The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 62
Shafer, who had never once been pushed back by sheer force while growing up, felt a rare sense of pressure. Simultaneously, his competitive streak flared.
Among soldiers, there was no one who could best him in strength. Thus, with an attitude bordering on instinct, Shafer came to perceive this as a power struggle between the military and the police.
Shafer released his grip and threw a punch at Pezin’s face; the sudden blow caused Pezin’s body to stagger.
After spitting out the blood that instantly pooled in his mouth from Shafer’s powerful strike, Pezin muttered.
「What did I even do to deserve a hit?」
「Don’t act so relaxed.」
As Shafer spoke and lunged with another punch, Pezin immediately pulled a gun from inside his coat and fired a shot into the air.
Shafer ignored the signal to stop and charged at Pezin.
What followed was a brawl. The two grappled and tumbled, each trying to overpower the other with brute strength, but they were so evenly matched that neither could gain the upper hand.
Clouds of dust rose inside the massive warehouse where the transport carriages were stationed.
Since Shafer was a born fighter, he actually felt a sense of gratification at the wall he had finally encountered. Both men, rolling in the dust and fighting for their lives, pushed themselves to the brink of their physical limits, yet neither had any intention of stopping.
At that moment, the police officers from the Investigation Headquarters, who had rushed over after hearing Pezin’s gunshot, aimed their weapons at Shafer all at once.
「Both of you, stop!」
Paul shouted, but neither side halted.
Then, a bullet fired by Logan directly toward the pair grazed past them.
Only then did the two stop fighting. The moment they faltered, their bodies realized they had been holding onto their depleted energy through sheer willpower alone, and they collapsed onto the floor.
Paul clicked his tongue at the audacity of Logan, who had dared to fire at two men carrying high-purity blue blood.
「I knew you were out of your mind, but I didn’t think it was to this extent.」
At Paul’s remark, which was a mix of shock and praise, Logan tipped his hat in a mock salute.
When Paul approached, he saw Pezin gasping for breath, covered in dust, sweat, and blood.
After objectively examining both their faces, Paul spoke.
「I believe this is a draw.」
At those words, the other police officers flocked over to check on the two. They had already been secretly enjoying the spectacle of the fight.
「No matter how you look at it, the Superintendent won. He’s bleeding less.」
「Aw, come on. Shafer-nim just got here after being knocked out by the mist. If he’d been in top condition, he would’ve won.」
「You have to judge by the present. By that logic, if they’d had a proper duel with marksman skills, the Superintendent would’ve simply won, wouldn’t he?」
「Well, that is true.」
While the officers argued over who had won, both Pezin and Shafer struggled to be the first to pull themselves up.
Pezin, rising slightly before Shafer, let out an irritable sigh. He took a gun brought by one of the headquarters officers and aimed the muzzle at Shafer’s heart.
「I didn’t realize you’d still be this immature at twenty-five.」
「You’re in league with April Runos, aren’t you? Otherwise, there’s no way you’d drag me to the police station just for searching that witch’s house.」
「The police exist to uphold the law. Whether it’s a witch’s house or not, it’s my job to arrest anyone who commits illegal trespassing.」
「Cut the sophisticated talk. You’ll have to release me soon anyway, so why not just let me go now?」
「I’ll release you when it’s time to release you.」
Pezin replied and ordered that Shafer’s wounds be treated. He figured he would get in less trouble with Devin Meyer if he at least provided immediate medical care.
After seeing to Shafer’s treatment, Pezin went to the shower room to wash up and change his clothes. His clothes and body were a total mess from rolling around in the dirt.
He found himself wishing his day off would come sooner.
In the Imperial Palace of the Rasa Empire, the beginning of the year was the quietest time.
The heated atmosphere of the year-end had settled completely, and the palace was draped in a dignified air, focused solely on blessing the new year.
The Imperial Palace was never particularly cold to begin with, but since the Empress, Emily Lilyhill, was sensitive to the cold, the heating was maintained at a level where she felt warm even in a thin dress.
Sitting at a small table for the couple inside the palace, Emily spoke to her husband, August Lilyhill, as she held her teacup.
「It feels empty without Pezin. If he were here, he’d be nitpicking all the food and acting annoyed by now.」
August burst into laughter at her words.
「That is very true.」
The couple recalled the boy who used to sit there with a perpetually furrowed brow.
The criticisms the young boy would spit out regarding everything brought from the kitchen, sitting there with an expression that said nothing was to his liking, used to make the adults at the table smile.
Pezin would unhesitatingly say the things that everyone else at the table refrained from saying out of consideration for the chef’s pride.
Emily sighed as she spoke.
「You have no idea how much I missed Pezin at this year’s year-end party. It felt as if several flowers were missing from the celebration.」
「I didn’t notice, but it seems the ladies felt that way.」
The Empress laughed joyfully at the Emperor’s remark.
Emily spoke again.
「That’s why you shouldn’t leave Pezin in the Grand Duchy for too long. He’s already picking up bad habits….」
「Bad habits?」
「I heard he jumped into the sea after the party ended.」
「Who goes into the sea in this winter?」
「Well, apparently, that’s what the people of the Right Island do after a party. He ended up catching a cold from it….」
Emily continued with a sigh.
「I suppose it can’t be helped that he’s influenced by the place where he was born and raised, but I can’t believe he’d follow such a foolish practice.」
August placed his hand over his worried wife’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
「Do not worry. Once the people of the Right Island learn the honor of being Imperial citizens, they will no longer do such things. Pezin will also stop getting swept up in them.」
He spoke those words and then fell into thought for a moment.
In truth, even the Emperor found it hard to believe that he had gone swimming in the sea.
He did not want even a hint of personal discomfort to remain as he proceeded with the monumental task of fully colonizing the Right Island.
August immediately summoned a researcher from the Academy who was studying the mist.
The study of the Right Island’s mist was also important from the perspective of the Left Island. Imperial staff had to continuously enter the territory, but cases of people refusing to even set foot on the island out of fear of the mist had become frequent.
However, he couldn’t explain to every staff member that the mist was a problem arising from the fuel extraction process. It was a truth that too many people must not know.
Having summoned the researcher secretly to his drawing room, August asked.
「How far has the research progressed?」
「I don’t expect it to speed up significantly, but I will certainly meet the five-year deadline I mentioned.」
「It’s not the deadline I’m pressing you for. What I’m curious about is…」
When August trailed off and sent a sharp look, the researcher immediately understood and nodded.
「You mean the research regarding Miss April Runos.」
「The research data you send is always the same. How on earth can Miss Runos remain healthy in that mist?」
「To be honest, it is difficult to know the cause unless we examine Miss Runos directly.」
「Hmm.」
「However, what we can speculate as the most likely cause is that she has developed an immunity.」
「Of course.」
「The second possibility is that the late Lord and Lady Runos took some kind of measure. Did they not own merchant ships? That means they were aware of affairs in distant lands. So…」
The researcher thought for a moment on how to explain, then asked a servant for a piece of paper. He then drew a chemical formula, diagrammed to be easily understood by anyone.
「As a result of studying the gas produced during fuel extraction, the problem lies in this part here. It is similar to the sulfur used in matches, but slightly different upon closer inspection. It is toxic enough to make even young men collapse. We haven’t been able to give it a name yet, so we just call it the ‘Ignition Source.’ Miss April is neutralizing this with something she possesses. To find out what that is in secret, someone would either have to go to the Runos estate…」
「Or the only way is to bring Miss April here.」
