The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 48
Fezin flinched and spoke up.
“Why is it so dark?”
“The pantry doesn’t have windows. It’s just a storage room…. Anyway, the candle melted fast.”
“So it did.”
Both of them knew the candle hadn’t melted quickly; they had simply been in there far too long. Yet, both chose to blame the candle.
Fezin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and muttered, “It’s scary when it’s dark.”
“Yeah, a ghost might come out.”
“…Why would you say that?”
“To scare you?”
Fezin clicked his tongue at April’s nonchalant teasing.
He stood up and reached out a hand.
“Take my hand. I’ll lead the way out.”
“I can’t see your hand.”
April waved her hand through the air as she spoke, and Fezin stayed still until she could find him.
April’s hand first brushed against Fezin’s elbow, then she slid her hand down his arm until their fingers interlaced.
The moment her fingers touched his elbow, she felt his arm stiffen, and she could feel the veins bulging beneath his skin.
April thought to herself that such physical changes were only natural.
Just as Fezin’s body reacted to her touch, a natural sense of anticipation rose in her mind.
April slowly suppressed it. She soothed her emotions, fearing that if she tried to crush them too abruptly, they might burst forth uncontrollably.
Once they had found each other’s hands, Fezin gripped hers firmly.
“Only step where I step. It’s dangerous if there’s a stray knife lying around.”
“I will.”
Fezin moved his feet slowly.
Not a single ray of light reached the basement, but for Fezin, who had thoroughly scouted the Lunos mansion since returning from the Empire, understanding the pantry’s layout was not difficult.
He walked with measured steps.
It felt strange to have their bare hands touching. Throughout the party, they had held hands while dancing or during escorts, but they had both been wearing gloves most of the time.
Her hand, as it touched his now, was soft.
Though she’d had to do more manual chores than the average lady, her hands were still as supple as if she had never known a day of hardship.
Soon, his hand reached the door. However, he immediately turned around, pressing his back against it.
April asked, puzzled, “What are you doing?”
Fezin was recalling a memory from when he was thirteen.
Boarding the ship departing from the Grand Duchy, Fezin had possessed a level of focus that could only be described as ‘childlike.’
During the voyage, which wasn’t even that long, he had wandered all over the ship, watched the seagulls, lay down on his bed, and peered into the captain’s quarters.
And that boyhood ended the moment the ship docked at the Imperial port.
「Young Master, we have arrived at the Left Island.」
Fezin, who had fallen into a deep, dead sleep due to the post-meal drowsiness brought on by the noticeably warmer temperature, sat up at the strange silence.
The moment he stepped out of the cabin following the servants was a memory that would stay etched in his mind forever.
Fezin had stood in front of the cabin, frozen as if he had turned into a pillar of ice.
At that time, before Miller had any children, Fezin was the sole heir to the Grand Duchy. To receive him, naval vessels and a staggering number of police and horses stood waiting at the harbor in perfect formation. Even if one combined every horse in the Grand Duchy, it seemed they would be fewer than the horses held by the Imperial Police.
What was more terrifying than the weapons of a different caliber was the sheer number of people gathered there just to greet him.
Even then, the most important resource of war was humanity. Fezin realized that fact on the spot, and helplessness soon turned into a terror that overwhelmed the boy.
Imagine the relief that boy felt when he saw the Emperor, the first person to smile and open his arms toward him.
As he hugged the skinny boy standing before him past the ranks of the navy and police, the Emperor said:
「I knew the moment I saw you. My blood flows within you.」
Fezin had completely crushed his boyhood to become an Imperial citizen. He achieved grades superior to anyone else and threw himself into social activities. He ate well and trained relentlessly to build his physique.
He was desperate to keep his entire life from being crushed by that overwhelming spectacle.
During his countless nights in the Empire, he dreamed of the Grand Duchy being trampled by the Emperor.
And finally, he had met the opportunity to distinguish himself as a member of the Imperial Police.
The method was simple.
Frame this woman before him for the Empire’s misdeeds and make her out to be a witch. Spread the rumor, solidify it, and it would be over.
It was so easy, so simple. He could establish his merit and aim for the position of chief over that terrifying swarm of police.
He would rise to a position that even the Emperor would have to keep in check.
And after that….
After that?
Fezin tried to think of what came next, but nothing came easily to mind.
All those thoughts flickered and died like small flames before the greed that suddenly gripped him. He moved his hand up her arm. It was the reverse of what April had just done.
Just as her hand had moved down from his elbow, his hand passed her wrist and moved toward her arm. Then, he cupped her elbow.
It felt as if there were magnets inside their bodies, pulling them together. Strangely, the more they touched, the more they were drawn in; the closer they got, the more impossible it was to pull away. It was a very peculiar phenomenon.
In truth, there was nothing strange about it. Fezin must have experienced it countless times in real life, and April understood the mechanism through her studies.
This was greed. A flaming greed for the young and beautiful person touching them.
As Fezin’s hand caressed her, April’s wandering hands found his waist.
Since he wore only thin pajamas, the lines of his body were vividly felt beneath her palms.
There wasn’t a single part she disliked.
April found herself thinking that because one could feel beauty through touch, people could make love even when the lights were out.
If she opened her mouth, if she told him to stop, this moment would end.
April thought.
Nothing would change by crossing the line just a little. Greed whispered in her ear.
She gripped him tighter with her fingers and spoke.
“Your hyung will hate this.”
“I suppose so.”
“Good. I like it because it’s something he’d hate.”
After all, wasn’t this a house where the gaslights once burned fiercely?
The fire that had risen in her heart would not be easily extinguished.
She felt her way along Fezin, stood on her tiptoes, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
April continued.
“You don’t do things your hyung dislikes, do you?”
“Why do you think that?”
Fezin asked back.
April let out a short, dry laugh.
“I’ve watched you since you were little. So I know. How much you love Miller.”
“……”
“You are always on your hyung’s side. So I know you can never be on mine. Because I know you.”
Fezin did not answer.
It was a silence that proved there was nothing wrong in her words.
“I don’t trust you anyway.”
“I didn’t know you didn’t trust me.”
“Yeah, because you’re an idiot.”
“I guess so.”
Fezin chuckled as he pulled April’s body closer.
“A guy who does idiotic things is an idiot, what else would he be?”
“I hate you. Though I like your body.”
“It’s surprising how we’re thinking the exact same thing.”
“I don’t like your face either.”
“Ah, is that why you’re lusting after me now that it’s dark?”
April gave a small laugh at Fezin’s sarcastic remark.
Fezin laughed along with her, then unconsciously let out a sigh.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Why?”
“You’re so soft it’s weird. Is something wrong? Is a human body allowed to be this soft… are you crazy? Where are you touching?”
