Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 494

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 264.
Beneath the Almond Tree (7)
“Either way, I should have pretended not to notice back then how much trouble that bastard would cause in my life.”
Of course, Joshua didn’t even acknowledge it, simply staring into empty space.
“That cornbread Maximian gave me back then was really delicious. It was the most delicious bread I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
As Joshua’s expression grew wistful, Maximian added with a smirk.
“It was something I picked up after it fell in the mud.”
Joshua nearly spat out the beer he was drinking and cried out.
“What? You never said anything like that!”
“You never asked either. Here you were, constantly lecturing me the day before about how stealing was wrong, and then you just gobbled it down without a word of complaint.”
“That’s completely different!”
“Different how? It’s already turned to shit—why are you worried about hygiene with cornbread like that?”
But Joshua set down his cup and pushed his chair back, muttering.
“Ugh, my stomach feels off now.”
Maximian laughed wickedly.
“Because of eight-year-old fly droppings that were on the cornbread?”
“…Say one more word and I’ll show you what real trouble actually is.”
As another group of customers poured in, the air inside the tavern grew thick. Seeing Joshua’s pallid complexion, Riche made a suggestion.
“Why don’t we step outside and take a walk?”
“You want to look around the streets, don’t you?”
“…You’re lying about your stomach feeling bad, aren’t you?”
Shortly after, the three of them paid and stepped out into the street. Riche, standing between the two boys, walked a little ahead before turning around with a bright smile.
“It’s nice not having anything to worry about in the tavern, but somehow it feels strange.”
The two boys exchanged awkward smiles. Neither wanted to burden Riche, who would soon return home, with their concerns. Riche only knew that they were going to Nenyaple because of Maximian’s enrollment.
“I really did scheme about so many things back then…”
Riche began walking again, humming with a lilt in her voice. The alcohol was making her pleasantly light-headed. The road sloped downward. Closed shop doors lined both sides. A starlit sky curved along the mountain pass in gentle waves.
“My friends go to school… I go to the Costume Workshop… Will they even accept me there… If they don’t, what should I do…”
“Riche!”
Joshua called from behind, and Riche stopped her quick trot, turning her head.
“What?”
“Want to go see the Costume Workshop?”
Riche replied with emphasis in her voice.
“You said I wasn’t going inside.”
“I know. But you can still look around, can’t you? We’re leaving tomorrow anyway—wouldn’t it feel regrettable to just go without seeing it?”
“But in the middle of the night? It’ll be closed, won’t it?”
Joshua winked lightly.
“What does time matter?”
The Market Alley on the western side of the Central Square—a place cynical people had nicknamed “Gallows Square”—was as intricate as a spider’s web. It had existed even before Keltika bore its current name, once a city unto itself. It was where the heart of the city had first begun to beat.
For centuries, merchants laden with countless wares from surrounding regions had flocked here, establishing shops without order or plan, and somehow it had become what it was now. Beside the Funeral Alley, where coffins and burial shrouds were sold, rows of delicate lace shops spun by the Monastery Order stretched out, and at the corner of Pottery Street, where both elegant ceramic figurines and chipped bottles were sold simultaneously, the Fish Market Alley continued on, with freshly caught fish still thrashing about.
Among these, the alley commonly called Rose Valley—or by its formal name that no one used, Galor 3rd Street—was a special place. Rather than selling roses, Rose Valley sold dresses as fine as rose petals, along with hats, gloves, petticoats, parasols, and handkerchiefs. There was a jest that circulated: on fine weather days, if two country folk sat at an open-air café, they would bet on where one could see the most nobles in a single evening. The story went that the one who said East Bank lost to the one who said Rose Valley—a foregone conclusion.
The artisans of Rose Valley carried themselves with an insufferable pride. Even when the carriages of noblewomen lined the streets, they never hurried, and they took commissions with an attitude that bordered on arrogance. Because the master craftsmen conducted themselves this way, it was rare to find an apprentice or even a lowly shop assistant who showed deference. At some point, the people of Keltika began mockingly calling such pretentious acquaintances “Rose Valley types.”
The name Rose Valley itself had an origin story.
“The light’s gone out.”
At the top of the staircase stood a tall white door carved with a rose motif. On the right side of the door, a nameplate reading “Galor Street 10” still hung as pristine as new, though most houses on the street had long since removed theirs.
“Still, everything’s lit up. Look at the second floor.”
“They probably haven’t gone to bed yet, but still…”
While Riche hesitated, Joshua climbed the stairs without reservation and pulled the doorbell cord. Riche cried out urgently.
“Wait, wait, I’m not mentally prepared for this!”
It was useless. A shadow moved on the second floor, and moments later the door cracked open and a Workshop Employee peered out.
“What can I help you with?”
After the businesslike greeting, her eyes swept across the faces of those standing outside, and her tone changed.
“Do you have any idea where you are, playing around like this at this hour? Be on your way.”
Joshua neither smiled nor backed down.
“I know exactly where this is. I’d like to see Miyu Rose.”
The request didn’t go over easily. Since they had no need to draw attention while heading to a tavern on the street, all three were dressed in the shabby traveling clothes they’d worn in the old days. The Workshop Employee bristled instead.
