Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 412

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

Episode 182.
In the Name of Loyalty and Vengeance (24)
“That’s not the case.”
I denied it, but offered no further explanation. Giscardo, who had been trying to comfort the frightened Anna, stopped defending her when he sensed Lanji’s resolve had hardened. Honestly, there was nothing Anna could say in her defense. She had directly seen the “faceless executive” whom the Friends of the People protected above all else, learned their real name, and overheard their plans. This wasn’t something that could be resolved with a simple apology.
Yet since her intentions were genuinely not malicious, I could only feel frustrated. When excuses failed to work, Anna grew angry and, knowing it was a case of turning the tables, pressed her point anyway.
“Y-yes. Since you say I must undergo an investigation, fine. I’ll do it. But in return, since it’s obvious I’ll be cleared of suspicion anyway, when that happens, recommend me as a formal member. Have me do active work in Keltika. Yes? Can you do that?”
Being summoned for something so dishonorable, then traveling all the way to distant Keltika to witness the Exile Council’s grandeur in person before returning to play the role of a student—the very thought was deflating. I tried to convince myself that I had orchestrated this entire affair precisely for this outcome.
Anna’s reckless gamble succeeded. It seemed she had won Giscardo’s consent by appealing to his face, but… did that make the outcome fortunate?
For that to be true, I first had to pass the Exile Council’s investigation. What form would it take? Could I really begin my first assignment this way?
The young executive who was the source of my fear was organizing blankets in the distance. He made no attempt to reassure Anna. Not once during our journey. It was difficult to judge whether this stemmed from a personality ill-suited to human comfort, or whether he still harbored suspicion toward her. His expressionless face revealed nothing.
An attendant brought grain porridge prepared for breakfast. Now that I thought about it, everyone had accomplished much before Anna awoke. Soon enough, Anna rose and drank the porridge while wrapped in her blanket.
Lanji, sitting on a tree stump and drinking the same porridge, looked at Anna’s haggard face and spoke.
“This will be our last camp.”
“Ah, yes.”
It seemed like an attempt at comfort, though it might have simply been a statement of fact. Anna shrugged, then her gaze shifted to Lanji’s changed hair. The locks that had shimmered with a blue hue now gleamed with a soft golden light. It was certainly a less conspicuous color, but it seemed to have failed to achieve any greater purpose. In other words, the golden hair suited him just as well.
He had said that changing hair color wasn’t as simple a spell as one might think. The color itself would be straightforward, but since hair continues to grow, leaving it untreated would quickly result in two-toned locks. One couldn’t walk about anywhere with such hair, of course.
Therefore, the crux of this spell was preventing the hair from growing. Of course, it couldn’t last forever—the effect would hold for about half a year. Once the duration expired, the hair would resume growing, requiring either a fresh casting or the removal of the color entirely.
Lanji, sensing Anna’s stare, set down his porridge bowl and spoke.
“I don’t think it looks strange enough to warrant such scrutiny.”
“Ah, of course it’s not strange. But it’s fascinating. Not the color itself, but the fact that the hair doesn’t grow at all…”
“It’s convenient since you don’t need to cut it.”
Anna thought to herself that this person viewed everything through a purely practical lens, and deliberately continued the conversation.
“The golden color… suits you well. It seems like you might have a family member with golden hair.”
Lanji neither confirmed nor denied this, simply rising to his feet. It was time to depart, so Anna folded her blanket and stood as well. An attendant came to clean the bowl that had held the porridge. Anna, being under surveillance of sorts, couldn’t perform such tasks.
The place where we had camped was a grassy hollow slightly removed from the Mountain Pass. He said that if we descended the remaining slope and walked until midday, we would reach Keltika. Not long after we set out, Lanji initiated conversation.
“How did you meet Giscardo?”
“Well… my night school teacher introduced us. At first, I thought he was a painter or poet, but it turned out he wasn’t. Something like that.”
“I heard he has family in Keltika. What do they do?”
“They run a sewing shop. Not a famous costume workshop, just a small neighborhood shop.”
Even as I answered, I wondered why he was suddenly showing interest.
“Where is the shop located?”
“South of the Square. On Candle Street.”
“What sort of customers typically come?”
“Just ordinary people. Those with enough money to have clothes made by someone else’s hands. Not many nobility. Well, probably not none at all.”
“Does the family have many people working there?”
“His parents, his older brother, his sister-in-law, and two younger siblings. They all help with the shop work. Though sometimes when other jobs come up, they go elsewhere. Oh, and there’s a nephew too. Just a baby though.”
“Does your family know about your activities?”
“How could they? It wouldn’t benefit either the organization or my family.”
Suspecting he was probing me, I answered with deliberate firmness.
“Then what do your family members believe about where you’ve gone?”
“I told them he went to work as a laborer at a pasture in the north. I even sent letters pretending to be him from time to time.”
“If your family discovered the truth, what do you think they would do?”
“They’d probably try to stop me because they’d think it was dangerous. But if I persuaded them enough, even if they didn’t understand our ideals, they’d at least keep it hidden. Though I doubt they’d help us willingly.”
“Aren’t you afraid of doing something like this?”
Anna paused briefly before answering.
