Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 607

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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 59.
The Velvet Invitation (20)
“Are you saying that because you’re dismissing me, you’re spouting nonsense?”
Maximian shook his head and exhaled a weak sigh, then pressed his temple with his hand.
“When you fabricate a story, you need a modicum of understanding for the person who will hear it, and respect. It may sound like a strange paradox that false tales demand more courtesy than truth, but if you’re going to weave lies into half your words, put sincerity into the other half. That’s how people believe you. An actor I know—a theatrical producer, actually—once told me that every script written by someone who thinks they’re playing above the audience’s heads ends in failure.”
Espin listened with a cynical expression, but as he finished speaking, her face drew closer to one of contemplation. Then a faint smile crossed her lips.
“That argument sounds plausible. In other words, you didn’t so much deduce anything as fail to sense sincerity in my words. And you believe that alone is enough to judge the truth of what I said. It’s a sound approach, but it seems the world has shown you courtesy.
I never received any. Around me were only unidentifiable masses. Either discarded because they were unnecessary, or deliberately set as traps—garbage like that. Even when I find something that looks presentable among them, I hesitate to put it in my mouth. I carefully sift through it to find something edible, place it in my mouth, and chew while wondering if it’s poison, if it’s rotted…”
As Espin spoke, her mask was thinner than any Maximian had seen before. Perhaps his words had influenced her somewhat. Looking at that blank canvas of a face, Maximian began to understand why Espin’s appearance had shifted so dramatically each time. He’d thought himself quite skilled at seeing through masks, yet he hadn’t even known it was one.
“Do you think I’ve lived my whole life accepting only picnic baskets wrapped in checkered cloth? Even so, if someone shows genuine feeling—continuous genuine feeling—wouldn’t you recognize it after experiencing it just once?”
Espin shook her head.
“I’ve never felt it.”
“Were all the people around you untrustworthy?”
Espin raised her eyebrows coldly, then lowered them.
“Yes. Every single one, without exception.”
Had a few of those who served Princess Charlotte heard what Espin said in that moment, they would have been deeply troubled. For years, they had genuinely cared for the Princess and devoted themselves to helping her. Yet the Princess herself trusted none of them. Then what meaning did this gathering hold?
If they knew this truth, the bond they now shared would not easily endure. Of course, Charlotte understood this, which is why she had never expressed it to anyone. They loved her and stood beside her and helped her, but someday they would leave. Some problems she could weather, but others would shatter the relationship, and once the threshold was crossed, everything would end. She did not wish to harbor anger toward those who made their exit then. So she would not expect eternity. It was enough to show them the glittering surface.
The face Charlotte showed before them shone with vitality, yet simultaneously possessed an unadorned simplicity that made it difficult to perceive the emptiness beneath the surface. It was all the more so because she was a Princess and sovereign, not a friend. Only Lorang, who had once glimpsed Charlotte’s bare face, had ever said it felt like “holding a hand clad in smooth velvet gloves.” It was a subtle veil that only the eyes of someone who had observed carefully over a long time could detect.
Then unexpected words tumbled from Maximian’s lips.
“You’re afraid. That’s why.”
“What?”
“That is… no, you’d never admit it. Not after living like that. Ah, never mind. That’s enough. I’m done now.”
Espin didn’t know why Maximian was saying such things, but she caught onto one thing and immediately let out a derisive laugh.
“I never asked for your help, did I? Why don’t you cure yourself of the delusion that you can see into someone’s heart after exchanging a few words?”
Maximian flinched slightly, then responded at once.
“You’re right. People are unknowable. I don’t even understand myself, and I’m me.”
“But listen…”
Espin drew a deep breath and continued.
“What you said earlier had some persuasive power. Just because I’ve only received garbage doesn’t mean I can only give the same. I could try mixing in a little sincerity first. But you decide what that is. With your deductive powers. I can’t bear all the risk alone.”
It was an ambiguous statement, but Maximian responded without hesitation.
“Then how about this? I’ll tell you five things I’ve deduced about you, and if three or more are correct, you give me one simple, easy truth.”
“What truth?”
“Your real name.”
“…”
Her hesitation was unmistakable. Maximian had suspected that Espin Charles wasn’t her real name, but when someone hesitated to this degree, it was invariably a matter of identity—unless she were an infamous criminal or member of a secret organization. Even as he reasoned thus, Maximian simply waited. And he wasn’t particularly afraid. He didn’t think any identity could be more extraordinary than that of the heir to the Anomarad Ducal House.
