Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 508

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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 278.
Beneath the Almond Tree (21)
Information suggesting that a group of republicans had infiltrated the Royal Grome School had circulated with credibility among officers handling that jurisdiction for some time. However, no concrete evidence had surfaced. Regarding this neglected matter, Jenas conceived the idea of investigating a roster of students who had withdrawn from the school. Until the names of Langie, Hailjer, and others were flagged, there was no deep suspicion. The students’ ages had been younger than expected.
“The fact that he decided to investigate such a thing probably means he wanted to produce some result to quell the rumors. It’s a thought any person would naturally harbor. So Major Jenas went so far as to decide to meticulously search through the belongings those students had left behind. It’s the sort of work most wouldn’t do even if ordered by a superior. In that process, he spotted some woman lingering about the school, and she struck him as distinctly suspicious. In the Kingdom 8th Army, there are some officers with such developed instincts. When he pursued her, sure enough, she turned out to be a hidden member of the Friends of the People. But she was still just a novice, an aspirant who hadn’t done anything yet. So it seemed pointless to arrest her immediately.”
“So he left her as bait?”
“Yes. He exercised admirable patience. When we investigated further, information came out quite easily. This woman named Anna apparently helped with chores at the school, and the name of the person who brought her to the school matched exactly with a name from the list of missing students. In a way, it’s puzzling how the Friends of the People left their members so carelessly exposed, but probably because they hadn’t done anything significant yet, they felt no need to hide. As you know, when the Friends of the People decide to properly conceal someone, you can’t find a trace.”
Nost chimed in.
“Perhaps that woman disobeyed orders and acted independently.”
“That’s possible. If that were the case, only the captured one would be unfortunate. We couldn’t catch the woman. She disappeared.”
Nost clicked his tongue.
“The news certainly travels fast.”
“Someone must have tipped her off early. The news came faster than the escort unit. It must have been those Nightwalkers. Those cockroach-like bastards.”
Morynac had passed all information to Hispania, yet he remained a soldier of the Kingdom 8th Army nonetheless. The Friends of the People and the Nightwalkers were his enemies. He believed the elder would use the information for appropriate purposes, and that nothing would be done to inconvenience him.
“In any case, since the problematic student had already disappeared, if it had ended there, we might have waited years without any results. But then someone appeared before Jenas. Whether it’s appropriate to call it an appearance, the situation itself was a stunning coincidence—or rather, an inevitable convergence.”
“The man’s name is Brian?”
“Ah, how did you know?”
Nost let out a soft laugh.
“Our elder knows everything except what he doesn’t.”
“Of course, but that man’s existence was top secret even within the Kingdom 8th Army, known to only a few. I myself would never have learned of it without this incident. He was planted as a spy on such a major figure that exposure to the other side’s intelligence network would have been catastrophic.”
Hispania’s brow furrowed.
“A major figure?”
“Yes. The Grand Lord of Rosa Alb in the Orlanne Duchy—Count Giscard de Natangsong.”
Hispania turned to look at Priscilla. Priscilla shook her head. She didn’t know. It was a story difficult to believe readily. The Grand Lord of Rosa Alb was a member of the Friends of the People?
Hispania maintained several informants in the Kingdom 8th Army besides Morynac. It was thanks to them that he could intercept and monitor reports continuously flowing up from the Southern Region. However, he had not yet managed to penetrate Nightwalk.
Even for equally secretive organizations, infiltrating one with clear hierarchy and reporting lines like the Kingdom 8th Army was relatively easier. But Nightwalk was different—even if one recruited a single Nightwalker, the scope of the organization and information that individual knew was extremely narrow, so to obtain desired intelligence, one had no choice but to directly locate the person handling it.
For several months, Hispania had pursued a Friends of the People executive who had worked with Theo. By consolidating information from the back alleys commonly called the Underground World and vagrant networks, he had identified the identities of district chairmen to some extent, but the final deductive step did not come easily. Some had vanished without a trace. Then came news that an executive had been arrested by the Kingdom 8th Army. But that person’s profile matched considerably with the outline of the one he had been seeking. Especially the age.
From that point, reverse tracking began. He extracted the name of Jenas, the merit-winner of this incident, and Brian, who had allegedly provided Jenas with crucial information, but it remained unclear why that man possessed such information. Then the name of the Grand Lord of Rosa Alb tumbled from Morynac’s lips.
“Is this certain?”
“Yes. The Kingdom 8th Army has known for several years already. They simply lacked clear evidence. To touch him recklessly without evidence and face backlash—setting aside the loss of several heads, it’s not a matter that wouldn’t escalate into a diplomatic incident, is it? Incidentally, Count Natanson’s Villa is said to be a cradle nurturing young leaders of the Friends of the People. They educated and sent out numerous dangerous individuals. Focusing on that, they carefully educated a young man and inserted him. That is Brian Matelo. It was a strategy in which we invested considerably.”
