Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 295

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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 65.
Finding the Cat in the Furnace (14)
6. The Detective and His Assistant
He knows exactly everything that remains in my hands.
Even if it’s just a single silver coin, he knows who desires that coin so desperately they’d kill for it.
“What business do you have in this house anyway?”
“I’m busy right now. I’ll explain later.”
Maximian snapped one section of the fence, creating an opening, then slipped into the rear garden of an otherwise pristine villa. He gazed up at the towering wall, gauged the position of the protruding balcony, and began to climb. Riche, who had followed without understanding the situation, stood with her arms crossed and muttered as she looked up.
“What a pathetic sight.”
He’d long since given his coat to a friend playing dead, and in loosely-fitting trousers that didn’t fit properly and a hastily-donned shirt with rolled sleeves, he looked unmistakably like a vagrant—no, a vagrant boy. And now he was scaling someone else’s wall, so anyone who saw him would surely cry out “Night prowler!” Yet as Maximian climbed higher, he glanced down and spoke.
“What are you doing down there?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing?”
“Aren’t you coming up?”
“Why would I climb up there!”
I cried out before I could stop myself, then quickly shut my mouth. Maximian muttered something in the darkness that sounded like he was cursing me for being pathetic.
“So I’m asking, why won’t you come up?”
“Because you’ll be spotted if you stay down there.”
Just as I was about to retort “You could just go back out,” I heard footsteps simultaneously from both sides. Startled by the sudden situation, I instinctively grabbed the ivy vine that Maximian had been climbing. As I scrambled up more than a full story and pressed myself against the wall, two servants on patrol walked from opposite directions, stopped at the spot where I’d just been standing, exchanged greetings, and then walked off in the direction the other had come from.
“You’re climbing well.”
A leisurely voice came from above my head. I responded in the smallest voice I could manage, though it still carried emotion.
“Is this really the time for jokes? What if they’d looked up?”
“We need to climb higher.”
“That’s not the point—I’m wearing a skirt!”
“Oh, are you?”
Maximian replied without any particular concern and resumed climbing. Now I had no choice but to follow.
Until just moments ago, we’d been sitting across from each other in a carriage-shaped tavern at the Festival Square, exchanging information. But after drinking about three glasses in succession, he suddenly stood up as if possessed by something, and I’d ended up chasing after him. I vowed never to follow after a man who drinks and leaves first, but right now I had no choice.
When we reached the third-floor window, Maximian grabbed the balcony railing and climbed inside. Whether out of kindness or something else, he waited with his hands shoved in his pockets for me to climb up. Just as I finally stepped onto the balcony and was breathing out the breath I’d been holding in tension, all he said was this.
“When we go down later, you go first.”
“Why should I!”
“You’re wearing a skirt.”
Leaving me speechless, Maximian opened the balcony door, drew back the curtain to peer into the room, and stepped inside.
“Bastard.”
Though I didn’t understand his reasoning, there was no reason to wait outside either, so I followed him in. I felt somewhat relieved when I saw Maximian first touch the door leading to the hallway and lock it firmly. Soon he began opening drawers around the room, searching for something.
“What are you looking for?”
“Something that exists.”
He offered no further answer. With nothing to do, I looked around the room. True to a nobleman’s villa, it was an elegantly appointed space—the wardrobe, table, chairs, everything was ornate. Though I lacked the refinement to appreciate fine furniture, I resisted the urge to open the wardrobe and instead examined a portrait hanging on one wall. It was a portrait of a neat and pretty young girl, and as I looked at it, her face seemed familiar.
“Oh, this young lady looks like that person, doesn’t she? They look just like siblings.”
Before Maximian could even respond, I suddenly realized the implication and gasped.
“Then this is Cardi’s—no, Joshua’s house? Wait, this is one of the most expensive villas on The Island, isn’t it? So that means…”
The name “Duke Arnim” didn’t quite come to mind, but the situation was clear enough. At the same time, I recalled the conversation I’d had when I encountered Cardi—Joshua—in the Dressing Room. The talk of a strict household, having to inherit the Family Clan, and how he couldn’t let anyone know he’d become an actor, and this lavish room…
Maximian’s voice came from beside me.
“Here it is.”
I turned to see Maximian pulling out several letters and reading through them. After a moment, he found a single sheet of pressed paper and examined it carefully. A short while later, he withdrew a letter from his breast pocket, unfolded it, and held it up against the pressed paper. He nodded, then slipped the pressed paper back into its original place.
He methodically returned the letters he’d withdrawn, and finally produced an already-opened letter from his pocket, placing it on top of the stack.
