Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 454

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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 224.
The Face of an Angel and
the Blood Flowing Through a Demon’s Heart (33)
“I’m a good student.”
“You always have been.”
Yet no matter how hard I climbed, the tree grew faster still. We’d made it perhaps halfway up when I glanced down to find the Round Room completely filled with white flowering trees. Petals drifted slowly through the air from all directions, as if caught in a gentle breeze. Maximian, who had been leading the way, suddenly spoke.
“We should have brought Riche.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Two men witnessing this together—there’s nothing romantic about it at all.”
Joshua chuckled. We climbed without pause, drawing ever closer to the ceiling. The tree had already reached it. At some point, flower buds began bursting from the very branches we gripped—a fragrance so vivid it felt like the first flowers I’d ever smelled in my life.
“Watch your head on the ceiling. It looks narrow.”
“Mind your glasses instead.”
It wasn’t as narrow as it had appeared from below. We passed safely through the ceiling opening and emerged outside.
Remarkably, what lay beyond was not a rooftop but a garden covered in earth. We simply walked out without needing to jump. Once we descended, the tree had stopped at a natural size, as if it had always belonged in this garden.
I looked around. Though night had fallen, an inexplicable light suffused the space, keeping it from being truly dark. Yet with so many massive trees, it was difficult to gauge how vast the garden was or where it led. For trees to grow so large, the soil beneath would need to be equally deep, but I couldn’t fathom how that was possible.
We stood in a small clearing within the forest—it appeared to be a deliberately crafted resting place. Three stones, cut like the pillars I’d seen in the ruins of Sunset Island, were arranged like seats, and several statues stood among the trees. Between them, a narrow path curved away, disappearing from view. Overhead, stars hung in the distance, just as they had appeared when we looked up from the chamber below.
Maximian brushed flower petals from his clothes as he spoke.
“I wonder if this tree will hold until we climb back down.”
Joshua understood immediately.
“Growing so rapidly, it seems like it might wither early?”
“Exactly. If that happens, we might not be able to return to where we came from.”
“But if we’re outdoors, couldn’t we find another way back?”
Joshua’s tone was unhurried—or more precisely, he was utterly captivated by this wondrous landscape.
“What about that warning to turn back if things got dangerous?”
“Ah, I should call Kelce.”
Joshua fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
“He’s not coming.”
“This must be inside that barrier too. There’s no way we’ve simply stepped outdoors. This is a place where something so important has been sealed away.”
Joshua tilted his head thoughtfully before speaking.
“You said something back there in that chamber—that if we’d chosen the upward passage, we might have come here from the start. If that’s true, this could be the Rooftop Garden. The tree being so massive is strange, but regardless, let’s search for the edge of the rooftop. If we find it, we should be able to get down somehow.”
“You do say useful things sometimes.”
It didn’t matter which way we went, but seeing the path, our feet naturally carried us that direction. When we reached the point where the path curved, we discovered something peculiar—a stone book stand, made to be read while standing. A single book rested upon it, opened to the middle as if someone had been reading it.
“Wait, a book?”
“Could there still be someone inside this place?”
Joshua approached and peered at the book, but the script was unfamiliar to him. He made a wry face.
“When we get home, I’ll have to start learning the Ganapoli language or something.”
“Are you certain that’s Ganapoli script?”
Joshua flipped through the pages briefly before answering.
“I can’t be sure, but the lettering resembles what I saw on the stone monument earlier. I just haven’t found any matching words yet.”
“How could you? There was probably nothing on that monument but names.”
Abandoning the book, I followed the narrow path, and soon an open clearing appeared again. This time, a platform resembling a dais with five tiers of circular bases stood in the center. Had it not been a platform, I might have thought it suitable for a one-man performance. Blue irises bloomed abundantly around the perimeter.
I continued along the path. Yet as we walked, this place too seemed to repeat the pattern of clearings and narrow paths, much like the bead-necklace corridor below. My sense of direction had grown hazy, perhaps due to the trees. Shortly after, we stopped in a new clearing. Joshua halted immediately and spoke.
“Here—this is where we first arrived.”
“You’re certain?”
Joshua squinted slightly before responding.
“I was just saying it aloud, wasn’t I? There’s no way I could be mistaken about….”
Joshua’s words trailed off. The three short pillars that had resembled chairs were no longer empty. A woman sat upon the center pillar, one leg raised with her arm resting upon it, regarding them intently.
The Woman spoke.
“Who are you?”
Unable to discern the identity of our interlocutor, we could not answer readily. The woman, who had remained motionless as stone, eventually loosened her arm, lowered her leg, and rose to her feet. A black dress, robe-like in appearance, descended to her ankles. A delicate vine-pattern embroidery adorned one side of the skirt. Beyond that, there was no ornamentation whatsoever.
To Maximian’s eyes, raised among commoners, and to Joshua’s eyes, accustomed to witnessing grandeur, the garment was unfamiliar. Though uncomfortably narrow in the skirt, it bore slits reaching to the knees on both sides. Above the slits, densely gathered vertical pleats were visible. Long sleeves covered the wrists, and near the shoulders, several slash-like cuts revealed bare skin. The dress—or robe, for it was difficult to discern—even bore a hood.
