Translator: Nox

The Mansion Awaits Spring

Chapter 25

# Chapter 25

* * *

Miller Dieus, who had come to visit the Investigation Headquarters office where Pezin was stationed, was pouring out concerns as if he were a parent dealing with a child who simply refused to grow up.

「Please, I’m begging you, just stay at the Grand Ducal Residence for a while. What about your meals? Are you even eating properly?」

Pezin turned his head with a weary expression as his older brother began the nagging session while standing right in front of him.

「Stop nagging me. This is exactly why I don’t go back.」

「Don’t you dare use me as an excuse. You’re just choosing not to come home.」

「Is there even a reason why I should?」

「You need to be seen around the Grand Ducal Residence if you ever want to get married.」

In the Grand Duchy, half of the romances among the nobility began in the corridors of the Grand Ducal Residence.

Of course, it had its drawbacks, such as an equal number of affairs occurring there, but overall, there was no better place.

Even if one wasn’t from a prestigious family, anyone could enter as long as they had the permission of the mistress of the house, Heidi Dieus.

Conversely, it meant that strolling through the Grand Ducal Residence was impossible without Heidi Dieus’s consent.

Pezin replied with a pained face at Miller Dieus’s repetitive marriage talk, which happened every time they saw each other.

「I’ll take care of it myself.」

「Take care of it? You’re twenty-two now. You’re not taking care of it at all. There isn’t a single young lady who says she’s shared a dance with you.」

Miller pressed a hand to his forehead and continued.

「It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let you enter the Military Academy. I should have made sure you met someone in society.」

「I told you, I went to plenty of parties in the Empire.」

At Pezin’s response, Miller took his hand away from his forehead and asked with a gaze that somehow felt hopeful.

「Were those on orders?」

「Yeah, my superiors told me to go.」

「Then why did you stop going?」

「Because fights kept breaking out because of me.」

「What?」

「The ladies were fighting each other to have me.」

As Pezin responded nonchalantly, Miller looked at his younger brother with an absurd expression.

「Don’t say things like that with your own mouth.」

「Why not? Is this something to brag about? I’m saying this because I’m sincerely exhausted. Am I the only handsome man in the world? Why do they like me so much?」

Unable to handle Pezin’s grumbling, Miller simply let out a sigh and said,

「If it’s that tiring, then just become a married man quickly. That'll solve it.」

「Do you think women would leave me alone even then?」

Miller sincerely wanted to end this topic.

However, knowing that Pezin, who had been clever since childhood, was deliberately tiring him out for that very purpose, he took a breath, endured it, and continued.

「It’s a problem that will be solved once you firmly set your eyes on only one person.」

「You’re one to talk, hyung.」

When Pezin responded with almost instinctive revulsion, Miller faltered and looked at his brother with wide eyes.

And for good reason—until now, Pezin had never once treated Miller’s choice of Heidi as a moral failing.

To him, it had been the natural course of things.

To Pezin, Heidi Basanta was perfect, and April Runos was full of flaws.

This was true not only for the boy who had left for the Empire to become a policeman but also for the young man, Pezin Dieus, who had just returned to the Grand Duchy.

Pezin had lived looking up to his brother, who had barely reached adulthood when their parents passed away, as a parental figure.

And now, that very brother was having his flaws pointed out by him.

In that moment, Miller's first thought was the fact that his brother, who had been like a son to him, was already an adult.

His next thought was whether Pezin had perhaps been bewitched by that witch.

Miller thought of April, whom he could no longer even remember clearly.

From the moment April first stepped into society until now, the image of her remaining in people’s memories likely fell into two categories.

One was the confident sneer and the upturned eyes that always looked down on everything.

That arrogance, which couldn't be excused simply by the word "puberty."

And the other was the sight of her watching her parents being executed with her own two eyes.

Until then, April Runos had been screaming with disheveled hair, but strangely, in that moment, she kept her mouth shut and didn’t let out a single cry.

She stared with wide eyes as if to never forget the scene of the execution, and with those eyes, she looked back at the people who had gathered to watch her downfall.

When her gaze passed over the necks of every person there, there probably wasn’t a single noble who didn’t feel a chill.

It weighed on Miller’s mind that they hadn't been able to execute April. It felt as though that young girl had pierced his heart with her fingernail and left a mark.

Miller gripped Pezin’s arm and asked.

「Haven't you been staying with the Runos girl for too long?」

「Which Runos?」

「Is there more than one Runos left in the world?」

At Miller’s point, Pezin belatedly conceded with an, 「Ah.」

Miller continued.

「Don’t stay together for too long. No matter what, you’re of the opposite sex. Eventually, some kind of emotion is bound to develop.」

「Hyung.」

「What?」

When Miller answered the low call of his name, Pezin said,

「I think I’ve heard enough nagging.」

He didn’t want to hear any more.

Miller felt a surge of anxiety for Pezin and worry for himself, but sensing that Pezin wouldn't listen even if he nagged further, he nodded.

「Fine. I’ll be going for now. I’m leaving this here.」

「What is—」

Recognizing the invitation Miller pulled from his coat and placed on the desk, Pezin stopped mid-sentence and clicked his tongue.

「Are you running errands for letters now? You’ve turned into quite the romantic.」

「This way, you won't be able to refuse.」

What Miller had set down was an invitation to a party hosted by Heidi Dieus.

Not only was Pezin already weak to Heidi, but there was no way anyone—not even the Emperor of the Empire—could refuse an invitation where the Grand Duke himself acted as the messenger.

Pezin signed the invitation, which was two pages thick. Where he signed on the thin paper, the signature bled through to the back page.

Pezin folded the first page and handed it back to Miller. Proud that Pezin had signed for ‘Attendance,’ Miller reached out and ruffled his hair vigorously.

「Right, even if you go astray, you’re a fellow who knows where the line is.」

「This is driving me crazy, seriously.」

Pezin swatted away Miller’s hand and looked distressed, but Miller left the main building with a broad smile, having achieved his goal.

After Miller left the Investigation Headquarters office, Pezin picked up the invitation Miller had left behind. It was a fundraising event for the victims of the fog.

He had wondered why Miller came all the way here just to deliver an invitation, and it turned out the intention was to call out the police officer who had been at the accident scene during that fog to hear the detailed story.

Pezin thought back to the scene of that accident.

As expected, the suspects who caused the accident were all released on bail. It was only possible because April had saved all three victims who were on the scene.

He wondered if those suspects even knew to be grateful.

Pezin thought as he set the invitation down.