Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 526

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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 296.
Beneath the Almond Tree (39)
“It’s Roglantang. Everyone calls it Roglantang’s Auntie’s Pie. Haven’t you heard of it while attending Nenyaple? The students love it.”
They had removed their uniforms, but the Shop Girl must have noticed the pin fastened to Lucian’s chest. Lucian spoke with a grin.
“We’re freshmen, so we’ll be coming back often. See you later, Roglantang!”
After the three left first, Maximian was about to follow when he paused to ask a question.
“How much is one of these pies?”
“Three Elsono.”
Maximian’s expression grew peculiar—a mixture of anger, melancholy, and bewilderment. Once outside, Lucian spoke up.
“Should we take revenge on those guys with this pie?”
Surprisingly, Maximian enthusiastically agreed.
“Excellent! Revenge with this jam!”
Emboldened by Maximian’s approval, Lucian dashed back into the shop and shouted.
“Sister, could you make a hundred of these pies? By tomorrow!”
Not only the Shop Girl but the three standing outside were astonished.
“A hundred?”
Morning arrived the next day.
The three boys from Acorn Villa, who had been absent from their chambers during the previous night’s inspection, were summoned by the Dormitory Supervisor before classes began. It was a tense moment, but the Dormitory Supervisor, aware of the room war that had transpired, cheerfully assured them he understood everything, then asked as if suddenly remembering.
“So what time did you return?”
Lucian answered innocently.
“Around one in the morning?”
By lunchtime, the three were cleaning the corridor on the second floor of the South Tower Dormitory.
“I can’t tell anymore whether I came to this school to study or to clean.”
Maximian responded to Lucian’s complaint.
“You came to clean. Didn’t you know?”
“But I’m curious—why didn’t your friend the Young Duke get caught? Even though he has his own chamber, they must have inspected it too.”
Maximian brushed it off vaguely.
“That chamber is really spacious. They probably thought he was in the adjacent room or something.”
As they cleaned, they finally discovered the Cream Tea Villa in the South Tower Dormitory. Of course, its actual name was different, but Maximian insisted this was definitely the place, spouting some barely coherent deduction. Upon closer inspection, it was somewhat confirmed—there was old graffiti on the side, which served as evidence.
“Then look carefully. How do we get it open?”
Boris examined the doorknob and spoke.
“With a lock like this, I can open it.”
“Really? As expected! Then all we need to do is receive the delivery tomorrow!”
Since a hundred Roglantang pies couldn’t possibly be made in a single day, they arranged to receive them the next day. Lucian’s servants, who were waiting outside the school, were scheduled to pick them up at lunch tomorrow and bring them.
“But what are you going to do with a hundred pies?”
“Obviously throw them! We need to cover their villa in jam just like ours.”
“Magic won’t even clean that up.”
Imagining the scene, the three felt satisfied. After cleaning ended and they returned to the Lecture Hall, Joshua still hadn’t appeared.
“The Young Duke doesn’t seem to attend classes at all. He wasn’t here this morning either. At this rate, won’t he fail?”
Though Lucian said this, he himself had been falling behind in recent lessons and was hardly in a position to worry about others. Boris paused in thought, then asked Maximian.
“About what I heard yesterday.”
“Oh, yes.”
It was a matter neither of them wished to discuss in front of others. Boris understood this well.
“Is that why he hasn’t been showing up? Trouble sleeping, perhaps?”
Maximian shook his head.
“Nothing like that. It’s been years since he was like this.”
“You said you were friends since childhood?”
Boris’s tone had grown quite serious.
“So?”
“You seem to trust what Joshua says. Have you witnessed something convincing?”
Rather than answer immediately, Maximian pressed his lips together and studied Boris’s expression. As other students gradually filed into the lecture hall, Maximian lowered his voice.
“I’m telling you this because you seem reserved, so remember it. I’ve spoken with the one who follows him around. Quite often, actually.”
“….”
“It’s complicated. But know this much—it’s not a lie. I’m someone who never believes in such things.”
Maximian returned to his seat. Boris sat down and continued thinking, even throughout the lesson.
It wasn’t until mealtime that the Arnim Duke deigned to appear, and several students loitered about the dining hall hoping to catch a glimpse of him. When Maximian entered the dining hall with Joshua, he glanced around and immediately noticed, then smirked.
“Looks like two more have joined today?”
Joshua neither drove them away nor acknowledged them. When they approached and spoke, he answered minimally at best, which amounted to ignoring them entirely. There was no need to recall the Mona Sid days anew—Joshua had never been one to make friends easily.
Had Maximian not been his roommate, he might never have gained these two new companions. When one considered it, they were two people with scarcely anything in common. Lucian was excessively cheerful, while Boris was remarkably taciturn. Neither seemed particularly interested in or knowledgeable about art, Joshua’s field. To make matters worse, Joshua barely attended classes at all. It appeared as though he had enrolled solely to access the Vineyard.
