The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 131

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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 131
Once April had finished her own preparations, she entrusted the residence to Kayani as he arrived to see her off.
As she received his farewell, the carriage carrying April departed. Irsa, who had boarded the carriage en route to Lunos Harbor, spoke.
“At last we set sail, Ship Owner.”
At her words, April laughed, and Irsa asked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“The banker calls me Head of House, the fisherman calls me Fiefdom Lord, and you call me Ship Owner.”
“Well, because to me, the fact that you’re the ship’s owner matters most of all.”
“I see. It’s like being a daughter to someone, a wife to someone else.”
“Exactly. In any case, you’ll be busy. Many titles means many people seeking you out.”
“Better busy than bored.”
Irsa nodded in agreement with April’s answer.
The two women headed for Lunos Harbor to prepare for their first voyage.
The voyage preparations, with a departure target of September 4th, were nearly complete.
As April headed toward the villa located at Lunos Harbor, Irsa spoke to her.
“You should have mentioned there was a villa. I’d have sent the crew to clean it up.”
“I didn’t say anything because I was afraid you’d decide to throw a drinking party instead.”
“You saw right through me.”
Irsa nodded in agreement and followed her steps.
April discovered that the villa, while not particularly large, was tidier than she’d expected. With the sea breeze constantly stripping the paint, it shouldn’t have been possible for the villa—which she normally maintained so meticulously each year—to be so clean without effort.
Irsa, who seemed to know why the villa looked this way, smiled knowingly and watched for April’s reaction.
“Well? What do you think!”
“……You did this? But you couldn’t have had the time or the meticulousness for it.”
“Right, you’re sharp. I couldn’t have done this.”
As Irsa explained that she didn’t accept rent, she glanced around the harbor, where people had suddenly begun gathering, and spoke.
“The people settled here did it. Diligently. Since you don’t take payment, they’re repaying you this way.”
“I see.”
April smiled faintly. The people of the Grand Duchy believed readily in superstition, had passionate temperaments, and there were certainly thieves among them—but they also knew how to share what they had.
“You go on. I’m going to rest for a while.”
“Tell me if you need anything, Ship Owner!”
“I will.”
April bid farewell and entered the villa.
If the outside had been one way, the inside was transformed differently. This was not the work of harbor settlers’ hands.
The furniture was all imported. Wood that didn’t grow in either the Grand Duchy or the Empire—you could tell just by looking at the grain.
It was fragrant and beautiful.
The villa was usually used only by the head couple of the Lunos family, so the second floor was entirely one open space, while the first floor was divided into a living area, kitchen, and rooms for the villa keeper and servants.
April climbed to the second floor and found Pejin standing by the window, as expected.
“Why are you barging into someone else’s house?”
At that, Pejin turned and reproached her.
“You’ve been avoiding me so much. In a few days I have to search that huge factory, but how can we do this without even one meeting?”
“What meeting is there to have? I told you everything I was curious about. You’re the one who didn’t answer.”
“You sent it in writing, dangerously at that. My life is at stake here—are you really going to do it this recklessly?”
“I sent it to Renald through your uncle. I took sufficient precautions.”
Since it was the route he’d recommended for withdrawing his own assets, safety was guaranteed by April’s method. Pejin clicked his tongue and spoke again.
“Still, let’s see each other’s faces.”
“You were the one who—”
“Yes, I betrayed first. That’s why I’m risking my life now. Can’t you indulge me a little? You said you’d leave once winter comes, that I wouldn’t see your face again. So I might as well ask for tea at least.”
Pejin pulled a letter from his breast and continued.
“If you don’t give me a cup of dark beer, I won’t hand it over.”
“Were you always this tiresome?”
“You knew that. Why pretend you didn’t?”
Pejin reproached her and flopped into a chair near the window.
April had no choice but to quickly ask the new villa keeper she’d hired to bring dark beer.
Soon, as the dark beer was set on the table where the two sat, Pejin spoke.
“I asked for tea.”
“I need the drink if I’m going to talk with you.”
As April spoke, Pejin clicked his tongue but drank down the dark beer she offered.
