The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 111

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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 111
As the tiger crouched to pounce, a bullet from Pejin’s gun struck the ground near it—a warning shot.
The tiger sniffed at the acrid powder smoke, assessing the weapon’s force, then slowly began to retreat.
Moments later, it vanished into the forest.
Pejin kept his gun trained on the trees for some time before lowering it. He turned immediately to April, speaking with relief.
“You brought a good hunting dog.”
“Did I?”
“Yes. He sensed it first, so I knew the beast was coming.”
Pejin reached down and petted Seviho’s head where he lay pressed to the ground, then tossed him a piece of dried meat.
Shaper Meyer collapsed onto the earth beside them, breathing hard after holding his breath so long.
“I suppose we’ll have quite the tale to tell at the next party.”
Pejin gestured at Shaper Meyer with his chin, then asked April.
“This one didn’t prove very necessary, did he?”
“It was reassuring enough, in its own way.”
At April’s words, Shaper Meyer groaned.
“I know sarcasm when I hear it.”
“Well, now that you do, we should move on.”
Urged by her pace, Shaper Meyer hauled himself to his feet.
His knees were still trembling, yet these two walked ahead without hesitation—tough people indeed. Still, he had no regrets about following them. At least he would have stories for the Social Season.
But there was something troubling him, something he wasn’t sure whether to tell April or keep to himself.
A few days ago, a guest had arrived at Meyer House under cover of secrecy. Miller Dieusz had come with only a single bodyguard in civilian clothes.
Late that night, after carousing with friends, Shaper Meyer had slipped inside and overheard his father talking with Miller Dieusz by chance.
“…I’m worried, Uncle. I don’t know what Pejin is thinking.”
“It can’t be helped when they’re the same age. Pejin is in his youth, after all. It’s hardly surprising that a woman might take precedence over duty. But the problem is that she’s someone the Empire should be prepared to sacrifice….”
Someone the Empire should be prepared to sacrifice.
Shaper Meyer had heard that much clearly from his father Devin.
He looked back at Pejin and saw his gaze fixed on Seviho and on April, who walked ahead.
That look was clearly the problem—both for his father and for Miller.
Shaper Meyer found it difficult to know what he could say and what he could not.
If only his mind worked a bit faster, he could have filtered his words better. But he had no talent for such discretion.
“Come with me. If I leave you behind and something happens to me, what then?”
Shaper Meyer hurried to catch up with the two of them.
After the tiger encounter, the three made their way toward Twin Mountains with ever-increasing care with each step.
“There.”
April spotted the path leading to the mine and moved toward it. But when she stepped on an ice-covered rock and slipped, Pejin quickly caught her around the waist and hoisted her up with a single motion.
“What would happen if someone from Right Island couldn’t see ice properly while walking?”
As Pejin lectured her, Shaper Meyer slipped right beside him and tumbled to the ground.
Shaper Meyer grabbed his backside with both hands, gasping in pain.
“You could’ve caught me just as easily, Pejin.”
April turned to look at him, barely suppressing her laughter.
“He slipped too, so you wouldn’t have to suffer alone. That’s what you call gallant.”
“April, you know you’ve been worse than me this whole time, right?”
“I’ll grant you that’s possible. But since I’m a bad person, I’ll ask one more favor. Wait here for a while. Pejin and I will go and come back.”
Shaper Meyer had nodded without thinking to her explanation that he wasn’t close enough to them to go inside—a matter of security. But then he suddenly remembered why he had followed April in the first place, and he spoke up.
“No. I’m coming too. Or better yet, let’s leave Pejin and you and I go.”
“You and I should go?”
April’s brow furrowed at Shaper Meyer’s absurd proposal. Pejin, who had been scanning the path ahead, slowly turned his head toward Shaper Meyer.
Shaper Meyer felt his nerves tighten under the weight of that gaze.
Shaper Meyer was a man who couldn’t resist hunting. And Pejin Dieusz enjoyed the hunt as well.
