Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 516

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

Episode 286.
Beneath the Almond Tree (29)
“It’s alright. From now on… nothing will happen…”
His breathing gradually settled into a steady rhythm. The Doctor moistened his parched lips with a damp cloth. A voice like the scrape of metal emerged faintly.
“Lan… zumi?”
Giscar closed his eyes. This was likely the first time Langie had asked this question since the torture chamber—the one he must have pondered thousands, tens of thousands of times, the thought that would surface the moment consciousness returned. Now he could finally answer it. How small a regret it seemed.
“Lanzumi is safe. Don’t worry.”
Langie closed his eyes. At that same moment, tears traced down his temples. They were the first tears Giscar had seen from him in all their years together. Giscar also extended his hand to his own eyes, but could not stop the tears flowing between his fingers.
The house where Langie had been brought was a farm on the outskirts of Keltika. Walls of granite and a roof of slate tiles laid in overlapping diagonal rows—a form increasingly common as one traveled north. The owner had left long ago, and distant relatives managed the land. Both of them were people of the Friends of the People.
As night fell, a comfortable darkness descended. Stars, clearer than those visible from the city, could be seen well through the small window. Stone farmhouses typically had small windows.
With several candles lit, the bedroom filled with soft light. The hearth glowed warmly. The room was quite warm, as the fireplace had been kept burning all day to dispel the chill of the stone walls.
“Wouldn’t it be better to close the window?”
“No.”
Langie’s consciousness had cleared with surprising speed. Though his body could not move, his mind remained sharp. Yet he spoke little. He asked only about Lanzumi and Yien, nothing else. The Doctor said sleep would be beneficial, but he remained awake throughout. He stared silently at a corner of the room, his thoughts unknowable.
After supper, when Giscar approached the bed and sat, Langie opened his mouth for the first time in a while. His voice had grown somewhat hoarse, rendered husky.
“Staying in Keltika too long would be dangerous for you.”
“You’re not in a position to worry about me.”
Giscar glanced at the left hand where the blanket lay pulled back. Even the touch of the blanket seemed unbearable. The slightest contact made him gasp, so the doctors had abandoned any attempt to handle it. There was nothing to do but wait for his body to overcome the shock.
“I’ve heard there’s a form of magic particularly effective for fractures. I’ve made inquiries.”
Langie looked down at his left hand and managed something like a smile.
“Since it’s not my right hand, I suppose I can manage.”
Giscar’s expression grew stern.
“Don’t speak like that. Steel yourself. That’s how you’ll recover.”
“I must recover. There’s much work to be done.”
Giscar, observing Langie’s composed face, found himself uncertain whether to feel relieved or sorrowful. It was a blessing that he seemed to be regaining his usual demeanor so quickly. Yet even in such circumstances, to think first of duty was somehow pitiable.
Of course, perhaps it was precisely this that enabled such swift recovery. But it was still too soon. It was not merely his left hand. Langie struggled to bear even the slightest touch from another person. When the Doctor placed his hands for treatment, it was visible how Langie bit his lips forcefully to endure it. Only his mind raced ahead. His body had not yet recovered from the shock at all.
What had happened to him in the torture chamber would ultimately remain unasked. As before, he would not open his mouth about it of his own accord. Not to Giscar, nor to anyone else. With such solitary endurance, could his heart truly be well? The physical torture had ended, but within his mind, it continued still.
Giscar suddenly interjected.
“Don’t harbor such worries. I won’t be giving you any work.”
Langie lowered his eyes.
“I’ve only failed once. Isn’t that too harsh?”
“That failure was considerable. Do you know how difficult it was to retrieve you? If you’re going to save others and then carelessly throw yourself away like that, don’t take on any work again.”
“There was no other choice. I didn’t particularly want to experience this either.”
Noticing his voice becoming strained at the end, Giscar deliberately raised his tone.
“Which is precisely why you must avoid reaching such circumstances. You need to rest for at least several years.”
“Several years?”
Giscar was pleased by Langie’s expression of bewilderment.
“Yes. During those years, I’ll plan out your future for you. Now that the Exile Council has learned your age well enough, many will say you’re too young to become chairman. You’re an old soul, but that doesn’t mean you can age faster than others. Since you’re already known enough to the Kingdom 8th Army, you’ll have to withdraw from public activities anyway.”
“…”
Langie’s expression seemed both disappointed and anxious. He appeared unable to grasp his own thoughts. Giscar asked.
“How does it feel to be free from work?”
“I wouldn’t call it liberating.”
“That’s because you’re a workaholic. You’ll get over the withdrawal soon enough.”
A moment later, Langie let out a soft chuckle.
“So this trembling in my hands is withdrawal, then.”
Giscar hesitated, but ultimately couldn’t help but laugh. The joke was cruel for a jest, but in their current circumstances, they were afforded no gentler humor than this.
“Then I should hear how much trouble you went through to extract me. That way I can judge whether the price I paid was fair. Exactly what strings did you pull to get such a villain out so cleanly?”
“What if I told you it was Duke Arnim?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Langie’s eyes.
“That’s unexpected. Now that Lord Moro is dead, quite a bit of information about me must have reached them.”
