Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 353

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 123.
Ninety-Eight Souls (36)
Joshua offered a light bow.
“The Lady I serve receives many musicians at her home, so I picked up a thing or two watching from the sidelines.”
His performance as a servant had become flawless.
As the drinking session reached its height, Maximian caught the attention of the two with a glance. They rose from their seats. It was time for the three of them to speak privately. Shouldn’t they find an Inn?
When the three approached to take their leave, Captain Kalaimon barely acknowledged their farewells before speaking abruptly.
“Why not stay the night at my home? You’ve encountered pirates, so you must be without funds, yes?”
The room was well-maintained. An inviting bed that naturally beckoned one to rest, a quilt sewn from patchwork scraps, a table draped with embroidered cloth—all of it stood in stark contrast to the sparse attic Juspian had occupied recently.
Captain Kalaimon’s Wife was not stout, contrary to her singing voice, and their son was still a young child. The Wife seemed accustomed to her husband bringing guests and welcomed them warmly. Upon hearing their circumstances, she became even more gracious. She particularly latched onto Riche, the young girl, as if eager to hear her troubles, prompting Maximian to quickly intervene.
“We are truly grateful. You’ve made us so comfortable that sleep is overwhelming me.”
Scarcely had those words left his lips before they were each shown to their bedrooms. The Captain returned to the Tavern where the sailors waited. The Wife excused herself, promising to wake them when the meal was ready. The three emerged from their rooms simultaneously, encountered one another, and entered Joshua’s room, settling onto the floor as they had before. These three had grown accustomed to their impromptu councils.
“The greatest problem is….”
Maximian looked between the two with a grave expression. They both understood the situation. Riche spoke first.
“The ship needs to be repaired.”
Joshua shook his head.
“From what I can tell, that ship will lift off again once we fill it with gold. The moment it fell into the water, it switched to sailing mode, preventing us from using flight controls—but nothing is actually broken. I’ll need to research how to end the sailing state, and yes, avoiding people’s eyes when we take off could be a problem.”
Maximian shook his head.
“There’s a more serious problem than that.”
“What is it?”
“We don’t have enough gold.”
Riche’s eyes widened in confusion.
“But Juspian gave us plenty of gold, didn’t he?”
“He did provide reserves, but that was calculated for a round trip of one month. Do you know where we are now?”
Since there was neither a map nor paper, Joshua glanced around and retrieved a piece of charcoal from the fireplace. He removed his cloak and began drawing a coastline on its inner surface. Maximian watched his friend go about this task as if it were the most natural thing and remarked.
“You really do seem to try your hand at everything, being born into the Duke’s House.”
Once the drawing was complete, Maximian pointed to their current location with his finger.
“I heard from a sailor on the ship that Calaisso Harbor is around here.”
The spot Maximian’s finger indicated was slightly south of the Capital of Durnensa Kingdom—the mouth of an isthmus where two capes faced each other.
“We’ve drifted far to the north over seven hours, carried by wind or currents. Or perhaps we were being pushed northward even while flying. Either way, we’ve strayed considerably from our original route. We might be able to depart as you say, Joshua, but we’ll absolutely run short of gold by the end. You all saw what happens when we’re short even a few gold rings, didn’t you?”
Everyone grew serious. Riche asked.
“Joshua, you said Periwinkle Island was your Family Clan’s island, didn’t it? If we can just reach there, couldn’t we gather enough gold for the return journey?”
Joshua hesitated before shaking his head.
“Duke Arnim, who left that island, was my great-grandfather. I don’t know how my Grandfather or Father have managed the island since then, or even if we still have contact with it. The reason we abandoned it was because the Royal House misunderstood that our Family Clan intended to establish an independent nation there. So even if relations weren’t severed, we couldn’t openly manage the island. Since I myself don’t know the situation, perhaps they’ve cut ties entirely. So I don’t think we should carelessly expect to find gold there.”
“That’s rather bleak news.”
Maximian uttered those words and fell into thought. As silence stretched on, Riche hesitantly spoke up.
“But listen. I know it’s a difficult thing to say, but couldn’t we worry about what comes after we reach Periwinkle Island later? Surely Juspian wouldn’t do anything to us just because the ship arrived a bit late? Once we resolve the doll problem, Joshua will reclaim his position as Young Duke anyway….”
“It’s not that simple.”
Maximian cut her off.
