The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 2
April could easily recognize the way the police were armed. Inside those long leather coats, there was always a place to conceal a weapon. She had learned that fact the day her family was arrested.
Furthermore, their coats bore an emblem unfamiliar even to April, who had seen enough of the police to be sick of them. Since the classification of the Grand Duchy’s police force was straightforward, this was likely a newly established organization.
The creation of a new police force was usually preceded by something terrible. And it was never a welcome occasion when such an organization came looking for someone.
April tightened her grip on the axe handle and the candlestick in her other hand.
As the officers drew closer, she could hear them murmuring amongst themselves.
“You don’t think a witch really lit that, do you?”
“It makes even less sense if it wasn’t a witch. It’s no different from conjuring a fire out of thin air without any firewood.”
The buzzing voices drew nearer until someone finally spotted April holding the candlestick.
Most of them flinched and halted, but one man, seemingly bolder than the rest, tried to step forward immediately, only to be held back by subordinates.
“Wh-what if it’s a real witch! What are you doing!?”
“Then the case is closed.”
“I’ll go instead. We can’t afford to lose the Superintendent like this….”
“If you’re going to tremble like that, wouldn’t it be better if I just went?”
“Please remember my sacrifice.”
After that exchange, one officer approached April. He was a somewhat slick-looking man in a long coat with a meticulously groomed mustache.
“Are you Miss April Runos, the head of the Runos family?”
The head of the family.
Come to think of it, that was what she had become. Though, of course, there was nothing left of the family….
April thought for a moment before answering.
“I suppose so.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Paul Soar, Section Chief of Division 1 of the Rasa Empire Special Investigation Headquarters.”
Paul offered a polite greeting, then took out a pair of handcuffs and fastened them onto April as he spoke.
“I am arresting you on suspicion of the serial murders that have occurred in the Grand Duchy over the past three years.”
“Serial murders?”
The absurdity of the charge actually caused April’s tension to bleed away.
Was Miller Dieus really going this far, trying to frame her for crimes she didn’t commit?
No, even if he were, there had to be at least some context.
“I’ve been inside those stakes the entire time. How could I have committed serial murders? At least say something that makes sense.”
“We can discuss the details at the station. I’ll give you plenty of time to speak.”
Paul Soar’s tone was polite, but his actions were the opposite; he gripped April’s arm firmly, treating her like any other criminal.
Just as she was thinking that Miller was finally going to have her killed.
As she was being led through the brush, April spotted a familiar face among the crowd of police.
Deep blue eyes with an unpleasant opacity.
Black hair, and features that were sharp yet pretty.
It was a face she knew.
He shared every physical component with Miller Dieus, yet his aura was the exact opposite of Miller’s soft temperament.
It was Pezin Dieus, the Grand Duke’s only blood relative, born in the same year as April.
He had grown immensely since the last time they met, but his face was so striking that she couldn’t possibly mistake him.
April noticed Pezin lighting a cigarette and frowned.
“Pezin, are you old enough to smoke?”
At her words, Pezin slowly turned his head toward April.
A moment later, every officer—including Paul, who had looked like he wouldn’t stop for anything—came to a halt. Then, all at once, they burst into laughter.
It seemed Pezin wasn’t particularly surprised; he finished lighting his cigarette with a nonchalant expression. He tucked the lighter into his pocket and spoke.
“I’ll be twenty-two in a few days. You already are.”
“…….”
April faltered at his words and muttered.
“I know I’m twenty-two.”
“You seem to have forgotten that seven years have passed for others as well.”
It was just as Pezin said.
April had lived while more or less forgetting the flow of time.
To begin with, she hadn’t spent much time over the last seven years thinking about Pezin Dieus—that disgusting boy who had fallen in love with his own brother’s wife in the exact same way his brother had.
The boy who had suffered through the fever of his first love had left for the Empire as soon as he graduated from the Grand Duchy’s school.
She had a vague memory of hearing he intended to become a policeman, but it was merely a small fragment among the countless memories of Miller Dieus, the man she had loved.
April was led out of the estate, guided by the officer’s hand.
During the trek, dry grass scratched her arms and face, leaving marks, but none of these utterly indifferent noblemen noticed.
April was placed into a transport carriage parked outside the estate, and the door was locked from the outside.
After enduring this ridiculous situation, the sheer weight of it made her breath come in shallow gasps.
Surprisingly, thinking of Pezin—the only familiar face—helped her regain her composure.
At least he might listen to what she had to say. Even if there wasn’t a single good memory between them.
Her parents had raised their daughter so carefully that she never suffered so much as a small scratch.
Only once had she run through a field of grass, chasing Pezin after he threw an acorn at her back; it was the first time in her life April had ever run.
He had hit her with the acorn because he thought April was bullying Heidi.
Bullying.
That was simply the culture of high society. It was justified.
Justifiably, she had poured wine over the dress of the woman who had stolen her fiancé’s heart.
The problem was that the incident had taken place in the Church.
In the Church of the Right Island, wearing red was forbidden because it evoked the image of blood. They didn’t use red even in the smallest, invisible gemstone of a brooch.
Therefore, April pouring wine was a religiously humiliating condemnation for Heidi.
In the end, it was Heidi who had to flee the Church, her white coat stained by the taboo. April had remained calmly in her seat, participating in the service.
Seven years of punishment hadn’t helped April repent for that moment in the slightest. If anything, her resentment flared up all over again.
Her parents had been furious that their precious daughter, the most important thing in the world to them, had been discarded by her fiancé in a public place.
To them, killing the Grand Duke and his wife was a form of judgment to restore their daughter’s honor. Even in the moment of their failure, they did not regret the attempt.
Had their daughter’s life not been at stake, they would never have admitted that the attempt was a ‘sin’ in the eyes of the Church until their final breath.
April chose to dwell on the pain instead.
She thought of the moment her parents were executed before her eyes.
Once the sharp memories finished clawing at her body, she felt better. Recalling warmth was far more agonizing.
Did others feel the same?
April hadn’t spoken to anyone in seven years, so she had no way of knowing if she was strange or if everyone else was like this.