Finding it excellent enough that he had no complaints, Pejin drained his glass and gave April answers to her questions.
Most of April’s questions concerned the factory, but there was one question unrelated to it.
As people began crowding into Lunos Harbor, she needed someone to maintain order there. She was asking if Pejin knew anyone suitable.
The letter contained an answer to that as well: within the Grand Duchy Police, he would establish a separate division specifically responsible for maritime security.
April asked.
“Can you form a team however you like within the Grand Duchy Police?”
“These days I’ve been acting as His Majesty the Emperor’s own hands and feet. Lately, he trusts me greatly.”
“Is that your answer about the Grand Duchy Police?”
“If His Majesty the Emperor trusts me, then my brother and even Devin Meyer, the Grand Duchy Police Commissioner, can’t touch me. I can live as I wish.”
The gleam in Pejin’s eyes as he spoke so casually seemed somehow different from what April had originally known.
He’d always been presumptuous and unpleasant, yes, but he’d also had a playful side, and above all, he read others’ hearts well and sometimes showed unexpected kindness.
But the Pejin Dieusz she faced today looked like a flower bearing poison. Sharp enough to be frightening to approach, overflowing with toxin.
April observed him like that before asking.
“Are you busy these days?”
“Busy. Still, I’ll make time for what you need, so don’t worry about that.”
“……All right.”
“But listen.”
Pejin refilled his glass and continued.
“Once I go to the Empire, I won’t be able to contact you easily. But you’re going to need me, aren’t you?”
“Your money is enough.”
“Let yourself need me a little too. In any case, if you send letters in this way, they’ll all be censored. So I’ve thought of a method—you’re going to have a party on the rooftop of the Lunos Residence. When you do, hang cloth there. My subordinates will see it and relay it to me.”
Pejin gestured for her to look at the letter he’d given her.
As April turned a page, she saw that Pejin had assigned meanings to each color. Yellow meant “it’s dangerous, help me,” and light blue meant “it’s safe,” and so on.
April pointed to one of the markings.
“Do you need this one too?”
“Why wouldn’t I? If you get married, I need to know.”
Red and purple mixed together meant the marriage of April Lunos.
April spoke as if astounded, yet helpless.
“Fine. I’ll hang them.”
As April answered, her gaze lingered on green. Green meant war.
Pejin spoke.
“You won’t need that one. You won’t wage war.”
“Of course not.”
“I will. However it happens, if you ever see green sent from me, it means we can no longer avoid war.”
……
April gazed silently at the green for a moment, then asked him.
“How will it happen?”
“This isn’t an excuse for my brother.”
Pejin leaned back in his chair and continued.
“The Empire was always planning to completely conquer the Grand Duchy. From before you and my brother’s engagement. When our parents passed early, that plan accelerated.”
“……I see.”
“War is going to happen.”
April looked at him and asked.
“When that happens, what will you do?”
At that, Pejin laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll decide based on how I feel then.”
“That’s so like you.”
“A young man of distinct character.”
Pejin spoke with audacious indifference, then continued.
“I’ve been conditioned by the Empire for too long. So honestly, I still don’t understand why I should do anything for the Grand Duchy. If it gets hard, I just want to avoid it.”
Having said that, Pejin stared at April intently and continued.
“Because of you.”
……
“I’ve ruined all of that.”
He spoke in what could have been petulance or self-deprecation, then stood up.
“If I stopped liking you, I could want to eat well and live well in the Empire, forgetting about the Grand Duchy and everything else.”
“What color is that?”
As April asked, Pejin fell silent in thought before speaking.
“Does that need a color? You’ll feel it.”
……
“Treat me well before I leave. Make me unable to think of anything else.”
Pejin spoke and rose from his seat, moving toward the stairs. Then, turning back to April, he said.
“I’ll send my messages in flowers. One at a time.”
……
“When a white flower comes, it means I’m still on your side.”
Having said that, Pejin descended the stairs.
‘You’ll feel it.’
April found Pejin’s words lingering in her mind, taking a deep breath to clear her thoughts, then looking again at the letter he’d left behind.
White meant love, it was written there.

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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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