Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 445

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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 215.
The Face of an Angel and
the Blood Flowing Through a Demon’s Heart (24)
“A dead ship?”
“A vessel that drifts with no souls aboard. When plague spreads or provisions run dry—such calamities claim the crew, leaving only an empty hull to wander the currents. It decays slowly, you see. If it doesn’t sink first, it may run aground on some distant shore. That’s how it goes.”
“Can you tell just by looking?”
“Indeed. Sailors don’t encounter them often, but when they do, they consider it ill fortune. Disease might spread, after all. I’ve already ordered the crew to avoid it. Young Duke, please pretend you saw nothing.”
Joshua turned to examine the ship once more. Then he pivoted and spoke.
“I’m afraid I must take a closer look.”
“That is… well…”
“I assure you, nothing will happen.”
The ship was a pale blue-green.
Darkened masts cut across the clear azure sky. The hull, worn smooth by gentle waves, felt like a tamed handle beneath the touch. Submerged debris gleamed like objects suspended in blue glass. Yellow and teal algae painted patterns across the steeply angled bow. Joshua gazed upon it and murmured, “Sea flowers have bloomed here.”
The Altena held back at a distance while Joshua and a few sailors rowed toward the wreck in a small boat. As they reached the derelict, Joshua rose from his seat and leaped directly onto the deck with fluid grace, his balance unshaken. The deck, tilted for so long, cried out like a wounded animal beneath his footfall.
“The planks aren’t giving way.”
Maximian waited with practiced patience, observing Joshua’s careful exploration of the deck before following him aboard. The incline was treacherous enough to send the careless tumbling into the sea. Riche, remaining in the boat, did not immediately follow. The two figures on deck moved with an eerie silence.
“What are you doing?”
Unable to contain herself, Riche called out. Joshua lifted his head and gestured to her.
“Come here.”
Though reluctant, curiosity compelled her to cross. Maximian steadied her hand to prevent her from slipping. As Riche reached the stern deck, she gazed down upon it and gasped without thinking.
“Ah.”
Joshua nodded.
“You understand now, don’t you?”
The two figures halted at their respective positions—Joshua by the rail of the stern deck, Maximian near the cabin entrance. Riche hesitated only briefly. Yet she could not deny it: this weathered, decaying wreck felt familiar. She understood why the two boys had taken their places.
Joshua gazed beyond the rail for a moment, then moved toward a large chest wedged in the stern corner. Its lid hung open, revealing nothing within. The lid itself had vanished without trace.
Riche approached the stern corner and peered into the chest, whispering.
“We… we must have come here last night.”
No answer was needed. Last night—or rather, this very dawn—dozens had laughed and sung in this place. The Hometown Tavern, though lacking sleek curves and billowing sails, had been worn smooth by humble hands. Now it lay wrecked here, bearing centuries of time upon its shoulders.
The scene defied easy comprehension. They had waved goodbye to these people at dawn. The jester Klang and little Albi, the actors who laughed and wept—where had they all gone? Had they become spirits, dwelling in this place?
“Truly… I might almost believe we all shared the same dream by coincidence.”
Maximian crouched before the chest, his expression distant and contemplative.
Joshua answered him.
“But it wasn’t a dream.”
“So it wasn’t a dream after all? Then what happened in between?”
Joshua walked toward the submerged bow and stared into a corner for a long while—the place where the Young Boy Albi had huddled and hidden. In Joshua’s profile, the blue sky seemed to reflect in his eyes for just a moment.
The wind came. Summer’s sea breeze pushed the clouds onward.
“The spell simply broke. The ship has returned to the time it was always meant to endure.”
“So it was always like this, but at night the magic made it appear intact to our eyes?”
“No. If this ship had drifted since Icabon’s era until now, it would have rotted away completely. It wouldn’t have survived in this state at all. The reason it remains as it does… the magic that bound it—perhaps during those hours when the spell held sway, time did not flow for it. Just as when we returned to our own ship after that dawn, night remained as we had left it. I cannot claim certainty, but…”
Joshua stepped carefully toward where the deck began to sink beneath the water’s surface. He bent low and ran his hands across the boundary between wood and sea. Riche watched his hair fall forward and murmured softly to herself.
“Where could they have gone? Are they here? Joshua, you would be able to see them, wouldn’t you?”
Riche spoke without her usual fear. Joshua gazed into empty space before answering.
“No. They’re not here.”
A moment later, Joshua returned to Riche and held out his wet hand.
“The water hasn’t rotted. That’s fortunate. The curse and resentment have left this ship. From now on, it will slowly decay. It won’t take long. Certainly not centuries.”
“Does that mean the spirits can rest here without wandering, because no resentment remains?”
Joshua shook his head.
