Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 550

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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 2.
The Princess and the Detective (2)
Lorang understood immediately what Captain Crupard meant. He was speaking of Etoile’s standing. The era the captain described was Etoile’s golden age—those elite soldiers who were the pride of the Orlanne Grand Duchy, who had saved the Grand Duke’s life four times over, suppressed the northern rebellion, and led the eight-year war against Anomarad to victory. The Royal Guard had been so proud that upon enlistment, regardless of one’s station, recruits had to begin as trainees and pass through five stages of trials before becoming a formal member of Etoile.
But now the organization was hardly worthy of being called the Royal Guard. The relationship with the Grand Duke’s family was no longer what it once had been. After several incidents, the Grand Dukes had maintained a careful distance from Etoile, and the organization’s scale and influence had gradually diminished. What had once numbered five hundred members now consisted of merely eighty. The number of “Etoile Filons”—as the trainees were called—was only three hundred. With such reduced numbers, it would be difficult to function as an independent unit in wartime. Of course, since Etoile’s skills remained sharp, they would undoubtedly take the vanguard, but still.
Lorang did not voice all his thoughts but simply said this:
“We’re at peace now. Etoile has little work to do. In this age, we’re just unnecessary overkill. We might as well go to festivals and perform sword dances.”
“Peace, and yet the nation is in this state.”
Lorang, who had been looking ahead, did not miss Captain Crupard’s sidelong glance at the rear ranks. Maintaining broad awareness was an important training objective for Etoile. Lorang quickly glanced back as well, then shrugged and muttered.
“True enough. Wow, the nation’s fate is like a candle before the wind. And somehow, the captain and I are the ones bearing that burden?”
Despite the exaggerated tone, Lorang’s face held no smile. Crupard bit his lip instead of answering. Following at the very rear was someone they could not help but be acutely aware of—a trainee with no voice in matters, yet simultaneously the princess who would inherit the Orlanne Grand Duchy: fifteen-year-old Charlotte de Orlanne.
Such an unusual and delicate situation was unwelcome to anyone. Lorang and Crupard had spent the journey reminiscing about old times, trying to convince themselves it was nothing serious, that such things happened—but it was futile. How could it be nothing? If the princess were to suffer even the slightest injury, both of them would face considerable trouble, and what damage would befall Etoile’s standing? What harm to its reputation? And how would the Grand Duke himself react?
There were, of course, unavoidable reasons why matters had come to this pass, but in Lorang’s view, those were all mere pretexts. The true decisive reason was the stubbornness of their “deeply respected commander.” Had it truly been necessary? Though there was no precedent, couldn’t they have simply postponed the trainee assignment by a year or so? Why bring her to such a place at all?
The Montagne Region in northern Orlanne had always harbored weak loyalty to Orlanne. It was the only place in history where a rebellion had occurred. Though it had been suppressed long ago and now supposedly remained dutifully loyal, why would they send the princess to such a land with a history of insurrection, attached to a scout division of merely dozens of soldiers? Why bear such risk? And in such circumstances, there were only two formal members of Etoile, with nothing but a heap of trainees besides.
“Commander… I respect you, but… you understand… what I’m trying to say…”
Though Lorang muttered his complaints mixed with air-curses, Crupard pretended not to hear. The people of the “Island of Apples,” who were said to possess rather unusual customs, had requested that they verify some artifacts they had discovered—a trivial mission, really, just to receive them and return. Yet somehow the back of his neck prickled, he felt an inexplicable urge to sneeze, and the guides walking ahead of them seemed as though they might suddenly turn around and perform a sword dance. It was hard to call such feelings mere paranoia. In short, they were deeply uncomfortable with this situation.
“Captain, this would qualify for a hazard allowance when we report back to the commander, wouldn’t it?”
“There’s no hazard allowance. There’s no hazard.”
“But a mission that wasn’t dangerous can always become dangerous, can’t it? This is more demanding than any mission I’ve undertaken since becoming Etoile.”
“You’ve been Etoile for what, about two years now?”
“Of course I’m not comparing myself to you, captain, who’s weathered all manner of troubles. I simply prefer work where I can do my best with my abilities. This kind of thing—seemingly harmless on the surface but potentially explosive beneath—where I have to stay tense the whole time? I absolutely hate it.”
