Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 302

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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 72.
Finding the Cat in the Furnace (21)
“What?”
Caesar sprang to his feet. As he spun around in place to understand why he’d risen so suddenly, a familiar face came into view—and it wore a frown.
Even as Caesar thought he didn’t know why he’d gotten up, he rubbed his ribs irritably and asked.
“What are you doing here?”
Riche, who was pushing away an overeager dog that kept trying to greet her, was alone without her companions. After barely calming the dog, she placed both hands on her hips, looked up at Caesar, and let out a short sigh.
“I didn’t choose to be here either, Father.”
“Well then, go back at once.”
“For a father, that was harsh. Your daughter came all this way, and you won’t even offer a room for her to stay a few nights?”
Only then did Caesar rub his eyes and compose himself.
“What do you mean, a room? What is this nonsense? Right, you quarreled with your mother, didn’t you? Even so, what about your work, and why have you chased me all the way here at this hour?”
“If it were just work, I’d be delighted to leave it. But you’ll need to give me two rooms.”
It wasn’t negotiation, nor threat, nor request, nor demand. She spoke as naturally as someone collecting a debt, and his response followed a similar tone.
“Why not ask me to build you a house to set up your own household?”
“Do you really want to see that happen? By your own words, wouldn’t you think that a wayward daughter like me wouldn’t chase you all the way here at this hour without some reason?”
The father-and-daughter quarrel, which showed no sign of ending easily, was brought to a close by an unexpected person. As Maximian, who had been crouching below the riverbank waiting for the negotiation to end, let out a series of yawns from sleep deprivation, Joshua, who had caught the contagion and was yawning along, suddenly spoke.
“This doesn’t look like it’ll end anytime soon.”
Before Maximian could even respond, Joshua sprang up and, ignoring Riche’s warning not to appear until the conversation was over, climbed up the riverbank with unsteady steps. He stood facing both Caesar’s startled gaze and Riche’s bewildered stare for a moment, then suddenly collapsed to the ground.
“Huh?”
That ended the situation. Caesar hoisted the seemingly unconscious Joshua onto his shoulders, Riche lost her words, and Maximian, who had appeared “from nowhere” in Caesar’s view, slipped through a side door away from the children’s eyes and settled into the dilapidated Log Cabin.
The red lamps in the Gallery Corridor burned. The dead who dwelt within the paintings each watched the flames. The paintings drawn in the most beautiful of times seemed like fairies that would never age. Within their frames, they remained unchanged as fossils.
The people in the paintings have but one expression. Yet on certain days, when seen from within certain shadows, they pour forth eyes utterly different from yesterday. Clear eyes that gazed into the distance transform beneath the slanting sunset into pupils brimming with tears of blood, and The Lady who once wore a compassionate smile becomes a face forced into laughter while suppressing sobs.
Thus Theo gazed at the paintings without surprise. He deliberately held the lamp high. It was near midnight, so no one would come, and thus he was free to speak.
“Your smiling face seems angry today.”
The girl in the painting, who did not answer, sent her gaze steadily forward.
“My wise young lady.”
As the lamp’s angle shifted, the girl’s gaze moved slightly as well—as if pleased by the praise.
“My Ivnoa.”
It hung at the far end of the Gallery Corridor. She was still too young to have her portrait here, yet here it was now. It was painted similarly to the unflattering portraits that Joshua despised, but because she wore a smile, it looked somewhat better.
The Family Clan members did not often linger before this portrait. Even when Joshua stayed at the Castle and had reason to pass through the Gallery Corridor, he would deliberately turn his head away as he passed. The unflattering portrait, the detached expression within it—his sister, who had never worn such an expression in life, seemed to wear it now after her death, and it was unbearable to witness.
Yet Theo alone loved this portrait. Many had seen him standing here during the day, spending his time.
No matter what anyone said, Theo was the person who spent the most time with Ivnoa throughout her brief life. People did not ordinarily recall this fact, but Theo himself had always been acutely aware of it. Because he had seen so many facets of Ivnoa, he did not regard her with the same gaze as others. He had even remarked that the Ivnoa in the portrait was remarkably similar to the real her, which had puzzled those around him.
After a moment, Theo smiled softly and spoke in a low voice.
“I wish I could walk into where you are and rest for a while.”
As he raised the lamp higher, the smile faded from Ivnoa’s face, replaced instead by eyes that held a subtle sorrow.
“Those eyes—you’ve shown me them before.”
“So you’re lonely even now?”
“One of the people you care for could stay with you.”
“Who would that be? Me? Or….”
As I lowered the lamp, the girl’s face sank into darkness.
“You would know better than anyone.”
“You are wise, after all.”
The lamplight flickered. The oil had run dry. It wavered for a moment longer before extinguishing, and darkness enveloped the entire Gallery Corridor.
