Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 452

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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 222.
An Angel’s Face and
The Blood Flowing Through a Demon’s Heart (31)
“There was definitely something there. But it wasn’t a shadow.”
“It’s too early to be relieved. It might have been nothing, but….”
Yet they couldn’t simply flee. The two hesitated as they stared at the Stone Door. After a moment, Maximian slowly approached and pushed at its surface, then ran his hand across it. The Stone Door’s thickness seemed to be at least a hand’s breadth or more. Its surface was uneven in places, with shallow indentations that made it rough to the touch.
“You said Anarose went inside the tomb.”
Joshua responded to Maximian’s words.
“That means there must be a way to get in somehow. This door doesn’t look like it could be opened by human strength alone, but they had magic back then. But if magic disappears like it has now and the door won’t open, would anyone who went inside be trapped there forever?”
“Anarose died before the magic on Sunset Island disappeared anyway.”
“Someone must have taken her place after that. According to what you heard, didn’t Anarose herself take someone else’s place?”
“Did this door open and close every time someone took over? No, there would be many things needed for someone to live inside, and if they opened and closed this door every time….”
Joshua approached and examined the lower part of the door. More precisely, he inspected the seam where the door met the wall.
“It’s worn. This door can definitely be opened and closed.”
The two felt around various parts of the door. However, the seam between the door and wall fit perfectly with no gaps, and there was nothing that looked like an opening mechanism. Finally, Joshua touched the surface of the Stone Door. After doing so for a while, he called to Maximian.
“Maximian. Come look at this.”
As Maximian approached, Joshua took his hand and had him feel a certain spot on the Stone Door’s surface. More precisely, he had him sweep his palm across a wide area.
“Writing?”
The characters were carved so shallowly that they were difficult to notice without careful touch. Moreover, each character was quite large. The lamplight illuminated the Stone Door’s form sufficiently, but it also cast various shadows that made it difficult to discern the writing. The two had to trace the wall methodically, feeling their way along until they finally managed to read what was written. It was a short sentence, yet one that covered the entire door.
A garden where almond blossoms bloom in profusion
“Almond blossoms?”
Maximian, muttering absently, looked up at the Stone Door anew.
“It doesn’t seem like there would be a garden inside.”
Joshua stepped back and scanned the door carefully, then fell into thought. Maximian furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Right. There were many almond trees in the manor on the island too. And on that gravestone we saw earlier….”
“Zenobia of Almond Blossoms. As I said, she’s Icabon’s granddaughter.”
“It seems like naming people ‘something-something of someone’ is a tradition on Sunset Island. It feels like it has some meaning.”
Joshua nodded.
“That’s right. Other gravestones had such names too. From what Grandmother Weatheren told me, I think those might be nicknames that reflect the person’s life. That grandmother mentioned names like ‘Meloren who wore mourning cloth’, ‘Gain of the stone feet’, and ‘the silent Eilerose’, and thinking about it, all those epithets were related to how that person lived. For example, ‘the silent Eilerose’ was an extremely taciturn person. She kept the secret of raising her sibling’s child for a very long time.”
“Stone feet?”
“That person entered this place before Anarose Tikarum did. Even though guarding this place was beyond their strength, they endured to the very end. That’s probably why they earned the nickname ‘stone feet’, don’t you think?”
“So this person called ‘Meloren who wore mourning cloth’ wore mourning cloth their entire life? Continuously because people around them kept dying?”
Joshua smiled with a hint of sadness.
“Meloren was the daughter of Anarose and Icabon.”
“Ah.”
If Anarose had entered this place and never left for her entire life, then Meloren’s mother was as good as dead even while living. Moreover, her father was alive but unaware of her existence, so he would have regarded her as if she didn’t exist. Perhaps that’s why she wore mourning cloth throughout her life. Especially for her mother, who was spending years as good as dead.
“Finally, the ‘almond blossoms’. You said it yourself back then, beneath that almond tree. The almond tree was what Icabon loved, and it also symbolized the Demonic.”
Joshua shook his head.
“Zenobia isn’t the almond tree itself but the almond blossom. They bloom hastily as winter is about to pass, only to fall when spring arrives… too hurried… the flower of an early Demonic.”
“An early Demonic?”
“From another branch of the Arnim Lineage descended from Icabon and Anarose, idiots were born instead of Demonic ones. The first among them was Zenobia of Almond Blossoms.”
“Wait, that flower is white, isn’t it? Could the nickname have come from your hair being bleached white like that?”
