The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 19
The officer continued his report.
“A group of noblemen were racing on the road along the ridge. There was an accident, and several pedestrians were knocked down the slope toward the lakeshore….”
It was a night where madness reigned. Even news of people acting with such insanity was no longer shocking.
However, unlike the officers who viewed the report as ‘something bound to happen eventually,’ April’s complexion darkened with a fury that went beyond mere shock.
“Have all the pedestrians been rescued?”
Perhaps something was wrong with her question, as every officer turned to look at April. Even the architect, who had been sitting slumped in exhaustion, lifted his head.
Logan quickly explained.
“This fog is strange… the concentration gets thicker the lower the altitude. The provincial capital’s lake is at the bottom of the hill, isn’t it? The fog itself is dangerous, but at the lakeshore, visibility is completely blocked.”
“So there is a chance of further accidents.”
April nodded and thought for a moment.
After some deliberation, she spoke to Fezin.
“Someone has to watch me here anyway. If there’s no one to spare, take me to the lakeshore. I’ll search for them.”
Fezin watched April intently without a word.
April continued.
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to be branded a witch… but it doesn’t matter if I’m out in the fog. For the past three years, I never knew I wasn’t supposed to go out when it was foggy. I was always outside, and I was fine. It seems I’m unaffected by that fog.”
“And?”
“And?”
“Right, let’s say you’re fine. But why are you the one going to rescue them? You’re not a police officer.”
After listening quietly to Fezin, April asked.
“Why are you worried?”
“What?”
“I’m saying I’ll help you with your work. Why are you worried?”
She felt that Fezin was being somewhat soft with her, and to her, that softness felt like kindness.
April had grown to dislike kind things. It was because she knew her standards for such things had become remarkably low.
If she were to fall in love, she would give her heart away until she was hollowed out, just as her parents had done, without even realizing she was being depleted.
Since there were so few beings left for her to love, all her heart might gravitate toward just one.
In a world so dark, she thought it would be horrific if there were only one brilliant thing.
It was better to see nothing at all than to live in fear of losing that brilliance.
So she spoke sharply, and Fezin crossed his arms, looking down at her as if he found her words absurd.
“Me? About you?”
“It’s clear I can be of help, yet you tried to stop me.”
“I spoke as an officer to a citizen.”
“Isn’t this the moment for an officer to ask a citizen for a favor?”
Fezin was momentarily speechless at April’s words, and he frowned, irritated by his own hesitation.
Ultimately, April joined the group heading to the accident site.
The weather was so thick that nothing was visible to the point where horses could not move, but since time was of the essence, they had to use a slower means of transport.
They brought a steam-powered bus, one of the few vehicles where speed was easier to control; it was a mode of transport April had seen even back during her trial.
However, it was slow and required constant labor to maintain the steam engine.
In the last seven years, steam-powered vehicles had almost entirely disappeared, replaced mostly by gas-powered ones.
The officers from the Empire marveled at the fact that such an antique still existed.
“This is beyond classic, it’s more like….”
“Outdated.”
“Doesn’t ‘classic’ also imply it’s a masterpiece? As far as I know, that vehicle was never a masterpiece.”
Leaving behind the officers’ commentary, April and Fezin boarded the bus.
It was only slightly faster than a run, but it was better than risking an accident, it preserved the officers’ stamina, and above all, it provided some protection against that horrific fog.
As they moved, Fezin spoke.
“Since we’re receiving help from a citizen anyway, you’ll receive a reward.”
“I want to go to the amusement park.”
“What?”
“I said I want to go to the amusement park.”
April repeated her request.
Fezin looked at her and asked.
“Why there of all places?”
“Because Hannah said she wanted to go. If I give that child money and tell her to go, she’ll go, but if I show up, people will be too busy running away.”
“I’ll make arrangements.”
Fezin understood and replied accordingly.
Meanwhile, the group arrived at the accident site.
April only realized what it meant for the fog to be denser at lower altitudes once she saw it with her own eyes.
Nothing could be seen. The fog-shrouded lake looked like a bottomless abyss.
Logan tied a rope securely around April’s hand and said.
“If the officers pull the rope, please pull it back once, My Lady. If you don’t respond, an officer will immediately climb down to find you. Pull it once if you find yourself in danger, too.”
“I understand.”
“If you find an injured person, pull three times. For a deceased person, pull five times.”
“I will.”
When April replied, the officers hesitated.
Fezin spoke up on their behalf.
“I’d appreciate it if you could repeat the instructions back to us. I can’t be sure you understood.”
“One pull for a response or if I’m in danger, three for the injured, five for the dead. Is this difficult?”
“It’s difficult to confirm that you actually heard it, that’s why.”
Fezin gave her a weary scolding and gestured with his chin for her to hurry. He then headed toward the perpetrator of the accident, who was being treated beside a carriage.
April left the police behind and descended the stairs.
Entering the dense fog, she could see barely a step ahead.
As she walked, April’s foot touched the lakeshore, and she quickly pulled back.
Fortunately, there was a thin layer of ice, so her foot didn’t plunge into the water, but that made the season even more dangerous. It would be a disaster if the thin ice broke and she fell in.
Groping through the fog, she eventually heard a groan from a distance. Soon, her hand touched a carriage.
April asked.
“Is anyone there?”
“Here… over here!”
A young man’s voice called out. As April approached and knelt beside him, she recognized the voice of a young nobleman.
“Damn it….”
April helped the young man, who was coughing in the fog, to his feet.
“Hold onto this rope and follow it up.”
“The problem is I can’t move!”
His ankle was broken, and he collapsed the moment he tried to stand.
April pulled the rope three times and said.
“An officer will be here to get you soon.”
“Let’s go up right now. I can’t stay here a second longer.”
As the young man spoke, April noticed a groaning sound coming from beneath the carriage.
She said.
“Hold onto the rope tightly. I’m going to go check.”
“Shouldn’t you save me first? I am the heir to the Heshan family!”
Ignoring the young man’s desperate cry, April checked under the carriage.
She saw a middle-aged man pinned by the tilted carriage.
“Sir, can you answer me?”
She asked, but the man seemed unable to speak, letting out only a wheezing sound as if his breath might fail at any moment.
April pulled the rope three times, took off her own mask to place it on the man, and said.
“It’s going to be hard, but you have to endure. Were there others with you? If you remember anything, tell me. That way I can find them.”
At April’s words, the man struggled to breathe and moved a trembling finger.
A single line was drawn in the dirt by the lake. April realized this meant there was one more person in the party and stood up.
April placed the rope in the man’s hand so the officers could find him and said.
“If you hold onto this, the officers will come for you. Stay alive. Keep your wits about you.”
With those words, April stepped further into the deep fog.