“You’re not planning to attend classes at all?”
“No. I’m thinking I might start going tomorrow.”
Near where the two sat, several students still lingered and loitered. Opportunities were scarce. Since Joshua didn’t spare them a glance, forcing one’s way in would be impolite, and all they could do was wait. They found Maximian’s presence particularly inconvenient. The fact that this commoner—neither noble nor wealthy—monopolized the Young Duke made it difficult to approach, and being treated as inferior to him was a source of quiet resentment.
“Are you starting to feel like talking to the others?”
Just as the meal arrived, Joshua delayed his answer while unfolding his napkin.
“It’s just… enjoyable.”
Maximian cut his omelet in half, popped a piece into his mouth, and let out a scoff as he chewed.
“So the one who never thought to adapt on his own doesn’t mind when someone entertains him?”
“That’s right.”
Joshua was methodically eating various vegetables he had specifically ordered without dressing.
“I had no great expectations for school life. I’d already experienced it before. Of course, I’ve changed since then. But I didn’t expect others’ perceptions of me to change as well. So I decided to attend school for myself, on my own terms. These students here won’t all be like… Riche.”
“Well, I suppose that’s fair enough, and Riche was certainly generous. Though perhaps she had no choice.”
Joshua held his fork suspended in the air, lost in thought for a moment, then smiled softly.
“Don’t you miss Riche?”
“She’s probably living far better without us.”
“Still. Regardless of that.”
“If you miss her, go see her. You’re not attending classes anyway.”
The smile faded from Joshua’s face.
“I’d like to, but I can’t yet. There’s too much I need to research here.”
For a while, only the sound of fork against plate could be heard. Joshua finished his meal quickly. He had eaten almost nothing but vegetables. As he folded his napkin and set it down, he spoke.
“Yesterday, for the first time since coming to this school, I found myself thinking that spending time with books and tablets in the Vineyard was less enjoyable than this.”
“Arrogant bastard.”
“Don’t disparage him. He’s just timid.”
“Then tell that to the bees around you. That you ignore them because you’re timid.”
“No, I really am timid about it.”
“You infuriating fool. Look at your own expression in a mirror before you say such things.”
Joshua tilted his chin up slightly as he spoke.
“What’s wrong with my expression?”
Soon enough, Maximian’s meal came to an end. He crumpled his napkin absently and asked.
“So you said such things so easily?”
Joshua understood immediately.
“No, I didn’t intend to, but it was such a fascinating experience. There’s definitely something about that child.”
“There must be. Though I doubt they’ll ever tell us what it is.”
“They have many secrets, but fundamentally they seem quite plain.”
Maximian rested his chin in his hand, neither affirming nor denying.
“Still, learn to distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said. I don’t want the entire student body avoiding you before the year ends.”
The next day, the pies arrived.
It happened to be lunchtime. Since I’d cleaned the corridor yesterday anyway, it was convenient to make excuses to the caretaker and slip into the South Tower. As I moved the pie bags back and forth several times, Boris broke the lock and left the door open. With bags in both hands, Maximian pushed the door open with his elbow and spoke to Boris.
“But you—at first glance you seem like you wouldn’t get involved in something like this, yet somehow you keep doing it?”
“Not retaliating when humiliated isn’t the way I was taught.”
“A broken door with a broken door, jam with jam?”
The room was relatively well-organized. Upon seeing clothes and books clearly in use, neat furniture and carpets, even Lucian, who had suggested this plan, hesitated slightly.
“Hmm, what should we do?”
Just then, a pie flew from behind and struck the window directly. Jam splattered everywhere and the pie slid down. Turning around, Joshua appeared from nowhere, brushing pie crust from his hands with a grin.
“A direct hit, right?”
Maximian’s expression turned incredulous.
“When did you get here?”
“If I didn’t participate in something like this, there’d be no point in coming to school.”
Lucian turned around and snickered.
“So you skip studying but join in room warfare?”
Joshua rolled up his sleeves entirely and picked up a pie in each hand as he spoke.
“This is more fun than I thought? I love the sound when they burst.”
Splat! Splat!
After Joshua threw about four pies, Lucian joined in. As the two of them giggled and vied to throw, the living room became a battlefield in moments. Pie crust flew and jam streamed across the floor. The other two didn’t even need to participate. They adopted proper throwing stances, competed on accuracy, and eagerly sought out spots not yet covered in jam. As time passed, their hands, sleeves, trousers, and hair became so covered in pie crust and jam that they resembled assistant pastry chefs who’d fallen into a dough vat at the Pastry Shop. Maximian, standing behind with his hands in his pockets, spoke.
“The two of them play well together.”
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 this book’s contents, 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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