Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 420

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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 190.
In the Name of Loyalty and Vengeance (32)
6. The Girl in Mourning
That woman died long ago. And yet she lives on.
I dressed in mourning clothes for her. From that moment until now, I have remained in them.
I had originally intended to wear mourning for only three years.
But it has not yet been three years since her death.
Theo sat by the window, gazing at the setting sun. The window was narrow and high. The latticed frame divided the maze garden below, while light and shadow carved out territories all their own.
Theo watched intently, as if searching for someone hiding in the shadows. When a figure in a skirt appeared between the trees, he even moved his arm slightly.
But the owner of that skirt was merely a maid returning from the vegetable garden—not the girl who had held her breath so long in a tree crevice that her legs had gone numb, a hiding place she had found so cleverly that even the seeker had forgotten the game and moved on.
Theo shook his head and rose. As he turned, Anistan stood behind him. He hadn’t even noticed when he’d arrived.
“If you’d come, you should have called out. Why were you standing there like that?”
“I did call.”
Theo shrugged.
“I didn’t hear it. In any case, sit down.”
Anistan settled into the chair across from him, setting down the book he’d been holding. While Theo rang the bell to summon a maid, Anistan spoke.
“What were you thinking about so intently?”
“I was thinking about someone who’s dead.”
Anistan glanced around the room, then hunched his shoulders.
“They say that when you’re so lost in thoughts of the dead that you can’t even hear someone calling beside you, it means that person is standing right there with you.”
“Perhaps that’s true.”
Theo replied matter-of-factly and lightly, then leaned forward abruptly.
“So, what is it? What’s happened?”
“Someone has come looking for you.”
“Is that so? If they were important, you wouldn’t have hesitated to bring them in.”
“I thought I should ask your opinion first.”
Theo laughed.
“You’re being awfully cautious about this. Who is it?”
“That person… you hired them.”
Theo’s hand, reaching for the black candy jar on the table, froze. Only then did he realize how tense Anistan truly was. Theo quickly composed himself and asked.
“Why? I told them they didn’t need to come back even after completing the task. Moreover, if they’d come to report after finishing the job, you wouldn’t be speaking about it like this. Have they brought information we could trade for?”
“Theo.”
Anistan watched as Theo slowly withdrew a candy and placed it in his mouth, his face contorting as it always did. And he remembered that the original owner of that candy jar no longer ate them.
“Did it really have to be that person you entrusted with this?”
“What are you saying now?”
“Could we not stop this, even now?”
“What’s wrong with you? What have you heard?”
Anistan shook his head and clasped his hands together.
“Theo, listen to what I have to say.”
In childhood, Theo had always seemed unstable, struggling to conceal his rage at the world, and Anistan had been the one who guided and sheltered him. But after Anistan created the dolls, lost Aneli, attempted to flee, and ultimately returned, the dynamic between them had reversed.
Theo had stopped listening to Anistan’s words some time ago. He made a show of paying attention, but he had already dismissed what he heard before even hearing it—it was never worth listening to. Anistan always spoke with a weak heart. It wasn’t entirely an unfair judgment. Ever since the doll came into existence, Anistan had grown soft. Like a mother who bore an unwanted child, he fretted over everything in the world.
After Theo ceased to regard Anistan as an advisor, the distance between them had subtly widened. On the surface, they remained the closest of friends, but in his heart, Theo’s sense of equality had already grown clouded. It had been a long time since Theo felt reliance when looking into Anistan’s eyes. Had he simply not noticed because he hadn’t been paying attention all this while?
“I think you shouldn’t listen to what The Assassin says.”
“What did that person propose?”
“This is a matter of magic. So you won’t understand it well. Even if I explain what threat I’m sensing, you won’t comprehend it. So this time, I need you to listen to me.”
Theo compressed his lips and responded irritably.
“What on earth is this about? What did The Assassin say? Tell me that first. Don’t be so vague about it.”
The irritation was deliberate. If he let things continue as they were, he feared he would actually end up listening to Anistan. He couldn’t let his heart move without knowing the content. There was still a long road ahead. To achieve his plans, he could not be the child that Anistan used to soothe.
“The Assassin’s hand… that is.”
“Yes, The Assassin’s hand?”
Anistan squeezed his clasped hands more tightly.
“I’ve been curious about it for a while. I’ve heard that if you use a sword with one hand for a long time, your arm might grow slightly longer, but I wondered—could a person’s hand really grow that much through training? It’s not something that could happen naturally.”
“So what? It doesn’t matter to us how The Assassin’s hand came to be, does it?”
“Theo, I’m a Mage. I couldn’t think like you do. So I searched for similar records. This is the book I found.”
Anistan placed the book on the table. The title read “The Fall of the Magic Kingdom.” Rather than picking up the book, Theo spoke.
“I can’t possibly read this entire book right now. You said we have a guest. Tell me the main points.”
“From the title, you can tell it’s about Ganapoli. You should know something about it. The four instruments of evil that appeared before Ganapoli’s fall—the Mage who used them and brought about destruction…”
“Of course I know. But what does that have to do with The Assassin? Ganapoli is an ancient kingdom that fell long ago. The Assassin is a living person. Are you saying The Assassin was born in Ganapoli and has lived for over a thousand years until now?”