“Even if the doll disappears, Joshua’s parents and Family Clan members who could help him are far away in Keltika. They can’t suddenly fly here like we did, and bringing gold would take even longer. There’s another new problem we need to consider here.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that ultimately, we have no choice but to reach Keltika to resolve everything. So, do you really want to abandon this airship here on Periwinkle and suddenly commandeer a proper sailing vessel to make the journey to Keltika?”
“Well….”
Riche’s eyes rolled while her mouth hung slightly open, but eventually her head nodded in agreement. It was sound reasoning. Juspian had tried to clarify the limits of his assistance, but in truth, now that we had obtained a flying ship, shouldn’t we utilize it for all it was worth until the very end? Of course, seven hours of sailing had already grown tedious enough.
“Now you understand our predicament?”
“So you’re saying we need enough gold to reach Keltika right now? Good heavens.”
Joshua shook his head.
“Where on earth would we obtain such gold?”
Maximian glared at his friend.
“So you’re finally grasping that we’re on a pauper’s journey. I’m glad you’ve come to understand that, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon all hope. We’ll find a way somehow….”
Joshua spoke.
“The distance from here to Periwinkle is nothing compared to the distance from Periwinkle to Keltika. We must reach Periwinkle first, and if we then travel from there to Keltika, based on our current rate of expenditure, we’ll need at least four hundred ounces of additional gold.”
“A seamstress couldn’t accumulate that much gold even working for twenty years.”
The moment Riche added this remark from beside him, she suddenly clapped her hands as if struck by inspiration.
“Ah, that’s right! Even if Joshua von Arnim is on a pauper’s journey, wouldn’t Max Cardi be able to earn that much money in the blink of an eye?”
Maximian glanced at Riche and scoffed.
“Of course you’re joking?”
Riche’s lips twitched, but she said nothing more. The three of them began contemplating alternatives once again. But shortly after, Joshua suddenly burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“A thought just occurred to me—about that doll….”
Joshua began laughing with a peculiar expression on his face.
“I feel grateful to it.”
“What?”
Both of them questioned him in unison.
“Grateful. Don’t you feel it—that sudden realization that we’re alive, now that the three of us are grappling with such a problem? Or rather, the will to live. Separate from fleeing the threat of death, when I tasted that bland tomato soup, or when I was terrified the ship might sink, I couldn’t think of any other complicated matters. I knew that human suffering isn’t limited to grand problems alone, but I hadn’t truly felt it until now. Now we need gold, and there’s no one to give it to us and nowhere for it to come from. Yet how many people in this world must need gold? Most of them, as Riche said, could never accumulate such vast sums even if they labored their entire lives, could they? As Maximian said before, those working hard to earn gold or bread wouldn’t have the leisure to think as I do, would they? Coming down to these fundamental questions of survival, my mind somehow feels clearer.”
Maximian spoke.
“It’s good that you’ve come to such thoughts, Joshua, but I can’t agree with saying you’re grateful to the doll.”
“No. That’s the crux of it. Wasn’t it the doll that made me think this way? Long ago, back when I was with you, Maximian, there was a doll at Jade Ring Castle standing in for me, and I wished I could stay here forever and never return. As if someone had secretly overheard my wish and decided to make it come true.”
“Is that what you call speaking?”
Joshua didn’t respond to Maximian but turned his head toward Riche.
“Riche, you said you remembered what I told you before in the Theater Dressing Room, didn’t you?”
“What did you say?”
“Why I’m trying to eliminate Max Cardi. I don’t want to return, but because I must return, I kill Max Cardi. I enjoyed this life in a false form, but now I must go back. Yes, the false one.”
Riche offered no response, only a bewildered expression.
“The false one already existed. I created it myself, no one else. I wasn’t living a double life as a jest. It wasn’t play. I genuinely wondered, many times, what if I remained as Max Cardi? If I had been given a choice, would I have chosen the Young Duke Joshua? But back then, I had no choice. Yet now, someone has given me that choice? They’ve taken the role of Young Duke Joshua away from me? Isn’t that truly kind? Or more precisely, they chose for me….”
“That’s exactly the kind of insane thought only you could have.”
Maximian shot back harshly, but Joshua continued speaking.
“The truth is, I was trying to kill one of them—either the Young Duke Joshua or Max Cardi. That’s murder in a sense too. Yes, I’m truly grateful for that much. But those people don’t seem to want Max Cardi to survive either. Setting fire to the theater, no less. That’s truly regrettable. If they hadn’t done that, I would have forgiven them.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Published by 14 Months Publishing
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Months Publishing.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, written consent from both parties is required.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————