The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 56
Fezin watched April’s hand, which had now come to a complete standstill, before lowering his head to meet her gaze, which had been fixed on the floor.
“I thought there was some. At the banquet, and when we were lying in the snow.”
“Why are you trying to confirm that?”
“Because I’m curious. Whether it’s just a bit of a crush, or if it’s at a level where you’d actually do something for me.”
Fezin thought it would be better if she lost all affection for him entirely.
He felt he ought to become a being so useless that when she made a decision, she would consider everything else in the world first, and only consider him last.
After all, no future could exist between them.
Yet, on the other hand, he wanted to remain in a corner of her heart. Even if it was only a tiny space.
“Well? How much is it?”
Faced with his persistent interrogation, April actually grew calm.
After finishing the treatment, she took hold of Fezin’s chin as he lowered his head to meet her eyes and tilted it up straight.
Fezin stared at her intently.
April spoke.
“I can tell you one thing for certain.”
“What is it?”
“It’s not you, but someday, I might find someone I love. But to me, that isn’t very important.”
The Runos family heads and the Dowager Lady that Fezin remembered all shared a common trait.
They were uncompromising.
To a person, they were strong and did not bend easily.
That had been April’s core attitude from the moment she took her first steps, to when she learned to dance with Fezin, and even to the moment her fiancé broke his promise and committed infidelity.
April continued.
“The Dieus family disgraced Runos. I will take the greatest revenge I am capable of. My emotions—whether they be love, hatred, or depression—do not matter at all.”
Because he knew her character, April’s words made sense. They were exactly the kind of thing she would say.
However, Fezin said,
“You only get one life. You know what state the territory is in. Even if, by some stroke of incredible luck, you manage to restore the former glory of the Runos estate… by then, your life will already be at its end. What’s the fun in that?”
Since he felt he was offering an argument that didn’t suit her personality, Fezin expected April to get angry.
But instead, she burst into laughter. It was a laugh like a flickering flame.
She said,
“Fezin, my parents were executed before my eyes.”
Fezin went still.
“In what remains of my life, will there ever be a single moment where I can have a day of pure fun without that memory?”
“…….”
“If there were, I don’t think I could ever forgive myself.”
For the first time since their reunion, Fezin felt as though he was truly seeing April Runos again.
Ever since they first met this winter, he had been thinking that the April Runos he remembered had disappeared.
But she was exactly the same April Runos he had always known.
Naturally cold, trained in justice, with that upbringing occasionally manifesting as kindness.
The girl he hated even though there was no reason to, the girl he found lovely even though she had no lovely traits, the girl whose emotions would inadvertently pull his own along with hers.
It was the April Runos of those childhood days.
Knowing she was someone who wouldn't be easily swayed by something like love actually put Fezin at ease. So, he laughed along with her.
For April, whose massive rage had erupted into laughter, Fezin’s sudden laugh made her feel as if she had suddenly plunged into lake water. Her anger cooled with surprising speed.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I wonder why I hated you so much. When we were kids.”
“Well, that’s because—”
“It must have been because you wouldn't look at me, right? How pathetic of me.”
“…….”
“Now.”
Fezin raised his head.
He gave up on trying to speak about the mist and the witch.
April was the type of person who would charge straight at the factory the moment she learned the truth about the mist.
If that happened, he would have to kill her.
There was no other way. Even if, by some chance, her affection for her family transcended everything and she turned a blind eye to the secret of the mist, it would still be a problem for Fezin.
It would be like hanging another weight on the ankles of a woman who already found no joy in life.
Fezin said to April,
“If the Runos family were to set sail with merchant ships again, how far could we escape from the Empire’s influence?”
“…….”
“It’s just a question. A question we both have to forget after hearing it here.”
April felt the fine hairs all over her body stand up at the chilling implication.
“……You are the Imperial Police. If I told someone else what you just said…”
“Yeah, someone from the Empire would come to kill me. But you won’t tell.”
“Because you think I have feelings for you?”
When April asked, Fezin let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
“Because you’ll know that me saying this now means I intend to help the Runos family. Because it’s necessary.”
“…….”
“Because you won’t be swayed by love. Unlike me.”
April stared blankly at Fezin’s pale face.
Fezin continued.
“Tell me what you need for the funeral.”
“Flowers. A great many flowers. But the harbor is all owned by the Grand Ducal family. I have no way to import that many flowers.”
“I’ll bring them. With my own money.”
“Why would you?”
“In exchange, you launch a merchant ship. Without fail. So that you can bring in food.”
“Food?”
“Yes. So that if the Empire completely cuts off exchange with the Right Island, we can survive even if we are isolated.”
“You…”
April asked with a hardened expression.
“You think we are isolated right now, don’t you?”
Fezin looked into April’s eyes. Then he slowly nodded.
“Yes. That’s what I think.”
“…….”
“I think it’s been that way for quite a long time.”
“…….”
“If the food supply from the Empire is cut off, the wealthy will be fine, but the majority of the commoners will starve to death.”
Listening to Fezin’s voice as he said that,
April was thinking the exact opposite of him.
Every trace of that boy she knew, Fezin Dieus, was now gone.
The pretty face remained the same, but the person had changed significantly.
After staring at Fezin, who had spoken while putting his own life on the line, April finally spoke.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“I thought the exact opposite. That you’re just the same as before.”
“Well,”
April nodded and said,
“That’s because you grew up meeting many people and being influenced by many things.”
“I suppose. There’s that, too.”
When a person’s character is formed, every moment they live draws a picture upon the original foundation, but April hadn't had many such opportunities.
The most shocking event of her life had, if anything, only served to make her inherent personality even more rigid.
After they had spoken enough, a brief silence fell.
The tea in the pot had steeped delicately, and April poured it into Fezin’s cup and her own with practiced hands.
Fezin said,
“Sitting on the floor like this makes it feel like we’re playing house.”
“Ah, I did let you join in a few times…. What role did I give you again?”
“A puppy. Or a noble lady if I was lucky.”
April burst into laughter at Fezin’s immediate answer.
After wetting his throat with tea, Fezin grumbled.
“You’re laughing? Do you know how humiliating it was?”
“Why was it lucky to be a noble lady?”
“At least you let me talk. If you’re a puppy, you get scolded the moment you speak.”
At Fezin’s complaining, April laughed for a long time, reminiscing about their childhood. It felt as though she were using the laughter to drag up her spirits, which had sunk to the floor.
April said,
“Come to think of it, we were… friends, in our own way.”
“I hate to admit it, but it’s close to friendship.”
Anything more than that wasn't permitted anyway.
If it was just friendship, then…
That would be quite alright, they both thought.