To devise a scheme intricate enough to deceive Giscar required comprehensive backing from the core of the Kingdom 8th Army. Brian’s mission was to bring concrete evidence proving the honeymoon between Giscar and the Friends of the People. Accomplishing that would give them grounds to summon the Grand Lord of Rosa Alb to Keltika. It was intended to become an excellent card for pressuring the Grand Duke of Orlanne, who had recently been in friction with King Checel.
“So he identified the identity of an executive-level member?”
“Actually, he didn’t manage that. Brian got along well for several months, then one day he was struck from behind. Someone who claimed to be a disciple of Count Natanson came and went, and saw through Brian’s true identity. How such a thing could happen—truly remarkable. I’m not certain whether the Friends of the People had suspected Brian from the start. In any case, Brian failed and had no choice but to flee. And he ground his teeth. He swore to take revenge on the one who exposed his identity.”
Remarkably, Brian said he never faced that person even once. Given such circumstances, he had complained endlessly that it felt like something a magician would do. The Kingdom 8th Army wanted to find him too, but as soon as they dug slightly deeper, he vanished among a crowd of similar-looking people. The core leadership, instinctively convinced that this was disguise magic supported by executive-level resources, placed him on the watchlist for investigation.
“So Brian independently tried to find that man. He wanted both revenge and to earn merit. The key was a female student who studied with Brian. That man took her away. But how could he find that man and the female student who went somewhere unknown? Seeing no other way, he submitted a report to the intelligence division and inquired whether there was any information related to such a female student, though he apparently held no great expectations. Brian wasn’t in a position to access high-level intelligence. The rank he temporarily received while performing spy work was merely sergeant. We call such people not Actors but Facts. But that report, by sheer coincidence, fell into the hands of Jenas, who was similarly searching through haystacks for needles.”
The excited Morynac even clapped his hands. Hispania asked.
“So the female student Brian was looking for was the woman named Anna that Jenas was investigating?”
“Precisely. It’s like a play, but it really happened. If either of them had ignored that woman or given up midway, that Friends of the People executive would have escaped without problem. Whether it’s the cat thinking of the mouse or the mouse thinking of the cat, either way, it’s unfortunate for that bastard.”
Morynac continued, explaining how Brian went to the hideout Jenas had revealed, deceived Anna into revealing the location of the one Brian sought and the one Jenas sought—the hidden operative from Grome School. But where that person was turned out to be unexpected as well.
“I can’t understand why the nobility, who go on about overthrowing them, fall for the Friends of the People, and it’s not even a rare occurrence, which is utterly exasperating. Count Natanson is one thing, but this time a young lady from the Amaranth Count Family is involved, which is quite troublesome because she was hiding that bastard in her family’s Summer Villa, and that’s not a place we can raid without clear evidence, is it?”
The more he heard, the more unbelievable the story became.
“Of course, Brian will testify, but if this woman named Anna simply denies they’re the same person, what then? And even if we could prove that the Assassin visited Count Natanson, that alone isn’t a crime, is it? We can’t simply seize a foreign grand noble because Count Natanson gathered some commoner youths to teach them a few things and uttered some seditious remarks. That’s why I sent Brian to find physical evidence, but that failed too. Worse, we risk being interrogated ourselves for sending a spy.”
Hispania clicked his tongue before speaking.
“So you opted for an indirect strategy.”
“Yes. It turns out the young lady of the Amaranth Family attended Grome School with that executive, and there was a woman who frequently visited her chamber during those days. When we investigated, she turned out to be nobility as well, which was quite something. I mean, the man certainly has a way with women, but why would young ladies of such fine bloodlines chase after him like that?”
“So this later woman is the Argenson Viscount’s Daughter who was captured with us this time?”
“Yes. I thought you might know. When we first brought her in and gradually leaked information, she rushed down to Amaranth Villa with impressive speed. Jenas cleverly followed her, and apparently she ended up revealing everything. It concluded cleanly.”
Priscilla laughed sharply.
“The young lady of the Amaranth Family surely faced no real consequences?”
“Despite being caught at the scene, she was so composed that it wasn’t easy. We had her return to the Manor first, then visited again later, and she spoke quite frankly. She said she attended school with him, fell for the man, and simply did whatever he asked. But she absolutely claims she didn’t know he was with the Friends of the People. She earnestly begged us to keep the secret for her parents’ sake, so for now we’re holding off. After all, these border nobles are harder to touch than central aristocrats anyway.”
Hispania nodded.
“Good. You’ve been most helpful. Morynac, I’ll be in touch soon.”
Morynac bowed his head respectfully.
“Yes. Please contact me anytime there’s something I can assist with.”
Bill and Nost rose and helped Morynac to his feet. Priscilla handed Bill a pipe from her hand and spoke.
“Light it on your way out.”
The three departed and the door closed. Morynac’s voice drifted faintly through: “Hugh, I can see the way ahead now. I think I’ll survive.”
“Priscilla.”
Hispania called, and Priscilla nodded.
“The situation is more coincidental than expected.”
Hispania fell silent in thought. Priscilla sat alone, tapping her chair leg for a while, then asked.
“What do you intend to do with him?”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright of 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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