sense of accomplishment. It seemed like the best day since I’d started working at the Mirangette Atelier.
“There were several pieces of silk in different varieties. Should I take a little and make doll clothes?”
I didn’t own a doll to dress in fine garments. Such toys were far too expensive as a hobby, and honestly, I had no interest in them. But wouldn’t wealthy children who loved such dolls want to own exquisite clothes made by a skilled seamstress?
Thinking it was a good idea, I opened the Warehouse door again, gathered a bundle of fabric scraps, and wrapped them in cloth. I stuffed everything into the canvas bag I’d brought in advance along with the materials I’d selected earlier.
I was considering whether to take my spoils home and then go see the festival, or start cutting fabric right away, when I suddenly froze and turned around. Someone was knocking on the Atelier door. And quite urgently at that.
“Hey, open the door! Is anyone there?”
“….”
I reflexively started toward the entrance but suddenly stopped. If Mirangette or the other seamstresses found out I’d come to the Atelier today, it would be absolutely disastrous.
On a day when everyone was out enjoying themselves, no one would believe I’d come to the empty Atelier to kindly handle backlogged orders. They’d definitely search through the trash to see if anything was missing.
I stood frozen, unsure whether to answer or pretend no one was home. But staying silent was becoming increasingly difficult. This uninvited guest was practically trying to break down the door.
“Nobody’s here! Answer me! Is there really no one? This is very important!”
At this point, the neighbors should have come over and informed the person that the Atelier was closed, but they’d all forgotten their duty and gone out to the festival. Wait, there was even a “Closed” sign posted at the Atelier entrance—did this person really expect there to be a staff member on duty today?
I fumed silently to myself. Are they insane? Why would anyone work a shift during unpaid leave?
The visitor continued shaking the door persistently. My resolve weakening, I decided to pretend to be a clueless errand runner and chase them away. I unbolted the door and pulled it open, and the person gripping the handle from outside nearly stumbled in.
I was genuinely about to say I was a newly hired errand runner who couldn’t sew at all and had no idea where the seamstresses had gone.
“Thank goodness! I almost gave up thinking no one was here! Come with me right away! Hurry!”
“Wait, I’m….”
“We can talk on the way. Time is of the essence!”
“Just a moment, I….”
“Hurry!”
“Wait!”
When I shouted, the other person finally stopped and looked at me. The visitor was a young man who seemed slightly older than me. I placed my hands on my hips and glared at him with an angry expression.
“Who do you think you are, ordering me around like this! Today is the Atelier’s day off, so I have absolutely no obligation to work! Not a thread, not a fiber—nothing! Even if you were Mirangette herself, you couldn’t make me work today!”
My protest had nothing to do with the plan I’d made moments before. The truth was, I was naturally terrible at lying. If I spoke carelessly for even a moment, the truth would tumble out. And when I got angry, I shouted quite loudly.
The visitor then became surprisingly docile and asked:
“You’re a seamstress, aren’t you? You’re not on duty today?”
“There’s no such thing as a duty shift!”
“Then what are you doing here….”
“That’s none of your business!”
Suddenly the man’s voice rose again.
“It is my business! Please go to the Colzetti Theater right now. Please! Please come with me!”
The Colzetti Theater was where Max Cardi’s performance was being held today, and several seamstresses from here would be there. So there was no real need for me to go…. Then a thought struck me like lightning.
“What’s wrong? Is it…the costumes?”
The moment I said that, the other person’s face lit up and his voice rose.
“That’s exactly it! Right now, Max Cardi needs a costume for the opening of Act Two, but there’s a problem with it! We have the lower garment, but the upper piece is missing! Nowhere to be found! We’ve turned the Warehouse and the Dressing Room completely upside down!”
Riche exclaimed in equal agitation.
“Act Two? That pearl-colored satin? Why on earth is it missing! I distinctly remember making it and packing it myself! When you received it, you should have checked for something like that! What were you doing?”
She realized her thoughtless words the moment they left her lips. Her counterpart’s face lit up immediately.
“Oh! So you’re the one who made that garment! We’re saved! If we don’t manage to make something roughly similar before Act Two begins, all hell will break loose! Quickly now! The theater owner himself said he’d compensate you generously!”
The word “compensation” finally made an impression on Riche, who had armed herself with the philosophy that no payment meant no labor.
“Well, how much time do we have?”
“Only about two hours until Act One starts… So please, let’s head to the theater right away…”
Riche laughed incredulously.
“What exactly am I supposed to do at the theater? You’re asking me to work without patterns or fabric? If that were the case, there should already be at least five seamstresses there by now. Why chase all the way here instead of finding them? Listen, I’ll make it here instead, so come inside quickly, and… yes, sit over there!”
Riche pointed to a waiting chair with a gesture of her hand. Then she spun around to fetch the patterns, but turned back again to add a final instruction.
“Don’t go wandering around—you need to stay right there!”
It was hardly a difficult task. Moments later, as Riche retrieved the fabric and materials, she demonstrated needlework so rapid her fingers became a blur, crafting an entire upper garment adorned with silver thread embroidery in just two hours. There was no need for other entertainment.
Maximian honestly hadn’t realized Max Cardi’s performance was this popular.
He’d thought the people who’d been sleeping in wine barrels surely hadn’t come just to see this show. The fact that his friend was involved made it feel unreal somehow. Joshua had written about it roughly in a previous letter, but Maximian had half-suspected it was exaggeration. Even knowing Joshua’s character was far from boastful, he’d thought so anyway.
That’s why, upon seeing the crowds gathered before the theater that day, he realized the letter had actually been written with modest restraint. The contents had seemed like nonsense, but reality was even more outlandish!
This wasn’t the time to be marveling. Maximian had a ticket, but standing at the back of this endless queue would mean he’d be buried among the crowd before the performance even started, let alone catch a glimpse of Max Cardi’s face.
He had to find a way into the theater first, so Maximian abandoned the line and circled the theater, starting with the back entrance he’d scouted before. But given the day’s circumstances, they’d been careful—there was no place loose enough to slip through unnoticed.
He thought again. Admission would begin soon. During the performance, there would certainly be people coming and going—not just audience members, but stagehands and prop handlers. He needed to catch one of those people and somehow get them to bring him before Panyanna, the theater owner.
It would have been better if he’d found Joshua before today. But Panyanna had deliberately avoided him. The night they first met, Maximian had successfully followed a messenger to the Beach Villa where Joshua had apparently been staying, but Joshua hadn’t returned that night. After that, either he’d moved or the place remained empty.
When his first plan failed, Maximian tried to meet Panyanna again, but unlike before, the man refused to see him at all. He was blocked at the entrance itself.
He waited outside, but Panyanna never showed his face beyond the theater doors, as if he’d become a permanent fixture inside. Confident in his observational skills, Maximian concluded that if Panyanna had come out, he would have noticed. Why was Panyanna avoiding him so deliberately?
Perhaps Panyanna had picked up on something from what Maximian said, tested Joshua about it, and decided Maximian was the kind of person he shouldn’t meet. But no—Joshua wasn’t the type to fall for such tricks without noticing. Given that he’d been quiet all this time, Joshua probably hadn’t heard anything. If he’d heard even a word from Panyanna, he would have come looking for Maximian immediately.
Children of Ron – 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 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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