“Information exists to serve a purpose, not to gather dust on shelves. Of course, the House of Arnim’s impression of you couldn’t possibly get worse. But they’re not so politically inept as to trade their future ambitions for their current feelings. I met Duke Arnim’s uncle—the one they call ‘Demonic Hispanie.'”
Hispanie, accepting Giscar’s intent, moved Duke Arnim, and the Duke himself went directly to the Kingdom 8th Army requesting that they hand over the prisoner’s custody as it was a matter related to his family. Until then, the Kingdom 8th Army had uncovered no charges against Langie beyond the fact that he was with the Friends of the People. It was because the circumstances of his arrest were entirely different. It was Hispanie himself who had discovered the connection between the negotiation between Langie and Theo, and the conspiracy involving the House of Arnim.
The near-death of the Young Duke was a widely known major incident. When the injured party himself, the Duke, requested custody of a suspect with unclear other charges, even the Kingdom 8th Army had no grounds to refuse. Moreover, the other party was a Duke of high standing, known as a founding contributor and one of the King’s arms.
“What became of Silviet?”
Langie’s eyes twitched faintly at the mention of that name. In any case, Silviet had not breathed a word about Lanzumi. Langie himself had never answered when interrogators asked what his relationship with Silviet was.
“Duke Arnim wrote an order for her release along with you. Since she was a witness, she would be released once the investigation concluded. In exchange for that favor, the Duke gained control of House Argenson.”
In gratitude, the Marquis d’Argenson swore to pledge his loyalty to Duke Arnim. Until then, Silviet had not been tortured, but had she remained imprisoned and eventually been sent to the torture chamber, only to falsely confess to being with the Friends of the People, her family would have been ruined. So paying such a price was well worth it.
“In any case, the charges weren’t completely cleared.”
“That’s how it should be seen. But since you didn’t talk, there’s ultimately no evidence. At worst, she’d be seen as a foolish young lady who clung to a Friends of the People executive knowing nothing. Her honor would be dragged through the mud, certainly.”
“….”
Langie remained silent, lost in thought. Giscar changed his tone to break the reverie.
“Anyway, that’s how we received the Duke’s order from Elder Hispanie, submitted it to the Kingdom 8th Army, and brought you here. We deliberately chose dawn when only simple sentries were on watch, but we were still pursued. Learick handled the pursuit well, though.”
“Is Learick here?”
“Didn’t you see him? He was by your side when you woke this morning.”
“I must have missed him.”
Langie added after a moment.
“The information he kept sending about the Young Duke’s party was a great help. I’d like to thank him.”
“You’ll have the chance tomorrow. In fact, Learick came looking for you specifically this time, saying he wanted to help. He even went directly to Rocang Castle and carried you out himself, despite the risk of exposure.”
“Learick is too talented to remain only a Nightwalker, but he loves his work so much that it’s difficult to give him a position.”
“A born sailor. But such talent will prove useful someday.”
Giscar tilted his head with a smile and continued.
“That said, there was one more person who came looking to work for you. We’re gathering people while failing at our mission—it’s quite backwards.”
“Who do you mean?”
“You’ve seen him before. The secretary who attended Theostid da Moro when you met him.”
Langie’s expression became puzzled.
“Kanka, was it? I don’t see why he would have reason to do this.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it either if he’d simply shown up on his own. But this time, he went to Elder Hispanie to help get you out. He’s the one who told that Elder about you in detail. He offered information about Moro and the circumstances connecting you to this affair in exchange for your rescue.”
Langie laughed.
“If he revealed the connecting circumstances, the House of Arnim wouldn’t be pleased, would they? They’d more likely be thinking of retaliation.”
“You were already captured anyway, so leaving you be wouldn’t change the outcome, would it? So he gambled.”
“If someone can make such a gamble, then that man is no ordinary secretary.”
Giscardo nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. When I asked him why he tried to save you, do you know what he said? He believes his master must succeed without fail. He thinks it is his destiny to find such a master and serve him faithfully. He is from Recordable. The people there have a somewhat different way of thinking than we do. It is difficult to fully understand their peculiar psychology, but in any case, after meeting you alongside Moro and observing how events unfolded, it seems he came to hold you in high regard.”
“Even after seeing Giscar scold him for his failure.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. I should point that out to him.”
Langie fell silent in thought for a moment before continuing.
“If I’m to become his colleague, I’ll need to correct that notion of ‘master’ first.”
“If you command it, he will change his words easily enough, but I doubt his heart will follow so readily. Perhaps what needs adjusting is his very concept of a ‘master who must succeed without fail’?”
“I see. Why didn’t you explain how I came to be captured?”
Giscardo was not one to miss the self-deprecating tone that had crept into his voice.
“You have no idea how much Amaranth blames herself over that painting matter. The friend who painted it feels the same way. If you’re thinking of blaming yourself as well, stop it. Focus instead on recovering and seeing Lanzumi. You need to show her a healthy version of yourself.”

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.

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