Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 409

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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 179.
In the Name of Loyalty and Vengeance (21)
Though I had shifted the conversation, I knew Lanji remained unconvinced. Perhaps my perspective—suited for someone like me who must instill ideals in students—simply didn’t align with what an activist like Lanji needed to hear. I was no idealist completely detached from reality, after all.
So I showed appropriate interest in the new topic.
“Many matters, you say?”
“With Nightwalk’s assistance, I’ve uncovered several things. First, it appears Moro has interfered with the Young Duke in some manner. When we met directly before, he assured me he could handle the Young Duke with ease. That day, Moro brought a Mage with him, and I suspect some form of mental domination is occurring through that individual.”
I tilted my head thoughtfully.
“Mental domination isn’t a simple matter. Do you have any concrete evidence?”
“It’s been difficult to find compelling evidence in the Young Duke’s daily life. He appears quite ordinary. Though some have noted that such peacefulness itself seems rather peculiar. But such observations hardly constitute proof.”
“Then you must have other grounds.”
“Yes. Until around March of this year, the Young Duke was residing on an island in Hyacan. While tracking his movements there, we discovered something quite unusual.”
Lanji paused before continuing.
“The masked actor who had become famous there—Max Cardi—was actually another identity of the Young Duke.”
Though it concerned events in distant Hyacan, far from Orlanne, I had heard of Max Cardi, given my interest in the arts. Of course, anything famous in Hyacan inevitably became gossip among the nobility across the entire Continent.
Thus I asked in genuine surprise.
“Max Cardi? The Young Duke possessed such talent?”
Lanji seemed unimpressed by that fact. His true point was only now coming.
“According to the Theater Master, whom the Nightwalker investigated, Max Cardi disappeared following a fire during a performance. Since no body was discovered, I initially thought he had simply ended his career as an actor that way and returned to Keltika. But when I examined the evidence more carefully, something more significant emerged. I have the distinct feeling that some grave secret is hidden within this incident.”
“Does this relate to the mental domination?”
Lanji touched the handle of his teacup, pausing to consider. He was distinguishing between conclusions grounded in evidence and the products of his own imagination.
“Max Cardi disappeared during a performance. Since the Theater Master knew that the Young Duke and Max Cardi were the same person, there’s no possibility someone else performed in his stead. The performance date—May twentieth—is also certain. Yet at that very moment, Duke Joshua was already back at the Castle in Keltika.”
Disbelief flickered in my eyes. This was a problem even Lanji had yet to resolve. However, the information the Nightwalker had gathered was not false. Lanji lowered his gaze, then spoke again, as if confirming this incredible matter once more.
“Therefore, at the same moment, there existed one Duke Joshua in Hyacan and another in Keltika.”
Anna Eisenelmo had spent her childhood in Keltika. Like many young people born in the Capital, she took pride in her origins as a city dweller—though perhaps somewhat more intensely than most.
As a young woman devoted to the Republic’s ideals, she believed one should not discriminate between people. Yet she had not escaped the common mistake made by the nobility: while those from the countryside and those from the city possessed equal worth, she believed their abilities differed.
Born to uneducated parents, Anna was nonetheless remarkably clever and learned quickly. Her memory in particular was so sharp that some compared her to the son of a certain ducal house—though they had never actually seen the problematic Young Duke, and neither had Anna, so there was no need to concern herself with it.
Anna was twenty years old. Having heard that the young people who came to Giscar’s House averaged eighteen, she had expected to complete her education early. Thus, after four months had passed, she began to grow restless. She believed there was far more work to be done in the world than the discussions Giscar valued, and she couldn’t understand why he kept her here when she was old enough to move forward.
From time to time, Anna had subtly asked whether it wasn’t time to begin organizational work, but Giscar would only smile enigmatically. In her impatience, she had occasionally forgotten her manners and shown irritation—though she had immediately regretted it and begged forgiveness.
She could not afford to make a poor impression on the legendary leader of the Friends of the People. The fact that he was also a Count and a great lord subtly influenced her thinking, though she would have vehemently denied it if anyone had pointed this out.
How could she ever graduate from under Giscar’s tutelage?
Anna’s heart burned with desire to throw herself into real work. She was confident her commitment to realizing the Republic was as strong as anyone’s. She had declared this to Giscar multiple times—so why did he still think it insufficient?
Whenever guests arrived at the Exile Council, Giscar would send his students out on errands. He didn’t hide the fact that visitors were coming, but neither was it acceptable for them to linger about. Anna understood that there were conversations a student should not yet hear. However, the moment she learned that today’s visitor was someone who had once been a student in Giscar’s House, an irresistible curiosity seized her.
Before leaving on her errand, Anna lingered before Giscar and subtly inquired—saying she was curious about this person who had once stayed here.
Giscar smiled and called them a “cherished colleague.” The word “colleague”—not junior or student—was something Anna had dreamed of hearing from Giscar. She finally lost her patience.
