The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 70
“Why? Why would the Grand Duchy Police arrest Miss April?”
Paul, who had grown quite fond of April, asked with an involuntary frown. Logan replied.
“It means the arrest is likely by Imperial edict.”
“What?”
“It seems they’re creating a way for the police to hold Miss April legally.”
At Logan's words, Paul hesitated before turning to look at Pezin.
“Isn't this kidnapping?”
“It’s an arrest. How is it kidnapping when the police are the ones taking her?”
“But—!”
“Leave it. There’s nothing we can do.”
Pezin spoke and cleared away the report, as there was nothing more to see.
Paul instinctively tried to read Pezin’s emotions.
Logan glanced at Paul, stepped forward to block his view of Pezin, and tucked his hands behind his back.
“The Superintendent is right. Since there was an Imperial edict, it’s only natural.”
“How is it natural! We don’t know what might happen to Miss April!”
“Why do you think they entrusted this to the Grand Duchy Police instead of the Investigation Headquarters in the first place?”
“What…?”
When Paul stood speechless, unable to answer, Logan nodded as if he had expected it and continued.
“His Majesty the Emperor is testing him. He wants to see how far the Superintendent can turn a blind eye to what happens in the Grand Duchy.”
“…….”
“To see if Miss April is someone who holds influence over the Superintendent.”
It was Paul Soar himself who had been struck by that very worry first.
He gazed at Pezin for a moment over Logan’s shoulder.
Pezin said nothing more; he wasn't angry, nor did he seem depressed.
Paul knew that Pezin had no choice but to manufacture this state of apathy. Pezin had chosen the tactic of shutting down all emotions entirely.
Paul spoke to the silent Pezin.
“Miss April will get hurt, Superintendent.”
At that, Pezin gestured for Trevor to leave.
Realizing this was a conversation he shouldn't overhear, Trevor Hill bowed and led the Division 2 officers out of the room.
Pezin looked at Paul and asked.
“Why did we come here in the first place?”
“……We came to maintain the order being eroded by the fog.”
“No, honestly.”
“Honestly……”
“We came to protect the Empire.”
At Pezin’s words, Paul faltered and fell silent.
Pezin continued.
“The Empire had no influence on the fog. It happened in the Grand Duchy, and if someone is to be blamed, it’s to ensure the blame falls on April Runos—the one living on that hill, always lighting the gas lamps in that mansion.”
Paul clenched his fists at Pezin’s words.
A silence followed, and just when it seemed the conversation had ended, Paul spoke again.
“Yes, I understand. I understand, but.”
“If you understand, then leave.”
“I suppose I was looking away because I didn't want to admit I was such a despicable fellow.”
“…….”
“Thank you for the enlightenment.”
With that farewell, Paul left the Investigation Headquarters.
Logan looked back at Pezin, who remained silent.
“Then… I shall take my leave as well.”
After Logan followed suit, Pezin remained seated for a long time.
Long after he was left alone, reality finally began to burrow into his mind.
He had understood the situation faster than anyone, but the sensation of that reality arrived slower than anyone else's.
Pezin curled inward, burying his face in his hands.
“Don’t show up in my dreams. It’s a nightmare.”
His hands began to tremble.
*
*
*
It was just as Pezin had said.
Pretty things appeared in dreams. And dreams where Pezin appeared were nightmares.
Even after hearing Jeff Morrow’s words, April could not bring herself to hate Pezin Dieus. She simply didn't feel that way.
If it wasn't love, and it wasn't hate, shouldn't there be no feeling at all?
She couldn't understand what it was that was constricting her breath so tightly.
Pezin was standing on a cliff. Then, at some point, she was the one on the cliff. It was a chaotic dream.
And one of them was falling from the precipice. The figure kept shifting between Pezin Dieus and herself.
The truly nightmarish part was the moment Pezin fell from the cliff.
That fact was agonizingly painful. When the scene shifted to her own fall, she felt relieved even as she screamed in terror.
It’s okay if the one dying is me.
The thought crossed her mind just like that.
She was jolted from that suffocating dream when Bauman knocked on her door.
The sound of the knocking felt ominous.
April couldn't tell if the tension weighing down her entire body was due to the nightmare or Bauman’s knock.
April threw on a robe and opened the door.
“What is it?”
“The police… the police are here.”
“The police?”
April furrowed her brow in confusion.
It wasn't as if the police hadn't been in and out of this mansion for days. she couldn't understand why Bauman looked so horrified.
Then, she remembered that there were currently two types of police on the Right Island.
One was the Imperial Police led by Pezin, and the other was—
The Grand Duchy Police who had investigated the Runos family.
Without even a moment to gather her thoughts, April ran outside.
Just as Bauman said, there were officers standing there in uniforms bearing the insignia of the Grand Duchy Police.
She came face to face with countenances vividly etched in her memory.
Every single officer who had investigated the Runos family was right here.
“How dare you come here…”
April clenched her fists, her body trembling violently.
The officers who spotted her alerted a middle-aged man who was standing there looking quite pleased with himself, holding a stack of documents.
The man then hurried toward her with a look of feigned delight.
“Good day, Miss Runos.”
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I am Jonah Tavish of the Tavish Company. A gas supplier.”
After handing her a business card and introducing himself, Jonah Tavish continued.
“I apologize for asking after we’ve already begun the inspection, but… may we search the Runos mansion?”
April instinctively narrowed her eyes and asked.
“For what reason?”
“Surely Miss Runos knows best. The fact that there are unpaid gas bills you haven't settled until now.”
At the sudden accusation, April was momentarily speechless.
In that interval, Jonah Tavish pulled a voucher from his stack of papers and held it out.
“His Grace the Grand Duke understood the difficulties of my small company and authorized the investigation.”
“I believe the Imperial Police have already investigated that matter thoroughly.”
“Yes, that’s right. But how much interest would the Imperial Police truly have in what happens within the Grand Duchy? So, for my sake, the Grand Duchy Police Department has decided to conduct a re-investigation.”
“A re-investigation?”
The situation was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped her, despite the circumstances.
Jonah Tavish continued to address her.
“If it is proven through the investigation that gas has been used until now, the Runos family will be required to pay the amount written here.”
After checking the voucher, April barely managed to force the words out.
“The gas lines are cut. What exactly is a re-investigation going to change?”
“But it is also a fact that the Runos family drew gas and lit the lamps. And I am sorry to say this, but… Miss Runos, perhaps you used some method we are unaware of? Like a spell or something……”
While Jonah Tavish spoke, April checked the voucher through a haze of dizziness.
The amount written on the voucher was a staggering sum that far exceeded the money she had left after selling the ships. It was practically usury.
The amount was almost identical to the funds April held in the bank. It was clear that even the banker was in on it.
This gas merchant knew exactly how much wealth she possessed.
