Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 372

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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 142.
May Your Final Performance
Be Your Greatest (17)
“That’s not quite it….”
I had indeed come to examine the costumes. It was reason enough, or so I thought. Then why hadn’t I answered that way when Ines asked what I was doing here earlier? Why had I said I wasn’t sure?
I’d heard that Keltika had the most developed costume workshops on the Continent, followed by the islands near Sword-la-Chapel. It was credible enough even without having visited every corner of the Continent. In most large cities, you’d be fortunate to find one or two high-end costume shops, yet on Blue Coral Island where Riche lived, they lined the streets in abundance.
I had learned sewing in such places, and among them, I had been skilled. With the eye of someone who crafted clothes for true nobility, the chances of finding anything worth learning in this cheap theater that merely imitated noble garments were virtually nonexistent. Even if there was nothing to learn, I could still take an interest, but how could I explain myself—someone who had grown indifferent after examining just a few pieces?
Why had I come here? And why had I specifically asked Joshua for a key?
“Well, I suppose… it feels like I came to confirm something.”
Even as I spoke, the words didn’t make sense to me. Ines tilted her head in confusion as well.
“Confirm this place’s level?”
“That’s not quite it….”
Riche hesitated, then suddenly sat up. Before my eyes stretched long rows of clothing—hundreds of costumes gleaming in various colors, waiting for something.
“Whether they’re… doing well.”
“The clothes?”
“No.”
Something more concrete came into focus. I could almost grasp it. One more word and I’d have it. In this place filled with costumes, to confirm whether something was doing well….
“I am.”
Coming to my senses and turning my head, I saw a gap had opened between the clothes that stood between us, and through it, Ines poked her face through. In that position, she smiled brightly and tilted her head slightly.
“What could that mean?”
It was a charming smile. Riche stood up. And toward Ines, whose face was no longer visible, I spoke.
“Don’t like that kind of person. It will only hurt your heart.”
“Huh?”
A startled voice came, and Ines stood up as well. Since long dresses hung in this area, I could only see the top of her head beyond the clothing.
“He’s not someone you can handle easily. He’s intelligent… more than just intelligent. Ordinary people can’t understand him. His thoughts, his actions. Of course, you can’t date him either. Just be friends. That’s best.”
Ines was silent for a moment, then suddenly pushed through the dusty clothes toward Riche. Riche flinched in surprise. When they faced each other, Ines was shorter than Riche, yet her features were mature, and though thin, her posture was upright and elegant.
“What you’re trying to say….”
Riche, thinking she meant to deny or make excuses, raised her eyebrows slightly. She was naturally honest and not the type to retract words spoken with good intentions.
But what followed was different.
“I understand.”
“You understand?”
“You were closer to him than I was, so I think you know better. Thank you for the advice.”
Hair that was merely unkempt compared to Riche’s covered Ines’s thin shoulders. Not conventionally beautiful, but Ines’s voice, whom I had thought to be cautious by nature, was clear.
“But what comes next will be my problem. I haven’t decided anything yet, but I won’t cancel my feelings because of someone else’s words.”
Riche was surprised by how boldly the words came out. She had thought it was merely a light affection, and since he was a boy who would leave soon anyway, she had simply wanted to spare her from heartache. Of course, Demonic Joshua was not someone an ordinary person could understand, and she had indeed always thought he probably couldn’t have a girlfriend. And more seriously still, there was the Ghost attached to him, which Riche found terribly frightening.
But there was no way to tell her such things.
“You’re right. I suppose I overstepped. I’m sorry for bringing up something irrelevant. I was just trying to say that he’s handsome but difficult.”
“Millar. But you know.”
Ines smiled slightly. Riche felt that this girl’s expressions conveyed a wide range of emotions. The intellectual girl from moments before now appeared like a warm friend.
“Doesn’t the fact that you say such things mean you actually like him too?”
“Me… really?”
Riche’s expression went blank for a moment before she let out a soft laugh.
“I already told you it wasn’t me, didn’t I? No, fine—to be honest, I’m a bit dissatisfied because that girl is just too talented. I don’t know how she looks to you, but she’s… the kind of person who constantly triggers inferiority complexes just by being nearby. And I’m rather sensitive to that sort of thing.”
“Triggers inferiority complexes?”
“It’s because she exists in a realm I can’t catch up with in every aspect, so it makes me feel terrible. Everyone has some pride in themselves, don’t they? But every time I meet her, that pride gets crushed. Actually, I didn’t even know I had such a strong sense of pride until I met her.”
Unexpectedly, Ines nodded in agreement.
“I understand. Everyone I work with says the same thing. Hispanie can do everything those people do.”
