The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 120
“Shut down the factories?”
“Yes. If you do that, I’ll hand over not only what I have now, but also the ore veins owned by the Lunos family to the Grand Duchy.”
Miller realized two things at once: that April had figured out the cause of the Fog, and that she didn’t know he had known all along.
Faced with her proposal, Miller forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile.
Searching for the right words, he finally spoke.
“Do you have any idea how many jobs those factories create? Do you think the world just changes on its own? Without the Empire’s help, the Grand Duchy could never have developed this much.”
April replied calmly to his refusal.
“I know it’s difficult. But you must shut the factories down. As quickly as possible.”
“Why?”
“Because those factories are the cause of the Fog.”
Miller focused on April’s eyes, trying to see if she was testing him.
Even upon closer inspection, the quiet rage she held toward him remained unchanged.
Those eyes were always ready to punish him given the chance.
Yet, to resolve the crisis of the Fog, she was asking him to shut down the factories—offering the overwhelming leverage she held in exchange.
Miller considered whether he should keep lying.
But he knew the lie wouldn’t last long. He was terrible at lying, and in the end, April would surely find out the truth.
Miller gave up on trying to deceive her.
“I know.”
“…You know what?”
“I know the factories are the cause of the Fog.”
He watched April, who couldn’t bring herself to fully comprehend his answer even after hearing it clearly.
Though he hated to admit it, she possessed an undeniable sense of justice. It seemed April had never even imagined that Miller would know the cause of the Fog and simply leave it be.
She was a woman who did not compromise, both then and now. And that rigid integrity now drove Miller Dieus into a state of extreme shame.
To escape that shame, he pressed on.
“But April, do you know how many people have died from that Fog over the last three years?”
“I don’t.”
“Exactly seventy-four people. But do you know how many people starved to death each year before that?”
Knowing April was in no state of mind to answer, Miller spoke even faster.
“Just among those we could account for in the Capital City, over a hundred people died every year. Because food was scarce. Because blight ruined what little food we had. But since the Empire’s factories relocated here in droves, people aren’t starving to death anymore.”
“…Are you actually using that as an excuse right now?”
“Regardless, the death toll has decreased. And now, with that dye you brought, even those seventy-four people won’t have to die anymore. So shutting down the factories is…”
“Miller.”
April cut him off.
“Stop clouding the issue. You’re always like this. You were then, and you are now.”
Miller flinched at the biting coldness in her voice.
For a moment, he was reminded of the late Grand Madame of the Lunos family. April continued with the exact same expression and tone the Grand Madame used when she scolded him.
“Fine, let’s say you want to have everything you desire. But do you also hate being disliked? Do you want me to tell you that you bear absolutely no blame for the seventy-four deaths?”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“I came here because I believed this is a moment where you must take a firm stand. This is the Grand Duchy, and you are the ruler of this land.”
“Yes, a Grand Duchy, not a kingdom. Which means there is nothing I can do.”
“Still, you are the only one who can. Even though you killed my parents, I had no choice but to come to you. This is your duty, and you must do it.”
“I have my own…”
“Don’t try to run away!”
When Miller showed signs of arguing back again, April shouted fiercely. She took a ragged breath and continued.
“If you can’t take responsibility, then end your own life. So the responsibility can pass to someone else.”
“To who else?”
“Anyone! The Parliament, or your sons!”
“Or do you mean Fezin?”
At that name, April went silent.
Wanting exactly that reaction, Miller pressed on.
“You don’t actually believe those kids can resolve what I cannot, do you? So, in truth, you want me to pass my duty to Fezin? But do you know something? Or is it something you already knew?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You do know that Fezin’s duty was to protect the Empire from the very beginning, don’t you?”
April faltered at his sarcastic words.
Miller believed he only needed to deflect the arrows aimed at him, as he always did. Right now, Fezin was a convenient shield.
He hated anyone being angry with him. He hated it when the person he loved did, but he equally hated it when someone who despised him directed that hatred back at him.
What can I possibly do here?
Would things have been better if I had just married April as my parents wanted?
Even if he had, Miller believed he wouldn’t have been able to stop the Empire, and he couldn’t imagine a life where he couldn’t fulfill his own love.
As April stood frozen, Miller spoke to her again.
“You think I should take my own life? You’re just like your parents. If someone has a different opinion and you don’t like them, you try to kill them. But don’t forget. You are still under police surveillance. Less than a year has passed since your seven-year confinement ended, and you shouldn’t be saying such things to me already.”
“…”
As Miller spoke, it felt to him as though April had become like an object that had always been in that spot.
It was only natural that Fezin had sided with the Empire. If such a situation had arisen, wouldn’t Fezin have known before anyone else?
Yet Miller found it rather strange that she had stopped so utterly still like that.
Was it because of love?
Indeed, love always ruined everything.
Miller walked toward her as she made no move to approach him.
“April.”
Only when he drew close did April finally speak.
“Of course I resemble them. My parents.”
“What?”
“Ah, actually… I feel much more at peace now.”
Miller’s eyes narrowed at her completely unexpected words.
April even curled her lips into a smile as she continued.
“Usually… fourteen-year-old girls who enter society early are like that. They think every problem happens because they aren’t pretty enough. I was like that too. So I felt sorry to my parents. I thought they died because I couldn’t win your love.”
“It wasn’t entirely unrelated.”
“No, it was completely unrelated. I realized that just now, listening to you babble. My parents made the right choice. Now I understand perfectly.”
She was actually laughing now.
“The last thing my parents said before they died was this.”
“It was bound to happen anyway.”
“I love you.”
“They said it was bound to happen anyway.”
Miller was not unnerved by her laughter.
April Lunos had always been like this. When she was terribly angry, she would burst into laughter. Like a witch dancing upon a fire she had set to the world. As if that laughter and anger were her true essence.
What unnerved him was that her laughter was not because of Fezin. The fact that love had not severely shaken her was the only thing that unnerved Miller.
Miller rang the bell once to summon his guard.
A knight of the guard entered the office and stood between April and Miller.
Regardless, April kept speaking.
“My parents had to kill you back then. Because you are unfit to lead this Grand Duchy. Because you are a murderer who took seventy-four lives!”
“Shut up!”
“No, you can’t silence me. You can’t even if you kill me. You don’t even know what you did wrong, do you? You think you had no choice, don’t you? You still turn a blind eye to the fact that thinking you had no choice is the greatest excuse for your evil deeds!”
Miller’s clenched fists began to tremble with rage. The knights of the guard were at a loss, unable to drag a noblewoman out by force.
April put the bottle back into her bag and turned around of her own accord.
Behind her, Miller spoke.
“I will report what you just said to the police. The fact that you, who are still under surveillance, are thinking of killing me will be subject to punishment.”
Hearing his words, April let out a laugh.
She walked back down the ornate hallway she had come from and left the Grand Duke’s Residence.
