Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 340

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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 110.
Ninety-Eight Souls (23)
Now it was time to get down to business. Kanka opened his mouth.
“First, I wish to express my gratitude to the Exile Council for accepting our proposal and arranging this meeting. Having pursued our goals separately until now, I find it reassuring to think that we will now advance what has always been a shared conviction together. I believe the only remaining process is to discuss how we can help one another and ultimately achieve our objective. You are aware of the proposal we submitted, yes?”
Hailjer answered.
“Gaining allies is a most joyous thing. The leadership has taken particular interest in this matter and issued detailed instructions. However, now that admission has been granted, all communication with the leadership must go through me, the chairman of Keltika 3rd District. I mention this first to ensure smooth cooperation.”
Though it seemed to ignore Kanka’s question, Theo smiled as if he had anticipated such a response.
“Of course.”
“Thank you for understanding. Then let us proceed to specific discussion. Di, speak the leadership’s position.”
Everything Hailjer had said up to this point was exactly as Langie had instructed beforehand. However, Hailjer, who could not choose the right moment to speak, hurried through his predetermined lines regardless of what the other party said. This was because only then would his awkward role end and the turn would pass to Langie. He was deeply anxious that his role, lacking eloquence, might grow longer and lead to a mistake that would obstruct the negotiation.
Langie opened his mouth.
“The Exile Council has carefully examined Lord Moro’s proposal and determined it to be effective, though the risks are considerable. Most opinions held that it must be pursued in stages. I would like to hear your thoughts first. What do you see as the first necessary step?”
In reality, most of the judgment had been left to Langie, but he maintained the posture of conveying the leadership’s—that is, the Exile Council’s—opinion.
“All matters have their proper order. Since I have promised cooperation to the Republic, the first objective should be to secure control of House of Arnim, should it not? Only then will I be able to provide certain assistance when opportunity arises. After that, the stratagems I have proposed will become executable.”
As Hailjer nodded, Langie spoke again.
“Do you have a contingency plan for that method?”
For now, he intended to hear all of the other party’s thoughts. Kanka answered.
“My lord is the sole son-in-law of House of Duke Arnim. Though his wife has passed, she left behind a son. Currently, that son is being raised in the Castle as a promising heir to the title. Therefore, I believe the first stage is for that son to receive the title of Count Armorique, which is granted to the heir of House of Arnim.”
Until then silent, the hooded young person suddenly spoke.
“Of course, as long as the Young Duke simply disappears, that would be it, yes?”
From the voice alone, the other party was a young woman. Kanka replied with composure.
“The Young Duke is already in our hands. Whether we kill him outright or make him a puppet, it is not a difficult matter.”
“I see. From what I hear, the Young Duke is not an ordinary person.”
Even as she spoke, Yien still did not reveal her face. As a noblewoman, there was a possibility they might encounter each other. Unlike Langie, who could simply hide himself if his identity were exposed, Yien’s revelation would not be a simple matter. It would even draw Count Amaranth into it.
Kanka bared his teeth in a smile.
“You know of Demonic, I see. But do not worry. It will not be a problem.”
Langie opened his mouth.
“I understand you have some plan, but it troubles me that you won’t reveal it to us. We cannot report to the Exile Council as if it were safe without confirming the risks ourselves.”
“That matter can be deferred until after the negotiation.”
Theo waved his hand to stop Kanka’s words and spoke.
“Enough. It is something we will learn anyway, and there is no need to conceal it unnaturally from those who trust us. Don Crea, and Di—the Young Duke is slowly dying. Of course, we can slow that pace or stop it entirely. But the current plan is for him to appear to die of natural causes within a year. Demonic beings often die prematurely without cause, so there is almost no risk of suspicion. Therefore, there is no need to attach significance to his existence.”
Hailjer exchanged glances with Langie before speaking.
“Good. I will trust that word.”
Langie took up the thread.
“If his son becomes the heir in that manner, it would certainly be desirable, but it seems that alone would not greatly expand his room for action. Lord Moro is not the heir himself, and until the young boy grows, the current Duke Arnim’s authority will be absolute. If we must wait for the boy to become Duke, the progress of our work becomes a matter of the distant future. Moreover, we cannot rule out the possibility that the boy’s opinions may differ from Lord Moro’s when he matures. The privileges of nobility are difficult to relinquish once obtained. It is entirely plausible to imagine that a young master raised in such circumstances might resent the construction of a Republic that would require him to surrender all privilege.”
