Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 520

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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 290.
Beneath the Almond Tree (33)
Eventually, Joshua stopped rummaging through the box and looked at Maximian.
“Tell me your thoughts first.”
“Thoughts? It’s obvious just from looking at it. Your brother-in-law must have prepared just in case, and the moment your sister gave birth, he switched the babies. If he’d made plans to dispose of you and your father and seize the family clan, a son would be far more advantageous than a daughter. Above all, there was no guarantee your sister could bear another child. The fact that he sent child support regularly suggests he might have planned to reclaim the boy later if things went well, but I can’t say for certain. He brought the switched boy to Keltika, but then your sister passed away, so there was no reason to return to Hyacan, no opportunity to check on anything, and in the meantime, that little one died according to your family’s traditions. Then when he started planning something like a puppet, who do you think came to mind first? I’m honestly relieved it was natural death. Until I learned that, it felt like I had a stone lodged in my chest.”
Joshua’s feelings were no less intense than Maximian’s, perhaps even more so. Soon a bitter smile played at Joshua’s lips.
“You’re right. In the end, even if Theo never touched my sister’s coffin, he still exploited his own daughter. How could someone who loved my sister so much show no interest in his daughter?”
“How would we ever understand such a heart? Perhaps he exhausted all his capacity for love on your sister, leaving no strength to love anyone else.”
Maximian had spoken casually, but Joshua seemed to accept the words unexpectedly.
“That sounds like the answer. Loving my sister must have been terribly difficult. I’ve often thought so myself. Sometimes I even wondered how Theo managed it. He never loved anyone in our family except Ive, yet he endured that life. Perhaps he truly had no capacity left to love anyone but my sister.”
Maximian also grimaced a few times.
“I feel differently about it. I spent so long investigating and wandering around, yet the answer lay somewhere I never suspected. I’m ashamed of myself for not considering early on that your sister had a child. Of course, suspecting a baby might have been switched wasn’t easy. Your words about it happening once per generation confused me further.”
“If they die very young, you can’t even tell if they’re Demonic. Therefore, you can’t count them.”
“You said you were suspicious from age one. Come to think of it, your parents had remarkable observational skills. Given that the generations don’t align, it seems like it should have been his time to die early. It’s suspicious that he’s still alive.”
Joshua’s eyes widened in alarm, and Maximian quickly changed the subject. After a moment, Joshua murmured.
“Now that I think about it, I remember when I first brought Franz, I asked if he deliberately didn’t resemble Father. And he was even named after Father.”
“Right. So what are you going to do with him? The one at the Castle.”
Joshua hesitated before speaking.
“I’m not sure…”
“Not sure? That boy isn’t even your family’s blood.”
Joshua shook his head.
“Father would have a clear answer, but I really don’t know. He’s already grown up over these years. I can’t say we’ve grown close, but… he only knows his mother is dead and has been trying to adapt to reality, hasn’t he? Now he has no father either. And if we tell him he’s not even part of our family, how do you think he’d feel?”
“You have quite an imagination. I wouldn’t know. It’s not our family’s problem anyway. Well, if he were part of our family, we’d naturally just raise him. You’ve seen our younger siblings.”
“You’re right. Your family is truly wonderful.”
“Anyone listening would think we’re genuinely good.”
Joshua looked somewhat weary. He lay slumped on the table, then lifted his head after a moment.
“I want to ask my sister what she thinks.”
“You might manage it if you try hard enough. Haven’t you met her yet?”
Joshua shook his head. Maximian suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke.
“Don’t you remember what happened when you were in the water?”
“In the water?”
“When you escaped from Kalayso before, you told me the carriage fell into the water and you suddenly became strange afterward. Right before that, I was desperately trying to save you when I heard your voice from the water. Sister, sister! Calling out like that.”
“…”
Joshua couldn’t answer, and Maximian leaned back against the chair with a sigh.
“Anyway, we’ve finally discovered the true identity of the original. It took long enough. We never found the Puppet Master, but according to what Juspian said, he’ll come looking for the puppet someday, so we just need to stay hidden here and wait.”
“It’s not a puppet…”
“Right, it’s Cardi, isn’t it? Anyway, never let that one leave the Academy grounds.”
“I know.”
Maximian stood up and pointed outside.
“Let’s go. It’s getting dark out there. If I don’t organize the assigned dormitory, someone’s going to complain.”
The two of them left the Vineyard and headed toward the Dormitory. Joshua suddenly stopped when he caught sight of something white moving in the darkness, then laughed weakly upon realizing it was a rabbit that had come down from the Mountain. A moment later, he spoke.
“Sister, are you somewhere near me?”
The two parted ways at the entrance to the Dormitory. Their chambers were in different locations.
Joshua’s chamber was located on the third floor of the North Tower Dormitory, deep within the building. It was said to be the only student chamber equipped with both a guest room and a private washroom. Someone from the upper years had apparently been using it last year, but when word came that Arnim Duke would be arriving, they had graciously vacated it. Under normal circumstances, Joshua would have declined, but this time he accepted without hesitation. They needed a chamber for the two of them—one spacious enough to live in without drawing attention—and there was no other place like this one.
