The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 100
April remained there as the sun set, the golden glow of the twilight slanting through the window. It was only when the blue sky had slowly stained into shades of amber that she finally rose to her feet.
Stepping out of the room, she spotted Fezin standing in the hallway and narrowed her eyes.
“When did you get here?”
“About three hours ago?”
“You should have said something.”
“What kind of trash interrupts a daughter mourning her parents?”
Fezin spoke as he reached out a hand toward her.
When April placed her hand on his arm, Fezin led her toward her dressing room.
April spoke up.
“Why are you here so early?”
“I figured you’d be doing exactly what you were doing.”
“What does it matter to you?”
“I’m only planning to play house until today.”
She didn’t quite understand what he meant by that, but since the Dieus family servants were already waiting inside the dressing room he had opened, she couldn’t ask further.
“I’ll step out,” Fezin said, taking his leave.
Madame Eve guided her to a chair and began unfastening the hair April had tied up haphazardly.
“I knew I’d find you like this.”
“Do I have to look pretty even at a funeral?”
“Is this just any funeral? From what I heard from young Master Fezin, it certainly isn’t.”
As she combed through the loosened tresses with her fingers, Madame Eve continued.
“You must be beautiful today. So beautiful the whole world takes notice. You must look strong yet pitiable—pitiable, yet never so much that anyone in this world would dare look down on you.”
“…Did Fezin say that?”
“Yes.”
April nodded slowly.
How many people had arrived outside? The Morrow family would be there, and the Grand Duke… he would likely come. Given the prestige of the Grand Ducal house, he wouldn’t be able to refuse attending the funeral of a family with a lineage as long as the Lunos.
Madame Eve braided April’s thoroughly untangled hair into a large, elegant updo and secured it firmly.
She donned a hat with a black veil and black feathers, and every detail—from her earrings and necklace to her black gloves and black shoes—was adorned with pearls.
Once her grooming was complete, she stepped out into the mansion. Fezin was nowhere to be seen; instead, her uncle, Jeff Morrow, was waiting for her.
“Uncle.”
“Fezin is moving the funeral urns with Kayani. He insisted on doing it himself.”
“I see.”
April nodded, and Jeff continued.
“That boy… he’s worked quite hard today.”
“Worked?”
When April asked back in confusion, Jeff replied with a complicated expression.
“Yes. He’s been greeting the mourners, and he’s been going around with Mr. Bauman to make sure nothing was missed. A moment ago, I saw him pulling out a single wilted flower because he couldn’t stand the sight of it.”
“He really has been busy.”
“I’m not… particularly fond of the Dieus being here, but what can I do? He’s being far more helpful than I am, so I can hardly say a word.”
April forced a conscious smile. She asked tentatively, “Did many of the Lunos people… come?”
“Many?”
Jeff laughed at her question. It was a pleasant, lighthearted laugh she hadn’t seen in a very long time. He continued.
“You should see for yourself just how many have come.”
At his words, April tilted her head to the side, looking puzzled.
Escorted by Jeff, April arrived at the Grand Banquet Hall. The moment she stepped inside, she halted, finally understanding the meaning behind his laugh.
The Grand Banquet Hall was filled with rows of chairs arranged like a chapel, and every space between them was decorated with hyacinths.
The chandeliers, which had gathered dust for seven years, had every single crystal polished clean, splitting the light of a thousand candles into tens of thousands of beams to illuminate the mourners.
The hall was packed with people. Most of those from the Lunos family who had received her letters were there, accompanied by their families.
April asked Jeff almost unconsciously, “Why… why did so many come? This shouldn’t be possible. The people here think of me as a witch.”
“April.”
Jeff looked at her with eyes full of affection as he spoke.
“You don’t know the half of how much your parents loved you. They lived for you. They gave for you, and they became cold for you…”
“…”
“That is why, from the day you were born, the Lunos people all knew. No matter what hatred, distrust, or misfortune existed, they knew that when you needed them, they had to gather here.”
With a red tint still lingering around her eyes, April stared at the lights illuminating the banquet hall for a long time.
As the carriage carrying Miller and Heidi entered the Lunos estate, the grand mansion came into view through the window.
Looking at the manor, Heidi remarked, “It really is huge.”
“Isn’t it? I’m surprised every time I see it.”
Miller was wondering if it was truly right for him to be attending the funeral of the couple he had executed, but it had been difficult to refuse the invitation April had sent.
She had humbled herself sufficiently and requested that Miller and Heidi attend the funeral.
He had come reluctantly because of a letter he simply couldn’t turn down, but his sense of unease did not easily subside.
Upon arriving at the Grand Banquet Hall, the sound of a requiem played by musicians flowed out from within.
Never before had the sound of string instruments grated on Miller so much. Even though it was beautiful music, he felt an unusually strong sense of displeasure.
Heidi seemed to feel something similar. Her eyes, usually soft, had turned somewhat cold.
The two entered the funeral hall while keeping their two sons quiet.
Heidi eventually let out a scoff of disbelief, and Miller’s expression crumpled.
What kind of funeral was this extravagant?
At what kind of funeral did someone so brazenly demand such large condolence gifts?
Bankers were stationed on one side of the hall, accepting massive sums of condolence money from the mourners, most of whom were from the Lunos family.
The majority of the mourners, who were pulling out promissory notes and writing down figures, felt no surprise at the situation.
None of them were ignorant of the sentiment with which April Runos had granted a chance to mourn to those who had betrayed her parents.
Kayani Morrow, who was preoccupied with greeting guests, approached the two.
“Thank you for coming. I will escort you to your seats.”
“A lot of mourners have arrived.”
Heidi spoke in place of Miller, who had fallen silent.
Kayani led them to their seats, and directly behind them, a seat had been prepared for Fezin.
Not long after, April Runos arrived and took her seat across from them.
Fezin returned to his seat just before the funeral began, but Miller grabbed his younger brother’s arm and pulled him out of the hall for a moment.
Even out in the deserted yard, Miller seemed to have much he wanted to hide, as he held onto Fezin and whispered low into his ear.
“Why are there so many police here too?”
“They all just followed me because I said I was coming.”
“The Lunos people shouldn’t gather like this. Not in these numbers.”
Fezin narrowed his eyes and countered his anxious voice.
“If you hated it that much, you should have just killed her back then.”
“What?”
“It’s not like you spared her because you felt sorry for April anyway, right? You just didn’t want people saying you killed a child.”
Fezin watched Miller, who had instinctively grabbed him by the collar, and continued.
“Did you say I’m being nice to April because there’s something I want? Did you, hyung?”
Miller flinched at his expressionless brother’s question.
Fezin continued.
“Even if that were actually the case. Who are you to say such a thing?”
“You do want something. You’re staying by April’s side to carry out the orders you received from the Empire. You have to turn April into a witch. The cause of the fog…”
Miller stopped speaking abruptly mid-sentence.
However, Fezin could not simply let what he had heard slide.
“What did you say?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Hyung.”
“Let’s talk later.”
“About the cause of the fog…”
“I don’t know.”
“You know, don’t you?”
Fezin’s eyes began to tremble with fury.
“You know where that fog came from. Hyung, you knew… everything from the beginning?”
