Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 501

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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 271.
Beneath the Almond Tree (14)
The prospects for retaliation through the first method were slim. Officers of the Kingdom 8th Army possessed the privilege of concealing their origins from anyone outside their chain of command, making it nearly impossible for external forces to act unless they wielded considerable power.
“Miss Argenson, according to your account, you and Miss Amaranth have met frequently over the past half year, exchanging favors and growing quite close. You must have come to understand what kind of person Miss Amaranth is—what she likes and dislikes. So tell me.”
Silviet, who had been preoccupied with schemes of retribution rather than listening to Jenas’s words, opened her eyes wide at the next question.
“Ienna, why does it seem Miss Amaranth is harboring members of the Friends of the People in her family’s summer estate?”
“W-w-what did you just say?”
Their eyes met. Silviet’s pupils trembled as she stared at Jenas. He moved his lips slowly.
“You truly didn’t know?”
“I…”
Silviet sprang from her seat without finishing her words. In an instant, the other soldiers who had appeared indifferent until then swiftly blocked the doorway. One approached from behind her. Jenas’s voice sounded again.
“You cannot leave without answering.”
The Friends of the People. That name was a brand. A snare. The moment one became entangled, even a noble could be cast into the depths of ruin in an instant. Even the slightest evidence of connection with them—enemies of the King and adversaries of Anomarad—was an unforgivable crime. Whether one was a high-ranking executive or merely a child who delivered messages, the punishment was the same. The only difference was that executives were tortured for information before execution.
“I… I… I don’t know anything. I never even thought of it. Do you have evidence? Why are you doing this to me? If Miss Amaranth is under suspicion, why don’t you just bring her here?”
“The Kingdom 8th Army can investigate anyone.”
Jenas rose from his seat.
“Our method of investigation is this: if you do not cooperate willingly, we consider you suspect from the outset.”
Silviet’s eyes filled with blood. Jenas located a corner of a document and pointed at it with his fingertip before continuing.
“Over the past year, one hundred and three individuals connected to the Friends of the People have been brought here and sent to the torture chamber. Among them were nobles.”
“…”
“Of course, almost none have escaped the torture chamber alive.”
Silviet was now visibly trembling. Avoiding Jenas’s cold gaze, she squeezed out her words.
“…I will cooperate.”
“Good. Please sit. Now, shall we return to my earlier question?”
Jenas sat first, and Silviet followed, answering.
“I didn’t know. I’m hearing such talk for the first time now.”
“Have you ever witnessed anyone suspicious entering or leaving Miss Amaranth’s chamber?”
Silviet paused briefly in thought, then shook her head.
“No. Apart from servants, I don’t think I ever encountered anyone else in that chamber. Who was hidden there?”
Jenas did not answer Silviet’s question.
“Did Miss Amaranth ever speak of anything seditious? Anything regarding the Royal House, the nobility, or the esteemed majesty of the King?”
“Not at all… In fact, she didn’t seem particularly eager to converse with me. When I spoke, she was often lost in thought. The claim that we grew close was merely… an exaggeration. Our tastes differed greatly…”
Even as she spoke truthfully, Jenas’s expression seemed unconvinced. She regretted the pretense she had displayed moments earlier. It was obvious that attempting to backtrack now would appear as though she were making excuses.
“Then have you never sensed anything suspicious in Miss Amaranth’s behavior? Or have you never seen any strange documents or objects? Think carefully.”
Silviet attempted to think. No—before she could even think, one fact seized her mind entirely.
Last winter, while waiting for Yien in an empty chamber, someone had delivered a large bundle with one corner torn open. Perhaps because she had nothing to do, she had torn the wrapping further to glimpse the painting inside.
Jenas glanced at Silviet’s expression and spoke softly.
“Does something come to mind? Think carefully.”
When Silviet had summoned the courier who brought the painting and questioned where it came from, it was not mere curiosity. She had recognized the young girl depicted on the canvas at a glance. It was painted with such skill.
Approximately seven years prior, while the Republican Faction controlled Keltika and communication with other regions was severed, the nobility formed various social circles in different places. The nobles of the Central-Western Region frequently gathered at the estate of Countess Roenlorbant, the late King Elbant III’s aunt. Among those who frequented that place, there remained a boy whose memory lingered faintly—the boy commonly called “Grand Duchess Amishen’s boy.” By the name the Grand Duchess used, he was called “Joseph.”
In those days, when beautiful attendants were essential commodities among the upper echelons of high society and traded as naturally as any other possession, Joseph was a child anyone would covet. There was something about him that drew people’s eyes beyond mere exceptional beauty. Young as she was then, but ambitious, Silviet watched him carefully, thinking that someday she would need such a child by her side. The more she observed, the more she desired to possess him.