As Yien listened to Langie’s words, she smiled secretly beneath her hood. She herself was an exception to the very story he had just told, and she took pride in her own choice.
“A good point. One might think so if unfamiliar with our family’s circumstances. Let me first say that all authority over my son’s education rests entirely in my hands. And let me also say that House of Moro has suffered grievously from the harm caused by noble privilege. Though shameful, I will tell you my own story.”
Theo turned his gaze toward Hailjer.
“House of Moro was nobility since the days of the Old Kingdom. But my father was driven from the family, so my childhood was miserable. The mere pretense of nobility made it harder to bear. I could not fit in with the nobility, and I was despised by commoners as well. Living in a manor that was little better than ruins, going without meals let alone education, I wished day and night that I had never been nobility. Then at least I could have gone to the streets and begged to fill my hungry belly.”
Even as Theo spoke such words, his complexion did not change at all. However, the face of Anistan, who had said nothing beside him until now, showed some change. Langie did not miss that sight.
“I entered the House of Arnim at ten years old and was designated a live-in son-in-law the following year. My betrothed was an idiot girl. Had it been otherwise, Duke Arnim would never have dreamed of taking someone like me as a son-in-law. To put it bluntly, I was sold. My father disappeared the moment he clutched the money from selling me, leaving me with no one to depend on when I was cast into that unfamiliar manor. I had to learn how to survive on my own. Well, before that, I had to relearn even basic dining etiquette.”
Theo’s tone carried naked mockery of his circumstances back then. His derision was primarily aimed at Duchess Elza. After taking Theo in, the Duchess had spent exactly one year trying to teach him something, clinging to him relentlessly. Then, the following year, she resolved to bear Joshua despite the threat to her life. Theo didn’t know why the Duchess’s heart had changed, but he could only assume she despised entrusting the family to someone without her bloodline.
“Until then, the current Young Duke hadn’t even been born, and with the Duchess’s failing health, there seemed no hope of it. At first, I didn’t fully understand what my position was in that household. But one thing was certain: the true nobility I saw up close were far more corrupt, narrow-minded, and irrational than I’d imagined. After the Young Duke was born, watching their attitude toward me shift completely only strengthened that conviction. I began to wonder whether a monarchy where such people continued to hold privilege was truly just. It was amid these doubts that the Republic emerged.”
At fourteen, Theo was frightened of the Republican mobs and disgusted by the squalid living conditions of the paupers Duke Arnim had brought into the manor, so he rarely ventured beyond his door or even down to the lower floors. But his mind was free to wander.
“As you know, Duke Arnim survived the Republican era by feigning cooperation with the Republican Government. Now that same man lives as one of the new King’s arms, wielding power. Isn’t that pathetic? And he’s not alone. The way they all struggle by any means necessary to cling to their privileges is truly remarkable. How can such people be eliminated unless the monarchy itself falls? And my son will inevitably walk the same path I did. That child carries my blood, so he’s already a target of discrimination within the family. The older he grows, the more keenly he’ll understand it.”
When Theo paused, Yien spoke.
“Then what will you do about Duke Arnim? The Duke is quite cunning, and he’s far from death’s door yet. Do you have some method to eliminate him gradually, like the Young Duke?”
“Gradually eliminate him? The Duke has no need for such methods. I employ such tactics with the Young Duke to avoid the Duke’s direct attention—the sharp edge of the principal enemy. There’s an old saying: when a minister’s dog dies, people come to pay respects, but when the minister dies, no one does. It’s the same principle. If the Young Duke dies under mysterious circumstances, the Duke won’t remain idle. But if the Duke dies, there will be no one left to investigate. Therefore, I believe the Duke should be eliminated in one swift stroke when the opportunity presents itself.”
Yien paused to consider, then raised a point.
“But if, as Lord Moro says, the Young Duke dies and the Duke also dies under mysterious circumstances, won’t the House of Arnim fall into great chaos? Not only will their power suffer, but their relationship with the King won’t be what it once was. Wouldn’t it be the House of Arnim alone that walks the path to ruin?”
It was a question asking whether the House of Arnim would collapse before even helping the Republican Faction. Theo’s lips curved upward on one side.
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Months Publishing.
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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