“It bothers you that you can’t see it?”
Crupard suddenly turned his head and called out loudly.
“Charlotte!”
At that, quick footsteps sounded from behind. The other trainees scattered as if by agreement. The girl who ran up to them saluted sharply and spoke rapidly.
“Trainee Charlotte, reporting as summoned.”
Regardless of one’s birth, once admitted to Etoile, no hierarchy superseded that of the organization itself. All inherited privileges and titles were suspended until after one became a formal member. Until then, like all trainees, the princess was addressed by name alone, without honorifics.
Her short black hair gleamed; large eyes ringed by thick brows and stiff lashes held a childlike roundness yet burned with fierce intensity. Her face was younger and more delicate than her years, yet her expression was striking. Though a princess, Charlotte wore the same standard trainee uniform as the others, boots on her feet, a sword at her side distributed equally to all. She carried no distinguishing items whatsoever. A stranger would never guess she was the daughter of a Grand Duke, let alone nobility.
Lorang glanced at Charlotte with a somewhat heavy heart. It reminded him of his own younger sibling. He had heard that the princess and Bernard shared a close bond as siblings. Though he had never witnessed it directly, the rumor was likely not entirely unfounded. Despite the stern expression she wore now, surely the princess was deeply grieving her missing brother… Lorang’s thoughts were interrupted by Crupard’s command.
“Charlotte. From now on, stay beside Lorang. In other words, guard him.”
“Yes, understood.”
Charlotte answered immediately, but Lorang’s expression became as bewildered as if he’d been told to obtain an evening meal from a three-year-old.
“Wait, why would an Etoile member need to be guarded in the field? And by a trainee, no less?”
“You’re questioning an order.”
Lorang fell silent at once. Even though they had been joking moments before, it was unacceptable to contradict a commander’s orders. Etoile had no formal ranks and regarded one another as brothers, conversing familiarly regardless of age, but once a mission began, the authority of the responsible party and their support was clearly defined. However, who held responsibility varied depending on the mission.
Charlotte stood a pace away, one hand resting on her sword hilt, her posture tense as she scanned ahead—including Lorang. By any measure, she appeared fully committed to guarding him. Seeing this, Lorang barely suppressed a hollow laugh and understood. Ah, I see.
Charlotte believed she was guarding Lorang, but in truth, it was the reverse. By calling the princess forward from the rear ranks and placing her within their sight, Crupard had effectively ordered Lorang to guard Charlotte. It was the right decision. Now that Lorang grasped the situation, he glanced at Charlotte once more, then made a soft sound and closed his mouth, his gaze sharpening ahead. His banter ceased entirely. Crupard spoke no further.
Lorang had been born the son of a knight’s family, but the man he was destined to serve—Jacob, son of Baron Dufois—had been a notorious scoundrel since childhood. Lorang found the endless misdeeds of Jacob, who was nearly his age, so repugnant that he could barely endure it. He had pushed himself relentlessly to become Etoile, thus escaping his fate. Had he not, on some foul day when his patience wore thin, he would have charged forward speaking harsh truths and likely taken a blade in the back. For that reason, he had never enjoyed guarding nobility, but this time felt somehow different.
Charlotte’s existence as both princess and trainee was well-known, though he had only learned of it by reputation. This was his first mission serving with her, so he knew little of her character. He had heard that Princess Charlotte became an Etoile trainee at eleven years old. Though it had been decades since a member of the Grand Duke’s family had attempted to join Etoile, it was not impossible. Indeed, as Princess Matilda had done, in earlier times princes and princesses not in line for succession had often pursued the Etoile path. Those who failed to reach the final trial were granted honorary Etoile status and positioned in the front rows at ceremonies for the sake of appearances.
But that was all during the era when relations between the Grand Duke’s family and Etoile were good. Things had changed now. When young Charlotte had declared her intention to become Etoile, considerable controversy had erupted in the Orlanne Court. The prevailing opinion was that it was a pointless endeavor. The name Etoile no longer carried the prestige and honor it once had. It was no longer a symbol of loyalty. People said they were those who valued their own Order so highly that they quibbled even when the Grand Duke issued commands. What remained to Etoile was merely the image of beings who had endured tremendous training—something barely human.

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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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