“According to Kelce, it takes considerable time for spirits to realize they can disappear of their own will. Among the spirits here, only the jester Klang understood that much time had passed. The others might have known during periods when magic didn’t work. But that’s just speculation. Because Klang and they never seemed to meet in between. Of course, not all spirits can recognize each other.”
“Wait, then why did they disappear? Did they simply vanish once the curse was lifted?”
Joshua didn’t answer immediately, maintaining his silence. Riche tilted her head in speculation alone before suddenly speaking.
“Right, what about Albi? That child knew, didn’t they?”
“Albi wasn’t a spirit. He was alive.”
Riche’s eyes widened.
“He was alive? How was that possible? Then where did he go?”
….
When Joshua went up to the stern without answering, Maximian, who had been standing before the box all along, finally spoke.
“He died. It couldn’t be helped. It was his fate to die the moment the magic was broken. No one can live for hundreds of years.”
Riche shrugged and looked around. The clear memory of Albi’s face made her feel strangely unsettled.
“Did he know that?”
“He must have. He asked Joshua to end it all.”
Riche remained still for a moment, then slowly repeated the words.
“End it all? Then that means they all disappeared too….”
Riche turned to look at Joshua. He stood at the stern rail again, gazing out at the sea—at the place where a ship with red sails might have been. Riche suddenly felt afraid. That slender boy standing there had granted their wishes, and in doing so, had erased them from the world. With hands that seemed too delicate to catch a single bird.
She had once thought a medium was simply someone who spoke with spirits. But Joshua had summoned them, commanded them, and even erased them. Though the spirits had consented, it was still true.
“Joshua.”
When Joshua turned around, there was a smile on his face. No regret.
“Yes?”
“You told those people you felt responsible for them, even though they were spirits. Why was that?”
“The Red Sail said it themselves. They pursued this ship because of something they meant to offer Duke Arnim. Of course, it might have been partly boasting. But if I believe even part of their story, the people on this ship had to die because of something they meant to offer Icabon. Kelce told me that Rascol Detolang did indeed want to enter Icabon’s service. I thought it might have been tribute they meant to offer at that time. This ship wasn’t the only victim. The Red Sail’s pirates were also trapped by this curse because of that affair. So they vanished forever from the sea of that era. I had to resolve that conflict. It’s not an obligation, but somehow it felt like I was meant to meet this ship for that reason.”
Riche slowly nodded, then was surprised to see a hint of satisfaction seep into Joshua’s expression.
“Now that I think about it, where did that treasure go? We never even saw it.”
“The treasure probably met the same fate as this ship.”
“Hundreds of years have passed, but if it was something like gold, it might still be somewhere, right?”
“Why, do you want to search for it?”
“Hmm. Well, I’m not sure.”
Riche hopped down onto the deck, then noticed Maximian and spoke.
“But why have you been staring at that box so intently?”
Maximian rose from his place with his arms crossed. In contrast to Joshua’s clear face, his expression was twisted with arrogance. Joshua also saw his face and asked.
“What’s wrong, Maximian? What’s the matter?”
As Joshua came down, Maximian rummaged through his clothes and pulled out something like a bundle of papers, handing it over as if thrusting it upon him. Joshua accepted it, but his expression was bewildered.
“What is this? It’s not just paper, is it?”
If it wasn’t paper, I couldn’t quite say what else to call it, but it certainly wasn’t the familiar kind. It was far thicker, textured, with only one side smooth. The edges were crumbling and frayed. I fingered through the bundle and turned over a single sheet.
“There’s something written on it….”
After turning over another page or two, I tilted my head once.
“Sheet music?”
I studied the open page and hummed a few notes, my expression growing skeptical.
“This… feels like an odd composition.”
Maximian was gnawing at his lip when he finally exhaled a short sigh. It was rare to see him like this. I handed the bundle of papers to Riche and grabbed Maximian’s arm.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Ah, I don’t even want to talk about it.”
“What are those papers? Where did they come from?”
Maximian glanced at the bundle Riche was flipping through, then spoke as if spitting out the words.
“It’s treasure.”
“What?”
Riche asked first. Even as she spoke, she didn’t forget to flip through the papers to the end. She examined the back as well. But nothing resembling what she’d imagined appeared. Only countless incomprehensible small symbols covered the pages. To Riche’s eyes, it didn’t even look like sheet music.
“Why would this be treasure?”
“Does it seem like scraps of paper couldn’t possibly be treasure?”
“I’ve seen it all, but there’s no treasure map or anything like that.”
Then I took the bundle of papers back from Riche’s hands. I too flipped through every page, but when I looked up, my expression was quite different.
“It’s definitely not an ordinary composition. But there’s so much damage that I can’t say for certain. This was inside that box?”
“It was. That’s the problem. Damn it, to commit such a ridiculous act. I’ve lost the will to live.”
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, 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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