Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 489

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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 259.
Beneath the Almond Tree (2)
From that point forward, a game of cat and mouse began. The existence of the Friends of the People executive who had made contact with Theo was shrouded in deliberate obscurity, making it nearly impossible to extract information even from those nobility. After much trial and error, they focused on the meeting location itself, and among countless candidates, Cazals—also known as the Corner House—came into view. It took several months of painstaking work to trace back to the meeting that had taken place there on May 27th of the previous year.
Judging from the caliber of nobility that Theo had been introduced to, his contact was at least a chairperson-level operative. Investigating the chairpersons of the Keltika District proved far more difficult than all their previous investigations combined. Yet they did not relent. Not even after Joshua awoke.
The Duke, who had remained silent throughout, finally spoke.
“When might I have the honor of meeting with him?”
“He departed from Keltika four days ago, saying there was more he needed to investigate. It appears he will return sometime next month.”
“Until then, I shall endeavor to complete the puzzle. However, the final piece will ultimately require his hand to place.”
“He is already aware of that.”
The Duke nodded and gazed down at the papers spread across the table. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.
“Had this not been a merciless struggle, I suspect he would never have devoted his talents to such matters. Vengeance, in truth, seems almost an insult to his abilities.”
“Yet he does not easily release those he holds within his grasp.”
The Duke unlaced his fingers and pressed his palms against the table as he spoke.
“I sometimes find it fortunate that he is my uncle.”
Priscilla answered.
“We occasionally share that sentiment.”
2. Twins
Once there were twins born of different days, different times, and different parents.
They loved each other dearly,
Yet knew each other only as reflections in a mirror.
I did not anticipate it until the moment I turned past three landings and opened the door at the northern end. I had attempted to imagine it—during the climb up the second staircase. But by the fourth step, I had abandoned the effort. Since nothing was impossible, I reasoned, no speculation held any value.
“You certainly sleep like the dead.”
The words came flying the instant the door clicked open—without even a glance to see who had arrived. I stopped in my tracks, then smiled wryly. A small green frog sat precisely where I was about to step. Its green was luminous and crystalline, as though wrapped in a transparent membrane.
The frog stared up at me, then leaped directly to the niche in the adjacent wall—or rather, to the stack of books piled atop it. I watched as the frog struggled valiantly to climb higher onto the books above.
“That isn’t a person in disguise, is it?”
A response came from somewhere to the right.
“Well, judging by the fact that it’s trying to read books, perhaps it is?”
I closed the door and turned around, then stopped for the second time. The floor before the door had been carpeted. Yet several paces ahead, a Grassland stretched out before me. Moreover, it appeared to span several times the actual width of the chamber. Beyond the verdant grass and wild weeds lay a small pond. Daffodils grew among the rocks, and a few withered leaves drifted across the water’s surface.
“Sit over there.”
A chair identical to those used in the Castle stood by the pond’s edge—with the sole difference that its legs were buried in a cluster of clover rather than resting on carpet.
The sensation beneath my slippers was that of natural earth and grass. By the time I reached the chair, my slippers were half-soaked. The morning dew was to blame.
“It’s rather cold.”
Clad in only a thin shirt, I shivered once. The weather seemed to be early autumn. The moment those words left my lips, the Grassland before the pond transformed. The grass withered and receded, leaving a circular clearing, and then flames erupted. I started in surprise, but they quickly became a small campfire. A pleasant warmth washed over me.
I spoke in admiration.
“You accomplish it without incantation or hand seal.”
“That’s because this space exists within my mind. Do you require an incantation to think?”
I leaned toward the campfire and laughed.
“Everything is perfect, but now please show me your form.”
“Yes. Wait a moment.”
My body gradually grew warm. I gazed into the pond. Though the water was clear, its bottom remained invisible. The leaves drifting on its surface resembled oak leaves. Yet there were no oak trees nearby.
I heard a rustling sound and turned to see a frog that looked identical to the one that had been crawling over the pile of books hopping toward me. It might have been the same one. Just as the frog seemed about to leap onto the empty chair across from me, it vanished.
Juspian rotated his neck a few times in his characteristic pose with arms crossed. Only then did he nod while looking at me.
“You seem well enough.”
“…Is it fun to go around in frog form?”
Juspian pointed to the stack of books piled in the alcove. His thin arms were still so slender that the robe sleeves draped around them.
“I do this book tower climbing exercise once a day. My joints aren’t what they used to be with age.”
I gestured toward the window—invisible but undoubtedly there—and spoke.
“You wouldn’t need to bother becoming a frog if you just went outside and climbed trees. I doubt anyone would say anything about it.”
There was certainly no one who would dare object. Yet Juspian shook his head.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. When you become a different animal, you can move your joints in directions that are difficult to manipulate in human form. Each person has joints and muscles that habitually stiffen, so you have to choose your target carefully. The frog seems to be helping me.”
