Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 466

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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 236.
Playing Oneself (12)
“Really, Sister. That’s not the point at all.”
“I’m simply saying that’s how it is.”
Victoire spoke as if to herself, a pause stretching between them.
“In peaceful times, studying at your age would be perfect—whether it’s books or practical work. But the Republic’s revolution? To a sixteen-year-old girl? And what crime has Lanzumi committed? She’d be satisfied just seeing her brother’s face every morning.”
The tea had grown cold. Langie drank what remained. The teapot was now empty.
Victoire gazed at Langie. For a long moment, their eyes met in silence. There seemed to be words waiting to be spoken, yet neither moved to break the quiet. At last, Langie rose from his seat.
“I should take my leave now. This evening has been truly pleasant.”
All three knew that once he left, contact would be difficult for some time. That was precisely why he had insisted on seeing Lanzumi before departing. Even as Langie pushed his chair back into place, Victoire offered no reply.
Diancord placed a hand on Langie’s shoulder. What he wished to say was understood without words. The two men exchanged a handshake. Diancord gestured upward with a smile—a silent reassurance.
As Langie grasped the door handle, Victoire, holding an empty teacup, smiled softly.
“I heard Fontina’s Daughter attended the Arnim party. Was she as beautiful as the rumors suggest?”
Langie spoke just before closing the door.
“Yes.”
6. A Stone Caught in the Wheel
Before you rush forward,
see where your feet are planted.
If what you’ve stepped upon is a blade,
you’ll be cut the moment you advance.
Kanka waited a moment. He already knew what would be said, but there was no need to speak first. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Something’s wrong.”
Theo appeared uneasy in a way unlike himself. He possessed the patience never to show such anxiety before his subordinates.
“Something’s happened. Either he’s noticed something, or there’s a sense that things are going poorly somewhere I don’t know about. The reason doesn’t matter. The result is the same either way. His demeanor has changed. It’s unmistakably clear.”
“I share that assessment.”
Theo studied Kanka’s face, deliberately scrutinizing his expression. He then posed a question that contradicted what he had just said.
“What do you think it is?”
“As you said, something uncomfortable has arisen. Which spoke of the wheel has caught a stone—I cannot say. They are pulling the cart, and both you and I cannot step down from it. That is why.”
“Yes. The cart has stopped.”
Theo had quickly sensed the shift. First, the intelligence brought by the Nightwalker had diminished noticeably. As they parted, there was a scent of him holding back words. Unable to be certain, Theo had let him go. Then he deliberately sent word. Seeing the immediate response, he had briefly wondered if he’d been mistaken.
The meeting place was the market—the Antique Market before West Tower, where genuine treasures were sold in the depths, but outside, cheap pottery shards lay scattered upon muslin cloth, dreaming of velvet cushions. When Theo, with no leisure to spare a glance at the fate of sun-stained forgeries, lingered before the appointed shop, D approached swiftly.
Only D had come.
D informed Theo of a new contact method. He did not explain why it had changed. Theo asked if Don Crea would not be coming. D said that Don Crea had encountered a matter requiring him to refrain from external contact for some time.
‘Has there been no progress on the matter of entering the palace?’
‘Due to the situation that has arisen with Don Crea, we are experiencing some difficulty with upper-level contacts. The work proceeds smoothly only with his involvement. As for myself, I cannot access the higher contact channels, so I have no means of reaching the nobility I could otherwise introduce you to.’
‘Then the same applies to our other arrangements? I would prefer not to mention that time is pressing.’
‘You will need to wait a while, but the promised matters will be accomplished before that day in September arrives. Do not think with urgency. Build trust within the gathering that Tonok Marquis introduced. It will become a pillar of high society, and your reputation there will be of great benefit.’
‘That would be well enough, but it leaves much time remaining. Is there no other work I should undertake?’
‘There is. I have one question for you.’
‘What is it?’
‘I heard your household recently held a gathering. Word has it that Fontina’s Daughter attended as well. Did you notice anything unusual about her?’
‘….’
‘You didn’t notice?’
‘I… had no opportunity to speak with her.’
‘I see. We’ve been working to keep Duke Fontina’s attention fixed on his Territory so his gaze doesn’t turn toward Keltika, but those who accompanied his daughter appeared in Keltika and likely gathered some information. It seems at the party she even performed a special collaboration with the Young Duke. Since I didn’t witness it directly, I cannot be certain, but afterward rumors circulated in society that marriage discussions were taking place between the two houses. Do you have any information regarding this matter?’
‘I’m aware such rumors exist. However, nothing concrete has been discussed within the family since then. I believe it was merely a one-time gesture—an opportunity for the families to reunite and display goodwill toward one another. That sort of thing.’
‘That may well be the case, but rumors are often deliberately spread, which is why I mention it. If an opportunity arises to gauge Duke Arnim’s true feelings regarding marriage discussions between the Young Duke and Chloe da Fontina, I would appreciate learning of it.’
‘I will endeavor to find out.’
