The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 115
Putting smokeless tobacco in one’s mouth made the upper lip protrude, making Shaefer look exactly like a chipmunk with its cheeks stuffed full of food. With that look, he continued speaking nonchalantly.
“Pezin knows it himself, too. That he was raised as an Imperial by Miller’s necessity.”
“……He knows it himself?”
“Of course he does. The guy is smart. But what does it matter? Nobles of our standing marry as we’re told and live our lives as we’re told.”
April returned the smokeless tobacco to Shaefer, her head aching from the mere smell of it in her hand.
The scent only made her already complicated thoughts even more chaotic.
Ending the conversation, April stood up immediately to find Pezin and speak with him, but he had already left the Lunos Mansion.
Just as he had said, he was not a guest, so he left no word when he appeared or when he departed.
April stared in the direction Pezin had gone for a long while.
Once Shaefer’s crowd also departed, the Lunos Mansion remained quiet for some time.
For several days, April discussed the ore with Kayani. After thorough discussions, on the day Kayani was to return to the Morrow family, the mansion became noisy once more.
“I’ll be back soon. Alright?”
“No.”
Hannah and Fred hated the thought of Kayani leaving so much that he was held captive in the lobby with an embarrassed expression.
Kayani said,
“You two can come play at the Morrow estate. And once you enter school, if you have any difficult schoolwork, come find me and ask. I’ll explain it to you in detail.”
“Just don’t go, young master.”
“I actually find math fun now…….”
“That’s right! It’s fun!”
The two children mumbled, desperately wishing Kayani would not return to the Morrow family.
The adults, knowing just how much these children had detested studying math, burst into laughter.
Among them, Bauman was the one who felt most regretful about Kayani’s departure. Having become very good friends with Kayani over the last few days, he felt deeply lonely at his leaving.
April gently pushed the back of Kayani, who had barely managed to escape the lobby, and said,
“Go quickly. Before someone starts crying.”
“Yes, unnie.”
Kayani smiled and bowed his head in farewell. Then, before boarding the carriage, he asked April,
“Ah, right. Unnie, Mother was wondering if you wouldn’t be using the banquet hall anymore this year. What do you think?”
“The banquet hall?”
“Yes. She mentioned that it might be time to start hosting social events. Mother truly thinks of you as her own newly gained daughter.”
At his words, April murmured,
“There are advantages and disadvantages.”
“Yes, even in my eyes, this part is a major disadvantage.”
Thinking of her as a daughter meant she had begun to show a great deal of interest in April’s marriage.
The fact that banquets were being mentioned was proof of that.
Since April would rarely be invited to parties in the future, she believed April had to host banquets herself to create opportunities.
After boarding the carriage, Kayani said,
“Well, even if it’s not a full banquet, she will probably visit you soon. Be well-prepared to receive a nagging.”
“I understand. Thank you for the warning.”
April said, gesturing for him to leave quickly. She intended to send him off before anyone ran over and lay down in front of the carriage to stop him.
After Kayani’s carriage departed, April returned to the mansion.
Bauman, who had been watching his friend and mentor depart with a lonely gaze, said to April,
“Come to think of it, Master Pezin hasn’t been seen lately either, has he?”
“Indeed.”
April replied with a calm that bordered on indifference.
Not only Pezin, but even the headquarters police were nowhere to be seen nearby these days. He had vanished right at the time she had the most to ask him.
Bauman looked worried, but April vaguely guessed the reason for his absence.
Since he had decided not to report the dye, it was highly likely he was undergoing investigation by the Imperial Police. The higher-ups wouldn’t leave him be.
Having completed the schedule regarding the dye and entrusting the extraction to Kayani, who had returned to the Morrow family, she felt it was time to visit the Sailor’s House.
She figured Kritz, the investigator, would have discovered something by now.
Yet, she had holed herself up in the Sailor’s House and brought no information to April.
