The Mansion Awaits Spring - Chapter 157

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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 157
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The violent explosion that tore through the Lunos Fiefdom could be heard even beyond its borders.
Citizens in the vicinity rushed outside, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound, but the darkness revealed nothing.
By morning, the townspeople had connected the rumored wedding to the blast. That same night, a thin fog settled temporarily over the Capital City.
When the explosion in the Lunos Fiefdom was followed by fog, suspicion fell once more on April Lunos.
But this time, unlike before, they were determined to see the truth with their own eyes.
So many people shared this impulse that over thirty citizens gathered around the Lunos Fiefdom.
The next day, during the brief hours of sunlight, they moved toward the lake. The police, still searching the area, called out urgently to the approaching outsiders.
“This area is still dangerous! Keep your distance!”
“But we need to know what exploded, don’t we?”
Heedless of the police’s protests, the citizens pushed forward to the lake’s edge and discovered twisted metal and unidentifiable debris, their faces darkening.
A young officer came running toward them.
“You can’t come in here—it’s dangerous!”
“We’re already in. Too late to stop us now.”
“We’ll just take a quick look and go.”
“Look at this over here! What is this?”
The people from the Right Island pressed forward stubbornly, approaching the collapsed ground by the water’s edge. One impatient citizen among them, showing no caution, even slid down into the depression itself.
The police continued warning about the danger, though they didn’t desperately prevent people from descending. The citizens sensed this hesitation—it was obvious from watching a single rookie officer struggling alone.
Once in the collapsed pit, the citizen discovered iron plates that had been torn apart with tremendous force and their seams. He called upward.
“Hey! If anyone finds something that can work as a lever, throw it down!”
A young man nearby retrieved an iron rod that had been wrenched from a glass greenhouse and descended with it.
The two men worked together to completely tear the seams apart. As the seams separated, the iron plate, unable to support its own weight, fell backward of its own accord, leaving a gap large enough for a person to pass through.
“What—what is that, sir?”
“Boy, I’ve lived all these years. When would I have ever seen something like this?”
The two men stood speechless, staring at the enormous factory that lay exposed before them.
Soon the rest of the group poured in after them.
“Good heavens, what on earth is all this?”
“This is insane.”
Most of the sprawling land was worthless, but what remained was still vast. On the Right Island, where the population was already sparse, there was no reason to utilize underground space. And so to everyone present, this sight transcended imagination.
“Wait—isn’t that the Royal Emblem from the Left Island?”
At the question, citizens rushed toward where someone was pointing.
The citizen who had found it brushed away the dust with his hands and brought a light closer.
It was indeed the Royal Emblem.
“Why… why is this here?”
“And why is the light so strong? It looks just like the Gas Lamps in the Lunos Grand Residence.”
At this connection, the eyes of those around them shifted forward.
They carelessly picked through the factory, its lake water still draining away, and instinctively moved in a familiar direction.
Their footsteps halted before a door connected to the basement of the Lunos Grand Residence.
“Should we open it?”
“Should we?”
The group hesitated briefly, but curiosity overwhelmed them, and they finally wrenched the door open.
Beyond lay a space completely different from the factory—relatively clean, with stairs ascending upward.
As the citizens climbed those stairs, they soon realized they had arrived in the lobby of the Lunos Grand Residence.
“Why is this connected to the Lunos Grand Residence?”
“Did the Head of the Lunos Family permit construction of something like this?”
“It’s impossible. He was confined for seven years. If this was built during that time, he wouldn’t have known it existed.”
“Besides, when has Rasa ever asked permission for anything that benefited them?”
“But to build a factory underneath someone else’s fiefdom? And there’s plenty of unused land—so why build it here?”
As people tried to make sense of the situation, they encountered the police who had been cordoning off the area around the residence for their search.
“Stop! You cannot enter!”
The officers rushed toward them, bewildered.
“We blocked everything—how did you get in?”
A citizen answered hesitantly.
“We came through the lake.”
“Through the lake? You came from where the explosion occurred to here?”
“That’s exactly what we find strange…”
The citizens’ faces twisted in confusion.
The officers pushed at their backs, speaking firmly.
“You need to leave. If you remain, we’ll have to arrest you.”
Though a few officers tried this threat, it only angered the citizens further.
“But even if this is Lunos Family land, shouldn’t we know what that thing is?”
“And the Royal Emblem hanging there means this is a Rasa factory, doesn’t it? The explosion created the fog—so the factory and the fog are connected, aren’t they?”
“You have to explain to us what this is all about!”
The citizens protested, but the police tried to expel them, claiming ignorance. However, a few quick-witted citizens bolted back downstairs and disappeared in the direction of the factory before they could all be stopped.
Rumor moved faster than feet.
* * *
Just as the commotion between citizens and police was finally being brought under control, April was already heading toward the residence, brushing off the doctor who insisted she needed hospital rest.
The police who had cordoned off the residence and the lake were still searching the basement.
Officer Lian Ragnar, who had been present at the scene, was overseeing the search of the residence.
Seeing April emerge from the carriage, Lian Ragnar approached her.
“Miss Lunos.”
April came to herself and looked up.
When she had gone to the Empire to request permission for the marriage, she had once shared a meal with Lian.
At that meal, she understood the difference between a subordinate and a friend. When Lian was present, Pejin had seemed at ease, yet simultaneously determined not to yield in any way.
But even with a friend as close as that, she couldn’t know how much Lian understood.
In any case, he was Empire Police.
Lian spoke.
“The search of this location will soon be handed over to Eric Conbery, Chief of the Empire Police headquarters. Before that, could you speak with me?”
“Let’s go to the study.”
April turned toward the stairs as she spoke.
As she climbed the steps, she stumbled and began to slip. Lian caught her urgently.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
April gripped the bannister and steadied herself.
Pejin was already injured, and she possessed no miraculous healing power. So there was nothing to do but leave him to the doctors.
After that, she had to ensure his sacrifice was not in vain.
She owed him that much.
With this thought, April paused once more as she climbed the stairs.
Pejin had always been scheduled to return to the Empire. It was sooner than planned, but now that he had gone, it was likely she would not see him for some time.
She wanted to see him recovered.
Walking soundly, being his usual insufferable self, that man who smiled so readily.
She had made peace with his return to the Empire, but sending him away injured had never been part of the plan.
She had imagined him thriving in the Left Island where he had grown up. But hospitalized, or worse—
She had never imagined that.

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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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