“Where do you brats get off making a racket in the middle of the night? Miyu Rose doesn’t mend torn hems for children like you!”
Rather than grow angry, Joshua laughed.
“Don’t be like that. I’m sorry for coming so late, but I knew you’d be working nights this season anyway. With the resort parties coming up soon, you’ll be swamped making summer clothes for your regulars day and night. I’m not here to be a nuisance—just call Miyu Rose for me.”
As the shabby-looking boy rattled off details about the shop’s circumstances, confusion flickered across the Workshop Employee’s face. But her prejudice was stronger. Still, her tone softened slightly.
“Where did you hear such things? But listen here, Miyu Rose doesn’t come out in person unless it’s at least a Baron. Understood?”
“Then go tell her a Baron has arrived.”
Joshua didn’t want to reveal his identity to anyone but Miyu Rose. But the Workshop Employee showed no consideration for his wishes.
“Don’t you know how serious it is to impersonate nobility? This is getting out of hand…”
Unable to bear it any longer, Maximian climbed the stairs. He thrust his hand directly into Joshua’s pocket and pulled out a gold coin. Then he thrust it under the young woman’s nose and spoke.
“Here, take this and tell Miyu Rose—or whoever she is—that someone of such-and-such appearance has come, and she can decide whether to come down or not. If that person gets angry and says you wasted her time, the coin is yours. A few scoldings in exchange for one Elso gold coin—not a bad deal, is it?”
The Workshop Employee accepted the coin almost involuntarily and hesitated, but ultimately disappeared inside the door without protest. From her position at the bottom of the stairs, Riche could hear the exchange between the two boys.
“Don’t you know how to use what’s in your own pockets?”
“Doesn’t everything become useful once it passes through your hands, even a piece of bread thrown into the river?”
What came next was drowned out by the tremendous sound of footsteps crossing the floorboards. The door swung open—or rather, it was flung open with such force that it seemed ready to sweep everyone standing before it down the stairs, and as a result the two boys barely managed to dodge aside like misdirected parcels tumbling down, looking up from below.
“Please forgive the rudeness. Count Armorique, and honored guests.”
A middle-aged woman of commanding height, her long blonde hair twisted up in a tower that made her appear even taller, bowed deeply. She was Miyu Rose, who had inherited the venerable textile craft family that had given its name to Rose Valley.
Joshua and Maximian looked down at the bottom of the stairs. Because the two of them had stepped aside, it was Riche who received the full force of that grand bow.
“…”
Joshua rushed down the stairs, seized the wrist of Riche, whose face had flushed and gone rigid, and pulled her back up. Then he offered an appropriate smile.
“I apologize for the inconvenience of calling so late.”
“Not at all, not at all, quite the contrary. No matter how late, even at dawn, you are always welcome—surely you know this? When I heard the news of Count Armorique’s recovery through the grapevine, I cannot tell you how eagerly I have been awaiting the day I might see you restored to health. I beg your pardon again for my rudeness, and please, do come inside at once.”
Miyu Rose’s voice carried the characteristic Keltikan accent—a slippery intonation so extremely pronounced that at first hearing it seemed she spoke without pause. Her slow delivery even made one wonder if she was breathing at all.
“Then I’ll impose on you for a moment.”
Miyu Rose opened the door herself and ushered the group inside. Standing at the very back, Riche leaned her head between the two boys and whispered.
“Isn’t this how rumors spread through the whole neighborhood? That Arnim Duke came storming in reeking of alcohol in the middle of the night and caused a scene.”
Joshua laughed as if to say, what of it?
“They’ll say that the son of that house died and was reborn as a wastrel, I suppose.”
“He’s leaving this Courtyard tomorrow anyway, so let him be.”
Upon entering the Reception Room, the Workshop Employee who had opened the door at first was fumbling so pitifully that it was painful to watch as she prepared tea. Once the group had taken their seats and the employee set down the tea tray with trembling hands, Maximian extended his hand.
“….”
Their eyes met. Maximian said nothing. The young woman bit her lip nervously, her mouth quivering.
“I, I’m so sorry, please….”
“Hmm?”
Maximian tilted his head as if confused by what she was saying. His hand remained extended.
“How, how can I earn your forgiveness for my rudeness….”
“Ah.”
Maximian nodded and tapped his own extended hand with his other hand.
“Give it.”
“Give what?”
Maximian sighed and reached into the large pocket hanging from the young woman’s apron, taking out a gold coin. Joshua glanced over and interjected.
“It came from my pocket, went into that pocket, and now it’s going into yours—why?”
Maximian spoke with downcast eyes, his tone melancholic.
“When coin passes through many pockets, sometimes it becomes a fate that can never return to its Homeland.”
Miyu Rose herself lifted the ceramic teapot and poured the tea. A fragrant aroma spread through the air. In truth, the entire house carried an enigmatic scent. As Joshua lifted his cup, Rose spoke in her characteristic voice, each phrase seeming to trail into the next.
“Did Count Armorique come today because of some urgent matter? But I have news as well. Before I share it, I had a sample I needed to send to the Royal Palace a few days ago, so I tailored a set of garments to match the Count’s measurements. As you know, I’m not particularly fond of the Count’s measurements, am I? Everything suits him so perfectly, you see.”
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.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————