The midday Market was sweltering. Beneath the billowing tents, the flow of money and haggling, the dust-scented pottery jars—all of it gradually made my head spin. My counterpart’s face had also flushed somewhat, perhaps from the earthen hue of the tent itself. Thoughts grew increasingly difficult to sharpen, and the soil beneath my feet seemed to sink slowly into the heat. Before we departed, we exchanged one final question and answer.
‘Is the Young Duke well?’
Theo knew that this was not merely an inquiry about the Young Duke’s health.
‘He is.’
‘That is fortunate. Then I shall take my leave.’
After that meeting at the Antique Market before West Tower, Theo could glean no further information. The month’s Nightwalk had been exhausted, and there was no intelligence significant enough to summon D again. Summer was drawing to a close.
“Friends of the People cast a wide net, but its edges are made of mimosa leaves. What do you think they’ve discerned, Kanka?”
Though I posed the question, I already knew what answer I did not wish to hear. Kanka, sensing my thoughts, replied.
“It would matter little if it were anything but one thing.”
“Yes. What is this one thing you speak of?”
“Since D mentioned the gathering, they may have by now realized that you were not present at that time. Furthermore, it seems certain that something plausible occurred—something significant enough to spawn rumors of marriage discussions between Duke Fontina’s daughter and the Young Duke. It remains unclear which side fabricated this. Therefore, we must consider the possibility that it was Duke Fontina’s intention. Would Duke Fontina truly wish to give his daughter to House of Arnim? I harbor some skepticism on that point. Thus I also suspect this matter may have been deliberately orchestrated by Duke Fontina to spread rumors among the people.”
“If that were the case?”
Kanka finally voiced what he had long been considering.
“Why would Fontina do such a thing? Unless he detected signs that someone was attempting to sow discord between the two Duke’s Houses.”
‘….’
Theo fell into troubled contemplation. If Kanka was correct, and if Friends of the People were considering this angle, then there was every possibility they suspected information had leaked through Theo’s error. No—beyond mere suspicion, one had to consider where exactly the leak had occurred.
Was it simply that Duke Fontina’s intelligence network was superior and he detected Friends of the People’s counter-move? Or had I myself revealed overconfidence at some gathering? Were there incidents through which rumors could have spread?
The gathering of young nobles I attended through Tonok Marquis’s introduction, and through introductions from members of that gathering, several evening outings, parties, salon meetings, horseback riding…. Some memories seemed to surface hazily. It was likely the horseback riding outing where I had brought my son.
A child slightly older than Franz had been boisterous, causing Franz to burst into tears. That child must have been Baron Liearid’s offspring. Several other children were present as well. Even after I sent the Nanny, the child wouldn’t calm down, so I approached—and the Nanny’s face showed clear consternation. Baron Liearid and a couple of other nobles were already there. Before I could even ask what had transpired, the Baron apologized and took his son away. The Nanny merely repeated that the Baron’s son had been disrespectful.
A few days prior, while speaking with my son, he asked who the highest person in our house was. I told him it was the Duke. My son seemed satisfied, confirming what he already knew. I have never told that child he would one day become a Duke—neither in the past nor recently. The child got along well enough with the doll Anistan had made. Yet at some point, the child came to understand what “Demonic” meant.
“Kanka.”
I could not voice such thoughts to Kanka. He responded as though he had been waiting.
“Yes.”
“The most important thing right now is one thing.”
Kanka pondered briefly before answering.
“The ‘one thing,’ sir?”
That was it. The one thing Friends of the People must not discover. When Theo joined hands with Friends of the People, he had set one condition he could certainly fulfill: the ability to control the Young Duke at any time—whether to manipulate him or eliminate him.
That was true. Yet simultaneously, it was incomplete. For it to be perfect, there must be no surviving original. The real one should have vanished the moment the puppet was created—he should never have been allowed to remain alive and walking about.
The assassin Theo had hired bore an exceptional reputation in the world of assassination. To meet that man’s conditions, Theo’s relationship with Anistan had essentially collapsed. He would have conceded to even harsher demands. If only that man had eliminated Joshua.
But he still lived.
Worse, his whereabouts had now become unknown. This was one matter where Nightwalk could not be employed. Friends of the People must never learn that the original still lived.
Joshua had lingered at Calaisso Harbor before setting out to sea. For one who possessed Arnim Castle and sought to hide in the South Sea, there was only one place to go. Periwinkle.
Yet that very place was the most difficult to penetrate from the outside. Periwinkle allowed no one not born on their island to venture inland. Outsiders could only set foot on the lands surrounding the harbor. The sole exception might be those born of Arnim Castle blood. I didn’t even want to think about it further. If Joshua intended to live there, I wanted to tell him to either bury himself forever or do as he pleased. Though I knew, in reality, I could do no such thing.
Now Theo considered where Joshua would appear next. There was no need to ponder long. There was only one place. What Joshua was searching for now—who knew it better than himself?
“Kanka. I had you prepare something, didn’t I?”
Kanka nodded.
“The preparations are complete.”
As Theo looked at Kanka’s face, he felt it difficult to discern what the man was thinking.
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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