The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 106

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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 106
Pejin opened his mouth.
“I’ve had so much on my mind lately that I’ve grown irritable—nothing tastes right. But with you, it’s different.”
“Ah.”
Hearing his candor, April’s expression softened.
Then Pejin asked her.
“Was I really that sensitive as a child?”
“Of course. So sensitive you could barely make friends.”
“Why can’t I remember that? All I remember is you tormenting me.”
At the word tormenting, April let out a short laugh and took another sip of wine before answering.
“Think back. Did I actually torment you?”
“You dressed me up in your clothes.”
“……Except for that.”
“Well, you were so breathtakingly beautiful then, I suppose I can take some responsibility for that.”
There was nothing wrong with what Pejin said, so April couldn’t bring herself to deny it.
At that time, Pejin had been so beautiful, as he himself said, that children and adults alike—regardless of gender—had been curious to see him in a dress.
Wearing April’s dress, Pejin had been as beautiful as every child’s imagination.
In a white bonnet embroidered with pink flowers, pretending to drink tea from toy teacups—that image must still exist as a photograph somewhere in the Empire. The adults would never have let such a moment slip away.
Aside from that, April felt no guilt whatsoever about her own actions. In fact, she felt none even about that.
As Pejin recalled more, he found himself agreeing with April’s view.
“From another perspective, it seems like you were playing with me.”
Very young Pejin had disliked sweaty exercise and refused to eat food that smelled. He wouldn’t bathe in hot water or cold, and when strangers spoke to him, he would clamp his mouth shut and merely glower.
He was the youngest child, born after a large age gap from his older brother, and frail besides—so his parents had raised him barely letting him leave his room.
Pejin tried to remember the day he first met April.
When he visited the Lunos Family Estate with his parents—the previous Grand Duke and Duchess—he had met his first peer-aged friend.
April was so much taller than him and had overwhelmingly more knowledge of the world, so she felt less like a friend and more like someone much older.
April dragged Pejin around wherever she pleased.
As they recalled those earliest memories, both of them spoke almost simultaneously.
“You did torment me, no matter how I think about it.”
“I did torment you, didn’t I?”
After saying that, the two of them burst out laughing together.
Only then did Pejin slow his eating pace and continue.
“Do you know what you said to me when I came to the Lunos Family Estate and refused to eat anything outside the Grand Duke’s Residence?”
At that time, April had stared at young Pejin, who clamped his mouth shut because he didn’t want to eat in an unfamiliar place. Then she leaned over and whispered in his ear.
“Eating in public is a courtesy too. Now go. Don’t act like you have no manners.”
Pejin, who had been raised like precious jade, had never heard such a threat in his life.
Feeling the gravest threat of his childhood, from that moment on, he began eating whatever food was given to him, even in strange environments.
And nearly twenty years later, he felt as though he had reverted to that little boy again.
Food would only go down his throat when April was before him—that state from back then.
April was curious about how deliciously Pejin was eating, so she picked up one of the heaping sandwiches.
The ham and butter and fruit jam were odd, yet pleasant in their own way. Most of all, the jam Pejin had chosen—made from odds and ends of various fruits left over from cooking—was even better. Since it was made from what remained after using good fruit elsewhere, it was less sweet than other jams.
When April ate the sandwich and wetted her throat again with wine, Pejin, still focused on his meal, spoke.
“So.”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you meet with Kritz from Division 3 so often?”
At Pejin’s words, April hesitated. But soon she answered in a casual tone.
“We’ve grown close. I don’t have many friends anyway.”
“I’m here.”
“A friend of the same gender.”
“What do you need a friend for?”
Pejin grumbled, then looked at April and asked.
“Is there something more you want to know about me?”
Though he hadn’t intended it, the natural police instinct in Pejin’s gaze and voice had developed the habit of making his counterpart feel as though they were being interrogated.
April kept secret the fact that Kritz was investigating the Fog and Pejin himself separately from Pejin.
Despite her caution, the realization that Pejin had long known she was in contact with Kritz sent a chill through her.
It wasn’t surprising that a police officer was sharp, but both Kritz and April had taken considerable pains to keep their communication hidden from others’ eyes.
Pejin knew everything about Logan, Kritz, and all the contacts April had made at the Special Investigation Bureau.
April answered honestly.
“You’re not investigating the Fog properly. No matter how I look at it, the Fog is clearly connected to our basement cellar. I’m getting the same reaction in both places, so I have that much of a lead. Why aren’t you investigating it properly?”
“I will now. I’ve been busy until now. Besides, you were too occupied with funeral preparations to allow police to dig through the basement of the estate anyway.”
“That’s…… true enough.”
When April conceded, Pejin changed the subject.
“You’ll be busy going forward, won’t you? You’re planning to go investigate the dye?”
“Yes. I’m going somewhere.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Why?”
“Safety concerns, and I need to keep an eye on you too.”
April was about to refuse immediately, but then it occurred to her that bringing Pejin along might be an opportunity to learn more about him.
Pejin Dieus was like a puzzle with crucial pieces missing. She wanted answers to the vague suspicions she harbored. If it amounted to nothing, that would be fine; if it amounted to something…
Once her thoughts were settled, April nodded.
“All right then. I remember the direction the dye came from was very dangerous.”
“Toward the primordial forest?”
“Yes. It would be good to have a hunter. And……”
“And?”
“I’ve missed you these past few days.”
At April’s murmured words, Pejin stilled.
She repeated the words as if talking to herself, as if memorizing them.
“I’ve missed you.”
“You like me too much.”
As Pejin spoke, the corners of his mouth curled upward, and eventually he leaned forward on one elbow toward April, tilting his body toward her.
April turned her head sharply at what seemed like his dissatisfaction with her answer, so Pejin wiped his hands quickly with a napkin, then took her hand and placed it on his own, resting his head there.
“Understood. I’ll come before you miss me next time.”
This answer seemed to please her.
With his head resting, Pejin then interlaced their fingers and lifted his head to ask.
“But what if I visit too often and you stop missing me? What if you tire of me?”
“Then I’d see you less.”
“If it’s going to be romantic, shouldn’t it stay romantic throughout? Why half-finish it?”
“What are you looking for?”
“Think about it more and give me an answer.”
At Pejin’s needless sulking, April tilted her head to one side and fell into thought.
Pejin found himself almost wanting to laugh at how earnestly she was considering his request, but he held tension in his facial muscles to hear a romantic answer from her.
He had long since known that April was neither particularly romantic nor imaginative.
It was simply that this very situation—where she was taking his request for romantic words seriously—that delighted him.
After deliberating for some time, April answered.
“I think there are cases where you don’t tire even after looking for a long time. The probability would be extremely low, though.”
“……”
“That probability—I think that’s you, for me.”
Pejin’s eyes stopped moving.
At that expression, April asked.
“Is talk of probability not very romantic?”
“No. Rather, it’s romance I didn’t expect…… It surprised me.”
“Is that romantic? It’s just how things are.”
The way April spoke of it as though embarrassed and dismissive, Pejin deliberately did not point out. He didn’t want to touch it even slightly, because her words pleased him so deeply.
As they spoke like this, the rain outside the window ceased.
Pejin looked out the window and spoke.
“Ah, I should go.”
“Don’t go.”
“Right, I shouldn’t go.”
“……Really?”
The moment he decided, Pejin refilled his wine glass.
“I’d rather drink wine with you while listening to the rain.”
He couldn’t let go of her hand.
It felt as though if he released it, there would be no chance to hold it again.

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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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