But it was not an easy matter. Though he was now dead, Duke Amicen had been the great-grandfather of Elbant III. Among the nobility of that era, his family would have ranked in the first tier if one were to measure their standing. The Grand Duchess Amishen was over sixty at the time, yet she retained the dignity of a former queen of high society. It was fashionable among the nobility of that period to temporarily exchange attendants, but the House of Argenson, Silviet’s family, was in no position to dare make such a proposal to the Grand Duchess.
When “Joseph” suddenly disappeared, the Grand Duchess Amishen took no outward action. Whether she had pulled strings behind the scenes was impossible to know. Silviet was intensely curious but could only endure her ignorance—until several years later, when she encountered him again at the manor of her aunt, Countess Belnoer, where he had come to be called Langier Rosencrantz.
This time, it seemed within her grasp. She had even discovered that his sickly sister was his weakness. Yet despite her efforts, he slipped through her fingers once more. When Silviet realized she had lost him, she was furious. She thought she would never again encounter him so fortuitously in such favorable circumstances. Yet fortune favored her one more time.
When Silviet saw the portrait of Lanzumi in Yien’s chamber, she resolved that this time she would not fail. Langier was an excellent tool for Silviet, whose family’s influence was weak, to establish herself as the darling of Keltika’s high society. The Grand Duchess Amishen, who had weighed on her mind, was already dead.
She had not yet discovered Langier’s whereabouts. She had hired people to watch the confectionery shop on Natang Street where Lanzumi lived, but without success. Yet as long as his sister remained there, Silviet believed he would eventually appear. There was no need to act hastily. Of course, kidnapping and confining Lanzumi would be more effective, but Silviet was merely a noblewoman and did not have subordinates she could trust with such matters. Nor was it something she could ask her parents to help with.
But now she understood. The “Friends of the People operative” that Jenas spoke of could only be referring to Langier. It was something she could never have imagined.
When one considered it, Silviet’s discovery of the relationship between Yien and Langier was purely coincidental. Neither Yien nor Langier would know that Silviet had found out. The Kingdom 8th Army had attempted to investigate them, but Langier had disappeared, and Yien was the daughter of Count Amaranth, so it would have been difficult to summon her to such a place. That was why they were clearly trying to detain her, someone who had met Yien frequently, and extract information from her.
It had been a mistake not to think deeply about why Yien knew Langier. Yien, the Count’s daughter, was of sufficiently high status, and she seemed to have no interest in high society, so her purpose could not be the same as Silviet’s. The Yien that Silviet had observed seemed the type to befriend even servants—perhaps they were simply friends from school.
Could they have attended school together?
While Silviet was lost in thought for a moment longer, Jenas stared intently at her face. He watched her expression change, then opened his mouth at an opportune moment.
“So will you tell me?”
Silviet nearly let slip what she had been thinking. But the sinister composure hidden within her nature sealed her thin lips shut.
If she were to speak now of Lanzumi and Langier, the Kingdom 8th Army would easily seize Lanzumi, and then Langier would have no choice but to appear. Whether Langier was truly involved with the Friends of the People or not, once suspicion fell upon him, there would be no future for him but the torture chamber, and she was certain she did not want that.
She could not give him up so easily. If only for the effort she had invested thus far—no, the truth was she had not the slightest intention of sending Langier to the torture chamber. It was unthinkable.
Thinking further, Silviet herself had no reason to fear. If they could not investigate Yien because they were intimidated by the name of the Amaranth Count Family, could they possibly arrest Silviet merely for visiting Yien?
Moreover, what harm would it do if she had not seen that portrait? It was purely coincidence.
Coming to her senses, her eyes met Jenas’s. Silviet thought he must have been observing her expression. If she thought for this long and came up with nothing, it would obviously arouse suspicion. So what story should she tell?
“I’m not sure if you would know, but…”
Silviet deliberately hesitated and glanced around nervously, as if afraid others might hear.
“It’s a delicate matter that mustn’t become known elsewhere. The young lady of Amaranth is rather… unusual, you see. If someone unfamiliar with her saw her, they might mistake her for a young man, given how freely she dresses and conducts herself. I was shocked at first, but I thought I was in no position to offer advice, so I decided to pretend not to notice. But then… it was really…”
Remarkably, Silviet’s face even flushed.
“The young lady told me one day that she thinks of herself as male. She finds it natural and comfortable to associate with men as friends, and she said she doesn’t even feel embarrassed about it. And when she even mentioned having been attracted to a woman, I didn’t know what to say…”
Of course, Yien would never have said such things. Silviet continued to fabricate a story that would seem shocking.
“…If a story like this became known, it would greatly damage the honor of the Amaranth Count Family, as you surely understand. You must absolutely keep this secret, and it must never become known that these words came from me. You understand, don’t you?”
“…”
Jenas showed no expression. Silviet fidgeted and peered at his face. Her behavior was partly genuine. She was intensely curious about how he would receive her lie.
“So may I leave now?”
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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