Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 408

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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 178.
In the Name of Loyalty and Vengeance (20)
“Then it is a dangerous seed indeed.”
“Perhaps it would be better if it never germinated.”
“Rosencrantz, that is excessive pragmatism. We must hope that even a single soul awakens from slumber. We cannot choose people based on present convenience. If a seed exists, we water it. If we find an egg, we nurture it. Even if rabbits or chickens are born from time to time.”
Neither of them laughed this time. Giscar felt a subtle bitterness that Lanji no longer pressed his counterarguments with the same relentless intensity as when he had stood at his side. Now Lanji was not Giscar’s student but the chairman of the Exile Council, and he had to conduct himself accordingly.
“What is Moro’s obsession?”
“First, it is his son.”
I had been collecting information long before meeting Theo. I knew reasonably well about the relationship between Theo and Ivnoa.
“Moro anticipates that when his son matures, he will receive the same treatment as himself. To prevent that, he even took the gamble of joining hands with us. When this affair is exposed, he is diligently preparing evidence that he merely deceived and exploited us. He is searching for names to sacrifice for that purpose. I concluded that providing him with that would be our responsibility.”
“And then?”
“I introduced him to Tonok Marquis.”
Giscar habitually reached for his empty cup, then stopped and spoke.
“You would have needed a plausible explanation.”
“Each will believe the other has been embedded in the organization longer and thus attempt to extract information from the other. Simultaneously, they will strive to appear loyal to the organization without revealing their true intentions. Should matters go awry and one betrays the other, the other will not hesitate to produce all the evidence they have accumulated.”
If that happens, they will tear each other apart and destroy themselves—a strategy that fully exploited the characteristics inherent to the Friends of the People’s organization. Even if exposed, only a corner collapses. Without it, we could never have endured the Kingdom 8 Army’s relentless pursuit until now.
Giscar nodded slowly.
“Then the second?”
“His brother-in-law, the Young Duke.”
“Joshua von Arnim?”
Giscar seemed to be turning the name over in his mouth. He continued doing so even as I opened my mouth to speak again.
“Theostid da Moro has many reasons to despise the Young Duke. By his very birth, the Young Duke destroyed the future Moro envisioned. His sister, who was their point of connection, is dead, and her death was ostensibly caused by the Young Duke himself. Therefore, we cannot expect even a fragment of affection to remain between them. Yet if that were all, the problem would be solved by Moro simply seizing the Duke’s House. Now that he has begun executing such a plan, it would be strange if the Young Duke remained on his mind at all. Yet Moro has not done so. He remains acutely conscious of the Young Duke, and his sense of victimhood has not faded. Why is that?”
Giscar thought for a moment before answering.
“It seems you have your own answer to that. Since I have not collected information as thoroughly as you, I have no intention of refuting your conclusion. But there is a point I wish to make.”
“What is it?”
“Rosencrantz, do you remember when the Republic collapsed?”
Anomarad year 985. That year, I was eleven years old. I was not yet old enough to understand the political situation with precision. Yet I nodded.
“I learned what the Republic was by witnessing its collapse.”
“Were you in Keltika at that time?”
“I was.”
“Witnessing the Republic’s collapse… could you feel sorrow?”
It was not something easily accomplished. The Republic had such a brief history that there was insufficient time to understand its value thoroughly. Therefore, even if one had lived in Keltika then, one could easily have had no opportunity to feel sorrow. Especially at eleven years old.
“Yes.”
My answer was brief. Within that brevity lay emotions difficult to articulate, yet it was impossible for another to fully comprehend them all.
Rather than dismiss my answer as unbelievable, Giscar simply spread his arms lightly.
“Then you should find my story easy to understand. You have studied and know this, but Checel Tagorck, who sought Keltika at that time, had two arms: Pontina and Arnim. That Pontina was the right arm was natural, but the existence of Arnim as the slightly weaker left arm was peculiar.”
Checel Tagorck was the name the current King Checel da Anomarad bore before he changed it. A man who began as the brother-in-law of Duke Fontina, overthrew the Republic, and seized the throne itself. Everyone knew that it was Duke Fontina who gave Checel command of armies and arranged his stage of debut.
Yet what decisively solidified King Checel’s popularity was, above all else, the conquest of Keltika. With an almost miraculous sense of timing and with efficient battles that struck at the Republican Government’s weaknesses, he achieved complete victory. It would have been impossible without internal collaborators within the Republic.
“Arnim was a nobleman who was respected by the citizens to a degree unusual for his station. The Republican Government deliberated for ten years and ultimately kept him alive. Yet when the world changed, he entered the pie of Checel and Pontina with surprising dexterity and carved out a plausible slice for himself. Those who knew Arnim’s character and past conduct were deeply astonished. It was not so much disappointment at joining hands with the King’s faction as genuine shock. No one knew he was capable of such things. To have lived as a phantom in Keltika under Republican control for ten years, yet grasp the hands of both Checel and Pontina equally at the decisive moment. Moreover, no one anticipated it. How could he conceal such ability so thoroughly? People speak of Pontina as the incarnation of political acumen, but judging solely by this situation, that assessment should be revised.”