“That’s done. Let’s go now.”
Just as we stepped back out onto the terrace, the sound of someone turning a doorknob came from the corridor. Voices followed.
“Why is this door locked? Did someone accidentally lock it while cleaning?”
“Call a servant.”
The first voice belonged to an older woman; the second to a young man. The moment Maximian recognized whose voices they were, he stopped mid-motion of climbing over the railing to descend.
Riche lowered her voice as much as possible and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wait. I need to hear what they’re saying.”
“They’re here? In weather this hot, it’s natural to open the balcony doors. You think they won’t notice?”
“If my guess is right, they’ve probably drawn the curtains in double layers.”
And his guess was correct.
But it was impossible to eavesdrop through the closed door and doubly-drawn curtains. As the sound of footsteps faded from the window, Maximian boldly cracked the door open slightly. Watching Riche desperately gesture that I’d be dead by her hand if we were caught, he even offered a leisurely remark.
“If we’re caught, you won’t have time to kill me.”
Then a woman’s voice came from inside.
“This puts me in a difficult position. I’m going to be held accountable for negligent management….”
The man’s response came as well.
“The jade ring matter was handled well, so what accountability are you talking about?”
“I haven’t mentioned it yet, but a few days ago someone came claiming to be sent by the Duchess. He was just a boy, but no ordinary one at that. How did this even happen? They confirmed he definitely went to the right place?”
“Someone sent by the Duchess? Aren’t you misunderstanding something?”
“That’s what he said. And he even had a letter bearing the Family Clan’s seal.”
“Wait, so what did you say about the Young Duke? You didn’t say something foolish after hearing he was sent by the Duchess, did you?”
“I just said I didn’t know. You know how it is. If things go wrong, I’ll say he ran away, and according to reports he crossed the border, so I thought he’d returned to Keltika. That’s what I told him. That’s all.”
After a brief pause, the man’s crisp voice came again.
“So where did that boy go?”
“How would I know? I sent servants to chase him, but they lost him. He might still be nearby.”
“Wait, describe what he looked like.”
“That boy? Well… he didn’t look older than twenty, had brown hair, wore glasses, had neat features but rather shabby clothes….”
Riche nearly burst out laughing without meaning to. It was obvious who they were talking about. But before I could even check Maximian’s expression, something critical suddenly spilled out.
“That’s him. He’s one of the three who took the Young Duke from the Theater Company.”
The word ‘three’ drove a dagger through Riche’s heart. They obviously knew of her existence as well.
“Is that so? Then that’s fortunate. You said you found the Actress’s whereabouts? We should be able to catch her tail soon. Once you find her, please handle it cleanly.”
“In any case, give me what we discussed beforehand. I’ll contact you once the Actress matter is resolved.”
The sound of a drawer opening and someone searching came, then the woman’s voice again.
“This is all of it. Oh wait, give me that for a moment.”
For a while, the two of them rustled about, unfolding and exchanging something to read. After a long pause, the woman’s voice came again.
“When did this arrive? Anyway, I was wondering where it was, but it seems the hideout was here all along. It wasn’t as far away as I thought.”
“We’re in the Villa District. I’ll look into it. We have available personnel here as well. However, given the suspicious circumstances, I’d appreciate your discretion.”
“Of course.”
Soon came the sound of a door opening and closing. The two seemed to have left the room.
Riche was catching her breath, thinking we might finally be leaving, when Maximian opened the balcony door again and drew back the curtains.
“Aren’t we going?”
“Wait a moment.”
Maximian looked around the room as if comparing it to his memory, then walked purposefully to a drawer and opened it. The bundle of letters that had been inside was gone, and so was what Maximian had placed there. He muttered to himself.
“They picked it up quickly.”
While Riche watched in bewilderment, Maximian closed the drawer without touching anything inside and returned to her.
“Let’s go.”
The moment he gave the signal, Riche descended with such incredible speed that anyone watching might have mistaken her for a seasoned wall-climber with three years of experience—if not for the fact that she was wearing a skirt.
As Maximian followed, Riche unleashed a comment she’d been holding back all this time.
“If you drag me into something like that one more time without explanation, that’s it.”
Maximian’s response, as if lost in thought, was this:
“That’s it? When did we ever start anything?”
There was nothing for it but to stomp on his foot.
“I mean I’ll beat you to it!”
“….”
Despite stepping down quite hard, he barely reacted, so Riche stopped and asked.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“No, it hurts.”
“Then why are you pretending it doesn’t?”
“You bought me a drink, so I’m enduring it with the alcohol.”
“Enduring? The pain?”
“No, you.”
Children of Rune – 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 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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