“I’d sooner believe what you just said than believe The Assassin has no connection to Ganapoli.”
Theo was taken aback and lost for words. Anistan anxiously turned the pages. Soon, finding what he sought, he turned the book around and pushed it toward Theo.
“Look there. According to this, the instruments of evil were separated in their complete state after the Mage died. But only the ‘Bronze Shield,’ which Princess Evbzenis struck directly with her sword, shattered into pieces and scattered. Some of those nearby were struck by the fragments. They tried to remove the embedded shards, but they melted and vanished in an instant. They feared they would become like the dead Mage, but fortunately that didn’t happen. Instead, the body where the fragment had embedded swelled grotesquely. One gained enormous shoulders, another enlarged elbows, yet another massive feet, and the one struck by a fragment in the hand… became one with a giant hand.”
Theo’s eyebrows twitched uneasily.
“I can’t believe such an ancient tale applies to someone I know.”
“But you certainly can’t say it’s definitely not the case either.”
“Isn’t it some other form of magic?”
“There is magic that temporarily enhances parts of the body. But I’ve never heard of a power that permanently transforms a person’s body itself. This record I found is the only example of it.”
“So if the book’s contents are true? What are you saying I should do? Did The Assassin ask you to repair his hand?”
“The opposite. The very opposite.”
Anistan rubbed his lips anxiously.
“The Assassin wants me to strengthen his hand. Perhaps from the beginning, that’s what he was aiming for when he agreed to help. But no matter what my aunt promised before she died, I don’t know such a method… and even if I did, I have no intention of doing it. In other words, even if such a fragment is in my possession… I cannot give it to him. But The Assassin says he knows the method, so I only need to lend him my power. I… am afraid.”
“Of what?”
“We must not forget the fall of Ganapoli. If The Assassin’s hand truly is because of the fragment of the ‘Bronze Shield’… I would want to flee to the ends of the world.”
Theo was silent for a long time. But in the end, pragmatism won out. Theo leaned back in his chair and glared at Anistan.
“Don’t you think you’re being oversensitive? I wish you would walk with your feet more firmly on the ground. It’s become increasingly difficult to expect anything from you lately.”
Anistan shook his head.
“Don’t forget. In our world, Princess Evbzenis doesn’t exist.”
“Damn it, I feel like my head will explode just hearing the words pearl or coral anymore.”
They sat before an elegant banquet prepared under Dulcia’s direction, but all three draped themselves over the armrests and backrests as if the food mattered little. After spending half a day surrounded by hundreds of people, their every movement watched and scrutinized, not only their minds but their entire bodies ached with fatigue.
Riche leaned on her elbows at the table and swayed as she muttered.
“Bass or pirates too.”
“Whether they’re sheep or goats.”
“That whole business about the two families squabbling over territory.”
“Lapis lazuli takes the crown, though. I’ve made a firm decision never to buy lapis lazuli, no matter how much money I come into later.”
Joshua smiled slightly and spoke.
“You wouldn’t buy jewels anyway, whether you had money or not.”
Maximian stifled a yawn and glanced at Joshua.
“So… if your friend owned a lapis lazuli mine, would you actually pay money to buy it from him?”
“Do you need lapis lazuli?”
“Shut up.”
The food on the table was enough for ten people to eat and still have leftovers. About half consisted of local seafood delicacies, the other half of inland fare—a thoughtful arrangement in case the Young Duke’s party wasn’t accustomed to seafood. Dulcia and her attendants treated not only Joshua but all their guests with great courtesy, yet Maximian and Riche, unaccustomed to such overwhelming attention, were thoroughly exhausted.
“I envy Milestone.”
Milestone had buried his nose in a corner of the table earlier and dozed off, eventually being moved to a long chair where he slept his fill. Thanks to that, he now sat across from Joshua, eating crab omelette with hearty appetite.
Maximian tilted his head askew and prodded a shrimp tail with his fingertip before speaking.
“I should have listened when Riche suggested we escape.”
Riche retorted.
“The problem is this isn’t the end. You saw the pile of documents stacked there?”
Maximian glanced at Joshua, who was mimicking him from beside him by poking at a shrimp tail, and clicked his tongue. He had carefully explained from earlier that perhaps there was no absolute need to review them, that he could sleep and do it tomorrow, that he could even pretend to have read them without actually doing so—but Joshua wouldn’t budge. He insisted on staying up all night to read through every document.
“Though there were unavoidable circumstances, from the islanders’ perspective, House of Arnim abandoning The Island and leaving must have felt the same. Yet for decades they’ve paid their taxes faithfully, and though they had every reason to complain, they never rebelled or even protested. When I arrived, shouldn’t they have at least grumbled or questioned? But they only welcomed me. They even came seeking me out, trusting I would solve their problems—whether small or large. I can’t refuse to review a few dozen documents for people like that. I can’t build dikes, I can’t catch pirates, and I can’t even stay here permanently. All I can do is this much.”
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 contents, 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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