The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 101
As always, Miller was exceedingly weak when it came to lies.
In an instant, he was seized by terror and frantically pulled Fezin into an embrace.
“You know.”
“…….”
“There’s only one thing I’ve ever wanted. Truly just one. To be with the person I love. That’s all. Please. Fezin, have pity on me. Be on my side. Just as I have been until now, just as you have been……”
While he was thus pleading with the younger brother who had long since outgrown him, Kayani, who had been inside the hall, looked out and urged them forward.
“Gentlemen, the funeral is about to begin. Would you please take your seats?”
At that, Fezin pushed Miller away and adjusted his clothes before answering.
“Very well.”
He stepped into the funeral hall first, and Miller stood there for a moment before hurrying after him.
As they headed to their seats, the priest was also moving toward the front to preside over the funeral.
Once seated, Fezin stared at April throughout the priest’s address, never once bowing his head.
「I’m so lonely. The house is too big. The world is cold and it hates me. I want to hate it back, but I have nothing in my hands, so I can’t even manage to hate. I can’t cry, and I can’t resent anything, so what am I living for?」
April’s voice pierced his heart. Like a blade.
Fezin gritted his teeth against the pain as he realized the truth too late.
April stabbing his heart was not the nightmare. That had merely been a dream to ease his guilt.
The real nightmare was his reality—having betrayed her, yet having lost his heart to her anyway.
This was hell, and this was the nightmare.
“My deepest condolences.”
“Thank you for coming.”
The funeral—the first in seven years—proceeded in an atmosphere that wasn’t overly somber.
April greeted the mourners, checking their faces and engaging in brief conversations about how they were faring.
It was almost funny to call it an advantage, but since the funeral provided a rare occasion for the Lunos clan to gather, no one raised their voice or displayed excessive emotion.
There were no outbursts from those demanding money from the Main Family, nor were there any sobbing apologies for past neglect. That calm atmosphere put April’s mind at ease.
Above all, because there was the formal pretext of “condolence gifts,” Miller couldn’t interfere no matter how much money was offered. Legally, April Runos was amassing funds for the Runos family.
April noticed that Millet Virta, who had been organizing the gifts for some time, was glancing her way. However, she couldn’t leave her spot for even a second as she was handling all the mourners alone.
April instinctively looked toward Fezin for help, and though he wore a look of annoyance, he moved toward Millet Virta. He then took a note from her and, without opening it, discreetly carried it over to hand it to April before disappearing.
When April opened the note, an involuntary “Ha!” escaped her lips as she let out a dry laugh.
[1 Clipper (Fast Sailing Ship) – Alice Lord]
Someone had given a ship as a funeral gift.
She immediately left the Grand Banquet Hall to find Alice Lord, who was smoking a cigarette she hadn’t been able to light during the long service.
Alice was one of the three younger sisters of the previous Lunos Head of the Family, and she was the one people often said April resembled most.
“Auntie.”
“Why are you calling me again?”
Alice snapped back with a look of utter exhaustion.
April spoke with an expression of disbelief.
“You gave me a ship.”
“Yes, it’s not like it’s being sailed anyway.”
“Still, how can you give a ship as a……”
“I received it as part of my inheritance, and I’ve never sailed it once. I don’t even know if it’ll still float.”
“I’ll try to have it repaired.”
“The repairs will cost you more. It’s cheaper to keep a ship moored.”
It seemed she had never set sail because the potential loss if the ship sank would be too great.
Alice spoke as if she were disposing of something useless, but it wasn’t so for April.
“It’s my first ship.”
“You were originally meant to have many merchant vessels. Why are you so happy over a single one?”
“Because I haven’t had a single merchant vessel out of those many. I am happy with this one. Truly.”
“You only get one chance. The odds are very low. If I were you, I’d use the condolence money from today for something else rather than gambling on a thing like that.”
Alice took another drag of her cigarette before continuing.
“…Well, I suppose that’s what I would do. So it’s only right to give it to you, since you’re the one who might actually launch it.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“If you’re planning to use this as an excuse to keep in touch, don’t bother. Don’t think of bothering me anymore. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to cross those mountains?”
Alice acted as if she were disgusted, but April, knowing her personality, found that familiar attitude welcoming.
Her father used to describe this sister as ‘lazy and foul-mouthed, but the most reliable of all my siblings.’
Until now, April had only understood the lazy and foul-mouthed part, but today she understood what he meant by her being the most reliable.
She hadn’t been able to deliver a letter to Alice, who lived beyond the mountains, personally; she’d had to send it through a mailman. Yet, Alice had traveled that long road to come here.
Alice was a woman of her word.
Just as April was feeling renewed gratitude for that fact, Alice spoke again.
“Your father brought you to my house once, when you were little.”
“Yes, I remember. You said it was a nuisance and wouldn’t come to visit us even once.”
“I meant I didn’t need to see you, but he insisted on showing you to me. He brought that little child all that way just to show her to me, saying she looked like me. Bringing a child when you can’t even tell who they look like or who they’ll grow up to resemble.”
At her words, April smiled and nodded.
“I couldn’t have been happier during that trip back then.”
Alice shook her head as if she couldn’t understand.
Since she clearly wanted to finish her cigarette in peace, April excused herself.
After a brief rest following the funeral, only the close relatives—including her mother’s two older brothers and her father’s younger siblings—moved to the monastery.
In the basement of the monastery, where the Lunos family ossuary was located, the former Head of the Lunos Family and his wife found their final rest.
This monastery had been built through the donations of the Lunos family, and the priests were mostly comprised of Lunos kin.
In front of the ossuary, April and the mourners followed the priest through the final rites.
April watched as the urns were placed into the niche carved into the basement floor and the door was closed over them.
On the door—made of fine wood and glazed, crafted by Bauman—April had inscribed her parents’ names and the phrases that had been written on the urns.
After the door was closed and the rest of the family had left the basement first, April remained in that spot for a long time.
Fred had been right. As the door to the ossuary closed, it felt as if a door inside her heart was opening. Grief came pouring out.
“Now I’m truly sad.”
April whispered, offering a tender farewell.
“I’ll come by often. Now that I know where you are, I can come whenever I want to.”
She clasped her hands together and murmured.
“I’m sorry. For falling in love with a Dieus man……. Other than that, I won’t be sorry. I’ll live well. Getting angry, being sorrowful. Cursing and hating, and occasionally laughing.”
With that final goodbye, she turned and climbed the stairs.
A funeral on the Right Island required a great deal of alcohol.
People would drink and drink again to soothe their sorrow. In the Grand Banquet Hall, the mourners would already be sharing stories of the deceased over drinks.
Her pace quickened as she left the monastery, wanting to hear those stories.
She felt her parents, who had occupied her heart for the past seven years, waving from behind her.
She suppressed the urge to turn back and run to them.
It was time to let them go.
