Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 493

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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 263.
Beneath the Almond Tree (6)
Joshua exited the Gallery Corridor slowly and emerged into the second-floor Grand Hall. Boxes tied with cord and large bags greeted him. Upon seeing luggage scattered across the carpet, he let out a wry smile. As he climbed the staircase, he noticed a chamber across the way with its door thrown wide open. He leaned against the doorframe and peered inside, lost in thought, a gentle smile playing at his lips.
A response came shortly after.
“What are you doing there? Come in if you’re going to help.”
“I don’t think my help would be particularly useful.”
Four pairs of windows had been flung open. The weather warranted it. Summer was nearly upon them. Sunlight shimmered across the white windowsills. The cool scent of wood drifted in, along with the earthy fragrance of soil. The scattered miscellany throughout the chamber—sketchbooks, sewing baskets, spools of thread in various hues, needle cases, slippers, a doll’s dress fashioned out of boredom, a pocket watch—all lay submerged in warm light.
A large studded bag lay open in the center. Riche, sitting beside it, was tossing whatever came to hand inside. She soon shrugged her shoulders.
“I suppose even a young master of the Duke’s House knows how to pack his own luggage.”
“If you’re asking whether I’ve done it before, I’ll be honest and say no.”
Joshua walked in, carefully avoiding the scattered items on the floor. Riche let out a soft laugh.
“That means if you tried, you’d obviously do it well, doesn’t it?”
Rather than respond, Joshua simply smiled knowingly. As he turned toward the open wardrobe, he saw several dresses that Riche had worn during her time at the Castle, still hanging untouched. The fine gowns, hats, petticoats, shawls, and shoes that the Duchess had provided mostly still looked pristine.
“You’re not taking any of these dresses with you?”
“I’m the person who makes such clothes, not the one who wears them.”
Riche, dressed in knee-length trousers and a loose hand-knitted sweater, looked far more comfortable than when wearing dresses. The clothes were ones she had made herself.
“Mother will be disappointed.”
“That’s actually what worries me. Should I take at least one out of courtesy?”
Joshua nodded.
“Yes. I’ll choose one for you.”
He turned back and quickly selected a dress. It was a winter gown with a bell-shaped skirt made of plum-colored velvet and a crescent-shaped cape attached. Apart from a checkered ribbon and fur pompoms, there was little other ornamentation.
Joshua examined the dress and spoke without hesitation.
“Take this and shorten the skirt length. Above the knee.”
Riche stared up at Joshua in disbelief.
“Above the knee? No one could go outside wearing something like that. Do you think I’m a stage actress?”
“Don’t worry. In a little while, everyone will be wearing clothes like that and it will seem perfectly natural. I guarantee it.”
“Are you really talking about fashion trends to me, who worked in the Costume Workshop? Come on, don’t be ridiculous.”
Riche waved her hand dramatically, but Joshua remained stubborn.
“I’ve watched stage costumes become fashionable trends for a year or two now.”
“And you know who designed those stage costumes, I’m sure?”
“I designed mine myself.”
“Who else would wear yours? You wore them because they’re yours. If someone else wore them, they’d look like a turkey in a chicken coop.”
“Riche, that was harsh.”
He pressed his lips together and said nothing more, then neatly folded the dress and stuffed it into the bag. When their eyes met, Joshua tilted his chin slightly and narrowed his eyes. Shortly after, Riche tossed an old cloth bag on top and spoke.
“Fine, fine. I’ll take it to show good faith, but don’t expect anything.”
The departure was tomorrow. Six bags had already been packed, yet servants were still preparing new luggage. Three people would be departing, but their destinations differed. Riche was heading to her Homeland, while the other two were going to Nenyaplo.
They weren’t going for enrollment. The enrollment period had already passed. The entrance examination had taken place in winter—when Joshua had been asleep. Maximian hadn’t regretted missing the test at all, though sometimes it seemed he was doing everything he could to avoid going to School. Yet whenever Joshua casually mentioned it might be helpful, he would suddenly jump at the chance.
In any case, this trip to School was, in Maximian’s words, an “investigative inquiry.” The work they would have to do there wouldn’t be simple, but on this beautiful day, as they packed, all three felt a lightness of spirit. Above all, they all wanted to leave the Castle. During the long time Joshua had been lying in bed, the atmosphere of the Castle had become as damp and stale as a sickroom.
Joshua sat beside Riche, who was finishing her packing, winding thread that had spilled from the sewing basket, when he suddenly spoke.
“By the way, come outside this evening.”
“Outside?”
“Maximian found a nice place. We should throw you a farewell dinner.”
Riche’s expression showed clear reluctance.
“Why go through the trouble? The Duchess is already preparing an elaborate evening feast for you tonight, isn’t she?”
“I’ve had my fill of the Castle’s banquets. This is different.”
“Don’t do this on my account. Forget it. You’ve already repaid me more than enough by letting me live luxuriously all this time. There’s no debt between us.”
As Riche turned away, Joshua suddenly thrust forward the hand holding the red thread, waving it before her eyes.
“Why are you like this?”
When Riche turned back, Joshua offered her a smile.
“We really did survive, didn’t we?”
“….”
How many times had they nearly died? I never bothered counting. Looking back, we had no travel experience and not a single proper weapon between us. Without warning, we were cast out from our familiar surroundings and thrust into countless strange and perilous situations. The pursuers gave us no chance to rest. And so, from Hyacan through the South Sea and its islands, all the way to Keltika—we’d traveled halfway around the Continent.
