The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 78
Chapter 78
April spoke up.
「It felt a bit strange meeting you here.」
「Why is the same person strange?」
「Just because. Sometimes even the same person feels different when the setting changes.」
To April, the Pezin Dieus she saw on the Left Island felt slightly more intimidating. It was the fact that no matter where they went, he had people everywhere. There were several times more of them than when they were on the Right Island.
It was only after coming to the Left Island that the reality of him being a police officer of the Empire truly sank in.
Pushing those thoughts aside, however, April murmured.
「And yet, why am I so glad to see you?」
「……」
「It’s strange……」
Pezin opened his mouth but couldn't find any words. Finally, he lowered his head and looked down at his chest.
April, leaning her cheek against him with her eyes closed, looked exhausted. It was understandable, considering she had been dragged to a place she had never been to in her life.
After resting against Pezin’s chest for a while, April lifted her head and spoke.
「Is it too late to go to the festival?」
Pezin, who had been quiet the whole time she was leaning on him, replied.
「You don’t actually care about the festival, do you? You’re just asking because you want to go back to the Right Island.」
「……Yes.」
Her true intentions exposed, April hesitated before nodding.
The weather wasn't bad, and Pezin’s house was so comfortable that comparing it to the Grand Duchy Police prison she would be in back on the Right Island was laughable.
Nevertheless, April couldn't hide her desire to return to the Grand Duchy.
Pezin clicked his tongue and said.
「Let’s go.」
「Now?」
「Yes.」
At Pezin’s words, April’s expression brightened noticeably.
They finished their preparations immediately and boarded a carriage toward the harbor. As they rode, Pezin spoke.
「I can’t go with you. I have to stay until the Foundation Day festival is over.」
「You can’t come?」
「Instead, I called that sailor. The one you shared a cabin with on the way here.」
「Ah, was it Irsa Joyce?」
「Yeah.」
April looked disappointed, but she accepted that while her own return was a secret, she couldn't interfere with his schedule.
Besides, she had wanted to talk to Irsa again, so she took comfort in the fact that they would be returning together.
By the time they reached the harbor, the short winter sun had just dipped below the horizon.
Because of the festival, the Imperial Capital after sunset was crowded with people everywhere.
April and Pezin stepped out of the carriage, each wearing one of the masks Pezin had provided. Fortunately, they weren't the only ones; most of the nobles were wearing masks while enjoying the festivities.
April’s attention was briefly captured by the fireworks being launched from the harbor.
「Wow……」
Once the fireworks streaked across the dark sky, it filled with white smoke. April thought of the people on the Right Island, who were now terrified at the mere sight of mist.
She asked Pezin.
「It was dye, wasn't it?」
At her words, Pezin flinched and looked back at April.
April met his gaze through the mask. Taking his silence as an affirmation, she nodded.
「I thought so.」
「How did you know?」
「You gave me a clue from the start. You said you needed the dress I bought in the Empire for your experiment.」
「Still, the answer 'dye' doesn't just pop out. It could have been the fabric, or it could have been something else you ate during those two days.」
「True.」
April agreed and continued.
「So I took a shot in the dark. I wasn't certain.」
「……I'm a policeman, and I fell for a sting operation?」
April laughed at Pezin’s bewildered voice.
「Actually, I’ve thought about the dye in the dresses before. For some reason, it feels like my parents kept trying to explain it to me when they were alive.」
「Hmm.」
「But I can’t remember. Because I tried so hard to forget……」
「……」
「Now that the confinement is over, and since using that dye means people won't die anymore, then the misunderstanding that I'm a witch will be cleared up too.」
「That’s true, but.」
Pezin let out a troubled sigh and continued.
「Just thinking about it gives me a headache. Having to remember something you’ve forgotten.」
「Still, when I talk to you about when we were young, things come back to me.」
「Then, wait a moment.」
Pezin turned as if to go somewhere for a second, then came back and grabbed April’s hand.
April spoke to the back of Pezin’s head as he pulled her along.
「Nothing’s going to happen if I’m alone for a minute.」
「No, it's because I'm bored.」
April let out a hollow laugh at Pezin’s nonchalant remark.
Following him, she found they were entering a shop that, unexpectedly, was filled with paper.
Pezin said.
「They say scent lingers longer than memory.」
「Scent?」
「When I think of the previous Head of the Lunos family, the smell of paper and ink is exactly what comes to mind.」
「That’s true. My father loved to record everything, didn't he?」
「He recorded everything.」
The one who had burned all those records was Miller Dieus.
Pezin did not mention his brother’s misdeeds, and April did not bring up the subject to him either. She felt it was a conversation to be had with the person responsible.
April checked the various types of paper and smelled them, but nothing particularly reminded her of the former Head.
Just as April was wondering if the paper she was looking for wasn't here, Pezin returned with a stack of paper he had paid for.
「It’s this smell.」
What Pezin brought wasn't just one type of paper, but a bundle of papers brought from various countries.
After smelling the bundle, April covered her mouth with one hand.
「……It’s the smell that used to be in my father’s study.」
「You remember how many different kinds of paper he had? Whenever I entered the study, the scents from papers of all sorts of countries were always mixed together……」
Pezin stopped talking at the sound of April’s breathing behind her ornate mask. He clicked his tongue, tossed some bills to the merchant, and sent him outside.
Once the shop was empty, Pezin lifted the mask April was wearing. Tears were streaming down her face.
Pezin leaned down as far as he could to check April’s face and said.
「Are you a child? Why are you suddenly crying? You're scaring me.」
「It just…… suddenly……」
The smell had brought back warm memories.
The papers from various countries her father had collected.
She remembered the study that smelled of a mixture of foreign patterns and gold leaf, sea breezes, leather, and spices.
Her father had disliked anyone entering that room, to the point of dusting it himself, but he never felt that way about his daughter.
April was always a welcome guest to her father. A guest who always made him smile brightly.
To the speechless April, Pezin thrust the papers into her arms and made a show of wiping her tears as if he were cleaning a child’s face with a handkerchief.
April laughed while clutching the paper at his antics.
Pezin handed her the handkerchief, and after she had stopped crying sufficiently, he put her mask back on and they left the shop.
Perhaps because she had just had a good cry, everything looked vivid, yet distant, like the world after a rain. Shiny things looked shinier, and beautiful things looked more beautiful.
Even Pezin Dieus, who arrived at the deserted harbor, took off his mask, and helped her onto a small fishing boat, seemed that way.
When April stared intently at his face even after boarding the boat, Pezin asked.
「What are you looking at? Did I suddenly become handsome?」
「I might have actually thought you were handsome if you hadn't said that.」
「I know what I look like, even if you don't admit it.」
Pezin spoke shamelessly, then waved his hand and tossed a gold coin to Irsa, who was standing behind them with a tired expression. She caught it easily.
Confirming that what she held was a gold coin, Irsa broke into a broad grin.
「Didn't you already pay the fare?」
「That was the deposit. This is the fare.」
「You're paying this much just for this?」
A single gold coin from the Right Island was worth five sheep. Irsa, who had earned money she couldn't easily make as a sailor just by traveling between the two islands for one night, quickly pocketed the gold coin.
「Ah, you're paying me so well it makes me feel uneasy.」
April looked at Irsa with wide eyes and said.
「You don't look uneasy at all?」
「Do you often hear that you say things you shouldn't?」
「I don't. Given my status, I don't hear things like that.」
「How annoying.」
When Irsa made a gesture as if to push her, April looked at her with a startled expression. But soon, realizing it was an expression of friendliness, she pushed her back.
Irsa pretended to stumble, then raised the anchor.
「Let’s go.」
