The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 104
April laughed so brightly that Bauman glanced outside, his expression warming with genuine pleasure.
“It’s wonderful to see you smiling so much these days, Miss.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you seem lighter somehow. Freer.”
Bauman was right.
On the day of the funeral itself, April had truly felt herself letting her parents go.
Her parents could now rest in the Convent where all the former Heads of the Lunos Family and their spouses lay sleeping, and more than that, the memory she had struggled so hard to suppress had finally broken through the surface.
She had tried not to think of the happy times with her parents. But somehow, starting from some point, those joyful memories came alive again, and April allowed herself to fully recall her childhood when she was loved.
The relatives who came to the funeral had been busy talking about money all day, but whenever they spoke of the previous Head and his spouse, the stories were all the same.
How deeply the couple had loved their one precious daughter, hard-won as she was. From the day they learned a child was coming until the day she was born, and beyond—a torrent of episodes poured forth.
April Lunos was a loved child.
She decided she would no longer deny that fact. And now that memory brought her less pain.
April did not deny that Pejin’s influence had something to do with her being able to recall these things.
Strangely, when she was with him, any story hurt less. Caused less suffering. And so she found she could speak of anything.
While she was thinking this way, a police carriage came galloping into view from the distance.
Logan descended first, greeted the two ladies with proper courtesy, then rushed toward Sebio.
“Sebio! I’ve missed you!”
From the very beginning, Logan had been the one crying out not to kill Sebio.
As if aware of his efforts, Sebio wagged his tail warmly in return.
Logan noticed Sebio’s raincoat and asked, clearly moved.
“However did you think to put a raincoat on the dog?”
“Fred’s grandmother made it for him.”
“How wonderfully thoughtful!”
As Logan remained thoroughly captivated by Sebio, Hannah tapped his shoulder lightly.
“Officer, I’m going to be a police officer too.”
“Ah, I heard. Reassuring already.”
“What do I need to study to become a police officer?”
“Come to think of it, you’ll be starting school soon. Shall we talk while I walk Sebio?”
“Yes! And show me a magic trick!”
Logan murmured wistfully, “I’ve actually prepared a new trick for today. But here I am, just stepping outside the station, and already someone’s waiting to see my magic. Should I quit the Police Force?”
After Logan set off on a walk with Sebio and Hannah, Irsa stepped down from the carriage.
Irsa gazed around the Lunos Fiefdom, made fresh and verdant by the spring rain, as if she had arrived at paradise itself.
“Am I actually alive?”
Murmuring this to herself, she spotted April waiting in front of the Grand Residence and grinned as she walked toward her.
“So you saved me?”
“Yes, because I needed you.”
“Whether it was need or any other reason, I’m grateful you did.”
Irsa spoke with satisfaction and fell into step beside April.
Irsa’s eyes widened as she looked around the Grand Residence.
“You were incredibly wealthy?”
“Quite well-off.”
“Quite well-off? Is that what you call it? Either way, this entire enormous residence is yours, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
April nodded and led the way toward the rear gardens of the estate.
After walking some distance from the mansion on the hill, the ground began to slope downward. April stopped midway and pointed to a rectangular wooden building situated on the path leading toward the Gorge.
“You can stay there. Only one person lives there now, so you can choose whichever room you like. Oh, if that person asks you anything, please answer them.”
“That building?”
“Yes. In our family, we’ve always called it the Sailor’s House. You live on ships, don’t you? Just think of this place as a ship too. Somewhere you stay whenever you wish.”
Irsa blinked as she looked down at the building. It was a structure built to resemble a ship, made for sailors.
Irsa gripped her meager bag of belongings tightly and spoke.
“I like it very much.”
“I cleaned it roughly, but it’s probably a mess.”
“That doesn’t matter. It’s my home, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
While Irsa admired the building, she tilted her head and turned to April with a question.
“But what do you need me for that you’d provide me a house like this?”
April then made a small exclamation.
Her characteristic calm, cool voice mixed with the sound of rain as it reached Irsa’s ears.
“I have a ship. A Clipper.”
“A Clipper, eh. That’s something I know well.”
“It’s my first trading ship.”
“Ah! So that’s why you called me—to take me aboard!”
Irsa’s feet began to bounce with excitement. But that eager movement stopped short at what April said next.
“I’d like you to serve as the Captain.”
“…What?”
Irsa’s eyes widened at the word Captain, and she pressed for clarification.
“You… don’t really understand what a Captain is, do you?”
“What are you talking about.”
“…You’re going to make me Captain? Me, left-handed? There’s never been a left-handed captain on Right Island.”
April answered Irsa’s protest.
“You said it yourself. When we went to Left Island together and came back safely, that proved I wasn’t a witch.”
“That’s… true.”
“It’s the same for me. We made it to Left Island and back safely together, so you’re a proven sailor to me.”
“That’s different! To send a trading ship out from here, you have to navigate through that sea fog and the underwater mountains!”
“If the issue is insufficient skill, then never mind.”
“I have the skill. There’s no one with skill like mine. But there are plenty of sailors with far more experience than me—how could I take on the role of Captain?”
Her reaction was hard to read—whether it was pleasure or reluctance.
April decided to speak her piece regardless of how Irsa responded.
“You said it yourself. To command a Lunos trading ship, you need boldness.”
“That’s obvious.”
April looked out toward the Sea beyond the Gorge and continued.
“I’ve kept thinking about what you said. And it’s true. My decision to launch a ship is already no longer a cautious one. So how could I entrust it to a cautious captain?”
“Hmm…”
“I need a bold decision now.”
As April spoke, Irsa gradually stilled her excitement. And she looked in the direction April was gazing.
Irsa was certain that April had stood in this very spot for a long time, watching down the Gorge toward the Sea in this exact direction. Because Irsa had spent a lifetime wandering, she alone could recognize that posture.
April Lunos wanted her ship to venture into that Sea.
She wanted some mad Captain to tear through that mad Sea with a single Clipper.
And so come to own that sea route.
Irsa asked.
“What do you want brought back from the Sea? Jewels?”
“Food.”
“Food? But you get plenty from Left Island.”
“Right. That’s why I need food that isn’t from Left Island.”
Irsa couldn’t understand why April wanted to bring food from so far away, but it didn’t matter. The destination was the ship-owner’s decision to make anyway.
Irsa answered.
“The Navigator?”
“The Navigator who went looking for you—they’ll come along. Gather the sailors, research the route. I’ll leave the departure and return to you.”
“This is driving me mad.”
Irsa looked up at the sky and drew a long breath.
Rain fell into her mouth, cool and refreshing against her throat. She turned back to April and spoke.
“I’ll do it. Let’s try. After all, you saved a life that was already forfeit.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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