Joshua nodded after a moment and spoke.
“That’s possible. If her natural hair was a light color like blonde, it might have appeared white.”
“When exactly is this nickname given—after someone dies or while they’re alive?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it’s given at birth.”
Joshua approached the door again and traced the characters with his fingers, particularly the ones spelling “Almond Blossoms.”
“I think I understand this door now.”
Joshua stepped back several paces and spoke certain words toward the door. Moments later, with a thunderous crash of stone against stone, white stone dust bloomed from every seam. As the door slid open to both sides and vanished, darkness yawned before them.
3. Almond Blossoms
Where the warblers whispered and departed,
Warmth lingered on the branches.
The winter buds I reached out to touch
Seemed ready to unfurl into leaves.
A fragment of green clinging to my fingertips—
I brought it before Mother,
And as she placed it gently in an envelope,
She taught me a secret.
Seeds of spring, gathered in the coldest January,
I kept them deep within my heart,
And when April came and I saw land still frozen,
She told me to scatter them everywhere.
In the places where drowsy spring had faltered,
If I did not bring spring forth,
Even the thawed earth would freeze again,
And winter would return, she said.
There was no light inside the door. Maximian turned back and removed a gilded lamp that hung from a bracket on the wall. Since it was mounted on a stand attached to the stone, retrieving it proved simple.
The moment Maximian entered with the lamp, Joshua burst into laughter. It was not because of Maximian.
“Why are you sitting here alone? Like a lost child.”
「A lost child? That’s quite insulting. Do you know how old I am?」
Though invisible to Maximian’s eyes, it was Kelsniti’s voice. Joshua continued to giggle as he spoke.
“What age does a ghost have? And if you sit like that, anyone would see you that way. Maximian, from your perspective… oh right, you can’t see. Anyway, get up.”
Maximian furrowed his brow and asked.
“Why are you in here?”
「I simply passed through.」
“We’ve been racking our brains trying to get in, and if you got through so easily, you could have at least mentioned it.”
Joshua continued speaking with a smile.
“Even if Kelce had told us how, we couldn’t have replicated it.”
“There might be an opening mechanism on the inside.”
「Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be one. I didn’t intend to enter first. I was trying to leave when I heard the two of you approaching, so I waited, thinking you’d arrive soon.」
It seemed Kelsniti had been lost in thought at the staircase earlier and had unconsciously passed through the wall to arrive here. Maximian spoke.
“You heard the noise we were making? I doubt it was particularly pleasant to listen to.”
「Indeed. You seemed quite startled. Has something happened?」
“There was something like a beast moving inside the iron cage. That’s all.”
I expected Kelsniti to mock me as I spoke, but he did not.
「Did you not get a clear look at its appearance?」
“I didn’t see it clearly. Whether it was the darkness or its natural state, in any case it seemed pitch-black, enormous, and four-legged. It made no sound, and had no scent.”
Joshua turned to look at Maximian.
“Four-legged? You observed quite carefully.”
“I don’t wear glasses for fashion.”
「I cannot be certain from that description alone, but something does come to mind.」
“Since it’s bothering you, speak plainly. What is it?”
「Long ago, when Icabon and I came searching for Anarose, I heard that this place was the result of efforts to recreate Ganapoli’s structures as faithfully as possible. According to what I heard then, the outer walls of Ganapoli’s castle had enchanted sculptures erected upon them that would alert defenders to enemy invasions and also protect the castle itself. The sculptures took various forms, but were primarily modeled after fierce beasts. However, as time passed and those who maintained them disappeared, the sculptures would sometimes abandon their posts and prowl about like living beasts.」
“But here there is no castle outer wall where sculptures would have been placed….”
When Maximian had gotten that far, Joshua cut him off.
“The square foundation stone beside the staircase at the entrance we first came through—is that where the sculpture was placed?”
“….”
The two men, imagining a prowling stone monster, felt their faces stiffen. Kelsniti’s voice was heard.
「Since it is a matter that cannot be confirmed, please do not dwell on it for now. Rather, there is another problem. I find that I cannot continue forward with you from here.」
The two took on expressions of even greater alarm, looking toward the same place—that is, Maximian looked in the direction Joshua was gazing. Kelsniti, sensing what Maximian was about to say, spoke quickly.
「After all, I do not know the geography of this place, so even if I were to accompany you, I would be of little help.」
“Help or not! At the very least, if you were beside us when that stone monster appears, it would be reassuring!”
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 any or all 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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