The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 73
She seemed unaccustomed to using honorifics with April.
Considering she wasn’t one of her own crew, April let it slide without much thought.
“I was just glad to see a seafarer after such a long time.”
“I suppose. If you’re a Lunos, that makes sense.”
“By the way, did you get paid for giving up your cabin like this?”
Irsa jerked her chin toward a row of wooden barrels. It seemed she had received enough beer to drink her fill in exchange for keeping watch over her.
Taking up another mug of beer, Irsa spoke.
“If you’re going to ask me to help you escape, don’t even bother. It’s not happening.”
“I understand. I’ll ask for something else instead.”
“There shouldn’t be anything else to do. Aren’t you going there to die?”
“They won’t kill me. They can’t. If I die, the police who arrested me will be held responsible.”
April spat out words she wasn’t entirely sure of, but as she spoke, her own logic began to feel plausible, and she felt a bit more at ease.
Irsa, listening, seemed to find it convincing enough as she nodded. She then drained another mug of beer and pointed at April’s clothes.
“Going to the Left Island wearing red?”
“What does red clothing have to do with the Left Island?”
When April narrowed her eyes in confusion, Irsa pounded the floor with her hand as if it were absurd.
“How can a Lunos not know that?”
“I assume it’s related to ships.”
“Port is red, starboard is green.”
“I see. I had no idea.”
“Well… I guess that’s possible.”
Irsa shrugged, as if deciding it wasn’t such a big deal not to know after all.
April gestured toward Irsa and said, “You’re left-handed.”
“If my parents had lived past the time I was eight, they would have fixed it.”
As Irsa grumbled, April asked, “Is it inconvenient for a sailor to be left-handed?”
“More than that, the seafarers of the Right Island don’t like it. Pirates used to row oars tailored for right-handed helmsmen to change direction.”
April nodded.
Irsa shared a surprising variety of stories. Especially when she spoke of the bandits from the Lunos family, her face filled with a sense of shame, even though it was something that had happened regardless of her.
“It was an incredibly stupid thing to do. The reason the Lunos lady has to come here and die is because those bandits made such a mess of things….”
“I’m not going to die.”
“So many sailors went hungry after that. With Lunos finished, there’s no hope left for seafarers.”
“I told you, I’m not dying. You understood that well enough earlier.”
At April’s rebuke, Irsa grinned. It seemed it was her own way of joking.
Then again, seafarers believed in the God of Death, if only to soothe their fear of dying.
Therefore, even words about death were relatively light jokes to a seafarer.
Irsa said, “Even if the Lunos lady returns alive, would you ever hire those bandits again?”
“I’d have to. How else can you launch a ship without sailors?”
Only then did April recall her parents’ words and let out a small, bitter laugh.
“Originally, the Lunos family was able to venture into the deep sea because they were neighbors with the pirates. If we need each other, there’s simply no choice.”
“…….”
Irsa glanced at April in silence, then rolled up her sleeves.
“Fine.”
“Fine what?”
“If you don’t die this time, I’ll help you escape.”
“And in return, I’ll hire you later when I’m able?”
“That’s the deal.”
April nodded and sat a little closer to Irsa this time.
She asked questions about ships, things she had never been interested in before.
Irsa was three years older than April and had been on ships since she was old enough to do manual labor, so her experience was quite extensive.
It was a conversation that, while not exactly smooth, made time pass faster than it would have otherwise.
Following Irsa’s advice that it was better to get some sleep, April lay down on the bed and closed her eyes for a while.
The ship circled aimlessly on the sea for no apparent reason, and only after a long time did it reach the Left Island.
Irsa took a deep breath through her nose and spoke.
“We’re here.”
“……It’s hot.”
April furrowed her brow. Compared to the winter on the Right Island, where temperatures easily dropped below minus twenty degrees, her attire was far too thick.
April took off her coat. The outer garment she wore underneath was sufficient for this weather.
She felt the ship arrive at the port and come to a stop.
April stared at the door, expecting someone to come for her.
As she watched the door, her nerves grew taut at the sound of a lock being opened from the outside.
It was the Imperial Police who opened the door and entered. It seemed the Grand Duchy Police were no longer involved after handing her over to the ship.
“Excuse us, Miss April.”
An Imperial Police officer, whose attitude was significantly more polite than that of the Grand Duchy Police, spoke and covered April’s eyes. He then addressed her in a tone that was almost cautious.
“The Investigation Headquarters currently working on the Right Island sent a report regarding you, Miss April. It said you were standing perfectly fine on your own in the midst of the fog that even the Imperial Police were collapsing in.”
“And?”
“An Academy in the Empire wishes to know how you, Miss April, were able to remain healthy within the fog of the Right Island. His Majesty the Emperor is deeply concerned about the fog issue on the Right Island. That is why he sent Superintendent Dieus, whom he cherishes so much, as the Headquarters Director.”
“Was the only thing that idiot found out the fact that I’m fine in the fog?”
“Miss Lunos.”
The caution vanished from the policeman’s voice, replaced by a tone of absolute sternness.
“I am aware that the two of you have known each other for a long time, but even so, you must not speak carelessly about the Superintendent. This is not the Grand Duchy.”
At his words, April narrowed her eyes and asked, “When the space changes, do the people change too?”
“The treatment changes.”
Because her eyes were covered, April had no choice but to read the other person’s emotions through their voice alone.
The policeman’s voice was calm once more.
“I will tell you again, Superintendent Dieus is one of the people His Majesty the Emperor cherishes most. He was raised in a manner not much different from His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.”
“……I get it. Forget that, tell me about the Academy.”
“Yes. We apologize for bringing you here in this manner, but please consider it for the sake of the Right Island’s future.”
With that, the conversation ended, and the police helped her to her feet.
April soon boarded a car and was moved somewhere.
Around that time, she realized that the heat she felt wasn’t just due to the temperature of the Left Island. A cold sweat was soaking her back in an instant.
Of all times, it had to be now.
On a day when she couldn’t afford to be sick, a cold and body aches were crashing down on her.
April wanted to wrap her arms around herself and curl up, but her pride wouldn’t allow it, so she remained sitting bolt upright.
