Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 553

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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 5.
The Princess and the Detective (5)
“No. Laurent Castille is an excellent member of Etoile and far stronger than I am. My brother told me he didn’t need me to protect him. I trusted him, but I’ve come to realize that trusting someone and protecting them are entirely different things. The world is full of unexpected events, and I won’t lose sight of someone I’ve decided to protect ever again.”
When Bernard was mentioned, Lorang flinched. He hadn’t expected Charlotte to speak of it so readily. But noticing her expression had hardened, Lorang softened his tone somewhat as he spoke.
“I understand how you feel, but I’m not him. There’s no need for you to go to such lengths. And the Grand Duke wouldn’t have wanted to be protected by his younger sister either….”
Charlotte immediately countered.
“No. My brother was the Grand Duke, and my swordsmanship was superior, so that’s why he wanted me to do it.”
“Wait, wasn’t the Grand Duke the champion of Silverskull?”
“That was….”
Charlotte, who had been about to answer, suddenly closed her mouth and turned her head away. Lorang realized his mistake immediately after speaking. He’d heard that Charlotte had entered Silverskull this year—the continent-wide sword tournament open only to those between fifteen and nineteen years old. But due to the Grand Duke’s disappearance, she’d had to return home urgently in the middle of the competition. So she wouldn’t have placed in the rankings. And given the circumstances, she would never compete again. It would have been better not to mention something that couldn’t be proven due to external circumstances, especially if it was because of the Grand Duke.
Lorang rubbed the back of his head and spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Charlotte remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a slightly lower voice.
“Either way, my swordsmanship is superior.”
“Yes…. That would be true.”
There seemed to be no better response than simply acknowledging it. But thinking about it again, admitting it wouldn’t improve Lorang’s situation at all.
“No, wait. That’s beside the point anyway. The thing is, I… as you know, the Captain’s orders didn’t mean that, did they?”
“It meant to protect me, didn’t it?”
When he looked up again, their eyes met. With their gazes locked, Charlotte spoke clearly.
“But I can protect myself.”
“And I can’t?”
“That’s not a question you should ask me.”
She finished speaking quickly, then stepped back and faced the entrance in the posture of a proper guard. Lorang stood momentarily stunned, his mouth slightly open. He felt as though he’d been outmaneuvered in an instant….
But honestly, he wasn’t particularly angry. It was likely because he’d just experienced that remarkable coordination. It was a level of synchronization that even members of Etoile rarely achieved without dedicated practice. Her perception of combat situations and flow matched that of an Etoile member, and she could even quickly grasp her opponent’s intentions. Training and experience were necessary, but the truth was that much of it had to be innate. He’d heard that the Grand Duke’s Family Clan carried the blood of warriors, but since he hadn’t experienced it firsthand, the cynical Lorang had dismissed it as mere flattery from the nobility.
“Since I fought directly, I should make a report. What do you think that was?”
When Crupard asked, Lorang quickly shook his head and organized his thoughts for the report.
“Judging by the lack of blood and sound when cut, it seems to be a spiritual or energy-based entity. But seeing how it fled for its life suggests it might be biological. There are too many of them and their movements are too erratic to suggest external control. My blade can cut them, but they don’t seem to completely dissipate. They transform into small spheres and fall away.”
Crupard then extended his hand, as if he naturally expected Lorang to have one. And indeed he did. Lorang made the expression of someone caught trying to show off, then reached inside his breastplate and withdrew a small sphere, holding it out.
“Here it is.”
In his outstretched palm lay a faintly glowing sphere. It was a mystery when he’d managed to pick it up amid all that chaos. Crupard turned toward the trainees and called out.
“Marie Louis!”
A gaunt trainee who appeared to be around twenty years old stepped forward from the ranks. His build didn’t match that of a warrior, and his clothing differed slightly from the other trainees as well. The color was the same black, but it was more like a tunic shortened to the knee. In other words, he was a Mage.
“Tell me what this is.”
Marie Louis took the sphere and examined it from various angles, muttering.
“It looks like solidified energy, but….”
Marie Louis withdrew a deep blue cloth that resembled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped the sphere in it. The sphere suddenly crumbled and vanished.
“What?”
Marie Louis hastily unfolded the handkerchief in surprise, but only white powder remained. Crupard’s eyebrows twitched. Marie Louis stammered in confusion.
“That is, this phenomenon is, I think….”
Marie Louis had no chance to finish. The trainees monitoring the entrance nearly simultaneously cried out.
“Again!”
Crupard commanded.
“Back in position! First row, ready!”
I stepped forward immediately, hand moving to my sword hilt as I approached the entrance. As the only member of Etoile besides the captain, it was only natural that I take the lead. But Charlotte following swiftly to position herself at my right was anything but natural. The positioning was sound, certainly, but…
When our eyes met, Charlotte’s lips curved into a smirk.
“I told you I’d protect you, didn’t I?”
I had no words, and no time to respond. The birds surged forward in a tidal wave, flooding through the entrance. I wished I could seal it off, but the crystalline barrier had been expended moments ago—I’d need more time to cast it again. As we both extended our blades simultaneously, something unprecedented unfolded. The birds pouring through the entrance began to coalesce. As they merged into a single mass, their avian forms dissolved entirely, transforming into a towering inferno of genuine flame. It was a metamorphosis I could never have anticipated.
“Fall back!”
Charlotte and I nearly moved in unison to pull each other away, our hands colliding in the process. But ultimately, I seized her wrist and dragged her toward me. As we barely pressed ourselves against the right wall to evade, the fireball filled the entrance completely, blazing as it trapped us all within. Then it suddenly erupted inward like a pyroclastic flow.
“Gasp…”
Everyone’s breath caught as we froze in place. My mind went white—no thought, no judgment possible in that instant. Just before the cave transformed into an inferno and we were all annihilated, Crupard’s voice cut through.
“Everyone to the right! Press in!”
Even in that state of paralysis, years of Etoile training moved us instinctively to obey. Around Crupard, points of air began to coalesce, then stretched toward the flames and curved. It was his specialty—Air Pressure. Though Etoile members possessed only one unique ability each, the absence of incantation time made it far more devastating than any mage’s spell in moments like this. As the flames were temporarily forced against the left wall, the entrance opened briefly.
“Everyone out! Now!”
The trainees, half their souls scattered, bolted through. Charlotte and I followed, with Crupard bringing up the rear as he called to me.
“Lorang!”
I was already turning. I extended my arm toward the entrance as I muttered.
“I know.”
I cast the crystalline barrier once more, sealing the entrance. It wouldn’t hold long, but it would buy us precious moments. Using my ability twice in succession would drain me considerably. I knew this, but there was no choice.
As I turned to flee, I found Charlotte still waiting beside me.
This time, my anger was genuine. The succession to the Grand Duchy, the nation’s fate—I’d cast it all to the dogs if it meant survival. Everyone else had fled for their lives. So why was she still here?
“You…”
But I couldn’t say more. My eyes widened instead. Behind Charlotte, stone was rising silently from the ground. An earthquake? Yet there was no tremor.
Charlotte saw it too. The wall behind me was moving as well. Like fabric rippling in the wind, it undulated slowly, reaching to ensnare us both. That it was stone, even as I watched it happen, defied belief.
We both reached out simultaneously, trying to pull each other away. Then, grasping the true danger, we pressed back-to-back instead. Trapped now in a prison mere paces across, we stood with our backs together, watching the stone walls closing in. Cold sweat drenched my entire body. Were we about to be crushed?

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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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