The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 102
Chapter 102
* * *
April was reminded once again of the fact that the Lunos family had been a merchant house.
The people gathered for the semi-mandatory funeral took advantage of this meeting they hadn't particularly wanted, using it as an opportunity to buy and sell goods they needed.
Until now, they had avoided meeting for fear of incurring the Grand Duke's displeasure. Realizing there would be few chances to gather in the future, they were determined to settle everything today.
April had hoped that serving them alcohol would lead to stories about her parents' days in high society, but those tales ended quickly, and the conversation turned incessantly to money.
After humoring their talk for a while, April headed toward Millet Virta.
Finally able to speak with her, Millet said,
“Regarding the funeral. It was a truly brilliant idea. It was a way to legally gather funds for the Main Family.”
“Yes, I feel sorry to my parents for using them like this, but...”
“I’m sure they would be pleased. With the cash on hand right now, you can repay all the money you owed using the estate as collateral. And there will still be enough left to send a ship out to the distant seas.”
“I can finally send out a ship.”
“Yes, you can send a ship, Miss April. However, finding a crew is...”
As Millet trailed off with concern, April replied,
“I’m looking for one. They're being tested.”
“I see.”
Millet nodded, taking a deep breath as the tension that had gripped her chest until today finally eased. She then reached out to shake April's hand and said,
“You did a truly wonderful job this time, Head of the Family.”
April stared at Millet’s hand for a moment before slowly raising her own to shake it.
Because of her young age and the fact that she was the only one left in the Lunos family, no one had addressed her as the Head of the Family before.
But by summoning the Clan here today, she had earned that title from the person who would manage her assets.
April replied calmly,
“I haven't even reached the starting line yet. The Lunos family truly begins the moment the ship sets sail.”
“Correct. You’ll need to check the condition of the ship. To do that... a reliable captain is an urgent necessity.”
“Yes.”
As April answered, she looked in the direction of the Empire.
“That will have to be left to luck now.”
If the navigator brought Irsa back, she intended to use her as the captain.
Irsa had sufficient experience, but because she was left-handed, she had never been able to hold a position on a single ship for long. She was the most talented sailor April could possibly obtain right now.
Late into the night, April saw off the mourners as they departed one by one.
Having worn exceptionally high heels and spent the entire day standing, moving around, and talking, she felt as if her body no longer belonged to her by the time dawn approached.
“April, why don't you go inside and rest now?”
When Jeff asked with concern, April replied,
“I have to see off those who came from so far until the very end. I can do it.”
“Even so, your face has gone so pale...”
“I’ll rest as much as I want once all the guests are gone.”
When she remained stubborn, Jeff looked at his wife as if asking for help.
However, Eleanor took April's side, contrary to his wishes.
“Why are you telling the girl to go inside when she says she can do it?”
“I’m worried it’s too much for her...”
“It’s just one day. You think a girl in the prime of her youth can’t handle a single day?”
Eleanor pulled Jeff back as she continued,
“She’s the one who gathered the whole Clan here. She’s a strong child, so let her make her own decisions. Just give her help when she needs it.”
At Eleanor's words, Jeff said with a look of realization,
“You are absolutely right.”
He nodded in agreement and then spoke to April.
“Still, April, let me at least worry about you. I... I can never replace my older brother, but still, when you need a parental role, we want to be there for you.”
Eleanor nodded, as if they had already discussed this.
April nodded and gave them both a tight hug in turn.
Eleanor said,
“From now on, send any suitors to the Morrow family first. I heard you met a suitor immediately? That’s simply unheard of.”
“Actually...”
April chuckled, finding it funny how a complaint naturally spilled out the moment she heard her aunt and uncle's words.
“It was a total mess when the suitor came.”
“No, from what I heard, you handled it well for someone your age. I heard you used Fezin to get rid of him?”
“Um, it wasn't exactly getting rid of him...”
“You can be honest with us. Does it make sense for the Head of the Lunos family to marry into the Grand Family?”
“There was still a ship to inherit, though.”
“Honestly, your obsession with ships makes you a Lunos through and through.”
As Eleanor spoke with an exasperated air, both April and Jeff burst into laughter.
April found it strange that she was laughing. And she thought it was amazing how, despite not having seen them in so long, they truly felt like family.
By the time the sun rose the next day, the last mourner's carriage departed the estate.
April was about to fall into a dead sleep when she snapped her eyes open, realizing she hadn't thanked Fezin.
The Dieus family had returned home while she was at the monastery, and it seemed Fezin had likely returned then as well.
After all, while they had come to investigate the situation given the history of the Lunos family, it would have been strange for members of the Dieus family to stay in this place for long.
* * *
Miller had stayed awake through the night, his nerves even more on edge than April's.
He knew exactly what kind of gathering that funeral was. It was a scheme to secure funds for the Head of the Lunos family under the guise of condolence money.
Unlike when he couldn't predict how many would gather, once people with a sense of shared bloodline converged, the way they looked at the Grand Ducal family changed.
The fourteen-year-old April Lunos they remembered was there as an adult.
Her still-youthful, doll-like face watched the priest without a trace of sorrow, a stubbornness etched into her tightly set lips.
As the master of the Grand Duchy, Miller had been given a seat in the very front row alongside the chief mourner, so her face was visible to a bothersome degree.
He looked back at her several times, but April never cast a glance in his direction.
The April of that day did not look like someone who would submissively back away from what she couldn't have.
She chose to look grim rather than mournful or pitiful. She looked like someone who would rather burn everything to the ground if she couldn't reclaim the Lunos family of the past.
She looked, without a doubt, like the witch of the grand mansion filled with the glow of gaslights upon the hill.
The sharpened edge of that family head united the Clan. And the more they united, the more they exaggerated their own power. Eventually, they even went so far as to glare at the Dieus couple as if they were enemies.
It was absurd, yet understandable, to see the relatives looking proud as they openly coerced condolence money while summoning bank employees.
It was only natural that when the Head of the Family gained power, the relatives branching out from her would also become emboldened.
It was impossible to know exactly how much April had raised this time.
That fact was unsettling, but on the other hand, he reasoned rationally that the probability of her actually starting a trade business was ridiculously low, and the chance of it succeeding wouldn't even be one in a hundred.