The Woman afforded us little time.
First came sound. A presence approaching from within the forest. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, something wrapped around my chest, and my body was lifted abruptly into the air. Simultaneously, both arms were wrenched violently to either side. My legs suffered the same fate.
“Ah…!”
I could not initially discern what had seized me, for it was transparent at first. It was a thick, root-like tendril—soft yet resilient. It bound my body and suspended me in mid-air.
Turning hastily, I saw my companion in the same predicament. Since we turned simultaneously, our eyes even met. Our expressions of bewilderment and shock were identical. The same terror must have flashed through both our minds.
Yet our reactions differed.
“What is the meaning of this! You….”
As Maximian cried out, a new transparent appendage approached and smoothly encircled his throat, strangling him. This time, Joshua screamed.
“Stop!”
The Woman gazed up at us, suspended.
“I asked a question. You did not answer.”
Though the Woman’s voice carried no particular emotion, her intonation was peculiar, lending her words a faintly arrogant air. Joshua felt certain he had heard such an accent before. He recalled it immediately—Aurelia. Could it be a dialect of Sunset Island?
“You cannot answer when your throat is being strangled like that!”
At that, the appendage strangling Maximian’s throat released him. Joshua exhaled in relief, barely managing a breath.
“Thank you.”
The word of gratitude seemed somewhat odd, yet no more appropriate phrase came to mind. Observing the Woman, I sensed no impression of someone who had nearly killed another only to spare them. Though not expressionless, she exhibited neither anger nor murderous intent. Her countenance resembled that of a stranger one might accidentally brush against on the street—the sort of glance they would cast without turning.
As my intense anxiety subsided, I gained the leisure to contemplate our situation. Though my limbs were bound and escape was impossible, freedom of movement seemed meaningless before an opponent of such capability. In this place, I could not even summon a spirit.
Just as she had strangled Maximian’s throat moments before, should this woman choose to do so, she could easily sever both our lives. Lacking physical strength or magic, our only freedom lay in speech.
How should I speak? On this point, our judgments diverged entirely. Maximian coughed roughly, spat once, and spoke.
“Hmph, your hospitality is rather unkind and savage. We should be the ones asking who you are. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
The Woman’s answer was simple.
“Answer my question.”
Maximian tilted his chin upward and mimicked someone’s manner of speech.
“Harmless travelers passing through, and his companion.”
The Woman’s head tilted slightly.
“This is not a resort.”
“Ah, is that so? Yet it appears to me that the forest is lush and the weather pleasant—quite ideal for leisure. Are you not here enjoying a summer retreat yourself? Were I to know of such a place, I would wish to return every year. That is, if access were not so difficult.”
The Woman regarded Maximian intently before speaking.
“Your words come too quickly. I cannot understand them.”
“….”
While Maximian struggled for words, Joshua stepped forward.
“Well, allow me to introduce ourselves. I’m Joshua, and my companion here is Maximian. We came searching for something, but we never imagined we’d encounter another person in this place. That’s why we were startled. I’m sure you were surprised as well, but there was no need to bind us like this. Neither of us carries weapons, and we possess no abilities that could threaten you whatsoever.”
The Woman considered his words for a moment, yet she made no move to release them.
“What are you searching for?”
Joshua answered without hesitation.
“I cannot tell you that.”
“You cannot hide anything from me. Not here.”
“What do you mean? That you can discover it without my telling you? Or does it mean you have the right to govern this place?”
The Woman fell silent as if considering Joshua’s words carefully. After a moment, her answer came.
“Both.”
Joshua and Maximian exchanged glances. Deduction flashed through their minds like lightning. Maximian spoke first.
“Magnificent and terrifying Mage. You must be their descendant. Only their bloodline could hold authority over this place. Why did you remain here alone? Why didn’t you cross over to Periwinkle?”
The Woman blinked several times. Joshua studied her eyes again—a shadowed green. Her lips were small, her cheeks thin, her cheekbones delicate. Her face was narrow and petite. Her eyes were not large, and she had no double eyelids. Her lashes were not particularly dark, nor were her eyes sharply defined. Rather, her gaze held soft lines that seemed to dissolve into nothingness when she closed her eyes. The slender, pale shape of her eyes reminded Joshua of a graceful fish. He had never seen eyes so mysterious.
“I will not leave this place. You must leave. If you do not, I will make you.”
The moment The Woman released her hand from the pillar, Joshua cried out urgently.
“Wait! We can leave of our own accord. If you wish no conversation, we will go whenever you say. But before we do, please grant us one request.”
The Woman began to extend her right hand, then stopped herself.
“I may not grant it.”
“Lower your hood.”
A smile—or perhaps a sneer—played at the corners of The Woman’s mouth. She grasped the hood and pulled it down. In an instant, her pinned-up hair tumbled free. It cascaded like a waterfall, flowing down to her feet and scattering across the ground.
In the forest’s twilight, her hair was the color of blood. Joshua whispered.
“Anarose of Long Hair.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright of 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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