“I don’t know how we didn’t die.”
A smile bloomed across Riche’s face too. Joshua pointed at himself.
“I’m the one who died and came back to life.”
“Don’t say things like that, even as a joke. Do you have any idea how those people felt, keeping vigil at my bedside for six months?”
Joshua’s smile turned slightly bitter.
“Think about it from the perspective of someone who lost half a year of their life.”
“You just slept incredibly deeply. I don’t understand how you can even sleep at night. If it were me, I wouldn’t sleep until the year after next.”
The two burst into laughter together. The shadow of sunlight shifted across the bag, tilting to the left.
“So come out later. Don’t you miss the simple food stalls in the streets? We used to eat dinner at places like that fairly often.”
“Acting like you know after going just a few times. Don’t you remember, young master? I was a server at those kinds of establishments!”
Joshua laughed and waved his finger.
“Then you’re the expert. Though Coralli was quite upscale. Maximian doesn’t choose places like that. He has his own firm tastes.”
Riche nodded in agreement.
“That’s true. He’s different from you. When he picks a place, even if the first impression is odd, something worth eating always comes out.”
Joshua nodded.
“Right. The guy doesn’t care about taste, yet somehow it always works out.”
As Joshua stood, Riche waved her palm in farewell instead of speaking. Joshua said:
“You’re coming, right? Let’s meet at the exit heading toward the Bluet River. Right after the banquet.”
“Yes.”
Joshua was about to close the door when he suddenly remembered something and poked his head back in.
“By the way, you’ve lived here for six months and never once gone into the city of Keltika?”
“And whose fault do you think that is!”
Joshua laughed awkwardly and glanced at Maximian. But since Maximian showed no sign of coming to his aid, there was nothing for it but to accept his fate.
“I wasn’t trying to tease you.”
Buried halfway beneath the chatter of voices all around, but still distinctly audible, Riche continued speaking while chewing a pickled almond.
“Anyway, you’re the last one who should be saying that. Your bad taste really knows no bounds.”
“Bad taste? What are you talking about?”
Maximian, who had just finished his beer and was waving to a server, interjected.
“Your hobby is playing with corpses. What else is there?”
Riche brought the wine glass to her lips, then pulled it away with a soft laugh before her expression turned serious and she began counting on her fingers.
“Look. You and I first met in the Dining Hall, saw each other briefly in the Dressing Room, and the next time we ran into each other, you were already in a coma, right? We ended up traveling together, and soon enough you collapsed saying it was too hard and we had to put you on a horse. We barely managed to get a Ship from Juspian, and then you did something strange calling Spirits and passed out, so we had to drag you aboard and set sail. And then again…”
“Why are you counting every single thing? How sudden of you.”
Maximian, who had been listening, offered a retort, but then turned to Joshua and spoke.
“While you were doing that corpse-playing business, Riche sat beside you and made three dresses for your Mother. Did you know that?”
Riche quickly added.
“Well, I just made them because I was bored, but the Duchess ended up buying them…”
Joshua had buried his face in both hands, trying to suppress his laughter as he listened to Riche count on her fingers. Only when Maximian spoke did he manage to lift his head and look at her.
“Mother said she was disappointed that she couldn’t wear your clothes anymore.”
Riche shook her head.
“How could that be? The Duchess must have mountains of high-end dresses, but she probably just bought a dress or two out of pity for me, who can’t even go home because of my accomplished son.”
“Stop with the self-deprecation. You’ve traveled halfway around the Continent and still haven’t broken that habit?”
At Maximian’s words, Riche lowered her eyes and merely puffed out her cheeks. Joshua picked up his glass and gently clinked it against Riche’s. When Riche looked up, she saw Joshua’s smile.
“I’m sorry for all this time.”
Maximian removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, missing the moment Riche’s face flushed. Soon the three of them clinked their glasses together. The moment they each took a sip, Riche cried out.
“Joshua! I told you not to smile like that! Don’t confuse a perfectly respectable lady like that! Save smiles like that for when you’re charming the audience. Got it?”
“…”
Joshua lowered his head and let out a quiet chuckle, while Maximian snorted with an incredulous expression.
“Are you two seriously flirting right in front of me?”
Joshua’s expression turned serious.
“That’s…”
Riche took over the words.
“A misunderstanding!”
Maximian merely shrugged as if to say, “Who said anything?”
Stars were beginning to fill the sky. The Tavern called the Fish Tavern, which occupied the entire large corner of an Alley in Queen’s Market, didn’t actually sell spirits made with fish, but aside from that one exception, it seemed to sell everything else. It sold all manner of spirits and dishes, live fish, fishing equipment for catching fish, and even the plates you ate from. Regardless of what customers came to buy, the shop was always bustling. When regular patrons pushed through the door, they invariably asked in loud voices whether the “fish spirits” had arrived today. The owner’s answer was always the same: “I apologize, but I promise to stock it tomorrow.”
Maximian said he first set foot in this place because of that name. He told Riche that when he saw Joshua starving for days on end long ago, he taught him to catch and eat fish, but since Joshua couldn’t even do that, he started calling him “fool” from then on. Joshua corrected him.
“It was ‘foolish brat.'”
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, you must obtain written consent from both parties.

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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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