“Fine.”
Maximian’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He had thought she would refuse. But soon, as if it didn’t matter, he loosened his cravat a little and continued speaking.
“Good. First, those pistols you’re searching for—the person seeking them is yourself, not some noble personage or anything of the sort.”
They locked eyes. The moment their gazes met, both understood the other’s intent. Each was trying to read emotion in the other’s eyes. Who would hide better? Espin’s lips curved upward slightly. Maximian’s expression became one of amusement before he spoke.
“Second, you didn’t encounter me by chance. You knew I would come, and you were waiting for me in that Grand Square.”
“Did it look that way?”
Espin tilted her head back with an amused laugh. Until now, we’d both maintained our composure. But when the third point emerged, everything shifted.
“Third, your reason for seeking the pistol must be connected to that ability you possess—your power to summon Psyche.”
“….”
“Fourth, you won’t be the only one searching for the pistol. In other words, you’ll have competitors.”
Espin had stopped smiling now. Her eyes widened slightly as she fixed an unwavering gaze upon me, not even blinking.
“Fifth, there will be a deadline. A time limit by which you must obtain these pistols. I’d wager… a year?”
Having finished speaking, I extended one hand, opening my palm as if to say: four points so far.
Espin’s gaze drifted momentarily to the table before lifting to meet mine with unmistakable confidence. I responded to that self-assured look by narrowing my eyes slightly in question. Instead of answering, she extended her fingers one by one, beginning with her thumb.
Two.
Three.
Then, as if uncertain whether to unfold the remaining fingers, she wiggled them slightly while glancing at me. Anyone would struggle to extend their ring finger in that sequence, but clearly that wasn’t her intention. I spoke.
“I’ll acknowledge the first three since we agreed on that scope, but you don’t want to say whether there are more beyond that?”
Espin’s lips curved into a mischievous smile.
“How perceptive. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. And right now, I’m thinking something.”
One of Espin’s eyebrows dipped slightly—a habit she displayed when making a firm decision.
“I’ve decided I must hire you, by any means necessary.”
Rather than startled, I looked at Espin with an expression of disbelief before responding.
“Hey, if you come at me like that, you know the price goes up, right?”
“That’s fine. I have plenty of money. Want to ask for more? Name any amount.”
“….”
After a moment, I furrowed my brow and tapped the table several times with my index finger.
“That attitude of yours is exactly the same as what I saw when you were at Nenyaple, so let me tell you something I wish I’d said back then. Humans aren’t chess pieces. Even if you spread out your chessboard and find a human who would fit perfectly in a certain square, you can’t simply push them into that position as you wish. Who would listen to someone who sees them as nothing more than a chess piece?”
Perhaps that metaphor reflected Espin’s entire perspective on the world. I couldn’t claim to know her particularly well at this point, yet sometimes a single gesture contains an entire life compressed into miniature form. I then raised my hand, pointing into empty space, and curled my fingertips as if summoning something.
“Do you want to have a conversation? Then come down from your chessboard too.”
Espin rolled only her eyes to look at my fingertips. After a moment of this, she nodded and spoke.
“Understood. I’ll take back what I said about hiring you. And I apologize. Let me start over from the beginning. I need your help. Help me. Become my colleague.”
I gazed into Espin’s large, dark eyes for a moment. Shortly after, my head tilted ever so slightly. She mirrored the gesture with a nod of her own.
“Thank you.”
She then rose abruptly from her seat and spoke.
“And I’ll take your opinion to heart and forget about the money. That’s what colleagues do, isn’t it? I’ll treat you to lunch. Consider it a celebration luncheon for our partnership.”
Espin picked up the bill and headed straight for the entrance. I sat there momentarily bewildered by the consequences of my own eloquent words. Good grief—here I was, someone with no talent for earning money, yet possessed of a remarkable gift for squandering it. What had I just said at the moment she was about to sign a blank check?
But soon I shrugged and rose to follow slowly after her. Just as Charlotte finished settling the bill and turned toward the entrance, I leaned forward from behind her and asked.
“What’s your real name, anyway?”
Charlotte nodded before answering.
“Charlotte.”
“That’s your real name?”
“Yes, it’s my real name. Everyone calls me that.”
“No, there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
As the door opened, bright light flooded in. Charlotte walked out into that luminous space and spoke.
“Apart from that, there were people who called me Marie, and there was also one person who called me Alouette.”

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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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