He knew better than anyone the peculiar mixture of slight guilt and overwhelming superiority that came in the moments after a kill. So when Pejin had let the beast go instead of finishing it, Shaper Meyer had both been relieved and found it strange.
He could have taken that tiger. In a moment that would have been the story of a lifetime, why hadn’t Pejin killed it?
Now, seeing the same look in Pejin’s eyes that had been turned on the beast moments before, Shaper Meyer understood the answer to why Pejin had left it alive.
It was a signal to retreat.
Don’t kill it, cause no trouble, and withdraw quietly.
He didn’t want even the slightest threat to enter the space around him. Whether that was because April Lunos stood there.
But Shaper Meyer was not the sort of man to meekly obey, just because he’d read that look.
Above all, he couldn’t trust Pejin. April should trust him more than Pejin. The circumstances made that difficult, but still.
Shaper Meyer spoke to April.
“Don’t trust that bastard. Trust me instead.”
Shaper Meyer, unskilled at persuading others, beat his chest and spoke. April opened her mouth to reply.
“I understand what you mean. But you’re still here.”
“Lunos!”
“I don’t trust either of you. If you’re worried I’ll trust Pejin too much, that’s really pointless thinking.”
After saying this, April turned and walked ahead.
Pejin glanced at Shaper Meyer’s face once, then followed April.
Because she had spoken of not trusting them, silence fell between Pejin and April. They walked on in quiet, each checking the ground beneath the other’s feet once in a while.
The frozen air between them broke when the ore that formed the base of the Lunos Family’s dyes came into view.
On one of the two hills called Twin Mountains lay ore of deep red; on the other, ore of vivid green.
In sunlight, the ore gleamed green, but on the shaded slope of Twin Mountains, dampness made it rust-red, as if oxidized.
April spoke to Pejin.
“It’s toxic, so be sure to wear Gloves when you touch it.”
“Poison?”
“Yes. I remember vaguely. They said this ore had poison in it.”
April recalled that the mineral held toxicity. More precisely, as the scene she’d heard described by her parents unfolded before her, the memory surfaced naturally.
Before the dye was extracted, the ore itself carried comparatively strong poison—it couldn’t be touched with bare hands.
Pejin put on the Gloves and walked forward, picking up a piece of ore in his hand.
“So they make the dye here?”
“So they say. Uncle is contacting relatives to figure out the specifics of how it’s processed.”
After April spoke, she studied Pejin carefully with both eyes to see how much she could trust him. His eyes felt to her like the poison in the ore.
Pejin averted his gaze from hers and looked instead at the ore.
“So it’s the principle of using poison to neutralize poison—the poison in this dye neutralizing the poison in the Fog.”
“Apparently so.”
After answering, April assessed the modest scale of the mine. It was smaller than she’d hoped. The ore here alone wouldn’t be enough to protect all the people of Right Island.
April spoke.
“When the Fog comes, it would be good to set up shelters. In schools or the Church.”
“Well, that quantity should be enough for that.”
“How much do you want for it?”
April asked with her hands clasped behind her back, her tone deliberately light. Pejin smiled faintly and turned the question back.
“You’re selling to me?”
“The Dieusz Family should buy it. This is a matter for the Grand Duke’s domain, isn’t it? The Grand Duke’s house should solve it.”
“That’s a fair point.”
Pejin conceded her argument.
April continued.
“Actually, your answer doesn’t matter much. I’m selling it to Miller.”
“My brother will just tell you to hand it over. He’s already got a record of sending soldiers your way before, which hurt you.”
April turned to look at Pejin with a puzzled expression.
She saw his eyes drift to her forehead, where she’d been wounded by the angry crowd, and she laughed.
“When did you start speaking badly of Miller?”
“When did I?”
“Just now. You said he’d tell me to hand it over. Isn’t that praise? Did I misunderstand?”
Pejin fell silent for a moment at her question.
He was lost in thought, and April tried to read what occupied his mind. But as always, she couldn’t.

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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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