“Honestly, I’m a little scared, but more than that, I want to do this well.”
“What kind of work would you like to do?”
“Well, handling information? I have a good memory. On the other hand, I’m not very good with people.”
“Do you think you’re sufficiently prepared to work?”
I harbored some inner hesitation, but I realized that if I didn’t answer with conviction, even the promise we’d made might fall apart. Thinking that this question was his way of evaluating me, I answered with determination.
“Yes.”
Throughout the conversation, Lanji’s tone remained low and measured. Anna answered without any apparent nervousness either. And his next words came in the same even tone.
“Do you know what happens if the investigation results are unfavorable?”
“….”
My throat tightened and I stopped walking. It was only for a moment. I quickly caught up before Lanji stopped, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. Lanji turned to look at me and spoke.
“It seems you don’t know.”
“What happens?”
Lanji walked in silence before suddenly speaking as the mountain pass was coming to an end.
“I hope the investigation results are favorable.”
“Look, why won’t you tell me?”
In this moment, I couldn’t help but sound accusatory. Lanji didn’t answer and lowered his head completely. As we entered the main street, pedestrians began to appear, and I could no longer press the matter. My anxiety intensified, and my heart pounded. I wanted to shout and demand answers regardless of who was watching, but I forced myself to remain silent, fearing it would only make things worse.
While Anna was cursing Lanji under her breath as she watched the back of his head, Lanji was not at ease either.
Lanji knew exactly what kind of interrogation Anna would face and what would happen if the results were unfavorable. When Anna had pestered him relentlessly to be recommended as a formal member after her investigation, he had consented precisely because he knew all of this.
The interrogation would take place at the Exile Council’s Branch 2 headquarters, which had been secretly constructed beneath Keltika during the Republic era. Despite being called Branch 2, it was the largest of the four headquarters. It housed the Council’s core divisions and three committees, and oversaw all fifteen districts of Keltika—it was no exaggeration to call it the nerve center of the Exile Council.
In other words, if the existence of Branch 2 became known to the Kingdom’s 8th Army, it wouldn’t end with just the collapse of a corner. The organization would survive centered on Branch 1 in Zanford, but it would suffer a serious blow.
When Lanji accessed Branch 2, he used a dual identity as a regular member. Members of committee chair rank and above possessed two or three identities and names, allowing them to operate while deceiving even other members, except for the Identity Division, which managed all member information.
In such circumstances, if Anna—who wasn’t even a formal member—entered Branch 2 and received an evaluation suggesting even the slightest suspicion, the matter would slip from Lanji’s hands.
She would be confined in an underground detention facility until the charges were completely cleared, called out every few days to face interrogation by a different person each time—a cycle that could continue for months. It could stretch to a year, or two or three years could pass before interrogations simply ceased. Before long, Anna would transform from an investigation subject into a prisoner, and if it reached that point, a small misunderstanding could be inflated into grounds for execution. Lanji knew this well.
Unaware of these facts, Anna believed Lanji would make her a formal member. After spending several days together and observing her, I could tell she felt some anxiety, but she regarded it as nothing more than an initiation rite. Otherwise, on this day when we were entering Keltika, she wouldn’t have answered Lanji’s questions—which he’d posed in silence until now—so thoughtlessly.
She was honest, certainly, but she lacked cunning. Lanji thought that her inability to be calculating was fitting for a novice member and showed potential for growth, but the problem was that he couldn’t afford to act at ease right now. It was troublesome that she was honest enough to tell the official who was bringing her in under suspicion that nobles sometimes visited her family’s shop, or that she wanted to handle information in the future.
Lanji grew somewhat anxious. The questions he’d asked moments ago were the very ones Anna would face first when she entered the interrogation room. From the way she answered, she had the kind of personality that could easily be led astray. The Investigation Division existed to eliminate even the smallest threats to the organization, so it had a tendency to push those brought before it toward suspicion rather than exoneration.
No—he himself had been the first to judge that Anna needed to be investigated. His thinking hadn’t changed even now. From what Lanji had observed over several days, she didn’t seem like someone capable of espionage, but he didn’t trust intuition unsupported by evidence.
During this visit, Lanji had sensed that something was happening around Giscar. Giscar seemed reluctant to acknowledge it.
Lanji hoped Anna would undergo investigation and directly clear herself of suspicion. But it didn’t seem like it would be easy. The possibility of a worst-case scenario wasn’t low. Lanji knew well the persistence of the Investigation Division. He himself had been to the Investigation Division before.
Anna would be following behind, tense and angry. Before leaving, Lanji recalled his conversation with Giscar. Giscar must have been worried about Anna, but he hadn’t said anything like “I wish you would do this.” He had only apologized for raising his student poorly. Giscar was wise, but he had a peculiar tendency to neglect threats to his own safety.
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 the contents of this book, you must obtain written consent from both parties.

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