April had tried not to rush her, but it was taking far too long. In particular, the lack of an answer even after she had gone to investigate the illicit liquor was highly concerning.
She directed her steps toward the Sailor’s House.
* * *
The Sailor’s House had become a place so boisterous that the clamor could be felt even twenty paces away.
April disliked the rowdiness, yet at the same time, she welcomed it. She had entered the Sailor’s House a few times when she was young. It was a different kind of boisterousness from the port taverns, which were hotbeds of crime. Of course, it was just as violent.
When she opened the door and walked in, most of the sailors were dead drunk, so for a while, no one noticed her standing at the entrance.
A sailor about her age approached.
“I didn’t even go out to sea, so am I dead? Why is a mermaid here?”
April knitted her brows at the words spoken while looking at her face.
“I clearly have legs, so what part of me looks like a mermaid?”
“No, I mean, because such a beautiful lady suddenly appeared…… If you’re not a mermaid, who are you?”
As the sailor, his vision blurred by alcohol, leaned his head in to get a better look at her face, April raised her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek.
Perhaps the sound carried, for the drunkards inside the Sailor’s House momentarily froze.
April spoke to the sailor, whose eyes were wide with astonishment.
“You should at least recognize the face of the person who gives you work.”
“The, the Lunos Head of Family?”
The sailor sobered up instantly and froze. Then, he hurriedly continued,
“I, I failed to recognize…….”
Before the sailor could finish his sentence, he was struck on the back of the head by Irsa, who had suddenly appeared. Without stopping at that single blow, Irsa began to pummel the sailor with his fists.
After a beating so fierce that even April’s eyes widened in surprise, Irsa looked around at the seamen in the Sailor’s House and said,
“Listen well. This is our shipowner, and the Head of the Lunos Family. If you don’t listen to me, you die by my hand, but if you don’t listen to the Head of Family, you’ll croak before that. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes, Captain!”
And the Sailor’s House did not become noisy again. It seemed they intended to keep their mouths shut until April left.
Irsa asked nonchalantly,
“What brought you here? There’s nothing but drunkards.”
“Where is Kritz?”
“In her room. Ever since she came back from investigating the illicit liquor, she’s done nothing but drink. You know it’s serious when a seaman is worried, right? She’s going to die at this rate.”
“I see. I’ll go in.”
April said, heading toward the room where Kritz was staying.
The doors of the Sailor’s House were thick, so when closed, they blocked out a significant portion of the noise from the drunkards outside.
Knocking on the door and receiving permission to enter, April looked around Kritz’s messy room and said,
“I don’t think I gave you space in this house so you could live like the sailors.”
At April’s words, Kritz, who was scrambling to pick up her glasses and stand up from the floor, tumbled back down onto the bed. Documents were scattered all around her.
“You did do some investigating, then?”
April knitted her brows as she spotted the papers around Kritz and reached to pick them up, only to freeze as Kritz grabbed her arm tightly. Kritz spoke with slurred pronunciation.
“I need assurance.”
“Assurance?”
“I know the cause of the fog for certain now, but I need assurance that Miss April won’t do anything impulsive after hearing it.”
“…….”
“Until I have that assurance, I cannot tell you. I am truly sorry.”
“Why shouldn’t I do anything impulsive?”
“Because then everyone here will die. No, not just us, but as a result, every single person in the Grand Duchy will starve to death. If you were to demand accountability for the cause of this problem…… No, I still can’t. I cannot tell you. I will discard this research.”
Kritz said, tearing the papers in her hand and dumping them into a locked drawer before locking it.
Even at her actions, April remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“You said starve to death, right?”
“Pardon?”
“Just now, you said that as a result, every single person in the Grand Duchy would starve to death. If I were to demand accountability for the cause of this problem.”
Kritz’s face turned pale at her own slip of the tongue, and she looked back at April.
She froze at the anger that instantly spread across April’s face.
April asked,
“Is it the Rasa Empire?”
“…….”
“That fog, was it something caused by the Empire?”