I listened carefully before responding.
“I find myself puzzled as to why Duke Arnim has not pursued such endeavors since that time.”
“The answer is likely singular, is it not? The architect of that scheme was not Arnim himself.”
“You suggest there was a strategist? Then what might such a person be doing now? Unless they have departed somewhere, of course.”
“They may have vanished quite suddenly.”
“No trace of such a person has yet been detected.”
“The House of Arnim harbors a peculiar tradition, does it not?”
Langie grasped what Giscar was driving at. Yet it was an assumption difficult to accept readily. Langie closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and spoke.
“It is true that the Young Duke departed Keltika shortly after the Republic’s collapse and remained abroad for an extended period. Furthermore, no one knows the true identity of the so-called Demonic, nor the limits of his abilities. But if your reasoning holds, the Young Duke would have conceived this scheme at merely nine or ten years of age.”
Though it was a rebuttal to his own assertion, Giscar nonetheless conceded.
“It is difficult to believe.”
“Yet I cannot say with certainty that it is impossible.”
Langie’s expression grew contemplative once more. Giscar shared the same look. Both were measuring the possibility against various criteria, testing this improbable hypothesis. Yet ultimately, Giscar shook his head first.
“No. It seems the assumption was simply too extreme. Let us set this matter aside for now—until more concrete evidence emerges. Above all, the notion that the ‘Four Days of Lightning’ that toppled the Republic sprang from the mind of a nine-year-old child makes my head spin.”
“While the conquest of Keltika was indeed the decisive catalyst, the Republic was reckless from its inception, and its end was foreseen long ago. There is no necessity to attribute the Republic’s fall solely to Arnim’s machinations.”
“Yet because Arnim’s choice was made at the optimal moment, the timeline was accelerated by at least three years. And no one knows what the Republic might have accomplished in those three years.”
Langie did not immediately agree, but after a moment, he nodded and spoke.
“Finding evidence immediately will be difficult, but if we do not abandon this conjecture, we must henceforth keep close watch on the Young Duke’s movements. Even if he remains indifferent to politics now, should circumstances change, there is no telling what he might do.”
“That is a more productive perspective. More so than rage.”
Their eyes met. Langie spoke first.
“Have you shared this theory with anyone else?”
Giscar smiled awkwardly.
“In truth, a few days ago, while explaining the Republic’s demise to a student, this thought suddenly occurred to me. But when I hinted at the possibility, the student—rather than considering whether it was feasible or what countermeasures might be necessary—immediately erupted in unconditional rage. They insisted that the life of whoever committed such an act must be destroyed and avenged. I myself regard this as an excessive assumption, but… should it prove true by some chance, I am deeply concerned whether the consensus of the Exile Council would align with that student’s sentiment.”
“In what sense do you harbor this concern?”
Giscar regarded Langie quietly, then closed his eyes before continuing.
“You already know, do you not?”
“I do not claim ignorance.”
“Yet you ask me again.”
“I seek your conviction.”
Even with his eyes closed, he felt Langie’s composed gaze upon him. Giscar exhaled a low sigh.
“As I have always said, a Republic must be built from people. Just as a Kingdom must be.”
“And people build it. The Kingdom already exists, but the Republic does not exist unless we create it.”
“The process of creation matters as much as the result. People naturally think and act according to the environment in which they are born and raised. We must not reject or punish them for their ignorance, but rather regard them as distant friends who have simply not yet heard the news.”
“Your words are just. If we could advance simply by choosing the right path, I too would wish to do so. But when undertaking difficult tasks, efficiency sometimes determines success or failure. When efficiency is compromised, not only does success delay—it may be lost entirely. Therefore, we sometimes choose the shortcut over the righteous path.”
“I taught you to be wary of such thinking.”
“I am wary. Yet I do not deny it.”
Giscar pressed his nearly colorless lips firmly together, then spoke.
“Can you confront the scheme devised by a nine-year-old child for his father’s sake with nothing but rage?”
Langie did not answer immediately, maintaining silence until Giscar opened his eyes once more. When their gazes met, Langie spoke slowly.
“Giscar, I respect you for this very reason, yet I can assure you that few share your perspective.”
“The value of an opinion is not determined by whether it is held by the few or the many. We have always been the minority compared to those who desire the Kingdom. But do we not believe in the worth of our convictions?”
“That is true. However, I believe efficiency is necessary in this matter. I am not suggesting we send assassins after the Young Duke immediately. Yet we must regard Joshua von Arnim—who was once nine years old and is now seventeen—as both a citizen and a latent threat that warrants our vigilance.”
“Vigilance, then. But do not forget that the Young Duke is a single person, not a nation or organization, and a single person can be persuaded.”
Langie nodded. It was best to end this conversation here, before any confirmation that the Young Duke had actually committed such acts.
“I myself do not place great significance on vengeance. That is a matter for the Exile Council to decide, and following the will of the majority may strengthen our internal cohesion. In any case, it appears much is already happening to the Young Duke regardless.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright of 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.

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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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