Maximian’s chamber was located on the second floor of the North Tower. Four small rooms connected around a central living space, and each such arrangement was called a “villa.” These villas were typically named after distinguished alumni. The place where Maximian would stay was called “Wizenie Longsar Villa,” though the students would never call it by such a formal name. Instead, due to a picture that had once been affixed to the door, it was simply known as “Acorn Villa.” Beyond that were other villas with their own legends—the “Rabbit House Villa,” where tales of a rabbit incident persisted, and the “Alley Villa” at the far end of the second floor. Eleven villas in total occupied the second floor. The third floor held one special chamber used by Joshua and ten villas; the fourth floor contained four villas, two-person rooms for upper-year students, and a handful of private chambers.
The acorn drawing was long gone, but Maximian quickly found the room. A scratched oak door bore a brass nameplate engraved with the names of the students using it this year. Yet this room alone bore only three names.
He turned the smoothly worn handle and stepped into a cozy living space. The shadow cast by the fireplace danced across a thick carpet. The walls were crowded with four desks, four doors, and slender bookshelves, leaving almost no empty space. A tea table occupied the center, surrounded by four chairs upholstered in quilted green fabric. The cushions on the chairs bore no commonality—each year’s offerings had apparently left only one survivor: damask, wool, patchwork, and quilted cloth.
Opposite was a narrow, elongated window, but the inner shutters were now closed, and thick dark-green curtains hung drawn. Though the living space was cramped enough to require navigating around the chairs, it appeared well-organized on this very first day of the new students’ arrival. No one could guarantee what it would look like a few days hence.
All the doors leading to the individual chambers stood open—the dormitory supervisor would soon be making the rounds for bedtime inspection. A quick glance revealed a single bed arranged as if by the cleaning staff, confirming that this villa would indeed be occupied by three.
Maximian, having been brought to the Academy against his will, felt no interest whatsoever in learning who his roommates would be. He merely waved his hand dismissively at the gazes directed toward him and retreated into his own chamber. Conveniently, he had brought almost no belongings. He shoved the violin bundle, his coat, and the bundle Juspian had entrusted to him entirely into the wardrobe, tucked his shoes beneath the bed, and was about to collapse onto the mattress when a young boy from the opposite chamber emerged and addressed him.
“Hey there.”
Maximian, already sprawled on the bed, tilted his head and looked forward.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Maximian kindly corrected him.
“I’m not ‘there’—call me Maximian.”
“Oh, I know. It was written on the door.”
“Right. How considerate. But why me?”
“Someone was looking for you. Seemed like an upper-year student?”
Maximian flatly declared that there was no such senior who would be looking for him and waved his hand dismissively.
“That’s impossible. I don’t know any seniors.”
Just as he was about to return his head to the pillow, Maximian surprisingly recalled the concept of courtesy and lifted his head again.
“What should I call you, then?”
Since two unfamiliar names were affixed to the door, he needed to ask which one the boy was. The young boy smiled broadly as if he had been waiting for this very question, and Maximian flinched slightly.
“I’m Lucian. Lucian Kaltz. Nice to meet you. From the way you talk, you seem like quite an interesting fellow?”
Nenyaple was a school centuries old, so its buildings were antiquated and its towering trees were impressively beautiful, and its gardens were exquisite—newcomers always marveled at it. Yet those who actually began living here quickly ceased to notice such things. Over centuries, metal handles and window frames had warped and creaked, some walls had cracked, desks and chairs had their edges worn smooth, and dust billowed from the gaps in the library shelves. There were even whispered tales, not entirely without humor, that certain buildings would have collapsed long ago had not the master mages been propping them up with magic.
Sure enough, on the very first day of the new term, one of the central chimneys became blocked by something, causing the entire North Tower Dormitory to face a crisis where everyone had to wash with cold water. Students crowded into the shared washroom on the second floor, rubbing their frozen fingers as they barely managed to finish washing, and strangers began complaining to one another and becoming acquainted. By the time they gathered at the Dining Hall for breakfast, quite a few students had already become conversational companions of sorts.
Maximian did not participate in this ambiguous social gathering. Quite naturally, he had overslept. Upon waking, he seemed to recall someone knocking on the door. Of course, he was not the sort to be roused from deep sleep by mere knocking.
When he emerged into the living space, the other two students—Lucian and another—had already departed. Wandering through the empty living room and regaining his senses, Maximian pondered the answer to the first question that came to mind. What time was breakfast being served?
“Well, if they’re not serving it, I can’t eat it anyway.”
He went to the empty washroom and finished washing without complaint, even in the cold water. He descended the Staircase, where no students were present but a mouse or two could be spotted, and made his way toward the Dining Hall building. A few late-arriving students were hurriedly finishing their meals and rushing out. When Maximian calmly sat at a table and ordered food, the woman working there asked with a puzzled expression.
“Are you not a student, but perhaps an instructor?”
Maximian answered casually.
“I’m here to inspect the quality of the Dining Hall food.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The rights to this book belong 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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