The Mansion Awaits Spring
Chapter 96
I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore after sleeping for two days straight, but April fell into a slumber so deep it was as if her consciousness had been severed. She only opened her eyes after she had gotten a full, restorative rest.
When April finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Feeling as though she might end up settling down here forever if she didn't leave now, she managed to force herself out of bed.
A quick check in the mirror showed that her bruises weren't healing easily. She worried about whether it was okay to return like this, knowing that both Hannah and Fred would be horrified to see her injuries once she got back to the manor.
She sighed at her reflection and began preparing to leave. Upon checking the clothes she had arrived in, she found that the townhouse servants had washed them clean and even mended them as best they could.
After dressing and heading down the stairs, she saw Pezin talking to Logan on the patio. He spotted her and walked over.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving now.”
“Leaving? For where?”
“I’ve been here for three days. High society must be in an uproar.”
“And why does that matter?”
“What do you mean, why? What if this causes problems for your marriage? I have to go now.”
At April’s blunt remark, Pezin let out a mocking laugh.
“I didn't expect to hear the words ‘your marriage’ the very morning after we shared a bed.”
“Don’t act surprised. We just enjoyed ourselves.”
Pezin listened to her words with a derisive look on his face before muttering, “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”
April wasn't unaware of why Pezin was angry, but she had no intention of taking back what she said.
She felt that their relationship needed to be defined and compartmentalized at every turn. She had to be careful not to let things get deeper, and she had to stay alert so she wouldn't lose herself by focusing too much on their connection.
Ultimately, she couldn't immerse her whole body in this relationship. A certain ambiguous depth existed between them.
“If you’re working, you don’t need to see me out. I’ll be going.”
Just then, Logan cut in abruptly.
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but the Superintendent really has a lot of work to process today. He’s been putting it off the whole time.”
He then looked toward Pezin and asked, “Shall I escort her to the manor?”
“Go ahead.”
Pezin ended the conversation right there and turned away sharply. Since he was more furious than she had expected, April felt rather awkward.
As she left the house with Logan, April murmured, “I don’t know why he’s so angry.”
“Do you need relationship counseling? Should I give it a try?”
“Do you know enough to give advice?”
“No. I don’t know much, but I’m a good listener.”
“That’s… a good skill to have.”
“Yes, so I’ve been told.”
Logan gave a pleasant smile as he walked alongside April.
She had been tense, fearing that people might swarm her again once they stepped outside, but that didn't happen. In fact, people stayed far away, as if she were radiating some kind of dangerous aura.
When April narrowed her eyes in confusion, Logan spoke up.
“The Superintendent was… quite severe.”
“Severe?”
“Yes. Every single person who dragged April-yang from the carriage and, well, caused those bruises will be sentenced to heavy labor.”
“…I see.”
“I heard about the situation on the scene. I was told it was very dangerous.”
“Was it?”
April thought about trying to recall the memory, but just the attempt made a cold sweat break out on her back, so she stopped.
Logan said, “I think you can take our headquarters' carriage.”
“People aren't attacking me anymore, so you don't need to see me all the way home. I have somewhere to go anyway.”
“No, I’ll be in big trouble if I don’t escort you. Where are you going?”
“To a Port Tavern.”
“A Port Tavern? Are you planning to gather sailors?”
Logan seemed laid-back, but his mind was always spinning fast; he realized what April was trying to do just from the mention of a Port Tavern.
April smiled and asked back, “Couldn’t I just want a drink?”
“Yes, and if that’s the case, I’ll drink with you.”
April smiled at Logan’s cheerful and kind response. In any case, he was a very good person as long as he didn't show off any useless magic tricks.
Well, if one were to take magic away from this man named Logan, he would probably be living with only half a soul, so it couldn't be helped…
Without showing the slightest hint of annoyance, Logan moved with April toward the Port Tavern.
Most of the ports on the Right Island no longer functioned properly. It was only natural; the money that used to be earned from ports all over the world was now more than sufficiently replaced by trade with the Left Island alone.
The remaining ports were used for fishing boats coming and going, but since the auctions for the catch had to be held at the ports closer to the Left Island, even the fishing boats ended up crowding there.
As a result, the ports facing the Left Island were bustling with all sorts of ships, sailors, and passengers looking to travel between the two sides.
As winter ended, the smell of fish scales hung in the air everywhere.
People didn't approach April, having heard the news that those who touched her were facing heavy sentences, but they all glared at her as if they wanted to kill her.
The ground was muddy and the stares were piercing, making April feel incredibly uncomfortable.
However, that wasn't as difficult as the prospect of entering the tavern and facing the sailors.
The inside was filled with the descendants of pirates. Most people on the Right Island were ashamed of their pirate blood, but the sailors were different. In fact, they went as far as defiantly hanging the black flags used by pirates inside the tavern.
The tavern was noisy and filthy. All sorts of food scraps and leftover bones were discarded on the floor, and in a pot that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages, a seafood stew was boiling with countless fish heads floating in it.
When April had received seafood stew before, all the fish meat had been deboned, so she hadn't known that the stew sailors ate kept the fish in such a raw form.
April murmured as she looked at the stew pot.
“…There are fish in there that actually look like fish.”
Logan laughed heartily at that.
“You probably don't have many occasions to eat food where you can see the original shape of the ingredients, do you?”
“It seems so.”
“Since you don't fish or hunt, that would be even more true.”
“Do you like hunting?”
“Well, hunting was a subject at the Military Academy. I did it because I had to, but I didn't enjoy it. Two of my seniors at headquarters loved it, though.”
“You mean Paul-ssi and Pezin?”
“Yes. Both of them really enjoy hunting. So, the pheasants they caught… I’ll stop there.”
“I definitely don’t want to hear it.”
During her seven years of house arrest, the only living things by April's side had been the chickens she raised.
Inwardly, April had relied on those chickens for emotional support. She was happy when chicks were born and sad when a chicken that had lived its full life died. Those were almost the only events that had moved her emotions in seven years.
April felt immensely grateful that Logan had come along. She had rushed to the tavern, but since she couldn't see the sailor she was looking for—Irsa Joyce—she hadn't known what to do next.
April asked Logan, “Who do you think would be the one to arrange sailors?”
“Hmm, I have no idea. Shall I ask?”
“Everyone is drunk and it’s so loud, I don’t think you can ask anything.”
“I’ll give it a try since I have a loud voice,” Logan said, offering April a chair. “Please sit for a moment. You might be a bit startled.”
“Startled?”
While April was wondering why, she sat down. Logan then drew his gun and shot a liquor bottle sitting on a wall shelf.
At the sudden gunshot, every sailor in the tavern froze and turned to look at Logan.
With a relaxed expression, Logan pulled out the badge he had tucked in his inner pocket, pinned it on, and spoke.
“Imperial Police. Nobody move.”