Theo rose slightly on his toes to press a brief kiss against the lips of his wife in the painting. Both were cold.
“I will send you the person you love most. Do not worry. I hold a most elegant blade.”
Then I stepped back and looked up at my wife. My brow furrowed as I suppressed the thoughts rising from deep within with a fierce gaze. No. That is not it. It is not me.
Those who possessed Arnim Castle never loved you. Despite receiving your love—your radiant, brilliant love—they could see nothing but their own suffering.
To survive in your stead until the very end. Truly, is the scale not so tilted that its arm would break? Such things must be corrected. A weight must be placed upon it—heavy, leaden, a nightmare made manifest.
Turning away, Theo took two steps into the darkness of the Gallery Corridor before stopping. I raised my fingertips to my brow and offered a farewell in the name only he spoke.
“Farewell, Demonic Ivnoa.”
2. Kelsniti
Do not laugh.
And do not weep either.
Just because I have taken this form
does not mean I have become something else.
I remain as I was.
Even without flesh
I am beside you and your bloodline
still.
“It’s about me.”
“Hmm?”
Joshua, who had been staring blankly at the crumpled blanket’s edge, was now looking at Maximian. Maximian rubbed the back of his head and yawned. He had just removed his spectacles and was about to blow out the candle.
“Do you have any idea how desperately I begged Father back then to send me back?”
“Why are you bringing up something from so long ago?”
As Joshua fluttered the crumpled blanket open, Maximian sneezed twice.
“Achoo! Take that outside and shake it out.”
Caesar Montplayne apparently did not enjoy laundering—the bedding and underlayers were damp and dusty. In any case, Joshua, who had not sneezed, continued speaking while his gaze remained on the blanket’s edge.
“After we left Kotzboldt… when I could not return. After Joshua’s Sister was gone, and what came after.”
Maximian had heard the general outline of Ivnoa’s death and what followed from Hispanie. But he had never broached the subject with Joshua himself. It was not so much that he thought the past did not matter, but rather a matter of pride—a reluctance to appear as though he dwelled on such things.
In any case, Maximian had waited a very long time back then.
“You never came, though.”
He felt irritated at himself for speaking like a sulking child, though he had not intended to.
“I wanted to apologize.”
Joshua lay down slowly without meeting Maximian’s gaze. Buried in the blanket, he murmured.
“I could not go. But I truly wanted to. I did care for that place, but more than that, I could not bear being at home. For a long time after Joshua’s Sister left, I desperately wanted to flee that place. Everything I saw only drove me to madness… and whenever I recalled those old, indelible memories, I felt that my survival—that I was not an idiot like Joshua’s Sister—was itself a curse.”
Maximian blew out the candle and lay down as well. Their beds were separated by about two paces, each pushed against opposite walls.
“Why are you suddenly bringing up old stories like this? Just go to sleep.”
“Maximian, you are truly… a good person.”
Hearing such unexpected words, Maximian was not flustered in the slightest, and replied with an irritated tone.
“Please, while I’m still awake, don’t go off daydreaming by yourself. Save your dreams for after you’ve fallen asleep.”
Of course, Joshua wasn’t the least bit deterred by Maximian’s curt response. As always, he continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard a word.
“When I’m beside you, I feel like I truly exist in this world. You’re right about that. Looking at you makes me think that even someone like me could regain my sanity. I wish I’d been with you back then. For someone like me who can’t forget anything, I need to be so consumed by other thoughts that there’s no room for unpleasant ones.”
Only the sound of shifting came in response. In any case, both of them were stubborn in their convictions, so neither would budge no matter what the other said.
“But there was someone who helped me back then.”
Silence again.
“I’d like to introduce that person to you now.”
A response finally came. It was a voice already half-asleep.
“Do it later. You’re not seriously thinking of summoning them in the middle of the night….”
Joshua rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and spoke.
“They’re already here.”
“Huh?”
Since the surroundings were pitch black, opening his eyes wouldn’t have helped Maximian see anything. Moreover, having removed his glasses, he could see even less.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“It’s a bit complicated, but you’ll understand soon enough anyway. In any case, that person wants to meet you now.”
“Tch, I have no idea what you’re saying. You’ve been with me all day long, and now you’re acting like you made some prior arrangement out of nowhere. Do you even understand what you’re saying yourself?”
“Well….”
Joshua hesitated and fell silent. However, he didn’t wait for Maximian to fall back asleep.
“Be prepared for a shock. A little… no, a big one.”
Maximian merely lifted his head slightly from the blanket. It still wouldn’t have helped him see anything. But moments later, he practically leaped up and cried out.
“What is this!”
Children of the Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Month’s Books
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Month’s 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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