“And you’re still okay with that?”
“Of course I’m not okay with it. I admire her when I see her, and I lose confidence too. But that’s precisely why I seem to like it more. Am I strange? Perhaps it’s because I don’t have much conviction in what I’ve chosen to do, which means I’m not as confident as you are. But you know, while it’s certainly different, maybe you and I are… just using different methods. That might be all it is.”
Riche pondered Ines’s words for a moment before suddenly raising her voice.
“That’s not it!”
Ines laughed again. This time it was the smile of a wise girl who understood her friend’s heart well.
“I think you came here to look at the costumes. Because the clothes that person will wear would be like these, wouldn’t they? Perhaps you’re making the very clothes Hispanie might wear. That’s why you wanted to check here—to confirm that the clothes you make are definitely better than the ones here. In that way….”
Ines reached out and gently stroked the garments beside her.
“You’re also finding yourself.”
As Riche listened to those words, she began to see her own heart more clearly. So by the time Ines finished speaking, she could articulate her thoughts with certainty.
“It’s a bit different. It’s probably true that I wanted to see the clothes here and confirm whether they’re inferior to what I make. And it’s true that I want to dress Jo in my clothes and feel pride in that work. Whether that girl is difficult or someone who triggers inferiority complexes, what’s certain is that she’s a brilliant actress. Worthy of wearing clothes I’ve made with all my effort. In that way, to satisfy my own pride, and beyond that….”
Sunlight filtered through the gap in the awning, illuminating both their faces. Riche wore a confident smile.
“There’s no need for the premise that I must necessarily like that girl.”
9. The Serpent’s Tongue
Look there. At the one with a serpent’s head for a tongue. That serpent flicks its tongue while gazing into his eyes. He is steeped in sorrow. Because with such a tongue, he cannot eat anything. He has withered away. Now when the serpent spews its venom, his eyes will go blind. He will stumble and walk, not knowing where he goes. Let him walk. Never take his hand. The moment you do, he will bite you. Until that tongue devours your hand and eats through your heart, until it finally consumes everything, do not extend your hand. When not even bones remain, only then will he cease.
June 17th, Diamond Rush Theater Small Rehearsal Room.
“Kalayso’s golden age was surely when ‘Sui Aneti’ reigned like a goddess. That was about ten years ago, wasn’t it?”
“Hey, don’t talk as if the very Sui Aneti in question isn’t you.”
Mrs. Molte answered with a giggle, breaking into song.
I pluck a small flower
And ask you if it’s beautiful
Before your nodding face
If I smile and hesitate with my words
Then understand what I wish to say
Oh, you who lack perception
“But where is that flower?”
“Right here.”
Mrs. Molte, leaning against the piano, unpinned the brilliant pink corsage attached to her dress and handed it to Joshua, who stood beside her with his body bent toward the table, leafing through his script. Joshua accepted the corsage and fastened it to the pocket of the black waistcoat he wore, then bent at the waist again and returned his attention to the script.
Mrs. Molte continued singing with a lilt.
The messenger of love that I sent
Will rest in your pocket
And together we’ll see what you see
And you’ll tell me about it
So I have no worries
You cannot escape.
“Mrs. Molte, you’re the one running from reality. Did your late husband send you a messenger from beyond the grave?”
“He did. He’s so disappointed in the afterlife that I couldn’t give him a child.”
“So you’re using his wishes as an excuse to adopt one in your twilight years?”
“Why not? There’s no harm in it.”
Several people burst into laughter, but Joshua remained utterly absorbed in the script he had written, oblivious to whatever conversation was happening beside him. Then, without warning, he pulled out his pen and began scribbling furiously across the blank paper next to him. His handwriting was remarkably swift.
Someone beside him craned their neck to peek, then raised a finger playfully to their lips and announced the news to the others.
“Shh, our beloved creator is composing another song.”
With the full rehearsal set to begin tomorrow morning, the actors and dancers had been granted their first night to return home. Only the main staff remained to adjust the schedule: director Bin Olfranje, music director Rigi Strauss, lyricist and adapter Selma Rayslink, rehearsal pianist Morris Duarte brought from the orchestra that Strauss had long worked with, choreographer Giovann Hantke, and Sui de Molt, who showed no inclination whatsoever to leave, seemingly far too content to go home.
Everyone had already come to understand that if Joshua was composing a solo piece, it mattered not when he wrote it—even the night before the performance would pose no problem. Thus, they all waited patiently for Joshua to emerge from his creative world, exchanging stories about how Giovann had finally brought discipline to the dancers whom only Hispania had managed before, and how Ines’s abilities were advancing at a remarkable pace with each passing month.
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 content, 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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