I crossed my arms in response and murmured.
“Now that you mention it, it does seem fitting.”
“If you like the idea, why don’t you try becoming a frog yourself?”
I quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, it’s been quite a long time since we last met, hasn’t it?”
One corner of Juspian’s mouth curled up.
“It may have been a long time for you, but I’ve seen you plenty over the past six months. That hardly seems like an appropriate greeting.”
“I had no idea you were watching so diligently.”
“Of course, there were far more times when it wasn’t you. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. On the surface, you’re the same.”
I smiled back at him.
“I knew that was your business here.”
Juspian lifted the corner of his other mouth as well.
“And I know why you came.”
“Then this conversation should be straightforward.”
I deliberately swept my gaze around the room. Though I’d only walked in about ten paces, the doorway seemed very far away. When I looked ahead again, mist was rising from the pond, obscuring its surface.
“I heard that he fell asleep because his connection to the original body was severed. Do you think he can still wake up?”
“If I’d found a way to wake him, I wouldn’t still be here. The two of you were similar even in your sleep. Your reasons for falling asleep were different, yet I never expected only you to wake like this.”
“That sounds like you’re saying it’s unfortunate that only I woke.”
“No. That’s not it. Either way, one of you needs to wake so we can talk.”
“Talk about what?”
“I need to conduct research. This place isn’t terrible, but it’s not an environment suitable for proper work. I need to return to my laboratory.”
“With him?”
Juspian withdrew one hand from his crossed arms and raised a finger.
“Maximian said you have to be the one to permit it.”
“What if he had been the one to wake instead?”
“Then I would have made the proposal directly. Come with me, I would have said.”
I pressed my lips together slightly.
“What answer do you expect to hear?”
“From him? Or from you now?”
“Either way.”
“You think I would have been refused? Perhaps. But I wouldn’t have waited half a year to ask a question I knew would be rejected outright.”
Joshua swept his hair back in that habitual gesture, meeting Juspian’s gaze directly.
“Then ask your question.”
“Good.”
Juspian uncrossed his arms and lifted his chin. The question that followed diverged slightly from what I had anticipated.
“Do you think you don’t need my help?”
Joshua didn’t answer immediately.
“Is there nothing you wish to ask me?”
“No. There’s quite a lot, actually. But ultimately, I cannot grant your demands.”
“You’re underestimating what I can offer. Aren’t you?”
“No. Your help is absolutely necessary, but I cannot hand him over to you. Your demand is like this: I’ll give you something good, so cut off your arm and give it to me.”
A sneer played at the corners of Juspian’s mouth.
“Don’t be mistaken. That one is separate from you. Not a part of your body. Such words would offend him as well.”
“But he is undeniably a fragment severed from my body.”
“Yes, a fragment. Severed, as I said. From the moment of severance, your two lives diverge in different directions. All you two need do is stop people’s misconceptions.”
“Even when bodies are separated, there are people whose relationships don’t disappear, are there not? Like spouses, like parents and children, like you and your daughter.”
Juspian’s eyebrows twitched.
“Don’t talk nonsense. That one is neither your child nor your sibling. You might claim he’s something even closer. But you two cannot love each other. All such talk of closeness is nothing but fiction.”
Joshua nodded and fixed his gaze upon him.
“Yes. Like twin brothers who despise each other intensely. I may harm him myself, but I cannot tolerate anyone else doing so.”
Juspian’s expression shifted gradually. The sneer vanished, replaced by cold impassivity. Joshua continued.
“Do you have a plan to harm him? Or a plan to save him?”
“I have both.”
Juspian opened his palm before Joshua’s eyes, then clenched it. His fingernails sank into his palm one by one.
“My six months are far too precious to spend in idle amusement. I have lived long, but I will not live forever. Therefore, I do not share what I have learned through my investment of time with just anyone. You must be prepared to hear my answer. So tell me this: if I were to awaken that one and allow him to live as you do, what would you do?”
Joshua’s voice was flat.
“I would have to share many things with him.”
“You’ve already shared. At least it seems you share your mother with him. If one of you two must necessarily die, you would of course choose for him to die instead?”
Once, Demonic Joshua had shown scarcely any will to live. But he had changed.
“Yes.”
“And finally, if he awakens, he might turn a blade against you again as he did before—can you accept that possibility?”
“That is…”
Joshua’s voice trailed off. Juspian waited with a cold smile. But when Joshua spoke again, Juspian’s brow furrowed with intensity.
“Might I not do the same?”
Joshua did not smile. Juspian, after a moment, nodded.
“I see you are not trapped in pretense or delusion. Then hear the truth and judge for yourself.”
Joshua nodded. From Juspian’s palm, the first finger extended upward.
“First: your Puppet will soon die.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Published by: 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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