Anna agreed to do another student’s two weeks of cleaning duties and handed off the errand to someone else. She pretended to leave, following the path outside the Villa, parted ways with another student at the Forest Keeper’s house entrance, and hid herself in the Orchard where the leaves were thick. She wrapped a headscarf and apron to look like a worker, pretended to tend the trees, and watched the path leading to the Villa. It was the only way up to the Villa.
Until then, Anna had forgotten that she didn’t know what the arriving guest looked like and wouldn’t recognize them even if they passed. But fate spared her that worry. When two people appeared on the opposite path and approached the Orchard, Anna Eisenelmo unconsciously plucked an unripe apple from the branch. In that moment, she didn’t even realize what she had done. It wasn’t until much later, seeing what lay in her hand, that she became bewildered.
He was truly striking in appearance. She would have sworn he was no ordinary person. Her instincts about such matters had never been wrong.
After the two climbed the path toward the Villa, a third person appeared and followed them. Anna sensed this person was part of their group. For those belonging to the Friends of the People, the dangers encountered while traveling were more often the suspicion of others than physical threats. For this reason, when executives moved about, there was always someone following in this manner. Rather than escorting them openly, they would follow as if unrelated, and when danger arose, they would pose as an objective bystander to defuse the situation. That was their role.
Coming to her senses, Anna shoved the unripe apple deep into her pocket and climbed up to the Villa after them. When she reached near the main entrance, she hid in the tall grass and waited. She waited even longer after all three guests had entered.
When she judged they must be deep in conversation, she used the key she possessed to unlock the double-locked Garden gate, slipped inside, crawled across the Garden floor to beneath the interview room window, pressed her back firmly against the wall, and sat. At that moment, across from her, the shadow of a rose painting darkened by backlighting wavered against the wall.
I couldn’t hear the entire conversation. The windowsill was too high for sound to carry clearly. Giscar’s words, spoken toward the window, came through relatively well, but the visitor’s responses were nearly inaudible. Hearing only fragments made it difficult to grasp the meaning. At first, I caught mentions of dolls and fairies, but I dismissed it as idle talk.
After a while, a name began appearing frequently from both their lips: Moro.
At first, I didn’t know who Moro was, but the moment I heard the name Arnim, understanding dawned. As someone from Keltika, I knew the rumors surrounding the Arnim Ducal Family well enough—the beautiful but simple-minded daughter, her marriage and death, the Young Duke who departed for foreign lands, and even the son-in-law named Moro.
When Giscar mentioned a conversation he’d had with me, I nearly jumped to my feet without thinking. Though I couldn’t hear the visitor’s words clearly, it was unmistakable that Giscar had judged my opinion unfavorably. Was that it? Was that why Giscar still hadn’t sent me to the Exile Council?
Consumed by this thought, I failed to listen carefully to what followed. But moments later, as the fragments of conversation I’d been half-hearing slowly assembled themselves in my mind, I realized I was hearing something extraordinary. Even Giscar couldn’t hide his astonishment—his voice grew louder.
“There cannot be two identical people in this world. I don’t doubt you, but you’re certain there’s no error in the dates?”
The visitor’s answer was inaudible. Giscar spoke again.
“Then it’s magic? Extraordinarily difficult, indeed practically impossible as most would believe, but if one were to construct magical circles at regular intervals and connect them meticulously, it could be done. Traveling between Keltika and Hyacan in a single day, that is. Though the cost would be astronomical.”
Giscar was no mage, but his knowledge of such matters was considerable. I knew that the mage who frequently visited Giscar’s House was a formidable individual.
The visitor’s voice came through in scattered fragments.
“That is… different. Both Young Dukes were in two places on the same day… and afterward… they continue to live. Their life’s trajectory has become two separate paths. It’s… possible… the Young Duke of Keltika… has never departed. And Max Cardi, who was reported missing in the theater fire….”
“You’re saying he’s not dead?”
“He’s alive… at the harbor… as the Young Duke… preparing a performance… this is my final information. By now the performance should have… ended. …There are two Young Dukes.”
“I can’t accept it. I’ve never heard such a tale. Has a doppelgänger appeared?”
At the word doppelgänger, I flinched. In that moment, whether the visitor turned his head or not, a voice came through with perfect clarity.
“I cannot fully convince myself either.”
My imagination seized hold of me. What had happened? What could it mean that there were two Young Dukes? Above all, the shock I felt was profound—it was difficult to imagine Giscar even uttering such a word as doppelgänger. Unknown to me, Giscar had always struggled to reconcile his identity as an artist with his role as an organization executive, and so deliberately spoke only of practical matters before his students.
That was also why I hadn’t noticed the presence approaching the window.
“You’ll need to defend yourself very well.”
I didn’t immediately realize those words had been spoken directly above my head. A voice I’d grown accustomed to hearing came from very close by… and I shot to my feet. As I turned, cold eyes met mine.
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The rights to this book belong 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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